Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

The watch came! Remember, this was her reward for her patience. She bought this with HER allowance!

The doorbell rang and she ran like a gazelle down the stairs.

Is it here????

YES! A car. On her wrist. Now, the band is a tire tread. Come on! How cute can you get?

I think she was hoping it got “charged” and could do tricks, but it does tell time. Oh, and it has a stop watch. Oh…the good old days when watches were just that.

She is proud to wear it knowing she earned it.

 

 

Helllloooooo?

He is going to respond now.

Coti?

Coti is definitely trying to tell her that his nap has been hijacked by her incessant questions.

Now, go back to sleep, Snuggle Bug.

She really is.

Today, she showed responsibility. She did things without asking like picking things up in her room.
She was kind to people at the stores; Now, she usually is, but today, she would just approach patrons with a question or a compliment. Again without prompting from me.

She also was so obedient. First time asked. DONE.

She also made cards for her teachers from camp.

 

I had to give it to her because it is what she is.

 

You be YOU!

 

 

Remember the saying, “Patience is a virtue?” It’s also the third fruit of the spirit.

We could all work on this a bit, eh?

What about “delayed gratification?” It’s a tough concept to understand; even for mature folks!

Anyhoo, three weeks ago, Tatum suggested she wanted a new watch. I told her she could get one with her allowance for about $10 if she wanted one like her Paw Patrol one. She agreed. However, she only had $5 in her “Spend” envelope. She did not want to use her “Save” or “Give” money. I told her if she could wait two weeks, she’d have enough money to buy the watch.

Well, guess what Sunday was? THE DAY OF $10 in her “Spend” envelope! She put off the buying of anything until today.

We searched on Amazon for the perfect watch. Upon picking one out, she ordered it with me and now she has to wait until Thursday for it’s arrival.

It pays to wait.

So proud of you, Tot!

I couldn’t wait to go to my old church, Twin Lakes.

We sure are going to miss this view, however.

When I got there, I found our Senior Pastor, Rene Schlaepfer. He remembered me from the Pantry. I also reminded him that he was my inspiration to attend Seminary. What a blessing he has been to me.

And he enjoyed meeting my honey and Tot.

The sermon was awesome, as usual. I love his practical message.

Let’s stay JESUS CENTERED ALL THE TIME.

We found an old Pantry bin.

Then we said goodbye to my dear friends Dick and Marilyn.

We knew we’d need some time to drive to the airport, but first we wanted to see my old house on Victoria lane. Man, is it pretty.

Well, we were then off to the airport. Driving 17 is never predictable. Today there was a 10K and and accident to fight with. Doug found an alternative route, so we attempted it. It wasn’t looking good. We only had an hour to get to the rental car place, get our luggage checked in and go through security.

I checked to see if our flight would be delayed. Nope. Then, I spoke to Jesus for about 30 minutes. Do you know the Holy Spirit prompted me to check again, and our flight was then all of a sudden….

DELAYED!!!!!??

Seriously!
Then we seamlessly dropped off the car. Tatum was SOOOOO happy to get rid of this ridiculously uncomfortable car seat:

We got through security in less than 2 minutes. They said we were Pre-boarders. (We are? Maybe on Jesus’ airplane!). Then we didn’t even need to remove any items from our bags. Voila. We were at the gate with 30 minutes to spare. Praise Jesus!!!

So grateful to be on this plane.

What a success. Bags all there and safely home.

We made NEW memories, and I couldn’t have had a better time with my family.

I love you both to pieces. Thank you Jesus for keeping us safe too.

Well, we were ready for another hike. But, where would we go!? We decided to hit Rio Del Mar trail which is just above the beach. Man, what a view. God, your creation!! We all basked in it.

We just couldn’t get enough of the view, the weather and the scenery.

Tatum and I found this cool dolphin statue to surround with a hug and kiss.

We ended with a swing in the park.

Later, we had a few errands to run to Santa Cruz. First stop: Kelly’s Bakery. I used to love their rolls. They did not have them, so we bought a sourdough loaf for Dick and Marilyn, and TOT and Doug split a

She fought me on getting it. Then she tasted the buttery flaky half moon. She thanked me abundantly.

We then needed to meet Dick and Marilyn at their house in Watsonville. It was such a treat to see them again. They have been like my spiritual parents for so many years.

Tatum enjoyed being the Alpha to their daughter’s dog, Milo.

They adored Doug, and we wished they would be attending our wedding. Maybe they will. I sure miss them.

Later, we’d have our last dinner at the condo.

We loved our last Carpo meal too.

I sure will miss this place!!

Surprise! I’m taking you guys on a Whaling cruise from 9am – 1pm. Now, we needed to be there at 8:30am. I missed the mark in getting us there early, so we got there right when they were boarding thanks to my honey’s fancy driving skills. At least we had our caffiene!

Now, the host on board said the little ones had to have life jackets on. Tot was less than enthused.

It was choking her, so we reasoned with Alfredo, and he let her take if off. She would be fine!

The Coast Guard would be close by.

Off we went!
The first sighting was of all the birds and seals on the rock.

Look at all of them at their little party!

 

We saw a few sluggin’ seals under the pier.

Then we spotted the cutest little otter. He was happier than a bird in a sea of seeds. He had his lunch right on his little belly.

 

It would now be a while before we’d see some whales. We first spotted a bevy (?) of seals.  Look at all of their cute little heads popping out.

Then we saw the most beautiful dolphins swimming in sync. (here is the dolphin we saw. (Riba)

There’s one…

and more..

They were amazing!

We waited a while and Tot was getting hungry. Good thing I had some rolls left from Gayle’s!

When will we see them, Mommy????

Patience will pay off.

Then………SPOUT!

And more….

Look at that whale tale gracefully swimming in the distance.

Their tales had white underneath.

 

More kept coming and they were RIGHT WITH US! It was a bit foggy, so seeing them up close was a real treat!!

We ended up being really way out to sea.

 

Just wonderful. Doug dear got a bunch of videos. So many that his battery ran out!

Finally, the fog cleared.

and we landed.

WOW, God, you did it again!!!!!

On the way back to our car, we had a chance to sample clam chowder. Man, was it tasty!

We tired Tot out.

We headed down the Highway 1 for part of the 17 mile drive to see Carmel. The traffic was horrific, so we headed back to Aptos.

I wanted to take them to my favorite place, Palapas.

My memories of their ceviche are delicious.

So Tatum got to sample: Squid, octopus, and shrimp

I think she likes it.

 

We were so worn out and comfortable at this point.

Isn’t he just the cutest?

It was definitely time to head back to our cozy condo for another night of CRAZY!

Doug was definitely excited to be playing again!

We had so much fun today! I sure loved being with my family the whole time. What an experience to share.

Thank you , my love, for taking all of the pics and videos. XO