...May thru November..

One thing that frustrates me about blogging is the order/formatting of the pictures.  These are backwards...sorry. 

I'm been seriously lacking when it comes to blogging.  Some things take a back seat as I deal with other things.  It's been a seriously busy year and I can't believe Thanksgiving is over!  So a recap of what we've been up to, backwards!  

November:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  I have so much to be thankful for, and I know sometimes I get frustrated and complain, but when I stop to think about things, I realize I am very very blessed.  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a happy holiday season coming up filled with peace, love and laughter! 

In September Chuck and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary.  We decided to get away for the weekend and so we headed down to San Luis Obispo over Labor Day.  We drove down Friday and stayed through Sunday.  We toured San Luis Obispo which is a nice little college town and we even got to see the Cal Poly campus.  

The main event for our Anniversary was our trip to Hearst Castle in San Simeon.  I have been dreaming of going to Hearst Castle since I was in the eighth grade when I did a report on Julia Morgan, the architect who designed it.  It was absolutely gorgeous and we really enjoyed our time there.  We toured the main house (below) and then spent a lot of our time at the Neptune Pool.  Oh my gosh, I was dying to jump in!  I refrained though.  It was a wonderful weekend.  Happy Anniversary to us!

 In July and August we had a lot of family in town.  My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin's from Viriginia came to visit and it was a lot of fun to sit around and laugh together.  My sister and her husband also came out and we went to Alcatraz.  I love this place.  I've been many times, but they had changed the tour a little bit this time and I got to see things I hadn't seen before.  I loved it...and I love San Francisco!

 My sister and I got married 11 months apart and so when they were visiting we ordered a cake from the place we both got our wedding cakes.  YUM!

 In July, my Grandfather passed away.  While it sad we were able to get together with family from my dad's side, cousins and everyone!  My two brothers and their families and my sister and her husband were able to come out also.  I think the last time we were all together with cousins was when my Grandmother passed away in 2002 and of course the family has grown since then.  It also has been a while since my family has been all together--and again we've grown.  I just really enjoyed being together and my Aunt put together a really nice service for my Grandpa.

 I love Ventura!

The kids were fascinated by a dead lizard!

 The chapel where the service was held.

In May, over Memorial Day, Chuck and I went down to Ventura with my parents to visit my Aunt, Uncle and cousins and Grandpa.  I am really grateful we were able to visit because it was the last time we were able to see my Grandpa before he passed away.  We were able to talk to him and my Dad asked him about his childhood in L.A. as a boy, and he was able to tell us some funny stories

We had a great time and were grateful to have the experience we had.

Chuck overlooking the Harbor!

I think that catches us up--Cliff Notes version! See you in December!