Bump Set Spike!

My oldest niece is learning to play basketball and getting used to making her kneepads meet wood. She's got all of the spunk you'd expect from a girl her age and she shows lots of potential play varsity when she gets into high school.

Here's a shot of her follow-through after whaling on the ball to serve it (they aren't allowed to underhand it anymore so they're all learning to serve overhand):Here she is in action, diving and to return a serve:Of course, at this age, the best reward for their win is getting to load up on insanity-invoking candy after the game:

What to Make

Since Fall is just around the corner, I thought a yummy pumpkin spice bread would set the mood for the upcoming season. Now, when I call it "bread", I'm not sure it fits the exact definition of bread, but whatever it is, it's good. I mostly got this recipe from a friend (thanks SG) but then adjusted it to fit what I have in my pantry. It is SUPER SIMPLE. You need a can (29 oz) of smashed pumpkin, two cake mixes (I used one spice & one chocolate), 2/3 cup of water and a few handfulls of dried fruit (I used blueberries). Mix all four things together and bake at 375 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This recipe makes a BIG batch (4 mini loafs and two trays of mini muffins), but it also freezes well so I just tossed all the loafs into the freezer to eat in October....or probably sooner since they're so good.

I was told that you could frost them for those with a sweet tooth (which I have), but my kiddos gobble them up just as they are out of the oven, as does my husband, as do I. The chocolate makes it taste like you're totally cheating when really you're getting loads of good stuff in them.

Where Does the Time Go?

Not only has my little man learned to ride his tricycle, but recently, while camping, I was witness to the following series of events (click on it and it's clearer):
She's getting SO big.

Remember

I watched this first one with my little girl this morning and it still brings tears to my eyes.

6 Year Anniversary

Another Good Reminder

A Visit with Mr Cheese

To beat the heat, we recently enjoyed a lunch at the air conditioned home of Mr Charles Edmund Cheese (known as Chuck E. to his friends). The kids not only got to share their lunch hour (or two) with some friends who joined us there, but also got to play lots of games: Ride on lots of rides:Climb around in the play structure:And also at the end of it all they got some nifty prizes:The highlight for mommy, however, was watching the kids play skeeball. My little man couldn't catch a break trying to share balls with the girls so he figured out where he could get some of his own....
I found myself muttering out loud "Who's kid is that? someone should be watching him..." They're kids, so whatta ya gunna do? I'm sure he wasn't the first one ever to climb up there in search of where the balls were going. Thanks Mr Cheese for a fun afternoon.

Forces of Nature

It's kind of a family tradition that we spend Labor Day weekend (or the weekend after) at Silver Lake up in Northern California. This year was no exception. Here's a picture of our campsite the day we got there. Notice that there are two tents. The blue one is the one we were sleeping in and the red one is the one that we had the kiddos toys set up in so that they had a cleanish safeish place to play.
We got there late Wednesday night and everything went smoothly until Friday night when we had a bit of a hard time sleeping due to the tent flapping in the wind. Undeterred, we spent all of Saturday fishing on the lake and were served a hard lesson by mother nature Saturday night. At some point around 1 AM we decided to switch tents because the red tent was made of a less noisy material. We uprooted the kids and all bedding and headed to the red tent. At about 2 AM I could take it no longer and got up having not slept for the previous few hours and needing to use the facilities. I was shocked by what I found. The majority of our campsite had been carried by the wind into the neighboring bushes and campsites. I spent a while searching for our items and battoning down the hatches. After about an hour of picking up and leaning into the wind, hubby came out to meet me and we agreed to move the kids (and ourselves) into great-grandma & great-grandpa's RV.
Here's a shot of what our red tent looked like with 200+ pounds of hubby & kids in it plus another 200+ pounds of firewood (used to hold down the corners inside).
Here's a shot of what happened to our blue tent after we got out of it. Keep in mind that there was still 100+ pounds of firewood (in the hopes of the tent not blowing away) and all four of our bags full of clothes and shoes and other miscellaneous items. It was blown in the air several feet along the bushes.
I guess we should have paid attention when mother nature tried to warn us on Friday night that winds are coming.

