Queen Bee

Yes, Grace surely is the Queen Bee around here. I don't know if it's her age, with all the frustrations of babyhood (not being able to verbalize her needs, or to gracefully get from point A to point B, or to be held every minute, etc.) or what. Her brothers rightfully admit she's the "Queen" and are happy to let her call the shots, unless she turns into "car-zilla" and wreaks havoc on their delicately set-up play area (which happens often). They even scoped out the spot for this picture and plopped her right in the middle of them! Thanks for your patience, Billy & Seth. Unfortunately, I fear the worst is yet to come. More to follow on this subject when Grace enters puberty...

Happy 4th!

We just returned from an amazing trip to Rexburg, ID to visit the Earl's (friends who used to live in Goleta). We are happily exhausted- we made it all the way to Wyoming and Montana too! Thanks Earl's for a wonderful time!


And, boy do they know how do it in Idaho! Check out the parade we watched in Eastern Idaho. (OK, so that was sarcastic. I apologize. We've just been spoiled by the Santa Barbara parades, which are ridiculously abundant and extravagant.)


For the record: I absolutely LOVE Idaho. It is an amazingly beautiful place that speaks to my soul!

Gracie is Ten Months Old!

Happy 10 month-Birthday Grace Girl! It's hard to believe she'll be a year in only 8 short weeks. She's such a ray of sunshine in our family. Hard to imagine life before Gracie!

I couldn't resist taking her picture in this old baby buggy...

And discovering the lavender blooms...

Get a load of that bottom lip!