did i mention we had an earthquake the other day? matt did, i think. and we have casey to thank for it!!!
i didn't feel it because i was trying to control three rowdy boys at the time, but another teacher came into my room and said, "did you feel the earthquake?" and of course i said no, and she said, "oh. maybe it was just an airplane flying low." (because they really can make the place vibrate if they are really close). so now everyone's warnings have paid off--we've actually had an earthquake!!!! and darn, if only i could have felt it!
this triggers a funny memory of when cincinnati was supposed to get an earthquake.
everyone freaked out and bought earthquake insurance.
and we even had earthquake drills at our high school--ry and kevin, do you remember that? ha!
we all had to get under our desks and mr. hall, our principal, got on the loudspeaker and was trying to create a scene for us...
"...it may feel like a train is hitting the building, you may hear dogs barking..."
at that point i could no longer control my laughter and it burst right out.
i was in calculus. incidentally, i was not a favorite student of his, being a girl and all...
therefore, i was issued a detention for laughing!!
oh well! it was worth it--because, come on, DOGS BARKING!!!! who cares???
and after all that we didn't even have the earthquake... huge surprise.

mom--your ring is beautiful! good work, dad!

i've been running again. i got out of it when school started and i was too exhausted when i got home.
but i think it is just a strange cycle, because now that i'm exercising again, i have much more energy!
there is a cool running club for students at our school (some kids get there early and run 2-3 miles each morning!!!).
so another teacher and i are starting a running club for teachers! yay!

i'm pumped for mary and casey's visit!!!
i hope you guys are practicing your foosball, shuffleboard, and darts!
anything else you want to do while you're here?
maybe go downtown and get something to eat for a late dinner when you get in on friday night?
and of course bar-lympics on saturday.
did you want to go for a hike or anything? or whatever you wanto................
i guess we will give you your bday gift when you come (oops. it's all packaged up, it just hasn't made it to the post office!)

ry, nice blog--very sweet! you have a DAUGHTER!!! unbelievable.
grammy, mom, and aunt deedee-have fun visiting hannah this weekend!

i feel like there's more to say
but i'm drawing
a blank.
therefore, i'm signing off!
tracey

just over here, relaxing, totally into "innocence mission", thanks to justy.
yeah, definitely a new one to put on my frequently played albums.
no comment even necessary for that AMAZING VOICE and i love the hawaii-ish guitars, subtle but present tambourine, and--best of all, music that takes me to another place. thanks justin--perfect pick for moi!

it's been fun catching up on the bloggies. you know, i was thinking what perfect timing the blogs have been, with the family being spread out across the nation and all. i feel like i haven't really missed too much of life's events with all of you peeple.

mare and casey--first of all, congrats on being out of credit card debt--doesn't it feel SO GREAT!!!? such freedom!!! matt and i made some bad financial choices early in our marraige but have been debt free for almost 3 years now. everyone is different, so i'm not giving advice, just sharing a personal experience--what has kept us out of debt was the promise we made to God after we were finally credit card debt-free (obviously we still have car debt and a student loan). we promised that we would pay our credit card balance every month in full. and the FIRST time we would have month where we couldn't pay the full, we agreed to tear up the credit card and not get a new one until it was paid off. and so far we haven't had to! it is such a great incentive for not overspending because we always think, "wait, is this worth cutting up the card and/or breaking my promise to God?" and the answer is always no. just a fun story there for ya!
it was also fun to read mom and dad edwards accounts of their trip--sounds like such a fun trip. and i can't wait to see your ring mom!!!

i spent the whole weekend painting our living room.
matt helped me lay down the base coat (arizona tan, if you really must know), which he said looked pumpkinish.
then i colorwashed the whole deal by diluting a lighter shade (honey butter) and a darker shade (campground) with water. i used paintbrushes to blend the deal to our walls --- and that literally is the last time i will paint that room. it took 3 gallons of the base coat just to cover the walls if that tells you how large the room is. anyhoo, it was totally worth it! it looks cool and watercolored-almost, most definitely italian/venetian looking.

it's not really cold out, but i'm dying to wear my new striped skinny scarf from the gap
so i'm taking it out on a date to buy some household cleaning products at target!!!
is this really what my life has come to??? yes. i think emily would understand and even appreciate something like this...

my scarf and i must go.
farewell
tracey

it's me for you
and you for me
-innocence mission

hello people!
the end of another week that flew!
i enjoyed checking out all the blogs this morning as i ridiculously woke up at 6 am.
mare, i'm with you on playing santa at thanksgiving--at least to you and casey.
so where are your (and casey's!) christmas ideas?
here's another idea from me: denison witmer's cd "philedelphia"

i saw a picture of our new niece, hannah, on the hospital's website---SO CUTE AND PERFECT!!! and so looking like ryan!!!
much to my dismay, michelle's pic link isn't working (neither is mary's, so it's villagephotos or whatever), so i can't see all the other pictures of her. but go check out that cutie on michelle's link! just knowing about hannah made me love her instantly, but now that i've seen a picture of her, i feel even more love and complete excitement at getting to see her in 26 days!!!

let's see, what else...
well, i had jury duty on wednesday.
i was dreading it, but
it was actually fun, if you can believe that!
you know how anything run by the govt usually has really rude people working (example: the bmv rudeness and condescending tone) who make you feel stupid? well, totally different scene at the courthouse, we (and by we i mean 500 jurors who had been called that morning) had an hour long orientation, which was amusing because the guy was funny. and they were UNDERSTANDING about things, like "if you forgot your juror ticket that was mailed to you, don't worry." etc. i sat around and read until about 11:00,when i got called to a courtroom with 50 other people. they started the selection process and then we had a 90minute break for lunch. i met matt, who is only 3 blocks away from the courthouse, and we went to horton plaza to eat and browse around. it was so fun--it's the first time i've met him for lunch downtown! then i went back and the jury selection continued (one of the potential jurors reminded me of mike serratto, saying strange things and making me crack up--he got the boot, of course). i really wanted to be picked by the end! but alas, i wasn't even called up to be questioned, which is actually okay, since it was going to be a 5 day trial.

today we're going to attempt to paint our living room.
i think we'll have to rent a ladder at home depot in order to do that, though.
the color is difficult to describe, but i'll try: it's sort of a creamy tan/caramel/honey color. it's called arizona tan, but i'm going to do a little bit lighter color wash over it to give it some depth and texture. if anyone comes here and can describe the color, be my guest!
our neighbor, artie, just told us that he's putting pergo flooring on his whole bottom floor--so jealous!!! i want to do that with our upstairs so bad! but i don't have $2000 just sitting around.

i think we're going to see a school of rock matinee tomorrow.
glad to hear that dad and justin liked it!
welp,
i'm going to prep our room for painting!
tracey

yay! hannah michelle good came into this world at 9:50 am, weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
ryan and michelle are now PARENTS for the rest of their lives--wow!
i can't wait to hear every detail about your beautiful daughter!!!
i can't wait to kiss my NIECE on her sweet chubby cheeks in one month!!!

my husband is home and i'm happy.
i went to such a beautiful wedding yesterday.
my girlfriend, janice, got married in mexico (about an hour away from here)
at a resort on a cliff overlooking the ocean. it was so beautiful.
and the food was so yummy!
and right after the ceremony (i'm talking 60 seconds), waiters came by the aisles with
big trays of tropical drinks in tall glasses--so fun!!!
the reception was in a big white tent right next to the ceremony so it was fun to just
sit around and chat and look at the ocean while we waited for all the pictures to be taken.
it was the best time i've had in between the ceremony and reception of any wedding i've ever been to!

i'm getting excited for christmas (emily, you're probably the only one who gets ready before i do!)
but i won't allow myself to decorate or play music or wrap presents or anything until november 1st.
that gives me a good 2 months to celebrate!!!
but what i can do now is start MAKING PLANS about which presents i'm going to buy,
how i want to decorate, the mixes i'm going to make, etc... so i can still start to get excited without
having matt make too much fun of me for being out of control!!!

welp, i'm taking off now.
have a great night!
tracey

yay!
it's friday!
and it's the first cloudy day in a long time. so strange. but very cool this morning as i pulled up to school and a giant cloud was just covering the place. it was all misty to walk through, and then normal on the other side!
justin, i'm pumped for the cd--i looked at them for a sec online, does the girl sing? i hope so.
i plan on getting a lot of things done this weekend, but right now i just want to blob out around this house, maybe even in bed.
i miss my husband!!! but now i can make salmon for dinner. and other stuff matt won't eat. :)
matt, i hope you're having a great time!
michelle, i'm so sorry about alpha--that does seem ridiculous, i hope those people find other groups to get plugged into. can YOU just continue with them on your own? i mean, you don't have anything else going on, like having a daughter or anything!!!

happy anniversary mom and dad, in case i don't get to the computer on your actual day!

well, i'm going to watch trading spaces now!
but i'll end with a
funny quote from a kid (i've heard this many times!!!):
peanut kindergartener looking around my room: is this your room?
me: yes, it is! what do you think, do you like it?
him: where is your bed?
me: oh, i don't live here.
him: why?
me: because i live in my own house.
him: why?
me: alright, moving on....

