The Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. & Co.

The End and The Beginning

2010-08-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation has come to an end and a new school year has begun. Needless to say I am super behind! I had some issues with blogger and couldn't log in but I've finally resolved it. So, let's pick up with the end of Ira's Kindergarten year!

I never thought I would be one to get emotional on the last day of school. I can't really put into words what I felt as I walked onto the campus to pick up Ira. Something about the din of children, parents, teachers and staff all calling out their good-byes really struck a chord with me. Seeing the office staff waving to a bus full of students as the bus driver honked his horn did it for me. The tears started coming. All I can say is I am grateful for sunglasses!

A few days earlier my son's teacher surprised me with the cutest gift. I haven't taken a picture of it, but she painted a large terra cotta pot. The pot is decorated with ladybugs created by the red thumb prints of the children in the class. SO thoughtful!

And here is Ira with her on that last day:
Ira is so cute. Can't you tell how much he loved her just from this one picture? It cracks me up every time I look at it!

Ira also gave his teacher a gift. I had him write her a note and included some chocolate chip cookies, permanent markers, and sharpened pencils. It was hard for Ira to grasp that he was not returning to Mrs. L's class in the fall (he didn't seem to catch on until a few weeks before starting the new school year).

Here's his little note:

And I made a decorated soap dispenser. I saw an idea for something similar on a blog and decided to try making one. First, I bought some soap from the Dollar Tree and then applied some cute stickers I found at Michael's. I finished it off with a few coats of Modge Podge and some twine and a little charm at the top. Now Ira's teacher can have her kindergartners wash their hands in style!

I'm grateful that Ira's first year of school was so positive and I'm grateful for teachers, like Mrs. L, who are committed to providing a fun learning environment for her students.

Memorial Day Fun

2010-07-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

I actually wrote a post on Memorial Day some time ago, but somehow the file didn't save. I was a bit deflated by that and haven't written a post since. I guess I have finally gotten over it and figure it is time to get back to business before there is too much to post! Mark was off for Memorial Day so we decided to drive down to visit my sister and her husband and also visit the nearby Yucaipa Regional Park.

I thought I had seen all there was to see in Yucaipa. My grandmother lived there while I was growing up and we would visit almost monthly. My midwife for my second child also lived out there and I would drive down at least once a month for my appointments. So imagine my surprise when I saw a post on a friend's blog about Yucaipa Regional Park. I had NO idea it was out there. If I did, I would have been a frequent visitor!

The kids loved the water area. Ira and Emma splashed and had fun while Sean stayed on the sandy "beach" to dig (so far, he is not a water fan, but we hope to change that!). I was glad that even my mom was able to enjoy watching the kids from her own shaded spot in the grassy area.

Plus, the playgrounds are incredible. We are definitely planning on heading back to this fun park! :)

Here's Daddy with the little Seanster:

Isn't he the cutest?

I love Emma's cute sunglasses:

But I also have to add this picture of my blue-eyed girl!

Ira being a ham:

And here, splashing in the water:

Sean with my Mom:

Sean LOVED the little rock wall:

While Emma enjoyed the BIG one!Every once in a while I'll throw in a picture of me to prove I was there. :)

Hats on Parade

2010-06-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

Evidently it is a kindergarten tradition at Ira's school to have a hat parade near the end of the school year. I thought it was a nice send off and not nearly as corny as a "kindergarten graduation" (sorry if I offended anyone, but really, kindergarten graduation?).

Ira was thrilled with this project, but to be honest, I was done with projects. I let him have his way with the red sand he found in the craft bin and printed some pictures of ... wait for it ... BAKUGAN, of course! (Although, since my in-laws baby-sat for us last Tuesday he has been talking all about Avatar the Last Airbender ?? Could this spell the end of his Bakugan obsession? And having never seen the show, should I hope that this will be his Bakugan replacement?)

While I muse over these questions, I'll let you enjoy Ira in all his Bakugan hat glory:

Here's a nice back view:

And one last shout out to my baby boy, having survived his first year of public school!

Really, my heart is so full of thanks for his amazing kindergarten teacher. She worked miracles with her class and with this particular boy. No person should be locked up with 32 five year olds, but she is no ordinary person! And Ira--he has come such a long way. We couldn't be happier or more proud of his accomplishments this year!

When I Woke Up This Morning...

2010-06-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

Ira had already gone outside for a little adventuring before breakfast and school. He came rushing in to exclaim, "There are a hundred million bees in our apple tree!" Well, if you know Ira you know he can be a bit theatrical (understatement of the year, I know), so I let Mark check out the apple tree. I couldn't believe the pictures he returned with. This was our apple tree this morning:
Here's a nice close-up shot:
Mark called the pest control company we use and talked with their "bee man". He said that the bees were probably migrating and decided to use our apple tree to rest from their travels (lovely! of course they wanted OUR apple tree). If the bees hadn't left by a day or two we were to call the "bee man" back. Fortunately only a small handful of bees were on the tree tonight so, hopefully, we don't have to quarantine the kids from the backyard any longer.

Gettin' Crafty

2010-06-05T22:39:00.001-07:00

As usual, I have been neglecting the blog. My only excuse is that I have been busy trying out a few crafty ideas. It all started with this:

A bracelet for my daughter. I had been curious about beading before, but after buying a small book on the subject I decided that it required too much stuff that I would have to buy. What if I didn't like doing it? So I put the book on a shelf to collect dust and went about my business. Then the RS had a class on beading. Too much fun! Stacey admitted that it might be just a tad addicting but she had some great tips on finding the best deals too!

So I began to bead. First for my daughter:

(with the exception of the far right necklace--that's a "boy" necklace for Ira).

And then for me:

Of course, I couldn't stop there. I decided it was time to make some cute clips for my daughter. For Christmas I got a bunch of cute bows off e-bay. Now it was time to get some flower power. Here are a few of the clips I've made this last month:

Just recently I have also decided to rearrange my great room. I'm loving the change. Ira came home to the new arrangement and exclaimed, "Mommy, you moved the furniture! It's so beautiful!" And I finally decided what to do with a beautiful framed picture Mark gave me for Christmas. So, I've been a little busy and maybe even a little crafty. Which is funny since I have never considered myself a crafty person--I figured my sister got the lion's share of the artistic talent--but it has been fun to keep my hands busy (if you don't count the garden which could probably use a good weeding :p).

Ira's Birthday Bash

2010-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

Ira turned 6 at the beginning of April. To celebrate we threw a little birthday bash. We decided to rent an inflatable (after all that fun at Jumping Jacks). The pirate ship inflatable was SO fun! The kids had a blast climbing, sliding, and bouncing off the walls. We also got a motorcycle pinata so everyone had a bag of loot to take home. That morning Ira changed his mind about his birthday cake. The plan was to serve cupcakes, but he wanted a cake. To save myself some work I bought the cake when I bought the balloons and the added some Bakugan figures to it. Yes, Ira is still obsessed with Bakugan! Good thing too, since he got a TON of Bakugan stuff.

Make a wish!

Fun In The Pirate Ship

We never got a "before" picture of the pinata.

Score!

All in all, we had a lot of fun. And my little boy has grown up so much this year! He still has a wild imagination and tons of energy. But he has also matured. He is a sensitive and caring boy and I'm so grateful that he is my son!

Fun Day Trips

2010-04-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

While Ira was out on spring break, I tried to take advantage of his time away from school to go on a few day trips. I planned the little trips while my niece would be out visiting her parents since it is more manageable with just my kids.

One day we decided to take the kids to see the Cabazon Dinosaurs. For those not familiar, there are two large (concrete?) dinosaurs looming over the 10 freeway as you head toward Palm Springs. The first is a "long neck" (love the Land Before Time reference which we've adopted) which houses a small gift store in its belly. The second is a T-Rex that boasts a great view out of its teeth to the cars below. In order to climb inside the T-Rex and to view the animatronic dinosaurs in the area's General Store you have to pay a small admission fee. Also included in the fee is an area to dig for stones with dinosaur names. If you find one, you can take it back to the general store for a tiny plastic dinosaur. There is also a sluice where you can "pan" for fossils. If you want to find anything more than little pebbles you have to buy bags of dirt at the general store. We bought a bag of dirt for $5 and I think it was worth it. The kids loved discovering the pretty stones. Unfortunately, Emma didn't quite understand the concept and after looking at her portion of the loot, dumped it back into the water. This caused Ira to go into a frenzy to recover the stones and he inadvertently knocked his straining board into the water as well. Thankfully we recovered all the large stones, but only after some diligent hunting.

Did I mention that I was the one who ended up looking for the stones in the "dino dig" area, or that the crushed marble gave everyone "ghost hands"?

For some reason I love this picture of Ira.

Here's the happy family (minus myself). Mark looks good in his Burger King crown. :)

Behind the T-Rex Teeth

For $2 you can take a ride on an animatronic dinosaur.

Loving EVERY Minute!

Best part of the trip, I had a good enough excuse to stop at the Outlets to do some quick shopping before dropping in on my sister around dinner time (thanks sis!). It was nice to get a chance to visit with my sister and the kids always like hanging out with Uncle Scott.

Another fun day trip was planned on a day Mark had to work so he wasn't able to come. I learned about Jumping Jacks from a fabulous book my mother-in-law bought (she later bought me a copy for my birthday so I would return the copy I had "borrowed" from her :p). It's a book all about fun places to go in Southern California with kids. Jumping Jacks is an indoor inflatable "park". It is only open to the public at certain times on certain days. The remaining time is reserved for parties. Ira and Emma were thrilled with all the fabulous jumpers. I had never seen such large inflatables! Emma did get a little hung up on one inflatable, but I was able to get her down and she had no trouble with a similar inflatable in another room (there are two very large rooms filled with inflatables). In each room there is a little toddler corner as well. Sean found the police car cozy coupe and went to town. He also had great fun pushing an infant walker around the two rooms (still not walking!). Of course we couldn't leave until I took Sean on several of the jumpers and down the fun slides. I had to get used to holding him and hiking up the walls, but it was well worth it!

Our little police man!

Isn't He Adorable?!

It was hard to get the kids to sit still long enough for a photo.

After Jumping Jack I treated us to Joe's Crab Shack nearby. The kids loved the dancing and the playground, I enjoyed the food. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera to the restaurant so no pictures of the fun we had there. :( We'll just have to go back some other time.

Still to come... Ira's Birthday and Easter!

Returning to the Blog

2010-03-12T22:38:00.001-08:00

So I have neglected this blog for far too long... Got a little caught up in the madness of our lives with 5 kids 5 and under and all that that situation has entailed. I wanted to write a few things I've noticed about my kids. You know, the fun stuff.

First, Sean is a hoot when it comes to shoes. He still is not walking, so I'm not talking about him trying on shoes... at least not in the usual way. Sean enjoys shoving his little hands into any pair of shoes he can find and then takes off! One Sunday I heard footsteps down the hall, only to discover Sean "wearing" my boots. Mark shot a little video of Sean with some hijacked shoes, haha!

Emma has always been a little goofy. My life could use a few good jokes so she has been a real treat. She is also a little sweetheart and definitely knows how to tug at the heartstrings. Her latest invention is to, when someone has tucked her in or said good-bye, say, "Come back! I have to tell you something!" Once you get close she whispers in your ear, "I love you!"

We love you too, Emma!

Ira is a real sweet heart. He is really sensitive to the feelings of others (perhaps because he is such a sensitive fellow himself). Ira's teacher commented on his report card that, "Ira always puts a smile on my face!" I think Ira's teacher is just one of Ira's new friends. Ira loves to make new friends.

Last weekend we drove up to Big Bear to go sledding. Another family with a little girl Ira's age was also sledding. They hit it off and the little girl and her family shared one of their inner tubes with our family (note to self: must buy inner tube sled). Mark was surprised when the wife told him how impressed she was with Ira. Ira had thanked her at least twice for sharing the inner tube and also told her how much he enjoyed making a new friend.

This is not the first time Ira has made impromptu friends on trips we have taken. On our trip to San Diego last month, Ira befriended a couple boys who were staying in the hotel room across from ours. And on a trip to Mission Viejo a few months ago, Ira made a friend at an awesome park we found. The mom was so impressed she wanted to set up a play date! I have always been more reserved (yes, even shy), so to see Ira happy to meet and make new friends makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Building a Snowman with New Friends!

Merry Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T22:20:00.000-08:00

Well, we are late in mailing out our Christmas cards, but we do have quite a few addressed and ready to go. I thought I would post our Christmas letter for everyone to enjoy. Hope the holidays bring you much joy!!

