Since last I wrote we've had an amazing summer, a wild fall and a fantastic holiday season full of wonderful traditions. Which is great. We also had a few changes. Which could've been a bummer, but turned out great as well. The lastest of those was on Christmas Eve.
Wait.
Back up.
Billy & Ricky are growing up (read plotting their exit). So when the day arrived that they sat and discussed their favorite holidays I was, well... flabbergasted. Rest assured, after picking myself up off the floor due to the shock of the clinging going on, I took note of their voiced special memories. Christmas Eve was at the top of the list.
Oh great! We always go to the same snow park & eat dinner at the same funky diner. Also, we had guests.
THERE WAS NO SNOW!
I called many ski lodges, no one had any snow. No one expected any snow till well after New Years.
Plan B. & a family meeting later we decided on going to ice skating in Yosemite.
We all piled in the cars and headed up the highway. After a short pit stop to grab some lunch & shop at a favorite store, we were on our way to behold the beauty of Yosemite. It never gets old & is super-cool to share the awesomeness with people who have never been before, which was the case for two of our extras. After leaving the ice skating rink we headed out of the park & down to a favorite mountain top Mexican restaurant. It wasn't tradition, but it was incredible none-the-less.
Saying goodbye to 2011 was such a thrill on New Years Eve. We have a great time with this every year. I was so pleased to hear that my sons feel the same way. I feel like I got a tiny glimpse of what they'd like to incorporate into their adult lives...when that day comes. Then, of course New Years Day was filled with shooting guns & eating beans haha!
Oh this three week long Christmas/New Years vacation has been heaven sent. We were all just done. Our medicine? Well...there's been lots of video game playing, movie watching, book reading, texting, shopping, cooking, staying up late, sleeping in late, sleep overs, get togethers, junk food eating & general merry making.
I am thrilled to welcome 2012 with all of it's potential & wonder!
Showing posts with label Celebrate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celebrate. Show all posts
Monday, January 2, 2012
Sunday, February 20, 2011
"It's his birthday and he'll eat if he wants to"
Today we drove down to Hanford to celebrate the birth of a great guy, our buddy Nathan Shugert. He is Jeff's partner in crime. Well...I mean, is irritation a crime? A sport? A talent? An Art? Whatever it is they are beyond proficient. They are hilariously lame. They tease each other relentlessly, they rough house, they boisterously convince everyone else they should be in a mental institute...or have large doses of something...not sure what. Hmm...It's all in good brotherly bliss, but most of it I just don't get. I do admit it is fun to watch the proverbial twinkling of their eyes when they act out some goofball scene. I will also say that they are on the true playing field of Christian brotherhood. They hold each other up in prayer, and hold each other accountable. They are always ready to lend an ear or a hand No. Matter. What. I appreciate this man in my man's life, even the retardation.
We left basically straight after church to arrive on time. The almost hour long drive gave me reason to pause. I am glad we had today. What glorious weather, it makes me feel alive! Crisp clean air, blue skies... rare commodities around these parts! As I sat in the car I just let my eyes meander. I was lost in the green, like I had no cares in the world. At a frozen pace, I was lost in my own bliss. When we arrived I was ready for a nap.
Malibu & Lincoln (who calls himself Baby Zeus) were at the party. These two are Jenny & Nathan's little niece and nephew. We hadn't seen them in over a year...when you're talkin' 'bout babies that's a long time! They are incredibly cute. Oh and their new puppy Jasmine, she's ridiculously cute as well. I think the only thing that won my heart more was the deep blue sparkling eyes of Trisitea as she sat on my lap looking up at me. Okay so maybe she didn't exactly sit. Okay fine! She draped her long legs and arms over my short little body. I love my cuddle time with all my little peoples. I am so glad she hasn't decided she's too old to snuggle. BUT. Her warm self melting into to me made me want to take a nap.
As I sat and talked with Bob, Debbie & Jenny (Jeff & Nathan were yakin' it up in the kitchen) I discovered we all needed naps.
Instead.
We sang the birthday song as obnoxiously off key as possible. Watched him open his gifts. We ate a yummy meal. Megaliz the mixing Yoda (Elizabeth) made a cake from scratch. It was not to be missed. We had a plate made for eating later at home. (**And girl Auntie did eat it at home. YUM!! My birthday is June 9th, I'm just sayin' is all**) Then we high tailed it back to Fresno for Ricky's 4:00 choir practice. Yeah...
PS Ricky, who shares an interest in boyscout with Nathan, had spent the weekend making a special gift for him. Ricky was out in the garage with his wood burning kit and on the back patio with his whittling kit creating the master piece every chance he got. Unfortunately in the rush to get to the party we forgot to bring that & the gift Billy bought for Nathan to share with his family. I love my kid's generosity and kindness. I love that they have a man aside from Dad in their lives that they feel is worthy of being honored. I suppose, after all, that's why he's Uncle Nathan to them.
We left basically straight after church to arrive on time. The almost hour long drive gave me reason to pause. I am glad we had today. What glorious weather, it makes me feel alive! Crisp clean air, blue skies... rare commodities around these parts! As I sat in the car I just let my eyes meander. I was lost in the green, like I had no cares in the world. At a frozen pace, I was lost in my own bliss. When we arrived I was ready for a nap.
Malibu & Lincoln (who calls himself Baby Zeus) were at the party. These two are Jenny & Nathan's little niece and nephew. We hadn't seen them in over a year...when you're talkin' 'bout babies that's a long time! They are incredibly cute. Oh and their new puppy Jasmine, she's ridiculously cute as well. I think the only thing that won my heart more was the deep blue sparkling eyes of Trisitea as she sat on my lap looking up at me. Okay so maybe she didn't exactly sit. Okay fine! She draped her long legs and arms over my short little body. I love my cuddle time with all my little peoples. I am so glad she hasn't decided she's too old to snuggle. BUT. Her warm self melting into to me made me want to take a nap.