-tracey

some nice posts, people.
matt, yours was so sweet. i love you.
and i, like mary and michael, love the part about the music (no need to record the quote for a fourth time, agreed?)
mare, i'm so like you with being able to connect with God in music that doesn't necessarily have godly lyrics--so many times i'm worshipful when listening to ben folds, over the rhine, norah jones, cush, dashboard, jimmy, elliott, etc etc. etc!

matt left me this morning for bg
i'm excited for him to visit with everyone
and eat pollyeyes and dairy queen (and trotters?)

i took him to the airport around 6:00, and don't really have to be at work until 8:00, so i'm actually doing a load of laundry and some other random chores.
i'm pretty proud of myself--this is the first time i've been able to keep a place really neat and clean. i think i'm much more motivated now that we own this place and have started to decorate it in our style. it makes me want to keep it nice and uncluttered. a first!

last night we went to hodad's since i had a buy 1, get 1 free deal. we ate in the window seat so we could look out at everyone walking by and smell the ocean air. then we went to the farmer's market and bought 3 little cacti (spelling of plural cactus--i've never had to do that before!). matt has been wanting some since we moved here. (actually i did buy him one a while ago, but he put it on top of the entertainment center and knocked it behind it within one day of having it. therefore, we didn't see it again until we moved at the end of august!). so we put these new guys in our kitchen window. yay!

had nice long conversations with michelle and emily in the past few days. it was good to chat with both of you!

things are clearing up at school.
it's not really appropriate to post on a blog
but i can say that i haven't felt safe at one of my schools.
we had a team meeting and thankfully everyone agreed that the child will be going to another school
where his needs will be met by actual trained professionals.
hopefully that will go through as soon as possible, too.

i have some stuff on my to do list while matt is gone.
get important papers in order, MAIL some birthday presents!, hem some curtains, etc.
matt made me promise that i wouldn't paint our family room while he was gone. i told him there's no way i could do it by myself, anyways. and he said, "well i never know with you if you're going to pull a trading spaces on me." (actually, it's "while you were out"--and that's michelle's job next year for their great room!)
well everyone, i suppose i must get going to work.
it's strange to be productive this early in the morning before i even go to my job!

have a great day!
tracey
p.s. i love how God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow
no matter what we are going through...
what an UNBELIEVABLE comfort!!!

in this cyclical pattern i feel you
the back and forth
and up and down
You stay where You are
--sixpence--

weird days at work
and sleepless nights

i think it is getting better though.
i just have a situation at one school
with a child and his behavior issue
(or possession, really).
just praying that it gets cleared up and that no one gets hurt.

on to better things, though.
YES, mary--we are getting a dog someday!
but not until we are strapped down with kids :)
we like to travel too much right now!
not only that, our condo does not allow us to have dogs--so even if we were ready for a dog, it would be a no go.
but we get our fix every now and again at dog beach right down the road from us.
in fact, we went there yesterday and saw all those crazies running around, playing, and swimming in the ocean--so cute and fun!
p.s. we're finally sending your birthday present mare--we had it with us in san fran this summer, but since we didn't get to see you, it sort of got lost in the shuffle of moving. i'm planning a trip to the post office either tomorrow or weds!!!! have no fear!!!

as far as other bday ideas for me: i know it is not as much fun to buy, but i really want to get some stuff from home depot for our deck area, so a gift certificate directed that way could be nice!
things on my wish list:
lemon tree ($17)
lime tree ($20)
bamboo fencing ($21)
fiscus plant ($12)
palm tree ($50-100)-ha!
other cool tropical plants ($5-15)

we saw lost in translation the other night and it was interesting.
bill murray had some hilarious moments, plot was a tad slow, and i had that feeling of "no, don't do it!" throughout.
the scenes from tokyo were worth it all, though, and they really captured that feeling of loneliness and culture shock that comes from visiting a different country. it really made me want to go visit there someday (when someone i know lives there and can take us around- i don't know if i could figure that deal out from travel books!).

welp, i'm going to spend time with my honey!
bye!

what a long week!
thank god tomorrow is friday!
over here listening to jack johnson and just trying to chill--the music is helping for sure.
michelle, thanks for posting your pictures of the nursery and my favorite friend, mr. reeces!!!!
it's fun to be able to picture hannah's living area and wow, you are popping out--so cute!!!!
can't wait to meet miss hannah banana-only a couple of weeks to go (approximately--hopefully sooner than later).
emily, thanks for the fun bridesmaid gift--i love all the goodies and can't wait to put them to good use this weekend!
mare, i've enjoyed the blogs--i hope you do that race--i want to, too! i want to catch a person in a giant banana suit!

fun quote from a kid:
i was evaluating a 3rd grade boy and he was looking at things i had in my room.
"do you see terra nova?" he said.
"i sure do! do you know her?" i said.
he closed his eyes for a few seconds, pursed his lips, nodded, and said in an adult-ish tone, "you could say that."
i said, "well, what's the story?"
and he became very sad-faced and sad-voiced and said, "well, we had a crush on each other in first grade and second grade. two years! and then all of the sudden ("all done" type of hand motion), it was over."
this kid is so serious and i'm trying my hardest not to laugh at this point.
so i said, "what happened? you just don't like her anymore?"
and he said, "no, she started liking charlie and now i don't even exist. two whole years...and then all of the sudden she's in a whole other dimension. i've tried talking to her, but brittany is like a bodyguard for her or something. i can't even get near her!"

ahhhh...love....

this weekend my honey is going back to bg for jeb's wedding, so i'll be all alone!
i am actually going to mexico because my girlfriend from work is getting married there.
but i think i'm going to try to work on our deck area, you know, get all the dead plants out of there and get some reed fencing to cover the brick wall with. we shall see, though.

just a thought:
isn't it too bad that people have to think twice about writing about what movie they saw (and maybe liked!)
or that dad edwards has to feel like his music selection is "uncool"?

-tracey

i'm listening to over the rhine's new 2 cd album, "ohio".
some of it has too much of a country twang-weird! but maybe they're going with the theme of ohio or something.
they do have a cool song titled ohio, though.

here are some lyrics (hitting home over here):
what in the world would make all this worthwhile?
and if i knew then (i was older then)
would i see regret to the last mile?
hello ohio
the back roads
i know ohio
like the back of my hand
alone ohio
where the river bends
and it's strange to see your story end

i started listening to over the rhine in 1989, when i first moved to cincinnati.
and thus, the obsession began.
i loved their song "jacksie".
i had no idea it was about cs lewis.
even if i would have been told, i still didn't know who cs lewis was.
and little did i know i would be learning about cs lewis from my HUSBAND's father 10 years later.

when i started listening to them it was the time in my life that i have felt the most alone.
my life had been completely uprooted and it was the Lord's doing.
it was that time in my life that i began my search for the Lord.
(7 years later i would make a commitment to follow Him).
it was the same time in my life i felt the desire to move to california
(nevermind that i had never been there).
how amazing that God would have put that in me
because of his plans that are just now starting to be revealed!

i know i'm getting a little emo here, but just thinking about His plans
to prosper us
and not to harm us
that He has determined our paths,
even though we make our own footprints.
and just how He reaches us in pain
and the most difficult times in my life
have been the times that i have grown and
learned how to know Him and draw near to him and love him.
and
just
be
still.
the worst times of my life have been the most beautiful times with Jesus.
those scars are precious.

-tracey

hmm...
interesting banter on the blogs.
especially the neverending crossbow comments.

i made a few of my own
and chuckled at myself.
(a paul runyan sort of chuckle, if you know what i mean).

i can not get off of the new outkast video/song.
we recorded the video and i keep watching it--so quality!
i'm usually not like this, but it's so fresh and strange and catchy, i can't get enough.
i feel like matt!

speaking of that guy, he was the hot topic in speech therapy today!
cutie kid: do you have a boyfriend?
me: no, but i do have a husband.
kid: MISTER edwards???

i began laughing hysterically since i've never heard anyone call matt "mr. edwards". so strange.
dad, do you remember when matt and i were just friends and i tried to call you dr. edwards? you laughed and told me to call you bruce. i'm glad i call you dad now!

speaking of titles, our weirdo chiropractor said the stupidest thing today and i pulled off the most perfect slam of my life (it probably doesn't seem like it in writing, but trust me, it was perfect!):
he was blabbering something about going by "dr. joe" and saying something like, "yeah, i like getting mail addressed to 'dr.' joe dzendzel. (pause) that's a little pretentious (laughs)." (side note: he is completely pretentious in all aspects!!!)
matt and i smile politely and inside have the usual million comments that we won't let out until we get in the car.
then he starts up again, "yeah, but it does tick me off when my aunt writes me letters and addresses them to "mr." joe dzendzel."
he looks at me to get my nod of agreement.
and i say, "now THAT'S pretentious!"
he laughed and i didn't feel horrible for letting the truth come flinging out of my mouth.
matt shook his head in utter disbelief (and admiration, i like to think-heehee!)
but come on, she's your AUNT, guy! NO ONE should have to call you dr. unless you ARE their doctor!!!
the end of that rant!

a fun thing is that my school has a brand new library and the librarian is getting rid of a ton of books--for free!
i picked out three big boxes. some stuff is really good, too! another narnia set, a bunch of madeline l'engle books, the pippi longstocking series (my childhood favorites), mrs. piggle wiggle, some roald dahl, tolkien, and some random things. but i was expecting it to just be like encyclopedias from the 70's, so such a great surprise and all for FREE!!! so i've been reading some fun books and laughing and remembering fun things. did anyone ever read "mr. popper's penguins"? such a great book! justy, you might recognize some of the stuff. i know i can't use a lot of this stuff right now, but i always am getting excited to read these things with my own kids someday. that's how i justify any book purchase i make for school--because i know i'm going to be keeping them for my own kids (and secretly, me--i get such a kick out of some of these things).

time for more top ten lists, people.
top ten things i'm listening to right now...
1. uh, outkast's "hey ya"
2. ken stringfellow
3. denison witmer
4. jack johnson (i wasn't into him at first, but i'm addicted now, mare!)
5. apples in stereo
6. rooney
7. saves the day's new one (it sounds like wheatus at first)
8. cush (as usual)
9. wayne everett
10. brand new

mare, that's so funny about the cardigans, right before you started posting about that i was in the custodian's supply room and he had the radio going. we started chatting about good 80s music and he brought up the cardigans--apparently a big fan. so if you get a chance could you burn me a copy of your faves or just bring at thanksgiving so we can rip it?

