Catching Up...

Sorry to have been MIA for a bit...this new work schedule is taking some time to get used to. I hope to be back on a more regular routine soon but until then it's just a matter of surviving from one day/night to the next. Aside from work and momhood nothing really changes much from my day-to-day. That being said, here's the 411 on the rest of the fam.

Doug is doing well. There are some changes in the works at UOP...some good, some not-so-great...but nothing we can't survive. In the meantime he is working hard to enroll students and trying to finish up the remaning classes for his degree. He will be taking the LAPD written exam in a couple of weeks (wish him luck) and he is also planning to compete in a few jiu jitsu tournaments over the next 2 months. It's been a while since he last competed due to injuries and such so I'm hoping he will be able to participate in the tournies he's is planning on without any setbacks.

The girls are doing wonderfully - feisty and silly and mischeivous and independent as ever. They are having gymnastics withdrawals so I'm going to look into getting them into a class as soon as I'm able. Also trying to figure out what we are going to do for a Pre-K program since we decided not to have them start kindergarden this year. They haven't been sleeping so well since I started working nights but I'm hoping it's just a phase that will soon pass. They have been enjoying a new favorite toy - their little bicycle (a gem-of-a-find from one my trash-digging expeditions...we'll just leave it at that). They really do make a good effort to share but I have decided that when it comes to bikes one is simply not enough for these two...so I've also added a 2nd bike on our list of things to get. The beach and the library are still our two top places to visit...we've even managed to start walking to above-mentioned places so that I can get a little more exercise.

We've had some fun visitors in the past few weeks (Doug's brother and his family came out from Arizona, my sister and her 3 boys came up from San Diego, friends from AZ) and we will be going to Arizona for
Doug's tournament in a couple of weeks. I would really, REALLY like to get up to Utah sometime before the holidays but I'm not quite sure if I'll be able to swing that with work. If not before the holidays, perhaps we can plan something for afterward. It's been way to long since we last visited and a little bit of R&R with my siblings and friends up there would be wonderful!

I believe that's all for now! Sorry for such a short update but at least you all know that we are alive and well and surviving!! Even though I don't comment on everyone's blogs as often as I should, know that our family and friends are constantly in our thoughts and prayers! Hope today's post finds you happy, healthy, and well!

And just because - here is a slide of some photos from last month that I don't think I've posted yet....on this particular night there were hundreds of itty, bitty baby sand crabs being pushed around by the waves...the girls love those little critters! Sand crabs aside, these photos are representative of a pretty typical evening for our little beach family!

 Thanks for stopping by!!