As I sat and talked with Bob, Debbie & Jenny (Jeff & Nathan were yakin' it up in the kitchen) I discovered we all needed naps.
Instead.
We sang the birthday song as obnoxiously off key as possible. Watched him open his gifts. We ate a yummy meal. Megaliz the mixing Yoda (Elizabeth) made a cake from scratch. It was not to be missed. We had a plate made for eating later at home. (**And girl Auntie did eat it at home. YUM!! My birthday is June 9th, I'm just sayin' is all**) Then we high tailed it back to Fresno for Ricky's 4:00 choir practice. Yeah...
PS Ricky, who shares an interest in boyscout with Nathan, had spent the weekend making a special gift for him. Ricky was out in the garage with his wood burning kit and on the back patio with his whittling kit creating the master piece every chance he got. Unfortunately in the rush to get to the party we forgot to bring that & the gift Billy bought for Nathan to share with his family. I love my kid's generosity and kindness. I love that they have a man aside from Dad in their lives that they feel is worthy of being honored. I suppose, after all, that's why he's Uncle Nathan to them.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A whirl wind of sorts or the birth of Zoey Lynn
We have spent the last month and a half waiting for the phone to ring. I have gone to bed with my cell, Jeff's cell and our home phone all at my ear. Saturday I thought for sure it had finally happened!
False alarm.
It was my good friend Jenny announcing the anticipated arrival of seven adorable puppies. The momma dog was really struggling so it was with much fear....and later relief that I received that series of late night, early morning texts.
Back to the (human) baby. We have had her name spray painted (well basically) across our calendar in eager anticipation. We have made loose plans and then canceled them because she had not yet come. Such as a day trip to the Natural Bridges Monarch Preserve. Every year I put this day trip on the calendar. Every year I erase it. We waited till 11:30 the night before to cancel the trip.
Butterfly fail.
No baby, no leaving town.(imagine how we felt flying off to Maine)
Sunday was a day of crossing T's and dotting I's in preparation for Monday morning. We were making sure everyone was on the same page for the second semester of our school year. We had hair cuts, double checked all the teachers manuals, filed paperwork, updated calendars and day planners etc. I was exhausted and had a killer headache. Jeff offered to go buy dinner while the boys and I finished up our tasks. While he was waiting for our take out order he got THE phone call. So gnarly haired (no it didn't help that we just had our hair cut), funky PJ's and all we hurriedly got ourselves to the hospital where we began the game of "hurry up and wait" We arrived at 6:30 in the evening. We got home at around 3:30 in the morning. Poor Crystal, what a delivery!
No. We did not start school yesterday. That much was in our control. However the normal "Manic Monday" of it all was enough all on it's own. Not to mention the activities the boys are in did start back up, including Billy (Permit) Vincent stacking up the driving hours and starting his second semester of college. What a game that is, especially when you are drunk on sleepy!
Back to the baby. Our niece, my brothers daughter Zoey Lynn Steproe has made her debut. Lynn is the middle name of our sister who passed away several years back. Nice touch. Zoey has beautiful little lips and the sweetest rosy cheeks. She has dark hair, like me! She looks a bit like her Mom. Really though she looks a whole lot like her name sake. She has Rebekah Lynn's long beautiful pianist's fingers and her long, slender feet. I'm not quite sure what it is about her facial features, but the moment I saw Zoey, I saw Rebekah.
Emotions were flying. Family was bonding over the birth of our newest member. Trips down memory lane were taking place. For instance my oldest baby was born in this very hospital. He was even born in the same room as his little cousin. We now have a picture of him at sixteen years old holding little Zoey. We can place that next to the pictures of him as a fresh little miracle in the very same room. Isn't that cool!
Welcome Zoey Lynn, we are so in love with you. Thank you Eric and especially Crystal for all your hard work in getting her here. Congratulations Nathan you are already an awesome big brother!
False alarm.
It was my good friend Jenny announcing the anticipated arrival of seven adorable puppies. The momma dog was really struggling so it was with much fear....and later relief that I received that series of late night, early morning texts.
Back to the (human) baby. We have had her name spray painted (well basically) across our calendar in eager anticipation. We have made loose plans and then canceled them because she had not yet come. Such as a day trip to the Natural Bridges Monarch Preserve. Every year I put this day trip on the calendar. Every year I erase it. We waited till 11:30 the night before to cancel the trip.
Butterfly fail.
No baby, no leaving town.(imagine how we felt flying off to Maine)
Sunday was a day of crossing T's and dotting I's in preparation for Monday morning. We were making sure everyone was on the same page for the second semester of our school year. We had hair cuts, double checked all the teachers manuals, filed paperwork, updated calendars and day planners etc. I was exhausted and had a killer headache. Jeff offered to go buy dinner while the boys and I finished up our tasks. While he was waiting for our take out order he got THE phone call. So gnarly haired (no it didn't help that we just had our hair cut), funky PJ's and all we hurriedly got ourselves to the hospital where we began the game of "hurry up and wait" We arrived at 6:30 in the evening. We got home at around 3:30 in the morning. Poor Crystal, what a delivery!
No. We did not start school yesterday. That much was in our control. However the normal "Manic Monday" of it all was enough all on it's own. Not to mention the activities the boys are in did start back up, including Billy (Permit) Vincent stacking up the driving hours and starting his second semester of college. What a game that is, especially when you are drunk on sleepy!
