Balin got home Mexico on Friday night. I love it when he comes home from work as we are so excited to see each other. The last couple of times he's come home we've gotten a sitter and met at our favorite restaurant, El Gato Azul. It's a wonderful chance for he and I to reconnect after his being gone and we love having tapas and drinks for dinner. Sometimes I feel like I overload him with the minutia of life with kids, but he always asks for the details and I have to admit I love replaying the mundane and the exciting in regards to life in Prescott. Of course I too want to know all the details of what he spends his days doing, what his stresses are and his joys. Our dinners out make for such wonderful beginnings to family time. In the parenting class Growing Kids God's Way it is recommended that you spend 5 minutes of couch time with your spouse when they come home from work. You are to sit on the couch, talk to each other and reconnect with one another before the chaos of home ensues. The children are to play and leave mom and dad alone while they have couch time. Balin and I have seen the results of this through our "restaurant times" and I think the whole family benefits from it.
Saturday was a great day for the Strickler family. We started it off with a relaxing soak in the hot tub as a family. I think the hot tub has been one of our best investments so far. We find that it's a place with no distractions and where everyone can just relax and talk, including the kids. So we sat, drank our lattes and relaxe
d while the sun w
as coming up. The birds were singing and flitting about - it was absolutely gorgeous and it's one of my favorite parts of summer. Once we had breakfast we decided to try out Sam's new alleycat and go for a bike ride. Sam loved being on a big boy bike behind his dad. 
Balin said it was a little weird and he had to pay attention to what he was doing so he didn't throw Sam off balance and off his bike. I loved watching Sam peddle and then rest, peddle, rest, rest, rest, rest. He ended up not really participating much in the bike ride but I think he enjoyed it none the less.
d while the sun w
as coming up. The birds were singing and flitting about - it was absolutely gorgeous and it's one of my favorite parts of summer. Once we had breakfast we decided to try out Sam's new alleycat and go for a bike ride. Sam loved being on a big boy bike behind his dad. 
Balin said it was a little weird and he had to pay attention to what he was doing so he didn't throw Sam off balance and off his bike. I loved watching Sam peddle and then rest, peddle, rest, rest, rest, rest. He ended up not really participating much in the bike ride but I think he enjoyed it none the less.From the bike ride we went to celebrate our friend's son Bodhi's first birthday. It was a special occasion as Bodhi's first year was a tough one. He was born with a sick little heart so early on had to have heart surgery and a pace maker inst
alled. Other than his size you wouldn't know that he had any medical issues as he's an active little one year old. His mom and dad, Neal and Noel, have become a wonderful part of our community. I see Neal on a regular basis as he's our Fed Ex man - it's pretty cool to know the people who bring you stuff every day. Noel is part of MOPS with me and both her and her husband were part of our Saturday 
nights. Our community that has come out of Saturday nights is kind of funny as it keeps growing and growing. That's one of the wonderful things about living in a small town - you're really only one person removed from knowing someone. Noel and Neal live up the street from her sister, Anna (who is another one of my good friends). At the birthday party I swear there were 5 sets of neighbors there all of whom they are good friends with. It's like the old days when everyone knew everyone on their block. I can remember as a kid growing up on the South Hill in Spokane and all my best friends were the kids on my street. We would play together for hours building forts, riding bikes, swimming. When it was time to come home my mom would just go outside and yell for us and someone would relay the message. It was great. Unfortunately too many of us don't even know our neighbors let alone have them over for dinner, me included. It has been nice to have my sister home as she lives just up the street. In fact, I think she's been over every day now for the last week and I like it. Having a close community of people who love and care for me has made Balin's absences seem not so bad. I'm looking forward to this week as I've got dinner dates, play dates and.....both Sam and Perrin are headed off to their first day of Preschool tomorrow. Check back tomorrow for pictures of their first day of school.
alled. Other than his size you wouldn't know that he had any medical issues as he's an active little one year old. His mom and dad, Neal and Noel, have become a wonderful part of our community. I see Neal on a regular basis as he's our Fed Ex man - it's pretty cool to know the people who bring you stuff every day. Noel is part of MOPS with me and both her and her husband were part of our Saturday 
nights. Our community that has come out of Saturday nights is kind of funny as it keeps growing and growing. That's one of the wonderful things about living in a small town - you're really only one person removed from knowing someone. Noel and Neal live up the street from her sister, Anna (who is another one of my good friends). At the birthday party I swear there were 5 sets of neighbors there all of whom they are good friends with. It's like the old days when everyone knew everyone on their block. I can remember as a kid growing up on the South Hill in Spokane and all my best friends were the kids on my street. We would play together for hours building forts, riding bikes, swimming. When it was time to come home my mom would just go outside and yell for us and someone would relay the message. It was great. Unfortunately too many of us don't even know our neighbors let alone have them over for dinner, me included. It has been nice to have my sister home as she lives just up the street. In fact, I think she's been over every day now for the last week and I like it. Having a close community of people who love and care for me has made Balin's absences seem not so bad. I'm looking forward to this week as I've got dinner dates, play dates and.....both Sam and Perrin are headed off to their first day of Preschool tomorrow. Check back tomorrow for pictures of their first day of school.
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