Huntington Beach with the Camps

Saturday afternoon Morris and I headed to Orange County to spend the day at the beach with my sisters family--The Camps. All week the weather man had promised sunny skies for the weekend, the weather didn't turn out exactly like we had hoped but that did not keep us out of the water. Bill and Morris kept Bethany and Christopher busy looking for sand crabs and sea shells while I entertained Tate on the edge of the water. We had a hard time finding sand crabs with the high tide but there were plenty of sea shells to be found. The clouds really started to roll in the late afternoon so we decided to pack up and head home. We had such a great time at the beach and we are so happy the Camps could meet us in Huntington Beach for a fun afternoon. We missed you Brooke. Hurry up and have the baby so you can come play with us again.

Night with the Dodgers

Last night Morris and I went to the Dodger game with some students from his dental class. The weather was perfect for a night at the ballpark, but then again we live in Southern California so nice weather is to be expected. We had seats in the All You Can Eat section, Morris wanted to get to the ballpark early to make sure he got his moneys worth. I think we managed to eat 4 and a half feet of dodger dogs, I contributed the half dog. I was more focused on the nachos and popcorn--the more healthy items. I kept myself busy during the game holding all of the cute babies of Morris's classmates which could be why Morris and I missed the home run ball hit by Barry Bonds that landed nearly at our feet. Our friends Bryan and Jackie ended up with home run ball #741. Morris and I made our first appearance on ESPN last night, we made it home to Tivo Sports Center and it showed the ball hit into the stands and you can see both of us if you look close. Go Dodgers!

Biggest Little City

Morris and I traveled to Reno this weekend to see my Brother Ben and his wife Heidi. My little brother and his fiance Kim came for the weekend as well. We had a jam packed weekend in Reno-I know who knew there was so much to do in Reno. Morris and I hoped we would be able to swing down to Lake Tahoe and reminisce about the good times spent at the Fantasy Inn on our honeymoon, however, the weather was not great so we decided we should just stick around Reno. The highlight of the weekend was going to see Brian Regan--the comedian who was doing a show in town. Other highlights of the weekend included going to Fleischmann Planetarium, visiting the cadaver lab at Ben's Med School(a very brief visit for me due to my weak stomach) and delicious fondue dessert at the Chocolate Bar. Heidi and I also made a stop at the Nevada Museum of Art to see an exhibit of Andy Warhol's work. We had such a great time in Reno. I am so happy Todd and Kim were able to come for the weekend so we could get to know Kim better before the wedding in June and of course the constant laughter provided by my brothers when they get together. Thanks Ben and Heidi for letting us come for a visit and for being such great hosts.

On My Way

Last night I went to my first cake class. The class actually started last week but I had to miss the first lesson because I was out of town. I am taking the class with my friend Marissa. We were busy chatting and redoing our cakes(Marissa started over 2 times) this week and were the last to leave class. Marissa and I can talk and talk for hours. Every time I say I am going to run over to her house Morris gives me this look like oh right, I will see you in a couple hours. It is nice that we can at least guarantee two hours of chatting each week. I think our cakes turned out pretty good for beginners. Next week in class we are going to make all kinds of spring flowers to put on a Mothers Day cake for the following week. Wish me luck. Anyone want some cake?

Running against the Wind (and Rain)

Today my sister Holly and my brother Jeff fought the wind and rain to run the Boston Marathon. This was the second run for Jeff and the first for Holly. They both did very well, Jeff came in at 3:06 and Holly at 4:05. I have stood on the sidelines of many marathons watching family and friends come across the finish line. I am always so impressed by the determination of each person who finishes the race. My sister Holly has run four marathons trying to qualify for the Boston. Yesterday when she was handed her bib number she was brought to tears thinking how long the road had been to get there. She has run marathons being pregnant and pushing multiple kids in strollers trying to get that bib for the Boston Marathon. I am so happy this day has come for my sister. I am glad that Jeff and Holly were able to run together today and they were able to meet their goal of running the Boston.