2009 has brought many changes to our home. Our littlest one, Sean, celebrated his first birthday this October. Ira, 5, has begun kindergarten. Emma, 3, is still our little princess and comedian.

Sean is a delight and a little handful! He enjoys playing patty-cake and peek-a-boo. He recently has perfected his “bye-bye” wave. He also loves to ride on Ira’s lap while Ira drives his motorized play tractor. No steering wheel goes untouched by Sean. We sometimes have to pry those little fingers away, much to his dismay!

Emma is our little doll. She loves to be goofy and silly. You never know what she will say next. Recently, she and Ira attended a winter activity at Ira’s school in which a “Santa” appeared to talk with the children. When she came home, I asked her if she met Santa. She looked up at me with her big, blue eyes and said, “That wasn’t really Santa, it was a teacher.” I asked her how she knew it was not Santa and innocently, she replied, “He didn’t say HO-HO-HO!” Currently, Emma’s favorite things are stickers and purses. And she never tires of crafts.

Ira has begun kindergarten. The first two weeks were difficult. The excitement was over by the first day or two and he was ready to stay home. Thankfully he is now fully enjoying kindergarten. Much of the credit has to go to his amazing kindergarten teacher Mrs. L*. He often comes home singing and dancing. He has learned so much in such a short period of time!

In fact, he loves kindergarten so much he says that when he “grows up to be a daddy” he wants to be a teacher and teach 5 year olds all the fun things his teacher is teaching him! Ira still has a crazy, amazing imagination and is always inventing new games and stories. He eagerly listens to Magic Tree House and Magic School Bus books as they are read to him. He also looks forward to continuing with school so he can learn how to build robots! His current favorite toy is Bakugan Brawlers—little balls that when rolled onto a magnetic card transform into robotic forms.

We have enjoyed our experience in the high desert and in our (relatively) new home. It's hard to believe it has been just over 2 years since we moved! We have lots of room to play (and lots of toys to fill up the room).

We hope that you and yours look forward to a bright New Year! Merry Christmas!!

Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Thumbelina's--Oh My!

2009-11-22T14:24:00.000-08:00

More than a month has passed since Halloween, but better late than never! Halloween festivities were a little crazy given the changes in our home. We tried to make sure the kids had their usual favorite activity: pumpkin carving.

Unfortunately we could not find our camera, so we resorted to using Mark's cell camera for pictures. The best shot we got of the three oldest digging into their pumpkins is blurry, but I'll post it anyway. At first we were going to carve on the kitchen table, but then Mark suggested we carve in the foyer so Sean could get in on the action. Sean had a great time. Even Brandon sat nearby for a little while.

I was the designated "pumpkin artist", drawing the pumpkin faces according to specifications. Ira's pumpkin was to have "evil eyes" and "vampire teeth". Emma wanted "pretty eyes" and a "happy mouth with teeth". I kind of winged it when it came to my niece's pumpkin since she doesn't talk much yet.

Ira was able to wear his Halloween costume to school for a Halloween parade. I also sprayed his hair green and spiked it. He LOVED the green hair (don't go getting any crazy ideas, my son!). I put him in a green shirt under his costume, and I think he loved the fact that his hair matched his shirt. Fun times!

As far as costumes go, Ira was a dinosaur. Emma and my niece were Thumbelina. Sean was a dragon. I went far and wide to get Ira's costume. We actually lucked out when I found it in Mission Viejo on our little vacation the beginning of October. It had sold out online and in the local stores (Children's Place). I had all but given up hope of finding it.

For Halloween, we attended the annual "Trunk or Treat" at the church building. If you are not familiar with "trunk or treat" it is when you walk from car trunk to car trunk collecting treats from those with their trunk open. Some trunks are even decked out Halloween style. I usually decorate our trunk, but not this year. Mark had to work so it was a little crazy. The kids got a boat load of candy and everyone was happy. Even my niece warmed up to the idea when she realized people were giving her candy. Ira and Emma really enjoyed the "reading tent". Inside a man was reading children Halloween stories. I think they could have stayed there all night listening!

Times They Are A'Changin'

2009-11-06T20:55:00.001-08:00

A lot has happened since my last post. I never got around to writing about the Discovery shuttle landing or Ira and Emma's fun with soccer. I also need to post pictures of our last vacation to San Diego and Mission Viejo, Sean's first birthday, and Halloween. I will try to get to those postings very soon.

But life has fundamentally changed for our little family. We have grown by 2 persons. My niece and nephew have come to stay with us. We do not know how long this stay will be. I am the first to admit that this has been the roughest 3 weeks of my life. My niece is 2 and nephew 7 mos. Add to my children, ages 5, 3, and 1, and you get some major crazy! All the children have had to make major adjustments--especially my little niece. This has not been an easy transition for her.

But every time things get hard someone or something comes to my rescue and things are made bearable again. I have to thank my dear friends and family for their impromptu visits and meals. Just today, I was pulling out my cookbook to get a recipe for dinner tonight when my mother-in-law called to say she was bringing over dinner if I hadn't started something yet.

The roughest night was the day after we picked up the kids. Ira and Emma had a stomach bug that week. I thought I was managing okay. I took care of the four youngest while my mom took Ira to soccer practice. I bathed the little ones and had them dressed for bed by the time Ira and my mom returned home a little after 7pm. As Ira and my mother were eating, my niece who had been laying on a recliner suddenly sat up and started to throw up. Being two, she got up and started to throw up on the floor, around the sofa table and then on me while I was nursing Sean. My little bubble of thinking, "hey I have the hang of this" completely burst.

Mark was at work. I called him sobbing and told him I didn't think I could handle another night. He was far from the office and it would take at least an hour before he could come home. I got off the phone dejected. And then I got to work. Took off my soaked pants. Got out the vacuum, mop, and vinegar spray. I cleaned the couch I was on, the tile floor by the sofa table, and vacuumed the "chunks" in the carpet and on the recliner before I had to stop and finish Sean's nursing.

As I was sitting there, feeling awful and wondering how in the world I could have agreed to this arrangement, the doorbell rang. There were two angels there ready to help! They cleared the dinner dishes and swept the kitchen floor. They were awesome.

Then another angel appeared and gave my niece another bath and held her for quite awhile. Taking care of her when she got sick again and again.

My own little angel, Ira, got towels out when my niece first got sick and then laid towels on her bed in case she got sick again (without being asked).

And she did get sick again--several times over. As I was talking to one of my friends I realized that I didn't feel so good. I ran to the sink and started my night of vomiting too. Mark got home about 2 hours after I first called him so he stayed up the night with my niece and I was able to get some sleep (interrupted a few times by the vomiting).

Thankfully we haven't had too many nights as bad as that one. And the bad nights we have had, I've been able to cope fairly well. I studied mathematics in college. I like order. Mathematics is all about order (and logic). I've been searching for the order in the chaos that is our new life and have found it in varying degrees. It will be a continual process as things will undoubtedly change with time. I feel the Lord is helping me every step of the way. He is strengthening my weaknesses. I am ever grateful to Him and to my dear angels he has placed here to help me along this journey.

Living Water

2009-10-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

There are other posts on their way, but I wanted to write this down while it is still fresh in my mind. I am always amazed at the innocent, thoughtful questions my children pose to me. Often, they are the ones that open my eyes and increase my understanding of things temporal and spiritual.

Yesterday, Mark and I were getting our children ready for bed. They had brushed their teeth and undressed for a quick shower before bed. Just as we piled Ira and Emma in the shower, the water came to a halt. Mark and I looked at each other and began to survey what could have caused the water to go out. We tried the bathtub, bathroom faucets, the kitchen faucet--no water. Mark went across the street to a neighbor--no water. He went to the neighbor next door--no water there either. He made a phone call to his parents and they had water, so we knew the water break was not extremely widespread.

As this was going on, I began to get Ira and Emma dressed for bed. Ira was a bit bewildered by all the activity and the loss of water. He said to me, in a bit of a panic, "We have to have water! When will we have water again?" I soothed him and explained that even if it took a few days to fix whatever break there was in the pipes, we would be okay. We would be okay because we have three large barrels of water in our shed outside. I told him that Heavenly Father taught us to be prepared and to store some things like water in case there is an emergency. Ira rested a little easier, but then another thought came: "What about our neighbors? They need water too!"

This question made me pause for a moment. What about our neighbors? I assured him that they will probably be able to get water, but if they are in need, we have enough to help them too. After I said this, Ira smiled and said, "Thank you mommy, I love you."

What about our neighbors? I can help them temporally if there is an emergency because I have supplies. I would willingly share my water with them. But what about the living water that I get to enjoy but many of my neighbors are lacking? Do I share that with them?

I think about what Ira said a few months ago when one of Ira's pals at church was gone for a few weeks due to sickness. When we told him she may not be back at church yet he exclaimed, "But how will she know about Jesus if she doesn't go to church?" His sweet, tender testimony touched my heart. Now it resonates even stronger after this new experience.

I would not say that I am a great missionary. I don't go over to my neighbors homes and invite them to worship with my family or attend church functions. Our neighbors know about our faith, we are very open about our faith and I am always willing to answer questions others pose about our faith. But sometimes I feel that I do not do enough to share the living water I enjoy on a daily basis. I hope that this experience with my son will help me realize how important it is to share the gospel as there are many thirsting for answers and I would be ashamed to withhold water from someone in need of a drink.

Welcome Home Discovery!

2009-09-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my husband happened to be reading his friend's status updates on facebook when he read one friend saying he was going to watch the space shuttle Discovery's landing. Discovery had been diverted to Edwards Air Force Base because of inclement weather in Florida. The landing was scheduled for just before 6pm and we learned of the landing at about 2pm. My husband and I debated going (Ira would miss soccer practice) but we decided that it's a rare event worth the hour drive.

I'm really glad we went, although it seemed that Ira wasn't too excited about watching as the shuttle silently flew overhead and down to the air force base (turns out he was sick as I found out late that evening when he began 24 hours of vomiting--poor guy!). Mark and I were so happy to see such a spectacular event. As a child, I recall my dad loving to watch the planes fly overhead. When we traveled he would point out the planes flying overhead: "Girls! Girls! Look, a plane!" But as we got older my sister and I grew more cynical. I remember once saying to my dad on one of those summer trips, "Yes dad, a plane. If you want me to be excited, show me a space shuttle." What a cheeky teen I was. Now I'm the overly excited parent calling attention to the planes, trains, boats, and even space shuttles to my children!

Following the landing we decided to drive through the town of Boron and happy we did! We found a park with an old fire engine and a giant dump truck (Boron is famous for the Borax mining in the area). Across the street is a small aerospace museum. It was already closed but we got to inspect the fighter jet in front. I may not mind taking a trip one day to check out the inside of the aerospace museum. Perhaps when the kids are a little older.

Disovery Coming In For A Landing

Massive Dump Truck in Boron

Outside the Aerospace Musuem

Summer Stories Part 2

2009-08-25T23:35:00.001-07:00

Of course, the stories don't end there. No, the next day we went to the beach. Our original plan was to go to Corona Del Mar--even though it is quite a ways from San Diego. We did not anticipate all the traffic (I guess we should have--it was a hot, summer Saturday). After a too long drive, we made it to Corona Del Mar to find no parking anywhere. Ira was upset and I was ready to go home. Thankfully, Mark is not one to give up. He just took us south to another beach, but it's parking was full, so then again south to another parking lot. This one was much further from the beach, but we did eventually make it to the ocean.

A few days after our vacation, I was looking at the photos that were shot at the beach and came across a gem of a video shot my dear husband who then forgot to tell me about it! Seriously, I think I have watched this video about a hundred times and it just gets better and better. So I have officially "YouTubed" my kids, hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Summer Stories Part 1

2009-08-02T16:46:00.001-07:00

We are already into week 4 of the new school year, but I have not managed to post details of our final summer "trip". For our last hurrah we took the kids to a day at SeaWorld followed by a day at the beach. We all had a great time at SeaWorld. It was hot and fairly busy, but not overly crowded (unlike our experience at Disneyland). We were brave and took our $30 double stroller we bought on craigslist with us--and no one took it (also unlike Disneyland... as you can tell I'm not at all bitter about our trip to Disneyland :p).

