Swirls return

We post Natalie's art on our refrigerator.  Not all of it of course, but just some of the ones we're intrigued by, or that touch us the most.

We've had this picture on our fridge for about a month now, but I just now noticed the swirls at the bottom of her guy's shoes.

Here's a closer look:

And this one she painted 2 days ago, which she said is titled "Miracle".

Father/Daughter fishing

On the 4th of July, we went with April, Joel, and Mae to a lake not far from us called Sugar Pine Reservoir.  Natalie went fishing with Ern for the first time, and now I believe she is hooked.  Ern likes to catch and release, as he just loves the act of fishing.  They didn't catch anything, but they had fun, and that's all that matters.

Time Off

Today marks the first day of my 8 days break from work.  Since my sister April has had the baby, I've come to a realization that work is not as important as I used to make it out to be.  I think I've also realized that having my mom and dad has also created a different mindset for me.

April and I have always said how much we love our parents, but I'm not sure they understand just how much.  My mom is such a creative and loving person.  She truly is one of my best friends.  April and my mom are the first two women I think of when I want to go and do something fun and exciting.  The first two women I will share information with.  I get excited any time when I think about doing any kind of activity with either (or both) of them.

Ernie is my first male best friend.  His personality is so much like me in so many ways.  We are both very neat and organized people.  One day a few years ago, he made the comment to me that crumbs on the counter after making a sandwich or a piece of toast, bothered him.  I too, have my quirks.  He puts the silverware all in one tray in the dishwasher, and I would prefer him to separate it out so all the pieces get clean.  Our daughter has inherited the creativity from both my mom and Ernie's dad, both of which are both artists.  She loves to sing, draw, dance, but all by herself (dancing and singing specifically).  She also loves to collect.  She has collections of bottle caps, collections of feathers, collections of acorns, collections of rocks, and collections of shells.  We try to limit her "collections" and encourage her to focus on those that are most important to her. 

My dad is my hero.  He was instrumental in restoring a Studebaker firetruck for the Georgetown, CA fire department.  One year, he drove the fire truck in the parade after it was completely restored.  April and I teared up and began crying with pride for our dad when he drove by.  I think Ernie has many of the same characteristics as my dad.  He has a dry sense of humor (which you can sometimes take, and sometimes not take).  Many of his personality traits are like my dad's.  So for me, it is probably true when you hear the saying "the daughter's marry those that are most like their father".

One year in high school, April and I were riding with my dad in his dark cherry red VW baja bug on a road by our high school.  We turned right onto a road off the local two lane highway and passed a lady in a car that had a big gold retriever-type dog sitting in the front passenger seat.  Out of the silence of the car my dad says,"boy, that lady's boyfriend is a real dog."  April and I sit there, realizing that his joke was dry and kind of silly, but start cracking up because the statement broke the silence in the car.  We kept replaying the sound of his voice in our heads, over and over and couldn't help but laugh.

My parents have always been there for us no matter what.  They provided us with probably the most normal, loving childhood, anyone could ask for.  I am so grateful to this day to have both of them as parents.

I love you mom and dad, so very much.

Cousins

3/4 siblings:  Natalie and Mae

The exciting new addition to our extended family

My twin sister, April and my brother-in-law Joel had their baby on Thursday, May 26th at 6:09am.  She weighed 7 lbs. 12.5oz. and 18 3/4" long. They named her Mae, not intentional to go with the month of May or to have it be a funny coincidence of "April and Mae".  Rather, Mae holds a lot of meaning on both sides of our families (you may have read in a previous post that April and I are married to brothers).  Ernie and Joel's grandmother's middle name is Mae.  And, my father's mother and grandmother's middle names were Mae.  It seemed so perfect for them to give her this name, so that both sides of our families could be honored.  

Here is a picture baby Mae taken one day after her birthday, which was 5/26/2011:

Today, my daughter, Natalie, turns 6 years old.  I woke up this morning at 2:45am, the same time 6 years ago that I felt my first pre-labor contractions.  We spent the afternoon at our property where we were building our house, just below my grandmother's home.  By 4:00pm, we decided to head home to my mom and dad's house, where we were living while our house was being built.  We arrived home around 5:00ish, and my parents asked if I was hungry.  I said yes, and so my dad drove into their town to get a pizza.  We had pizza for dinner, and around 6:30pm I said we needed to leave for the hospital.  It was a good hour drive to the hospital where I had to deliver, and we arrived around 8:00pm.  At 10:02pm, Natalie was born at 8 lbs 4 oz. and 20 1/2" long. 

Here is a picture of Natalie taken 2 days after her birthday, which was 5/28/2005:

There is a definite resemblance; as there should be since their mommy's are identical twins, and their daddy's are brothers!  I believe April and I determined that Natalie and Mae are genetically 3/4 siblings. 

April and Joel will most likely be arriving home today.  Natalie will be excited to again see Mae, this time on her birthday!

Kahlua and Bear

Kahlua and Bear are our two dogs.  Kahlua is nearly 1 year old, and Bear is the old fart at 8 years old.  They both a love bugs.  Yesterday, while Natalie and I were enjoying an afternoon in the warm sun, Natalie decided it would be fun to put her sunglasses on the dogs.  Here is the result:

This is Kahlua.  Doesn't he just look like he's saying, "yo, Natalie, whatcha doing?"

This is Bear.  I'm thinking he's saying,"this sun is hot!"

Enjoy your SUNday!

Money

Natalie loves playing with her coins from her piggy bank.  Here's one piece of art she created: