Michele Alfred Enters the 21st Century!

Yes, it is true. I have finally succumbed to that age old motivator-GUILT! I know that for many of you, my efforts to "keep in touch" have been feeble at best. And for those who I am getting to know for the first time or again, time always seems to be a mitigating factor. But no more! I have seen the light and am now going to attempt to be a regular blogger. I hope to keep everyone on both sides of the Pacific Ocean up to date with everything that is happening in our family. Adam and Luke have so many cute things that they say each day that I also wanted to be sure to capture that somewhere for future use.

Currently the Alfred family is residing in Lake Isabella CA. The weather this past week has been in one word- HOT! Today it has cooled down to the low 90's(or about 33C for those of you in Australia!) I think someone told me that it got to about 113F(45C) in Bakersfield on Tues or Wed.

Adam and Luke are really enjoying summer as it means that they can go swimming everyday after school. They are also enjoying their preschool- Little Red School House. It is amazing the amount of things they learn there. Luke is attempting to read. He takes a book to bed every night and I can hear him sounding out words, sometimes singing them, before he finally drops off to sleep. Adam enjoys eating- I believe he things about food 24/7. As soon as he wakes in the morning, he immediately tells us he is starving and wants his breakfast. His favourite food for breakfast is wait for it- porridge. Yes that is right. He loves a big bowl of porridge with a little milk. He will usually consume that and then maybe take a snack for the ride to Bakersfield. I also have to have snacks in the car for the afternoon- I have made the mistake of not having any and he will cry and tell me that he is starving. I am not really sure where he puts it all because he has not an ounce of fat on his body but I am sure he is storing it all up for a massive growth spurt!

As for myself, I am enjoying my job as Senior Accountant at Norris School District. The commute is a killer- but on the whole, I can't complain. I have been able to go on some nice little mini vacations- (1) to Disneyland for the boys 4th birthday and (2) to Santa Cruz with my sister and her family and another family. Of course the Santa Cruz trip also involved a stop at some great outlet stores. For those who know me, that probably rates higher on my scale of personal happiness that most anything else. There is nothing like a bargain! And this outlet center had a Childrens Place outlet- nirvana!

Lake Isabella area is also in the midst of a large forest fire. Fortunately for us the fire is still relatively distant. But the boys absolutely love the helicopters that fly over the house at regular intervals- they are convinced that they are transformer helicopters and that when they go behind the mountain, they transform into a robot. They also have a little cottontail bunny that likes to sit on the lawn and nibble the grass. Most often, the bunny will be there in the morning and the boys will watch it through the front window. They also love to go out and check the mailbox. That is the first thought on their mind in the morning and the last task before bedtime. They probably check that mailbox at least 6-12 times a day. It's a big deal and they don't seem to mind that for the most part there is nothing there- but when there is, the excitement more than makes up for past disappointment! I am not a postal career is in the future but certainly, I never need to remember whether anyone has collected the mail for the day- just one less thing to worry about!.

Baptisms, births and birthdays will be included in my future blogs- of which I promise there will be many and be regularly updated! My mid years resolution. That's all for now!