Our too-quick Weekend

Although we have absolutely no pictures to show for our relaxing but rather ordinary weekend, here’s how it went down:

Friday after work we went to dinner at The Elephant Bar. Brad and I have never been there before, and it was really good! Brad decided on a shrimp dish (after inconspicuously scoping it out at the table next to us). I actually tried a bite, but didn’t ask for seconds.

After dinner we finally picked up an external hard drive for our computer. We have wanted to get one for about a year now… ever since our computer up and crashed last October and we lost everything. Well, 11 months later, we got one! With everything being digital now- including pictures- you lose all of your memories when your hard drive crashes. I’m so relieved to know that if the computer were to crash again, our pictures and everything else is still safe.

We started out Saturday with a trip to the gym… followed by a stop at the donut shop for Brad. He immediately negated all calories he had burnt at the gym, but didn’t seem to mind one bit.

In the afternoon we explored Lafayette, a small town about 10 minutes southwest of Walnut Creek. We drove through the city and it was so beautiful! All of the streets are so green, covered with trees and bushes, and the country-style houses are just incredible. We drove up a street called “Happy Valley” (no joke!) and ended up right next to the reservoir Brad wanted to find. He has already planned his trip out there to try the fishing.

Sunday was another great day! Brad taught his lesson and I bribed the kids to like me better by bringing Peanut Butter Kiss cookies. (I think my plan worked.) Afterwards our home teacher came over and he and Brad talked about fishing. Apparently this Saturday is “Free Fishing” day… no license or fees of any kind. According to Brad, “I’m going fishing- NO MATTER WHAT!” I’m excited that he has found another fishing buddy, because he’s been pretty lonely without Kyle and Brian since we moved. Hopefully they have a successful trip on Saturday!

That evening we had our next-door neighbors, the Andrews, over for some Korean food. They are in our ward and have an adorable little 2-year old named Emmy. We have really enjoyed getting to know them! Brad was so excited to cook the meal that he would hardly let me help! We had spicy soup, “beef and leaf”, and mandu… with kimchi, rice, and pork on the side. All in all- the meal was delicious! Good job Brad!!

Today Brad started his newest project with Protiviti. He will be working on it for at least the next two months, and guess what? It’s only 3 miles from our house, about 3 miles from my work, and he doesn’t have to work until 9 am each day… just like me! We are so excited for the 3 miles commute, instead of his usual 45 miles.

I’m already planning early morning gym excursions… and Brad is planning noontime lunch dates. It will be great!

Utah here we come...

Brad and I bought our tickets to Utah for Christmas!

December 24-January 1

We can hardly wait for our white Christmas with the Hardcastles! :)

Tough as Nails

I just wanted to give a little shout out to my younger brother Ross. He is 15 and has already been through a lot of trials in his life, the largest of which was being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease a year and a half ago. Crohn’s disease pretty much sucks. Your entire digestive tract attacks itself. It causes intense pain, cramping, weight loss, and some other symptoms that are not appropriate for such a public posting, but you get the idea.

Well, Ross is constantly in a battle with his body. I have been so impressed with how he has handled all of the changes that this disease has brought into his life: restricted diet, physical activity, etc. Last summer Brad and I were visiting my family and he pulled out his $25 dollar gift card to Jamba Juice and handed it to Brad. Jamba Juice was Ross’s favorite place to go. He had gotten the gift card for Christmas but was in the hospital only 2 weeks later beginning his battle with Crohn’s. He hadn’t even gotten to use the card, and now couldn’t because he wasn’t allowed to eat seeds or fruit. I decided this would be equivalent to me being diagnosed with a chocolate allergy and being given an entire bag of Snickers bars… and just giving them to someone else. Yeah… that wouldn't have happened. This has been Ross's entire attitude to the whole diagnosis: go with the flow and stay optimistic.

Anyways… Ross decided he wanted to run Cross Country when he entered high school. Bryant did the same thing- running for all 4 years he was at San Pasqual. (I don’t know where these brothers of mine get this desire to run… it must come from the male side of the family because it definitely skipped me!) Last year’s running season went well, but this years hasn’t gone as smoothly. Ross has been really frustrated with himself because he is missing practice a lot due to Crohn’s complications (called “flare ups”) and foot problems. He is obviously not doing well in the races either… in his own words “Even the fat kid is beating me.”

Well… long story short (okay, not so short) Ross went to get an x-ray of his foot today because its been 3 weeks and it isn’t feeling better. The x-rays came back and the verdict was…………..



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TWO BROKEN bones in his left foot. (Not to mention an extremely tight Achilles tendon in his right foot which will require physical therapy!)




Brad says its okay that the fat kid beat you in the race.

BYU vs UCLA 59-0

Just wanted to give a shout out to our BYU Cougars... we wish we could have been there in person to witness this momentous win! Watching it on TV was almost just as good!

Max, Austin, Harvey, Dennis, Michael, and Bronco: you bring joy to our September-December. Thanks for the great performance!

Monterey, Pebble Beach, and Santa Cruz

For Labor Day weekend, and for a joint birthday getaway, Brad and I drove down Highway 1 to visit Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Pebble Beach. We left Saturday morning and took our time driving down beautiful Highway 1. We stopped at beaches and lighthouses along the way. In Santa Cruz we enjoyed the beautiful weather and boardwalk. We didn't ride any of the boardwalk rides, but just enjoyed watching other people :) We went to a Sacrament in Watsonville on Sunday morning, and enjoyed the unique dynamic of the friendly ward. Sunday afternoon was spent driving the 17-mile-drive through Pebble Beach, walking the streets of Carmel by the Sea, and visiting Cannery Row & Downtown Monterey. Obviously, we could have spent a couple days in each of these places, but the quick visit was still really nice. Everything was so amazing and I loved watching the beautiful sunsets over the water. Monday morning we went down to Sunset State Beach and just read and relaxed before we headed back to reality...

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend! Here are some pictures of the scenery:

One of the beaches on Highway 1


Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in the back


On our late night candy run Brad discovered his long lost favorite candy of all-time: Shockers. We could have gone home at that moment and the trip would have been a success to him.


A beach on the 17-mile drive


Pretty scenery!


Still on the 17-mile drive


The Pebble Beach Golf Course... this was as close as we could get as there was a tournament that day. Darn!


The most sea lions I've ever seen! They were everywhere we looked!



It was a great weekend, that went way too fast! We are looking forward to visiting Monterey & Carmel again!

I will be getting a lot more of this now:

Sleep... glorious sleep!!!

Well... I got the call last night. After three days of teaching seminary, they decided... drumroll please... that my class was unnecessary. Yes, with only two (yes, two!) students in the class, they have decided to have them attend the earlier class that has twelve kids.

What does that mean for me? I am officially the shortest lived seminary teacher in the history of the world. A whopping three days is all I lasted. And to be honest, I have no idea how people can do much more than that!!

Brad and I spent Labor Day weekend in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Pebble Beach. A new post and pictures for that will come tonight.

As for now, you can all stop feeling sorry for me, because my "term" is over!