We have had a few visitors and many good times in the last couple of weeks. Shauna, Dwayne’s sister who lives in Mesa, came to see us on her Fall Break from teaching school. It was a long drive for a short visit, but we really enjoyed the time we had together and Simon is still talking about it. She and Kara were able to take the boys up to Avila Beach and Avila Barn one day. Both are about 30 minutes north of where we live.
The boys had fun walking on the pier, swinging at the beach, looking at pumpkins, and taking a hay ride.
Kara appreciated the extra help with the boys and enjoyed having an adult around during the day for conversation.
A week later Kara’s parents arrived in town for a weekend visit. We spent one morning visiting Solvang and Buellton, where we were able to eat lunch at what Dwayne and I were informed was the legendary, “Pea Soup Andersen’s.”
That evening we had some friends over and celebrated Stuart’s 1st birthday with a barbecue and cake.
He had a good time mushing up the small cake we made just for him, but he didn’t eat much.
The older boys (Simon and his friend, Josh) had fun with the cardboard box from one of Stuart’s gifts and pulled it all around the backyard.
Stuart’s favorite gift was a little talking chair from one of Dwayne’s co-workers.
On the day of Stuart’s birthday we figured we’d indulge his clearly-expressed preference to have good Italian food for dinner :-). Kara’s parents took us out to “La Botte,” a family-owned place in Lompoc. The food was delicious and Stuart ate a serious portion of baked masticolli. Simon used the bit of Italian (though we have no idea if it’s correct Italian) he knows and told the waitress, “Prima pasta, mama mia!”
At the beginning of October we asked Simon what he’d like to be for Halloween, and without any prompting on our part, he responded, “a big fancy combine harvester truck.” We thought he’d change his mind by the next time we asked him, but he was quite determined to be a large piece of farming equipment. Fortunately Dwayne has a very creative streak and went to work on it. It turned out very well and Simon wore it most of the night. We borrowed a cow costume from some friends for Stuart and it completed the brothers’ ensemble. Dwayne wore brown pants and an A&W t-shirt, pinned an over-sized homemade pop can tab to the back of his shirt and was a can of root beer. Kara opted to be the photographer.
Simon did some neighborhood trick-or-treating, then went around to the trunk-or-treat at church and came home with more than enough candy.
We have had a few visitors and many good times in the last couple of weeks. Shauna, Dwayne’s sister who lives in Mesa, came to see us on her Fall Break from teaching school. It was a long drive for a short visit, but we really enjoyed the time we had together and Simon is still talking about it. She and Kara were able to take the boys up to Avila Beach and Avila Barn one day. Both are about 30 minutes north of where we live.
The boys had fun walking on the pier, swinging at the beach, looking at pumpkins, and taking a hay ride. 
Kara appreciated the extra help with the boys and enjoyed having an adult around during the day for conversation. 
A week later Kara’s parents arrived in town for a weekend visit. We spent one morning visiting Solvang and Buellton, where we were able to eat lunch at what Dwayne and I were informed was the legendary, “Pea Soup Andersen’s.”
That evening we had some friends over and celebrated Stuart’s 1st birthday with a barbecue and cake.
He had a good time mushing up the small cake we made just for him, but he didn’t eat much. 
The older boys (Simon and his friend, Josh) had fun with the cardboard box from one of Stuart’s gifts and pulled it all around the backyard. 
Stuart’s favorite gift was a little talking chair from one of Dwayne’s co-workers.
On the day of Stuart’s birthday we figured we’d indulge his clearly-expressed preference to have good Italian food for dinner :-). Kara’s parents took us out to “La Botte,” a family-owned place in Lompoc. The food was delicious and Stuart ate a serious portion of baked masticolli. Simon used the bit of Italian (though we have no idea if it’s correct Italian) he knows and told the waitress, “Prima pasta, mama mia!”
At the beginning of October we asked Simon what he’d like to be for Halloween, and without any prompting on our part, he responded, “a big fancy combine harvester truck.” We thought he’d change his mind by the next time we asked him, but he was quite determined to be a large piece of farming equipment. Fortunately Dwayne has a very creative streak and went to work on it. It turned out very well and Simon wore it most of the night. We borrowed a cow costume from some friends for Stuart and it completed the brothers’ ensemble. Dwayne wore brown pants and an A&W t-shirt, pinned an over-sized homemade pop can tab to the back of his shirt and was a can of root beer. Kara opted to be the photographer.
Simon did some neighborhood trick-or-treating, then went around to the trunk-or-treat at church and came home with more than enough candy. 
2 comments:
I love it! All of it! Thanks for all the pictures and for telling your recent tales and adventures. We sure wish we could come visit! Give Simon and Stuart hugs for us.
Love,
Janelle and Keith
I love the farm outfits! We hope you guys are having fun. It sure looks like it. Are you going to be in KS for Christmas by any chance?
KJ&S
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