Crystal Cove

We headed to the beach last weekend to do a shoot with my cousin and her fun loving family.  It was really cold, windy and a little overcast when we got there.  Besides getting a little cold, this weather made for some great pictures.  

They were so fun to shoot.  I don't think the boys even really knew I was there because they were having such a great time running around, splashing in the water, and jumping seaweed rope.  I did get a lot more picture of little Grace because, well, just take one look at that cute little face.  She is super shy, but she would give me the sweetest little smiles.  

These are just a few of my favorites!

where are your glasses?

 we are constantly asking Julian this.

the answer most of the time is 'I don't know".

right now we do know where they are.  they are at the vision center getting fixed for the third time since he has had glasses.  yikes, is this boy rough!!  I knew we would be utilizing the replacement guarantee with his glasses, I just didn't think it would be this often.

 ella and julian are very opposite in many ways.  julian is usually the really responsible one and keeps his things fairly organized.  ella is my packrat.  she can get her room messy quicker than anyone I know.  usually I am not laughing about it, but the other day she made me laugh so hard. she had just finished picking up all of her clothes that were strewn around her room. we did are little check together to make sure everything was in it's place and it was.  I had just finished giving her the lecture about how it only takes a few seconds longer to put things away in the right place the first time.  I walked out to grab something as she was changing into her jammies.  I walked back in and the clothes she had been wearing were thrown into the corner.  I couldn't believe it.  the funny part about the whole thing was the genuine look of disbelief in her eyes when I pointed them out.  I couldn't help but laugh.  we are really working on this.

I know she is more than capable because she is so responsible when it comes to her glasses.  i rarely have to remind her to put her glasses on in the morning or after swimming.  she knows where she keeps them and for the most part she is so careful with them.  

it has been such a breeze with her and her glasses.

not so much with this little mister.

he constantly takes them off and can't remember where he put them.  almost everyday when I pick him up from school they are not on.  

he usually giggles and says 'oops' when I ask him about them.

I think he just doesn't like having to wear them.  I don't blame him.  I think it is just going to take a little more time with him.  

he does say he can see better with them.  he has had a couple of headaches recently while his glasses have been getting fixed and I think he is realizing that he does need them.

as much as I love how he looks with his glasses, I sure do love seeing his little face without them.  

his glasses make him look so much older.  I'm just happy we learned early on that he needs them.

keep those glasses on, mister!!

18/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Ella - her new favorite hairdo that she can do all by herself.  the part isn't always perfect, but she does a pretty great job.

Julian - not sure what we are doing with his hair, but it's getting pretty shaggy...just look at those sideburns.

the coop

 So I wanted to wait until the coop was completely finished, but I can't wait.  

This is what it looks like right now.  

It is turning out so good.  My husband is pretty amazing. 

This is being built without any plans.  We had a small area to work with and the coop had to be built around a few obstacles. 

  Ella sizing it up. 

It's pretty much 8ft x 7ft minus the little cutout for the tree.  The other obstacle is the cable that anchors the power line pole behind us.  

 Good thing Andy had quite a few helpers.

 And they are pretty cute.

 They wanted to help also, but they had a hard time holding the wood up while it was being drilled together.

 During the day, the chicks are either running around the yard when we are out there with them, or else in their coop.  

We have just been wrapping the chicken wire around the coop for now.  The bricks on the roof are used to hold the tarp that hangs over the edge.  

A few weeks ago while we were in the backyard a falcon landed on the back wall and I'm pretty sure he was thinking about swooping up a nice little meal.  He relocated to a nearby tree after Julian scared him away, but he stayed hanging out for a couple of hours until we took the chicks in.  So the tarp is just to keep our falcon friend away.  

Here is where we we hopefully be getting our eggs from. 

It's getting so close to being done. 

Just a couple more things need to be done.

The entry door needs to be made.  

The door and slider for the hen house needs to be made.

Painting.
Roofing it.

Getting all the chicken wire in...

then I think it will be done.