Back to the baby. Our niece, my brothers daughter Zoey Lynn Steproe has made her debut. Lynn is the middle name of our sister who passed away several years back. Nice touch. Zoey has beautiful little lips and the sweetest rosy cheeks. She has dark hair, like me! She looks a bit like her Mom. Really though she looks a whole lot like her name sake. She has Rebekah Lynn's long beautiful pianist's fingers and her long, slender feet. I'm not quite sure what it is about her facial features, but the moment I saw Zoey, I saw Rebekah.
Emotions were flying. Family was bonding over the birth of our newest member. Trips down memory lane were taking place. For instance my oldest baby was born in this very hospital. He was even born in the same room as his little cousin. We now have a picture of him at sixteen years old holding little Zoey. We can place that next to the pictures of him as a fresh little miracle in the very same room. Isn't that cool!
Welcome Zoey Lynn, we are so in love with you. Thank you Eric and especially Crystal for all your hard work in getting her here. Congratulations Nathan you are already an awesome big brother!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Christmas & New Years
Well our Christmas played out a LOT different this year. For one we spent our $$$ on a fabulous trip to Maine!
More on that later.
For now let's just say the timing of the trip...you know...basically...um...December, meant that we had to miss out on some of the seasons annual festivities of social-ness.
You know what?
We lived.
Imagine it!
Yeah, I know.
However we made sure to go to Coyote snow park & eat dinner at The Hungry Hut on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition that cannot be messed with.
Despite losing much of the month in travel we did manage to see most of our family (to get those memories in) and also get most of those treasured family recipes made. Speaking of which, I owe a big thank you to my brother Eric for his enjoyment in being as big a dork as I am, I love him for it! (Christmas carols sung loud & off key while baking, decorating and creating sugary bliss!!) Yeah we had a great December! Heck we even managed to squeeze in a long-time-coming trip to Laser Quest with the Shugerts. Yah Baby! We had planned on winding down the evening at the Colorado Grill afterward. Well the kids did anyway. You see Jenny spotted our local Thai restaurant and just had to experience it! Time to keep the silliness that ran a muck during the laser tag fanaticism in check? Not likely with this crew. Yes it's true our trip to the two separate restaurants left the kiddos at one joint on a soda & milk shake buzz. While Jeff & Nathan (needing no such stimulants) acted just as silly in the Thai restaurant. But really, would we want it any other way?
We managed to take an awesome break. To really unplug. Ricky especially needed this as he is obviously going through the same massive growth spurt Billy did a few years back. Ricky slept till noon everyday for two weeks! There was much leisure time the remainder of those days as well. Apparently Ricky was worn out from all that sleeping in!
2010 went out with a bang! I mean literally. The four of us had a great time on New Years Eve playing board games and gettin' some wii action. We were eating decadent sweets and a dinner fit for royalty. We were singing energy pumpin' songs and movie watching. Umm, what else? Oh just a little bit of dancing like crazy people, watching the ball drop while counting down, throwing confetti, shooting silly string. Then of course there was the running outside with noises makers, party blowers and a small amount of explosives shouting into the night air "Good Bye 2010, Hello 2011!!" Somewhere in there was a toast of Martinelli's complete with a speech and a midnight sweet......and a kiss from my honey.
New Years Day was perfectly, leisurely, nothingness. Well basically. What did we do? It's called Funky PJ wearing and HGTV Dream House viewing my friends! Billy did make pancakes some time around 2:00. Then it was off to the in laws for beans and a new movie.
More on that later.
For now let's just say the timing of the trip...you know...basically...um...December, meant that we had to miss out on some of the seasons annual festivities of social-ness.
You know what?
We lived.
Imagine it!
Yeah, I know.
However we made sure to go to Coyote snow park & eat dinner at The Hungry Hut on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition that cannot be messed with.
Despite losing much of the month in travel we did manage to see most of our family (to get those memories in) and also get most of those treasured family recipes made. Speaking of which, I owe a big thank you to my brother Eric for his enjoyment in being as big a dork as I am, I love him for it! (Christmas carols sung loud & off key while baking, decorating and creating sugary bliss!!) Yeah we had a great December! Heck we even managed to squeeze in a long-time-coming trip to Laser Quest with the Shugerts. Yah Baby! We had planned on winding down the evening at the Colorado Grill afterward. Well the kids did anyway. You see Jenny spotted our local Thai restaurant and just had to experience it! Time to keep the silliness that ran a muck during the laser tag fanaticism in check? Not likely with this crew. Yes it's true our trip to the two separate restaurants left the kiddos at one joint on a soda & milk shake buzz. While Jeff & Nathan (needing no such stimulants) acted just as silly in the Thai restaurant. But really, would we want it any other way?
We managed to take an awesome break. To really unplug. Ricky especially needed this as he is obviously going through the same massive growth spurt Billy did a few years back. Ricky slept till noon everyday for two weeks! There was much leisure time the remainder of those days as well. Apparently Ricky was worn out from all that sleeping in!
2010 went out with a bang! I mean literally. The four of us had a great time on New Years Eve playing board games and gettin' some wii action. We were eating decadent sweets and a dinner fit for royalty. We were singing energy pumpin' songs and movie watching. Umm, what else? Oh just a little bit of dancing like crazy people, watching the ball drop while counting down, throwing confetti, shooting silly string. Then of course there was the running outside with noises makers, party blowers and a small amount of explosives shouting into the night air "Good Bye 2010, Hello 2011!!" Somewhere in there was a toast of Martinelli's complete with a speech and a midnight sweet......and a kiss from my honey.