matt is totally knocked out right now.
he fell asleep right after dinner and was all disoriented.
he was all, "why am i so tired?"
i told him i put a sleeping pill in his carne asada quesadilla and he actually believed me!
what a grog!!!

michelle--yay! you're back, too! everyone seems to be back from their summer blogging vacations.
i can't believe hannah is going to be here in a couple of weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
she is going to be so beautiful!!!!!!!!
i wish we could be there right when she is born but thankfully it won't be too long after that we get to see her.
also, that is the best story about skyline--i was laughing so hard! besides, i have never had a deluxe burrito there, but skyline chili tastes good on everything (sickly i put it on zucchini the other day--and it was good of course!), so i'm sure it would be allllsome. we'll plan our next visit there around a tuesday, if matt has anything to say about it!

welp,
i'm off to read "pippi goes on board"--so hilarious.
-tracey

the end of a very long day of work.

i probably should have taken the whole day to work on paperwork and stupid stuff, but i NEEDED to see kids. first of all, i have to because they have legally binding documents mandating speech/language services; but most of all, because i finally feel normal when i'm doing that part of my job--the part that i love, the part that energizes me.
so the consequence for that was working on dumb stuff until 6:00 tonight. i know, to normal people, not a long day, but i could have left at 3:30 if i had no work to do.

enough of that blabber!!!

i have my first funny kid's quote of the school year.
drumroll please...

the kids were putting little shapes on paper to show the concepts "same" and "different".
one little (kindergarten) boy was putting little circles within big circles, little squares within big squares, etc.
when asked how those patterns were the same or different, he replied: "these all have babies in their tummies and the other ones have no babies in their tummies!"
yay!

welp, i'm going to make matt some broccoli to help counteract the 4 doughnuts consumed today :)
-tracey


it's getting hard to
breathe in this life
-denison witmer

also, if anyone was interested in hearing about christmas ideas early this year, number one on my list is the christopher guest dvd collection (has guffman, a mighty wind, best in show--around $46-48 online) and it comes out 9/23/03. walmart has an additional $10 mail-in rebate. just a fun fact!
-tracey

did i mention that on our vaca up the coast that everything smelled wonderful due to the thousands of eucalyptus trees planted everywhere? well it did, and everything seemed "so fresh and so clean, clean" --speaking of outkast, WHOA, how about their new sweet and catchy song!?? and hilarious video?? matt and i are so into it right now!!!

today we went to the beach and chilled. i was craving a fountain coke so matt got me one and nothing tastes better than a good fountain coke on the beach!! when we came home i talked to heidi on the phone (michelle and ryan, i can't wait to talk to you about God's blessing for heidi through you guys!!) and made some dinner.

now we just arrived home from the padres/astros game, which was entertaining mostly because of the people sitting around us. number one was these two guys and a girl (and i'm sorry to label them, but they were pretty nerdy) and one of the guys just started unravelling TOILET PAPER from his backpack! we were cracking up! he just unravelled it and then folded it back up--why, guy? if only we could have reached our camera in time. but alas, it was not meant to be.

i'm sorry if this next part offends anyone, but if it does, pretend that you didn't read it. either way, i was inspired by something i saw tonight at the game and have a product idean that could make us rich someday. you know those huge foam fingers that people wave at sporting events? i was thinking about marketing one that people could use in their cars, for when they get angry at other drivers--only you know which finger would be pointing up on these new foam hands... wouldn't that really just put an extra punch in the message??? plus, it would be hilarious to see people using them. anyways, i'm thinking my first seller will be spencer's at the mall...

well, enough of that.
justin, grandpa said that you needed a peace pipe for your new movie--HA! hilarious either way (i mean whether it is true or whether gramps made it up--which is probably the case).
well gang, matt and i are going to watch a movie on the NEW tv in our bedroom--hopefully i can stay awake.
goodnight.
-tracey

happy birthday dad edwards!!!
we love you!!!

two days in a row, people!!!
how's that?

i enjoyed everyone's blogs, mom, mare, justy, matt's new pics...
yeah, justin on the list for your wife, funny but touching, too.
that astros dress is sweet! i can almost picture the kind of girl who would be wearing it!
i can't wait until your wife joins our fun edwards family--every year gets better and better with more people being added to the fam!

i just made a delicious dinner, if i do say so myself!
grilled steak, red potatoes, and broccoli and red wine--so good!
now we're fatly going to circuit city to find a TV for our bedroom.

we have to do it before i fall asleep.
apparently, i'm having difficulty getting acclamated (spelling?) to this new disruption in my previous summer lazy schedule.
i ridiculously conked out last night at 9:30!!!
i haven't gone to bed that early for years!!! maybe even before 5th grade. except for random jet lag type of nights...

also, all of you who are into knowing God, check out oswald chambers "my utmost for his highest".
mare, of course you already do.
that dude has some weird wordage, but concepts are so simple/profound they knock you over sometimes.
one that i love is about hearing only the voice of God when you are surrounded by voices of the world or even well-meaning christians with their own motives. it states, "to discuss spiritual matters with anyone else, WHEN GOD HAS ALREADY SPOKEN, is an impertinence to the Lord."
yikes.

welp, we're off!
love you all and miss you all
-tracey

believe it or not, i'm blogging.
i know half of you have probably stopped checking, since when i actually DO update, it is short and boring.
well, not today.
today i finally have a little bit of time to actually sit down and breathe (or breath, as mare likes to say) for a minute.
august and these few days of september have been so busy!
let's see here,
we had visitors:
-michael and wes
-rachael
-brundage and pals
-heidi and ken
(whew!)
it's getting to the point where matt and i are having to make our own rules about when we can have visitors!!!

it's fun and all, for sure, but it gets to be overwhelming after awhile (thanksgiving visitors, don't be discouraged, we'll be all revved up again by november which will be so fun!). it may be a little crowded in this place, though, and i've never made a turkey before! i'm sort of excited to do that--thankfully, i'll have mom edwards' professional help!

we also bought a condo.
OH MY.
it sounds weird to say that.
the transition has been smooth and this place feels like home already.
we've painted a few rooms and have it set up for the most part.
i'm sure it will feel even more like home after our first mortgage payment...

our vacation was awesome. some of you have probably read matt's blogs about it or seen the pictures.
i wanted to include an amusing story, though...

we were driving up highway 1, (which, for those of you who don't know, snakes up california right along the coast) and it was breathtaking and beautiful. well, we came to some construction signs and saw some workers up ahead. a lady construction worker with a WHITE, PLASTIC COWBOY HAT on was holding a stop sign in our lane, so we stopped. she then proceeded to come over to our window and give us a lecture on what was going to be happening: "you're going to be waiting here while the traffic comes through (sidenote: oh, which turned out to be one car), then i will remove the cones from this lane, then i will motion you through and you will drive slowly to the other side." pretty unneccessary (are there too many letters in that word?).

after we were through the scene, matt and i started saying things like, "then you will put your hand on the stick shift and your left foot on the clutch..." "your hands will be on the steering wheel as your foot presses the gas pedal"
"then you will inhale..."
so amusing and we had a chuckle. and now you can. or maybe you had to be there.

the vacation was so relaxing but also some work of hiking and lugging our gear to different sites (well worth the pain)!
matt was absolutely a psycho about his masterpieces, the campfires.
which were perfect, by the way.
the obsession level was just a smidge high, though.
san francisco was great, as usual, and i got over the rhine's new cd from amoeba records.
we were sort of in a culture shock when we got to san fran and amoeba was one of the first places we went. and even matt had to say, "let's get out of here, there are too many people in here!". we were just so used to seeing only each other and maybe a few other people for the past week. so needless to say, we were totally overstimulated and freaked out. maybe a little something like casey was feeling after alaska...

oh yeah, school started, too. the night before i was like, "i can't believe i have to get up and go to WORK tomorrow!" but as soon as i got there, i thought, "oh yeah! i forgot how much i love my job!" so i'm okay with it. but there is a huge transition period of being a tired face all the time! but my quotes from kids will now be back up and running, so hopefully we'll get some entertaining ones this year...

oh, and ha ha about the ben/brad blog you jerks! i was saying how funny i thought ben's was, and matt acted like i was an idiot, and then had to post it for the public to see. and mary made the mistake of commenting on it, so i feel the strong need to remind her of her statement about the justinabambina blog: "it's so crazy that there's actually a girl out there who is like justin!" yeah, thought we all forgot about that one, huh? :)

also, why in the world is your car registration so expensive, mare? that stinks! ours was $73, and i thought THAT was annoying.

dad, your birthday is in 2 days! yay! what are you going to do?

also, i'm a little weirded out by this talk of cleveland, matt edwards. folks, please know that is in the DISTANT future, if at all. nothing is more depressing than thinking about having to leave the place of our dreams.
it's just that we had such a great time with some of our best friends in the world, heidi and ken (who want to live in cleveland). and heid and i always daydream about living near each other and being able to be at each other's houses every day. the boys are gamers for it, too, which is so great. i think that was one of the best parts of our visit with those peeps, was that heidi and i were in our own world, just chatting and talking and laughing, and the boys were doing the same, without us having to pay attention to them or make sure they were okay. just like me and heid, our husbands became instant friends in a way that only God could arrange.

welp, i must be moving on.
matt and i have an appointment at the chiroblabber's.
then to the farmer's market.
then a relaxing time in the jacuzzi (the complex's jacuzzi, we haven't had time to figure ours out yet), hopefully.
and maybe some ice cream.
sounds like a good night.

