Serenity

The boys love playing video games...ok, so it's more like Ethan likes playing them. Austin just goes in circles and likes to push buttons. A couple weeks ago, our friends and neighbors were getting their kids new Nintendos. They couldn't trade in their old ones, so they were going to actually throw them out!! That's when Bryan told "Uncle" Lee in the train, "Our boys would love those if you're going to throw them out!" Well, we now have them and several games that came with them. It was so generous of them to share those Nintendos with my boys, however, now I have to "limit" time spent on them. Austin just likes to draw on it (with the stylus) but Ethan actually picks up the games pretty quickly (like Daddy). There have been a couple of emotional times when they've been told to put them away, but for the most part, it hasn't been TOO bad.

This was when Bryan cleaned our carpets this weekend and so Ethan sat on the couch for a little bit playing. All the furniture was jammed into our "dining room" (I only call it that because the table sits there) and there was hardly room to move.

This is a cool story. I had been wanting to get back into oil painting again since I hadn't done it in oh, say, 12 years or so. Has it really been that long?? ANyways, I told Bryan that I might call one of my old professors and see if he could give me some lessons so I could kick-start painting again. I wasn't too thrilled with driving that far, but I really wanted to learn again. Well, during our Christmas Tea at our church I waited on a table with this really sweet woman and her sister. Since then, we've talked briefly before church a time or two, and one of those times we happened to talk about what we went to school for. She says, "I teach oil painting." I actually told her, "You do NOT teach oil painting." She said, "Yes, I do." Well, I told her I wanted to get back to doing it and the Lord brought her into my life at that time! She had been looking for new students as well, which was an answer to her prayers. I'm convinced that nothing is too small for God. So, here is my underpainting of my first oil painting since maybe 1996? She teaches the old master's way of painting. I'm having so much fun!!! I'll post more as I get more done.

AND...our new little addition outside of our living room window. I had to zoom in and get a close up of our new family outside. I've even been able to see the mommy feeding the little guys. They are on our palm tree behind our pond where nothing can really hurt them (except the many hawks that circle during the day). They are so cute and the mommy is VERY territorial. She was in Bryan's face as he weeded there the other day. Very screechy. They're cuties, huh?

Women's Retreat

I have no pictures of this special weekend, but I thought I'd share a little about what I learned while I was with some wonderful women from my church. Our speaker was Jan Carlberg (wife of the president of Gordon College) and she did an awesome job of ministering to all of us. She talked about "scraps" and how even the littlest things can be used for God's glory. No matter how small we think it is, God can still use it to further his kingdom. Here was her message..
S=Seconds Matter
C=Create by Faith
R=Release old notions
A=Attitudes Count
P=Prayer Provides
S=Simplicity is Sacred

During this time I got to know my roommate a little better (Jennifer) and we had fun cruising around Newport, Balboa, and Costa Mesa with no care about where we ended up for lunch on Saturday. 2 hours later, we decided we'd do Italian food and talked for a while.

Between my arm getting literally smashed in an elevator door (it's not bruised yet, but deeply hurts inside, along with my nerves acting weird and having a slightly larger bicep) and one of the ladies at my breakfast table getting her purse stolen off her chair while she was in it (note to self not to hang my purse over the chair), it was pretty eventful. Lily got her purse back too - I guess the guy threw it into the patio and didn't take anything out of it! Amazing.

I enjoyed getting away from the kids and having "me" time. It was refreshing and I found a new energy to get back to my mundane life and be a little more..... patient maybe?? For at least the first couple days, right? It's funny how I get back from a retreat and all of a sudden I'm taking care of getting the kids their drinks and figuring out what we're having for dinner....OH and Bryan had a cold the next day. Welcome back to life! I can't complain, though.

Camping in Doheny

Before I go into our camping trip, I wanted to brag about my 5 year old and his ability to write letters that form something! Ethan has been going to preschool 2 days a week and has learned every letter (almost). He loves trying to write things and for the first time wrote his name and his brother's name at the same time. We're still trying to work on upper/lower case, but he did a great job!

The proud writer..

I thought I'd start the camping trip pictures with this funny one of dad. We all broke into the chips and sodas when we finally got set up. Mom and dad joined us during the days, but since there wasn't a whole lot of room (and to alleviate neck pain), they stayed in a local hotel near the campsites. Let's just say that it was a tight fit, but out of the 3 leftover spots when I reserved our camp time, this one was the best. The one behind us....don't even TRY to set up a tent there....tiny. Although it felt a whole lot MORE tiny once the 35 foot trailer pulled in. All of a sudden there was a huge blockage of the sun and the beach as it backed into its' spot.

The boys (and girl) digging in the dirt. The nice thing about camping is it doesn't matter how dirty you get....although sand getting in certain areas are not comfortable and that didn't happen TOO often, right mom? ha ha! The kids loved the campfire, the food, and just the fact that they could get as dirty as they wanted to without me getting upset. Ethan downed 2 smores the first night. I was amazed since he's not a real sweets person (that kind anyways).

