Being Home

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Tonight we went to see the construction progress on the San Francisco 49ers football stadium.

Last time we saw the field, they had just begun excavations. It’s amazing what they can build in a year’s time! The stadium is near our home and driving by in our new minivan and going to Chick-Fil-A for dinner tonight was the entertainment for the evening. We sat outside on the patio, enjoying the gorgeous, California weather. I appreciated not having to cook tonight, and more importantly, not having to do the dishes. It’s the little things that make me happy!

Home sweet home.

Baylands sunset

Good night, friends!

13Apr2013

Day 262: Sunshine

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

surprise spring flowers from my boys!

The sun was shining today and the sounds of sunshine were singing out loud! The windows were open, the kids went outside to play and light filled the house again. When you have cold, grey winters for so long, the sunshine is like a rare gift and its amazing how much happier everyone is.

I loved hearing and seeing kids playing outside. People were out walking their dogs and riding their bikes (not that they don’t do these activities in the rain!!)

I loved going for a run in the warm sun.

this is the 2 mile mark – love the clouds!

just about the 3 mile mark – dutch girls out playing field hockey!!

walking home for mile 4. loved the heron and watched him pose, lift his wings, and fly away.

And I loved BBQing dinner again and having dinner at home.

“Happiness is the new fancy.” – Jeff Hartley

Life is good.

blue skys and heron up high

23Dec2012

Day 151: Turning Off the Computer

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Today I told the kids to turn off the computers, and to read and play. This was a challenge, definitely, and took awhile to gain compliance. But look what happened instead, once I got them on board with my evil plan…

The boys got creative and decided to draw a city together on BIG paper.

They each read their books and Juliana worked on her humanities homework.

Jeff and I went for a run together and I wrapped presents.

The boys went outside for a nature walk and collected red, green, yellow and brown things. And after they dropped off their loot, they went back outside with a soccer ball and brought home a neighbor friend to play (video games!!). But hey, they were screen free all day until dinner time!!

We baked sugar cookies together and all had fun rolling out the dough and nibbling on the cookie dough. And Juliana spent more time decorating the cookies with her artistic touch.

Life is good…and Christmas is almost here. This is the most relaxing Christmas I’ve ever had… No stress, no shopping frenzy, no rushing, no pressure. I like this European way… Happy Christmas Eve, Eve. xo