Our Caterpillars

We woke up to an exciting morning with our new found pets. The chrysalis or pupa was a beautiful butterfly. Drew was so excited he wanted to keep the butterfly for a long time. Once it started to fly around we decided that it needed food. After a little coaxing, Drew decided the butterfly could be let go. It was amazing to see this butterfly, named Buttery, fly against the blue sky. There were some tears and a hug. Drew realized that we had more caterpillars. One of the caterpillars had climbed to the top and connected it's self to the house. We expected to have chrysalis in the morning. It was still hanging there. I thought it was dead. We proceeded to make breakfast. By the time breakfast was made it was in a cocoon or chrysalis.

Curiosity got the best of me and I found out the caterpillars names. They are a gulf fritilary. Apparently people plant the passion vine for the butterflies. I didn't know this when I planted it. I just like the beautiful flowers. Maybe some day I will have a passion vine that isn't a hybrid that will produce fruit. I love the yummy exotic fruit. I first tasted one in Hawaii on a hike. It was a wild vine.

We are having a great time with two other chrysalis that we found today and two new big caterpillars.

The Caterpillars

This is a passion flower. It grows on a vine that gets eaten by caterpillars every year. So I have given up the fight with the caterpillars. They won. They eat all of my leaves off my vine every year. Fortunately they grow back. This year it has had a difficult time so there isn't many vines.

A few Sunday's ago we were driving by a house that had a caterpillar house for free. So we stopped and picked it up. Today when I got bored of the computer and watching TV I decided that it would be fun to take Drew out back and find a few caterpillars. We found big ones so we didn't have to feed them my passion vine for a long time.

I didn't know that this was going to be a big event at our house. Drew has us looking at the caterpillars every time one of them gets to the top of their new home. He takes them in every room with him. They have also went on a bike ride to Nanny's house to find their baby. He wanted the caterpillars to be a family. One of them is already starting to go into a cocoon or chrysalis. I didn't realize that Drew needed a pet so bad. He calls them all Catty because they are all caterpillars. It has been fun and cute watching him "take care of them". I don't know how long they are going to last. If we get a butterfly out of this them we will post a picture. They are pretty orange, black and white butterflies.

Surfin' Safari

Today Keith took the day off. I am so proud of him. He hardly ever takes a break from work. Drew and Keith went to the beach. Keith took Drew out on the boogie board to catch some waves. Drew did pretty good. He road a few waves before he swallowed some water and threw up. That didn't stop him. He was back out there with his dad. He road a few more Drew size waves and then got rolled by a wave and went all the way under the water. I thought that he would be done with the wave riding but he headed back out to the water and road a few more. Here is a short video of him riding some waves. I was very proud of him that he didn't give up.

OUCH!!!

On Memorial Day Keith took Drew to the beach while I rested. I was reading a book when I heard a screaming child. I thought that sounds like Drew. Then I heard it again only this time it was closer. Drew was screaming owie, owie. I looked out the window and Keith and Drew were coming across the street. People must have felt sorry for Keith because they actually stopped for them to cross the street. I knew right away that Drew had been stung by a bee which is common on our beach. I went and retrieved the Lightning McQueen ice pack and went outside. To my surprise Keith was striping him down to the bare. Drew had sat on a bee at the beach. Poor little guy. His bum had a nice sting on it. We put baking soda and clay on it and it is all better now. There haven't been any allergic results so far. I am glad that he is okay and can sit down.

While we were letting the mixture dry Drew said, "Mommy bees are nice, too, because they make honey for us. Then he asked, "Why do they sting me?". He understands now that they were just protecting themselves and the bee didn't mean to hurt Drew. He is always amazing me with his great attitude. He didn't state that he hated bees, he looked at the positive that they still make him honey. I love my little guy.

Drew's Art

I am so proud of Drew in all that he does, he likes to draw right now. A month ago he wanted me to draw a neighborhood with him. I was busy and told him later. He decided to do it on his own. This is the picture that he came up with and he worked on it for about a half hour.

A few days after tax season

Tax season is a busy time for Keith. He works hard from January all the way through mid April. When Drew survived his first tax season we all went up to Palomar mountain for the day in Doan Valley. There is a little pond and creek. It is a relaxing break from the city and it is during spring. There are baby animals. Being that I used to live by a pond as a little girl, I love to see the tad poles and the frogs. And I really could stare at the little fish for a long time.

