September...

Troy and I started this new thing we call adventure Mondays! We both have Monday's off so we decided that we need to 'be young and have fun' (as Troy says) and explore SoCal a bit more. Some days are more chill than others. On one of our more exploratory trips was down to Long Beach- we found electric boats and decided we needed to invite friends and have a party! Below are our pics from the party that followed.

Good times on the Electric boats! We got to captain our own but they only went 5mph. The picture above doesn't begin to capture how pretty that evening was.

New friends of ours- Samantha and Dan. They both just moved to Pasadena to be a part of serving in ministry here.

Brent & Danielle with Troy

Our friend and neighbor Gilma. She is getting married soon and asked me to help her prepare for the big event!

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Our front porch. This is where I like to sit and read and say hi to the people who pass by.

Troy and I in his studio - the headphones were just for effect.

The men - Dan, Troy and Brent. I never see guys sitting 3 on a couch- I think this is why their arms are crossed.

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Below are wedding pictures from this weekend. We went to a beautiful wedding of a good friend of ours- Troy was a groomsmen.

Check out the menu- 8 courses! It was super good and FANCY!

There was a full band that played throughout a good portion of the reception. Troy is on keys here.

Us with the bride and groom (Stephanie & Andrew). She had a few dress changes and this is at 11pm - they were still going strong and Troy and I were about ready to fall over! It was a very fun and very long day.

Our Road Trip to Oregon!

Garden Veggies Gone Crazy!

I thought my garden was doing well here. But look at it now! This is amazing! I did not expect it to do so well and produce as much food as it has already!  If you want any zucchini bread let me know- I am quickly becoming an expert with finding new ways to use all this food. My new favorite thing is to give it away to neighbors and friends. I think I could take care of the veggie needs of the 6 homes on our little street! well, almost. :) 

 

Beside me are green beans and snap peas which are almost as out of control as the zucchini on the other side of me.  

I have a new appreciation for sunflowers! They are so beautiful, they cover the ugly fence behind them (making it look kind of artsy in the pic, I think), and they grow like weeds!  

Here is a more full picture of what's happening . In the foreground are potatoes and carrots which have been experimental. Behind them in the same row are bell peppers and behind that are my bean poles. The other set contain cucumber, tomatoes, yellow squash and zucchini. And to be over the top I planted pumpkins in the very back which take over the rest of the ground by the sunflowers. 

Food of the day. I pick about this much every few days. If you have any good recipes I would be happy to try them. This is my first garden ever and it has been a fun hobby. At the same time I am still fascinated that all you have to do is stick a seed in the ground and water it and you have something to eat. I think I am going to help people start gardens in my area so they can save some money and have some good food too- maybe we will have a community garden one day! I love that idea! 

July Photos

The last month has had some serious fire pit time. No it is not environmentally friendly. However, it does make Troy very happy to be able to burn stuff! I just figure I have to plant more trees and keep composting to even it out.  Below is one of our latest fire pit parties! We BBQd for the 4th of July and then went to see fireworks at the  Rose Bowl. 

Ty & Genny with us after the fireworks. Our friend Sherman was in town- he is obviously the deep thinker in the group. :)  

So photogenic we are!  

This pic was on 7-11 free slurpee day! We did a picture scavenger hunt with the youth at our church and then hit 7-11 to refuel. 

Our youth work day. We are cleaning and designing a room for the youth to call their own. Apparently only the youth worked. 

My Garden!

I have been all pumped to have a garden this year.  Troy thinks that I am becoming a hippie. What can I say, growing plants and hanging my clothes on the line makes me happy!  I have picked 6 zucchini's in the last week and I am about to learn how to make some bread. We are going to have veggies comin' out our ears soon- I am so excited! 

We made a little video the other night and I just made it small enough to load.  Hope you enjoy it! 

Life in Photos!

Since we have not posted in a while I figured I would show some of the fun happenings of our life in random order.  We have been keeping busy over the last several months! Enjoy the photos! 