Pros & Cons

Labor Day was spent mostly unpacking from our camping trip and washing then waxing all of the cars. We were done in good time and Daddy had the great idea to go out into the national forest and barbeque our dinner. This is one of the pros of living literally across the street from the national forest. We can do things like that on a whim and since it was late on Labor Day, most of the flatlanders had gone home already. We only saw a few hunters looking for dove on our way out there.Unfortunately, the con of the plan is that they don't let you have campfires up here due to the threat of wildfires. SO we packed up the hibachi, some burger fixin's and marshmellos then headed to the trees. All things considered, it was worth not having the campfire though. The kids got REAL dirty (which is good for them), we spent a bunch of time together (which is always good), and we got to do "going - going - gone" while watching the sun go down.

What to Make

First, for those of you who like sushi, but think plain 'ol rolls are kinda bland, buy some premade California or tuna rolls (like the ones Costco sells), take a frying pan and heat it up with a small layer of vegetable oil on the bottom. Dip your rolls into a mixture of breadcrumbs or cornmeal with seasonings (any will do), then set in the oil very shortly just to brown the breaded side of the roll. Voila, you get the texture and taste of a crunchy roll without the calories, cost or time taken to make them. It makes rolls that are merely "good" taste "great".

Second, I did a twist on a previously posted recipe. I took gingersnaps and put them in a food processor with mixed nuts (I used almonds & cashews) and a VERY little bit of margerine, just enough to make it crumbly. I processed the mixture then put it into oven safe dishes, smashed onto the bottom and lower edges. Then I cooked it at 350 for 15 minutes. Finally, remove it from the oven and add sliced fruit (I used banana) and fat free chocolate pudding. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

SD Weekend

I convinced Hubby to take us on the train last weekend to San Diego to visit Uncle Brendan and go to the Del Mar Racetrack. We had a great time. The kids loved riding the train and it was way less stress for us than driving. We got to go out to lunch, ride the double-decker bus, got pretty much the best seats in the house (Thanks uncle B), then spent the evening on the beach, playing in the waves. The next day we got up and rode home with a layover in Oceanside so we rented a 5-person cart and wheeled around the harbor for a bit and hung out at the pier. What a fun way to spend time together.

Okay, yes, I AM procrastinating. I don't usually read the newspaper but was on the train with nothing to do last weekend and found the comics in a newspaper someone left behind. I haven't read them in a while and this one gave me a chuckle. I think having a toddler who loves bubbles and one still in diapers made it all the more funny for me.

Standing Guard

This is a warning to all of you stupid ground squirrels who feel the need to eat my watermelon plants, basil, strawberries, beans, pansies, etc etc.... My garden is not your salad bar. I saw one of your buddies today gettin' into my roses for his meal and fed him a lead after dinner mint. One shot suckers. I'm watchin' so stay off of my garden!

Family portraits

Every year for our anniversary we go down to the local portrait studio and have a family picture taken. Since the kids have gotten older we don't do a monthly picture of them anymore so this is also a good excuse to get recent shots of them as well. As it turns out this year, we have been so busy all summer that we didn't get around to having the pictures taken until over a month later. Early in August we got our sitting appointment and went down to experience our annual "Kids-can't-smile-simultaneously-and-mom's-pulling-her-hair-out-while-Daddy's-rolling-his-eyes-and-asking-are-we-done-yet" event. It went rather smoothly this year (relatively to the angry badger den that was two years ago) and the pictures were good enough to buy. Of course, my favorites are of the kids by themselves. They can't seem to take a bad picture at this age.The photographer had an elmo toy that my little man was all fired up about for his picture and can you tell my little girl wants to be a princess?

A day with the girlz

Daddy was great and watched the kiddos while I got to take a 4 hour train up north last Friday night to visit with a couple girlfriends. We played some games, scrapbooked, went to a farmers' market, went out to sushi, went line dancing, and all-in-all had a very fun time. Then I turned around and took the same train back Sunday. We got lots of things done and had a chance to relax among friends. Not bad for just over a day spent away. Now my batteries have been refreshed again. It's perfect timing too because we're trying to work on this potty training thing and it's taking a lot of energy :)

Another week gone by

It's amazing how the time is flying these days. We have been so busy this summer that it seems like I'm just barely blinking and now it's almost over. Last weekend was another fun one. Hubby & I joined several friends at the river for a 6 hour raft barge trip. Here's a couple highlights:
1) The theme was patriotism so we encouraged all such things accordingly
2) It was really nice to see some friends that we haven't seen in a while3) It was hot and several people got burned, but the cool water kept us happy
4) Probably the biggest highlight however, was feeding a herd of wild burros
Another memorable weekend in a very memorable summer. Thanks Nana & Grandpa for watching the kiddos so we could take some time together. We had a great time.

