We are off!

Today we head to one of our favorite little corners of the world with our family...

I just can't wait!!!

and so it begins...

Today the house project will be under way!

We have spent to much time prepping for it and getting the house ready for it and now we hand it over to the professionals!

We can't believe it's finally happening!

(Also, I'm ready for there to be no more reasons for Kit to be on our second story roof!)

A (little) much needed backyard update!

Summer means projects.  We have a HUGE one coming up for the outside of our house. So to get ready for it, we have been fixing our concrete and pairing down our plants to simplify the backyard (as well as to limit the number of spider hideout spots I have...EEK!)

Here was my view a few months ago:

The wood framing for the concrete slabs had completely worn down in a few spots, so we had these long 2in x 4in crevices on our patio:

So we dug out the remainder wood, and Kit bought wood to fill in the holes:

 We also paired down our succulents and the patio feels so much cleaner.  It was not a bad project by means of time and money, but it has had a HUGE impact on our set up in the back yard.  Since we have been in this house, at EVERY party that we have hosted, some one has either tripped or gotten their chair stuck in the hole.  We are so thankful to FINALLY have it fixed!

Eden has been loving the patio especially for her art time.  It's nice that it's all set for her!

The patio is now ready for our project that will happen so soon!

We are really excited about what is coming!

summer days...

...sometimes they start like this:

And we are all perfectly happy with that...

Oh my gosh...

...I can't believe it's that time again!

He is so excited, however, I'm feeling like I need time to slow down just a tiny bit!

(I also may have bribed Eden with her own purple composition notebook, just so we could be fast with our errands...❤︎)

our little fish...

This is the first summer that I can say that both of our kids can swim.  No floaties.  No jackets.  No adult having to be in the pool so they feel safe to come away from the wall.  They jump in, sometimes with a running start.  Ryder started diving yesterday, and they both think that diving boards make a pool so fun.

I actually can sit and watch them, from a dry poolside spot, and take it all in.  It makes having our community pool so much more fun!  We can meet up with friends and the kids LOVE it!  They feel independent and competent and they can't get enough!  I just love watching my little fish!

 P.S. ALL that said, both kids will tell you that their goggles make them swim so much better, so guess how many goggles I have on hand at any given pool day?

(Possibly 5...❤︎)

s'mores and swimming

This last Tuesday, our life group got together for swimming and s'mores.  It was the first get together as a group, for the summer.  We had the BEST time!  I  have missed these people so much!

It was such a lovely night of connecting and conversations and just having fun together!

I am so thankful for these people and how they love on us and pour into our kiddos.

My heart is so full and I can't wait to get back into our rhythm of meeting on a regular basis!

The Discovery Cube!

This week we visited the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana and loved it so much, we decided to get passes.  We met up with our friends from school and had the BEST time!

 The rocket and "blast off" zone were one of Ryder's favorite things...

 The grocery shopping challenge was Eden's favorite:

There were so many other cool things to see too:

 They were also showing "The Secret Life of Pets" in their theater:

We really liked it!

 Then we got ice cream treats!

In addition to the normal science and discovery center exhibits, they currently have an INCREDIBLE dinosaur exhibit on display!

We are so excited to have passes and we can't wait to go back!  It is so close to our house, that I know we will have such fun learning there!

smiles and popsicles...

These are the things that summer is made of...

Summer, we love you!

Family Time...

Being with our families is one of our favorite things about summer.  There are no school schedules to work around and we can carve out as much time as we want for things like:

Swimming...

 Shaved ice station...

 Caprese bites...

 Home made pasta...

 Dinner together... (It's one of our all time favorite things...)

Ending with a slumber party...

Yep, this is the tell tale sign that they had a good time:

ROCKHARBOR VBS 2016

It was an AMAZING week of VBS!

I was sent this photo by our communication team during the week and it made my heart smile...❤︎

Blessings...

Crazy hair...

It was such a special week for us as a family!

I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to see how the Lord was working in our community and to love on those families that were able to come.  We were so honored to be part of it!