Wedding on the Beach

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We celebrated a family wedding tonight on the beach in Santa Cruz. It was really nice to see some of my aunts and uncles and cousins, as well as my parents. Plus, I had the added bonus of a date night. Tonight was one of those perks of repatriation and being back home again. I don’t have to miss out on family events and that feels really good.
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I liked hearing the wedding vows and watching two people in love. I liked hearing the waves crash on the beach and hearing the seagulls and sea lions roaring.

Dancing with my family was a highlight of the evening. I also especially loved the photo booth and being silly. Those things just make me laugh and I kept finding different people to take pictures with me.
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Congratulations to Denice and Jeff!

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Life is beautiful.

Just Say Yes

Today I said Yes.

Yes, to my mama’s request to come meet her at the ocean to go kayaking and paddling together.
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Yes, to myself to take a break from my duties to enjoy the moment and make memories.

Yes, it’s ok to play even when there will always be more work to do.

I Am so happy I said Yes when I thought I should say No.

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We had such a great day together in the water. We launched from Santa Cruz harbor and paddled almost all the way to the wharf. We saw sea lions, seals, a sea otter eating a crab, pelicans, seagulls, jelly fish and fisherman catching HUGE fish from the rocks on the side of the harbor by the lighthouse. We saw kayakers and paddlers and boats passing by. It was so peaceful. Being by the ocean is my favorite place to be.

Thanks mama for asking me to join you and dad today! I’m so proud of you for journeying out into the ocean for the first time! It was so awesome!!

How did you make time for yourself today? It’s so important to find joy especially when life is crazy!! Just say yes!!

Namaste

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Last Day of Summer

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Today was our last day of summer vacation. The kids all start at three different schools bright and early tomorrow morning. We are all excited and a bit anxious and sad to not be returning to our International School in Amsterdam and seeing all of our friends there again.

We enjoyed a day with friends down at the beach on the Santa Cruz Wharf, where Juliana participated in the Hawaiian Outrigger canoe paddle races.

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She was invited to try it out last week at Vasona Lake and really enjoyed being on the water with her friends. I think I would love it too, however I loved just watching her and being a proud mama today.

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We ate lunch at Woodies on the wharf, and then tried to stay on the beach for awhile, but picked a spot that wasn’t good for swimming and was covered in flies! Jeff had a bit of a cold, so we decided to take off around 2 pm and enjoyed a sandless and flyless drive along the coastline before heading back over the hill.

Of course, I waited until the last minute to get school supplies for the big kids, so we stopped at Target along with the rest of our town. Luckily it wasn’t too painful and we got to catch up with some old friends while scouring the aisles for deals. We spent so much less today than we did in Holland. Things are so much cheaper here and more readily accessible.

The kids got their backpacks and supplies ready and picked out clothes for the first day and laid them out so they would all be ready for the structured morning tomorrow. We shared an early dinner with our family – April and Steve and the girls, and talked about walking to school together in the morning. I can’t wait!

School begins and so does a little bit of quiet time with a few hours to myself! I hope everyone with school aged kids has an easy transition… especially the mamas with college kids beginning!!

Aaaaahhhhh……Namaste!

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

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There are just a few days left of summer vacation and I’m soaking in every minute with the kids. I’m excited for school to start again and to provide structure to our days, but at the same time I’m dreading it. With the end of summer, comes early morning wake up calls, rushed breakfasts, homework and sport schedules and the mad dash of it all. I’m not looking forward to all that busyness and having less time together. I actually really enjoy my kids and spending time together and am going to miss them when they go back next week. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll also enjoy my alone time again, but I’d much rather have them with me!

Today we were appointment free and headed to Santa Cruz to enjoy the kids’ pick of playing on the Boardwalk, riding the rides, playing in the arcade and eating fair food. I’d say life is good! I hope they enjoyed their time together as much as I did. I loved seeing and sharing their joy and excitement, and especially loved the Giant Dipper and Log Ride, even though I felt sick afterwards from the roller coaster. The weather was just perfect!

I Am Content.

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Day 4: Joy & Gratitude

20120721-193336.jpgToday was an open day meaning we didn’t have much of a schedule. I checked our to do lists and everything we need to do for this move is almost done. There are a few things left but I can finish these on Monday and Tuesday. So I got to relax and enjoy the morning with friend’s dropping by unexpectedly.

Yesterday when we were at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, I was looking out at the ocean and thinking about how I could bring my paddle board out one more time. Could it be possible??? How could I do it without my van and racks to carry my board to the beach?

When we came home, I eyed my dad’s truck with his kayaks on top…. And of course my brain started dreaming…

I love when dreams come true! My dad found a way to add my board to his kayaks and we had time to go play. I love that my parents are so cool and are still spoiling me and my kids! We had an awesome late afternoon in Santa Cruz. I Am Happy!

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Day 61 – Packing and Pleasure

Today was another busy day – the end of the school year is wrapping up with lots of festivities. J had a 5th grade pool party at Laurelwood Cabana Club. It was so cold and windy, I couldn’t believe the kids were in the pool. The chaperones were hanging out with our hoodies and hoping for sunshine to break through the clouds and wind!  The kids didn’t seem to notice too much and enjoyed playing and swimming, snacks and pizza.

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After freezing on the pool deck, I went over to help out at the Peterson Middle School Recreation Day. I found C playing basketball with friends and supervised the Aquathon  – a mini bi-athalon with swimming and running. It was a gorgeous yet cool day up on the track. It was cool to be on campus and witnessing Junior High in action.

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This is CJ’s favorite lunch time activity – today he got to play for 2 1/2 hours. He should sleep well tonight.

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Check out the beautiful cloudscape – so pretty, right?

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Tomorrow we are leaving for Colorado to visit Jeff’s grandparents. They are 88 and 92 years old. How cool is that? They are so wonderful and we are looking forward to visiting with them before we move to the Netherlands. There are so many people we want to visit before we move. Jeff is also planning on visiting his dad in Chicago. We have a trip planned to Thousand Oaks for a wedding and to be with family and a trip to Hawaii too. I’m hoping to see my BFFs too – you know who you are! Are you coming to see me or do I have to come see you??  As for places we want to go or see before we move – not that many, actually.  I’d like to take my paddle board up the Elkhorn Slough and along the Santa Cruz coastline again. I’d like to eat crab at Than Longh in San Francisco, and I’ve never been to The Counter on Santana Row for burgers. That’s about it.    Kinda a short list, wouldn’t you say?   

Time to go finish packing – hope you enjoy Memorial Day weekend and kiss a veteran!!  Our freedom isn’t free.