Living the Good Life

The kids have been enjoying lots of time outside. They were excited when we filled up the sandbox and play in it often.

David picked out his own clothes and got himself dressed for the first time.

Mary always loves to help cook.

David discovered his pockets and thinks they are great.

First Day of School

Our pediatrician recommended working with Mary on practicing the sounds she has a hard time saying, so we decided to start preschool. We memorize Bible verses, practice holding the pen and tracing letters and numbers, and work on sounds. It's all pretty casual at this point of course, but it's good practice for both of us and has helped a lot with her sounds.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

We made shamrock cookies for St. Patrick's Day.

Just a little reading at the counter.

 Joshua got his Sherwood stuff out in preparation for an informational meeting about camp this summer at church, and of course Mary and David had to try it all on.

Birthday Buddies

 Evan and I got to have apple pie together at our combo birthday dinner.

Birthday Weekend

Someone Joshua knows offered to let us stay at their house in Los Osos, and we were excited to do so over my birthday weekend. We arrived Friday afternoon and settled in before heading to an oaks reserve close by for a walk.

There were lots of trees to climb.

It was beautiful, and quite different from the oaks preserve near Visalia.

After some time exploring, we went to dinner at a recommended Mexican restaurant that had great food.

The kids were particularly excited that the house was two stories and spent a lot of time going up and down the stairs.

We started off my birthday with breakfast then time at the beach.

In the afternoon, we walked along the bluffs at Montana de Oro.

The kids were good walkers and enjoyed stopping to admire the views.

We finished the day off with fish and chips for dinner. The fried calamari was a big hit with everyone.

The next morning we took a quick walk to the park behind the house to play on the playground before heading home.

 We had a picnic in Hanford, then got Superior Dairy ice cream. It was a great trip and a lot of fun to get away and enjoy some time at the coast.

Rain, Rain Come Our Way

We had another happy rainy day.

Recent Happenings

We found a beautiful orchard by our house.

After waiting for a couple of months, the roofers finally came to fix our roof.

Joshua and Mary had fun setting up a model train from Joshua's childhood.

I decided there wasn't any reason to let my seeds keep getting older, so we planted a bunch.

Mary helped Joshua try out his new belt.

David likes to make the tiger crawl around and eat things.

The herbs in the kitchen window are sprouting. 

Uno Buddy

 I was having a hard morning yesterday, but tea and Uno with Mary was just the thing to lift my spirits.

Picking Citrus

Michelle and I and our kids went out to Mom and Dad's house Wednesday to hang out. A number of their trees had been pruned that morning, including the grapefruit trees, so there was grapefruit on the ground around the trees. We helped pick them up, and Mary and David got a few climbing tips from Emery. 

 Mary also got to ride on the back of the trailer.