Gardening

Spring fever has hit. We have been working hard in the garden getting it ready to plant some good stuff in the ground. The weeds were crazy, every inch of the ground covered in weeds taller than the dog. We filled the yard waste trash can twice and there is still a HUGE mound that needs to be dealt with. Happily, I'd say that we only have 4-5 more hours of work until the ground is ready for planting. Now, we get to figure out what yummy fruits and veggies to plant. we've got strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos, and another variety of hot pepper (I can't remember the name.) I think perhaps another berry and maybe some green beans and bell peppers. Hmmm, I should probably get back out there.

Easter

Happy Easter! What did our Easter look like this year? Well, here goes...

Sleep in a little later than usual because of a later church service. Eat brunch at church then go to service. The kids sing in service and Shawn does the video. Go home and grab last minute things and the dog to take to Grandma Maggie's and Grandpa Craig's house. Get to the Grandparent's house and the kids go nuts finding eggs. Hold the week-old bunnies that Great-Grandma Sonnie brought. Eat linner. Sit and talk. Ashton goes to the neighbor's house and jumps on massive trampoline. Alayna watches her new Barbie movie from Grandma Darlene. Start fire in fire pit. Roast peeps and make s'mores using peeps, chocolate rabbits, and crackers. Sit and talk more. Play 'Apples to Apples'. Shawn goes to work and the kids and I go home. Whew! But it was fun!

Anacapa Island

On Saturday, April 3rd, we took a boat trip with some friends to Anacapa Island. What an experience! We had to be to the dock by 7:15 for our 8:00 departure. Way too early for a Saturday morning, but that limited the severity on the sunburns. All seven of us happily rode on the bow of the small vessel as it left the marina... oh boy, as soon as it hit the open water the kids got really scared. The water was still choppy from the wind the night before so it was quite intimidating riding on the bow while it slammed down. Vicky and I really enjoyed the ride up front but felt sorry for those suffering in the back. About half way to the island we came across a large pod of dolphin. What a joy to get to see them jumping and splashing around! We finally made it to the island with only two of our party of seven feeding the fish. What a great victory! We got to spend three hours hiking on the island and it was wonderful. I don't if God could have made the day any more beautiful. The boat ride back was uneventful, which was a blessing, although we would have loved to see a whale.

Happy Birthday Ashton!!!

Hard as it is to believe, Ashton is 8 years old. Sunday we had a small "party," Tuesday (the real birthday) we went out to lunch and dinner and he got a Razor scooter that he loves so much he tries to sleep with it. He has gotten messages and calls from so many people he feels like a king. Tomorrow he gets to spend the day with Grandma Maggie. What fun!

Basketball season is in full swing. The kids are having a great time. Alayna doesn't look terrified the whole game and Ashton plays hard. That boy wants the ball so much you can almost taste it. He is constantly running up and down the court and positioning himself for rebounds. One of the highlights for him is having another boy named Ashton on his team.

Yes, we had a week of crazy storm weather. No, we didn't hide inside the whole time. We took advantage of the dry times and went walking down to the barranca to check out the water level. While on one of our walks we found butterflies trying to dry out. They couldn't fly because they were all wet and it was about to rain again, so we moved them from the sidewalk to the a sheltered spot. The kids were so happy to save the butterflies. Ashton and Alayna also really wanted to splash in puddles so we let them. OI! I mean, really? Ashton had so much fun he was sitting in the water. Yeah, they had to defrost after that. Gotta love the rain here in So Cal!

Basketball season has started. Both kids are playing and have had two games thus far. Alayna, who plays at eight in the morning on Saturdays (wrong, I know) looks scared and nervous through most of the game. Ashton, on the other hand, is loving it. He has scored in both games and plays hard.

Ashton finally got through the books of the old testament. He had to memorize the books (just the book title, not the whole books) for AWANA and he finally did it. It took a l-o-n-g time so we are excited to be past it. On the plus side, we listened to The Books Of The Old Testament song so much that Alayna pretty much has it memorized too so when it is her turn to say them she should have no problem.

So, here is the story of this tooth...

Tuesdays we do lunch at Grandma Maggie's with her and Uncle Jeremy. We stopped for gas on the way and while we waited for our 25 gallon tank to fill (and that can take awhile, let me tell you) I looked at Alayna's loose tooth... yeah loose, but not enough. I told her that it wasn't ready and probably wouldn't be out before Christmas. Fast-forward 2 hours. After lunch we are all sitting in Grandma's living room playing video games. Grandma, Uncle, Ashton and I (Tiffany) are playing Tetris on the N64 while Alayna is playing on her Gameboy. Ashton just got out so the "adults" we left in the game and we were all talking smack. Alayna says, "mom, my tooth came out." To which I reply, "Don't lie to me." I thought she was helping Grandma and Uncle by trying to distract me. "no, seriously." She replies. "Whatever." I answer back. "Look," she says... and sure enough in her hand is a tiny little white tooth. We were all busy playing and she wanted to play a different game but the one in her gameboy was stuck so she tried to remove it using her teeth. I told her it was a good thing that wasn't an adult tooth and that is why we don't use our teeth... but at least now she can sing... "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."

After Two days of learning to ride without training wheels, Alayna finally got it. She is trying to ride on grass and dirt now is is mastering the art of long distance riding without putting her feet down. She is doing really well and we are so proud of her. She was scared at first but wasn't about to let that bike be the boss. She's the boss of that bike, she's fabulous, and she'sa rock star... and she'll even tell you that.

Ashton and Alayna on Grandma Maggie's bike. Cadette is making sure the kids stay safe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fairie creatures???

As I was laying down one day for a nap, watching the dust specks glitter in the streaming sun light, I thought to myself... "Why couldn't there be fairies? " Our God is a great God, how do we really know that He didn't create creatures that are 'magical' and invisible to our fallible human eyes. Wonderful creatures that we could only imagine! I lay there pondering this (and missing my nap) when I realized something... We are created in God's image. God is creative... perhaps He chose to leave some things uncreated, giving us humans the opportunity to dream them up.

Just a thought.

parental advisory!!

Ashton was super exited to watch the slaughter of two pigs. That was an education he never would have gotten in a public school.

One of the kids' favorite thing was playing with the kittens... and there were a lot of them. A full dozen kittens in all. Ashton wanted to bring the little yellow and white one home. But that was our number one rule... the only animal we bring home is the one we take out there with us.

We couldn't believe the luck of our timing... we actually watched a guinea pig give birth. She had three babies and I let the kids hold one a couple hours after they were born.

Playing with the endangered desert tortoises. The tortoises would follow us around as we pulled weeds in the yard.

Doing school work at the farm.

Moo!