Show and Tell

Today was Josiah's 1st Show and Tell day. She has waited with much anticipation for her turn and how cute is this...... rather than tell all her friends about her favorite things to do, or her favorite books to read, or the favorite places she has been, or her favorite toys, ...... she chooses (on her own to mind you), to be a little (inadvertent) missionary to her class. She filled one water bottle with muddy water and one with clean water. She told them that her Daddy was going to class to learn how to take all the poor people's water in the world and make it clean so that they would no longer get sick from using dirty water when they drank or washed their face. Funny how even the smallest of these can be used to open the eyes of the little people around them about the realities of our wide wide world. I pray that she will always have such a tender heart for those that are not as privileged as we are.

Wood

Fall is coming. You can feel it in the crispness of the air in the mornings and smell it in the evenings. The breeze is beginning to blow off the first of the oak leaves down to the ground. Fall is coming. Thus, bringing us wood collecting time.


Daddy and the saw he loves. 36inches of wood eating chain cuts through like butter and you never have to bend down!

Adalie with her sweet, noise sensitive ears safely covered with earmuffs.
Our big helpers.
GiPa and the Girls.

Now with more fervor than ever we will be soaking up the last days of summer, the last smooth ski rides, the of the warm weather before winter begins its march our way!

Strawberry Mine

Well, it was hot this last weekend. And what do people in the mountains do when it is hot?? Either go to the lake or to the high country. So chose the high country. We are lucky enough to have friends that are building a cabin up at Strawberry Mine and quite honestly I have been dying to see it. So our family loaded up in the jeep and headed up the mountain for the day. It was wonderfully cool, with fun streams to explore, views to be awed by, friends to laugh with, great food, blue skies, white floating clouds, wind in our hair, care free kinda day.

Daddy, Adalie and Kaiya cheking out the stream.

The 3 girls venture into the water looking for a pretty rock to treasure.





Mommy and Tenaya swimming in the big pool with the man eating fish. Really did you know that fish freak me out!! And these particular fish were either very curious or quite hungry!!


Adalie, Josiah and Kaiya warming up in the sun.

Mommy and Wendy yacking away while the girls played.

Daddy and Adalie taking a midday snooze on the rocks.

Just a cute picture of Josiah soaking up the beauty of the day, listening to the water and the wind.

Playing before dinner.

The change of pace was just what we all needed. It was fun exploring the mine, learning about the trees, picking berries, and getting dirty!!
Thankyou!!

Pinkalicious!

Did I mention that everything in our household is PINK? Here is Adalie, she has gotten herself ready to go swimming at the lake. Yes, she is ready for a swim......pink cowboy hat, pink tutu skirt, pink swimsuit and pink sparkly flip flops! Off to the lake we go!

GiPa turns 80!

August 29th GiPa had his 80th Birthday!

Some of the things we love about GiPa are ..... he always tells the girls a "secret", its the same secret everytime, its the secret he use to tell me as a little girl, and he whispers it loud enough for everyone to hear "I think you are full of prunes!", he makes some of the worlds' best homemade ice cream, he is a softy for little girls who he says are full of sugar and spice, he can fix most anything with duct tape, oil and a spare part of some sort, he is "the supervisor", he is the master of trades (once traded a man who fiberglassed our boat with a motorcycle that had no engine and no seat!), he has an uncanny ability to end a conversation on a whim, he utters a "huhum" when he sits (Jonathan can immitate that pretty well), he can and will make friends with everyone in the room and in minutes know their life story, you can't take him anywhere when you are in a hurry because you will turn around and he will be gone - talking!, for all these reasons and many many more we wish you a very Happy Birthday and many more!!

MOPS and a 1st for Adalie

Today was Adalie's first day at MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers). She gets to go into a preschool class with other 3 year olds. And it was her first time to go by herself, without Sister!! You see, last year, Adalie did not want to go into the room with the other 2 year olds...... I didn't blame her because most of them were crying. Our little Adalie has always been pretty well attached to Mommy, Daddy and Sister. So we went into Josiah's PreK class and asked her teacher, Mrs. Wilson, if Adalie could stay with Sister, please oh please..... it was Mommy's only hope of getting to participate with the other Moms. Mrs. Wilson promptly answered "No" she didn't do 2 year olds. But I pleaded, if she would just try it this one time, allow Adalie to stay AND if she was disruptive I would send her back to the 2 year olds! Much to my delight, when I went to pick the girls up, Mrs. Wilson said both of our girls were welcome anytime in her classroom, they were a delight! Woohoo Mommies need such encouragement from time to time! Of course, upon seeing me Adalie cried out "MOMMY!!" and promptly wet her pants. OOPS! Forgot to tell Mrs. Wilson that Adalie was potty trained - Mommy's bad!!!
So this year, in preparation for going to MOPS, we all talked about "how exciting" it was going to be for Adalie to go the "big girl 3 year old class"! And our sweet Adalie immediately got quiet and a bit teary, nervous of course (wonder where she gets that)! And through her little watery eyes she asks "Mommy, will you be there?" To which I answered, "Yes, Mommy will be right upstairs and your teacher knows where Mommy is." pause.... pause..... Then Adalie, even closer to tears, "Will my Sister be there??" Poor sweet little Adalie having to branch out all by her little lonesome. So Josiah, spent the next 20 minutes talking with Adalie, telling her how much fun MOPS is, encouraging her and reminding her of all the things they do. Oh how I love these girls........ and how thankful I am that Josiah is so tender hearted!

So today, we dropped Sister off at school and headed to Oakhurst with Adalie's bestie, Kaiya (we thought having a friend might take some of the gitters away). We talked all the way there about how much fun the 2 girls were going to have in the "big girl 3 year old class." And of course, Mommy would be right upstairs! And they did fabulously. Adalie was very excited to show Kaiya the ropes. Ms. Diane is their teacher. And when I came to pick them up, they were sitting right next to one another listening to Ms. Diane read a story. And Adalie very excitedly told me that not only had they made a craft, but they got to eat fishies too! What could be more fun than that??

Today was a BIG step, for our little Adie Girl! Yet another 1st in the Waltner World!

Favorite Spot

Our family's favorite spot in the whole wide world is at the end of our Grandparents' dock in Marina View at Bass Lake, CA. In the summer we can often be found there swimming, sunning, napping, eating, relaxing, laughing, enjoying. Most summer nights we take our dinner out to the docks, BBQ, swim and watch the sunset. It's our place where we can let the craziness of the day melt away and just enjoy the majesty of His creation.
This particular evening, Great Aunt Susan joined us from the East Coast for a little family BBQ gathering. Aunt Susan with the 4 Waltner girl cousins Josiah, Adalie, Piper and Adalie.