Twirly Girls

Hula-Hoopin' Fun!

Look Who's Zoomy, Now

Mimi is tearing it up on her "running bike"
I'm amazed, proud,
and frankly, terrified! 

Little Bakers

Mama has the best helpers!!

Springtime at Home

I haven't really been keeping up these past few weeks - and I apologize.
Here are some lovely photos from some spring time play around home.

Liv took these next few pictures out on a little hike around the house. 

She even got Bella to say "cheese"  ha-ha-ha! 

near by to our "climbing tree" Liv discovered a lying down climbing tree. :)
The world is her gym - 

(why I haven't put her in toddler gymnastics classes) 

Finding and repairing leaks in the irrigation, critter holes in the grass, and plants that didn't make the winter...

all part of spring! 

 bird watching... hawks, finches, bluebirds, orioles, magpies ...

spring showers...

new summer clothes!

the sheep doing their wild-fire preventive mowing

us - watching the funny sheep

lots of bike riding, dancing, growing, and singing.
more to come...

New Produce Market

Patterson has a new shop, a natural and organic food store with fresh local produce.

On opening day we bought a few ears of corn and some carrots!

The girls helped husk the corn and couldn't resist biting right into those sweet juicy kernels!

Visit to the Honey Farm

 You may remember my earlier post about the local beehives and the nice man from Johnson Apiaries that keeps some of his bees here in the Diablo Grande Canyon.

It was time for us to make a trip out to visit Mr. Johnson and purchase some of that yummy Mixed Sage honey that the local bees worked so hard to make. 

We brought a few extra jars for some friends, and it was a nice warm day so the honey flowed easily. Such a cool thing!! 

We also stopped at the library and picked up a picture book on how bees make honey. 

Bella vs. Rattler

 Saturday night we slept out in the tent in the backyard. Sunday was another beautiful warm day and we were playing outside. Bella was checking out the shady bushes (where she has chased baby bunnies) and startled backward, dropping a tiny dead froggy in the grass, and then tentatively exploring the bush again, this time leaping backward and nursing a front paw.

(damn, damn, damn - I'm thinking, as I press the branches aside to look into the shadows...

double damn! I spot a small brown snake with a brown diamond pattern.)

A very fearful and hurt puppy continued to nurse her paw.

Jeff and I grab a couple long handle tools and go hunting.

Sure enough, its a baby rattle snake.

We opted not to go the full medical emergency animal hospital route...
Bella's foreleg did not swell; she was sore and sleepy, but seemed to have bounced back enough by the end of the day to be everywhere under my feet and chasing the kids around.  

And now, several days later, you'd never know. Running, playing, basically: 100% puppy.