Thanksgiving

Steven and I had a wonderful time over Thanksgiving break. We didn't decide until about a week before that we would be going back to Indiana for the holiday. It was really up to him. He realized that if he didn't go home now then he wouldn't go back for another year. He didn't want to miss that family time. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have a husband who really loves my family and wants to spend the holidays with them. Steven also told me on the way back to Indiana that he never liked the holidays until he spent them with my family. I'm so happy we could introduce him to all the happiness the holidays can bring!

Our Thanksgiving was filled with lots of family and lots of kids! Here are just a few pictures of the good times we had.

Landon and Grandpa :)

My second cousin Jamie and her necklace

My cousin Natalie, Jamie, and me

My second cousins Sloan and Dan

My cousin in law (?)Jessica and Gunnar, Landon and me

Zuzu and Landon

Steven, Landon, and Zuzu

I love him with everything

As time is winding down for Steven to deploy I'm reminded everyday of how much I love him. He's asked me before what I love the most about him and most definitely it's the way he makes me laugh every day of my life! Even if he's not trying to be funny, he can still make me laugh until I cry. I think it's just the way he can look so innocent, like a little child who has really caused a great deal of mischief! I'm so thankful for these times we've been able to spend together. I can think on these for the next year while he's away and instead of crying because of his absence, I can laugh because of the wonderful memories he has given me. Here are a few pictures of the great times we've had over the past year.

I can't say I've ever had a better year in my life. And I know that when he comes back from Iraq we will have the rest of our lives to spend together with no more interruptions. It will be our dream come true! Steven, I love you and thank you for the greatest days I've ever had and I can't wait to make even more memories.

Halloween...and other things

Hello all. Time for another update from the Clark crew. This past week has been crazy at school due to nine weeks tests, Red Ribbon Week, Spirit week, Halloween, field trips, etc. Thankfully it's all over and we had a fun relaxing weekend. Steven's aunt, Robin, came up from Georgia to spend the weekend with us and see Steven before he leaves for Iraq. We enjoyed taking her to dinner, showing her around Fayetteville and Fort Bragg, and showing her our new house. I think she had a good time. I also was interested to learn more about Steven as a little boy. She said he hasn't changed much. Which is a good thing because I like him pretty well the way he is now. ;) Robin spent a lot of time with him when he was younger. Steven has always loved Robin and learned a lot from her as a child. She was able to debate politics and religion with Steven as well which is something I'm not very good at so I think he enjoyed having someone around to do those things with.

On Saturday night we went to a Navigator's Halloween party at John and Jess's. I think the best thing about it was just seeing everyone's costume. There were some creative ones no doubt. Anytime we get together with Navigator's we have a good time. It's just nice to know that you have a good bunch of people to hang out with who share your same values. There was also some good food there. And I tried firsthand making pumpkin roll. It turned out pretty good. I've had better but I'll keep trying! Someday I'll get as good as Emily Rummel. ;)


On a more solemn note, Steven's deployment is back on for the week of the 16th. Which leaves us only about 2 weeks left. I try not to think about it because when I do I just get sad and pitiful. But I also want to think about it so that I can relish the time I have with him now. I know God will keep him safe and I just pray that the time will go by quickly, or even better, the deployment will be shortened! And as of now I'm roommateless for the next year. So if anyone out there is looking for a place to live for cheap rent...come see me!:)

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. I hope you enjoy!
Sarah Palin and Dwight Shrute Doctor and Disco QueenWendy- the best female costume, and the Burger King, worst male costume. Hence the pink bunny suit!:)





Best couple goes to Dick Cheney and his hunting buddy!


Steven and Robin

Keep praying!

Just a quick one this time. Since my last blog I've felt and seen everyone's prayers. Just last Wednesday Steven came home and said his deployment got pushed back a few weeks. Now he won't be going until after Thanksgiving. Which means, if it gets pushed back just a few more weeks he won't have to go at all! How awesome is God? Thanks for all of your prayers and keep it up! :)

What's been going on?

Well, not a whole lot really if you want to know the truth. Since we got back from Indiana a few weeks ago Steven and I have been pretty much hanging around the house on the weekends, getting our work done and just enjoying each other's company. I love spending time with my husband because we have so much fun together! Last week at Bible study I was asked the question, "what's the best thing about being married?" My answer was, "It's like having your best friend around all the time." It truly is. We can make fun of each other, wrestle with each other and laugh until it hurts!

