Happy Birthday Josiah! 3

Happy Birthday Josiah! We love you so much and enjoyed celebrating your entry into the world today three years ago, Oct 9th. Actually our celebration didn't just last one day...

Birthday morning pancakes and whipped cream on the "You are Special" plate! The zoo and hommemade mac and cheese graced this special day as well. 

As I walked out of Albertsons and loaded my two white children with their "birthday hot chocolates" from Starbucks, into our Pruis,  I couldn't help but feel like I growing little yuppies. Oh well. I can either fight it or embrace it. Yes, I drive a Prius and love Starbucks. Enough said.

The next day Uncle G and Aunty T made us dinner and provided yummy ice cream sundaes for dessert.

Finally, on Saturday, Ryan had the idea to take his Little Man on a train ride, just him and daddy. Josiah was so sweet, he was concerned because "he had told Kaila that she was going to go with him on the train and she had to stay home and take a nap."  

Country Time! - Night time visitor

             

                               We were in the process of moving the chicken one night and one chicken decided to come and check out the high life. She perched up there, took a look around, hung out for a few minutes and then returned to her coop. 

Oh, and we took the screen off of the kitchen window so we could throw the compost scraps right out to the chickens when we are cooking. 

Yes, we are just that redneck now-a-days. 

It's great.

Stay-cation

Friday to Sunday, we were jam-packed with fun vacation activities...from home.

Friday night we went to the Templeton High School Football game...mostly to see the marching band. Yea, I have been talking about seeing the marching band all day, actually, all week. 

ok, so maybe that was Josiah... either way Ryan and I had it running through our heads all week.

 Saturday we went to Conservation Celebration at the zoo for crafts, time with our dear friends Jaime and Joe, Noah and Heidi.

Then it was home for naps and off to the beach for our church picnic, dinner, and bonfire.

The kiddos were elated to stuff their faces full of smores. With the extra-large marshmellows the church provided, relative to the size of their bodies, it was like you or I eating a smore the size of small dinner plate.

My favorite quote of the night? As we were driving home at 8:00 at night, glow sticks in hand from the beach fun-fest, Josiah asks

"Mommy, Daddy, are we going to a football game right now?"

"No buddy...it's late, and we went last night" (Thinking, are you kidding me!? Is the kid really asking that!)

"Awwwwww....but I wanted to go to a football game right now.!!!" -insert whiney voice here

Ryan and I look at eachother and start laughing at our son's insatiable desire for fun...then scold him appropriately for whining ; )

 Sunday morning in our house is the most peaceful of all mornings. We typically spend that day drinking coffee and hanging out in the sunroom, enjoying the morning light, reading, talking and snuggling.

Then, later Sunday night we made cookies...front row seats. 

Finish off the weekend with a warm cookies and milk, and looking back, it was a really peacefull stay-cation.

Three Reasons to Miss Summer..

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

... living outside!

Yosemite 2013

Our yearly trip to Yosemite with the Blackwell family. Paulo came this year and we had a blast! 

Lots of swimming in the river, 

lounging around the campsite,

exploring the park.

This trip was slow, relaxed, and laid back as we had leisurely mornings, good camping food and long walks amoung God's amazing creation. 

Let it Begin...

Let it begin, bring on the girl-cuteness. Kaila officially threw her first little tea party this morning. The duck and the bear were invited. However they were short a cup so the bear had to wait for round two to get his tea. She was so excited.

The scene gave me a pause though, because Kaila had adorned the bear with  my half-marathon finisher medal around his neck, a "cell phone," and a vacuum attachment. Mr. Bear's life looks eerily  similiar to mine...

Signs of Life

Me: Josiah, I'd like a little privacy in the shower. Go play in the sunroom or something.

Josiah disappears and comes back 5 minutes later...

Josiah: Mommy! I am playing with the smores...

I'm suspicious. I follow him to the living room.

I find this.

 Apparently the couch stuffing looks like marshmellows. (Actually, it kinda does I never realized it before.).

I call Ryan in to see the mess and we both express our extreme displeasure, 

 Us: Oh, Josiah. That is NOT ok. You have to clean that ALL up. We NEVER do that to the couch cushions..

Ryan and I hide our smiles and try to control our trembleing voices as we bust up laughing behind the door.

He is still cleaning it all up as I type.

His method? Pick up one piece, jump on the pile to stuff it in, pick up one piece, jump on the pile to stuff it in...

Josiah: Mommy, I'm doing a good job cleaning up!

Me: Yes you are. Keep working because you're not doing anything else until you finish... Keep it up!

Stuff, jump, stuff, jump, stuff, jump...I think he's having a little too much fun with this. ; )