New Years Day was perfectly, leisurely, nothingness. Well basically. What did we do? It's called Funky PJ wearing and HGTV Dream House viewing my friends! Billy did make pancakes some time around 2:00. Then it was off to the in laws for beans and a new movie.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Kissing 2010 Goodbye
These are some of my favorite memories from 2010. There were so many wonderful moments to think back on it was hard to narrow down a list. Of course there were also some not-so-wonderful moments, but we aren't going to give those the time of day! Downers, we stick our tongue out at you! So there!
January: We had beans with the in laws, a family tradition going back generations.
February: J, B, R & I started Insanity. I kept up with them fairly well. (They are now doing P90X, not me)
March: Tabitha & Crissy found me on Facebook.
April: We finally made it to Death Valley, best of all we went with the Shugerts!
May: Ricky Graduates from 8th Grade. How special to do so with long time buddy Aubrey Lim!
June: Eric announces he's gonna be a Daddy. Little Kayleenie turns sweet 16. We got to go to Morro Bay with the Chavez clan. Hannah Orazem makes even Ricky appreciate Art co-op class. Monica finds me on Facebook. (sorry couldn't pick just one)
July: Mike marries Angela and that's just the beginning....
August: Billy get's a drivers permit, starts his first job and begins taking community college classes.
September: CJ goes with us on our annual Camp-at-a-new-location trip. I mean come on now!
October: Crystal announces she's gonna be my sis-in-law while she, Mom and I are shopping for little miss Zoey Lynn.
November: I ate Aunt Ceci's Cranberry Relish in her living room on a recycled glass plate. The amber color was my favorite!
December: J, B, R & I spend 7. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 days in MAINE! Yah Baby!!
January: We had beans with the in laws, a family tradition going back generations.
February: J, B, R & I started Insanity. I kept up with them fairly well. (They are now doing P90X, not me)
March: Tabitha & Crissy found me on Facebook.
April: We finally made it to Death Valley, best of all we went with the Shugerts!
May: Ricky Graduates from 8th Grade. How special to do so with long time buddy Aubrey Lim!
June: Eric announces he's gonna be a Daddy. Little Kayleenie turns sweet 16. We got to go to Morro Bay with the Chavez clan. Hannah Orazem makes even Ricky appreciate Art co-op class. Monica finds me on Facebook. (sorry couldn't pick just one)
July: Mike marries Angela and that's just the beginning....
August: Billy get's a drivers permit, starts his first job and begins taking community college classes.
September: CJ goes with us on our annual Camp-at-a-new-location trip. I mean come on now!
October: Crystal announces she's gonna be my sis-in-law while she, Mom and I are shopping for little miss Zoey Lynn.
November: I ate Aunt Ceci's Cranberry Relish in her living room on a recycled glass plate. The amber color was my favorite!
December: J, B, R & I spend 7. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 days in MAINE! Yah Baby!!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Hello, it's me.
I'm sitting here sipping some amazing steaming hot ginger tea with a bit of lemon and honey. I'm Cuddled up in my warm fuzzy blanket with a book I've just read at my side and this laptop on my lap. I'm reminded of the following quote by C.S. Lewis, "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me". I have been catching up on my own personal reading this week including that of my bloggie friends. Most everyone has been diligent in updating their blogs with holiday recaps and New Years resolutions including my sons. Although I do have to interject here that my boys are told to "go and write something" and that their schedules are organized for them to have time to do so. I only point this out because a few un-named individuals have teased me about the diligence of a Mother vs her sons.
Moving on.
I do have guilt about not being able to get to this blog, so here I sit today. Much has happened since I last blogged, far too much to be covered in one entry. Of course a good amount of that has been written over at http://mostlysanevincents.blogspot.com/ Billy & Ricky's blog. They have done a fine job of talking about the holidays, so I won't back track on that except to say New Years Eve ended up completely wonderful. You see for us New Years has always been a new games (received on Christmas from the Grandma's) fun activities and great food night. Always spent with our little four pack. This year due to a somebody-smack-me-now moment we almost joined the crazy rubble of a big party. You see at the youth meeting for our homeschool group I told of a homeschool group from another state. I shared about our friends enjoying a themed new years party each year. It sounded fun. Before I could come to my senses I even said I would run the debacle. What is my damage! Anyway it was canceled do to finances freeing us to resume our regularly scheduled program. Tee-hee!
So we played new wii games, card games, board games & watch new movies. While we played we ate candy, chips/dip, nuts and the most amazing bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers. I found the recipe at recipezaar. For dinner we had new york steaks, baked potatoes with all the fixin's, a green salad and some yummy bread. The house smelled lovely as we had wassail for drinking. Yep. It was simmering all day long.
Just before midnight we readied the TV for watching the ball drop in New York. We counted down and then it was crazy time! We toasted (with sparking cider, grape skewers and donuts...because I was told you haaavvvee to have donuts as your midnight snack on New Years Eve) to a new beginning and kicked 2009 out the door. We shot each other with silly string, blew into party blowers, popped party poppers, threw confetti, and ran outside to shout into the night air all while wearing our gorgeous party hats and Billy-Bob teeth!
We did have a few mishaps. First the dog ate the peanut brittle..yea all of it and yes I made it. The second thing is that I accidentally picked up a bag of huge wild party blowers instead of fireworks. Although those were bummers...no one seemed to suffer. I just heard a lot of oh wells and then it was a throw fest as confetti and smoke filled our driveway. This year my brother Eric and his girlfriend Crystal as well as her son Nathan joined us....that was a real treat!!
We don't do New Years resolutions over here so I will leave you with a quick years glance of life with my two sons.