Plus I now have a funny story to tell about our trip to SeaWorld. Ira was dying to ride the "roller coaster" at SeaWorld (also known as Journey to Atlantis). I took the kids over to the area to scope out the line, and it wasn't too bad, so Mark and I decided to have him take Ira on the ride while Emma, Sean and I watched the Pet's Rule show at a nearby stadium. After collecting the kids and finding a decent seat, I got prepared for the show. I pulled out water and fish crackers for Emma and I, and then settled Sean down under a blanket for nursing. All seemed to be going well until--I'm not kidding--exactly 1 minute before the start of the show I noticed Emma bobbing around and saying something. What's that Emma? Then, the dreaded words from a newly potty-trained little girl: I have to go potty!

So I begin rounding up the snacks with one hand, trying to calm my upset baby with the other, and direct my daughter to start heading through the row (because of course we were sitting in the center of the row) just as the announcer announces the start of the show. As we are walking down the stairs, I lost my grip on the diaper bag and had much of it's contents fall on the stairs. Again, trying to balance a baby with one hand, I shoveled the items back into the diaper bag and directed my daughter to the exit.

As we were walking to the bathroom I realized that my daughter was sobbing. I slowed down to hear what she was saying. Poor thing was saying, "Mommy, are we going to miss it?" I'm honest, "Yes, we will miss the show, but I am so proud of you for telling mommy that you had to go potty. We will do something else." Of course, she does not want to do something else and starts to pout. I suggest the dolphin show, which she adamantly refuses to go see. So I suggest we get to the restroom and then figure out what to do.

After the restroom we still have to go back to the stadium for the stroller. My daughter asks where we are going and I just say to her, get in and we'll see where we end up. Of course, we end up at the dolphin show. My daughter asks where we are at and I say, "The dolphin show." "But I don't WANT to go to the dolphin show!" I convince her to keep walking. To appease her we sit just inside the splash zone.

I once again get out the water and snacks, the blanket for Sean who happily resumes nursing, and we wait for the show to begin. It was hot so I was hoping for a little spray of water from the dolphins and during the course of the show we got a light spray here or there.

And then the trainers sent out the beluga whales. Still, all was well, until I saw the tale of the whale emerge from the water directly in front of where we were sitting. The first wave was a bit of a shock--salty and very, very cold. The blanket covering Sean was very thin and no match for the freezing water. Sean was jolted from his sleepy bliss. Then came a second wave. Sean began to cry and I began to move for the stairs (thankfully I learned my lesson at the Pet's Rule Show and sat next to the stairs this time). A third wave hit before I made it out of the splash zone. I think Emma got hit with a fourth wave before she made it to the new seat I found about 8 rows up from our original seats.

I was able to get Sean quiet (despite the wet blanket and all). And it was refreshing to be cool in the afternoon heat. By the time Emma, Sean and I made it to the Penguin Encounter to meet Ira and Mark, I was exhausted. Mark gave me a look and asked where I had been. My response? Don't ask! At which point I begin to laugh and shake my head. It was just too much!

But, all in all, a great time was had at SeaWorld and I look forward to going back. Besides, Mark has promised that I get to ride on the roller coaster while he watches the little ones next time.

My Little Man Is Growing Up!

2009-08-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is a hard post for me to write. My oldest, Ira, begins school tomorrow! I'm sure I'm just like any other mom when her first child leaves home to start kindergarten--terrified and delighted. I am amazed with how much he has grown in these short 5 years (okay, at times they seemed like a very long five years).

Ira has a wonderful, sensitive heart. He is inventive and creative. I am always curious to see what he will come up with next. He has also started to develop a silver tongue of sorts--convincing Emma of doing things his way with some powerful persuasion!

Of course, Ira is also thrilled with starting school. He is a little concerned with being at school so long (we have full day kindergarten). I am a little concerned with what he will learn from the other little boys and girls. I hope he will be a light to those who have not been taught about Jesus. I hope he is able to develop loving friendships.

I love you Ira and wish you well on your new adventures in school!

Summer Fun With Cousins

2009-07-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

As usual, I am behind in posting pics and blogging about our fun summer activities. Our family has had lots of fun playing with cousins this summer. My sister-in-law Doris has three kids roughly the same age as our three (our third child has the biggest age gap with hers--about 4 months).

On our first trip down to Pasadena this summer, we all went to Travel Town at Griffith Park. I remember trying to go to Travel Town as a teen and ending up at a model railroad place that we thought was travel town until we realized it wasn't while on the little model railroad train and seeing the real Travel Town next to it. So it was great to finally explore the real Travel Town. The kids loved riding the train and climbing the old engines. Following Travel Town, we spent some time at a really neat playground at Griffith Park. It is a park specifically designed to be universally accessible. Mark tells me that the bathrooms at this park, however, are not so neat--in fact they are downright disgusting. So plan a potty break before going! I forgot to take my camera to the park, but Doris got some great pictures of the kids.

Doris also brought her kids up for Father's Day. Emma is in love with her cousin Sammy. I think it is because they both are obsessed with lining things up (although with Sammy I think it is always cars... with Emma it is pillows, storage bins, cars, books, toys, anything she can come up with on a whim... you get my drift).

We also took a trip down to the Arboretum and met Doris and the kids there. It was super fun for Ira and Emma. Ira still talks about going back to the "jungle" to hike and find tadpoles, fish, and turtles. Plus, it didn't cost much since Doris has a family pass--we only had to pay for Mark. Great times!

Emma and Hannah are the two kids with the closest birthdays--only five days separate them. So we decided to throw a birthday bash at my in-laws for both of them. My wonderful sister volunteered to make a castle cake. Poor thing was devastated when the towers fell on route to the party (until it was discovered that Tink took a face plant into the "B" in "Birthday" and then it was too funny to be bummed). I thought I took a picture of the face plant, but we can't find it on anyone's camera--BUMMER! I don't have any good pics to post of this event, but my SIL Doris has some great pics on her blog.

It is great to have cousins the same age. As we were pulling up to their home in Pasadena to go to the Arboretum, Emma said, "I love Sammy and I love Hannah." Ira quickly chimed in too, "I love Sammy and Hannah too!" We love enjoying time with cousins. :)

Fun At Calico

2009-06-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my husband and I decided to take a trip to the Calico Ghost Town. Mark tried to show Ira a map of Calico. Ira's response was, "Does it have rides?" Mark answered, "It has a train." To which Ira replied, "No, does it have rides like roller coasters?" Yes, our little 5 year old is already addicted to amusement parks. He wasn't too excited about the idea of going someplace that does not have roller coasters, but we made it work and in the end he was happy he went.

The great thing about Calico with three 5 and unders is that they are pretty much free for everything. Mine tour? Free. Mystery tour? Free. Pan for gold? Free. Gotta love it! So we took a ride on the calico railroad, toured the mine, went on the mystery tour (which, for those of you old school amusement park fanatics, is similar to the Mystery Lodge Knott's Berry Farm had--I'm not sure if they still have it since I haven't been to Knott's in so many years), and panned for gold (well, pyrite really). The kids also made "necklaces" in a craft store. Basically they colored a ceramic medallion with markers and chose the yarn color for the necklace. The price wasn't too bad--$1 each. Ira chose a spider and Emma chose a flower.

Before going to the ghost town we stopped at the Barstow Station for lunch. The kids enjoyed eating in a "real" train car for lunch. All in all it was a fun little trip. We'll definitely have to go again before Ira turns 6!

Free Stuff!

2009-06-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

So, I have to say that I love when there is FREE fun stuff to do. I am dying to try one of those kid classes at Lowe's, but my kids are still a little too young. However, they were the perfect age to go check out the "family summer camp" held by Bass Pro Shops. A couple weeks ago we traveled down the hill to check it out. They had a craft area (which we didn't find until we were going to leave), an area to practice "casting" a fishing pole, FREE shooting gallery (I think the kids fav by far, although they really liked the casting too). For older kids there was free archery and BB gun shoots. Oh and they got to get a picture taken "holding" a great catch of fish.

Speaking of fish, I sat in on the "Fishing Basics" class too. I even learned a new knot for tying on a fishing hook. I thought this would be a good class for me since I am currently a Webelos scout leader (in need of training, but it's fun!). Now all I have to do is actually go fish... not sure what I'll do if I actually catch anything since I have no clue how to clean it! All the times my dad took my sister and I fishing, we never caught anything so I'm not holding my breath.

AND the kids got to see Aunt Myra and Uncle Scott. So glad they could stop by for a little visit. It was crowded, but there really wasn't any lines, even at the shooting gallery. And the cost just can't be beat... we DID ended up spending a little money to buy some kettle corn (yum yum!). Thanks Bass Pro Shop!

Memorial Celebration

2009-06-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

So I am still way behind on this blog. I think we have been too busy to post everything. On Memorial Day we celebrated by throwing a pool party at my in-laws home. We invited the families that participate in our "play school" group. The moms trade off having the kids during the school year one day a week with other families with 2.5 to 5 year olds (preschool age). The kids love play school and the moms like the little break one day a week! :) We had a great time. Thanks to all the families that came to enjoy the summer weather.

Idaho Vacation

2009-06-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

So I will try to make this brief (I know, I know... not so good at that). It has taken too long to get these pictures of our trip to this blog, so I'm trying to write this post with my little boy on my lap--content with playing with the infant tylenol bottle (at least I'll notice if something goes horribly wrong, right?)

We had a great time in Idaho. It was nice to visit someplace so GREEN. We have to work hard for anything remotely green out here. My aunt and uncle live in northern Idaho (near Coeur D'Alene). They have 11 wooded acres (actually 22 acres, but the acreage around their home is 11 acres) in the mountain regions surrounding Hauser Lake. Very secluded and beautiful, with a creek that runs through their property and a mountain spring from which they get their water.

The kids love visiting. I think it was the tractor that sealed the deal for Ira when he made the trip as a toddler. Uncle Bob has a couple of tractors and a camel (small jeep-like off road vehicle) to work on the property, clear snow, etc. It really is a romantic setting, with wild turkey, deer and moose wandering through the woods. My aunt and uncle have feeding stations and a salt lick for the deer and moose. We got to see a juvenile moose while visiting, as well as several deer and of course the wild turkeys.

My uncle took us on a brief but steep hike to one corner of his property to see his spring. Eventually we had to carry Emma because it got so steep, but it was a beautiful hike (until the mosquitoes attacked at the spring :p). One area we passed is what my aunt and uncle call "Moss Rock" with an outcropping of several boulders covered in moss. My aunt likes to meditate here, and even had my uncle, with help, haul a cement pagoda-like statue to the spot (which is no easy task considering how steep the trail is!). After visiting the spring we walked down to the creek that runs through the property. My aunt lived in Redondo before moving to Northern Idaho and said she would do so only if she could live near water. So she still gets to wake up to the sound of water--only now as a rushing creek instead of crashing ocean waves. We also got to play in a "tree house"--really a little playhouse on stilts that was built here by the previous owners.

While in Idaho we also made a trip to the coolest park ever--Fort Sherman at Coeur D'Alene. It was built by the Kiwanis Club and it is HUGE. The only park I have seen to rival it is Legoland's medieval play area, and I think this one is even more fun. There are many places to climb, swing, and slide.

We also spent some time playing at Triple Play in Hayden, Idaho. I wish they had something like this in the desert. It is like a large "minature golf" area with your standard miniture golf, go-carts, bumper boats, lazer tag and bowling, but it also has an indoor water park called Raptor Reef. Sean did not approve of the water activities so he stay with grandma while the rest of us enjoyed the wave pool and children's water play ground. After the kid's had their fill we sent them to the arcade with grandma so Mark and I could check out the three larger slides. LOVE water slides! The individual slide wasn't too exciting, but the tandem slides were lots of fun!

On the whole, we had a great time in Idaho. Ira is already talking about what he'll do on his next trip to Uncle Bob's!

Dumpster Diving

2009-05-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

So I need to write a post of our trip to Northern Idaho and the swimming party we had today, but first I had to write this post, if only so I can remember this moment when my children are grown.

About three weeks ago I bought a sheet of stickers for each child at the Dollar Tree--Emma had sparkly sea creatures and Ira had sparkly robot alien things (totally up Ira's alley). Then I printed a coloring picture for each off the computer--Emma's had sea creatures, Ira's had an alien landscape. They had a great time coloring and then decorating the pages with their stickers.

Well, today Mark and I were cleaning and I decided that they had enjoyed these pictures for long enough and threw away Emma's picture (Ira's had already been disposed of earlier). A little while later I was in the laundry room and overheard the following conversation in the kitchen:

Emma: Daddy, why is my picture in the trash can?!
Daddy: Gosh, it must have accidentally blown into the trash can, huh?
Emma: You don't belong in there, silly picture!
Daddy: That's right, what a silly picture! Here you go.

