Crocodiles in the Forest

On Memorial Day, we took an impromptu hike up near the city of Julian, with Gabriel's brother, his wife, and their little girl. It's really nice to just go immerse yourself in nature every once in a while, especially while living in the city. Sometimes trees are hard to come by in San Diego, but we found some! While we were exploring, we spotted a crocodile, kookaburras, and Winnie the Pooh (according to Anniston). She obviously has a big imagination, and we had a lot of fun hiking with her and Briel! As we walked, I started to think about why we were able to spend that day as a family. I'm so incredibly grateful for the men and women in the military who protect this country and my family.  I truly cannot come up with the words to describe how lucky I feel to live in a country where people are willing to leave their families and risk their lives to protect it. I am especially pleased that there is a day designated out of each year to celebrate and remember those who have fought and died for this country, and Gabriel and I both are trying to raise Anniston to appreciate and respect those who serve our country.  To those who serve, thank you so much! You're much more valiant than I could ever even imagine to be.

Strawberry Fields

We went Strawberry picking 2 weeks ago! Anniston and I have quite a bit of practice strawberry picking.  We usually pick strawberries in my parents garden once a week.  It's one of Anniston's favorite things to do, but there usually aren't very many strawberries in my parent's garden. When we find them, they are super tiny.  Gabriel planned a strawberry picking adventure for Anni, to an actual strawberry farm, so she could get the legit strawberry picking experience.  It was a total hit with Anniston! At first, she was very particular about putting all of the strawberries she picked into our bucket, but once she noticed Gabe was eating them, the whole bucket thing went out the window.  My crazy mom instincts started to kick in, so I tried to explain to them that it would probably be best if we washed the strawberries before eating them, but Gabriel and Anniston just rolled their eyes at me, while continuing to eat their berries.  I'm happy to report that they both survived and are doing fine! Ha. All my worrying was for nothing, just is the life of a mother I guess.  The strawberries we picked were absolutely the best I've ever tasted!  I'm someone who's not a huge fan of berries in general, but holy moly, did we pick some super sweet and extra juicy berries! We headed home from Carlsbad with bellies full of berries and clothes covered in red juice.  I'm also happy to report, I was able to get all of the strawberry stains out of our clothes.  Wahoo, win for me!