It Appears...Chester

Ryan and I decided that our kids have it pretty good. 

Wonderful things just "appear" each day.   

Each day they wake up and get lots of hugs and kisses. Then a delicious (usually hot) meal appears for them to eat. Throughout the day friends and fun new toys appear in houses they visit.  When the kids ride in the car the beach suddenly appears, or sometimes it's the park or zoo...Then, around noon there's more yummy food. They just ask and it appears!

 When they get sleepy for a nap a warm bed and blanket always appear, along with a few hours set aside to rest. After naptime they just play and sometimes friends appear again. Feeling hungry kiddos? More yummy food suddenly appears (dinner), followed by a warm bubble bath, lots of snuggles and a warm bed.

Hey Ry, Can I have that schuedule for a Mother's Day gift next year! 

Imagine what is going through their heads when they get in the car. They don't know, is it 3 min. to the store? 5 min to the gym? 20 minutes to an Aunt's house? They have no idea. They just buckle up and wait. 

A couple of weeks ago they unsuspectingly got into the car and 8 hours and two days later they arrived here...

The family cabin in Chester.

Suddenly, they're fishing and exploring riverbeds every day. 

They have no idea what happened to our home or if we're ever going back. They don't care. 

This amazing place just appeared and they love it!

(Imagine if one day you're plopped in a bike carrier and then...

 this cool lake appears that you get to swim and throw rocks in...

Then you jump in the car and before you know it... it's amazing! An ice cream cone that's half the size of your head appears in your hand and you get to devour the whole thing guilt free. Life is good.)

  God has blessed us with the ability to abundantly provide for our kids' needs in so many different ways, physically, spiritually and emotionally. 

Ryan and I consider it a great gift that we can  be a part of helping these blessings "appear" in our kid's lives.

Daddy's Little Girl

A sneak peak into our trip up to Chico and then on to the cabin up in Chester...more to come!

We sold our kids.

Our kids were for sale. 

 Then we dropped the price when they didn't sell fast enough.

Don't get me wrong, Rebah and Dolly are like little dogs. We took them on walks and they trotted along right beside our ankles.

When we  ran, they would buck and gallop and skip, jumping and excitedly kicking up their heels. We did't even need to have them on their leashes! They just followed along! They were pretty fun.

 They were too loud for a while, so we gave them a two week trial period to shape up. Then we got impatient put them up for sale anyways.

Nobody called so we dropped the price.

Hmmm. There were only three options.

1. Keep them.

2. Eat them.

3. Sell them.

Every time they annoyed me I threaten to eat them and I reminded them that they were technically for sale.

Every time they acted super cute as Josiah and Kaila  wrestled with them, I smiled fondly and I was glad to have our little farm. What a great experience.

Then someone called, and just like that, we sold our kids.
Maybe we'll try again in a few years...or maybe we'll try something entirely different...

Only time will tell.
 For now, we are down to two kids, and those ones are too precious to sell ;)

Mother's Day Continued...

(Yep, signs of life everywhere..."Mommy Poop! Mommy Poop! Mommy Poop!")

Mothers Day 2013

Motherhood...I'm officially all grown up. Two babies under my belt (literally) and bills to pay. Yep! Young at heart but knee deep in a rich life.

Reminding us of our age this year, Ryan threw his back out the day before Mothers Day.

Notice his stiff posture and slightly pained look in this picture.

He still managed to make me a great breakfast and take care of dinner. I got to help him out and just enjoy his company since he was a bit slower around the house and needed my help more often.  

We ended the day outside with the fine company of my sister, her husband and a warm summer evening. 

It was perfect. 

I am so blessed.

Birthday Weekend May 2-5

May 2nd started off with Juevos Rancheros for Ryan...

                          

...and then ended with a picnic dinner in the park with Leslie and Trago. Such a nice day!

 May 3rd I packed us up for a camping trip in Big Sur with my parents, Garrett and Terra, Dave, Jaime and Joe and their family. It was going to be awesome!

May 4th Ryan made me whipped cream and pancakes...

                                     

...and my Mom and Dad made us camping calazones.

...and May 5th Kaila decided she couldn't sleep  from 1:30-4 am when a wind storm kicked in (that's the excuse I'm allowing her).

 Ryan had it even worse because he took Kaila out of the tent at 3 am. and then couldn't fall asleep when she did, so he decided to drive an hour and a half, round trip to Carmel to try and find coffee. (he (he was unsuccessful, by the way).

Brutal. 

At home at last, we slept well the next night.  We were cozy in our own beds, armed with ear plugs, a sleeping fan and two closed doors! 

...and Goodnight!

Puttin' Down Roots

Always hard at work, Ryan and I also realize that we just love working in the yard, planting things, making improvements, watching the kids play in the dirt and interacting with the land.

                                             (Collecting the eggs...well, you gotta let them try!)

                    Ryan's new shed in the side yard, to finally get some of that stuff out of the garage!

      My peaceful view, laying on the grass in the front yard, listening to the birds and my kids laughing.
         

    The cute little white picket fence and gate that Ryan put up around the front yard about two days after we found the kids at the neighbors house and half way up a ladder in their front yard. (We live on a really quiet little road, but it still isn't safe).