I could not stop laughing. It was probably even more hilarious considering Ira, only a few days earlier, discovered I had thrown away his broken nerf gun (sand had clogged it). He took it out and said, "Mom, you didn't know I still wanted this." "But it's broken," I try to explain. "I can still pretend that it shoots!"

Yes, my children are dumpster divers.

Sprinkler Fun

2009-05-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful "summer" day. I had become tired of the relentless wind that has been battering us for what seems like forever (to the extent that I started to daydream of where we could move to where I wouldn't have to deal with this awful wind!). Thankfully the wind died down just enough for me to put the thought behind me (besides, it costs too much to live anywhere else).

Mark was gone in the morning for work, but made it home just after lunch. We all went outside to enjoy the *light* breeze and heat. At which time Mark decided to give the lawn some much needed love. Unfortunately our little patch of grass needs some major work. So Mark mowed, seeded and then turned on the sprinklers to give it a nice little soak.

As soon as the sprinklers came on Ira said, "Let's get our swimsuits on and play in the sprinklers!" Well, the sprinklers are only on for 5-10 minutes, so I suggested that he and Emma strip down as fast as possible to enjoy the brief time they had. Yes, I encouraged my children to run naked through the sprinklers--and they had a glorious time. Only one neighbor drove past the house (Sorry! We're a corner lot with chain link fencing). No pictures, although I was tempted to run and get the camera--at least so I'd have blackmail pictures when they got older.

I hope tomorrow is as nice and toasty as today because we plan to enjoy a picnic lunch at Mojave Narrows and play in the water playground--with swimsuits on of course!

Fast & Furious

2009-05-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago the family went outside to enjoy some family time together just after dinner. Ira decided to ride the bike Mark's parent gave him for his birthday. He is doing quite well (it has training wheels). Every once in a while I would get a little nervous as he would take a corner rather fast. Because we have a retaining wall, I fear he will ride off the concrete path and past the wall, or be thrown past the wall when falling. Mark didn't seem to be nervous at all--every so often he would give Ira a little push to send him off faster than before.

Emma had tried to pedal the tricycle for a while, but she had not gotten the hang of it until that night. In her previous attempts she neglected to steer; instead she would turn the handle bars side to side as she pedaled. The result was her running into the outside pillars, grass or rocks. But that night everything seemed to come together and she was OFF!

The only time Emma stopped pedaling was when a grasshopper jumped out in front of her tricycle. She said, "Quick Mommy! Catch the grasshopper for me!" As I have said before, I am NOT the person to ask to come catch bugs. I freak out at the sight of most bugs. However, for my dear sweet daughter, I cupped my hands around the grasshopper so it would not escape. I couldn't stop from flinching when it bounced against my hands, but I held strong! And my daughter was happy to take the grasshopper away as soon as she could get off the tricycle. *WHEW!* Sometimes being a mommy requires more than I ever dreamed!

As you can see, we haven't removed the tag on his bike yet!

Emma so proud to be riding her tricycle! (And yes, that is a skirt! :p)

Mommy and Baby just after coming inside from the fun.

Return of the Plague

2009-04-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

One thing about living in the desert is there is no shortage of creepy crawlies, especially when the weather begins to warm. Last year we battled with grasshoppers and crickets taking over the backyard. My husband, watching them frollick in the grass, commented that it looked like one of the ten plagues had hit our backyard.

It does seems that our backyard, with shrubbery and a small plot of grass, is an oasis for many critters. Last year we were treated to grasshoppers. crickets, caterpillars, and preying manti in addition to a desert hairy scorpion, several sun spiders, a garter snake, and a gopher snake. I believe the latter was after the ground squirrels and rabbits.

In our area I have also seen a few coyotes, but I've never seen one in our yard (I'm hoping the fence will keep them out, but I'm sure they could get in if they were determined enough!).

This year the critters are back in full force! The kids have caught crickets and grasshoppers aplenty. We've seen a couple small sun spiders (if you have never seen them, they are especially terrifying all grown-up). And a couple weeks ago we were treated to this little beauty:

A nice size gopher snake (I'll be honest and tell you I'm terrified of the possibility of one day being greeted by a rattle snake instead). My husband called our friendly snake expert, Justin, for advice. He said, "Pick it up!" My husband tried, for my son's sake, but he is no snake wrangler. The gopher snake kept curling toward Mark's hand and he eventually gave up. So for now my son will have to be happy enough chasing the small lizards after those yummy grasshoppers.

Disaster At Disneyland

2009-04-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

So I have been putting off this post... guess the experience was too traumatic. No, not really, but I can definitely say that I did NOT have a "magical" time at Disneyland over spring break.

Unfortunately we chose a horrible time to go. We went the Wednesday and Thursday before Easter. The lines to both parks were crazy! So much of both days was spent standing in line and trying to entertain the kiddos.

Then we had the juggling and feeding Sean, as he could go on a few rides, but not all and still had to nurse frequently. My mom came with us to help, but we quickly realized that she was not in any condition to offer a lot of help. My mother is in very poor shape and is not able to "keep up" with the rest of us. So between the wait for the rides and the snail pace from one ride to the next (battling the other pedestrians on our way), it made for a long two days.

We were happy that we had gotten a hotel for a couple nights. The second day at Disneyland we headed back to the hotel around 4pm so the kids could take a nap before going back to the park. Ira and Emma were exhausted and slept rather soundly. Mark eventually had to wake them so they could eat dinner (we ordered Chinese) and get back to the park before their Autotopia fast passes expired (good thing they had them because they still waited 20min after going through the fast pass line).

I decided to stay at the hotel with Sean because he was done with the noise of the two days and lack of good naps. I wished that my mom could have stayed (I'm sure she would have rather stayed as well), but Sean still doesn't take a bottle (not for my lack of trying these last couple months!) and is only just beginning solids.

The last ride the kids went on was Pirates of the Caribbean. Mark parked the stroller with the rest of the strollers and, uncharacteristically, left the diaper bag with it (he is usually a stickler about carrying it). My mom decided she would stake out a place for the fireworks and not ride on the ride, but didn't think to take the stroller with her. When my husband and kids finished the ride, the stroller and diaper bag were gone. That was just before the firework show at 9:30pm.

Poor Emma was wearing a pretty wet diaper, but there were no diapers. My husband spent the whole time of the firework show looking for the stroller. He spoke with security and the guy made him walk all around the area looking for it. Then he went to the Main Street office to file a claim with Lost and Found. In short, they didn't leave the park until about 11pm.

Ira had been very well behaved the whole time, but after exiting the gates and walking toward the tram to the parking lot, he threw a huge tantrum. He couldn't understand why our stroller was gone. It is so hard for children to understand why people choose to do bad things and I was so sad that he had to go through that on our vacation. Even with the huge lines, he was still having a blast (speaking of blasting, he went on the Buzz Lightyear ride 3 times).

And I was bummed that we lost our digital camera, which was in our diaper bag when it was taken. No pictures of this trip. :( It is ironic that I went out of my way to make sure that my husband took a picture with the kids and I since I often don't appear in any of our vacation pictures. Guess I tempted fate!

The next day we drove down to Mission Viejo to meet my cousin for lunch. It was great to see her and her husband! And my son was still happy he went to Disneyland. When my cousin asked what his favorite ride was, he began listing ALL the rides he had been on (which wasn't too difficult since we didn't get to ride on many :p). On the way to Mission Viejo I called Disneyland to see if our stroller turned up anywhere. I guess I called the main line. The gentleman was friendly enough and told me I would have to call the Lost and Found direct line. After getting the phone number he then added, "And have a magical day!" Uh--yeah. Then I called the Lost and Found and was put on hold for half an hour before I hung up. After lunch I called again and this time I was able to talk with a live person--but no stroller.

I think we will go to Knott's next time.

Team GeoTrax--All Aboard!

2009-04-07T19:57:00.001-07:00

Ira recently celebrated his 5th birthday. Since we decided to take him to Disneyland in lieu of a birthday party I had planned on not having any kind of celebration other than a simple cake for his actual birthday. Well, a couple days before his birthday I decided that we should invite some of the extended family to join us for our celebration.

I think it turned out well. Ira wanted a fire engine cake and so I made an attempt. It turned into the "low rider" fire engine. Ira loved it all the same (so nice when they are 5, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten away with it if he was, say, 13). Here it is:

The kids enjoyed playing with all the new toys. Emma is becoming quite proficient at the blowdart gun given by Aunt Myra and Uncle Scott. Ira even showed the cleaning ladies all his new water guns (and they were gracious enough to act interested).

For his birthday present I have been scanning Ebay for good deals on GeoTrax toys. I think I am now a GeoTrax expert of sorts. I eventually got a good buy on someone's collection of older GeoTrax toys (I learned never to give up on Ebay, eventually I find something at the right price). The very large box arrived a few weeks before Ira's birthday and he has been dying to open it since it arrived (I opened it and examined the contents to make sure everything was there and in working order).

GeoTrax was definitely a hit with the kids. I tried to encourage my husband to help build a system of track for them to play with but I guess this isn't really his kind of thing. Eventually I was able to get my hands free to help in the building. I wasn't fully satisfied with the results, but it was good enough for the kids. After the party, and once the kids were in bed, I went to work devising a new system of track.

My brother-in-law mentioned during the party that he could see who the GeoTrax were purchased for, and that night as I was setting it up I had to admit--I love playing with the GeoTrax, if only in the set up. The next morning I heard my oldest son and daughter busy playing with the new set up. My son was having a blast delivering "cargo" around the GeoTrax city I had constructed. It was fun seeing him enjoying the "city" I had built for him.

It's been a couple days and I'm itching to start changing up the track. I told Ira that one day he'll wake up and the track will be different. He was a little alarmed at this notion. I guess he and I enjoy GeoTrax for different reasons. I enjoy the "possibilities" that the track can construct while he enjoys giving "life" to the built GeoTrax world. So here is the current track set up, in all it's gloriousness:

Insectival

2009-03-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the San Bernardino County Museum hosted the "Insectival". My son can't get enough info on bugs. He has numerous books that we read over and over. He is always digging in the yard looking for new little critters. He recently caught his first cricket of the season. It helps that we live in a great place for bug hunting.

Unfortunately, I am deathly afraid of pretty much any kind of bug. I have tried to put on a brave face for my son, but he'll probably see through my rouse sooner or later. And it doesn't help that we live in a desert with some pretty knarly looking insects!

I still remember the day my son, about 2, brought his first bug to me, sticking it in my face and asking, "What's this?" I didn't bother responding to the question, instead cringing and pointing to the door, "Outside! Bugs stay outside!" After my initial wave of panic subsided, I calmly explained to Ira that our home did not welcome pests. He has been pretty good obeying this rule.

So when my sister phoned and told me about the Insectival I knew Ira would love to go. We also brought Ira's friend Kennedy. She is also a bug lover. We had a great time! Ira got to hold several bugs--a tarantula, walking stick, millipede, snail, mealworms and madagascar hissing cockroach. Emma repeated her no touch policy when it came to touching the bugs, but was dying to hold a small boa snake (they let the kids touch, but not hold it, and she loved touching it). Of course, now my son wants his very own pet bug (over my dead body). The closest he will get is the crickets and other insects he catches and keeps in his little bug cage outside.

Family

2009-03-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

So I mentioned in my Snow Day post that my grandmother passed recently. She was an amazing woman. She lived about 45 minutes from where my family grew up when I was 5 till after I left for college. We ALWAYS celebrated the holidays at her home and drove up frequently during the year. I knew how special she was because my father KNEW how special she was.

I have fond memories of food fresh from her garden, from fresh peaches with cream to strawberry angel food cake with fresh strawberries to cherry pie made from cherries off her cherry tree. I love fried catfish because of the fresh caught catfish my grandmother would fry up (though I now cook it oven fried to be a little healthier...).

She lived through some difficult times. She came from a poor family and her own small family had some great financial struggles. I was touched when I learned how she gave up smoking to buy my father a clarinet. She was that kind of person--trying to make the best life for her children despite difficult circumstances. My father learned the hard, but important, lesson of being a hard worker from her.

Because the funeral was in the morning in Redondo Beach we decided that it would be best to drive down the night before. Then we decided (okay, I was the one who decided) that we should drive down earlier in the day and take the kids to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Mark worked the night before and then got delayed by several hours because of a late call so I was a "little" stressed that morning.

