Santa Cruz

We almost having more fun than we can handle this summer :) The last couple weeks are no exception. We went to Santa Cruz yesterday and walked along the boardwalk. It was pretty windy and a bit chilly, but it was fun to see the sailors, surfers and kite flyers enjoying the wind. We had a BBQ, played in the sand and dipped our feet into the freezing water. Our favorite part was watching all the sea lions hang out underneath the wharf. They were lying on trusses and barking at each other. They are such interesting little creatures to watch. We also saw some giant star fish on the beams under the wharf.

We also learned how to play the card game Mitch got for his birthday called Dominion this week. It is WAY fun! Last week we tried out our new croquet set and Mitch played with the soccer ball his sister got him for his birthday. He invented an activity called soccer bowling (you set up powerade bottles like bowling pins and see how many you can know over by kicking the ball). We've also been watching 'Last Comic Standing' which is hilarious.

Today we spoke in church. It went well and we are relieved that it is over. We love our ward and keep saying we wouldn't mind moving back here someday after graduate school. Unfortunately we've been forgetting to take our camera with us lately so no photos from the last week, but here is a photo from the rafting trip a couple weeks ago.

Mitch's Birthday!

Mitch had a birthday, shout hooray! He now belongs to the quarter-of-a-century club! A good part of the celebration was last week when we went into San Francisco and had a blast there. Megan made a delicious cake, which involved pouring sweetened-condensed milk all over the baked cake (Mitch LOVES moist cakes), and then topping it with whipped cream and Symphony Bar!

As far as presents go, Mitch got a croquet set, an award-winning board game (Dominion), Super Mario 3 for our Wii, and good gummy candies - he felt just like a 10 year-old!
We also went out to dinner at Macaroni Grill, and their food was delicious!


On Wednesday after work, we went down to Del Valle for a little hike and picnic. It was such a peaceful walk and when we got to the picnic tables and started eating, we noticed a bunch of squirrels coming to clean up the area. With all the food others had dropped, the squirrels were well-fed and not shy at all!


Just yesterday, Mitch's work organized a rafting trip out on the Stanislaus river. The water was pretty cold (around 55 degrees), but it felt wonderful with the 100+ degree weather! Everyone on the river was engaged in a giant waterfight. It didn't matter if it was between friends, strangers on other rafts, or those on the shore! After rafting for 8 miles, we refueled with a much-needed BBQ, complete with hamburgers, fresh watermelon, pineapple, licorice, etc! On the way back with Tony driving, we got to watch the movie The Great Debaters on his fancy in-car DVD screen, while trying not to fall asleep.

We Robbed JC Penny :)

We went birthday shopping for Mitch at the Stoneridge Mall this week. He needed some new church shoes and long sleeve button-ups to wear to work. After browsing unsuccessfully for a while we decided to check out JC Penny even though we never shop there. To our great surprise we found some really nice shirts marked down to $5!!! Originally $40 each, we got 4 shirts for half the original price of 1. Mitch was very pleased with his shopping experience (maybe I'll be able to convince him to come shopping with me again :)

Weekend in San Fran- WICKED

This weekend we had an adventure in San Francisco! Friday night we saw Wicked at the Orpheum Theater. We loved it! Both female leads were excellent and the whole production was everything I ever dreamed it would be. Then we stayed in a hotel called Broadway Manor about 2 miles away so we could get up Saturday morning and go sight seeing. We went to Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch on Pier 39. Then we walked through China Town back to the BART station. It was a nice mini vacation for our Independence Day weekend.

We had lunch at Sea Lion Cafe on Pier 39. Then, Mitch ran joyfully down the hilly streets of San Francisco!

More fun on the Pier!


We ate tasty crab and sourdough bread on the Wharf.


Megan loves chocolate, especially tasty shakes from the Ghiradelli ice cream shop.


We were both so excited to finally see Wicked and we loved every bit of it!