Our Little Family

The Humbugs are testing my Christmas spirit

2011-11-30T15:55:00.001-08:00

3rd Grade Ohlone Day

2011-11-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

On Friday the 3rd grade classes rode in Ohlone style tule boats in the school's outdoor classroom. Mollie made a small version of the boat to keep here at home. Have I said lately how much I love this school?!

Today's Adventure

2011-10-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back Monarch Butterflies!

2011-10-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

We spent today in Santa Cruz at the Natural Bridges State Park. Back in February the girls entered a drawing contest, and Mollie was one of the winners in her age group!

Allie didn't want her picture taken, but here is her picture on display.

The pictures were to be what was the most memorable part of the park or beach. And in case you're wondering, no, there was no 30+ age category. Although next time the park is going to start an adult photo contest, and we like to think that Scott had a hand in that decision.

We saw lots of butterflies flying around after lunch when the sun warmed things up.

Ate hand-cranked pumpkin ice cream.

Made lots of crafts.

And both girls had butterflies (Monarchs, of course) painted on their arms.

Good, long day. I learned that Monarchs generally live around 6 weeks while they migrate from Mexico to winter here. Once they land here and go into "hibernation" mode, they live around 5-6 months! The girls are very anxious to grow milkweed for them because after the hibernation ends, they move to San Jose and milkweed is the only plant they eat. I think we might be growing some of this in the alley behind our house - especially if it will grow like a weed!

If you're the nervous type, don't watch...

2011-08-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Taken on June 18, 2011

Just because the picture isn't enough

2011-08-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Allison lost her first tooth today!

2011-08-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

It's raining this afternoon

2011-06-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

That might not be uncommon to some of you, but for me, it's a bit unusual. We will have 1-2 rains during the summer and today is one of them. I'm glad to have it warm enough outside to have the windows open. If it's going to pour, at least we can listen to it.

What to do on a rainy summer afternoon? Clean the playroom! I pulled all the toys that were on the floor out into the hallway. Stuff on the closet floor is in our entryway. Right now the girls have all the toys from a drawer spread out on the floor, making "Stay" and "Leave" piles.

Scott said my next car can be a Sherman Tank

2011-06-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

I was alone in the van when someone crashed into my door last Thurs. We are just starting all the insurance stuff. I will be fine; bruises, aches; cuts etc. We are counting all the blessings in this, big and small.

Up in Yosemite in April

2011-06-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

In April we took the girls up to visit my sister-in-law's dad just outside of Yosemite. It is such a pretty area and we had fun doing so much. There was swimming, panning for gold, nature walking and (drum roll) SNOW! We have taken the girls to play in snow in downtown Campbell but this was their first experience in real snow. So fun!

Here is Allison's first time doing down a hill:

Here's is Mollie's first ride:

Patti's turn:

And Mollie hits Scott with a snowball on his way down:

First Camping Trip

2011-06-12T22:35:00.001-07:00

Last October Mollie's school had a week of furlough so we took advantage of the off season vacation time and headed to the beach for our first camping trip. Thinking that here on the west coast the beach weather is perfect in the fall Sunset State Beach would be a great place. Well, it was clean, quiet and we had the perfect spot for tent camping. (Our tent was in a shelter area from the wind.) But it was cold. Really cold. And damp. The second day we were there we spent the afternoon getting a couple games at Target and playing them in our tent while we waited out the rain. We also spent time on the beach playing in sand and flying our kite. Girls had lots of fun. Us grown-ups had fun too, but we were happy to get back home into a warm house and comfortable beds. Next time we will pick a warmer place. Or Grandma's backyard!

Allison Learns To Ride A Bike

2011-06-12T21:53:00.001-07:00

Here is Allison learning to ride a bike a couple weeks after Mollie was up and rolling.

Mollie Learning To Ride A Bike

2011-06-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Looking back through old videos and I came across this one from last summer.

2011 Spring Fling

2011-04-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

If you like having MUSIC, ART and SCIENCE in elementary schools, here's your chance to support them: Mollie is looking for sponsors for her school Walk-A-Thon, April 30. Her walking goal is bouncing between 17-20 miles! She hopes to raise $100 for Hacienda.

New Glasses!

2011-04-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

This might not be the best picture of Mollie, but it's the cutest one from minutes after she got her new glasses. One of these days I'll take a picture straight on, but for now, you can all see the frames she decided to get. The sides are striped, and there are a few polka dots along the tops of the arms. All smiles!

Mollie Meets Dr. Lum

2011-04-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

The school suggested we have Mollie's eyes checked. Last week when I took her in for an ear infection they had her read the eye chart. Wow - really not good. So I worked with my new insurance company and had her added onto my vision plan. This morning she was so excited to go get her eyes checked. Really, she's been talking to us for a week about what kind of glasses we think would look good on her.

First stop was to look in the big machine to measure her prescription. Turns out her vision is really not that bad.

Next, in the exam room, Dr. Lum got to know Mollie and measured her on a poster. He likes to measure the kids each time they go in to visit to watch them grow.

Dr. Lum did a fantastic job keeping things relaxed and fun for both girls throughout the appointment. Mollie was very talkative (if you can imagine that).

We had Mollie try on several pairs of glasses; blue, pink, purple, wire rim and plastic frames. She preferred the plastic frames because the bridge across the nose was more comfortable. It's a little hard to see here, but the frames she loved the most are berry color. We'll get better pictures next week when her glasses come in.

April Fools' Day!

2011-04-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

I enjoy reading the different tricks parents play on their kids. This year one article I read had some for kids to play on Dad which I will try to remember for next year.

Last night I put some water in cereal bowls and let it freeze overnight.

This morning I covered the ice with cereal so that the girls would have a hard time digging their spoons in. They both thought it was pretty funny.

Birthday Celebrating

2011-03-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

Allie's teacher made her feel special for the morning at preschool.

For dinner we headed out to Round Table.

Enjoying some pizza with friends and family.

Allie making her wish on her 5th birthday.

Table all set for the Pajama Teddy Bear Tea Party

Each guest had their own teddy bear cake.

5 Years... Then and Now

2011-03-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Allison!

Beach Day in February

2011-02-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

We have been blessed with such beautiful weather recently today we decided to pack a lunch and head to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz to visit the Monarch butterflies before they leave for Mexico. This is the end of their stay there (several have already started migrating) and the park celebrated with their annual Farewell Butterflies Party. Considering the free activities and warm, sunny weather it really wasn't very crowded.

