Santa Rosa 2013

At the end of June we bought a new car to replace the one that was totaled in the car accident. We have been very happy with our purchase.  It has more technology in it than our house I think!  haha

Grandpa and I took the kids to Santa Rosa for a week.  It wasn't really a "pleasure trip" and Daryle couldn't go since he had used up so much vacation time when he was sick earlier this year.  Our main goal was to finish cleaning out Grandpa's California house and put it on the market to sell.  Goal accomplished!  Now we just wait for it to sell. Since we were very busy with this task we didn't get to visit with our friends or go to many places.  We did make it to our favorite park twice and the ocean once.  Other than that it was hanging out with Grandma and her cat Missy while cleaning out grandpa's house.  He has lived there since 1965 so there was a lot to go through.  At times it seemed like we would never get done, but in the end it all came together nicely.  We finally managed to see the light at the end of the tunnel!  I did manage to capture some of our trip in pictures.  Enjoy!

 Oh yeah, there was an intense heat wave while we were there.  Plus no air conditioning. Miserable doesn't even begin to describe it!

 People who know me know I am not much of a "cat" person. That is why it was so funny that Missy sat right on my lap. Ugh was my initial thought.  After spending a week with her we have actually formed a bit of a bond. That is saying a lot for me!!  She really is a sweet kitty.

 Every time Missy came around Travis he wanted his picture taken with her.

 Monopoly anybody?

 Our favorite Santa Rosa Park. (We should have brought some bread for the duckies....)

 Going on a short hike.

 Playground time.

 I was actually ahead of schedule and was able to spend a day with the boys at Bodega Bay.  I have never seen the beach like this before. If you know Northern California beaches then you know they are usually gray and foggy.  The sun comes out for a bit in the afternoon then the fog rolls back in again. Well, this day it was like a Southern California beach day!  The sun was out the entire time.  We spent 4 hours there... and got a little sunburned... oops... where was the fog we usually see???  No sweatshirts for us on this day!  The three of us had so much fun.  It was a great way to spend the 4th of July.  Seeing all of the campers there made me want to go camping at the beach sometime. 

 Back to Grandma's and to see Travis' new  BFF Missy.  It was a shocker that she let Travis pick her up. She doesn't let anybody pick her up.  We think Travis is a "cat whisperer".  I don't know what Travis will be when he grows up but for sure I know he will be around animals somehow.

All in all we had a very good trip.  We got a LOT of work done and towards the end of the week the weather cooled off for us.  Thanks Santa Rosa! Until next time....

Summer Fun

 It's hard to believe that our summer is already half way over! Yikes! Where does the time go?  The kids have already spent some time running through the sprinklers. It surprised me that they had no idea what to do until I ran through them myself. Then they kind of stared at me like I was off my rocker. Eventually they got he hang of it and had some fun. We don't have a pool so this is as good as it gets around here these days.

 Connor approves!

 Travis has been sleeping in around here a lot this summer. Connor, Petey and I have just been lying around enjoying our mornings together.

 Daryle took some time to cook our favorite brats on the BBQ. Yummy!


 Connor did some science experiments.

  Travis went to the sleepover at Chase Field and invited some friends to come along as well. They had fun swimming in the pool too.

Ice cream included!

 It seems like my husband and kids have been spending a lot of time at Chase Field.  Less than two weeks after the sleep over was Star Wars Day at Chase Field.  Connor loves to dress up and so does his daddy!  This has become their tradition the past two years.  Connor went right up to these guys and grabbed their hands. Too cute!

 Love the hand!!

 More holding hands. Too funny!

 My Little Darth

 Connor loves these guys!

 He even got on the jumbo tron!

I guess I haven't been very good at taking pictures of our daily activities. No pictures of the library, swimming at Grammy's, lounging around the house in our jammies all day (well we only did that about 3 or 4 days ... at the most! haha), dentist appointments, lunch with friends, painting the laundry room, painting doors, making minor repairs, washing the blinds, washing window coverings, cleaning all of the stuff above my kitchen cabinets, going to the movies, and going to Little League games as well as football conditioning practice.  Yes we have been busy. No I have not been carrying the camera all around with me to document all of this fun.  It has been a pretty low key summer thus far.  On Thursday Travis and Grandpa will head to California. On Saturday Connor and I will do the same.  Poor Daryle has to stay here. He used up all of his time recovering from surgery earlier this year.  When we get back we only have two weeks until our lives to back to the rat race.  For now we are enjoying just taking it one day at a time. Yay for summer!

The Dark Matter of Love

This afternoon I received an email from our agency, Hand In Hand, regarding the ban on Russian children being adopted by American families. (This is the agency we used to bring Connor home from Russia.)  Please click on this link and share this story as much as possible.  There are still 300 children waiting to be united with their American families but are stuck in Russian orphanages due to political issues between the two governments.  We need to spread the awareness and put the pressure on both the American and Russian governments to address this human rights issue and allow these children  to be united with their waiting families. This is a cause that is very close to my heart. I can't imagine what these parents and children are enduring. Please take a moment to read this post on June 13 about supporting this cause and share. 

June 15, 2013

Well this day sure didn't go the way we had planned!  Travis and Daryle had spent the night at Chase Field and were on their way home when they got hit in an intersection not far from our house.  We are so thankful it was not worse than this! Daryle is a little sore but the boys were just fine. Shaken up but fine.  Thank goodness!  On top of that, it was Connor's 5th birthday. They were on their way home so that we could begin the celebration. Connor was patiently waiting for them to get home so he could open up his gifts.  Once we got everybody home it was time to celebrate Mr. Connor.

  He wanted a firetruck.

And a Golden Power Ranger costume.

Uncle Billy sent him a cute backpack.

And he got the scooter he was DYING to get for his birthday.

He looks like a big kid...

His request after this horrific morning... Mom, can I have breakfast in bed please??  Of course!

Uncle Rob sent a cool gift too.

Grammy and Grandpa came through with a Flashlight Pet.  (Look at those eye lashes... people pay MONEY for those things!! lol)

One happy boy! Next stop, Chuck E. Cheese!

Yes, he went here two years in a row. He really likes Chuck E.

Even though this day started off rough, Connor had a great birthday.  He got to see his friends, he got all of the things he asked for, and we were all able to be there because nobody was seriously injured in the accident.  Now we wait to hear if it is totaled or can be repaired. For now I am driving a huge rental car. It has a DVD player in it which is a novelty for my boys.  Happy 5th Birthday Connor!  We love you so very, very much! Here's to many more... may they be less eventful than birthday #5!!

Picture Time

Connor the baseball player. You can hardly see his eyes. That's how it goes!

 Travis, a more grown up baseball player.

 Brothers Forever

 I can hardly believe Connor will be 5 this coming Saturday. Where does the time go?

 Double Digits???

 Piggy Back Ride!

 Dog Pile

 I love getting pictures of the boys taken. It's not like we are lacking around here or anything. I just know that one day they will be all grown up. This is my way of making sure I have lots and lots of reminders of how they used to look. They are just growing up so quickly.  Connor is about to be in Kindergarten and Travis is heading to Fourth grade. Time just won't stand still. Darn it.  I used to think, "One day they will be 5 and 10, won't that be weird?  We will all be at the same school together for one year."  

It's here.  It's fun.  It won't last long!  

Gosh, I just love these boys to pieces!