Fall Into Gardening

Our garden had been untouched for several months due to taking care of Chris's mom, traveling over the summer, and then being responsible residents during the drought (i.e., not irrigating). So this fall, after a few early rains, we decided it's time to amend our soil and get ready for what may (hopefully!) be an el nino winter.

Here is an early weekend morning rich 'amendment' soil delivery. 3 cubic yards. 

Chris made around 20 wheelbarrow loads over two days and lay it all over the garden beds. Then he will mix the new soil into the old and lay straw over it. 

Soon we'll plant kale, chard, beets, and garlic for the winter.  

A side project (during nap time, of course) was transplanting Chris's mom's succulents. 

She also had a bird bath we added to our succulent patch. 

(Pictures of the final scene will follow in another post.)

Cousin Kurt Gets Married!

My cousin Kurt got married last weekend to the lovely Lauren Koch. 

First, you'll see the wedding photos and then the Ventura beach time and rehearsal dinner.

Avery loved all the cousin time. He was busy all night long, playing hide-n-seek, eating several servings of cake, and taking photos in the photo booth.

We tried our hardest to get a decent family photo.

Zeal walked around the reception and made some friends by clapping at everyone.

All the siblings and sibling-in-laws (and ones to be!) Congrats to the newly engaged Peter and Katie!

(The aforementioned photo booth results.)

Two generations of Braunohler cousins!

Our celebrity shot: Kurt Braunohler with comedic partner, Kristen Schaal. 

Exploring Ventura.

Cuddling with Great Uncle Walter.

Our cousin, Erika Braunohler Engen.

Uncle Walter has some familiar Opa moves, like flipping upside down and "scragging".

Auntie Katie!

Zeal fell asleep in Marcia's arms.

Recent Find: Carl B. Over the Years

Organizing Chris's family home this summer, we came across a stack of school photos all in one frame. Thank goodness we 'de-framed' everything, or else we wouldn't have found these. 

Here, in basic order, are pictures of Chris's big brother, Carl Burnhardt Hanson (1970-1995).

It's special seeing resemblances to Avery and Zeal in these photographs. 

We see Avery's eye shape, especially.

And of course, the adorable brothers library shot.