The Garcia Family

Update

2011-12-10T16:53:00.001-08:00

Thank you to everyone who has; taken the time to pray for our son and our family, brought us a meal, donated money (especially the kids who emptied their coin banks) and encouraged us by sharing their own stories, God's word and sometimes just hugs!

On October 22nd Ocean and August were in a riding lawn mower accident, leaving Ocean with serious injuries requiring us to be flown to Sacramento for Emergency Surgery & care.

Read some updates here or

Scroll to the bottom for prayer requests...

2/5/12
Swimming lessons went perfectly. As a mother my heart wanted to protect my son from any possible ridicule or unpleasant things said, so an email to the attending families was in order. I kindly reminded them that some children might be frightened by the scope of Ocean's scars & skin grafts and it would be best for them to help their children to not be afraid by discussing it with them before classes began. I also asked them to pray for Ocean not to be self conscious. God oversaw the day and we left the pool with smiles on our faces. Ocean continues to astound the people who know him as he walks, runs, jumps, rides his bike and now swims! It is such a wonderful gift to each person who has prayed for him, cared for him and generously supported him financially.

I would also love to tell you that Ocean can almost jog an entire mile now before his muscle tires! Isn't that just outrageously amazing! Thank you Jesus! We are gearing up for the Foggy Bottom Milk Run! We hope you can join us. If you want to walk/jog/run with us, please send me an email and we can plan to meet up at the starting line. We'll be praying for a sunny run this year. :-)

Here's a real treat! Ocean @ cross country practice with one of his buddies (and biggest fans).

kepleracademy@gmail.com (our home school email)

1/15/12
Our recent Orthopedic appointment was so encouraging. The X-rays revealed some bone regeneration in the calcaneous and proper alignment of the left foot. The next day Ocean was wearing running shoes again and so happy to do so! Our next appointment is in May for more X-rays. Surgery will still be expected in the future, depending upon his growth. We are looking forward to upcoming swimming lessons and preparing for the Foggy Bottom Run 2012.

1/3/12

Ocean has decided that the walking boot can "take a hike". He strongly desires to wear his own shoes again and defiantly put on his rain boots recently as we were heading out the door. We have consented to allowing him to enjoy walking boot freedom inside the house, but still require the walking boot - till we get "Doctor's orders"! Today he jogged across the living room floor and ended with a hop, wearing only socks on his feet! Yesterday during a Cross country practice he decided to test his walking boot for a run. He ran a short distance, but overall walked a whole mile. No complaints of pain, only tired muscles. Hooray!

Last week the boys and I returned to the home of our dear friends where the accident took place. Driving up to their house we were listening to our Seeds worship song "Philippians 4:6&7". "Do not be anxious, about anything..." This really calmed my heart as I was feeling anxious as we drew closer to their exit on hwy 101. I am delighted and surprised to relay to you that once we stepped out of the car all went well. The boys enjoyed playing with their friends and I the time talking with my friends and Mother. When I stepped outside I anticipated being overcome with grief. No tears, no seizing of the chest and grief. I'm glad we went and I am so thankful that our friendship remains strong. God does amazing things in the midst of our trauma.

Reaching the summit of "Mount Wood Chip"

Update 12/28/11

August & Ocean are enjoying playing together and enjoying the "life of boys". Above you can see them on their summit approach to mount wood chip. We had a truck load of wood chips dumped in our driveway, which provided hours of work & play.

Ocean can also ride his bike (pain free)! He also has great increased arm strength and can really cross the monkey bars now!

Ocean is no longer taking prescription medication for pain relief. After a rough day of play or an hour of Xbox Kinetic competing with August, I give Ocean some Homeopathic medicines for relief. They are; Arnica Montana & Symphytum officinale.

Prayer Requests:

Please continue to pray for the healing of the internal tissues, skin grafts, for the talus & remaining calcaneus bones to fuse and for the calcaneus to regenerate, regeneration of the severed tendon, building up of the left calf muscle through use, minimization of our ptsd and for God's peace when emotions get the best of us.

Thankfulness

2011-11-19T12:50:00.001-08:00


We are so thankful for; family, friends, church family, home education family, a local 911 Operator, Rio Dell First Responders, City Ambulance Team, Redwood Memorial Hospital ER team, Cal-Ore Flight RN's and Pilot, Sacramento Local Ambulance Team, UCDMC; ER & Trauma Team, NICU Surgical Team & all post Op. RN's, the entire Pediatric floor (especially our RN's, Child Life, Music & Art Therapists, Playroom Volunteers), the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgical team, the Plastics Surgical team, the Anesthesiologists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, The Children's Surgical Center RN's and Support Staff, Transport Staff and the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House Staff & Volunteers.

This year our hearts are bursting with thankfulness! Thank you to so many of you who have helped us in so many ways. We are forever grateful to each of you for the special way each of you have touched our lives and changed something tragic into something healing.

For those of you who do not yet know, Ocean was in a lawn mower accident on Oct 22nd. Ocean, August & I were then airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento (Brian was able to join us the next day) where Ocean underwent several surgical procedures to begin repairing his foot and leg. These procedures were over the course of 3 weeks of inpatient care. We will return to UC Davis Medical Center over the upcoming months/years for continuing care from the Orthopedic and Plastics teams.

Click here for updates & prayer requests:

If you wish to make a financial donation

to Ocean's Medical Fund

Coast Central Credit Union

www.coastccu.org 707-445-8801

2650 Harrison Ave Eureka, CA 95501

Make checks out to:

Ocean Garcia

account# 174221 S7.1

To make electronic transfers:

routing # 321172248

account# 1742215701

My Reboot experience, by Elizabeth

2011-10-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

Day 7 of the Reboot:

Inspired by the film "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" a Joe Cross film I decided that I too would do a juice fast. Everyone has a reason for fasting, some many reasons and I know you are wondering why I chose to do it other than being inspired by a movie. So, here goes.

Since giving birth to my second son I had a gut, weight I didn't want to carry and unwelcome acne. Many years before that I had been diagnosed with IBS and have struggled off and on with that. I have other skin issues that make me question food allergies. A skin test 3 years ago showed nothing and I haven't braved the blood test neither could afford I the hair analysis test. So, inspiration, weight loss and elimination diet to find food allergies are my biggest reasons.

I've been an omnivore, a vegetarian, a vegan (for a whole week) and back to an omnivore. I've joined the world of fermentation (milk & water kefir) and I try to eat whole organic foods. Almost all of our meals and snacks are homemade. I am fascinated by food in all aspects. (Okay, I am not fascinated by junk food or fast food)

Then, there is my greatest weakness...bread and cheese. Oh even the thought of them now makes the saliva glands in my mouth release enzymes hoping to meet these tasty morsels... Can you tell I am fasting?

What did I set out to do?

When I read the Reboot Your Life website to find out more information about the plans and recipes - of course I went for "over achiever" and chose what I thought was the Standard Program - however, in my brain I omitted specific instructions, blended information from all the programs and sort of made my own. I was going gung-ho for 14 days! This is another perfect lesson in pride.

What advice or warnings did I receive?

A dear friend lent me her juicer for the duration of 3 weeks, super cool. She is becoming a master herbalist in her own rite and warned me of constipation offered some ground plant material. I turned her down stating that I had psyllium powder and would be sure to use it if necessary.

What type of help and encouragement did I have?

My family was very helpful. My sons helped in annihilating the veggies and fruits with the juicer and making happy messes on the counter. My husband supportive and empathic as the rest of them were "indulging" in real food! My community of Mama friends had a keen interest in my experience and kept me motivated.

What did I fail to read in my excitement about doing the reboot?

..." eating and drinking fruits and vegetables only. You can juice, blend or eat raw or cooked fruits and vegetables." I definately think I would have been much more successful if I had remembered these words. Doh! I was strictly drinking juice (days 1-5)

What were the roadblocks I faced?

I definitely did not fare well the advice of drinking much water. I was definitely dehydrated to the point of having a "foamy" mouth at times. At night I would have cramps in my arms and legs, not to mention have to get up to go to the bathroom. I also didn't use that psyllium powder as often as I should have. The number one roadblock was making all my family's meals and snacks. No tasting! I also had to survive watching people eat at a restaurant on day 2 while I drank my homemade juice. (I had to keep myself from staring at their food and the smells were so powerful)

What were the great benefits of doing the juice fast?

Within two days I saw a change in the color of my skin! I no longer was looking pekid and pale. Each day brought the loss of 1+ pounds. By day 4 my belly fat/intestinal bloating was so diminished I no longer looked 4 months prego! Woot! The most pleasant, even better than loosing weight was having mental clarity. Lately I've been in a "fog" and it is nice to have that removed.

Why did I "cheat"?

I was "starving" so I supplemented a fig or two each day. By day 5 I was in near tears, all I wanted to do was chew something. So I also began taking bites here and there of the veggies and fruits in the "to juice" pile. Had I only remembered that I COULD eat as part of the program I probably wouldn't have been near "postal" on day 5.

Why did I "fail" on day 6?

Day 6 was my birthday. Already I had abandoned going out to eat and cake. I baked treats, cake and bread - none of which I could eat. That stank. At lunch I ate a tiny salad and couldn't finish it. Then came dinner at home. Fresh tuna from off our shores, seared and seasoned. I couldn't take it any longer. I totally ate some of the fish. A few ounces, but it really "worked" my stomach later. It was so delicious that I ate some again tonight, day 7.

What is next?

Drinking more water, eating more raw foods to provide necessary fiber and feeling of fullness. I am going to read through the entire "Reboot Express Program" and finish out the next 5 days strong! (I put the tuna leftovers in the freezer to avoid the temptation) :-)

What I would do different in a future Reboot?

My favorite day at Costco is when the Vitamix reps. are there! Recently I was chatting it up with the husband & wife team about the Vitamix and came to learn that juicing with a Vitamix is much more healthy than a juicer. The why is simple. You don't process/remove any important nutritional aspects of the food. You eat all the fiber too. Which would totally help keep things moving (wink, wink). So, I am saving my money to hopefully buy one when they come back in February. Then the next juice-a-thon will be with my Vitamix!

Here's the different Reboot Programs:

Reboot Entry Program

Reboot Standard Program

Reboot Express Program

Thank you to all my friends & family who have helped me along this journey! Here's to 5-7 more days!

2011-07-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

10th St. Garden

Columbine.

Patriot Blueberries.

Poppy before blooming.

Our garden of peas, garlic, cucumbers, butternut squash, carrots and corn.

Red filtered wildflowers in our flower bed.

Same flowers as above with blue filter.

The boys enjoying the pea harvest.

Drying garlic after harvest.

The Soggy Bottom Brothers - From March 2011

2011-06-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

The soggy footwear of the runners, post race.

The 2 mile runners, pre-race. It was already raining as the 10 & 4 mile runners were finishing.

Brian with the camera here. See if you can find the rest of us in this drippy race.

