OUR TRIP TO NEW MEXICO....LOTS OF BIRTHDAY PICTURES!

Well, talk about a "get away" I told my hubby this morning that I feel like I have been in another world, lol. And considering we were only gone 6 days that seems a bit extreme, but it is how I feel.  I am always painfully honest on my blog posts, so I guess this won't be any different, but my head is really all over the place this morning.  I am GLAD to be back.  Be it ever so humble, there is really NO PLACE like home. My bed felt soo nice last night and I slept like a baby, lol.  My comfy little chair this morning, my Bible devotions (started a new Beth Moore series) and sipping tea in my favorite cup, were all MOST welcome. It's quiet except for the hum of the washer and dryer going in the back ground and the sound of birds singing outside my window that is open and letting in a cool nice breeze.   And yet there is no little cheeks to kiss, soft bodies to cuddle, little books to be read, or conversations with my girl.  How I hate the fact that they are all a thousand miles away!  Every time I come back (or they leave here) I have to go through a little withdrawal period where I re-adjust to this simple fact.  I am STILL not quite sure how it is that my only daughter lives this far away.  And it's been 6 years!  But I am grateful for the fact that all of my sons live close and I see the rest of my grandkids on such a regular basis.  This visit went fast and was a good one. The boys are just as sweet as they can possibly be and Luke's party went really well.  It is always nice to meet their friends and neighbors, and get a small taste of their life as they know it.  And it is soo different from California and city life.  I noticed this even in the way Sam plays.  I love just watching little ones play who are lost in their own world and have no idea they are even being watched, you know?  Sam's play world is all about tractors, milk trucks, loaders, and cows and other animals.  He loves being outside and can navigate his little electric tractor like such a big boy!  He has a sweet and tender heart and I wish you could hear him sing!  He know the words to many songs and can carry a tune surprisingly well for a two year old. He obeys REALLY well and goes to bed about the best I have ever seen for a two year old (and I have seen MANY!) and lets me know my girl is doing a wonderful job of being mommy.  Little Luke might be one of the happiest babies I have ever seen, and is toddling around looking a little intoxicated, lol.  He still crawls when he wants to get somewhere quickly, and is easily distracted as most one year olds are.  We had a really nice dinner out one night at a new restaurant out there which is very similar to our Benihana's.  Sam was not real happy with the fires the chefs play up for the entertainment though and would grab grandma's hand and say over and over, "it's OK, it's alright, Sam is brave!  Sam is tough!" whenever one would go off, haha.  I think he about had himself convinced.  Luke is happy as long as there is always a stream of food in front of him, lol.  Boy can that baby eat!  Their PJ's I made then were WAY too big around for both of them so I bought a tiny seam ripper and a needle and some thread (my daughter has NO sewing supplies....I asked her how she sews a button on should one come off, and she told me quite matter of factly she doesn't! lol) and a tape measure (so that this won't happen next time ~ she can simply measure and tell me the numbers) and fixed them by hand.  I was actually pleasantly surprised how easy this was to do without a sewing machine.  They were adorable on them (a little long, but that's OK as long as they weren't falling off) and Sam LOVED them.  In fact, he was a little upset when it was time to take them off, lol.  Their 4th of July outfits fit perfectly, and Luke's birthday shirt was adorable on him.  We had a blow out on the freeway when we were within a couple hours of home but thankfully once we got to the side of the road it was a quick tire change for hubby.  It was kind of scary I will admit as we were in the fast lane going near 80 when it happened.  Thank goodness is was a back tire and not a front as that would have probably been a lot harder for hubby to control.  We got home kind of late Sunday night, and yet decided to get up yesterday and drive down to Oceanside Beach where my youngest son James and his little family are staying for a week in a beach house.  It was honestly just GORGEOUS down there.  How I love the ocean!  You could see the water clearly from the porch of the little house so I just sat there in a chair soaking it all up.  My knees do NOT do well walking in sand so this worked REALLY well for me.  My son barbequed a delicious dinner and we feasted and enjoyed the freedoms that our brave service people have provided for all of us.  Hope you all had a nice holiday too.  I am catching up the laundry today, and am looking forward to visiting all of you and catching up there as well.  I do need to run to the grocery store and pay a few bills too.  Life goes on and that's the way we are over here.  I will show you a few pictures now....Blessings to you all!  Debbie

SWEET LUKE JEFFREY!

DELICIOUS CAKE!

LITTLE COW BOY

CHEERING FOR THE BALLOONS...HE WAS SOO CUTE ON THIS!

FINALLY GOT SOME IN HIS HANDS

MY SWEET SAM

THE SNACK AND CAKE TABLE

SAM'S LITTLE FRIEND LAURA...THEY WERE SOO CUTE TOGETHER

FUN IN A BOUNCE HOUSE

LUKE LIKED IT TOO

SOO CUTE

HI SWEET BABY!

SAM "HELPED" LUKE OPEN, LOL

The rest of these pictures were either taken on my I-phone, or from someone else's.  Not sure how we didn't get a pic of him eating his cake, but I will find one somewhere I am sure...

HE LOVED RIDING ON THEIR ROCKING HORSE

HORRID PIC OF MY BUT IT WAS SOO CUTE OF SWEET SAM.  WE HAD ALL GONE OUT TO LUNCH AND HE WAS HAVING HIS CHIPS

NEVER DID GET A PIC OF BOTH BOYS IN THEIR JAMMIES SO MEL WILL HAVE TO WORK ON THAT FOR ME!

LIKED THIS OF BOTH OF THEM!

THIS IS A PICTURE OF ONE OF THE PROFESSIONAL PICTURES SHE HAD JUST PICKED UP THE DAY BEFORE THE PARTY.  DON'T HAVE THE DIGITALS YET.  THEY CAME OUT SOOO CUTE.  THIS IS JUST A LITTLE SNEAK PRE-VIEW

Well guess that's it for now.  I can pick up my quilt from the quilters tomorrow and then I need to make the binding and finish it up.  I am VERY anxious to see how it came out.  I intend to spend the rest of this day relaxing and finishing up the laundry though, and not much else, lol.  Hope you all have a good week!