Getting Ready

We are getting ready for the birthday of baby Jesus! We went to the forest a few weeks ago to get our tree. It was another incredible family day! We rode quads, roasted dogs and marshmallows and hiked up and down the mountainside looking for the perfect tree! There wasn't any snow this year, so we became much pickier and spent the whole day searching. It is amazing you can find a tree in 10 minutes when the weather is freezing! We are thankful for our friends that share in our annual tradition! I am also thankful that Zach loves this tradition too, as he does all the hard work!

We went to the redding christmas parade this past weekend. I have no pictures, but imagine us sitting on the curb watching 50% of our town driving thier decorated vehicles waving and saying Merry Christmas. We have been doing our advent calender. My intentions were good in remembering Jesus, but I'm afraid it is all about the candy and prizes. Oh well, I'm sure most parents struggle with commercialism of Christmas. On that note, Sawyer is pumped for the big day. He has been following in my footsteps looking carefully through toy catalogs and circling some favorites.

Next week is our Christmas performance at church. Sawyer is to be learning two songs and isn't quite interested. We sing Away in the Manger all different ways, but it just isn't sticking. I'm hoping he will at least stand up front and make that christmas sweater worth it!

Tonight is Santa night! The past few years we've had to throw him on Santa's lap and run. It is actually pretty mean, but I've got to have that picture for my scrapbook!

May you all be enjoying this awesome time in celebration of our Savior!

Feeling Better

"Leaf Angel"


What a Cutie!

Toby is so cute too!

Sawyer has had an icky sick week, but today he was back to his playful self! We spent some time cleaning up leaves and of course we had to jump in them. Being a desert girl, I am still amazed by this incredible autumn season! It has become my favorite season since we have lived here.

I'm excited for next week! Not only is Fall my favorite season, but Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! I'm sad that we don't get to be with our family on this great day, but we are thankful for the friends in Redding that take us in every year. Turkey isn't my favorite meal, but I love everything else! I think mashed potatoes and sweet potato pecan crunch are the winners! My only problem with this meal is everything touching...ooooo I'm sure I'll have more to write next week, but for now happy Fall!

Spidey

Jasmine and spidey

Spidey golfs

Spidey gets his strength back

There wasn't any doubt when Sawyer said he was going to be Spiderman. He was telling people long before we had a costume or talked about what he would like to be. We got his costume early and he never waivered...He was Spiderman! Our church had a fall festival and we had a great time with all of our friends. I expected a room full of Spidey, but only one other of his friends came as a webmaster also. I think this is the end of our busy week. Enjoy the pictures!

Discovery Kingdom ....again!

We had free passes that expired this week, so we surprised Sawyer and went to "roller coaster city". We had a super time! It was a perfect weather day with small crowds. Zach and I didn't go on any major rides, but it was fun to experience everything with Sawyer. At one point we went over to the go carts to see if Sawyer was tall enough. Anyone that knows Sawyer realizes how big a deal it would be to drive a race car! Unfortunately, he was too short. I was so impressed with his attitude! I myself was very disappointed and couldn't understand why one had to be a certain height to ride the cars. He looked up at me and said, " It's ok, I'll be big next time mom and I can ride it." No whines or cries. How embarrassing when a 3 year old has a better attitude!

Pumpkins!

Sawyer and Kevin

My Pumkin

"I'm doing it!"

What a fun couple of weeks we have had! We went to a pumpkin patch with Sawyer's preschool and to another patch with our friends. It is a fun fall tradition! Sawyer did so much better this year putting his hand in the goop. Last year he refused and just wanted to paint. He was excited to put the "fire" in it. Unfortunately we carved on a napless day, so we only carved one pumpkin and than off to bed he went. Maybe next year we'll get a little more advanced.

Dirty Days

Zach has been finishing up our backyard. He has been a work horse. We are now just waiting for the sun to do its job in growing some grass! However, along with landscaping comes a little bit of dirt to deal with, alot of dirt actually!
Sawyer has been daddy's helper. At least that is the claim he is making! The pictures in the bath tub may not represent the true degree of dirt, but we wanted to share!

Ashland

I just returned from a great weekend in Ashland Oregon for our church's women's retreat. It was an awesome time for renewing my heart and mind(kind of a cheesy saying, but so true) Southern Oregon was in its full autumn display. There were colors in our surroundings that I've never seen. I didn't have my camera, so I have no pictures to share, but take my word for it....Amazing! Our speaker was right on in speaking challenging things from God's word. What did I take home? We are only here for the glory of God! He gives us all blessings! Nothing we do here is of our own ability. Pray, and pray some more, for prayer is another gift that He has given us. So much more is circulating through my head this morning, but I won't dump it all out!

It was a blessing to have some uninterrupted time with my friend Jenny. Our other roomates were slowly eliminated from the weekend due to illness, which was a big bummer. However, we never get time alone and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to take the mommy hat off for a few days and just be a girl. It was also nice to try on a ton of jeans till we found ones that fit instead of grabbing them off the rack and hoping they don't have to be returned.

Zach was great to stay home with Sawyer and show him a pretty cool time! They had baseball practice, a day at turtle bay, pizza and a playdate, and the big finale was a Monster Trucks Rally. Zach is tired this morning...I feel pretty rested!

