Visiting Friends

Many years ago Jordan went on a missions trip with the organization Youth With a Mission (YWAM). It began with a Discipleship Training School in New Zealand. Then they went on an outreach portion to Thailand and Cambodia, everything totaled about 6 months. (It was actually just after this trip that we began to date, after being friends for a couple years, and having known each other since elementary school.) He met and became friends with people from all over the world, the leaders of his outreach portion were an engaged couple from Germany, and they were on "holiday" in California and stopped by to stay with us for a couple days! Chris and Teresa are married now, and we loved having them over. We took them sailing yesterday around the San Diego Harbor, we docked in Coronado and had dinner at Miguel's. Then enjoyed the lights of the city as we made our way back. Uncle Taylor was our Captain, and some of his friends came along as well. I'm not gonna lie...it wasn't all sunbathing and relaxation for us! We definitely kept many watchful eyes and hands on Clara and took turns keeping her entertained and Coleton happy. It was a pretty long day for the kids, we got on the boat around 2:30 and didn't get back until around 10:00pm. Then we still had to unload and drive home. They did great though for how tiring of a day it was.It was so fun to have them, they reminisced about their YWAM days, and we had fun figuring out all the differences and similarities to living in our different countries. Maybe one day when the kids are older we can go visit them in Germany!

Swim Lessons & 3 Months

Clara started swim lessons at the pool near our house. It is a parent/tot class, and it's really fun and I think she will learn some important things. We are doing a lot of water related activities this summer, so it's good for her to know about safety and begin to learn how to swim. They practice climbing out of the pool, waiting for an adult to be ready to catch before jumping in, paddling, kicking, holding their breath, and some fun singing and playing time. My sister and Ella are doing the class with us, and that makes it even more fun! She has had a couple lessons so far, and Uncle Jesse and Aunt Holly came up to Ramona to hang out and have a BBQ so they watched her first lesson and played in the pool with her while we were waiting to start.

Coleton also turned 3 months old yesterday!
He is getting very strong, and if you are holding him reclined he is constantly trying to sit up. He does this in his swing, bouncy seat, and his car seat. He ends up just getting frustrated sometimes because I have him strapped in, or if I have him propped up somewhere he just topples over. He is holding his head up really good, just a little bit of a bobble so I think he'll be ready for the bumbo soon, and I know he'll love it! He is just such a sweetheart, he smiles all the time and giggles. So much fun!

Rocking Horse Ranch

My brother-in-law Taylor volunteers at Rocking Horse Ranch in El Cajon. It is a ranch that rescues and rehabilitates neglected or abused horses. He invited us to go for the evening and go on a ride. Even though I have grown up in Ramona, which is big into equestrian activities, I have never ridden a horse! I was really excited to go, and so was Clara, she loves all animals. It was up on a hill and absolutely gorgeous. First Taylor took us around to meet some of the horses, then showed us how to get a horse ready to ride. Brushing them, cleaning the hooves, saddling up, etc. Then we led the horse down to the arena. I was definitely a little intimidated by how massive the horses were, and I think they could tell I had no idea what I was doing, because the horse pretty much led me! It took me a while to feel comfortable enough to be in control. Taylor also gave us some riding lessons, and it was surprisingly easy and fun! We took turns excersizing the horse and giving Clara rides around the arena.In exchange for the horse lessons, I packed us all a picnic dinner. We had chickpea pita sandwiches with cucumber salad, and blondies for dessert. It was delicious and perfect for a hot day.It was such a beautiful location that we tried to snap some impromptu family shots. It's really hard with a toddler and a baby to get some good pictures, but we tried!Thanks Taylor! We had a lot of fun and maybe we can do it again someday!

Independance Day!

The 4th of July was jam packed this year. Unfortunately, Jordan had to work (reoccurring theme here, huh?) We started the day at the park near our house, they have an adorable little parade. I don't think I had seen this parade since I was in it a very looong time ago. Our cul-de-sac made a float for the parade, we were George Washington and the cherry tree, the one little boy on our street was George Washington, and all the little girls were cherries, ah the good ol' days. Anyways, this parade brought back memories, and the kids really enjoyed it. Then the park opens up with food, games, jumpy things and entertainment on the stage. We stayed for a couple more hours and let Clara explore and wear herself out. The kids got a nap in the middle of the day, then we headed out to Auntie Alissa and Uncle Jon's for a BBQ. We had some delicious food and did a little more relaxing. Lastly we went to the field behind the high school to watch the fireworks. Everyone brings blankets and chairs and it was a great show this year. It's also fun to run into people you know in this small little community, and we always meet new people along the way. Our town has a lot to offer, and it's nice to just stay local and have so many activities to do!I have been lagging on the blog posts lately. For example, Coleton's 2 month post. I took the pictures, but never got it together. So...at his appointment he weighed 14 lbs 1 oz and was 26 inches long. He is a big dude! He is getting so fun, he coos and smiles all the time and giggles. He is a great baby and I finally have his napping and nighttime schedule under control, which feels great! Things are still very busy around here, some other things that don't seem to get done are dentist appointments and oil changes. Oh well, I guess another month and another thousand miles won't hurt things...hopefully :/