A Winter Blog Update

It has been a little while since I have posted anything. But I have some good excuses, really I do. First off we have been down in California visiting my family and we were having way too much fun to post anything! Secondly I am not sure what I am going to do with this blog and have been avoiding posting until I get it figured out. You see I have two blogs. One for the farm and one more personal. Well I have been happily going along posting to both of them and often double posting to both of them. Uh-oh, little did I know that was a big mistake. Apparently duplicate content can negatively affect how your sites show up in search engines. Thanks to my friend Gretchen I am now aware of the error of my ways, but I am still not sure what to do about it. I might keep both blogs separate, but delete the duplicate posts or I might try to merge the two together and only have one blog. Oh the agony of deciding! I am still undecided, but decided to go ahead and post for now.
So as I was saying we went down to California for a visit with my family. It was such a relaxing and refreshing time for us after our crazy, busy year of farming. The sunshine and sea breezes were just what we needed. While down there we relaxed, visited family and friends, played games, went to the beach several times, went window shopping in a couple of cute villages, went out for coffee, stayed up late watching movies, took the boys to the zoo, sat on the back porch, visited farmer's markets, and just relaxed.
I also turned 30 years old while down there. It is hard to believe that I am that old already. I had a very nice birthday. Andrew took me out for breakfast and I got crepes, my favorite! After that we went shopping in San Luis Obispo. We didn't buy anything but had lots of fun looking in all the shops downtown and going to the mall.
Now that we are home I am feeling motivated to get back on schedule and get organized. Spring will be here again before we know it, I'd better get ready for it!

My amazing sister playing two games at once. Hand and foot
with us and Uno with David

The boys had a horse ride on Misty, my old pony.

Blood Oranges are so beautiful

Drinking Tea with Aunt Melissa

The table on the back porch set for a tea party.

Two Cute Boys!

Looking at the parrots at the zoo.

Watching little animals at the zoo.

Looking at the Sea Elephants

Watching the Sea Elephants

Sea Elephants laying on the beach

At Morro Bay

Playing in the sand

Digging in the sand

Toes in the sand

Running in the waves

Beach Fun

We always make sure to spend some time at the beach while in California. This time we took a drive to the coast and stopped at one beach and stayed awhile. David chased the seagulls and the waves chased him. He laughed and squealed in delight. As soon as we left he started talking about going to " 'nother beach" So after some other stops we wet up to a beach farther up the coast. We stayed there and watched the sunset. It was a beautiful day on the coast.

San Luis Obispo Farmers Market

We always enjoy visiting other Farmers Markets while traveling. It is especially fun to go to the winter markets in California. This time of year there are some amazing and exotic fruits available. There is an abundance of citrus, and avocados. Some of my favorite unique fruits are tropical flavored pineapple guavas and tangy deep red blood oranges.

The Farmers Market on Thursday evenings in San Luis Obispo is quite an event. The street is closed off for several blocks. There are lots of food stands and lots of produce. On the street corners there is music and juggling. And the street is packed with people. It is always great fun to go visit it.

Solvang Adventure

My Mom, Melissa, David, and I all took a drive down to Solvang last week. Solvang is a cute Danish village on the central coast Of California. We enjoyed walking around and exploring all the little shops. We went in a sock shop filled with cute and fun socks, a hat shop and tried on hats, and an adorable children's shop where David tried on hats. We also went to the 99 cent fabric store. They have bolts of leftover fabric all for 99 cents a yard. It is a bit messy and random, but if you look there are some good finds. They also have formal dresses for $6. We also stopped at a bakery and got some delicious pastries and coffee.

Looking down one of the cute streets.


David had a great time seeing all the sights.

David in a wooden shoe.

David trying on hats.

Eating our pastries. This was Davids favorite part.

Jumping in the Leaves

David has enjoyed his time at Grandma and Grandpa's. It was so much fun to rake their leaves into a pile and then Jump into them!

Along the Shore

Trip to Oregon

We had the wonderful opportunity to spend 5 days at a vacation rental on the Oregon coaast with the whole Engell clan. It was a great time of family fellowship and fun.
On the drive down we stopped to see Multnomah Falls near Portland. We enjoyed the magnificent waterfall and David also especially liked the little exhibit we went into afterwards. He loved seeing the stuffed owl, the deer antlers and the racoon skin.

Our Cabin Stay

Last year at a newlyweds retreat we won a two night stay at a cabin on Odell Lake in Oregon. We finally were able to use it on our way home from California. We had a lovely and relaxing time.


Our Cabin: for some reason the only picture I took turned out blurry, sorry:(

The main lodge

Andrew relaxing

A pretty view

Down by the lake