Enjoying the Quiet Moments

I've been enjoying some good bonding time lately with new friends. This past weekend I joined four women for dinner and conversation at Dos Rios. It was very lovely to actually sit on the patio after the heat wave we had the past few weeks, so we spent three hours out there! My jalepeno margarita never tasted so good :) Two of the women are pregnant, Emily with her fifth child and Susan with her fourth. Hmm, almost makes me feel lazy on the procreative side.... almost. I enjoyed gelato after dinner with the preggos, but am still wondering how it is that I ate more gelato than they did?!

Last night Mike and I hosted a potluck for the families of the Willowsong midwifery and gynecological clinic. I have enjoyed the women's circles I attend there for many years now, and have made some good friends. Many of us have been yearning for more family events so husbands and kids can get to know one another, too. We had about 40 people last night and it was very casual, and very lovely. There wasn't one person that I met last night that I wouldn't like to spend more time with. What a great community. I feel thankful every day for having found my way to this great group of people. Hoping the family potluck becomes a monthly routine.

My most enjoyable moments lately have been the quietest ones, spent at home, when we aren't rushing to or from an event, but are taking the time to just be home.

Gavin with his morning cup of chai, and Benj with his morning coffee with cream. No joke.

I'm too much of an animal lover to really love fishing. I always hope we won't catch anything :) This morning a couple mom friends came over and one of the kids caught a fish. I hate having to take the bloody hook out of their little mouths. We tried throwing this one back and it laid there for awhile on it's side. We were pretty sure it was a goner, and both the other mom and I were pretty sad. Finally it did get going, and I was relieved. Seriously, who fishes that responds like this?! I'm much more into throwing kernels of corn into the pond and watching the little fish fight over them :) Gavin likes this, too. We discovered today that the geese will actually come over to eat the corn, too. Ha, I'm sure our geese-hating neighbors love that we are feeding them now :)

The other morning I got up and looked out our kitchen window and saw this at 7am!

A little green heron perched on our railing. He was so fun to watch.

We have watched a falcon fish in our pond the last two mornings, which is so cool. It was a little nerve wracking, though, when it circled over our yard and got kind of close to Lucy a few times. I made her go in to save her from being falcon breakfast.