Latest Reads

I had a few books I was very anxious to read. I have been anxiously waiting for the release of Shopaholic and Baby since the end of last year. I purchased the book the end of last month and decided I should save it for my trip to Hawaii since it would be a perfect beach book. It was very difficult for me to not pick it up every night before I went to bed. I cracked the book as soon as I boarded the plane and didn't put it down until I finished it the next day. I loved it. The book was so good, it really made me want to have a baby to buy all kinds of fun new things for. OK small confession, I spend free time at work searching for the baby gear I will buy one day, this book did not do anything for the ever growing list of cool baby items I have been compiling over the last couple months. I also picked up a copy of Forever in Blue-The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood. I thought since I would be spending a lot of time with a teenager on this trip the last book would be appropriate. I was really sad to know this would be the last summer of the sisterhood. I have become really fond of the young girls in these novels. They grew up a lot this summer. It was fun to go through life changing events with them this summer. My only complaint about this book is that I wanted to have a bit more closure with some of the story lines that developed with each of the girls. Both great easy reads.

More on Hawaii

I got back from Hawaii on Friday. It was hard to leave but very nice to finally be home and get to spend some time with my husband. I decided I don't think I will ever go to Hawaii during Spring Break again. The resort we stayed at was so busy it was hard to have a good time. I managed to make the best of the free vacation. We spent most of the week lounging by the pool, eating Dip and Dots, enjoying spa treatments and racing down the water slide. Lucky for me, my travel companion had a few friends staying at the same resort as us so I got a break from the slides and waves to put my face in good book. I was exhausted by the time it was ready to go home, I just can't keep up with a 14 year old like I used to.

Aloha

I have been in Hawaii since Friday and have been meaning to blog since I arrived but it has been so beautiful I have not been able to justify staying indoors to blog. I decided to finally sit down and write a few quick posts. It is so beautiful here, the only thing that would make it better is if I was here with my husband. I will write more about the trip when I get home but here is a shot from our lanai that I took last night of the sunset.

Visit from the Pond's

The nice thing about living in Southern California is you get lots of visitors. They actually don't come to see us but that guy down in Anaheim with some big castle. Morris and I don't mind Mickey's sloppy seconds when it means we get to see our family. This last week Morris's sister Melanie came with her family to Disneyland and Lego Land. We spent one night with them at Disneyland before I had to leave. Morris was able to go down and spend another day with them at Lego Land. Morris was quite the Lego man when he was young and still has many Lego contraptions assembled in his closet. So that was fun for him to go and fulfill a childhood dream of going to Lego Land. Morris and I do not get to go home nearly as often as we would like so we love it when family comes to visit us. It is always so much fun to go to Disneyland with our nieces and nephews. Thanks Ponds for coming to visit Mickey and Friends.

Japan Recap

Ok so Morris has been home for a week now but I am just getting around to blogging. I asked him to post so it would be first hand but apparently he has not gotten around to it either. This is the jist of the trip, he will not be eating any noodles for a while-especially the cold variety, the bullet train is really fast, the cars are really small, they have lots of temples, economy class all the way from Japan is not a good time and sumo wrestlers are actually very flexible.

Weekend in Portland

While Morris was in Japan I decided I was going to head up to Portland to spend the weekend with my sister Holly and her cute family. I thought it would be a good idea to visit Portland not only to see my adorable nieces and nephews but because I keep telling Morris I would like to apply to OHSU for his orthodontic residency but I had never been to Portland. I loved Portland, I could totally see us living there for a few years. It was rainy much of the weekend but it didn't really bother me. We visited the Portland Art Museum, took a drive around the gorgeous OHSU campus, celebrated Addie's second birthday, toured some lovely rose gardens, and a quick hike up Multnomah Falls. I loved the city. I loved the Pearl District near downtown. I would love spending Saturday mornings there walking in the galleries and browsing through book shops. I picked up a flyer of a house for sale in the district--let's just say we will be riding our bikes or driving in to the district to do the gallery walks and book browsing. It was such a fun weekend, I loved spending time with my nephew and nieces.