We made it through another Foggy Bottom Milk Run in Fortuna, CA! We survived enormous rain puddles, a squall line of wind and pelting rain and made it across the finish line. I'd like to say we did it without complaining, but then I would be lying.

The aftermath. A heater pointed towards our dripping wet cotton clothing and running shoes. I think perhaps an investment into non cotton running gear may be in the works.

2011 Foggy Bottom Results

Place	Name	Chip Time	Pace	Bib #
419	Brian Garcia	28:51:00	14:26/M	895
420	August Garcia	28:51:00	14:26/M	518
434	Ocean Garcia	29:14:00	14:37/M	517
435	Elizabeth Garcia	29:14:00	14:37/M	896

Seriously, what were we waiting for? Sorry for the long pause in posting.

2011-01-06T18:06:00.001-08:00

A Tuba Christmas in Olde Towne Eureka. The boys and I walked downtown to enjoy this great tuba ensemble. The weather was perfect, a great crowd in attendance and we were filled with joy.

Photo by August

Playing pirates down by the waterfront in Olde Towne Eureka. At least these pirates have a Mother who packs a lunch for sailing the seas...

A crab fisherman returning with crab pots.

A nice window front put together by St. Vincent DePaul in Eureka.

Photo by August

A gallery visit we made during Arts Alive in December. The artist is Randy Spicer.

Photo by August.

Kitchen Lab - a science adventure. Or an excuse to make "volcanoes".

Nothing quite like living in a small town. This is a promising "blue ribbon" in the Eureka Truck Parade 2010! Photo Brian

Here August is becoming annoyed at my taking pictures of him while his Sunday School teacher gives a message before their Christmas song.

He's the blurred one in the loud Hawaiian shirt.

A wonderful day was spend at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In some ways it reminded me of a similar day spent in Houston at a Nature Reserve there. The name of which has totally escaped me...

Apparently playdough has changed since I was a kid and now wearing a helmet is recommended by four year olds...

The dot marks the spot! Eureka! Here we are!

Hooray for Christmas 2010 and Happy New Year!

Start Spreading the News!

2010-07-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 4:2 & Micah 4:3 Engraved in a courtyard across the street from the U.N. building

Brian's magnificent shot of NYC from our flight....yahoo for Central Park!

In search of the water park in Central Park...The temp. is in the 90's!

Victory is ours! Eureka, we finally found the water park!

Punk rock penguin!

Sensitive, serious penguin.

Penguin suits for Uncle Brandon's wedding!

Proof that I did wear make up, for all ya'all that will get a kick outta that!

If you dress up like a fireman you get a free kid's meal. Thanks to Mady for getting all our boys (hers and ours) outfitted for this fun Chik-fil-a event. High five to the person in the cow costume, the temp. is in the 90's with at least 70+% humidity and not to mention the radiating heat off the pavement.

A day at Gettysburg. This day the NWS had out a heat advisory, temps nearing 100 and the humidity to boot. We did the driving tour of Gettysburg, getting out at specific stops, drinking massive amounts of water and enjoying a day of historical fun. The boys were most impressed by all the cannons.

Lounging in a tree in a garden at the Smithsonian castle on the National Mall. The little man is Alexander, a friend from Maryland.

It just really doesn't get much better than this. They dried off pretty quickly walking around afterward, despite the humidity.

Sculpture fun on the National Mall!

Make your own calzone night!

2010-06-23T14:45:00.002-07:00

One night while Brian was in Louisiana forecasting for the NWS in connection with the BP oil clean-up, the boys and I had "make your own calzone night". They really enjoyed making and working with the dough and filling them with their own ingredients. I placed all the ingredients on the table, letting them know they had to use them all (to make it nutritionally successful) and let them adjust the amounts to their liking. **yes, I did add some extra of some ingredients to ensure a protein rich dinner**

A whole lot-uh bakin' goin' on!

2010-06-04T14:20:00.001-07:00

The drone armies...marching towards mouth watering delicacy

A rustic version of individual chicken pot pies...three cheers for Fiestaware!

Fermentation station. Kefir and sprouted grain/cereal ( the grains are used in the process of making bread from Cynthia Lair's book Feeding the whole Family.

What happens to too much milk in too small a space and a lid on too tight!

Finished product of sprouted whole wheat bread, sweetened with ripe bananas. Yum!

Now to the cooling stage, without flash.

With flash....

California Pizza Kitchen

2010-05-30T16:02:00.001-07:00


Thursdays ala casa de Garcia is Pizza Night!

We enjoy our pizza and perhaps just a wee bit too much. In fact, we enjoy it every Thursday night! Pizza night began as a tradition when we lived in Maryland. It is the best night to invite friends over for because making an extra pizza or two is very simple. Pizza night became a great source of fellowship and we do miss that portion. We need to do more of the inviting others over part of Thursdays....Our crust is a whole wheat crust that morphed from a Hodgson's Mills recipe. Usually there is one pepperoni pizza, sometimes a cheese pizza and a new arrival of olive oil, garlic, Parmesan and herb.

The Dough Recipe (revised by me)
Mix together; let proof
1 T yeast
1 C warm water
Add to yeast mixture. Using dough hook on mixer knead till ball forms and is not tacky. Add flour by T as needed per humidity.
1.5 C whole wheat flour
1.5 C all purpose flour
2 T olive oil
1 T honey (or agave)
1 T flax seed meal
1 t salt
1-2 t seasonings (optional)
Add olive oil to bowl, turning dough ball to coat dough & bowl. Let rise 15 min. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F at this time. Prepare toppings while oven heats. Dust baking sheet/pizza stone with coarse corn meal. Gently stretch pizza over fists and lay atop pan/stone and continue gently stretching/shaping to fit pan. Par bake for 5 min. Remove from oven, top with sauce, meats, veggies, cheese, etc. then return to oven till cheese bubbles (approx. 10-12 min.)

**2011 update: I now use a different recipe, see below.

1.5 C warm water
1 T yeast
1 T olive oil
1 T sweetner (honey, agave, brown sugar...)
mix together, let proof

To the yeast mixture add the following.Using dough hook on mixer knead till ball forms and is not tacky. Depending on humidity you may or may not need all flour.
4 C flour (I use a half whole wheat, half blended flour mix)
1 T salt
I sometimes add flax seed & seasonings as stated above

After rising I then seperate this dough into four equal balls. Each of those become a rolled out thin crust pizza!

Post Christmas Photo Shoot

2010-04-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Ocean sporting new socks from Uncle Brandon

August with his new socks from Uncle Brandon

Here the boys have what they purchased from G. Granny's gift of ten dollars. Ocean has a toy tank and August his first remote control car.

Adventure Club/Kids Club tees from Steven's Pass Ski School

Steven's Pass...and some trouble on the road

2009-12-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

August in first week of lessons 2009

Jupiter Chair and all the "Dr. Seuss" like trees

Ocean finally enjoying the snow and his class

Bluebaru's fuel pump is bunk and gets a lift to a shop...

Clever application of eyeball stickers...

La Familia!

2009-11-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

Here we are during our November Seattle visit. August just turned six! Brian was hoping this would be our Christmas card, but his dork wife didn't remove her jacket...Nonetheless it is a very nice photo of us just the same.

Garcia Guys!

2009-10-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Brian arranged a tour of the Coast Guard Station in McKinleyville/Arcata for our family. The boys participated in a training procedure for using the rescue basket. They were reluctant at first to get in the basket, but they had a good time once they were lifted off the ground.

What you cannot grasp from this photo is the intense noise that these rotors produce. We had earplugs in and still were greatly amazed at the decibel output. Ocean and I watched most of this from the hangar where the noise reduction was best.

What a handsome group of guys! North Coast view in background.

Hours of unpacking back in October of 2009 and piles of cardboard boxes were the makings of great play times for the boys. They had the most fun in the wardrobe boxes, as you can see here.

Finally, a permanent home for our family! Well, almost "permanent".

2009-10-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

October 2009
Despite the crazy house hunting trials in Humboldt County (no thanks to all the "growers" who ruin homes) we endured and the Lord provided this lovely home. Brian faithfully searching found this great home on Craig's List. We have enjoyed our settling in and our wonderful landlords.

September 2009 memories...

2009-09-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

Brian had such great memories as a kid playing in Santa Cruz that it became a "must do" for our family. Here is proof that we made it there together...well Brian is the photog!

Some great times for August & Ocean on their first amusement rides.

Totally by randomness our boys climbed aboard the S.S. Corndog! Brian and I shared a good laugh on that one. Maybe next year we can add some tally marks to show how many corndogs they've "conquered"!

The end of the mini-vacation took us to San Francisco where we learned how the coldest winter could be a summer in San Fran! In our short day visit we took in some great sites, had some tasty eats and rode the trolley despite the insane line-up of tourists for the ride!

Getting to know you....Eureka.

2009-09-05T17:11:00.005-07:00

This crazy looking piece of machinery is part of the logging history exhibits on site at Fort Humboldt State Historical Park. By the loggers who used it, it was called a "steam donkey". It was steam powered and it was used to drag Redwood logs through the forest.
This gem is right outside the Eureka Library, there is a soft play field underneath to absorb jumping and falls. In the background you see a sandpit. It has sculptured sand dollars & sea stars. The boys can spend hours back and forth between the sand and the ship. We have a pretend crab & salmon dinner every time we play here.
Over a mile walk from our temporary headquarters is this park, Carson Park. The climbing/slide structure looks like a brontosaurus.
We found this park on our return trip back from Carson park. This is park 20-30. The slide to the left is so wide the boys and I rode down together troika.
On the way home from a walk one day two motorcycles stopped and leather clad riders invited us to an event at Bouce-a-palooza that was being put on by their chapter of BACA (bikers against child abuse). It was a free event for kids in Eureka to let the neighborhood know about their cause/services for kids.

Eureka!

2009-08-27T22:45:00.003-07:00

This is Highland Park, just a two block walk from our temporary quarters. Sure, it is an old, weathered play structure...but it is a great escape from cabin fever. Here the sun is setting on our first day in the "hood" while Brian had his first day at work. Shortly after this shot I scurried us home as I was getting too cold.
This is the beach. I saw a lady sunning herself in a bikini, so I put on my tankini top and strolled down to the beach to join the boys & Brian. I quickly put a towel over myself and nearly shivered off 5 lbs! The boys are blissfully unaware of the cooler temperature - all they care about is digging, digging and more digging. I remember watching crazy kids on the Washington coast play in the water while their jeans & sweatshirt toting parents smiled and waved. Now my kids join that "crazy kid" group as they gleefully went into the water up to their waists! I couldn't make it in past my ankles. This is not like the Gulf Coast nor the East Coast...I always boasted about the West Coast being the Best Coast...and now I have to aclimate to the Left Coast.

Redding, CA to Eureka, CA

2009-08-20T07:48:00.007-07:00

The Last Opportunity to Shop at Trader Joe's...

