POISON! ARGH!

So, when we went camping in Big Sur, I just so happen to be the only one besides my friends husband, to pick up a case of poison oak. It started as a little patch on the bottom of my left wrist, and that quickly spread to the rest of my arms and face. My left wrist is now swelled up like a balloon, and my face is also pretty swelled. If you look you can see that the poison is on my cheek and on my eyelid. It is terrible.

All of the patches of gauze are where my poison is.... I tried to cover it up so that I wouldn't scratch at it. It helps my arms, but now I just want to scratch all over my face. I got some medicine from the doctor, so hopefully that works... we'll see. And P.S. for all of you closest to me, you know I have been working out and loosing weight... but in this picture I seem to have a big 'ol double chin. Well, thats actually the poison on my chin and it swelled up as well. =)

Camping in Big Sur

This is Clark on the way to camping. This ball thingy is the only thing that we can use to keep him occupied... It only worked for a little bit, then he was jumping all over us in the car. What a nerd.. Sorry I don't have more pictures of camping.. .Clark here decided to FREAK out and chew a hole in our tent, so we had to end the trip early. Needless to say we spent the night camping out in our car with him.

This is our friend's kid, Isaiah... He loved to play with Clark and keep him company in the bushes.
The water fall at the state park we were at. It was so pretty.

Big Sur

This is Big Sur. Its a stretch of coast right a long highway 1 and it is beautiful! Its just like you would see in the movies. The water is crystal blue so you can see right to the bottom. This is actually the route that Dave is going to be running when he runs the Big Sur marathon in May. The road is so windy and hilly, but well worth the drive... There were SEVERAL times that I gasped because the cliffs were so beautiful, and because I thought we were going to fall into the ocean! =)



This is the Family. Just the three of us...

The Newest Member of the Family =)

This is Clark our new dog... isn't he cute??? I have been thinking a lot lately about getting a dog, so a few weeks ago, Dave and I went to the SPCA here in Monterey. They had a lot of dogs, but Clark was really playful and entergetic so we got him. We just didn't realize how much energy he really has... He has A LOT! And he is a chewer, so I have to have toys around all the time for him to chew on... We know that he has Lab in him, and I was thinking that he also has a little Pitt bull in him.. what do you think?




I just love this close up shot oif him.. it looks like one of those cards you see in the store with the big heads of the animals... haha...


If you have a dog that chews apart every toy that you get him, go to the store and get him a Nylabone toy... He loves it, and can't chew it up... its great!

SaNtA CrUz

Dave and I decided to take a trip to Santa Cruz this past weekend. Its only about 45 minutes away, and I was told that it had a pretty good "boardwalk". Yeah... riiiight...

Do you guys like my "California" sunglasses??? haha...
This boardwalk was soo tiny compared to the ones in Jersey... It was fun, but kinda dissapointing.

Whos the dork who can't work the camera?? ohhh.. thats me... =)

Our House

This is our house... I think that it looks kinda weird from the outside, but the military pays for it. So no complaints here.. =)

Dave and I just being goofy...

Monterey Bay

These are some shots of the Monterey Bay from where Dave goes to school. It is always this pretty here!

The Wildlife

Everyone back home that I talk to has a hard time believing the stories I tell about the crazy wildlife here. Well, here is proof. The other morning while Dave was on his way to school this buck appeared out of no where and just started walking down the street. It was acting just like it was a car, even moving to the side to let other cars pass. Dave said it wasn't scared of the cars at all, just moving with the traffic on the road. Its crazy here... and Dad, I would like to point out that you had to go hunting for YEARS to get your buck, and we have them here just walking in the road... Go figure!

Where I work

The outside of Credit Union... Its a reallllly old branch... I think that it first opened up when the base opened up a long time ago.. It still has that old 70's style decorations inside.
This is my friend Jemma who works at the Credit Union with me. She has become a really good friend as well...

This is a shot of my station at the Credit Union... Its kinda messy, but I have a lot of stuff to do there all the time. Hey, mom if you look close, my screen saver is the one of you, Shannon and Spencer at the Apple Festivel

The Tapia Kids!!!!!

This is Ezekiel... Also called "Z" or as he would like to remind you, "Gummi" He is the youngest of 3 boys and he is 3 years old. He loves playing with Dave, but you have to watch him because he is always tryin find snacks in the kitchen..
This is Isaiah and Gabriel... Isaiah is 4 and Gabriel is 5. All of the boys stick together like glue and are a blast to hang out with! Sure does make me miss my own crazy nephew though... Yeah, thats you Spencer! =)

I think Isaiah is such a little stud!


And this is the youngest of the Tapia clan. Her name is Arianna and she is a doll! You wouldn't know it by this picture, but she laughs and smiles all the time. But that hasn't always been the case. It has taken her a while to warm up to me. At first all she did was glare at me... but i kinda forced her to like me, and now we're best friends... haha...

Our Friends

***Sandy and Edward Tapia***
Dave goes to school with Edward at the Defense Language Institute learning to speak Farsi, and through that they became really good friends. And once Sandy, his wife, and I met, we became good friends as well. We basically hang out every weekend, and most nights through out the week. They have become our family out here, and we are very grateful for their friendship.

The Day of the Ping Pong Table

Since I was able to get this great digital camera, Dave thought that maybe he needed a present too... So...enter the Ping Pong Table! It was kinda a pain to put together, but the night we got it, Dave and our friend Edward spent 4 hours playing!

Welcome to Our House!!!

These are just a few shots of our house. The kitchen is kinda ghetto, but nice at the same time. Now don't get too excited thinking that we have a nice dishwasher and washer and dryer. The dishwasher has a habit of making everything dirter, and the clothes washer just stops when ever it feels like it. Oh, well... But the rest of the house is great. We have more than enough space... Four bedrooms and two bathrooms to be exact. So if anyone wants to come visit, feel free!

Sorry, no pictures yet....

Hey everyone.. I thought that I would give this thing a whirl because all of my family is having such a good time with it. Unfortunatly I have no access to any pictures yet... So, for right now, you will just get my boring 'ol words... I'm in Cali now... Dave and I are enjoying our time here. Me more than him though. =) Hes going to school, while I just work and enjoy the beautiful area! It is a great experience though. We are making friends with other military couples, which is nice because for a while we were forced to talk to just eachother! =) But we miss everyone a lot, and are looking forward to christmas break when we can come home and visit! I know this is lame with out the pictures, so I will get some soon.. I hope!