Wild Joy

Oh how I love this little one...he is a ball of wild joy. Its amazing how much he has changed our lives and he's only 2! I was just remembering today of how when he was first born he would snuggle down on my chest and I would throw the covers up over us and sleep, all warm and toasty. Love, love, that memory....

Happy Birthday Weston! Now on to making new memories! :)

Butterflies and Trees

Went to the Monarch Butterfly Grove this morning. We haven't been there forever, so I thought it was time to go again.

Then we found a little path behind the grove that we'd never been on before so we did some exploring.
It led us out to the beach and these old trees that the boys love to climb on.
It looks like a deserted island, if you can catch a glimpse of the beach without anyone walking by.

Winter Walk California Style

I laugh at myself sometimes. Sometimes all I want is a big snowstorm and gray skies. Then yesterday I was so happy that I get to live here where its 75 degrees in January and I get to take a walk on the beach. We ended up walking down to see Matt at the hotel he was working at. I love these kinds of days that are laid back and joyful with my kids.

New!!

I'm feeling the joy of newness! The newness of a new year, new possibilities. I like the beginning of the year.

Matt bought me a fiddle for Christmas! I love it. I'm squeaking away trying to learn scales.

I bought these lights from Target with my gift card. My house seemed so bare once I took down all the Christmas decorations, I felt I had to replace some of the lights.
We decided to take off this week too since all the kids are sick and I didn't really have my lesson plans together for the next semester yet. So this week I'm working on those plans and looking for new crafts to embark on. There appears to be a new blank wall in my living room just sitting there waiting to be decorated!

97 degrees

Ok it was 97 degrees today! Boo. So wish it was cold. These photos are actually from last weekend at Avila Valley Barn. We picked pumpkins and ran through the haze maze over and over again. Such fun! So boo to today and its hotness and little kids who are melting in the heat with little red faces. But yay for Weston cuz he's such a cutie! And the only one who would pose for pics!

Kirk Creek

We decided to take a little two day camping trip up the coast. It was amazing! We stayed at Kirk Creek campground, on a bluff overlooking the ocean.

Matt and Weston on the way down the trail that lead to the creek and eventually the rocky beach below the campsite.
You can see our tent in the right hand corner in the pic above. We were laughing at it because it looked like a big circus tent compared to all the other little single hiker tents that were around.
Caleb on the rocky beach, he was the most excited about the trip and the most upset about having to come home.
Well this one speaks for itself.
Weston had a blast, he was so dirty all the time. I had to keep reminding myself that it was A. impossible to keep him clean and B. that it was ok for him to be dirty because he was having fun and we were camping. Funny how I had to keep reminding myself of that. I would start to say out loud "How did he get dirty again...oh, wait its ok".
Sea cucumber! We found a couple of these, there were tons of starfish and anenomies (sp?).
Jack making the anenomies squirt.
Smoralicious!
Ok so things I loved about this trip:

1. Not knowing what time it was.

2. Sitting around the campfire.

3. Looking up at all the thousands of stars and talking about life with Matt.

4. Falling asleep to the sound of the waves and waking up snuggled in my sleeping bag.

5. Making meals on a tiny camp stove.

6. Hiking and exploring with my kids...they're so inquisitive and interested in things that I take for granted.

7. Watching my husband set up camp and build fires, and showing his boys how to do it.

I spy someone who's 5!

So my pictures aren't in order...but oh well. On Monday, Caleb turned 5! We decided to have a secret agent birthday party. Everyone got their own secret agent id card.

Amazing 5 y r old!
Weston in a duck disguise, looking at himself in the mirror.

Everyone also got their own spy folder with a map and their mission instructions. We also practiced taking our fingerprints.

After we had our Art of Disguise race, where everyone had to race to get on their disguise, we took everyone's picture. Doesn't he have a great spy face?

Then we had some target practice. I found water balloons at Wal Mart that looked like hand grenades.
And finally our secret agent training ended with an obstacle course. Everyone took turns running it to the tune of "eye of the tiger"! It was hilarious and fun. Thanks Delmores for coming and making it a great party!