it's been real, people!
-tracey

lately i've been feeling
like you'll never know
if you don't mark the way back
the further you'll go
-denison witmer

we're back from a perfect vacation!
we had so much fun and saw such incredible beauty.
and now we're glad to be home.

it's official, the condo is ours!
so now i can finally celebrate and get excited and emotionally attached!!!!
we're going over there tonight with a bottle of champagne so we can toast to our very first house...

and now i'm going to have home depot on the brain (all that watching of trading spaces gets me so excited to make some inexpensive renovations to our new place).
bye
tracey

man, it's been awhile!
here i am again--a lot has happened since i last blogged.
rachael was supposed to be in san diego last weekend but due to a fire in one of the detroit airport terminals, she missed her flight. she was able to make it in on tuesday and we packed a lot of stuff in and had a lot of fun. matt and i had a great, relaxing weekend alone, which we spent up in encinitas, at our favorite san elijo state beach.

i picked up my bridesmaid dress for kevin and emily's wedding! yay! i can't remember if i told you which one i ended up getting, em, but it's the one that is sleeveless, fitted and has a high neckline. it also came with an organza wrap--do you want me to wear it or no?
congratulations kevin, on your first teaching job--you will be such an excellent teacher!!!

and it is official--we just purchased airline tickets with vouchers (compliments of ryan and michelle!) for our friends heidi and ken, who will be coming to visit over labor day weekend.

speaking of official--well, this is almost official, i guess. we had our final walk-through for our house and will be closing on it either tonight or tomorrow--yay! so if all goes well, we will be proud homeowners within 30 hours. i took a stroll through home depot today--man, they have everything! it got me really excited for making fun home improvements--which we don't really need to do with this place, it really is actually quite nice. but it will be fun to finally have some COLOR on the walls! i've been watching "trading spaces" and "while you were out" to get some good ideas. dad good, i'll also need to get some carpentry and light fixture tips from you! this house finding process has been so fun and really not stressful at all (thanks to the Lord). we had such a great realtor, who we really trusted and who was agressive in getting what we wanted and went above and beyond what he had to do. we probably won't actually move in until the weekend of august 22nd, just due to our vacation and more visitors (whew!). but that gives me time to get in there and paint some walls without having to move or cover any furniture, so it works out.

we'll be leaving for our vacation on sunday (matt deserves a break--he's been working so hard!)
mare, you requested our itinerary, so here goes (the rest of you may or may not be interested):

sunday, aug 10th--point mugu state park (just north of malibu)
monday, aug 11th--montana de oro state park, (west of san luis obispo)
tuesday, aug 12th--andrew molera state park, big sur
wednesday, aug 13th--big sur again
thursday, aug 14th--manresa state beach, santa cruz
fri and sat--san francisco
drive home sunday or monday
yay!
the end

tracey

alright, michelle and emily making your lists! yeah!

i'm going to add to my list now, you guys have reminded me of some things, so i'm going single white female and copying you on some things!

more things that make me happy:
-ryan's floppy lips, too!
-the song, "in which hand is the candy corn?"
-matt's ears (they're so perfect and smooth! before we were dating, i asked him if i could hold on to one and he let me!!! not only that, he requested it later!)
-waking up early and drinking vanilla coffee on the quiet beach
-seeing my grammy and granddad be in love after 60 years
-on that note, waking up at myrtle beach and seeing grammy and granddad sitting in the same chair, holding hands, looking at the ocean before anyone else was awake
-along the same vein--coming back from the beach at hilton head and catching grammy and granddad playing basketball by themselves in the pool--
you two make us all happy!!!

i'm the only one up (i couldn't fall back asleep after matt's first alarm went off). i think the boys are leaving sometime this morning and heading off for the grand canyon. and, inspired by my list, i'm going to get some coffee and head down to ocean beach. i love to see it change throughout the day, quiet and peaceful in the morning, fun and people everywhere during the day, and then quiet and cozy at night (especially with a campfire!).

i spent the day yesterday in encinitas, our favorite place (maybe mary's, too?) and took a picnic to the beach, read a good book, and went into a couple of surf stores. i may do it again today! also, i'm going to see if home depot is offering any free classes, now that i'm going to be a homeowner!!!

have a great day!
tracey

how is it wednesday night already???
michael and wesley arrived on monday around 3 or so.
we played some major games of yahtzee (michael is now sharing the yahtzee box of shame with michelle good--don't worry michelle, you still have the lowest score!!!) and the guys have just been chilling around the apt, on the beach, and at some choice skate spots here in point loma.

i have been living up my summer vacation, as usual, come on now, people, if you can't guess where i've been for the past three days, then you have a serious problem!!! i've been at the beach, of course! and i've been running on sunset cliffs and eating turkey sandwiches for lunch! it's the best summer ever! if only this could be a lifelong time of not working!!! ha! i know it is bad news when i'm dreaming about work and how i'm going to work each child into my schedule. but enough about that, we have more than a whole month until that becomes reality!

well, the condo thing looks like its going to work out. things are drying out, but it's taking longer than our realtor expected--not a big deal to us, since we have this apt until aug 31st, and it only saves us money to have our closing delayed. it seems like after we get back from our vacation (aug 17th) we will be signing the final papers and getting the keys. yay! so everyone can come and visit us in our new place! we just sent our landlord

i just had a nice chat with mom edwards on the phone tonight. it sounds like mom and dad are replacing all the edwards kids (who have left them) with a brand new tanzanian person! it seems like whenever matt and i think of calling home it's too late and our family/friends are in bed already. speaking of which, emily--i got your message and you're probably in bed now, too! unless you're having another crazy night like you were the other night. by the way, i'm praying for both you and kevin and your future jobs--they're yours--you guys deserve them.

i really like norah jones, i must say. such calming music (grammy, i think you would like her, actually) and she really is talented--i don't care whatever anyone else says.

and now, a (partial) list of things i like:
-yelling the word "yahtzee!"
-when matt gave me a tiny flower to wear in my hair
-seeing two dogs rolling around in the grass, wiggling and scratching their backs
-eating french bread and brie with a good glass of wine
-getting home after a good, hard run and collapsing on the floor
-the best feeling in the world: warm sand under my body and the sound of the ocean--why do i never tire of this?

this list will be updated and i encourage anyone who reads this to also make a (partial, continually updating) list of things he/she likes...
the end
tracey

hello all.
it's been a fun past few days with friends. on friday night we went to our friends "christmas in july" party, which was very fun. we met some more new people, too. we had a fun conversation about peoples' names (you know, like justin case, kat chase, michelle beavers!!!--ha!) michelle, what was your 8th grade class president slogan that got banned? i was trying to remember but couldn't and it was driving me nuts! also, we played the gift exchange while someone read "twas the night before christmas", just like the edwards family! matt and i came home with a cool set of tall beer glasses.

then yesterday, we had an all day beach party! matt was out standing guard over the fire pit at 9:00 am (can you believe that several had already been taken???) thank goodness we got there when we did (even though i teased matt about it--then retracted it when i saw that people really do stake it out so early on weekends). then our friends from matt's work all starting showing up around 1:00 or 2:00. the waves were so awesome and we totally got beat up!!! but caught some huge ones with the body board. also, you know how you try to avoid being taken away by just ducking under the wave while it goes over your head? that was a fruitless attempt, in most cases--those deals were so powerful! and sad to say, as we were heading in, i felt fiery hot needles on the back of my leg---why am i a jellyfish magnet????? so annoying!!! and so painful. but, because of my expertise in this area now (grrr), i just rubbed wet sand on it right away to get the tentacles out of my skin--this was the most effective thing i've ever done (for future good family reference, who also seems to attract those bubbly guys) because my leg is neither as puffy or grotesquely red as it has been in the past. then i put ketchup on my leg, because it has vinegar in it, and it actually helped the pain a little. i finally had to come home and put real vinegar on it, which took care of the pain for the rest of the night. and then i was able to have fun. we cooked hotdogs, veggie burgers, tofu italian sausage (i kid you not, it was excellent--i wouldn't have known it was meatless unless i had been told in advance), and a big fat steak on our little grill. then we built a fire and watched the sun set--so relaxing. we made s'mores and roasted more hot dogs over the fire, made mojitos, and watched the sea world fireworks from our beach chairs. then about 6 people (including matt) decided to go for a night swim, which was hilarious. then we ended our night by having some kid try to play "imagine" on his guitar while we sang lyrics. the lyrics that people were singing were not from the song, i must say. i felt sort of bad for him, since he just learned to play his first song--but he sounded horrible and there was no way we could have sang the real lyrics if we even tried. very funny scene.

today matt and i are going over to the condo to see the repairs that have been made, and i think? maybe a final decision will be made today to see if we keep this deal or move on to something else--depending on if there is moisture there. apparently, they also had a plumber go through the entire place and check every pipe for any kind of leak. he found nothing, so it seems pretty obvious that it was our neighbor's garden--so we shall see. it's getting closer and closer to being real, but i can't get attached until we are signing the final papers.

we're hoping to see michael sometime this week and rachael will be here for sure friday-monday.

"cool evening falling, i can hear it calling
cross to summer time"
ash

tracey

where can you buy a dozen roses for $1? the ocean beach farmer's market, that's where!
of course they're a little wilty today, but it was worth it!
i also purchased a bunch of sunflowers for $2, along with some yummy peaches.
yesterday was one of the best days ever--i did all my favorite things;
first, hung out at the beach all afternoon, then walked to the farmer's market ( a block away), then came home (matt was already home from work! yay!) so i spent some quality time with him, and then since we've been eating so well for the past week we decided to splurge and get a papa john's pizza while we watched spykids 2. oh, we also stopped it to watch "reno 911" on comedy central--pretty funny--not unlike the improv style of christopher guest movies...(plus, there's a guy in it who reminds me of the dude who is in love with corky in "waiting for guffman").

while i was at ocean beach yesterday, i suddenly spotted a guy wearing jeans and no shirt, but a big white bra, really unnaturally shaped with some tennis balls. he was just walking along the beach, acting like there was nothing out of the ordinary. was this just an act? one never knows in OB. speaking of which, if this condo thing goes through, our new zip code will be ocean beach area. ha!

this weekend should be fun and busy. our friends are having a party (christmas in july) on friday and then we're having a beach party on saturday.

michelle, do you have that recipe for weightwatchers zero point vegetable soup? i've been meaning to make it again, but i can't find my recipe.
have fun today edwards family, with mary's birthday celebration!!! we'll be calling later this evening.

