Projects and Events In July

Hello everyone! Wow, life has been busy. A little too crazy to be all the way fun, but good times non-the-less. I had this material for a long time with exactly this in mind:One for Hailey...One for Evelyn!Kayak! So Matthew had set up an alert on 'if this then that' for kayaks on Craigslist. He responded quickly to this amazing deal and despite getting lots of offers, the lady let us have it! Dad went with us to pick it up in Avila (during the thunderstorm!). We greatly appreciated his assistance and truck!Came with nice paddles, seats, and really nice life jackets that fit us perfectly.
So the engine light in Matthew's car came on one day on his way to work. He looked up the problem on his Automatic iDevice. He ordered the part that evening. Saturday he took my car to pick up the part while I drove his directly to mom and dad's. On his way, the engine light came on in MY car, the Civic! He was slightly disgusted with engine lights :) He totally impressed me, though, by being a very good mechanic and replacing the part in his car with some help from dad. The story on my car will come later!Whipping up waffles one evening for our favorite dinner! Matthew makes his glutinous ones in the red bowl and I made mine GF ones in the green bowl
Peek-a-boo Hailey!Grizzly Youth Academy!

The next class is in session at Grizzly, where Matthew works. The first two weeks is pre-challenge. The kids do all sorts of things, archery, obstacle courses, climbing wall, hiking blindfolded while someone leads them, leadership activities, etc. Matthew actually climbed the wall and took pictures from up there!

My favorite picture of my new little niece, Evelyn!

(There was a picture of Austin here, but I decided not to post it... You're welcome, broski:)
While Mom and Sarah Beth were in Washington, Dad and Austin came over for dinner. The picture of dad is even less flattering, and the picture of us, I have my hair turbie on my head, so sorry, you don't get to see us :)SO! My knowledge about cars has greatly increased! I can actually identify something besides the battery and windshield washer fluid cap! (Mr. Jimmy would be proud of me!) From what I've been told, this is the exhaust manifold. And it has a crack in it. Which there has been exhaust smell in the cabin since before I started driving the 'silver bullet' (as Alex McWilliams dubbed my car!). We aren't sure how long this has been like this, but my theory is that in the winter I was getting worse gas mileage because in the cold, the crack pulled apart more. Since warmer weather, it's been getting slightly better, but still not as good as it should according to Matthew. We found this crack when taking off the heat shield to get to the upper O2 sensor, which was why the engine light came on....O2 sensorWe had to get a picture of Matthew's greasy hands!One evening we went to Kevin and Addie's. She made chili and cornbread and we took it to the top of Terrace Hill. Cassie is one busy little cute girl!Sun setting over Madonna, or rather Cerro San LuisMore working on the car! Austin brought over some more tools.

