We're OFF!

We leave today for Cabo until January 6th so don't expect updates before then. I'll be sure to post soon after we get back though so maybe you will all want to come with us next time!

Kids' Stories

Thank you to all of you who did a recording of yourselves reading books for the kids. So far we've gotten them from Aunts, Uncles, Great-Aunts, Great-Uncles, Cousins, Great-Grandparents and Friends. There is still time to get a recording done and included in the final copy. If any of the rest of you would like, I can visit with my video recorder and get the copy digitally too. We've still got some promised to be coming from other Aunts, Uncles, Cousins (and HOPEFULLY GRANDPARENTS, ahem) so this should be a great gift for them to keep forever. I will try to post some highlights when I receive the entire set. Thanks again to those of you who've already done it and keep 'em coming!

San Diego Zoo Lights

On Saturday we too the trek down to San Diego in the afternoon to see the lights at the zoo. There were all sorts of neat Christmas light displays and we got to ride the tour bus and skytram, had dinner, saw a bell choir, watched ice sculpting, and saw LOADS of animals. It was neat to be there that time of night because several animals (like the big cats) who are normally docile during the day were up and about in the evening. The tiger in particular was very vocal and the hippos were swimming laps around their pool. We renewed our membership so whenever you all come to visit, be sure to take the trip down there with us. It's a great way to spend the day (or night!).

Christmas with Nana

At some point on Christmas morning we headed over to Nana's house to visit with her, Grandpa, Great-grandma Tanyon, Great-grandpa Tanyon, Uncle Brian, Uncle Dennis, Aunt Nancy, Cousins Kyle, Jessica & Catie. Although I didn't get any shots of gift-opening (those were all taken with Grandpa's camera) here's some highlights of the rest of our day:

Good Morning

We had a fun Christmas Morning and hope you all did as well. Here's some highlights from ours.

Merry Christmas Ya'll

Hope your stockings, hearts, and glasses are full~

Cookies for Santa

We had a very cute experience tonight, leaving cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and water for the reindeer. My sweetheart wrote out a little note for the big guy in red while her brother stood watch over the cookies so that Daddy didn't swoop in and snatch one. Although her letters aren't exactly perfect yet, she did the whole note without Mommy helping one bit (well, except to spell most of the words of course). Both kiddos signed their names, with the little one needing some help, and we left them on the coffee table by the fireplace. This is definitely one for the scrapbook.

Be Careful What You Wish For

The other day I was thinking to myself 'this toy room is a pig sty, I can't wait for the kids to be old enough to clean it themselves'. I wished at the time that the room was clean so that I wouldn't have to deal with it. So you can imagine how surprised I was to find it neat and tidy the following morning after the kids had been playing and I was doing the dishes in the kitchen nearby. I was very happy with them and about to praise them for their job well done when it hit me....something was missing. In fact, a LOT was missing....
They had taken the majority of their toys from the floor of the toy room and put them on the landing in the middle of our upstairs staircase. You see, the staircase has many stairs and they resemble seats to a toddler...much like a bus has many seats. So the kids were "taking the bus" and needed to bring everything with them on their trip. I was speechless. The stairs were impassable without cleaning up the mess as it was somewhere in the vacinity of 3 feet high of toys. If only I could get them the direct this energy toward something productive - I could be a millionaire.

Visiting family

We went up on the train to visit with our family this last Friday and had a very fun time riding with the kids on the train. We didn't have long to visit but enjoy seeing them when we can. The kids really love their Aunt & Uncle and got to open their Christmas presents early which always scores some good points. They got some great books read to them on digital copy and each got an occupational set. Our little girl is now practicing to be a doctor (seen here with her patient, Aunt Goldie) and our little guy has his own contractor tools and belt to hold them like his daddy. They both loved their gifts (as did we) and look forward to getting to see their Aunt & Uncle again soon.

Happy Birfday

Today is Gran-pa's 55th birfday so his little sweetheart wanted to share this with him:

HAPPY BIRFDAY GRANDPA!