"all hail what will be revealed today"
-new pornographers

i'm out.
tracey

p.p.p.s. michelle, those lyrics (everybody knows it hurts to grow up) are from ben folds "still fighting it"
i love those lyrics, too. i was just thinking about how boring adult conversation can be, with this house buying and all. when we talk to people about mortgages and inspections and home repair, i sometimes find myself fighting the urge to shout, "next subject!" in the middle of the conversation. so i just think about that and quietly start laughing to myself about it!

p.s. emily, actually, matt and i were up watching kilborne last night, too! you could have called me. i love william h. macy--and i can not wait until he wins a bunch of stuff for "door-to-door"! although i think i did start to drift off right before miss vega started to play. and here's what i have to say about that--how can she have a "best of" cd? she had like one song!!!! what a kook! by the way, i feel safer being an aunt first, too! we get the love but no responsibility for ruining their lives!!!! ha!

p.p.s. one of the funniest things ever was last night david letterman was trying to see how many pirates could fit into a subway. it turned out to be 30, plus 3 horse costumes. most disturbing was the horse costume that just had one person in it, so it's really just a brown furry body with a huge horse head on top. it was so flaming lips!!!

happy birthday mary!!!!!!!
we love you and wish we could be with you today!!!

i feel like i haven't updated for awhile, so here's the news...
matt and i had fun this past weekend with his friend from work and her husband (sue and tom).
ate at this yummy mexican restaurant that i had seen while i was out running that morning--it has an outside eating area which is covered by an arbor and there are beautiful flowers just taking over the whole thing!!! then we went to a couple of places and played bar games like shuffleboard, foosball, and darts--i must say that the ladies ruled the men with the darts!!! so much fun, unexpectedly...

we got in some nice beach time, too. perfect days on both saturday and sunday. we did some body boarding and body surfing, but some of the fun was taken away by the crowds--you really had to look behind you and in front of you to make sure you weren't going to kill or be killed as you caught a wave--and even then i had about 5 near misses. but there is nothing like being on top of a 6 foot wave!!!!! the feeling is so amazing--and the waves were so perfectly rolling, too.

let's see, what else... still waiting on our condo thing--it looks like this garden/stucco thing really is the problem. i went over there yesterday to do some paperwork with our realtor and i still love it! but not getting emotionally attached to it, as nothing is a for sure deal yet. we'll see what happens...

matt said i was getting a root canal the other day but it didn't happen (yay!). the specialist looked at my mouth and tried a few things with cold stuff and determined that my root is fine and that maybe i have a crack in the tooth somewhere. boring, let's move on!

i ended up watching a beautiful sunset by myself last night as matt went out to see reggie and the full effect.
not much going on today. when the sun comes out i'll go to the beach, then the OB farmer's market this evening for some food and flowers.

well, i love you all! have an excellent wednesday!!!
tracey

hello there.
the other day when matt and i went to the beach there was a funny (well, just unbelievable) scene.
these 3 guys were sitting on a grassy area in the middle of ocean beach (beach on one side, street on the other) and passing around what looked to be a joint. they weren't even being secretive about it, either! i did a double take, and sure enough, it was a fatty. i said to matt, "is that pot?" and he said, "yep!". talk about risk-takers--there seriously were hundreds of people around, not to mention a police station less than 100 yards away! wow...

anyhoo, had a lazy day yesterday, preparing some stuff for our future vacation...making lists, spreadsheets, you know, mare, maps of how everything is going to be packed in our suitcases!!!

oh, and some good news for our condo. the plumber and both realtors went to check out the source of the leak yesterday. they pulled up the whole deck and found no moisture around the jacuzzi. so that eliminated the jacuzzi as being the source of the leak. then as they tore up boards by our wall and fence, they discovered that the neighbor has wet mulch (which is designed to retain moisture) that is covering 6 inches of the stucco. apparently, you are not allowed to have dirt or anything piled up higher than the foundation for this very reason. the mulch is right where our two walls meet and the water is travelling into the house through the ground and wicking its way up the wall (on our side). so it's a pretty easy solution, that dude (who we met and who is really nice) just has to move his mulch back.

so it looks like everything is a go, but i'm still not going to get too excited until we have our final walk through and the keys are in our hands.
we've prayed for God's will, so we'll see what happens!

well, i'm going for a walk.

"yeah we've been walking
barefoot
all summer
why can't we just decide
to live like this all the time?
why can't we just quit?"

yeah, really! 10 weeks off is not enough. my summer vacation is nearly halfway through--how in the world did that happen???
tracey
p.s. mare, do you have any birthday ideas?

it's early and the sun is out again!!! yeah! it's beach time for me!

i got up on tuesday and the weather was pulling its usual number of cloudiness in the morning so i drove 10 miles inland to mission valley trails and went hiking by myself. it was warm and totally sunny (justin, can you explain that phenomenon to me again? i know you learned about it in your weather class!). i hiked to this dam and river first, then through dry, fire-burned grasslands, then up a (small!) mountain. i was practically the only one out there so i enjoyed the sounds of nature, including a strange insect? that made a funny rattling sound throughout my hike. i finished off by doing a loop around this lake and stopped to read a sign which said, "beware of rattle snakes". uh, right, then... this happened to me earlier in the year with a mountain lion (except i never encountered one, that i know of--i just discovered the warning sign after my hike). probably better to not know of these things or i would be really jumpy.

and now for some personal messages:
grammy: i hope you are feeling better!
dad and mary and casey: have fun with grampy! tell him we say hi!
emily: yay! glad to see you're blogging again! oh, also, i um, er, watch pet psychic on occasion. shu-up! i can't help it!!! it's so great!
justy, mikey, and mommy: hope you're having fun on your trips! mom, we haven't been to that restaurant, maybe we'll try it when you guys come out for labor day weekend. just and mike, are you guys coming out, too?
ry dogg: where are you guy?
michelle: no mayonnaise? :)

welp, i'm going to start my day of relaxation...

the world can wait
-over the rhine

tracey

well i finally updated everyones new blog sites on my links (dad, michelle, mikey)!
dad edwards, we miss you all too, it would be so fun to be home with everyone right now!
michelle-- i can't wait to hear about you american idol adventures! did you watch amazing race?

yesterday, we went to check out the condo. still really at the same stage, but our realtor wanted us to see it for ourselves. they have removed a piece of the drywall (where the water stain was) and have exposed all the layers of stuff in the walls. nothing looked wet, but the moisture detector revealed some places that still are. so they're going to get a contractor out there to find the source of the leak, remove some floorboards from the deck, inspect/repair the jacuzzi, and hopefully fix it all. actually, this holdup is sort of nice--if we could push our closing date (july 28th) into august, we might be able to avoid paying our mortgage until october. that would be very nice!

after we took a look at our condo, matt and i hung out at ocean beach for a few hours. man!!! the tourists are everywhere! the waves were huge and long and it was so fun to watch the surfers catch some good waves. then we went to see "the pirates of the caribbean", which was pretty good! johnny depp's character was funny, that girl from bend it like beckham wasn't nearly as annoying as she could have been, and it was a fairly interesting plot. very enjoyable. dad, i'm glad to hear you liked "down with love"--i agree with you! it was a great movie!

i think i'm going for a hike at cowles mountain or torrey pines today, and then to veg out on the beach after i'm done.
have a great monday, everyone!

let me go
to the shore
on a beach where we belong
i always pray for sun
-travoltas "pray for sun"

tracey

MARY AND CASEY YOU ARE TOTALLY INSANE!!!!!!!!!
in a good way, of course!

i would have given anything to see the looks on the fam's faces when you walked in the door!!!!
mom and dad, i bet you are completely thrilled!!!
matt said that you guys (mare and casey) might stop by to visit--that would be so great! and we could also meet somewhere along the coast during our vacation. we're working our way north starting on august 10th and on august 12th and 13th we are going to stay in big sur (that campsite on the ocean that we talked about earlier) and a couple more places before we end up in san fran on the 15th and 16th-so if you want to get in on any or all of that scence, that would be cool as well.

i had such a fun time back in cincy these past two weeks, but i am so glad to be home! (i missed seeing mom and dad edwards, though--our schedules just didn't match up :( ) mike and justy, hope you are having fun on your trips and hope you can make it out here this summer!

man i missed this place!!! just the smell of the air here is so refreshing and clean and beachy. matt took me to the ocean right away when i got back and we walked along the beach, checked out the dogs, and finally just set up our beach chairs and hung out for a couple of hours, just looking at the ocean and relaxing. and yes, i know that was a run-on sentence, but it is summer and i am on vacation--so no rules apply!!!!

we're going to check out the work they're doing on the condo today, and get some more details as well, so that should be fun.

it is early morning and sunny already so i am going for a run on sunset clifffs.