Our last stay in a motel/hotel has come and we packed our bags, I folded the boys blankets, loaded up the car and entered the restaurant across the parking lot from our motel. This would also conclude our final continental breakfast. It is bittersweet this whole long strange trip coming to an end, the adventure and escape from "normal" life was exhilarating. Yet mile after mile and hour after hour makes you somewhat long for something normal. "Normal" was grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Since our car was seriously already loaded I had to limit myself to necessities and of course nothing perishable.

Highway 299 through the forested foothills of Northern California certainly is windy (a funny English word - here I mean curvy, not blustery), beautiful and like many roads we encountered - delayed by summer construction. It took much longer than the map or gps boasted. We enjoyed the ride and enjoyed the smell of the forest, the roadside porta-potty near a river rafting outrigger, sunshine and the realization we are on our way to our new temporary home - Eureka.

Now I have to confess that I had butterflies, anxiety and a little nausea as we crept closer and closer. When my eyes layed upon my new community I was aghast. Though Brian told me it was small - I guess I just didn't imagine small town small. Our temporary quarters are beautiful, we are the first people to live in the unit. Which is terrifying since it is furnished for professional adults - not a family with two young boys. The city of Eureka is a treasure trove of Victorian houses. Some modest and others that would make the houses on Queen Anne Hill of Seattle blush. Maybe someday I'll start a photo log of them.

We have arrived and now must begin to start our new lives here. We must find a home to rent, a church to call home, a homeschool group for fellowship and playmates, an AWANA club, a dojo, etc. , etc.

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August 2nd & August 3rd:
August 4th:
August 5th:
August 6th:

August 7th:
August 8th:
August 9th:
August 10th:
August 11th:

Reno, NV to Redding, CA

2009-08-20T07:48:00.004-07:00

Circus, Circus!

August 11th:

Brian had some memories of staying in Circus Circus as a kid, so we chose to hang our hats there for the night. It was late when we pulled into town and the boys were asleep. Bummer they missed all the lights, till just when we arrived at the Hotel. I can't even begin to marvel at how insanely cheap this Hotel is! We certainly paid much more to pay at less of a place. The Circus portion of the hotel was a big disappointment. The games and carnival feel was authentic and August scoured all the games and found $.75. Ever since realizing you could find change while playing with a Metro Pass machine in D.C. - now he checks every machine for money. He has a blast, but it is a little embarrassed to have your kid digging for money like that. Maybe I'm only embarrassed because I'm worried about what other people are thinking...

We left Reno for Virginia City to ride a steam engine...this time we knew for certain we would ride! Virginia City is a Western must see. It is a quintessestial small town that made it's claim in the gold rush and is still hanging on. We enjoyed the short excursion on the Truckee Railroad through a tunnel and up to Gold Hill. Along the way there is historical commentary by the Conductor. I only caught a small portion of what he had to say, mainly history regarding the several closed gold and silver mines we passed on the rails. August and Brian got the thrill of the day by riding from Gold Hill back to Virginia City in the cab of the Steamie. Besides being insanely awesome it was insanely hot being next to the firebox.

We had dinner at a really neat restaurant in Carson City, NV called Reds Old 395 Grill. We did not make it there in time to see their Railroad museum, which hopefully someday we can make it back to. Maybe on our next road trip to Colorado?

After dinner we drove all night to make it to Redding, CA. We enjoyed the drive as we drove through the forested areas. Ahh, the tall trees and the smell of damp forest floor. Though, I'm telling ya - I was not ready for the cool temps! Brrrrr. Lassen National Forest and Lassen Volcanic National Park was a good drive through, though very lonely as the sun made its way over the horizon. This was a fun day, since we know we are approaching the end of the road trip. We are all seriously ready to get out of this car for a period longer than it takes us all to go the bathroom or get a night's sleep!

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August 2nd & August 3rd:
August 4th:
August 5th:
August 6th:

August 7th:
August 8th:
August 9th:
August 10th:

Price, UT to Reno, NV

2009-08-10T07:02:00.003-07:00

August 2nd & August 3rd:
August 4th:
August 5th:
August 6th:

August 7th:
August 8th:
August 9th:
You know you're in a small town when...

August 10th:

I should like to say that this journey across a great portion of our nation has been very enjoyable. I can't believe how great our kids have done, how we've lived on eating out every meal and how incredibly fascinating each new place is. Small town America is something to behold. Some of the most outrageously huge and beautiful homes exist on the main streets of these small towns. Most of them, sadly are dilapidated. If my coin purse were the same as Paul Allen's, I'd like to tour America and do a "Home makeover Edition" of my own. I can close my eyes and remember some amazing carpentry work, weathered by years of rain and sun - just begging for a fresh coat of paint. All that to say, Price, Ut is small town. The Motel we stayed, like many we've inhabited did not have an elevator - lame for wheelchair folk. Yet, this motel was unlike any other in that it had a handful of exhibits from local museums. The one closest to our room was for coal mining and railroads. The motel also gave us the opportunity to do laundry in a micro sized type closet coin-op style laundromat.

After a hearty breakfast in the Motel restaurant we hit the road for a numbingly long drive. Though, we did see a functioning coal plant along the way. Not to mention more three engine consists with coal cars off to the horizon and larger than life wind turbine farms. Then there's the bluffs and the desert, sage brush and the horizon to chase.

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Westminster, CO to Price, UT

2009-08-10T07:01:00.005-07:00

August 2nd & August 3rd:
August 4th:
August 5th:
August 6th:

August 7th:
August 8th:

August 9th: After a good night's sleep and another huge driving day ahead of us we jaunted over to Boulder to hang with the Bulk family. They have a crazy good view of those pointy Rocky Mountains from their backyard! Though we couldn't stay long, we enjoyed the time very much and August & Ocean soaked themselves with water and enjoyed kid fellowship! We made a Whole Food's pit stop for lunch, dinner and snack grub.

Driving through the Rockies ruled! Though, I shouldn't say so for Brian - who sadly suffered greatly from altitude sickness. Good thing he was never interested in becoming an Air Force pilot! Or Navy...sorry Amanda! Brian drove as much as he could, then I drove and had to pull over so Brian could launch lunch. Poor dude. I saw someone else pulled over doing the same thing. I'm thankful God helped me not get sick listening to it and smelling it! The boys were in awe, never grossed out. August was very compassionate towards Brian's disposition. I however really enjoyed the drive, despite my own headache and seriously dried out nasal cavity. The Rockies are so beautiful. The crazy ski towns nestled in them and all the old mining areas really speak of the Valley's history and future. We stopped at really cool rest areas along the Colorado River. One had a small historical town set-up, caboose (the best maintained one I have seen) and a museum about the region. Once we got to the flat lands Brian began to feel better and even decided to get back behind the wheel.

The drive into Utah was arduous to say the least. The Utah dessert landscape and bluffs overwhems you. I was reeling in trying to imagine myself in a covered wagon. I was having enough of it just in a car with A/C, snacks and water bottle. We saw loads of track and trains with insane amounts of coal cars. I counted the cars on one in Colorado to have over 100 cars! I can't remember the exact number as I type. We were glad to stop for the night in a motel in Price, UT. Tomorrow is laundry day. Tonite, a quick dip in the indoor pool.

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Cheyene WY to Westminster, CO

2009-08-10T06:59:00.006-07:00

August 2nd & August 3rd:
August 4th:
August 5th:
August 6th:

August 7th:

August 8th: This stop was specifically made for August and Ocean. Here in Cheyenne Wyoming is housed the Union Pacific's Challenger 3985, one of the few remaining operating steam engines in the U.S. August has a video showing off 3985's steam excursions and the roundhouse where Union Pacific workers volunteered their time to restore 3985 to working order in 1981. You can imagine our disappointment when upon arrival at the Depot Museum we just missed the Challenger! It had been on display during Frontier Days and was only their during the weekdays. It wasn't even on site! We were planning on a 3985 excursion...we felt so deflated. Thankfully, we were more bummed than August & Ocean. We bought them t-shirts and that seemed to be a good stoke. August has a 3985 Challenger shirt and Ocean has the 844 Big Boy shirt. We learned a huge lesson in researching destination points; one with Mount Rushmore during Sturgis and here with the Challenger's schedule.

We sorta drowned our sorrows in some ripe peaches and playing at Holiday Park where one of the De-commissioned Big Boy Steamies rests. No. 4004, touted as the world's largest steam engine is on display inside a fenced off area. The boys, drenched in sunshine enjoyed the park's playground and we enjoyed not being in the car.

From there we set off for Colorado. The main event, Pike's Peak - 14, 411 feet tall! Having once lived just outside Denver in Aurora, I was excited to "be back". We made our way as far as the Pike's Peak Cog Railway station in Manitou Springs, but never made it to the mountain. On approach to the railway station, as we climbed in altitude Brian had a gnarly headache and didn't feel so good. I too had an annoying headache and it hurt to breathe through my nostrils because the air was so dry. Besides being crazy expensive, once again we FAILED to research the train schedule. We failed to calculate how long it would take to do such a thing...about three hours. So due to all the above - we faced yet another disappointment to the day. Cheyenne and Pike's Peak were not part of the direct route to our new home. No, they were vacation destinations that we totally dorked it on. We did however manage to drive through the Garden of the gods, which was strikingly beautiful. Makes you want to put on a harness, rock shoes and sling a rope over your shoulder...

A nice ending to this day was our finding a Pudge Bros. Pizza, eating the pizza and bread sticks in our hotel room while Brian caught up with an old friend who lived nearby.

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Wall, SD to Cheyene, WY

2009-08-07T22:05:00.004-07:00

August 2nd & August 3rd:
August 4th:
August 5th:
August 6th:

August 7th : The small Motel we secured for the night was clean and we were thankful. A number of places were sold out due to the Sturgis Rally. The price we paid for this humble little motel with a scant toast/bagel/donut/frozen waffle breakfast washed down with Sunny D, was more than some of the nicer places we stayed. Funny how that whole supply and demand market strategy works!

Sturgis, I learned from Brian is a yearly motorcycle rally in Sturgis, SD (Harley-Davidson sponsored event). We followed, were surrounded by and were followed by motorcyles/riders along our journey through the state of South Dakota. We actually continued on with them through Wyoming as well. Many, most likely on their way home from the event.

We spent the morning checking out Wall Drug (have you dug Wall Drug?) where the boys played in a splash park and we took some silly touristy photos. The main street of Wall was lined with bikes and biker folk. Wall Drug seemed more amazing when I was younger...now it just seemed a little silly. Yet, nonetheless a destination point on the American Roadtrip Map of fame. Next stop - Mount Rushmore! The day was wonderfully sunny and the place was packed. Beyond the beautiful ponderosa pine and the patriotic feeling from gazing at the mountain sized sculptures of presidents past - this was serious people watching! The exhibits here are cool, the park rangers very helpful and the boys both earned their Jr. Ranger Badges. Brian spied an Alpine Slide in a small town near Mt. Rushmore and while I was guarding the car with Ocean sleeping, Brian took August on a rather spendy and speedy fun trip down a steep hill. If it weren't cost prohibitive I think they would've spent a good portion of the day doing that. But alas, the road beckons us - onward.

