Juicy fun in Julian

On Saturday, we took advantage of an amazing offer: MJ Ranch in Julian opened its gates one last day for Homeschooling families from Calvary Chapel Christian Academy! We couldn't resist because we've been talking about driving up to this beautiful mountain town lately (we go every year for apple pie), and who can refuse bags of delectable farm-fresh fruit??? We had so much fun, even in the heat. This will be a new Powell family tradition!

Free Samples!

The wonderful woman who owns MJ Ranch told us about all of the types of apples and pears and where to find each one (it was a bit confusing with 650 trees on 10 acres!). She told us to eat as much as we wanted while we were picking because the whole orchard is pesticide free! It was so fun to brush off the dust and eat the fruit, without worrying about washing anything. This made our time extra-fun for the kids, who couldn't stop talking about how delicious everything was. Titus suggested coming EVERY Saturday. :)

Thank you, MJ Ranch!

One of the best parts of our day was picking fruit for Calvary Chapel's feeding ministry. Every Wednesday night our church feeds around 164 homeless families in town. The owners of MJ Ranch donated a free bag of fruit to the ministry for every bag of fruit we bought. So, after we were done filling our own bags, we were blessed to fill bags for others not so fortunate. The kids thought that was pretty cool.

Wynola Pizza

Tired and hungry from hours of fruit picking, we all opted to try this pizza place a few miles out of Julian, that someone recommended. It was delicious!! Everybody loved it.

The long drive home

Driving home from Julian never goes as quickly as the drive there. But, thanks to our DVD player, the kids always have a movie. This is new to Sullivan, who just turned around in her big girl seat recently. She's enjoying Home On the Range while Levi is seriously trying to decide if he is. :) The boys in the way-back laughed all the way home.

The fruits of our labor

We had no idea this much fruit was in 3 little bags! Pretty impressive huh? I think we ended up with mostly Jonathan and Red Delicious apples (SO much better than the ones in the store) and Bartlett, Bosc and Seckel pears. Our favorite are the Seckel, which are the most prized small pear. They are very sweet and spicy - almost like they have cinnamon in them. They're like candy, and the boys are crazy about them. This looks like a lot of fruit, but after I make some crunchy caramel apple pies and we dig into these pears, it won't be long before it's gone.

16 Months!!!

Sullivan is such an amazing gift from the Lord. She makes us laugh daily, and every second of our 16 months with her has been a joy. I love to observe her and enjoy how she continues to grow and change. I got a kick out of watching her interact with this doll that was mine when I was little. She's a Vogue doll that was made in the 60's (no, I am not that old) when dolls were so much prettier. Anyways, Sulli loved playing with her...


... gave dollie a "what-for"...



... talked sweetly to her...



... and tried to pull sweet dollie's eyelashes out! (She does that to me too.)


I wonder what she will get into...


She loves these Curious George books from Cheryl!

The Karate Kid

Titus is our newest rising karate star! He has joined Zane at Sunridge Christian Karate, and has just earned his white belt by performing acts of courtesy. From now on, he will earn stripes and new belts by memorizing scripture and learning his kenpo karate moves. He is VERY EXCITED, the kid who is always at the front of the line, and he always raises his hand to answer questions - even the ones he doesn't know the answers to! Zane, our blue belt, is the opposite; he usually goes to the back of the line to really contemplate what he is going to do, and he does it with great precision. He always knows his verses and is doing so well. They are opposites, but they are both passionate about this sport.

A Bright Weekend!!

Will's sister Cindy, her husband Scott and their two kids (the Bright family) came all the way from Colorado to spend the weekend with us. It was so much fun to just visit over dinners and stay up late catching up. On this particular evening, we made fish tacos and margaritas. Maybe that's why Will is wearing a kippah.... or a fedora... oh, a TORTILLA on his head! Little Sulli ate (actually, just shredded napkins) at our table and thought it was hysterical.

Kids' table

Zane, Titus and Levi loved having their cousins Devaney and Chase here. They all got along so splendidly! How we wish we at least lived in the same state since we only get together once - maybe twice - a year.

Toffee Fudge Cake

As you can see, Cousin Devaney is turning 9 in a few days!! How fun that we get to celebrate her birthday with her! I was thrilled that she requested "angel cake or something chocolate." We don't do "angel cake" in this house... isn't that diet cake? So, I opted for one of my favorite to make and to eat. OK, making it usually makes me scream since I ALWAYS get the toffee wrong at least once. It took 2 tries this time. But it's so worth the time and effort, especially for someone as sweet as my niece. She actually told me this was the best cake she's EVER had!! Is that sweet, or what??

Devaney's beachy birthday

On Saturday we headed to the beach at Carlsbad. Devaney really wanted to go to the beach for her birthday, and we all thought that was a perfect idea! It was a partly cloudy, cool day and the water was cold (way too cold for me), but we all had a wonderful time! We stayed until the kids were too tired and cold to stay any longer.

I like this pic of my hubby.

Some of my favorite beach time was just strolling with my littlest punkin.

Buried Treasure!!