The Fourth of July and more...

While living in CA we have been blessed to see so many fun things and meet so many wonderful people. For the Fourth of July we were invited to BBQ and hangout with friends at a park before watching an awesome display of fireworks. Emmalyn loved being outside and getting to watch fireworks for the first time. She met a new friend, Charlotte, who "taught" her how to share her toys. We have also been lucky to get to see two baseball games, one in San Francisco and one in Oakland, both of which were free. The best part about the Oakland game was that they were playing the Colorado Rockies, and won!! I had the best of both worlds, Matt Holliday with the A's and my Colorado Rockies. What was even better was they had a firework show after the game which we stayed all of 30 seconds for because they were so loud and Emmalyn was crying, but we watched them as we walked to the train which was just as good.

The family
Tim and Crystal

Susannah and Charlotte
Whitney and Dan

Emmalyn enjoying the Rockies vs Oakland A's gameMatt Holiday in an A's jersey...so weird but nice
Firework show after the game from the parking lot

Father's Day

What a wonderful day it is to celebrate the father's in our lives. I feel so blessed to have been raised by a loving and honorable father and then to have been able to find a man that has given me everything I have ever wanted and more. Joey is an incredible husband and an amazing father. The way his face lights up when he gets to be with his daughter is priceless and makes my heart soar. One of the things that Emmalyn and I like to do every evening is walk to the BART station and meet Joey when he gets off the train. Emmalyn gets so excited when she sees da da walking toward her and can't wait for him to hold her. That is what life is all about; the little moments that make us smile and melts our hearts. Emmalyn is daddy's little girl and I love that. I love Joey even more as I watch him be a part of our daughter's life. Lastly I am grateful for a kind and loving Heavenly Father who has blessed us beyond measure. We have our health, a good job, our families who support us and the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches us and enables us to be a family forever. I can't imagine my life without those I love and cherish the most; the love of my life and best friend and my daughter who gives me joy and unconditional love.

On Wednesday Emmalyn and I got lucky and went to AT&T park to watch the San Francisco Giants play the Los Angeles Angels. Joey's company was going for the afternoon game and had extra tickets so we were invited. This gave me and Emmalyn a chance to ride the BART into the city and see San Francisco for the first time since being here. What a beautiful city and baseball park. If you have never been to the AT&T ballpark you should go; the view of the bay just behind the outfield is incredible. Our seats were great and I have admit, I was secretly hoping that the Giants would lose and give the Rockies a chance to pull into the wild card spot. I don't know if it was my wishing or just a coincidence but the Angels beat the Giants 4-3 by getting a couple of runs in the 8th inning. Sorry Giants fans. But hey, we didn't walk out of there without paying a price, both Joey and I got sunburned. I have a pretty sexy farmer's tan on my arms and a line around my collar because I was wearing a 3/4 sleeve shirt thinking it was going to be overcast and cool. Oh well, it was a very memorable afternoon in San Francisco.

A Day at the Park

Last Saturday after playing a fun game of softball we headed to Heather Farm Park/Garden in Walnut Creek to see what it was all about. It was such a beautiful park and a busy one. I've never seen so many people at a park before except on holidays. We loved walking through the rose gardens. The fragrance was amazing and the roses were incredible. We tried to get Emmalyn to smell the roses but she ended up eating them so we kept her at a good distance to preserve the roses. We also played on the playground and did a lot of people watching. It was a great outing for all of us!!

Chillin' at the park

Fun with daddy

Rollin' Over

Emmalyn rolled over for the first time on Sunday, June 7th and I tried to upload it for all to view but it was too big...so I had her do it again. It is just as good and exciting, just a minute shorter...we are so amazed at how fast she learns and how big and "grown up" she is becoming.

Walnut Creek

We have been in Walnut Creek for only a week and I have to admit that it is a beautiful place to live. Although we really wanted to try out San Francisco for the summer, and experience the city life it just didn't work out. When praying about our decision we said that if things didn't fall into place in SF we knew we should live in Walnut Creek. So here we are. The first part of the week was hard for me with Joey being gone all day, almost twelve hours with the commute, and not knowing anyone. I am usually a pretty social and outgoing person but being in a place where I know no one and don't have my bearings it has been difficult. Thank goodness for our membership in our church and for the warm reception we got walking in on our first Sunday. The people in the Walnut Creek 2nd ward are genuinely kind and have made us feel so welcome. Last Wednesday we had an enrichment night called "Readiness Roadtrip" with the ladies to learn more about being prepared for anything. We made emergency car kits, had a demonstration on how to prepare meals from food storage and how we can be prepared spiritually. On Friday I went to Walden Park and had a picnic lunch with some of the women I met at church and also introduced Emmalyn to the slide and swing. She loved playing at the park and meeting other kids. I've noticed that she loves to watch other kids and gets really excited when she can interact with them. That is my hope; that she will have many opportunitites to interact with other children so she learns how to share, play nicely and be social. On Saturday Joey was invited to play on the ward softball team which took us into Oakland for the first time.
It was an incredibly beautiful day, perfect for playing ball and driving around Oakland. On accident we found ourselves in the parking lot of the Oakland Temple. We walked around the grounds and took some fun pictures. We had a great view of San Francisco from the temple. On Sunday Emmalyn looked as cute as ever for church, we went for a walk on a trail right by our place and Emmalyn rolled over from her stomach to her back all on her own. It was a perfect ending to a great week.

Cherished memories

We have so many fond memories of our stay in Colorado; some of which are not included on here because I wasn't the one to take the pictures but will hopefully receive them from friends and family and then they will probably be posted. Joey and I have been blessed in so many ways and recognize these blessings every day. We were fortunate to land an internship in CO for five weeks with two of the coolest guys in the world BC and Poelman. Joey worked on several business start up projects and had a blast doing it every day; go figure. Emmalyn and I loved being home and playing with whomever was around; grandpa, grandma, Jack or Derek. We were able to visit with friends/co-workers, have a girls movie day with the Thorpe women, a boys night out with Joey's brothers and dad, we went to baseball games with grandpa, and enjoyed a night out on the town for our two year anniversary. We also loved the Tuesday night's smorgasbord that Derek brought home to eat while watching American Idol, and the late night of watching the Office with Jack. We did so many fun things that I could go on and on with but I won't; most importantly we were able to make memories with our families. Emmalyn loved everyone and I am sure she will miss all the attention she received. Now she is stuck hanging out with mom all day long in CA. We are excited to be in CA and look forward to the adventures ahead. By the way we ended up finding a great apartment in Walnut Creek which is just outside of San Francisco but plan on visiting the city often. Here is a list of things we plan on doing or seeing while we are here...please let me know if there are things not on this list that we must do before leaving CA.

1. Walk the Golden Gate bridge
2. See the Redwoods
3. Fisherman's Wharf
4. Pier 39
5. Alcatraz
6. Baseball game at Giants stadium
7. Heather Farms park
8. Napa Valley vineyards
9. Aquarium of the Bay
10. Ghiradelli Square
11. Lombard Street
12. Muir Woods
    
    

Hanging out with the gang at Engle: Marci, Sandy, Natalie, Bob and Jeff

Uncle Derek was so fun to play with and made Emmalyn laugh

Grandpa Olson took us to baseball games and for walks

Who doesn't love the "baby in a laundry basket picture"?

Celebrating Joey, mine and Jaclyn's birthdays

Playing with cousin Brailee