Erin and Scott's B-Day

My Aunt Cathie and parents hosted a birthday barbeque for Scott and I for our July birthdays. As you can see, we had a great time!

Calabasas, Our Temporary Home

We moved into the Archstone Calabasas apartments on July 3rd. We had no furniture for three days, but we had fun improvising. The above photo is called "Humble Beginnings". We used a cheap computer stand for our dining room table and our camping chairs with pillows for a booster.


The apartments are surrounded by the beautiful (but highly flammable) Malibu Canyons and a short 17 minute drive (very important when it is 115 degrees) to the Malibu pier and beach.

It wasn't long before we discovered the proximity of the beaches and other local events!! Happy 4th of July! Calabasas High School had an amazing fireworks display.

Transition to a New Home

Thank God were able to find an apartment during our vacation. We stopped off at the Ricketts' to pick up our many items in their garage. They were amazed that Erin started to look very L.A. already.

We may not have any grandchildren in the family yet, but there are plenty of little doggies running around...Dubby (cousins Kevin and Casey's puppy) is Erin's favorite!!

Departures and Some R & R

All of our hard work on the house came to an end when the Open Houses began in June. We packed up both cars and set to head down to "the valley" on June 23rd. We had our apartment in Woodland Hills set for the next month and planned on acclimating to our new environment during our week off. Somehow our plan didn't quite turn out the way we wanted, but God had something more enjoyable in store for us.



So, the Woodland Hills Oakwood apartment wasn't quite up to par for us. Besides being a shady area and a little run down, it was a smoker's haven and our hallway was filled with it. We unpacked both cars, stayed one night and repacked the cars again. Time for plan B, whatever that was.

Thank God for our parents! They let us fill their garage with all our stuff and we headed for Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego. Bruno and Scott (below left) were also happy to see us. Thank God he doesn't bite Larry's ankles anymore!

Rancho Santa Fe is a beautiful old Spanish style California city (Erin's favorite!), but we spent almost every day at the beach in Del Mar (North Beach) and Coronado.

The Goodbyes

The last few weeks before our move we were able to meet with our friends individually and in groups. Thanks to our friends who hosted gatherings!! Here are just a few photos...

(Upper Left) Little Grace Hurley concentrating on Mommy's glasses.
(Bottom)The friendly neighborhood policeman stopped to entertain the kiddies. Nathan Babby is trying very hard to get the helmet securely fastened.
(Upper Right) The boys revolted against a group photo.

(left) Adrienne and Leilani in front of one of Scott Segerblom's paintings. A total of 11 of his works hang in our house to add an artistic flare.

(below) It's the goofy expression photo. Although Shane's is pretty good, the pregnant lady wins by a landslide.

More photos/events to come once I retrieve photos from friends...

Activities Before the Move

It's the countdown to the move. Erin had never been to the Oakland Zoo, so it was a perfect outing during their Open House.

Monkeys, Gorillas, Chimps etc. Erin's favorite.

Scary Bats!!!

Moving Down South?

One Sunday, I said to Larry, "I miss being around my family" The next day Larry informed me of a reorganization at work. He found an opportunity to stay with the same position in Century City. Everything seemed to fall into place, including my transfer with Kaiser Permanente to the Woodland Hills Medical Center.

We move down to the "Valley" on June 25th to live in Coporate Housing until our house in Alameda sells and we can buy another.

Our 11 and 12 years in the San Francisco Bay area are filled with such wonderful memories. God has blessed us with so many wonderful friends who have helped us along our journey. We will cherish the time we had in the beautiful Bay Area.

San Francisco is the city where we came back to our faith, formed lifelong friendships, met each other, fell in love and were married. We will definitely leave part of our heart here, but not our goofiness...

Going Away Party at Jay's House

Thanks Jay!!!

Our First Home

The house buying process was not easy. Erin was frustrated at 4 weeks, not realizing that it could take months. Alameda was the destination because Erin's new position was with Kasier Permanente was based in Oakland. We loved that it was centrally located and near the water, but couldn't find anything we loved in our price range....until we found 172 Purcell Drive...

There was a lot of work to be done inside, but we were up for the challenge. Notice the very dirty grey carpet throughout (yes, that includes the bathrooms) . This was the first to go.

We love the walks along the bay with views of San Francisco and the lagoons. It's also nice to be 7 minutes from the airport and across the street from a tennis and swim club, a top ranking school and 36 hole golf course.

How We Began

On April 24, 2004, "Erin and Larry Parente" (or Larin- a term mistakenly created by our DJ) came into being through Holy Matrimony. We were surrounded by our witnesses as we entered the Sacrament of Marriage at St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco. These friends and family also helped us celebrate splendidly afterwards at Delancey Street with Italian food, dancing and family entertainment.