Waiting for the Arrival of a little sister

Swinging from trees and playing in the backyard. That what Ty loves to do while he waits.

Tiny little hands checking to see if Tessa is awake.

Sharing some good "knock knock jokes" like knock knock: who's there? Anita. Anita Who? Anita meet my sista!

Throwing the leaves we can't wait for a giant pile to jump in. . . oh and for Tessa to get here.

Playing in the leaves as they change colors

Livvy won't be the baby much longer. 

Ty is a great big brother he really helps everyone, especially Mom.

Life is a little crazy at our house and is going to get CRAZIER!

The most handsome man around! Look at that guy I love him!

Ok. . .  3 hours after taking this picture my water broke and 6 hours later at 2:47 am on October 8th  Tessa arrived weighing 6 lbs 15 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

Happy Mommy

Tessa Kirstina Boone has her own little look. She has blue eyes and a cute little "Adams" nose like my Grandpa Chet Adams side of the family. I love that because she is named after my Grandpa Adam's mother Mettie Kirstina Hansen Adams. I remember staying the night with her when I was young because she didn't like to be alone.

Josh helped deliver just in time. Everything went well I have never had a baby during the night before they have all been in the morning to afternoon. So this was a new experience staying up all night. When we arrived at the hospital I was admitted because my water had broke. Three other women arrived at the same time in active labor. I started an IV antibiotic and got an epidural at midnight. Evonne (Mom Boone) was there the whole time watching over things and I am thankful she was, the resident doctor came in and asked how I was feeling. She told me she would be back in 2 hours to check me. As soon as the doctor left Evonne asked the nurse if she would check me because I was having some very long and hard contractions. Sure enough I was at a 10 and ready to go. Mom Boone said, "I knew you were very close but I didn't want to step on toes" She has been a labor and delivery nurse for 25 plus years and is a huge comfort and great coach to me with every birth. Each has been so different and her kindness and perceptiveness has given me relief, reassurance and courage. It's not easy to bring children into the world, but it is the most magical and joyful thing I have ever done. Ty and Olivia arrived naturally without an epidural, while Marissa and Tessa both broke my water and I was induced with an epidural. The blessing of being able to experience maternity and be a part of bringing a child to the world is quite humbling.  

Grandma Boone and Tessa

I have the most amazing in-laws which isn't surprising if you know Joshua

All Together Finally No More Waiting

Tessa is so tiny and sweet we will keep her

We enjoyed having Grandma here and loved the stories she brought and her homemade rolls and waffles.

San Francisco Labor Day Trip

We took a little trip. San Francisco was calling and we came and went. Josh took Thursday and Friday off to make an extended Labor Day vacation.
Josh and the kids have never been to San Fran. I have been a few times growing up. Crazy that it still has the same "feel" I remember when I was younger like being cold next to the bay as we looked at the bridge.


Ty liked the water and chased any and all seagulls or birds with a loud "ka kaaaaw ka kaaaaw" it was entertaining to watch. He even found a treasure a piece of ocean drift wood.


Marissa and Livvy spent most of their time "hiding" from the wind and saying "I'm cold Mom. . . I'm cold Dad."  Luckily they found a wind blocker behind this little wall. Those expressions on their faces didn't change the entire visit with the cold wind and big bridge.

It was a gorgeous day with a little sunshine here and there.

We spent most of the day at the Exploratorium. The kids never got board we were there a good 5 hours AMAZING science and fun! I am a bit of a nerd science was and is my favorite subject still. I am still fascinated by all the laws of science. 

Ty, Riss and Liv enjoyed it too. This was a mirror that went on forever the kids kept giggling dancing in it. Everything was kid friendly and touchable. There were little wooden stools everywhere so height wasn't a problem.

The rising fog caught Livvy's attention she would let it get really thick and then blow it all away again and again.

This was the room of distortion, being able to touch the ceiling is very cool when you are tiny. Josh looked like a giant.