2009
January: Billy shaves for the first time
February: Billy and Ricky add Sierra Summit to their snowboarding endeavors
March: Ricky re-begins guitar and piano. He self teaches through bks, DVD's & CD Roms until we move. (He is now receiving lessons for both instruments)
April: Ricky Becomes a Teenager
May: Ricky decides to get as much country yard activities in before moving to Fresno. He was very busy.
June: Billy Becomes a Scuba Diver
July: Billy plans a camping/ hiking expedition all by his lonesome
August: Ricky returns to his true love, Choir
September: Billy adds Jewish Music to his repertoire
October: Ricky attends the first of many Boy Scout camp outs
November: We move to Fresno
December: Billy passes Drivers Ed (time to move on to the permit)
Moving on.
I do have guilt about not being able to get to this blog, so here I sit today. Much has happened since I last blogged, far too much to be covered in one entry. Of course a good amount of that has been written over at http://mostlysanevincents.blogspot.com/ Billy & Ricky's blog. They have done a fine job of talking about the holidays, so I won't back track on that except to say New Years Eve ended up completely wonderful. You see for us New Years has always been a new games (received on Christmas from the Grandma's) fun activities and great food night. Always spent with our little four pack. This year due to a somebody-smack-me-now moment we almost joined the crazy rubble of a big party. You see at the youth meeting for our homeschool group I told of a homeschool group from another state. I shared about our friends enjoying a themed new years party each year. It sounded fun. Before I could come to my senses I even said I would run the debacle. What is my damage! Anyway it was canceled do to finances freeing us to resume our regularly scheduled program. Tee-hee!
So we played new wii games, card games, board games & watch new movies. While we played we ate candy, chips/dip, nuts and the most amazing bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers. I found the recipe at recipezaar. For dinner we had new york steaks, baked potatoes with all the fixin's, a green salad and some yummy bread. The house smelled lovely as we had wassail for drinking. Yep. It was simmering all day long.
Just before midnight we readied the TV for watching the ball drop in New York. We counted down and then it was crazy time! We toasted (with sparking cider, grape skewers and donuts...because I was told you haaavvvee to have donuts as your midnight snack on New Years Eve) to a new beginning and kicked 2009 out the door. We shot each other with silly string, blew into party blowers, popped party poppers, threw confetti, and ran outside to shout into the night air all while wearing our gorgeous party hats and Billy-Bob teeth!
We did have a few mishaps. First the dog ate the peanut brittle..yea all of it and yes I made it. The second thing is that I accidentally picked up a bag of huge wild party blowers instead of fireworks. Although those were bummers...no one seemed to suffer. I just heard a lot of oh wells and then it was a throw fest as confetti and smoke filled our driveway. This year my brother Eric and his girlfriend Crystal as well as her son Nathan joined us....that was a real treat!!
We don't do New Years resolutions over here so I will leave you with a quick years glance of life with my two sons.
2009
January: Billy shaves for the first time
February: Billy and Ricky add Sierra Summit to their snowboarding endeavors
March: Ricky re-begins guitar and piano. He self teaches through bks, DVD's & CD Roms until we move. (He is now receiving lessons for both instruments)
April: Ricky Becomes a Teenager
May: Ricky decides to get as much country yard activities in before moving to Fresno. He was very busy.
June: Billy Becomes a Scuba Diver
July: Billy plans a camping/ hiking expedition all by his lonesome
August: Ricky returns to his true love, Choir
September: Billy adds Jewish Music to his repertoire
October: Ricky attends the first of many Boy Scout camp outs
November: We move to Fresno
December: Billy passes Drivers Ed (time to move on to the permit)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
After Mothers Day Comes Fathers Day
True to the setting of making the day special for the person you are recognizing , Billy and Ricky woke Jeff with a pillow fight. They pounced him from both sides as he lay slumbering!!
After that we enjoyed a lunch of pancakes made with the beloved Mrs Butterworths, Jeff's food bliss. This day fell at the end of a very busy season, so the goal was to give Jeff the gift of rest. This is why he had a lunch, not a breakfast to enjoy.
The day was very easy. We had a slow day of Net Flix numb-out. We called the Dads in our world. The day ended with a simple dinner.
However what he really wanted to do, if he wasn't so sleepy was to explore Hetch Hetchy. So on July 5th we made that Belated Fathers Day trip.
We went in through the Mariposa Grove entrance, and just after the tunnel, fire was among us. As we drove it increased..bummer! We new we wouldn't be able to leave that way, no biggy, we left through the Arch. The funny thing is the Arch is really close to the town of Mariposa, yet the other side of the park hosts the Mariposa Grove, go figure.
At any rate on the way to Hetch Htechy we found a shady campground with a day use area called Diamond O. This place boasts a lovely swim hole on the Toulmne River. This is where we ate our picnic lunch.
We drove onto the beautiful backwoods of Yosemite, HetchHetchy . We walked across the O'Shaughnessy Dam and through the tunnel on the other side. Some of the waterfalls were still flowing, so that was an unexpected treat.
As we left we landed at the Cascade swimhole/picnic area. We swam and ate our dinner here before heading home.
As often as we visit Yosemite, as much as we have seen, we continue to find new treasures.
Yay me! I'm a Mom
"Lo Children are an Heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." Psalm 127:3
In celebration of being a Mother and having a mother the four of us spent the day doing what I like best, exploring God's creation.
We gave the Grandmothers a phone call recognizing their role in our lives, then off we went. We explored part of the Sequoia National Park.