So close.

a wet weekend

 We spent the entire weekend submerged in water...well, I guess I shouldn't say 'we'.  More like the kids.  

Saturday was a pool day and Sunday was a beach day.  It was such a nice relaxing weekend.  

This was a little bit of a change for us.  It seems like the last couple of weekends were spent working on projects...garden beds, chicken coop, and parties.  Andy did work quite a bit on the coop on Saturday, but for the most part we did have some play time this weekend.  

I actually like working on projects and I'm pretty sure Andy does also, but it sure does feel good to relax a little and spend time together just having fun.  

Yesterday we dusted off the paddle boards and spent almost the entire day at the beach. 

 I am already sore today.  We paddled over to a little playground and the kids played there for about 5 minutes then spent the rest of the time at our stop playing on the paddle boards.  

Ella was getting pretty good at maneuvering around.  It was so cute to hear her offering to take Julian on a ride.  

The second half of our paddle was pretty much straight into the wind.  

Yikes!  I started thinking about what I was going to do if I couldn't make it back.  I think at one point I was actually going backwards, ha, ha.  

The kids were such good sports.  Ella was on my board and Julian was on Andy's.  They were lying down almost the entire time because it was so windy and they were so cold.  Ella didn't complain once even though she was shivering.  

Hot chocolate was well deserved after that.  

 Pruned fingers and toes...I love it.

17/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Julian - a hearty laugh after getting his bum wet

Ella - holding her favorite feathered friend, Miss Pink Lemonade

one more just because

JAM- getting an early start...

 Last year was my first time making jam.  It was a lot of work, but I loved making it.  

There is nothing like opening a fresh jar of homemade jam.  I wanted to stock up a little earlier this year especially since we ran out of homemade jam way back in December.  

We made strawberry and blackberry again.  Blackberry was my favorite last year so of course I had to make more.  I feel like strawberry is just a given.  

I started way later in the day than I had anticipated.  I didn't even start until after I picked the kids up from school.  

Andy ended up helping when he got home from work.  We made 2 batches in the afternoon and one more after getting the kids to bed.  

I finished cleaning up around midnight.  I made smaller batches this year because last year we kind of burned one batch. I think it was just too much in one pot.  

So just as a reminder to myself, I made batches of 4 pints of strawberries.  

This pretty much made 4 pints of jam with just a little extra to put in the refrigerator.  YUM!  This year I used the low sugar pectin.  It worked great and the jam is just as yummy with about half the sugar.  I used the recipe that is in the Ball jar recipe book and just adjusted the sugar with the pectin.  I put 2 1/2 cups of sugar for the 4 pints of sugar.  I might try a little less  next time.  I was just worried it wouldn't gel, but it did.  

I want to try a couple of different fruits this year also.

Doesn't apricot sound delicious?

16/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

 Ella - scored her first goal during the last game of the season!!!

Julian - hanging with the chicks.  He is so gentle with them.

It's really hard to describe the excitement I felt when she she scored.  Ella started playing soccer just a couple months ago and did not know the strategy of the game at all.  Every game we just encouraged her to just have fun...and she did.  She was a little timid the first couple of games, but slowly started getting more aggressive.  She would look forward to every game and her speed and determination helped her in every game.  Andy and I have discussed this many times and we agree that we are not the parents that need our kids to be the best.  We really just want them to have fun...but to see the shock and excitement on her face after she scored really almost brought tears to my eyes.  

Ella you are pretty amazing...not because you scored, but because you have worked so hard during your first season of soccer and didn't give up!!

15/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Julian- sat just long enough for me to get this image of him.  

Ella - being so silly with her floral crown. 

The kids were on spring break the last two weeks and this morning it was rough for all of us trying to get back into the routine of things.  Ella is just like me.  More of a night owl and definitely not a morning person.  Thankfully, Julian is the definition of a morning person...we can't all be half asleep in the morning.  

