Archive | Coronado

Hello 2017!

January 9, 2017 at 2:23 pm

Our Christmas card photo this year: Lena (5), Gil (3), and Forest (7 months).

Hello, old blog. I think of you often, mostly because putting words and photos into this space is a way to record both the images and the emotions of this stage of life, marriage, and motherhood. I miss doing this, and reading my readers’ stories too, and sharing in this small community online.

And so, at least for the month of January, one of my goals is to write four blog posts. I am already over a week into this month and haven’t been able to write until now, so we’ll see if this happens!

I thought a fun thing to do would be to capture the last few weeks in a bunch of photos. A lot of my favorite photos are on Instagram, but here are some that didn’t make the cut for whatever reason, yet still tell our story.

In December right before Christmas, we went on a five-day vacation to Cambria on the central California coast with my mom, dad, sister Emily, brother Eric, and his girlfriend Rebecca. We stayed in a gorgeous Airbnb on Stepladder Ranch, and we spent hours hiking in the lush green hills around the ranch.

Sunrise through the lavender outside our bedroom window.

We went on a tour of Stepladder Creamery, a goat dairy on the ranch. It was so green; all the shades of green and red and blue were like technicolor. The cheese was great too!

Forest was everyone’s favorite to snuggle.

Sunset at Elephant Seal Beach, where we saw male elephant seals fighting and tiny newborn baby seals nursing. Elliott and I haven’t been back here since our honeymoon almost seven years ago, so it was crazy to stand there watching the same amazing sight… but with our three children.

Mornings at the ranch house.

My mom bought fun spa items for us girls to enjoy while we were there, and Lena had so much fun pampering all of us. I want to repeat this experience! Turns out she gives a facial (the five-year-old version) just as well as she climbs trees.

Frolicking in the hills!

We visited Hearst Castle while we were staying just a few miles away, and it was opulent and magnificent. This is the indoor pool. Can you imagine hanging out here with movie stars in the 1930s and ’40s?

The long drive home. I hate LA traffic.

Christmas Eve breakfast! Elliott’s favorite cinnamon rolls were a must.

My little family ready to head out to the Christmas Eve service at church, and our Christmas Day dinner the next day.

The whole crew enjoying Christmas morning breakfast. We are so glad you all came!

My three precious children on Christmas morning. Forest’s first! My heart was so full of thankfulness that day.

Between travel to St Louis, Virginia, and Cambria in December, Forest’s sleep schedule was a total wreck and he was so exhausted by the time Christmas was over. We moved him up to his own bedroom (and out of our closet!) right after my family departed. We also moved him out of the little Arm’s Reach co-sleeper bed he’d slept in his whole life, and now he is in a real “big boy” crib. He’s already sleeping so much better. Not sleeping through the night, though I think he could. I know… babies and parents and sleep… the endless drama…

Elliott’s parents got into town for a week-long visit the same day my family left, and we spent a quiet day at home before going to the San Diego Holiday Bowl parade the next day. The kids loved all the balloon floats and bands!

We celebrated a second Christmas with Elliott’s parents, this time just stockings. The kids especially enjoyed the packs of gum I put in there, and the little balloon pump and long tube balloons that we made into shapes. So entertaining!

We visited Torrey Pines State Reserve one day, and a cockatoo walked right up with his owner and made himself at home! He untied our shoe laces, ate our carrots, and then meandered on his happy way.

Elliott’s sister gave the kids cloth bags and fabric paint for Christmas, and they had so much fun decorating them. I love this messy, realistic scene that is reminiscent of many many mornings in our home.

At the recommendation of multiple friends, I got my first Erin Condren planner this year. Already I love having a paper planner so much. I feel like I have a clear grasp of what this week holds, and what I need to get done, like send birthday cards, schedule babysitters, accomplish monthly goals… things that often got pushed to the last minute or just forgotten. When my family relies on me to be organized as well as provide for them in myriad ways, I don’t want to waste my time being disorganized, last-minute, or forgetful. This is my realization and aspiration, anyway. More about goals in an upcoming post!

My baby’s first time in the shopping cart seat, and one of my favorite parts of the day: bathing Forest, wrapping him up in his hooded towel, dressing him in cozy pajamas, snuggling up to nurse him, and then laying his sleepy body down in his crib. I love having a baby so so so much, even with the challenges.

I’ve been selling and giving away a lot of things this month (spring cleaning!), and I loved this photo of a hand bell set I was ready to part with. Sadly, my kids were always more interested in ringing them loudly enough to wake up the neighbors than playing “Jingle Bells.”