We witnessed some amazing landscapes and billowing clouds in the South Dakota and Wyoming skies. The land is beautiful and lonely all at the same time. Long, long lines of railroad track and endless freight cars or coal cars. We watched cumulus clouds build and tower, then display marvelous works of lightening. As we approached Cheyenne, late in the evening we saw one bolt of cloud to ground lightening strike and then an explosion on the horizon. That was amazing and frightening. We had another late pizza dinner, this time - you won't believe it... Little Caesars! In the morning we have some adventures we are looking forward to.

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Wisconsin Dells, WI to Wall, SD

2009-08-07T21:38:00.008-07:00

Day One & Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five: An excessively long day. I believe we covered a thousand plus miles today. Okay, well - it felt like it. Perhaps 700 is a better guess. Brian, again being the super driver. This day's blog would not be complete without a few words about where we ate breakfast. If you should ever find yourself driving across the southern I90 route through Wisconsin - you must make a stop in Wisconsin Dells. Not only is it some sort of Midwest indoor water park mecca, but it has the continental U.S.'s most creative and suprisingly tasty food. The Paul Bunyun Lumberjack Cook Shanty! The place is a long log-cabin with giant tables. They serve the food family style and kids cost their age mulitplied by $0.72. The breakfast was; scrambled eggs, link sausage, kielbasa, bisquits in gravy, potatoes and handmade donuts! Needless to say only August dared say "I'm hungry" less than 2 hours later.

I enjoyed the amounts of roadside wildflowers all along this trip. I was surprised at the amount of Queen Anne's lace. August read the jokes out of his Awana book so many times that Ocean now has the answers memorized. The boys also found a way out of boredom by coloring their bodies with markers and fingernails and toenails.

We arrived late in the evening in Wall, SD with the plan of Wall Drug early the next morning, Mount Rushmore and perhaps the weird place in the Black Hills where you can roll a ball uphill.

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Chicago to Wisconsin Dells

2009-08-06T05:02:00.004-07:00

Chicken in a car, car won't go -
that's the way you spell Chicago!

Day Four: We spent the day getting serious exercise by walking around Chicago. We rode the El (elevated) train on the red line, pink and orange lines to different sections of the city and the downtown corridor. We made a homage to Wrigley Field. The tour tickets were $25/person...so we just circumnavigated the outer footprint. Our hotel had a Trader Joe's beneath it and it provided Breakfast and snacks. We ate lunch at Su Casa, right across the street from our hotel. We spent a good 30-40 minutes in line for the famed Sears tower, which is now named the Willis Tower. We went up 103 stories and had a fantastic view of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Faintly in the distance we saw the shores of Ontario, Canada. We took turns taking pictures from the new Sky Deck, which puts you in a plexi-glass "cage" attached to the buildings exterior. Pictures to come. We left town a few hours after we had planned to and thanked Trader Joe's for dinner too.
Brian drove the entire way from Chicago, Ill to Wisconsin Dells, Wi. Before arriving at Wis. Dells, we passed through a portion of Madison. We stopped at a mini-mart/gas station to use a phone book to try to find our friends the Baughn family. I lamely forgot to secure their phone number before embarking on our journey. The number we found for a R. Baughn did not connect us. The only time I had the internet was when we pulled into a hotel late in the evening. Even still I didn't think to try to contact them online. We are so bummed to have missed this opportunity to fellowship with them. Hopefully the Lord will provide us another chance someday. We camped out at a Best Western, I didn't even get online we were so tired.

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The saga continues today (day five) as we try to put in a 10-11 hour driving day to Mount Rushmore. Now to wake up the boys and find someplace to eat breakfast since the Best Western does not have the freebie breakfast.

A Full Day of Driving

2009-08-05T04:41:00.005-07:00

Day three continued: We left the Quality Inn at Brookville, PA and made our way across the northern section of the state on the very long Pennsylvania turnpike. Thankfully we were given advice to buy an easy pass. Most of the states in the "East" we pass through will accept it. Ohio being the only one not to. We made a pit-stop in Cleveland, OH to have lunch with Amy, Chris & Petra Kjaer. It was great spending time with them, touring the Montessori High School they run; Chris is the Principal and to have time just to talk and enjoy one another's company. It had over ten years since we had seen each other!
From Cleveland we set out to make it to Chicago. By this point Brian has still driven the entire way. Somewhere in Ohio, at a Service Plaza I took the driver seat. I had a 171 miles to drive and weave around the steady stream of tractor trailers on the road. I drove through Ohio and into Indiana. Brian took over after another stop at a plaza (where we acquired a tasty 1/2 dozen bagels) to drive the remainder of Indiana into Chicago, Ill. The boredom of the long drive set in for hte boys. They entertained themselves by "painting" their fingernails and toenails with markers.
We arrived somewhere around 9:30 pm. After all our bags were in our room, we took a taxi to Gino's East Pizza to eat deep dish pizza. This type of pie takes 45 minutes to cook! Needless to say, it was a very long day/nite and I am amazed at how awesome August & Ocean did. They are very savvy travelers!

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Head Out on the Highway...

2009-08-04T04:42:00.006-07:00

Travel Plazas, Rest Areas and the Open Road

Day One: After two fun nights of fellowship & good food with our friends The Shlenz family in Vienna, Va and saying good-bye to our church family at Calvary Chapel D.C. Metro on Sunday, dropping off boxes with the Foremans to ship to us in Eureka and one of our cars to the Boudreaux familiy to keep till we can ship it to us, we hit the road for Brewster, Ny. We left Alexandria, Va around 4:30 pm and drove through VA, D.C., MD, DE, NJ and on into NY to arrive about 11:30pm at my Father's home. Sleep, sleep, sleep!

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Day two: A rather large, furry, hungry cat named Shadow broke the morning silence with her exclamation, "Give me food!". The boys played with all the toys at Pop-Pop & Tina's and had a fun time trying to get Shadow to be their friend. We all enjoyed a great breakfast and spending time with Pop-Pop and Grandma Tina. Tina made amazing breaded chicken strips and packed a fabulous picnic and we headed off to a turn of the century working farm that the local parks & recreation upkept. We had a fun time seeing some farm animals, some exhibits about farming and farm life in the 19th century. Under the shade of an large, old tree on a rickety picnic table we shared a delicious lunch. Then we returned to the condo, packed up our belongings, said a sad good-bye and off we went.
We traveled a weary way through the last bit of NY and through a great deal of PA. We pulled into the parking lot of a Quality Inn somewhere after 11:00 pm.

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Day three: We are just now trying to wake up August and get them into a bath in time to make it to the free continental breakfast. Then we will cruise the day away off to Cleveland and the destination of Chicago! Till tomorrow...

The Last Week!

2009-08-03T07:40:00.002-07:00

Hui-O Judo: Junior & Senior Judoka on the tatami with Sensei Karen & Sensei Mark
This was August's last night of Judo...we celebrated & said good-bye with a cake.

Our last breakfast at 10513 Lime Tree Way. Bagels, donuts and chocolate milk (a real treat)

Our driver showing his incredible skill at driving his rig, even in small neighborhoods...

The driver and all our personal affects...on the curb.

More of our stuff...weird to see it all in boxes. I wondered just how much of this stuff we really need.

The Last Days in Maryland...

2009-07-26T18:03:00.003-07:00

The Last Days in Maryland...
one last look from the street of our home.

Over the year I have trimmed this ginormous bush a few times. It had several portions that were dead branches with dead poky foliage. After a trip to the National Arboretum and Bonsai Museum I was inspired by the Chinese art of Penjing. Here is my Penjing. Aproaching the house view.

Walking to house from driveway view.

We will greatly miss our friends in our 'hood. This is the greatest international neighborhood. We have been so blessed to be a part of this group of people. Thank you Lord for such a cool place for our kids to have experienced.

The Last Days in Maryland...

On the Move

2009-07-12T12:44:00.002-07:00

The Garcias are on the move again! We are moving West from the D.C. Metro Area. Stay tuned for pictures and story updates!

Some Catchin' Up to do!

2009-07-12T12:34:00.003-07:00

Ta Da!

Eleanor,Ocean and I.

Waiting downtown at the railway station, one toe over the line....

Two hopeful, future Cosmonauts!

Family Field Trip

2009-06-03T09:51:00.003-07:00

A very huge thank you to Greg Foreman for taking us for a flying adventure! We enjoyed the view of the Shenandoah Valley and just being in an airplane flying. The drive out to the airfield was another "field trip" through Virginia. This was a great day!

Huio-Judo!

2009-03-20T19:07:00.003-07:00

Sensei Kevin, Sensei Mark and the Junior Judoka at Huio-Judo

Adding one more judoka and some silly poses...

August trying to get a pin, rather than be pinned!

Waiting in-between matches....

August in a match....come on August!

Playdate at Greenbelt Park

2009-01-23T21:16:00.003-08:00

A "game" of soccer and football. The hills are alive with the sounds of happy boys running crazy.

Isn't this guy super cute?

There is something about boys and dirt and sticks that make their lives filled with joy! They played for an hour beating the clay-dirt out of this overturned tree.

Here is the "soccer game"
What a fun day at the park with friends.

A Day Out

2009-01-23T21:14:00.003-08:00

Here is our latest family portrait! We were at the National Air & Space Museum. This is a heat sensitive photo. Look at Brian's poor nose! Guess he should've bundled up more in New Zealand all those years ago!

Christmas Blog Entry 2008

2008-12-20T17:37:00.007-08:00

The Looking Back on 2008/Christmas Blog

At the Armond Bayou Nature Center in Houston, TX

The first part of 2008 went by, it seems like a flash. In January we returned to Houston from Kirkland, WA after Brian was working off and on in Anchorage, AK and the boys and I lived with his parents in Kirkland, WA. February and March we spent playing with friends, enjoying a very warm Texas spring, digging in the dirt, planting and spending time with our neighbors. August was on a YMCA soccer team and we were busy with "doing homeschool". In April Ocean turned two! April was also the Spring Board for our next big adventure - moving to Maryland! Brian was pretty stoked to be working with NWS/NOAA/OPC!

Brian enfrentede The World Weather Building in Camp Springs, Md

Brandon took this pic of us after our first visit to the National Zoo

May and June we spent as "tourists" getting to know the D.C. area. We've had a blast getting to know the National Mall and the Metro Line. It is still strange that the zoo and almost all the museums are FREE! July and August we found a church family and the boys and I "joined" a homeschool group. We have been enjoying fellowship with them. We did "summer-homeschool" and began the bulk of our work in August. August also marked ten years of marriage for Brian and I. Wow, that is totally crazy!

A game of checkers with the neighborhood kids

"Recess" involves great fun with the neighborhood kids. Even when school began for them in September, we still had lots of time to play together. We even had a BBQ for the kids (BBQ in the general sense, not the detailed Texas definition - just a bunch of hot dogs on the grill)!

