It has been a busy week. And now I am sitting in the midst of a mess, Dora toys, shoes and books fill our living room. I picked up my new bike (an early birthday present) this week, Matt and I had a fun ride to the park, and I realized how out of shape I am! Paige had her dance recital last night - it was great, she was so serious, so cute, and she had so much fun. We finished up the evening with an ice cream cone from Ben and Jerry's, I don't think there is a better treat than that. We are finishing up trim and such in the cottage, it's great to see progress, and it will be great for Josh and Lisa to live in peace. Tonight is our gathering and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, this should be a fun, hopefully relaxing week.

Holistic Living

Yes, we have been on this journey lately to become more educated, more conscious consumers and eaters.

So, I have learned . . .
- it is good to eat many, many, many, many vegetables and drink lots of water
- eat little meat (and when you do make sure that you buy the chicken that is 9.00/lb because you should eat free range organic grain fed chicken only)
- buy recycled toilet paper, because after you've crapped sandpaper feels great on your butt
- eat brown rice, not only is it good for you, but it's crunchy and our kids hate it
- don't take aspirin for that headache, drink water (yes, it may take 10-20 glasses but the headache will be gone, the only problem is you will still be up all night because you will have to pee 50 times)
- never use paper plates, paper napkins, or plastic ware, they are filling up our landfills! Invest in a good pair of rubber gloves because you will now be doing dishes for hours every night after the BBQ's are over
- only buy organic local fruits and vegetables, how dare you fill your body with anything that is genetically engineered. So, after Matt and I have spent 3 hours going to 4 different stores to get all of the healthiest, wholest foods possible we will have about 20 minutes left to go to the park before we need to get Paige from preschool
- start making your own compost, did you know that at least 30% of our waste can be composted? But no one told me that I would be given a chinese take-out container to pick out my own worms with my hands - yuck
- never microwave anything in plastic - it leaches into your food, and don't store your leftovers in plastic either
- and don't use those plastic bags in your kids lunches - more waste. So, send your kids to school with glass containers with lids, and make sure their water bottle is mark with one of these - Polypropylene, designated "#5 PP", High-density polyethylene, designated "#2HDPE", Low-density polyethylene, designated "#4 LDPE"
- oh and did I say that it's good to eat many, many, many, many vegetables and drink lots of water?

I could go on and on about what I have learned, but it's so overwhelming. I have to say that I took 2 tylenol this morning and my head felt better, and I just ate a drumstick and it tasted oh so good. Tomorrow I will drink my 100 oz. of water, and eat brocolli, and tofu, for now, I will worry about one thing at a time.

Life . . .

We had a wonderful and productive 3 day weekend. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the cottage (Josh and Lisa's place), and we have a great plan for our backyard. It will now be the execution of it all, where can we find a few spare days and dollars?

On Saturday, my mom and I took the kids to pick up some worms from the garden store. So, they hand us each a chinese take out box, and point us in the direction of the worm composter. We spend the next 30 minutes digging in dirt with our hands pulling worms out of the soil. I never thought that I would be doing that. The next day we went to a different nursery to get a box of pre-packaged worms (I didn't even have to touch them!), because we were far too short of our 1,000 worms to get started. So, now the worms are on their way of eating through our trash and in the next few months we should have some great soil.

It was great to see Mandy and Fez this weekend, and get to know them both better, and I can't wait to spend this weekend with Kelli. The weather has been beautiful, and summer is upon us. What a wonderful one it will be!

I Suck at this Blog Stuff

I just realized that it has been well over a month since I posted last. My new goal is to write at least one thing a week, maybe even more?!

So, here's a brief recap of the last month (a great and busy month):

Earth Day Fair - we ventured through Balboa Park as we learned more about becoming more earth conscious. Matt loves the Hari Christna's music. I was embarressed that the only Christians represented were in the protest area with gruesome images that you would never want your children to see.

Amy and Micah visited - we went to Legoland, and had a great time getting to know them both better.

We started our Circle of Abundance Group with Janell - we are slowly changing our eating habits for the better, and looking at food in contrast with our beliefs in all areas. It's amazing what you want to change when you look at living a more holistic life.

Jen visited - we saw the seals in La Jolla, introduced her to one of our favorite places (the San Diego Zoo), introduced her to some new foods, had some great talks.

Matt had his first big spill - I'm sure it won't be his last, but he climbed to the top of the ladder going up to his pirate ship fort and fell from the top (about 5 1/2 feet in the air). He landed on his head and my heart stopped, thankfully he is fine, just a few bumps and bruises.

Bought a worm composter - yes, our new pets will be worms, and they will hopefully provide us with some great soil for our garden that we are planning.

Went to a concert last night - the last Skratchline concert, we saw some great people we haven't seen in quite some time. I felt really old!

Well, that's the brief update. All is well in the Evans' household, and we are looking forward to the three day weekend.

Easter Sunday

Yesterday we celebebrated the Resurrection on the beach at Torrey Pines. It was beautiful. We woke the kids up early, and when I asked Paige to get dressed she said, "but mom it's the middle of the night." As we were driving I told Paige and Matt how lucky they are to get to go to an Easter Service where they get to play in the sand. As I was thinking back, I honestly don't have any distinct memories of any Easter morning service. I think it will be different for our kids - I hope.

This has become a tradition over the last five years. Waking up oh so early to start brewing coffee, and making our way to the beach to listen to the sound of the waves, see the sun rise, and remember that Christ has risen too. We enjoyed the company of many friends!

Yesterday afternoon was awesome too. We went up to my parents house as always, and many from our community joined us there too. The kids ran, and ran, and ran. They were so worn out that they fell asleep on the way home (about 5:30), and didn't really wake up until this morning. I was telling Jason how much I enjoyed the day, and how much I love Easter, I think it's my favorite holiday - it seems to be the least tainted.

Where does she come up with these things . . .

We were driving home from dance class yesterday afternoon, and Paige starts telling Matt and I about rock stars. She told us how the girl rock stars wear skull shirts, flower pants and sunglasses. And when they come on stage they do this (she put her hand on her hip and made a model like pose including a "serious" face), and then they sing, Mary had a Little Lamb, Little Lamb, Little Lamb . . . I honestly don't know who tells her these things.

Out of the mouths of babes

Jason had to work late tonight, so the kids and I sat down at the table for dinner. Paige offered to pray and her prayer went something like this . . . "dear Jesus, we pray that Reed would have a good day at school tomorrow, and that he would meet lots of new friends. Jesus come into our hearts, and make us smart and healthy. Be with Matt, Paige, Jason and Brooke. Amen." After she had finished I told her what a sweet prayer that was and she said to me "yeah, I'm the smartest pray-er."

So, we have been talking about putting a garden together in our backyard. Paige was really excited about the idea today, and she started naming off everything that she would plant - tomatos, strawberries, sunflowers, watermelon . . . Matt just wants to grow hot dogs.

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giving this a shot again