Of Beaches and Cowboys and Birthdays

It's been a bit of a ghost town around these here parts, and for that I am sorry. It has not been on account of a lack of bloggable moments. On the contrary, there has been so much going on around here that I have been stymied by indecision and a general overwhelmed feeling. So here I go in an attempt to get you all up to speed in one blog post. I hope you're in a comfy chair :-)

O.K., first off. We visited the beach a couple of weekends ago with our wonderful friends, the James'. It was our first trip to the Malibu beaches and it was absolutely beautiful. Every time we visit the beach I realize that it is my favorite place to be...the smell, the sounds, the sights. I just love all of it.












Next, Gustav left us for his yearly jaunt as a cowboy. Off he went to the Rocky Mountains with his dad, brother, brother-in-law, and best friend for a number of days on horseback. We always breathe a sigh of relief when he returns, as he mentions the urge to go feral before each trip. Here is my favorite cowboy pic of my husband. I've shown it before, but, without women on these trips... Well, let's just say none of these fine men thinks to take pictures.









And to finish up last week we celebrated the birthday of our sweet Gretchen Patricia. She has entered the world of double digits, and is thrilled that she now gets to stay up as late as Nicholas. Ah, it's the small things in life, you know. Gretchen, as many of you know, had a rocky start to life. Colic, dairy allergies, and almost constantly blocked tear ducts made her an incredibly unhappy newborn. We used to measure the amount of time crying each day in hours, and there were many days that I would just leave the house when Gustav came home from work for a few minutes of quiet. Add to that the fact that Nicholas was only 16 months old and, well, I'm actually amazed that I lived through that time period with my sanity intact.

But now we have this sweet and thoughtful young lady who is maturing by leaps and bounds (not to mention the vertical growth!) I am privileged to be her Mom, and I thank God for blessing me with her.



We had a great day at Knott's Berry Farm celebrating her birthday. We finished up at the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney. What a special day for a special young lady.




Here is Kurt responding to to the call "Volcano!!!!" (For anyone not familiar with Rainforst Cafe's dessert called the Volcano, it is always announced by all of the staff shouting "Volcano!!!" at the top of their lungs.) I had never ever seen him put his fingers in his ears before. This was a first...and so funny.



What a gift, these small people. God is good that He has seen fit to bless me, not only with a redeemed cowboy of a husband, but also with five unique, interesting, adorable little people to love. Praise Him!

I promise my next post will be less chaotic than this one.

No, I don't.

You'll all just have to wait and see.