Photos of me and my best friend before a hot date to an Italian restaurant!

For my job at a local paper, I reviewed Buona Forchetta, a popular Italian restaurant in San Diego, and then interviewed the owner. Everyone loved the article, and I loved the entire experience from start to finish! Here’s the article if you’d like to read it.

Our beloved baby. On the left, he was eating some crackers (love Mum-Mums!) at the library, and on the right he was hanging out with me, Elliott, and our dog on a date while Elliott’s parents took the older two kids to La Jolla Cove.

More of my baby. I might be obsessed a little. Also he loves his bath each night so much!

Photo of Bluewater Boathouse (another restaurant I review each quarter for the newspaper) and Glorietta Bay at sunrise, taken on a run with friends. We live in such a breathtakingly beautiful place!

Lena showed Forest how to set up her new gears toy, and Gil snapped this random photo of me one night when I was giving Forest a bath.

Last week we rode the ferry from Coronado to downtown San Diego (I love this photo from the ride) to get Lena a new passport and apply for Forest’s first. We’d like to do some international travel this spring, but we’re still not sure where.

Playing on the amazing playground after our passport appointments. Forest is such a serious swinger, and Lena is such a daredevil one!

And finally, here is a photo of my precious Gil, because I don’t take enough of this sweet, goofy boy. He wasn’t feeling great here (the kids have been suffering from stomach bugs this past week), but he came along so cheerfully on this expedition on the ferry and smiled so sweetly here.

And that’s all for now! A busy season, but one I don’t ever want to forget. If only that were possible… at least for all the best memories!

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9 :: in Coronado, family, Forest, Gil, holidays, home sweet home, Lena, life lately, San Diego

A Pink Baby Shower for a Dear Friend

May 11, 2016 at 9:14 pm

Aww Karinne — isn’t she so cute?! Making 36 weeks pregnant look amazing!

Karinne moved to Coronado in July, and they visited our church soon after arriving. I recognized a potential friendship and jumped on it. “Hey, I saw you at church and then again on a local Coronado Facebook page! Let’s hang out!”

Pretty soon we were doing just that, and then our families were in the same Tuesday night church Bible study, and then we started our own community group in January at my house. We’ve been so grateful for these wonderful friends and the bond of faith and friendship that brought us together so quickly. They are moving to Sicily this summer (where we moved from two years ago!), and we’ll miss them so much.

My friends Beth and Callie suggested we throw Karinne a baby shower to celebrate her second baby — a little girl named Adelaide — who is due at the end of this month. Hosting with these two amazing women was so much fun and so easy! I provided the space, we all shared food responsibilities, and Beth custom-ordered the most precious cupcakes.

More beautiful friends! Lorina, Hilary, and Beth are all a part of our church community group. If you are in Coronado and looking for a weekly family Bible study, let me know. Our group is open!

A little close-up on those adorable cupcakes. Can you believe them?

After we ate, we played a couple of games. One was a Name Game, where our friend Lex beat everyone by writing down 26 girl names that began with every letter of the alphabet in just 46 seconds!

The second game is a version of The Price Is Right. I purchased a few baby items (small package of diapers, wipes, pacifiers, etc.) and then each person had to guess how much each item cost. It’s hilarious to see how high or low some people guess — even moms who buy these things all the time! Karinne took all the items home, which helped with some of her practical baby needs, too.

After that we had a time of prayer, which was my favorite part of the day. I had written five verses and prayer prompts on five index cards, and five women around the room prayed for Karinne, her new baby Adelaide, and this time of transition for her family. It was a peaceful, beautiful time, I think even for the guests who don’t necessarily share our faith.

And then Karinne opened presents! I love her joyful facial expressions in all of these.

And last but not least, a “bump” shot of us two pregnant mamas, due just two weeks apart! If our moms don’t get here in time, will I be calling you to take care of my kids when I go to the hospital, Karinne, or will you be calling me…?

Guess we’ll find out soon! ;)

12 :: in Coronado, friends, hospitality, new baby series

An Update from the Sunny Coast

February 20, 2016 at 10:27 am

Well hi! It’s been months since I’ve updated this old blog. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and everything else that we missed!

I think when you disappear from a space — or slowly slip away — readers often wonder if something is wrong. (I know I’ve hidden away from social media and blogs at times when things are hard or uncertain.) Yet this time I slipped away because life was so good, because the days were so full, and because I didn’t want to miss any of it (even by recording it!). Also, the unique story we had in Sicily didn’t seem so unique now that we were in California.