So Saturday we went to San Simeon with Dad and Austin. They took our kayak on their truck and rented singles for themselves. It was SO much fun! We paddled out to the point, saw a few blowholes, lots of birds and seaweed. When we were getting ready to head back to the beach, dolphins started jumping! We got it all on the GoPro which Matthew had mounted to the front of the kayak. It was awesome! They are so pretty. We came home, cleaned up, then met the guys for sushi at Kia Lana. From there we went to Starbucks! When we got home, Matthew started working on my car. The caffeine kicked in and he kept on working on my car! He had the new part, but one of the bolt heads had come off and he couldn't get the bolt out. We ended up calling dad, who couldn't get to sleep because of his coffee drink. We drove over around 11:30 to pick up some tools, me driving because Matthew was too greasy. Matthew had brought the part to show dad and they ended up working on it right there. They finally got the sheared bolt out and we went on our way. We found out later that the closing garage door woke Austin up and dad's footsteps made him nervous. He got up to check it out, calling out to dad. Dad didn't hear him the first few times and Austin was all ready to take out some intruder, when Dad finally did answer! We went home and worked until after 1:00! I was falling asleep holding the flashlight! But we made lots of progress.
I had so much fun sewing and shopping for Evelyn! It was a blast to wrap each thing up and put it all in the package to send! I got the sweetest thank you email back written from her perspective! "Today I am going to wear the onsie with flowers on it and my new white skirt!  Daddy asked for it right away."Cleaning jobs are pretty cool! You never know what you might get! I think it was fjg and peach jamMatthew had been telling me about sun tea. I finally tried it without looking at a recipe or how to do it. At first it didn't turn out, but the second time was much better. (I should really look it up tho, it might be even better if I followed directions!)Who is this scary looking character?! Matthew at the dentist! Three fillings down, three to go!My second cousin Bronwyn from Virginia was visiting in Southern CA and kindly rode the train up to visit a few of us up here. I picked her up from the train station Wednesday afternoon and took her to Maggie's where she spent the night. Thursday she came with Vanessa, Sarah Beth, Lauren, and I to hike Johnson Ranch. Then the two of us headed to Morro Bay where we walked around town some, then went out to the jetty. I found this tiny sand dollar and decided it is a 'sand penny'! We went to Taco Temple for lunch. Wow, it was good food! You serve yourself as much chips and salsa as you want! I got two beef tacos and couldn't finish it, Bronwyn had to help me out! From there we drove through Cayucos. The pier is still under repair, so we couldn't go out there. At lunch we had decided to try kayaking at San Simeon, so we headed on north. After a semi wet start going through some surf, we had a fun and uneventful journey out to the point. I was in the back, which I have never been before, and only been part of beach landing one time. I did not know what I was doing! It was all pretty good til we started going sideways and the surf dumped us over almost right on the beach! Bronwyn has been dumped 3 out of her 4 kayak excursions, but it was my first time. Also, my first time being all the way under in salt water! As well as under the kayak...  Besides being a little wet and my sunglasses missing, we were fine. What an adventure :) Memories... She spent the night with Lucy and the morning with Tanya, then she treated me to In-n-Out on the way to the train station. Thanks for making time to be with us Bronwyn!
So you all have seen this style, right? I think I'll skip this fad :) It is cute on some people, including my sister-in-law, but unless I'm going for hippie, I'll stay away from this!So mom and Sarah Beth heard about all our adventures kayaking in San Simeon and wanted to try it out, too! All six of us went out this Saturday in 3 tandems. It was another beautiful day. I love going out to the point and being on the swells. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm up or down until I start going one way or the other! The following Tuesday night we sang several songs about the ocean, and I got to thinking about how big it is and how powerful. How we can't control what it does in the least. Sitting out there going gently up and down, there was no way I could keep myself from NOT doing that. And also feeling its unseen force pushing you toward the rocks when you get close. Then when we were coming back to the beach, Dad and Mom made it almost all the way, and then got a wave over them, Dad fell out, but mom somehow stayed in the boat! We aren't sure how! But then some big sets came in. At least for San Simeon and to try beaching a kayak. Better for surfing. Sarah Beth and I both kinda freaked out a bit. Matthew kept letting us drift closer and closer to where the waves were breaking. It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff that is moving, didn't Sarah Beth? I was back paddling and going, "WHAT are you doing!" But I tried to watch the sets and see what the guys were seeing. I don't know how the ocean here works, and I want to learn. Also, I realized that even if Matthew didn't choose the best time to go in, I was only going to make it worse by back paddling. So I took a deep breath and waited for his signal. Austin decided now was the time, so we all started paddling as fast as we could. After all those big waves, we came in perfectly. The wave behind us carried us right in, breaking right in front of us, and we had time to hop out and pull the kayak up on the beach with plenty of time before the next big set. The landing was a lot drier than our going out! I had gotten a medium size wave in my lap, and then an "oh NO" was cut short as I shut my mouth and eyes as we went right through a wave that was over my head! It knocked my hat right off! 

Water and especially the ocean is a lot of fun, but demands a lot of respect. You have to understand it and its forces, the way it works. We have to work WITH it to use it. But God commands the ocean. He created it. With a word He can make it be still or dry it up. He is more powerful than that awesome and slightly eerie force making you bob up and down. He is more powerful than the tide coming and going. More powerful than the hurricanes and storms. And He knows me. He MADE me!

From San Simeon we went to Luffingwell in Cambria, where we grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and zucchini on the charcoal grill for dinner. That was SO much fun! It was my first time to do something like that, and I can't wait to do it again!After the house was ridded of termites last spring, the inspectors said the deck needed to be replaced. Mrs. Neilson had some trouble finding someone that was willing to get into it, but finally a contractor friend at church asked her if she needed anything done! They started later that week. It is turning out to be a little more involved than they first thought, but they are hard workers and making good progress. It is making memories of working with Caleb come back to me! I am wanting to get out there and do something!

Well, it is off to run club for me! 4 miles I believe today and it is hot... I'm very thankful for how it is going so far! I have a running partner and have gotten to know some of the Grizzly staff and cadre as well.

As we run along and chat, I find out some interesting things. The girl's favorite activities since coming to the school are the ones that were the hardest for her. As Sarah Beth pointed out when I told her about this, the school is helping them learn that they can overcome obstacles in life and don't have to be defeated by their weak points and fears. I appreciate prayers for the times I am going to have with these kids and people. I don't know what may come up, but I feel like God made it work out for me to be able to do this and I want to glorify and praise Him in it.

Until next time!

A few July happenings

I see this sign all the time, but it hit me funny this day. Anybody WANT to go swimming? Don't think we'll have any problem with this law being broken any time soon :)
I was so excited to get more Norwex stuff at the party Cherisa had. It makes my cleaning jobs a lot more fun and easy!Thursday I went with Vanessa and Sarah Beth to hike Cayucos Hill. The Mauers were staying at the beach that week, so some of them joined us for the short, steep hike with an amazing, rewarding view! This is looking towards Morro RockThis is looking over Cayucos.And this is looking north-ish. You can see the crane on the pier where they are repairing it! Yay! Also, the different water colors and kelp beds are really pretty.It was fun to have Cherisa and Hailey join us. Hailey wanted to walk the whole way down holding onto our fingers! It is so cute when she comes over and grabs a finger and pulls you over to show you something!
On the other side of the hill is Whale Rock Reservoir. Crazy to see that much water.I did a little redecorating in our room. Cousin Rebekah gave us this poster along time ago and I finally put it up. I like it, it is simple and sweet.Cayucos Hill was so neat, I knew Matthew would love it! Saturday evening, Uncle Dave and Aunt Ruth treated us to Dockside for dinner. We left earlier enough to do the hike before meeting them at the restaurant.This itty bitty lizard was catching that last rays of sun. It was so cute, I sat and watched it for a long time. Which reminds me of something Matthew heard the other day. One of the creepiest things for a person is when someone stares at you without moving or saying anything for a long time. And that is exactly what we do to animals!Does anyone know what causes these red welts on this plant? They aren't on every leaf, just a few.After enjoying a very nice seafood dinner, we walked to the pier in Morro Bay. It was a pretty sunset.

