Year's End

Hi there! It's been a while! December, Christmas, birthdays, New Year...they've all come and gone. We had a nice holiday break filled with food, drinks, music, friends, family and the typical stress that goes along with such occasions. The highlight of the month was getting to see my sister out of the convent. Unfortunately it was due to our Dad being extremely sick (he's doing much better now) but it was SO good to hug her and be with her for a whole day! So, without further ado I give you our December in photos.

I made a few bottles of infused mugwort oil for gifts.

Ruben played a solo show and it was so great! I'm so proud of him and his music! This was such a fun night. That's my mom with me there. She's not only a wonderful mother but she's also super fun to hang with!

Ruben's birthday is two days after Christmas and this year I made him a lemon meringue pie. I've never made one before and I was very pleased with how yummy it was!

Why are we smiling so big? Well let me tell ya! I had just watched a barn owl soaring over the field and I was on cloud nine! I'm always on the lookout for owls, scanning the trees, looking for their outline so watching one hunt not only made me squeal with joy but it left this smile on my face. Haha! It doesn't take much people!





On Saturday we went out to Calico with friends to explore. It was a great day and very cold!

Our oldest son recently visited my cousin up in Portland and went to Powell's and came home with these wonderful books for us (and him). He knows us well and I might add that he has great taste in music!

There you have it. Bits of the last month in pictures. I hope this new year is off to a good start for you! Thanks for reading along here and I hope 2016 treats us all well :)

♥ anne

24 Hours In Joshua Tree

Last week Ruben and I got away for the night to celebrate my birthday. We crammed one hell of a good time into 24 hours! Of course, that's kinda what you have to do when you have 5 kids and are never alone. We soaked in the sun, lounged in cool water, drank many beers, watched the sunset, stargazed (more on that in a minute), listened to the coyotes howling, watched the sun rise, went out to eat for breakfast! and thoroughly enjoyed each others company!

We were lucky to be there on a new moon and it was the night after the big meteor shower so the night sky was incredible! We saw a bunch of meteors and sat under the stars for a long time. All in all it was a terrific trip and a much needed break from home. A big thanks to my mom for watching all the kids and the generous birthday gifts (aka money) from my family which made our trip possible :)

We stayed here and ate at the yummy Crossroads Cafe.

♥ anne

Shane Turns 7

Happy Birthday buddy! Thanks for letting me interview you :)

How old are you? 7

FAVORITES-
Song- Pumped Up Kicks
Book- Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
Food- watermelon
Dessert- ice cream and cake
Movie- Wall E
Thing to do- play outside
Game- Uno
Holiday- all holidays but mostly the 4th of July
Place to go- the movies
Color- blue, red and turquoise
Time of day- morning
Plant- succulents
Wild Animal- Cheetah
Place to go on vacation- camping
Smell- Pancakes and waffles!
Sound- A mourning dove

What do you want to be when you grow up? A dad.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go? New York City

How will being 7 differ from being 6?  I think I could climb more trees and read more books.

What do you think it'll be like in 100 years? I'll be dead in 100 years.

What if you aren't dead? Then I would be a grandfather.

What are you afraid of? Vampires. You should know that!

What do you love? My family.

If you could have a super power, what would it be? Flying because flying is awesome.

What is something you don't like doing? Being sick. I hate it because I don't get to do anything.

How would you describe yourself? I'm shy.

♥ anne

Birthday Girls

Last month was Margaret's first birthday and yesterday was Marianne's 4th! Both these girls are such joyous little ladies and bring smiles to us all daily. Yesterday when Marianne woke up she asked if she was really 4 years old now. She just couldn't believe it :)

On both of their special days I reflected on their births and how extraordinarily different they were. Marianne's was by far the most difficult of all 5. People say you forget the pain and the hardships of labor but I'm gonna have to disagree with that, I remember it all vividly!


Maggie's birth was a breeze compared to Marianne's!


If you're interested in reading a bit about their births, you can find them here and here.

♥ anne

One

Our sweet pea is one!

Maggie has been such a joy to all of us. She is walking now and more curious than ever. She is like a little tornado that moves through the house making messes wherever she goes. She is observant, likes to dance and loves bananas. 

I wanted to make a raw cheesecake for her but the kids quickly vetoed that idea. Instead I made a sugary, gluten filled cake that turned out to be very yummy.

Happy Birthday Maggie Mae!

Weekend Photos

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We had a really nice day filled with family, food and fun. I was busy cooking and chatting away so I didn't get too many pictures (none of Shane or Marianne :( I'm not sure how that happened!) but here are the few I did manage to get.

Leftover potato soup for breakfast while planning my Easter menu.



I made some roasted almonds that were very simple and very tasty.


Max and my Dad deep in conversation.

Easter dinner.

This was taken the other night at the beach. Moon rise and seagull.

Today Maggie is One! I've been replaying her birth day in my head all morning. What a great birth it was! I'm planning on taking some pictures of her today which I will share tomorrow :)

♥ anne