Moving Out

It looks like we will be closing on our house at the end of October.  The moving truck should arrive early November.  We will be celebrating Halloween at Grandma and Papa Gizmos house.  Tomorrow we will go pumpkin picking with the cousins.  If all goes as planned, Jack will go as Elmo and Caitlin will be a princess for Halloween.

Jack Surfing

Jack in Skates

Grandma and Albie

Grandma and Albie were able to visit for nearly two weeks.  We had a great time, although it passed by far too quickly.  My parents had a good time visiting with them including a visit to the Regan Library.  The kids loved all the extra attention.  Grandma and Albie had fun a three birthday celebrations with Caitlin: at the park, at school, and at Grandma Gizmo's.  Aside from parties, we also spent time cooking, eating, going to the beach, and apparently putting buckets on our heads.  It was a great visit.  We are looking forward to our visit to Connecticut this December.

Caitlin's Birthday Party

 

Grandma and Albie came out to Carpinteria for a wonderful visit.  Much of the visit was spent celebrating Caitlin's fourth birthday.  Like her mom, Caitlin seems have a birthweek as opposed to a birthday.  However, we all had a great time during the week.  On Sunday, Caitlin had a birthday party at El Carro park.  Most of the family was there. We missed Chris, Ben and Danielle who sent birthday wishes but were unable to join us.  We had fun playing soccer, making tiaras, shooting rockets, swinging, playing baseball, eating pizza and cupcakes, and watching Caitlin open her presents.  Thank you everyone for the wonderful gifts.  It was a great day, and Caitlin loved being the princess for the day.  

Visit from Chris

We had a great visit from Uncle Chris.  He was in Southern California for work and took some extra time to visit us in Carpinteria.  As always, the kids thoroughly enjoyed his visit.  We all went to the beach where Caitlin received some surf lessons from Uncle Chris.  Neither one got hurt so that was a plus, and they both had a great time.  We look forward to our next visit from Uncle Chris, and maybe it will be when we are in our new house.

Sorry for the delay

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Everything is going well, but time seems to be short these days.  We are all back in school.  Kim is working very hard, but likes the school.  The kids are adjusting well to the new school.  They appear to enjoy going to school and playing with the other kids in class.  Apparently, there are two siblings in Jack and Caitlin's classes with whom the kids are becoming friends.  I am enjoying CLU quite a lot.  My department is great and the students are good.  There are a few too many meetings for my taste but who wouldn't say such a thing.

The house hunting is still going.  We have found a house that we are interested in, and are in the process of buying it.  However, there are a lot of paperwork and such.  We are waiting for a few more items to be completed, but if all goes well we can move in at the end of October or Beginning of November.

First Day of School

The kids went to school for the first time today.  We all visited the school a couple of times during the summer.  Jack had met his teacher a few weeks ago, and Caitlin met her teacher at an ice cream social last week.  Caitlin did very well the whole day.  She was brave at drop off, took a nap at nap time, and played well with the other kids.  Jack had a harder time at drop off, and had a little more trouble during the day.  However, he was happy when we picked him and seems like he will have more and more fun at school each day.

More fun

   Although summer is coming to an end, we are still having fun.  We celebrated my birthday with a trip to Knott's Berry Farm with David and Betsy's family and Grandma and Papa Gizmo.  It was very hot, but there were almost no lines which made for a great day.  Grandma Gizmo went on the log ride for the first time with Caitlin holding her hand. It made Caitlin happy to be able to help Grandma Gizmo, although I do not think Grandma Gizmo wants to go on the ride again.  Jack went on several rides with Caitlin by his side.  He went on the airplane ride, a truck ride, and a roller coaster.  They both really liked the roller coaster.

When we are in Carpinteria we spend a lot of time outside.  The kids have enjoyed playing in the little pool.  They also seem to be getting attached to the Oreo and Scout.  They look forward to putting the dogs down for bed every night.

Jack Pushing Chris Around

If you have not met Jack, let me tell you he can be a little stubborn.  I can not recall what he wanted to do on his own, but he makes it clear that he does not want Uncle Chris's help.

Parties

 We are having a good time here in California.  We are staying with Grandma and Papa Gizmo while we find a new place to live.  Our house in Spokane is in the process of being sold.  We found a house we liked, but lost the bid to a higher buyer.  We are hopefully that the right house shows up soon.  Meanwhile, we are having a lot of parties and going to the beach.  The girls enjoyed a fancy tea party in the backyard with all the trimmings including hats.  Yesterday was Kim's birthday.  It was a sunny day for us to celebrate at the beach and out for dinner.  Perhaps now that we are into August "June Gloom" might be coming to an end.

Uncle Chris Visits

Uncle Chris flew all the way from New Jersey to see us.  Caitlin could not take her nap as she waited for him to arrive.  We had a great time at the park, zoo and around the house.  We celebrated Grandma Gizmo's birthday with a dinner for 21 at Delgado's on Sunday.  Sadly, Uncle Chris had to head to work on Sunday night.  The kids received a train set and a picnic basket from Grandma and Albie.  We are excited for the next time he or Grandma or Albie can come and visit. 

In California

We are now in California.  We arrived on a Wednesday, Kim had an interview on Friday morning and was offered a job later in the afternoon.  Grandma and Albie spent several days with us.  We spent a fun day in Santa Barbara on "Little Toot".  We also went to Thousand Oaks to look at houses and see where Kim and I will work.  We also had a large get together of all the kids.  We were sad that Chris, James and Tracey were not able to be with us. 

The drive

    We have completed the drive from Spokane to Carpinteria.  I will recap most of the trip.  Grandma Gizmo arrived in Spokane on Tuesday.  We finished packing the car and Grandma Gizmo, Kim and the kids left from Spokane to Portland on Thursday.  Grandma and Albie arrived in Portland on Thursday and were waiting at the hotel.  On Friday, they all went to the Oregon Zoo and the Rose Garden.  I taught my last class at Gonzaga, observed the packing of the house, and drove to Portland.  On Saturday we drove from Portland to Florence.  In Florence we went to mass and had a very tasty dinner. 
   The next day was a long drive from Florence, Oregon to Fortuna, California and through a redwood tree.  We left around 9:00 am and finished around 4:30 pm.  After the drive we went to Grizzly Creek State Park for dinner, where David, Betsy, Nathan and Matthew had driven to over the weekend for a camping trip.  The kids played in the river and had smores while the adults attempted to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew.  We arrived back at the hotel after dark.
   The next day was a shorter drive from Fortuna to Sonoma.  The trip took longer than expected and we just made it to one vineyard before closing.  We had a nice relaxing evening in Sonoma with good food and a swim in the pool.  On Tuesday we drove from Sonoma to Monterey.  In Monterey we went to the Aquarium.  In fact, a women approached Kim and gave her tickets for the two of us and the kids to get in for free.  That was a very nice surprise.  The aquarium was great, I especially enjoyed the jelly fish and the tank with tunas and a hammer head shark.  We finished the trip by driving from Monterey to Carpinteria On July 4th.  It was a long drive, but went very smoothly.
   In all it was an amazing trip, and one we will remember forever and talk about frequently.  Thank you to Grandma, Albie and Grandma Gizmo for sharing such a wonderful trip.