the cutest little salesman...

This week marks the start of the Girl Scout cookie sales.

Some one is very excited about it:

I can't get over how amazing this little girl is...❤︎

P.S. This was also my first time being part of the cookie Mega Drop and distribution:

It was special to play a part this year in that way!

(Also, seeing all those caramel delights in one place was pretty magical, if I do say so myself...❤︎)

One year anniversary!

This January marks 1 year as a Girl Scout for our Eden Marie!

Friendship circles!

She loves her troop, her leader and all that she gets to be a part of! 

While Ryder was away...

...Eden ran the show.  I think we can count on one hand where Eden has been alone with the two of us.  She picked the movies, the food we ate, where we went for ice cream, and where we would sleep for our slumber party...

 We ate things with cheese that Ryder doesn't like and we went for ramen and asked her all sorts of questions.

 We asked he about missing her brother and she responded,

"I miss having him around and when he hugs me."

 We also made a stop at Daiso and found this bunny that has NOT left her side since she got it...

 We had so much fun and are thankful for the time that we got with our girl!

P.S. Ryder, just know we missed you a whole lot and it felt like something was missing...❤︎

Winter Camp 2019

He's back! 
He had so much fun...
The send off was so sweet:
From working kids camps for years before we had kids, it was surreal to be on this side of it.

We packed his bag with all sorts of notes and treats, but my favorite one was Kit's laminated poster from Hartland Christian  Camp, when he was the recreation guy at 17 years old.
It was conveniently packed to be found when Ryder unzipped his bag. 
Just when I thought I couldn't be any creepier, I surprise myself.❤︎

He had the best time and he is so excited for the next time he gets to go...❤︎

And he's off!

Today, Ryder is heading up to Forest Home for his very first Winter Camp.  

Really, it's his first solo camp trip and I am sitting here not believing that it's actually happening.  

I grew up going to Forest Home, starting in 1983 with family camp.  I went as a camper.  I worked there in the summers.  My sister met my brother-in-law there, and they got married by the lake and then lived on the grounds for their first years of marriage.  So many of my childhood memories from the summer were made there and I am so excited for him to have this experience!  I may want to cry when I drop him off... Can't promise anything...

I hope you have the best time little man!❤︎

It finally came!

Last week, Ryder finally got his recorder for his school music class.  

 Ryder showing me the notes B, A, and G...

Ever since we signed the school form that he could have one, he has been WAITING, and now he has it and he could not be more excited about it!  It's been sweet how it has reignited his interest in playing music!❤︎ 

New Friday Traditions

We decided that that we are going to start a new tradition with the kids where Kit takes each one for an individual breakfast date on a Friday morning before school.  We've one it sporadically throughout the year but decided to actually make a schedule for it.  This Last Friday was the first one and Rdyer went first.  They headed to Cowgirl cafe in Santa Ana, where he can get waffles the size of his face:

 He was ridiculously excited about it...

At home, Eden and I made cinnamon rolls:

 We had the best time sitting our stools next to each other and getting to girl talk, just the two of us...

It was such a successful first time and they are already looking forward to their next turn.❤︎

Peter's Canyon Hike

This weekend we got to take a little family hike, which felt so good after the rain that we have had.  Getting outside was exactly what we needed!

The rain made everything so green!

 Sour grass for the win!

 Just walking with her dad...

 Time with my family will always be my favorite.  Family days are the best days!❤︎

Martin Luther King, Jr Day

As we take today to remember and celebrate this incredible man's life, we have been sharing with the kids some of our favorite quotes of his...

How incredibly grateful we are for this man's life, the impact of his words, and how he lived his life and spoke truth in love. 

deep cleaning...

As the year started, I decided to tackled every cupboard and closet in our house. I was inspired by this book that I read a few years back:

And then she recenlty released a show on Netflix:

Slowly but surely I have gone though our house, donating, throwing away, and creating systems to make life run a little smoother.  The hardest for me was anything sentimental.  I have two plastic bins under our bed that have everything from yearbooks, the kids sports photos, letters from teachers, cards from grandparents, notes from patients, and photos of my parents as kids, just to name a few...  

Some of the favorite things we found were all of the pictures, letters, and printed emails of Kit and I from when we were first dating.  We came across this photo and Eden thought is was the best thing ever:

And because I have a hard time giving things away, guess who had the dress in her coat closet...

And guess who immediately wanted to wear it around with her flower crown while singing songs from "The Greatest Showman":

Little moments like these were so sweet...

(Not to mention that I took three loads this size for donation!)

In the decluttering, it has been fun to find those treasures and share them as a family...

Man, it feels good to clear things out!

sending them off...

Each morning we pray for our kids and the day that they will have ahead. I took this pic last week and it almost brought me to tears...

It is an incredible gift and a blessing to be a parent, but the weight can feel so heavy and daunting, especially living in the world that we do.  These moments where we stand close, and center our day on Jesus will always be such sweet memories for my heart and I never want to forget them.❤︎ 

all time favorite...

On Monday, my cousin and I got together to eat some treats and spend some time together!

 She is one of the people in my life that I have laughed the hardest with...

Being with her is so good for my heart because she is one of my all time favorite human beings.  Then you add good food...? There you have some of my all time favorite memories in the making...❤︎