Trimming the Tree

We spent the afternoon and evening last night decorating our Christmas tree. The kids were all excited about helping out. Our little ballerina kept dancing around it like she was putting on some kind of arbor serenade. The highlight for her though was getting to put the Jesus star on top. Sharing the tree trimming duties with the kids is one of my favorite traditions. What a wonderful way to celebrate the season.

Snowflake Craft

We have a playdate today to make these fun snowflakes that are easy and pretty when done. All you need is paper, scizzors and a stapler (with staples of course).

1: take your paper and cut it into a square (size is irrelevant). You will ultimately need six of these squares so either do it all up front or as you go.

2: fold the square into half, making a triangle.

3: fold the triangle into half, making a smaller triangle.

4: cut the 5-6 slits into the triangle, starting from the single fold side, stopping the slit about 1" from the double fold side.
5: unfold the triangle and it should look something like this:
6: Take the outermost strips from both sides and fold them over, stapling them together at their outermost points.
7: Take the next outermost points and fold them over on the OTHER SIDE, stapling them together at their outermost points. Repeat alternating with remaining strips, leaving center diamond in tact.

8: Do steps #1-7 five more times then staple them together at the center and outermost strips to make your snowflake!Thanks Nana for the great idea!

December?

You wouldn't believe it was really December by the looks of these pictures, but last weekend we had an amazing trip, canoeing/kayaking down the Colorado river. One of our friends, Brendan, had the idea so he went with us and we had a great time. Thanks for the idea bud~

Wrapping it Up

Daddy gave me some time to finish up a little client work last weekend when he showed the kiddos how to wrap Christmas presents. His little girl helped by getting the boxes and tags, her brother was in charge of bows and tissue,And daddy? Well, he was in charge of making the rest of the mess! So here's my disclaimer folks, Mommy didn't wrap those presents so cut the kids some slack.

Happy Thanksgiving

Some food for thought (since you all will most likely have plenty of the other kind):

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

"Some people complain because God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns." ~Author Unknown

Kids Christmas List

It's that time of year again, when I get multiple emails and phone calls asking what the kids (and we) would like for Christmas. It has been an ongoing effort to convince people that we prefer their company and time to presents. I completely understand that for many people, the time is much harder to part with though. So here's my idea for a Christmas gift for the kids that they will enjoy and keep forever:

You've got 30 days before Christmas. This shouldn't take you long at all. Go to your favorite book store, library or thrift shop and find your favorite children's book. Get a tape, CD or DVD and record yourself reading the book to the kids. You could do this with a video camera, tape recorder, computer, or whatever. I can convert any media you get the reading onto so that the kids will be able to have it forever. If you would like, you can include the book with the media as part of the gift but the media itself (audio and/or video) is the truly valuable part of the idea. I would like to make a compilation of as many various friends and family reading stories to them as possible. Ultimately I would like to put them all onto a single disc for the kids to keep. Perhaps someday you'll be reading it to their grandkids!

Thankful

Today I am thankful to God for all of the amazing blessings we have received. Tomorrow we will be spending the day with our family in California and missing our family in Oregon. We are truly blessed to have so many people who care about us. We have a nice house to live in that is located in a beautiful place where few people could make ends meet. We and our kids are healthy and happy. When things go wrong we are able to sort them out and deal with them. We have several good friends to spend fun times with. When people refer to the "good 'ol days", this must be what they are talking about. Thank you Lord, a million times over for our wonderful gifts.

It's a zoo in there

Today I specifically planned to stay home and do NOTHING...well, not nothing, but rather, nothing that wasn't kid oriented. So we started the day by cleaning the toy room and vacuuming so that we could spend the rest of the morning playing with their toys together. We built a lincoln log tower, played with their baby dolls, made some make-believe brunch in their pots & pans, but the highlight of the mornings was building a zoo out of megablocks:
They just soak in the time that I can devote entirely to them and not to running errands or cleaning things or dealing with a client. I love days when all I have to do is be a mom. Being a mom is the BEST.

