California Trip, Chapter 2

Going to California is always a treat. I love going home. I love spending time with my family, I love seeing old friends. This time was much the same. We had a fantastic time. On Monday June 13th we drove from San Diego to Fresno where my parents live. The girls were ridiculously excited to arrive. Both girls had been talking about Grandma's pool and Grandma's toys, and Grandma's garden, and making cookies and well the list goes on. Grandma's house is a big favorite. Once we arrived the girls suited up for the pool and Grandpa served them a plate of cookies. All was as it should be.

The next few days were much like this, in the next morning Sophia appeared in our room bright and early dressed in swim gear. This child LOVES to swim. By the time we left California she had no need for the swim vest. =)

During the week I was content to sleep when I could and enjoy a slower pace. Wednesday we drove Hanford where Chris' brother Dan, and his family live. Dan is also in the Navy and flies Hornets like Chris did once upon a time. Dan and his wife Kelly have three kids almost the same ages as ours, so of course we all get along well.

Zoe, Ellie and Sophia

Zoe, Ellie and Mason Cochran

Time with the Hanford Cochrans was complete with pool time and smoked brisket. YUM. Thursday we spent with my family and invited Dan and his family up to our house for dinner and more swimming.

Chris with his brother Dan, and his daughter Penny

Ellie and Zoe

Friday my brother David and his cute family arrived just in time for the weekend fun and for our Disneyland trip starting the next Monday.

Trina and David Enns

Saturday was a very special day, the day of the long anticipated U2 concert, which will get it's very own post. =) Chris' folks also flew into LAX on Saturday, with plans to spend time with us and the other branches of the Cochran clan. They helped out with Dan and Kelly's kids while we were in Anaheim for the U2 concert. We drove back up to Fresno on the morning of Father's Day after the concert. Chris took Ellie and Gradon to church and I stayed home with Sophia who had a nasty fever.

Father's Day dinner was so fun. My dad 'the grill master' grilled about 5 tri tip roasts, mom made various sides and treats and we all feasted heartily. Gifts were exchanged to all the dads and it was fantastic having both of the Grandpas together with our kids for Father's Day. The girls painted ceramics for Chris and for their grandads. I was so pleased to have everyone together. It was a great day of celebrating our fathers. 

Eating dinner, Zoe Cochran on the left and Hailee Enns on the right.

Charlene Cochran, my mom, and our dear friend Paulie Hutchings

Hailee Enns, my Dad and Mason

Deford Cochran with a few of his grandkids

Small things

I was reading in our church's issue of the Ensign this month, and I found one of the articles particularly interesting. The title, Getting Out of Debt for Good has some wonderful principles for people trying to finally becoming debt free. This brother who wrote the article talks about the technique called 'snowballing' where you pay off your small debts first and then use the money that you were paying to those small debts to the larger ones. In effect, you have created a snowball of cash, and the money you used for the small debts is put to use towards the bigger debt, and with that larger amount your debt is paid off more quickly. This is a new concept to me. I had never thought that paying off the small things would be smarter than dealing with a larger more impressive finanical burden. But really, it makes sense.

Monday I spent the evening at the pool with some of my favorite people and we brought up the term 'emotional bankrupcy' in reference to dealing with our children and how hard parenting can be sometimes. We laughed about it casually but then the tone shifted to 'debt consolidation of emotions'. What if the answer to dealing with our big problems is really dealing with the small issues first and THEN tackling the big stuff? That way you have more energy and strength and may I say faith to deal with the larger looming struggles that seem to plague us at one time or another. I have been thinking a lot about this. At the gym today the scripture came to my mind, 'by small and simple things are great things brought pass'. (ding!)

Fantastic.

I made the connection. When I work my hardest and doing the little things in my emotional life, I will be stronger and better and more able to tackle the bigger goal, the dream, the pot of gold, or even further, a pain or sadness. The momentum will be so great that I will be able to achieve my goals and find peace along the way.

I do feel like I am getting better at this...(perspective again) but then I have hard days like yesterday when I feel so frustrated or bogged down...and then I remember how much progress I am making, and how GOOD my life is, and how blessed I am...no matter what. My emotional and spiritual bank account need constant attention. I have always known that. But this experience has helped open my eyes that the little things do matter and are in fact, the key to the big picture.

Fourth of July

Was fantastic. Pancake Breakfast at the church, pool time with friends, bbq with more friends and beautiful fireworks to top it all off. I have to say that we are so lucky to have such wonderful friends here. I am so thankful for them, they are truly fabulous people.

