Finished Jigsaw Puzzle!!

My Mom got Matthew a very difficult Frosty the Snowman 550 piece jigsaw puzzle and we finished it tonight. Everyone helped finish it but Matthew did most of the work. Ian is really good at jigsaw puzzles; I can't wait until the boys are a little bit older and we can do family nights of board games and puzzles.

Love, Shelly

Day after Christmas Beach Day!!

We had a mellow morning the day after Christmas and the boys enjoyed playing with all their new toys. We decided to go to the beach in the afternoon and the boys fell asleep on the way there. So, we drove down PCH and enjoyed the beautiful view of the ocean and the beaches. We ended up going to Laguna Beach and had a great time; the boys enjoyed making a sand tunnel and then walking to the tidepools. What a beautiful sunny but cold day!

Love, Shelly

Merry Christmas!!!

boys opening presents at 5:45am!Ian & his dragon!
Ronan & his princess!

New books!

Ronan and the king

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" Book

Mommy opening up her new Earth Vegan Shoes

Daddy loves all his presents (this one is the Thunderbird calendar)

Ian playing with the new castle

boys enjoying the castle and their new toys

Ronan put all the ornaments back into their drawers for next year

Huge Castle!!

Ronan showing off his new "weather" shirt from Nana and James

Ian in is new "weather" shirt from Nana & James

We were trying to get a good family picture at Auntie Debbie's house but the kids wouldn't cooperate...oh well!

Busia and Ian opening up presents

Cindy showing Dean the books and Bingo game we got him.

Dezi...almost 1 year old!

The boys and their presents (they were wiped out!!)

Merry Christmas Everyone!! The boys woke up at 5:45am ready for the day (Ian was counting to 100 in his bed which woke up Matthew and Ronan (Matthew was sleeping with Ronan b/c he woke up at 4am and wouldn't go back to sleep). So, we had a very early start to our day and opened all our presents by 6:15am. Santa was very generous this year and brought the boys a brand new wooden castle, wooden figures (king, queen, princess, troll, dragons), jewels and stones, soft throwing comet like thing (which they love throwing around), raw trail mix, & lots of great books. Matthew got lots of videos for work, books, clothes, socks, and some thunderbird toys, calendar, & books. I got some awesome Earth Vegan shoes (but they are a little bit too big), books (Antastasia book & Dr. Graham's raw food recipe book), a beautiful bracelet, rock crystal lamp, and a Buddha statue. We all had a relaxing day in the morning and played with all our new gifts. Then we went to Auntie Debbie's house and had another Christmas celebration with the family. We all had a great time with the family and opened up more presents. The boys got more than they need, that's for sure.

Of course we missed Tom and Dawn and hope that next year things will be different and we'll all be able to spend Christmas together. Also, my Busia and Dziadz were going to come too, but Busia didn't feel good and couldn't make it. We would have loved to have Nana and James here (I know the boys would love it), so maybe next Christmas you two could come!! We also missed everyone else in our extended family. I hope you all had a very wonderful Christmas!!!

We are so blessed and very grateful for everything!

I am so thankful for:

1) my wonderful husband

2) my awesome children

3) my parents, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, & in-laws

4) being with family

5) wonderful weather

6) great food

7) my health

8) sunshine

9) exercise

10) raw food

Love to you all, Shelly

Christmas Eve Hike!!

On Christmas Eve we went hiking at the Thomas Wiley Wilderness Park. It was a beautiful warm sunny day and a lovely day for hiking. Ian hiked the whole loop the first time without needing to be carried!! Ronan was carried in the backpack for half of the way and fell asleep at the very end. We saw a family of deer hanging out in the meadows and saw lots of deer tracks and coyote tracks. We found another coyote bush and made our version of snow for the kids (see the above photo). We are so fortunate to have such wonderful weather and to be able to go hiking in shorts in December.

