Saturday in the East Bay

We headed up to the East Bay on Saturday to hang out with John's brother, "Uncle Matt." We enjoyed ice skating at Oakland Ice Center, which is a nice big rink. Alex really enjoyed skating with John and Matt since he could hold both their hands and jump while skating. Crazy kid! I am still practicing after taking about a ten year break from ice skating. I will have plenty of opportunities to practice since there is an ice rink near us in Cupertino.

After that, we drove around Downtown Oakland and stopped at Lake Merritt at sunset. It is a beautiful area of the city.

Alex does not stand still for long!

Then we headed to dinner in Berkeley at one of our favorite restaurants, Indus Village. John and I both love the Indus Combo, which includes Chicken Tikka Masala and spinach.

It is about an hour drive, but I am glad we have opportunities to explore the East Bay.

Grateful for you

Yesterday we enjoyed our first Thanksgiving in California. We had a low key day since we are still moving the last of our stuff from the apartment to the house. (It is easy to forget how much stuff you have in your kitchen until it is time to move it all!) We enjoyed lunch and time with John's brother. We bought prepared food from Trader Joe's, so we did not cook a whole turkey this year.

I am still setting up my craft space, but I did make a digital layout with some of my favorite pictures from 2012. I upgraded my Stampin' Up! digital software to MDS 2 since it is currently on sale.

I am also grateful for the long weekend (and so much more)!

Happy Chaos

We moved into a house at the beginning of the month, and it is a great fit for our family. We are renting but still hope to be here for a while. We are near John's work and Alex's preschool, and they walk to school and work some mornings. We can also walk to the library.

The house has about 500 square feet less than the house we bought in Texas, but it works well for a family of three. Mostly, we are happy to have a yard again. Alex wants to play outside even when it is dark or cold.

John, his brother, and a friend moved all of our big furniture with 2 pick up trucks in one afternoon! Since then, we have been moving more stuff from the apartment to the house. We are starting to get settled in, but we are still in transition. I think of it as happy chaos.

The backyard

Alex in the hammock

The front yard, which is Alex's favorite place to play

The garage, which John is taking over as an office/man cave

Around the Apartment

Our time in the apartment is coming to an end. Once we were considering a big move last year, I had more motivation to document our daily lives knowing that many things could change. That motivation continues as we move forward and our life in California evolves. I find myself taking pictures around our apartment and the complex.

We can see the sun setting from our second floor windows. The striking colors of this sunset after some rain in September prompted me to go outside and take a picture.

I see the sunrise many mornings while walking the dogs. Well, I will not missing early morning walks.

The apartment complex has nice landscaping, so I took some pictures of the flowers recently. The mild weather means that we still have flowers blooming in October.

The apartment had a unique floor plan, so I often find myself upstairs looking down at John and Alex. We will be back to one level in the rental house, so I wanted to capture the view from above. Alex likes to watch videos on my computer.

Back to grading papers, laundry and eventually some packing!

Home

I need to pack up my crafts supplies for our upcoming move. Luckily this move is less than 3 miles instead of 1600 some miles! During this transition, I can work on some digital scrapbook pages. This one was inspired by a song that I heard at the beginning of the month:



I made a digital scrapbook page using My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! and a digital stamp from Ali Edwards. I really like photo collages right now and used a variety of photos from this year.

October in CA

We are having nice fall days in the Bay Area. Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch at Spina Farms with the Las Madres Working Moms group and had a great time.

Today, we had a picnic at Memorial Park.

Alex chose to wear his UTSA jersey, and today is UTSA's Homecoming football game against my new employer, San Jose State. I had hoped to go back to San Antonio for the game and a visit, but we are having a busy fall. I do not have much vacation time yet at my new job, and I teach class on Fridays. Also, we are getting ready for a local move, so we are organizing and packing. We are happy to be moving a few miles into a rental house soon.

Wedding at Aullwood

A couple of things in the past week or so have reminded me of my wedding at Aullwood Audubon Center in July 2004. I cannot believe that it was over 8 years ago! Here are a few of the photos:

I have been back to the center once since our wedding and hope to take Alex to visit the center and farm on our next trip to Ohio.

10 Things: October

It is already the 10th of the month, so it is time for me to share my "10 Things" inspired by posts at Shimelle.com We are having a busy fall, so here are 10 Things that we doing this month:

1. Going on an adventure to San Francisco
John and Alex went on an adventure last Saturday to San Fancisco while I was at a bridal shower. They had a picnic and saw some ships, boats, and airplanes that were in the city for both Fleet Week and the America's Cup. John took Alex's photo at the train station on their way to San Francisco.

2. Working
John and I are both keeping busy at work. John is working on a big project. I am mostly advising students on academic probation and juniors who need to be accepted into a major. Our work is both draining and rewarding.

3. Teaching
The semester is in full swing, so the class and grading are keeping me busy.

4. Feeding the dogs
Alex takes his "jobs" at home and school very seriously. He likes to help and gets upset if he does not get to feed the dogs each morning and night. He is learning how to measure out the correct amount of food for each dog. He also helps me make the beds.

5. Getting a Halloween Costume for Alex
Alex wants to be a "superhero with wings" so we are working on a Batman costume.

6. Looking for a rental house
Most people rent apartments and houses through Craigslist postings out here. I am glad that we are starting early. Places go quickly in the Bay Area! So far I have responded to 2 ads, but one of them was a scam. (Tear!)

7. Planning for the Holidays
Alex wants to "ride on an airplane and see snow".

8. Making cards and scrapbook layouts
I have been trying to squeeze in some crafty time even though things are busy.

9. Attending some Las Madres activities
We have some fun events coming up with the playgroups. We have a party and trip to the pumpkin patch coming up.

10. Learning
There is a lot to learn with new jobs and living in a new place!