Six and Counting!

Macy has had a big month! She started Kindergarten at the beginning of the month and then turned 6 last week! It has been so fun to watch her grow and mature. It is definitely bitter-sweet at times to watch my baby get so big. I'm glad she still wants me to hold her sometimes.

 Here are some pictures of Macy's recent happenings:

The First Day of Kindergarten

I got back from my run at 6:45 and she was completely dressed,
ready and waiting with her backpack on in the hallway.
Needless to say, she was excited!

She looks so small with Daddy.

They love being at school together and seeing each other around.
When we had asked Macy what she was most excited about concerning school she said,
"to be with Marian ALL DAY."

The best thing of all...Grammy is the new school secretary!
We all love that she gets to be there with the girls.

It's hard to send them off on that first day, but so exciting all at the same time!

Macy's teacher had the parents stay for 20 minutes or so and help their child
decorate their pencil box. What a neat idea!
It definitely helped with the transition. For both the kiddos and the parents. =)



Turning Six!

We opted for a simple family party this year, and Macy wanted a doll cake.
She obviously loved her a lot!

Macy with her AMAZING teacher, Mrs. King.
I brought brownies to celebrate her birthday with her class.

Happy Birthday Macy!
We love you more than you could ever imagine.

"I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better." Ephesians 1:16-17

Picking Raspberries

After we got home from our trip, life was so crazy getting everything back together on our house. Pretty soon we just had a few short weeks before school started, and I wanted to think of one fun (and simple =) thing to do together. We decided to go to Rocky Creek Farm to pick raspberries. We usually go there in the Fall for the hay maze and pumpkin picking, but this was a whole different experience. The girls loved it and we kept thinking of one of our favorite books, Blueberries for Sal. 

Here are some shots from our time there: 

I love the pink stained lips and fingers....the people told us to eat some berries to make sure we
were picking good ones. They definitely listened to that instruction! =)

Probably should explain the "bonnet."
The girls love Little House on the Prairie and my Mom found them these
bonnets awhile back. Marian wanted to wear her's and pretend she was Laura
Ingalls picking berries for Ma. =) 

They were as tasty as they look!
The best part was that we made raspberry jelly with the berries we picked
and it was amazing. Can't wait to do it next year. 

Love the people at Rocky Creek.
They gave the kids Otter Pops when we got back.

 I couldn't resist the opportunity to make them lay down for a few pictures. =) 

Still has on her raspberry "lipstick" =)

Here is the rest of Cali (for now at least) 

We spent the night at Grada and Grandpa's
in Palm Desert for a night. We had so much
fun swimming in the pool and Grandpa made
his famous "Cherries Jubilee" for us. 

Last year the girls spent the whole year saving up for Disneyland, and this year it was Sea World. It would be an understatement to say that Marian loves fish and anything related, so she was definitely in heaven! Macy loved it too, and again did awesome when we wanted to go on fast rides, even though she may have preferred to skip them. =)

The girls with Shamu

Waiting for the Shamu Show...oh yeah, we were in the soak zone! 

Grammy and Grandpa came with us--it was so much fun!

The Sea Lion and Sea Otter show...as always, it was hilarious!

Love this!

Those whales are amazing. You just forget how big they are until you're sitting right there. 

Can't remember what this ride is called, but we did get completely drenched.
Grammy and Grandpa opted out of this one! 

We stayed in Oceanside for the week after Sea World, and Jon was able to spend Sunday with us until he had to head back to classes that night. We missed having him during the week. 

We spent the day at the Dodson's house, which was such a blessing to us. 

Tracy (Dodson) discipled me through Junior High and High School and has

had such an impact on my life. I can't believe it had been 10 years since I had seen them. 

It was such a joy for my girls to meet her. 

Thanks for the day, Trace! 

Michelle and Beth came too, which was such a blessing.
They were our youth leaders, too, and it was so much fun to catch up!

What a trip! We were so blessed by our friends and family who made

it so amazing! 

More Cali =)

Slowly but surely getting through all our pictures!

We had so much fun with some high school friends, Ruby and Christine
as well as their adorable little boys. Hudson and Aaron definitely stole our
hearts.

Here's Hudson with Mommy. He looks just like Ruby!
How special it is to see such longtime friends' kids.
Just seems to be an special bond there from the start.

Aunt Judy and Auntie Jill took the girls to get their first
"Build-A-Bears." They had so much fun picking it all out.
Thanks Aunt Judy and Auntie Jill!

"Grandpa Joe" and the girls.
We were so blessed to stay with Gigi and Grandpa Joe the first week
we were in Cali. We had so much fun with them, as always. 

"Gigi" and her girls.

We're so thankful Aunt Denise could come down and see us at
Gigi's and Grandpa Joe's house. Caught a quick picture before
we headed out for Palm Spring with Grammy and Grandpa!

More to come....

"New" House =)

I'll get back to vacation pictures, but I wanted to post pictures of our house. We are back in our house as of August 1st after 2 months of living in a hotel (and the last 2 weeks spent on vacation). We are so thankful for this blessing. Funny how one little broken pipe can wreak so much havoc and the homeowners insurance steps in and saves the day! We have been blessed from every aspect of this situation and everyone we have worked with has been so great. God has been so good to us. We still have a few more minor things to complete ourselves and then it will be done. But, for now we are enjoying our "new"home.

Here are a few pictures, although I just realized that I forgot to take pictures of the beautiful carpet. Well, I guess you'll just have to come visit to find out how pretty it is. =) Amazing how the Lord can work out a situation that seems bad (broken pipe...flooded kitchen) and turn it into an amazing blessing!

Probably my favorite part of the renovation...my kitchen!
Love the "Rustic Birch"cabinets. They look so Montanan.
I forgot to take a picture of my bathroom, but it pretty much looks the
same...same cabinets and countertops.

My new floor!
YEA!!!

Looking forward to my friend Justine coming over to help me decorate.
She's good at it and I'm not, so thankful she's going to help me. 

First few days

Here are some pictures from the first few days we were in Cali. We spent our first day with Jon's Dad Chris and his wife Dolores. They live in Long Beach and the girls and Jon swam in the canals near their house. It's always so much fun to see them.

Girls with Dolores

Trying to get the courage to jump into that COLD ocean water. 

Macy swimming on the boogie board

They were little bathing beauties on the top deck.

Jon, Dolores, and Chris

The next day we got to see my Aunt Judy, Uncle Gary, cousin Jill and her husband Davon. We were so excited to meet the newest addition to their family, Micah Gary. He is so sweet and cute. Jill is the best little Mommy ever. Loved getting to see her with Micah! 

Moving right along....we got together with my sister Ashley and her Grandparents, Barb and Stan. It was so good to see everyone, and my girls absolutely adore "Aunt Ashley." They were even giving her a massage on each arm in the restaurant! 

The girls with Barb and Stan

With the famous Aunt Ashley =) 

California 2011

Long Beach, CA

More pictures to come...I promise! I wanted to at least get one picture up from our trip. We just got back from an awesome time in California visiting family and friends. Jon spent most of the time in classes for his Masters, but we were with him on the weekends. We were still living in the hotel when we left for vacation, but by the time we got home the house was finished. It is beautiful and we are so thankful! It is almost like moving into a house getting everything all set up again, but each day we get more done and it's beginning to feel like home again. We're off to Summer Camp with our high school students this weekend and then hopefully I'll get more pictures up of our trip and of the house!