Love, Shelly

San Diego Trip

Apes

Bonobo Monkeys

Gharials

Last week we went to San Diego for 2 days and had a lot of fun. We went to the San Diego Zoo, spent the night in a hotel, and then went to the museums in Balboa Park the next day. I haven't been to the zoo since my early 20s and Matthew and the boys haven't been at all, so it was time that we went. It was a beautiful sunny day (it was suppose to rain that day but thankfully it didn't) and we all had a wonderful time. We walked around the entire zoo and saw all kinds of reptiles (Ian's favorites!! - snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, gharials, crocodiles, etc), birds (flamingos, parrots, birds of prey, egrets, ducks, etc), monkeys, apes, zebras, polar bears, dwarf hippo, linxs, goats, camels, panda bears (they have a baby panda bear but it wasn't out in the viewing area - bummer!!) and other animals that I just can't think of right now. We all loved seeing the bonobo monkeys - they are the closest relative to us and they were so cool to watch. There was a mommy with a young one, a "child", & a "daddy". The "child" was swinging from the ropes and having a good time. The "daddy" was amazing..he was walking the the "tightrope" and just using his feet, no hands...very cool!!

After the long afternoon at the zoo (we walked the entire zoo), we went Cilantro Live (a raw restaurant) and had a wonderful raw dinner. The were really nice and made up fruit bowls, veggies and a avocado dip for the boys and Matthew had miso soup, I had their house cilantro soup, we shared their sampler platter, and I also got their seaweed salad. Then we all shared their yummy ice cream. What a way to end a great day!!!

Ian standing next to the huge amesthyst crystal at the Natural History Museum.

The next day it was raining a little bit so we decided to go to the museums in Balboa Park (they have tons of museums there and a small playground). We went to the Science Museum first and it was packed with school group kids. Luckily there was an area for kids under 6 years old, so we played in there a little bit and then checked out some of the other cool science exhibits. After awhile I couldn't handle the crazyness anymore, so we decided to walk over to the Natural History Museum. They had a really cool dinosaur exhibit that the boys loved. We should have just gone to this museum in the beginning because it wasn't crowded at all. After that museum we headed back home and stopped in Encinitas to get a few Christmas presents. I found 2 great stores, Magical Child and Environgentle, that sell really awesome things (Magical Child for great natural toys/clothes/books and Environgentle for natural cleaning products, pet stuff, organic/bamboo/hemp clothing, natural beauty products, etc). I will definitely go there again!

I am so thankful that Matthew was able to take a few days off so we could enjoy San Diego for a few days and I'm so thankful that it didn't rain while we were at the zoo. Love, Shelly

Holiday Potluck

Ian loves to climb trees!!Ethan and Riley - the best of friends!!

Chris is showing the kids a dead lizard (we think it was a lizard but it was hard to tell since it was so scrunched up)

Kids throwing rocks into the water

Action shot of Ronan throwing a rock!

Eating the delicious food!

The ranger drove by and asked us not to climb trees :(

Ethan :)

Painting ornaments!

Finished ornaments drying in the sun

All the children chasing Matthew :)

Dogpile Matthew :) :) :)

Sunday we went to O'Neil Regional Park for the APSouth (Attachment Parenting Mom's group of Southern Orange County) Holiday Potluck. I wish more families could have joined us; maybe next year it will be even bigger. I love my mom's group and appreciate their friendships so much. We have fabulous conversations (sometimes in short spurts while running around after our children) and I love sharing advice with them. Today was another super day and was nice and sunny. We took a little walk down the creek bed and the boys (it ended up being all boys today (9 boys total) loved throwing rocks into the little "pond". Somehow no one got bonked on the head with a rock (I'm not sure how they managed that) and only Sammy got a little bit more wet then Kari would have liked. The boys could have stayed there for hours, but after we saw a tick on Blythe, we decided it was time to head back and eat lunch. Everyone brought wonderful food and we all enjoyed it very much. Rachel made salt dough ornaments and the kids enjoyed painting them. Thank you so much Rachel for making these ornaments. Thank you everyone for coming!!! We had a blast!! Till next year!

My appreciations:

- my wonderful husband for just being who he is...playing with all the children; cleaning out the garage this afternoon and donating our stuff to Goodwill, and getting my oil changed in my car (THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! XOXOXO)

-my awesome children - you are amazing little boys and I love you very much!
-my incredible family and friends

-warm, sunshined filled days

-being so close to the beach, mountains and desert

-yummy raw foods

-Christmas time (I love all the decorations and the holiday songs)

-Fresh clean air

Love to you all,

Shelly & family