Recent Happenings in Cali

It's been FOREVER since I last updated our blog... Full time work is craziness...and I don't know where all my time goes any more! (wait...... to work). I've turned into somewhat of a flake of a friend and am tired all the stinkin' time -- BUT, am starting to "get" first grade and enjoy it more and more each week as I get the hang of things. Whew! :) I would've also updated our blog sooner had it not frustrated me to the point of almost throwing our computer out a window two weeks ago when I added these pics, as it wouldn't let me re-order them! Darn you blog! (I might have also slightly over-reacted, something I am good at). So I am going with them some what out of order. I will live. :)

Remember when all those crazy fires were buring down in Cali about 6 weeks ago? We captured a few pics of the event out on the deck of our old apartment:

On another note, Curt suprised me with a fabulously fun trip just North of Santa Barbara in celebration of our 5 year wedding anniversary! We "camped" in this huge canvas tent, complete with a bed, electricity, and heat -- it was super relaxing and just a short walk down to the beach. Here was a little flower we saw on one of our treks (out of order)...

Curt posing in front of the sign where we stayed... we would highly recommend it! There are awesome cabins too (but a tad more expensive).

The long drive up to the enterance...

Walking along the beach... it was a misty and refreshing morning -- so nice to escape the 100 degree heat of the desert!

Happy 5 years! hehe :)

Random picture.... beach that way -->

More beach pics:

The dinning hall and general store at El Capitan -- Meals a little over-priced and greasy, but still very fun -- all part of the experience! :)

The pool overlooking the ocean we mercifully had to ourselves a couple different times:

A grape shot:

Me and the tent:

More grapes! (out of order... GRRRrrrr).

Curt made dinner reservations Sat. night at a FABULOUS place called Bouchon in downtown Santa Barbara -- it was AMAZING. They specialize in fresh, seasonal, organic foods. You know the meal is going to be good when the bread and butter before you even begin your meal is out of this world! The rest of the food and wine did NOT disappoint. My salad below -- pear, nut, and goat-cheese with a vinaigrette and caramelized onions... Mmmmmm...

Curt said his heirloom tomato salad was the best thing he has EVER eaten. It was soooo good. The pictures don't do it justice either; we didn't want to be "those" patrons with the flash going off every few minutes on our camera in a nice restaurant. hehe.

Sharing our YUMMY dessert -- lemon ice-cream with a blueberry cake and fresh berries. Mmmmm... Loved every bite!

Snapped a quick pic outside... Thanks for the AmAziNg food Bouchon!

One last pic of the tent -- an inside shot! Fun fun... (but also out of order). :)

Fabulous weekend! Great way to celebrate 5 years!

Will update again soon with pics of our new place (we are renting a house... yippppeeeee!) and maybe some pics of my classroom!

All for now....

The Last Days of Summer....

So the last week has brought with it some big changes in the Stephan California household! I was officially offered a job this past Thursday.....Yaaaayyyy!!! I got the call while teaching my 6th graders during my long term sub job... the district sent a sub in later that morning, and I had 1/2 of Thursday and Friday to fill out paper work, clean my new classroom, set it up (as much as I could), and prepare materials for the little first grade kiddos on Tuesday morning! WheW! It was a long and semi-stressful Friday -- but my fellow first grade teachers were unbelievably helpful, and made me feel sooo much better by the time I left Friday evening. More updates to come on this however... and pictures, but for now, I have got to finish up this summer!! So let's head to Bend, my parent's new home (still crazy to think about!)..... Here's a great shot of Mt. Hood on our way down from Portland, where we spent the weekend before at my brothers' homes:

Let me tell you, we sure didn't waste any time getting straight to work helping my parents paint their new house! We were so excited to help start making it more of a home by getting some color on the walls and some decorative items unpacked.... Here's Curt getting ready to roll:

Here's mom hanging out in the great room, with the dining room behind her. All the big windows in the house are just gorgeous, and let in tons of natural light, which I love! Notice how everything is stark white and moved into the middle of the rooms..... Lot's to do, but I love a blank slate!

Already paint on the walls is making a HUGE difference... getting above the cabinets was a little tricky, as demonstrated in the photo below, but never-the-less, the warm yellow tone popped the rich color of the cabinets and wood flooring right out.

Hideous shot, but thought I would include documentation of my holding a paint brush as well. I served in the prepping (aka: taping) and edging department (aka: standing on my tippy toes trying not to paint the ceiling while my arm is shaking): not my favorite, but I was out on the whole rolling thing!

One of our favorite things about our week in Bend, (besides just being with family which was the best!), were all the incredible rain and thunder storms we got to experience.... They were crazy!! Hail one day, torrents of rain the next (as I try to show below), and incredible lighting too (documented even farther below). Anyway, the bursts of moisture were welcome relief to the heat and super fun to watch. I wish you could see how hard the rain was falling in this shot!

The rain brought out a few little friends too.... including this adorable frog! I went out and tried to hold it, and it promptly relieved itself on me (thanks a lot!). Needless to say, our time together ended before it began.

