Campin Fools

We have been on many fun outings this year...
camping, visiting family, day trips.
Went to Yosemite last month with my dad
and stepmom and it was breathtaking (as always).
The kids had a blast and met some
friends in the campsite next to ours.
We hiked, biked and ate the finest
camping food I've ever tasted (thanks Momda).
There are many reasons I LOVE
 homeschooling, but the ability to
do trips like this while other
children are sitting at their desks
in a classroom makes me love
teaching our children at home even more.
Homeschooling rocks!!!



The little collectors
 

Taking in an amazing view
 

Again
 

Exploring the waters
 

 

The girls found their very own playhouse

out in the middle of the forest.

 

Taking a break from biking around the valley
 

 

Papa and the littlest lass

 

A beautiful way to end our trip

There's something about being outdoors
in the natural world that puts
my heart and mind at total peace.
No technology, no rushing here and there,
no worrying about the silly things that my
mind can get overwhelmed with,
no place to be except out exploring
God's beautiful creation.

What could be better?

 

The little things

 

My Mr. and I got to get away for a couple
of days to one of our favorite places.
We hiked.
We ate.
We found ticks....yuck!
We befriended cows.
We ate some more.
We enjoyed one another's company...
Without kids.
It was fun!

And I was reminded once again
why I love this man so very much.

A year already?

Time is flying by and I'm trying to soak up

every little morsel of goodness that

our little peanut brings into our lives.

She it going at turbo speed now

and into EVERYTHING.

The house looks like a tornado

has swept through and left every

room completely Josiefied.

She is all about mama

(which makes me even more smitten)

but doesn't really ever have stranger anxiety.

She will go to pretty much anyone

(although I haven't tried Santa yet)

and be a content little lady.

Her first teeth are finally coming in

on top and all at once.

Our little peanut is a sweet heart and

a firecracker all at the same time.

She's fun and frisky and a tad bit feisty.

She has captured our hearts in this

first year of life and

brings us pure joy each and every day.

We had a little evening celebration for

our sweet babe while we were in Austin.

Big J and little J

Happy Birthday little love!

happy unbirthday my loves

I'm zero for three this year on my family's birthday posts.

Bummer.

So hears a quick update

(more for me to reminisce

than for anyone else's benefit.)

For Mr. Man's birthday, we went up to Mammoth and
enjoyed the sun/snow/rain. We explored places we
had never been by foot and horseback.
It was a beautiful time of year to go...
sooooo much water.

For Bri's birthday we kept it mellow,
gave her some sweet little gifts and lots of love.
And of course a birthday meal of her choice
including her fave...lemon bars.

For the little miss we kept it low key.
She opened gifts (a new boogie board and
two new dolls...more on that later).
After school we took her out to lunch,
gave into ear piercing (after a year of begging),
and watched her take her first horseback riding lesson
followed by her favorite dinner and cake.
It was a really fun day.

Whew!
All caught up now and
feeling slightly less guilty for my negligence.

xoxo

yosemite 2010

last year in march i learned i was pregnant after
taking a test at home. i was so excited, but needed
some time to process the reality of new life inside me.
mr. man and i already had made plans to drive up to
yosemite for a little weekend getaway at a b&b
near the park, so i savored the moment for myself
for a couple of days before we left.

i hadn't been sleeping well at night, so decided to
set up a little game to tell husband the big news
during my hours of insomnia
the first night we were there.
i had packed some blank recipe cards and
a few extra tidbits for our stay since
i knew i wanted to tell him in a creative way.
i filled out six recipe cards each with a
different "recipe" relating to children
and in the ingredients section i gave a clue
about where to find the next card
(each in a different room of the b&b).
i woke him up bright and early to hunt for
the clues before breakfast. the last card was back
up in our room under the covers attached to a
little wooden box with a positive preggo test inside.
he was really surprised, shocked and excited.


it was such a fun way to share the
excitement with my love.
the rest of the trip was spent
enjoying the beauty of yosemite
~ the snow, the rivers, the flowers ~
and trying to wrap our heads around the idea of baby #3.

sweet escape

last month the mr. and i went on a mini vacation
where we soaked up the sound of the sea,
hiked in the mountains and
watched the sun melt away
leaving the most beautiful canvas of color.

we were blessed to stay in a beautiful house

with a backyard view of dolphins and seals.

we brought our littlest lovebug with us

since we are attached at the hip breast,

and introduced her to beach life.

as busy as life has been lately,

it's been so nice to take time to stop

and breathe in the day and all that is held in the present.

the baby~moon

The Mr. and I went on a
little getaway to Cambria last week
for some "we" time
where we soaked up the solitude & quiet.
No whining.
No arguing.
No chauffering.
No attitude.
No entertaining anyone but ourselves.

We spent our time walking by the beach,
eating fabulous food at Robin's
(my new Cambria favorite~thanks Amy),
listening to the waves crash from our sweet little room,
reading,
yoga,
surfing,
just being.

It was wonderful.

A big thank you to my in-laws for allowing us to take time
for ourselves before we venture into babyland.

We loved it!

Got away

Last weekend my mum and I got away for a wee little girls trip to Seattle then off to Orcas Island to explore the charm and beauty of island life.  It was truly magical.  From our sweet little boat shed (with the outdoor shower), to the amazing food, and the scenery...just breathtaking.  Most of all I enjoyed some one~on~one time with my beautiful mama ~ laughing, shopping, hiking, feasting & sharing precious time together.

 Today, I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to go on travels that fill my life with happy memories.

A little break from reality

This is where you may find me in the next couple of days ~ exploring, reading, eating, relaxing.  Looking forward to a few days away for some girl time.  Be back later next week...

Happy August.

We survived!

