From the garden

Dog napping......

not to be confused with cat napping.  Stella is sooo spoiled and we love it!

My favorite shot from the sunflower field today.

Loved these rock sculptures at Fort Point in San Francisco.  There were over a hundred of them in various sizes being built by two older gentlemen.  I wanted to get a wide shot of the scene but I was on a busy walk with a sweet four year old!

This was at 8 pm last night.  We were on our way to see a production of Peter Pan.  I was distracted by the blooming field of sunflowers and pulled over to snap a few pictures.  So glad I did.  I have been waiting for this field to bloom as I drive this road about three times a week.  So much beauty the Lord gives us!

This weather does nothing to get us in a summer mood but what a treat for the hydrangeas. They are extra happy to have cloudy with a chance of rain.

Love this picture that Madison took yesterday, the processing is so fun.

Freedom isn't free

My favorite

Honestly I loved every one of their engagement shots.  This is the one I will have printed to put up though.  I wanted to post at least five more of the pictures but I am not sure which ones they will use to send out.  Not that any of their group reads my blog, haha.  

Sweet, sweet times!

Lovin' spring

Peonies are blooming!

This is Madison's entry photo for the Fine Arts competition she is competing in this week in Southern California.   She would have preferred to enter the landscape category but it was already taken.  In my opinion, animals are tough to photograph.  They move about, turn away and don't always give you their best side. This field is just on the edge of town and is home to three emus, three horses and numerous peacocks.  Madison's original subject was to be the horses.  They were too far away and always bending down to graze.  Emus on the other hand are quite social and curious birds.  As soon as we were next to the fence, they came to greet us and stayed the entire time.  As Madison moved down the fence, do did they.  They are native to Australia and are related to the ostrich.  We were thinking that we should stay back from the fence as not to be pecked by that strong looking beak.  But later learned that it is their legs you need to steer clear of.  They have a nail on their toes that resembles a knife.  Their legs are so strong that they can rip open metal wire fences. Wow!  Glad we didn't upset them. They were fun to watch. 

Engaged!

These two sweeties actually got engaged last December.  We are beyond excited!

Blossoms at dusk

The most fun I've had on a Tuesday night

  I have been following The Pioneer Woman , aka Ree, since 2007, not long after it began.  I love her recipes, humor and photos.  Last year, she published her first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.
My friend Leah was lucky enough to go to a book signing in Atlanta.  Leah had books signed for my friend Carolyn and I.  She also held a picture of each of us while she had her picture taken with PW.  That was about as close as we came to meeting Ree during her cookbook signing tour.
Ree also wrote about meeting her husband, Marlboro Man (Ladd), on her blog.  She has completed the story and published it, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels- A Love Story.
As soon as Carolyn saw that Ree was coming to San Francisco, she asked me to go with her.  The day went perfectly.  We arrived in SF at about one in the afternoon, went to the bookstore and received our signing letter.  They go by the alphabet and we were in the B group.  We had quite a few hours to kill before the signing so we went to find something to eat.  The weather was perfect and we found ourselves eating a very late lunch alfresco.  We had plenty of time to get back to the bookstore to claim our seats.  The second row was perfect! Thank you Carolyn for such a fun, fun day! Thank you Ree for being so real.

Ree signing my book.  She is sooo sweet and too cute! I look like a mess because it was so hot in the store.  

Nice closeup of Ree since I was sitting in the second row. 

Ree's girls are the beautiful redheads, Alex (13) and Paige (10).  Also in the photo, her mother-in-law and her  niece. I was wearing a pair of wedge mules and Alex was wearing flats.  We are the same height with our shoes on.  She is about six feet tall.  I wanted to take the picture to show Madison how tall Alex  is since they are the same age.  Madison feels awkwardly tall at 5 feet 6 inches.  

Books Inc. is the oldest independent book store west of the Mississippi.  Located in San Francisco's Opera Plaza.  

This was the view  behind us. The crowd rounded the corner on the left all the way to the entrance of the store.  That must be the reason it felt like it was 100 degrees in there!

Being silly way before the crowd arrived.

Carolyn and I with a photo of Leah holding a photo of us when she met Ree in Atlanta to sign her cookbook.  

Carolyn and I enjoyed pasta in North Beach before we met Ree.  

A teen in the house

Happy 13th Birthday to Madison

She wants to go to culinary school

Our sweet 10 year old LOVES to cook, collect recipes and now has two of her own chef hats. My mom made Mia the cupcake apron and hat and her Auntie Debi made the apron and hat with the chili peppers (she also made the yummy pumpkin cake). You can't see the front of the chili pepper apron but it says, "Mia Caliente." So happy and so sad that our baby has reached double digits. She really does want to go to culinary school.  Happy belated birthday to Mia!

I am cherishing these times as they are growing up so fast........

Today is my firstborn's 22nd birthday. Happy Birthday to Jared!!!!!

Camp highlights

This dragonfly friend landed on my finger and stayed long enough for me to get my camera with my other hand and snap a photo. Actually, it didn't leave on its own, I had to shake it off ! And yes, a manicure was in order as soon as I got home. That dirt meant we were having a good time :)

Mia got the hang of archery after her first lesson.

Sweet friends on the way to the cabin.

Target practice was a lot of fun.

She decided that sitting and shooting was easier.

Camp was a wonderful time filled with lots of activity, games, and preaching. Mia and I agree that tug of war was our very favorite game. I also really enjoyed playing kick ball. Haven't played that since elementary school I am sure. I was up every morning no later than 6 am to ensure time for a shower before breakfast. The girls were all up at about 7 am. Lights were to be out by 10 pm but it was closer to 11 pm. It was during this last hour that the giggling would stop and the praying would start. It was at this late hour that some would feel safe to share the decisions they had made about salvation. This is when we shared our favorite thing about the day. We praised the girls for doing their very best when they wanted to quit (Bible memory, sitting still during preaching, etc. ). It was at this hour when I was the most exhausted that I was also the most blessed.

I was so excited to be able to be the counselor to my youngest daughter and two other sweet girls from our church. I expected to have an experience that would bring me closer to these three girls, to be an example to them and to learn from others. God gave me all that and more. Our small group was able to share our cabin with 11 girls (plus one wonderful counselor, Mrs. T) we had never met. These girls were not regular church attenders, many were from blended and broken homes. All just wanted to be loved. God put us all together to help each other. They needed to have good examples. They needed love and attention. They needed to be held to a higher standard. They needed to have fun and they needed to hear the gospel.

I needed to be reminded that the sheltered life that my children live is not the reality for so many children. That the wonderful church that I belong to should never be taken for granted, and that a person's salvation is the most important thing ever.

Six girls from our cabin accepted Christ as their Saviour. A total of 15 campers were saved. To God be the glory!

Meet Stella

This is our new sweet 7 pound girl. M and M have been waiting for her for about a year. We finally found a perfect little dog for our family.

Morning light