Our first Science experiment: seed germination

September Brian celebrated a birthday and October so did I and in November - August turned 5! We had our first Portfolio review with the Prince George Country School District and it went extremely well! I also made friends with another homeschooling Christian Mama at our local library. In December August began Judo through the Huio-Judo club here in Beltsville, Md. He has just completed the beginning course and is now Rokkyu rank. He has been invited to join the club with the other Rokkyu ranked students.

Now we are just enjoying having some of our family with us for Christmas. We are looking forward to 2009 to see what God has planned for us. I am using Googledocs to put together our January homeschool planner. As soon as January 1st is on the scene I will be applying for Financial Aid via FAFSA to begin the adventure of going back to school - new school - online.

Thank You Jesus for the crazy year of 2008, thank you for how you saw us through it!
We thank you in advance for how you will provide in 2009!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Family & Friends!

Family Update - Boston Road Trip

2008-10-31T18:56:00.008-07:00

The boys with Pop-Pop and Tina. We had a great time at my Pop's house, the only bummer was the very short duration of our stay. The boys were quick to befriend their grandparents they've always lived so far away from.

My Pops and I. I'm 5'7"! I am really happy to be so close to where my Pops lives, hopefully we'll get back up to visit them soon.

The coldest portion of our trip was camping at Mt. Monadnock campground. Brrrrrrrr! It was so much fun living in a tent for a few days with the boys and sharing our love for the outdoors. Seeing them puffed up in all their layers walking through forest looking for pine cones for our fire starter was awesome! We hiked Mt. Monadnock together as a family and it was incredible to do it together. It was not a technical mountain, but really fun for us all. Ocean walked some of it himself, riding the rest - August did hike the whole way.

The guys on the Freedom Trail in Boston, MA. We were heading towards the North End for a Canoli, Paul Revere's House and Bunker Hill.

I believe this was taken in Charlestown, or what was once known as Charlestown on our way to the North End.

The "Jersey Turnpike" on the way home! We drove all the way home in one day... a very long drive. There sure are a ton of tolls on the way - Delaware is the worst!

Not posted are any photos of our friends that we stayed with near Boston. This is sad because we just never took any pictures while we were with them. We had such a great time with them, our kids are still in withdrawls of missing their playmates!

Update & Prayer Request

2008-09-11T20:36:00.003-07:00

Please pray for our friends in Houston, Webster, League City and Pearland, Tx
Please pray for our home (not to be destroyed) and our tenets (who evacuated to San Antonio)

Last night Ocean slept in underwear and NO DIAPER! He kept his bed dry!
August learned how to ride a bike today! Hooray for Papa's help!

loves,
Elizabeth

Home School Herald

2008-08-26T20:15:00.003-07:00

Ocean built this "vehicle" on his own! He is getting really good at creating with blocks.

Kefir! Do you Kefir? We do!

In Vienna, Va we walked along a path that used to be a railroad track.

Lookie who seriously MUST get on the sit-ups band wagon! Come on Liz, enough already! This is after a delightful thrift shop adventure in Vienna with our new friends.

Cicada on our tree! I "saved" its life by keeping the neighborhood kids who wanted to kill it to end their "mob" like mentality and begin to look at its beauty and marvel at the songs it sings.

Math/Kitchen Lab: Carrot cake-like muffins.

Mixed berry kefir smoothie faces!

August describing features and attributes of engines from a great book.

This is just some highlights of our Summer Homeschool adventures. We begin the Fall term this September. We have a great field trip planned to the Goddard Flight Center for their 5oth Launch Fest. We will hopefully have many other field trips as well. The YMCA will soon be a weekly event for us for more social opportunities and of course physical activity.

Hurrican Hunters - The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron

2008-08-05T10:06:00.005-07:00

Today we were talking about TS (tropical storm) Edouard, since it made landfall today near our old home in Texas. We prayed for our friends there and I called a few of them to check-in. August gave a "weather briefing" and "forecast" to Ocean using our United States map. Then we turned to the internet to take a look at what was going on with TS Edouard.

Linking through the NHC (National Hurricane Center) we found this link for visible satellite imagery of the Gulf of Mexico: http://www.goes.noaa.gov/GIFS/GULFVS.JPG

Then we found a link to the Hurricane Hunters website where we found a great homeschool lesson! We took a cyberflight right into the eye of hurricane Dennis. It took about 10 minutes to read through, look at the photographs and scroll down each page. It is very informative, yet keeps the attention of a 4 year old boy who's Father is a Marine Meteorologist with the OPC (Ocean Prediction Center).

Through NOAA's National Weather Service Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services you can find a great link for Hurricane Preparedness. I think it would be a great page to bookmark if you are studying weather in your homeschool. Though we have missed National Preparedness week (May 25-31, 2008) it is still important to know the information. Especially if you live in or near coastal areas affected by tropical storms and hurricanes.

Here is the patch we earned from completing our cyberflight through the eye of Hurricane Dennis!

Garcia Homeschool Herald

2008-08-01T19:40:00.002-07:00

Like the wise words of Bilbo Baggins, "I feel like butter spread over too much bread" - I had spread myself too thin on the net. So, I am downsizing and deleting where necessary. Therefore, I have deleted my homeschool blogger blog page. It will all be here on our family website now. Which makes perfect sense, since homeschooling is a way of life and it is becoming a large part of our lives.

So for the latest updates on our homeschool experiece click on Garcia Homeschool Herald in the Archives section.

Blue Satin

2008-08-01T19:15:00.002-07:00

The newest "fad" in our home with August & Ocean is commandeering my blue satin pajama pants, putting them on and rocketing down the carpeted stairs. It is hilarious! You cringe a little watching, but I think it is safe to say if you grew up with stairs - you tried something similar. I know I did, but I used a sleeping bag. For the record...Ocean was the first to come up with the idea and do it.

haiku to you

2008-07-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

raining
sun shinning
summer

Oops!

2008-07-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Looks like I should have proof read my post before posting last time! Yikes! Instead of going through and correcting them now, I thought I would just apologize for my grammatical and spelling mistakes.

Also, I totally forgot to share my delight in August reading by himself and reading to Ocean. He reads confidently simple sentences. He enjoys reading the Wonder Books Phonics Series. I am amazed! We are halfway through the book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and he has been reading words for months and now is putting words together and creating his own sentences! He uses letter magnets and makes words on his own on our fridge too! This is an exciting time.

Also, I know that Ocean is beginning to recognize colors, shapes, letters and words too: as I pulled into the Costco parking lot this morning he said, "Cah-co" (his pronounciation). I remember when August did that....

The Joy it REALLY is!

2008-07-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we have once again packed up the wagon and have headed out on the trail of homeschool adventures!

I was planning to take a break until August. Then the reality of what life is really like without a schedule began to wear me out. I spent countless hours trying to put a curriculum list together. Then I found that just separating things into boxes by subject material worked better. I also recently purchases a three hole punch and some binders. This will aid my organization of my son's portfolio's for our Portfolio reviews with the school district.

Highlights so far: Ocean is beginning to take himself to the potty! He has also enjoyed the privilege of traveling to the store wearing underwear! Ocean mimics near everything August does: good or bad. So, he is learning much from watching August learn and work. He used safety scissors today with much elation.

August is getting much practice in writing his name. We are beginning copy work. He doesn't enjoy this sit down portion...but, he is growing into it. He can read to himself now! He has learned to sound out words that he doesn't know...so his quiet time has become much more enjoyable to him. We are studying weather, and specifically Thunderstorms and Tornadoes. Mostly to educate in order to reduce fear and to add to Brian's delight in seeing his prodigy learn about his field of work. We are also studying the earth; rocks, layers of earth, volcanoes, etc.

For me, even though I am not to the organized state of mind that I wanted to be in...I am much more relaxed and finding joy in each day as we live life with a routine rounded outlook versus a free for all one. Each day is a growing experience and I am growing just as much as August and Ocean are and it is JOYFUL to learn all over again the majesty of God's creation and handiwork.

Summer Science Project

2008-06-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hydroponic Project
each student has:
seal-able sandwich bag
4 watermelon seeds
1/2 paper towel, folded
1/2 TBS water

1. Write name and date on sandwich bag
2. Tear paper towel in half, fold each half to fit into sandwich bag.
3. Pour water into bag.
4. Place seeds on paper towel so that they are not touching.
5. Seal bag.
6. Wait for results.
7. Have students draw results and record what they have seen/learned.
8. For students who are not yet writing you can make a photo log journal, or have the student dictate to you and write down their words for them in their journal.

Father's Day Outing

2008-06-18T06:21:00.003-07:00

The Guys at the National Gallery of Art (West Bldg.) with our "pal" George Washington.

Looks like some teasing going on here with our Capitol Bldg. in background.

The National Mall...also a fun place to play. August is holding a giant nail that Brian found - great tool for farming and all kinds of other imaginatively thought of games.

New Blog...am I crazy?

2008-06-14T12:59:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that I have deleted the homeschool log portion on our family blog. I have created a new blog - just for the homeschool stuff. Yes, totally insane! So, here is the blog address: http://homeschoolblogger.com/GarciaFamily

You can also find this in the right hand section of this blog under the title: My Blogs (this title subject to change).

Hooray for Summer!

learning about Haiku

2008-06-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

the breeze
delicate
tepid

Air Show Memory

2008-05-28T07:59:00.003-07:00

C-17 Memory by August

Andrews AFB Airshow Field Trip

2008-05-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

C-17 Memory by August

Garcia Homeschool Herald!

2008-05-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the First Homeschool Log

We began the homeschool journey months before Ocean was born. Then the sleep deprivation and adjustment in our family proved to be too much with home school. Then we began again Autumn 2007. I plan to do school Monday - Friday year round. We are not going through a specific curriculum, though I am using a Pre-K curriculum book purchased at Costco as a lesson aide. I am currently reading the book "Teaching the Trivium - Christian Homeschooling in a classical Style" by Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn. I hope within the year to transition to a classical approach.

Here is an example of August's writing work. We are working our way through the number words. He can count to 50 verbally and recognizes most of those numbers visually as well. Long ago he could count in Spanish - but I lamely did not keep up with the Spanish. He can count in ASL (American Sign Language) to 10.

Ocean is learning his ABC's. He "sings" along to the song and can point out some of the letters on the Alphabet poster in he and August's bedroom. He knows that his name begins with "O" and August's begins with "A".

August is reading many words and is beginning to actually enjoy his Phonics study. We are working through a book titled "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". It is a great tool in teaching children to read words by sounding out their individual parts. Now I just need to find a Phonics lesson that actually teaches the rules of phonics and spelling. If you read this and you are in the know, please share the know!

Math...August knows his fractions; 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4 and whole sums. He is just beginning to understand simple arithmetic; addition and subtraction. He has memorized and understand 2+2=4. He is inquisitive about multiplication...all thanks to our Quantum Leap Pad 3rd & 4th grade sampler - he loves it!