We rode.
We spun.
We laughed.
We indulged on tasty fried goodness.
We saw royalty, pirates and castles.
We traveled around the small world (singing all the while).
 We passed up the aroma of a freshly made waffle cone filled with mint chip ice cream, sigh.
We drove home with toothpicks holding our eyelids open.
We collapsed.

Exhausting it was, but worth every minute.

Here we go...

We're celebrating our little big girl's 5th birthday this
week with a trip to the happiest place on earth.
We've been anticipating this fun day for weeks
and can't wait to spin, roll and ride all over the place. 

Hope you're able to get a few moments in your own fantasyland today.

xoxo

Wonder-full

A sunrise walk in Poipu with my favorite guy.

Since I'm still not functioning at full mainland speed,
this photo is all I can muster for now. 

Kauai was beautiful, peaceful, refreshing.

Spring break

Today we leave for the beautiful island of Kauai to seek days of family fun, adventure and relaxation.  I've thrown a couple more posts in for the week while we're away eating our shave ice so I don't completely neglect the bloggy-blog.  Sending you hugs from an island afar.

Aloha!

Gotaway

to this. last weekend.

Yosemite was our playground last weekend and we enjoyed every moment together ~ just me and mr. man.  We stayed at a family run B&B about a 1/2 hour outside of the park, waking up to a huge and beautiful breakfast each morning before we headed out for the day's adventures.  We enjoyed each moment skiing, hiking, exploring the area, eating ALOT and soaking in a huge jacuzzi tub before the night's end.  It was good.  Really good.

I think my mr. would agree.  Except for maybe the last hour driving home, when I suggested that I should take over the wheel due to his seemingly close proximity to the car ahead of us.  That put a slight damper on the mood in the car at the tail end of our trip.  I'm sure most of you already know this, but just in case you need a reminder:  best not to comment on your husband's scary driving tactics whilst he is at the wheel...unless you don't mind walking home.  Luckily, he loves me regardless of my unwanted outbursts of defensive driving  advice and didn't put me out.

Hope you're enjoying the last week of March.

Whirlwind

Last week I drove down for a night to meet my man in San Diego with the little miss.  It was fun walking around by the bay, meeting new people and visiting family.  I was so worn out from walking the whole day I thought my legs were going to collapse.  Loved the visit, but have to stay longer next time because this trip was really just a big fat tease. 

What's your favorite activity in San Diego or better yet where would you be willing to drive to for one night's stay?

Sending you love

from Napa, Californa.

Have a happy love day!

I present to you...

the shortest vacation in family history

This is the view driving up to June Lake around 1pm December 27

The beautiful sight from our room overlooking the lake the morning of Dec 28 after a full night of sleep deprivation due to the sudden onset of fever, coughing and discomfort by our four year old.

A look at Mr. Handsome starting the descent from our 14 hour stay in the glimmering white mountains. After a brutal night of helping to nurse our youngest and the decision that we needed to say goodbye to our snowy dreams he repacked the car and we headed for home.

A glimpse of the snow we longed to play in.

We'll be back.

And next time, we may need to leave the kids at home.

Frosty fun

We're off for some cold adventures over the next few days. It's becoming our holiday season tradition. Can't wait to romp and play in the snow with my family and am looking forward to greeting the new year when we return.

Sending happiness to you as you finish out 2009.

French finale

There's really nothing I didn't love about France on our trip. Granted, we only visited a very small part of the country...but it was the perfect place to be introduced and get a taste of french living. I gained a new perspective on so many things while we were there bringing me back home refreshed, relaxed and ready for another adventure back to this beautiful country.

When we left for France I had been experiencing back pain for over a year. It was pretty miserable and I had tried every possible avenue to figure out what was going on. Between the doctor visits, the physical therapy and the acupuncture nothing was really solving my problem. Nothing that is, until I arrived in France. Call me crazy ~ but France was my therapy, and not only because I was on holiday....but because of where I was on holiday.

Our french adventures really made a huge impact on me and taught me some lessons that are leading my life in a new direction.

French Lesson #1:

Food. It should be local. It should be fresh. It should be savored and eaten slowly with wine and good company...always.

French Lesson #2:

Slowwwww down. The energy and pace of life in So. France is comfortably slower. People aren't rushing here and there to fit 100 errands into their days. The farming tractors are rolling through town, people are tending to their work and chores but not it a hurried manner. It is something I am constantly reminding myself as even when I put my mind in a more relaxed state, just outside my door the energy & busy-ness of life is zooming by.

French Lesson #3:

Rest is good. Not just the evening snooze, but a break in the midafternoon gives a chance to (again) slow down, regroup, connect with yourself. I loved that the shops & restaurants would shut down for a couple hours after lunch. So different from my experiences in the states, where the drive of life is purely business~profits~sales.

French Lesson #4:

Laughter for hours on end makes my face hurt...and I like it. This lesson really has very little to do with France itself, but was such a good reminder while I was there. Being in a foreign country with 5 other women was the best! We laughed for days (mostly at ourselves) and formed bonds that will always be remembered & cherished.

Life changing, it was.

The cathedrals ~ part trois

The churches in France were breathtaking. The first church we stopped to admire coincidentally had been studied in a college class by one of our friends from So. Cal. Sheila had an abundance of knowledge about the architecture, the history and the purpose for each individual section of the building. It was truly fascinating and so exciting for her to stumble upon a cathedral that she had come to know so well through her studies. She turned out to be an amazing tour guide for all of us...thanks Sheila! The story of Mary Magdalene's travels in this area of France was displayed in one of the churches we visited and was absolutely beautiful. I loved having the opportunity to walk into these buildings and along the cobbled streets that spoke of so much history, so many stories, so many generations.