We had an FRG meeting last week where we found out Steven's deployment window was the week of November 16th. As of now that's about 4 weeks away. :/ I'm not sure if I'm just not really thinking about it or it hasn't really registered with me yet how long that time is going to be. I remember thinking through the last deployment that I never want to go through that again. And I didn't think we would have to. He was supposed to be out of the Army in October of this year but now he can't because of the stop loss. So we'll have to make it through another one. I know that God will be with me through it all and he will keep Steven safe. I was reading in my Bible the other day in Luke where Jesus says,

9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

This got me thinking, "ask and it will be given to you". Well, what I really want to ask God for is the keep Steven home and not deploy. But can I ask for that? Is that going against God's will? So I've decided to word it like this, "Lord, I really don't want Steven to deploy but if he does please allow him to be able to minister to the men he's with and keep me close to you throughout the deployment." So I'm still asking God to let Steven stay home but if he has to go I want him to be able to work for God's kingdom.

So sorry this post didn't really have much of a point. I just wanted to share a little of what's been going on with me. I'm going to leave you with some pictures we took through Steven's FRG. A professional took them and we really like them! What do you think?

Family time

What a great weekend I just had!!! First of all, for those of you who have not heard yet, I'm an aunt! Landon Matthew Hahn was born on Thursday afternoon at 4:27 pm. Steven and I had plans to go to Indiana over the weekend so we made a side trip to Fort Bellvoir, Virginia to see Matt and Alicia at the hospital. They were super excited and Steven and I were so glad we could meet our nephew (especially before any other family members)! He is a cute little boy and the mother is doing fine. I can't wait to spoil him like any good aunt would do.:)

After we got to Ft. Bellvoir we stopped in the hospital around 8:30, stayed for 2 hours, then went back to the hotel room because we left at 5:00 the next morning. So even though it was a short trip it was well worth it!

When we were in Wakarusa we were able to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday! I'm so glad I was able to be there and celebrate with him. This was also the last time Steven would see my family before he deploys in November. So there were a lot of reasons to go up north and I'm very happy that we were able to do it.

ZuZu dancing at my grandpa's birthday party

It was nice just to spend some time with my family. I won't be going back for Thanksgiving so I won't see them again until Christmas. At that time I'll be able to spend more time with my nephew, actually get to visit with Matt and Alicia, and spend good quality time with my family. It seems that I don't realize how much I miss my family until I visit them again. So I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing but I'm glad I can spend time with them. I guess when you are away from them you realize how much they mean to you. I think that if I lived in Indiana I wouldn't appreciate them as much and all they do for me so I'm happy I can see what a blessing they really are!

Wonderful husband!

My husband is wonderful! Would you like to know why? Here's the story...

It was Wednesdsay evening, Steven did not have to work that day and he had been cutting up a tree that fell in our yard all day. He also went to Lowe's to get more stones for our landscaping. This happened all while I was at work. So when I get home after school he was still hard at work. When I got home I took a shower and started making dinner. He tells me that a guy from work is coming over to pick up something. I ask him who this guy is, he tells me I don't know him. Then I ask him what he's getting, he says stuff. Okay then, nevermind. So I start dinner and in the middle of it I stop to dry my hair. As I'm walking out of my room I see a big trailer that has been backed up to our front door. I think to myself "What is this guy getting? Our furniture?" But on the side of the trailer are the words JML Music. What did my husband do? The man is standing in the back of trailer and asks me how I'm doing. I say "...fine..." and then he uncovers a piano!!! Yes, a piano!!! My husband went and bought me a piano! What a surprise! He then tells me to go to the cupboard above the washer and in there were flowers and a card. I open the card and inside he wrote the sweetest things. He told me that he wanted to get me something special because I am such a selfless person and never ask for anything. He knew I had been wanting one so he just went and bought it. How wonderful is my husband? It's a really nice piano, a Wurlitzer that is about 5 years old. When he told me how much he spent on it I'm glad he did it without me. Because I probably wouldn't have bought it but I'm glad I have it now. So thank you Steven for the wonderful gift. I'm so blessed to have someone as wonderful as you! And thank you God for blessing me with a great husband who fulfills my needs and makes me happy.

Piano?

Here I sit, supposedly working on lesson plans for next week but not really wanting to. So what better to do than blog to my wonderful friends?