Here is the last remaining natural bridge. Since we went at low tide we were able to scoot around some rock and take pictures from the other side.

Finding teachable moments.

Picnicking under the trees.

If you look closely you can see two large black spots on the hind wings which marks this as a male.

One activity station was an art contest. Kids were to draw about their favorite thing about Natural Bridges. Both girls drew a butterfly. Scott... well, it's Scott. :) Yes, that's a hot dog. And no, there was no 30-something category for him to enter.

Counting Sheep

2011-02-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

A couple nights ago the girls had a hard time falling asleep. I suggested they count sheep. The next morning I asked them how it worked out for them. Allie said she got to about 14 or 15 then fell asleep. Mollie told me she got to 19 Sheep and thought" Oh, who cares!"

They both fell asleep at a normal time and slept all night long. :)

2010-12-22T18:21:00.001-08:00

Allie: I'm glad that God and Jesus made Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-12-20T15:52:00.001-08:00

Christmas Trip to Disneyland

2010-12-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

Back in January we took part in "Give a Day, Get a Day" with Disney. We made 6 blankets for Project Linus at home, never telling the girls that we would be receiving Disneyland tickets for the service. We got the tickets and waited to see the park all done up for Christmas.

Last week we loaded up the car for a road trip to the Happiest Place On Earth. Allie told us each time one of her wishes came true (most along the lines of "sleeping in a bunk bed"); must have had nearly a dozen wishes! The drive was long, but smooth. Foggy mornings cleared to warm blue skies. Short lines most of the time. Loud not so wonderful hotel that was at least walking distance to the park entrance, so the van didn't move for 2 days. We wore our Honorary VoluntEARS buttons and saw other families wearing theirs as well. Met some nice people in lines; one family in particular from Australia with 3 girls - one of them Molly - was very fun to spend nearly an hour with in line. The girls got autograph books to fill with all the characters we met that included pages with photo inserts - perfect! Now on with the pictures!

Vidia in Pixie Hollow where you are the size of a fairy.

Tinker Belle in front of her teapot home.

lWaiting to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from "Tangled" was by far the longest line of the trip - at least an hour. Allie loves all things Tangled right now, so we waited.

Princess Fantasy Faire to meet Snow White...

Aurora...

and Jasime.

Mollie got her license and drove on the Autotopia.

Allie's favorite ride - Teacups!

2010-11-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

We have enjoyed DirecTV for a few years now. Good fun with the TiVo addition. But now we are getting ready to say good-bye. Tonight I signed up for our first Netflix trial. If all goes well we will be cutting satellite tv and watching thru our wii. News usually comes from online sources and local radio. We might even splurge for one of those boxes to pick up local channels. The biggest change is going to be the girls waking up on Saturday mornings to watch a bit of tv while we get a few more minutes of sleep. Hoping Mollie will learn some of these new procedures easily enough to entertain herself and Allie those mornings!

Pumpkin Patch Time!

2010-10-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

We experimented with Rice Krispie Treats. Mollie's idea to make them more Halloweeny was to add strawberry syrup. So here we have our Krispie Bloody Ghosts. Not so pretty, but oh so yummy!

We finally made it to our regular pumpkin patch - 2 days before Halloween! Mollie had a chance to go to one on a field trip, but Allie hadn't had a turn yet. (I was sick when her class went along so she didn't get to go.) It was cold, windy, cloudy with rain holding off just long enough to spend maybe 20 minutes outside.

Want to ride on the log ride with us?

2010-09-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the first time our whole family rode on the Logger's Revenge at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. Camerawork gets a bit messy, but the ending is cute.

Summertime Bowling

2010-09-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

This summer the girls signed up for a bowling kids' club. We went often to enjoy the free bowling and air conditioning! Here is a little bit of one of our visits.

August

2010-08-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

Mollie lost that second tooth! We listened to "All I want for my birthday are my two front teeth."

Allie, always having fun.

Happy 7th Birthday, my sweet Mollie!

Mollie can now read her own birthday cards.

Mollie celebrated her birthday with her first sleepover party. She wanted to do art with her friends. Mollie loves art! We filled squirt guns with paint and each girl got to paint a canvas to take home.

Scott brought home Toy Story Mania for the girls to play on the Wii. Fun!

Ended the night with watching Ponyo. Mollie would not look away for any of the pictures I tried to take.

On the day of Mollie's birthday we headed out for a family picnic and enjoyed perfect weather.

After lunch we fed the ducks. Turns out they don't mind mayo on bread.

Mollie spent time doing one of her favorite summer activities.

Allie also did one of her favorite activities.

Summer came to an end all to quickly. We had theme weeks, golfing and bowling, swim lessons, art, time with grandparents and family and friends. We said good bye to our neighbors and welcomed new ones.

And now we start the school year.

July

2010-08-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Our summer has been unusually cool. Not that that's bad! Unless you are a tomato. I was so excited to get my first tomatoes I had to take a picture. Plus, if I told anyone how small my red ones were no one would believe it. So here you have it. I bought a variety called "Sweet Pea" and won't be doing it again. Picking tomatoes the size of peas is not satisfying. (Here is Aug I'm still waiting for my regular red tomatoes to turn red!)

We have some solid dirt. It's good dirt; we can grow things. But it's solid. Scott's dad came over to push down on the front end of the rototiller to get the soil turned for sod.Got the grass in! The yard is starting to look like a backyard!

In the back corner of the yard nothing would grow. The fence would cast constant shade. We sold the small toddler crab sandbox and Scott designed and built this box for the girls. It's full of 19 cubic feet of beach sand. Fun! Final touch with some pavers that look similar to the porch to edge the grass.
Continued Art Week with some tie dying. We did a bit of everything for the girls to dye for year-round color.

I even made some socks for Scott and myself.

The girls tried their hand at pointillism after learning about it from a children's classic art book.

Just before summer started we said good-by to our fish Jingle Bells. He had a good year with us. A couple months later we were ready for another fish. She's also a betta. Girls named her Goldie.

We remembered to hang the flag for 4th of July.We also had a sports week. There were times in my parents' kiddie pool. Did some bowling. (A local alley had a free kids club where the kids could have a free game and shoe rental every day. We went a lot.) And we took our first trip to Golfland.

Almost the same picture, but I love the look on the girls. Ready to go!

June

2010-08-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here goes - a summer recap!

The day after Mollie got out of school for vacation we left for Bakersfield to visit Darren and Becky. While we were gone our butterfly pets started coming out of their cocoons. Here is one of them after we released them into the garden.