Thankful

Today (and every day) I am trying to be thankful for the things I hate. For example, I am thankful for stinky diapers because they come from my happy healthy baby. I am also thankful for the wrinkles under my eyes because they came from the many sleepless nights I have had helping my babies become the beautiful, confident people they are today. I am (sigh) thankful that I miss my husband while he is away at work because it makes me look forward to him coming home at night and means I still love him more than life itself. Here's a cute little verse I found about being thankful for those hateful things:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,

because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

Thankful

Today we are having a playdate with some friends at our house to make advent wreaths for all of our kiddos. Therefore I am thankful today for many things:
-That we have a home where we can host friends
-That we have friends who feel welcome in our home
-That my kids play well with others so friends are willing to come back
-That I have a kennel for our dog so that she doesn't bark at our friends when they come over (bless her heart, she has become quite the mama dog to my little ones)

Thankful

This week I am planning getting a swine flu - excuse me - H1N1 shot for my kiddos and (knock on wood) I am thankful that they have thus far avoided any contact with this nasty virus. I recently did some research on the internet about it and I am also thankful for what a great resource the internet has become. With me getting a million different mixed comments about the innoculation, I didn't know whether to get it for them or not. If you haven't looked into it, do your own research online (Center for Disease Control is a great resource) and you'll have an easier time deciding.

Thankful

Today I posted a bit about my newfound soap discoveries and it reminded me how thankful I am for reconnecting with all of those long lost friends from the past. I truly am blessed to have so many people to lean on.

Homemade Soaps

I recently reconnected with several old friends on Facebook. One of them, a lady who was a grade ahead of me in high school, introduced me to the amazing world of homemade soaps (Thanks Mary!). I'm not referring to the bar kind (which she does do but I'm not that devoted). What I have made for myself is dishwasher detergent, laundry soap, a soap to replace my 409 and soap to replace my Comet. Not only was it very easy but they work great and it saves loads on the cost of normal soaps. Here's how they're made:

1) Dishwashing Detergent : equal parts of Borax, Washing Soda & Cascade (additional hint: White vinegar works better than Jet Dry in your rinse cycle valve).
2) 409 : Mix 1t Borax + 2T white vinegar + 1c hot water then shake. Pour this into a 32 oz spray bottle and add water until it's about to the fill line. Add 1/8c Dawn dishwashing detergent and allow it to diffuse on it's own (don't shake).
3) Comet : Put 4 parts baking soda + 1 part borax into a shaker.
4) Laundry Soap: (This one's a little more involved) grate up a bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap, melt it into a pot with 4 cups boiling water. Fill a 5 gallon pail halfway with hot tap water, add melted soap, 1c washing soda, and 1/2c borax. Stir til dissolved. Fill bucket rest of the way with hot tap water. Cover with lid and allow to set overnight. In the morning, stir and fill a clean laundry container half full with soap- fill the rest of the way with water. This makes A LOT of soap - I'm talking 6 months worth!

I've also heard you can make a Windex replacement out of equal parts rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, and water but haven't tried that one yet. I hope you try at least one of these soaps out. The Comet replacement and dishwasher soap are the easiest so try those first if you're not sure whether it's for you. I LOVE THEM and may never use storebrand soaps again.

Thankful

Today is my birthday so I am thankful for being able to grow old....which is what I am.

Thankful

I am thankful today that our good friends Sarah and Wally have moved closer to us. We are looking forward to taking the train down to see their new house and celebrating another Wally Day!

Thankful

Yesterday I got to take the kiddos for a walk around one of the local lakes and they were good as gold. I am thankful for the times when they mind their manners. It helps me deal with the times (like right now) when they are being absolute MONSTERS and think back telling myself "this too shall pass".

What to Make

This is a super easy recipe for sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are NOT YAMS. In this house, yam is a very bad word. I eat them because I know they are good for me but it is like torture to make the other three eat them. Sweet potatoes are a little more subtle tasting, WAY less pungent, and in my opinion, more versitile to cook with. This one's easy:

Slice up some peeled sweet potatoes into small strips. Sprinkle on some salt & pepper then a very little bit of cayenne & paprika. Cook them on an oiled cookie sheet for 20 minutes (they will shrink significantly). Flip them over, sprinkle garlic on them, and cook for another 20 minutes. That's IT! The kiddos might not eat them if you put the paprika and cayenne on them but then again, that means more for you so measure accordingly!

