Carmel-by-the-sea, Monterey, St. George

 It's been a busy few weeks.
We took a trip to see our one, and only Grand, and his parents too, of course...*smile*.
     Our eldest son and his family live in Monterey California.
We took a couple weeks vacation and drove out to see their family and spend Thanksgiving with them.

 We went to Carmel-by-the-sea.
It's a charming and beautiful city. 
White sandy beaches, charming architecture, winding roads, and beautiful sunsets. 

 Our son is attending the Presidio in Monterey, learning his fifth language: Mandarin. 
He took us on a tour of the Presidio. Pretty impressive.

 Three sections of the Berlin Wall are displayed. A historical reminder of hope.

Big Sur Coast.
Amazing beaches, rock formation, sand, and awesome surf.

 Point Sur Lightstation.

 Fort Ord Dunes State Park
One of the prettiest places to watch the sunsets. 
(My sweet family enjoying the last of the daylight, and watching the sunset.) 

 Our eldest son, and our Grand. 
  Our Grand is such a beach baby. He is just 16 months old and most of his life has been living where he can enjoy the sand and surf and beaches.  He spent 5 months enjoying the beaches in Brazil.
Lucky boy!

 We feel so thankful that we were able to spend time with our sweet family and enjoy beautiful weather. 
We soaked up the sun, knowing that soon enough we would be returning to Utah, and snowy mountains.

On our way back home, we stayed in St. George for a few days. 
We are preparing for retirement and doing some preliminary home searching. 
Yes. We want to move to St. George when we retire.
A beautiful sunrise greeted us as we began our time in St. George.

Home again, home again, jiggity~ jig.
Now the Christmas tree is up. Lights in the windows, simmering potpourri and candles make our home smell amazing. 
The snowblower has been working overtime, as we've had snowstorm after snowstorm.
The fire crackles away, and I'm playing Christmas music forcing myself to get into the spirit of Christmas. 
This year has sped by so quickly, and we have been so busy, that it isn't feeling as though it's time for Christmas, so I'm immersing myself in all things Christmas...to convince myself that it is indeed December and time to celebrate the holidays.
~Dinner tonight will be crockpot broccoli~cheese soup, with rosemary~garlic focaccia.
~I'll work on decluttering some more. I've been working on decluttering for weeks now and taking things to the D.I.
~I'll clean and polish the wood floor in the kitchen today.
~Routine cleaning, and puttering around the house.

~Attitude of Gratitude:
~So thankful for safe travels. For time to 'mug' on our Grand.
For conversations and making warm memories with our son and his family.
~Grateful for our Saviors birth.
~Thankful for opportunities to serve.