Baby DiParisi #3: A miracle...even before birth.

We marveled at this glimpse into the life of our 7 mos. old baby in utero.

Patio Project

Okay crew! Let's start digging! This crew might need a little more training than I thought.
We're getting there!
Tile-laying party! This is getting fun!
Aaah! Three more feet of patio to play on!

Well, it's finally completed! It only took seven months! First, a little bit of history behind the "patio project"........We were gifted with some tiles from a neighbor who got stationed to Japan last April. Since then, the tiles sat in piles on our back patio. We never thought we'd see the day that we'd actually have an extended patio made from them! It was just a matter of finding the time. Then one sunny October afternoon, our "crew" put their minds to it, picked up their shovels and started digging. The result......a beautifully completed hand made patio! And in just TWO afternoons!!

A Date in the Gas Lamp Quarter

We had a wonderful feast at "Rei do Gado," a famous Brazilian steak house in San Diego's very hip Gas Lamp Quarter. There were sixteen different kinds/cuts of meat brought to our table. The red and green cylindrical object on our table was placed there for us to let the "meat guys" know whether or not to keep coming with their giant skewers (green) or to hold off (red). If you haven't done Brazilian yet, we highly recommend it!

World Famous Mud Run at Camp Pendleton

Runners going through the lake! What a way to cool off!

I still haven't figured out where my husband, Ryan, gets his endless energy. I'll give you a prime example of what I mean. This past weekend, Ryan was on 24 hour duty at the hospital. That was from Saturday morning til Sunday morning. When duty ended he stopped in at the house to grab his running sneakers. Then he was off to a very challenging 6.2 mile-run through muddy terrain complete with obstacles of steep hills and mountains and a lake with a water level that reached up to his shoulders! Not only did Ryan finish the race with only a couple hours of sleep the night before, but he came in third in his category!! That's my honey!!

April visitors

We had a special visit from Aunt Ellain and Uncle Pete who were on their way to Alaska! What a treat it was to be with them!
Our special friend, Majella (Susan's friend from her volunteer year in Bolivia), came to visit us from London, Ontario! We had a grand time with her! Hannah and Ben were so sad to see her leave!
Tick-Tock spent the week here! What a treat it was to go to Disney and the Zoo with her and the Byrne boys! It was just like old times!

Everyone enjoyed spending time with the animals and each other at the world famous San Diego Zoo!

Life in California---What's not to love?

We've been living in SoCal for about six months now. While our welcome here was a bit of a rocky one with the Santa Ana wildfires, housing not being ready, having our car broken into, Hannah going to the ER for a split lip (from falling on the boardwalk), among some other minor, unmemorable events, we are finally beginning to feel at home here. There are a number of reasons for our feeling more at home lately. For one, when you wake up to a warm sun shining into your bedroom and then walk out onto the patio to find that, YES, the sun really is warming the outside air as well, who wouldn't want to have that most days of the year!
We're also becoming more familiar with our environment-- streets, neighbors, beaches, parks, stores, church, etc. We've developed some friendships that we look forward to nourishing and enjoying. Hannah and Ben love going to Kindertime classes with Miss. Suzanne. Ben seems to be most interested in the snack, while Hannah always looks forward to the arts and crafts. I'm enjoying taking some challenging and fun classes at the Y. My favorite in 20/20/20---that's 20 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of strengthening and 20 minutes of ab work. I'm addicted to the Bosu ball.
We had a fun-filled week with Ryan's side of the family. Each day was spent at either some kind of amusement park or zoo, or at the beach. It was busy and tons of fun!

Easter with the West Side Family!

We had a splendid Easter celebration in So Cal with Aunt Karen and Uncle Joe of San Francisco, Cousin Terrence of Huntington Beach and Cousin Regina of Stockton! We feel so blessed to be so far away from home where our parents and close relatives live, yet have even more family who can drive to be with us for a holiday. I am especially grateful to both sets of grandparents who chose to have large families so that I could later reap the benefits of having so many aunts, uncles and cousins who live around the globe.

