Sammy and the Tractor

We went to Church today. For Sammy the highlight was visiting the tractor that was parked across the street.

A Great Day at Yosemite

This time we really did go to Yosemite.

We left Friday afternoon, hiked most of Saturday, and drove back on Saturday night.

We made it to the top of Vernal Falls.



And saw other things like Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome, and El Capitan.



Here we are at Vernal Falls:



Here is Stacy at Lower Yosemite Falls:

4th of July Weekend

We enjoyed having the Parkes visit us for the 4th of July. We went to San Francisco, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the San Jose Children's Museum.

Here we are at Ghirardelli Square inspecting a wooly dog:




Here we are at the Golden Gate Bridge viewing a cross section of one of the main cables:




Here is a shot of Daniel reading to the boys:

A Great Weekend in Yosemite

We had a great weekend in Yosemite. We thought we'd share one of the best shots we got of Sammer.

Just kidding - we didn't go to Yosemite but we wanted everyone to know what a great climber Sammy is.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Lys performed in our Stake's production of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" this weekend. She performed as one of the members of a singing and dancing ensemble during three live performances before a cumulative audience of more than 1,000 raving fans. This culimated over a month of tri-weekly practices. She did a great job but we're glad that it's over.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend playing host to Jeff (Stacy's "friend").  On Saturday they went to San Francisco.  That evening we met them in San Francisco at the Fog City Diner for dinner.  On Monday we all went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Sammy liked seeing the fish and eating french fries.  But he loved spashing in the ocean even more. He seems to not have any fear of a lot of things - some times we wish he was a little more apprehensive about things so he would be less likely to get himself into dangerous situations.

I'm back at work, Lys is back at work, Sammy is back to making messes, and Stacy is also back at work.

Seminary is Almost Over (and there was much rejoicing)

I'm looking forward to this Friday since it is my last day teaching seminary.  I've enjoyed teaching but I feel like I've been constantly tired for the past 9 months.  It has been fun to get to know the students better and I hope they learned something.

 

After seminary is over I'm planning on starting a job search.  The goal is to get us to a place that is more affordable where we can put down some roots.  We've thought about places like Portland, Sacramento, Boise, Salt Lake, and Denver - although we realize we could end up almost anywhere.

 

Lys is now busily involved in the ever-expanding stake musical production of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" for the 4th of July celebration.  They're practicing 6 hours a week for the next 5 weeks! 

 

Sammy slept last night in his Superman outfit that Stacy bought for him.  He's very fun to play with, especially when he runs toward you with both arms extended with his pointer fingers out and yelling, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa".

Adventures with Aunt Stacy

It's been awhile since we've posted a blog. Since we last updated, lots has gone on. Sammy is now 16 months old. A few weeks ago, Stacy came out to live with us for the summer. It's been so great having her with us! Sammy has fun joking around with his new playmate Aunt Stacy. Stacy taught Sammy how to open his mouth really big when he's happy or excited. He says lots a funny words like "printer" and "print". This is what he usually says first thing in the morning after waking up. He loves the printer. He also is an expert at identifying anything that looks like a vehicle as a "cah". We are wondering if the time we spent in Boston influenced his accent. He also is the king of contractions. He says "tunt" for turn it on or turn it off. He's the best little boy in the world! Here are some recent photos. Enjoy!

From Cape Cod...

Lys and I have spent a few very fun days here in Cape Cod.

We arrived Saturday night and went to a local branch for Church on Sunday morning.

Monday we went for a drive up the Cape and visited an Audobon Bird Preserve. Tuesday we took a ferry to Nantucket Island where we went to various beaches and rode bikes. Wednesday we went kayaking in an ocean bay. Yesterday we drove to Boston and toured historicay sites and Harvard.

It has been fun to be with the Greene family. Lys and I will be returning home on Saturday.

Love,

--Lys and Nathan

It's a Boy!

Lys and I found out today at the Dr. that we're having a boy. Baby and mom look healthy so far. We're excited!

Any votes on names? We've been thinking about names like Benjamin, Jacob, Joshua, Samuel, Noah, and Elijah.

Baby Dr. Visit

We're going to visit the Dr. this morning and get another ultrasound. Since we're around week 15 there is a slight chance we might find out the gender of the baby. We'll keep everyone posted if we find out.