(I am sorry I don't have any photos to share, I think I maybe took four pictures yesterday, I just didn't stress out about taking pictures.) It would have been perfect if Chris was here. He starts rotations today! I think he is going to do really well. I have a great feeling about this year for him. Today we are off to the movies and more pool time. Happy Summer!

California Trip, Chapter 1

We flew into LAX on June 9th around noon. I love flying west, you get 3 whole hours added back to your day. =) We had an extremely easy and mellow flight, and we gathered our bags quickly once we landed in LA and got our rental easily. We hopped in the car and made the 2 1/2 hour drive to San Diego, (Pacific Beach) where we would stay with Chris' brother Grant and his wife Alene. Chris' brother Flynn and his wife Jamie also live in San Diego. The girls and I were so excited to arrive. We had a relaxing dinner that night and made plans for Sea World and other adventures in the coming days. The next morning I was not feeling well at all. My temperature was climbing and my throat was in terrible pain. I laid in bed most of the day, only leaving the room to get water and ibuprofen. The kids had a fantastic time however, and spent their days hunting for snails, climbing in the back yard, digging in the dirt and playing with their cousin Penn and Niko's scoot bikes. We loved those, we need to get one for our Gradon at some point.

(click on each image to see it larger)

Later that day I had had enough of being sick so I headed out to see an urgent care doc who gave me some antibiotics for strep throat. Saturday we spent the day at Sea World which was really fun. I was grateful my temp was back to normal and I had some energy again. We loved the Shamu show, and because we were late comers to the show got a front row seat, which meant we got SOAKING wet. Penn wasn't thrilled with the water, neither was Gradon, luckily we dried off quickly. That night was Sushi night for us, at my favorite place, Yoshi Sushi. You get all you can eat for $25. Yes, ALL YOU CAN EAT! It was amazing. I am glad I had my appetite back so I could enjoy everything. Sunday was church (Apparently, Grant and Alene attend the same ward as Mitt Romney. He was not there that day.) and we headed out after church to a great park at the Marine Base for a picnic. Later that afternoon I snuck away and visited with my good friend Julie and her daughters, friends of ours when we lived in Italy. Dinner that night was a yummy BBQ at Flynn and Jamie's house.

Our visit to San Diego seemed too brief. We would have loved some more time with our Southern California Cochran family. Chris and I loved the beautiful weather that accompanies southern california living. We are thinking more and more about a possible residency in San Diego. We will see what life brings! It would be fantastic to live close to Grant and Alene again. Monday we headed to Fresno, chapter 2 coming soon!

Dear June (part 2)

Wow! What a wonderful month. Thanks for the wonderful ride. We had such a wonderful time and I have a ton of posts in my head and fun things to share. However, now that we are home I have SO MUCH catching up to do it's making my head spin. We came home last night to a rotten fridge full of rotten food. Somehow the settings were adjusted so that the fridge was turned off and everything sat for over two weeks and we came home to a disaster. What a way to return to real life. =)

I love that we have July and August ahead of us. I am looking forward to spending time with my kids at the pool and making great memories. Chris starts his rotations this week. He will be traveling to Washington for family practice. It is so exciting that he is actually going to start seeing patients and learn more about patient care. It is also getting us one step closer to finishing med school. We are starting year three! Time is flying by. Also this week we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary early this week when we going to the Kennedy Center to watch Wicked. I am very excited to finally see this show. Ten years of marriage and love. Wow. So much to celebrate. =) I will get back to blogging soon.

JUNE

Dear June,

I have been waiting for you for about nine months now. There is so much happening soon, and I can't wait. We leave for CA in 3 days. We will see dear friends and family, go to the happiest place on earth, attend a U2 concert (longtime dream of mine) and enjoy the beach and grandma's house. I started packing yesterday. My kids have already packed their carry on bags. On Friday Chris took his step one boards, a pretty-big-deal-8-hour exam. We are both feeling anxious about the results and we have to wait about 3 weeks to find out. I know he did great, it's just our future coming into focus and I think that that is scary for me. Whatever happens, it is what it is, and we are on the right path. I felt that very strongly this week when I was in the temple. Now, we get to focus on much needed family time. Chris is going to finish the kids' bathroom and I am going to focus on getting my house cleaned and organized before Thursday.

Disneyland 2009

Happy Monday everyone!

9 months

My baby is nine months old, and again I am behind the curve posting his images. He will be 10 months on Sunday. Where does the time go? He is crawling, pulling himself up, babbling like crazy, and is just generally amazing. He has recently decided that I am his favorite parent, reaching for me and getting irritated when I leave the room. He follows me around like a little puppy, it's pretty cute. We love him to pieces. I just can't believe that soon he will be a year old, SOON he will be walking. Slow down baby...I am just not ready for you to be big just yet.