Friends, a birthday and frozen yogurt

This past week we celebrated one of my friends birthdays. A beautiful surprise party in the park with pink and green balloons scattered around. I love that it is starting to feel like summer around here. I love all the time spent outside, family vacations, frozen yogurt and time with friends. It is a refreshing season! I'm so grateful for all our friends and all their little cuties that Owen is getting to grow up with!

Avenue of the giants

The tallest redwood we stood under was 346.1 feet tall and 40 feet around. Wow! Redwoods are amazing! When I was younger I got to see the redwoods at Yosemite National Park and remember them being magnificent. On our way home from our trip several weeks ago we took a detour to see these giants. We went on a 30 mile drive called the Avenue of the Giants. These are the redwoods near the coast of Northern California and are known as the tallest redwoods in the world. Look how tiny Paul and Owen look next to them in that first picture? Seeing redwoods again was one of the things on my bucket list. What places do you want to see on your bucket list?

9 month checkup

Owen had his 9 month checkup last week. I was nervous to see how it would go this time knowing he might not like it after having shots in the past. And that he was probably not going to sleep on the scale like when he was a newborn. :)


When the nurse put us in our room Owen got really anxious and hyper as if he knew he was somewhere he did not want to be. Doctor Stanley walked in and he quickly sat down and stared up at him. He only cried when the nurse measured his head, they weighed him and of course the poking of the tummy and mouth. At the end doctor Stanley gave him a couple playful pokes on the nose and Owen gave him a little smile. We love doctor Stanley. See it wasn't that bad bubba!


He was 19 pounds 13 ounces and 29 3/4 inches long. The 25 percentile for weight and 90 percentile for height. He is healthy and doing great, so grateful! The doctor said he has abs of steal and as many teeth as a one year old!

Good bye fort bragg

I know it has been a while since we were in Fort Bragg but I couldn't leave these pictures out. It was a wonderful time as a family making memories. So many firsts for Owen!


Owens first time to pottery cove and sand dollar beach. He was such a cutie with his green pom-poms. Pottery cove is a beach we started going to the last couple of years. You hike in and make your way down a steep staircase in the mountian side, it is probably one of the most beautiful beaches in Fort Bragg. You can actually find small pieces of pottery from a sunken ship! I did not have much time to look this time because it started raining but every other time I have found a piece. 


His very first sand dollar! Sand dollar beach is one of the beaches I have the most memories from as a little girl. One of my favorite pictures of myself when I was little is of me running along the shore with a big minnie mouse sweatshirt and pink leggings on. We went later in the day the tide wasn't very low but there was one perfect little sand dollar to be found for Owen. I love the look on his face in the last picture. He got to hold it for a little while till he tried to eat it. 

Spontaneous adventure

We woke up one morning on our trip and decided to head to town for coffee and a danish. We went out the door, Owen in his race car jammies, me with no make-up on and daddy with a scruffy face. While we were in town Owen fell asleep and Paul and I were feeling adventurous. We started driving down the coast to explore new beaches.


Paul had been wanting to go exploring to find a new place the whole week. It was a beautiful drive, mostly along cliffs next to the ocean front. We could see a lighthouse down on a point and decided we wanted to go check it out. The timing was perfect, Owen woke up right as we pulled into the parking lot. 


We found our selves waiting with a crowd for a tour up the lighthouse. A coffee trip to town turned into an all day adventure. Next time we leave the house we will have to get dressed and ready for the day before we going anywhere. It was a beautiful spontaneous adventure!

A hunt for starfish

During our time in Fort Bragg we went on a hunt to find some starfish. One thing I love about the beach is that it is always changing. There is always something different to find and look at. Paul and I went down one afternoon, during the lowest tide, to an area that has some tide pools and lots of rocks. It is so crazy to be walking around the dark rocks with mostly black, browns and greens covering everything and then to find a bright pop of color in the shape of a star. Purple, red and orange, they were beautiful! Sometimes in a big cluster and sometimes all alone. Paul and I probably spent an hour walking down the beach enjoying all the beauty.