We celebrated Father's Day altogether as a family. People traveled from all around the country and world - amazing to get us all in one place at the same time! Greg had been traveling in Indonesia and as you can see, the girls really missed playing with him.

Great Grandpa has a good sense of humor too.
During Art Week at home we tried bubble painting. I had paint in pans with dish soap and the girls laid paper on top of the bubbles they blew up. Didn't really turn out the way I had hoped, but they had fun once they figured out now to suck the painty soap up the straw.

Mollie had been taking dance classes for 4 1/2 years and was finally old enough to take part in the Big Show. The dance studio rented the Center of Performing Arts in downtown San Jose for family and friends to enjoy. She did a beautiful ballet dance to "When You Wish Upon A Star."

From Scott

2010-05-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I finished up the slate on the porch. After removing the old linoleum tiles (yes, I wrote linoleum), I had to try a variety of chemicals and processes to remove the adhesives from the concrete and level the concrete patio. After that came the slate and grouting. Finally sealing. Now here it is finished form...

Before the grouting

All finished.

Once that was done, it was time to start on the 'shed/potting bench to house the lawnmower and provide outdoor work surface (or perhaps minibar?). I went green on this one and recycled all the lumber from the screened in porch I dismantled so we could re-do the porch.

Framed!

Still needs a roof.

Quick Update

2010-04-26T18:36:00.001-07:00

The porch has been cleaned off. Scott leveled it and the concrete is drying. Next is to prep and lay the slate tiles for it.

Backyard will be next after the porch is completed. We have grand ideas.

The fish swam to fishy heaven yesterday. RIP Jingle Bells.

Back Yard Remodel - Entry 1

2010-03-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

It seems like all remodel efforts turn up ancillary issues to deal with. In our own, they have, thus far (and with fingers firmly crossed) been few, but critical. Phase one of our plan was to remove the screened in porch to give more flow and options for dressing up the yard.

Upon removing the porch wood, I discovered the exterior support post was... termite rotten! No active colonies and they hadn't reached the roof timbers, but the post was ugly and badly compromised. I decided it would have to come out in order for me to feel comfortable with the safety of the yard and roof line.

Post damage - old old termite damage

rotted out bottom of post

Knowing I really only had a few hours a night until this weekend I decided to work on Phase Two until I could dedicate a big block of time to dealing with the post problem. Phase Two was the removal of tons of concrete; A walkway 3' x 15' and a concrete pad 8' x 9'.
This was the concrete pile after the walkway was removed...

pile after walkway removed

And here's the pile after the pad was removed...

concrete pile after all concrete removed.

Saturday rolled around and, after the girls' T-ball games, I was able to start on the post problem (Phase 1.2). It started with bracing the roof beams with 4x4 posts. Next step was cutting out the old post. Then came drilling through the existing pad to weaken it so that whatever was underneath could be removed. I was expecting a huge column of concrete (like it should have been). Instead, I found whomever had built the house had rested the Douglas Fir beam supporting the corner of the porch on an 6" thick block of concrete! The patio pad was only 4" thick with an inch or two of dirt between the pad and the block - accounting for the rot and likely the accessibility to termites.

the little block holding up my porch.

While this made things easier for me to do the work today, it was a little disconcerting. It reaffirmed I was doing the right thing. I chiseled out a 12" circle around the posts position and, using a digging bar and post hole diggers, made a 26" deep hole in about 40 minutes. Not bad.
I tamped down the bottom of the hole to make a more stable base. In the bottom of the hole I dropped a 2" thick concrete paver to provide a barrier between the post and the dirt - NO DIRT CONTACT!!!!

The hole doesn't look all that impressive like this.

Hmmmm... How best to put the hole in perspective... Ah, I've got it!

Yah. That should give some perspective.

Anyway. I purchased a 4 x 6 x 12' redwood beam. Cut down to appropriate size. As an extra measure, I went ahead and put copper green on the part of the post to go in the ground. I also added some Simpson Tie corner braces on the top to give some extra strength - the old one had been toe-nailed into the headers (ugh!).

It was so much fun, Patti got into the act as the sun was going down.

I did manage to finish up concreting and leveling the main support (after only 310 lbs of concrete).

2010-02-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

8:53pm
Patti: "Quiet down, Allie."
Allie: "Whadja say, Mom?"

My point exactly.

Family Adventure Day

2010-02-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

The weather was too warm and sunny to stay home (even with stuffy noses) so Scott and I took took the girls to San Francisco to ride the cable cars. We planned it all out - park at the main junction and ride it down to the Wharf, over to Ghirardelli Square and back up by Union Square. Easy right? Well I forgot about all the one way streets and how most of the time you can't turn left. Yikes! Just as we were getting closer to a parking garage a fire engine got ahead of us with its lights on. The front of the truck was driving in one lane and the back end (with its own driver) was driving in the next lane. Then it stopped and the fire fighters got out and the street was blocked. We just looked at each other, not knowing what to think, never seeing anything like this before. Then it starts backing up! Turns out we were right in front of a station that bended right into the buildings.

Once we finally found a nice place to park for the day we headed to the cable cars. Line for buying passes then a long line to get on. There was some entertainment while we waited. One man was tap dancing and teaching someone how to do it. There were some guys dancing with their loud stereo. And then there was a loud woman getting into the music. And then started yelling. And it got angry. And then her shoes and pants came off. Yes, really. Scott and I were now at the point in line that gave us a front row view of all that was happening, so we turned the girls away from the commotion, trying to distract them with the cable car turntable. After a few minutes of this the music came back on nice and loud. We have never been so thankful for loud music on the street!

Saw some sights along the way.

Went to Pier 39 for ice cream and a carousel ride.

One the way back to the car the girls were asked if they wanted to ring the bell.
Good ending to a long day.

2010-02-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I told Mollie that I might be picking her up from school instead of her going off to Chess Club; that's why the funny face when she comes out of class. It took her a minute to figure out who was hiding behind me to surprise her after school. Once she adjusted her focus she had a great time showing Amber-May, Zahra and Nikki around her school campus.

That afternoon we had so much fun playing with our visiting friends from England. The girls enjoyed each other just like we hadn't been apart for the last year and a half. We are already looking forward to our next visit together!

A Great Vacation

2010-01-06T18:27:00.001-08:00

Not only were the girls off for Christmas, but Scott took some time off from work as well. There was so much fun! We...