"it gets me going in ways that i can't explain"
-spymob (thanks for the props, matt!!! ha!)

farewell, people!
tracey

oh my--i have been a delinquent, haven't i?
first off, matt, that quote from last week (grew a mustache and a mullet) is from ben folds "army".
i've been here in cincy just visiting and chillin and chatting uncontrollably!
it has been a really fun trip so far--so much to write about. i will, however, not bore you all with too many details and just try to skim the important factos...
fun things i've done:
-went to work with my mom (hung out with preschoolers all day--so fun and hilarious!!!) once again, i found myself saying something in reference to food on the face: "zachary. is that what we do with pizza? put it on our face? no, i didn't think so."
-heidi came in town for 3 days and we laughed nonstop!
-took care of mr. reeces for 2 days!
-had a baby shower for michelle
-hung out with the beavers family for a night. "undecorated" the living room with joey, ry and michelle by utilizing small stuffed animals tied to helium ballons...
-went to kings island with my dad-wahoo!
-went to the newport aquarium and saw tons of fun sea animals!!!
-went down to lexington for a day to see ry and michelle's home that they are building--wow! so perfect for you guys!!! awesome loft!
-went out for dinner at the bamboo club-very cool atmosphere and very tasty food!

tonight is my last night here. tomorrow evening we head to columbus to spend the night so i can catch my morning flight to san diego on saturday. i miss my husband so much!!!!!!! and next to missing him, i miss the ocean. that is the first place matt is taking me after he comes to pick me up at the airport and i can NOT wait!!!
welp, there's the short update for now.

this is not goodbye-ye
-over the rhine

tracey

hello gang!
it has been beautiful and warm this week (sorry ryan and michelle). seriously, when they were here, it was colder than it usually is in the winter. so annoying!!! anyways, i've been hanging out at the beach as much as possible--so nice. well the other day matt and i were watching TV around 5:00 and a preview for the 10 o'clock news came on. they were talking about the great weather we've been having and showing clips of the beach. and i was getting ready to change the channel when i'm like, "wait! that girl has my same bathing suit!" and then i'm like, "wait, that IS me!" we were dying laughing because it was a close up of me in the beach chair, just chillin. then they showed it like every half hour like it was going to be their top story--HA!!!
so now i'm famous!!!

i've totally been enjoying this great weather just hanging out at the beach ( i discovered this cool tiny one within sunset cliffs). the OB farmer's market was yesterday and i walked around there for awhile before buying some fresh pasta, tomato-cream sauce, and a huge bunch of electric purple daisy-looking flowers with yellow centers (2 bucks!!!).

as you may have read in matt's blog, we're in the process of buying a townhome. it is so perfect--hopefully everything will go smoothly for the next 30 days and then it will be ours. you can read the other details in matt's blog--it's pretty sweet! we're going to make a video of it also, so you peeps from ohio can visualize our place and picture where we are when we're chatting with you on the phone.

we have our last meeting with the finance guy and the home inspection today--then maybe lassie foundation show in LA tonight. then i'm off to cincy (by way of columbus) on saturday (until july 12th). thanks ry, for the pickup and ride home--it's so fun that i get to see you guys so soon again! for your info: i'm taking united airlines flight 1058 from denver to columbus and the plane is supposed to arrive at 2:53 pm. so you can check to see if it is on time and all. i guess we could just meet by the baggage claim outside so you don't have to park or anything. then i have a whole night with grammy and granddad and dinner with kevdogg (no emily though :( ). edwards family--i can't wait to see you guys--just give me a call at my parents house when you get a chance and we'll set up a good day to get together! i'm so pumped for this trip but i'm going to miss my husband. this will be the longest we have been apart since we've been married.

welp, i'm out.
tracey

how did you know i was heading for pacifico?
-lassie foundation

well, i'm updating this blog just because of michelle's manipulation!!!
not really, i've just been busy, PEOPLE!!!!

we've had a fun time with ry and michelle.
so you 've heard about the sad news with bob barker once again--CAN YOU BELIEVE IT????
it was disappointing but not as sad as the first time. but this just gives us more time to practice studying prices...

we finally had a sunny day so went to la jolla, checked out the cute seals, had a tasty snack at a fun cafe, ryan went to play golf with his buddy phil while michelle, matt and i went to sunset cliffs with our wahoo's tacos and enjoyed the rest of the sun for the day. michelle and i also got spa pedicures and it was SO relaxing! it was the classic asian women speaking little english to us and then talking to each other in their language and laughing. were they making fun of us? it reminded me of that seinfeld episode where elaine suspected her nail technician of doing the same...ha!

have fun in AK mary and casey!!!
dad edwards, where are you? you're usually more faithful at blogging than all of us (well, maybe not more faithful than justin)...

we're going to check out some condos tomorrow so we'll see if anything looks like a real option..
peace out.
tracey

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD GOOD AND DAD EDWARDS!!!
I LOVE YOU!!
tracey

yeah!!!! i'm done with school!!!!
now i have 10 weeks off!!!
(not to mention the other 23 vacation days--wow, almost 5 work weeks- i had throughout the school year)
man i love being in the schools!!!

also, i found out that i get to be at the same schools next year, so i am extremely excited.
this was my fourth year as a speech therapist and it has been my best.
i was telling this to a group of kids on their last day of speech and one little peanut said,
"it's my fourth year of speech, too, and it's been MY best."
yay!

on my list of things i want to do this summer:
1. go to the beach as much as possible
2. go back to cincinnati to see family and friends
3. finally do my scrapbook of our first year in san diego
4. maybe take a class? (nah...)
5. get a pedicure (ha! i don't know why, but i really want to do this! probably because i have been wearing sandals every day since march and am tired of my feet)
6. camp up the coast of california with my husband (which we have 5 different places reserved from august 10-17) one of the places we have reserved is called a hotel, where we are ending up our trip in san francisco.

i woke up at 6:45 today. why, you (and i) ask? well, because that's the time i get up every day when i'm working WHICH I'M NOT. oh well, i have some last minute shopping to do before ryan and michelle get here. man i'm looking forward to the field (yummy cool irish pub we go to), at ryan's request. and wahoo's fish taco...they just opened a new one in point loma--BIG MISTAKE---we've been there 3 times in the past 4 days. yikes! but it is by far our favorite restaurant here!!!!

yay! grammy wrote!!! i can't wait to see your new cute haircut!!! i'll have to get all the details of the shoulder surgery when i come to visit in a couple of weeks.

well, lots of things happening---i'm back on the blog train again. and justin, don't you quit on us!!! we'll miss you if you don't blog! and why don't you just come out with mikey? hey, did you get your harry potter book from us yet? it was supposedly going to be delivered on the 12th. or was it the 22nd? i also was thinking of your production company (of which i can't wait to be the social organizer) the other day--i can't wait until that happens!!!

also, happy 1 year anniversary mary and casey (tomorrow)!!!!
you guys are alllllllllllsome! i can't believe you guys saw a bear--that is so sweet. did you run after it and try to hug it?
i would have.
also, ramona is beautiful, if i remember correctly. when we drive to the desert, we start off here at the ocean, then through ramona, which is green and lush and foresty, and then an hour later we are in the hot, desolate desert. fun to see 3 totally different terrains in less than 2 hours of driving. mom and dad good, you remember that, eh? have so much fun on your vacation!!!! and grammy and granddad and the burns family!!!

my friend regina just had her baby-- a little girl named maria.
congratulations!!!!! she is so beautiful!!!!!

oh, and michael, i took two bricks from another...

welp, i need to get on the ball here...
have a great day/week/who knows when i'll blog again!
tracey

wow, has it really only been one blog in 2 weeks?
ryan trash-talked me into updating!

welpy welp welp--ooooooooooooooooooonly 6 more days of school!!!! and i can not wait!
everything is getting done, although i predict a couple of later evenings this next week of working (which equals 5:00 for me, so i shouldn't feel too sorry for myself, eh?).

let's see, what has been happening? well, this past weekend, i took matt to a vineyard/winery for some wine tasting. it was totally beautiful and quaint--apparently it is san diego's oldest winery. fun fact. i had never been to a vineyard before, so that was completely cool. plus, they allow you to taste 4 different wines for free in these rather large shot glasses. we had a really good time. we also spent the day in encinitas (which is where ry's buddy phil just moved--how random!!!) and watched the surfers and the ocean as we ate dinner. it was a perfect evening. we ended up seeing nemo, which i found to be cute (i liked the pelicans--there wasn't enough of those cuties--and the sea turtles--especially the baby ones). matt and i BOTH laughed out loud, which we don't freqently do. did i mention that we saw bruce almighty with mary and casey? which i thought was HILARIOUS. many hee-haw moments for me! and tastefully done --i mean, nothing too out of order like you see with most hollywood conceptions of God. and i thought jim carey's communication with the Lord, like when he was crying out to him, was so convincing. is he still trying to do missions work in africa with harmon parker or was that just a weird rumor?
sorry for all the grammatical errors today, and excessive commas, i , get, carried, away, and, i'm , exhausted, and tired of thinking!!!!!

condo hunting has been pretty sparse, but that's fine with us. we saw one yesterday where we walked in and we all made a beeline to open the sliding glass doors--we were choking ("noking, i'm noking!", as farley said...anyone remember what this quote is from?) from the narsty smoke smell in the place--such a turn-off! anyhoo, the right condo will come open at the right timing and we're really excited!!!

and my vote is yes for keeping the jeep, too--why not? you've put so much into it.
well, i must be going.
byebyebloggers.
tracey

hello everyone.
it's been awhile for me, but i'm back, have no fear.

wow, justin--fun pictures of england--did you edit them in any way/crop/shape/etc? the reason i ask is because they're so rectangular and perfect. and congratulations on your first car!
and dad too, for finally getting your dream of the land rover!