Uncle Will trying to make our fire a FIRE and not a smoke pit. It was frigid in the mornings, and it took a while for us to get our fire going at times. The cold in the mornings and the fact that the freight trains would drive by honking their horns at midnight were the negative aspects of the site. The fact that you could walk to the beach was a plus. The beach was beautiful and the kids had so much fun rolling over the berm that separated the sites from the water. They also saw a dead pelican over where the river meets the ocean. Poor guy.

Pals, enjoying camping life.

Bryan decided that since we couldn't fit our bikes on our truck to go camping, he'd borrow Mikayla's. One lady that walked by said, "I think there's a weight limit on that thing!!" We were all laughing. Doesn't pink just go with Bryan's jacket? Awww....he did SUCH a good job.

Me and mom. I think every picture has me in this sweatshirt because it was almost never taken off the whole weekend. It was fun to do a family campout and I think we may make it an annual thing. I'm glad my parents could come enjoy it too.

Here's the whole crew. We amazingly got a good picture (from the picnic table) of all of us before we left to go to McDonald's for lunch. We adults (and children) were tired and worn. I felt so weathered by the time we left, but it was a memorable experience. It was the first time my boys have camped at all, and the first vacation we've all done together too. I'm looking forward to many more!! I have so many wonderful memories of camping from my childhood, and I hope to give my boys the same thing.

Corona Life Services

A friend of mine and her husband invited Bryan and me to the annual CLS fundraising banquet. It was held this last Saturday night and it was semi-formal attire. There was a silent auction of all kinds of fun stuff, including a painting from a man in our church named Alfredo Rodriguez. He is an amazing oil painter and we've had the privilege of getting to know him and I actually got to tour his studio a few years ago. Anyways, the speaker was Pam Tebow (the Heisman trophy winner, Tim Tebow's mom) and it was a really fun night. Unfortunately I didn't have anyone take a picture of Bryan and me, so this picture is really the only one I got. Thank you to Chad and Wendy for inviting us to this event! It was a fantastic evening.

I was probably more dressed up than a lot of people there (and one of only about 2 people wearing red) but it was so fun! Bryan looked very handsome in his suit and it was funny because about half of the people at the dinner went to our church. A lot of amazing people are involved in helping girls with unplanned pregnancies at this center. I have a heart for women and hearing these stories of those who made the decision to not have an abortion because of what these people at this center do, touched my heart.

Of course the food was delicious too. We had a salad with blue cheese and walnuts, tri tip and halibut with scalloped potatoes, carrots and asparagus, and cheesecake for dessert. It was a wonderful evening and it was fun for Bryan and I to get out together all dressed up. The boys adored their babysitter too. I think they thought it was an escape from us also, since Austin's sunday school teacher came to watch them (he flirts with her every time he sees her).

An artist at heart

Bryan and I have been contemplating an investment in a Kincade since the fall of last year. We have always enjoyed his art, and have thought that it would be a nice addition to our home if we got a real painted picture to hang on our wall. The only other original art we've had hanging in our house is from my friend Talitha, which is a painting that I am very fond of! Well while Bryan's grandparents had the boys, we ventured over to our local Kincade gallery. We've been to a couple of them, and always leave empty handed. Before we went to this one, however, we had our 2 favorite Kincades in our mind.
Right when we walked in, this was hanging in front of us. It happened to be our favorite one (if we were going to buy one). It's called Evening on the Avenue. Well, as it usually happens when we're at ALL around Bryan's grandparents (in this case they had the kids) we ended up purchasing an investment piece. The last thing we bought when we were with them was our Ford Edge from a dealer in San Diego. So we laughed when we ended up walking out of the gallery with this painting. We love it and it's very at home in our living room, illuminated now with a gallery light above it.

Grandparent and Great Grandparent Fun

Well it had been a month in coming because of sickness, but the boys were finally able to spend a couple nights with their GG and Grandad in San Diego. They were SO thrilled that they talked about it nonstop. Earlier that week we all had the stomach flu, so fortunately sickness didn't ruin THIS time. GG and Grandad took them to the beach and to a children's museum during their stay. The boys love this special time and I'll take advantage of it too! As long as they are willing to take them and spend time with them, I'm willing to send them!

We drove down on that Saturday and picked up the boys. We also had a homemade dinner of prime rib and lobster tail. Talk about a warm welcome! Here we are watching Veggie Tales before we took off for home in the torrential downpour.

I've been having some recent health issues, so I had to have an ultrasound done and my mom offered to come and watch the boys in the waiting room. After that we went to a place called Irvine Park and rode the train they have there. I've never been and it was a sight to see! There were all kinds of animals and also areas to run and explore. The train was pretty fun and adorable!

Gram and the boys before the train departed. We had this cute older guy giving the narrative about the park. It is the oldest park in California I found out. It's also VERY large.

They had old facades and buggies along the train route. Too cute. I wanted to go play house in there and pretend I was part of the old west!

The boys found a tree that they couldn't resist climbing on. After about 5 minutes, they were asking where the REAL park was...i.e. the slide and swings. **sigh** I guess there always has to be entertainment in the form of a man made playground. Such is the life of a 3 and 5 year old.

