Happy 1st Birthday Leila!

It's hard to believe that one year ago today, little Leila Anne was born. The year has passed so quickly! My C section scar is faded to a thin little line and our little girl is almost walking. Leila has been such a blessing in our family this past year. The boys all adore her and are so incredibly sweet with her. She also loves her brothers very much and enjoys all the attention and love they give her. Billy has a special bond with her as well, Leila just loves her Daddy! She really has brought so much joy to our entire family.
Yesterday we had a little party to celebrate her first year of life and it was a perfect evening to enjoy friends & family company outside. I think we had 53 people, Adults, kids & babies :) It didn't feel like that many people... the kids were all so happy and occupied with all the places to play and be outside. Billy was on the BBQ and I made up some salads and veggie platter. The cupcakes were decorated by a few excited kids and Leila enjoyed her very first cupcake complete with sprinkled frosting. I was running around and of course did not even pick up my camera once, but my friend Julie was snapping pictures all evening. Eventually I will get some pictures of the party :) But for now, I took a few pictures today, on Leila's actual birthday, 1st day of spring! Here are some of my favorites-

Zachary's first Tee Ball game

This evening was Zachary's first Tee Ball game! It was pretty cute and entertaining, there are such a wide range of abilities on the field at this stage of little league.  Zachary definitely had the play of the game when he caught a pop fly! He had an awesome line drive hit as well that made it through all the players into the out field. His swing and throwing arm are really something to behold. I'm so proud of this little but mighty son of mine :) Go team Storm!

Billy is helping coach the team, he is really good with all the kids.

Sweet Science

William has been studying about rocks in his science lessons this past unit. He has learned about sedimentary rocks and he is now learning about igneous rocks. We made some igneous rock for school the other day, mimicking magma to lava to igneous rock.... with homemade chocolate.  A handful of semi sweet chocolate chips melted with coconut oil and we threw in some peanuts for good measure :) Once it was all melted, William poured it over a parchment covered mound and watched it flow down the sides and harden. (Well, we didn't watch it harden. That would have taken a little longer than I like spending on a school lesson.)
Here is the happy science student ready to eat his rock lesson!

Wildflower time!

The fields are colored purple right now with wildflowers, it's so beautiful! I love this time of year back here in the canyon and especially running around on the ranch.
We were all together Sunday and decided to go out and take some family pictures. Unfortunately I didn't double check my camera before we left and we discovered I didn't put the battery back in after I charged it! Bummer! Luckily, Billy has a fancy iPhone now & it takes pretty good pictures. Although we didn't get the perfect family photo, there were still some pictures taken :)

Happy early spring!

Weekend of family

This past weekend, we drove down to San Clemente for Grandma Mills memorial. It was a beautiful, intimate, and special day. Lots of wonderful and touching words, special memories, and lovely tributes to our amazing Grandma. I'm so glad that we were able to make the trip and spend the day with family. Once the day ended, we headed back to SB and my parents and sister, Tracy, followed us home. They spent Sunday and most of Monday with us :) Also, because it was a 4 day weekend, Ian, Stephanie, and Emmett came down for the afternoon on Sunday too!
After church on Sunday we all went for a walk on the ranch. It is so pretty and green right now! The boys all enjoyed running and climbing and exploring. It's so cute how well the boys play with Emmett, it makes me smile.
We also bottle fed the neighbors calves once we got back from our walk. That is always a fun experience :) they are so cute when they are small.
Here are a few pictures from our fun outing-

We also stopped at the California science center on our way down south on Friday. It is a really neat place that I would like to visit again. Totally free! We got to walk around and under the space shuttle Endevour. So cool! (We actually were down in Redondo beach the day they flew in the shuttle on an airplane and saw it in the sky while at the beach!) I will have to get a few pictures from Billy to add on here from his phone. I didn't have the camera at all that day.

Sunday afternoon photo shoot

It was such a beautiful day today, almost 80 degrees! We were all happy to enjoy the warm sun outside after church when we got home. I needed it, my sinuses are no bueno right now...

I love my children

Just a few sweet pictures of the little loves of my life :)


                    My little Princess

   Helping bottle feed the neighbors calves :)

       Out at the Ellwood Mesa on a field trip with school

  Searching for monarch butterflies.... they were mostly all gone, to cold this winter :(