Lesley after the wedding! She was so excited yet so calm through the whole day! And she looked so beautiful! We are so happy for her and our new brother Ryan! It was a day to celebrate!

Lesley and Ryan after the wedding. Wahoo! Time to get to Disneyworld!  

Our niece Campbell with Grandpa H and her Daddy, Jeff. She is so beautiful! They were communicating via gurgle. (By the way, Sarah- we have video of this for you guys!) 

Troy and Campbell jammed on the piano! She is totally going to be in the family band!

Tyson graduated from Cal State Fullerton with his Masters in Athletic Training! We are so excited for him and looking forward to his investment in the 'Troy Welstad investment fund for Athletic Trainers'! 

What a happy family!

 

Me and some friends from church went to Lake Arrowhead for the weekend. It was relaxing and we were serious nature lovers- which made me miss Oregon (of course). 

A unicorn snowshoeing under the moon! 

Troy and I stayed with some friends at a beach house and this picture was in our room. I think it's in the top 5 weirdest art pieces I have ever seen! 

Hangin' out at our good friend Wendy's wedding! 

Tyson and Maddie being cute at the beach! 

Troy and I on our mini-moon! Our anniversary was in March so we went camping in Santa Barbara for the night. 

Troy setting up the camp fire on our trip to Santa Barbara! He has since decided that we need to have a fire pit- bringing the wilderness camp fire to our backyard!...And giving him the opportunity to be a pyro while hanging out with our friends. :)  

Wendy and Bryan on their wedding day! So fun to celebrate with them! 

My thoughts for Today

I have been reading a great book lately called, 'The Tangible Kingdom'. It has really made me process what I do for work and what God is asking me to do with my life.  I continue to spend a lot of time with my neighbors.  It really takes a lot of time and effort and trust and love to get out of my comfortable space. But I REALLY want my neighbors to know Jesus- to have hope in their life, to know they have value, to know they are not alone in their journey.

A few days ago my boss came back from Sudan. He told me that they are so hungry for God there- they have nothing and they just sat and listened to him teach for hours.  Then they would not leave because they wanted more.  There is that same need for God here and I want Him to awaken my friends to it.  So, I am attempting to join God in what He's doing right outside my house.  Today I spent time with one of my neighbors who is getting married. She invited me to go look at churches with her- which I was happy to do.  Later, I went to another neighbors to visit with her and she was so excited that I came. She speaks little English so she is excited that I would be willing to come help her practice.  And now she wants me to learn Chinese and go with her to Taiwan. :0  

Troy is in Virginia doing a recording for a few days. I love my musician husband! 

A long break...

A lot has happened since our last post to the blog. Rather than fill in all the detials we threw up some pictures in rapid fire. Enjoy!

Madison had her 1st Birthday!! 

We swapped our bedroom and Troy's studio. We are both pretty happy with the switch. 

Troy bought a new Rhodes piano for his studio room. 

We went to the Rose Parade just down the street from our place on New Year's Day

My brother Tyson gave his girlfriend Genny a promise ring for Christmas! 

Troy got Mario Cart for Christmas!

We hung out with our family

My friend Amanda found out she is expecting!

 

Kyle and Christina shared that they are going to have a baby! (This is a Christmas day photo- we are opening presents- bed head is part of the tradition of Christmas morning :) 

We met our niece Campbell and got to spend lots of time loving her! 

We hung out with our 2 favorite nieces!! 

We survived 'The Arctic Blast' snow and ice storm in Oregon

We had an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. By the way, these are all my mom's sweaters in this picture and 2 of them won for most ugly.  

Lesley got engaged and we went to visit her fiancé's family!  

Now I realize why we haven't posted in so long! We are back to home and work and regular life but one thing is really different (besides having a new President!). Troy decided not to tour this year so he is home and working on a few different projects.  We hope to keep up with life and filling you in as the months continue.  

Oh, and Happy New Year!