I'm in need of a piano or keyboard. Here's why. I was just standing in the hall after school talking to our music teacher about nothing really. She brought up how she had a nightmare about our principal being upset with her because she hadn't chosen a Christmas program yet for this year. After we all got a good laugh at that she was saying how it's so hard to put on a Christmas program when she's trying to play the piano and direct at the same time. Then she looks at me and says, "You can play the piano right?" I look at her and say "Um, yeah, not extremely well but I can play." So she asked me if I would play for the school Christmas program. After I thought about it for a few seconds I decided it would be fun. I'd like to tune up my piano playing skills. The only problem with this endeavor is that I don't have a piano or keyboard! I could just stay after school everyday and practice but that would get old real quick. So I'm now in the market of buying a piano. Unless someone has a keyboard they're not using. Then I'd be cool with that. I've always wanted to have a nice upright piano though so if I can't find a keyboard we'll go for a piano. Steven already said it would be okay with him since he just bought a new deer rifle. He spends money worse than a girl! But we figure with all the extra money we'll be making during his deployment we can use it to spend on things that will last and we'll use.

So here's my last request. If you or anyone you know has a keyboard I would appreciate borrowing it for a few months. I'm going to Indiana the first weekend of October so if any of my Hoosier friends have an extra one lying around I could borrow it and bring it back at Christmas time.:)

Better late than never!

Last Monday on our day off Steven and I decided to do a little landscaping in the front yard. Okay, that's a lie, Steven wanted to do the landscaping. I was happy just paying someone else to do it but once we got started it was kind of fun. We took many a trips to Lowe's but I think we got a pretty good start on it. We only got half of the front finished because we ran out of supplies and we just haven't had time to work on it since. Hopefully it will get done in the next few weeks.

Laying the hose to find the perfect line.

Digging our trench. I told Steven we should just make it really deep and have a moat around our house but we were both too lazy to keep digging.:)

Putting in the foundation

See, I helped!

The end result

Being tested...

About a week ago I was reading in Proverbs and came across Ps 139:23. It says
"Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts." I then asked God to test me. How often do I ask to be tested? My prayers are usually something like this "Dear God, help me to have a great day. Be with Steven as he's at work. Watch over him and my family, etc., etc., etc." I don't ask very often to be tested but when I did, God brought it!
It was the first week of school which is always extremely tiring. Especially when it's a full 5 day week. It consists of teaching the students the rules and procedures of your classroom and the school if they're new, doing lots of getting to know you activities, no breaks throughout the day because there are no resources the first week, and lots of extra time spent after school discussing curriculum with team members. I'm exhausted every day I come home and as you can probably guess extremely tired by the end of the week. Not only is it a tough first week for everyone I felt extra pressure with my class and curriculum.
My principal called me this summer and wanted to know if I'd like to teach a 2nd/3rd grade combination class. She said there were a lot of very bright 2nd grade students and I would basically be teaching 3rd grade curriculum throughout the year. I thought it sounded like a good idea. I've never had a class with all bright students so I thought it would be a change. I usually have one or two IEP's or EC students in my classroom who need extra help and resources to grasp the curriculum. But later I find out I can't teach just 3rd grade curriculum because these 2nd grade students aren't set on going to another combination classroom next year to learn 4th grade material. So then I'm told I will be doing thematic units. This sounds like a great idea to my principal but for someone who has taught 3 years at the same school where you shared lesson plans and everything was done by the book it seemed like a big undertaking to me. I didn't even know where to start! How was I going to be sure I would cover all the standards needed? How would I know it would be on a grade appropriate level for my students? How would I find the time to plan all of this? So I went to my principal with my concerns and she stated that it might not be happening anyway because there were more 2nd grade parents that wanted their students in my class and 3rd grade parents who wanted their students out. The 3rd grade parents didn't think it would be accelerated enough for their children. Which is understandable because the 3rd graders are smarties too. So then I was told I would do a 2nd grade AG or gifted class but still teach on themes. Now, as you may have noticed before that was my main concern on teaching these kids. I didn't know how to make themes. I'd done a few in college but that was 4 years ago and it's not like it was really all that good. So I asked my principal if I could just teach the 2nd grade regular curriculum at a faster pace and then use themes and accelerated materials at the end of each 9 weeks. She said it sounded like a good idea. So the plan was to give my 3rd graders to the other 3rd grade teachers and gain a few 2nd grades from the 2nd grade teachers. That's how it was left yesterday afternoon.
But wouldn't you know, my ADD principal (and I mean that in the kindest way, I really do love her!) tells me this morning that we're sticking with my classroom the way it is and themes! *sigh* What's a girl to do? It doesn't seem like anything is stationary. It's all up the air all the time, my job, Steven's job, etc. So my principal and I talked after school and together we're going to do our first theme on the Beijing Olympics This begins in 2 weeks. And you might ask what do we have planned? Nothing so far! So here it goes. I'm sure it will all work out. I asked to be tested and I am definitely being tested. I never thought it would be with my job. It's usually with the Army but it's always in God's hands. I just have to keep the faith and know that things will work out! How about you? Have you ever asked God to test you?