Went to Christmas in the Park Christmas Eve morning to take in the displays and fresh, hot churros. That afternoon we packed up presents and went to my parents for the traditional goulash dinner and present opening. My dad created some atmosphere by setting up a tv monitor in front of their fireplace with a new yule log dvd playing on it.

Christmas morning we found presents from Santa in the stockings hung over our fireplace. Opened up a few more presents we got for each other. Ate some Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops that Santa gave us for breakfast. Got dressed and packed up more presents and headed to Scott's parents' home.

Breakfast again (brunch really for us - 2 little kids that wake up at 7am can't wait for 10am breakfast). And yes, more presents! I was raised that we all open at the same time and the paper flies. Scott was raised that each person opens one at a time, while taking turns going in a circle. The girls did a great job being patient for the right time to dig into gifts. Helps that we came prepared with new Etch-A-Sketches for them to play with while waiting.

Saturday was playing with new toys in pajamas. I think we will be making this one an annual tradition.

There was a playdate with school friends, pinecone birdfeeders, New Year's Eve breakfast with my parents, a party that night to celebrate with New York, a trip to Ikea to get toy storage, made a gingerbread house, Home Depot Kids Workshop, visited the Oakland Zoo with friends, took the girls to their first movie in a theatre (Princess and the Frog), and our first visit to Psycho Donuts. And LOTS of play time for all four of us!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's all fun and teeth till someone gets hurt

2009-12-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

While Scott was brushing Mollie's teeth two nights ago her loose tooth came out. She likes to say that her dad knocked her tooth out.

Tonight Scott was brushing Mollie's teeth again. He threatened to knock another tooth out and asked her which tooth was her least favorite.

Mollie looked at him and scowled. Then she points at him and replies, "Yours!"

ZING!

Snow in Campbell

2009-12-15T13:09:00.001-08:00

We met up with some friends and had so much fun enjoying a winter carnival for kids in downtown Campbell. This is probably my favorite festival Campbell does.

A hill of snow was set up and monitored by the boy scouts. There was a nice little run for sledding and a small area for playing with that the boys kept soft by turning it with shovels.

Pony riders were delighted with ponies and donkeys walking in a circle. (shh! Don't tell Allie she was on a donkey!)

While mom's away...

2009-12-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

Patti was out of the house with her sister leaving me at home with the kids and Kevin (Patti's brother in law). So we undertook a project I've been thinking about for awhile. It requires a little set-up.

Since Kindergarten, Mollie has had an odd fascination with Star Wars (suits me just fine). Her friends at school had been talking about Star Wars and the Clone Wars, so last summer we watched the original films. This year, she could converse on the topic from an informed position. She also received a Clone Wars themed game for her Leapster 2, which quickly became her favorite.

More recently, she has twice asked me to go to the drugstore next to her ballet class to look at the toy lightsabers. She has also taken to playing 'lightsaber training' with a plastic pipe from her T-ball set (so much for the future of baseball).

That got me thinking we needed a fun, safe lightsaber toy for her. Plastic was out because, well, she's six and her sister (who must have the same thing) is 3... So here's what we decided to do, and it was a whole lot cheaper and more creative than slipping $15 into George Lucas' already amply padded pocket.

We took a trip to Home Depot and the pool supply store and all our dreams came true ;)

Parts list:
3 foam pool noodles - cut in half
1 roll black duck tape
1 roll silver duck tape

total cost: $15 and I got six sabers and plenty of duck tape for more!

The kids were as excited about making these babies as they were about playing with them! They had a great time and they were the perfect fit for them. Safe, soft and a great deal of fun... yes. Even for me.

To show you how excited Mollie got, I present to you her homemade Lightsaber license... Now she can conceal and carry without worry.

And a special thanks to Uncle Kevin. He was a great help and a great sport. The girls had a great time playing games and having lightsaber fights! Thanks again!

Leaf Jumping!

2009-11-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

The girls raked up leaves to make their own pile to jump in.

Few days later Allie had more fun with Grandma and Grandpa jumping in their leaves.

October Fun

2009-11-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

Time to update!

Scott took Allie on a class field trip to Casa de Fruta.

I took pictures of a birthday party for a friend. The girls rocked out in their fun.

smile!

Off to get pumpkins at our favorite little farm.

Allie enjoyed the cool goo of the pumpkin guts.

Mollie didn't want to stick her hand in. Scott kindly scraped the inside lose so all she needed to do is pull it out.

Day before Halloween was busier than Halloween itself! Started with getting to watch Allie in her gymnastics class instead of through a window. Each week is a different theme; this week was pajama day.

Later on we got to observe in Mollie's dance class and they performed "Thriller." Mollie's Firecat costume was perfect for this dance.
Trick or Treat! Scott painted up the girls' faces. Allie dressed up as a pink kitty. Mollie wanted to be a black cat until she found a set of ears and tail with flames in them and became a Firecat; throwing fire at bad guys. Fun, full weekend.

2009-10-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago friends of the family invited us and my parents to spend a long weekend at their beach condo. The first day was sunny and beautiful. After that it stayed cool and foggy. Typical. One day we headed inland for a couple warm hours to a local farm for apple picking.

I brought along a couple magnifying glasses for the girls to explore with. They have been to the beach several times and I thought this would be a good chance to see it a little differently.

At one point I caught Allie making sand angels.

Scott found some charcoal and showed the girls how to use it for drawing on the big white rocks.

Even though I was wrapped in jeans and sweatshirt and wishing I had a jacket, the girls could NOT stay out of the water. The last day I gave up and let them wear their swimsuits in the cold. They were going to go in the water dressed or not. At least their cover ups were on.

It took a couple days before Allie wanted to get in the water. Mollie loves jumping in the waves.

Such a fun trip! We all loved the play time on the beach. My mom enjoyed celebrating her birthday. We saw several dolphins and a few sea lions. Fed the ducks at the pond. Thank you Zaki and Betty for giving us the opportunity to vacation as a family!

The Tooth Fairy Cometh

2009-09-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

It's been weeks in the making. That little front tooth beginning to wiggle seems like so long ago. A few weeks later it was swaying and a little sore. Yesterday, she was giving it little pushes with her tongue and little tugs with her fingers.
Today I got the excited phone cal just after school, "Guess what, Daddy! I lost my first tooth in a peanut butter (budda) and Jelly Sandwich!"
I couldn't help but smile. And neither could she.

So into the cute little Tooth Fairy holder (thank you, Aunt Becky) the little tooth goes.