But we were able to leave about 1.5 hours after I intended to leave (Mark got home about 30 minutes before we left). Traffic wasn't too bad, except we had to stop at the bank and to grab lunch and then my son had to make two potty stops. When we had to stop for a second potty trip an hour after the first I thought we would never get there! But we finally made it to the Aquarium at about 3pm.

I loved the aquarium and Ira was excited about being able to touch sea creatures. After viewing the large aquarium and sea lions we went outside to see the shark pool. I thought Emma would enjoy touching the sharks as Ira had talked about little else. I helped her up and tried to guide her hand. As soon as her hand touched the water she recoiled and refused to have any more to do with the sharks. She didn't even want to be near the larger shark aquarium, but daddy eventually convinced her to take a look.

Once we could peel Ira away from the sharks, we visited the lorikeets. The kids are familiar with feeding lorikeets because we have season passes to the Wild Animal Park (we can also go to the San Diego Zoo, but it's farther) and feeding the birds is one of their favorite parts of our visits.

After feeding the birds and talking to the bird caretakers we went to the upper level. Ira was stoked about touching the tidal wave animals (sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and anemones). Again, Emma would look but NOT touch ANYTHING. Ira then visited the ray pool before we walked inside.

I thought Ira would be so excited to see the jellyfish, but all he could think about was touching sea animals. He did pause briefly to view the octopus and eels. Thankfully the Aquarium knows that kids want to touch and have several kiosks inside the aquarium with more tidal animals that the kids can pet. My mom even convinced Emma to touch an anemone by telling her it was a ocean flower! She wouldn't touch anything else, but at least she touched something.

We were pretty hungry by the time we finished at the aquarium and seeing those huge rock lobsters and enormous crabs gave me a craving for sea food! I'm sure the people who built a Bubba Gump's Restaurant next door to the Aquarium did so for people like me. :) It was a little pricey, but I don't know where else you could get a "bucket of boat trash" that tastes any better!

The next day, after the funeral, all the extended family made a special trip to Leo's Mexican Restaurant. It is a small mexican restaurant that my father's family frequented when it was little more than a taco shack. Even though we lived over an hour away, my father still took us on special trips to this fabulous place! I have happy memories of making wishes on pennies and throwing them into the fountain on the patio or feeding the birds singing in the vines growing along the iron fencing and overhead. If you are making a trip to the Redondo area I would highly recommend it!

Snow Day Pictures

2009-03-07T05:49:00.003-08:00

I thought I would include a few pictures from our two snow day trips in a separate post. Here they are!

Love the shoes!

Ira--the big helper!

Ready to Slide!

Snowball Fight!

Ira Crashing into a Snow Tower!

Snow Day

2009-02-26T16:42:00.000-08:00

Our family planned a trip to northern Idaho at the beginning of February to visit my grandmother who was diagnosed with lung cancer. We knew we would be facing some severe snow weather so we went to work getting the snow gear necessary. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed 3 days before our scheduled flight. I was sad that grandma did not get to meet little Sean, but thankful that we visited a few times with our other two children, last summer being the most recent.

We decided that we ought to get some use out of our snow clothing. The first scheduled visit to the snow was taken by Mark and the two older kids while I was out with Sean for a meeting. We were in a rush to get to our various destinations. I put together the kids hats/mittens/snow bibs and Mark got the kids out to the car. Emma was still asleep at the time and he figured she would take her nap on the way.

I told Mark he could probably find a small spot on the way to Big Bear but he was having no luck finding a suitable spot. He only became more frustrated, after arriving in Big Bear and finding a spot, when he realized that Emma's snow boots were not brought with them (Ira was wearing his snow boots already). In fact, she had no shoes on at all. He did not want to turn back around after an hour long drive and a patient son only a couple steps from snow. Then he remembered that he had packed his snow boots and was wearing hiking boots. So Emma made do with daddy's hiking boots. She couldn't walk, but her feet were kept warm!

A couple weeks later, after another snow storm went through Big Bear, we planned another trip up to the snow. This time the whole family went--even my mother (who volunteered to sit in the car to watch Sean) and my in-laws. This time we were much better prepared and the kids enjoyed themselves. My in-laws built "towers" of snow for Ira to aim at as he sled down the soft slope. He even hit at least one before the day was over!

Christmas Visits

2009-02-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

One of the joys, for me, during Christmas is the opportunity to visit with family and friends. At the beginning of December my sister-in-law and her family came up to visit and enjoy the town's Christmas activities. Mark and the kids rode the "train". Then the kids climbed through a train bounce house, ran through some "snow flurries" and pet a few barn animals in the petting zoo area (Ira was particularly fond of the chicken).

Train Ride

The weekend before Christmas my cousin came up from Orange County to visit. It was great seeing her--I last saw her when Emma was a baby. Ira made fast friends and enjoyed rocking out to the music video for Ghostbusters with her! My sister and her husband also made the trip up and Ira got to open a couple early Christmas gifts. Emma missed the opening of gifts because she was taking a much needed nap.

Presents!

Just after Christmas my high school friends and I had our usual holiday gathering. This year we met at a friends place in LA. I will not go into details of our trip down. Suffice to say, after over 4 hours traveling and numerous pit stops we made it. I didn't do too well taking pictures, but Ira took a few at dinner. The kids loved the walk to the Chinese restaurant--that is something I miss no longer living in a city. I loved the strolls I would take with Ira when he was a baby.

Christmas Recap

2009-01-30T23:21:00.001-08:00

Since I wasn't blogging at Christmas time I figured I would recap some of the more notable days and even include pictures! We did not do a lot of decorating this year because I had my hands full with Sean. Mark always insists on a fresh tree and it was mid-December before we got around to getting a tree ("we" as in Mark, Ira & Emma). I think they picked out a great tree. It then took another week before we got around to putting the ornaments on. Ira would ask everyday if it was time. I finally got a couple ornaments out for him and Emma to put on to satisfy them until daddy's day off. We also invited my in-laws over for the decorating because my mother-in-law is a pro at decorating a tree.

The in-laws with Emma.

Ira hanging ornaments.

Which one next?

The completed tree.

The day before was our church's Christmas breakfast. The kids had a great time. Ira was one of the wise men in the children's nativity reenactment. We were also treated to a great Christmas hula. The kids favorite part? Receiving bags filled with candy from "Santa's Elves".

Our Little Wise Man

The REAL Wise Man

Emma!

Hula Christmas

Treats!

This year Mark and the kids decorated a gingerbread house. This is the second year we decorated one (we cheat and buy the pre-made house kits; last year's house kit was a gift from a friend--thanks Cing!). I was taking care of Sean so I didn't get to really participate in the decorating (and after seeing the final results I don't know if I would have admitted I had helped even if I had! :p). Mark decided that next year we would buy GOOD candy to use on the house, but the kids seemed to enjoy stuffing themselves with the BAD tasting candy anyway.

It all starts off well...

Final Product!

I will continue with Christmas adventures in my next post!

Alive!

2009-01-30T13:58:00.000-08:00

It has been nearly a year since I last posted on this blog. We are alive and well! Much has happened in that time. For one, we added one more to our family--a beautiful little boy. I also decided that I would be more open about names and perhaps graduate to posting pictures!

So here is the BIG REVEAL: My name is Mariann. My husband is Mark. Our little ones are Ira (4 years old), Emma (2 years old), and Sean (our happy 3 month old).

I think I will still stick to writing more than posting pictures just because I am so horrible about taking pictures, but when they are available I will add them to my rantings. :)

So, welcome to the evolution of our blog! I hope these changes will make it much more fun to view for all our family and friends!

Family Trip! Part 2

2008-04-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

So... it has been several months since our family trip to San Diego and I guess I have been trying to put the second day behind me. One thing I forgot to mention was at the end of the first night. I had forgotten to bring any type of bedtime story books for my children. And bedtime without story time does not happen in our family. I think my son would have rebelled.

So we stopped at a Target near the hotel and picked up two books. One was a book I've wanted to buy, but considering the number of children's books we own, I couldn't bring myself to buy it until now. The book is Where the Wild Things Are. I was so happy to have an excuse to buy it! Plus the kids LOVE it, just like I thought they would.

So the next day ended up being an early morning for everyone. My husband, son, and I were happy to continue sleeping, but my daughter made sure everyone was up early. So we all trudged down to get some breakfast (we always make it a point to stay somewhere with a continental breakfast--I'm sure other parents can relate). After breakfast we headed back upstairs and prepared to leave for the day. I was excited because all the grandparents were coming down to meet us at the Wild Animal Park.

We made it in good time to the Park, but had to stand in a VERY long line in order to get replacements for our lost season passes. When we last moved we misplaced them and had to get new ones. Already the kids were anxious and a bit grumpy (okay, I was a little grumpy too). My daughter had fallen asleep during the 20 minute ride to the park (she definitely woke up too early) and was not happy to be woken up while being moved to the stroller.

My husband learned that the grandparents would arrive in 30 to 40 minutes so we hit the petting korral first. This is a great place to just hang out since the kids love being able to touch the animals. Then we met with the grandparents and made our way to the tram. Along the way we stopped at Lion's Camp. I think it is the neatest exhibit. Seeing the large male lion only inches away is an awesome feeling.

By the time we were in our seats for the tram ride my daughter was incredibly crabby. She was ready for a nap, but it seemed that each time she neared sleep the sun would hit her face and she would wake up or I would get a cramp in my arm and have to move her. My son was having his share of problems--wanting to stand where he shouldn't or take pictures with daddy's camera, hanging it over the side of the tram. It was only lunch time, but I wanted to go home.

Of course we couldn't go home without feeding the lorikeets (as my son would tell anyone) so we head up to get some food instead. I am so grateful for the new elevator system at the Wild Animal Park and the view from the landing deck is unbelievable! Unfortunately, the kids were not willing to enjoy anything so we continued to the restaurant for lunch.

Ah lunch... lunch entailed drinks being knocked over, screams and fights. My husband could tell I had had it and did his best to help out. Finally things seemed to calm down a bit. Near the restaurant was a new playground area so we took the kids to burn off some steam. They seemed to have a great time in the playground but then fought over the buttons on a little safari ride on car that grandpa so kindly paid for them to ride. Then we loaded them up and took them to feed the lorikeets so mommy could go home!

Both kids quickly fell asleep as we began our trip home. We had to stop in Corona for gas and, of course, the kids woke up. We knew they wouldn't sit for much longer without a stretch and it was nearing dinner so I suggested we hit the Rainforest Cafe at Ontario Mills. I told my son we were going somewhere special for dinner. His response? "Somewhere special? Maybe McDonald's?" Out of the mouths of babes...

The kids were very happy to experience the Rainforest Cafe. My daughter was a little nervous during the first mock thundershower (we were seated near the gorillas), but they loved it. Thankfully the restaurant was not busy so my husband and I could take turns leading the kids around the restaurant to look at all the mechanical animals and aquariums. At least the kids enjoyed a small version of an "animal park" for the day!

Family Trip! Part 1

2008-02-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday and Tuesday we took a little family vacation. On Monday we traveled to Legoland. It is a place geared toward the younger crowd and my son absolutely loves it. On Tuesday we journeyed to the Wild Animal Park. The two are only about 20 minutes apart so it makes for a nice vacation.

Since this may be long... I'm only going to discuss Legoland in this entry.

So on Monday we departed at 9:30am. We had been shooting to leave around 8am. Such is life with little kids. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to Legoland with a short stop at McDonald's in the middle (my daughter had enough of the car and needed a little stretch). The last 10 minutes were difficult for my daughter. She is not up for such long car rides. I know if we had borrowed the in-law's DVD players we may not have had such a LONG ride, but I feel bad putting them in front of a screen for a long time.

Our first objective was to get my son, B, a season pass. We decided to get B the season pass so that he can go with others--i.e. the grandparents. We chose to buy him a pass that provides free parking and 20% off food. Since it comes with one free guest pass a year, my ticket was free and my hubby got a discount on the only adult ticket we purchased through his work. My daughter was free (don't you love the 3 and younger price?).

Unfortunately for my daughter, there are not a lot of rides she can ride on. My son's first ride was the horse in the knight's realm. She loves horses and kept saying, "Ride horse!" Thankfully there is an awesome play area in the knights realm with stairs, slides, climbing nets, bridges, etc. She absolutely loved it! C loves to slide and she was pretty fearless going down the large tube slides. My son was actually more hesitant in going down the slides--he always has been more cautious.

