weathering the storm

Last week amidst the tornado warnings, we were out and about having fun... and then contemplating if we should drive home or not. We headed over to Nora's house and had a fun time jumping in the bounce house in the living room and playing with all her fun toys.

Funny boy and Nora's mommy.

Miss jumping girl herself.

Hanging out making dinner in the playhouse.

Meanwhile, Nathan drove back to work from a meeting on this freeway, water up to the door of his Forerunner:

The rain stopped, we made it home fine and dandy and settled in waiting for the rest of the storms to roll through. Saturday we had beautiful sunshine and headed down to the beach to check out the big swell. The sand berm is huge! It was like climbing a mountain, but I guess it did its job keeping the houses along the boardwalk dry.

The neighbor pig, Bubba.

Later that day the kids and I went to Bridget's well put together first birthday party. It was so much fun! Amelia actually got up her courage and decided it really is fun to jump all by herself in a bouncy castle.

Happy birthday, Bridget!

Cupcake decorating.

This cute garland reminded me of something you might find over at Deliajude. : )

ahhh, rain

First, a few pictures of the kids before the rains came down and the floods came up:

No wonder people ask me if they're twins.

This is where all the kids sell and serve ice cream at the park. : )

The uncles teaching Wyatt how to watch football. : )

Trying on Aunt Lindsay's new shoes.

Okay, so I realize that rain is not that exciting for most of you, but it is for us folks in Southern California. Anyway, this is out my front door today. And I just want you to keep in mind that I usually do laundry on Monday's, as I am today, and my washer and dryer are outside. I would have shown that video, but the view from the front is a little more inviting than our utility area. : ) And I also want to note that I am very thankful to have a washer and dryer at my house. It sure beats quarters and the laundromat.

Note: I just watched this after I posted it, and I apologize for it being lame. The original video showed the rain very clearly and once I uploaded it, it does not. But, it took forever to upload, so at least you can hear the rain. : )

Totally Awesome 80's

Miss Kim had a monumental birthday this weekend, so a surprise party was planned to commemorate the year she was born. It was so hard keeping it a secret from her, but everyone did such a good job, and she was surprised! After the initial shock of opening the door to a whole lotta of people, we whisked her upstairs to get her dressed appropriately. Happy birthday, Kim!

The birthday girl and our mullet adorned babe.

Some of the ladies that made it all happen.

Note: I'm so glad that I was too young to wear makeup and choose
my own clothes in the 80's. That way I can blame it all on my mom.

the holidays {in short}

Okay, so there are way more pictures than I intended, but I'm too lazy to break it into smaller posts.

The past couple of weeks have been fun filled and fabulous. Between travelling to Tehachapi for Christmas and back to Tehachapi for New Years, we really haven't been home much. We were fortunate enough to have all of the Adkins family together for Christmas and to celebrate Lindsay and Sara's birthdays (the 26th & 30th, respectively). Saturday afternoon we headed to Burbank Bible Conference where Nathan unfortunately relapsed on his cold and spent the weekend cooped up in the hotel room. We headed home on Monday and celebrated Travis' birthday (the 29th) and took Uncle Drew to the airport Tuesday. Meanwhile, we looked at another house (and two more since then... yes, we're still looking!) before heading back out to the mountains to spend a relaxing long weekend with Grandpa and Grandma.

Oh, by the way, if you thought the before mentioned birthday's were a lot, my mom is the 31st, Eileen is today (happy birthday!) and Kim's is the 9th. ; )

Adoring the Unc.

By far the favorite gift for Miss Amelia,

she has been playing with these magnetic 'paper dolls' non-stop!

Papa got him his first guns (it'll take awhile to grow into the holster).

Baden's representing.

Coordinates with Amelia's (and Sara's kitchen!)

(click to enlarge, you can see the new ring!) ; )

Wyatt and the wrapping paper.

Getting to know GG Buchanan's.

Happy to see Daddy after a day of meetings.

Celebrating Uncle T-Bone's birthday in style.

Note: Cynthia is also present in this picture. She is not a doll, she is a real baby!

A mighty tasty way to bring in the New Year.

A mini snowman with what was left of the white stuff.

Adorable Alpaca's, enough said!