Family

Here are just a few pics of some of the family we saw in MI. Above is a picture of my mom with her siblings ( missing one brother). 

We had lots of yummy food on our trip :)

Weston had fun playing with the "big kids"

I loved getting some Opa snuggle time which is rare and precious. He was so sweet with the boys 

Berry picking in the yard

Weston loved helping Oma clean the veggies just picked from the garden

My sweet sweet Oma- she is such a blessing who takes such care and interest in all her grandchildren

Beauty

Don't get me wrong, I love where we live. LA has many great perks...lots to do, see, eat, explore. It's an exciting place! BUT in my heart I am a country girl. If I had my choice I would live in the middle of nowhere, where my kids could run free in the yard for hours without me worrying about them and out my kitchen window I would see nothing but trees :) I may be describing my heavenly home someday and if I never get to live somewhere like this here on earth I am ok with that. So visiting my family in MI was a breath of fresh air for this girl who gets tired of pavement after a while! I thought I would share some pics of just the scenery there and then do the folks in another post. 

The picture of the pond above is in my grandparents back yard. I have many childhood memories playing on that pond with my cousins. Catching frogs and feeding fish, sledding in the winter and even a near drowning experience on a homemade raft. It was fun to play with my kids there!

My grandparents have always had a huge garden with the most amazing produce- someday I hope to have my own!

Love that this old baby buggy is still there- adds nostalgia!

He loved running around and I loved watching him explore as he wished

The side view of my grandparents home

Airplanes, airplanes, airplanes

Well our travels to AZ and MI involved 6 total plane flights- some went well and some...not so well :) Traveling with two toddlers is like a circus and my mom and I were sweating juggling babies, carseats, strollers, blankies, paci's and sippy cups! But I am so grateful for planes and the ability to be on the other side of the country in the same day with people that you love so much. I thought I would share some cute traveling moments

Here is Weston getting some daddy time before leaving him for 9 days

The Phoenix airport has a play center at the end of the terminal, how genius is that?!

On the way home from Michigan we were sort of desperate to keep the boys quiet and still and thought we would try obnoxiously big lollipops. They loved them, but mommy didn't love the sticky everywhere. Won't be doing that again :)

Love the sharing

And my aunt gave us the brilliant idea of playing with tape- Weston made tape runways for an hour. Amazing!

And he seriously "read" the emergency plan, just love this kid

Our New Feathered Friend

We are home from our adventures, but wanted to introduce our new family member before I post the trip pics...Here she is! Henny B the chicken!

I have always wanted a chicken, not sure why, but the idea of fresh eggs from my backyard is kind of romantic. I also like pets that don't require cuddling and fussing over. To date my favorite pet was a goldfish, weird I know :) Andrew and I aren't really animal people and don't love snuggling and cuddling with furry things but I do enjoy caring for animals as long as I don't have to touch them too much.

Over a month ago, this chicken showed up in my friend's backyard and decided to call it home, without the permission of my friends. They couldn't find anyone who seemed to know where she came from and they didn't want to keep her so I offered to help with their little problem.

Well, she wasn't the easiest bird to catch, it took almost a week as she proved to be very fast and smart! But before I knew it I was driving home with a chicken in my back seat :) A quick trip to the feed store and the Habitat for Humanity Restore, we had a home built for our hen. 

If you haven't ever checked out a Habitat store, you should! They have great bargains if you are in to DIY projects. I purchased 4 large pieces of wood and a hand saw for $7!

It took Henny a few weeks to get comfortable enough to lay eggs, but now she gives us an egg every 24 hours. Such a good girl.

Now I want more chickens and Pinterest has so many cute coop designs...now to convince the hubby!