New year, New challenges, New Goals

So here I am again, attempting to keep up with this blog.  This year I hope to blog as frequently as possible.
 Last year was very interesting, we, my family and I, flew to  California in August to visit my older Brother, and stayed for 2 weeks. The longest vacation I've had in my whole lifetime so far, and was the highlight of the entire year.  We began packing on August 21st which many of you may remember to be a historic day...The Solar Eclipse! we purchased the necessary glasses and amidst packing looked outside frequently to see the sun slowly darken, it didn't get fully dark in our location, but it definitely got very close, only a small fraction of the sun remained and it was an amazing sight! What little sun there was, reflected through the trees and off of glass lampposts and windows, leaving ripples of light everywhere, it reminded me of the waves on an ocean.  So beautiful! my only regret was to not be able to take good pictures, I did not have the right equipment, and the pictures I did get with my phone seem to have disappeared.
Back to the Trip to California.... we spent the 1st few days in my brothers studio apartment, which was a bit crowded for 6 people, but we managed okay,  our first outing was kayaking in La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) it was the very first time for both my younger siblings and I, my sister and I shared a boat, which was a tad scary for both of us, to be out on the ocean by ourselves in a little boat and be able to get somewhere by paddling as a team, of course we were paddling together with a large group, but we were unsure if we could manage to keep up, we had some difficulty at first and end up going in circles a lot trying to figure out a paddling system and working together, but it was so much fun and we would gladly do it again! and it was also tons of fun to ride the wave to shore.

Back row, left to right: Josh, Dad, Me,  Front row Left to right: Mom, Caleb, Kirsten

Our next outing was several hours away and up the mountains to visit the Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park and we stayed there for 3 days, everything looked so different from the time we came here during the winter when I was only 8 or so, it was pretty neat to see during the summer.

we went on hikes to see the General Grant Tree, and farther down in the mountains to see waterfalls lakes, and woods, the scenery was breath taking!

Josh Mom and I years ago during winter

Josh Mom and I, 2017 in Summer time

+ 2 more Siblings

on our way back we stopped for 2 days in Carmel, there was lots of boutiques, artists, fine dining, and shops,  and before heading back out we stopped at the beach to watch the sunset on the ocean I took so many pictures I could make a flip book of the waves coming in,

Driving back to my brothers home, in the wee hours of the morning we drove through a fire on both sides of the highway, it almost looked like a volcano had erupted.

On Labor day our last full day there we spent on Huntington Beach where we went boogie boarding all afternoon.

Back in Missouri it took us a week just for our schedules to go back to normal, and time just went so quickly and the new year arrived, now ready for new things to come .

First, finally being able to finish our basement,  and me to finally get the new piano installed, which I'm quite excited about! I can hardly play on our current piano now.

Second, I think I'm finally ready to try driving again, it's about time to get my full license.

Third, set aside time for more creativity and social networking ( I'm terrible at that) and get prepared to attempt vending at a craft fair.

Fourth, my current jobs have slowed down tremendously, I'm not needed as much as a nanny since the boys are growing, and my subbing job has not been needed as much either, so I'm hoping to get a full time position somewhere, but my first application will be for Hobby Lobby.

Oh I almost forgot : ) this is the first creative thing I've done so far this year, 

I Love Chai Latte's so I made this label for my jar, using my new favorite stamp from Hero Arts Monthly kit back in September for the background and I've been dabbling in calligraphy, so I put the 2 together and laminated it before adhering to my jar.

Here's to Hoping for a productive New Year, and more blog posts!

Thanks for stopping by!