We are the Kirks

Springtime Chica

2010-04-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

This Spring we have all been very busy, but we've still managed to make time for the essentials.... Like helping Ava develop her sweet tooth. She's coming along nicely in this area.

Working on her dance skills. You should see this girl twirl. This was her Easter dress from Grandma Kirk.

Easter Morning began bright and early with eager beaver Ava as the alarm clock. "Where's my Easter Basket?"

Actually it was her mom who was most excited about the Easter Basket. It's funny how we tend to spoil our kids with toys and presents during holidays like this when they are perfectly happy with an empty box.

We had an indoor Easter Egg Hunt because of the pouring rain. Ava was so stoked to find each egg. She even discovered that she could find eggs in her cousins' Easter Baskets. The baby gets away with everything...

Playing with Cousin Abby at Grandma's. I made this dress for her and I am very proud of myself.

The old Easter Candy Trade with the cousins. I helped Ava with her bartering skills. I happen to love those bubble gum Easter eggs that no one else seems to care for, so I think we scored big time. We also swindled some Reese's...my, I mean, Ava's fave.

So we have lots of ducks that live around us. Of this fact I am not a fan. If you came to visit us, you might think it's so cute and quaint that we have ducks waddling and quacking around all the time, but it won't take you long to agree with me that they are somewhat, uh, nasty. However, Spring does bring lots of cute little ducklings and even I have to admit that it's fun to watch them toddle around after their mothers. They also make good entertainment for Ava. She is like Little Bo Peep out there, except she herds little ducks instead of sheep. You can't see them very well in the picture, but this little duck herder has 6 ducklings to watch over. Sadly, Ava and the mother duck have not been doing so great a job because there are only 2 ducklings left these days. While it's sort of sad to see the little guys disappear one by one, I can't help but think, "that's one less nasty old duck we'll have around here next year."

Ava's getting so big. I can't believe she can swing on a big kid swing without toppling over.

She loves playing on all the old toys at Grandma's House.

Ava and her Daddy out for a day in the sun. She loves to give him kisses on the cheek.

Happy Spring everyone!

Apple Hill

2009-10-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ever since we moved to Davis last year we have been hearing about Apple Hill. It's this 10-mile region in the Sierra foothills where you can drive from one apple orchard to the next within minutes. Each one has something different to offer like craft fairs, hay mazes, pumpkin patches, animal farms, food, cider, and of course lots of different kinds of apples. You can go and pick your own off the tree. We decided to go yesterday with my brother and his family who are Apple Hill veterans and could take us right to the best spots. It was so fun! I am not really a "let's go for a drive" kind of a girl. I'd rather walk or bike through the scenery, but I did not mind this drive because it was so beautiful-the leaves were changing colors and I loved looking at all the cute little "farms". I would highly recommend an excursion to Apple Hill to anyone who is nearby. Buy some apples. Make apple pie. It is so good.

Ava loved the animals the best.

My nieces, Alli and Kate, enjoy some caramel apples.

H.A.G.S.

2009-10-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

Had a good summer.
Considering my average, it is totally fitting for me to post about the summer in the middle of October. It was a good one. Here are some highlights.

In May we went on a camping trip to Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island. We got to stay with our friends Doug and Ashley in Seattle and they took us to Pike Place where we saw the fish guys throw fish across the walkway.

In July we went to our first-ever family reunion on my side. We played kickball, tug-o-war, had apple peeling contests, ate delicious food, and had a great weekend with everyone together. This picture makes me realize my family is getting huge... and I still have 3 siblings without any kids yet. It is awesome. I went to Capitola with my sisters, sisters-in-law, my mom, and all their kids. I played on the beach like a silly little kid again.

Had a great time at my sister-in-law's wedding in Utah.

Said goodbye to my little sister, Katie who headed off to college for the first time. Every time I go visit my parents it is weird to realize again that she's not there. Can't believe my little sister's off on her own now. Sniff. In August, I celebrated my 25th birthday by taking myself down to the local Claire's to get my ears pierced-for the first time in my life. It was great to spend an evening with the 12 year old's perusing the plastic jewelry selection. Although the sales lady assumed we were there to get Ava's ears pierced, we decided to let her decide if she wants to wait until 25 too. I think it is fun.

For the Love of the Garden

2009-04-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

What have we been doing that is so much more important than blogging, you may ask. Many things. I am working part-time for a nursing agency. That basically means I get sent to different hospitals in the area when they have needs for an ER nurse. BJ is busy with school, as usual. Ava, of course is so cute, and will be 6 months old tomorrow. While all these elements of our lives are intriguing and terribly interesting, I will tell you about a different facet that you may not be aware of. The garden. When we first moved here to Davis, I was a little too pregnant to start a new job, so in order to fight stay-at-home and never-see-my-husband boredom, I decided to take over my neighbor's position as the Garden Chieftess (yes, that is my official title). So now I oversee about 100 15'x50' garden plots out in the back behind our apartment complex . It has been mostly fun so far getting to know my neighbors, signing people up for plots, and occasionally settling disputes and investigating veggie thefts. It cracks me up sometimes to see how different people deal with conflict-like this one guy who complained to me about veggie thefts. When he found his veggies stolen, he placed a giant sign inscribed with the following: "Don't be a miserable sinner by stealing stuff from this garden." I like that he gets right to the point.

