They are Growing Up

We planted a new field of alfalfa this year and I wanted to get some pictures of the girls in it before they cut it. I just barely made it since they are going to be swathing it tomorrow. I had hoped to get some nice, portrait quality, pictures of the girls but I'm not sure I succeeded.

They were constantly distracted by their hunt for lady bugs..a good sign in an alfalfa field since they eat the aphids that eat the hay.

Being goofy was higher on their priority list than giving Mommy a real smile.

Keeping Helena in the frame of the camera, in focus and smiling was a HUGE challenge, while keeping Hannah out of the picture.

It was fun but I think we will go back out again sometime and try again.

Happy Father's Day:Making Memories

Upon Hannah's request Ben has opened up a playground manufacturing division in the shop to meet their play equipment needs. Last year's request was a tire swing. I'm not sure where she had seen one but she was sure that she needed it. Maybe it's because she lives on a homestead that's over a half a century old and she had seen that there was no shortage of materials laying around. We were happy to get a swing put together so cheaply and they are thrilled to have it to swing on.

This year's request was a seesaw. It has been in the works for months but this weekend the final touches were put on and the girls got to help. Here they are painting the base of the seesaw. I didn't realize when I sent them out with Daddy they would be using John Deere machinery paint. When they finished painting and came in every exposed body part had pain on it. I hoped they wouldn't be putting black highlights/streaks in the hair until they were much older but I suppose the ones they got that day won't last forever.


Old clothes and boots were definitely a requirement. Brushing their hair before heading to the shop was not.


They all worked together to paint the underside of the seesaw. Helena never had a shortage of paint on her brush. Even after my attempt to move the can of paint well out of her way and she still found it, Ben decided he would pain the top on his own later, lest they might not have enough paint to finish.



While Daddy was trying to jam bolts for the handles through holes that had been filled with paint, Hannah gave me a tour of the seesaw. She showed me where her Daddy cut out places for her legs to go on the seat. She showed me where they are going to grease the pivot point once they get it together, amongst other things.


Here Daddy helped Hannah tighten up the handles. All that we have left to do is set in the ground, though they could probably use it as is. I'm pretty sure that these girls will never forget that their awesome Daddy made them a seesaw the color of a John Deere tractor and let them help build it.


Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Daddy!

Happy 4th Birthday Hannah & Happy Easter

Hannah not only gets to share her birthday with her Papa Lee but it was also on Easter this year, which made for a very busy day. Hannah wanted a giant cupcake this year, which I was all for since it was a lot easier to make than some of the other cake ideas she had come up with. I think it even turned out well considering all of the "help" that I had making it.



Waiting patiently while we sang her "Happy Birthday."

She received many nice gifts and was happily trying them out with a cheesy grin.

After birthday cake and ice cream, the girls had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard. Hannah was an expert this year and was beating Helena to most of the eggs. The adults took action and started picking Helena up and running her to an egg so that she could get some before Hannah found them all. We even broke out our best defensive moves to keep Hannah away while Helena picked up an egg. We weren't always successful.

Helena also had a lot of fun trying out Hannah's new gifts. It looks like she's ready for an adventure of bird watching, spelunking, and firefighting.

Happy 2nd Birthday Helena!

We were blessed to spend Helena's second birthday with family and friends tonight. Helena loves BOZ the Green Bear Next Door. They don't make whole lines of party supplies for this guy so I had to get a little bit creative with the cake.


She had been waiting for HOURS to open her presents. I even managed to keep Hannah away from them long enough for Helena to actually open them on her own.


It was fun to watch her open her presents because she was so happy and excited to see what was inside.

Getting ready to blow out her candle. After a few attempts and an adjustment in her strategy she got it done.

It isn't easy to be the older sister at the birthday party but Hannah did well. She managed to let Helena do everything on her own. They got pinwheels today and Hannah was so excited she stood out in high winds to watch them go. Everyone else watched from the house. :)

Daughters After My Own Heart

Hannah loving her Oregon State t-shirt while having a snack and reading a bull sale catalog.

Helena waking up from a nap with curly hair girl bed head.

Grateful

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to focus on making dinner when I have this to look at out my kitchen window. I couldn't be more thankful that I get to live here.


