April 22 is Almost here!

Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week. I am getting excited just thinking about it :-) Since the weather has been unbelievably hot, we decided to take advantage of it, and pushed our camping trip forward a day. On Wednesday, James and I will be driving north and into the mountains. We're going to camp in Sequoia National Park for our 3 year anniversary! (It will also be earth day, how fitting!) Tomorrow after work it will be a mad dash to pack up the gear and supplies for our wonderful trip. I'm looking forward the beautiful variety of scenery, the long hikes, photo opportunities, and of course the quality time with James. Today I bought some wine to take, and James bought a new mat for us to use. (We learned our lesson about sleeping on the ground at the grand canyon it was rough, literally.) James also picked out our camping site preferences, we're hoping to get a spot by the river we'll see what we end up with. Since they don't take reservations it will be on a first come first serve basis. We'll be sure to post pics and happenings when we get back!

Also on a side note, we've been receiving lovely anniversary cards from friends and family, thank you so much!!! I can't believe anyone even remembers, but I'm so glad they do. It really makes James and I feel loved. Thank you and we love you too!!!

Time is Flying By!

Its hard to believe that James and I are approaching our 3 year anniversary! Its even weirder to think that we've been in a relationship for 6 years. I feel pretty lucky to have such a wonderful husband. We haven't made definite plans about what we're going to do for our anniversary but we have a few ideas. The week after this I have taken a half week off of work. Our anniversary is on Wednesday April 22, so we figured we'd sleep in, relax, and have a nice meal out on the town. Then on Thursday we're planning on taking a short camping trip. The only trouble is we can't make up our minds. I am in awe of how much California has to offer and James and I have only experience a little slice of it. We want to travel somewhere new. We both really like the idea of saving money on a hotel and camping is always such a fun experience. So...here are our mini trip options:

• Sequoia National Park - I've always wanted to see the giant trees, but do I want to share my experience with the bears? Not to mention, the temperatures can get down to the 30s at night. If we did travel this way we could also see Yosemite as it is not too far. Are the giant trees and beautiful wildlife worth it...or should we wait until summer?

• Big Sur- Camping on a beach cliff...what more can I say? We could also stop by the Hearst Castle on way if we ventured out that way. James and I have seen many of the California beaches and we love them! Waking up hearing the waves would be so luxurious, even for camping, but....by going with the beach would we be passing up an opportunity to see something different?

So does anyone have any ideas? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.... I just can't decide. Since we're on the topic on anniversary, this coming May also marks the anniversary of James and I moving out west. Hard to believe we've been here a year. I'm so thankful for what the Lord has given us thus far. Can't wait to see what the years to come bring!

As for updates....not to much is new. Last weekend I worked at a conference for School Board members. It was really interesting and I'm glad I have the opportunity to go. It was in San Diego so James came too which always makes the trips better. Our hotel was in the gas lamp district and we were able to walk around at night a bit. On Sunday we went to a place called Hash House a Go-Go, a great recommendation from a co-worker, it was insane in a good way. The plates were huge...platter size. I ordered a breakfast quesadilla and it was about the size of half a beach ball...I didn't even know they sold tortilla shells that big! It was really wonderful. After we stuffed our faces we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was so crowded but so cool! We saw all the exhibits, and if it wasn't for the lines we might have paid to feed the Giraffes too :-) It was so fun but boy did we get sunburned. James and I also finished our Battlestar Galatica marathon last week. For those of you who don't know what that is, than you haven't seen good Sci-Fi until you see the Battlestar series. (Just to clarify its the new one not the Battlestar from the 70s.)

This weekend we got to hang out with friends, grill and of course play games. It was a lot of fun! Its always refreshing to be around friends. Today for Easter Sunday James and I broke out the white linen. He in his pants and I in my coat. It was fun to dress up! We went to church, they had free breakfast, and a great message as always. The very first thing our pastor said was, "He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed", and then he had the congregation join in, in two parts. I instantly thought of home and our Lutheran church how often I would hear that phrase. Together my family and I would answer, "He is Risen Indeed!". It made me smile just thinking about it.

After church I tried to go to the mall...and realized too late that it was closed. But I did however get to knock over a parking sign :-) Ooops! No damage except to my ego of course! On that note I'll leave you with a few pics from our Easter weekend.

Praise the Lord, for He is risen that we might have life!