Notes from me to you

july 1, 1980

well, by iowan (CST) time, i'm officially 27... which means i've celebrated 27 years of life... 27 years full of life. lessons learned, on a farm, in the barn, they hayloft, tire swings, lilac bushes, pulleys, tree houses, bunk house, tom boy, dirt, thunderstorms, laura ingalls, green apples, apple trees, cherry tree, grandpa, kato, conrad, brothers, amazing parents, incredible extended family, small community, beautiful friends, fantastic high school, lovely colleges, st. paul, (oh st. paul, how i love thee), united, the nook, sweeney's, muddy pig, grand ol' day, st. patrick's day, conversations, beers, ciders, burgers, piazza, catholicism, lutheranism, youth ministry, long walks, bike rides, mission trip, musicals, snow, sun, rain, ol' mexico, brits, lawn bowling, the local, the liffey, the xcel center, hockey games, africa, NYC, LA, solo plane rides, long road trips, being a roadie (a 56 hope roadie, that is!), nursing assistant, graduating, moving, nurse, chemo, cousins, marriages, baptisms, wedding receptions... love had, love lost, successes, failures, joy, pain, praise, etc... ***sigh***


july 1, 2007
to bring in the "new year" with me is my beautiful mother. she flew from iowa, via MSP :) and arrived safely in LAX. we've done quite a bit of just "taking it all in" since she's been here. meaning we've spent a lot of time, actually, the majority of time, outdoors (just the way we like it!). we spent today's early afternoon walking around the area in which i live and making friends with our dining neighbors at cafe buna. yesterday we spent the day soaking up the sun, the ocean, the people, and sand at the beautiful santa monica beach (see below)






tonight we drove to Orange and spent time with the fam. my lifelong-neighbor-practically-family-childhood-and-teenage-friend, Patrick, has also relocated to CA and he joined the family for a huge and tasty mexican-family-style meal prepared by none other than senor seth. you ain't had guacamole till you've had his! wow!


Brothers Josh and Seth preparing the food..

it was a great time and they even surprised me with my favorite summer drink and strawberry shortcake for a little b-day cele!

here's are the few pics i got..


brother josh showing off his silliness

the chef..


sister jill moves to quickly for my slow cam..