Riverdale...

The sweet smell of alfalfa mixed with a little bit of cow and fresh dirt is the first thing that hit me as I stepped off the Amtrak train in Hanford, CA.  Most people would think "whats that smell" but to me I thought "I'm home and I've missed it."  The Fresno valley is not my home and I didn't grow up there but I did spend many summers in a little town just 30 miles south of Fresno, CA and while I probably complained about it then, I love it now.  It went from being a place that our parents sent us in the summers that was always 98 degrees and terribly uncomfortable, to a place of refuge and now to a place of comfort and content.  I love going to see my family in Riverdale and I love the smell that now has a sweetness while others would say it smells like cow poop.  I know it sounds weird but it's true!  (I'm not embarressed to admit it!)

I am back and already missing it.  We had a wonderful time seeing family, antiquing with my Aunt Lola and BBQ-ing with our cousins and all of their children.  The thing about Riverdale is that it really is all about family.  We "go into town" very rarely and really just sit out side playing cards, eating out back or just enjoying the sound of the 100+ roosters on the farm.  This time was especially fun because my sister went too, she hasn't been to Riverdale in 6+ years and it was fun for us all to be together.  We rode the train up on Friday night, got to see some Amish people (such a delight for me since I wanted to be Amish as a child, it's a twin identity crisis thing, don't ask) and arrived at 6 AM on Saturday morning ready to hit the farm.  I got some really cool antiques at some small town antique stores (how come this didn't happen in small town Texas Elizabeth?) but of course all of those will someday be revealed when I get my new camera, if that ever happens.  Long story short it was a wonderful trip and I will be back there in June for my cousins Issac's 8th grade graduation party.  Here are a few Blackberry photo shots of what Riverdale looks like...

(a little background on the property, my Uncle owns about 2/3rds of the street they live on and their house sits on 20 acres.  The rest of it is fields that they grow different things (alfalfa, corn, cow feed, grain, etc) on throughout the year.)

the front yard...that is a cherry orchard across the street

Looking down the street...

The backyard and a little of the chicken farm...

Must go see "Remember Me"

I can't tell you why exactly I loved this movie or what exactly made it so good but I L-O-V-E-D loved it!  It was emotional, romantic, dark and sexy and it is a total MUST SEE film.  I went thinking that it was going to suck because I wasn't sure if Robert Pattinson could be anything but Edward and he was simply amazing.  There really isn't to much else I can say for fear of spoiling the movie for you but definitely go see it and then come back to discuss with me.  I know you will be thoroughly surprised.

Tomorrow night I am going to Riverdale, CA (it is in the middle of the Fresno Valley surrounded by farm land which includes alfalfa fields, orchards and corn fields) to visit family with my mom and sister.  Riverdale is literally in the middle of no where with nothing to do so some might ask why we are going there but we have family there so we always have a good time.  We used to spend our summers there as children and in the 104 degree weather we would walk 2 miles to the high school pool just to stay cool!!! (that's my "we used to walk 10 miles to school in the snow" story)  It was either that or play in the irrigation ditch next to our Aunt and Uncles house.  We had to stay cool because the only form of A/C in their trailer home was a swamp cooler that made more noise than cool air.  Although, however hot it may have been I loved going there as a child and I still love going to visit my cousins and aunt and to hang out with family.  I don't get to go up there as often anymore and I have really been missing them all lately so I am excited. 

So, I was a "model" on Monday

Those of you who know me know that I am NOT comfortable in front of a camera.  I don't think that I am photogenic AT ALL!  Sometimes the camera will capture the perfect angle of my imperfect nose and sometimes my crooked smile is not so crooked and if its a really good day my right eye won't squint while smiling.  Yes I know everyone has their insecurities but those are mine when it comes to being photographed.  Well on Monday I was asked to make a bouquet for a photo shoot that some photographers put together in San Juan Capistrano and at the last minute they asked me to be the model as well.  I was excited to wear my bridal gown again but worried about the whole picture taking thing.  I left the shoot so insecure and thinking that I had completely wasted 3 photographers time in ruining all of their pictures!  Well I am still not confident in my "modeling" abilities but they did capture some awesome shots.  Bethany Murphy is the 1st to post some pics and she took some awesome shots, so I thought I would share some here with you all...

