California Coastline

A month ago, we set off on a trip up the CA coastline. We had a week, a few reservations, camping gear, and a dog...this could be interesting. We started our trip in San Diego. We went to Coronado Island for a couple of hours Friday night until it was dark. We returned to Coronado and went to the beach only to find out that we couldn't have our dog at that beach. We drove up to the dog beach and gave Wrigley the time of her life. I think she was in shock that there could be so many other dogs.

We worshipped in Oceanside, CA so that we could check out a few of the places Ryan remembered from his days at Camp Pendleton. San Clemente was a small town where everyone had a surfboard with them. We continued north and camped that night in Malibu. The drive up the coast from Malibu was right on the ocean, and I got out to take some pictures of the scenery. The spray from the crashing waves was hitting us from 50 feet below!

We spent a day in a touristy town and then decided to find a spot to camp in the middle of Los Padres National Forest. We curved up the mountainside and found a spot that had previous campers but was definitely not a campground. We set up our tent on the flattest spot you can find on a mountainside, made some dinner, and (I) tried not to think about getting eaten by a bear. (We were in CA and they do have bears!) The next morning we awoke to find that we were higher than the clouds...really cool. We had a peaceful night camping with no one anywhere close to us.

We then made our way further north to San Francisco. We stopped at Carmel-by-the-Sea along the way. The beach was beautiful...but the water was sooooo cold that my feet hurt for 5 min after I got out of the water and buried them in the sand. Sorry, you have to turn your head to see this one!

San Francisco was a really neat city. It was hard to get much done with Wrigley in tow, but we got to see the main attractions and had some GREAT seafood! The fog is mostly covering it, but we are standing in front of Golden Gate Bridge.

Camping almost every night turned out to be not so bad. It was a lot of work to unpack each night and repack each morning, but we got to stay at some beautiful campgrounds. We had an amazing time and would love to go back sometime!

An overdue update

Well, after hearing that a few people actually read these updates, I felt a little guilty that I hadn't added anything in such a long time. Here is a short update on what we have been up to over the past few months!

In October we closed on our first house! We are really excited to have a place of our own and slowly make it just how we want it. We spend hours working on things around the house and sometimes dont see much progress, but I guess thats how homeowning goes sometimes. We have 3 bed/2 bath and plenty of room for anyone who would like to make a trip to Phoenix. Did I mention that we have a pool..it should be getting warm enough to swim pretty soon!

In November we went north about 3 hours to Pine Top, AZ with a group of friends from the church. We stayed in time share condos that a couple families had available and took the chance to go to the mountains and enjoy a weekend in nature and away from the city. To our delight, we woke up Sunday morning to a blanket of snow. We had a lot of fun with some great friends.

Another important addition to our lives has been a new puppy. Her name is Wrigley and she is a boxer/shar pei mutt. She is just the cutest puppy ever, but terribly ornery. She loves to chew, and has decided to chew several things that I was not so happy with. Four plants to date have lost their lives to her, and more will I'm sure. I just discovered yesterday that she chewed the handle of the parking brake in my car when Ryan left her to run into the grocery store for a couple minutes. OOO, but she is so lovable and cute...and I should know that puppies chew EVERYTHING.

Ryan and I have been unlucky enough to have gotten sick several times this winter. That really slows down how much we can get done when he works the night shift every 6 weeks! We do try to get away on the weekends sometimes to see different things in the city or all over the state. A week ago we went to Jerome, AZ. It is about 2 hours north of Phoenix and is the largest ghost town in the country. We had a lot of fun. We packed our car full of everything we would need to camp for one night (unfortunately you need as much gear for one night as you do for one week!), Wrigley, our trusty Discover Arizona book and set off for an adventure. Wrigley spent the whole night in the tent watching out the tiny crack between the mesh window and the fly of the tent, guarding us as we slept. We spent a day looking through antique stores in Cottonwood and then toured the city of Jerome. We finished the day with a really neat hike in Sedona. Wrigley had the time of her young life. She couldnt even believe there were so many cool things outside her yard!

We are doing very well and feel very blessed to have such a great life. We look forward to my Mom and Dad visiting in April...and anyone else who comes out this way is always welcome!

Well, A LOT has happened since I last updated this! SORRY!!! I never remember to add more info about what we have been up to! Here is a summary of what Ryan and Carrie have been doing the past few months.

Carrie's mom and dad came to visit in February. It was still a little chilly then and it RAINED! Surprising. I dont think it rained for months since then. We tried to show them some neat sights of Phoenix. We went on a beautiful hike in Usury Pass in Mesa. We saw the sun set as we hiked back down the mountain. The views were breathtaking!

Ryan joined a city soccer league in the spring. He is playing Striker position and having tons of fun.

In March the weather was PERFECT! Ryan and I went to see his favorite team...the Cubs play in Mesa at a Spring Training game.

We have a habit of ending up at Starbucks after Bible Study on Wednesdays. We have fun with friends and get a dose of caffeine!

The desert does have color. The spring here is absolutely beautiful. I went all around and took pictures of the desert in bloom. I had so much fun watching what seems lifeless and dull come to life.

Casey, my brother, came to visit when he got done with school in May. It was perfect timing since Ryan had to go to Knoxville for two weeks. Casey kept me company for a week. I showed him the sights of Sedona, and we got in Oak Creek and walked around for a while.Here we are standing in front of Cathedral Rock.
Well, sorry this picture uploaded so small, but here we are with my sister, Vera, riding horses in South Mountain Park. Vera came for a few days in May. We had lots of fun as usual!