We started our day on a trail just off the Potwisha campground. We followed the path to Marble Falls, much too early in the summer for swimming, we sat and had a mid morning snack taking in the beauty of it all. We would love to visit at a later time, in August when we camp in the park perhaps. This place is obviously a great swim hole as it had a swinging rope hanging from a tree on the opposite bank. This indicated people are able to cross the river when the water flow has subsided.
We moved our party on to view the pictographs at hospital rock. We took the trail down across the parking lot that lead down to the middle fork of the Kaweah River. This trail was lovely with the greenery, steep canyon walls, wild crazy rapids and majestic falls.
Our journey moved on to Morro Rock. This is a Giant Granite Dome. The extremely steep hike is to the summit. The views are fantastic however the 300 ft gain in about a 1/4 of a mile is intense, be prepared for it!
Our next stop was driving through the tree trunk, I think its just called Fallen Tunnel Log. We parked our car at the trail head and explored the Cresent Meadow Loop. We walked all the way so we were able to check out Tharps Cabin. This is a cabin made from a single fallen tree.
We ate our dinner on the way home as we watch the sunset.
We had a wonderful day.
In celebration of being a Mother and having a mother the four of us spent the day doing what I like best, exploring God's creation.
We gave the Grandmothers a phone call recognizing their role in our lives, then off we went. We explored part of the Sequoia National Park.
We started our day on a trail just off the Potwisha campground. We followed the path to Marble Falls, much too early in the summer for swimming, we sat and had a mid morning snack taking in the beauty of it all. We would love to visit at a later time, in August when we camp in the park perhaps. This place is obviously a great swim hole as it had a swinging rope hanging from a tree on the opposite bank. This indicated people are able to cross the river when the water flow has subsided.
We moved our party on to view the pictographs at hospital rock. We took the trail down across the parking lot that lead down to the middle fork of the Kaweah River. This trail was lovely with the greenery, steep canyon walls, wild crazy rapids and majestic falls.
Our journey moved on to Morro Rock. This is a Giant Granite Dome. The extremely steep hike is to the summit. The views are fantastic however the 300 ft gain in about a 1/4 of a mile is intense, be prepared for it!
Our next stop was driving through the tree trunk, I think its just called Fallen Tunnel Log. We parked our car at the trail head and explored the Cresent Meadow Loop. We walked all the way so we were able to check out Tharps Cabin. This is a cabin made from a single fallen tree.
We ate our dinner on the way home as we watch the sunset.
We had a wonderful day.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Independence Day
We made a last minute decision to spend the day at Bass Lake. We were not disappointed. Yes it was crowded, and parking was a chore. Yet we did find a decent spot to park both the car and our little picnic. A little while after our arrival a Chitudo family planted themselves next to us, a nice surprise.
We had a wonderfully relaxing day of swimming, reading, sun-soaking and munching.
As we waited for the big shabang a drunk man stood at the edge of the lake and insisted on everyone's attention as he proceeded to announce his daughter and son-in-laws wedding engagment. When he didn't recieve the response he wanted he yelled into the crowd untill people responded with the love he intended to be displayed for such an occasion.
As the sun went down and the jazz from Ducey's began we found the real reason we were here. Cool mountain summer evenings...so divine! Much, much better than 4th in the Valley!
We sang the National Anthem as the first fireworks went up. (among other songs)
The display was absolutely fantastic!!
The drive home was not bad at all. We skipped traffic jams by parking at an escape spot and driving home through North Fork vs Oakhurst.
.......and yes, we are crazy enough to join the thousands of fans (a testement to the spectaluar display in the sky) next year.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Party up!
Between the four of us, we have been to 8 parties over the last two months. Wow! Everyone had their own style. Crazy times in our world providing anything from swimming, go carting, movies, volleyball, air guns, John's incredible pizza, hiking etc..They have all been wonderful sporting much food and much love. We are glad all of you are in our lives. We have been thrilled to share in your birthdays, graduations and arrival of the "driving" excitement.
However, in our own house, the most exceptional celebration is that Ricky is now a teenager (yikes-that makes two in the house) and Billy is old enough to start drivers Ed/training.
My babies are growing up on me. I had a vivid example of that during this years Flatlanders celebration. As I sat in Jacki's store holding baby Shelby I watched not only my boys, but the neighborhood kids as well. Everyone is growing up...fast. I went into a bit of a daydream of yesteryear thinking about my little tots during the first Flatlanders I experienced. I remember them eagerly collecting candies tossed their way during the parade. As they grew a bit older: face painting, clowns, carnival games, fire engines and cop car exploring, hay rides, midway rides, frog jumping competitions, and even a circus one year. Now, the town celebrations have quieted down and the kids all leave so quickly. It was a ghost town by noon. B&R don't remember much from the early years and were just as happy to go hang out with other teens at the Soltero swim party. Oops, I got off the subject at hand...birthday parties
Well this year we didn't propose the annual "do you want a party or a trip" question. Ricky's birthday fell on the same day as the Santa Clara convention. Great America is across the street from this convention center. Jeff, Billy & I played our own theme music as we secretly planned an trip in celebration of Ricky's birthday at this theme park. Ricky had resigned himself to taking writing and organization classes on his birthday. We did manage to keep our little secret until just before we left. The gig was up. Not all was lost though. He was still surprised. He just got his surprise earlier. He loved his "gift". Billy loved Ricky's "gift". Heck! We all loved his "gift".
While we were in Santa Clara we were intending on going out for the traditional birthday celebratory dinner. However the boys wanted to go to the Olive Garden-out of our price range. Especially considering we just went to Great America, renewed our CHEA membership and bought curriculum. Billy, always the politician shared, "if we used this as a joint birthday dinner then the money would actually be less", we consented. We sang to both, as they received their desert.