This year Keith and I needed to get away from all the noise and enjoy some family time so we went up to Palomar Mountain again. We went to the pond and there were a few families fishing. One family in particular had two little girls, one being close to Drew's age. She was friendly and started following us around. We were at the pond trying to find frogs and looking at the fish. All the sudden Drew was in the pond. And like a little trooper he got up and didn't cry. We didn't have to go home because he was cold. He didn't complain one time.

I love to see the animals and new plants popping out of the ground.

I got to try one of my new filters on the waterfall.

Take a close look!

The funny thing is that my husband reminded me that I needed to update my blog, my husband.

Okay so I thought I was being so cute posting an Easter announcement. Little did I know that I would be having the same amount of babies as there are bunnies in the Easter basket from my previous post. We have all adjusted to the news and appreciate every one's enthusiasm and support. I would put up a picture of the ultra sound with all three of them but they aren't exactly clear. And I know that there are still many more ultra sounds to come.

We are excited that thus far we have not had any complications and everyone is still in their warm spot in my belly.

You have been put on NOTICE!

I may be a little paranoid but that is how crazy this world is. I will be making my blog private in a few weeks. So for those of you that know me you can easily email me and I will put you on the list to view our blog. I just want to keep my little one's pictures out of the hands of sick people that like to do nasty things to cute, innocent, little children's pictures.



I used to think that there was no reason for anyone that I don't know to look at my blog until I got a few random comments. And of course I saw a thing on Oprah about sexual perv's and that just confirmed my suspensions. I am sure that everyone will be understanding and supportive.



A few random thoughts from Drew:

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cat in the hat comes back

The Easter Riddle

Okay the Easter Bunny thought he would be funny a play around a little early this year. Caution make contain information you are not quit ready to share with your children.

First he took two dozen eggs. Then he went to visit his wife. And we all know how those silly rabbits like to reproduce. Nineteen of the twenty-four were fertilized. After five days two eggs were ready to be put in a basket for save keeping. Eight others were put in the freezer for another Easter.

What is going on at our house?

(And for those of you who know please do not put it in the comment section and run my little fun that I get in life.)

Angela, the angel

Okay I have been looking at other blogs thinking, why haven't they updated their blogs. Oops that would be me. I was in Florida for a while and when we got back I have been busy with Dr. appointments and work.

So I have to do a shout out to an angel. I have had many angels in my life. Some have been more consistent, my friend Angela (appropriately named) is one of those more constant ones. Yesterday I had to stay down for the day. Guess who has planned a trip to come see some of her friends in need, Angela. She traveled to Bonsal and then to here and dropped off three meals. Yes three meals to her friends who are having a hard time. She lives almost two hours away and still managed to give a fabulous dinner. She always knows when a meal is needed. While she spent time with me, she cleaned my floor on her hands and knees along with some other things and gave some advice on how to get organized. Hello who doesn't need that type of advice. She was truly a blessing and made a boring day exciting.

Thanks Angela. Although these words don't truly describe the person that you are and the service that you render, anyone who has you as a friend knows how blessed they are to have you in their live. You are a true angel that loves and serves the Lord. Not to mention an awesome mom.

Her three adorable little boys kept Drew busy for three hours. He actually went to sleep at 7:30 and stayed asleep. That was a big accomplishment for him. And they alleviated some of our toys. (Another way to get organized.)

Thanks Angela.

The aligator

Here is the aligator that we found. We have a few traditions when I come to visit my family. One of them is to drive around the Swannee Wildlife Reserve. We stay in the car and try to see how many aligators and turtles we can find. We always find one. This one was about five feet long.

Kayaking

Here we are kayaking to Hunter Springs. It is a beautiful spring with a little beach. Drew was a little sceptical about kayaking. We were excited to get him in the kayak. The pictures were taken the second day of kayaking so he has a big smile.

Drew loved swimming in the water. Here he was jumping for joy. We called Daisy (the dog) and Drew the kayak stow aways. They were quite noisy for hitch hikers.
This is Drew trying to get away in the kayak by himself. He wanted to kayak by himself so we put him in and handled him the paddle.

Our Manatees

We love to see the manatees while we are here. We going searching for the manatees and the aligators, but that is another story for another day. So out on the boat we went, with Drew driving.

We found our manatee or it found us. It came up to our boat which they aren't suppose to do. We didn't touch the manatee but it did find a rope hanging off the boat. The manatee sat and played with the rope for fifteen minutes.

