the last of our california adventure

well we've been mighty busy the last few days. we helped my poppo pack up and move out of his house. my aunts were going thru, sorting, and packing everything. mucho kuddos to them! ben ran around the farm and got himself so dirty! he was a black footed baby for 2 days in a row. he helped grandad clean out the shop, so you can imagine what kind of dirt he found. the really sticky grungy dirty kind! :) he loved it!

we also ran around alot once kelli got here. it was great to have another person to play with!

these are dirty toes after being wiped down. they were just stained black, it only came off after a good long soak!


sleepy boys. he's learning the art of "the recliner".


horsey ridin' aunt kelli & watching cartoons! life couldn't be any better than this!


the sisters 3.

the adventure continues...day 5

we had a fun play day today complete with horsey rides, bubbles & backyard runs. my aunt judy & poppo came over for dinner and then we all sat outside and enjoyed dessert in the perfect evening weather. aunt kelli gets in tomorrow and we're excited to see her!

ben's new favorite game-granddaddy horsey rides


after the horsey ride was over & grandad was exhausted, ben decided he was gonna try.


he was being wild and climbing all over me. we'd both just gotten up from a nap so i suppose he was extra excited to see me and he chose to show that by kicking my face.


climbed up onto poppo's lap just so he could get the cane.
ahhh...the mind of a one-year old boy!


strawberries & ice cream for dessert on the patio MMM! MMM! MMM!
he asked for seconds on this course of dinner.

the adventure continues...day 4

whew! to make up for yesterday we had an all day excursion to the coast. we hit half moon bay all the way up to sausalito with many stops along the way. the biggest issue we faced wasn't the hours in the car, it was the fact that i forgot to pack the stroller and i didn't realize it until we were almost there. thankfully california has a babies r us & starbucks on every street corner! it was quite the ordeal. we waited for service for about 20 minutes because the only umbrella strollers they had out were pink. and then when i found a lady to ask about other strollers, she just didn't understand that i needed another color...even though she saw ben! anyways, we ended up with a lime green one. which you will see we proudly displayed for all of california & its tourists to see.

ben modeling in front of the golden gate bridge for the next california tourism magazine. he'll so be the cover boy!


me & the little sis trying to match up to ben...but just not quite as cute.


there's 3 generations of cooks...and the feathery hair blowing wildly in the wind to prove it


cheesy smiling ben. i think he may be a little embarrassed of his bright green-ness. oh well :)


the boys representing.

this is how california does the beach...cliffs, seaspray & dark sand. gorgeous!


and at the end of it all...pure tiredness. goodnight he says!

the adventure continues...day 3

a very uneventful day today. the highlight was ben & i went to starbucks and hung out together for a bit. we enjoyed a mid-morning snack.

our california adventure continued...day 2

well it was another busy day out west. we ran and chased and played hard. we visited a local drive-in and had some milkshakes and burgers. ben is quite the milkshake monster. then we headed to a local park. it was gorgeous. today was a perfect 77 degrees with a light breeze. it was 3:30 in the afternoon and yet felt like it was 10 in the morning. the trees were blowing gently in the wind and the river that runs through the park quietly whispered its way over the rocks. *sigh* it was heaven...then i realized that ben was on his way up the playground and i snapped back to reality. lol don't worry we all took a walk after dinner with ben contained in the stroller so we could all enjoy the evening. :) here are some pieces of our day...

on our way to the playground...the excitement was almost too much to handle!


the bridge was a little tricky. so he decided to test it out by crawling across. he didn't know to walk across it until later after he watched his play buddy.


ben & his grandaddy. this is what ben will look like when he is a grandpa...down to the matching shoes & hair!


ben & his play buddy logan-aka ben followed this little guy around

adventures with the california cooks

we got into cali last night at about 9pm (pdt) that's midnight our time! but we made it...only one little incident on the plane. we thankfully had an open seat on our row and some room for ben to move. thanks to those of you who said a little prayer for us! we've already adjusted to cali time and doing good. ben has been on full blast since he woke up this morning, but the grandparents are enjoying him in all his busy glory. here are some pics from today.

here we are picking apricots of the tree in the backyard *sigh* only in california




this is ben after he discovered how to climb onto the bed by himself. pure joy!


ben doing it how it was meant to be done...naked as a jay-bird!


an evening swim with grammie.
well, more like a skinny dip-we hadn't gotten swim diapers yet


me & ben doing what we do...he runs & i chase


my life is full!

adventures at the salon

we took ben in july-before the trip to cali-for his 1st official haircut!

the scissors were tickling his face...no he wasn't screaming for dear life.

ben decided he was gonna help and spray his hair with the water bottle.


daddy got his haircut too! those are 2 sharp looking ruckel men!

family picture adventures

aunt kristin & uncle oakley came up for the weekend. we were suppose to go to the beach...and that didn't happen. we were suppose to go to fireworks...and that didn't happen. so we didn't do much on the 4th this year, but we did get some family pictures taken! that was an adventure for sure...with 4 kids 6 & under plus a newborn, the sun, the grass, a scratch on the pinky finger, papa steve & the neck brace, a box of sweetarts, mosquitoes...etc, etc, etc! here are just a few of the pictures...

photos: charity mack

classic...after the pinky injury


this is double trouble...make that DOUBLE TROUBLE!


all the Ruckel grandkids


my sweet little boy


the whole Ruckel crew


our little Ruckel family


check out all of the pictures

adventures as a 'tiny turtle'

we got ben signed up for swim lessons at the ymca. it's a parent/child class so i go and swim with him. they Y calls it their 'tiny turtles' class. indeed they are tiny turtles! so desperately wanting the freedom to swim and yet barely poking their heads our at times. priceless!

the point is mainly to get them used to the water and what to do in the water. we've learned lots of new versions of nursery rhymes to sing while we play in the pool. it's been great so far. he loves floating on the giant duck kickboard and watching all the other goings-on of the pool. he's starting to stick his face in the water when i ask him to blow bubbles. most times his mouth is open and he just sucks in a ton of water, but it's still funny. i love it because the class is small (only 5 kids total) and the pool is a warm salt water pool. so i don't leave feeling like i need to cleanse my lungs of chlorine or like we didn't get any individual time. plus, i'll know what and how to work with ben the rest of the summer in our own pool.

we got a pool safety fence last week (thank you dear nanny). and i must say my anxiety has gone way down. ben loves to run around the deck and now i can let him do that without my heart being in my throat. it brings so much peace that i didn't even realize i need. we'll be putting up our big shade sail this week so the deck won't be too hot on little baby toes. soon the backyard will be baby friendly :)