Presidents & U.S. History: Again, thanks to the Quantum Leap Pad sampler! August knows the names of many presidents and is currently most interested in JFK. He actually chose a biography on JFK from the kids section at our recent library visit. He keeps it in the car. The sampler also gives bits of information about all of the wars the U.S. has been involved in and marked periods in our history - such as the Great Depression. This exposure has reminded me of just how much important information I have forgotten from my own education. Hip hip hooray for learning it all again!

Here is today's arte de Ocean!

Andrews AFB Air Show & Armed Forces Day

2008-05-19T08:49:00.003-07:00

Brian and the boys standing near a dragon fighter plane! Yes, it is true - I don't even know what kind of aircraft this is. This was taken at the end of the show...we waited around hoping the line to leave would shrink. Almost two hours later we found ourselves waiting in that near never ending line. The beauty of attending a free event.
During that time August was leading Ocean around to check out the aircrafts that interested them. You can see the enormous line in the background.
We stopped off at the Union Station, along the Metro line for dinner. As this photo well exhibits; you should always remember to re-apply sunscreen when you'll be out all day and macaroni and cheese is just as fun on your face as it is in your bowl!

New Photos.....come on already!

2008-05-16T19:58:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am doing a lame job at updating our blog.
Yes, we are in dire need of new pics.
Yes, you are totally right.
Yes, I will get it done.

I don't know when...but I will do it!

Till then...check my recent post...at last that has new pics!

loves,
me

The Journey's Pit Stop

2008-05-03T09:42:00.003-07:00

The Garcia Guys in "Penske"

August's pride and joy of our moving adventure was riding in "Penske", as he affectionately referred to the moving truck. Ocean enjoyed one short leg of the "amazing race" to our new home. I realize that I was just not a good blogger when it came to the coverage on our road trip move. Driving all day and pulling into a hotel late at nite doesn't leave much ambition for starring at a blaring screen to type. So, now here I am to fill in the last bits of the story.

Our Super Agent Chaunya took us to two more town homes after viewing the town home with the bloated dead floating something in the garbage can. We picked one and moved in on Friday of last week. Which puts us in our place for a whole week already! We are still in boxes and will be for a few more days. Our neighborhood is quaint and I love that we are close enough to the rails to hear the trains and their horns.

We have been to Pennsylvania Ave. and stood before the White House, but we haven't done much sight seeing or checking out our new area much. We'll have plenty of time for that while we live here. I can't believe that the Zoo and museums here are free! Wow, must be a great thanks to tax payers throughout the remainder of the country. Soon we'll be at the local library and YMCA...till then just our own 'hood.

Our New Home (rental)

Gulp....what is that in the garbage can?

2008-04-24T07:30:00.002-07:00

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Staunton, Va to Laurel, Md

A decent breakfast and more fuel and we're on the road! The drive was somewhat exciting in the sense that it would be our last stretch of driving. The delight of driving through the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia farmland with all the amazing trees was absolutely mine! There were some amazing barns to gaze upon. My Mom once told me you could tell the country of origin of a family farm by the design of the barn. Wish I knew what those designs represented. Although the Capitol Beltway around D.C. had some fast moving traffic that made for some white knuckling for me. Brian was in full form driving the gianormous moving truck in and out of lanes of traffic!

Finally we arrive in the land of Laurel, Md . We find our new "home" and park the moving truck, go to the nearest Credit Union and then out to lunch. We return to the town home to view the inside with the Realtor. Before she arrives we inspect the outside....and oh my! There were some less than desirable things to see; a broken screen laying by the back door, moss covered carpet doormats and the garbage can full of water by the back door. Plus the dead, bloated something in the water inside the garbage can...I tell you it looked like a human head with shorn hair! I gasped and immediately through my hand over my mouth! It just doesn't seem like it really could have been ...but it really, really looked like it and we just couldn't shake it! The inside was okay, needed some cleaning and some repairs. The next door playground was a splinter waiting to happen with some rust to top it off. So...we began to look for another place.

Our amazing Realtor was with us from about 2:30pm till almost 10 that evening! She is awesome! We looked at two more townhomes and found one we like. We are meeting the owner(s) tomorrow. So, another nite in a hotel`and a continental breakfast awaits.

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Living Large at the Hampton Inn

Sleeping in was a good treat and the breakfast was really tasty too. We'll be able to stay for late check out till 2pm...so looks like we'll just lounge and recollect our "sanity" before going to meet the owners of our possible new home.

Thank you Lord for this crazy adventure, thank you for providing our home....we know it will be the best for us!

Bayou to Mountains

2008-04-23T05:15:00.004-07:00

Monday April, 21st
Livingston, Al - Knoxville, Tn

I made an error in my last entry - we stopped for the nite in Livingston, Al not York. It was also discovered that we left behind Diggity Dog and Clocky, two of August's beloved stuffed animal buddies. They will be on their way to Kirkland, WA before coming to us - since we were still without a home at that time.

I59 North/I20 East - we traveled through much of Alabama "big wheels keep on turnin'", skirting Birmingham and passing by the musical group Alabama Museum. This stretch of road included more magnolias as well as areas of forest on either side of the road. We drove through the upper most western corner of Georgia, the welcome sign said, "We're glad Georgia's on your mind"...very fitting for someone like me with almost any combo of words spinning the Wurlitzer in my head. The a drive by of Chattanooga..."track 29? Boy you can give me a shine! I can afford to ride the Chattanooga choo-choo, yes, yes, I've got my fair, but not a nickel to spare....

I75North to I40East into Knoxville, Tn. It seemed like we were driving in Molasses this last section. All of Tennessee changed the landscape for us to more and more trees, elevation gains and many beautiful white petaled Dogwoods along the roadside. The bore of staring at the back of a large yellow moving truck over whelmed me so I began a game of "leap frog" with Brian to keep the mind busy. I wish I knew the NPR channel on our satellite radio. Knoxville took us to the home of a great friend of mine from Embry-Riddle. It was the delight of our family to stay in their wonderful house, play in the backyard with the world's most obedient dog, eat delicious home cooked food and sleep and have a groovy morning.

Tuesday April, 22
Happy Earth Day
Knoxville, Tn to Staunton, Va

Spending Earth day burning fossil fuels is perhaps not the most beautiful way to spend the day. However, the landscape of farms, trees and mountains was a perfect way!

I40East - I81East - Today was in slow-motion. We didn't start out till almost noon and then we stopped by another sweet friend's of mine in Knoxville and had lunch too. So hitting the road at about 1pm did us in! We had more stops, breaks, a nap....the day went on forever. We didn't even get into our hotel room till almost midnight. August was still awake by the way! But the big giant Praise unto God is this - we finally have a home to go to in Laurel, Md!!!

Wednesday April, 23

We have to get the moving truck back today! We have to move that crazy sleeper sofa today! We are still 3 hrs out from Laurel, Md! I must wake up Ocean and get us going!

Fajitas to Po'Boys

2008-04-20T19:44:00.004-07:00

Webster, Tx to Jennings, La
Saturday April, 19th

I45 North took us to The Sam Houston Pkwy (Beltway 8) out of Houston, Tx and up to I10 East to Louisiana. A beautiful journey of trees, some unfortunately ugly petro-chemical refineries, craw fish farms and miles of endless interstate. A late stop for the nite in Jennings with kids "bouncing off the walls". As we passed over the excessively tall toll bridge on Beltway 8, I gazed upon downtown Houston - the sun setting and was sad to be leaving. Three years ago a stark contrast to those feelings were how sad I was when I first laid eyes on Houston as my new home. So true how everything changes with perspective....and over time. Houston - I'm gonna miss all the lovely people God brought into our lives while we lived in your communities!

Jennings, La to York,Al
Sunday April, 20th

More amazing trees, I10 East to I12 East through La Fayette, near New Orleans and Baton Rouge. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about the survivors and the damage of hurricanes Katrina & Rita as we drove this section of Interstate. Although we didn't see any evidence of the hurricanes...it was still in my thoughts. I loved the 10-15 miles or so of I10 that was up on pillars, like an enormous pier over swamps, basins (Atchalafaya) and rivers. The trees there were hung with Spanish moss and it was so beautiful, the only thing missing was adventurers on swamp boats! This stretch of road also included my most dreaded sites on road trips - road kill. I have now officially seen more dead armadillos than living. I praised the Lord as we crossed the mighty Mississippi river...it was enormous and filled to the hilt with silt! Such an important and majestic waterway...was glad to gaze upon it. The Mississippi portion of our drive on I59 North, impressed me most with the numerous Magnolia trees growing alongside the road. Many planned and planted, but even more exciting were those that seemed totally naturally planted. We passed through Hattiesburg, Laurel and stopped in Meridian. If you ever plan to motor through Mississippi you should make a stop in Meridian to eat at The Crescent City Grill! Delicious creole eats for a price that cannot be beat...and to top it off amazing desserts too! Meridian also provided an empty Sam's Club parking lot for the "boys" to sk8board, ride bikes and Mama to get some walking exercise in! A lovely pink sunset over the tiny city of Meridian, Mississippi. We traveled wearily onward to reach a goal of Alabama. We were hoping to make it closer to Nashville....then the yawns set it. Crossing the state line into Alabama greeted us with a fancy sign from the Governor...thank Gov. Bob! We made it as far as York, Al to rest the little tired familia.

York, Al to ...... Tennessee!
Monday April, 21st

Breakfast continental style at our little motel/hotel then on the road again! See ya later on the web!
It seems like the pics might have to wait until the trip is over....

On The Road Again...

2008-04-19T06:20:00.002-07:00

This week Wednesday Brian brought home our 20' Penske Yellow Moving Truck of Madness. It is still parked in the driveway, still being loaded (at a snail's pace). We planned to leave Webster on Thursday or Friday and as you can well see we have been delayed. The task of packing up and repairing and cleaning a home and taking care of two small children can take a bit longer than one might plan.

On a super amazingly positive note: our house sold! A young man from Calvary Houston (also a NASA engineer), who is dating a sweet young woman whom I volunteered with last summer in the crawling - 17 mos. old baby/toddler room (Calvary Houston). The buyer is from Idaho (hooray for the PNW) and from a farming family. I delight in knowing he will not only tend to the plants in the ground but will add to them as well. God is so amazing in how he chooses to provide for our needs and in doing so introduces us to new people in our lives.

We are embarking on our adventurous move today! The boys are still sleeping and I just finished helping Brian with some touch up painting around the house. I need to eat some breakfast and get dressed - then it is crazy "get the rest in the truck and clean up time!" Hopefully I can get some pics up tonite.

time passing.......

The boys woke up, we ate breakfast, showered, dressed and now to complete the moving out madness! We'll be on the road in a few hours. We'll be taking Interstate 10 out of Texas...

stay logged in for more...

from August & Ocean

2008-04-16T06:56:00.002-07:00

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Ocean

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August

2008-04-10T20:33:00.003-07:00

The tough Tigers! August plays goalie really well, he likes playing this position best. Here is his determination and focus during warm-ups in between quarters. Woot for YMCA youth soccer!