Awaiting the visit of the tooth fairy... I wonder what she's going to bring? I wonder what the tooth fairy does with all those teeth?
What does the tooth fairy bring your kids? What do they do with the teeth?

Message from Mollie

2009-08-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

My school's annual fundraiser with Innisbrook has begun. Innisbrook Wraps has beautifully designed gift wrap printed on quality recycled paper, coordinating gift wrap accessories,
gourmet foods and fine Helen Grace Chocolates that make great gifts, Time Inc. magazine subscriptions, and more.

For every item that is purchased, Innisbrook donates up to 50% of the purchase price to my school. I also earn a prize credit for every item purchased except school supplies. The more prize credits I earn, the more prizes I win!

Please consider visiting the Innisbrook website and making a purchase on my behalf. A link is included below. Our sale will be over soon, so don't wait. Place your order today.

Thanks for your help!

Seller: MOLLIE Seller ID# R105275E
School: HACIENDA ELEMENTARY
School Number: 103845

Click the link below to visit Innisbrook.com and they will recognize me and my school automatically.

http://www.innisbrook.com/index_students.cfm?id1=R105275E&id2=&id3=

If the above link does not work:
1. Click below
2. Enter the Seller ID# R105275E

www.innisbrook.com/id.cfm

First Days

2009-08-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

We started school last week here. Mollie made the transition into 1st grade. Long, full, 6 hour days at school with a lunch recess and everything. Into the real schooling now!
Allie started preschool for the first time the following day. She did so good! I took her into the classroom where we looked around for a few minutes with the teacher, then the teacher took her out into the play yard with the other kids until school was ready to start. She just ran off and started playing without a second glance to me. I guess she was ready!

Celebrating 6

2009-08-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

All the girls seemed to enjoy Mollie's art birthday party! Glue, feathers, jewels and sequins, boxes, masks, beading necklaces, paint, face paint and tattoos. Lots of mess and lots of fun. I'm willing to help anyone with party planning ideas if you are interested!

Who says tattoos are only for kids?

Fierce Tiger with an attitude

Uncle Dave helping Allie paint a figurine.

The big art table for masks, butterflies and treasure boxes to decorate.

Mollie asked a chocolate mousse instead of a birthday cake this year. Turns out mousse doesn't support birthday candles like cake does.

Monterey Day

2009-08-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

We took a family vacation day and headed to Monterey Bay Aquarium. We spent most of a day there, and so did a ton of people. I took the time to research the place a bit before going over, read about what days has light traffic, feeding times, etc. When we got there it looked like everyone else read the same thing I did (go figure) and it was crowded!

Girls making their best fish faces.

The Sea Dragon seahorse
Picture spot up in one of the kids' areas.
Getting up close

Mollie making a dolphin rubbing for grandma.
The aquarium has some wonderful volunteers that rotate all over the place. They are so good at helping people understand what they are look at. This lady showed Allie how to pick up the sea star. After that, Allie displayed her new talent several times. Hope that sea star got a rest after she left!

My parents spent teh day with us. On the way back to the car they took us to this great tiny beach along the street where we could get our feet wet for a bit.
Mollie got more than just her feet wet. We decided to call it a day when she fell in the water adn soaked her whole front. Couldn't pass up this grumpy picutre.

Girls With Guns

2009-07-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Mollie: Momma, with my allowance I want to buy a rifle.
Me: Oh, yeah?
Mollie: Yeah, so when I wear this (her camouflage polo) I can have an accessory!"

Asian Influences

2009-07-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

I recently put a wide selection of CDs into the car to expose the girls to all sorts of good music. This afternoon Mollie is helping me clean toys and is singing to herself,
I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so

Journey Through Fire

2009-07-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

As you read Jacob's story and think of him, please pray. The Kirkendall family has a long history with Calvary, and are friends of our family. Jacob was involved in a serious accident last weekend and is now fighting for his life.
http://journeythroughfire.blogspot.com/

The Results Are In

2009-06-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

It was a dark, cold and stormy morning. Okay, maybe not quite all that, but it was cool and a few sprinkles did fall. After Scott unleaded the car he took the girls out to set up cones for the bike course.

The kids raced around the track all morning! Mollie ended up doing 75 laps this year. Allie did 25, several of them with a helper walking along to encourage her along. Lots of biking and lots of snacks along the way.
Part of the fun was a grasshopper. At one point all the kids were gathering around this grasshopper while Steve (Katie & Colin's dad, and friend), tried to catch it in a cup. He would get close and the grasshopper would jump and the kids would squeal in delight and surprise. I think this grasshopper knew what it was doing, leading the kids all over the place for several minutes. It finally got tired of the game (after getting caught once) and jumped over the fence. Back to riding!

Trike-A-Thon Rides Again!

2009-06-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

A year and a half ago Mollie saw a short "documentary" about kids riding tricycles to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It started a good discussion about how some kids get sick and need special care from special hospitals. It brought up how our friend Michelle needed a bone marrow transplant to get her blood well again. Mollie became very excited about raising money to help sick kids, so together we came up with Kids Helping Kids.

Kids Helping Kids coordinated a trike-a-thon and we all had a good, long morning riding laps around a parking lot. We had so much fun that we decided to do it again! This time Allie is able to participate more on her own and understands better why we are doing this.

So if you are a local friend reading this, please consider joining us. It is this Sat., June 13th 9am-12noon. It's not too late! I can get you a sponsor sheet easily.

If you are a family memeber, be ready for little voices on the other end asking if you would like to sponsor them. Mollie is on trainig wheels and Allie just got the hang on a tricycle, so I don't think it won't be as many laps as last time.

Thanks!

Taken Nov '07

2009-06-07T21:09:00.001-07:00

We finally got the girls together for a photo. They wore their hair a little different, but the similarities still show through...

Mollie's Doppelganger

2009-05-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

Our oldest daughter Mollie has a doppelganger. Shortly after she started at Hacienda school (SJUSD), we discovered there was another girl in kindergarten who had an uncanny resemblance to Mollie. The little girl is slightly shorter than Mollie, but she has the same build, similar facial structure and nearly identical hair.
It's strange enough to me that anyone else could look like my daughter, let alone sit in the next classroom at her school.
We've crossed paths with the family a few times outside school and at school functions. The similarities between the two girls have forged a casual friendship and there have been a few occasions when we laughed about how much the girls resemble one another.
The girls seem to regard each other as friends and joke a little about being twins (boy, I hope that doesn't cause problems later). They've been mistaken for each other at the school by their own friends. Seriously, they REALLY do look a lot alike.

