beauty

Life is hard.

and sometimes I find myself dwelling on all the hard things and dismissing the beauty around me.

 Last night, my wonderful husband challenged me to take one picture a day of something beautiful and share it.

So here goes...

Beauty found in the pink blossoms in our back yard.

another wonderful year!

Today our family is giving thanks for another year with Matt Robbins, a beloved husband and father!  I find it is so easy to take each day for granted and just fear what the future might hold for us or loathe turning another year older.
But today is a day to celebrate - we have had another year of laughs, love and growing together as a family.
Thanks be to God!

(I won't tell you how old he is, but you might be able to guess.)

Hannah informed me, "Daddy will be so happy if we make him a crown."

so we did.

We celebrated in traditional Robbin's style with a crazy cake.

There was lots of daddy love

and chocolate cake love.

(p.s. if you are wondering about the large red, blue, and purple bruise on Peter's head - he fell headfirst into our back door last night, ouch! but he made a quick recovery and I think it looks worse than it is.)

smile II

One more reason to smile today...

Matt is making one of his delicious, double layer chocolate cakes with ganache frosting right now.

I can't wait to eat it!

superdad!

I am so grateful for my hubby! 

as our whole family was struck down by the stomach flu this week (yuck.)

 he joyfully cared for the rest of us (while dealing with his own sickness)

running between rooms of his girls in the middle of the night to comfort and clean up 

bring food 

wash dishes

 watch the kids 

clean up toys 

and on top of it all attempt to write a sermon 

SuperDad!

point reyes

It is a becoming a much-loved tradition in our family that Matt & I go away for a night around Valentine's Day.  Yes, we leave the kids at home with Grammy and take off on an adventure.

I love surprises so Matt planned the whole weekend on his own and didn't tell me where we were going until we were on I80 headed west and I guessed it had something to do with the coast.  (I also love the ocean.)

This year's destination: Point Reyes!

We started off by hiking down to Kehoe Beach and walking the length of the beach. It was gorgeous and empty!  (This is a big deal to a girl who grew up in LA where every beach is covered with people.)

We saw a total of 6 people (including ourselves).

After a few blissful hours enjoying the sound of waves crashing on the sound - we got in the car and drove out to the northern most point of Pt.Reyes.  Along the way we saw some Tulle Elk and hundreds of cows out to pasture.  I had to take this picture for Hannah.  She loves cows!

The next morning we explored the Point Reyes Lighthouse!  It was quite an experience to stand on this little piece of land jutting out into a vast, seemingly endless ocean.  I can't imagine the life of the men who used to live out here and keep the lighthouse functioning in storms.

The hike down was not so bad.  But trying to climb the 30 flights worth of stairs on the way back up was exhausting!

Here's another look at the Point Reyes coast:  Amazing!

Thanks Matty for a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

breakfast

This morning, Matt made me breakfast.



It was a delicious Mexican feast of eggs, bacon, veggies and beans on a fresh sope.

I felt seriously loved.

I also told Hannah she could have an orange if she peeled it herself. 

And she did!

napa

Last week Matt participated in a preaching retreat in Napa.  The cost for us to tag along was minimal - so we packed up the family and headed to Napa for 3 days.  The conference was at the Embassy Suites and we had a suite all to ourselves (which still proved to be too small for our growing family - the kids kept waking each other and us up at night).  The hotel itself had much to offer in the way of entertainment - two pools, multiple bridges, ducks, waterways and even 4 swans!

We actually ended up only leaving the hotel for one excursion - a hike into  Westwood Hills Park.  Matt wanted a short hike where we could get some nice views of Napa.
He got it.




Hannah enjoyed a leisurely hiking pace.

Peter rode the whole way on my back (which was a first) and loved it!

We stopped partway up for some pictures and "huggies" (as Hannah likes to call them).

At the top we found a picturesque view and a beautiful butterfly bench hidden beneath a tree (this picture is my favorite).

Ironically, we left Napa having done zero wine tasting.  With two kids in tow, two sleepless nights, and starting feel sick we decided to wait until a later time to enjoy that aspect of Napa.

a new tradition

over the past 4 months a new sunday afternoon tradition emerged in our house...



hannah and daddy sit on the couch, watch football and eat cheerios.
 i think it's their favorite time together all week!
(oh yes, this is definitely matt's dream come true)

signs of Fall

Some signs that Fall is (finally) upon us:

costumes

a strawberry and little lion
(or "roar" as Hannah calls his costume)

bundling up for the cold

a hay ride

pumpkins

baby chicks

muddy shoes

6 months of sibling love

a poem

Hannah (and daddy) wrote me this poem after a long day of potty training.

It made me smile.

my guys

My guys....my guys...talking 'bout my guys...

Okay, some friends gave us these shirts as hand-me-downs and we thought they were pretty awesome,

but maybe slightly ironic. Because at 3 months, Peter weighs almost 18 pounds and is in 9 month clothing.

But he's loving life and finds most things worth smiling at and cooing for!

P.S. Here's a little outtake from our photoshoot - Peter spit up all over Matt's hands! Oh, so very typical. :)

classic

Here are some recent moments that are sure to go down as classics...

Matt and Hannah doing Wii Fit Yoga
who says you can't be a yoga master at age 2?

all three of our "kids" on the playmat
(aunt hope, this picture is for you!)

when Mommy is gone, who gets to feed baby the bottle?
...Hannah

not previously mentioned july highlights

It is the last day of July 2010 and so much has happened this past month that I have yet to write about.

Here goes...

I turned 30 this past month and really feel no qualms about being a decade older!
We celebrated by enjoying fondue at the Melting Pot (my favorite restaurant) with our friends the Seitz's. And then headed to my sister-in-law's house for some champagne & strawberries.

8 days later, Matt & I celebrated 8 years of marriage! Wohoo! We enjoyed a delicious, child-free date at Lucca's restaurant.

Where we sampled Governor Schwarzenegger's favorite dish - zucchini chips. (They were pretty awesome!)

Between my birthday and our anniversary we headed to Donner Lake for our first family vacation as a family of four!

While we were there Hannah caught her first fish, using her new Disney Princess pole. (She's been talking about it ever since.)

Incidentally, I caught a fish at the same time and sent Matt running between the two of us to reel them both in.

Matt caught his largest trout ever on this trip and discovered the best way to cook a trout - battered & deep-fried!

S'mores are my absolute favorite dessert and an absolute must when in the mountains and doing anything that resembles camping. Hannah enjoyed her first s'more on this trip and loved it! I'm so glad to have shared the moment with her!

What was Peter doing during all of these great adventures?

sleeping

Whew, that was a mouthful!
Thanks for making it through our highlight reel!

matt's creations

Over the past 8 years of married life Matt has become a great cook! (I must admit this was not a skill I ever dreamed he'd possess when we said "I do". I'm pretty sure he has even surprised his mother with this talent.)

Here are a few of his recent creations:

a double layer chocolate cake with blackberry preserve filling and ganache frosting

marinated and grilled steak & veggies with homemade spicy pesto and roasted sweet potatoes

a fruit cake for Hannah's 2nd birthday (recreated from a picture of a cake my mom made for my 2nd birthday)

aahhh, this is the good life - to have a husband who cooks for you!