Thanksgiving Point Animal Farm

This week I took Eli up with a friend to see the animals at Thanksgiving Point. He was absolutely fascinated with everything he saw and wanted to put everything in his mouth. When a big goat put his hoofs up on the fence to see if we had any treats to give him Eli leaned over in my arms and tried to eat the goat's nose. Luckily I pulled him back in time! His favorite part was riding the horse drawn wagon. I think it was all the bumps.

The look on his face is priceless

Petting the horse

Eating Carrots For the First Time

We've been experimenting with various new types of foods lately. Today we decided to give carrots a try. They were a hit! Eli especially loved smearing the carrots all over his face and tipping the bottle over for finger-painting fun.

This is fun and tasty!

"I am a happy mess!"

"Can I have a kiss? I promise not to get you too messy!"

Dan Speaks!

Look at him go! Dan presented an amazing....presentation at a social media conference last week. He rocked it up and blew everyone away with whatever it was he was talking about (I was definitely a lay-person in the audience). Here are some pics I took of him speaking. The camera focused mostly on the girl's head in front of me so Dan is a bit blurry...

Explaining the thing-a-ma-jig

Teaching them how to...play ping pong?

Eli came along to cheer for Dad!

Dan's Robot Birthday

Dan had a birthday party...a ROBOT birthday!!! It was pretty fun. Here are some photo highlights...

The End of the Bear Suit

My dear sister Cristy bought Eli this bear suit before he was even born. He's been wearing it for about four months now which is amazing because Eli grows out of most things in about 2 days. Here are some pics from the last time he was able to wear it before he grew too big.

Springtime

Spring has sprung! The weather is great and we've been spending lots of time out of doors. Tonight Dan mowed the lawn while Eli and I went on a flower hunt.

These are some of our findings.

He loves his new bouncer!

The Garfields go to California!

Well, at least Eli and Mom did. Poor Dan had to stay home and work. But we took lots of pictures and had a wonderful time. On Friday we drove down to Orange County to attend my Aunt Martha's funeral. She was a wonderful woman and will be missed. She told the best stories and always had a smile on her face.

Saturday I drove up to Ojai with Brad. We had a great visit on the way up. I especially loved coming into Ojai from the back and seeing the valley from the overlook. Every time I go there I am again amazed by its incredible beauty.

My parents met us in town and we had a great visit with Brad and Crystal. As always, the food was amazing. Crystal made an italian fish stew that was to die for and Brad treated us to a chicken sausage and boiled cabbage dish that was incredibly tasty.

Monday we made our way around to all my favorite Southern California shops; Deckers Shoes and of course Trader Joes. That night Shaun and Tamara came over and we had the aforementioned heavenly fish stew.

Tuesday I was able to meet up with my old friend Beth Ashby for lunch. We were best friends when I was a kid (born two months apart) but haven't seen each other for at least 10 years. It was great to catch up.

The drive home seemed a lot longer than the drive out but we made it home. Eli was a trooper and did very well with all the driving and sleeping in different places.

Here are a few pics from the trip...I pretty much took only pictures of Eli...but hey...he's pretty cute.

I was insistent that we document Eli's first trip to the beach....he was less than happy.

Looking down the valley at Brad and Crystal's house

Taking an early morning walk

Braddy and Eli

At the beginning of the trip...