Thankful

Today I am posting a recipe for sweet potatoes. I am thankful for two things related to this:
1 - That my family puts up with being my guinnee pigs when it comes to recipes and will try almost anything once.

2 - That I have the time and means to test out pretty much any recipe that I find that sounds interesting. I love to cook and am also thankful to my Dad for instilling in me a curiosity in the kitchen.

Thankful

Today my grandma Pearl turns 93 and I am so thankful for having her influence in my life as I grew up and now for her being a great-grandparent to my kids.

Thankful

I am thankful today for my adorable kiddos. From the "Mommy I lub yew"s to their playing ring around the rosies or mixing up S for F in their ABC song so it became an infinate verse ("QRFGHIJKLMNOPQRFG...") and singing take me out to the ball game with gusto - albeit with several missing verses and a few random karaoke tangents about potties and peanuts and crackerjacks ...they are a comedy show all by themselves. I'm saving up all of these thankful moments for when they become teenagers.
.

Thankful

Today is the baby shower for my friend and I am thankful that she is almost done with her pregnancy and thankful that so far things have worked out well for her and her beautiful family.

Big News

My little sweetheart made the front page of the local newspaper! Remember that auction I mentioned earlier this week? Well they got a picture of her with the painting that grandpa bought for her. She was so excited!

Thankful

Today is Friday the 13th, so I am thinking about superstitions and fate and God, etc. Today I am thankful that every time in our lives that it seems things have taken a turn for the worst or something seems to be unfortunate happening that makes us take a certain path, it has always worked out for us and I am thankful for the guiding hand the keeps us safe.

Thankful

Today the kids spent the afternoon with Grandma & Grandpa Tanyon. I am so thankful for their health and feel very blessed that my children will have memories of FIVE of their great-grandparents.

Thankful

Today is Veteran's Day. So today I am thankful for my dad, who is a veteran, and all others who are serving (or have served) in the military.

Thankful

Now that we've successfully eradicated all of the Halloween candy from the house I am thankful for our beautiful weather lately that lets us get out and play tennis and golf and hike to work off some of those snickers bars.

Thankful

With Christmas fast approaching, my kiddos are already looking forward to the big day and asking all sorts of questions about Santa and chimneys and reindeer, etc. One of the most recent revelations by my daughter was that Santa might not know that we are going to be spending Christmas here, in California, rather than Oregon as we have all other Christmases. So as a solution, she wrote her "letter" to Santa (really, it was just a page full of individual letters, but she's 3 so cut her some slack) requesting three items in her stocking and informing him of where we will be staying. Of course, not to be out done, her brother had to put pen to paper too. If you thought her letter was illegible though, his will surely need translation. I am so so very very thankful for getting to be a part of these magical moments for both of them.

Thankful

My husband is being great this evening and watching the kids so that I can have a night out with the ladies. So today I am thankful for good friends and our good times together.

Going Once - Going Twice...

Tonight was the annual Rotary auction and we found a few things that we could use and won them and then...well, there were a couple we found that we didn't necessarily need. All I can say is that the party will be at our house next summer.... We got this 24 foot Sun Chaser pontoon boat and a...vending machine? Yes, you read that right. A VENDING machine...maybe sales from the vending machine will pay for the boat...Oh well, it's all for charity I suppose. I'm glad at least that the money went to a good cause. We definitely did our piece for the cause. Support your local Rotarians - they are an under-appreciated group who are worth every penny and minute that you donate to them.

Thankful

I was thinking today how much I miss my sister and I suppose in a round-about way, it makes me thankful. I am thankful for having her at all, even if it has to be only a few times a year and by phone.

Thankful

Today is Friday and I am looking forward to spending time with my husband this weekend so I am thankful today for how hard he works and the things he sacrifices every day so that we have easier lives.

Five whole years!

~Congratulations Chris & Lyss~

Thankful

We are having a playdate at our house today so I am thankful for the mom's group up here on the mountain so that my kids have friends who live close enough for playdates at home.

Thankful

I missed my kiddos all day Monday and Tuesday while I was in tax class so today I am thankful that I get to stay home with them and not drive in traffic an hour each way for work like I used to.