A few days after arriving back home Billy got his "gift" ; two tickets to see Stomp in concert. He brought his brother, what a guy. Shhhh...let him think it was his idea. Billy has been waiting years to go to this show. I plotted this puppy..and no , he didn't find out until we told him! We have a tradition of having a little something for the morning of each boys birthday. So Billy opened his eyes to a happy birthday banner with two stomp tickets pinned to a corner.
My Mom and Step-dad sent the each boy money, which they used to buy tickets to the revelation tour concert starring Third Day, Brandon Heath & Revive.
Jeff's parents kicked the summer off to a good start giving each boy a new pair of swim trunks, a beach towel and river shoes. They also treated Ricky...and the rest of us to dinner at a restaurant of his choice in celebration of becoming a TEENAGER. He choose TGI Fridays.
Oh, and by the way, no one ever mentioned not being asked "the" question.
However, in our own house, the most exceptional celebration is that Ricky is now a teenager (yikes-that makes two in the house) and Billy is old enough to start drivers Ed/training.
My babies are growing up on me. I had a vivid example of that during this years Flatlanders celebration. As I sat in Jacki's store holding baby Shelby I watched not only my boys, but the neighborhood kids as well. Everyone is growing up...fast. I went into a bit of a daydream of yesteryear thinking about my little tots during the first Flatlanders I experienced. I remember them eagerly collecting candies tossed their way during the parade. As they grew a bit older: face painting, clowns, carnival games, fire engines and cop car exploring, hay rides, midway rides, frog jumping competitions, and even a circus one year. Now, the town celebrations have quieted down and the kids all leave so quickly. It was a ghost town by noon. B&R don't remember much from the early years and were just as happy to go hang out with other teens at the Soltero swim party. Oops, I got off the subject at hand...birthday parties
Well this year we didn't propose the annual "do you want a party or a trip" question. Ricky's birthday fell on the same day as the Santa Clara convention. Great America is across the street from this convention center. Jeff, Billy & I played our own theme music as we secretly planned an trip in celebration of Ricky's birthday at this theme park. Ricky had resigned himself to taking writing and organization classes on his birthday. We did manage to keep our little secret until just before we left. The gig was up. Not all was lost though. He was still surprised. He just got his surprise earlier. He loved his "gift". Billy loved Ricky's "gift". Heck! We all loved his "gift".
While we were in Santa Clara we were intending on going out for the traditional birthday celebratory dinner. However the boys wanted to go to the Olive Garden-out of our price range. Especially considering we just went to Great America, renewed our CHEA membership and bought curriculum. Billy, always the politician shared, "if we used this as a joint birthday dinner then the money would actually be less", we consented. We sang to both, as they received their desert.
A few days after arriving back home Billy got his "gift" ; two tickets to see Stomp in concert. He brought his brother, what a guy. Shhhh...let him think it was his idea. Billy has been waiting years to go to this show. I plotted this puppy..and no , he didn't find out until we told him! We have a tradition of having a little something for the morning of each boys birthday. So Billy opened his eyes to a happy birthday banner with two stomp tickets pinned to a corner.
My Mom and Step-dad sent the each boy money, which they used to buy tickets to the revelation tour concert starring Third Day, Brandon Heath & Revive.
Jeff's parents kicked the summer off to a good start giving each boy a new pair of swim trunks, a beach towel and river shoes. They also treated Ricky...and the rest of us to dinner at a restaurant of his choice in celebration of becoming a TEENAGER. He choose TGI Fridays.
Oh, and by the way, no one ever mentioned not being asked "the" question.
Monday, April 20, 2009
CHEFA's Sqaure Dance
B&R both went to the CHEFA square dance. I like the themed dance idea. I think it makes participation easier when everyone is dancing the same, wearing the cowboy gear etc.. They can focus on having fun and not worry about all that other stuff. The boys were unsure about attending but ended up having a really good time. They had lots of food and lots of light hearted fun. They danced most of the night. The caller did sneak in a few crazy songs, like the chicken dance. Neither boy had sweaty palm syndrome, a jittery stomach or painful rejections. Neither sat on the side lines watching. Just a good clean positive experience. Billy had no problem asking girls to dance. Ricky had no problem dancing, but he never got a chance to ask a girl to dance. Three of his (female) friends were so nervous about not being asked to dance that they kept going up to him and saying things like, "do you know this dance, okay then come dance with me." He didn't really care. However Billy had his mind set on asking a particular someone to dance. It was a memorable occasion to get together with their friends and I'm glad they had the opportunity.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Back to Reality
The Christmas season brought many fun times for the boys. They went to a Laser Quest/pizza party with CHEFA. A luncheon & cookie exchange ( we made peanut butter chocolate chip) with MATCH. And walked down Candy Cane Lane, gift exchange & spaghetti dinner with BEST. Remembering this was just with the school groups.
We enjoyed a walk down Christmas Tree Lane & the goodies afterward with the Lim family. going to Tamarack Snow Park & a Christmas dinner/gift exchange with the Shugert family. As well as making Gingerbread houses with the Cunning kiddos. All of these familys are very dear to us.
Then there was the family celebrations full of wonderful traditions.
Becky likes to give out PJ's on Christmas Eve. She also has specific things that go in stockings & a method to her gift giving. She makes a great meal, we look forward to it every year. This year Jeff (Sr) threw in a very nice surprise. Jeff's family comes down from Berkley each year. This year they saved us from our coffee woes. (More on that later)
My Mom has her traditions as well. One thing she like to do is buy a silly gift for the men-folk. This years "toy" was Nerf guns. Yes, each adult male got one. As they were opening their gifts...the war began. This year the kids & Moms got the goofy gift as well. By the time everyone had their guns we took the party outside & it continued until Jim brought the compressor out. Yep. An air compressor. Which was used to blow up balloons, that were strategically set up in the yard to be shot at with 6 shooters. A boys heaven! I didn't feel good (sick yet again) & little Dante didn't get a gun....so I gladly released mine.