Speaking of Steven's job. He's almost 100% sure that he will deploy to Iraq at the end of November for a year. Now being 100% sure in the Army is about 75% sure in civilian life but right now that's what we're planning for.

Friends

Since Steven's been gone I've been trying to keep myself busy with things to do. I've enjoyed having time to spend with my friends that I usually don't get when Steven's around. Not saying that he doesn't allow me to have girl time, it's just that I want to spend time with him when he's here.

Since Steven left my friend Lindsay has been staying with me. It's been nice having her around. Especially in the evening time when I get the most bored. We've had fun cooking together, going on walks, decorating the house, and watching "High School Musical: Get in the Picture" on TV. Well it's not like I could watch it if Steven was around! I don't want to put words in Lindsay's mouth but we both secretly enjoy it.;)

LIndsay and I with our deployment message to Steven

Yesterday a couple that Steven and I are friends with, John Mark and Bethany, moved into a house. Bethany was there to help Steven and I out when we moved so I was glad to help them move and paint their house. From that experience I've learned that no matter what you're doing, if you're with a group of people that you really enjoy and respect you're going to have a good time. I tried my hand at painting their bedroom but realized it was not for me. Thankfully I realized that before I started to paint my own house so that makes my decision final on getting a professional painter! The only thing I felt remotely confident at was painting around the trim. I'm not much of a roller girl. Emily and I also helped Bethany put some of her kitchen supplies away. Even though I had done it only a few weeks earlier, I envied her for the fact that she gets to make the decision of where she wants her things and how to set it up. It's a fun process to go through!

After helping the Benson's move and paint I went home to get ready to babysit for the Hardins. Scott was our realtor for our house and Deanna, his wife, is a teacher's assistant at my school. Since Scott was so helpful with our house, Steven and I got them a gift certificate and a free night of babysitting. They decided to take us up on it very quickly.;) I've been babysitting for them for the past 3 years. They've got 2 boys, aged 8 and 4. The boys are great and no trouble at all. We played a couple of games of hide and seek, watched a little bit of TV and then they went to bed. It was a pretty easy night.

John Mark, Stu, and Luke painting

All in all, I'm grateful for the extra time I am allowed to spend with my friends. I miss my husband dearly but am thankful for the people around me.

And I'm back!

Now I know I promised that I wouldn't be gone for a long time again but who would've thought we wouldn't have internet at our new house for 2 weeks? Not I. So here's what's been going on over the past few weeks.

Moving In!

Steven and I were able to close on our new house and move in all in the same day. We had some friends come over and help us all throughout the day on the 24th. We started moving around noon on Thursday and were finished by 8:00. Moving is not fun. Granted it's great to come to a new house but packing up and moving and unpacking, not fun. But I'm glad it's all over with. The next day I worked on putting away kitchen supplies and putting other things in their correct place. Steven worked about half a day at work because most of his guys were already in Louisiana for their JRTC training. On Saturday he did some yard work, mowed the lawn, used the weedeater, while I was still putting things away in the house. I tell ya, going from a tiny 2 bedroom apartment to a 2,200 square foot house is quite a difference. I don't' think I'll have enough to fill up this house for many years but that's alright. I'd rather have too much space than not enough.
That Saturday night, the 26th, I took Steven to Fort Bragg to leave for his month long training in LA.
Since then I've been decorating, getting things set up like phone, trash, internet, etc. There are so many more things you need in a house than you do in an apartment! We don't have the best signal out here so we decided to get a land line phone. We also thought we were going to need dial up internet but I found a USB Connect device from AT & T that is working fine for now. It's quicker than dial up but not quite as reliable. It tends to go in and out quite a bit. So we'll see how long that actually lasts in our house.

New Roomie!

Since Steven left my friend Lindsay has been staying at the house with me. We have an alarm system so it's not that I feel scared, it's just nice to have someone else around. It's pretty boring in a house out in the country by yourself. And when the closest Wal-Mart is 20 miles away, it's not like I can just pick up and go whenever I want to. So having someone around has definitely made it easier.

