REALITY CHECK! We're not in Texas anymore!

The kids start school... Oh No!!!

Our children were 11 and 13 when we moved to Cali.  I never expected school in California to be SO different.  When I say different, I mean in every way possible!  Marina Del Rey Middle School was an inner city school, and we being from small town texas thought every school was like the ones we went to.  We couldn't have been more wrong.  I mean, the school was fenced in and had bars on the windows.   This was our first clue we were in the WRONG place.  At least where our children were concerned.

Yes!  This was their actual school! YIKES!!!  At this point we were wondering what the heck have we done... Major culture shock!

It's really a sad day when you take your children to school and WORRY about them the entire day they are there!  We had no idea it would be like this!  At this point we checked into private school and charter schools.  They all had a waiting list of 3-5 YEARS!  We were screwed.  We knew then that our little adventure on the beach was over!  We knew that at Christmas break it would be time to move to a more family friendly atmosphere. We had planned to be in this area for only a very short time anyway. This was simply a pitstop on our adventure.

Until next time.

T.

The first time ever I saw... the beach...

It was night when we pulled in to Marina Del Rey and pulled over on the side of the highway (don't do this- You will almost certainly be ticketed for this... Not to mention it's just not safe!

We knew the Ocean was out there... We just couldn't see it.   But the moment we stepped out of the car we knew it was there!  We could smell it!   And it smelled like sulfur!  I kid you not!  And we heard it.  That amazingly hypnotic sound of waves crashing onto the beach.  I fell in love instantly!

This is the Condo we moved in to...

The next day we went back and this is what welcomed us.

Aaaahhhh!

You can almost hear the waves crashing... Can't you! That thing flying in the upper right corner is a PELICAN! It might seem silly, but I was very excited to see one.  Almost everything we encountered at this point was very new to us!  We had such an exciting adventure.  One that I hope our kids never forget.    After all, it's not everyday your family moves across country, right?

 Bliss...

Gorgeous...

Sunset.  Need I say more?

You're welcome:)

Believe me when I say there are many more to come!!!

T.

Grand Canyon- Here we come...

My little family and I made a great leap and moved to California the summer of '03.
We move in two vehicles, one overstuffed trailer that contained a small portion of our worldly possessions, and two preteen kids.  But we all made it alive.

We made a pitstop at the Grand Canyon...

LOVE this photo!

The kids weren't impressed... At first!

They came around:)

Smile... You're on candid camera!

I've got to say the Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful & awe inspiring places on earth!

I highly recommend it.  Next time we will leave the kids at home!
T.

An introductions is in order...

Hello!

I'm Tonya.  I'm a 40 something mom of two adult children, and one four legged furry one.  My husband and I have been married for  25 years.  My little family and I are transplants from a small town in West Texas.  We moved to California in 2003.

In my opinion, we live in really the perfect place. The Sacramento area. We're about two hours from San Francisco, about 2 hours from Tahoe, and are surrounded by everything else.  Pretty sweet!  

Pretty cool, huh?  It's a photo of downtown Sac with a view of the Delta.  We were driving down I-50, and I snapped a quick photo with my iPhone.  I thought it turned out pretty well, don't you?

I created this blog years ago but never really put anything of interest on it.  Now I find myself with a little extra time on my hands.  My days off from work used to be filled with shopping and errands with our daughter... Not anymore.  She moved out.  Sigh.  

She recently married her high school sweetheart and he whisked her away to North Carolina where he is stationed in the Army.  I'm so proud of both of them.

This is the day he proposed... Awww.  I feel ok sharing this cause she posted it on Facebook.  

Meet Lucy... Our four legged baby.

I should probably say here that you will be seeing a lot of her...

On this page, I will share fun things we do, places we go and have been, and lots of random day to day thoughts and activities.  I have soooo many really great photos I've taken over the years from the places we have been around California and surrounding areas.  I can't wait to share them with you.

I hope you enjoy spending time here and come back often.

T.