the soon to be Critchfields

Don't you just love seeing others in love? I do. We had a lovely time traipsing through daffodil fields, bathrooms, and orchards. I'm so excited for these two and their upcoming June wedding. It will be just perfect.




We caught the daffodils just in time, they're already on their way out!

Daffodil Hill

I meant to post this yesterday in honor of Earth Day, which is near and dear to my heart being an Oregonian and all. At this time of year especially, I feel so incredibly blessed to live here on this amazing Earth and be surrounded by all the beauties that God has created.







And then our children were teenagers...Seriously, this picture almost makes me cry every time I see it. There's something about the way that Isaac looks here that fast forwards me into the future, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.

Welcome to my backyard

Well the pretty part that is beyond the bare dirt. I can't tell you how excited I am to get in some grass to cover the dirt. My kids are FILTHY 24/7, which is fun for a minute, until I end up vacuuming twice a day and putting my kids in the tub multiple times (see next post). So over it. This green plant is alfalfa and I'm in love with it. I try to look at it only, and not the dirt. It's the most beautiful, vibrant green!

On this night, Geoff managed to teach Isaac how to fly a kite without wind. It involved a whole lot of running, but he got it up and flying.

A Dover/Wright tub experience

I know you're thinking at this point, "Get over your tub lady", but let me share with you a little secret. The tub is a great place to get pictures of your kids. They're happy, they're clean, and most importantly, they are contained. So, after a day playing outside in the dirt, it was into the bathtub for a rinse. I can't really even talk about the rim of dirt that emerged when I drained the water. So sick.

I got sunscreen in Ethan's eye by an accident and he made me pay dearly by refusing to sit down in the tub, or stop crying for a picture. Apparently he is immune to my secret tub trick.






Twinner swimsuits.



Livi is the perfect friend for my kids. She loves to play swords and get dirty with Isaac, and then go play Princesses with Lucy. I love that little girl!

The rest of our trip to California

Isaac on Newport Pier after going swimming.



Visiting with the Wilson's and their cute kids in Aliso Viejo. Right after this picture, Lucy and Kate jumped in with their clothes on.



This picture cracks me up because you can just tell from Isaac's posture how ticked he was that he had to put his arm around a girl!



While Geoff was registering for the conference in San Diego (the real reason we went to CA), I drove around trying to find something fun for the kids to do for a while. Someone told us there was a "park" just around the corner. It was actually a spot dedicated to cancer survivors, which was cool, but it didn't have single recreational item for a child except this box. Isaac told me after, that it was the worst park he'd ever been to.



The next day, again while Geoff was at the conference, I found this AWESOME park (trying to remedy my poor park choose skills from the day before). It was huge and had tons of stuff to do. The weather perked up that day which made it even more fun. My brother Seth, Caroline and their boy Thomas, drove from Yuma and met up with us here which reconfirmed to me how much we love and miss them incredibly! (and how cool they are for driving out to see us!)



Sadly, the only picture of my brother from the trip is of a) his back side, and b) him impaling my son with the toy he choose from Disneyland.



Lucy on Mission Beach looking darling as usual. She found lots of "Ariel shells" which she strategically placed on herself. I neglected to get a picture of that, but believe me, it was funny.



Isaac showing off his mad skills.



Nothing better than a cousin piggy back ride. We love Tommy!



And one of my very favorite pictures from the trip. How cute are these kids! Caroline and I took the kids around Old Town San Diego while the boys were off working again.




All in all, it was a great trip, made even better by seeing friends and family, and of course, seeing the kids enjoy all the new sites and beauties that California provides. Geoff and I were very close to considering someday moving back...that is until we hit traffic. Yep, Mapleton it is for us!

This morning

For some reason, things were very productive around our house this morning. The house was cleaned, laundry folded, a buzz cut for Isaac, and baths for all. Love mornings like that.

Before and After

Because I've had so many people interested in what I did to the Luxury Cart photos (see post below), I thought I'd post a Before and After so you can see exactly what I did. These were shot with my wide angle lens.

Did you know I take pictures of cars?

Neither did I, until yesterday. I have to say, despite the fact that these were taken in the field across from my house which was covered in snow an hour earlier, no artificial lighting, and absolutely no experience in photographing cars, I'm pretty dang proud of myself for how these turned out. It was fun to bust out the Photoshop witchcraft again. And how cute are these mini versions of the Rolls Royce and Bentley!

Disneyland

I hear Disneyland is the "Happiest Place on Earth." I think this applies to all months BUT March, when everyone and their dog is out for spring break. Despite the horrid lines, we did have a great time and the kids really, really loved it.

I didn't realize until I went through these pictures that my hairdo for the day oddly resembled Cinderella's. So embarrassing.



Isaac waiting patiently in line.



Lucy and I separated from the boys for a bit so they could go on the "Big Boy rides", which explains why I have a more pictures of her than him. It could also be because she looked so dang cute. At least I thought so until a lady said "Oh, she dressed her self, that's so cute." Also embarrassing.



One of my favorite memories from Disneyland was on this carousel ride. Geoff took the strap that is suppose to go around your child's waist and taught Isaac to hit the horse's bum with it. A lady over the loud speaker said "Please do not spank your horse with the lap belt sir." Classic.



Her face pretty much the entire time.



That is until we waited in line for an entire hour to see the princesses and she froze up. Thankfully, she made an exception for her favorite princess and let Ariel hold her hand.






I had high hopes of getting all of us in this shot, but I nearly lost my camera over the side after this one, so I put it away. How classic is Lucy's face...and Geoff's for that matter. She LOVED this ride, despite how her face looks on this first turn of the Toon Town rollercoaster.






Planning our next visits. Isaac was fearless and loved every single ride, even Space Mountain which I nearly puked on. He informed me after Thunder Mountain that I made him pee his pants a little because I was screaming so much.



Nothing like a crappy family photo to remind myself that no, it's not just the camera. This is zoomed in a TON and sharpened a bunch to make it somewhat presentable.



Lucy was hamming it up for the crowd before the Parade.






Giving Stitch a high-five.

Home again, home again

We're back from a fantastic trip to California. Here's one of my very favorite captures from the trip. Our kids were in HEAVEN!! And so were Geoff and I seeing them like that. Just don't ask me to sit in a car again for a very long time.