Here comes Santa...

Well, an entire month or so has passed with no news from the Ensley Household. It doesn't mean we have no news, just that I have been too busy to post what we have done. Thanksgiving has already come and gone. We were blessed to have Mawmaw Keller join us in November for a visit. I do treasure my time with her. She left on December 1, and the countdown for my Mom, Dana, and the boys started. They will be here in 8 days. I am so excited about their visit. It will be the first time flying for all of them. Mom is a bit worried, but I think with a strong drink, she will make it through. They will hit the ground running. I have so much planned for them to see and do. With us moving in May, I know they will not make it out to CA for another trip any time soon. So, we have to make this one worthwhile. I will definitely be posting pics of that trip.

As for Mawmaw's trip out to CA...it was a little more relaxed. I ran her ragged the last time she was out 2 years ago. So, she graciously said she would like to stay around the house and spend time with us. I did manage to whisk her off to Yosemite in the freezing snow. I know she loved that. LOL It was beautiful this time of year. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to visit while the mountains were covered with snow. It is hard to describe to someone how beautiful a place like Yosemite is. It is truly breathtaking.

For now, I am playing catch up. I volunteer two days a week in Sarah's class. I have to take the other 3 days and recoop. LOL I do admire her teacher for showing up everyday. I wish I could, but it does take a special soul to teach 5 year olds. I do not have this soul. :) I have yet to decide what I want to be when I grow up. So for now, I piddle around in a few things. I have a true passion for Photography. I try to learn as much as I can about it. We will see where that takes me in life. If nothing ever comes of it, at least I enjoy every moment of taking photos.

I am counting down the days until I can hang with Jessica. When family visits end and everyone goes back to the norm, we will start our moving list. We will have lots to do before May. It will be here before we know it. I am excited and a bit nervous. Maybe that is the "giddy" feeling I have when I think of it. Mostly I am excited, but there is some hesitation about living in another country. Everyone knows I am a talker. What do you talk about to someone that doesn't understand a word you are saying? It is the little things in life that worry me the most. LOL Oh, well, I will save that worry for another day. As for now I am headed to bed to get up early and do it all over again. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

It is October in CA!

Fall is upon us here this week. We have had cold temperatures and rain. Lots and lots of rain. I do see today that the sun is trying to peek out from behind the clouds. I do miss the Southern CA weather of sunny and 70.

We made out annual trip to Bates Nut Farm this past weekend. It was a lot of fun walking through the field and finding our "perfect" pumpkin. We finally found it and she weighed in at a whopping 109 pounds. She is a huge pumpkin. I have always wanted a "Big Mac" but we always decided on 3 little ones. This year, being our last year here, we decided to just go for it. So, we brought her home and she is even bigger here than she looked. Sarah had a great time at Bates. That is one thing I will miss when we go to Okinawa. There are no pumpkin patches there, so we will have to resort to the commissary for our pumpkin for 3 years. But, we will enjoy every opportunity we have been given. I hope you enjoy the pics of our trip to the pumpkin patch. Have a wonderful week.

The Ensley's headed to the pumpkin patch.

Our pumpkin weighing in at a whopping 109 lbs.

The Ensley's with our pumpkins.
The family
Sarah picked out her pumpkin.
My little pumpkin out in the field.

Family shot

Big Changes

Big changes are happening in the Ensley household. Since our last post, our little girl started Kindergarten. She loves it. Her teacher is wonderful, and she is learning so much. Jimmy has been attending the Advanced Course for Gunny's. Nothing like doing homework at night with a kindergartner and then helping Jimmy. :) I will be glad when he graduates on Oct. 15.

We also spent 6 weeks with The Bernardo's before they left to go to Okinawa. We had a blast spending time with them. As we were leaving the airport from dropping them off, Jimmy called to inform me that we have orders to Okinawa. We are ecstatic. I have wanted to go to Okinawa for a few years now. Life has a way of working out. I am so excited I get to spend 3 years with my best friend. I am hoping we get to experience all the things Okinawa and surrounding area has to offer. So, as of now, we are just enjoying our southern CA life. We leave for Okinawa in May, so for anyone who knows me, I gotta get started making my lists. LOL Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

The summer has flown by.

Wow, where has summer gone? I can not believe it is almost time for Sarah to start Kindergarten. I have tried to make the summer fun for her. We have stayed very busy starting with our vacation to Las Vegas. We just finished up with a visit from Rose and Zane who live in Okinawa, Japan. We had an opportunity to show them San Diego, and we sure tried to do this area justice. We are gearing up for Jess, Dom, and the girls to move in with us during their last month in CA. They leave in September for 3 years in Okinawa. The good news on that front is that the girls will be starting school together this year. I have promised Jess I will come for a visit, so I am starting to save for our passports. I will definitely feel like a world traveler with one. I am actually excited at the prospect of traveling to another country. I hope all the plans fall into place so I can visit her next summer. As for now, I am slowly winding down, as is summer. Sarah starts school on August 30. I am truly going to miss her when she leaves me all day. I have so enjoyed our 5 years together, every day. It will be hard to let her go, but I know I have to. I will post some pics of our visit with Rose & Zane and a few miscellaneous ones. I hope you enjoy them. Have a great week.

