Life in the country

There is something majestic about living in the country...God's country.  I have fallen in love with the way the sun reflects off of my girls faces, the smell of fresh air, the breeze that brushes my cheeks when I step outside, and my husband in cowboy boots.  I cherish all of it, and sometimes, I still can't believe we are here.  The girls and I have been taking long walks on warm days, we farm hay in the evenings, feed our chickens in the afternoon, and garden during the baby's nap time.  Things have sure changed for our family over the last few months, and honestly, we are happier than ever.   

 

Mothers Day this year was spent with my hubby, girls, mom, sisters, and brother.  Amy and Tim planned and made brunch for us all.  I usually spend Mothers Day at a spa, but this year, I just wanted to be with my family.  Thank you for a very special Mothers Day!



A little piece of heaven out of our back door

 Here is our finished chicken coop/run.  One of Tessa's favorite parts of the day is feeding the chickens.

 

Lastly, I will leave you with a picture of Tessa's cat, Charlie.  Needless to say, he loves pouncing in the hay fields.



Family and Arizona

Every year we look forward to visiting our family in Arizona.  I used to go every year to visit my grandparents, aunt, and uncle.  After Tim and I got married, we carried on the yearly tradition, and have now made it a family tradition with our girls.  We love visiting the desert.  The beautiful mountains, deep blue sky, the ever changing cacti, and I can't forget to mention the heat.  We enjoy all of it, but the best part is our wonderful and fun family. 

 

This year was kind of bitter sweet for me.  My grandpa is in his final stages of Parkinson's disease.  It was special to be able to see him, yet difficult too, as this may have been the last time I will see him.  He was able to meet Jayda for the first time, and we were able to visit with him for a few days and reminisce.  My grandparents are pretty amazing people.  We are all convinced my grandma will out live us all.  Her and my grandpa have been married for over 60 years.  They have had their ups and downs, just as any marriage does, and are still going strong.  My grandpa was Chief pilot for Alaska Airlines for many years.  After retiring several years ago, he and my grandma moved to Arizona year round.

 

We love you grandpa and grandma and already miss you both!



Celebrations!

The month of March is Tessa's birthday followed by Tim's birthday, which is in April.  Fast forward to June and it's Jayda's birthday. Lastly, my birthday is in July. This does not include all of our extended family's birthdays.  What does all of this mean?  It means that we're pretty busy with birthdays and parties from mid-March until late July. 

 

 As I promised, below are pictures from Tessa's 4th birthday party, and Tim's 40th.  Happy birthday to my beautiful little girl, and Happy birthday to my amazing hubby.  I love you both very much!

I'm a sucker for planning parties, and since putting wedding coordinating on hold for awhile, I've been in desperate need of planning something.  I usually spend several weeks planning my families birthdays, but since we had just moved this year, time didn't exactly allow for that.  So, I made do with the time I had.  One of my favorite parts of Tessa's party this year was flower planting.  Instead of giving the kids little party gifts, we had them plant flowers to take home.  It was a hit!



Compliments of aunt Stephanie

We are officially hay farmers!

 

A few weeks ago we had a full moon, and it was beautiful.  I usually don't grab my camera to take pictures of the moon, but the night I took this picture was an exception.



Westport

We took a short trip to Westport a few weeks back.  I usually love taking pictures, but trying to hold an umbrella in the wind, a baby wrapped in a blanket, and wet sand dollars, there were no hands left for my camera.  So, needless to say, I didn't get a single picture of the beach.  Although we got wind whipped and wet, we still managed to have fun, and not to mention, it made for some great memories.

 

Easter

John 3:16

He Has Risen!

 

Happy Easter

March

Happy 4th birthday to our smart, silly, independent, and beautiful daughter!  We love you Tessa Mackenzie, and still can't believe you're already 4 years old!

 

This is Charlie. He is our newest member of the family, and was Tessa's birthday present from grandma Connie.

 

More birthday party pictures to follow...

someone is in training for their first birthday....wink wink