Visiting Alexia

Grandma Carol took Brielle & John on a day trip to visit Alexia. They spent a fun couple of hours at the nearby children's museum. Then they met up with Alexia when she was done with school for the day, and they went out to dinner. Here are some photos Alexia sent.

Hmm... ? Looks like Alexia was feeding John lemons?!

Our neighborhood hardware store

Yesterday we were driving home from visiting our new cousin Truman, when our kids noticed an inflated bounce house at the nearby hardware store. They asked to go, but we had to get John's nap accomplished first. So a couple hours later, we headed back over. When we got there, we learned they took it down because of the rain. And it was still drizzling.

They had a lot of kids' activities in the green house. They said the activity tables were PACKED earlier, but the rain chased everyone away. John & Brielle were the only kids there and spent an hour doing a few projects. It was "first class service" because the kids had the place to themselves, and the store employee wouldn't even accept our $5 donation per kid that was required earlier in the day! They painted & decorated pumpkins:

Brielle's finished pumpkin:

John's pumpkin:

They each planted a pansy to take home:

Brielle had her face painted for the first time:

John let Tim paint designs on the back of his hands.

What a fun afternoon :)

Welcome, Truman!

We're very excited about another new cousin! Bob & Becky welcomed Truman Vincent into their family in the early morning hours on Friday, September 24th. Bob & Becky left their house a little after 1 am. It was another smooth & quick delivery for Becky, as Truman arrived at 3:15 am. Truman joins his siblings: Dorothy Jo, Grant, Carter, Wilson, Pierce, & Lincoln. (Did you notice all the boys have Presidents' names? :) )

Here's John checking out his future play-buddy:

Truman was very alert during our visit today. He's a happy, healthy, cute little boy! We had fun talking about which other brothers he resembles.

I love the expression on Brielle's face as she got her first up-close view of Truman.

Brielle was excited about holding another new baby.

Brielle & John also enjoyed a JELLO snack while we visited. I think they have learned that there are snacks when you visit the hospital because it was one of the first things they asked for when we arrived.

ATV rides

John & Brielle like going for rides on Grandpa Ted's ATV. John especially. They like to go look at the trains that go by. Lots of trains... trains that move VERY fast.

My heart definitely was beating faster when we went under this bridge! Tim stopped and we sat under it for several seconds until I shouted (shouted, because I had to be louder than the thundering train), "AHHHHH! LET'S GOOOO!!"

Brielle kept asking me later that day and for the next week, "Why did you tell Dad to GO when we were under the bridge? Was the bridge breaking?" I couldn't think of a perfect answer in that moment. I told her the bridge was not breaking. But then her "Why?" questions resumed. I didn't want to use the word "scared" because I don't want her to be scared of too many things yet.


I guess it's kind of like when you scream when you're on a roller coaster but you're not truly scared because you know you are safe, and I didn't know how to put that into terms for a 3 year-old. :)

Jenny & Jef's Wedding

Jenny & Jef were married on September 10th in the beautiful Carmel Valley, California. It was a gorgeous day... and the wedding was perfect.

Their good friend Tanja performed the marriage ceremony: it was sweet, sentimental, & funny :). Jenny & Jef wrote their own vows which, like Tanja's ceremony were also very intimate to the couple, but with a little humor. One of Jenny's creative vows went something like this... "I promise when it's been cloudy for 60 days and there is no swell, I will let you run away to the mountains to get your fix" :). (For those who don't know, Jef REALLY loves to surf, kayak, rock climb, trail run, etc.)

Brielle was the flower girl and John was the ring bearer. They did a pretty good job for a 3 year old & 2 year old. Our "walk down the aisle" started about 25 yards BEHIND the last row of chairs. Brielle did a nice job dropping all her petals; however, she ran out before she got to the people:). John walked on his own until he saw the crowd looking at him... he hesitated for just a few seconds, then Brielle caught up to him, and he started walking again, making it to the front. They stood with me for parts of the ceremony, but they were a little too chatty at times. (sorry, Jenny!)

Photos after the ceremony...

The beautiful couple... Dr. & Mrs. Field!!

SISTERS

Here's Johnny! We had a pink, clip-on tie all ready for this day, however, he wasn't crazy about having the top button done. "Too tight", he kept saying. He still looks just as good without the tie. And the brown Converse shoes were Alexia's idea- so cuuuute.

And beautiful Brielle LOVED LOVED LOVED being the flower girl. She was so proud:). She was protective of her white basket full of petals before the ceremony. She didn't want to lose any. In fact, she saw some rose bushes, and starting plucking more petals off so that she could fill her basket even more.

Jef & Jenny in front of the rustic buildings at Holman Ranch.

In the days before our trip, we told the kids we were going to be gone for 5 days and stay in a hotel. We arrived on a Wednesday night and left Sunday morning. On our last night, we were telling Brielle that we were getting on an airplane the next morning to fly home. She said "No, I am gonna stay for FIVE days!" She thought the trip passed quickly too. :)

Congratulations again, Jenny & Jef! We all had a wonderful time and couldn't be happier for the 2 of you as you begin the rest of your life together. Hooray!

My "little" sister :)

This girl got married last week! :)

Congratulations, Jenny & Jef!

Patches the Pony