Growing Up

I had the great fortune of growing up in Southern California, in beautiful, 'perfect' Irvine. (It gets that title complete with a wink and a smile because it was a 'planned community') This is the house where I spent from age 9 to age 22. This house was brand new when our family moved there from Los Angeles County in 1977. There are of course many happy memories tied to this property including many fun-filled summers spent swimming at the community pool just a 2 minute walk away at the end of the street. So many firsts occurred here ... first job, first swim team, first boyfriend, learning to drive, graduating High School and graduating college, etc. Lots of family visits for holidays, time to ride bikes, playing with friends on the greenbelt behind our house, sleepovers at the neighbor's, snuggling with our kitties (Teiger and Panda), etc. Good times!





This was my bedroom window (at the back of the house) which overlooked the greenbelt of grass and all the Eucalyptus trees. (Oh yeah, and I could see my first real boyfriend's house & backyard from my window -- I used to try to 'spy' on him while he was mowing the lawn)



While on our recent vacation in California, we all had our teeth cleaned at the dentist in Orange County. Afterward we had time to swing by my old house (thus the photos in this post) and I was able to show my children this house. We climbed up the hill beside the house to sneak a peek into the backyard. I captured a few shots of us climbing back down and skipping down the bike path & greenbelt behind the house. That was fun! My kids had a great time seeing where it was that I grew up and building a better picture to go with all the stories they've heard about my childhood.