*I got the results of my ultrasound and everything appears to be normal. I guess certain foods affect me more now than ever before and I was told not to eat them. Sounds simple, right? There are other things that I could have such as an ulcer, IBS, some type of intestinal thing, etc., but I'm letting it go for now and I'll stay away from those certain foods. Praise God that the ultrasound revealed nothing and I guess that's as good an answer as I'm going to get right now.

Arizona Vacation

We bought a timeshare last year and this is the first year we get to use it! Due to the flexibility of it, we were able to spend a few nights in Phoenix, Arizona. It was at a golf resort that was so beautiful with a volleyball court, playground, shuffleboard, tennis courts, pool, fitness center and the most amazing grass I've ever seen. We also took the time to go see Bryan's great aunt and uncle who lived only a few minutes from where we stayed.

The boys really loved the "machinery" at the playground. They were constantly fighting to see who would use it next.

We went to see Skip and Yvonne (Bryan's great aunt and uncle) and played baseball on their little grassy area behind their casita. They had the cutest house that was perfect for having conversations with neighbors and feeling like they were a part of their housing complex.

They live really near where a lot of the major league baseball teams practice so we went to the Mariner/Diamonback fields. No players had come yet, but we got to walk around their headquarters and take pictures of their huge baseballs.

There was the cutest little kids' field just outside of where the Diamondbacks play their spring training games. Yvonne pitched to the kids and they loved running the bases that weren't a quarter mile apart! The weather was absolutely the most beautiful weather and it made it so pleasant to walk around and see everything.

Right before we left their house I had to get a picture of the boys and Skip and Yvonne.

After spending the night with Austin throwing up (we later found out it was the flu because we all got it after our vacation) I had mapped out the Diablo stadium where the Angels practice. I mean come on, we can't visit without seeing our favorite team. It was only 5 minutes from where we stayed, so we walked in and saw a couple guys practicing. We walked over right next to the field and they finished throwing. One guy got an autograph, and then Bryan grabbed Austin's ball and got an autograph from Ervin Santana, one of their starting pitchers. It was pretty cool and he smiled and said hi to Bryan and Ethan.

Here he is warming up.

...and here's the ball he signed.

Well we pull out of Diablo stadium, and all of a sudden Bryan recognizes the area we're at. He visited Genzyme's Phoenix site once but was driven there, so he didn't remember exactly where it was. Well, we drove into this industrial area and sure enough, there's Genzyme (the company he works for). The boys had to go to the bathroom, so we all traipsed in there and I got to meet several of the people that Bryan corresponds with from his Orange site. It was pretty cool and so close to where we were staying!

We finished the day off at Bass Pro Shops (of course, was there any other place we'd visit?) After failing to correctly navigate the numerous Arizona loops, we finally found it. Because it took so long, we decided to have lunch there and enjoy ourselves. It looked very similar to our BPS, but with more desert animals on display. While we were there, a fire truck pulled up to assist someone who had been hurt. This was a common theme on our trip, as you'll see later.

We had the most luxurious stay. We used a lot of our timeshare points for our trip because we knew Bryan couldn't take TOO much time off of work for the rest of the year. We have other things planned, so we decided to get a 2 bedroom suite. This was a combo of a one bedroom suite AND a studio hotel room. We had essentially 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 2 laundry areas. We were spoiled. AND we had a patio where we could sit, stare at the phenomenally perfect grass and enjoy the perfect weather.

We decided to do the Phoenix Zoo on the day we were going to head for home, thinking it would tire the boys out and they'd sleep in the car on the way home....NOT. That was wishful thinking. Well, we had a great time at the zoo and I was impressed with how nice it was. The boys loved the carousel. Ethan wanted the alligator, and as you can see in the back he's talking with the little girl next to him which is why he's not looking at me. Ya....I'm not as important as those cute little girls.....it starts.

Bryan paid for Ethan, Austin, and me to feed the giraffes. You could get up close and personal, but you couldn't touch. That didn't stop their very slimy tongues from touching YOU however. The boys fed him lettuce, and I got to feed him pellets. The man was not a good photographer so I really don't have a good pic of ME feeding them, but all that matters is that the boys got a good memory. It was pretty cool.

Ahhh yes, the petting zoo. All was calm until a REALLY rowdy bunch of junior high girls descended on the place. Let's just say that we ditched that area really quick. The boys liked this one, though. As we were eating lunch at the front of the zoo, up pulls another fire truck and this woman is gurneyed out of the zoo with a swollen foot or something. Hey, at least the emergency guys were all around us to help in any way....we felt safe. ha ha!

I had to throw this in there. The next day after we got back, Uncle Dannie came to spend a couple nights. While my mom and Riva and I went shopping for our birthday, the boys went fishing. They were more than excited to get on the boat and do the "guy" thing. Unfortunately, the next day began our flu's, but they passed within 24 hours. We had so much fun on vacation and are looking forward to our next one....camping with the Boersma side of the fam!! (pics to come....)