~ The Cowden Family ~

A Boy & his Dog

Jonah LOVES dogs. He certainly got his fill in CA. The sheltie is my parents' dog, Dexter. Such a sweet doggie.

These are my friend Christy's dogs. They got all the hugs.

I go back & forth on the pet thing. Would the boys love the dogs too much? Hmm... we may never know. :)

Oh DEER!

If you look closely, you'll see a mama deer just around the corner of the shed, where AJ & M are standing. I love how they're all just peering at each other!

Every day we would see this mama deer & her baby walking around my parents' neighborhood.

Still has spots - SO cute.

Fun in the Sun! (or the shade - whatever)

My college roomie - Greta! She & her husband (we were all friends at Ricks) happened to be in San Fransisco on a business trip. They were SO sweet to rent a car one day & meet us in Petaluma so we could play. Haven't seen her since my wedding! (that's too long!)

Greta & Kean - still the lovebirds! :) After getting out of San Fransisco & up to Petaluma, Greta said that was the first they'd seen of the sun since arriving in California. Glad to help out!

I LOVE this picture of Greta! Such a good, fun-loving friend! I miss her. And I miss our midnight brownie-cookin' chat sessions.

We met at Lucchesi ("loo-casey") Park in Petaluma. So of course there was fun to be had on the playground. Love this teeter-totter pic! ...see-saw, teeter-totter. What do they call it now'a'days?

Immediately following Dad's retirement from the Coast Guard many years ago, we lived in Petaluma, just down the street from this park. We played soccer & softball here, & our old elementary school is right across the street. I love a trip down memory lane. Got to see a childhood home & a college roommate. It was a good day!

A Trip to the Redwoods!

Merrik (4) & Jonah (6) - Aww, brothers. So cute! My lil' babies...

* giggles *

M in a small grove of redwoods.

This pic is dedicated to Mom & Rach!!
This tree is about 2 miles from my parents' house. My mom has a photo - circa 1986 - of Rach & me in the same pose in front of this same tree. Mom loves this picture (even though we look like a couple'a ragamuffins) & she displays it proudly at home. I thought of her when I had the boys pose for this photo opp! :)
Love you, Mom! You & Dad really do live in a beautiful part of the country! XOXO!

Sand Art

(watch out - here comes a wave!)

Just Add Water!!

Our visit to CHICO, California!! There was this really cool fountain downtown. (right after we got some very delicious ice cream!) Oh yeah - it's definitely summer!

Jonah always wants to be buried in the sand. This time it was compliments of Alice's daughter, Kelsey & her BFF, Kelsey!
(I was thinking of these two lil' BFF's & thought - OH that's funny, they're best friends & have the same name...! Then I thought - oh wait - me & Alice ... Alli & Ali. HaHa!)

~ I love this photo w/ Jonah & the river rocks! ~

Ali, Alli & Rach - chillin' at the river!

Chico - Day 2: river bound again! Here's our crew at Alice's house - ready to hop in the car again.

Maybe you could hear my Tarzan yell from way over there! This rope swing was awesome!

And Alice backpacked Jonah in (& out) w/ his broken foot... :)

Ali, Rach & Alli going for a swim! It was SO hot & that river felt SO good!

This was at Feather River, where Rach & I realized we'd visited as kids while Dad was working in the area. Cool! :)

THANK YOU ALICE for hosting us this summer! I'm so glad my kids got to know you & your kids. We LOVED seeing you! ~ XOXO!

Horsin' Around!

This pic should be at the bottom but this was on the way home from the Pioneer Day celebration. I thought the moon over the mountains as seen from the valley was beautiful. Willits, CA is such a pretty area!