California

I'm sad to say we are back from California and slowly getting into the routine. We went nonstop the entire trip and haven't slowed down yet. The kids had a great time; each time we got in a car they asked if we were going to more "fun places?" People would ask them where they lived and this was Kate's reply,"Right now, we live in California but in a little while, we have to move back to Arkansas."
California is such a beautiful place-there is always something gorgeous to look at on the coast. Here were some of my favorite...
The cute little town of Tiburon

An old lighthouse (which I cannot remember the name)

Rodeo Beach

Monterey Bay

San Francisco Harbor

There are so many things for kids to do..
We went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum for Kids and spent half a day there. They had all kind of exhibits: a wave workshop, a harbor scene, a sunken pirate ship, sea island living area, Golden Gate bridge under construction, and the list goes on and on.
Will loved the life sized harbor scene where they had a boat he could steer and fish from, then reel the fish in and send them to the market.

Kate loved all the animal exhibits and life in a coral reef.

Eli just liked getting wet and pulling levers in the wave workshop.

Just uphill (of course) from the apartment where we stayed in the seminary, there was a great playground with a beautiful view of the bay. The kids played there everyday while Mommy enjoyed the California breeze and scenary. It was perfect!



We went to a farmers market in San Raphael-we ate some great food, had some of the best white peaches and grapes and danced to the live music...lots of fun!



Anytime Kate didn't think anyone was looking, she would start dancing and twirling to the music. It was so cute.

We got to play on the Rodeo Beach one day. Notice we are on a beach and wearing sweatshirts...very chilly! The kids enjoyed just playing in the sand and Will and Nate braved the frigid temperatures and went for a quick dive.





We spent a couple of days in the city. The kids got to take a sailboat ride under the bridge, ride the cable cars and visit the sea lions at Pier 39.
Will and Daddy on the cable cars

Lombard Street...neat, but what were they thinking

Will and the crazy street entertainer that needs to get a real job

Aboard the "Adventure Cat 2"


Our last day, we went to Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We visited the aquarium, had the kids' faces painted, rode tons of rides and ate all the 75 cent corn dogs we wanted. A great finale to the trip!
Spidey Boy (Of all the neat designs they could do, Kate had to have a mermaid which turned out okay, but not cute enough to make the picture cut! :))

Hands on stuff is always a hit.

They loved the jellies.

Eli, of course, getting wet and sucking his thumb.

Looking out at Monterey Bay

On the Boardwalk





All in all, it was a fun, (chilly) trip!
Sorry for such a long post...too many pictures!

Skate Shoes

In the recent weeks, Will has become obsessed with what he calls "skate shoes." As school is quickly approaching, we went shopping for clothes at the Promenade. I told him he couldn't wear skate shoes at school, but if we found some, he could buy them with his money to wear at home. In every store, he would walk up to the counter and ask if they had skate shoes. Each time, they said no. We had gone through about eight stores, and he was starting to get frustrated. As we were leaving the last store, he said "Well, I think one of you should get skate shoes because I have walked all over, and I am tired of everybody saying no to me!" The store clerk laughed and promised to see if they could get some soon. That night I checked online for some CHEAP skate shoes and of course Wal-Mart came through. They had a pair for $9.00 with $.97 shipping. You can't beat that! The only catch is that the shoes are a boys size 4 (Will is a kids 13). Oh well, he can grow into them. I bought them for him and told him that the "box man" would be bringing him something special really soon. Last Friday, we watched all morning for the box man. FINALLY, at lunch, the doorbell rang. Will was so excited. He tore into the box and pulled out the shoes. I have never seen his face light up like that. It really was priceless. The rest of the day, he would tell me how much he loved his shoes and would wear them forever. That night as he was going to bed, he looked at me and said "Mommy, I love you with my whole heart. You're the bestest mommy in the whole, wide earth." I have to admit, I nearly cried. Its nice to know that in spite of all my screw-ups as a mom, skate shoes can put me back on top! :)

Kate's 3rd Birthday

Our little girl recently turned three. She had a special day planned just for her. Daddy took her to the donut shop and to play at Lokomotion in the morning. That afternoon, I took her to get her nails painted, look at wedding dresses (which she loves) and shop for shoes and other girlie things. All of our family met her at Chick-fil-a that evening for cake and presents. She had a great time.





Since Eli was born, Kate has shared a room with Will. For her birthday, she got to move into her new room. It turned out really cute and she (with time) has grown to love it!





This is when she saw it for the first time. It was really sweet!

Nate (a.k.a. Steven's Hero)

This last week, our family made a quick trip to Dallas, TX. A friend of ours was killed in a tragic car accident, and we were able to attend the service honoring his life. Our good friends Brooke and Steven were also there. While eating lunch that the church provided for family, I notice Steven take a bite of green bean casserole and cough a couple times. He calmly stands up and walks around the table, where I thought he was headed to the large trash can located behind Brooke and me. But no, instead he walks over to us and is making a faint wheezing sound. All of the sudden, his eyes get really big, and he makes the choking sign. I quickly grab Eli from Brooke- I wasn't about to be the one to do the Heimlich, plus she's a nurse and well trained in life saving maneuvers (or at least that's how I justified it to myself). Nate is now standing beside Steven (and praying he won't be called into action too). Brooke calmly but firmly says "Nate, get him!" Nate puts his arms around Steven and starts doing the Heimlich . The first couple of thrusts are ineffective. Brooke yells, "Harder, Nate." Nate puts aside all fear and goes to town with another 3-4 forceful thrusts. On the fourth thrust, Steven starts coughing and spits the GREEN BEAN (yes, a green bean!) into a napkin in the hand of some random guy who we never saw again. Kind of weird ...but anyways, we were all thankful that Steven made it, especially in light of the fact that we were already at a funeral for his cousin. Steven's sweet little grandmother was crying and wouldn't talk to Steven for a few minutes because he gave her such a scare. I believe her first words to him after the incident were "Didn't I teach you to chew your food?" The rest of the day, Nate was a hero and loved by all of Steven's family. Nate said he felt like it was the fast and furious prayers he was saying throughout the whole ordeal, as opposed to his thrusting techniques, that were successful. Needless to say, Steven is very appreciative, although he thinks Nate may have bruised some internal organs in the process. I'm sure Nate will let him hear about this for quite a while.