Our Fishing Adventures

Here we are fishing on my mom's canal wall. We could see the fish swimming around our hook. We even saw a aligator gar following our hook and guess what we caught? A big fat nothing. Don't believe his fish story he didn't caught one that big.

Drew's Birthday

I was trying to wait to get pictures loaded on the site before I blogged Drew's birthday. But the days just went to fast. Now we are in Florida and unable to put pictures on so I will load them on when we get back to reality.

Drew's birthday was very similar to the day he was born, raining non-stop. We were so excited four years ago when we got the call that Drew was finally born at 10:29 am. We were told that he had big blue eyes and a head full of hair. The big blue eyes were an understatement to me. We still look back on those glorious days at the hospital and all of the marvilious people that made that day happen. We will always think of the angel that placed our son in our arms that day and blessed our lives in ways that were unimaginable. We think of her and her family often but the thoughts are always stronger on and around his birthday.

For Drew's birthday we had a family party the night before with Keith's family. Drew wanted a banana cream pie for his birthday. So Keith and I made the pie and I wrote on it. Of course I spelt something wrong on the cake. Next year a #5 and his name. That way I can't spell anything wrong.

On the day of his birthday, the forcast looked gloom, literally. It was suppose to rain all day. That didn't stop us. It was off to California Adventures with Luanne and Andy. (It was exciting to have a friend that wasn't affraid to brave the rain with us.) We had a lot of fun getting wet waiting in line for the birthday boy's ticket and riding all of the rides. Drew's favorite ride was the bumper cars and the swing ride called the stinger. On the Monster's Inc ride the slug lady asked, "Are you two twins?" We weren't sure who she was talking to, Drew and Andy or Luanne and I. She also told Drew "Happy Birthday." It was a great day with lots of fun.

Drew is truely a blessing in our lives. He touches the hearts of all that he comes in contact with. He is our angel boy that is sweet, funny, laughing, thoughtful and compassionate. He is also super smart. We have had an amazing four years with Drew. We know that we would not have Drew if it wasn't for the gospel. The gospel touched many lives that influenced the existance of Drew. So on Drew's birthday we thank our Heavenly Father and Drew's angel, Rachel.

My Birthday

Okay my post is about two weeks late. But I wanted to recognize all of the wonderful people who made my four day birthday great. First it started off with my wonderful friends, Ali and Angela, throwing a birthday party for me in the L.A. area. Angela made a fabulious chocolate cake and had eight helium balloons for me. And of course I can't leave out Ali who was gracious enough to drive. I am blessed to have such great friends.

Then, that night I had to rush home for a family birthday dinner put on by Keith and his mom, Shirley. Despite Keith's busy schedule he still managed to put a dinner together and order a cake. It was a gourmet chocolate cake with a light raspberry cream whipping in the layers. It was topped with hugh gratings of chocolate on a white frosting.

On Sunday Keith gave me my presents. For those of you who know us real well know that Keith usually kind of forgets about the presents. So this was a big suprise. He bought me a lot of wood hangers so I could organize my closet. It was a really thoughtful gift because he drove to Ikea for the hangers. I have wanted to have wood hangers for a long time to make my small closet look pretty. He also got me a tackle box to organize our first aid kit. I know that they don't sound like exciting gifts but to me they were exactly what I wanted.

On Monday I got about ten ecards for my ever so thoughtful sister who never forgets my birthday. I also got calls from my grandma and my little sister, who also never misses a birthday. That is more than I can say for myself. We also went to Disneyland. This was kind of a gift to myself. I wanted to take Drew to Disneyland. We had a great time. It wasn't that busy or crowded. And of course with fun there is also adventure. Right after we walked in to the actual gates of Disneyland the bottom of my shoe fell almost off. It was hanging from the toe. By the end of the day the other shoe had also done the same thing. I guess that hiking shoes are made to biodegrade. The shoes were old but didn't show any sign of giving out on me. So I drug my feet all over Disneyland. It really was a great time.

Living in Paradise

Okay I know that some of you, you just love the four seasons. Me personally, I can do with out them. Today we went for a walk on the beach. The weather was perfect. It has been this way for at least a week. We have been enjoying the beach and having fun. I am so glad that we are not in the snow. We have also been having absolutely beautiful sunsets. So here is a picture of a sunset and a picture of Drew in the bath.