I recently went home for a week. My mom, sisters, and I spent a long weekend in Nashville. We stayed in a cute cabin, rode horses, shopped, went to the spa, and had a great time together.

We are currently looking for a house. There are a couple potentials, so we are praying we make a good decision that will benefit us.

We look forward to hearing from you all and seeing you the next time we are home!

Costume party, cont.

Ok, here are some more pictures.
This is Zack (he's almost 3) and Micah (he's almost 1). They were the cutest frogs ever. Below are Michelle and Jason (the froggies parents). They are pirates. ARGH!














Craig is Osama. He made the costume himself, and although he is probably a foot taller than Binny, I say he looks pretty close.













Emma (Snow White) had to have Janice in the picture with her family. Also in the picture are Lisa and Tom (the pirates) and Jacob (Zorro).










Here's me and my little buddy Zack. He's so much fun!

Well, thats about all folks. Hope you enjoyed!!!! More later. Adios!

Costume Party

Okay, please dont fall out of your chair due to the small amount of time between this post and the last. :o) I thought I would share with you all the costume party Ryan and I went to at some friends from church. Enjoy!
I am a monarch butterfly and Ryan is a butterfly catcher. Arent we cute! I kept running into things due to the extra height and wingspan. Ryan had the idea for the super-stylish hunting socks with the boots...made the whole effect!
Holly, Chad, and Abigail Wagner are Wendy, Hook, and Tinkerbell. Chad came with a crocodile and a tick like a watch (I think he had a metronome in his pocket).
Heather and Adriel Reavis. I think you can figure them out.


Janice and Doug Tellinghuisen are Dorothy and the Tin Man (with Toto along).

Okay, if youre reading this before I talked about Fiddlesticks, you might want to start with the post below this one, otherwise continue...


Here are some more pictures from the Tortilla Factory. The man is making tortillas, and I believe in the other picture fire is coming out of that water. Bet youve never seen that happen.
Again, tilt your head so you can see Vera hugging a cactus. Yes, its real. She is very brave.

Here is an interesting sign we saw while shopping in Old Town Scottsdale. If you cannot quite make it out it reads "Please do not touch or sit on Indians. Thank You." We werent sure what it meant, but we liked it. ;o)


This is the top of South Mountain, about 1 mile away from where we live. Shelly was absolutely not going to hike, so this is about as far down as she went. However, below you can see what the results were from her hike. She nearly fainted on us!



We had to eat one night at the 5 n Diner. Tasty burgers and the usual diner food. Next time you see Shelly, ask her what a "potato chip" is. Seriously, do it. You'll laugh.

Well, it was so nice to have them out for a week. I had a ton of fun with them, and I miss them living so far away now. I think I laughed from the moment I woke up to when I went to bed the whole time they were here. Miss you, chicas. Come back soon!

More postings to come...hopefully soon!

My sisters come to visit!!

Well, I am really bad at posting updates to this site. So sorry. Although I do not currently have a job, I do work hard! Anywho...

Vera and Shelly came for a week in late Sept, and we had a blast. I dont think Ryan was used to that much sister-craziness, but he had a lot of fun, too (despite a nasty cold). I tried to show them some cool sites of Phoenix. Here's a mini-tour of what we did. We went to Old Town Scottsdale to find some great Southwest jewelry and gifts, plus the town has a really old-west feel to it. We went there one night for dinner at the Old Tortilla Factory and then to shop during the day.
Um, as a side note, I guess I should flip the pictures before I post them, so this time humor me and just tilt your head a lil to the left. THANKS!


We also spent a little time golfing at a driving range called Fiddlesticks. Vera forgot to put a ball back on the tee before we captured this shot! OOPS!


Continue to next post for the continuation.....

Well, I thought it was about time I gave you all an idea of where we are living. We have a townhome in Ahwatukee (south side of Phx) that is about 2 minutes from South Mountain.

We have an extra bedroom and bathroom for all of you back in IN who want to escape to AZ once it begins snowing! This second bedroom is still a work in progress, but (Vera and Shelly) I promise we will have a bed by the time you come in Sept.

Here is the couch that I recovered and our cute new little lounge-chair-sofa-thing. Maybe we'll get a chance to use our fire place this winter.
















Welcome to bliss...our relaxing bedroom. The window has been blacked out, so we can take a nap in near darkness in the middle of a sunny AZ afternoon. With our beach-themed room it is only natural to fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing against rocks playing on the stereo. (Im usually asleep in 2 min). The painting on the wall is a Carrie Kunkel original.



















Our kitchen - featuring pictures of Kunkel's Restaurant (unfortunately not in the pic). Good food and lots of coffee made here daily. Yes, even with no children, our frige is covered in magnets and papers.











We got a dinner table!! It was a steal and a deal. We put our 'lil bistro table out on the patio. We got the table from a guy at church and the chairs at IKEA. They dont exactly match, but I think the effect is charming. We'll still play our Tuscan Village CD and imagine we are somewhere exotic.








Our patio - we havent taken advantage of this area much since it has been so hot. We did enjoy a rainstorm one night out on our little outdoor spot. We'll have to get a grill soon! We do have our own fountain outside the patio since a sprinkler's top got knocked off. It is pretty much a geyser every night.

Well, this pretty much wraps up todays tour of apt 1248. Thank you for coming along today. I hoped you enjoyed yourself. Come for the real-life tour anytime you'd like.