Garrapata + Bixby Bridge + Hollobaughs

 Gracie barks at every single dog, big or small.

And since I'm taking pictures of dogs, might as well add some birds...

     

It was fun coming back here in a new season.

The wild calla lilies were dying, but everything was so green.

Loved the new, orange wild flowers (in the background above).

Sally's illegal wildflower bouquet:

At Bixby Bridge, we risked our lives running out to the bench in the middle.

5/17

Justin and his dad were the only ones brave enough to walk partway down the trail to the ocean.

We still haven't made it to the bottom. One day!

The Magic Carpet

Need an escape to paradise? Sit back, listen to the waves and soak in Pacific Grove's beautiful Magic Carpet.
Posted by Pacific Grove Chamber on Thursday, May 14, 2015

(wait a second and a video will show up)

This amazing coastline is just down the street from us.

The purple flowers are in full bloom around April every year.

When Justin's parents were here we took them to check it out.

5/15

We also had to take them to see our favorite bagpiper at Pebble Beach.

And then took the trail through the golf course down to the ocean. Pretty, pretty.

Benched

5/8

Baseball season just ended.

Can't move on without a few more memories.

Like everyone's favorite: the snack shack.

And just behind that, where all the kids who weren't in the game would play wiffle ball.

5/9

5/8

Drew's pitching.

A sad elimination in the first play-off game for the Giants.

5/12

The Giants' official team picture.

5/16

And the best cheering section at Owen's last game.

They look so much alike.

Owen's game was a bummer loss.

I'm going to miss seeing our long last name barely fitting on the back of their jerseys.

Until next season...

Master Justin

Justin graduated!

He got his Master of Arts in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. 

The ceremony was Saturday, May 16 at Colton Hall in downtown Monterey.

The weather was perfect, and a lot of Justin's family came to support.

Fred and Alyce.

 Uncle Wayne and Aunt Mariann.

 Linus and Payten.

Christian, Denica (not pictured), and Alyeina.

 Troy.

And Erica.

It was a party. And a houseful (everyone stayed with us except Wayne/Mariann and Linus/Payten).

Random graduation day pictures:

 (killing time around Colton Hall while waiting for ceremony to start)

The ceremony was long.

This is how we all felt by the end:

But, we're obviously so proud of Justin. I felt it the most as he walked in during the processional march at the beginning. That's when it sunk in that it was real and his schooling is almost over (he still has a 20-page Arabic paper due by the end of the month). Been a long road, but Justin is the most perseverent person I know. 

(Owen had to leave early for a baseball game)

Team Spirit

These are all the seniors on the Mountain View High School varsity volleyball team (my brother Cole is the shortest one in the middle).
They are all Mormon and every single one of them has received their mission call.
It gives me goosebumps.
Side note: They are playing in the state semi-final tournament this Thursday and it's pretty exciting.

And then I think of my boys.
Owen is the only member of the church in all of Pacific Grove who plays in the bronco baseball division (11-12 year olds). And in Drew's age group there are just two boys. So different from Mesa.

I have to tell this story real fast, not to toot my own horn, but because I learned a lesson.
Owen's first playoff game was scheduled for this coming Sunday.
This is the first Sunday game they would have had all season.
We were bummed, but knew Owen wouldn't play.
I emailed his coach to let him know the situation.
Then last week my friend told me she heard Coach had emailed the league president asking that the game be switched, but got no reply.
So I decided to send an email to the entire PG Pony baseball board.
I explained our situation, that for religious reasons we don't participate in sporting events on Sunday, and I asked if they could move the game to any other day of the week.
A couple days ago I got an email back that said, "The league has moved back to Saturday and avoided Sunday for your family. Thank you for letting us know."
It made me so grateful, but also made me realize it never hurts to ask. I wish I had thought myself to send the email instead of just accepting defeat right off the bat.
Anyway, just thought it was so nice and it made me proud that we made one tiny little difference.

Mother's Day

5/10

I got a nap.
Got the day off of cooking and cleaning.
And loved the cute cards and crafts the kids made at school.

Auggie had an applesauce fiasco during sacrament meeting. And it was funny (but probably only because I wasn't the one stuck with cleaning it up).

I planned my menu for the day, printed that french toast recipe (Justin makes his with only eggs; the notes at the bottom were me being annoying), and did the grocery shopping. And this year I was okay with that because Justin graduates in a week and still has so much to do.

The highlight of my day was this video that Justin made for our ward. It's 15 minutes long, but I think it's great even if you don't know the kids.

All the women in church were relieved of our 3rd hour duties and got to watch this video together. It was worth the HOURS he spent on it.

Mostly, I felt the love all day.
I felt grateful for my own mom and thought about the great moms my grandmas are, too.
I felt motivated to be a better mom myself.

The Land of Strawberries

5/5

Gizdich Ranch is great.

Their strawberries are huge and lucious.

And even though I could buy just as good of ones (for cheaper even) at Costco, it's pretty satisfying to pick my own and eat a warm, dirty strawberry right off the plant.

Um, also their fresh apple slushes, sandwiches, and desserts don't hurt the situation any.