Real Life Tonka Trucks

While we were visiting Bellingham, Washington, to drop Daddy off at his boat for his Alaska trip we spent some time at the harbor. My little man happened upon this green monster. He couldn't help but go climb up and get a closer look. Isn't this every boy's dream?

Within Reach

Hubby just returned from Alaska and I was delighted to see him and hear of his adventure with his friends. They took a fishing boat from Bellingham, Washington to Sitka, Alaska over a week long drive that ended in a couple days of fun ATV riding through the wilderness looking at all the neat wildlife. I have to say though, this might be my favorite picture. That's my hubby leaning off of the front of the boat, about an arm's length from one of the many porpoises that were swimming near the boat on their trip. What a neat thing for him to get to experience.

The Trench in My Driveway

Don't blame me.

Okay, DO blame me but it's not my fault.

Okay, it IS my fault, but my husband made me do it.

Well, to be honest, he didn't MAKE me do it - per say - but he wouldn't do it himself and he had the diamond blade power saw...at the least he's an enabler.

Our 20+ new cedar trees will thank me though and in 10 years there will be a wall of trees giving the house privacy from the road so all's well that ends well, right?

That's what happens when you tell your wife you aren't going to do it, presuming that it won't get done. He should have known I'd take matters into my own hands. He had it coming.

Our Local "Beach"

Sure, it's not the ocean, but it's a lake. Really, how much water do kids need? They're happy to play in our dog's water bowl. So it was a big treat to go down to the local beach club with some friends yesterday and spend some time in the sun.

A Beautiful View

What a darling snapshot, huh? Last weekend while my darling princess was off having lunch with the Disney ladies, hubby and I took our little man out into the forest one evening for some ATV riding. My son was exstatic to have us all to himself and relishes the ride between us through the national forest. Plus our pup got some much needed exercise. Here they are at one of our pit stops along the drive.

A Day Fit for a Princess

Recently, my little darling girl turned four years old. For her birthday, her Nana & Grandpa invited her to join them at California Adventure for a lunch with the Disney princesses and day of fun. She had a great time and on her way out of the park that afternoon, made a wish in the fountain to get to do it all again some day. She is so very sweet.

Kids are Great

I know that many of our guy friends (Brendan) are intimidated by our kids but really, kids are great. They offer many awesome opportunities and enrich your life more than most people know. Why, just last weekend at Stagecoach, they proved it to all of the guys who went with us.

This is for all of you who didn't want to go to Stagecoach because you thought it was just a bunch of boring 'ol country music....

Stagecoach 2010

Last weekend we went out to Indio and enjoyed the Stagecoach country music festival. We got to see Jason Aldean (my daughter's favorite), Billy Currington, Phil Vassar, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Sugarland (Hubby's favorite) and Keith Urban. We had a fab time and can't wait to go again next year.

Not Quite "High" Enough

This year is the first year that my little darling is participating in the youth track & field program. She is LOVING it. I have to say, I was a little choked up to see her run with the other kids and be able to keep up and even beat some of them (who are all at least a year older). It turned into a bit of comedy of errors though to see her barrel though the hurdles, without even attempting to jump over then and then, well, let's just say she's not quite big enough for high jump...

Breakfast on the Boat

Yesterday we had a great morning. We headed out first thing on the boat and there was no one else on the water but us. It was so warm that we slathered on sunscreen to keep from burning even! Since it was so early, we hadn't even had breakfast yet. Thus, we made a quick stop at Mc-D's and ate on the boat. By 10 AM it started to get a little windy but we had already been on the lake for a couple hours so were ready to move on to other things and we took off for other adventures. What a great way to start our day.

What's So Great About the Ponies?

We are often asked that very question from people who hear that we spent the day at Santa Anita Park with the kids. They no doubt picture a bunch of over-age male spectators, smoking, drinking and cussing at their losing fillies. Well, in our experience, a day at the races is quite far from that image. Although there is a playground on the infield, we have never taken the kids there. Why would we? They already have a spectacular time. The things that they like the best are going to watch the horses line up before their races, cheering on "their" horses (chosen, no doubt, based on the number or color of the jersey), eating snacks, enjoying the sunshine, and getting a full day of undivided attention from Mommy and Daddy. By far, their favorite part is playing on the grass with us around the fountain outside the stadium between races. Here's some shots from our last trip...

Mayday

Uh oh.

The summer squash didn't like being put back outside. Neither did the basil. I guess it's a bit cold out there at night still. Do you think my little man will notice if I get new seeds and replant them? Rats.

On a brighter note, today we have about 10 bean sprouts and at least 10 pea sprouts popping up. I may need to get a bigger pot.

What to Make

YES. I made this.