"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
Psalm 19:1 (NIV)

From Their Perspective

It's fun to see how the personalities of each of the girls develops. Hannah still dresses herself in silly things sometimes but now Helena has gotten in on the action. This particular night she was sporting a pair of green and white gingham shorts and an orange corduroy skirt for a shirt. She wanted to wear the orange diaper cover too but I wasn't sure where to put it. Now in retrospect I guess she could have worn it as a hat.


The girls have their own nativity scene to play with. One evening I thought I would help Hannah set it up in a traditional way. We started out in that direction and then Hannah's free spirit took over. Baby Jesus needed a cattle truck in case he wanted to haul his animals around and I guess a hay truck to feed all of the animals present at His birth. Peterbilt, Mack Truck, and John Deere are definitely not brand names found in a traditional nativity but they work for this little farm girl.

Monterey

Early this month we were able to travel to Monterey, CA for the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. This country girl had to adjust to driving in heavy traffic, having the help of a bell man, and valet parking. You can laugh, it's OK. There's something to be said though for being able get something out of the pickup with out having to call someone to bring it to you. By the time our stay was over I was getting used to it, but our trip did give me the opportunity to be thankful for a long list of things I've grown accustom to living out here in the sticks.



My parents were able to meet us in Monterey for a little vacation of their own. We spent the better part of a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Hannah and Helena are enjoying looking at sea horses and other sea creatures.



In one exhibit you could look up and see a whole school of "saltines" as Hannah called them, swimming around in a circle. They are sardines to the rest of us. She's always good for a laugh.



The jellyfish were my favorite exhibit.


We got to see penguins amongst several other animals.



Oh, look! Two penguin babies just hatching from their egg!



The girls enjoyed playing in the "coral reef." Hannah is dressed as clown fish "swimming" through the reef.


This was Hannah's favorite part of the aquarium. Can you tell? This was a three-sided glass room that a wave crashed over every so often. Helena wasn't too sure what to think of it.



Through a comedy of errors, misinformation and assumptions we ended up playing right next to the wharf after spending too much time looking for lighthouses. I guess we weren't meant to visit a lighthouse because the two closest to the bay were closed. We needed some time on the beach anyway and it was a beautiful day for it. We played on the beach while Memaw Mary and Papa Lee kayaked on the bay.


It looks like Helena for once is telling Hannah what to do, and Hannah doesn't look like she likes it. But I don't really know what was going on here, I just thought it was kind of funny.


Ben and I spent our 8th anniversary in Monterey and driving home. We were both so busy getting ready for the trip that we forgot to get each other a card. Here was my attempt at making up for my forgetfulness.


It was a great trip but boy were we glad to be home!

The Tree

It's been way too long since I made a blog post. My main excuse is that we have been really busy. Here's the beginning of an attempt to catch up.

Every year we go out and cut down a Christmas tree. We normally don't go anywhere for Thanksgiving and do it that Friday or Saturday. We were fortunate to get to spend time in Chico and Sacramento this year with Ben's family. We also don't normally leave town in December, which we did this year. I suggested I just buy a tree in town. Ben suggested we wouldn't have a tree if we had to buy it in town. So I conceded and we went out tree hunting on Sunday afternoon with a "it's now or never" attitude. We were due to leave town in a week and I was worried it would snow so much we wouldn't be able to get one.

Here's Hannah making a snow angel. She hasn't quite mastered the leg swing to make the skirt on the angel so I guess for now she'll be making boy angels with pants.

Helena and I after picking our tree. She didn't love our adventure into the woods. I think not long after we parked the pickup she and Hannah got rolled out of the sled into the snow. It was all downhill from there.

Hannah loves to have snowball fights. Here she's playing with Memaw Mary while Memaw lets her win.

There was a lot of snow this year at the lower elevations. We think some of the prettier trees are higher on the mountain but this year we had to settle for the best we could find. Hannah really got into decorating the tree this year.

Helena also tried to help decorate, but only after eating chocolate and markers.

Here's the tree in all of it's glory on Christmas morning. It leans a little but that just shows that it has been well loved by several little kids.