Anyway... Today, Mollie got her first fish story (Stick with me here, it loops around). The school has a 'nature acre' - an outdoor 'classroom' complete with a moving water pond system, native vegetation, ducks, and crayfish. They compost and raise gardens as well. Today was Mollie's classes turn to go crayfishing. They cast lines baited with meat in order to catch the crayfish. Mollie caught two today! A baby (which she said was green) and a rather large adult. Apparently, after her catch she actually slipped and fell into the pond!
She was soaked to her waist and was reportedly quite the trooper dealing with the incident. They took her to the office and got her a change of clothes (yay for uniforms!).
I thought that alone made for a great story. Good enough to post about. Here's the kicker.
Mollie's Doppelganger's mother was in the office today when Mollie came in to get changed.
She asked what happened and the story was told. She said her daughter had the same thing happen to her the day before!
That's right, within 24 hours Mollie and her doppelganger had BOTH slipped into the same pond!
Coincidence? I think not!

Official Family Pet

2009-05-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

After much thought and advice, this morning we visited Dolphin Pet and spent an hour with a fantastic employee and got a beta fish. Mollie picked a blue one with some red in it so it has a purple look she thinks. Allie gave her approval with the employee's encouragement. He was so good with the girls and in explaining everything we need to do to care for this easy fish. Now to decide if he gets a name...

Our New Pet and Hidden Talents

2009-05-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been going back and forth about getting a pet. Hamster, bunny, chinchilla, fish, guinea pig... You know the routine. Something small that the kids can be involved in caring for with Scott. I think today a pet found us. Our bird feeder has been supplying treats for local birds for about a year now. This morning a squirrel discovered it. The first time we have seen a squirrel take interest in the feeder. They spent all last summer running along the fence, passing it without a second glance. But today this little squirrel hit the jackpot.
Recently Allie learned how to cross her eyes. Then she figured out how to turn out her lower lip and stick out her tongue to make fat lips. Last night for dinner we got a combo.

Gold Medalist

2009-05-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who helped Mollie surpass her walk-a-thon goal for Hacienda. She raised $142! Mollie earned a t-shirt and gold medal to proudly wear while walking.

Despite the steady light rain and cool temperature all morning long she had a lot fun. She started with jogging the first couple laps on her own (her idea!), walked with friends for a while, then Scott and I took turns walking a couple laps too. Mollie walked a total of 3 miles!

Mollie walking with a friend from class. Mollie is wearing a candy lei Allie picked out for her.

A little blurry, but a cute picture. Lots of smiles this wet morning.

Enjoying our hot dogs after the walk. Mollie was very excited about these because her science teacher was selling them. THANK YOU!! YOUR SUPPORT IS GOING DIRECTLY INTO NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR MUSIC, SCIENCE, ART, AND MORE!!
(Now be expecting a call to collect the money, unless you are in Papau New Guinea!)

Annual Spring Fling

2009-04-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

Mollie's school, Hacienda, is getting ready for their annual Spring Fling this coming Sat, May 2. You all know that Scott and I love this school. We consider ourselves very blessed in getting into this popular magnet school. Because this school is popular, there is a huge level of parent participation. One way parents get involved in through HIPS (their version of PTA). HIPS financially supports the science program, field trips, library/technology and media center. HIPS pays for the music program, entirely funds ALL assemblies, publishing lab, art, and financial support for the classrooms. There is a lot of fund raising throughout the year. This is the big one.

Along with all the silent auction items, activities with teachers, prizes to win, there is also a walk-a-thon. Mollie will be taking part in this. She will probably only walk 1-2 miles because we have soccer and t-ball later the same morning. (We get a 3 mile credit for her t-ball!)

If you are interested in sponsoring her let me know. It can be by the mile or a flat amount. Just let me know. Thank you!!

The Boors: On Ice!

2009-04-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

For me the highlight of our weekend was Sunday afternoon. We ventured down to Sharks Ice in San Jose where the San Jose Jr. Sharks were hosting a Girls Only "Give Hockey a try" event. It was a 1 1/2 hour period for girls 5-12 to suit up and learn some of the skills of the game.

We arrived about 45 minutes early and spent some time in the public skate area getting the girls on the ice for the first time ever. For Patti and I, it was the first time in at least 12 years.

Naturally, the girls were a little skittish at first. They were slipping and sliding all over the place grabbing hold of us and the wall. I was lucky to stay on my own skates, let alone deal with 45 pounds of flailing kindergartner.
I cannot praise the SJ Jr. Sharks enough for the program they put together. From the top down it was very well organized and efficient. There was enough equipment and sufficient people to get everyone suited up and ready to go quickly. Some of the equipment was a bit over-sized, but things were quickly resolved and Mollie was suited up to take the ice.The staff quickly separated out the less experienced players from the herd (of probably about 40 kids) and gave them their own space and helpers to get them skating. Mollie spent a few minutes pushing around a stack of buckets and getting used to the skates.

There was a young lady called Tally who stuck with Mollie the entire time. She was a great help transitioning Mollie from the buckets to holding Tally's stick and finally to skating on her own and passing the puck around!We all had a great time and the girls are very eager to try skating again.

Weekend Fun, Part 1

2009-04-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend was full of new experiences for our little girls. Friday, Mollie had her first T-ball practice and had a great time.

Saturday, Allison had her first Soccer lesson at the YMCA and Mollie had her first T-ball game. Allison took a little time to warm up and wanted her Daddy there with her. She seemed to have fun kicking the ball and learning to stop it - which always involved the mandatory posing. She'd plant her foot firmly on top of the ball and cross her arms in a victorious stance reminiscent of the big game hunters of yore.

Mollie seems to have taken to T-ball much better than she had to soccer. She doesn't seem to handle direct confrontational sports very well. The concept of sports like Soccer, where one ball is pursued by a large number of people stressed her out. T-ball, on the other hand, offers her a set role and a set objective without the stress of direct and physical confrontation. She really enjoyed it. She even tagged out a runner!

Gotcha!

2009-04-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

I warned Mollie that at some point today I was going to play a trick on her. Tonight it happened. The girls asked about dinner plans and I told them we were having pie. Pie for dinner! Not just any pie, but fauxberry pie. To be honest, I wasn't too sure how this would taste. Got enough stars from people, but I kept the frozen corn dogs we have in the front of my mind just in case.

The girls completely believed we were having pie until they figured out that the pink frosting tasted like potato. It was actually pretty tasty; a lot like sloppy joes. The girls ate it up! (Allie even had seconds.)

