Back to Our Roots

Although Texas is our home now, Matt and I will always have a special place in our hearts for the Central Coast of California. The moment we stepped off the airplane in Santa Barbara Matt took a breath of the fresh ocean air, tilted his face up towards the sun and said, "This is what people pay the big bucks for." The weather was ideal. Sunny and warm with a slight breeze. My friends and I would call this the perfect, "no temperature" type of weather. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right. So I think I've stated the obvious here and that's that I sure do miss the weather sometimes, especially when we're dead in the middle of summer. A few other things I miss are the mountains, ocean (just to look at and not actually to go in), endless outdoor adventures, Farmers Markets, fresh fruit, and of course my family.

Now moving on to our vacation..it was perfect! We saw everything and everyone that we wanted to see, ate at all our favorite restaurants, and spent plenty of time relaxing with friends and family on this vacation. It's not very often that my entire family can get together anymore because we're so spread across the country. Gary and his three girls made a special trip down from Idaho and I'm so glad that they did. We had a lot of fun staying at my parents house together and playing all day long. It was neat to see most of the grandkids all at once and watching them interact. The most exciting part of the trip for Matt was seeing old friends at his 10 year High School reunion. What a trip that was! He was pleasantly surprised to know that many of his friends were now married and had children just like us. We had a great time getting to know them again and reminiscing about old times. Overall it was a great vacation and I can't wait to do it again!

This may have been the funniest part of my whole trip. These two are 6 months apart and were absolutely cracking each other up for almost 5 minutes straight. I'm convinced that babies have their own language. It was amazing to watch these two cousins, Rylan and Brooke, interact and relate to each other so perfectly. Absolute sweetness!

The oldest and youngest grandsons

Kerra, Maddy, Megan, and Rylan

Rylan and Dad on Rylan's first airplane ride

Rylan's favorite toy on the trip, Grandma's dog Lucy. This dog is truly amazing. She would let the kids pull her hair and roll on top of her without flinching.

Most of the van den Eikhof grandkids.

Three silly sisters and their dirty feet

Fresh picked peaches

Mommy and Rylan at the pool

Kerra and Katherine taking a dip in the pool

Rylan at the beach for the first time. He's not too keen on the sand.