Santa Cruz

We went to Santa Cruz while our company was here. It was a perfect day with beautiful weather and the kids got to go on some rides at the Boardwalk. I was greatful that Kaylee and Mark took the kids on rides and I got to watch...

Can you feel the excitement?





All in all, we had a really fun week. It was busy, but we had such a great time seeing our family.

Muir Woods

Last week Mom and Mark were visiting, so we decided to make a trip up to San Francisco and across the bridge to Muir Woods for some hiking. With a little help from Kaylee's navigation device we were able to successfully travel though the city with no problem - a huge accomplishment for us Simpson ladies who have no sense of direction.


The kids were excited to see the Golden Gate Bridge. This was the first time that Brad and Kaya remember seeing it. Of course it was cold and windy, but we had to get out and take pictures.


Finally we made it to Muir Woods, which was beautiful and peaceful. We spent the afternoon walking around the nice trails and we even saw some deer. It was a great day.

4th of July 2009

We had a great 4th of July this summer. We got to celebrate 2 days in a row because Brenden had Friday off of work and then the 4th was on Saturday. On Friday we went on a day-trip to Monterey. We had a picnic at the park, went on a great bike ride, and played on the beach. Kyle, Kaylee, and Kyle's brother, Tres came with us and it was a lot of fun to have everyone along.

On Saturday we went for an early swim at the Aquatics Center and then we had a nice BBQ in the evening. Matt and Corynne came down that day and I loved having a house full of people. That evening we all went to see fireworks. Ashlyn still asks when we are going to see fireworks again. It was such a fun time to be all together as a family and relax. Ahhh, I love summer!

Home Improvement

Since finishing the CFA exam, Brenden has been busy with home improvement projects again. I am especially proud of his recent accomplishment...installing ceiling lights in our bedrooms. There were no lights at all in the ceilings and we had been using lamps. He was able to figure out the electrical wiring and here are the results. Now if our house burns down, you will all know why...just kidding honey.



Next it was on to the master bathroom. It was exciting to tear out that ugly green countertop.





There is still a lot of work to do...but this is a step in the right direction...