Update Time!

Okay, going back to April, this is Jacob's 4 year picture. He is such a goof sometimes.

This is Shannon's baby Rachael. I don't think I spelled it right. Anyway, she is a little doll. The boys wanted to hold her and kiss her, and Sarah got jealous when I was holding her. I thought it was funny.
Check out this hot pink Mac and Cheese!! It actually turned out quite yummy!!

Now we come to the day of Daddy's graduation!! Yay!! This is the Memorial Fountain. It has a brass name plaque of all the fallen officers.

This is Whitney's company marching out for their inspection by the Commisioner of the Highway Patrol. Hoorah!

That's Whit in the middle waiting for his words of incouragment.

He had his hat down low so it was hard to see his face under the brim of his hat. Dad got inventive.

Whitney receiving his badge!!
Don't look too happy, babe.

I got to pin the badge on his chest. We were both crying. I love him so much...

... I guess it's kind of obvious, huh.

Whitney with his parents.

I'm so proud of my honey!!

The Lowe Men.

Whitney and his two roommates.


Yay! Here we are!! We have finally arrived!
WHitney and his family, minus Caleb who comes home in two months.

Whitney gave a speech at his graduation party. He did very well.

And today, he starts in Oakland. He works through Thursday this week, then has a 3 day weekend, then starts with his FTO on Monday. You're awesome, Whit!!

Our Anniversary Trip

The Monday after Whitney graduated, we went on our delayed anniversary trip. It was so fun!! Here are some pics of us during those three days.

This was just south of Bodega Bay. We found a spot to pull off and explored the beach for a little while. We found shells and some crabs. It was pretty but cold.


Look at me! I can fly!

Whitney wrestling with deadly seaweed.



Us and the Golden Gate Bridge. I love that it is shrouded in fog. It's a coold effect. I had forgot to pack sweatshirts so I was a little chilly.

We found this really cool cave. That's the water coming in below us. It was really cool.

That's my man.


...He can dream.

We stopped and had fun trying on sunglasses. Check out the shirt behind him.

I love some of the clothes along Fisherman's Wharf.

We went to the Pearl Factory and opened am oyster. That was neat. We hadn't done that before. The clerk told us the uglier the oyster the prettier the pearl. I chose a really ugly oyster and ended up with a whopper of a pearl. You can't see how big it is from this pic but it is a good size. Also, apparently pearls can be boys or girls. Where the pearl attaches to the oyster, they call that the belly button. After it is separated, if it's an outy it's a boy, and an inny, a girl. IT'S A BOY! Congratulations to us!! We're so happy! (sniffle, sniffle)

I love the robot guys. They are very entertaining.

There a ton of sea lions! There were four rows of these platorms, and life five deep. Almost all of them were full. It was really cool.

We bought San Francisco sweatshirts to keep warm. That's Alcatraz Island behind us. We plan to take the kids, hopefully soon. Neither of us have been there.

There's this place called Boudin along the wharf that makes sourdough bread and these fun bread creations. They were pretty creative. They also make yummy clam chowder bread bowls.

We found more fun shirts up in Ghirardelli Square. It says, "I Poo'd" "Change me". Hilarious.

I liked this one too. It's $1.00, not $100.

The beach was a little breezy. We ended up staying in the car to watch the sun set. But, man, was it gorgeous.

The famous Lombard Street. I had never been down so we drove it. I would hate to live on that street. What if you missed your driveway the first time down? YOu would have to go around the block and try again.

On Wednesday we went to the Japanese Tea Garden. It was really pretty.

This bridge is very steep. IT was like climbing a ladder to get to the top.

So that was our trip. The kids stayed with Julie while we were gone and they had adventures of their own. Thank you all for your love and support during the academy. I am so excited we're done!!!

Reflection

I hate it when I offend people. I have accepted the fact that it will happen, to people I care about. I will say something or do something with a good intention, but it comes out wrong. I know sometimes if I have an idea on how to do something I just plow ahead without asking anyone else's opinion. This is probably not the most effective way, especially when that idea includes those people. I want to apologize to those I have offended. I hope they know me well enough to know that I would never do it on purpose. I feel awful when I know that I did something that hurt someone else. I also know that to a large degree it is our choice to be offended or not. However, that doesn't make how someone feels any less important. This may seem from out of nowhere, sort of out of left field. But on looking back over the past few days, even few weeks, I realize that sometimes I just do dumb things, or say dumb things. The way they come out is not at all how I intended. I love my family and I love my friends. I also know I have a big mouth, which has gotten me into trouble over the years. I am working on thinking before I act and speak, which is a lot easier said than done.

Update Time!

The day before Cassie and her family left, Shannon had planned an egg hunt for the kids. You're awesome, Shanny! The kids really liked it. Sarah is holding the one egg she found. After she found it she lost interest in finding others. All the kids were so cute to watch. Brendan was expecially awesome since he was the oldest and saw most of the eggs but let his cousins find them. Thanks Brendan! Did I get your name right? I can never remember if it's an "e" or an "a". How lame is that? How long have I been in the family? ANyway...

I went garage sale hunting (love it!!) and found a car seat for Jared for 10 bucks! So now he is in the back with Jacob and Sarah is in Jared's seat. No more baby car seat! I can't believe my babies are so big!

We did our own egg hunt the day before Easter. We ended up doing it at Kim and Julie's since we were there. The kids were hilarious to watch. YOu would hide an egg at the base of a tree and one in the tree. The boys would find the one in the tree but never think to look down. It was so funny to watch them pass the most obvious ones. They finally found all of them (with help from Mommy and Daddy) and we shared the spoils.

My cute kids in their Easter splendor. I wish you could see Sarah's dress better. It is adorable. She is determined to start walking. For the past week or so she has been standing for a few seconds at a time. I know her break-through will be soon.

Whitney went on a ride-along Saturday in Oakland. He had a lot of fun. I know he is looking forward to his graduation in less than 4 weeks. It has been a long road and I am so glad the end is finally in sight. Thanks to all of you for your love and support.

Movie Review #2

Whitney and I went and saw "Fast and the Furious". If you liked the other movies, you will like this one. It was very entertaining. There was, however, a scene that was less than tasteful. Luckily it didn't last long, but it kind of caught us by surprise. I feel it is better to be informed of those scenes if possible.

Reading Corner

I just finished a trilogy that I really liked. It's called the King Raven trilogy. It's a robin hood story but with a different twist. I really liked. The books are very clean. The author is Steven Lawhead. I found it at my local library. I totally recommend it.

Quick update

We have been working with Jared on potty training. He is really good about not having accidents during the day. Last week he wore underwear from about 9:30am to 2pm without accidents or going potty. But as soon as I put a diaper on him, he will go. On Friday night he kept asking for a diaper when it was close to bedtime. We made him sit on the potty until we heard the music from the potty. He had finally gone but some was on the floor and he had whetted his underwear and shorts. He was petrified. Whitney and I immediately started praising him for finally going in the potty and he saw that we were happy so he became happy. Then today after church we realized the depth of his fear. He kept asking for a diaper and we kept sending him back to the potty. I was trying to help him but he was holding it in. He was so scared to go. He started dripping but was ruthlessly holding it in. Whitney and tried everything we could think of to get him to not be afraid. He finally couldn't hold it any longer and went. FINALLY! Again, we showered him with praise and told him how good he did. Any ideas on how to deal with the fear? Input would be great! I'll give more of an update this week. We love you all!