Our Adventure

This morning Ava had her last preschool field trip at the Folsom Zoo.  She was excited and looked forward to seeing her friends.  Everything was going great until we got in the car to leave.  When I tried to start the car nothing happened, not even a click.  I tried to figure out what to do, but realized there was nothing I could do because the car was dead.  I felt frustrated and bad for Ava.

As I told Ava we weren't going to make it to the zoo she started to cry.  Poor thing was sick last week and missed Comet the Horse when he came to school.  She already missed one special school activity and was upset to miss another.  My heart sunk and I decided I had to make it work.

I called my good friend, Chantal, and prayed she was home.  I was surprised when she answered the phone because she often volunteers on Thursdays.  I was so grateful that she was able to help us out especially since it was last minute.  Chantal picked us up and drove us to the zoo.

By the time we got there we missed the beginning of the activity.  The kids met at the library first and had a special story time.  We got there just in time to walk into the zoo with Ava's class.  Ava was happy to talk with her teachers and got to run around the zoo with one of her best school friends.

After we were done at the zoo it was time to get home.  I decided we would take light rail and walk.  I knew this would be quite a long walk, so I made sure to bring a stroller for Ava.  I also made sure to pack snacks and extra water because it was going to be a hot day.

It was a hot day, but I was grateful for the occasional gentle breeze.  We walked, actually I walked pushing the stroller, about 1 mile to the light rail station.  That wasn't too bad except we just missed the train and had to wait about 30 minutes for the next one.  Ava was happy to ride the train, so no big deal.  Once we got off the train I walked another 2 miles home.  The distance wasn't too bad, but it was not fun pushing a giant stroller, with a 30 lb. + kid, in the heat.  I was glad I packed extra water because I needed it.

As soon as we got home I had Ava lay down for a rest, so I could rest too.  I was so happy to rinse off in the shower, have clean clothes, and a soft couch to lay on.  As I was walking I kept thinking about all the blessing I have:  Good friends, clean water, shower, change of clothes, food, house, etc.  It was definitely an adventure and I'm glad everything worked out so Ava didn't have to miss this school activity.  I know if we missed it she would be okay, but it is nice to see a smile on her face and know I did everything I could to put it there.

Ava's Rough Morning

Yesterday started out rough for Ava and I.  I posted about it on Facebook for family and friends, but since I turn my blog into a book, my journal if you will, I want to share it here too.  This was my post:

Today was a rough morning. Ava did not want to get up and needed lots of extra snuggles and help to get ready for school. As I was buckling Ava into her car seat she was telling me she loved daddy, mommy, and babies. She seemed to be doing better when all of a sudden she began to cry again. This crying seemed really sad and not just from being tired. When I asked her what was wrong this is what she said:

"I want to have babies. Is my tummy broken? I want to be a big sister. Can we have a baby, so I can be a big sister?"

This just broke my heart. I took her out of her car seat, snuggled her, and cried too. We spent a few minutes just sitting in the back of our car crying and snuggling. After a couple minutes we both felt better and then we talked about her concerns. Ava is now at school and was happy when I said goodbye, but I feel sad that she has to experience this sadness. It is hard to go through the adoption process, but it is even harder watching Ava be sad because she wants to be a big sister. She would be an awesome big sister.

I'm think a lot of these emotions and thoughts are being stirred up because for the past month we have been going through the renewal process with our adoption agency.  Ava has watched us go through this process (finger printing, foster parent training, home visit) and we have always been open with her about her adoption.  I'm sure being 4 it is hard to understand everything and she is trying to make sense of it.

 I'm actually glad she is able to express her emotions, so we can talk about them.  I'm glad she has the desire to be a big sister and wants to have a sibling to love.  I'm glad she has the faith to pray for a baby to come to our family.  I'm glad I can snuggle her, listen, and help her feel better.  It was a tough morning, but the day ended nice and we got a chocolate milkshake after school to make us feel a little better.  I know what ever happens we will be ok and for now I am grateful to be the mom of such a wonderful little girl.

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.