Florida Weather

We are in Florida right now. Thanks to the new airline baggage fees I didn't come prepared for sudden torrential rain. Just in case you find yourself in the same predicament (without a car & needing to walk 4 blocks back to your hotel) you may find it helpful to know that...a Taco Bell plastic bag makes an excellent substitute for an umbrella:)

What's in a Day?

Chris & Cindy took us to Sundance Steakhouse for our birthday dinner (a couple months early since we'll be at sea). After the delicious meal there was even presents and hula pie! If I didn't know better I would've thought it was really my birthday! Bamboo pajamas (the comfiest ever!) and Christian got a Cutco Fillet knife...he can't wait to go spear fishing!

Matinee at Giants Stadium

I'm still not quite sure how there's enough people not working at 1pm to fill Giants stadium, but we were there to join in on the fun. The Fields gave us their awesome tickets (Thanks Mike & Mary!!) and Doug & Cassie joined us for game day in the City! It was probably the nicest weather I've ever seen in San Fran. We came with coats, scarves, and hats, but what we really needed was sunscreen!

Santa Cruz!

The Taylors invited us up to their beach house in Santa Cruz for the weekend. Their house is amazing and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Christian, Doug & I went up Friday morning and spent the day riding bikes, running, surfing, and kayaking! All the Taylor boys were there and Greg, Madeleine & Aubrey came up that evening. Thanks again Taylors for an awesome weekend!! We rode down to Capitola for ice cream.

Brotherly Love...sharing a wave in.

Some things never change...27 going on 14.

Kayaking started our perfect. We went out, the sun was shining, we caught a ton of waves, saw sea otters, and then it turned ugly...

When we came in it was high tide, the beach was gone and it was all rocks. Christian told me to jump out and swim in so I tried, but couldn't. I got back in the kayak so we could try a different beach and immediately a wave capsized the boat. The other beach was finally in sight when another wave capsized the boat. All the while Christian is just yelling "Whatever you do, don't let go of your paddle". Somewhere between the avalanche wave and kayak on top of my head I let go of the paddle so I had to swim out and find it. On our third attempt to ride a wave in the boat flipped and the wave took the boat all the way to shore. A bunch of spectators who were all lined up watching this "spectacle" held onto the kayak while we swam in. We then had to carry the kayak, which is sooo much heavier than it looks, several blocks back to the house. Haha. It might be a long time before I get in a kayak again.

Trying to recover before we made the trek home. In the evening we all played cards, ate brownies, and then ate some more brownies.

Easter!

Easter basically consisted of food, food, and more food. Chris made waffles, strawberries, and whip cream for breakfast. Then the Easter Bunny delivered a huge basket of treats for everyone that we devoured while we watched conference. Doug and Cassie stopped by for a visit. Then Shelly, Jason, and Heather came over for a delicious turkey and ham dinner. We didn't take any pictures but Chris snapped a couple during the day... A little hair gel from the EB!

Doug and Cassie found their treats!

Post-dinner crash.

Home Values

Just a couple situations you might want to avoid if you are trying to increase the value of your home. After picturing this scene at the Hansen's I couldn't help but think...if only they had a home version of that show "What Not to Wear".