Back from the Beach

Sunday we left for another family adventure. This time we went to Sunset State Beach in Watsonville. The weather was perfect, the campground was really nice, and a good time was had by all. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

What is that face he is making?? I don't know....

Why do I bother with these two? They never smile, the brats!


Feeding the bat rays...

And of course we went to the beach every day. As soon as we got there every day, Jackson would grab his daddy's hand and drag him out there to face the waves. We even went to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, but just to walk around a bit and play a few video games and play on the beach....the rides weren't going during the week, and it would have been too expensive for this trip anyway. The Boardwalk reminds me of my childhood, my grandparents, my cousin Kay, fun times, and just being a kid, cause I went there so many times growing up. Oh, we even drove by my grandparents old home......which was kinda sad. I miss them!!
~~~
And.....now for the exciting news!!!.........
Cara is coming home tomorrow!!!!!!
It will be a short visit, but she will be home from sometime tomorrow evening to sometime Sunday morning. She is getting a ride home with a young man we know from karate, who is coming home for a karate seminar/grand opening of the new karate dojo, which is opening up in Pine Grove. She doesn't want to attend the seminar part, but she wanted to go to the grand opening, and of course what she really wants is a chance to be home for a little while. So, while it's a long trip for a short time home, we'll take it and the time we get with her!! So tomorrow I will be cooking some lasagne and homemade bread for my girl, who requested some "home food".
That's all for now. :-)

Last Friday....

We took a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house....
where you'll always find......
rest and relaxation,
great food and plenty of it,
an ever present candy bowl,
never ending ice cream,
plenty of kid movies to watch,
good times,
and an overwhelming feeling of love and belonging.
Thanks Mom and Dad!
We love you!!!

Strange conversation that just took place in the Houseful of Blessings

Child: "I had to check to see if my maggot was still alive."
Me: "Why do you have a maggot?"
Child: "It's the acorn's pet."

Me: "Oh.......I see."

*Luckily, it wasn't really a maggot; it was one of those oak tree worm thingys. :-)

Ramblings

I promised myself I would be more faithful about blogging...so I can remember things, for my Mom, and to keep Cara up to date about life in the Houseful of Blessings while she is at college.....

So, while I don't have anything earthshaking to say, here is a couple of pictures. The first is of Jackson on his real birthday. I know that we celebrated it early with Danny this year, but we just don't pass up an excuse to have cake around here. It's just not done. So here is the little guy with his second birthday cake of 2010. :-)

This picture is just of last Friday's pizza night. Almost every Friday, I make 4 pizzas, and then...well, then we eat them. We really love pizza. And this last Friday, even without Cara and Colette, we only managed to have 4 pieces left. (And I only ate 2 pieces...there was some mighty hungry kids around here.)
We are still getting used to having Cara away. Cara is still adjusting to being away. We talk every day on "Instant Messaging", and many days on the web-cam for a few minutes too. She is still finding her way around and learning what she wants to do and who God wants her to be.

Monday was Labor Day and for the first time in several years, Ralph had it off of work. Danny was off too and so Ralph declared it a wood-splitting day. Sooo, we rented a splitter and all the boys worked really hard outside with Ralph and got lots of wood split...and we still have alot of wood left to split...eventually. The girls helped me in the house with some cleaning projects, and then they made Christmas cookies....on Labor Day. :-) Then, after all the work was done, we had a big family barbecue--ribs, corn on the cob, watermelon, potato salad, the girls' cookies, and ice cream. It was a good day. Only missing one thing....(or one girl)... :-(

Then Tuesday was back to school and the routine. Some of the kids have little colds, so we are trying to get a little extra rest. But other than that, life goes on.

God has sure given us some beautiful weather and a beautiful world to live in, for which I am very thankful.

So.........that's all the latest in our little world.