eat sleep and farm

Slowly but surely Summer seems to be inching its way to us, but not fast or suddenly like it usually does. We have one day where it looks and feels like the middle of August, then the next day its cooler and more overcast. Very odd. But because I hate too much heat, I'm actually a fan of this oddity. Today we pulled out the slip'n'slide that Grandpa and Grandma gave to us. I love that this thing provides hours and hours of fun for the kids. I got the whole kitchen cleaned up and the laundry done while they danced and raced and played in the water. Kara still doesn't realize you need to throw your body and slide on it. She just plays at the very end, in the pool of water. Or, maybe she does realize it and is just smarter than most people :)  We're back to our normal routine of life here. Its been nice to be home and kind of hard at the same time. We came home to our move on the horizon, which, like it or not, its going to take up all of our summer. So I guess ou

 We left Jason's parents house on Father's Day evening and drove up to Sacramento, where my Uncle and his family lives. We hadn't seen them since the previous June, so it was great to catch up and enjoy time with each other. They have a nice, big pool in their backyard, so we literally spent all of Monday chilling in the pool, relaxing and enjoying the end of vacation. We agreed that our next visit will have more time spent their. My Uncle is a super gracious host and my cousins were super kind to our kids and played with them and enjoyed their company, even though there's a huge age difference :)  Playing Marco-Polo. For the record, he was easy to catch :)   my cousin Savanna with Rachel.  my cousin Johnny with Ethan {I know it sounds cliche, but I feel like it was just yesterday Johnny was Ethan's age!}

Nearing the end of our blog posts about our trip to California! We went to church in Brentwood on Father's Day, said good bye to all our friends and my family and then drove to Livermore to spend the day with Jason's parents and the Great Grandmas. We had a really nice, relaxing day there. BBQ lunch was very yummy and it was fun to be able to spend Father's Day in person with family. Though we learned, once again, on this trip, being too far away to juggle holidays between families seems to be a bit of a hidden blessing sometimes ;-) The kids being another year older and understanding more of what Father's Day means, just makes the day more fun. I think the girls said "Happy Father's Day, Daddy!" about 1 hundred times and I think Jason got double the hugs and kisses {from all of us} that he usually gets. Those are the type of "gifts" we give on these days. And when we're home, we make special, fun food for the person we're celebrating

  Last Saturday my oldest sister Amber and her two kids drove up from LA to  visit us before we went home. We hadn't seen them since the month we moved, so the  visit was long overdue and much appreciated! Amber, thank you again for making that trip and  for taking that time to spend with us. We love you guys!   We went with my parents to a park we used to go to all the time when we were little.  Right by the home we grew up in, in San Jose/Los Gatos.   Madison and Rachel.  Kyle and Ethan.       For me, I feel like it was just yesterday that my Niece and Nephew were my kids' ages. And now they're the "big kids" helping out and playing with my kids. I'm telling you... these years are flying by.  first time Miss Kara rode on a Merry-Go-Round all by herself.  I loved Kyle's tongue-out-of-mouth total concentration here :)  we have pictures of ME on these swings when I'm Rachel's age.  and pictures of ME in this airplane... at their ages. 

Last Friday Ethan skipped out on VBS and we drove into Livermore to spend the day with Jason's parents. We hit wonderful weather on that day and spent a couple hours at the park, which was lots of fun! Grandpa and Grandma have a really nice park, just down the street from their home and we had lots of fun playing there. Most of these pictures are of Kara and I think the reason for that is because I keep a close eye on her since she's the youngest. Ethan and Rachel were at the park, but running all over the place and not always near the playground. Ethan actually went over on the lawn with Grandpa to play baseball and made some friends that he ended up playing a game of baseball with, which is why he's not in any of these park pictures :) Jason worked from their home office that day, so he wasn't actually at the park with us. But he got to go to Cold Stone with us on his break, afterward.  she likes to go insanely high on the swings.   some of these pictures are f

 playing on the playground at Stow Lake park. My Mom was really impressed with Kara's ability to climb this entire structure, all by herself! I've learned to relax a bit with Kara. She usually knows her limitations and will stop trying if she knows she can't do it :)  my other little monkey   this cupcake place on Chestnut Street {right where my Grandma used to live} was SO yummy! I've never seen such amazing looking cakes before! My Mom bought treats for the kids and we sat outside and enjoyed the delightfulness.  this picture is for my sister, Trisha. My parents have called her Susie and Susie Q. most of her life. Its a nick-name that stuck many years ago and when I saw this I thought of her :) Rachel ordered a strawberry cupcake and Ethan picked Mint. Both were amazing.  this is the delicatessen where my Dad worked when he was a teenager!  We took some pics and sent them to his cell phone.   stopped off at Johnny Rockets for dinner.  Kara is saying hi to