7-19-11

I will remember her just like this forever.
















Oh lily.


I love her so much.

7-15-11

Ready to see a lot of pictures? Okay.. here you go!

We took a last minute trip to San Diego. We survived midnight plane flights and time changes and stress and recovered in time to enjoy a few lovely days in California.

Charlie's new "smile for a picture" face. He had his own seat on one of the flights and was so proud of himself.

here's another example of the "smile for a picture" face. pretty silly.

my babies love each other

we liked how this restaurant put out a caution sign around charlies highchair area. How did they know how appropriate this is for my messy impatient little guy?!

the kids had a blast in the inflatable bouncy castle at our friends Hannah's third birthday and playing with the goody bag was super fun! Coral wins at goody bags!

silly!

We played at the beach, a lot!

and found out that there are no dogs allowed on the oceanside pier (yes, tami is wearing her dog in Charlie's sling. we may have kinda pretended she was a baby, have a problem with that?)


Charlie rocked his first faux-hawk

and we arrived back in madison just in time to enjoy our first Madison Mallards game as a family. Cute!

we LOVED it! so much fun. so casual and "hometown fun" feeling. A very different experience than the baseball games i've been to in big stadiums!

7-2-11

WOW! Summer is flying by!!

We are soaking up the sunny days lounging by the pool, and enjoying the thunderstorms with quiet indoor days. Our chickens are growing big and strong and we should have eggs in the next few months. Our garden is in full bloom, and we are thinking of lots of new ways to use sugar snap peas, basil, cilantro, chives and dill, as well as a few little tomatoes. We are trying to figure out how to utilize the mass of tomatoes, brussels sprouts, peppers and beans we are going to be drowning in later this summer!

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks

Strawberry picking at Carandale (OMG YUM)

At the theater to see Cars 2 (Charlie is in his own little booster seat! how cute is this!)

Spending time with cousins (second cousins? i never remember how that works)

and Tennis! Lily is signed up for several activities this summer. She's almost done with tennis and then we're on to soccer, art, and daycamps. Fun!

Charlie likes to help at tennis lessons.

This video is having problems. I'll stick it in here and fix it later.

Enjoy your summer!

6-10-11

How we've been spending our leisure time lately:

Impromptu fashion shows in the playroom

(Charlie looooves the high heels. Also purses and elbow length formal gloves. Just sayin)

Spending hot hot afternoons in the pool:

Finding fun and safe ways Lily can experiment with flavors in the kitchen:

(this was fancy trail mix, it was nice because she could totally customize it the way she wanted but it didnt require a hot stovetop, knives or a mess)

also spending a lot of time doing tons of gardening, cleaning up chicken poop and going to the vet a lot (advice: dont get multiple pets around the same age or they all start falling apart at the same time).

i've had some questions about our garden so i'll be posting about it soon. we are VERY inexperienced gardeners, and anything i DID know about gardening applied to San Diego which apparently means its void here (though the dig a hole and stick a plant in the ground part seems to still hold true) so any little successes are large triumphs for me.

Spoiler alert: when i post about the chickens and the garden next, they will not look like they did when i last posted about them here in april !

5-24-11

My computer miraculously repaired itself! I tried to use it just to back up some photos and stuff before taking it in for "surgery" and now its working fine! I'm sure it will have the same problem again, but at least I can update this real quick!

Everything has been good with all of us. Busy beyond imagination, but manageable and fulfilling busy. Busy grooming dogs, busy at Lilianas. Busy children, busy garden, busy chickens, busy home needing spring cleaning. busy busy busy.

But in between washing and sorting mountains of laundry (have i mentioned that in addition to regular laundry for four people I also have cloth diaper laundry and dog grooming towels, slipcovers for couches and throw blankets and table cloths and chef coats and...sigh..laundry) anyway, between loads of laundry, washing dishes and cooking meals...grooming dogs and paying bills and running out for odds and ends for the restaurant, in there somewhere we find ways to bond and learn and find joy in the little every day moments.

Here are a few pics from the last week or so

field trip to Schusters Playtime Farm:

Lily's end of the school year celebration: (click to make it bigger- she's in a green dress)

Lily's 4 year old check up (yes, she's 4.5, we get around to stuff late sometimes, okay?!)

trying to make a super fun "girls only" time out of a visit to the doctor

playing with daddy

4-14-11

Still broken laptop. Sad face.

It's forced me to figure out lots of fun new ways to utilize the iPad dave received as a birthday gift last year (thanks papa and rahrah!)


Miss everyone. Its the most amazing and inspiring time of year here. I wish air transportation was cheaper and more convenient because I want to share this feeling with my california peeps.

Everyday new plants appear in my yard.. Our pool is gradually changing from a swampy green to an almost swimmable blue. Chickens are growing big and strong and anxiously await the completion of their outside home. Seedlings are getting settled in garden beds and promise lots of delicious veggies and herbs later this year.

Our apple trees just burst into blossoms this week and they smell amazing.

Field trips to farms and thinking about summer camps. It's the most wonderful time of the year.


It's also the most wonderful time of the year because we are getting to know the funny, bright little bundle of curious fun that is Charlie. He's been sleeping well, learning new things, and being loving and adorable.

We love you, little man.



The daddy son bond is beyond amazing. These guys love each other like crazy.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

5-6-11

Hi y'all. My laptop has been broken. Sad!


Blogging will resume when I have my laptop again!