Thankful

I am finishing my two-day class in taxes today so today I am thankful that the kids' grandparents live so close that they are able to help us out when we need it.

Thankful

My hubby is gone fishing in Laughlin so I am thankful today for our great dog that protects the house while we sleep.

Thankful

Since it's the season for being thankful, I've decided I will write something for every day until Thanksgiving that I am thankful for.

Today I am recovering from Halloween night so I am thankful that my fridge is tall enough to keep the overflow of candy out of my kiddos reach.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween - California style

Halloween Pre-Party

Yesterday, the kiddos and I went to a Halloween party playdate. There was pumpkin carving, hot cocoa, apple cider, treats, they played games like hot potato, hide & seek, bean bag toss,
and feed the animals,
and had a fun time playing with friends. This was a great way to get them all hyped up for Halloween tomorrow…oh, and let Mom & Dad get some well earned sleep. When it comes to putting the kids to bed easily – playdates ROCK!

Patriotism

I came across some quotes on patriotism that I found particularly thought provoking today and thought I would share them:

The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. ~Mark Twain

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. ~Mark Twain

If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. ~Samuel Adams

I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice. ~Fredrich August von Hayek, Nobel Laureate of Economic Sciences 1974 (you know, back when they gave them for doing something of value)

Our Budding Barber

Daddy & our little man needed their heads shaved and who better to do it than our 3-year-old...okay, probably lots of people, but none of them would have appreciated the opportunity nearly as much. Lucky for Daddy, Mommy was there to clean up the job once his daughter was done with him!

Ooey Gooey Fun

The kids relished their pumpkin carving experience this year. Both picked out their own faces and our oldest even helped to carve hers (thanks to a kid-friendly carver). Both had silly faces when they took their first handful of pumpkin guts but were excited to get to clean out their own jack-o-lanterns. Daddy did a great job helping them out.The final products were great and they were so excited about their masterpieces that it was all I could do to get the kiddos back in the house once they were lit.

Enjoying Fall

The colors in the trees around here are just amazing right now. Here's a shot of what the lake looks like on our walks:
We were so inspired by the nice weather and beautiful scenery that we drove the jeep out into the forest a few days ago in the evening for a small hike and took the little barbecue to make tacos when we got back to the car. It was kind of a campfire, without the fire (which we're not allowed to make here right now). Apparently our little guy wasn't as impressed by the scenery as we were. He took the opportunity to sleep in the backpack the whole time :)

Take a Hike

The kids requested last week that we go for a walk in the forest and along the way each picked out a "walking stick". My little girl's stick was barely tall enough to reach her waistline and my little man's stick was twice his height. I felt like I was in a remake of "The Three Bears". Then my little acrobat decided that she would show off her balancing skills. I'm not sure if it was our recent trip to the circus that inspired her or if she was showing off for her little brother but who needs fancy gymnastics classes when we have everything we need right here?

What to Make

The fall season always gets me in the mood for baking. This is good for the smell of my house but not so much for my waistline! Here's a really simple tart recipe that you can use to make mini-tarts in a mini muffin pan or spread out in a large tart pan. Either way you can fill it with whatever you wish (I suggest either pudding or apples with crumble topping).

Start with a cube of butter, add about 1/2 (3 oz) a cube cream cheese and a cup of flour. Mix, refrigerate for an hour, press into the pan and bake at 45o until lightly browned. This is a very versatile recipe that I got with my pampered chef mini muffin pan and have used to make yummy bite sized apple tarts - perfect for a fall dessert.

Almost a TEEN!

Happy 12th Birthday to my sweet niece, Meg. Soak it in honey, because next year you'll be a teen and then expected to grow up and all that nasty stuff. Take advantage of being a "kid" as long as possible. I love you very much.

Dress Rehearsal

The kids have been admiring their costumes in the closet for quite some time now, so last week I let them do a little dress rehearsal of their outfits, you know, just to make sure they fit right of course!

My little man will be Clifford, the big red dog (thanks M for the hand-me-down):And my little princess is going to be...well, ....a princess. Cinderella to be specific:
It looks like the costumes fit!

Why buy the ___ when the ___ is free?