New Hogan Reservoir

We had a great time last weekend, about an hour east of Stockton. Both my siblings joined us with family/friends in tow. There's a reservoir there that apparently nobody else has gotten the memo about because it was beautiful and the water is warm and there were virtually no other boats (or people) on the water at all. We got to camp right by the lake too, which was pretty neat. Shhh - keep it a secret - it's too good to let the public catch wind of.

Decorating fun

Last week it was Nana & Grandpa's anniversary and since they were gone on vacation we thought we'd decorate the house for them to see when they got home. The kids had a fun time throwing white flower petals all over the floor, wrapping presents and adding tinsel to make things sparkle. Their favorite part I think was getting to test the jordan almonds for edibility.

35 Years?!?!

Congratulations Nana & Grandpa on your anniversary.
We hope you're having a fun time in Mexico.
Here's to 35 more!

License Plate

We were driving down the hill this morning on our way to run a couple errands and meet up with friends when I noticed that the car in front of us had personalized license plates which read:

"KAT LADI"

I am bummed that I didn't get a picture of it and all I could think was that I'm guessing she doesn't get hit on in rush hour traffic.

Monkeying Around

We had a fun time earlier this week visiting the animals in San Diego. We were there from lunch time until closing so we got to see the animals at their more active times, around dusk, which is neat. If any of you live in the area and are contemplating going, do it. The later summer hours are nice for beating the heat, the new elephant exhibit is very cool and there were really no crowds to speak of while we were there. Here's some highlights:

Shake it Baby!

We did an easy and fun craft today that I thought those of you with kids might like to try. All the supplies that you need are:
-empty, dry water bottle
-paper
-crayons
-tape
-glue
-rice or popcorn or beans or marbles (or any other pebbles)

1)Cut the paper into 4X11 (printer paper folded lengthwise)
2)Have your little darlings color the paper with crayons
3)Tape the paper around the outside of the water bottle
4)Fill the bottle with rice/popcorn/beans, etc.
5)Glue around the inside of the bottle cap and screw it on tightly to the bottle
6)Give it to your little one, turn on some music and watch your little one shake it!

Lake Isabella

We went up to Central Cali for the weekend to visit some friends and had a great time in the 107 degree weather. How you ask? Well, we had the river to play in on Saturday (where hubby limited out on trout) and the lake to play in on Sunday. What a great weekend and TOTALLY worth the drive. I wish all of these friends lived closer to us so we could do these kinds of weekends a little more often.

Our Day with the Stars

Since both of her sisters got to go to a theme park while they were here (Hurricane Harbor & Sea World), I figured it would only be fair to take my niece to one while she visits this summer too. She likes movies so we decided Universal Studios would be best. Last Thursday afternoon we took the metrolink up to Moorpark and stayed with family then got up early Friday morning and spent the better part of the day at the park. Her favorite part of the day was the fancy breakfast buffet we went to at the Hilton and her second favorite part was the Simpson's ride (which I have to admit, was pretty cool). We had a bit of a falling out after she trusted me and got onto the Jurassic Park ride and proceeded to be scared out of her wits until the ride was over though. Oh well, you take the good with the bad I guess. I knew better than to take her on the Mummy ride after that (not that I could have gotten her on it if I wanted to). Overall, a fun day with the stars in Hollywood.

A Night Under the Big Top

Ringling Bros & company came to Anaheim this week and we drove down to check them out. Nana & Grandpa joined and we all had a very fun time. Here's some quick highlights:

Hair's to you!

My niece is visiting for the summer and we have had quite a heat wave. Add to that, she gets loads of knots in her hair and whines like a wounded cat when I try to brush them out and all signs point to needing a haircut! She's got quite a challenge when it comes to hair because her Mom's hair is straight and Dad's side gave her curls, so she's got straight hair growing on top of the curls. What to do? We didn't want to lose length but needed the volume reduced. Layering seemed the obvious choice and the added benefit is that her natural curls (jealous) show up much better now. Here's the before & after shots:

It's Easy Bein' Green

I've been trying to get around to refinishing the toy room for quite some time now. I made some curtains, painted the trim and cabinets a couple weeks ago, refinished a kids' chair, and bought a full-sized chair and shelves to refinish. Today I finally got around to working on the shelves (after seeing the complete destruction that is the toy room right now). After sanding it for a bit with belt sander (insert Tim Taylor grunt here), I invited the kids to help me paint it. Of course, it didn't turn out nearly as neat as it could have if I did it myself, but every time I see an imperfection in the paint job, I will remember the fun time we had painting together.

