colorado adventures

 Kit has been in Colorado with his brother since early Thursday morning for a backpacking and hunting trip...  

I got these photos on Sunday with the message that they are having the absolute best time!

A very delicious gift...

 Last Friday, friends of ours had gotten a double order on their Hello Fresh order and shared three meals with us!  The kids loved it!

They were so excited to try something new and to get to be part of the whole process...

Ryder LOVED getting to be my chopper...

Simmering away with this munch...

They worked together really well...

...And were so proud of what they made!

Other meals we tried too and LOVED:

We are so thankful!

Big Moves!

This weekend we helped my sister's family move and settle into their new house.  They have been in their old house for over 17 years. She was pregnant with my nephew when we helped them move in then... It was exciting to be there for this new chapter.

Last time we did their move, my sister was pregnant with that tall one on the left... Oh goodness!

My sister hosted our first Sunday pasta dinner in her new house...

And then the kids played...

I'm so excited for all the memories that will be made in this new house!

In-person Hybrid...

In-Person Hybrid: We have been saying this phrase quite a bit in our house.  It sounds like I'm going to spend time driving a Prius, but what it REALLY means is that the kids started back in school about three hours for 4 days a week, and continuing with on-line learning as well.  That all started yesterday.  We were able to go on Wednesday to walk through and show the kids what the plan was so that they could know what to expect.

Wednesday: (Eden hadn't walked onto campus since March)

We stopped by each class so that they knew what they were doing.

I can't handle that she is in third grade.

And I can't believe this kid is in 5th grade. 

This is the last year of elementary school for him...

On Thursday morning, we were all packed up and ready and school didn't start until noon... Sheesh, for a group of morning people, that is rough! 

Kit had left at 3am for a backpacking trip with his brother Andrew in Colorado, and so the kids naturally felt that his space needed to be filled:

Parents needed to park and walk up to their child's color coded gate and get them ready for temps to be taken and to walk in.  

Eden needed a picture for school and I just loved her little toothy smile...

Heading into school felt incredibly strange, but once we saw dear friends, I felt immediately relaxed...

I got a photo of her temp being taken, just to document the moment...

It was such gift, our kids walked into the same gate and their classes are right next to each other, which just made my heart so happy.  I can't promise that Ryder was AS thrilled, but Eden was ECSTATIC to be that close to her brother.❤︎

At the end of the day they said everything was really good.  I took huge sigh of relief.

~~~~~~~~~

Our prayer for them came from Isaiah 41:10 MSG:

"Don't panic.  I am with you.  There's no need to fear for I am your God. I'll give you strength.  I'll help you.  I'll hold you steady, and keep a firm grip on you..."

~~~~~~~

In all of this, He is not distant.  He loves my kids EVEN MORE than I could ever fathom.  They know He is with them. They were not afraid or panicked.  They were so ready!

Here we go into a new chapter of this whole thing.  

Deep breath...

First day of Fall...

 This last Tuesday marked the first day of Fall.  So obviously we commemorated with photos of our bunny...❤︎

She went to clean her face and it looks like how she (might have) felt: Please be done with all these photos!

But really, we are excited for what this season holds.  

We are pulling down our decorations this weekend...

~~~~~~~~~~~

I am telling you, I am going to make a vest for this bunny that says THERAPY ANIMAL, because this little bundle is keeping me sane... 

Fire...

 On September 3, Ryder started practices with his AYSO ELITE special team Fire.

The new fields opened up next to our house and it was so fun to see him out there having fun.  Distance was kept, the boys had masks and are having their temperatures taken.  I think even in light of the Covid regulations and restrictions, Ryder was ELATED to be out there!

At this point, we don't know what the season will look like,  but we are excited for just the tiny glimpse of something that we knew and is familiar!❤︎

We are back!

Our time in the Lake Arrowhead was really sweet.  Kit's parents rented an incredible cabin.  We were there with two of Kit's bothers and their families.  My parents were invited which was so fun to have all the grandparents there with our kids. It was sweet to see our brother Ethan and celebrate that he is married to Dani and to see how happy they are!  Here are a few snapshots of the weekend...

The house was beautiful:

Where they slept...

And yes, we brought the bunny...

It came with a dock and we enjoyed our time on it...

Lots of swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing, and floating around...

We went on a pontoon boat around the lake with Dani's parents:

And of course there was more swimming out on the lake...

We ate and played games:

We celebrated everyone's birthdays with treats and Santa Maria Style BBQ...

We really love our family:

Thank you Grandi and Monkey Papa for an amazing weekend, being together, and celebrating birthdays and that Dani and Ethan are married!!!