Our house

Amelia wanted to make lemonade the other day so we went on a walk down the street to see if we could find any lemons.  

                                  

We didn't find any ripe lemons, but plenty of sour oranges did the trick!

So, these pictures make me think of a post I wanted to do about our new house.  I don't have any pictures of the house, but maybe those will come.  Bottom line is I love our new house.  It is nothing grand and there are a million things I would do to it if I had lots of money.  But I love it here and every day it feels more and more perfect to me.  I love the big windows and abundant natural light.  I love the view from my bedroom window looking out over the natural open space and the majestic mountains.  I love the intense frog chorus at night and the chirping of birds (mockingbirds, sparrows, wrens, blue jays and doves, to name a few) during the day. 

I love that we can walk to the beach.  There are a couple of paths out to the beach.  The kids and I love to invite friends and walk along the big, wide path out by the slough.  We love to see the herons, egrets, hawks and swans.  We love to smell the wild fennel.  We love the eucalyptus groves on the bluffs overlooking the beach.  And we like to walk our stroller straight down the hill to the sand and let the kids play and go “efloring” (exploring) in the sand dunes.  We love to see the dolphins surfing the waves or jumping by the hundreds out by the oil-rigs.  We also like the other path out to the beach.  The one that goes behind the elementary school, through a eucalyptus grove, and through the very edge of the very edgy Isla Vista.  This route leads to a gorgeous beach walk on the bluff.  We like to watch the surfers and say hello to the goats.

I love walking to get our mail.  It always turns into a little sunny afternoon outing with the kids (the pictures above are on our walk to the mail, which is by the lemon tree).  We walk to the mailbox where they take turns trying to put in the key and get so excited over packages.  Then we walk down the sidewalk to the swings.  They swing to the top of the lemon tree squealing the whole time.  Then they get out and run to the orange tree to pick a few tart oranges which they take and eat in their secret hideout in the avocado tree.  They pick lavender flowers to put in my hair.  We sit there basking in the sun with orange peels at our feet and beauty all around and I pinch myself to make sure that I am not dreaming. 

I love our neighbors.  There are many young families with kids.  There are also tons of original owners.  A majority of the people we meet have lived her since these homes were built.  They all say they love it here and have just never wanted to leave.  Everyone is so friendly, and if you see someone walking around the neighborhood, you always say hi and introduce yourself because you know they are fellow “Storke Ranch Residents” and somehow that makes you feel friendly and bonded and I love that.

I love the pool and the hot tub and we find ourselves there all the time.  Amelia and William think the hot tub is their own personal kiddie pool!  We love spending our afternoons hanging out under the palm trees with friends (old and new) while lounging in the hot tub.  Once again, I pinch myself.

I love walking Andrew in to work.  It is some of our best time to connect and talk.  I love walking him in and letting the kids run around at the baseball field, ride the tractor, hit in the batting cages, and just be around dad at work.  Since he spends so much time at work, being so close physically makes me feel like we are still connected.  Oh, yes, he’s at work, but he’s just right over there.  That feels nice.

So yes, I’d like to paint the inside and outside of the house, I’d like to decorate and furnish, I’d like to add, swap, and change things, etc and etc and etc, but the bottom line is, I love this house.  I love it because of it’s location and all of the natural beauty it offers us.  And I love it because it feels like home.  

Amelia dancing with friends on our front porch

Tea party with dad in the backyard

Morning snuggles with Grandma