Phillips Park Zoo

 Summer has just started and we've been busy.

Shelly & Jeff's Wedding

 Today we witnessed two lovely people commit their lives together and then we celebrated afterwards.  Love their one of a kind shoes, decked out by Aunt Lelo!

Kindergarten Graduation

 Today Elena graduated from Kindergarten.

Garden Update: Week 4

 Amazing that all this has happened over the past 3 weeks.

Garden Update: Week 3

 The garden is coming along though it has been a wet spring here and the raised bed is holding water thanks to the cardboard I put under the soil.  I was trying a no till method to kill the grass.  Not sure my seedlings like it so much.  The green beans are struggling and I can't figure out what is wrong--if it is too much moisture, lack of nutrients or a fungal disease.

The Secret Beach!

 One of the great things about moving to a new town is exploring.  Last weekend Carl and the kids found this local beach access...and named it the Secret Beach!  It's just down the stairs.

Garden Update: Week 2

 Well, it's week 2 and the garden has had quite a bit of activity.  As you can see there is green popping up everywhere!  We had a few rain showers which I'm sure helped tremendously.

Garden Update, Week 1

 It's been 1 week since Elena and I planted seeds in the garden. 

Happy 6th Birthday to Elena!

  Elena's 6th birthday was a day full of love!

A New Garden

 The one sad part about moving is that you leave your garden behind and have to start over.

New Home

Well, it's been quite awhile since I've shared any pics or life happenings...and I'll try to catch up for the better part of a year but for now I'm going to write about our current happenings.  It all started last spring, about the same time as I stopped writing....Carl and I had some talks on where we were in life and where we wanted to be headed.  We needed a little shake up with some tough decisions to make.  The end result has lead Carl to a new job last November and our family to a new home in February.  It has been a month since we moved and we are still settling in...there are a few boxes left to unpack in the garage, artwork to hang on the walls and organizing to finish but we are loving our new home.  I hope to get back to writing on a more regular basis and also catch up on posting pics from the last year.  Thanks for being patient with me!  :)

The Fab Fair

This is the first year Carl and I have gone to the County Fair together!  Amazing!  We brought both kids and cousin Austin to enjoy the people, activities and some fried fair food goodness!

Charlie at 10 months

 Can you believe this boy is 10 months old?  I cannot.  Here is a post all about Charlie :)

Rueben H. Fleet Science Museum

 Today the science museum was free (Free Tuesdays for San Diego County residents, the participating museums rotate each week)!  Since Charlie was up at 5:30, he had napped and we were ready to go early so off to the museum we went :)

Tiny Toes in the Sand

 Today is the first time Charlie explored the beach.  He loved having his toes in the sand and didn't mind when the wave came crashing upon him.

Garden: Week 14

 Our 1st cherry tomato!  Elena made an edible salad with a nasturtium flower  :)

Preschool Spirit Week

 It's Spirit Week at school!

3 Weeks of Swim Completed

 Just three short weeks ago, Elena began her first session of swim lessons and today is her last day.

Emma's Birthday Bash

 Elena's first girl only party and it was out of this world!  The slack line (above) was a huge hit.

Day Trip to LA

 On our way up to see the LA Galaxy, we stopped at a beach in Dana Point.  Cute beach with a lot of stairs and a steep ramp to go down but it was worth it.

Garden: Week 13

 Here is my garden update for the past week.  It looks about the same with a few little things going on.  Above Elena is checking out our Golden Bell Pepper plant.  The Green Bell has two growing on it.  They sure grow fast, can't wait to eat them :)

Climbing Monkeys

 Tonight we met up with friends to explore the world of rock climbing.  I've been exploring rock climbing options for Elena since she loves to climb so much.  All the lessons and camps are for 7 and up but in a conversation with Nicole, I found out there is no minimum age at the rock climbing open gym.  So here we are...Elena and Nicole chalking up :)

Garden: Week 12

 Whew!  It was a hot, hot dry week and the garden felt it.

Motor boat, Motor boat...

 We have been talking about swim lessons for some time now...today Elena finally took her first swim lesson. The teacher, Ms. Sam, started by taking each kid into the water, spinning them while singing "motor boat, motor boat go so slow.  Motor boat, motor boat go so fast.  Motor boat, motor boat run out of gas."  A familiar song to Elena, learned from Grandmazona.

Day of Celebrations

 Happy Mother's Day...and Happy Birthday to Carl!

Garden: Week 11

Garden update...At week 11 we are doing great.  Can you spot the new blooms we have in the garden?