Gettin' dirty

We had fun last weekend when we went camping with some friends at a local campground. Daddy made some carne asada, the kids played some impromptu t-ball, we went for hikes, spent most of Saturday on the lake, had a couple campfires, roasted s'mores (apparently two syllables for all of us non-grammar types) and in the meantime, got really REALLY dirty. It was a incentive to wash the bathtub Sunday after we got home, unpacked, and saw for ourselves how very dirty we really were. As everybody knows though, lots of dirt means lots of fun!
PS~Thanks -J- for the pics

My 30ish Sis

Happy birthday old lady! Your daughter made you a birthday stack of cookies since we didn't have cake on hand.

I'll leave you with some famous words to ponder on your 30-something birthday:

The woman who tells her age is either
too young to have anything to lose

or too old to have anything to gain.

Birthday #2 for my Big Guy

Last Friday was my little man's birthday so on Saturday we had a shin-dig for some close family & friends here at the house. He asked for a "car birthday" so of course, I tried my best to oblige. The day was beautiful and it's always nice to have a house full of people who want to celebrate.

A big family dinner

Since we had lots of family visiting for the weekend, we took a drive up to Sky Forest and had dinner outside on the deck at the local Mexican Food Restaurant. There's nothing like good weather, good food, and good company to make for a good evening.

The Terrific Twos

Happy Birthday my sweet little man.
~~I love you~

A day on the Lake

We're pretty lucky to live so close to the lake and be able to launch the boat pretty much any day we want to. We went out on the lake last week and took the kids swimming to get them comfortable in their life jackets. All in all, it was a success, except that hubby decided that our pup does not get to come on the boat anymore because we had a rough time keeping her in the boat. Go figure, our golden retriever/lab mix likes to swim - who'd have guessed?

Vegas Baby

We spent the week in Vegas, lounging around and in the pool to stay cool. I didn't gamble once and still had a wonderful time. There's a lot to be admired for having several days with nothing to do.

How to Drive in Peace

So you have a 4 hour drive to Vegas ahead of you? Want the kids to play quietly or better yet, sleep? Here's what you do: Take them to jumpzone first.The cost of $8 is SO worth the investment for some harmony during the drive. Plus, the kids think you're great and you can relax for a little while before your drive as they play. It's a win-win situation.

Waiting on the Parade

We went down to Crestline for the parade on the morning of the 4th and were waiting for the parade to start when my niece noticed a lady doing face painting. Having nothing better to do, I agreed to let both girls get their faces painted.

Happy Birthday Bro

Here's a bit of wisdom to celebrate your third decade
for one of my three favorite little brothers:
If you get thrown from a horse, you have to get up and get back on,
unless you landed on a cactus; then you have to roll around and scream in pain.

Happy Indepence Day!

Best Time of Year

I just LOVE the fourth of July. It might be my favorite holiday. Sunshine, swimsuits, lemonade, fireworks, patriotism...yep, it's my favorite. I hope you all have great plans to celebrate your weekend and freedom. Here's a few links to some songs to get you in the mood:

It's America - great song, plus it's sung by Rodney Atkins, bonus!

God Bless the USA - kind of a cheesy video, but still a great song

American Soldier "Freedom don't come free" - I love that line.

Go Blue!

We spent yesterday at the Dodgers game with my niece and some family. It was perfect because although the day was warm, we were sitting in the shade, right behind home plate. My sweet niece (and kids & hubby) dyed her hair blue for the occasion. She got to enjoy her first Dodger dog and had cotton candy & a snow cone then topped the afternoon off by joining the Junior Dodgers. We're having a great time with her this summer and feel so lucky to get to spend this time with her.

Puppets

It's amazing what kids will endure as long as you dangle some puppets in their faces. Last Thursday we went to the local library to watch a puppet show put on for the kids. It was about some kind of fish and how the ocean lost it's colors...very bizarre story line to say the least. Although my almost-2-year-old fell asleep half way through, the other two watch the entire show with rapt interest. I was happy to have some down time, even if it was in a dark library, surrounded by a hundred grade-schoolers.