Anyway, all that to say, these past few months have been some of the best, and they have been thoroughly enjoyed and lived in the present. I bet you know what I mean and how that feels. It’s so good.

So here we are in 2016. I thought I’d update with some of my favorite photos from the first two months of the year, starting with these: an early morning cuppa and journaling, and my little man Gil learning his letters.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram and Facebook will know this, but we are expecting another baby! I am due with #3 in mid-May, and we have been savoring this pregnancy so much because of the joy of sharing it with our children.

Lena really gets it and knows things will be hard and wonderful when the baby arrives. She tells everyone she is going to change the baby’s diapers, and the other day she told me, “I might have to do all the cooking after the baby arrives, Mama.” What would I do without her?

Lena and I have been reading aloud a lot together (maybe too much — she can be really demanding when she loves a book), and we started the year with this gorgeous Rifle Paper Co. edition of Alice in Wonderland. What a wacky book! The illustrations were exquisite.

Lena made a “sweater” for her cousin from some wrapping paper, yarn, and tape. She has such an imagination…

… as evidenced by this blanket/block/rubber band creation on the floor: a butterfly!

On the right, I was 22 weeks pregnant with this third babe, enjoying a full-length mirror and two hours of work/writing time while the kids were in weekly enrichment classes at the Coronado Community Center.

El Niño came to visit and we were hit with days of torrential rain. After it passed, we headed up into the hills (along with the rest of San Diego) to play in the snow. We didn’t find much, and it was mostly ice.

Eventually we left the crowds and found a quiet country road with some hikes. Gil posed like a model.

And Lena and Gil found their own chunks of snow/ice to play with in the shade! Overall, the trip was a win, but we’re looking forward to East Coast winters again in the future some day.

They looked so cute laughing down at me from the second floor that I took their picture! Also, the Christmas decorations finally came down in late January…

Lena discovered my phone was unlocked and took selfies…

Our town’s library is the most magical place. This afternoon activity was a birthday party for Winnie the Pooh. The librarians read Pooh poems, taught Pooh songs, sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Pooh, and served up birthday cake!

On January 25, Gil turned THREE! We had a quiet day, a special dinner, made a cake, blew out candles, and opened a few presents. One of them was a green train engine to add to his little train set, and this was his first battery-operated train car. Hours of amusement ensued.

Happy birthday, sweet Gil! Hope you enjoyed all the piles of sprinkles you dumped on your cake, and the red and blue frosting you so specifically chose. We love you!

Evening walk to the beach for sunset, always magnificent.

For our 6th anniversary on January 30th, I told Elliott all I wanted was to walk to the beach and order pizza for a picnic dinner there. I got my wish! The kids thought they were pretty lucky to be included, too.

Quiet Saturday morning reading and snuggling in Mama and Daddy’s bed.

Lena and Elliott went to a golf tournament for fun with friends, so Gil and I ran errands and then got a treat ourselves at my favorite Coronado cafe: Tartine. Gil looked in the dessert case and of all the desserts, he chose my favorite: pavlova. Way to go, Gil!

Every few months or so, I provide refreshments for our church after the service. That week I made mini bacon and caramelized onion quiches, banana bread, and winter fruit salad. I was missing pomegranate seeds, which would have made the salad extra pretty!

In the second photo, Gil was my fashion photographer for a less-than-successful photoshoot.

A friend and I hosted a Valentine’s Day crafting party at my house for our local Moms Club, and it was a huge hit! We had so much fun, and I loved seeing so many friends in my home.

They are a pretty wonderful bunch. :)

Back from an early-morning run with a good friend before the kids are up! My 24-week bump and I got to enjoy some quiet reading and journaling.

And on the right… those kiddos in their footie pajamas are always up to something. It has been one of my greatest joys this season to see them really play together, creating their own games and building forts and using their imaginations for hours at a time. It makes mothering them so much more fun, too.

The kids started playing soccer on Wednesday afternoons with Little Rascalz Soccer School, a play-based, preschool-oriented introduction to sports. It’s really good for the kids, I think, and I hope I can continue to encourage them to play sports like they do now: purely for the fun of it.

Lena and Gil’s friend was turning four, and his dad (a SEAL, as many guys are in Coronado, the home of the Navy SEALs) set up a slack line and zip line for the kids to enjoy at the park. Pizza, cake, and zip lines — that was Lena’s kind of party!