We're going to Lys's family reunion next week (from Aug 14 - 21) in Cape Cod so we're looking forward to that.

I have a job interview on Friday with a small local company that works with investing in small companies. So if that works out we'd stay here for a couple more years.

Job Searching

I'm still working on getting a new job. My interests so far have been investment banking, venture capital, and personal financial planning. I have submitted several applications online for open jobs at places like Smith Barney and UBS (they do financial advising) and I have my resume circulating among a few guys in the ward who do related work. I haven't had any interviews yet but I'm going to keep at it until I get something.

Geograpically we're hoping to move to a place that is less expensive (probably within the Western US). We might take a job here for a couple of years and move later or just move now if we can find a job elsewhere.

We'll keep you posted.

Utah, Nevada, Arizona Trip

Lys and I just completed our western roundup by driving from California through Nevada to Utah, then down to Arizona, and then through Nevada back to California. We timed it right so that we say Amy and Cameron before they left for Kentucky and also while Lys's mom was in Salt Lake for a visit.

We spent 3 or 4 days in Salt Lake. We visited her family and also visited Jonny, Allison, Jeremiah, Amy, and Cameron on Pioneer Day. Jeremiah must be lifting weights - he's a solid guy.

We then drove down to Mesa to see Ginger's new home and spent a day or so there. Donovan is really energetic and their house is nice. Ginger has done a great job in making a comfortable home.

We then drove to Las Vegas where Chrissy and Corbett introduced us to the local Cheesecake Factory. Chrissy showed off all the skirts she has been making (and even a purse). They're doing well but it's a bit toasy there in Las Vegas.

It was a fun trip and we were glad to have been able to spend some time with so many family members.

Visiting Utah

Lys and I are currently staying in Salt Lake at her parent's house. Yesterday I visited Jonny and Amy in Provo. Today Lys and I are going back to Provo to have a picnic with Jonny's family and Amy and Cameron.

Monday morning we'll drive to Mesa to visit Ginger. Tuesday or Wednesday we'll visit Chrissy in Las Vegas.

Til next time.

Mid-week comments

Lys and I have been talking about doing a road trip this summer and we finally decided to go for it.

We'll be driving to Salt Lake on Wednesday and staying there through Sunday. Then we'll drive to Phoenex to see Ginger, then to Las Vegas to see Chrissy. Then back home.

I'll post something about the trip when we get back next Thursday.

Yosemite Trip (July 5 - 7)

Last week Lys and I spent two days in Yosemite.

We drove there on Monday, July 4, after our ward's 4th of July Celebration Breakfast. The drive to the Yosemite Valley floor took about 5 hours. On the way in we saw our first glimpses of El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome, and Yosemite Falls. We stayed in the Valley that night at Camp Curry in a little room we rented. (due to an error in our reservation we got a free upgrade :))

Tuesday morning took the shuttle bus to the trailhead of the Mist Trail. We made our way up the fairly strenuous trail to Vernal Falls, up those falls until we could see the Emerald Pool and Nevada Falls.

That afternoon we drove out of the valley up the south side mountains to Glacier Point which offers a great view of the Valley and of Half Dome. (see http://www.recordfamily.org/fileupload/uploads/lys_half_dome.jpg )

Tuesday night we drove about 25 miles south of the valley and stayed in the old Wawona Hotel - a resored hotel from the turn of the century.

Wednesday morning we went to the Mariposa Grove which has a bunch of old Sequoia trees and did a little hike there. We spent the rest of the afternoon making our way back to the Bay Area.

It was a nice little get away and it was fun to go on an adventure together!

Welcome to the Record Family Blog

Hi everyone. I thought I'd put up a blog for our family and see it anyone uses it.

A blog is just a series of journal-like entries to a website using a tool called a blogger. If you'd like to make entries, let me know and I'll help you get set up (you just go to www.blogger.com and you can set up your own account). I can give you your own space on this server if you'd like.

A nice feature is that anyone can make comments about each blog entry. Just click "add comments" button and type away!

The blogging tool automatically archives the blog entries so you can see everything you've ever typed. I think its a fun way to keep in touch.

Let me know what you think about this blogging concept - in fact you could comment on my entry right now!