Great-Grandparents Visit

Great Grandpa and Grandma Reiss came for a visit to Monterey!

Sadly, probably their last since we are moving in 4 months!!

Luckily we get to see them in October and November for other events!!

 Mike and I got out for a morning kayak tour of the bay

 We ventured to Santa Cruz to visit "The Mystery Spot"

 The tour guide proved with a level that the board was flat. 

But when the girls switched spots they changed heights!!

 The odd slanted house

 Again.....a level board but when the guys switched spots and Grandpa moved to the far left.....he wasn't as notably tall! So odd.....MYSTERY!!!

 Out to dinner--Reading her own menu and ordering

 Great Grandpa playing tic-tac-toe with Maddy

 Sunday morning walk along Cannery Row

 Sunday visit to the Carmel Jewish Food Festival

Walking to School Together

Maddy chose not to ride in the stroller today. She wanted to walk and hold hands with her BIG Sister!

Muir Woods- Daytrip

Yesterday we took a family daytrip to Muir Woods!

It has been on our California bucketlist, and its CHECKED!!

Crowded is an understatement......but we managed to find a spot along the roadside to park, hiked to the entrance over a mile, and enjoyed the scenery/history!!

We headed a bit further north afterwards and had lunch and some fun in the sand at Stinson Beach!

 

Because a serious photo would be too much to ask......Maddy!!!!

Block BBQ

I helped host our monthly neighborhood block BBQ last Saturday!

I whipped up some Whoopie Pies and Ham/Cheese Melt Sandwiches!! 

ALL of them were GONE!!!

 Sigh......we finally have a tenant in the unit attached to ours, after 10 months of not sharing a wall!

He is from Hungary, and his wife and two girls (2 & 4) arrive next week!

He brought out some Hungarian liquor to share shots with the men! 

He will fit RIGHT in with our group!!

Great afternoon with good food and friends

Movie Night

Sometimes you just want to watch a movie......from on top of a laundry basket

Dance!!

The girls on the block having a front porch dance party! 

They were singing and dancing up a storm!!

Growing and Growing

Someone is growing up TOO fast these days!

This was a photo from 2+ years ago!!

Sunday Bike Ride

Last Sunday we set off on a family bike ride! Abby is now agreeable with her new 20" bike (that she got last Nov.....) She is now tall enough and comfortable getting on/off it to ride it! YAY!!!

We rode from our house down to Cannery Row and back!! (7.5 miles)

And Abby rode the whole way and even begged to go farther. Of course she rode it back home to the bottom of our neighborhood hill, where I pushed both our bikes up!! STEEP!!!

 We stopped just past the Wharf at the Coast Guard Station Pier.

LOTS of sea life to enjoy.

Seals, Otters, water birds.......

 Mr. Otter floating by

Naked Writing Session

Madelyn Nicole Smith

Foreign Friends

 We were lucky enough to be invited to dinner at our Pakistani friends home Friday night. 

Abby and Maddy have been close friends with their daughter this past year, and they are moving back to Pakistan next month. It was a fun evening tasting many of their staple dishes. They love all things SPICY!!

(don't mind the finger top-left.....Abby took the photo :)

Stroller Warriors-Challenge

I started working out once a week with a group of "Stroller Warrior" moms!

Military spouses who get together to run and strength train!

Last week we did a Marine Corps PFT (Physical Fitness Test)

It consists of a 3 mile run, a bent arm hang (for women), and 2 minutes of crunches.

It was a fun challenge and I didn't do too shabby for the first go!

3 mile run in 28:48

55 crunches in 2 minutes

27 second arm hang (max 70 sec)