We have traditions in our little foursome. We have our celebration on Christmas Eve eating cinnamon rolls, from The Cinnamon Roll Shop for breakfast while we watch the boys open their gifts. Several years back we started a "Manbox" for B&R. Every Christmas we buy a tool for the box. Buy the time they leave home they should be pretty well set. We then pack into the car & head to the snow park.
Next came New Years Eve. Jeff & I believe you should spend the closing off the year & the fresh start (new beginning) with those who are most important to you. And so each year we close out the rest of the world to focus on Jeff, Charity, Billy & Ricky. The phone is turned off & the fun begins. We eat junk food. We play new games that each Grandma buys every Christmas. We watch new movies. We save fireworks from the 4th of July & set them off. We have party poppers, silly string & noise makers that we go crazy with as we watch the ball drop in New York via the T.V. We toast our families happiness & love.
A lot happened this season that was wonderful & somethings that I could have done without. I was disappointed in not seeing my sister & my Jacki. yet very glad to have dinner with my brother. One thing I am very grateful for was the ability to have some rest. The boys went on sleep overs, went to movies & had friends over as well. But we had a lot of reading, watching new movies & sleeping in. However now its back to reality. Its time to hit the books in our little school.
We enjoyed a walk down Christmas Tree Lane & the goodies afterward with the Lim family. going to Tamarack Snow Park & a Christmas dinner/gift exchange with the Shugert family. As well as making Gingerbread houses with the Cunning kiddos. All of these familys are very dear to us.
Then there was the family celebrations full of wonderful traditions.
Becky likes to give out PJ's on Christmas Eve. She also has specific things that go in stockings & a method to her gift giving. She makes a great meal, we look forward to it every year. This year Jeff (Sr) threw in a very nice surprise. Jeff's family comes down from Berkley each year. This year they saved us from our coffee woes. (More on that later)
My Mom has her traditions as well. One thing she like to do is buy a silly gift for the men-folk. This years "toy" was Nerf guns. Yes, each adult male got one. As they were opening their gifts...the war began. This year the kids & Moms got the goofy gift as well. By the time everyone had their guns we took the party outside & it continued until Jim brought the compressor out. Yep. An air compressor. Which was used to blow up balloons, that were strategically set up in the yard to be shot at with 6 shooters. A boys heaven! I didn't feel good (sick yet again) & little Dante didn't get a gun....so I gladly released mine.
We have traditions in our little foursome. We have our celebration on Christmas Eve eating cinnamon rolls, from The Cinnamon Roll Shop for breakfast while we watch the boys open their gifts. Several years back we started a "Manbox" for B&R. Every Christmas we buy a tool for the box. Buy the time they leave home they should be pretty well set. We then pack into the car & head to the snow park.
Next came New Years Eve. Jeff & I believe you should spend the closing off the year & the fresh start (new beginning) with those who are most important to you. And so each year we close out the rest of the world to focus on Jeff, Charity, Billy & Ricky. The phone is turned off & the fun begins. We eat junk food. We play new games that each Grandma buys every Christmas. We watch new movies. We save fireworks from the 4th of July & set them off. We have party poppers, silly string & noise makers that we go crazy with as we watch the ball drop in New York via the T.V. We toast our families happiness & love.
A lot happened this season that was wonderful & somethings that I could have done without. I was disappointed in not seeing my sister & my Jacki. yet very glad to have dinner with my brother. One thing I am very grateful for was the ability to have some rest. The boys went on sleep overs, went to movies & had friends over as well. But we had a lot of reading, watching new movies & sleeping in. However now its back to reality. Its time to hit the books in our little school.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Austin is offical
We celebrated Austin Soltero turning 13 today. Its true. He is a teenager. We went to see a movie, City of Ember. We all liked it so much we went straight to the bookstore to check out the book series the movie was based off of. We went window shopping for clothes. (hope you find the perfect sweatshirt) Then we met the Dads & had a fabulous dinner at Red Robin where they sang Austin a silly birthday song. Billy recorded the whole embarrassing thing!
Happy Birthday Blue Eyes, WE LOVE YOU!
Happy Birthday Blue Eyes, WE LOVE YOU!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
love expands
Sweeter than Sugar
My little baby, little boy blue,
Is as sweet as sugar and cinnamon too;
Isn't this precious darling of ours
Sweeter than dates and cinnamon flowers?
-Author unknown
Welcome to the family baby cousin, Joshua Collin.
My little baby, little boy blue,
Is as sweet as sugar and cinnamon too;
Isn't this precious darling of ours
Sweeter than dates and cinnamon flowers?
-Author unknown
Welcome to the family baby cousin, Joshua Collin.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The 1st week of school
Monday~Traditional 1st day back gifts & Breakfast
Peddlers Faire
Hoe Down
Wednesday~Youth Group had a Movie Night
Friday~Contra Dance
Swim Party/BBQ/Volleyball
Saturday~Hike Fresno Dome & Picnic
Sunday~Laser Quest
Here's to many more fun times!!
Peddlers Faire
Hoe Down
Wednesday~Youth Group had a Movie Night
Friday~Contra Dance
Swim Party/BBQ/Volleyball
Saturday~Hike Fresno Dome & Picnic
Sunday~Laser Quest
Here's to many more fun times!!
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