Still Exploring

Last Friday we headed down to San Jose to the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo.

Now, let me stop right there. It only took 25 minutes to get there, but people around here think that is crazy.  Anywhere out of your 5 mile radius is a crazy far drive.  This is hilarious since it took me 45 minutes to get to the Birmingham Zoo at home, and really it took me 30 minutes to get just about anywhere.  People here don't live the same type of suburban driving life that folks south of Birmingham live.

Now, back to the adventure.

The place was really more park with a side of zoo, but it was perfect for the boys.

Look at that treehouse!

I shall never admit how many times I lost sight of Walker.  He had a blast running, and climing, and sliding and was not terribly concerned about staying in my line of sight. But, in the end he made it out for lunch, so all's well that ends well.

Walker wanted to ride the roller coaster all by himself.  I told him to pull the safety bar all the way to his tummy, but failed to mention he had to wait until the lady unlocked it.  He was a bit panicked for 10 seconds that his safety bar wouldn't come down.  My little rule follower.

His only comment when he got off, "It was fast." And, he declined a second ride. 

Driving police cars and fire trucks.  

The fire trucks had working bells. {Ring, Ring, Ring}

Colin's second favorite thing was the macaws.


"Bird, Bird, Bird!"


His most favorite thing was the carousel.


It was our last stop on the way out and everyone enjoyed it.


Well, not everyone. I mean I don't really do well with the going round and round in circles thing, but I do love my kids. So, round and round I went.

Colin giggled the whole time.  Eli is yelling out in the background every time his goes up. Fun.


Parting shot on the way out.  No one was interested, but I made them stand there nonetheless.


They had a blast and have already asked when we are going back.

{Which is just fine. The place is a partner with the McWane center in Birmingham so we can go as much as we like for just the price of parking!} 

Things to Not Complain About: The Weather

The weather in the Bay Area is about as different as it could be from Alabama weather.

Alabama is under a ridiculous early summer heat wave that is not encouraging for how the rest of the summer will go.



Since we have been in California the temperatures have hovered in the mid-sixties during the day, maxing out at 75.  The evenings are cool, dipping into the 40s, and the heat has been required each morning.

There is no humidity.  This makes my hair so happy.

The boys wear long sleeves and pants, and require jackets in the early morning and late afternoon.



They can play outside all day.

With the extreme temperatures in Alabama the only way to cope is to get the kids outside early, and in by 10am. Then let them go back outside after dinner, or be in a swimming pool. That makes for a lot of indoor activities for some very busy boys.

Here, it is cloudy a lot.  The clouds are there each morning.  They might break around lunch and then they roll back in for the evening.

But clouds are fine since we can walk outside without risk of passing out from a heat stroke, and I can get in my car without the suffocating heat awaiting inside it, and there is no $250 power bill from a constantly running AC, and (well you get the idea).

Still missing the people in Alabama {oh, so much}, but not the weather {not one tiny bit}.



{So all you people in Alabama need to come and escape the heat for a visit!}

1, 2, 3, 4

Is that just a hand-me-down shirt Colin is wearing?



Yes, yes it is, but he is wearing it with purpose.

The McCay 5 will become the McCay 6 this winter.

The little one is 9 weeks today, and all is going well.  The official date is January 2, 2012.

We are thrilled and can't wait to see who this little one will be and all he or she will add to our family.

Our First Day Trip

For our first California day trip we loaded ourselves up and headed down to Monterey.

The scenery was something right out of a movie, and the weather was perfect.



We had a nice stroll by the water on a sandy path and some of us saw the Pacific Ocean up close for the first time.



We saw sea lions sunning themselves on the beach and then we made our way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.



It is amazing, and huge, and amazing.  There is so much to see, inside and outside areas, and people to help on every corner.  The exhibits are beautifully done and have millions of little areas for the kids.



Penguins!



Water play



The amazing view



Sea otters



Waiting for the tide to splash in



Then we took the scenic walk back to the car, packed up some new memories, and headed home.



The boys (and I) absolutely loved having the day with Daddy and exploring the beautiful town of Monterey.

We Are Here

We are here for obedience and adventure.



Where is here, you ask?

We are transplanted to Mountain View, California for the summer and possibly beyond.

Jason and his business partner have been accepted to a program called Y Combinator for their product Mongo HQ.

On May 18th, Jason and all our necessary belongings headed west with a U Haul and our minivan.

On May 22nd, the kids and myself boarded an airplane and headed west.

The whole company; 4 adults and 5 kids are living together to make a serious attempt at making all this thing work, and to see just what adventure God has in store for us.

The Lord's provision has been amazing. The house, travel, amazing help from family and friends all have been remarkable.

Now we learn how to make a new life here. To live together, to meet knew people, to go new places, to build a company, but more than anything to live in the Lord's will at all costs.

Super Heros for the Day

I wish Batman and the fireman were more effective box packers and closet cleaners. {Life is crazy, but good.}

Outside

There is much going on inside our home and inside ourselves.  Big changes afoot.  Good changes, with much encouragement, but still hard.

Dirt isn't hard or challenging.  It is simple and easy.



A quick escape to the backyard is more than welcome.  To run and play and dig and chase and laugh and jump and just be in the peace that is outside.



Being in this family is a full contact sport.





Until tomorrow.  And another blissful break from all the inside, to the outside.



{Part of Beth's You Capture: Outside} {I am most proud of the first picture}