Honey, I'm Home...!

You know you are back in California when you feel your first earthquake in years. Yep, that's right...a 5.4 earthquake, centered in LA. It was felt as far away as Las Vegas. For us here it was just a gentle rumble but I knew immediately what it was. I'm home!

Not much else going on. We have been looking for a house or condo but it is actually very hard. Everything we find seems to be a short sell and if it is not then it has a gazillion offers already. A short sell is where the owners are in financial trouble and to get out of their mortgage they sell their house for way less then they owe...BUT, then they have to get their bank to approve the sell. It can take 3-8 months for the banks to even look at a file. And there is no guarantee the bank will approve. So all that waiting only to get bad news. We are trying to stay away from short sells. Needless to say, I am frustrated! Hopefully we will have fantastic news to share soon... 

It's Timmy...the spider!

Tonight we had a guest come visit us. A very BIG, HAIRY, EIGHT LEGGED guest. It's a tarantula. I have not seen one up close in years. It was hanging out on our patio. So my mom and I got our cameras out and started shooting. I'm sure it is long gone by now. In case anyone is wondering...yes, my mom painted her patio. It was ugly with stains and this was her way of making the stains go away. It actually does not look that bad. In other news, Chuck and I have started the process of looking for a house or condo. We have been pre-approved on a loan so now it is a matter of finding our dream home. It will not compare to a TN dream home but we are still excited about the possibilities. Hopefully I will have news soon of an offer and a contract.

My Mom's trip to WA

So, my mom had the opportunity to fly to Washington to visit with my sister and her family last week. She helped them tile their bathroom and entry way floors. (my mom likes that sort of stuff) They also went camping in Eastern Washington. I've never been there and judging by the pics it is beautiful. So although I did not go on this trip, please enjoy these pictures of my niece and nephews. They are growing like weeds. Some of you from TN will remember I had Rose for 2 months a few summers ago. She has grown up so much. She was 8 then and is 12 now.

My Mom Karen

Child labor...pulling up the old tile!
Sweet Rose
Having fun
Rose and Christopher
Mom and Rose (and some guy hitting on my mom)

Enjoying some ice cream...Rose, Chetly and Christopher

the kids are sitting in saddles.
The kids and my mom
Sandy, Chet, Rose-12, Christopher-8, Chetly-6
Rose always was a little fish
Chetly having some fun

apparently this river was a blast
All the kids were wiped out after the camping trip

Rose
Christopher
Chetly
Mount Rainier-from my sister's neighborhood

Eastern Washington

Lots of deer and bucks...this was just a scant few!
Purty!!!

Jazzing up the bike...

New battery, new tires, a good spit shine...oops...the bike fell over!

Chuck's pissed...at me for taking pics...

5 years of happily wedded bliss

Tonight we celebrated our 5th anniversary. I know...I know...it was actually 3 months ago. But sometimes life gets in the way. Chuck had been out of work for 7 months then he left Knoxville for San Diego at the end of April to start his new job. Then we sold our house. We decided to put off our anniversary for 3 months. So here we are on July 5th (5 years to the day he broke both of his feet rock climbing). First, we went to see the movie Hancock. It was very good although LOTS of foul language!!! From there we went to eat. We had already decided on the Melting Pot. We got there at 6:15 PM and left at 8:50. It was yummo as usual. Then we drove through downtown La Jolla (where the only SD Melting Pot is) and went to La Jolla Shores to walk on the beach. I had not seen the Pacific Ocean in 5 years. It has a distinct smell very different from the Atlantic Ocean(Chuck says it's the kelp). It was cool but not cold and the water was nice. We then drove over to La Jolla Cove for a look over the cliffs. From there we drove to downtown San Diego and took a cruise through the Gaslamp Quarter. It was packed with people and made driving very difficult. Lots of Saturday night partiers. We would like to explore that area more on less busy nights. There are hundreds if not thousands of restaurants in the Gaslamp.

So we survived 5 years and 3 months of each other with tons of bumps and bruises as well as fun and adventure along the way. We have made lots of new friends to add to our old friends, moved across the country, bought and sold a house, moved back across the country again, added to our family if not through kids (YET!) then through our cat Aria and dog Kassie, both of us changed careers(a couple of times), went through some major medical crisis's such as Chuck's broken feet and his kidney failure and look...we are still married! Here is to the next 5 years...and more!

First date December 2001

Proposal September 2002
Bridal Shower
With the cake my friend Karen made
(Chuck did not stay for the actual shower)
April 5, 2003

hehehe...Chuck did not know I was taping this...

I had to hide my camera after this so he would not delete it. He's playing the wii. I have never played golf before and I beat him on my first try.