9 Month Old Charlie

 Just lounging around on his 9 month birthday in underwear!!  Adorable, eh?

Garden: Week 10

 After not seeing the garden every day for a week, it feels like everything has gone wild.  I am continually amazed by my mess of plants.  Not only are weeds everywhere, some grew taller than my knee.

Elena's Preschool Open House

 Elena's preschool held an open house tonight.  Her teacher picked Dr. Seuss as a theme.  Above are truffula trees.  The kids mixed their "grass" and created the trees with patterns.  Aren't they just the cutest?  Ms. Amanda is an awesome preschool teacher.

A Visit to See Family

The kids and I spent the past week visiting my family in Illinois and Indiana.  It was one of our shorter trips, the weather was far from spring but it is always nice to visit family.  I wasn't great at taking photos but here are a few.

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DuPage Children's Museum

 When it's windy, cold, gloomy and rainy outside, what do you do with a 5 year old?

Fun with Friends

We have been in Illinois for a couple of days and today we met up with Jeanine, Laurel and their kids.

Garden: Week 9

 This will be a short post...the last time I will see the garden for a week.

Disneyland California Adventure

 And for the 3rd day of Elena's birthday celebration, we went to Disneyland California Adventure.

Happy 5th Birthday, Elena!

 Hard to believe it has been 5 years since this bundle of inquiry and light entered our lives.

Happy Easter!!

Good Morning and Happy Easter!

Garden: Week 8

 The garden continues to grow and inspire us.

Garden: Week 7

 Such excitement in the garden this week, Elena was over the moon!  What did she spot?

Safari Park!

 During most of April, the Safari Park has a Butterfly Exhibit.  It gives us a great excuse to get up there and use our Zoo/Park passes :)

Green Smoothie Strikes Again!

 "Uhh, Mama, what are you drinking and why aren't you sharing?"

Backyard Science

 Will it float or sink?

Food Interest, Finally!

 Yesterday, Charlie turned 8 months old.  He is doing well and healthy as you can see.  He weighs 23lbs 10oz and has 4 teeth.  We are still having a difficult time with food.

Evelyn's Party

 Elena made a few friends at the SDSU Children's Center that she truly misses.  Evelyn is one of them; Emma and Ema are a couple more.

Garden: Week 6

It seems during our long weekend in Arizona, the garden (and weeds) exploded!

 The garden from afar.  Come take a tour...

Water Conservation Garden

 Today Elena and I went to the Water Conservation Garden Butterfly Festival.  A little mom-daughter time, which we haven't had for a little while.  (And I want the plant above, so pretty)

Arizona Travels

Carl had a long weekend, Elena had spring break so we seized up an opportunity to visit our Arizona family :)

 We took a long weekend and headed to Arizona to visit family.  Snuggles with Grandmazona.

Preschool Grandparents Day

We are thrilled with Elena's new preschool.  She loves going, her teacher is lovely and they have cute parties.  Today, her class celebrated Grandparents Day.  The kids prepared for weeks with artwork, songs and they even made gluten/dairy/nut free brownies to share :)  Elena even dressed up (thanks for the dress Maggie!)

 Elena's teacher, Ms. Amanda, took this photo after Elena and Pop finished decorating a foam picture frame.  Yay for a cute photo!!

Potty, Potty

 These naked pictures were taken March 8th.  We started some extra naked time because it has been warm, Charlie has been suffering from diaper rash and the cloth diapers we are using (from Elena) are starting to disintegrate.

Garden: Week 4

 Strawberry fruits are forming.  Elena is super excited! (okay, so am I!)

Hello Again!

Hello!  I'm not sure you remember me, my name is Rachel ;)

Well, it's been sometime since I've written.  I'm sure you thought I have given up and maybe even still pregnant but I only needed time to focus on our family.  In the past 7+ months, we have been quite busy as you will see.  I am working to update the blog by backdating posts so keep eyes open for new posts.  This has proven quite time intensive...we really have been busy.  The updates will start in August and post until we are current.

A quick catch up:

Toward the end of January, I resigned my job as a grant administrator with San Diego State University.  I'm now a stay at home mom, homemaker...eh, not really sure what title I would give myself.  We've had a bit of a transition but are finally getting in the swing of things.  Elena started preschool three days a week for three hours a day.  She loves it and her teacher, Ms. Amanda, is awesome.  Charlie is doing great, growing big and independent fast.  Carl is also doing good.  I've taken over gardening and enjoy spending an hour or so out there daily checking on my seedlings, weeding and smelling the flowers.  Life feels in balance right now, its a good feeling.

Thanks for sticking around!