The Fighter's

369. Fights with squirrels.  We have been at war!  I put bird seed out and this squirrel has amazingly wiggled and acrobatted himself to the feeder - hanging by claws from tree to feeder, hanging upside down on the feeder.  My bird seed was gone in three days.  War.  Those squirrels had shoes, barbies, ice cubes thrown at them.  Nothing worked - they taunted me - and eventually knocked the feeder down completely. Doug has the feeder back up in a different spot and so far no squirrels.  I like to think it's my ice cube/barbie aim keeping them away.   My neighbors probably think I'm crazy.

368. Backyard swinging.  And little girls smiles.

364. Our church sponsored a family night at one of the local Y's and the girls had a blast.  They love to swim and making them wait to get in so I could take this picture was torture for them.  But I just had to...:-) 365. My husband and the dad he is to our girls.  Future basketball player? 366. My brave girls who waited in line with big kids to go on the giant bounce house obstacle course.  They cracked me up at how brave they are - climbing, diving and sliding down the big giant slides with confidence.  Loved it! 367. Livvy Lou smiles - complimented by big brown eyes and toddler teeth.

362. New recipes.  It came out sort of squishy...but it tasted good and at least it looked pretty?  Right?  I don't think I let it set long enough...too anxious to eat it (and I procrastinated and made it too close to when it needed to be served). 363.  Meeting new friends.  As the girls have ventured into school we've met some of the parents - and realized that one of the couples live right behind us.  We're separated by a creek and lots of trees so had never made the connection before (the guys are working on thinking up bridge strategies) but we have so much fun with them.  Tonight we went over for pizza and got to meet her brother and sister in law who just moved to the neighborhood from Chicago.  The kids played well (6 under 6!), we kept the chaos to a minimum - and it's so nice to be able to go only 1/4 of a mile to hang out with great/fun people.  Love it!  

359. Fun days at preschool that tucker out this four year old on the ten minute car ride home.  Loved looking in my rear view mirror at her - and didn't want to wake her up when we got home...so sweet:-) 360. Mrs. Barb - Ava's piano teacher.  She is one of the kindest most patient teachers - so sweet with Ava.  So happy we found her.  Ava is loving the piano...practice is sometimes another thing.  All depends on her mood.  Some days she'll sit down and play by herself for 15/20 minutes (which I love:-))...other days it's like pulling teeth. So on those days if we do end up sitting down to practice we'll  literally do 3 minutes.  She's so young - I don't want to push and have her ending up hating it.  Sorry Tiger Mom.  She does love going back to play all of her old songs and is always so proud of herself as she's whisking through them - and I keep reminding her that when she first sat down to play them they were hard.  But with a little bit of prac

354. Toddlers. 355. Huge fast falling snowflakes and waking up to a surprise wonder winter land. 356. Morning bakers. 357. Sisters that actually get along all morning (rarely happen like this!). 358. Pumpkin muffins.

I love vacation - it is fantastic but...thankful for... 341. Home. 342. Hugs from my girls. 343. My own bed. 344. My mom and dad for watching the girls so we can get away.  I honestly am so incredibly thankful to them for this. 345. Routine. 346. Grocery shopping and hot chocolate with my girls. 347. Squeals coming from the backyard as the girls play outside. 348. "I love you Mom" and sweet hugs from Olivia. 349.  Ballet dancing while I stumble through songs on the piano. 350.  Ava snuggles. 351.  Fun, simple craft projects that help me organize (and snaz up) my spice shelf - for cheap! 352. Little helpers who double as ballerina's. 353. Sparkly shoes.

329. Morning coffee and reading with the hubs. 330. Belgian waffles. 331. Winter coats. 332. Strolling through an artful town, taking in artful homes.   Groezinger Winery, and once known as "Vintage 1870," built in 1870 by German born Groezinger.  It was one of the biggest facilities of the day and included  a brick winery, a brandy distillery, a steam power plant, creamery, brick stables and barns, and a two-story estate mansion.  It was in operation until 1955.  333. Church bells ringing through the air - singing familiar hymns as we walk through town. 334. The sound of my girls' voices.  Miss them so much! 335. Lunch at the Napa market. 336. Hope & Grace chardonnay. 337. Orange flowers.  I love the color orange. 338. Being with Doug. 339. Caramel macchiatos and vanilla bean frappes. 340. Going back home to the Midwest. 341. Snow capped mountains in the distance.

316. A good nights sleep and morning workout. 317. Homey bowl of oatmeal. 318. More beautiful scenery. 319. Windy mountain roads. 320. Viader (my favorite wine of the trip).   321. Winery stories. 322. Bees buzzing around Rosemary bushes. 323. Courtyards, sun and friends.  Love these 4! 324. Little reminders of my Grandma Julia who I so look forward to seeing again someday.  Not only was her name Julia but...I think I have heard stories about her liking this lady.  Would love to visit this kitchen/museum on our next trip - think I'm going to have to make it happen! 325.  Gott's roadside.  Different location this year - seriously...one of my favorite burgers/onion rings ever. 326. Robert Craig.  cheese. olive oil/rosemary grapes. friends. scenery.  sunsets. some of my favorite wine. Perfect Saturday night. 327. Barrel rooms decorated for dinner. 327. Flava beans! 328. Steak, brownies and water.