CA part 1, Carpinteria

Allie won the award for best new surfer!

We just got back from almost 3 weeks in CA! We spent one of the weeks in Carpinteria with all the family. It was fantastic and we can't wait to go back. We spent 5 days in the ocean playing, swimming and learning to surf with Uncle Neil. We all enjoyed the Galyan cousins and playing on the beach everyday. I would blog about it all, but I'm a little short on time. Luckily, Jill has a great post on her blog all about the trip and you can read all about it here: The Galyan Gang Thanks Jill!

Garden Update

In 8 weeks, our garden has gone from this:

To this:

And tonight we had our first harvest and ate this:

It didn't go far between the 5 of us.

Grandma and Grandpa's visit

My parents came up to help out when Luke had his surgery. It is so much fun to have them here--I wish that they could live with us. Having live in babysitters was great. I took care of all my doctor appointments for the year and even got to take a tennis class. We didn't take very many pictures, but here are some of the things we did. I don't have any pictures of Grandpa--but he was here too. He taught Kate to say "Papa, you the man!" whenever he walked in the room.

Allie and my mom made a fantastic strawberry pie.

At night, Mom and I were geeking it up with our computer projects. I was putting old family movies on DVD and she was organizing old pictures that she had digitalized! It was so addicting that it carried over into the day too. "Kids what kids?" or "Get yourself a banana--you're 3--you can do it!" might or might not have been things we said.

Then we got really ambitious and canned some meat. And we didn't blow up.

Summer sports

This post's for you Dad! Here's why we've been too busy to update the blog. In the morning, Allie has tennis class. She's up to level 2 now. I'm taking tennis too, but still in level 1 so Allie likes to give me a hard time about that. But she better watch out--I'm catching up!

Allie's backhand

Nice volley!

After tennis, we have a picnic lunch and then Luke has basketball. He hasn't played basketball before, and he loves it. The first day he counted down the hours and then minutes until his class began. He insists on getting there super early so he can "warm-up".

This kid is about to lose the ball

I don't really know that much about basketball, so there

might have been a foul here, but he had a pretty good steal.

Another steal and a breakaway.

Luke was pretty thrilled that he scored the game winning basket

(it was also the only basket scored in the game)

And while everyone is taking their class, Kate just

sits quietly and plays with her puzzle and colors.

Okay, not really. This is a more accurate

representation of what she is doing:

Funny story about this shirt. Kate saw it in the store several times and always said that she wanted it. And each time they only had a 2T and a 4T (she needs a 3T) I told her she was 3 and needed a 3 and she would say "I want to be 4...." She would even talk about the shirt at home and tell us that she wasn't 2 or 4 but wanted to be 4. Finally, we found a 3T and I bought it right away. She wears that shirt whenever it is clean. It's so funny to me that she is so young, but definitely has a favorite shirt.

Afterwards, we decided to go pick raspberries. Right when we started picking, there was a downpour that soaked us. The kids said it was good because the berries were clean and ready for them to eat. They ate so many that they didn't each much for dinner.

I have to laugh at the look on Luke's face.

He was reacting to Kate stealing the berries

I had picked and putting them in her bucket.

Tonsillectomy--finally!

We have had a tonsillectomy scheduled three times for Luke and were finally able to go through with it Wednesday. (The first was prevented by a blood disorder misdiagnosis, the second was by him running into a steel pole on his bike and making his front two permanent teeth a little loose) Although his parents were really nervous, Luke handled it like a champ.

Checking into the hospital. It was pretty cool to have the surgery done where Michael works.

We brought him some puzzle books and garfield comic books (his favorite) to keep him busy while he waited and told him he could bring something too. He picked his marbles in this little carrying case. He organized by how much he liked them. #1 green, #2 orange and black (tie) and #3 yellow. I just thought he looked cute carrying them in.

Perfect timing: right before getting ready he got an email from Cousin TJ on a mission. Very cool!

All set and ready for the silly juice. He actually didn't get silly, but very sleepy. We were kind of looking forward to silly stuff he might say since he is pretty silly just normally. He was super brave and didn't have any troubles. Even post surgery he was a trooper. He was really sick to his stomach but once they gave him some anti-nausea meds he perked right up. On the way home from the hospital he was asking for hard boiled eggs and noodles to eat. The next morning he ninja kicked his way out of his room and the hardest part so far has been keeping him down and inactive.

Father's Day

Tomorrow is Father's Day. While putting my kids to bed tonight I thought about my own father. I thought about how great of a man he is. I have learned so much from him. Thanks to him (and my mom) I have a knowledge of Jesus Christ. He taught me a lot through his example. My dad taught me how to work. The guy is a relentless worker. I saw that from him every day growing up. I never heard my dad complain about working, or a particular job at hand. Never. Whether he had to work late into the night in the cold & rain, or whether he had late church meetings the guy just never complained.

In college my dad was trained in forestry. I think he knows every plant out there. Honestly. You go on a hike with him and he'll be pointing out plants you've never heard of, "Oh there's the Brazilian Blue Bonnet wildflower." So, then you start quizzing him. I still can't recall ever stumping the guy.

He raised 4 boys, and consequently was Scout Master for what probably seemed like 100 years. But, he loved it. Much like plants, I think he knows every knot there is...and not just the one where the bunny goes around the tree and down the hole and up again...or however that one goes. He's done everything there is in Scouting, and is basically a Jedi Knight (or maybe it's a Silver Beaver) when it comes to the Boy Scouts of America.

My dad has the uncanny ability to build things out of nothing. Seriously, give my dad some random pieces of wood, nails, some other odds and ends (that others would just get rid of), and he can make something useful. I've seen it. Actually in the picture above he and I did just that. Together we built my kids a play structure out of basically nothing, thanks to him. He also definitely "has a green thumb." At our old house he grew beautiful roses, gardens full of vegetables, countless berries, several fruit trees, etc. Much like Gregor Mendel of old, he even did some grafting with some of his apple trees, I believe. I mean the guy even makes his own apples! Who does that?

Some other highlights I'll bring up are his love for his country and its freedoms, his Boston sports, and the beauty of this earth God created for us. Most of all I know my dad loves me and my family. Family is extremely important to him. I always knew my dad loved me. Due to his work he couldn't always be at my sporting events, but when he was there I knew it...he can cheer/yell with the best of them. I would say my dad is more of teacher by example than by word, but I do remember him explaining the importance of the Melanson family name and the duty we held in not tarnishing it. I hope to always do that for you dad. Thank you for all you have done, for all you do, and all you will do for our family. We are blessed to have you as our patriarch. Happy Father's Day.

Let Summer Begin!!!

Yea! Today was the last day of school. Our neighborhood is so fun that they have a party in the park with lots of parents and kids right after school is out. Picture 75 or so kids running around the park--it was great! The coolest thing though, is that we aren't moving! We've spent the last three summers moving and this summer we are staying put! We are all excited about the endless possibilities for play and projects-instead of packing and unpacking boxes. It seems like the best dream ever that we get to spend TWO years in one school and have a real summer vacation. Wow-let the fun begin!