California Part One

 I had every intention of writing this post last night, but DJ and I got caught up watching Bates Motel. Oh Netflix, how you suck us in with your automatic start of the next episode.

Anyways, to the point. Recently, the munchkins and I took a road trip to California to visit Mema and Poppy. My Aunt and Grandparents had never driven across the country before, so when they made it to Arizona, the stopped and picked us up.

Oh my, those kiddos were so excited to see their grandparents. We got to stay with them for two weeks, and visit a part of California that we have never seen.  Most of the visit was spent just hanging out and catching up with family, but we were also able to do some sightseeing and celebrating while there.

Mariposa is an old mining town, and has a lot of history. While there, we were able to visit a couple of the local museums.  I took so many neat pictures!

I know my mom's eyes are closed in this picture, but I love it you can see how happy she is to be with her grandbabies again.

 

The weather was great while we were out there. It was sunny and in the upper sixties for the majority of the visit. Flowers were in bloom everywhere. The kids spent hours out in the yard playing and picking leaves and flowers. Some were put in vases, but the majority were use as hair decorations.

While there, Poppy celebrated his 54th birthday!

He had the day off so we were able to spend it with him. We all chipped in and took him out to dinner at his favorite local restaurant.

The Zoo

Lately, we have been spending our weekends trying to finish a home improvement project that DJ started back in July. Yeah I know, nothing moves fast around these parts. Anyways, the kiddos have been going stir crazy, and in turn driving us crazy with them.  

We were given some Christmas money from my in-laws for a Zoo membership, and finally decided to put it to use. We love the Zoo in our neck of the woods. It is perfect for smaller children. Plus, we live in Southern Arizona so we can use this gift all year long!

On My Needles: A Knitting Update

 

There has been a lot of knitting going on in my little desert house. We have been binge watching some stuff on Netflix, and it is impossible to for me to just sit and watch TV. I must be doing something with my hands at all times.

Even though there has been a lot of knitting going on here, there have been very few finished projects. I love to knit, but man it is a slow progress. I am a very instant gratification kind of gal, so I am known to start more projects than I finish. I thought I would share with you my "in the works" knitting projects.

These are the socks I started for DJ awhile ago. I hope to have these finished by his birthday, which is coming up soon. However, I will admit that might not happen. Sock yarn is really small.  Making sock knitting slow business.

 

 These wash cloths are the only recent project that I have finished. I found this cotton yarn in my stash from so long ago I can't even remember. I think I bought it to make Halloween washcloths. Well, when I found it, I thought it would be perfect for my brother Stephen. He is a giant UT fan, and he just recently got a new place. These will make a nice house warming gift for him.

My brother Stephen must be on my mind recently because this unfinished hat is also for him (what a lucky fella). I bought this yarn two year ago so I could make him a hat for Christmas. He is lacking in the hair department, and I thought these colors would look great on him. I am almost finished with this hat, and if I just sat down for an hour or so and worked on it I could mark this off my to finish list.

I am super excited to finish this project. It is a scarf for Miss O (more on this to come). I am also getting close to the end of this project as well. It was meant to be a Christmas present for her, but I just did not get it done on time. Man, I guess I really should start working on my Christmas gift much earlier in the year in order to get them finished on time.

 

Once I am finished with some of these other project, I am going to start on a project for myself. This yarn is super soft and beautiful. I can't wait to start working with it!

You've Got Mail

Recently my family was heartbroken when my parents decided to move to California for a job opportunity. DJ and I are super close with my parents. I will admit there were tears from us when they left. We lost our good friends and our family support. However, our sadness does not even compare to what our children felt to have their grandparents move away.

We still talk to them on the phone just about everyday. We also Skype a couple of times a week, but Miss O still misses them. She has recently taken to coloring pictures for them and requesting they be mailed to her Memma and Poppy. After the letters are sealed and addressed, Miss O loves to decorate the envelopes to make them extra pretty and bright. The photos above are from the very first letter she mailed to California. It was such a sweet moment. I am so thankful that I caught it on camera.

Once my parents started receiving regular letters from Miss O, they started sending her mail as well. She has been getting  postcard of cute animals found in their area of California. Mail time is now a special time, and the mail man just might be Miss O's favorite person to see walking down our street.  

Carrot Cake Muffins

Oh man! My family has been down and out the last couple of day with a stomach bug. It was one of those fast moving ones. Everyone except Short Round caught it with in 24 hours. DJ and I have never been sick at the same time before. So, that made this adventure all the more exciting.

Once we were slowly up and running again, we needed to replenish our bodies with delicious healthy snacks.

I checked out this book at the library a couple of weeks ago, and I love it! I am even planning on purchasing it. It is already in my Amazon shopping cart!

Now, I would by no means call my children picky eaters, but they can be reluctant vegetable eaters. I often find ways to sneak those veggies in without my munchkins realizing it. I was super excited when I found this recipe for carrot cake muffins. My kids love muffins, and I had the ingredients on hand already!

 

I can always count on my munchkins to help me bake. I know it is not really a love or baking, or spending time with Mommy that makes them so excited when I start a baking project. It's all about getting to lick the spoons!

Look how great those turned out! They are also super yummy and the kids loved them!

Ribbon Rings

Sunday afternoons after church can be a challenge for us. I view this as a time to spend with family and to rest. However, that is not how it goes. I am usually alone with the kids, and the last thing my pre-schooler and toddler want to do is rest and relax. It is so easy to say "sure, watch movies all afternoon." Although the afternoon passes by smoother, Miss O will spend the next week trying to convince me she needs to watch movies all the time.

To combat movie marathons, I decided to try something a little different this Sunday. I made the kids ribbon rings. All I needed was two wooden rings and strips of ribbon. I tied the ribbon to the rings. I turned on the radio and the munchkins started a dance party.

This activity keep my kids busy for awhile. I wish I could say that this was my idea, but I saw kids playin with these at Miss O's school and it just looked so pretty and fun. I have to say that my kids agreed. It got serious when Miss O had to go and change into one of her "dancing dresses" for this activity. They danced and twirled around with those ribbon rings, and laughed and giggled while doing it. It made a momma's heart proud.



Snow!!!

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited the munchkins were to see all that white stuff falling from the sky. With the exception of our first year, our winters have been pretty mild here in Southern Arizona. I have pictures of Miss O at 8 or 9 months old standing in the snow and looking freaked out by its coldness. However, she does not remember that now.

I know that some of you folks out there might laugh at us for being so excited about such a small amount of snow. But, this was their first real experience with it. Short Round did not really care so much, but Miss O was running all over the place. She wanted to catch snowflakes on her tongue, and play on her slide in the snow.

The snow came down hard and fast. We got just a little accumulation. I was hoping it would stick around so the kiddos could play in it the next morning, but sadly as soon as the snow stopped falling it melted.

The way this winter is looking, I have a feeling we might be seeing a little more of the white stuff before spring graces us with its presence.