Growing up in Lockwood, the lessons you learn are different than those who grew up in the city. During the warmer months we were always taught to look out for two things, black widows and rattle snakes. We we taught what a black widow web looked and felt like and the most likely places they would be hiding. During the day if we spotted a new web we would take note of it and come back after dark when the widow was home so we could kill it. The same was true for rattle snakes. We learned what they looked and felt like and what they sounded like. Every kid I knew had at least one rattle that was cut off a snake sitting on their dresser or a shelf. They were just like toys. I won’t even get into the old turkey foot I use to play with. Needless to say, we all knew what a rattle snake sounded like. We also new the types of places they liked to hide and for the most part we were pretty good at avoiding them. When we did come upon one, we knew how to take care of it.

The country also give kids a wonderful sense of adventure. During the summer, all the canyon kids would get together after the sun went down and just go exploring. There is no telling were we would end up. Of course we had to wait until the evening because our days were filled with swimming in the pond and riding our 4wheelers. Nothing was really off limits. No one ever minded if we hoped a fences or three and we would come home whenever we got tired. TV and video games were almost unheard of and this was before home computers and internet.

Since my kids are growing up in the city, I try and give them a little bit of what I learned as a kid. The most important thing I want them to learn is that it’s ok to learn new things and explore new places.

On Saturday, we took the kiddos out on a little adventure. We headed over to the Old Sweetwater Bridge in Rancho San Diego. Being me, I had to bring my camera and get a few updated photos of them before we did anything else. The mornings have been nice and overcast so we had perfect lighting. After we did some photos, we took the kiddos out on a little hike. This is a new area for us to hike in, so we weren’t really familiar with the trails. The plan was to let the kids walk for as long as they could, and then throwing in the off road stroller and let them ride the rest of the way. Well, one of the first things I noticed about the trail was that it was lined with poison oak. Not exactly kid friendly. The kids got a nice stroller ride the rest of the way. It was actually a really nice trail. Very well maintained. We saw a lot of different people too. There were other hikers, some bikers, and there was evidence of horses.

On the way back we heard some sirens that sounded like they were at the parking area. When we got up there we saw one of the bikers sitting on a gurney. Another guy on the trail that we were talking too wondered if the guy fell off his bike or was bit by a rattle snake. Well, turns out it was both. He fell on a rattler and was bit. It made me realize there was a ton of things I learned growing up that others didn’t. Now I get to teach my own kids about all the fun country stuff. I will definitely be keeping my eyes and ears open from now on when we are out on our hikes.

Since You can’t have a post without photos, here are some of the new photos of the kids that I took right before the hike.

I came across this video awhile ago and thought it was really great. I came across it again this morning, and it really had an impact on me. We may not have to best house on the block or much money in the bank and Pat and I most certainly have little issues and I have super whiny kinds, but we have a roof over our heads, we always manage to keep everyone fed and clothed, I love Pat more than life itself, and I have the most incredible kids. I realized I can’t look at the negative things in my life and I need to start looking at all the wonderful positive things in my life.

Thanks Grandma!

Our family has suffered a devastating loss today.  That’s right, Jack got his curls cut off today.  Actually, today both kiddos went in for their first haircuts.  They did such a great job.  I spent most of my time with Jack because he tends to be a little crybaby when I leave his side.  Since he doesn’t handle change too well, I figured he would be crying, but he did great!  Not a peep out of him until the stylist brought out the buzzers.  Jacks hates loud noise, so he didn’t like it very much.  I ended up having to hold him so she could trim his neck.

Ella did really well too.  Pat stayed with her while she got her bangs trimmed and straightened.  The stylist basically fixed what I did to her hair a few months ago.  Since Ella didn’t have much that needed cut, the stylist put some pretty little twisty things with bows in her hair.  She looked very pretty.  When she was done, she came over and watched brother finish up.  When Jack started crying because of the buzzers, she started crying too.  It was kinda sweet.

Here are some pictures of the new haircuts.

My friend Anna has come up with a list of 50 things she wants to do before turning 30.  I think this is a great idea and have decided to come up with my own list.  Since my 30th birthday is in January, I am giving myself some extra time and hopefully I can have everything accomplished before I turn 31.

I have until January 28, 2011 to finish my list.

In Progress
Finished

1. Get back down to wedding weight
2. Go on a family vacation that does not involve meeting up with our parents (no offense parents)
3. Finish my painting
4. Finish 2nd edition of the family cookbook
5. Do honeymoon scrapbook
6. Finish Captain Adorable
7. Enter photos into Del Mar Fair
8. Try a new recipe every week
9. Drink more water
10. Re-do the front yard landscaping
11. Have the kitchen redone!
12. Paint the baseboards in our bathroom
13. Put a door on the master bathroom
14. Have photos of the kiddos framed
15. Read a book, not listen to it.
16. Learn to crochet
17. Take the twins camping
18. Geocache more.
19. Make enough money for a new camera.
20. Stick with Fly Lady for at least a year.
21. Get a new computer
22. Finish childproofing our house
23. Read to the twins every night
24. Clean out the office
25. Clean out the sun room
26. Finish painting the floor in the girl room
27. Have a plan for the patio
28. Replant my jade plant
29. Paint the hall closet doors
30. Paint the hallway
31. Replace Bedroom fan
32. Re-paint the buffet
33. Have game night once a month
34. Set up a home photo studio in the sunroom.
35. Remove the shower door
36. Make and sell a table
37. Finish Pat’s quilt
38. Start the twin’s quilts
39. Have my car detailed
40. Make another mirror
41. Have my ring re-sized
42. Finish decorating the living/dining room
43. Have the Bob tire fixed
44. Do a load of laundry every 2 days
45. Make stepping stones with the twins
46. Plan 1 year birthday party
47. Take LB on a walk every other day… At least
48. Make Ella’s knitted dress
49. Do a family portrait
50. Clean the man room

Well, we’re finally moved over to our new host. Hopefully things will go smoother now. We should have some 4th of July pics up in the next day or two.

Well, another weekend, another two days of site downtime. We’re moving off of our host as soon as I can get everything transferred.  Our 4th of July recap will have to wait until we move because I don’t feel like spending the time to write everything up and have it lost again the next time my hosting provider screws up.

As a teaser, we have babies and Mr. Box at the beach, crawling, sitting, and lots of other fun stuff to report from our travels.

Oh, and if anyone is ever looking for a web host do not use JustHost.com. Learn from my mistake, use anyone else. Hopefully we’ll be fully up and running in a couple of days.

Well, if you’re reading this I guess that means you found your way over to our new site. Good work.

There’s not a lot new to report. The babies are still doing the whole baby thing. Ella is getting better at crawling, and is even starting to work on sitting up on her own. She can get pretty close, but then she gets bored and decides she’d rather crawl around. Jack can crawl, but he still prefers to just hang out. Every so often he crawls a few feet just to prove he can, but then he sits there and waits for us to bring him stuff.

It’s time for bed so I can rest up for my first Father’s Day. Hopefully tomorrow I can have another post, until then here are a few new photos.

Well, after about a week of prep it’s finally time to move to our new site. All of our posts, comments, and pictures have been moved over to our new server and Shae put together a few images for our page headers. If you bookmarked our blog or subscribe to the RSS feed (or follow us on Blogger), make sure you update your bookmark or feed with our new URL .

Our new site is at http://thelorigans.com.

Head on over and enjoy.