Dentist

I also went to my first dentist appointment here in North Carolina.:) Actually, I don't know why I used that smiley face because there was nothing to smile about. I went for my appointment on a Monday. They told me that I have 2 cavities and a wisdom tooth coming in. That's not good! :( Fortunately I was able to make an appointment for that Wednesday to get my cavities filled. Unfortunately I had one on each side of my mouth so trying to eat, smile, and talk the rest of the day was quite the test. I then made an appointment to have my wisdom tooth pulled the following Monday. They said it didn't need to come out anytime soon since it wasn't bothering me and I had plenty of room in my mouth for it. But, being frugal, I decided I better do it now while I was still under Steven's insurance since he might be out of the Army in the next couple of months. So I went in to the dentist's office. He gave me a couple of shots and 5 minutes later the tooth was out! It was hardly painful, just bled a lot. And I really didn't have any pain even after the shots wore off. I was pretty blessed.

Myrtle Beach

I was able to go the beach this summer. Friday, the 1st my parents and the Hoovers came to my house on their way to Myrtle Beach. It was so exciting to be able to show my house to actual family members. They all really liked it. It was also nice having my dad and Rex around to help me hang things! My mom and Liz put some of my wedding gifts away that they had brought down. Now I have room to store and use them! The next morning we left for Myrtle Beach. It was a little over a 2 hour drive to the beach which wasn't too bad. I stayed with them Saturday night and came back on Sunday evening for my dentist appointment the next day. When we got there Saturday we went out to eat, took a walk on the beach, and then played some games of golf and Dutch Blitz. Sunday we took a walk on the beach and layed out for a little while. There were quite a few people out there. The water was so warm! It was nothing like California ocean water. That stuff was cold. So we swam in the ocean and also hung out at the pool. We then got showered and went out to eat for dinner. I really didn't want to leave but knew I had to because of the dentist appointment. Thankfully I was able to go back down to the beach from Wednesday to Friday evening. I wasn't ready to leave the first time so I was glad I could go back down to stay with my parents and the Hoovers. I never realize how much I miss and love my parents until I spend time with them and have to leave. I'll tell you, being with them really made me question why I was living so far away but I know that this is where God wants me to be right now. I also think that coming back to an empty house made it harder when I knew that I could be with my parents who love me. But I cherish all of the time I do get to spend with them. I look forward to seeing them again in October for my grandpa's 90th birthday celebration.

Baby Shower

Yesterday I hosted a baby shower for a friend,Hannah, from my Navigator's Bible study. She and her husband recently came to Bragg and she is due next week! I wanted to do something to show her our love and support so I thought a baby shower would be a great idea. She was very thankful and I was glad I could do it. She received things she would need for the baby such as diapers, lotions, medicine, stuff new moms don't always register for. It was also nice that there were other moms there so they could talk about their experiences. It was a great time to share with ladies of faith, young and old. I also really enjoyed the fact that I could host a shower because I now have the space to do it. I was able to use some of my new dishes and make it a really fun time!

I Mowed the Lawn!

Yep, my first lawn mowed. It was actually not too bad. I kind of enjoyed it. Don't tell Steven though.:) After I figured out how to turn it on and get it out of the garage it was a breeze. Weedeating is a different story. I haven't tried that and I think I'll leave it up to Steven to do.:)

I think that's about all that's been going on in my life for the past few weeks. Sorry again about not staying on top of it but I'll do my best to keep updating at least weekly. As long as my internet holds out I'll be here! Thanks for listening to the boring blog and let me know what's been going on in your world!:)

What a blessing

Last night Steven and I had an appointment to take a walk through of our new house. Beforehand we didn't really know what to expect since it was our first one. The builder and realtor would be there going through it with us. If you think about it, I wouldn't want someone going over something I made and picking out everything wrong with it. But our realtor, Scott, told us not to worry. The builder wants to have a good relationship with us since he'll be dealing with us for the next year through our warranty.
When we got there we met the builder and realtor. They are a married couple with a cute little 3 year old son. We were chit chatting in the kitchen while we waited for Scott to arrive. They seemed like a nice couple and were very friendly. As we were going through the house we just picked out things that needed to be corrected before we moved in such as spots on the walls, doors that didn't close correctly, missing doorstops, etc. They were even finding things themselves which I was very surprised at!
As we walked upstairs we were talking about the big open area between the two bedrooms. The builder, Thom, mentioned that he had envisioned that area to hold a Bible study. Steven spoke up and said "That's exactly what we want to have here." It was so great to know that these people were Christians and had the same ideas we did for the house. As we were leaving the realtor, Paula had said she'd been praying for the right couple to come along and buy the house and feels that we are it. Thom even said he'd be happy to mow the lawn this weekend if Steven has to leave for JRTC before Saturday and he was helping Steven put up the mailbox out front.
We feel so blessed to have met these great people and we know that if anything ever goes wrong with the house they'll be right there to help correct it. It's just amazing to see all of the different things God is in. Of course we'd been praying for the right house but to actually have the people that sell it to us be Christians and such nice people is more than we could have imagined. So thank you Lord for blessing my life in more ways than I deserve!