Earlier this month we had our Garden Day, which took enough preparation to make me think I should definitely get paid. So, we rented 2 tractors, one to mow and one to plow-and I am ticked that BJ got to have all the fun driving those things around while I directed everyone else and cracked the whip if they tried to skip out early. On Garden Day, the gardeners come out and clean abandoned plots, which are full of debris such as tomato cages, carpet, rusty chairs, obscure wooden structures,...toilets. You know, pretty standard garden paraphernalia. Anyway, all in all, it has been pretty fun and in all sincerity, I am glad for this experience so that I can get to know my awesome neighbors!

Before

After.

Some of my neighbors taking a break from manual labor.

Tractor meets water pipe. My neighbor had to stand on this thing with a shovel for 1/2 hour while waiting for the water to be shut off.

BJ returning the tractors in between law classes. He even got to show off his ride to some of his classmates he passed on the way.

Ava takes a turn.

Here are more Pictures

2009-03-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

This is the latest. Taken today 3-8-2009

Updates of Ava

2009-03-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hello family. Sorry for the delay on the pictures. Here are some updates of Ava.

She rolls now. This picture and the next two
are like the second or third time she rolled.

It is quite exciting. Except now she will not lay
on her back at all. She immediately rolls over
and then cries because she gets stuck and
cant go anywhere.

Consider her blessed

2009-01-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

Ava was blessed at the beginning of the month in our ward in Davis. Since it happened at the end of Christmas break, much of my family was still visiting my parents in Danville so they could be there. I think we made up about half of the ward that day.

Love Hate Relationship

2009-01-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

Until recently snow and I had a hate-hate relationship. Need I explain this? Snow means cold... and the possibility of falling with no prior warning. Ok, I guess that's ice, but it seems they go hand-in-hand. In spite of this our last trip to Utah with BJ's family added a bit of love in my heart for the stuff. Maybe it was the fact that this time I was in Utah not as a student or working person but really as a visitor and therefore I had time to enjoy some outdoor winter recreation without a test or something looming over my head.

Since we're all native Californians, it took a while to decide what to do in the stuff. So we lounged.

Then we decided to build a snowman.
Cliff jumping into a pile of snow is also fun.
Especially when you do it as a group with your brother and bro-in-law.
And then realize you blew out your knees because your pile was not deep enough.

Here's me. I jumped. I know, so high.
Now snowboarding... I'll be honest, it brings out the worst in me. But a frustrating day on the slopes is always better when you run into an old high school friend. Beej with buddy Dave at Sundance.

One day we decided to go snowshoeing. I have done it a few times before, but I have to say this time was the most fun. I went with my brothers and sisters-in-law and took Ava along too. She slept the entire time. Beej, poor guy, had to stay home and study. We ended up blazing our own trails once we got up on the ridge, but then we got stuck and had to slide down the mountain. Ava the adventurer...and she didn't even know it. Too bad the sliding pictures didn't turn out. You'd be jealous of the good times we had. Nat, Abby, Ava and I took time to admire the incredible view of Midway. So basically it was like snow activity marathon for us for a few days, and now I can say I don't hate the snow. I enjoyed it, but did not cry when I left it behind to return to 65 degree January weather in CA.

First Christmas

2008-12-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

Ava likes Christmas. She told me. This being her first Christmas, she experienced many new things. First she got to sit on Santa's lap, which her cousins quickly discovered was actually Grandpa Hagen.

Ava took a visit to the Oakland Temple to see the lights. Afterward we went to San Francisco with my side of the fam. Every year we go to the city to pick out a Christmas ornament and have dinner together.

On Christmas Eve Doug and Ashley stopped by for our yearly visit. It is now somewhat of a tradition to see these guys at Christmas, and only at Christmas. Maybe this year we'll get a little crazy and see what the Clarks are like during the summer.

Ava's new favorite spot. She spent a lot of time under the tree.

I was excited to have a kid participate in the Nativity this year, and as the star of the show. Here Ava sleeps in her decked out manger.

All tuckered out after opening all her presents Christmas morning.

Spending time with Great Grandma Clyde on Christmas day.

Sometimes Christmas day gets a little slow so of course we entertained ourselves by taking pictures of our baby. What else would new doting parents do?

Lately

2008-12-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

I know, I'm not the most diligent blogger and this is a little outdated, but here's a little sampling of our recent Thanksgiving festivities. We spent the holiday with my family since BJ/Ben's family went to Utah. Honestly, never thought I'd wear one of those wrappy things, but my sister insisted I try it for our traditional Thanksgiving Day hike up Las Trampas in Danville. This is just a smattering of us. The other 5000 of us were scattered somewhere in those hills undoubtedly harassing cows or participating in some other shenanigans. I love this tradition. It's always muddy and green and really pretty up there in the hills and then you feel like you've earned your turkey at the end of the day. Come visit us and we will take you on this adventure.

Look what we picked up at the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-31T20:57:00.001-07:00

We thought now would be a good time to give in to peer pressure and start a blog. Here, a pic for those of you dying to see a belly shot. Now to the good stuff...

Our baby girl was born October 28th at 10:11 pm. 7lbs. 8 oz. 21 1/4 inches long. I know parents always think their baby is the cutest ever- I've discussed this phenomenon with some of you before- but really, she's adorable! Now I'll let the pics speak for themselves.