After playing we stopped to get apple fries. I had wanted to try them for AGES and finally got the chance. They were the best treat ever! The apples are sliced into thin fries, battered, fried and doused in cinnamon sugar. They are served with a cinnamon whipped cream that was my daughter's favorite part. It was technically dessert before lunch, but hey, we're on vacation. :)

My husband and I took turns watching each child. The trouble with the ages of our children is that my son can ride most of the rides while my daughter cannot. Thankfully Legoland has various "playgrounds" for her to play in. While in the Pirate Shores area, she happily swung in the bucket swings in the toddler water area while my son road the boats. In the Fun Town area my hubby found a fun cave area that leads to a gift shop (I didn't even know it existed). Later my hubby took my son to the same area and my son was frightened the whole trip through. Oh well. There are also several stationary cars my daughter could "drive" while my son drove the "real" cars and helicopters.

There are two fun rides my daughter can ride. In the Imagination Zone there is a small train that she can ride. We rode it once entering the Imagination Zone and once before leaving. In the Imagination Zone there are also many "two-story" houses with slides. I think she went down all the slides but one. There is also a fun Fairy Tale boat ride that we could all ride.

Before leaving we let the kids play in the sand area next to the Dino roller coaster. My son rode the coaster twice, once with me and once with my hubby.

It was an exhausting day--especially since my daughter missed her nap. She went to sleep almost as soon as we got in the car and my son soon followed suit. It was tiring, but lots of fun and the kids were so good. I wish I could say the same about the next day, but I'll discuss that in another entry. :)

My Child's Prayer

2008-02-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

Right now is a fun time in my little girl's life. It seems each day she comes up with a new phrase and her little personality is definitely shining through.

One of my favorite phrases she uses is when she is running as fast as her little toddler legs will take her, shouting in her little girl voice, "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Or, as she is pulling on my hand, "Let's go! Let's go!"

So at dinner a few nights ago when it was time to bless the food she says, "I say it." With a little coaching she was able to say the prayer over the food. It warmed my heart to hear her petition to Heavenly Father in her sweet, quiet voice. I'm sure it warmed Heavenly Father's heart too.

Saying Good-Bye

2008-02-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The funeral of the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley was held today. It has been almost a week since his passing, causing much reflection on my part. He was the prophet through many of my teen years and has been the prophet during the early years of my marriage and motherhood. My life has changed much in that time, but my love and affection for this wonderful man has only grown.

So today, as many of my faith have done, my family and I tuned in to watch the funeral services. My eyes filled with tears as his coffin was rolled into the conference center. My son, noticing my somber mood, went to me and asked, "Mama, why are you sad?" Why am I sad? I am sad because this dear man will never walk into conference again, waving his cane at the crowd. I am sad because I will miss his quick wit and optimism. I am sad because I will miss him.

During the week I spent some time reading various articles regarding Gordon B. Hinckley. In one brief article it was noted that the Rexburg Idaho temple dedication was postponed by one week. And then the thought entered my mind: The Lord's work continues. How marvelous!

I am grateful that the Lord chose Gordon B. Hinckley to serve as prophet for so many years. I am grateful that I, along with so many others, was able to feel of his spirit, enjoy his humor, and be taught by him. And I am grateful to be a part of the Lord's work which, I know, will continue to fill the earth.

Paulie

2008-01-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone. It was a fun time to gather with family and friends. This Christmas we celebrated by bringing a new member into our family. My husband and I were really done with pets for a while... but my son was crying out for a pet. Let me explain...

It all started one day when he found a fly in its last hours of life. He decided that this fly would be a great "pet". As disgusting as it was, he began to carry the fly around the house. Daddy arrived home from work and asked his son what he was looking at. My son replied that he had a fly. Daddy said to throw it in the trash at which point my son, eyes filling with tears, says, "But he's my pet."

Early December we went to get a Christmas tree. My husband and I prefer real Christmas trees and once we had our Christmas tree at home, found a ladybug that had been hiding in its branches. We made a little "house" for our ladybug and let my son revel in having a "pet" for a day. The next day my son took the ladybug out to play with it. The ladybug was rather smart and flew as far away as possible. My son, shoulders drooped in disappointed, came into the home and said (again with those doe eyes), "He flew away; my pet flew away!"

Well, Mommy's heart couldn't take too many more of those disappointing moments. My son needed a pet. But what kind of pet should we get? A meeting with my husband quickly ruled out dog (he'd ruin our new landscaping) or cat (he's ruin our new carpet). Mommy ruled out all reptiles. We decided it would have to be something that could be held on a regular basis which ruled out birds and most aquatic life. Mice and hamsters are prone to jail breaks, so we ruled them out. Our decision? A guinea pig, aka cavy.

So we suprised our children on Christmas morning with a cavy. My son was responsible for naming our new pet. At first he wanted to name it Tiny. When we went over to the in-laws for Christmas brunch festivities we told everyone it's name would be Tiny (previously her code name was Fred). At which point my son changed his mind and renamed her Paulie.

So Paulie is the newest addition to our family. The kids love her and she's not too much trouble to look after. Of course her cage needs to be cleaned routinely and I give her a fresh salad daily. We recently built her a new cavy cage using coroplast & cubes (called a C&C cage by www.cavycages.com) for which she is extremely happy. And now my son no longer longs for a pet, although he does talk of getting a crab... hmm, I don't think so.

It's Raining!

2007-11-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

My daughter, C, has not had much experience with rain--it has been so dry the last year and a half. So today's rainfall was quite an excitement. Just touching the falling water made her giddy. She would walk just far enough to feel a few sprinkles and then run back under the roof line for safety.

Yesterday I coaxed my son to go outside and enjoy the weather. He had enjoyed himself so much that he spent almost the whole day outside, even into the early evening. Today we were all getting a little cabin fever. I was happy to sit on the loggia and enjoy the rain, but my son was itching to go exploring.

I finally gave the okay and he was off. He looked at the mini rivers running through the property and scoped out all the mud puddles. When he was done he was completely soaked, but content. Sometimes it seems the only way to burn off some of that energy is to be outside.

READ!

2007-11-09T10:46:00.001-08:00

My daughter has discovered a four letter word: READ! At first it was absolutely adorable. She would grab a book and run over, saying READ! READ! How could one deny? So we would read and read and read. After the fifth reading she would jump down, find another book, run over and the cycle would repeat itself.

Well, after several hours each day for the last two weeks I have begun to dread the "READ" word. Should I say that I am busy, I would be hit with cries and tears. My poor baby only wants the simple pleasure of reading a book, how can I deny such a simple request?

I think she is gradually realizing that if mommy looks busy, she can't read. But, should mommy sit down for a minute to relax, she pounces with a book and the four letter word. And even though I may complain, I do love reading to my children.

Trick or Treat

2007-11-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I bought a mouse costume at a yard sale. Originally I intended to have my daughter, C, wear it for Halloween. Turns out C will not wear any kind of one piece costume that involved a hood. My son, B, thought the costume was great and constantly wanted to wear it around the house. I felt it fitting to have him be the mouse for Halloween. After all, one of his nicknames as a baby was squeaker (when angry and frustrated he would make squeaking noises). He is still quite a squeaker... so it fit.

Since he could no longer play the cat in my cat and mouse idea, I figured C could make a great cat. Even better, in the weeks prior to Halloween my daughter began perfecting her "meow". It has to be one of the cutest meows I've heard. When she really gets into character, she pulls the "w" out long and almost guttural. I love it.

In the high desert the homes are spaced too far apart for any good door to door trick or treat. Instead, we go to our church building for "trunk" or treat, serving candy from the car trunks of those in attendance. There is usually quite a crowd and my children got more candy than they will eat in a year. This year they also had a plethora of Halloween cupcakes. My hubby enjoyed almost all the flavor variations. He asked me why would they provide so many cupcakes and I said they're here for the candy starved parents like him.

Out of Darkness

2007-11-09T10:20:00.001-08:00

For the last two months I have been cast into outer darkness... at least in the sense of being connected to my friends via the web. We were able to move on the 20th of September, but Verizon canceled our internet access the Friday before our move. Then we had to tangle with Verizon's immense ineptitude in getting a phone line to our new home. Thankfully we have cell phones otherwise we would have been truly isolated.

You would think, living in an area with so much growth as the Victor Valley, that Verizon would know how to handle installing a phone box at a new home. We had four different technicians come out before our case was transferred to the right department. Each time I would call and they would say, "That case was completed." I would then say, I have no phone box, therefore no phone. Can you comprehend? At which point they would schedule ANOTHER technician to come out to the house.

When the guy engineering the line came out, after over a month of battling technicians, he asked if I have electricity. Do these people have no clue? So finally the dust has settled and we have a phone and an internet connection.

Edison... Edison...

2007-09-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

So Edison pulled the plug on our plans (ha ha ha, I didn't mean to get punny). My hubby called them on Tuesday morning (when electric was supposed to go in) and they said, "Oh, we have you scheduled for the 14th." We made them promise and double promise that the electric would go in on the 14th. Today is the 14th and... they really are working!

So we rescheduled all the services. The official move date is now Thursday the 20th. We will make it just in time for our wedding anniversary and my Mother's birthday (the two being only a day apart). Yesterday we moved clothes hanging in the closets to the new house. We finally have closet space!! I'm telling you, two little closets for 4 people just doesn't cut it (especially since the two little people actually take up more space than I do!).

My hubby loaded up the trailer last night with boxes we have packed in the last several weeks and stored in the garage. The in-laws were very nice and came to help out at the tail end of the work. They really have been awesome. They helped my Mom while she was moving and they have really helped us in our moves as well.

So, a little delay... but soon!

The End is Near!

2007-09-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

I know, the title sounds like one of those Christian extremist posters following a parade route. But, we have less than a week before we make the big move to the new house! The end to our stay in this pitiful excuse for a rental is near!

Speaking of parades, our family attended the Apple Valley Round-Up Day Parade. My niece is a member of the ROTC and was marching in the event. I am so proud of her! She really did an excellent job (especially given that she only started ROTC a month ago and has already advanced to the drill team and some sort of staff sergeant rank). My children were on their best behavior during the parade. B loved watching the antique tractors (his passion). I think the most exciting part of the parade for both children came at its conclusion--the street sweeper sweeping up all the horse doo-doo!

I can't help but feel that we are going to cut things a little tight with our move-in date. The carpet is installed and most of the painting touch-ups are finished. On Monday the painters return to finish up. Tuesday the glass guys come to install the shower enclosure in my mom's bath and the glass door to our shower, as well as the glass for the kitchen cabinets. Tuesday is also the day that good ol' Edison is supposed to run electricity to our house. Wednesday the carpenters will return to install the large fireplace mantle and built-in ironing board in the laundry.

By Thursday we are counting on Edison to REALLY have electricity run to the house because on Thursday the propane guys come out to install the tank (and they need electricity to do that). I will also have carpet cleaners out that day to shampoo our new carpets. Then Friday is M-Day; no, not May Day, unless Edison doesn't come through for us, but Move Day. Movers will be at the rental to pack everything up while the Telephone, DirectTV, and A/C guys will be at the house to turn on the Telephone, Satellite TV, and final A/C things (whatever they can't do until propane is at the house). Friday night we should be safe and snug in our new house (fingers crossed, knock on wood). I'll let you know how it REALLY turns out...TBC

Our Big Walker

2007-09-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter, C, has been learning to walk for some time now but she has been resistant to giving up her previous mode of transportation, i.e. crawling. It's been about two months since she began taking her first few steps, but she has finally decided that walking is preferable to crawling. She was beginning to look a little silly crawling given she is 14 months old! She crawled a lot earlier than my son so I figured she would be walking sooner. I guess I shouldn't have made that assumption. She is now right on track with my son.

Her vocabulary is constantly growing. The only limitation is getting the words to come out just right. Her comprehension is so impressive. I feel, after already having one child, that I better understand her language, body gestures, etc. I am just amazed at how fast a child can learn and how much they can comprehend at such a young age!

It was about a month ago when I was playing with my daughter and asked her if she wanted to play with play dough. She said, "doh doh?" and proceeded to crawl to the cabinet the play dough is kept in, stand up, and reach as high as she could as if saying, "Okay, where's my play dough? I'm ready!"

One thing I will say about my daughter is that she is fearless. My son has always been a bit cautious (and an anxious mommy probably didn't help), so it has been fun and a little scary to see my daughter dive in head first (literally at times).

About a month ago we went to the Victorville mall for lunch. I don't go often, but we were in the area. They have a great newer play area for kids in the food court area. My daughter was in the thick of the little children playing when realized she could climb the rock-like steps up the main play structure. Things were going well, she'd wait for me to get her ready to slide down the 5 ft rock "slides" and happily slide down, but then she decided she didn't need me anymore. She climbed up the stairs and, before I could do anything, sent herself flying head first down the rock slide--laughing and squealing all the way, I might add. She has definitely taught me to let go a little and let her do her own exploring.

