Lots of Catching Up To Do....

THE HIKE

We took the kids on their first hike...well, first walking hike. They have been on various hikes in other ways, like in the backpack, front pack, and oh yes, my belly. Anyway, with Noah in the hiking pack, we took Emma and Caleb to Pratt trail. They rocked it! We hiked about an hour, and they had wanted to go longer, but we thought it best to limit it. They had an incredibly pleasant discussion about how Jesus is God (it was so amazing for Ben and I to listen as they expounded on their 3 and 4 year old theology...it is so neat how kids just take things at face value. No complicating it, like we so often do).
The next morning, Ben and I both mentioned being a little sore. At lunch, Caleb said his mouth was hurting. Inside, he had a tiny little canker sore. I told him it just needed some time to heal. Emma said, "Oh, Caleb, it must be from the hike." I said, "Huh?" And Emma replied, "Well, you said he had a sore." So, yeah, then I had to explain the difference. =)

BUTTERFLIES
That same evening, we had heard about the big, huge beached whale out at Rincon Parkway. We went to go see it, but they had already cut it into pieces and burried it. It is still pretty smelly for sure! Anyway, we drove back down toward Emma Wood, and had some beach fun:

Emma's Butterfly

Ben's Butterfly

CHILDHOOD SENILITY

Caleb came in crying this afternoon, "Mommy! I lost my underwear!"

I tried to console him, and told him I would help him look for them. As we were walking to the bathroom, and I am thinking, "Where in the world could they be???" I pulled up his shirt and there they were! He just looked and said, "Oh."

P.S.

Oh yeah, we are in escrow on a house here in Ojai, over behind Vons. We are excited, and it is totally a God thing...but I don't have the words to describe or explain it all. More to come on that later. But yes, we are moving again...this makes number eight.