Yes, the queen of setting the smoke alarm off to let me know that dinner is ready MADE THIS!
Okay, to be fair, I still set off the smoke alarm but that's because the ooey gooey goodness overflowed the pan and dripped on the bottom of the oven (silly me for not putting in a cookie sheet to catch drippings). It was totally - TOTALLY worth the 2 minute clean up.

This recipe was pretty easy (if you have a bread machine) and SO SO SO delicious. I'm talkin' "I made my hubby take over half of it to work just so I wouldn't eat it all" delicious. It's not exactly her recipe but I got the idea from the Pioneer Woman, she's amazing. Here's what to do:

Mix water, milk, egg, flour, sugar, salt, butter, cinnamon & yeast in your bread machine on the dough setting. "That sounds like a recipe for doughnuts" you say? Yep, it was. I did this part last night and just covered it and kept it in the fridge to make this morning.

Then this morning I woke up and rolled the dough out, spread out some butter on it then sprinkled it with a mix of cinnamon sugar. Then I rolled the dough and cut it to make cinnamon rolls. Next I melted a stick of butter (I never said it was GOOD for you), 1.5c brown sugar, 1T corn syrup and 2T of cream then poured it into a cake pan. I sprinkled some diced green apple on the syrup and topped it off with the rolls of cinnamon dough. After about 20 minutes in the oven I took it out, inverted it onto a plate and voila!

Here's hoping that today your ooey gooey goodness runs over like mine has~

Garden Update

We currently have 10 peas sprouts, five bean sprouts and three summer squash sprouts. All of those pots are starting to show green! Now if I could just coerce up the carrots and flowers....

A Princess Party

Last Saturday we had approximately 50 people over to our castle to help us celebrate our little princess turning FOUR! It was a very fun day and the kids had a great time. Thank you everyone for coming~

A Quiet Easter Morning at Home

Yesterday morning we woke up with no where to go. No one to call. Nothing pressing that HAD to be done. What a nice start to a quiet family Easter at home. The kiddos came in and crawled all over us in bed and we snuggled and cuddled a bit before Daddy headed down the stairs to make us all some waffles. After breakfast we all headed outside where it appears a rabbit had come to hide some eggs for the kids (and daddy) to find. There were 25 blue ones for a little boy, 35 pink ones for a little girl, and 45 green ones for the 30-something peter pan in our house. Much to her delight, and daddy's chagrin, my sweet daughter won the hunt by finding all of her eggs first. Her brother somehow lost two eggs (I'm guessing they were eaten) so we're not sure when he finally had all of his, but Daddy brought up the rear by finding his last egg after everyone else. What a very fun morning full of warm and cozy memories. I am so very thankful for our many blessings and the ability to spend days like this with such wonderful people.

Family Easter

We had a nice time yesterday visiting with our family down in Desert Hot Springs. Although the wind picked up later in the afternoon, the weather in the mid-morning and for our egg hunt was perfect. For those of you reading this from up north, feel free to come visit our beautiful sunshine any time.

Thank you Grandma Tanyon for having us all over to spend a day together. We had a great time.

What to Make

This is an Easter-style recipe: HOT CROSS BUNS!

I got the idea from The Pioneer Woman's Website. I modified the recipe for my bread maker and they turned out nicely. It was rather easy to do. Here's what you do:

1) Make cinnamon roll dough (sweet bread) in the bread machine, which requires some water, salt, sugar, flour, and egg.
2) Roll out the dough as you would for cinnamon rolls and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar and raisins over the dough then fold it in. Repeat this step twice.
3) Pull off bits of dough and roll them into balls then let them rise for 30 minutes.
4) Brush the risen dough with a wash of milk & egg white.
5) Bake the rolls for 16 minutes or so until golden brown.
6) Pipe frosting on top of them in the shape of a cross.

I made these the night before our family Easter party. I think if I were to do these again I would make a glaze to go over the whole roll and then pipe on thicker frosting or a colored frosting for the cross. The rolls were kind of plain without some kind of glaze. The flavor and texture were both good though and if eaten right out of the oven they would have been much better I am sure.

The Familliar Smell

There are few things in this world that are more recognizable of a smell than fresh cut grass or chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. One of those things is the smell of dying eggs for Easter, more specifically, the vinegar used to help dye the eggs. All year long when I cook and a recipe calls for vinegar, I get comments from my hubby about the smell and how he thinks of Easter with just one whiff. Well, we're instilling that memory in our kiddos too. They had a great time making Easter eggs with Daddy tonight.

We Have Sprouts!

The peas have sprouted - The peas have SPROUTED!
Okay, there's only one, but it's sticking up out of the dirt and promises that it's friends will be here soon. If you look VERY close at the bottom of the picture in the center of the rectangular pot, there's a little green sprout. Look very VERY close....