Strawberry Picking

Hello my dears, It's been a while. 

We have been so busy with life lately, that I am shocked it is June already. Ahh!! I still can't believe it! School will be out in two weeks, it is hot and sunny out, and everything is in full bloom here in the NW.

We went for a drive to the countryside today. I love the rolling fields and hills. It always makes me want to move out there. Strawberry u pick is open! Yay! The kids and I love picking berries. 

Not only do we have fun, make memories but we also come home with some delicious berries to eat and bake with. 

I am so excited to see what else this summer brings. 

Thanks for visiting, 

William's 3rd Birthday

My dear sweet baby boy has turned three! I don't say sweet lightly, he really is sweetest three year old you will meet. I kept waiting for the "terrible twos" to come, but they never did. 

 Out of all my kids he LOVES cuddles, hugs and kisses. He will come up to me multiple times throughout the day to hug and kiss me. He melts my heart and I can't stop from smooching his chubby little cheeks 100 times a day. 

We had a lovely party to celebrate his birthday. William loves anything that screams BOY. Trucks, cars, trains, dinosaurs, boats... I can go on and on.  It is like he is programed to love this stuff. 

Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of girl toys around the house, but he could care less for dolls,  play food and anything else that isn't a “boy” toy. 

He is fascinated by fire trucks, ambulances and police cars. I am sure it has something to do with their  loud sirens. So this year we threw him a fireman party. He loved it! and I loved planning it.

People ask me why I throw big parties for my kids every year. Well, coming from a large family, I never had a birthday party as a child.  I never had a day to celebrate me. A day to be showered with attention.  It is something I vowed to myself I would do once I had kids of my own. So as long as I am able (financially) I will celebrate my children by showering them with attention, love, cake and presents. They will have a day that is all about them. 

Heres a peek into William's special day:

 -Happy birthday my sweet boy!-

brick back ground paper AMAZON

fire hydrant cupcake stand AMAZON 

check table cloth AMAZON

fire cake pics AMAZON 

Birthday banner AMAZON 

fire fighter candles AMAZON 

fire man party hats AMAZON

fire center piece AMAZON  

Fire truck paper plates AMAZON

cookie cutters AMAZON

fire man costume AMAZON  

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Winter Vacation 2016

We recently went away on a little winter getaway. It was our third year going to Bend Oregon, and I was still blown away with how beautiful it is. It truly was a winter wonderland. 

You see, we live in a area which never gets more then about an inch of snow (which ends up melting fairly quick) so to be surrounded by snow up to our knees and more falling was amazing. 

The kids could not get enough of it. They wanted to spend every daylight hour outside. Even William (our two year old) enjoyed the snow this year. Last year he hated putting on all the snow gear and wanted us to carry him around in the snow. This year, he lay on the bed patiently while I got his snow pants, boots, gloves, coat and hat on.

I don't know about you, but after helping the kids put on and take off their snow gear two or four times a day for 4 days, I was ready to go back home where there is no snow. Do any of you know what I mean? It can be exhausting (whew). Anyways, I always look forward to our winter vacations, just to get away from the busyness and pressure that we can sometimes feel this time of year, and reconnect with the family and be together without anywhere to be and anything to do.

-our evenings could not have been more perfect-

-the beautiful cabin we stayed in-

-slow mornings are the best kind of mornings-

\

-sledding and building forts, a few of his favorite things-

-love his rosy cheeks-

Strawberry picking

Today was busy. Today was exhausting. Today was perfect. 

I had no intention of going anywhere but grocery shopping today, so when my cousin's wife texted me saying that there are U pick strawberries not far from my house, I had to go.  I always end up missing strawberry season, most farms say that they are available to pick in June, well by the time June comes around, all the berries are gone. So I told myself we would just see, maybe buy a box or two. I grabbed the kids buckets "just in case" and piled everyone into the car. 

The kids were more then happy about going to a farm, especially to pick some berries. 

Well, when I got the the field, turns out that they only opened yesterday, score! They had freshly picked strawberries at the stand,  Sure, I could have just bought a box at the stand, but did I? (well I bought a box to give to my neighbor) but no, I had to drag everyone one across the field on a hot, sunny day to get our own strawberries. 

Em and Nico had a contest going, which one would fill up their bucket faster. What is it about that age? Everything has to be a contest? Then someone always gets upset because they don't want to be the looser, and then fights start..... sigh..... yeah......this can go on all day long, but they can't stay mad at each other for more then a few minutes, they absolutely adore each other. Nico misses Em while she is at school, and asks me a few times during the day, when is Em going to be home. He adores her, and she loves that. 

My two year old was a sweetheart, he is a total mommy's boy, always by my side. Today was no exception. He had to be in the same row as I was at all times, if I hopped over a row, he would follow me. He would point at ripe berries and tell me where to pick. Once he picked one, he would carefully inspect it and if it suited his standards, it went into his bucket. If not, he flung it with all his might across the fields saying "ay yai yai" It his new thing. He got it from me, when I change his diaper I would say "ay yai yai" which basically means oh boy.  So if something is dirty, broken, or if he has a dirty diaper, he comes up to me and says "ay yai yai". I think it is the cutest thing ever. 

Well, we went, we saw, we picked, we ate.  The kids were so excited to surprise daddy with their strawberries, and take a box to our neighbor. We will most likely go again soon, I want to get more berries for freezing and for making freezer jam. I love this season. I love spring. I love summer. I love warm and sunny days. Today was perfect. 

How beautiful are those berries? 

Thanks for visiting, 

Gardening with the kids...

Emily goes back to school tomorrow after a wonderful spring break. Her backpack is hanging downstairs, her pencil box is filled with new sharpened pencils and a fresh new eraser. Lunch is packed, and the dress she chose to wear tomorrow is folded on her dresser. As think about our spring break, I can't help but smile. Although, we didn't get to go on a family vacation, as I hoped we would, we still managed to have a nice spring break, filled with memories. We went to the zoo, the tulip farm, family bike rides, parks, multiple frozen yogurt runs and so on.  We spent the rest of the time we had in our back yard, the kids came up with new games daily, they were pirates one day and pioneers the next. As I watch them play, I can't help but think back to my childhood. I was blessed to grow up in a large family, we didn't have a TV, so most of our time was spent in pretend play. I remember hauling tons of toys outside and setting out our "houses" or "stores".  

Since we have been spending so much time outside, it was time to spruce up the yard. I loaded the kids into the SUV this morning and headed not to one, but two home and garden stores in order to get everything on my list. While the kids and I planted our garden, hubby built shelves in the shed and organized it. We brought out all our patio things and set everything up. The yard looks so great now, and we are looking forward to spending a lot of time out here. 

 Thanks for visiting,