Brooke drew this picture of Nate for the kids; I thought it was funny.

I'm glad to see that JBHunt defines him...maybe he can be their new superhero mascot. :)

Brother's Blog

I have always considered myself blessed in the area of siblings. My brother and I are two years apart in age and have always been very close. Ryan is now in San Francisco with his very fun, very sweet wife Rachel. He is in his last semester at Golden Gate Seminary and preaches at Abiding Way Church. I am very proud of all that he has accomplished, his calling, and the man that he has become. He is a great brother, uncle and friend. He recently wrote a guest blog on Paster Floyd's Between Sundays. You should take a look!
http://www.ronniefloyd.com/stretched-for-the-gospel/

Pictures Galore

Here's what we've been doing...

Eli's First Birthday

The Birthday Boy

Uncle Ryan flew in from San Francisco

Eli loves to play with cars

But, he doesn't care for cake

The Gentry Safari
Alissa and I took all six of our kids to the safari one Friday (unaware that it was an official field trip day for all the local schools). The kids loved it and we had a great time! (I would like to see the daddy's attempt something like that)
Will and Caleb (the sweet ones)

Kate and Eli (the ones with attitudes)

Easy going Eli just taking it all in

They loved petting the baby animals. Will's favorite was the snake. Kate loved the bunnies. Eli loved this calf.

The highlight of their trip, however, was chasing these chickens. They ran around for at least 30 minutes (good way to wear them out!).

Devil's Den
We celebrated the Kilpatrick's departure with one last family outing to Devils Den. We hiked around, explored the caves and finished the evening with pheasant fajitas...thats right, I tried pheasant for the first time and it was really good (tastes like chicken). Well done, Jordan!
My cavemen

Jordan and all the little troopers

Water wars

Throwing rocks in the river...always a hit with kids.

Mommy and Eli survived the hike!

Canoing on the Elk River
For Memorial Day, we took the kids canoing. They had never been before, and they loved it. Just the right amount of swimming, fishing and boating. The water was high from all the rain so there were even a few little rapids which thrilled the kids...and Daddy.
The family (Eli stayed with Grandma and PePa...not quite ready for the rapids!)

Kate loves the water

Will is our little fisherman

They liked to ride in the very front of the canoe with me...they kept getting frustrated with me for hitting them in the head with my paddle.

Me and my sister-in-law Kristin. We had a great weekend together!

Lazy Days at Home...we have enjoyed having time to take it easy.
Playing out back on their John Deere

Will is Daddy's official helper. He has become pretty handy when it comes to yard work.

Kate dancing in the puddles while helping Daddy wash GRANDMA'S bike. :)

All the little helpers...we are so blessed!

A Promise of Things to Come

I apologize for my absence from the blogging network over the last couple of months. The weeks have flown by and we have been taken with them. Since I last posted, we celebrated Eli's first birthday. Its hard to believe he is already one. My tiny 6lb. 12oz. baby is now a 20lb. 4 oz. little boy. Although his looks and weight have changed, he is still the most content, happy bundle of joy a mom could ask for. His smile continually brightens my day. To celebrate we had a small, family party for him which was extra special since Uncle Ryan and Aunt Chi-Chi were able to fly in from "the bridge" (Golden Gate) and attend. Eli had lots of fun being the center of attention at the party, but strongly disliked the cake. Much like his older brother, he did not appreciate having his fingers and face covered in icing...i thought boys liked making messes; maybe that comes with age!

On a different note, we have also had to say goodbye to our closest friends. Over the last year and a half, we have greatly enjoyed having Steven and Brooke live so close. Always in the past, they have lived a good distance away, and we were only able to see them once, maybe twice, a year. Needless to say, we have been spoiled having them in Fayetteville. Every week we spent countless hours talking, playing with the kids,eating out, watching movies and enjoying our moments together. The kids always looked forward to the next time they got to see them. Brooke and Steven poured a lot of time and love on our kids, and the kids love them. This last Sunday, the Johnson's packed up and began their journey back to Charleston, South Carolina. They always enjoyed living there and just felt it was a good fit for their family. For us it is bittersweet; we are happy for them, but we will greatly miss their company. The kids are already asking when we can go to the beach and see them and the doggies again. Please pray for them as they begin moving in to their new house and start new jobs. They have already faced many setbacks and frustrations, but nothing that cannot be overcome. We look forward to going out their to visit. We loved the Charleston area, its history, beauty and southern charm...who knows, maybe one day we'll end up there ourselves!

I promise to post some pictures of of Eli's party and the kids soon. Its feels good to be back!