The Good Quiet...

Fountains Time Again

{One: Isabella}

First the worst?  No way!

This is MY girl and I love her to pieces!

She is a big help in so many ways, no more so than to her momma.

{Two: Ava}

Loves to run, jump, and play!  

Will pause for photos and always has a winning smile.

{Three: Iris}

Never caught without a headband and a hair clip of some kind, no matter how scraggly the hair.  And no matter what, the band almost always sinks down over one eye!  Sharp, sweet pea, sharp! 

{Four: Owen}

I love you son!  

I wish I had  you're picture but somehow you eluded me!  

I'll catch you next time!

That's a promise!

{Five: Gabriel}

Stuck on the sidelines with mom, but content to watch the action from afar.  Thanks for keeping me company on the bench, son.

Yum!
You're just like your momma sweetheart!
If we're not running around,
we're EATING!

This is bliss...

I Read For Happy Meals ONLY!

So, everyone once in awhile, 

you're kids say something and 

you really get a peek into what's really going on in there.

When Ava completed her reading log for school and earned a meal at the Spagetti Factory, she was thrilled.  She patiently kept reminding me what a wonderful idea it would be to eat there, and so, after some time, we made plans to...

"go out"!

The menu comes and everyone's happy, 

except Ava soon starts to frown.

I say, 

"Ava, do you want Spaghetti & Meatballs 

or the Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce?"

{We don't do the chicken nuggets or grilled cheese options 

which I could easily make at home while standing on my head, 

blowing my nose, and

singing a sea shanty-

and for FREE, mind you!}

Ava replies,

"I don't want Spaghetti.  

I wanted a Happy Meal.  

Where's the Happy Meal?"

Well, after informing us that she reads for Happy Meals only,
a little heart-to-heart rectified the misunderstanding,
and she chose the  
MEATBALL!

Gabriel positively gobbled the noodles and french bread...

...and we enjoyed some great family time!

Yes, 

it's possible to find happiness even 

WITHOUT 

McDonald's!

So Close!

Gabriel Dodge,

Son, you are so close to crawling!

You manage to scooch all over this house,

but the actual getting up off of that belly eludes you!

Keep it up son!

You're labors, I promise, will be rewarded!

It is a joy to watch you grow!

All my love,

Mom

{Who yes, sometimes wishes she could go back to crawling!}

The Dreaded Letter...

You know, 

the one you get from the school 

that informs you that you and your family are now truants 

for being late to school one too many times?

Yes, we got one of those this year.

I felt so bad, 

and maybe, quite possibly, 

I implied to my girls that we were all going to 

JAIL 

if we didn't do better!

And so,

every morning, 

we scrambled like wild chickens 

to make it out the door on time.  

I'd like to report that we did it.  

That we learned our lesson.

And we paid our debt to society.

 But unfortunately,  

I can't!

But we did send in this nice letter of apology to the girls teachers!

Maybe they'll be some mercy extended?

"I'm a Boat!"

If there's ever want for Family Home Evening topics, look no further than any General Conference.

In Elder Holland's address, "Safety for the Soul", he bears powerful-and I mean, POWERFUL-witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and of it's message which invites all to, 

“Come unto Christ, 

and be perfected in him.”

Samuel taught this principle to our kids using a favorite method of teaching in our home:

An Object Lesson!

We learned about how we're all like boats at sea, and when the waves start to crash, and the winds start to howl, where can we turn for safety?

Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Who, of course, is our safe harbor from danger.

Owen talked about this lesson for days, the boy couldn't stop saying, "I'm a boat!", and everyone was extra-excited to take a bath too.

A win-win if there ever was one!

Cilantro Cream

This cream sauce is the perfect topping for grilled meats (we love to top our fajitas with the stuff).  Or, if you fancy, use on rice, or as a dipping sauce for flat bread or pitas.  

You have to love something that works with everything!

Cilantro Cream

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1/2 c. light sour cream
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chile powder
1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Blend until smooth and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

For a thicker sauce, refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Gabriel...10 Monther

Handsomer than all get out!

Gabriel, I love you!
And I can hardly believe that in two short months you will be one!  Crawling eludes you, though you're ALMOST there, and you are a champ at eating with eight teeth!  You a delight in every possible way, and though you squirm, I still love to hold you close!

I'm excited to see you grow son...

Love,
Mom

Half Moon Bay It...

Samuel surprised me with a quick getaway to Half Moon Bay!

We had never been as a couple,

and it is stunningly beautiful,

far more gorgeous than I remember 

when visiting as a kid with my grandparents!

If you're ever searching for a romantic spot that's super-relaxed and kind of eclectic and funky, go here! 