Marissa's favorite exhibits were the one with color and light where she could dance and twirl and see all pink, purple, red, blue, yellow. .. etc. She now loves to mix colors and tell me how they change.

Optical illusions are cool this picture started looking like pulsating jelly fish after a minute or two of staring. Since the picture can't capture the real thing. I thought I would try to express my inner feelings through this stellar facial expression.

Monochrome land was like walking through that movie Pleasantville. I did love how my digital pictures turned out in this room.

Livvy couldn't figure how to get those Jelly Belly's out of the candy machine.

Ty liked making crazy monster faces with this exhibit.


Josh stopped off for a refreshing drink of water. Marissa and Ty wouldn't try a drink Livvy was all about the toilet water.

I liked the sound hall too. These Xylophones were melodious. We just couldn't get enough.

Josh and Ty sat down to listen to something and the next thing I know they were both asleep, were those magical earphones?


After our busy day of fun we headed to our hotel at the Embassy Suites and enjoyed the pool. I think the kids loved that the best. I loved the hot breakfast in the morning. The Hotel has an atrium inside with gigantic carp the kids loved feeding them.


These girls LOVE their DADDY it was nice to get him to ourselves for 5 whole days. There was alot of laughing and fun.

On our way back to Sacramento we stopped off at the Jelly Belly factory and took a tour. Did you know they make candy corns, and Fruit Gems? Those are like some of our favorite candies. It was quite the process to see how they make those delicious jelly belly beans. We had to wear these hats the whole time.  FYI if a bean is misshaped it is rejected and called a jelly flop. They sell flops at a discounted price. Ty discovered that there is a line of Jelly Bellies that taste like boogers, throw-up, onion and many other disgusting flavors. .. move over Harry Potter. We all got our own bag of fresh Jelly Bellies to enjoy on the drive home.  That was our weekend adventure of Fun.

Our New Home Sweet Home

This is our new place in Sacramento. It is much larger than our previous home in San Diego. I love all the space. The owners lived here for 11 years and had small children around our kids ages. I fell in love with it the moment we stopped to look at it back in May. Our rental hunting paid off and I know that this final year of residency will go much smoother because we live here. We were definitely blessed. My parents came with us to Sacramento and hung out with our kids while we house hunted. Thank you Mom and Dad.
Ty's school is only a 5 minute walk down the street.

There are some great garden boxes and the tomato, bell pepper, pumpkin and basil plants are flourishing. They make me happy. Josh's parent's and his youngest sister helped us move from San Diego. Grandpa Boone lovingly got the garden booming before he left. Both of our parents are so very generous and supportive we love them so much and appreciate their time they give to us so willing. I had a tomato from the garden this week and it was heavenly delicious!

Grandpa Boone climbed the huge tree in the back yard and the kids climbed up with him.

There is an amazing swing set that gets used every day. The owner gave us the pink baby swing as a house warming gift she is so very kind. Ty and Marissa love to race down the slides.

There is a nice gazebo. I absolutely LOVE all the trees and the shade. The yard is so clean no mud areas or stickers. It's like a little oasis in the city. Trees make me happy.

We have a nice family room with a gas stove for the winter months. It has a big window that lets in plenty of sunlight. Light makes me happy.

The kitchen is very cute I really like the colors and all the counter space not to mention the counter aren't made of tile squares with crusty old grout that is impossible to clean. Smooth counters make me happy.

Here is the "pink" room.

Here is Ty's room the celing is painted like the night and day. Ty noticed there is a small flying saucer in the night sky. It is cool.

We also got some bunkbeds that I really like and the kids like because they can be in the same room to sleep and not have to touch each other.

Here is the front room it has a nice brick fire place.

Here is the accent wall in the front room.

There have been many forts made and summer memories. I like that the kids can run outside and enjoy the day that makes me happy!

We are liking Sacramento. Josh is getting some great training and he is working with some amazing podiatry surgeons. We have 7 weeks until our new little girl is due and life is very very good. I am happy, Josh is happy, and the kids are happy. We love and miss our family and friends but we are so very blessed in every facet of our lives.