A Bathtub Full of Bathing BOYS!!

As part of our stuck-inside-due-to-smoke-and-bored activities, we've tried to get out of our house a few times to seek refuge and entertainment at our friends' houses. We had dinner at the McGregor's house and took the boys to get an ice cream cone at Ben & Jerry's. They got so messy with their cones, we decided to plop them all in the tub before we headed home. What a sudsy, splashy, fun, crazy idea that was!
Renton, James, Keegan & Owen all bathing together.

Things to do when it's so smoky you can't go outside...

There are several major fires still burning near our house and they are creating major smoke in the air. The air is so thick with smoke here that we've had to keep everything closed up and can't go outside for long. Owen's been sneezing, James has been coughing a little, and I've had a sore throat & headache for a week now. We're getting very burned out on being stuck inside, but we're making the most of it!

James & Owen have enjoyed painting with their new paints....

We built a fort in the livingroom with sheets & pillows.

Owen & I even made our own worm compost bin for our garage while James was at his preschool class the other day!

We're enjoying our relaxing time at home together, but boy am I ready to get OUTSIDE!!! We are all looking forward to our annual trip to Downieville for the 4th of July to sit a tthe river and go swimming!

Green Baby Expo

Last weekend I helped DeAnna run a Community Seeds booth at the Green Baby Expo in Chico. This expo was full of all kinds of great booths with vendors that are eco-friendly and targeted at families with young kids. Inside the main building we had a large Community Seeds booth with our t-shirts for sale, displays of our magazine pages, lots of great raffle prizes and our magazine projected from a laptop onto a screen. Outside, I ran a booth displaying several of our Evergreen 6 solar ovens, a solar paper craft and U.V. reactive nail polish that changes colors in the sun. Five students from Evergreen joined me and helped me run the booth. They did the crafts with the kids, cooked cinnamon twists in the ovens and invited people into our booth while I answered questions and told visitors about Community Seeds. It was a blast! It was so, so, so hot- I was totally sweaty & had heat stroke by the end of the day, but it was worth it! My students were so wonderful, it was fun hanging out with them and they helped so much, I couldn't have done it without them!

DeAnna, Kari and I in our inside booth.

Renton getting his nails painted with the u.v. reactive nail polish. Everyone loved how it changed colors in the sun!

Taylor showed up wearing a Community Seeds t-shirt! Yay! Adorable!

Our busy booth! Crafts, solar cooking, and more... oh my!

Kristin was right across from me with her Charli'z booth! It was fun being there with her!

My New Favorite Quote...

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

Staying home is good.

After the first few weeks of my summer vacation being so crazy with the trip to Ohio, Brooke & Jake's wedding and the fires, we've decided that just staying home is the best thing ever. The boys and I have so enjoyed the past few days of staying in our p.j.'s late, eating lunch at our own house, and playing outside. Playdough
Blowing dandilions
Riding bikes
Summertime toes
There's no-place like home!

Chico Outlaws Game

Brooke & Luke hold season tickets to the Outlaws, our local baseball team. We dieided to join them for a mid-week game and we had a blast! The stands were nearly empty, so we were able to spread out and have a good time. The boys were so impressed by the whole thing, we are going to have to go to more games!With so few fams at the game, the kids didn't have many people to compete with for Rascal's attention! Taylor was excited to give Rascal a hgh-five and James gave him a hug.
Early in the game, Luke took the kids over to the playground where they got very dirty and got to see a train go by close-up.

Owen danced to just about every song they played.
James & Taylor- pals!
Me & my two boys, having fun at the game!
Silly faces.....
What a sweetie! I couldn't resist putting this adorable picture of Taylor up. He is so cute!!

The boys meet Heidi

My cousins Matthew & Mary live about 2-minutes from the airport, so when we were on our way to Ohio, Matthew was so generous and offered to drive us to the airport & help with our bags, etc. We spent the night at their house the night before our flight. The boys LOVED meeting their sweet little second cousin, Heidi, for the first time too!

Brothers- the best thing ever...

Now that Owen's sleeping in the bottom bunk, James is right there with him when they go to sleep. A few weeks ago Owen started having a hard time getting to sleep. If he cried, James would climb down and get into bed with him. One night, on my way to bed, I stopped by their room to tuck them in and this is what I found...

Introducing: Mr. & Mrs. Jake & Brooke Wells

FINALLY!!! The wedding of the decade (yes, most of the rest of us were married in the NINETIES! Crazy!)