So my little adventurer is walking (and just in time for the big move). I wonder what surprises she has in store for me yet (maybe I shouldn't be asking...). That's all part of being a mom, right?

Move-In Date

2007-09-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest news--an official move-in date! We will be moving on September 14th! Electricity is to be installed on the 11th. Our first final inspection went relatively well. The propane tank was too close to the street so it had to be moved and some sensor light switches had to be installed in the bathrooms. Otherwise, all was good. The contractor fixed the problems and got the sign-off the very next day.

Things that have happened this last month: (1) Tile floors and bath/shower tile enclosures completed, (2) finish plumbing including installation of the tankless hot water heater completed, (3) electrical completed, (4) HVAC system completed, (5) central vacuum system completed, (6) finish hardware installed, and (7) concrete work and finish grading completed, and etc.

Tasks covering the next two weeks include paint touch-ups, installation of glass in the kitchen cabinets, shower doors and guest bath mirror (other bathrooms have specialty glass mirrors installed), the mantle over the fireplace needs to be installed as well as carpet in the living room, family room and bedrooms. The finish is so close, I can hardly wait!!

We did hit a bit of a snag with our contractor. His doctors discovered that he has a blocked heart artery. He had an angioplasty, but the doctors determined that he will need a bypass. The bypass is scheduled for Tuesday. If you recall, his son is my husband's co-worker; I'll just call him Al. Al is taking over the project so our house can be completed. We have faith in Al since he has been in the business almost all his life. Prior to his current profession he was a carpenter and he currently runs a grading business on the side. Al and his father completed Al's own house not more than a year ago. So we trust Al to get things done. Al did say that we would owe him one heck of a dinner once our house is complete, however. :)

So that is the latest on the home front. I'll try to keep everyone posted as we get closer to the big move!

Testimony

2007-08-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Our family attends church regularly; it is an integral part of our family life. Yesterday was no exception as we prepared for church. Yesterday we had the fast and testimony meeting. This seemed to be the first time my son noticed the younger children get up and bear their testimony. He turned to me and asked, "I go up there too?"

I was really unprepared to here that! Only nearly 3 1/2 years old, I would have never expected B to want to go up in front of the congregation. He did an excellent job for his age (that is, he didn't run and hide when it was his turn). I will definitely have to have a family home evening about testimonies. He and I did talk about testimonies yesterday evening.

I just cannot believe how much he is growing! Lately, it seems that he and I talk more and more about the gospel. It's almost a little scary; I have the responsibility, even the command, to teach him. I hope I can teach him well. I hope he learns to love the Lord as I do.

Home Building Update

2007-08-03T23:04:00.001-07:00

I can't believe a whole month has gone by--summer is flying by! On the home building front, things have been moving along without too many bumps.

All the fabulous hickory cabinetry has been installed and sealed. We chose not to stain the cabinets so the vibrant variation in colors would really stand out. I did have the cabinet makers change the side the dishwasher sits at the kitchen island. We had told our builder earlier to make the change, but somewhere along the line the communication broke down. Otherwise the cabinets went very smooth.

We designed each of the closets with the carpenter and they look great as well. My mom is thrilled with the dresser in her walk-in closet and her built-in dresser/entertainment center in her room. Of course we have to make mom happy. :)

At the beginning of the week the patio concrete was laid. The exterior color coat was applied yesterday. We chose an almost milk chocolate color. I think I may end up calling this house the chocolate house.

The painters should be finishing all the trims and doors today. Monday will begin the week long process of installing granite counters in the kitchen and baths and tile on the floors and baths. The following week the finish plumbing should be completed. We hope everything will be done in a month; we'll see.

All I know is I want out of this rental!!! The owner repaired the swamp, but there is STILL no a/c. :( That is not what I'm paying for. If you can't make repairs to a house, don't rent it out!! A couple nights ago my hubby came home from work at 3am, sat down at the computer and began to hear scampering. What was all the commotion? Only two field mice playing tag!

My mom suggested to the property manager that she could get an exterminator real cheap (i.e. cat), but they haven't taken us up on that offer. We hadn't planned on having any animals at the new house, but I think we will review that choice in light of this new experience. My hubby and I previously had two cats, one has been given to a neighbor (who have always loved him more than their own cats) and one has been given to my in-laws.

So that is all on the home building front. So far so good, but never fast enough! :)

Fireworks

2007-07-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight we watched fireworks from the backyard of our home under construction. We also invited my hubby's brother and his family. We weren't sure if the view would be too good, but it turned out quite well. One joshua tree ate into the view so we moved to a different location in the backyard, but otherwise we had a great view. So our new home has been named the official 4th of July home for our extended family.

At this point I am SO ready to move! We returned to the rental to find that the ac was not working. My husband tried to run the evaporative cooler earlier in the day and discovered that it leaks into the house. :( We are so done with this house. During the winter months the heater would give out on occasion. The problem would be "fixed" one day and then the heater would give out yet again. Very Frustrating!!

The windows are open and the fans are running. Someone will be out tomorrow to "fix" the problem. As long as it is fixed for the next two to three months we live here, I guess I'll survive. If not, I'm booking a hotel!

Building Update

2007-07-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

I didn't write during the beginning of June because there wasn't much activity on the home building front. We had to wait for the roof tiles to arrive for the next inspection. By the second week of June the roof tiles were on the roof and the inspection had been completed. Things started moving along quite well from there.

Insulation was installed and drywall went up. We also had a chain-link fence installed around the property. The backyard is fully fenced, but the front yard only has a temporary fence to be used until the completion of the project. We now question whether that was money well spent because the front gate is usually left open. I'm sure they will lock it when the more expensive items are installed, right?

We had the drywall inspection and have moved on to the taping and mudding of the walls. The stucco has been applied to the exterior walls and today we found our septic tank sitting in a giant hole in the front yard. My contractor anticipates having the drywall complete by Tuesday and the undercoat applied by the end of the week.

The cabinet makers are hard at work building the cabinetry for our home. We have a ton of cabinetry going into this home. We picked out and bought a kitchen sink that requires a custom cabinet so our contractor made sure to deliver the specs personally to the cabinet maker.

We have accumulated a multitude of items for the new house. Some have found their way into the already packed garage. The rest sit in the formal dining room. Home Depot had a ceiling fan sale this weekend so we bought almost all the ceiling fans we need for the home. We also have three bathroom faucets (for every room except the master), vanity lights, a pedestal sink we special ordered for the powder room, kitchen faucet bought on e-bay and kitchen sink ordered through an online vendor, and a track light system for the kitchen that was bought when we remodeled our previous home's kitchen but was never installed. Our goal is to clean out the garage so we can put the rest of the items there until they are installed (my contractor is planning on 3 to 4 weeks, perhaps less, for the lighting).

So that is how the home building front is panning out. I will try to be more dutiful in my updates so I don't have to write long posts like this one! I will try, but it is summer...

Swimming Lessons

2007-07-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I have been lapse in updating my blog. Summer has started, what can I say?

I did have to write a little bit about the swim class adventure. The first Saturday of June was swim class sign ups. Sign ups started at 9am, we arrived at 8:45am to find a monstrous line. As dutiful parents, we stood in line for nearly 3 hours before arriving to the counters to sign up for the swim classes. Thankfully the classes we wanted were not full. I then left with the kids, leaving my hubby to stand in another monstrous line to pay for the classes--poor hubby.

The first day of swim class went less than swimmingly. We had signed up both children for the Saturday "Parent & Child" swim classes. The pool was cold! I didn't even want to get in, so I can understand the dissatisfaction my son and daughter voiced in getting wet. Then the instructor said that everyone was going underwater today. My poor little girl wailed for the next 40 minutes, getting dunked several times along the way.

I did appreciate what lessons the instructor was trying to teach the older children. She would have my son get out of the water and throw him in with either my husband or I catching him after he was submerged in the water and turning him back to grab onto the side of the pool. In this way, he could learn what to do should he fall into a pool. She also wanted the younger children to learn to hold their breath when submerged. The parent would hold the child and count to three. On three both parent and child would submerge. After enough submerging, the child gets the idea--even if they don't like it much.

However, I didn't really feel that my daughter learned much from her lessons except to start crying as soon as her legs touched water. It amazes me because she loves bath time and the time spent at my in-laws in ground pool. Then again, we aren't dunking her underwater on a regular basis in either situation.

I don't think I will do another formal swim class with my daughter until she is older, but my son had fun and learned a few things as well.

My Dear Friends At Lowes

2007-05-28T22:20:00.001-07:00

So construction has been moving along quite smoothly. The plumbing, electrical, hvac and central vacuum components are just about completed. The exterior has been wrapped in preparation for the stucco and the tar paper for the roof has been laid.

In order for the next round of inspections to be completed all the exterior doors must be hung. Unfortunately our dear friend's at Lowes messed up the order for our exterior door and did not order the transom. We should have it early this week and the inspection can proceed.

I say Lowes is our dear friend because we had one heck of a time using them to install new kitchen cabinets in our old home. First, the sink cabinet got "lost" for 4 weeks, then the contractor realized that they had goofed on the measurements and ordered cabinets too large for a space. Then they damaged our new dishwasher and jimmied two electrical outlets while installing the new cabinets cutting out the power to both outlets. They also ordered the wrong molding twice. In the end, to reimburse us for having to get an electrician out to fix the two outlets and a technician to order a new part for the dishwasher Lowes gave us gift cards for the money we were out. I will never EVER recommend using Lowes for this type of service again. Get your own contractor because the Lowes' contractors stink and the people at Lowes are horrible about managing these contractors.

So in the meantime, we have made a trip to one of the tile shops my contractor uses. There we picked out carpet, tile flooring, tile for the baths and showers, and granite for the kitchen and baths. We still need to decide on the back splash for the kitchen, but by the end we were completely exhausted! We could not make another decision so we will save that one for another day.

Church Music

2007-05-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned previously that my son loves tractors. He also LOVES music. Many of my friends find it quite amusing when he spontaneously bursts into song. It could be "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "Where Has My Little Dog Gone" or "I've been Working on the Railroad" just to name a few. So it is no surprise that my son's favorite part of our main church meeting is the hymns.

Unfortunately, my son doesn't know the words to most of the church hymns. A few weeks ago I began to notice that my son was singing more than "oohs" and "ahs" during the hymn. He was actually inventing words of his own. And what words would be more appropriate in church than names of tractors? That's right, in the middle of a hymn I would hear o/~ "Aaah, Bulldozer! BullDOooOZEEEER!" o/~ So those of you who attend church with us and read this blog now know why my husband and I are snickering through the hymns. We mean no disrespect, we just can't help ourselves.

One Tough Cookie

2007-05-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

I have to say that my daughter is one tough cookie. She is always on the go. Unlike her brother, she was crawling at the normal age of 8 months. My son was never in a hurry, he didn't begin to crawl until 11 months old. My daughter, now 10 1/2 months old, can really fly across the floor. And, if a door is opened, watch out! She is going, going, gone (squealing and giggling all the way).

In the backyard of our rental there is a lot of concrete. This can be hard on the knees so my daughter has perfected what I call the three point crawl. She uses one foot to propel herself forward so she doesn't have to have both knees on the ground. This has been fairly effective, especially since she can switch knees when one gets tired.

We also have a large gravel area in the backyard and a smaller gravel area in the front yard. These used to be barriers for my little Cutesie, but she has decided that they will be so no more. A few days ago she played for a brief time in some rocks in the front yard, but I figured after experiencing the sharp jabs of the rocks she would no longer venture there. Wrong.

Yesterday she decided to take an extended trip in the rocks in the backyard, traveling a good two to three yards to get from my mother's room to the concrete. Later, she returned by taking a round about way through the rocks, stopping to play with various tractors along her path. I can dress her like a little princess, but I know she is one rough and tough little girl at heart.

Meeting the Cabinet Maker

2007-05-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Our builder had the cabinet-maker over today to take measurements for all the cabinetry in our home and there is A LOT of cabinetry. My mother is having the cabinet-makers create a built-in TV entertainment unit for her room. It was either have them build it or buy another piece of furniture. We also added a small desk in the kitchen and a broom closet in the HUGE laundry room (my mother wanted a large laundry room and this one is enormous). Otherwise, the cabinets follow the original floor plan.

