pleased as punch

Every Sunday afternoon we would make our way down to the beach. One of our favorites was Newport. We would walk the pier and pretend that we had money and could afford one of those beach front homes. We loved to watch the boarders glide by us on thier long boards, tourists who were awkardly trying to peddle there tandum rental bike, beach volleyball tournaments, and the die hard surfers whose only worry was whether or not they were going to be able to ride one more set before the sun went down. Those were the Sundays I'll rememeber in the Decembers of my life. --Amy 2006

That was the unwritten sign on our front door while living in Aliso. We loved visitors, and still do. It seemed that almost every month we would have at least one house guest. Whether they came to see us or the sites that surrounded us it made no difference. We were just glad to have them there.

This night stands out in our memories as one of our top five. Not only was it a classic hotdog BBQ birthday, but it was the night of Red Tide. We had heard the term before but had never fully experienced its majesty. If you could feed the ocean POP ROCKS. That's the only way I can even remotely describe it. With each clap of waves the ocean would errupt into fluorescent green light. The guys in the group weren't content on seeing it alone they wanted to swim in this fluorescent pop rock maddness. Everyone lived to tell the story. What a night for the books.

Christmas time is filled with memories, tradition, goodwill and family. One of my favorite christmas mornings to date was the christmas we spent on our own. this was the first time besides our missions that we did not spend the holidays with our families. We chose to stay in California and create some new family memories of our own. Notice the matching PJ's how 'bout that for tradition. We had baked brown sugar grapefuit belgium waffles and bacon for breakfast. We spent the afternoon in Laguana beach. Later that night we went out for a delicious steak dinner and to a movie. What a merry, merry christmas it was.

The weekend we moved in Chad's dream came true. Not only was he finally employed but his employers had a "Suite" for company use at Angels Stadium and VIP parking. Could it get any bettter... Oh yes indeed. The first night we had tickets we were treated to pizza, coke and after that heavenly feast, a knock came at the door and the dessert cart had arrived. That's right, all you could eat or ever want. Carmeled apples, brownies, lemon bars, cheesecake, etc... Could life get any better then this? We didn't think so.

Once upon a very wet and wintery night, the Degraffs and Cannons decided to make a trek to Big Bear. What was originaly intended to be a 2 hour drive up to the mountains turned into a trecherous 7 1/2 hour adventure. Thankfully we brought along a human juke box (chaddy boy) who kept us entertained with "ice ice baby" and the sugarhill gangs "rappers delight." At about the 4 hour mark in our trek the sleet started to pound the street and the 1980 Dodge Caravan that was following closely behind us started to slide off the mountain road. It was being driven by a poor googley eyed man who was gracious to recieve our helping hand. We persevered and made it to our destination where fun times were waiting to be had by all.

We could hardly stand the suspense! We knew she was going to be here any minute. Wrig came to us from a small town called San Francisco. Lucky for us her original owners got more then they bargained for when they bought her and quickly decided that she was too much pup to handle. So they gave her to us. We couldn't have picked out a more perfect dog. She is obedient and GREAT with kids. She only chewed up one shoe, a book, and the bottom of our dresser (But that was a long time ago and she is well passed that now). She comes when she is called and doesn't run away when the front door is open. Man's best friend? I think so.

Shortly after we found out our family of two was turning into a family of three the excitement turned into panic. We could not anticipate all of the changes this little miracle would bring, but we knew life would never be the same. In January we found out that we were having a little girl. The very next day Chad was offered a new job with better pay in Portland. We wondered if this new job would have been offered, if we were to be having a boy instead. The timing of this new job led us to believe 3 things. Maybe, this little girl was gonna be a shopper and needed a bigger allowance. Perhaps her mom who was already a complusive shopper need a bigger allowance to buy lots of cute things little girls "must" have. Or maybe it was a gift to Chad of peace of mind that he would be able to take care of the needs of his new little family.

It was a sad sad day. We had said our goodbyes to our friends and the ocean we loved and watched the last of our boxes being loaded in the moving truck. In some ways it felt like the last episode of Friends. We were about to leave the home where it all began and journey into the next chapter of our lives. We were comforted in knowing we were on our way to finanical security, and the 1st home of our own. We were soon to find out that, money would be tight and our dream home we were about to purchase had slid down the side of the hill. My dad once told me when I was younger that the only thing you can count on in life is change. So ready or not change was on its way. Amy was 8 1/2 months pregnant. We had been living in hotels for 2 months and money had run out a month and a half ago. All of our belongings including the babies things were in storage somewhere in California, and we still had no home. Things were stressful, but they worked themselves out. With 1 week left before the babies due date we moved into a new home, unpacked the babies room, and 4 days earlier then expected, Amy gave birth to our beautiful baby girl. How's that for change?!