Today's News

2009-03-30T19:59:00.001-07:00

Allie can cross her eyes. So funny!

Lame Jokes

2009-03-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

I like dry, sarcastic humor. Fan of British comedy. Bad jokes are my favorites. I also like NPR's Car Talk. Try to listen to it if I'm out driving on weekend mornings. I have used their website, too, for advice and got some good info from it. Recently Car Talk started sending me newsletters. Today I found the Lame Joke they include at the bottom. Now I will share them with you. I change the Disney trivia as it comes to me, and now I will also change out the jokes as I see them.

She made it to 3!

2009-03-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Yay! I seriously had my doubts for a while; mostly during the first two years of her little life. Started with getting tested for pyloric stenosis at 10-14 days old. Then the slow rate of growth, continued lack of keeping much (if anything) down. Finally, after 2 medicines and time she gained weight! Allie recently had her check up and she went from a tiny petite 2 year old to above average weight and hegiht 3 year old. Then there is the whole aspect of being fearless. Allie was climbing before walking. Scaling new heights was a daily adventure. Thankfully there are no stairs in the house!

Allie continues to thrive, grow and learn. Her expanding world also means more adventures and messes to clean, but I'm so glad my little one is healthy and having fun.Allie asked for a donut party. Then a pink party. Sure, okay, pink donuts I can do. Then a pink princess donut party! The donut shop made a bunch with pink sprinkles for us and I stuck in teh princess stickers on toothpicks. Ta da! Happy girl. (Yes, that is pink hair. hehe)

Allie's version

2009-02-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be able to figure out what song this is based on. Allie learned it from one of Mollie's VBS cd's. Allie was singing this as she finished dinner tonight.
"Oh no, you never let go
When we go through the comet.
Oh no, you never let go of my shoe."

smash mouth and sushi

2009-02-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

My parents came by a couple weeks ago to give the girls a ride in their "old bumpy car." This picture is a nice reminder for me of Allie's great smile. Yesterday she fell while playing with Mollie and whacked her mouth on the computer chair. Ouch! After many tears and mopping up blood she now sports a swollen and bruised mouth. We are trying to be creative in soft foods. Tonight Scott treated us to a nice sushi break. Tomorrow back to apple sauce, yogurt and pasta.

Been a While

2009-02-07T23:15:00.000-08:00

There really hasn't been much to write about! My work load has picked up quite a bit. It's limits my play time, but I'm thankful for the work. Scott and I have also been considering preschools for Allie. Mollie was able to go to Challenger and she learned so much there! Scott and I know that not all kids are the same, and different kids need different kinds of schools. So here we are. Both girls are such opposites in so many ways. And we are looking at different schools for Allie. Just when I'm convinced I found the right place for her I find another one I like too! This weekend we are looking at pros and cons to two top choices, and I think it's becoming clear. Now we are left to hoping we get in for next fall!

As for work, we are planning our first lunch 'n' learn seminar. It's been a lot to do since this is the first one. One fun part of it is I was given the opportunity to make the table centerpieces. As most of you know, Scott is very creative and loves to build things. Tonight he spent a good couple hours at the table making a few pieces. Here is a peek at what he made. What a guy!A couple little monsters made from outdated or broken computer parts eating money.

Taste of Summer

2009-01-11T22:01:00.001-08:00

Today was beautiful outside! Perfectly sunny and warm. So off we went to the beach! The tide was really low this afternoon and we took advantage by going to Natural Bridges to see tide pools. Well, the pools we saw up on the rocks didn't show us very much. Not like we were hoping. If we had gone further along maybe we would have seem things, but it was getting to be a difficult climb for the little ones.

Here is Allie showing you a little pool up on the rocks.

We explored along the sand among the rock formation and saw lots of starfish and other things that I can't spell. With the tide so incredibly low we got to go under the bridge and saw a ton of sea life. This was what we had hoped for! On top sat a pelican.
Before heading down to the water we made a stop into the Visitor Center. Mollie had made a sea life picture for the rangers that work there. We also picked up a little book to explain to us what we were looking at. Honestly, I had more fun with the volunteer down under the bridge who pointed out what things were to Allie and I than I did with the book. I learned about sponge and their mouths. Allie learned that clams squirt water. But Mollie loves this book and wanted to look everything up. She preferred this method to getting close to anything.

Quick family picture taken by our friend we met there.

Girls saw their first beach sunset. Usually Allie is concerned about being out after dark. When the sun goes to bed she should be home. But it never came up tonight. Then once we got back into town we watched the full yellow moon rise over the trees. Beautiful day.

Merry Little Christmas

2008-12-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we go to my parents' home to open presents after a dinner of goulash. It has been this way for as long as I can remember. I don't know where it started, but for some reason trains seem to go along with the holiday decorations. My mom's train is a Lego train. Does anyone else remember these?

Last year Santa accidentally left his hat on our fireplace screen. The girls thought that was so funny and we mailed it back to him at the North Pole. This year he left a little note:

Dear Mollie and Allison,

Thank you very much for the delicious cookies and milk. They were a wonderful treat.

I’m so glad you were both such good girls this year. I know there were times when it was difficult for you to get along, but there were also many times when you played well together and treated each other with love and kindness. Those times make your parents and I very happy.

I hope you enjoy the gifts I left for you both.

Be good girls next year, too. I do enjoy visiting your home.

With love and cheer,

Santa Claus

P.S. Thank you very much for returning my hat. My head was very cold and I had to wear Mrs. Claus’ bonnet for a few days. How embarrassing.

Unfortunately he dropped his hat again! I think we'll hang onto it a little longer this time so Santa will learn to be more careful next year.

Dance Class

2008-12-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

Before taking a break for Christmas parents got to observe the dance class. And of course I took a bunch of pictures!

After stretching the teacher has the girls line up and practice going across the room with different steps.

Allie spent most of the time watching the class. Towards the end she found a way to entertain herself.

O (Little) Christmas Tree

2008-12-30T09:06:00.000-08:00

Girls enjoying the little tree set up on the front lawn. We enjoy taking a little time during Christmas to drive along the Willow Glen streets to admire the lights.