After all of the ups & downs of planning this wedding, it turned out perfect- beautiful, special and fun. Most of all, it was so wonderful to be a part of this important day for Brooke & Jake, two people we love so much! Congratualtions to Mr. & Mrs. Wells!!
Grandma Sally took the boys home after the reception for a sleepover!
Mim's did a wonderful job on the cakes- and they were so, so, so tasty too!

Uh, oh... the first post-ceremony butt grab!
I wrote a poem for Brooke & Jake in memory of all the trials & tribulations of putting this wedding together. I was so nervous to read it!
Owen & Charli danced the night away!
Sweet 1st dance picture...

Kelly & I with our handsome boys.

It's a Kelly sandwich!
Our beautiful bride!
Me & Tara with Brooke bafore the wedding.
James & Jordan being cute during the ceremony.
My little Holly! I love this girl!
After the reception, a bunch of us headed down to the Crazy Horse. It's been forever since we were all there together, so we had a blast. The night could not be finished without a sopt by our beloved Scrappy Dog. I am so happy to know that some people never move on in life- same Scrappy Dog guy selling the same hot dogs for the same price($2). Gotta' love Chico! Some things never change!

Ohio

The day school was out, the boys and I packed up & headed out to Ohio for Jason's sister, Keli's wedding and to visit family. Unfortunately, Jason's shift changed the week we planned the trip, so he was not able to go. That means me... by myself... with both boys... for 6-days...
It was wonderful to see everyone and to be a part of Keli & Sean's beautiful wedding.

Traveling with both boys by myself really was as difficult as it sounds though. The boys did great on the plane, but Owen screamed from the time we arrived and really didn't stop. He had moments of calm, but he really is a boy who likes his home & his routine.

I took hundreds of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites that sum up the trip:

During the rehersal dinner, a tornado came through. The power went off and we had to run into the bahtroom & hide under the sinks! Luckily, I had my laptop, so I threw "Finding Nemo" on so the kids wouldn't be scared. It worked perfectly- they just though we were going in the bathroom to watch the movie!

Me with Serena (friend from Germany) and Rochelle (Jason's middle sister) Keli with handsome James.

Poor Owen was so hot & unhappy! There was no air conditioning in the church and it was in the upper 90's with high humidity. Oh yeah, did I mention it was a full Catholic mass??? Poor baby was so hot!
Finally at the reception, we stripped Owen's shirts off and he was much happier! He loved dancing with Keli & the other girls!

Keli was a beautiful bride! Callie (Brian's daughter) and Allie (Jen's daughter) loved sitting with her.
The head table & kid table were so pretty with all the candlelight!

Meleani and Ari are friends from Brazil. They LOVED spending time with the boys. Ari doesn't speak much Engligh, but that didn't stop James from chatting her ear off for hours on end. He had no idea she couldn't understand most of what he was saying to her!Grandpa Kevin gives James a squeeze!Owen LOVED the cake! He had several pieces....Caught in a rare moment of happiness....
James with Cindy's mom and Great-Grandma Evelyn at the rehersal.James was so proud that he gained the courage to get all the way to the bottom steop of Grandpa Kecin's pool! It took him a long time, but he did it!
Owen loved driving Grandpa Kevin's boat!
A fun boat ride (notice the dark clouds in the sky... scary!).

We drove to Defiance to visit Grandpa Curt and the whole Behlke family one afternoon. We bar-b-qued and visited for quite a while. We were sad the weather was so bad, I really wanted to take the boys out to the Behlke's ranch to show them where their daddy grew up.

Great-Grandpa Rodell showing Owen the pond.

It is so green & beautiful in Ohio. Every lawn looks like this. I can't imagine the time they must spend mowing all this grass!!

Tickle-Time!
Curt & Shirley brought a cake for the boys. They were thrilled!
On the way home, our plane was delayed for over 2 hours. Entertaining these two in Detroit Airport for two extra hours (we were already there 2 hours early...) made for a very interesting evening....

We climbed, pushed the strolled loaded with all our junk around, ran, and made pretend calls to everyone we know... James kept saying, "Mom, they said I need to insert a coin!!!"

Finally on the plane and time for a snack!

Very soon after take-off, the boys were snoozing soundly. I thought it was adorable how Owen leaned over to fall asleep on his brother's lap!