Honey Harvesting

Some friends invited us over to experience harvesting honey from their bees for their daughter's second birthday bash. It was a potluck BBQ, lots of dirt and chicken chasing in their homestead backyard, ....and all the normal birthday cake, singing, and gifts. 

So here's the small bit I learned about beekeeping... along with these mesmorized kiddos.

1) You smoke them out before stealing harvesting their honey. This distracts them so they won't sting you. Heh. That's the cliff notes version. 

Apparently, smoke makes the bees think their hive's on fire. So they will eat as much of the honey as they can {they have two stomachs; one for storage}to transfer it over to a new hive. They're busy eating honey and not attacking you.

2}Bees make the honey inside the beeswax honeycomb {those hexagonal openings} off of the hive's wooden bars. The longer the comb, the older the honey.

3) Once a cell is filled up, the bees with "cap" it off or close the opening. That honey is prime for harvesting.

4) Once you picked one to harvest, you scrape all the bees off the honeycomb

5) Then you cut up the honeycomb in a special bowl that's topped with a sieve to separate the honey from the beeswax. Or you could be just like Ezra and eat them both up.

Honeycomb taste reminds me of rye bread {I chose not to swallow my sampling ;)}. And the honey was amazing and thick.

Beyond our mini-beekeeping class, we celebrated this adorable, sweet girl.

And had way too much fun with in the coop with some chickens. Theo may or may not have been shoeless while in the coop. And W, by the way, is totally the chicken guy-- such a natural.

Let's Go Fly A Kite {Berkeley Kite Festival}

Over the weekend, we took a min-adventure over to Berkeley to check out their kite festival. My mom is always sending us ideas/local events to take the kids, and this one was definitely a win.

 Since the cost for parking for the free event was a tad high, we decided to load up the trailer and bikes. We parked about 2 miles out and took the bike trail into the park; thus avoiding all the car traffic too which worked out nicely. 

We climbed the little hill and parked it. Our owl kite went up and joined the others. It was feisty at times since the wind was pretty crazy. We took turns flying. The boys huddled in a blanket while we snacked and picked out other kites we saw.

I loved being so close to the bay and seeing the city's outline in the distance. And the giant kites were pretty sweet too.

Peach Picking

We resurrected Field Trip Friday last week. We all met at the farm to pick some peaches, something I really wanted to do this summer. 

Lots of walking around, nibbling, and plopping fruit into buckets. Some of the kids got to climb the ladders {with assistance} to reach the harder-to-get ones. 

More summer fun for the fourteen pounds of peaches we brought home.

Weekend Recap

We had a fun weekend at home.

W took the boys to the BMX park near our house for the first time. Ezra has been waiting and wanting to go for awhile, but we would tell him we'd wait until he could bike without training wheels. I cannot believe that time has come already...and that he would remember! He did great and the boys ended up making a trip there the following day. 

That afternoon, we dropped the boys off at Castlewood for our annual musical at Westminster. This year's production was Annie Get Your Gun, a great ol' western piece. Great entertainment. And of course, dinner at Homeroom didn't disappoint either. I know, we could totally venture out a little. There are some yummy eateries in that area, but why mess with a good thing?! Creatures of habit. Me included. My date night staples now include red lips, a bun, and two babes.

Sunday was lazy. I didn't get out of pjs until the late afternoon. We took some pictures for Theo's second birthday...which is less than a month and a half away. So wild! I swear he was the happy baby on my back just yesterday. Now he's full-fledged toddler. We'll be doing close friends and family style for his birthday, but I thought having a cute theme wouldn't hurt. This Mama has got to pick up creating again sometime soon! What better excuse than this sweet one's birthday?!

The later part of the day included a bike ride, soft serve, park shenanigans {including ice cream swiping}, and pool time.

Happenings {Via IG}

Our 4th of July was pretty mellow. We started the day with a family bike ride: the very first time Ezra joined us for the riding. We biked to the Corner Bakery for breakfast. Then headed out in the evening for dinner at our friends'. 

We put the boys to bed before fireworks because we had had so many previously late evenings {including a First Weds. downtown the night before}. We were so tired! Ezra and I finished our read aloud by E.B White titled The Trumpet of the Swan. Loved that charming story! My mom frequently sends us boxed collections like the Magic Tree House, Boxcar Children, and a small sampling from E.B. White. We have worked through them all and this one was my favorite. Which also explains why Ezra was so excited to try a high schooler's trumpet at the band booth on Weds...

Speaking of the gparents, they went on a two and a half week motorcycle trip and made sure to send the boys postcards. I was so happy to have my support team back-- I celebrated by crashing on Friday afternoon for a nap and dinner. ;) We also started Family Dinners back up and last week's did not disappoint. It was amazing and we were so happy for the leftovers. 

In addition to my cousin's wedding, this past weekend looked like a lot of laundry, our annual Free Shakespeare in the park, and a trip to Urgent Care for Vesper's fever. She checked out fine and was fever-free by the following day. I'm not complaining, but it was so odd. If nothing else, it let us know that she gained a whole bunch since the contraception fiasco was fixed and plumping up again. Phew!