My little clown.

The World Famous San Diego Zoo

We went to the circus.

Rose & Zane

The Sea Turtles @ Seaworld

Alyssa, Sarah, and Zane

Sarah & Zane at Ruby's

Summer Picnic

Sarah and I met Jessica and the girls for a picnic at a local park. We had a great time. Malia had so much fun. No one has told her she is 1. She thinks she can do what the big girls do. It is fun to watch the girls play together. I treasure these moments b/c I know they are coming to an end faster than I wish they would. Not too many more outings and the Bernardo family will be moving to Okinawa. I am trying to soak in all the moments I can with them.

Sarah enjoying the slide

I thought I would be creative....

Group shot of our picnic

Sarah being a duck.

Alyssa being a duck.

Viva Las Vegas

We just returned from a great week in Vegas. We were able to see and do many things that we never have. We were blessed to be able to join the Bernardo Family on their vacation. So, they showed us some things not typically Vegas. The week flew by and now we are trying to get back into the "normal" routine. Please enjoy the pics.

Gotta love the view from the Bellagio

You can't leave Vegas w/o a pic in front of the sign.

Shot of Vegas from our hotel

Red Rock Canyon....it is beautiful.

We enjoyed "The Lion King" immensely.

I would travel 5 hours any day for this cheesecake.

Girl's Night

Sarah and Alyssa

Father's Day 2010

We had a relaxing Father's Day this year. We had breakfast and then Sarah gave Jimmy his Father's Day gifts. We went to The Thomas' house for a cookout. We had a lot of fun there. It has been forever since we last seen them. It was good to catch up. Now we are home, and my little ones, Jimmy included, are snug as a bug in a rug. So, I am finishing up laundry at 10:30 pm so we can finish our packing to head to Vegas on Tuesday. We are really looking forward to a vacation. I hope everyone had a great Father's Day. Until next time, have a great day and enjoy the pics. Thank you for looking.

Giving Jimmy his first clue

On his wild goose chase

We made him work for it.

He was totally shocked.

You couldn't wipe the smile off.

Sarah and Jimmy on Father's Day

With the plate Sarah made for him

A 7lb. chocolate cake

Erica getting ready to dig in.

Sarah is officially a school age girl!!!

Our little Princess graduated Preschool on Wednesday. It was such a proud moment. It was bittersweet to know that Sarah will move on to Kindergarten in just a few short months. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital, and now she is 5. We are so proud of her.

Sarah with Ms. Marlis, her Preschool Teacher

Proud Parents

Our Little Graduate!

SeaWorld

We spent Saturday at Seaworld. It was so much fun. Sarah loves looking at all the animals. We started the day off with Jimmy, Sarah, Dominic, and Alyssa riding "Shipwreck Rapids." The funny thing was when we left @ 10 pm Jimmy was still wet. I don't think we will be doing that ride again when we first get there. We watched lots of shows and stayed for the fireworks after the last Shamu show. All in all, it was a great day spent with the Bernardo Family.

The star of the show, Shamu

One of the shows we watched...it was like Cirque de Solei

Sarah and Jimmy on Shipwreck Rapids

The Polar Bears were so cool.

The Fireworks show

San Francisco Weekend

This weekend we took off for San Francisco. It was an awesome experience. I have wanted to go there since we were here in 1999. Finally, in 2010 I made it. I would love for Jimmy to retire and move there. I love all the culture and history the city offers. We took a 5 hour tour where the guide took us all around and gave us "inside info" on the stops. It was so good to get into the places that we would normally never make it. Then we went to see the sunset at the Golden Gate Bridge. That was truly the coolest thing ever. I met two professional photographers there. It stroked my ego a little when I looked at both of our pics and I couldn't tell them apart. I was taking the same photos they were. So, they talked to me for about 1/2 hour about how to take pics and photography things. Pretty cool to talk to someone who actually was complimenting my photos. Then we went to Twin Peaks to see the city from above. It was freezing up there. OK, actually it was 52, but to this Southern CA girl it might as well have been -20. We headed back on Monday evening. As the trip came to a close, I realize that I am a lucky girl to get the opportunity to see things most people in my family never will. I definitely will put this trip as #1 on the list for now. It was great to finally make it up North. I loved the experience.

View of the City from Twin Peaks

Golden Gate Bridge at Night

Sarah enjoying an ice cream in Sausalito

Lombard St.

Postcard Row

Driving across Bay Bridge