Sunday we went to Mom and Dad's for lunch. Matthew had fun with Hailey. It seems like a long time since we've gotten be with them.While we were at Mom and Dad's I got a phone call from Lloyd saying that baby Evelyn was born!That evening Matthew and I went for a quick bike ride. A pretty flower along the way...Meet Mork! I went into his kennel to pick up his bed and grab his food/water dishes and he just climbed all over me wanting attention. He isn't quite a year old. This was Tuesday, he wasn't up for adoption yet, still being assessed. When I went back Thursday for a class, he had already been adopted!Meet Parker! I love this little girl's front legs and feet! She's a little shy but it was fun to coax her near me and get her to let me pet her.Meet Cooper! haha! This is Glenn and Annie's (rather Alex's) dog. They had been out of town for awhile so when I arrived to clean, he wanted to play! He was missing his family.After hiking Bishop's Peak with Mom and Sarah Beth Thursday, Mom kindly treated us to Jamba Juice! I felt healthy drinking a GREEN smoothie, but it was very tasty!

Long story here! Matthew had a dentist appointment 7:00 Thursday morning. I had given my insurance info over the phone, but she had asked for him to bring his card. He went to get it before going out the door, but couldn't find it. And we looked and looked and looked, and couldn't find it! So 5 minutes late, he left for the appointment. I went back to bed :) but he called when he got there and they said he really needed to have it. So I turned the house upside-down AGAIN several times, but didn't find it. I was frustrated and at my wits end. I texted mom to see if she had any ideas of where to look. She made some suggestions and said she would be praying for me. I gave up looking, made my breakfast, and ate. Matthew texted saying that they didn't need it after all. That's the morning I hiked with Mom and SB. She encouraged me to look at as a growing experience, building character, trust, and patience. That God was in control and it would all turn out okay. I grudgingly had to agree and tried to look at it this way, especially when I got this picture the next morning.


Matthew had found the card in his car Friday morning. That evening as we left the house to do some errands, he was telling me about finding it. He put his hand down to show me where he had found it, and there were TWO insurance cards! OH my, oh my, oh my!This quote kinda reminded me of Ecclesiastes. My relationship with God and how I demonstrate His love to other people is more important than fame or wealth.Don't know how hard this is going to be to read, but it was good for me and I wanted to share it. It is from a Downhome magazine! It is telling about the guy who is doing "Faces of Newfoundland." David McComiskey, a medical student, is finding a passion in taking pictures and sharing people's stories. Matthew Brake is lending a hand as their website says. I've also been told that a sister to someone we know in NL is getting involve as she did something similar in her home town before moving to NL late last year.View from the top of the hill across the street. We rarely take walks any more, but it was too beautiful of an evening to not be outside in!



Who all noticed the sky on Saturday evening? It was like a painting in motion! This picture taken in front of the 99.99 cent store doesn't do it justice in the least. The cloud formations were amazing with an anticipated feeling of a storm hanging in the air that was filled with ever changing hues of color. (Goodness, that was a lame try at being poetic!) The rain started that evening and then thunderstorms off and on all night long! It was bizarre! We got up several times to watch the lightening and listen to the rain and thunder. So exciting and awesome. Distant storms could still be seen and heard Sunday morning for several hours, with more rain.
Exciting news! Matthew found a great deal on a kayak off of Craigslist. It is hardly used, stored well, has paddles, seats, and life vests! Many thanks to Dad who went with us to Avila to pick it up. Food picture? I know, how exciting, especially when it is just an every day quesadilla and guacamole.... It was just that I was so hungry when I got home from grocery shopping that the groceries had to sit out until I was fed!Yes, and now a selfie! And not a good one at that! But this is me on my way to Woods. I am now officially a 'handler' so I can walk dogs outside! They were short staffed this day and especially appreciative of my amateur assistance. Bonnie's ankle started bothering her awhile ago. They recently found out that a foxtail probably went through her leg. This makes my scalp prickle every time! She will not be back up for adoption until her ankle is better, but her brother (yes, Clyde it is!) is still on the adoption floor. I took him for a walk before visiting Bonnie. 


I also spent time with Missy and Parker. This little critter (Smee) has a cone collar on to keep him from licking his stitches. After petting him for a long time, I peeked around the cone to find him fast asleep!

Until next time! Margaret :)