Halloween Catch Up!

We've been in Lake Elsinore all week babysitting Zak and Kelli's kids while they spent a week in Hawaii so I have not had access to my pictures. And as we leave again tomorrow for a two week stay at Sanoviv, I wanted to get these Halloween pictures up. I may have to fill in some gaps when I return... including our fun stay with the kiddos!

Here's Harrison's Halloween party at the parent/toddler class we take at Mira Costa:







And here's some favorite's from Halloween night:










What a fun night with our little space ranger...he could not have been cuter! I didn't know how he would do but he just loved everything about Halloween, especially dressing up as Buzz. More to come in two weeks!

Oldie but Goodie!

...And by that I mean our relationship, not YOU!! Although you are getting up there now : )

I met Jessica when I was eight years old and I even remember exactly what she was wearing when I first met her (an adorable white dress with a big collar that tied in the front)! I also remember that I hoped we would be friends and little did I know 22 years later I would consider her one of my oldest and dearest friends.

Happy 30th Jess, I feel so blessed to have you in my life. You are an example to me of a righteous woman who is always striving to be better and of an amazing mom who loves and learns everyday and from every situation.

I'm grateful for the precious memories I have with you...most of them make me laugh out loud! I could have filled a whole album with pictures of us, (many that were too embarrassing to include here, haha) but here are few that I love and that tell part of our story. Junior High, High School, and everything in between...us growing up and becoming what we always dreamed of being: Mothers!

I hope you've had an amazing 30th! I love and adore you! It's all "uphill" from here!

Bates Nut Farm Fun!

To kick off the fall season, we took Harrison to Bates Nut Farm for the first time. There were so many fun things to do and see. We went with Alice and her adorable girls and it was such a fun day! It's definitely going to be an annual thing. Everybody was a winner: Harrison got to take a hayride, Shar got her favorite treat (chocolate covered cinnamon bears) at the Farm General Store, and Ryan got to say "Nates Butt Farm" all day...for some reason that joke never got old to him!

Here's Harrison and Ellie giving it their best shot!

Harrison living out his dream of driving a tractor!

Seeing the real thing stopped him in his tracks!

Waiting for the Hayride

We rode around the pumpkin patch and through the corn fields!

Pony ride time...mom sneezed throughout the whole thing but still managed to get a few pictures!

Finally time to pick a pumpkin...

Ryan got a cute one!

Picking pumpkins can be hard work!


Harrison got a little distracted by the trucks and school buses


But then Ellie got his attention!

I'm a little behind in blogging but it's only because we are having soooo much fun! Lot's more to come, including kissing cousins and Harrison's school Halloween Party! Stay tuned!

Summer Visitors!

Even though I've been desperately trying to elongate our summer, I think it's time to embrace fall...Fall is definitely here and before I post about taking Harrison to the pumpkin patch, I want to record some of the fun visits we had this summer. Hopefully the visits won't end now that summer is gone, we LOVE visitors!

When we got home from Colorado and Wyoming, Derek and his kids were here staying with my mom. We missed Katy but we were so happy Derek, Palmer and Meredith were here for a few extra days so we could spend some time with them. Harrison is really drawn to Derek (it's his peaceful, loving, accepting nature that draws everyone to him and Harrison was also sensitive to it) and he also loves Palmer and Meredith too, especially when he can pretend he's playing Mario Cart with them : )

Cuddling with Uncle Derek





Mersy with Jaydn and Addie




Intent on doing everything Palmer does!





"All this steering is wearing me out!"



Next we had some quality girl time with Syd and Ali. When I was sick back in January, Syd sent me the most loving message and this was her last promise: "I know Harrison and Ryan are extraordinary reasons for you to take care of yourself...but in case you need any more reasons....the Snarr girls are itching for a road trip to southern California as soon as Ali gets home....so we'll see you in a couple months."

Ali has been studying in Jerusalem and I was so excited to hear about her experiences and spend some time with her and Syd, they are truly like another mom and another sister to me and I love them and their whole family so much. We ate and did the spa thing and even got in a trip to Legoland with Ali and her boyfriend Dan. It was such a great visit!

Downtown San Diego





Glen Ivy Hot Springs...the mud is always a highlight!





Legoland with Ali!

I love this girl...




I love these boys...






One of Harrison's favorite rides...he put his hands up without any prompting, it was adorable!




Ali snapped this one and I love it




Ali smoking Dan on the slides




Ending the day with a boat ride



After Syd and Ali left we had a spontaneous visit from Maddie!! I've been begging this girl to come visit me and she finally did it...it just took an opportunity to see Kip from Bachelorette in person to get her here!! We had a Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser to attend and it turned out that one of the auction items was a date with Kip, a good friend of ours. We had a few extra tickets so Maddie and her friend Julianne came with us and it was so much fun. Here are some of my favorite photos from the night. Maddie took most of them with her amazing camera.







I was so touched by Kip's willingness to give and support our cause. He alone raised more than $8,000 for C.F. research. THANK YOU KIP, you are awesome!!


Before Maddie left, she gave Harrison a much needed haircut!





Little did we know then that Maddie's trip here would put the wheels in motion for her coming to live with us for almost a year while she goes to school here in San Diego. The Lord really does work in mysterious ways and now when we look back at that short visit, we know that is what started everything and we are so grateful to have her here with us...but that is a whole other post that will come later!!

What a fabulously fun summer we had. The highlights were definitely moving into our new house and immediately having visitors to use our new "guest room!" We are still open for visitors anytime!

Happy Wife= Happy Life!

When I came home last Monday and saw this taped to the door leading into the house, I knew it was going to be a great week but it only got better. Ryan is a loving, nurturing husband who takes amazing care of Harrison and I but last week he just went above and beyond.



