The Aldens Visit!

Our good friends John and Penny Alden visited us a couple weeks ago as they road tripped from WA to OK. They were missionaries in Honduras all the years we were there, and it was so nice to get caught up.

Sunday picnicking at Guenoc Ranch.

Hadley, Talby, Penny, and Guildy enjoying a breezy afternoon by one of the lakes at Guenoc.

Potting up a few marigolds....

....and reading books to kiddos.

Me and Charity

Charity was in San Francisco a few weeks ago, so Talby and I went down and spent April Fool's Day with her in Berkeley. 

I know we're not 15 anymore, but that's no reason to stop acting like it. We're at the Berkeley Rose Garden in this picture, a place I'd like to visit a little later in the year when everything is in bloom.  

Talby loves her Aunt Charity.

Easter

We had a nice Easter celebrating our risen Lord....and enjoying the silly fun parts as well.

Showing Dad their treasures.

Egg hunting and Uncle Zech and Aunt Brianne's house.

A mood ring!!

 

Serious girl

Found it!

Grandma Linda was in Hong Kong with Cooper and Lex over Easter, so a couple weeks early, she did a little egg hunt with the kiddos. I love this picture, particularly Oatus' backward sweatshirt and Talby's look of deep consternation. L to R are Hadley (5), Owen (6), Guildy (7), Milli (1), Grandma, and Talby (2) and Oatus (3) in the front. 

Whittling

Guildy has been wanting to learn to whittle for quite some time, particularly after reading "Shaking the Nickel Bush". (We're huge Ralph Moody/Little Britches series fans.) So she and Josh made a little carving knife out of a saw blade and deer antler.

Carving lessons after it was all done.

In theory, the leather glove should protect the off hand from major damage....

Talby-ness

Talby is a pretty tame 2-year-old, which, of course, could change at any given moment, but overall, she's content and happy and lots of fun.

Reading to her doll. In spite of the fact that the book was upside down, the story  was pretty coherent. 

The smoothie mustache and unibrow. Classic.