Back to life, our weekend

I know it is a bit delayed, but I have been meaning to blog about our fantastic weekend. We started the weekend with a pancake breakfast to celebrate the opening of the courtyard for The Abbey, the coffee shop at our church. I know that a lot of love went into planning and executing the courtyard and it came out amazing. It was so fun to see it unveiled in it's glory. I hope to be able to go and sit and soak it in sometime soon. Next Jared was off to get his first tattoo (kelp wrapping around his forearm). It was great fun to wait outside for him to come and show me his arm with the stencil. He has been thinking about this and imagining it for a while, it was great to see him so excited about how the art work came out. Since I had both girls asleep in the car and I was already on the West side, I took the opportunity to drive up Highway 1 a bit. It was such an amazing mix of Santa Cruz weird and God's amazing creation, which seems to be true of so much of my life. As I drove I first saw a distinguished woman walking with bright purple hair, then a guy in his 20's walking down the sidewalk on his hands, as I drove a bit further I was blown away by the field that grow right up to the edge of the ocean. All God's unique creation and I got to go slow and take it all in. Sunday also brought me amazing experiences. We were able to leave the house an hour before we needed to for church. So we headed down to get coffee and sit at the cliffs. Normally in June it is "gloom" in the mornings, but this day was an exception. It was finally warm enough to take Chloe out to sit and watch the surfers with her sister, something we have been wanting to do. Words cannot describe the awe I felt as I sat there with our girls, looking at the vast amazing ocean. God continues to blow me away with how He designs things. Both Chloe and Claire so uniquely perfect. After a few deep breaths and taking in a bit of sun, we were off to church. We so enjoy being a part of that community and this week was no different. The icing on the cake was the message given by Dan on encouragement, it was as if he was speaking right to my heart and just what I needed to hear. Since it was still beautiful out we decided that we couldn't go home and sit inside so we headed down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. What a treat! We hadn't realized that it was world ocean day, but at the aquarium celebration was in full force. After lunch I sat with the girls and watched the otters play as we listened to a steal drum rendition of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry". Even in the middle of the chaos of the busy exhibit, it was the sweetest moment as Claire watched the otters and we sat and enjoyed it all. Chloe slept the whole time (which was nice) but her dad and sister got her a turtle to mark the event. As we drove home, I sat watching the strawberry fields and realized that we were back to life as normal. I thought it would never happen, but it did, and it is great!