The week started with gift certificate for a delicious "Fusion Massage"- Enjoy a beautiful blend of heated stones, aromatherapy and warm eucalyptus compresses incorporated into a soothing full body massage. Side effects for this massage include; extreme bliss, an inability to worry, smiling and a sudden urge to hug your massage therapist!


And ended with a night spent with my husband and the Killers, my current favorite band. It was definitely one of the best nights of my year so far. The best part about my surprises was that they came completely out of the blue and for no reason...I kept asking, "what is this for?" and "why did you do this?" and his reply was that he just wanted to be a better husband and that he loved me and I deserved it! I don't know about the I deserve it part but major points Ryan, I love you!

A Peek...

We moved into our new home on August fourth and we have felt incredibly blessed to be here every day since. We loved our quaint condo by the beach and bring with us wonderful memories of being pregnant there, bringing Harrison home there, and experiencing so many "firsts" there but we just needed more room and wanted to be in a neighborhood for Harrison.

We found the area of Discovery Hills in San Marcos months ago and fell in love with it. I remember driving around the neighborhood and parking at Discovery Lake and seeing the adorable dock where you can feed the ducks and telling Ryan, "honey, this is my dream, this is where I want to be." As months and months went by and nothing became available in that specific neighborhood, we started looking elsewhere. We even put an offer on a place and had it accepted. We should have been excited but we both felt uneasy. We were unsure of why we felt this uneasiness but we talked to our Realtor and explained how we felt. He understood and had our complete best interest in mind. He said that we had 10 days to back out of our other offer and said that he would send us to EVERY house he could before those 10 days were up so we could do our due diligence and see if that uneasy feeling went away.

We prayed and prayed that we would either feel good about the place we had or find a better place that we would be excited about. Two days later we got a call about this house that was in our favorite neighborhood but were warned that it was a very desirable property and had six offers on the first day and was in negotiations with a buyer already. We had low expectations but huge hopes! We walked through it, fell in love and both had that feeling that "this is the one, finally!"

Even though we knew we would be in competition, we told our agent to make a full price offer and plead our case (make the seller realize we were the BEST buyers!) We waited all day and finally received the call that we got the house. We were overwhelmed with gratitude, we couldn't believe it! We were so excited and so happy and knew that this is how we were supposed to feel! Everything just works out how it is supposed to. We truly feel like we were led here and that this is where the Lord wants us to be.

The house was pretty turn-key so there wasn't a lot that needed to be done but we did decide to have all the cabinetry, the banisters, the mantel and interior painted before we moved in. Since moving in I really haven't taken any pictures but here are a few before and afters from before we moved in...


Celebration at the New House the night we "closed." Harrison and Dad in the back yard.



Beckett, Kaya and Harrison exploring the back yard overlooking the toddler park.




Sophie modeling the family room and dining room (before paint).




Dining room (after paint!)



Upstairs banister before and after paint.




Entryway before paint and then after paint, replacing white and gold fan with wood and stainless steel fan...




The Kitchen before and during painting.





All the cabinets drying in the garage!



Our Bedroom before and after paint.




Our balcony and master bathroom (before paint)





Harrison's room after paint and new carpet



Possibly my favorite thing about our new house...Ryan and I have been married for 5 years and I have never had laundry in our residence!!! I am so excited to have my own washer and dryer!



I know this is a ton of pictures but it is really only a sneak peek! More to come...

Kaltenbach Reunion by way of Denver...

Most would think it was crazy to take off for a family reunion in the middle of our move, and they would be correct. It was crazy... but it was so worth it and of course it worked out in the end. We were able to have a much needed break from organizing, sorting and packing and come back refreshed and ready for the big moving day! While we were gone the painters were able to complete painting the entire interior including all the cabinets so the timing really turned out perfect.

We headed to Denver a few days before we were supposed to meet the Kaltenbach Clan in Buffalo Wyoming. We wanted to spend time with my Uncle Chad and his family and see Keri's new baby Noah. We also wanted to take a trip down memory lane and revisit the scene of the crime. Boulder is really where Ryan and I fell in love with each other and knew we wanted to be together. We were anxious to see all of our favorite places in that awesome town. It was SO great to spend time with Chad, Robbi, Carly and Brock. Brock and Harrison became fast buddies!! It was also so great to see Keri, Rick, Keri's mom and precious baby Noah! I had just planned to give Keri's giant belly a kiss but since Noah decided to make an early entrance, I got to hold and cuddle him and it was wonderful!

After a few days in Colorado, we headed to Buffalo. This is where Terry, Ryan's dad grew up and it was so great to see the old house and the darling little town. As we drove down main street, Ryan said, "Don't blink or you'll miss it!" It was neat to reconnect with so many Kaltenbachs. Thank goodness Linda was there to introduce and explain who everyone was. There were several generations there and different lines so it got a bit confusing but really we were all just family!!

Harrison was so good and Terry and Linda were such a big help. Harrison definitely preferred hanging out in Grammy and Grandpa's hotel room : )

Some of the highlights were:

*watching Harrison play in Chad and Robbi's basement...car heaven!! We literally couldn't get him out!

*tattered cover- our favorite bookstore in Denver

*staying up talking to Chad and Robbi

*meeting NOAH!

*flat irons, 808, CU, pearl street, illegal petes, and subaru counting in Boulder :)

*Harrison being invited by a huge biker to sit on his Harley at a rest stop on the way to WY

*watching Harrison try to be one of the big kids at the park with all his older cousins

*visiting Dorothy and Chuck's cabin - SO beautiful

*Kevin's retirement ceremony

*Harrison being an absolute angel on both flights...not a peep! (Thank you Toy Story Two!)

Click on the collage to enlarge it for a better view!

 

Thank you mom and dad Kaltenbach for making this amazing trip possible, we enjoyed it so much!!