we had a good time over memorial day weekend with mary and casey.
yosemite was beautiful--i can't wait to go back and explore that place when i have some more time!
excessive sonic visits were made, but i handled it better than i did when we moved out here and had to stop at sonic for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 days straight!
it was fun to see their classrooms and their apartment--very cute. and in true small-town style, when we rolled into town around 1:30 am, a police cruiser spotted us on the main drag, did a u-ie and began to follow us through the town (what? that car isn't from this town! after them, boys!). then they finally flashed their lights and pulled us over and one officer came to matt's window, and one to my window--helpful, eh? they actually were asking if we were lost (but there was no way they could have known that when they started following us). so i told them where we needed to go (which was a couple of blocks back but we weren't able to see the house numbers) and mr. helpful condescending police officer said, "in chowchilla, the street numbers go up as you go this way. you need to go back where you came from." oh, thanks sir--extremely helpful. but, at least we gave them some action for the night.

man, these last two weeks of school are BUSY. how am i going to get it all done? but i guess i will...
only 10 days left!!! and then ryan and michelle come and then beach time every day!

matt and i went downtown last night (i had been in withdrawal mode since we went to chow town last weekend and matt was sick the weekend before)--it felt so good to be around big buildings and people... ahhh.... we went to this cool place called henry's pub, a scottish restaurant--very yummy! and somehow, matt manages to find either a burger or a pizza at any restaurant he goes to, regardless of fare!!!
matt then went to flaming lips, which sounded epic, but i'll let him tell the details. while he was gone, i chatted with michelle, who was up at 2am in ohio and decided to call! :)

alright michael! you're welcome whenever your road trip takes you here-it sounds like so much fun!
speaking of road trips, matt and i decided we are going to take a road trip of our own up the coast of cali and camp on our way. there are lots of places with free or cheap camping, right on the ocean. some places we're considering are (in case you are obsessed with atlases, like me!): santa barbara, santa cruz island (with mary and casey), big sur, and of course san francisco--won't be quite as fun without joel, astevens, and mccann, though. we're planning for sometime in late july/august, so we can meet up with the alaskans at some point!!!

well, i'm out.
and i'm with you, dad,
god is good.

only 13 more days of school left!!!
happy memorial day everyone!
we're off to chowchilla to check out mary and casey and their lives...
-tracey

hi there everyone!
for those who don't already know...
ryan has a blogspot now!!!! yeah!
it's www.goatrider.blogspot.com
i'll get a link up there for you, guy, as soon as i remember how to do it...

man! what a beautiful, beautiful day it was today!
i love having the windows open and just letting the breeze come through the house.

plus, school countdown: 15 days!!!

also, i sent out packages a little while ago--i hope you guys have received them by now.
emily, michelle, mom edwards -did you ever get your mother's day package?

for those of you who don't know yet, matt and i are making the big step of home ownership. well, at least, we're attempting to do so.
pretty exciting!!!! p.s. for those chachos out there--yes, it is expensive--don't ask!!! :) we're trying to get a condo in the area we live in now, point loma/ocean beach. we love this area, it's close to work for both of us, and we love living a mile away from the ocean.

mare, i feel your thing with the girl from BGSU who is on the new road rules.
there is a show on right now (promoting the new season) and we're waiting to see her.
can't wait for chow town on friday night!!! so into seeing your new lives!!!

we saw spirited away the other day. i was really into it for awhile. then it got WAY too weird at the end. still amusing and glad i finally saw it. we also went to see down with love, which was good. very fun, kitchy 60's decor (mare, you would love their apartments!) and great performances by all.
i'm going to look for a class to take this summer now...
farewell people!
tracey

welp, another week down,
bringing the school countdown to....
18 days!!!! yeah!!! (last two days are party days, i bet mare wouldn't count those!)

matt--"scottish food base on a dare..." quote. at first, axe murderer seemed to obvious, and then i thought the rushmore scene where max fischer is taunting the scottish kid with no ear. but i changed my vote back--which makes me want to be in mary's class to watch that old classic!

mare and dad--i'm into chantal. thanky (mare) (but from dad, too)! really great sound + bonus good lyrics...

quote from the kid...

"i saw a manatee at sea world. he was just floating around like this (floated slowly with eyes closed and arms out) and he was asleep. but he fell asleep with some lettuce hanging out of his mouth!!!"
i was cracking up at the mental picture!!! plus, i am obsessed with manatees.
my brother kevin does an amazing manatee voice (not a sea cow!)


I LOVE LIVING IN SAN DIEGO!!!
i can't stop thanking God every single day that we're here!
every time i see the ocean or think about the completely insane ways we've been blessed in circumstances, His joy rises up in me.
thanks to everyone who believed in us, supported us, encouraged us, prayed for us and who now come to visit us!

"why can't we just decide
to live like this all the time?"
-ash
(we did!)

happy birthday michelle!!!!
love,
tracey and matt

i forgot to add that i went to see billy graham the other day.
he was here in san diego and filled up the stadium (60-78,000 people each night).
i wasn't really going to go, but then a friend (who is a new believer) asked me to go with her, so i did.

it
was
truly
unbelievable.

i have never heard a message
so simple
so powerful
so loving yet
so truthful

thousands of people gave their lives to the Lord.
it was amazing to see people streaming down on to the field from the 3 levels of the stadium.
he waited for 30 minutes for people to come down and they were STILL coming down the aisles when he finally prayed for everyone.

and he quoted c.s. lewis, something to the effect that the death rate does not change--it is always 100%, death is certain, we will all die someday.
and then of course, that lead to how to get to heaven (through Jesus) and the whole thing just exceeded my expectations.

i'm excited for our trip to chowchilla for memorial day weekend--and then visitors ryan, michelle, and hannah in june! it will be then that we fulfill michelle's dream of seeing bob barker and getting on the price is right!!!! yeah!!! one of us will surely get on--AND WIN THE SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN!!! (probably ryan, since he's the least enthusiastic about it:)
welp, spaghetti time for me yummmmmmm, so see you all later!
tracey

happy mother's day mom good and mom edwards!!!!
you are the best moms in the world and we love you!
love,
tracey and matt

wow, nice posts, everyone!
yay!!! ryan and michelle are going to have a daughter and matt and i will have a niece!!!
and the long-awaited post from my grammy (who has had a dislocated shoulder which has been healing for the past month) was the best!!!
dad--please give teresa metzger my love, too--i didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her before we moved--now she must know! that's really great that she is hosting a tanzanian person at her house.
mare- if you ever mention that thing about a cow again, i will personally hurt you! so sick!!! way worse than matt's toe post!!!

happy graduation justin!
mike, hope you get that job--it sounds allllllllsome!

matt and i are going to a block party in pacific beach today, where they close down some streets, have food and stuff, and a bunch of local bands play on different stages. it's the closest we're going to get to cornerstone music festival this year... which, that reminds me, michelle--i can't believe your radio station! how annoying and self-righteous! i'm laughing at how ridiculous they are, but it's actually very sad. i appreciate your form of boycotting, though (with the devil's music:).

23 days left of school! yeah!
too many exclamation marks on this blog!
tracey

hello everyone.
tomorrow is thursday!!!
i'm back to reality with seeing my kiddos.
it's been awhile for some of them between spring break, field trips, and my conference last week!

therefore, i will start with quotes from kids:

first off, i was reading a book with a little boy. i forget how the topic came up, but i had asked this peanut if he ever made his mom so sad that she cried.
he said (in a very sad voice), "oh yes.
once mom and i were making brownies and it was a very bad day for me.
so my mom was crying and crying.
and it broked my heart."

and today i was walking down the hall and i heard small running footsteps, so i turned around,
and a little blond peanut came running straight into me with a great big hug!
me: "oh hi keegan!! i missed you!"
peanut: "i missed you! i was just coming out of the bathroom and i was so glad to see you walking down the hall!"
he let go and we had a little conversation. then he hugged me again. then we talked some more. then he hugged me again.
in my head i was laughing so hard! he was so cute and it was fun to get totally unsolicited hugs!
finally, he stepped back and said, "where were you, anyways?"
"i was at a conference last week and the week before that you were on a field trip," i told him.
"oh. i have another field trip, but thankfully, it's not on friday!!! (his speech day)"
and he hugged me again.

did i mention that i love my job?

and did i mention that i have 25 days of school until summer vacation?

matt and i are heading up to chowtown for memorial day weekend!!! we're going to see mare and case in their new life in chowchilla, a unique place to live...
or is it a unique way of life? i can't remember what that sign says now!

by the way, i don't know if i mentioned this on my blog, but a couple weeks ago it was my grammy and granddad's 60th wedding anniversary.
and they are still so in love--such an example and inspiration for all of us who have just started our journey.

