Hush Hush

Sometimes, no news is good news. That's the case with us. We've been so busy I feel like I hardly have time to blog. Between soccer, church and trying to keep up with our chores around the house, we're starting to wear ourselves out. (or is it just me?) It's lots of fun, though. As they say, make hay while the sun shines. Daddy is coming home for a visit this weekend, so we'll have a chance to slow down and relax a little. Ane now, we'd better all get some sleep. We don't want to be grumpy for our fun weekend. Hush, hush...it's sleepytime for Boys and Mommys.

Red Velvet

These lovelies are still glowing after almost three weeks.

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

The Commandant's Own

We had a special treat this weekend. We saw The Commandant's Own Drum and Bugle Corps perform a Battle Color Ceremony along with the USMC Silent Drill Platoon. We never get tired of seeing this stuff. It's always so impressive!


The boys loved hearing the marching music, and were mesmerized by the Silent Drill Platoon.



Afterwards, we got to meet the marines on the field, and the boys got a closer look at the instruments.

They are finishing up their "spring training" out here. Now they will begin their touring season. If you get a chance to see them, don't hesitate! You will enjoy it!

Speed

To call my new rollerblades garish would be a gross understatement. (Gold and black? What were they thinking?? That little pink ribbon is the only attractive part) But they sure are fast. It's quite a difference going from the entry-level-15 years ago, to top-of-the-line right now. High near 80 degrees tomorrow. No excuses.

Short Hike for Short Legs

The sun was shining last saturday so we headed to our favorite local hiking spot. Trevor has become such a good hiker. We used to have to coax and encourage him the entire time. Now he's running ahead on the trail and climbing up the surrounding rocks.


I decided that it was time for the Little Guy to start carrying his own weight. Literally. Now that he's weighing in around 35 pounds, he's getting a little heavy for the backpack. Besides, he's going to be 3 soon. He was not pleased when he searched the truck for the backpack and came up empty. And the first part of the hike was rough. But with a steadying hand up the tough areas and lots of encouragement he hiked the whole time on his own two feet. Next time we'll go a little farther.

Tools Can be Beautiful

Every kitchen needs a good stash of floursack towels. I grew up on them. Of course, those were made from actual floursacks that my grandmother bought flour in. I was lucky enough to inherit a few of those myself, but sadly they are starting to show evidence of constant usage. (I still have one set of Sunbonnet Sue that I haven't had the heart to use) I decided it was time to replenish my stash with some new floursack towels.






I embellished them with designs from Sweet and Simple Embroidery. I find hand needlework to be so soothing and relaxing. And it's very convenient for me to be able pick it up for short periods of time and then put it down. After a week, or so, of that...voila! My new, beautiful kitchen tools!

Mission San Luis Rey

We spent one morning at the Mission San Luis Rey, which is right there in Oceanside, CA. To be honest, I never even knew it was there when we lived there. It is the largest of the California missions. It was interesting to compare it to all the missions we visited around San Antonio.




They certainly picked a beautiful location there in the hills.

More...

Nope. Sorry. I just can't help myself. It was just too beautiful.



Gorgeous coastline in each direction.

Del Mar Beach

We just got back from a trip out to Camp Pendleton. Bear with me...I took tons of pictures (as usual), but I will try to control myself. Ev had to go for work, so we decided to tag along (all this time apart was getting really tiresome). Of course, it started raining as we drove through the mountains in CA and continued on and off all through the next day. During one of the breaks in the rain, we hit the beach for a while. The weather was crazy- one minute it looked like the sky was going to fall.

The next minute it was sunny and beautiful.

The cold and wet finally chased us back inland where we decided to do a little shopping. When I say we, I mean I. But the boys were good sports and trudged around the Carlsbad outlets where we dodged the rain. Their reward for being out in the wind all afternoon? Their first gourmet coffee house beverages.

Test/Beach Drama

I was having some technical difficulties. For over an hour. Yeah. So this was a test. But it's such a cute pic of Braden at the beach it seems like a waste to take it down. Remember this beach drama? Well, we had a little of the same this time. I guess he just needs some time to realize that I'm not going to throw him out into the water, because he relaxed after a few minutes. Then we pushed Repeat the next day.

Lookout X Games!

I went to the store to look at new rollerblades for myself. But I came home with these.

On the Clock

Trevor has been asking for a watch for several months. I promised him that when he could read a clock, I would buy him a watch. So, of course just started asking to learn how to tell time. For Christmas we bought him these Easy Telling Time Flash Cards. They call them flash cards, becuase they definitely can be used that way, but they're more than that. On one side they show the analogue and digital time. On the other side they can use dry erase markers: it shows the analogue time and the child is supposed to write in the digital numbers. So he can practice identifying the time, and check his work on the back side. He is loving it, and doing really well. I'd better start searching for that firetruck watch he's been asking about.

Sheepish

Braden, why is the flipper at the bottom of the pool???

Workout, Interrupted

I had to say goodbye to some old friends today. 15 minutes into my workout this morning the strap on one of my rollerblades snapped apart. I have had these skates since high school when my sister and I had identical pairs. I think they've served me well.

Apparently, they decided it was too much of a strain to continue pushing around these guys. I think at least one of them is getting too big for the stroller, don't you?

Mach 3

Is my hair on fire?? I feel like we've gone from zero to 100,000 in 2.8 seconds. Three weeks ago we had absolutely no commitments, nothing to do. It drove us crazy for the first two months, but then we really got used to it. Now we've got soccer three times a week, Cubbies, Ladies' morning bible study, evening small group bible study, plus play dates and adult dates. We hardly have a day unscheduled. When did all this happen? It's great, don't get me wrong. I'm so thankful for the new connections we're making in our church and our community. We're just not used to it yet. I'm going to have to start scheduling in free time. The weather is warming up, and I want to save lots more time for doing things like this...