Park bench...

I have come to realize that Nina and I are outdoor people, so we spend A LOT of time at the park. Sometimes we go 2 or 3 times a day. Here are some pictures of park days we have had over the last month or so.

We went to this park to take some pictures with the beautiful pear tree blossoms.

These pictures are from the park in our neighborhood (the most frequented park, by far). Nina loves getting dirty in the sand.

This is at Hart park; a huge park with ponds, ducks, rivers, waterfalls, etc.... Nina and her pal, Sadie had fun on the swings. The swings are actually Nina's favorite. Sometimes all she does is swing at the park the whole time.

Here is Nina feeding the ducks.

Nina and Atley had a good time checking out the waterfall.

Over the river and through the woods...

We took a short weekend trip to Los Osos to visit my Grandma Lemmon. It was the most beautiful, picturesque drive out there.

Off the side of the road was a big herd of sheep. I love the green grass and the hills in the background.

We passed by several almond tree farms. I am always amazed at how perfectly straight all the rows of crops are.

All of the wildflowers were in bloom and they were absolutely gorgeous. Here is a bright burst of orange poppies.

Ooo...these yellow ones are nice too.

About 5 minutes before we got to Grandma's house Nina became nauseated and threw up all over. Oh, what a pain to clean up barf on a car seat! She felt fine once we got there and struck up a friendship with a "friendly" neighborhood cat. At least, until the cat bit her. Ouch!

We went downtown to San Luis Obispo. Close to the mission there is a creek that Nina could have spent days in.

The water was way too cold for my liking, but Nina didn't seem to mind at all.

Here is a picture of my awesome Grandma.

Later on that day we headed out to Morro Bay. I think this picture captures the essence of the bay. I love the fog and how you can barely see the rock through it.

With everything to see and do, Nina found one of her true loves: stairs.

A huge tradition: feeding the sea lions and going to the aquarium.

One particular sea lion had a very loud bark, which Nina did NOT enjoy!

We had such a great time and look forward to visiting Grandma again soon!

Sweet Dreams

The other night as Tyson and I were getting ready to go to bed we heard some laughter from the next room over (Nina' room). She was belly laughing for about 30 seconds, then went right back to sleeping peacefully. It was one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard and it made me think, "What could she be possibly dreaming about?"

This is what Sundays do to me...

Sundays have to be the most exhausting day of the week, at least I know they are for Nina. We have one o'clock church, which is Nina's naptime. By the time we get home she is pooped. I really can't remember the last time she fell asleep when I was holding her, so I cherished the time with her. In fact I even let my sweet potatoes burn in order to hold her longer.

She didn't even wake up when we moved her. If you know her, that is so unlike her. It might be a long year with 1 o'clock church.

Happy Birthday Tyson!

Last week Tyson turned...hmm..let's see....27? No, that can't be right, because that means I will be 29 this year. Luckily, he had the day off work. We hung out as a family during the day, ate at PF Chang's for dinner, and had our friends, the Olsen's, over for cake and ice cream. It was a great way to celebrate the birth of a great guy!

Here we are getting ready to play Scattegories. Well, the girls got sidetracked by taking care of the kids and the boys got sidetracked by a basketball game, so we never got to play. Honestly, it's probably exactly what Tyson wanted to do for his birthday.

Family photo? What's wrong with this picture? Someone loves us more than our own daughter.

Nina was very happy to help Tyson open his presents.

Mommy's little helper!

Nina is always very interested in whatever I do around the house. The other day she LOVED when I washed my sheets. She had a blast playing and snuggling on my bed. It amazes me how entertained she is my the simplest things! I wish I was that easy to please.

President's Day

Over President's Day weekend we found ourselves traveling a lot between Bakersfield and Castaic. That's because Kevin, Jennalyn, and Bridget were down for the weekend and we wanted to spend as much time as we could with them. We had a great time seeing them and sure wish that they lived closer!

Here is Nina enjoying the drive. We actually enjoy the drive a lot more when she is like this!

One of Nina's favorite parts of Grandma and Grandpa's house is their animals. She spent a lot of time in the kennel with Jem. Scout spends her time avoiding Nina when we come down.

Here is Nina loving on Aunt Bea!

4 out of 5! Not too shabby. We really missed having Betsy and her family here as well.

Nina just loves Grandpa and Grandma. She gets excited whenever we talk about them and says, "Grandpa?" and looks around for them.

Tom and Mayer made the long trip from Valencia (10 minutes) to come and visit as well.

First thing in the morning Nina came downstairs and locked herself in the kennel. Maybe I should get one just for her to play in. I love her morning hair in this picture.