Sunday Lunch in San Diego

A couple of weekends ago we made a spontaneous decision to have lunch in San Diego after church. We didn't have any recommendations or directions. This behavior is not usually typical of us. However, we went with our bliss this time!

We made it downtown in under an hour and quickly found our way to a place called "The Fish Market" right on the pier. Next to it was parked a large Navy ship and an oversized statue of a Navy sailor dipping and kissing his girlfriend.

Well, after having lunch at "The Fish Market" (which we found out is a chain in California) we declared it one of our favorite restaurants. It is actually a restaurant and a fish market under one roof. It has a beautiful view of the Pacific ocean with indoor and outdoor seating. The food was delicious and sooo fresh. Not to mention, unlimited warm sourdough bread to nibble while you wait for your orders.

Hannah and Benjamin were happy with the complimentary crayons and coloring books, as well as kiddie cups with straws!

"The Fish Market" gets five stars!

A table reserved for two

Once again, Ryan is on 24-hour duty at the hospital. So, this evening, Hannah, Ben and I drove down the hill to have dinner with him in the hospital dining room. Hannah especially enjoys visiting daddy at work. She loves to look around for buttons to push. She pushes every one in sight --- the automatic door buttons and the elevator buttons. No button goes unpushed!

This evening, as we were cleaning up our messy table after eating with toddlers, I noticed "a table for two" that was set with gold utensils and had a sign that said "RESERVED." I thought to myself that this table must be reserved for high ranking officers. When I asked Ryan about it, however, I learned that it is actually a table reserved for men and women who are missing at war. The table is always set as a reminder to us of these POWs who are still living. How touched I was (and still am) to hear that these soldiers are remembered daily with such respect and hope. They are never forgotten here at Camp Pendleton.

The longer that we are stationed here at Pendleton, the more I can see how the war in Iraq impacts family, friends and coworkers on a daily basis. As I write this, in our own neighborhood there are atleast six houses that have "Welcome Home" banners hanging on the front porch.

God bless the men and women who are putting their lives on the line in Iraq. My prayer is that more and more of them will return home to their families soon.

A simple and creative invention.

We were out shopping for Easter outfits for the kids when we stumbled upon an interesting product by Homedics that helps to calm the senses before bed. It's great! Since falling asleep is an unresolved issue in our house, we began using it immediately. It plays a variety of lullabye melodies and nature sounds. It also has a projector that shines moving cartoon images of stars, moon, fish and birds on the wall. Already it really helped to keep the babies sleeping through the night. Hooray! Thank you Homedics!

San Diego Wild Animal Park

One of the nicest things about being stationed at Camp Pendleton is that we live within an hour and a half of several popular attractions. Down the road from us in Escondido is the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We spent about two hours there yesterday and another four there today. It is the most impressive zoo I have ever visited, and I've been to some very good ones. Not only do some of the world's most beautiful and interesting beasts reside there, but the natural setting of the zoo actually creates the illusion that you are in the wild with them. Escondido is a beautiful, rustic town full of lush mountain and floral landscapes. Around every turn your senses are entertained by active ostrich farms, bountiful tangelo trees, and picturesque vineyards. The zoo's location couldn't be in a more beautiful and peaceful place. We plan to visit the zoo regularly now that we have an annual membership. By year's end, we hope to be good friends with the African gorillas and South American birds!

I finally have a blog!

Aaahh! The babies have fallen asleep at last. To celebrate, I just poured myself a glass of some California red. It is Valentine's day after all. Unfortunately, my Valentine is away on business. So, I will write. One of my favorite things to do to unwind.

I'm so glad that I finally have this blog. I've been wanting one for some time now. I have been having so many different experiences that I thought it would be nice to post my observations and reflections of life from here (which at this time is Camp Pendleton, California). I think this is a nice way to keep our family and friends abreast of things happening in our life. It'll also motivate me to make writing a daily practice again. The days that I would write daily ended shortly after our first child, Hannah, was born.

It is well after midnight and the babes tend to wake up once or twice through the night. It would be in my best interest to get some Zs.