The Bike Ride

So we forged ahead in our efforts to enjoy the rest of our spring break together.

He was determined to be prepared for whatever fun lay ahead.

He doesn't really need a nap every day, does he?

So we started off our afternoon of fun with lunch.  Cuz you know, priorities.

Mikey took this one.

Then we rented a couple of bikes and a trailer and off we went!

What?  Don't they look like they're having loads of fun in there?

Dr Phil.  Affectionately known as my beast of burden.

Allie wasn't feeling super well that day and was having a little trouble keeping up.  So we put her bike away and rented one of these dealios.  Don't let the smile fool you- trying to keep that bike balanced for the both of us resulted in white-knuckle-death-grip steering for most of the ride.

Apparently it was a rather peaceful ride for them though.

Aww.

And they both popped right awake when they sensed it was snack time.

Especially when they sensed the snack to be had was freshly made churros.  Yum.

Family Portraits

I have wanted to have portraits done of our family for a whole lot of years.  As in nearly seven.  And I've always wanted Tim Park to do them.  I don't even really remember how I initially found out about him, but I do remember it was while we were still living in Minnesota and I think I came across his blog on Xanga and was just arrested by his images.  They were stunning.  The lighting, the crisp clean colors, the catchlights in the eyes!  You could tell he loved photography and was simply great at it.  I kinda Xanga stalked him for a while because I could've looked at those pictures all day and not get tired of them.

Then we found out we'd be moving back to California and one of the first things I did was message Tim to (awkwardly) introduce myself and to see if we could book him for family portraits.  He graciously emailed back and we had tentative plans to do a family shoot once we moved back.  But for some reason, that shoot never actually took place.

Mostly because we were broke at the time.

And cuz we kept moving.

And if we weren't moving, we were adding babies.

And if we weren't adding babies, I was thinking I wanted to lose some more of the baby weight first.

So it just never seemed like the "right" time to do family portraits.

But through the years, I've had the privilege of attending a few of Tim's photography workshops as well as tag along on a few of his portrait sessions to see him in action.  Those opportunities were pure fun and priceless learning for me.

But all the pieces finally fell in to place (except for maybe the baby weight) and my long-awaited dream of having family portraits done by Tim came true last November. 

So here are some of my favorite images that will soon be displayed all over our house.  :)

This is about the only time the little boy decided to cooperate during our session.

And look, a smile even!

Because the rest of the time?

He was like this.

Getting any smiles out of that boy on that particular day was completely due to sheer genius + effort on Tim's part.  Seriously.

So about that years-long wait for these family portraits?  Completely worth it.

Thanks, Tim.

Spring Break

So yes, our home got broken in to.

Apparently, the initial window break was much smaller and it was actually the police who came later and busted the whole glass door in order to enter and clear the house to make sure no one was still inside that shouldn't be.

Thankfully though, aside from the smashed glass door, nothing else was taken or damaged.

And aside from a long night of filing a police report, comforting our very scared kids, cleaning up all the tiny glass bits (no small task!), sealing up the hole, and figuring out what to do next, Phil and I were left feeling... really, really thankful.

Thankful that all of us were together and unharmed, thankful that our stuff (though a very minor thing in the big picture) was left intact, and thankful for the opportunity to remember that this is not our final home and to long for heaven all the more.  We were thankful for the reminder to ourselves and our children to place our greatest value and hope and trust in the Lord who never fails.

So though we were a bit shaken and disappointed in a vacation cut short, we still give praise and thanks to our God for the chance to teach our kids the reality that we do live in a sinful world and as much as we'd like to, we can't guarantee their safety and protect them from every bad thing.  But we can teach them to know and love our heavenly Father and earnestly pray that He would grant them salvation so that while they may face trouble and hard times in this life, their eternal future would be absolutely secure in Christ.

And I'd say that is a far better thing than anything this world has to offer.

********

So seeing snow was a bust for us this year.  (Not complaining too loudly though, seeing as how our Minnesota friends are still getting socked with the white stuff this late into April...)

But!  Phil and Allie still had several days of vacation left so we decided to make the most of it.  Because that is how we Tsais roll.  ;)

My birthday was a couple days later and we decided to spend it as a family day.

Allie woke me up with not one, but three birthday surprises taped to my door.

Mikey left me a little surprise just outside my door.  I initially thought he meant the yellow paper.

He meant the white paper.

Then I went downstairs and discovered that Phil had made breakfast for all of us.  :)

Later in the day, we found ourselves at a dinner and tournament.

We were in the Red Knight's cheering section.

The girls had to go to the bathroom and just as we were returning, I heard the princess proclaim, "Happy Birthday to Queen Michelle.  Love, Mikey, Allie, Lauren, and Jonah."  Awwww.

Diving in to eat roasted baby dragons with our hands.  Tasted just like chicken.

There's our Red Knight deciding who to toss the flower to.

He threw it right to her.  She then passed it over to me and said, "I was hoping I would get one so I could give it to you for your birthday, Mommy."  That girl.  My heart.

Jonah reeeeeally got in to all the tournament cheering.  I think this was his favorite way to eat a meal.

"OK Red Knight, I will wave my red flag for you!"

Clanging swords and real sparks!

And as soon as we got back home...


Counting my many blessings on this birthday.

God is good.  All the time.

Snow or Bust, cont'd

Bright and early the next day, the girls put Daddy right to work on the mermaid doll kits he bought for them.  Because Mommy previously warned him in the store that it'd be all him making these if he chose to buy them.  He chose to buy them.

Made with love by Daddy.  Except for the bikini top, bracelet, and necklace because Mommy eventually took pity on the poor man.

Meanwhile, he kept himself occupied since making a mermaid doll interested him not in the least.

With dolls finished, it was finally time to go check out the backyard.

They tried a little fishing.

They did, too.  And no, it was not cold enough to warrant the need for these puffy jackets, but they still wanted to wear them anyway.

He headed straight out to join in the fun as soon as he woke up from his nap.

The multitudes of mosquitoes, tiny gnats (chiggers?, buggers?), and buzzing things drove everyone else inside except for these two.

But they too gave up as soon as they heard lunch was ready.  Who wants grapes?

They all braved the outside again to hop into the spa.  But kept the citronella candle nearby.

They also figured they could keep the little pests at bay with water guns.

And this was right about when I was summoned to join them.

Definitely a great day of vacation enjoyed by all with the anticipation of two more days to come.  Afterward, we all got cleaned up, redressed, and headed out in search of dinner.

That's when Phil got a phone call.

We were alerted that our alarm back at home was tripped.  Puzzled, we initially thought our dog might have gotten out of her area and set it off.  We waited for more information and figured that one of us would drive back home that night to put the dog back and rejoin the family.

Turns out, it wasn't the dog. 

We all had to come back home right then instead.

To this.

To be continued...