Catching Up!

Last month Josh and I went on a little road trip to Chico, CA to see our friends Kim & Kenny! Oh man, we had the BEST time! They are beyond hospitable and had everything planned out for our weekend! We arrived Friday night and we went for a walk through Bidwell Park in the center of town and got all caught up on life! Then we went back to their place and had dinner, then for a walk around their neighborhood. Josh and I are so knit with Kim & Kenny that we never run out of things to talk about! We talk and dream and encourage each other and laugh endlessly... it's just so fun being together!

The next day we had breakfast and then went and picked up a couple tandem bikes from a friend of theirs and we rode into town, and walked around the Farmer's market. Riding a tandem is so weird when you're in the back seat! It's like pedaling blindly because you can only see to your left and right and you really have to trust the person in front. But it's also a blast because it's so easy to pedal with the power of 2 people that you feel like you could ride forever! We rode for miles and never got tired! Then we went out for Starbucks as we walked around the little downtown there and Kim & I shopped a little in a boutique while the boys played pool in the back of the boutique (Chico is SOOOO similar to Corvallis, just a little bigger, like 20k people bigger :) but very similar.) Then we rode our tandem bikes through Bidwell Park and then back to drop off the bikes. Then we had lunch at their place and went to the theater where Kenny's brother Allen was performing that night. We said hi to him, met his band, then back to Kim & Ken's to get ready for dinner and the concert. We went out to dinner that night with Allen, & Kim's sister and nephew, then we all enjoyed the great concert Allen put on! He's amazing!! Seriously amazing! He'll be on the Ellen Show this January.

The next morning we went with Kim & Kenny to their great church and got to meet some of their friends there. Then we went to Starbucks and grabbed chai lattes that we took back to their place, where we sat out on the patio and talked for a few hours about the deep things of life. Then Josh and I headed home! It was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to going back next year. Here are a few cell phone photos from our weekend trip:

And as we were leaving Kenny took a picture of Kim & I together (my blond twin) and Kenny, being Kenny, made some joke that created this reaction from the two of us. I wish I could remember what he said, but this photo makes me laugh every time I see it!

It was great to be back home, reunited with our kiddos too, since I always miss them like crazy! Selah loves to read a story from her Bible every night. <3 

And the week after we got home I believe was the kid's trip to the pumpkin patch. Jude was in this photo right before I was ready to take it, then we wanted to stand with me instead. Selah is on the far right in the polka dot b/w coat.

Jude & Selah's main teacher is there on the left and she is seriously one of the most amazing teachers I've ever met! She's soooo good with these kids, and so calm. She really listens to everything they say and treats them like they are so much older than they are. She is soooo attentive to Jude's needs with his blood sugar and allergies and learning struggles. I'm so thankful God put her in my kid's lives this school year.

This field trip was a muddy one! I hosed off all the boots before getting back in the car to leave! But the kids had a blast. They got to pet baby chicks, and pick a pumpkin from the muddy field, go on a tractor ride, and learn about different kinds of pumpkins.

Ignore whatever crazy thing is going on with my hair here and that my toddler has a binky, and instead notice how cute that Jude boy is!! :) 

School continues to go really well. The kids just love it there and I wish the school went beyond just Kindergarten because we'd be there for the long haul! It's wonderful.

The tire swing continues to be a favorite for my kids!

Each day when I arrive the kids are all out playing on the playground in their boots, so we go in and they put their boots away and put on their shoes, and grab their lunch bags from their cubbies before we get in the car. Benjamin has the routine down and loves to help get lunches from the cubbies.

Selah continues to be a lover of art. She requests to color, paint or do a craft each day after school (even after doing them at school). I got her a book from the library called 1-2-3 Draw Horses. She really liked it, but mostly just asked Josh and I to draw her horses. :) Here's one of Josh's drawings that she colored and added spots too. Appaloosa? And a picture of a bird she drew...

Benjamin is growing up so fast! I can't believe he'll be TWO next month! Wow! He's such a delight and his vocabulary is growing leaps and bounds right now. He's such a sweet thing too, aware of emotions. Today I cried a little after reading something moving and he came over to me and put his hand on my arm and looked at me with big eyes and said, "Mama, you cry?" I said yeah and smiled at him and he said, "Oh!" and immediately gave me a hug. 

Sweet boy!!

And this is a photo from the first week of Oct. when Benj was playing in the backyard... I couldn't remember if I ever posted it. :)