Sawyer's First Day of Preschool

It took a long time to decide if Sawyer should attend preschool, but towards the end of the summer, we decided to give it a try. He goes to school at the end of our street, so we get to walk and I can see the playground from my kitchen. He attends Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He gets to take his Cars lunchbox and his teacher is Ms. Jen. He doesn't tell me all the details of his day, but he is all smiles when I pick him up. His first day he ran right over to the Rescue Heroes tower and didn't even look my way to say goodbye. I think he has adjusted better than me!

Fun in Arizona

Sawyer and I got to visit Arizona in August....Yes, August the most climate challenged month of the year. We weren't there for the weather, but to see our family which makes it all worth it!!! We found some great indoor activities and some outside ones too. We went roller skating, ice skating and to the Salt River. Sawyer got to swim a ton in Grams and Gramps' pool day and night! We went to my favorite ice cream parlor in Old Scottsdale-the Sugar Bowl. We also got to be a part of cousin Karis' third birthday party. This was a special treat as we usually miss all family birthdays.

I would say that our big highlight was attending the Diamondbacks game. It was Sawyer's first pro game and he loved everything. I love that the roof closes and there is AC!!! We did everything right...peanuts, cotton candy and giving the team our support in the gift shop!! After the game, the roof opened and there was a firework show. On our way home, we called Zach and sawyer said," when you build us a house, make the roof open so we can have a sparkler show!"

Even though our return to Redding was warm as well, it was great to be back with Zach!

The Emerald Forest

We just got back from camping in the emerald forest in Trinidad. We had a great time! We hung out on the beach, took a hike in fern canyon, the guys(and Kiah) fished on the surf, ate great food, bothered the sea life and hung out by the campfire. It was great to wear sweatshirts for a few days.

We had to send Kiah back to school when we got back. Too sad!

Six Flags...Here we come!

HAROLD THE HELICOPTER
THE BOOMERANG, do you see us on the ride?
SYLVESTER LIKED KIAH TOO MUCH!!


We did spend the night in the bay area, not knowing what we would do the next day. We went to Denny's and decided to try the amusement park. Sawyer hasn't been to one before and we weren't sure what he would be able to do. We were thrilled that there was so much for all of us to do. Sawyer was so excited about the Thomas Train town and riding harold the helicopter. He loved the fast rides and giggled the whole time! The cool thing at this park is there is alot of animals, so we went to some shows and enjoyed the cool exhibits. My favorite was the walruses!
We didn't bring Sawyer's stroller with us so we didn't know how long we would last. That little guy walked the entire day with only a few lifts. Way to go dude! Of course Zach and I took turns going on the big rides with Kiah. It was awesome. It has been about 9 years since I've been on a good ride! We have free passes to use before October, so hopefully we'll get down there again!

San Francisco

Kiah came to visit us in July and we took a little road trip to San Francisco. We didn't know what we were going to do, but we packed our bags just in case. We went to the big Farmer's Market. Sawyer was in fruit heaven. We sampled alot of fruit!! We walked around alot and took a trolley ride. Sawyer called it a "trophy ride" We spent alot of time at Golden Gate Park. Sawyer took a nap in the tulip garden and Kiah and I read Harry Potter. I have never had a bad San Fran day!

A Little Day Trip

One Saturday in July we drove up to Burney Falls. It is an hour drive and well worth the time in the car. we took a pretty good hike and enticed Sawyer with treats to keep him going. The weather was perfect that day, almost chilly under the big falls. The boys fished, but no luck till we went to our friends campsite where they caught a fish.

"Fish In the Making"

Sawyer had swim lessons in June with his buddies, Kevin and Kacia. They had so much fun and they all learned to love the water. Sawyer will get one more round of swim lessons starting this week. He is really close to being a swimmer!

Summer...so far

5 cousins
our family
the 3 year olds


I know I haven't blogged in awhile! Here are a few pictures from vacation in Pismo Beach with Zach's family. WE had a great time! All the cousins enjoy playing together and it is so much fun to watch. We hope that Sawyer will be close to his cousins even though we live far away. It is all about quality time!!!

Summer has been pretty relaxing! We had Tyler here for 3 weeks and he is going to start his new adventure in the Coast Guard this month. Good Luck Tyler! We went to a new campground(for us) a couple weeks ago by Mt Shasta. They had a free fishing day at the hatchery and of course we had to be there. I forgot my camera, but Sawyer got 3 huge trout!(Zach helped some)

We hope everyone is enjoying the warmth of summer. It rained here last night and I'm actually excited about the rain...I know, me the ultimate complainer of soggy weather!

take care!

Sawyer is 3

I can't beleive our little guy is 3 years old! He is so much fun and a true joy in our lives. We had his big fishing party on Saturday. It was a great bash! Since we are away from our families, I like to make his birthday a big deal with all of our friends. They are all so supportive and help us love on Sawyer. His party included a fih pinata, blue snacks and drinks, dirt and worm cake, and a bucket of live goldfish(Toby has managed to remove the last of the goldfish..oooh yuck!) Sawyer recieved a ton of gifts, all which he really likes! We wish we could have spent the special day with everyone!