I think she's going to like this one...

Mom doesn't like having her picture taken. As long as I've been alive she's been like this. I never understood it, and then I turned 32 and then I got it. She's so photogenic, and people tell me the same thing.  All I can say to that is thank goodness for the invention of digital cameras!

Here she is at the park bench in Mill Valley that Cole and I like to go to. I think she looks so beautiful, and I know she was happy because she was with one of the loves of her life, Mr. Cole.

I love you, Mom.

B

A Glimpse into the Future at Castle Reid Skull

Getting the initial drawings today of how we are going to turn 300 Mountain View Avenue into our dream home actually made me giddy.  Considering the last couple of weeks haven't been all that stellar for me, it was nice to have something that made me excited. 

John Lum, our architect, is the bomb. He works fast. And he instantly "got" the vision that John and I have for the house. We met with him over the course of a few hours a couple of weeks ago after work on a Friday night (yes, it was blazing hot in the house. Poor guy came in trousers and a long-sleeve shirt), we took him through the house and talked him through how we want it to function. Since then, he's been drawing up a plan that is going to help us turn our vision into reality.

Now, granted, reality isn't going to all happen at once right away.  But it's good to have a roadmap. We quickly learned this as we started to tackle little things here and there.  As we tried to get small projects started, the questions always led to bigger questions or required us to have something else figured out before we could tackle it.  Because of this, we realized we needed a master plan. 

Anyway, for those of you that have been in the house, we are going to knock out the wall that encloses the staircase to downstairs and cut off the narrow walkway that goes from the front door to the kitchen, and re-create the pantry in that space. The kitchen will become a tad bit smaller (we'll move the fridge down) and where the southwest window faces that looks out towards Mt. Tam, we are going to create a family/den area.  It's going to be killer.  Also, we are going to make the second bathroom smaller and the master bathroom bigger. Selfish?  Yes. But John and I are worth it.

Just for kicks, I've attached the initial drawings. Take a look and let us know what you think.

What we've been up to...

I admit, I've been a bad blogger lately. Blame it on my camera batteries, blame it on lack of inspiration, or blame on it on the heat. Blame it on whatever. But, I'm back. Promise.

I've got a new camera for better documentation. A new blog template for inspiration. And a boat-load of things on the horizon to share with everyone.

To catch everybody up, we ended the summer with a bang between separate visits from both mom and dad, a quick visit to San Diego to see the Millays, and just recently a week-long trip in Los Angeles while John was on production making all the holiday TV spots for Radio Shack. Cole joined us and even got to be in one of John's spots. For me, it was so nice to be on a production trip and to get to experience it from the outside looking in. And it was really nice for all of us to be together.

Fall should be a fun and exciting couple of months as we are looking forward to all of the adventures that lie ahead - new growth group at church, our bathroom remodel officially starting, the Treasure Island Music Festival, a trip to San Diego with the Millays for Halloween, a visit with all the Reids for Thanksgiving and most importantly - whatever path God leads me with my career as I wrap things up at EVB in the coming weeks. Stay tuned...

Love you all.

Monterey & Carmel Vacation

We took Highway 1 to Monterey and Carmel and spent two nights at a beach side resort. Great room, an awesome view, and amazing massages. We ate at some fantastic restaurants, too.  My favorite was Mission Ranch in Carmel. The whole ranch is owned by Clint Eastwood, and the restaurant was amazing. Great atmosphere with a piano bar and awesome outdoor seating overlooking the meadows. And the food was so fresh.  We also hit Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row and the Aquarium in Monterey. At Fisherman's Wharf they have these little stands that sell cups of fresh fish. I was obsessed with them. They make great snacks

My Dad the Activist!

What's making national headlines - opposition at town halls across the U.S. over Obama's healthcare proposal - is happening right in St. Louis. And Dad has gotten into the action.  He attended a protest this afternoon put on by the Tea Party coalition outside of the SEIU.  The Tea Party opposes Obama's spending initiatives and the SEIU supports his healthcare reform bill.  200 people attending and it ended up being a civil affair. 

Can you see Dad to the right in the video? The young man in the wheel chair in front of him, a conservative african-american, was attacked for passing out "Don't tread on me" yellow flags at a town hall on aging hosted by Democrat Russ Carnahan earlier this week.  Six people were arrested that night. The story is getting national news being covered by Bill O'Reilly, Rush and Great.

Check out the video and get the full story at http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/

Stinson Beach

We took Cole to

 Stinson Beach today to kick-off our vacation. We got there early enough that Cole had the beach pretty much to himself for about an hour before all the real water dogs showed up. He ran around, chased his ball and got in the water. We packed our lunch and soaked in the sun for a few hours. It was a great day! 

Big Dave in the House

Dad has been in town since Thursday from St. Louis and we've been having non-stop fun.  He's a great navigator, house guest, map reader, shooter, napper and Catan opponent.  We've been having an awesome visit and have gotten to do a lot of things that we haven't done yet, including shooting shotguns in Richmond, hiking in the Marin Headlands, having a picnic lunch in Tiburon and going to the Branson school in San Anselmo where Aunt Debby taught from 1946-52.  Cole is so happy to have him here and they've been constant buds the entire time. To top Dad's visit off, tonight he and John hiked up to the mountain from our backyard.  True explorers!  Next time Dad says he's going to go all the way to China Camp.