You can see the rest here.

please Jeremiah can I have it?!?!?!?

A Dual post from Exquisite Blooms blog

Some of you may know that the ultimate goal of Exquisite Blooms is to own a wedding venue and provide a perfectly picturesque spot to the Southern California brides.  Well, what do you think about this property?  I think it is perfect!!!

Would you want to get married here?  Just picture photos taken on the wrap around porch, an outdoor reception under a silk tent, maybe a ceremony under this gorgeous tree...

Please leave a comment if you think this would be a good venue.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

Ok, one last picture...

Sure, I'm up for it...

Guess it's off to the Dollar Tree for me!  Wish me luck that I can find something cute :)

Darla visits Maddy

The other day my sister-in-law, Marcie, brought her girls over to visit and poor Madeline was the highlight of my nieces afternoon.  My ever entertaining and really sweet niece loves Madeline, like really really loves Madeline!  She hugs her and sits with her and squeezes her until her already buggy eyes bugg out even more.  When Maddy hears them coming she tries to climb up my leg and looks at me like "please mommy pick me up".  She even tries to find refuge in her bed but the girls know exactly where it is and will always find her.

Well on this particular day Maddy was enduring some pretty "tight" (aka neck squeezing) attention from my niece and Marcie said, "doesn't she look like Darla from Nemo?"  I looked over and she did!  She had this look in her eye that was saying "I am going to squeeze Maddy till she knows how much I love her."  Poor Maddy, she is only used to being around Jeremiah and I or at my parents with the other small dogs so all this love from our nieces is sometimes a little too much for her.  I try not to save her to much though because I think it is good for her to play with the girls, they chase and chase her till they can get a hold of her and then they just hold and hold her.

Here is a picture of my niece holding her and then a little clip of Darla from Nemo, enjoy :)

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Our quick trip to Sequim, WA

Hi all!  Remember my post a few weeks back about being  CRAZY SALLY sometimes???  The post was all about how sometimes I have "blonde" moments, this time in particular I accidentally made plane tickets for 3 weeks later than I thought.  Well, we finally made the trip and here are a few photos from that quick little 47 hour, yes that's right 47 hour, trip to see our cousin Sarah, her beautiful baby boy Jonathan, her oh so cute and super sweet soon to be husband Chris and our Auntie Cheryl. 

It was a fast trip but we had a really good time and took some really cool pictures.  These are a few but the majority were taken on Sarah's camera, mostly of an amazing hike we went on.  Oh well, maybe someday I will get them from her and show you all how the woods reminded me of Twilight and then tell you how I had a dream that Jacob and Edward were fighting over me, Jacob won ;).  That's a whole other story for a later post.  (Sequim is just east of Forks and La Push on the 101, we were so close!!!) Is my inner Twilight obsessed teeny bopper side showing a little to much? I'll put her away for now :)

Moving on...these first 2 pictures are at the water that is just a short 5 minute walk to the end of their street.  Sequim is on the Dungeness Bay in Washington and just across the water to the southeast of Victoria, Canada.

From Sequim, WA

From Sequim, WA

This one is of their cute home.

From Sequim, WA

This one is the view as we drove onto the ferry to get back to Seattle.

From Sequim, WA

From Sequim, WA

I would put pictures on here of Jonathan but Sarah and Chris don't want him posted on the internet so I will respect their parental wishes. I will say though that he is so super cute with the cutest natural mohawk of curls on top of his head :).

It was such a beautiful place, so green and lush, I wish we could live there but still be close to our families here.