We have been debating whether we would use Maple cabinetry or Hickory. The cabinet-maker said the price is comparable so we went with Hickory. When we remodeled the kitchen in our old house we used Maple and I still think Maple is very nice, but Hickory has so much character. Hopefully we love it as much when it is installed in a couple of months.

Rough Framing

2007-05-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

The rough framing of our home is nearly complete. The work site has been cleaned in lieu of the framing inspection that should occur this week. Our windows were installed last Friday and they are beautiful! Our builder is using CertainTeed casement windows. We decided to go with casements because of the tighter seal versus the standard sliders that are common in California. They are truly gorgeous.

Another thing of beauty is our roof. The builder has installed radiant barrier roof material. Rather than regular plywood, radiant barrier roofing has an undercoat of aluminum which reflects the heat off the roof. The difference walking under the roof line is amazing. The radiant roofing continues to the patios that follow the roof line. I know we will be very thankful for this investment during the terribly hot summer months.

We caught a couple things that had not been finished yet--my mom's corner shower still needed a side wall and seat (the original plans had glass walls on all three sides and no seat). Also, we noticed the toilet drain was too close to the powder room wall so the floor will need to be jacked and drain moved about a foot. Otherwise things are moving smoothly. Our builder figures most of the house will be finished in 3 months, so we will probably be able to move into the home in 4 months.

Farmer's Market

2007-05-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

Every Thursday a Farmer's Market is held at Victor Valley College. Since moving to the victor valley area 2 years ago this market has been an almost weekly adventure for my little family. I remember our first trip to the market. It was the first time my son tasted a strawberry. I still remember him sitting on my hip in the sling, savoring each juicy bite, strawberry juice running through his fingers and down his little arms.

My husband hasn't been able to go with us to the market lately because of his work schedule, but we still plan our weekly trip. Over the winter the market slows down quite a bit and I only go about every two weeks. Last week I missed the market, but when I went to the grocery store and found peaches that were ripe I had a feeling that things were going to be exciting this week. It seems to have taken a little longer to get really exciting this year, but the market has finally arrived!

Yesterday I bought apricots, peaches, cherries, strawberries, tomatoes, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, new potatoes and lettuce. My daughter had her first apricot. Oh how she loved that apricot! By the time she was done her little face was bright orange. My son loves apricots as well. I bought 8 and by the time we reached the car I had 3 left. One went to my daughter, the rest to my son. I just can't say it enough, I love the farmer's market!!

Under Roof

2007-05-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Another week has come and gone and work continues at a feverish pace. Since so much has occurred, I thought I'd outline day by day:

Last Wednesday - The slab foundation was poured.

Thursday - The framers outlined the base of the walls in a dry run to ensure the walls would go up smoothly.

Friday - Despite fierce winds, the framers erected the walls of the house.

Saturday - Framers plumbed the walls in preparation for the trusses.

Monday - Truss work begins.

Yesterday we took a grand tour of our home. Finally we can get a better feel for the layout of our home. With things moving so quickly, my mom joked with the framers that we would be ready to move in two weeks.

Tractors!

2007-04-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

As I have said before, my son loves tractors. Following Park Day on Wednesday, we drove by the property and saw that a tractor had arrived to remove the dirt from the trenching and smooth out the area where the foundation will be laid. My son was overjoyed at seeing the tractor.

It was nearing lunchtime, but I took him out of the car and we introduced ourselves to the men working. I told them that my son just had to look at the tractor. One of the men offered to give him a ride. Oh what joy filled my little boy's soul! Did he want to go for a ride on the tractor? Did the Earth revolve around the sun? What a silly question.

Thankfully I had my camera and we now have video of the infamous ride on the tractor. Sometimes I think we decided to build a house just for my son's enjoyment in watching it being built.

Decisions, Decisions

2007-04-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

It's official, our first cosmetic decision regarding the house has been made. We have chosen a roof color. It took us over a week. But I have called our contractor and the order has been placed. There is no turning back now.

Sometimes I wonder why three adults with no aptitude for decisive decision making decided to build a house together. The number of choices that will need to be made between now and the completion of this project are daunting. But at least we made it through decision number one fairly unscathed.

I had to lobby my mother and husband on going with my choice of roof color, but I was successful. I can be pretty persuasive. If anything, they finally agreed with me to get me to stop talking about it. I don't think I'll win every choice, but I can certainly try!

Pushing Dirt

2007-04-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

What a difference a week makes! I guess it has been a little over a week since my last post... Things have really been moving at the property--and I mean that in a literal sense. Grading took place a week ago Monday. B was thrilled to watch the bulldozer and loader work. The man grading the lot was very nice. He let B sit in one tractor while operating the other one.

At this point I have to digress to explain how significant this was to my son. My son is fascinated by big tractors and construction sites. My mom has said that we moved to the right area with all the construction in progress in the Victor Valley. In our backyard, my son has set up his own construction site. I can't even begin to count the number of tractors he has in our backyard. The grandmas love showering him with tractors because of his absolute elation in receiving them. So I cannot stress enough how utterly, completely thrilled my son is to watch tractors at work. Imagine how even more thrilled he was to sit in one of those big machines.

We returned to the property a couple days later to watch the backhoe trench the property. This time my son brought one of his toy tractors to "push dirt" while the backhoe was working. Even C got into the occasion and used her hands to shovel large amounts of dirt (and to try to eat the dirt as babies often do). The only way to convince B to leave was to bribe him with candy and the assurance that in a few days the concrete mixer would come to the property.

Today the forms were laid for the footings and tomorrow rough plumbing will be installed. All in all, it has been amazing to watch the transformation that has occurred at our site. When the property was graded, I was amazed--it was so beautiful. Each step has increased my vision of what our home will be like and so far, I am thrilled.

DDR

2007-04-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my family and I traveled "down the hill" to visit my sister and her husband. I told everyone we were going down to celebrate Easter together, but that was just a ruse. I have to be honest and confess... we went down to visit because I wanted to play DDR. What is DDR you ask? It is one of the hot video games out, one of the first interactive games on the market, it is Dance Dance Revolution.

My first exposure to DDR came while I was a graduate student at Cal. A friend held a pool party at his father's home in Marin. In their basement was the arcade version of DDR. It seemed like a lot of fun, but I don't frequent arcades often and I'm not going to spend $1 for less than 5 minutes of play time.

Now I've never been one to play video games. I spent some time playing MUD games on a local BBS while in high school, but even that got a little old after awhile. My sister has always been more fond of video games and her husband even more so. After playing DDR recently at one of my niece's birthday parties, I called my sister to tell her that this was a game she MUST have. She told me that her husband had offered to buy it for her, but she refused. Thankfully she listened to my advice and they are now the proud owners of DDR. And now I have to think of another good excuse to visit my sister, so I can play DDR too.

Bath Time

2007-04-06T00:38:00.000-07:00

There is something about bath time at my house--it's hard to explain. It always seems like the kids are thrilled with the announcement of bath time, but by the time their bath is over one or the other or both are crying and mommy is red-faced and unhappy. But all the unhappiness of the day before seems to be forgotten the next day when bath time is announced again.

Because of the problems I've experienced with having a 3 year old and a 9 month old bathing together and being civil, I have been giving each their own bath after dinner. My daughter always needs one because she is in the "I can eat by myself--even if half of dinner lands in my lap" stage and my son spends most of his time outside digging with tractors so he always needs one as well.

Following dinner last night I announce it is bath time. My son asks, "C going to take a bath with me? You want to take a bath with me little girl?" How could I deny his petition? I decided to be brave and attempt to bathe them at the same time.

At the mention of bath my little girl begins pumping her arms and legs in anticipation--bouncing like a little jumping bean. When we get to the end of the hallway I leave C at the doorway to the bathroom. B races ahead of me because he wants to "start" the bath. No sooner had I helped him turn on the water when, to my amazement, I see my daughter climbing to her knees next to the bathtub. C began crawling a few weeks ago, but never has she moved so fast! She definitely didn't want to be left out of the fun.

And bath time was different this time. No one was crying at the end; we truly had a good time. Perhaps this is why my children are so thrilled with the announcement of bath time--we really can have a good time with one another. I just needed to be reminded of how much fun.

Nicknames

2007-04-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

My husband has a particular knack of finding nicknames for people. I have had a series of nicknames throughout our courtship. So it is none too surprising that he has been equally skillful in finding nicknames for our children.

My son's most popular nickname is "Bundles of Joyfulness" or "Bundles" for short. This is why I refer to my son as B in this blog. Just recently my husband has settled on a nickname for our daughter. She will now be known as... "Cutesie". This is why I refer to her as C in this blog.

I have no gift in this particular subject. I often call my son "Baby" and my daughter, to distinguish herself from my son, "Baby Girl". Not too brilliant, eh? I don't know what I'll do when the next one comes along; "Hey You" is probably not a good alternative...

Let the Waterworks Begin

2007-04-04T04:09:00.000-07:00

Let there be water! Our home plans have gone through the necessary approval process and our contractor has been chomping at the bit, ready to get started building. We have been a little more hesitant in starting since we own a home that we want sold before we start building our new home. A few weeks ago our house went into escrow so we decided it was time to get the ball rolling on our new house.

The first order of business? Install a water meter on the property. We went through the necessary paperwork and were told it would be 3 to 6 weeks before the meter would be installed. So we figured things would start happening around the end of April.

Imagine our surprise when we drove by the property Monday and several sprinklers were running! We officially have water. However, water in the desert is very expensive. Today, we found the sprinklers still going or in the words of my husband, "Money is still raining on our property." We talked with the builder and learned that these sprinklers must run for a few days to completely saturate the ground. That will be one water bill I am not looking forward to seeing.

Elephants

2007-04-02T23:29:00.000-07:00

So my son, whom I will refer to as B, is almost 3 years old. These last few months have been a trying time for our relationship. Of course, my daughter, whom I will refer to as C, complicated my relationship with B. And then there is the potty training bit... I won't even go there.

But one of the fun things about this age is my son's new found ability to introduce imaginative play. Just today, right after breakfast, B comes running into the family room saying, "Mommy, look! An elephant! He's not scary. Come and see!" At which point he gleefully grabs my hand and pulls me along to the hallway. I, of course, play along with this ruse, "Oh, no! An elephant? Oh, I'm scared." B reassures me there is nothing to fear--after all, it is only a baby elephant.

At the end of the hall, we come face to face with the baby elephant, say our hellos, and then B scoops him up (evidently this baby elephant came palm sized). I suggest the baby elephant would enjoy being outside. B agrees and off we go to the backyard. B has a certain fascination with all things tractor related so his first order of business is to introduce the elephant to B's backhoe. The elephant rides inside the scoop of the backhoe while B pushes.

I then suggest the elephant may want to check out one of the slides. B hands the palm-sized fellow off to me and we walk over to one of the small slides. We watch as our little elephant slides down and then B picks him up to take him to another slide. At this point I suggest that the elephant may want B to slide down with him. So B climbs up the slide and down they go!

We had a few other adventures before the baby elephant bid us good-bye, but it was fun being pulled into my son's imaginative world for a short while. It is a wonder to watch my son continue to grow and learn. He amazes me.

We Own Dirt!

2007-04-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

So the first part to building a home is to find land. Fortunately, we live in the desert so there is plenty of dirt to choose from--albeit expensive dirt. My mother sold her home first and used the proceeds of that sale to buy land. We now own 1 acre of dirt.

There is very little vegetation with the exception of weeds. But there are also some beautiful Joshua Trees. Some people do not care for Joshuas, but my husband loves them and is so happy to build on a lot with Joshua Trees.

Our lot has a good backyard view of the valley. It also faces North which is good for energy efficiency. One element most important to my husband is that our lot is serviced by a public utility. Many of the homes in the area are on well water, but my husband does not want to deal with a well.

So, we own dirt... expensive dirt. And soon our home will be built upon it.

Beginnings

2007-04-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

At the advice of a good friend, we have decided to begin a blog of our own. The objective of this blog is to keep family and friends current on our lives. Since we have viewed very few blogs ourselves, this will be a work in progress.

I will probably be the author of most of our blogs, so let me introduce myself. I am a late twenties wife with two adorable children, my son who will be turning 3 this week and my 9 month old daughter. My husband and I currently live with my mother. She can no longer care for herself in her own home (even though she lived only 3 doors down from us), so we have decided to sell our homes and build one house for us all to live in comfortably.

Part of our decision to begin this blog is to chronicle the building of our new home. But we would also like a place to tell of our other adventures--most notably, the raising of our young family.