It was so fun having two date nights in a row since it's been awhile. That and our weekend travels have been making this Mama happy. I must say, this summer is shaping up quite nicely. ;)

Michelle + Scott

Over the weekend, we went to my cousin  Michelle's wedding. My 4th "cousin's wedding" I've attended thus far, and the most marvelous to date. 

These two are just the kindness, most sweetest people. A great reminder that it's always worth holding out for the one who will put you first. Beautiful things will happen when you do.

We first "heard" of Scott {who we somehow jokingly referred to as Steve} during our Milwaukee trip to another cousin's wedding. Michelle was just gushing over this new guy. Then we met him at Ezra's second birthday shin-dig and could see firsthand what the hype was all about. :) They both stayed later at my parents after the rest of the guests left and Scott was so genuine. We could tell right away that he was a keeper.

And now here we are celebrating them! 

The wedding was small, simple, and so gorgeous. I loved the cozy feel and the flowers were amazing.

Every girl should sport a giant flower that's bigger than your own head at some point in life, right?! Check.

{It's so nice to clean up every once and awhile. In an attempt to copy an up-do from pinterest, I learned that W is very hairspray savvy. He even learned how to put in a bobby pin or two.}

Besides all the cute little details at the reception, I also loved that they served J. Lohr wine!!! The wine I fell in love with during our Cambria trips. Scott happens to work there, so I'm hoping for some future discounts. ;) Right, Michelle?! They are big winos so the theme was threaded throughout the reception.

Her dad's speech was the sweetest ever. I definitely teared up several times. He even brought a few favorite show-and-tell items from her childhood--her elephant slippers and bike bell.

Such a joyful night! I'm so excited for Michelle and Scott as they start this wild, crazy and adventurous journey of marriage together! We're only five and a half years in, but I have learned that it grows and strengthens you in ways you could have never foreseen on your wedding day. Here's to living out your wonderful story that God has already written for the both of you. Love you guys!!!!

The Art of Life

"God lives in my home, but sometimes I ignore Him and don't hear the music He is playing just for me. This journey of mothering is a challenging marathon of moments, hours, days, months, years, and decades. And yet, in each moment, God has sprinkled across our paths beauty, love, and joy. We have only to cultivate eyes in our hearts to observe this Artist's work of life...all of these moments and passages have the mystery and grace of God in them, just waiting to be unpackaged as evidence of His love. "   --Sally Clarkson, Desperate

A little boy who insists on two sweaters on the morning of expected 100+ degree weather. With his new dollar bin shades.

His love for posing for the camera.

The insatiable love of water and getting wet.

A squishy toddler face full of giggles after getting wet.

His enormous ball of energy.

A squeaky clean babe ready for bed.

These have been my moments of late. His work of life within our home. Because don't we all need those reminders?! When sleep deprivation makes a Mount Everest out of mole hills. And mountains of laundry and dishes too, but we won't get into that. This week has been peppered with stress...

...Finally corrected an OB mistake of giving me the wrong contraception and then billing me $430 for it. Glad that went smoothly...

...T coming to me with an open bottle of nail polish remover, a disgusted look on his face, and a strong smell coming from his mouth. Thank you for calming my nerves, Poison Control...

...Vesper's check-up resulting in the obvious: she's a peanut. A tiny one. Only this is a new pedi and doing an excellent job of stressing a seasoned Mama out...

...Flat tire on W's bike. That mode of transportation to work...

...the constant whiny and sour attitude of another child we may know...

And He's shown His grace despite all that.  A surprise night out for ice cream with a sweet girlfriend. Gparent day so I could slip in a long overdue pedicure. A patient husband who lets me sleep in, listens to me at the end of a long day, and picks up chick flicks at the library without being asked. Group naps each day so I have a quiet time. Glimpses at a little boy's heart that's still moldable, loveable and teachable. This current season is certainly intense, yet not defeating.

I shared this encouraging post on fb the other day because it spoke volumes to me in regards to my ideals for parenting and what I pray and struggle to do each and every day to my wee ones: be God's grace while teaching and training them. 

You will mess up, and you'll do it a lot, but that's okay. I mess up a lot, too. We're in this together; it's why we need Jesus.

We need Jesus.

You and me both, kid. Because we will never get "it" right in this life. There will be loose ends and trouble and sin swirling all around us, but if we hold onto Jesus, we'll make it.

And grace.

A million times you will mess up, and a million times I will forgive you. And please forgive me, too, for my million mess-ups.

Happy Weekend, dear friends! May you see His artwork displayed within your own life! :)

Pescadero: San Gregorio Beach

The rest of our adventurous day was spent at the beach. Ezra was on cloud nine since we didn't get a chance for beach time previously at Point Reyes {a fever may have had something to do with that...}. While it was overcast, the temperature was perfect! 

The boys ran from the waves, buried W, and dug into the sand to collect sand crabs.

It was a silent drive home.