No, not milk & cows....I'm talking about green onions! I'm sure you read my post from yesterday and know by now that I grow my own green onions (aka chives), but did you know that you can do it for super cheap and SUPER easy? Here's what you do:

Buy a bunch of green onions from your local grocery store (stay with me here), use what you want of the tops for potatoes or salads or whatever and then when all that is left is about an inch of green above the bulb, bury it somewhere so that the greens are all that stick up from the ground. Water regularly. As anyone who knows me already knows, I HATE to water things and in fact, am worthless without my sprinkler system (with the few exceptions of plants on my deck that stare at me every morning). So I just put my chive bulbs in a small planter and plopped it down in the middle of my vinca (which is already on sprinkler timers) and VOILA! I bought ONE bunch of chives last spring and have not had to buy another since. They grow back super fast so you always have a plentiful supply and we should know because we use them on everything. I just go out and harvest some with scizzors any time a recipe calls for them and it regrows itself for the next recipe. Why buy chives when the ones in your garden are free?

What to Make

I'm always looking for a new way to make chicken and this time I found it in the most unexpected place: My husband.

We were gone for a week to Oregon and he was forced to fend for himself for dinner and to my surprise, he went online and searched for chicken marinade recipes and made the following one from things we usually already have around the house(so easy a daddy could do it - haha):

Mix together sliced ginger (he used powdered), minced garlic (we have it jarred), the juice of one lemon (we keep it in a bottle), brown sugar (he used the last of the bag and didn't tell me), olive oil (he used the last of my bottle & didn't tell me), soy sauce (he used the last of the bottle and didn't tell me) and sliced green onion (from my garden - YAY!). Just mix all of that together and let it sit on the chicken for about 4 hours or overnight then grill.

So when I made it the week we got back, because he claimed it was the "best chicken I ever had", I had to go out and buy all of the ingredients because we were out of brown sugar, soy sauce, olive oil, fresh garlic, and fresh lemons, but I have to say, it really was spectacular. I chopped up some vegis and skewered it with the chicken for some shish-ka-bobs that were uber-yum.

Cabo Wabo

WOOO HOOO!

I can't wait! Looking forward to having my "TOES" in the sand!

Spooktacular Dancing

The kids got a singing witch a couple of years ago for Halloween and it has become an annual event that when we take her out of storage to decorate for the season, the rest of the day (read: week) is spent listening to "Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun". Although my little man wasn't quite sure about this witch, he decided that she was nice and offered her his pumpkin (however fleetingly). This year my little ballerina was in rare form:

Falling all around us

Just before we left last month, the kids, hubby and I went for a walk in the neighboring national forest. Unfortunately, we wound up leaving shortly thereafter and I never got a chance to post the pictures. So here goes:

Just around the Bend

We spent several days while we were up North, visiting with friends and tromping around in our old stomping ground. While we were there, we stayed in a Yurt the first night, then in a cabin the other nights. Both were new experiences for all of us.

The highlight for me was the hike we took out the the spot where my sweetheart proposed to me. To mark the spot by the river, he took a huge rock and shoved it down into a split tree. Over the last seven years, the tree has grown around the rock and has, in fact, crushed it in half. The rock is so stuck now that there is no way that it will ever come out without chopping all or part of the tree down. What an amazing reminder.

The highlight for our little guy was the first time he peed, standing up, in the forest. I am sure it was a much more exciting experience than using the training toilet that mommy has for him at home.

Here's photos of some of our highlights:

So much for staying home!

Well, I thought we'd try to stay home until Halloween, but as usual, fate had other plans for us. Great-Grandma & Grandpa Tanyon have been planning on going out to Oceanside to camp in their RV for a while now and finally got time this weekend to go out. Well, we had promised to go out and visit them when they went, so Saturday morning bright and early we headed to the train station and spent the weekend with them, playing in the sand. The kids had a great time and it was a nice relaxing break for hubby and I as well.
Our little darling girl said that her favorite part of the weekend was playing with Great-Grandma in the waves (which apparently, she is no longer afraid of) but both our little guy's and my favorite part of the weekend was building sandcastles and getting dirty. I have to say though, if I had gotten as dirty as he did, it probably wouldn't have been my favorite part anymore.