Lots-o-fun!

2008-03-02T20:31:00.004-08:00

August at his first YMCA Soccer practice!
Cool Hats dudes!
We've got pots-n-pans and a rock-nroll band! Bangin' on pots-n-pans!

C-A-T

2008-03-02T19:36:00.002-08:00

Tonight, while I was preparing dinner August was playing with some refridgerator alphabet magnets. He was sounding out the letters and asked me how to spell cat. I asked him to sound it out. He then proceeded to sound out c-a-t and place the letters together! It was such a proud moment for both of us. The look on his face when he saw mine and vice versa! He spelled his first word and went on to spell n-a-p, c-o-t and d-o-g! What a glorious day for me and for August! He is getting closer and closer everyday to reading a book by himself! He reads signs everywhere and can sort our mail by family members names!

Hip, hip, hooray for August!

Gardening Season...

2008-02-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

Things are beginning to sprout! I've been pulling weeds like mad, August has helped too. Ocean loves being in the dirt - as does August. Today I am unearthing two Azalea plants and a Wisteria to give to a friend. I will possibly also move a Hibiscus from the Northern front of our house to a more Westerly location.

YMCA Spring Youth Sports!

2008-02-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

Spring Soccer is almost here!

August is signed up for his first YMCA sports experience! Soon we'll be shopping for cleates, shin guards, socks and the like! We are so excited....truly, I never thought I would be a soccer Mom! But I am so proud. Here is a link to keep up with his team, once the season gets underway. We haven't been assigned a team or anything yet...but I'll keep you posted here.

Bay Area Ymca Sports

First Christmas Blog!

2007-12-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

Garcia Family History - 2007

January: We closed on our first home purchase! We moved into our first home!
February: Unpacking boxes, jumping ourselves silly on our trampoline and getting used to life in Webster, Tx.
March: Creating and planting flower beds.
April: Ocean turned 1 years old and we celebrated in Kirkland, WA.
May: Lake Travis, Tx with the Garcia Grandparents and house projects.
June: Brian left for Alaska to forecast marine weather
July: Liz's Mom joined us in Houston to visit and help us prepare to "move" to Kirkland, WA. Brian's parents graciously welcomes us into their home to live temporarily. August goes rock climbing for first time and Ocean loves playing in the rocks!
August: Time together during Brian's time-off with family & friends in Seattle area. Visiting Grandma Connie & Friends in Lewis-Clark Valley. Beginning of train photo hobby.
September: Happy Birthday Brian!
October: Began the journey of Homeschooling - for real! Happy Birthday Elizabeth!
November: August turned Four! Thanksgiving in Anchorage, Ak with Brian!
December: August experiences his first skiing lessons and rockets to the Hogsback chair on only his third lesson! Brian and August with some great Father-son time! We begin to pack and prepare for moving home to Texas.

Other mentionable topics: Brian is still working on our website, I have been working on a blog titled Encouragement for Women (based on Hebrews 3:13), two online photo albums: La Adventura & Steamies and Diesels and the boys are growing in their climbing (anything) skills, cold and rainy weather durability and knowledge of the things around them day by day.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Isaiah 9

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Keinein Heivein

2007-12-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

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august

Anchorage Alaska!

2007-11-28T23:44:00.000-08:00

The Chugach Wonder

We spent our Thanksgiving day driving around in a thankful thoughtfulness as we took in the sites between Anchorage and Portage Valley and out to the Begich Boggs Visitor Center. The day was blustery, the boys slept most of the way and Brian and I were amazed at the Fjord-like mountains jutting up out of the Turnagain Arm. The wind was gusting to gales and blasting water spray with such might that a few times the pressure changed so drastically in our car that our ears popped!

We've also tooled around town in and out of tourist stops. We've been down to the Alaska Railroad Depot a few times...no trains. However, we have taken some pictures with some "noble" retired engines in the area. One great stop was at the Potter Section House Railroad Museum, which is also the main office for the Chugach State Park

The Beat Goes On!

2007-11-22T00:14:00.000-08:00

Anchoring Down in Anchorage!

We are settling in at our temporary Anchorage, Ak home. The Garcia Grandparents I'm sure are taking a deep breath and enjoying the silence in their home. Our first nite here we dined on amazing seafood! August ate a Reindeer dog, Ocean chowed my cod, crab cakes and some crab. It was so delicious and we even had room for pie as dessert. I think the place we ate at was called Phyllis' Cafe.

Our second night we drove out by the airport on a service road and watched planes come in. Oh my! Exhilarating! You could smell the jet fuel and feel the rumble in the engines as the aircrafts did their engine run-ups prior to take off. It made me wish I was still a pilot and could fly again. Thanks to my Mom for all the nights we spent at the airport watching take-offs and landings when I was a kid.

From Earthquake park (where we watched most of the planes) we could see across Cook Inlet to the city of Anchorage. Breathtaking as the lights twinkled on the water. We drove around the train station and most of the city. Soon we should have some photos to share.

Till later!
Elizabeth

A Journey to Tell

2007-11-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

October held some adventures for our little family. Whilst Brian made his way back to Anchorage, Ak for work the boys and I prepared for a road trip. August, Ocean and I loaded up our little Subaru Forrester and ventured across the mighty state of Washington to a small town in the southeast corner named Clarkston. The region is proud of their association with the Corps of Discovery, obviously you can discern that from the names; Clarkston, Washington and neighboring (twin city) Lewiston, Idaho. The drive itself from Kirkland, WA takes me about 6 hours to complete. This includes two rest/bathroom/eating stops. The mileage is roughly 300 miles. I take the less traveled route I405 South to I90 East, at Vantage 26 East to 21 South, at Kahlotus 260 East then 261 South, after Starbuck and before Dodge onto 12 East straight through to Clarkston.

We made a pit-stop in Pomeroy for a little reunion. I was so ecstatic to see my dearest friend Paige. She and I were best friends in Jr. High and a better part of High School. She has a two year old daughter and we enjoyed catching up and the sort of endless conversations that Mothers can have. I also used to live in Pomeroy and it will always hold some nostalgia for me. Paige, Malisa and I also enjoyed a "play date" at the Kiwanis park along the Snake River.

The purpose of the trip was to see Grandma Connie! This, being my Mother was a two fold mission. She has a small studio apartment and we generously filled it with our laughter and love. We had a great time together and went to an October Fest at the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds. The venue was very small, but entertaining none the less. My face hurt from smiling and laughing so hard at the boys jumping in one of those bounce houses. They were so silly and Ocean was squealing with delight! August and Ocean loved the giant air-filled slide as well. I had the pleasure of going down with Ocean. The climax of the event was August & his friend Cruz launching pumpkins parts across a field using a sling-shot/catapult. Hopefully I will get some pics up soon.

A grand time was had on the Hodson farm. Well, the farm that the Hodson's farmed and are now retiring from. August & Ocean rode around the farm with Gerald on an old tractor and a four wheel atv. Their smiles were priceless! August even had the opportunity to climb up in an International Harvester Combine that was in Gerald's shop. I love being on their farm! Gerald had a plaque on the wall commemorating his conservation efforts as a farmer. The American farms are dwindling away. I am sad they are retiring and selling their farm. However, joyous for their new chapters of life to be written.

The Isley family were generous enough to open their home to us while we were there too. We played there, Ocean napped there, we did some laundry, lunch and great time for Malis and I to catch up and just hang out. They also invited us to their church's Harvest Festival and we had a great time there too. August and Ocean ate hot dogs, cookies, cupcakes with mystery (as in no one really can pronounce any of the ingredients) icing and who knows what else. I try to control all that goes into their mouths (but as with everything else my attempt to control is thwarted).

During this time my Mom had a full plate of working and rehearsals. My Mom is playing a part in a local theater's production of Lend Me a Tenor. She's a crazy old woman in the play who at one point is described in her formal gown as looking like "The Chrysler Building"! I hope I can get back to the Lewis-Clark Valley before Christmas to see her in action on the stage!

August had a few birthday celebrations while we were on "holiday" in Clarkston. We had a swimming party with Malisa, Zane and Teegan Isley at the Clarkston Aquatics Center and we topped it off with lunch at Skippers. Woo Hoo yippee for hush puppies!!! We had a nice dinner birthday party with my Mom and friends Sheri & Cruz.

On return trip home however I missed my turn onto 21 North and ended up in Connell and then scrambling with my map to get back on track. I wasted about 45 minutes and thought all was lost when I saw signs for Moses Lake. I didn't realize we were so close in proximity to Hanford - eeeks. For some reason my trip back is always longer than the trip there. Well, this time it was because I took a "side trip".

The adventure continues at The Garcia residence in Kirkland, WA (The Garcia Grandparents that is). Stay tuned for Alaska adventures!

August's Log

2007-11-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

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august

Hiram M. Chittenden locks

2007-10-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

On this blustery NW day we visited the Ballard Locks (Hiram M. Chittenden). This places holds much nostalgia for me as I used to walk my bike through there Monday-Friday on my way to work. I've seen many boats, kayaks, vessels, seals, salmon, interesting people and learned a life lesson (never point at people) and I've also ridden my mountain bike on the hillside, picnicked, listened to a Sousa band in the summer and the list goes on. A real treat to take my sons there today and see some Chinook Salmon mosseing their way through the fish ladder.

The rest of the day was "wasted" away on a few wrong turns (my driving errors) and really lame traffic on I5.

Buenos Noches!

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2007-09-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

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August 3

A Few Days Here and There

2007-09-24T13:49:00.001-07:00

A fun day at a Seattle Mariner's game, where $20 buys 2 foot long hot dogs and 2 bottles of water! Here Kim is explaining a portion of the game to August.

Ocean at Volunteer Park, Seattle in a drained wadding pool.

Ocean and I enjoying a "lazy river ride" at the Clarkston, WA water park.

Detail work on a fun cardboard "house" for the boys to play in.

Grandma Connie & Ocean

2007-09-11T22:50:00.001-07:00

Grandma Connie & Ocean, originally uploaded by Steamies and Diesels.

Much fun was had by all at the park. If you like train pics, take a gander at our new online album (see menu to the right)

My favorite place to be

2007-09-11T22:48:00.001-07:00

My favorite place to be, originally uploaded by Steamies and Diesels.

August LOVES trains (thank you to Rev. W. Awdry). This was taken at the Lewiston, Id Locomotive park after a picnic there with Grandma Connie.

Evergreen State Fair

2007-08-26T21:35:00.001-07:00

August with corn dog in hand, ketchup/catsup on face waiting for his first glimpse at racing pigs. Both August and Ocean were in awe at this phenomenon called "pig racing". For both it was their first time seeing real pigs. The piglets had funny names and I think August was trying to figure out what in the world all these people were doing just watching pigs race. It was a great memory making moment. If you want to see more pics from our Evergreen State Fair adventure - please see our online photo album.

