Sibling fun in California

Jim's really not taller ;)

Carmel

Monterey

Cat Portraits

The black cat was seen in San Fransisco by Jim, on the stairs by the place where the little colorful parrots are. And the other photo was taken by Trevor on one of the trips to Monterey. 

Partial Solar Eclipse

The crescent shapes of the shadows is characteristic of the eclipse we saw today! Wade took a great photo featuring this phenomenon when we lived in Chicago and there was another partial eclipse. It was an amazing black and white photo of Jimmy standing in the crescent shaped shadows from the leaves of a tree. This of Owen was reminiscent of that day. Oh, the beauties of the earth!

SWIMMING!

Trevor will have to come fill in some times, but we had to get some photos on. We have literally thousands of action sequences of swimming photos on the computer, and finding the best ones is tricky. I can say that Trevor's starts are the best on the high school team...they have him start the relays he is in. He looks strong and fast and continues to do well. 

Some of the joys...

A nice lady nearby has an orange tree in her yard. What a pleasure to take her some dinner and have the ultra reward of a sack full of fresh oranges to take home with us!

and then...

Cinnamon Rolls and honestly the best dinner rolls I ever have had...made by Wade on a Sunday I had to sleep all day except for church due to a working weekend. Oh, the joy of delicious food. Thanks, Wade!

Mini update: May

Mini-update:
Wade no longer working for the Ophthalmologist (who wanted someone who would be staying, but at those prices...we just couldn't do it). Wade applying and interviewing all over the western states (most of the real possibilities are in Phoenix!). He is now licensed in Idaho, Utah, California and Arizona with "pending" status for Washington. So that makes 1/10th of the states.

Jim awaiting the big mission call. Could come this week. He's keeping a night owl schedule. We'll see how that translates to the daily mission schedule!

Amy working nights, sleeping days. Still gets to watch lots of Trevor swimming. Loves Mae's constant creating. Happy to have Owen's great ideas for FHE.

Trevor, swimming like a fast fish! High School swim season is winding up--Trevor's times are faster and faster.

Mae is sewing a lot and volunteering at the Animal Rescue Foundation. She is a big Hunger Games fan!

Owen is quick to do his homework and reads so much! He likes reading on the Kindle, but most often we still see him with a book. He continues to harvest lemons from the tree in our backyard and tries to swim as much as possible with Jim after school.

More later!...

Seattle for a day or two

Wade and I returned to the land of our honeymoon for a couple of days at the end of April. Wade was pursuing a Washington Optometrist license and had to take a mini-class and pass it to finalize his application. We found good airfares, so I came along. We stayed near the temple and enjoyed a fun afternoon in downtown Seattle including Pike Place Market, then ate a nice dinner with Tom Hafen who recently started working for Microsoft in Seattle (sa-weet deal!!). Big transition time for them.

Interestingly enough, the job Wade was pursuing in Spokane fell through, and nothing else in Washington has come to fruition. So many other jobs we thought would be great have also come to nothing. Our faith keeps us thinking that something great is ahead, we just need to wait for it, find it and go when our hearts tell us.

Wade is accumulating lots of state licenses in his quest for the right job/city/destination/career move. It's quite the deal for just hoping for a job. But in these economic times...

May the 4th Be With You

What more can we say? It's a great play on words and an incredibly fun day to recognize! Especially when our big Star Wars fan is home from college.