Here's a shot of the kitchen with the paint all done, including our very favorite color on the left wall, Cocoa Bean.

The great thing about where my parents live is that there are about 3 dog parks right in the area, all just a few short miles apart. Their dogs LOVE it... and my mom is so good at taking them out... usually 2 or 3 times a day for runs or walks. (Mom, I know there is a good chance I'm spelling their names horribly wrong, so sorry!)... But, here's me, Charlie, mom, and Colette:

We went into downtown Bend one night when my dad arrived for a yummy dinner out, and our walk afterwards lent us this incredible sunset shot over the Deschutes River! We just fell in LOVE with Bend.

Here's Curt, me, dad, and mom.... I love this picture with all the soft light in the background.

Here's the entry-way of their house (on the right), and the great room..... things were really starting to come along after the paint got on the walls. We started pulling out decorative items, which was so fun! Did I mention, however, that me, Curt, and mom moved the grand piano and the armoire (featured in the picture below)? Let's just say our limbs were sore for days afterward, and it looked like Curt had taken a box cutter to his forearms!! Poor thing did the brunt of the lifting -- I'm a total weakling.

A look from the great room back into the breakfast room and kitchen. Love it, love it! And there's that beast of a piano we moved. I shuddered to think about moving that thing ever again. Yeeeesh.

So while we were in Portland visiting my brothers and family, Curt snuck down to Eugene for a night to go fishing with his buddy Simon. He caught a huge Steelhead, which he promptly froze so the whole family could be lucky enough to enjoy it together later. The meal Curt made with it was out of this world! For those of you that don't know... Curt loves to cook. And let me just say, he is darn good at it.... as I tried to showcase in the picture below. I can only take credit for the salad... the fish, potato salad, and asparagus were all his, and packed with a flavor punch! MMmmmm.....

Here's Chris, Karen, Curt, my dad, mom, and I at the table ready for the fish-feast:

There was another gorgeous sunset that night... after another torrential rain storm. Love, love, love the rainy stormy afternoon's and evenings.

Hi brother!!

Karen, me, and mom..... the sun was so stinkin' bright that we all appear really peeved about something in this picture... like the blinding, scorching sun.

Me and Charlie having some bonding time, although, don't I look more excited than she does?

Colette and Charlie hanging out.... They are so cute! And let me tell you, the fact that they don't shed a hair is pretty cool.

As a final parting shot, the last night we were at my parent's house there was a WickEd thunder and lighting storm. Curt took the digital camera outside, and after taking a hundred or more pictures, was please to find he captured this awesome lighting pic!

We miss you family! Can't wait to get back up to Oregon and Washington to visit! Love you guys, and mom and dad... LOVE the new place! We are super excited to explore much more of Bend and the surrounding countryside. Until next time....

Hanging out in the 'ham! (part 2)

Slowly but surely I am catching our blog up! (This statement seems to be a theme, I know). Things in Cali are going well... Curt and I are both super busy with school and having a great time hanging out with friends and enjoying the summer weather; though it would be nice if it were just a tad cooler. But, let's get back to life in Bellingham this summer, which had its own warm, sunny weather! Here's LuLu and I with the twins... I'm holding Lucy, and Alyssa has Maddie.

We enjoyed a super fun Stephan family BBQ in Brian and Lisa's backyard.... including delicious yummies and family photos. Here's our family... Lu, Curt, me, Lisa, Brian, and Kelli and Ethan with Lucy and Maddie. (We miss you guys sooooo much!)

Here are the Kolb's.....

And the Stephan's....
Here's Kelli and I with Lucy, trying to stay cool in the shade:

More cute babies!! Lu with Madeline, and Aunt Jani with precious little Lily! :) (Love that headband)

Curt also got a chance to do some fly fishing on one of his favorite rivers... the Methow! He and his dad took off for a 4 day weekend and had a blast... as documented in Curt's smile below :)

Here's Brian casting....

And showing off a great catch....

Hanging out on the river.....

Meanwhile, Lisa and I had a girls weekend over at Kelli's with the twins while the boys were gone, as Ethan was out of town for the weekend as well for a bachelor party. It was so fun hanging out with my adorable nieces! We had a blast uncovering some cute clothes, accessories and shoes for the girls.... and playing dress up! Maddie, love the Santa hat, tutu, and animal print flats-- you are so stinkin' precious!
Lucy was a little freaked out by her Santa hat and red tutu get-up however! hehe :) I couldn't resist posting this wide-eyed photo....

Hi Maddie-cakes! :)

Lucy sporting a little fro-hawk! :)

Before we had to leave Bellingham, Brian and Lisa treated us out to a delicious dinner at Mambo's in celebration of my having completed my elementary ed. and master's degree! Yay!! The dinner was a celebration in itself as my lasagna was to-die-for. MMmmmmmm. Thanks guys!! Here's Lisa, me, and Lulu.

Another table shot that included the boys too! Alex, Curt, and Brian....

One last departing family shot -- Alyssa, Lisa and Lucy, Me, Curt, Ethan, Kelli, and Brian with Maddie. (oh! and Molly dog) :) Love you guys!