Ladybugs, Eggs, & Larva

A couple weeks ago I went outside to get one of our soccer balls when I found a wonderful thing.  I saw tiny yellow things and a ladybug.  I worried if what I was seeing were ladybug eggs so I googled it.  I was happy to find they were ladybug eggs.  Since then we have been seeing ladybugs and ladybug larva everywhere.  It is wonderful, but part of the reason we see so many ladybugs is there are thousands of aphids all over my roses.  We are trying to encouraged the ladybugs to stay by only using water to spray the aphids off the roses.  We also protected the eggs, so they could hatch.  We hope the ladybugs will stay and feast on the aphids.

Ladybug eggs

Yes, it is a Toy Story soccer ball.  Do you see the alien?

I know it is hard to see, but this ladybug is eating an aphid.

Check out all the aphids...YUCK!

Can you see the ladybug larva?  It is right next to the lace on the ball.  It is so tiny.

Ladybug Larva

Ladybug larva on Rich's hand.

Ladybug larva next to some kind of green caterpillar.

Green caterpillar on Ava's hand.  We don't know what kind of caterpillar it is.  Does anybody recognize it?  We want to know if it is good or bad.

Easter

Our Easter weekend was fun filled family time.  On Saturday we went to Gridley to be with Rich's family.  We were excited to see Anne's family before their move to Colorado.  We enjoyed hanging out and having an Easter egg hunt.  We also celebrated Kobie's & Rachel's birthdays.  It is so much fun being with everyone and watching Ava interact with her cousins.

Ava using a bag for her eggs after she already filled her basket.  It was so hard to get a picture of her because she didn't want to stop and look.

Ava with 2 of her cousins, Parker & Lilly.

Ava opening her eggs.

Rich holding Abby.  She is so cute!

Ava sad because Rich is holding Abby and not her.

Now everyone is happy.

Aunt Jessica got out the t-ball equipment for the kids to play.

Ava actually hit it.

Rich playing (wrestling) with the little ones.  I love that the Bowling boys are such awesome dads and uncles.  I feel very blessed to be married to Rich and into his family.

 On Easter Sunday Ava woke up to a note and map from the Easter Bunny.  The Easter Bunny knew she loves Dora and had her go on an adventure to find her treasure.  After Ava found some eggs and candies around the house she was lead to her treasure on the kitchen table.  She got a Rapunzel doll, Jake and the Neverland Pirates smoothie cup, and hand bells.  Ava was excited about all of them.  Rich and I were excited to try out the hand bells.

After church we spent time with my parents and brother.  It was a nice afternoon of eating, playing games, and Ava unwrapping presents.  We feel very blessed because she is so spoiled and loved.  It was a wonderful day.

The treasure hunt starting in the nursery (AKA "Baby Room").

Luca followed Ava throughout the hunt and was hoping she would drop some candy for him.

Ava found the candy hidden on the freezer handle.

Ava found her treasure.

Happy girl because she is holding chocolate.

Ava loves unwrapping presents.

Monterey ~ Garrapata State Park

On our last day we decided to go on another hike (more like walk) along the coastline.  It was a beautiful day, but really windy.  Unfortunately, I decided to not use the restroom before we left because I thought there would be bathrooms there.  Once we got there we found a port-a-potty, but Rich let me know it was disgusting.  Fortunately, I have a strong bladder, but we did have to end our time walking around earlier than wanted.  I think one day we will go back and explore the area more.  There are trails along the coast, but also a trail that goes up the hillside.  I would like to explore both areas.

We decided to set-up the tripod so we could get a picture together.  After we took the picture I noticed I was wearing my Nightmare Before Christmas gloves.  They look a little freaky, but they are perfect for photography in cold areas.  The fingertips are cut off and allow me to operate my camera and stay warm.

Rich is a tiny blue dot on top of the rocks.

Rich taking some pictures.

I thought the clouds rolling over the hills looked pretty cool.

This is probably my favorite picture.  Rich spotted these lilies off the trail a bit.

 Rich's Pictures

Lisa trying to stay warm as we walk and take pictures.

Lisa close to the edge taking some pictures of the ice plants.

Monterey ~ Garland Ranch

Our second day in Monterey started off at the local Mormon Church.  We attended sacrament meeting and were greeted by several friendly faces and hand shakes.  After church we decided to enjoy God's creations and went to Garland Ranch Park for an afternoon hike.

Before we started our hike we checked in at the visitor's center to get a suggestion on where to go.  I read about several different trails and wanted one that would have good photo opportunities.  The ranger steered us on a intermediate hike that was a fairly steep uphill with a beautiful view at the top.  We were grateful for the advice because I thought about taking a harder hike with a very steep climb, but were persuaded (wisely) otherwise.  We went slow and enjoyed the scenery.  We each had a camera and stopped periodically to take pictures.  It wasn't the best day for photography because of the bright sun and wind, but it was a great day for a hike.

Rich headed up the trail.  The uphill was nice because it was more of a gradual climb with switchbacks.  The downhill was rough because it was straight down.

Rich taking pictures.

View for up top to the trail down below.

View of the Carmel Valley.