14 Years and Counting...

Last week Neil and I celebrated our 14th anniversary....or at least we tried to celebrate it. We had just finished showering, dressing and getting ready to walk out the door for a nice dinner at Ruth's Chris when Cody walked in and said, "I don't feel good." His eyes were a bit drawn and when I felt his head, sure enough, he had a fever. Neil and I looked at each other, smiled and changed into our sweats. We ended up having pizza and a family movie night.

As I reflected that night on our last 14 years, I am so grateful for the wonderful life God has blessed us with. I have been blessed with the most amazing husband who is a magnificent example for me of God's neverending love, patience and grace. Obviously God knew what he was doing when he paired us together, because most of Neil's strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa. Neil and I often chuckle at God's sense of humor in putting us together because we are so opposite in so many different ways. Thank goodness God's plans are perfect because I could not be any happier as I sit here in my cool home watching my 3 healthy boys playing in the yard. I truly don't deserve all that I have been blessed with and I am humbled at my Saviors love for me.

Through the ups and downs of 14 years of marriage, we have grown so much closer and so much stronger together that all I can do is thank God for every day of the last 14 years. Although the Ruth's Chris experiences in life are what we look forward to, we have realized that the pizza nights are just as effective, if not better at strengthening the bond that exists and providing memories for a life time. I look forward with great anticipation to all that God has to teach us in the next 14 years and the 14 after that and am so thankful for the partner he gave me to walk through each day with.

17 years ago at my senior prom

14 years ago

Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever!

Cayucos 2009

We are very blessed to have a group of amazing friends that we spend one week a year with in Cayucos. This year was the 5th year we have all done this and I am so grateful for the traditions and memories we are creating. There are 7 families that make the trek over to Cayucos the first week of August and when we are all together there are a total of 21 children...7 girls and 14 boys. The time we spend together is such a blessing and the boys have an absolute blast!! Some highlights of the trip include.....

• The church service at Cayucos Community was awesome....we were able to start the week out with a great message and communion. The boys even shared in their first communion that day!!
• Spending all day...every day...on the beach with great friends!! The boys enjoyed building castles, digging deep holes that they could all fit in, playing baseball, playing football, and even learned to play Bocce Ball on this trip. Neil and I have found that the beach is the best play ground for the boys.... a little sand, water and snacks and they are happy for hours!!





• Brett took on a new love for the ocean this week. He spent hours boogie boarding every day this year. Thank goodness for Lauren who spent lots of time out there with him!!



• Cody made his first attempt at surfing despite his fear of sharks!! Every body of water that we pass (including canals, lakes, irrigation basins and ponds), Cody always asks us, "Do sharks live in there?" He has become more tentative in the ocean because he knows sharks live in there, despite our attempts to put him and ease and reassure him that he is not in danger. One afternoon, Cody mentioned that he wanted to try surfing, so Ryan graciously took him out to ride some waves. With Ryan's assistance he made it up and rode some waves in!!
  
  



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  The fun and fellowship we shared with all of our adult friends is priceless. The men enjoyed the friendly competition of Bocce Ball on the beach, Albacore tacos every day and relaxing in the jacuzzi that overlooks the ocean. The mommies cherish the conversation, the relaxation and all of the good food (especially the desserts)!!
  
  
  
  

  Favorite people, favorite places,

Favorite memories of the past,

These are the joys of a lifetime. . .

These are the things that last.

Cody's Extreme Room Makeover

Cody finally got his wish and we transformed his bedroom into the baseball room he has always wanted. Cody inherited a bit of "analness" from his mommy, so he likes to re-arrange, organize and change things up every now and then. Every once in a while I will catch him cleaning out the toothbrush drawer for me or moving things around in his room for a change.

Because he is the 2nd child, he has always inherited the bedrooms as they were decorated for Nicholas. So, last year when we moved Nicholas into his own room so each of them could have their own bedrooms, Cody asked to change the room a bit.

His first request was to paint it red. I was hoping just to re-paint it blue, but he wanted anything but blue....so we settled on gray. He also wanted some baseball pictures of himself in his all-star uniform. Those were added along with a baseball print and some shelves for his trophies. He is one happy camper to have a room all his own, just how he wanted it.

Another hobby of Cody's is building things and doing puzzles. Since he was 2 years old he has always loved doing puzzles and is faster than anyone else in the family. Last month he pulled out his Lincoln Logs that he has not played with in a while and built a whole Lincoln Log city. He did not want to take it apart, so it stayed on his dresser for weeks. I compromised with him yesterday. I needed to dust the dresser so I told him that I would take a picture and post it on my blog if we could take it down. So here it is.

Go Giants....

This week we were able to make a quick trip up to San Francisco to catch a Giants game and make a stop at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. Thank goodness for eBay...we got unbelieveable deals!!


My boys are crazy Giants fans, thanks to their Papa. Cody wakes up every morning, checks the Sports page to read their stats and sees what their standing is in the NL West. Then he checks the TV to see what time the game is that day. So, to be able to see the Giants in person was a real treat for the boys and we could not have asked for a better night. Their favorite pitcher, Tim Lincecum was pitching and he pitched 15 strike outs. For those of you non-baseball lovers, that is remarkable, so the boys were very fired up. We had the first row seats in centerfield, so the boys went home with 4 balls that they caught between batting practice and the game. (Of course, I am sure you figured that we got to the ballpark at 5:00 for a 7:15 game just so they would not miss batting practice!!!)

This is Nicholas after catching a ball tossed to him by Andres Torres.

For any of you who have not been to Discovery Kingdom, I highly recommend it. It was formerly Marine World Africa and now has all of the bonuses of the thrill rides of a Six Flags. We all loved it because it had many animal exhibits and shows that were fun to watch and educational at the same time. Nicholas and Cody loved going on every scary roller coaster they could find....the more upside down loops, the better. And Brett preferred the more gentle rides and bumper cars. It was a Win Win for everyone.




It was a very quick, but fun get-away for the Castro family and we are so thank ful to have opportunites like this!!

Counting my seasons....

I once did a Bible study that encouraged the participants to figure out if you lived the average life span, how many days you had left to live. It seems a bit morbid, but the point was to make you realize that we cannot take our days for granted. Last night, Nicholas played his last game of our 2009 baseball season. While part of me is excited that we get some of our week nights and weekends back and we can live a sane life again, another part of me is sad. I realized yesterday that IF he plays baseball in high school, we only have 9 more baseball seasons to enjoy watching him play. This all-star season he was moved to first base and his confidence really grew in that position. He made some wonderful plays as he dug balls out of the dirt as players were crossing the plate and stretched out his little legs to beat the runners. He made his mama proud. Nothing beats the big smile that filled his face when he glanced to the stands knowing he had just made a great play. Although he still has yet to hit one out of the park, he came very close in the Bullard tournament, falling short by about 5 feet.

Our season came to a close last night....in Hanford. Nicholas's team played 3 games in 110 degree heat, but all five of us could have thought of no where else we would have rather been. Cody and Brett enjoyed the games as much as Nicholas because they got to play "pickle" with all of the team's younger brothers and eat snacks after the games.

Well, we will enjoy about 3 weeks of rest and peace before soccer season begins. But, there will be no complaining in this house....we are counting our seasons with gratitude and loving every minute of it!!