Spring break went way too fast.  I am counting down the weeks until summer just as much as they are.

our new retreat

 the last couple of weeks we have been spending more and more time in our backyard.  the beautiful spring weather has drawn us outside and our new space has become our own little retreat.  

in the past our front yard was kind of the go to yard to play in.  

we still spend time out front, but we have definitely found ourselves out back a lot more.  

right now we don't have much as far as furniture goes, but for now a blanket laid on the ground has worked for our picnic dinners.  

we opted not to have a heater in our pool, but that hasn't stopped the kids and andy from hopping in.  

luckily the pool isn't too big, so it has warmed up pretty quick.  we are so thankful for our pool.  

most of my little seedlings are now in our raised beds.  i have been spending a lot of my time trying to find the little caterpillars that are invading my swiss chard and spinach.  ugh, they are driving me crazy.  i'm going to try making a natural spray out of onion and garlic skins that I read about somewhere.  hopefully it will help.  

battleship games have moved outdoors 

and of course a lot of time tending to our newest additions have moved us into the backyard.
these guys have been spending a lot more time outside now that it has really warmed up and they are a little bigger.  

we still have to keep a close eye on them until we get their coop built.  yesterday a falcon scared us when it landed close by on our back wall.  it sat and stared at me for about a minute before flying off to a nearby tree.  i'm sure it had spied our little chicks running around.  the rest of the afternoon we were all like mother hens guarding our little chicks.  the chicks were none the wiser as they ran around scratching and exploring.  

pink lemonade joined in a game of keep away with the kids.  as the kids were rolling a tennis ball back and forth to each other, pink lemonade chased the ball back and forth. 

they are such fun little creatures to watch.

i am loving our new little retreat.  i foresee a lot more time spent our backyard.  this summer i'm sure the kids will live in the pool and i hope to have the deck set up for many more meals out under the sky.  

we have much to be thankful for.

14/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Ella - deep in thought while painting

Julian - he knows I love when he talks out of the side of his mouth like this...this kid is funny!

spring chicks

 We have baby chicks!!  

I am way over the top crazy about them.  

Besides being so incredibly cute, it is fun to watch and observe their curious little nature.  I had been wanting chickens for way too long now, but the timing just hadn't been right.  Julian's kindergarten class hatched chickens and we were finally ready and able to have chickens.   

I thought they were going to be my girls but it looks like someone else has taken over.  I'm not surprised.  Ella is like the little mother hen with them and she handles them so well.  

 Meet Pink Lemonade - pink neck, yellow feathers.  

Named by Julian.

She is a turken. 

 No not half turkey, half chicken.  Turkens are just a breed of chicken that do resemble turkeys with their naked necks.  She is so cute and so ugly at the same time.  Then have bigger eggs and tend to be very docile.  Julian picked her out.  

This is Newspaper.  

She is a Silver Laced Wyandotte.  

Ella picked her out.  She will be black and white when she is full feathered.  When thinking about a name, Ella was asking us to name different things that are black and white.  I threw out newspaper.  She thought it was really funny.  After playing with a couple of different names, she went back to newspaper, so Newspaper she is.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that they are all hens.  we are going to be getting two more.  Another family took two but they only wanted them while they are chicks, then they are giving them to us.  These actual chickens did not hatch at the school.  Those chickens would have a 50/50 chance of either being a rooster or a hen.  There was a problem with the incubator and none of the eggs in Julian's class hatched.  Four or five hatched in the other kinder class, so they did get to see them hatching.  Julian's teacher got these little chicks so her class would have chicks for the kids to observe.  The place they got the chicks guarantees 90% that they are hens. 

 We will have to wait until they are about 4 months and hope they don't start to crow.  We did find a place that will take roosters just in case.  

  

She is the chicken whisperer. They love her right back.

 I think this is one of my favorite pictures of her.  She set herself up next to the brooder while she was doing homework.  The brooder is where the chicks are most of the time at this point. They need to stay warm under the light.  We take them out for short periods of time inside the house.  They do poop often though, so we have to keep something handy to wipe up after them.  When it's warm and sunny outside we let them out for short periods of time.   It's so fun to watch them scratching around already. 

 They sure are entertaining.