Sunday Afternoon

Dean & I decided to take the girls down town to the river for a walk.

Cool old tree stump.

Of coarse we all ended up in the river. Next time we will bring suits.

(Someone recommended I delete this photo. It's been removed.)

On our way back. A fun end to a wonderful weekend.

A Total Surprise

I got this lovely surprise in the mail yesterday.

Isn't it beautiful!

I have always wanted one of Dana's quilts and now I have one of my very own. I'm just ecstatic. Have you seen her beautiful work? Maybe you've entered one of her giveaways? You can find her blog here. She also makes yummy soaps and scrubs from all natural ingredients. I love visiting her blog every few days. She has such a lovely way of looking at life.

I placed it right on our living room chair (the one Not in front of the window, don't want it to fade) so that we can see it and use it on a daily basis. I love it! Just love it! Thank you Dana from the bottom middle and top of my heart! I will treasure it always.

How We Spent our Saturday

Not every Saturday, but most are spent outdoors. I put my foot down on movies and computer time. I'm a mean, mean mommy because I make everyone go outside and play. Terrible! Sloan would rather watch movies all day if she could. I am sure lots of kids like to do this. I mowed the yard and dean worked in the garden. He has done such a lovely job with it.

Our corn, broccoli, & squash (or zucchini)

Tomato plants, zucchini, and I think some cucumbers. We have never gardened before and I think if we had known how many zucchini one plant would produce we would have only planted two. Good thing we like Zucchini! It's going to be coming out of our ears. The pumpkins are coming along nicely and the tress are starting to grow. We even have a few pears on our pear tree.

We are so blessed to live next door to the nicest neighbors. Tony & Sara have watched our dogs several times when we have left town. We grilled up some yummy food as a thank you for all their kindness. Their daughter Haylie & Aris are just a few weeks apart in age. They have a blast playing together, last night Ring around the Rosie was a favorite.

How cool is this? A double rainbow. I haven't seen many of those.

The skies were full of dark black clouds and bright sunlight all at the same time. I love weather like that.

How did you spend your Saturday?

Last Weekend

We watched movies under snugly blankets,

out on the porch.

Went for a nice walk & the girls drew on the driveway with chalk.

We went to the Monterey Sea Aquarium.

It was magical.

Spent time with daddy.

Played with Grandma, Grandpa, aunties and cousins.

It was an amazing weekend. Any weekend with family is. We had so much fun & it was a nice way to spend the 4th. We didn't make it to the fireworks this year, however we listened to them as they went off in the distance. Monterey was a blast. Aris was giggling and so excited the whole time. Zoe loved looking at the fish & Sloan was excited to be hanging out with Kimberly. Kimberly is cool because she's 12 going on 21. Thankfully Kimberly is kind enough to let Sloan tag along. I was able to get to know my sister in law a little better. She is a sweetheart and an artist also. I look forward to seeing her and her sweet little pumpkin again.

This weekend Dean and I are going to be cleaning & organizing the house. Inside & out. I am hoping to post some art projects I have needed to finish up. Really in truly I work on stuff & then forget to post pictures. Shame on me.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. I'll post some pics of the shed update. Cross your fingers for me please, Dean said he's going to work on it!

A Little Update

I thought I'd let you guys know how my little Sloan has been doing. Sorry I haven't written an update sooner. We went through the cabinets and fridge and tossed anything with aspartame. Anything with artificial sweeteners was tossed. Dean and I have made a commitment to buy more whole food and fresh food. We just feel that it is a healthier choice for all of us. Sloan has had less headaches, me too. The biggest improvement that I have noticed is her behavior has evened out. She still has her moments like any 9 year old girl, but not as many of the mood swings as she did before. It has made life at our home much easier to deal with. I've noticed her being kinder with the little ones and less frustration on her part.

The downside is she is still having quite a bit of joint pain. Her sugars are pretty high lately too. So I am going to be calling her Pediatrician in the morning just to go ahead and get an appointment with the rheumatologist. Just to rule out rheumatoid arthritis. Better to be safe than sorry. I will say that no matter what we find, eating healthy and more whole food less processed food can only be a benefit for our family. I will let you know as soon as we find out any news on Sloans' health. Thank you for all your prayers and concern.