California

Hello again. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten any of you. I've just been in California for the past two weeks. Steven and I were out there visiting some of his relatives and taking in the sights and sounds of the west coast state.

We left on July 2nd and flew into San Francisco. Needless to say, neither one of us was very impressed with the city. It was cold there which I wasn't a fan of and we didn't find much to do. We got there about 3:00, went to look at the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, found a sushi place to eat at, then basically went back to our hotel and went to sleep.

Steven and I at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Downtown San Francisco.

The next day we drove to Steven's grandma's house in Modesto. This is his dad's mom. It was nice to meet a part of that side of the family. She was nice and we just kind of hung around her house for the day. It was definitely warmer there so I was happy.:)

After crashing at her house we drove to Clovis to visit his grandpa and wife. I've met them a few times. They actually came to our wedding and are really sweet people. They live only about a half an hour away from Steven's dad and wife so we hung out with them every day we were there. Steven had told me quite a few stories of his dad and my initial response was, "what a horrible father". His antics are quite unbelievable. But after meeting the guy he's one of the funniest people I've ever known. He's basically a big 10 year old at heart. He's a good guy but a little irresponsible and immature at times. Like for example, as we were driving to his house on the first day Steven told me he remembered driving on that road. After doing some quick math in my head I realized that the oldest age he was in California was when he was 14. So after asking why he was driving at 14 he informs me that he wasn't 14 when he was driving, he was 8 and he dad was peeing out the side of the car. Yeah, and you thought you knew some hicks. There are other stories such as his dad calling the electric company after they shut his power off and begging them to turn it back on because his son was in an incubator. That's right he said incubator fully knowing it was supposed to be respirator. But he was convincing enough and they turned it back on.

Steven's father, DJ.

Steven's grandpa and dad.

After the first day of hearing stories from Steven's childhood, which were interesting, believe me, we spent the next few days going to the lake, hanging out at the house, and visiting Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is gorgeous. It is so huge that it would take weeks to see it all. Steven and I climbed up one of the trails to a waterfall and swam around in the water. It was darn cold but it was worth it. So after our few days were up in Clovis we then traveled to LA.

Yosemite National Park

Swimming in the cold water.

Steven's dad, DJ and his wife Maryann.

Steven grew up in LA for the first few years of his life. While his mother worked he was taken care of by a family from Peru. They talked straight Spanish at home and needless to say that was Steven's first language. He'd told me that before but until I saw videos that the Florian family had taken I didn't believe it. It was quite a sight seeing him as a little 3 year old speaking Spanish. He was such a cutie! :) Steven also took a trip to Peru with the family when he was 15. They are such great Christian people and I'm so thankful Steven had a good start to his life with them. While we were in LA we ate some great Peruvian food, visited Hollywood, the Crystal Cathedral, and more. We were also able to meet up with my cousin Dan who lives near Laguna Beach. That was a neat little town and it was nice to see him again. He actually taught us how to eat sushi since we struggled a little in San Fran.:)

Crystal Cathedral in LA

Dan, me, and Steven in Laguna Beach.

Hollywood sign

After LA, we drove to our final destination of San Diego. I think this is where we had the most fun. We didn't stay with any family but we were able to find lots to do. We went to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and Wild Animal Park thanks to our wonderful military discounts! I think Sea World was our favorite. It was very entertaining and it was the first time Steven had been so it was fun to watch his excitement.:) Steven also learned how to surf at Pacific beach. I do have to say, he did pretty well in just a few hours.

Petting the dolphin at Sea World.

Do you see a resemblance? My husband seems to.

That one for sure!

Steven surfing!

We had originally planned on traveling into Mexico for a day or so but most people we talked to said it wouldn't be worth it and there wasn't much to do in Tijiuana anyway. So we decided against it and I'm glad we did because we had a lot to do in San Diego.

So that's what I've been doing for the past 2 weeks. Now we're in the final processes of closing on our house and I probably should start packing up soon! Don't worry, from now on I'll keep updating more regularly. I hope you have all had a great summer so far!