August

2007-08-15T14:22:00.001-07:00

Prism face, originally uploaded by La Adventura.

We are having fun staying with the Garcia Grandparents!

2007-08-15T14:10:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos of us in Kirkland, WA. We are having a great time relaxing, enjoying family and friends, old stomping grounds and taking pics with our new camera!

Move over Mork from Ork!

2007-07-01T21:37:00.001-07:00

Road Trip Fun

2007-07-01T20:45:00.001-07:00

On our way back from Lake Travis we stopped at a quaint small town and had lunch at the Dairy Cone. It was monumental to say the least, so I asked another customer to take our picture. We all grinded corn dogs and twister fries. Although, quite honestly I secretly wanted the Frito Pie or the Fancy Burrito. God bless America (and all her medical issues associated with our funky food culture!).

Lake Travis!

2007-05-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

We have recently returned from a wonderful vacation to Lake Travis (outside of Austin, TX) with Brian's parents. Frank & Mary reserved a timeshare (this picture is our villa) in Lakeway where we could walk down to a marina, look over the neighboring villa's balcony and watch turtles swim and catch a fish! We were also able to use the swimming pool (with water slide) at the nearby resort. The weather wasn't as sunny as we all had hoped for, but the cool overcast days were also nice. On Tuesday, Ocean signed to me that he needed to go potty while we were driving around! I am such a proud Mama! August also signed to me his need to go potty when he was the same age, also while we were driving. We drove one day to Fredericksburg and enjoyed a nice German lunch, window shopping, chocolates and sunshine. Our last day we hoped about a rented boat and toured the lake. We had a great time with Brian as our captain exploring near the dam, in a few coves and the extremely large homes along the lakes cliffs. Thankfully we did that during the early afternoon, shortly thereafter we were socked in by thunderstorms and quite a lightening storm that evening. On our return trip to Houston we stopped in a small town named Columbus and ate at the Dairy Cone. If you are ever passing through - you owe it to yourself to make a pit-stop at this establishment. With the likes of; Frito Pie, Fancy Burrito, Twister Fries, Fried Cheese and the Shrimp Sandwich on the menu, you can't go wrong for a Texan adventure!

It is good to be back home!

p.s. Today Ocean signed "PLEASE" to August for a bite of his cookie! August sweetly shared.

The boyz

2007-05-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

What a helpful big brother! August loves helping to feed Ocean. Sharing.......different story.
This picture reminds me of pictures of myself when I was a baby. Besides, I think Ocean looks more like me and August like Brian.
Hello toofies! My boys and their big brown eyes!
During our trip to Kirkland/Seattle August had a viral infection. I think this was the day before his fever began. Snoqualmie Falls in the background.

Shade garden # 1

2007-05-09T15:42:00.001-07:00

Shade garden # 1, originally uploaded by La Adventura.

This is my first landscaping/garden project in full. I removed unwanted grass, added humus compost, planted, mulched and fertilized (organically - thank you Dirt Doctor)

We miss you Seattle!

2007-05-02T21:34:00.001-07:00

We miss you Seattle!, originally uploaded by La Adventura.

We had a great time in Seattle visiting with family and friends. Sleepy little Ocean was napping in my Ergocarrier - which is why you don't get to see his cuteness in this shot. We spent this day at the market and key Seattle locations with Giselle (Brian's cousin) before her flight home to L.A.

Earth Day & Arbor Day Playdate

2007-05-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

This April, August, Ocean and I hosted our first "Earth day & Arbor Day" playdate at our house. Unfortunately I got my evites out too late for many to attend. My sweet friends Stacey & Benny and their kiddos came. Stacey took this pic of Ocean & I that day (it is probably the best picture taken of me in a long while).

We had fun planting some Texas wildflowers in egg cartons, plastic cups and a milk carton. The kids enjoyed playing in the dirt, jumping on the trampoline and just being outside on that beautiful day. I enjoyed the friends and laughter, reading some stories to the kids and the beautiful dwarf peach tree my friend Benny brought us. (I'll have a picture of it up soon).

Yes, big oops on the photos I forgot to rotate before posting. It is late and I REALLY should be sleeping!

loves,
Elizabeth

April 19th

2007-04-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from a grand visit to Kirkland, WA (the home of Grandpa Frank & Grandma Mary). While there we had the pleasure of visiting with Grandparents Frank & Mary, Grandma Connie, Great Granny Alice and Brian's cousin Giselle. A huge thank you to all the grandparents, including Pop-Pop & Tina (whom unfortunately were not able to be in the Puget Sound during our visit) for the amazing gifts they provided for Ocean's First Birthday! I realize I am long in getting some pics up....soon I shall.

p.s. my wildflower garden has some really nice seedlings!

Kuhnken

2007-04-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

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August

Gardening Journal and toofies

2007-03-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

Well, the boys and I finished mulching the flower beds. The type of shrubs lining our walkway are Japanese boxwood and the ones under our bay window are Loropetalum. August and I planted Dahlias...as I have already mentioned, some of them are pushing up shoots. I planted Fig Ivy under our living room window, it faces East and due to our lack of gutters that portion of our lawn is lacking grass and riddled with roots from a tree. According to a woman I met at the Houston Garden Center, it will grow anywhere. Already it is growing and it has only been a week. I have also undertaken the task of getting rid of the flower bed liner under the trampoline. That ranks high as the scariest and grossest job I have EVER done. I found snakes, centipedes, June bugs, grubs, ants, I think some cockroaches, earthworms and the largest spiders....I can't even believe I did it. Of course, I must tell you that Brian did help. Mostly because he grew tired of watching me being so squeamish.

P.S. Ocean's front teeth have cut through and he is really cute when he laughs & smiles. I'll get a photo up soon.

Gardening journal

2007-03-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have found the names of some of our plants! The small round shrubs along the walkway (in picture from a post a few days ago -scroll down) are called Japanese Boxwood, we also have Evergreen Azaleas against the western wall of the house (behind the wall with the Palm tree in flower bed). I have forgotten the name of the bushes right in front of our dinning room windows... I want to say that weeding is a commitment! I do not fancy weeding, most especially when I am also responsible for the wearabouts and whatnots of my two young sons at the same time. Although on a weed inspection of the flowerbeds I was delighted to see that already a Dahlia bulb has pushed up some leaves. August and I planted some Dahlia bulbs a week or two ago. We got the small patio breed from Costco, Cezanne is the only name I can remember.

The boys are sleeping in the same room, tonite is the second nite. So far so good...
Cheerio

Baby steps

2007-03-13T19:43:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by La Adventura.

Here's a fun pic of Ocean standing without help or support. This was taken a few days before he took his first brave steps. Today he was cruising around quite a bit! He has a ginger snap cookie in his hand and his proud big brother watching close by.

If you want to see more pics, just click on our online photo album (see it in the menu to your right?)

La Casa

2007-03-09T20:24:00.001-08:00

La Casa, originally uploaded by La Adventura.

At last, a picture of our first/new home! The shrubs you see under the bay windows in this photo have been removed (they were dying). I moved already on location bushes to replace them. Sorry for being lame and not knowing their names.

Mama's husband

2007-03-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

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Mama's note: Just to let you know I always let August title this section and he does all the typing -minus this little note from me.

In our backyard

2007-03-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

We are all in the backyard, well I guess I should say the boyz and I are. Brian is inside being a house demo machine. The rest of us just enjoyed a picnic lunch and are basking in the sun of the south and the gentle breeze of Spring...a wee bit early. The past few days we've gotten sunburned and today I finally remembered to put sunscreen on us. Okay, I remembered - but it really was because Brian reminded me! August and Ocean are sharing a drink of goat's milk (Ocean's bottle with a straw sticking out). August is a great big brother. Yes, he is quick to defend his territory when playing with his fave toy...but he shines in sharing and helping feed Ocean.

I may have failed to mention this - Ocean has taken his first steps! It was either Thrs. or Fri. that he took some studder steps between his support furniture. Now he takes more brave steps going between things rather than dropping to a crawling position. He also enjoys just standing with a toy to gnaw on. He is still teething upper teeth and lower teeth and getting a little bigger each day.

I am being attacked by the boyz...gotta go. p.s. Our laptop does have a USB port, it was/is just users error.
loves,
Elizabeth

August

2007-02-24T06:53:00.000-08:00

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The Daily News

2007-02-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

We all survived the BBQ cookoff opener. Though, we were dissappointed...we thought it would be more like The Bite of Seattle where you can sample lots of food. Our entry fee did score us a "free" meal (Chipped BBQ beef sandwich, famous Texas style beans and coleslaw) which we all ate gratefully - even me! The remainder of the BBQ happenings were all for corporate sponsors and by invitation only.

Brian is busy adding some overtime shifts to his time off and working on the house...which will probably be the way it goes for a little while. The boys and I are going to head down to Space Center Houston for the morning adventure. Ocean and I played a rousing game of peek-a-boo this morning. I was in the closet and he kept opening and closing the door and squeling/giggling as I said the famous "peek-a-boo". Ocean is into being able to put smaller items into large items and then taking them back out too. He can finally hold his sippy cup and drink from it by himself!

Yesterday I gave August a haircut and it turned out pretty good considering how much movement is going on from August whilst I have scissors in my hand. August is doing so well with beginning to read! He notices words all the time and it still amazes me. The other day I was driving around the nearby mall, I had just bought a slow cooker at Linens and Things (I dropped my other one in the move and it broke) and wanted to see what other shops were there. We passed by a few buildings and August proclaims, "Its Chuck E. Cheese"! We haven't been there with August and I was perplexed at first, then I remembered they sponsor some PBS shows.

Well, I must be on my way. Besides August wants to do his own entry!
Elizabeth

Still, no photos...

2007-02-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to upload some photos for you today...however - our laptop doesn't have a USB port so doing so from our camera is impossible. So, please hang in there and as soon as we get our computer up and running they will be uploaded.

Other fun news: Ocean has tasted and really enjoyed his first Turkey Dog (hot dog)! He is such a cutie, much like his big brother August. Although, Ocean is really loud and I don't remember August being so. August made lots of vowel and consonant verbalizations and Ocean is pretty stuck on Mama and many other fun sounds. He is loudest when he is eating and squealling at August.

August is just the greatest kid on the planet - well, I am heavily biased of course. He has mastered the art of asking "why" and is making Socratic discoveries left and right! He has been asking me much about Heaven and we discuss dying and life in regards to said subject. Sometimes he asks the deepest questions and I am amazed at his level of understanding. Then he also has begun to pretend he doesn't understand - especially if I am asking him to do something he doesn't want to do!

Ahhhhh, well I should log off and get some sleep. As a family we are headed to the BBQ cook-off tomorrow as part of the celebration of the Houston Livestock and Rodeo.

Have a groovy day!

Enough again

2007-02-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

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