-tracey

wow, great song mike!!! what instrument(s) did you play?
and mare, if you get a second, i'd like to hear a copy of chantal's new one--i love the lyrics for that song you posted a few days ago (about time).

we had a PERFECT night last night!!!!! matt and i drove up to LA last night, where our friend chelsea was on business. we hung out at santa monica and venice beach (where muscle beach is and the cool outdoor bball courts are from white men can't jump). venice beach had a very cool and extremely long boardwalk, which i would love to see during the summer sometime--but it was sprinkling, so no one was out yesterday. then we picked chels up at marina del ray at her hotel. we went back to santa monica strip for dinner at this cool place called gaucho grille and talked like maniacs. for those of you who don't know, chelsea and connell got the heck out of dodge (BG) and moved to manhattan, where they have similar stories of being blessed by the lord with jobs, apartments, and everything else!!! it was so great to be with a friend who is just like family. and to be able to talk all night long!!!! we missed connell, who was back in manhattan--but a visit is brewing for the end of summer....

mare, matt said you guys could have us up for memorial day weekend? we thought about traffic and all that and figured it wouldn't be bad if we left at like 7 am on saturday (the 24th) and then drove back monday afternoon (the 26th). what do you think?

happy birthday emily!!!! hope you had a great one!!!

michelle, never say never about cornerstone festival! we might all go back with our kids someday!!! remember how many people had kids and little babies there? but it was so much fun! your memories were right on! my favorite part was lounging on the air mattress with you and mare way out at the other end of the lake and having people call to us from shore on bull horns, telling us to come back in. to which we responded by (the first time) giving a wave and nodding and (the second and third time) just looking and turning over to our stomach or back. then they pulled out the big guns and sent a canoe of people out after us. to which we responded by fake paddling back to shore.

farewell friends.
tracey

ahhh, another friday! who can believe it is may already?
it always reminds me of the last week of college, packing up to move home for the summer, finishing up final exams (pulling all-nighters or blowing them off entirely). and of course,this was always the one week of spring weather that BG actually got, so fake studying outside was taking place, but actually people watching or laying out was the real story...
funny that i've been out of school for several years now but just the smell of the air can bring back that great mixture of emotions that came with the last week of school...

and justin, you're getting your diploma!!!! sweet!!!! whether you use it or not, you have it and (i'm going to insert the annoyingly cliched graduation speech in here ) "another chapter of your life has come to an end. however (insert dramatic pause, scan the crowd), it is also the opening of another chapter, a new beginning...."

i'm listening to the plumb/our lady peace cd that you made us mare--thanks for flinging that our way! always love new music. is it me or does plumb seem more contemporary christian (with surprising strains of country?) on this album? i remembered them being a little more alternative than this (at least that album we listened to in africa--yes! great memories, along with that larue album!). our lady peace is quality and catchy, as usual! they always remind me of summer nights in BG...
we saw all american rejects the other night (sad to miss lassie, but we'll catch them soon). they gave a really good show, but short, as you may have read in matt's blog---which, by the way matt----i read your gross toe thing--thanks a lot. plus, i'm sure everyone else can sleep nights now knowing that disgusting fact!!!

we're going to see identity tonight with our friends marni and eddie.
and then tomorrow we're going to see our friend chelsea, who is in town (LA) on business from new york!

and here's a quote from our lord...
"we live by faith, not by sight."
-2 corinthians 5:7
so profound yet so simple.
tracey

yay! i love this whole week of training--not only is it actually USEFUL, the lady presenting is totally with it...
first off, the session is from 8:30-2:00--nice.
then, she says "i know you guys are used to teaching all day so sitting all day is hard for you. we'll be having plenty of breaks."
and also, we get an hour lunch. that comes to a total of 4 hours of listening and paying attention!!!
therefore, my school countdown has changed--this week no longer counts.
the countdown (which will stay the same for awhile) is 28 days! yeah!!!

also, i'm taking a personal day for whenever we are invited to chowtown...............

well, i have to do some internet research, this will have to be cut short.
apparently, it is ben and jerry's free ice cream cone day, and anyone who knows matt knows how he loves free food!!!! :)
tracey
p.s. mare, i'm sort of into the new chili peppers song-- slower, but melodic...how bout you?

welp, i'm biding my time while the lakers game finishes out.
matt watches them in hopes that they will lose each time. and usually he gets mad.
so i'm steering clear of the TV and am planted in front of the computer!

we had a fun day yesterday.
first, we went for a bike ride down to dog beach and watched all the crazy, cute dogs running around doing silly things.
came home for a nap and then for drinks and dinner at a place called jake's (in del mar), which is owned by the same corporation that own's duke's (a yummy restaurant we went to in kauai, on our honeymoon). it had a similar feel and a great ocean view! also, while we were waiting at the bar we met some chaps from england and chatted with them for about an hour--it was a very fun conversation--they seemed to know so much about the U.S. ("charleston, isn't that where the civil war started?" said one guy. uhhh, yeah, sure....) and had we had some funny conversations about the french ("cheese-eaters") and germans (i can't remember the nickname they had, but it was more rude:). anyhoo, we had a great night...

oh yeah, dad, of course i would love to see you guys this summer when i'm in cincy! i checked the reds schedule and they are home for 4th of july weekend, but we already have plans for that (michelle's baby shower, heidi in town). they play houston that next week, but of course they're away... but maybe we could work out another day for you guys to come down and we'll do something else fun (july 7th, 8th or 10th would work out best)...

mare-it was nice to read your fun blogs--you're welcome whenever you want this summer. it will be nice to have someone to lay out with at the beach. also, have you guys gone to sequoia national park yet? i found a really great campsite (private, tent camping only, $8/night) that looks fun. it might be a fun summer excursion with you guys. also, big sur is calling our names at andrew molera state park, with walk in camping, $3 per night, on the ocean--any takers from the sanford clan (or the justin clan)? we were thinking july or august for a nice long weekend...

i have a whole week of training, which will target speech and language strategies in relation to increasing reading comprehension in my kids! yay! so no planning anything this week! and i have started my monday countdown, as well as my days of school left countdown: 6 more mondays (including tomorrow!!!), 34 days left of school--can you believe it!!!???!!! yahooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
tracey

happy birthday casey!!!!
(we know it was yesterday, but we're late, as usual...)
expect something in the mail very soon...
love,
tracey and matt

what is the demonic spirit involved with my sixpence none the richer cd's???
i have bought "this beautiful mess" a total of three, yes three! times. again, it is missing.
and now i just went to get "divine discontent" and it, too, is gone.
how, i ask? how is this happening?

but alas, there are more things in life than music (what???)---although unbelievably hard to separate music from almost every aspect of life, as it penetrates every activity and thought and growth and emotion and everything associated with any significant event of my life...
unbelievable how the Lord did it all--with music, i mean. think about the ENDLESS possible combinations of a limited number of notes with songs and lyrics and styles. truly amazing.

also, justin--we totally would love to hang with you this summer. when are you going to europe? we'll have to coordinate with the alaskans for sure. ryan and michelle will be here from june 14-21 (oh, check out michelle's blog--she has a message for you!). we're into whatever-sd, chowtown, maybe yosemite/big sur/monterey/any other place.

welp, i'm making a jello cake tonight--anybody ever made one before? you know, when you poke holes in a cake, pour liquid hot jello over it, fling it in the fridge, and top it with whipped cream. if you haven't had it, you should. yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm. so anyhoo, i must get on the stick with that one!

i'll leave with some lyrics from the travoltas:
hey i got a great plan
we'll drive in my van
we're heading down south
where the summer's still around
feel the ocean breeze
we will dance all nigh-igh-ight
hey we'll go to mexico (san diego!)
where tequila rivers flow
the surf is always up
everybody's going nuts
live awhile by the sea
you will feel alrigh-igh-ight...

-tracey

finally! i'm back.
sorry if my opening line has been annoying you for the past week or so.
we've just been a little bit busy is all...

had a great visit with my parents--we fit sooooo much stuff in!!! they came in on saturday and we showed them around ocean beach, my elementary school, and sunset cliffs. then we went to shelter island and walked around the marina while my dad marveled at all of the sailboats. after that, we went home and packed a picnic and took it back to sunset cliffs just in time to watch the sun set. ahhhh...

sunday: it was cloudy in the morning and i was getting ready to pout about it but decided to work out with my mom at sunset cliffs. we went about 3 miles and the sky cleared right up--so beautiful!!! so we decided to head up the coast to wahoo's for lunch, la jolla's seal beach (so many cute, fat seals just squirming around. we were able to get really close to some who were lounging on the rocks), then on to a hike at torrey pines, and up to encinitas for another sunset.

monday: yuck! a storm came in and annoyed the crap out of everyone!!! but matt went off to work and my parents and i headed for the maritime museum (which is housed in this huge old ship with sails that remind me of the dawn treader!), also browsed around seaport village for awhile. at one point i yelled into the wind, "I'M NOT IN BOWLING GREEN!!!" then it was naptime for the cranky heads.... we picked matt up at work and went out for happy hour and dinner at fred's mexican-yum. back to matt's office for the tour of mr. technical writer and then my mom and i had to go sandal shopping while the boys went home and watched sports.

tuesday: matt finally got a day off work and we went to the zoo--the best were the cute pandas! i wish i could have hugged those softy guys! we made it home in time for the sunset again and then off to the field, our favorite irish restaurant for an epic evening. we got to sit right by the glowing fireplace and had a very cool irish waiter (who became my dad's best friend within minutes!). followed that up with some coffee and then snooze time!

wednesday: dad set off for his own adventure on the orion sailboat for the day (had some titanic moments on the bow of the boat, he reported). my mom and i went to old town and had a fun tour with an interesting tour guide and then ate tortillas from a vendor on the street (yummy cinnamon and strawberry tortillas--so good!). we went to the tidal pools at cabrillo national monument and saw a million hermit crabs--we were hoping for some starfish, but they were nowhere to be found. then we headed over to the OB farmer's market (they close a main street down and all the local farmers, florists, and fishermen--and other random people-come in and sell their goods). i bought some flowers and vegetables and we came home and made a very fresh dinner out of our purchases!

thursday: went hiking in the anza-borrego desert --can you believe it was cold???? well, it was. at least for the first half hour of the hike. then the sun came out and it warmed up to about 70 degrees--totally not typical for springtime. we hiked to palm canyon, an oasis in the middle of the desert--so beautiful and serene. we got home around 6 pm (got in yet another great sunset--best one all week!) and nobody felt like cooking so we went to fillipi's pizza grotto for chianti and pizza. my mom became obsessed with the meat sauce on her lasagna and bought some fresh sauce on an impulse. 5 minutes later she said, "how will i get this home on the plane?" thus, matt and i have become the proud owners of two containers of fresh spaghetti sauce!

friday: went to OB and sunset cliffs and my parents said goodbye to the ocean. then i dropped them off at the airport, came home, and collapsed. whew--fun and exhausting week!

we're heading out to bible study now so farewell for now.