A craving . . .

Can you crave a smell? Some things that I enjoyed so much when I was little growing up on a hay farm were the smells of it during the summer. At night my dad would turn on the sprinklers in the hayfield next to our house, and the first scent that would hit your senses was of the freshly dampened earth. I've always loved that smell. Especially if it was created by the beginning of a summer thunder storm. Just the first few minutes of the storm is when it smells the best, as the drops of rain kick up the powdery layer of dirt from the ground. I seriously craved this smell whenever I was pregnant.
Back to the hayfield, though. After the damp earth smell, I can recall the sweet smell of alfalfa hay. And the sound of the impact sprinklers would lull me to sleep, as each sprinkler head rotated slowly almost full circle, then sped up as it reversed rotation to return to back to the start. I remember that you could feel the nighttime temperature cool as soon as those sprinklers started up. I guess I miss more than just the smell.

A little getaway

Friday Dylan and I took off for a quick getaway down to Pasadena for our Anniversary. For years I've wanted to see the Gamble House, so we decided why not now? This is a picture of the front of the house, with its beautiful art glass door.
This is the backside of the house, where you see Doc Brown from "Back to the Future" run down to his garage.

A beautiful clinker-brick wall surrounding a pond. Who is that handsome man?


This is one of the many Jacaronda trees that you see this time of year in Southern California. Aren't they beautiful? I wish that we were allowed to take pictures of the inside of the house. The wood work is gorgeous and the details that the architects, Charles and Henry Greene, put into the house is amazing. They not only designed the house, but the furniture, the light fixtures, the landscaping, the rugs, etc. When I worked for a group of architects, I would always hear about Frank Lloyd Wright and how wonderful his work was, but I say he has nothing on Greene and Greene. I know that's architecture blasphemy! It was a very fun getaway.

We've got a Romeo on our hands . . .

Yesterday we were in the Verizon parking lot waiting while Dylan was talking to customer service. While I was out in the car with the boys, a girl walked out of the store. She looked like she was about 12 years old, and Nathan said, "Wow, she's HOT! She's by herself, so, can I walk her home?" I then replied, "She's way older than you!" He said, "No, she's about my age." This made me laugh, but it also surprised me at the same time because Nathan used to be such a quiet and shy boy! I don't know what to do. It made me think of that line that Short Round (is that his name?) said in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - "Maybe he like the older women?"

14 Years!!!

I can't believe that Dylan and I celebrate our 14th anniversary today. Plus, I've know Dylan for over half my life! He is my best friend, and the only one I can be the real "me" with. So much has happened in these last 14 years, and I wouldn't change a thing. I'm also glad that he didn't even get mad at me when I left all 4 windows down in his work car over-night! (What is with my brain!) By the way, that is the Oakland Temple pictured above, where we were sealed.

Dylan is 12!

I can't believe my little Dylan is 12 today! I'm still having problems with my scanner, so no cute baby pictures or pictures of him doing his Batman face, but here's a few pictures of this handsome devil. I very clearly remember the night he was born. In the middle of the night I remember waking up and looking over at the basinett and seeing two huge, dark blue eyes staring out from all of his blankets. That was a sign of what was to come . . . he still hates to sleep. He wasn't ever really fussy, just awake. Awake from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., mind you. As he got older, he developed a great interest in things like vacuums, fans and cars. Every Sunday, when Dylan was 2, we would walk through the parking lot at church and he could name the name of each car just by looking at the symbol. He would love to go to Sears for an outing to look at vacuums, and impressed the salesmen by his knowledge of the name and make of each vacuum. Whenever he'd meet someone new, his first question was, "what kind of vacuum do you have?" And this was all at two years old! Dylan is such a sweet boy, always concerned for others, especially his family. We are very blessed to have him in our family.