Tuesday, December 27, 2016

hike with friends

The Hunt family and our family went together on a hike that boasted CAVES. We headed out through the jungle!

We came to a man picking these deep purple berries. He was collecting them for his restaurant. They"dry the pallet", and that they did. It was a VERY strange thing to eat, and I won't do it again. As soon as you touch them to your tongue, all your saliva dries up. It's very weird. But makes sense to use it before tasting something very juicy in a fancy restaurant.

We also found lots of strawberry guavas which are delicious to eat. We all ate as many as we could, and there were still tons left on the trees.

We found one tiny cave, but Lullaby was the only one to climb into it. The other caves were along a much muddier path, so we decided not to go that way.

At the top of one hill, with a clear view of a valley below us. It's so pretty here.

During the hike, we kept hearing this particular bird call. Such a pretty call, huh?


Several different times through out the hike, the trees would part and you could see the spectacular view. As usual, the camera doesn't do it justice.

Interesting plants and seeds and flowers all along the path.

There was even a minute to braid Hannah's hair. She has the most beautiful natural blonde highlights.


The kids found a perfect swinging vine and everyone had to try it out. They did it over and over and over until Ethan finally pulled it down. Then we wrapped it up and brought our new wreath home.

It was such a fun hike, and fun hanging out with the Hunt family, as always. They are the best.

boxes from Grandpa

When Grandpa sends a box, you can bet that there will be 4 boxes of Cracker Jacks in there for the kids. Since they never had these treats before Grandpa Chuck sent them, they think that he's the only one who knows where to buy them. So, thanks Grandpa for the treats! They love them!

hotdog

We went to a thrift store one day after the beach to check and see if they had any good Halloween costumes. Well, they did. Sully thought this TINY (made in size 9 months) hotdog costume was the best thing ever. He LOVED it. It was meant for a baby who wasn't walking yet, but he wore it like a shirt and made the best faces in the mirror at himself. Hotdog it is!

church ride

The boys usually ride their bikes to church, and it's super fun to watch them as they go. 

friend party

Our family was invited to a birthday party for Tofi Girl, the daughter of one of Paul's coworkers. It was on a beach we had never been to, with such a beautiful view. There were unlimited cotton candy treats, bounce houses, puppies and the whole thing was catered with the BEST food. So yummy. 

Our kids were the only blondies on the beach that day.

Sully made a friend with this sweet baby.

Paul played an intense game of football with these HUGE boys. They each outweighed Paul by at least 100 pounds.

This was the best picture I got of Tofi Girl, thanks for the invite, we had a blast!  Happy Birthday!

scary day

One scary day at the pool, my friend's little girl jumped into the pool without a floatie, and was found face down and blue. The paramedics came and whisked her and my friend away to the Emergency Room. Claire, the little girl, was fine, and but had to be monitored for several hours before  coming home. In the meantime, my friends OTHER four children were split up amongst the adult friends that were at the pool when this happened. We got Beckham, Claire's twin brother, and he came and played at our house. Sully was in heaven and wanted to lay with Beckham in the little bed we made for him on the floor. Around 8:30 another friend came to all the houses to collect the children and bring them to their house to wait for little sis to come home with mom and dad. It was a scary day, and we were all so grateful to be there in our friend's moment of need, and even more grateful that little Claire was okay! 

cookie decorating

I was asked to teach a cookie decorating class to the young women. They had a ton of fun trying out the different techniques and colors and some got creative with their own ideas. I taught them how to make pumpkins, and indian corn. Here's what they came up with.

Lullaby's friend Holland got to come too, since it was hosted at her house. I wish I had known she'd be up for that, and I could have brought my own little cookie decorator. :)