rose

matt gave me a rose today.

I like it and wanted to show someone

Again, God's master artwork!

see that guy back there?...

i hope you can meet him someday if you haven't already! :)

The Big 6-5

Matt's Dad turned 65 this year...and to celebrate, he and matt went to a Sacramento Rivercats game!

Watch for falling bats and balls??? Hmmm

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADO!!!

and the answer is....

Trina is the WINNER!!! She was right in guessing that Rachel and Chris are actually ok and were just playing with Photo Shop on their computer!!! If you've never tried it, you MUST!!! Especially if you're in need of a good laugh!

These are just a sampling of the many pictures we took one evening!!

My beautiful friend Rachel! I wonder how her kids will turn out!

We thought this picture looked a lot like the eagle on Muppets. See the resemblance?

And Mr. Bean of course!

OH YEAH!!! some pictures are just a bit TOO scary!

The guys decided that Rachel and I have become a little TOO close... :)

It was hopeless...so we're still as close as ever!

And the GROUP PICTURES!! There were several more but some are actually scary looking with the strange effects that are available. You'll have to visit if you want to see them. We don't want to scare any onlooking kids!

We had a FABULOUS TIME!!!

we're not in Oregon anymore..

some things that remind me that we're in California

* SUN SUN SUN

* PALM TREES!!!

* Lizards

* SUN

* I now know how to pump my own gas

* SUN

* large fees for everything

* SUN

* LOTS of tailgaters and drivers who suddenly cut accross 3 lanes of traffic to get off the freeway.

* SUN :)

* No talking on cell phones in the car without an ear piece

* SUN!!

* WIDE roads, even in neighborhoods

* U-Turns!

* SUN!

* LARGE dragon flies and bumble bees

* Sales tax ("oh, i guess i DON'T have enough money for that")

* SUNSHINE!!!

* all the womens nails and hair are done..."is that a REAL tan?"

* "you don't RECYCLE" WHAT???!!!" (i never realized how truly Oregonian I am)

* what's rain?

* SUN SUN SUN!!! and someone just told me that we might have a dry winter without much rain..."oh, that's too bad" :)

Anyone want to move here? ...or at least come visit??? :)

Weekend with the Greens

We had a great time with the Greens a couple weekends ago...but something strange was going on....from the next two pictures you can see that Chris and Rachel's faces are having issues!! :) Any guesses as to what's happening?

...it was contagious too...but no pictures of me and matt til the next blog!!! hee hee!!!

We got to meet Benjamin for the first time, who is now 6 months old! His smiles bring all kinds of joy...he especially loved swimming through the air in matt's hands!

And Ethan is now 2.5...he's potty training and adjusting to LOTS of changes...a new brother, moving overseas away from lots of friends, living with grandparents....etc.
I can't believe we forgot to take pictures of the AMAZING food that Chris' parents made for us all weekend. Gary even got matt to wear an apron!

This is Carol, Chris' mom. Gary and Carol were so gracious to not only have their kids staying with them, but also us!

Rachel's parents and brother and sister-in-law also came by! If you can't tell yet, Rachel's family has become like a second family to me. I just missed seeing her grandparents who were out of town.

Lots of fun, rest and great time with friends! We hope to get to visit again soon since we're only 5 hours away instead of across the world from each other. We love you guys!

I LOVE MATT

"Matthew" means "Gift from God"

It's true! That's what my man is to me!

I LOVE YOU MY FAVORITE!!!

zoe & joshua time

Uncle Matt having fun with Zoe at our apartment pool! I didn't feel well so I took the pictures.

I was quite impressed with matt's ability to be a dolphin! He was quite fast even under water! He's a great uncle!

Just ask Zoe!

On another evening, I got to spend some one-on-one time with Joshua! This picture is blurry but it shows his excitement when i asked if he wanted to help me with some plants and DIRT!!!

We had a lot of fun...and got water and mud everywhere!!!...and you can kind of see our patio, which is my new favorite place! I've discoverd mom's enjoyment of flowers...and in the evenings, i love sitting in the quietness by the twinkle lights to read.