Party for Kelsey

Kelsey McElroy celebrated her first birthday at the park last weekend. It was a fun time with church family...thanks Mark and Kari!

Eli and Karsten were so cute...

Waiting patiently for pancakes!

Mark works with Jonas in San Diego...we've been blessed to get to know he and Kari, and of course, adorable Kelsey

Thank you for coming to my party Katelyn...can you please let go now?!

Happy Father's Day

The kids and I detailed Jonas' Honda Civic for Father's Day this year. It was sooo dirty! His car serves as his inventory storage for work and there is rarely time to organize it, let alone give it a good scrub. I was so proud of Emma and Caleb...they worked hard.

Jonas, you are the best! Thank you for being a loving, fun, and God-fearing Daddy to our three precious kiddoes. We love you soooo much....

More from San Elijo

Our second week at San Elijo was a blast. Katelyn did super when we shared a site with the Millers (thanks to all the extra pairs of eyes to watch her) and the barricade we set up. However, we decided to let her get out of the dirt and return to the "Four Seasons" with Grandma Nancy during round two. Several more families were camping this week...the Emards and their daughters' families, the Lees, Holly's parents, etc.

Our good friends, Nathan and Laura Montgomery, brought their four kids down for the first day. The rest of the week we shared our site with my brother and his family. We all ended up coming back to our house a night early...ready to be done with tent camping, train sirens, etc.!
In this first pic, Nathan and Jonas are playing with all the boys and you can see Emma and Avalon Montgomery in the water.

Captain Jack's first trip to San Elijo

Parker and Caleb catching a few waves

Laura and I have been close friends since high school youth group days. She and Nathan are waiting to be placed in full time ministry by Friends of Israel...it's quite possible they'll be sent to CA from the east coast, where they've lived for several years. We like that idea! We've really missed you guys...

Now for the camping adventure. As Jonas and Nathan prepared to leave for a dinner run, our CRV indicated problems under the hood. The Millers had told us how the camp squirrels get up into cars and chew hoses, etc. Well, turns out a squirrel exploded in our engine! Its remnants drew a crowd of children while "MacGyver" Nathan fixed our car, elbow-deep in squirrel guts with limited tools. God is good...Nathan is an amazing electrician by trade and definitely the person you want by your side when such troubles occur. It was really gross, but totally typical for us!!

Footage of the guys playing football

Snacking sisters

The girls were both eating apples (Katie grabbed one off the table), and Emma told me to quickly take a picture. So glad I did!

Time in the Word

Beth, I think Abby has been encouraging Katelyn. I found her looking through our new copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible the other day (a favorite of Abby's...see Pleasnick blog). So glad they are sharpening one another at such a tender age.

Huntington Library

In between camping trips, Michelle and Jenna West joined Emma and I for a day of "beauty and culture" in San Marino at the Huntington Library. This is definitely one of my favorite places. The grounds are so lush and colorful...love the Rose, Japanese and Shakespeare Gardens. I was eager for Emma to browse the art museums and start learning to appreciate what she saw. The girls were cracking me up with their headphones as they listened to the recordings about the various pieces. When I saw her eagerly taking Jenna over to neat, large painting, I thought "Mission accomplished!" Turns out she was wanting Jenna to listen to the "cool" music playing in the background of the narration! Ah yes, reality check!!

The Huntington has added many hands-on displays which makes it fun for kids...really liked how they did the new Children's Garden

So English! You can sit inside on benches and pretend to have a spot of tea...

Yes, I'm afraid Michelle and I allowed the girls to climb trees...didn't you love to as a kid? I know I did! How many neat, twisted old trees do we have in Murrieta??

So nice to have a day enjoying my oldest daughter...thank you for holding down the fort Jonas

Emma enjoyed taking pictures of the flower gardens...they turned out very well I thought

Petting the fish in the Japanese garden ponds...

Thank you again for joining us West ladies...that was such a fun day! Next time, Michelle, we'll make sure to carve out time to drive through the beautiful neighborhoods surrounding the library.

First Night of Camping

Hmmm...doesn't look much like camping does it? These were taken at a Round Table near San Elijo State Beach where we camped with the Miller family early in June. It was our first night and neither Holly or I wanted to cook on site after setting up camp all afternoon. Besides, the Lakers were playing one of their final games ...the one that went into overtime. I'll write more about the actual camping part when I download my pics! Millers, we had such a great time with you guys!

Katelyn just wanted to hang out in the arcade with Mrs. Miller all night:)

Class of 2009

The afternoon preschool class has officially graduated! If anyone is looking for the BEST preschool around, talk to me about Jodi Helm's Christian preschool. Sienna watched the girls for me so I was able to enjoy the festivities with Caleb. It was a special morning and I'm so proud of you Caleb! You are ready for kindergarten!

Caleb and & Gracie sharing a few words during the ceremony

The terrific trio: Ms. Angela, Ms. Eleni and Mrs. Helms
You each go above and beyond and we are sooo grateful for all the time, love and energy you invested in our little guy!

Can I just hold onto this age a bit longer?