Later that night, we decided to have our second family movie night of all time and watch Toy Story. So far we’ve seen this one and Finding Nemo, and we’re thinking of watching Cinderella next. This slow introduction to movies together has been a lot of fun, and I like how movies are a treat for all of us this way.

On the left, Lena and I read through all five books in the Samantha series (American Girl) in a few days. She loved them, even though a lot of the historical context was over her head. Can’t wait till she can read all these books on her own in a few years! I loved them all and still remember so much of the stories.

On the right, we went kayaking as a family last Saturday morning in the San Diego Bay, and Gil took the relaxing aspect of kayaking right to heart!

My little nap time companion. Siena, our Maine Coon, likes to find me on the couch, play with my hair for a few minutes, and then lie down on it to take a nap.

Annelie, my Swedish friend and running partner, invited us over to celebrate Fettisdagen, or Fat Tuesday. We ate semla, the traditional Swedish cardamom and cream buns that Swedes enjoy before the start of Lent.

I love being included in her Swedish traditions! I never got a picture of it, but she brought her family and Swedish friends to come caroling on Saint Lucia Day right before Christmas. Do you remember that tradition from the Kirsten (American Girl) books? They were dressed in white with candles and wreaths! So magical.

Another magical thing is how this little girl has taken to her first bike. We encouraged her to practice and practice and practice on her balance bike, and finally in early February I found a two-wheeler on Craigslist that was not super girly or too boyish. She was pedaling independently on it after 15 minutes, and now she streaks around our driveway, standing up on the pedals and pumping away. We’re so proud, and she loves her new freedom!

El Niño rains and storms have changed the topography of our beaches, exposing an old shipwreck that is usually buried in the sand. One evening we met a bunch of friends there (and tons of tourists) to walk through the shallow water and out onto the wreck. It’s a sunken gambling boat, so rumor has it that there’s money around here, too!

Elliott’s parents visited for a long weekend, and on their last morning here we took them to Balboa Park to ride the carousel and explore the gardens. Gotta love that 80-degree weather in February!

One night Elliott cut Gil’s hair and let the kids watch half an episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I came back from a run the next morning and found them sitting side by side on the couch, Gil’s hand on Lena’s knee, enjoying the second half of the show together.

I brought the kids with me when I took my glucose tolerance test for pregnancy, and they wanted to taste the last drop in the bottle to see what it was like. They loved it, of course.

I don’t write about it too much on here, but my part-time work as a staff writer for eCoronado (a local online newspaper) is a wonderful part of my life. I write at least two articles a week for the paper, and half of these are food reviews of restaurants, movie reviews of the newest blockbuster, or stage reviews of theater productions. I love promoting local shop owners and artists in our town, getting to enjoy arts and culture for free (Elliott and I go on so many good dates!), and sharing my knowledge with Coronado.

Last week I wrote an article about drones in Coronado, which are a major hazard due to low-flying planes and helicopters in a town with two military bases. My story got picked up by a local news station, and I was interviewed by the station about my article. The 3-minute story ran on the 7pm local news! It was such a cool experience (despite having to talk into the sun for about 20 minutes without sunglasses on!).

And now, last but not least, a precious photo of Gil with his grandmother during her visit, giggling on the whirling carousel, and me at 27 weeks pregnant.

If you look at the photo on the left quickly, it looks like my belly sticks out as far as the end of the bed, rather than only as far as my hand. I’ve still got three months to go, though, so my belly will stick out that far before too long! Bring it on, baby. We can’t wait to meet you!

12 :: in Coronado, family, Gil, home sweet home, Lena, life lately

Life Lately… An Overdue Update!

September 29, 2015 at 6:09 pm

First of all, the giveaway for a signed copy of Elliott’s first novel ends at midnight tonight! Enter by commenting on this post if you’d like to win. :)

Secondly, I have stopped looking at/posting regularly on Instagram for a while after getting back from Yosemite because I enjoyed the break so much, and I don’t like the [self-induced!] pressure of always trying to take an “Instagram-worthy” picture. Can anyone else relate to this? Anyway, I’m sure I’ll eventually post/browse regularly again, but in the meantime I wanted to bring some of the family memories back to the blog again. It’s been a while! Here are my favorite photos I found on my phone from the past month:

As we often do in the evenings here, a few weeks ago we jogged to the beach to enjoy the sunset and a family picnic. Lena’s 4.5 years old now, and sometimes she amazes me by how grown up she seems!

The setting sun shines down on Point Loma and a lone fisherman.

The tide’s coming in, save the tractor!

I hosted a pool play date at my house for my local moms club after feeling convicted that I haven’t been opening up my home much lately. Elliott and I don’t know how much longer we’ll live in Coronado, and I want more friends to come over, see my dirt, feel loved, and enjoy our home with us. Anyway, tangent aside, sooo many kids came (mine aren’t even in the pool here), and I had to get a second baby pool for the little ones, and there were snacks everywhere, and moms could only get five-second conversations in before they were interrupted again and again, but we all had so much fun. Must do this again!

The kids and I went to the zoo with my friend Heather and her three boys, and at the end Heather pushed four kids in her stroller up a huge hill. Look at that front tire! I don’t know how she did it, but I was her cheering squad as I pushed one lone child in my own stroller beside her.

This is a memory from a fun morning, so I thought I’d share it. I write for a local online paper, and one article I wrote recently was about a brand new breastfeeding support group in Coronado. For the first 30 minutes of the support session, no one showed up, and so I just chatted with the lactation educator and hoped she’d get some clients. And then three moms and babies walked in! We were both so happy, and I think her support group is off to a great start.

Later that week, I took my family out to a restaurant (Calypso Cafe in the Coronado Cays for my local readers!) to write a food review for my job. It was a special outing, since we don’t eat out as a family very often, and we all enjoyed the delicious food by the water.

Not the best picture, but Lena and I are finally twins! I’ve been wanting to get us matching Saltwater sandals for a long time, and finally a pair became available in her size on eBay to match my own favorite shoes. Now she picks both pairs out of the closet and brings mine to me before we go anywhere.

It RAINED one day! I delayed nap/rest time for an hour so that the kids could enjoy the deluge outside. Mostly they enjoyed one of their favorite activities: crushing chalk just to see what it will do… because our house is where chalk comes to die.

My friend Maggie invited us over to her house to watch a movie on a rainy afternoon, another novelty for many reasons. The kids looked so cute all lined up and snuggling!

The first photo is from a run I took a couple of weeks ago with my friend Annelie. I haven’t run more than four miles in a long time, so this was a historic day! Next I’ll work on my pace (haha)… but Annelie and I talk too much during our weekly runs to go much faster! I love that the map shows we ran around the island of Coronado (the whole western half is a military base), something I’ve wanted to do since I moved here.

The second photo is of another fun trip to the zoo with friends! Lena is always happiest when climbing the highest thing in sight, and Gil is always happiest with a bag of snacks in hand.

We spent a Saturday at the beach! I got a little reading in before some of our friends arrived, and we spent the rest of the morning playing in the sand and surf. I actually swam in the ocean that day because it was so warm, something I’ve never done before in Coronado! The beaches here bring currents of water down from Alaska, meaning the water is bone-chillingly cold most of the year.

Auntie Jess came to visit for a few days! We took her out to one of our favorite restaurants in Balboa Park, Panama 66. Their tuna melt and cheese board are to die for…

Elliott played hooky from work for a couple of hours so we could go hiking at Torrey Pines, one of our favorite urban hiking spots near our house.

On another night, I took Elliott and Jess out to dinner for San Diego Restaurant Week, as I was reviewing their menu for another article. I loved all the seafood, but that key lime pie for dessert is what I’m dreaming about now…

We took a picture of the receipt showing the 100% discount for being a “media/travel writer!” Dreams really do come true.

Lena walked out of rest time in her bedroom one afternoon covered head to toe with marker ink. I tried so hard not to laugh out loud and almost succeeded. The end of her rest time that day turned into a solo bubble bath!

Lena and Gil are taking classes this fall at our community center, and Lena is taking a STEAM class (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). She came home and told me about the vinegar and baking soda they mixed in a bowl, and that reminded me of a science experiment I did in elementary school with my mom. We made a volcano out of play doh and then watched it erupt!

This is all Gil wants to do for several hours every day: “my wanta paint.” (“My” is his word for me, I, and myself these days.) His favorite part is taking the tops off and lining up all the bottles, but he does enjoy painting every now and then too…

One last delicious food item because I couldn’t resist! This is from Saturday night, when Elliott and I reviewed a local European cafe and then walked across Coronado to a little community theater to review the play Thoroughly Modern Millie. I love this writing/reviewing work so much, and Elliott is also enjoying the upgrade to our dating life. ;)

What have you been up to in September? I hope wherever you are that a pumpkin spice latte sounds perfectly seasonal and amazing. I am waiting for that day to come to San Diego, but it’s the hottest time of the year here… so I’ll keep dreaming.