You won't be disappointed...

We arrived late in the evening, and quickly made 8:30PM reservations at the local hot spot we spied on our drive in.  It was packed with cars and it just beckoned us in! 

It was Sam's Chowder House, a funky seafood joint booming with live Zydeco music and made famous for their New England style Lobster Roll!

This beast was named one of the top five best sandwiches by the Today Show, and as you can see, the succulent chunks of lobster drizzled with warm melted butter in a toasted bun was INCREDIBLE!!!

You'd think a late night meal such as that would warrant sleeping in,

but I couldn't help waking up at the crack of dawn

to savor the amazing view.

After a beautiful morning run on the beach

we lined up to hit the open seas for some kayacking. 

Well, we ACUTALLY kayacked the bay inlet,

but don't you agree that it sounds far more grand to kyack the "open seas..."?

 Anyhow...

we've kayaked before on the Sacramento River,

but that didn't compare to bobbing in the choppy water

in the wakes of real schooners bringing in their

fresh fish and crab hauls from their early morning runs!

When we arrived back on land
we were already sopping wet from the waist down
so we decided to jump (quite literally...) in the ocean! 
It gave Samuel and opportunity to flex,
 gave me an great opportunity to laugh,
AND we gained approval from a local surfer
who told us we were nuts for going in without wetsuits.

We lasted a total of 4 minutes!

It is beautiful here,

and I think my favorite part about staring off into the horizon is straining to see that beautiful curvature of the earth and knowing it keeps going round...

After a morning on the beach and a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, crossaints, omelets, and hot chocolate, we made our way into downtown Half Moon Bay for some shopping.

Here's a glimpse into the playfulness of this small town!

We fell in love with this wild antique shop called Half to Have It, complete with a crazy outdoor garden area covered in polished glass...

...collectibles of every kind including the perfect souvenir for the kiddies: 

Marbles!

It was fun to pick out each one and taylor it specifically to their personalities.

 {Update}

While they loved their marbles,

they lost them all in the pretty much the same amount of time it takes to say,

"Marbles"...

sigh.

We had to take a self-shot in some of the crazy cool hats they had on display. 

Hmmm. 

I wish I had bought that one afterall...

But I didn't end up empty handed. 

Buried deep in their kitchen section

(chock full of the most adorable kitchen aprons you will EVER see!)

was this copy of

"The Joy of Cooking"!

YEA!

The only thing that could tear me away from pouring over that book on the spot was,

of course,

and excellent meal at La Italia.

Seriously,

this restaurant is stunning (check out their interiors photo gallery),

and the dishes are unmatched. 

This fresh and savory salad of grilled chicken, perfectly ripe mango, and buttery avocado was so refreshing!

{And you can bet I'm replicating this at home!}

We couldn't decide on just one of their signature pizzas,

so we split one right down the middle and opted to try two at once!

Samuel chose the Devil's Slide which consisted of the genius concept of putting chipotle peppers on pizza with roasted tomatos and onions!  The smoke and heat from the peppers was incredible.  Again, another must do at home!

I chose the San Benito Fields, their take on a vegetarian complete with onions, green bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, sliced tomatoes, and artichokes (I'm a TOTAL sucker for artichokes...).

The best part about this meal was that you dined in opulence

(don't get me wrong, good-ol' fashioned hole-in-the-wall joints have a place in my heart too!),

ate fantastically prepared food,

AND for a very reasonable price at that!  

Bravo!

The Grand Finale was a trip to the Oakland Temple!

I have to say, I've never seen the weather more beautiful.

The air was crisp yet mild.

The sun shone and you could see for forever.

I am so grateful to have been able to share this special time with Samuel. 

And being reunited with our babies when we came home was the icing on a very delightful cake! 

Happy Travels!

SD Nightmare

This innocent looking piece of one-inch plastic and microscopic metal parts has been a major pain in the you-know-what.  

I have happily been snapping pictures like crazy capturing 

Back to School Night, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and Dafodil Hill-

among other Elmer family note-worthy events...

only to find that unbeknown to me, 

my camera harbored a stubborn little SD card

that decided to go all corrupted-crazy on me!

After repeated attempts to free my precious photos, 

I finally caved (And yes, we did go Spelunking too!) 

and forked over the forty bucks for a recovery program.  

Sigh.

Well, all really is well now.

I have my precious photos, which really are priceless, 

and I can be grateful that my recent adventures in couponing-

which has already saved our family a nice chunk of change-

more than paid for this mishap!

Just when you think your ahead...

Shake it off, right?

I now have a hearty new SD card ready to take a beating,

and believe me, it will!