Tanaka Farms

Mark, O and I visited the pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms last night.  This place is the real deal, no bounce houses or carnival rides, just fields and fields of pumpkins.  Its such a beautiful place surrounded by hills and farmland, and with the recent cold weather it really felt like a fall evening.  Perfect way to get us in the spirit of the season.  We had such a fun night running around the pumpkins and trying to keep Owen from throwing them like balls.  We even managed to get a few pictures with all of us looking at the camera at the same time?  Amazing.

King of the hay stack!

Owen loved the tractor ride... so did we.

Happy Fall!

Crystal Cove

Oh little man, how you melt your mama's heart. 

I love our adventures together.

I love discovering things again through your eyes.

I took you to my favorite place today... it somehow seemed even more 

wild and beautiful than before. 

I just love being with you.

Painting

We are in the process of fixing up our new place.  We are moving all the way across town (about 10 blocks away) to a little house with a fenced in front yard!!  The house is very charming but needed some major renovations.  We (meaning Mark and my dad) have been painting all week into the night.  Owen is very excited about painting... and getting to see Gramps everyday. 

Have I mentioned that I have the best husband ever??  He has devoted every spare second into making this house a home for us.  Every surface will be painted, LOTS of work.

My dad has come in the morning and at night after work.  I am so overwhelmed at how he serves us and helps us through life. I especially love this picture because it shows you our pink door.

Notice the "white" (aka crusty yellow) paint on the trim and on the fireplace.  Wow.  I dont think this place has been painted for 15 years.  It is going to look amazing once we are done.  We will post some before and after pics.

My family has been amazing with all of their help.  The Bair's and the Z's stopped by to help this weekend too... Thank you so much for your support guys!!

Finn comes to visit

Finn came to spend the day with Owen and I... Owen absolutely loves him.  He is super into babies right now, he wanted to be right next to him all day.

Finn is letting Owen know who is boss.

The big bald head, the blue eyes, they could be brothers.  We love you baby Finn.

Go Warriors!

We love football season in our family.  This was Owen's first game of the year, and he absolutely loved everything about it...  waving to gramps on the field, the lights, the band, the ball, and of course the cheerleaders.

"Im so happy."

Owen thought of his own game with this bag of cheetos...

Whoa!

Here are the two little men who have absolutely stolen our hearts... Bringing Owen to football games is like deja-vu from 10 years ago when James would tag along with us everywhere we went.  They look so much alike!!  I cant believe James is in Jr. high already.  Slow down boys.

4 years

4 years of marital bliss...  We celebrated with a night at the Ritz in Laguna (courtesy of Mark's company!) and a weekend doing things we love to do (but cant do as often now that we have a kid).  Amazing dinners, morning walks with coffee, beach trips, stand-up paddle boarding in the bay (LOVED it!), a concert, and lots of time to just be together talking and enjoying each other's company.  This is us happy, relaxed, and enjoying cocktails while watching the sunset on the rooftop bar at the Ritz... heaven.  

These past four years, each new season and each new situation Mark and I encounter continues to teach me how God uniquely designed Mark to be the perfect husband for me.  When I look at all that God has provided me with in Mark, things I couldnt have known that I would need,  I cant help but see that God is perfect in his love for me and in his design for my life.

3 generations of Saukkolas

The Saukkola Boys enjoying a beer at the street fair.  (Owen is not drinking a beer.)

Owen saying cheese for the camera!  I love this shaggy boy.