First trip to the Flower Fields

J, Kate and I had a very relaxing weekend spending time together as a family. We have been pretty busy lately with trips, newspaper weekends and more trips. Rarely do we get the whole weekend just to relax.

On Saturday, we slept in a little and then went to Stagecoach Park, a nicely shaded, grassy area and playground a few miles from our house, for an impromptu picnic. Kate was kind enough to let us enjoy our lunch which doesn't happen very often; we tend to schedule our meals during her sleeping times. While we ate, she chewed away on a carrot and had a grand time playing with her food.

On Sunday, Grandma K and Auntie L came to visit and we took them to the beautiful Carlsbad Flower Fields. Every year, the Flower Fields grow hillsides of colorful ranuculus. Over the years, J has taken some beautiful pictures at the fields. We hoped to take Kate and get some fun pictures with her in the flowers. The weather wasn't as perfect as promised, overcast instead of beautiful SD blue skies, and Kate wasn't really in the mood to sit on the ground surrounded by flowers, but we still managed to get some great shots.

Kate and Mommy cuddling for a picture. Kate is really starting to learn to hug, cuddle and attempt to give kisses which are usually wet, open mouthed lunges at our faces.

A family picture at the Flower Fields.
We don't get to take many of these as Daddy usually prefers to be behind the camera.

Three generations of Dirksen girls; you can tell by the prominent Dirksen chin.
Sorry about that Kate. Hopefully, your chin will be all Ryan.

One of Kate's happier shots in the flowers.
They come in a variety of colors, but the orange was particularly vibrant this trip.

Our little Daisy. How cute is that? The cutout was a perfect Kate-size.

We love ladybugs, especially when they come in the mushroom variety.

Pay no attention to the mommy behind the toadstool.

All in all, we had a very lovely weekend filled with family and tons of pictures. J was up until the wee hours of the morning uploading a huge batch of pictures into our 6 month album from the last month or so. Featured in the group are: our trip to Phoenix, Kate's first time in the pool, more Flower Field pics, more picnic pics, Easter, a few of Kate's new tricks, and some cute pics from around the house. Hope you enjoy.