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)

Good Eats- Last Week

 I've perfected my preferred Chia Pudding! Canned coconut milk is definitely the tastiest!!

 Made an amazing chicken dish with plantains!! I've never used them before.

And to boot, the plantains were cooked as rice with onions and garlic!!

The smell coming from the kitchen was sweet & delicious!!

 The finished product-- Spicy Chicken w/ Plantain Rice and Mango/Avocado Salsa

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

Abby started back to school this past Wednesday! 

We now have a 1st Grader!!!!!!

She has a love for learning and enjoys school so much.

She says "1st grade is SO much better than Kindergarten!!"

Carmel Bonfire

A few of our neighbors gathered for a bonfire at the beach last Friday.

Lots of fun again!! So easy to do here, we might just need to do it more often before we move!!

Bunked!

Look who upgraded to BUNK BEDS!!!!

We did it for space saving purposes, especially headed to Japan, but it works here too!

They LOVE being stacked and finally having a few toys in their rooms now.

WHALE Season

The other day I met my neighbor and we took the kids up to Moss Landing (just north on Hwy 1, 20 minutes) to try our chance at seeing the whales in the harbour! SUCCESS!!!

We saw them the WHOLE time we were sitting on the shore.

The kids dug in the sand and us moms gazed at whales!

 

 

 

 

 

 Maddy running up the sand dunes

 

 Towards the end one started jumping

Slides= silly faces!!

Out for a ride

Mike got to squeeze a guys motorcycle run in a few weeks ago with our neighbors!

Almost always a good day for a ride around here.

We're MOVING!!!

Most everyone already knows.....

but we found out 3 weeks ago we will be moving to JAPAN in April of 2015!

These were the smiling faces I captured when we found out the good news (FINALLY!)

This of course will be our first overseas move, and comes with a LOT more hoops to jump thru than our usual cross-country trips!

Tentatively the plan is for us to packout the end of December, and travel to Norfolk, VA together.

Mike has 3 months of training to do there before we head overseas.

So to maximize family time we've decided to make the move together and just find a furnished apt/house to rent for those 3 months we are in Virginia. Then we are scheduled to move to Japan sometime in April.

More details to come once we know them ourselves!!

10 YEARS!!!

Two weeks ago Mike and I celebrated our 10-Year wedding anniversary!

Sometimes I feel like its been 20+ with all of our moves and military events......and just life!

But 10 is quite the accomplishment! So proud of all we have done together in 10 years!!

 We celebrated with a trip to our wine bar and dinner at The Sardine Factory

Smith Family Visit to Monterey

 Two weeks ago some of Mike's family came for a day trip!

Mike's brother Dave was in California visiting from Pennsylvania!