Dad's Day

Ryland said to me the other day: "We are having Father's Day. It is just like Mother's day. But for Dad's." I love the circular reasoning of this explanation. :)

For Father's day this year, we went to lunch with my mom and dad, and the Weichel's at Sylvina's Basket for a Mexican lunch buffet. It was SOOO yummy and really nice to visit with everyone. Then, the guys went golfing - this was Ryland's first real golf experience...Brad said he did great and was really able to keep up. Watch out Tiger! :)

I think he may have his sports mixed up!

Graduation Day...

Today is a strange day for emotions. Today is my dad's last day at the Woodland Police Department. Today is the last day of preschool for Ryland. For both of them, it is Graduation Day. My dad, graduates to a new stage, retirement, a little bit uncertain, a little bit anxious, but excited and eager for the next thing. His impact in our community was evident on Saturday night at a party we threw for him ( I will post more on that later). I know he will continue to work and touch the lives of those around him - he just can't help it - but it is still so weird the the chapter of the Department is now closed. I love you, Dad - you are great at what you do, all of it, and I look forward to seeing what you do next!

As for Ry, I know, it is "just preschool" and there are many more graduations to come, but I can't help but be a little nostalgic for my baby...my Ry-Guy who is such a big boy! Kindergarten starts August 10th and he turns five on the 12th. It is hard to express my feelings about this, as they are all cliche... It is so great to watch him grow and become the man I know he will be...

Brad and I also just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary...what a difference 6 years makes! :) We've come a long, long way, Baby! I love you, always and forever.

Palm Springs

So, this post doesn't have any kids in it...that's because we were able to go away for the weekend without them (Thanks mom and dad!)...Don't get me wrong, of course we love spending time with the kiddos, but when we spend time just for ourselves it makes us better parents, better people.

The trip was actually a "reward" trip... Brad was one of a group of people from his work who reached a certain amount of revenue in a certain amount of time and this trip to Palm Springs was the goal! He is so good at his job and I get to enjoy the perks sometimes! So he went ahead a few days for conferencing (yeah, right) and I flew down on Friday. We came home Sunday, refreshed, rested, relaxed...


The view from our balcony

The view from our front door.

Lazy river...

a GREAT day!

I haven't been so great at keeping this up in the last few weeks (listen as I chant our mantra: "we've been so busy!" ... or lazy?:) ), so this day happened several weekends. But it was a really great day...It was a Sunday and we didn't have any commitments at church so we decided to take a family day. Not much planning, just some general ideas of what we wanted: lots of fun, a bit of driving, and good food!! Turns out, being spontaneous can make the best day trips!

We started out heading up to Folsom and ate at Dos Coyotes (YUM!) then off to Folsom Community Park to ride the train and check out the area.

Our lovely girl.

Our sweet boy...

Believe it or not, this is one of a very few candid family shots we have! Funny how that works out!


After a visit at the park, we decided to head up to The Fountains in Roseville. It is this fantastic new shopping center that is a great place to look around (window shopping only, as it is pretty high end - but we can dream!). We had a great time looking around Smith &Hawken, a fancy-smancy garden shop. Ryland also really enjoyed this!

We had told Ry what the place was called so he was so excited to walk around and check out all the fountains. The coolest part is that they have these fountains that shoot up out of the ground for the kids to play in. He had a great time! It was so much fun...

Selah was so pleasant, even though she only had a 20 minute snoozer in the car the whole day. She is constantly impressing us with her easy-going attitude.

After playing, we went and checked at the larger fountains and Ryland loved watching it put on a show - he also enjoyed hamming it up for the camera, as you can see below.

On the way back to the car, the boys relaxed on the lounge chairs for sale.
It was such a beautiful day, too....sunny and 78 degrees. Ry has become quite the little weather man :)

We capped off the day with *bucks frappucinos and dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese food restaurant. Does it get any better?

This day was awesome. Ryland has really become a great conversationalist, monologueist (is that a word?) - I wish I could share all the crazy, funny, and and truly intelligent things he has to say. He said a lot of things on this day! He has an uncanny ability to remember names, facts, and events. He is really an amazing big brother too....he is so endearing to his sister and it is such a treat to watch them together. She adores him and he, her. Okay, enough gushing.

summer is coming!

I just thought I would share a little bit of what we've been doing lately...

It's really been heating up here in Sac Town already so we've spent a lot of time at the pool. Our neighborhood has a community clubhouse with three pools...it's a really great place to expend energy and pass the day. Ryland loves to go with friends (Colby is pictured here) but will easily make new friends when none are available to go. Sometimes, we'll even grab a cheap dinner or lunch at the cabana. Selah is not loving the water but seems to enjoy observing from the side...


Just this morning, Ryland and I participated in our first 5k together. He did so great! I would guess that he walked/ran at least 75% of it! It was a fundraiser to support Janelle's MOPS group so it was low key and a great first "race"!

Ry has really enjoyed experimenting with pictures. He took this great shot before our walk this morning...

Selah's 1st Birthday Party

This was on taken on her actual birthday - the 14th. We had just opened her gift from Auntie Cookie. The Little People playhouse. She loves it!

We had a small get together on the 16th to celebrate her birthday. What a nice time it was!

Selah and Nana

Nana lovin' on Selah

Popi and Selah

Popi and Selah were really cute. He kept playing with her and making her smile and she loved it when he messed up her hair.

Sad to say...this was NOT her first cake, sweet, or dessert.

But she liked it just the same! More than anything, she seemed to enjoy the feel of the frosting between her fingers. :)

The older kiddos got cone-cupcakes

Mandy and Paige Heilner. Paige is about 9 months older than Selah and is already a great partner in crime - showing Selah the ropes, and keeping track of her paci.

Way in the background (walking), is Callie, a few months older than Selah. Then sitting, is Octavia, one month older, and on the ground is Sammy, a few months younger.
Also in attendance was cousin Jared, 5 months younger...how fun to have so many great friends already made!

Daddies got to sit outside in the heat and keep a loose eye on the kids who wanted to brave the heat.

Selah couldn't make it all the way through the party without a nap. When she woke up, most everyone was gone except for Nana and Popi. So we opened their gift. I love this picture - she really did take the card and look at it as though she was reading it. It was so cute!

Selah is one today!

Wow. This past year has really zoomed by! One year ago today, Selah came into our lives by cesarean. She has really lived up to her name "to pause and reflect". Her demeanor is calm and observant. When she smiles and laughs, we cannot help but smile and laugh with her. She can really light up! She is such a joy to watch and to love. People ask me all the time whether she is different to raise (being a girl and not a boy), and it is too hard to tell if it's different because she is a girl, or if it is because she is a different person, or if I am different. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it is a bit of all three.

Ryland and her have really taken to each other. Just last night he was running by her and running circles around her while she just sat and watched and laughed. It was adorable.

I am a bit nostalgic for this day but happy and eager to see what the coming years will bring us!

Here is a look back at a few photos of her first year...

First few weeks at home.

First beach trip, Santa Cruz

First Christmas
(I started the blog in January, so you are all caught up!)