Fun in Julian

We took A-ma down to Julian this weekend for some good 'ol country experience! Here are some fun pictures of our Saturday... pretending to be "country folk" :)

First, we picked raspberries:






Then, we sluiced for gems and minerals :)

We also paid a token visit to the "Pumpkin Patch"...

Got caught in a "Sunflower shower"!



Finished off with 5 bags of deliciously fresh apples!

At lunch, Seth showed me how wobbly his two loose bottom teeth were getting... especially after eating all those apples. For Aunt Bethany's sake, I will not post those pictures :) All I have to say is, I'm very surprised they are still sitting in his mouth!!!

With a quick final stop in the Julian Pie Company, we headed home to make some baked apples or apple sauce or apple smoothies... well, you get the picture :)

Happy 9th Birthday, Buddy!!!

I cannot believe that I have a son that is 9 years old! In 9 more years, I will have a child in college... ahhhh!!! The time has gone so incredibly fast... but as "they" say, time flies when you are having fun :)

In addition to this week being Isaac's birthday week, he was also selected as the Star Student of the Week of his class. Mrs. Steiger identified him as the student that best characterizes the trait of carefulness. What a privilege for me to attend his special chapel on Wednesday!

We celebrated Isaac's birthday by having a picnic dinner in front of Dodger's 2nd play-off game!!! What a fun time to share with Grandpa, Aunt Bethany, Uncle Kevan, Ezekiel, Rebekah Jane, and A-ma (my mom... who flew in from Taiwan for the celebration just Wednesday!)!!! Isaac was also showered with love by all the phone calls and cards from all over the country (and outside of the country)!

Picking out a special birthday pencil in class!

Birthday dinner - baked chicken legs, fresh soft french bread, corn on the cob, mango, and watermelon!

Special biographies from Grandpa & Grandma

Dodger Rally Monkey from A-ma :) Sorry, Angel fans...

Isaac, I am so thankful that God gave you to our family as the first-born son! Our Almighty God has gifted you just right for being the first born. I love how you always want to do your best... in school, at home, and on the baseball field. I love watching you at church and how diligent you are taking notes during Pastor Mike's sermons and how hard you work at memorizing God's Word in AWANA. I know that we expect much from you and that you don't think that it is fair sometimes, but know that I pray you would know God's immense love for you through Mom and Dad's love and discipline of you. You are a precious gift that our Lord has given us and we do not dare to take our responsibility in raising you before the Cross lightly. May you feel loved and celebrated on this 9th birthday, Little Buddy! I love you, Isaac!!!

From the Mouths of Babes

If you place all your confidence as a person in your appearence or possessions, I would highly recommend not having children (or even hanging out with children) :)

Just last week, I picked up a fun little bracelet with the different color variations of coral, brown, dark and light mossy greens, and accented with larger stones of ivory, pink, and greens. I was all excited and wore it the next day with a nice coordinating outfit. In walked my children...

Seth: "Mom! Your new bracelet looks so dirty!!!"
Abby chimes in: " Yeah... it looks like you just fished it out of the ocean... it's so ugly!"
Isaac: "Look at that big rock, it looks like it has moss or that slimy stuff we have in our front yard."
Abby: "Well, I like the pink one. I think they painted it so that it would look pretty. Oh, and that little tiny green one that is all clean and pretty..."

Hmmmph... you gotta love their honesty! I still like the bracelet, although I may not wear it around children :)

Boys' Weekend

The BOYS had a fun adventure this last weekend!!! Matthew took Isaac and Seth out to Colorado to watch the Dodgers take on the Rockies at Coors Field. Isaac and Seth has been counting down to "Christmas" for the last few weeks :)

Ready to go???

LAX in the dark!

Friday morning at 4:45, we (all 5 blurry eyed Holbrooks) packed up the car and drove the boys out to LAX to catch their flight out to Denver! The boys couldn't have been more excited :) They were determined to not check any bags so that they are able to get on and off the plane quickly. So... Isaac and Seth both had huge backpacks filled with all of their stuff. They were SOOO BIG that (I was told) at the airport, Seth kept falling over :)

The boys not only got to see all three games - Friday through Sunday - they also got to see their favorite pitchers!!! On Friday night, Chad Billingsley led them to a 7 - 2 victory. Saturday night, Clayton Kershaw (the 20-year-old with the nasty curveball) secured the 5 - 1 win. Sunday afternoon, the veteran Greg Maddux drew the 0 - 1 loss in the 10th inning. Abby and I stayed home and watched parts of the games on TV and rooted for the Dodgers and looked for Daddy, Isaac and Seth... we never found them :(



Some of the highlights (according to Isaac and Seth) were:

1. Breakfast buffet at the hotel!!!

2. Tour at Coors Field on Saturday.

3. Saturday night's game - when they had high winds and rain!!!

4. Coming back from breakfast and seeing that all the beds were all made and perfect!

5. Having Bible Study and Church with Daddy.

6. Missing school on Friday and half of Monday :)

7. Dinner at the stadium (popcorn, lemonade, and ice cream... hmmm)


The only drama that the boys encountered was on the flight home. The flight was delayed for almost 2 hours. They sat on the runway the whole time, waiting for a hydraulic pump to be repaired. So, instead of getting picked up by Mom only, they got picked up by Mom, Ezekiel and Rebekah!!! What a fun surprise :)

Matthew, what a fun idea for you to take the boys on a little get-away! I know that the boys will always remember this cool trip with you and continue to label you as the "Fun Parent"! Thank you for putting things in perspective for me... especially when every Chinese bone in my body screams "NO!!! The kids should never miss school to have fun!!!". This experience is so much bigger than missing a little school... especially when they are not struggling to keep up with school work! I love that you always want to do fun things with the kids and that you seek to create memories with each one of them! You are the best, Babe!!! I am grateful that God has given you to our kids to be their father!

Thanks for a great weekend, Dad! We LOVED it!!!