And that’s all for now! Oh, except… go here to enter the giveaway if you haven’t yet!

10 :: in Coronado, family, Gil, home sweet home, Lena, life lately, memories, San Diego

Our First Coronado 4th of July!

July 18, 2015 at 5:26 pm

Happy 4th of July!

… a couple weeks late…

But it’s a quiet, rainy (!) Saturday and I just finished this lovely book and the kids are both still napping, so in the time I’ve got before they wake up, I’d love to share these photos with you. Our first 4th of July in Coronado (a place that is famous for its festivities on the 4th) was so much fun, and I broke out my real camera for the parade, so there are some worthwhile memories in here.

To be honest, the best thing that happened all day was that my whole family ran the Crown City Classic 5K together. I’ll wax eloquent for a few minutes with a little story…

Once upon a time, I was a runner, one of those people who ran for the fun of it and signed up for races with my friends on the weekends. Although I never raced more than my town’s annual 10 Miler, it was still a part of my identity.

And then I had two kids in two years and lived in Italy for three years (which is a lovely place to live but a hard place to jog!), and I lost my running routine. When we moved to Coronado last year, I knew this was my chance to get back into it. Coronado is relatively flat, has perfect weather, and offers wide paths along the bay and the ocean… how could I not?

Yet despite living in such a runner’s dream world, I found it very hard to get outside and run. I told myself I would, but when my alarm rang in the morning, I turned it off. Then I told myself I needed new shoes, and then treated myself to my first piece of fancy running gear, and then bought a better headband — but none of it did me much good.

Finally, in May I signed up for Coronado’s 4th of July 5K. Now I had to train. This would be my first race after two kids! I was going to make this happen.

At first I planned to run this race on my own, but when I found out that jogging strollers were allowed, Elliott agreed to run with Lena and Gil in the jogging stroller too. My sister Emily would be in town, and she excitedly agreed to run with us as well. A family run on the 4th of July! How patriotic!

Having Elliott as a pacesetter and motivator really helped me to get out there and train. We spent many evenings in June jogging around Coronado with Lena and Gil in the stroller, stopping at playgrounds to let them play, and then running home as the sun sank low in the sky.

Finally, the 4th of July came. We all arrived at Tidelands Park and felt the adrenaline in the air. Lena delightedly pointed out women in red, white, and blue tutus and an especially enthusiastic couple in American flag bathing suits and body paint. A band played at the start of the course, and a cheerful announcer counted down the final minutes. We lined up at the back of the pack of runners, excited to race for the first time together.

And then we were off!

Well, sort of. We were behind all the racers, so it took a couple minutes for a thousand runners to begin ahead of us. At the starting line, we broke into a jog under a giant American flag held up over our heads.

The course went along the bay, under the Coronado Bridge, and down Glorietta Blvd by the golf course. It was a narrow course that doubles back on itself, which made it difficult to run quickly at the back of the pack, but also interesting because we could see all the faster racers coming back after we’d only just started running! Always motivating.

As we looped around and started running along the bay again, heading for the finish line, Elliott said, “This is it!” and I realized I was about to accomplish a huge goal. I’d told myself I wanted to do this, to run again, to finish a race, and finally we’d made it happen. We’d trained together, and now we were racing together as a family, along with hundreds of other Americans on the 239th birthday of our country in one of the most wonderful towns in the world. We rounded the final turn and heard the band playing, the cameras clicking, the families cheering.

And we smiled wide as we raced down the final stretch and over the finish line together. We did it! Such an amazing way to kick of the 4th of July together.

After that, we went home for breakfast and showers and then walked up to Orange Ave (“Main Street”) for Coronado’s famous 4th of July parade. We joined some wonderful friends on their blankets, brought some picnic items to share, and then just parked ourselves on the curb for the next couple of hours.

Does your town have a 4th of July parade? This was definitely the best one I’d ever seen!

Thanks for sharing your blanket with us, Priscilla!

My dear friend Jeanna, fellow military wife and mom.

“Peace, ambulance driver!”

Poor Elliott, always getting his girls’ long hair in his eyes…

Gil and Caroline… such chums!

Love you, Jeanna! Also, Lena was inspired by the Irish dancers in the parade, and she’s been kicking her heels up and skipping around with her hands on her hips ever since. Maybe it’s time for some dance lessons…?