Santa Lucia

2008-12-30T08:23:00.000-08:00

The church I grew up at has a Swedish background and one thing my church would do is a Santa Lucia celebration. This year Santa Lucia Day came on a Saturday (Dec. 13) so I thought it would be fun to do a little breakfast at home. Tradition is for the oldest girl to dress in a white dress with a red sash and a crown with seven candles. She wakes early in the dark morning and serves a breakfast with buns, coffee and ginger cookies. Mollie dressed up and she served the breakfast to us and her grandparents.Allie wanted to get dressed up and into the act too. How could we say "no" to such excitement? Some of you might recognize the crown. The closest thing we had to what I was reading about was the crown Mollie made at her fairy birthday. I found some small candles and used twisty ties. I wouldn't light them - not at all traditional, but that was as close as I dared with her hair!

2008-12-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Preparations

2008-12-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

During the Thanksgiving weekend my sister and her husband were in town visiting. Here is Kathy getting back in touch with her inner child.

My parents have a little tree they set up in the play house in the back yard for the girls to decorate.

Well, they can't all be smiling pictures. I'm showing you this one because my dad mentioned to me a difference between the girls is that Mollie likes to serve food through the windows and Allie likes to climb through them.

Cheesing it up after a job well done.

Thanksgiving in Coarsegold

2008-12-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

Where is Coarsegold you may ask? Why, in gold country, of course! Our sister-in-law's dad invited us to his home to celebrate Thanksgiving - mountain style. Such beautiful country to spend a special holiday in. The girls got to explore the outdoors in a way we don't at home. We spent a lot of good family time together. Thank you so much, Dieter, for everything; including a warm and comfortable place to stay.

Dave took us around the area. Some of the ground was a bit uneven so he helped Allie along at some points. We found deer tracks, animal holes, and rocks with flecks of gold.

Dinner table setting. Each of us took a turn with the Native American Talking Stick sharing one thing we are thankful for.

Mollie helped me make the Pilgrim hat cookies.

Mollie and Allie really had a good time spending so much time with family. It is such a blessing that everyone in the family gets along well and actually looks forward to spending time together. Grandpa, Eddi and Mollie had some game going on the couch where it was "Men vs. Ladies." Lots of laughter and good memories.

Over the mountains and through the woods

2008-12-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

to Yosemite we go!

Scott and I decided it would be fun to drive through Yosemite on the way to Thanksgiving this year. The weather was cold and wet and the clouds were low. Still pretty.

Walked up to Bridalveil Fall.

Date Night

2008-12-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Our good friends, Chad and Kendal, recently visited CA for a month. Just before they left to return to Papua New Guinea, a few of us got together for an evening of bocce ball. As our time ended on the court we took this action shot using the timer on the camera. The game lacked any real competition, which is why I don't feel bad about the cheating I did. That's right, I cheated! As we walked past the score board I added a point or two, several times. So for those of you who played and are reading this, the game wasn't really as close as it ended.

Before leaving we asked someone to take our picture with our camera. And I learned something. If you set the timer, turning off the camera until the next use doesn't clear the timer! We all had a good laugh as we waited for the camera to finally click.

Thankful Tree

2008-12-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been coming up with new family activities; testing ideas to see what will stick as a tradition for us. During November we had a tree painted in our dining room. Every night at dinner each of us would write on a leaf something we were thankful for. Thanks for the idea, Suzanne!

Ho Ho Ho

2008-12-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Outdoor Art

2008-12-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

Scott is an artist at heart. Creativity comes easily to him. I think that's why he likes to figure out how to fix and build things around home. He made our shelves and computer desk in the family room. Most recently he built me a few planter boxes. We're trying (again) to grow some herbs.

2008-11-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

We will be back soon with new pictures to share.

Too nice to stay home

2008-11-15T16:45:00.001-08:00

Those of you readers not in CA should be warned that the following pictures contain sunshine. So much sunshine and warm weather here this week that we headed for the beach. I figured that the beach would be cooler so we wore jeans and brought sweatshirts. I should have packed shorts and swimsuits!

Our first stop was to see the monarch butterflies; they are migrating to Natural Bridges from Mexico right now. The girls brought telescopes to see better.
After a nice visit with the butterflies we enjoyed a picnic under a huge eucalyptus tree. Scott introduced the girls to tree climbing.
Then the sand! The beach had a huge puddle (for lack of a better word - maybe pond?) that a bunch of little kids were playing in. Much easier for the girls to enjoy the water this way. The bottom was clear, the water was moving, and it looked like the ocean would meet up with it with the tide. We built castles and the girls waded and we just had fun! Great way to spend a warm Saturday in November!!
Should I end this sunny story with the Marini ice creams Scott treated the girls to on the wharf? Maybe not; I think you snowy readers have had enough sun for one day.

On Parade

2008-11-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

The kindergarten classes at school held a parade between showers for all to admire the costumes. Mollie looked so cool with her pink streaked hair!
Allie enjoyed the playground during the parade. The jacket she's wearing was given to me when I was little. My grandparents went to Hong Kong and brought that back for me. Pretty rock n roll, huh? Allie and I also sported pink hair. I dressed a bit punk, but no one caught it on film.

Carving Night

2008-10-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

Last week Mollie's school had their fall festival. So much fun and so well done! Girls dressed in their rock star costumes. Don't you love the guitars Scott designed and made for the girls?

We cut into our pumpkins this week with the girls. Mollie was rather disgusted by the slime.

Allie loved the cool wet squishy feel of the pumpkin pulp. So typical.

Scott and I were left to do the final cleaning out when the girls had their fill.
Scott worked on picking out the pumpkin seeds while the girls...watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" with warm cookies from the oven.

Uesugi Farm

2008-10-31T16:33:00.001-07:00

A fun trip to Uesugi Farm's Pumpkin Patch included a hay ride through some of the crops.

The marigold area was amazing!

Path through a corn field.

1... 2... 3...

Picking Pumpkins

2008-10-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

We recently visited our favorite little pumpkin patch. Found a few for our porch to carve this week.

Grandpa Phil showing Mollie the finer points of racing tractors.
Still a farm boy at heart.

We found straw all over in clothing the rest of the day.

what a mess

2008-10-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

I don't ever think I will be caught up in chores; and they say that admitting it is the first step. We do pick up the toy room, but it seems to come undone quite quickly. I'm thankful my kids have a room they can play happily in and there is a door to hide it all when needed.

One of the stranger things I've done in the kitchen

2008-09-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

I got this in an email today from Scott who got it from his boss, Nan. Thank you Nan!! Tonight we made this little tasty dessert as basic and simple as can be. It's pretty good; perfect for a last minute dessert when you get in the mood for hot chocolate cake late at night. We made it without chips, and think it's missing something. Try it, experiment with additions and share what you come up with!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons Flour (plain flour, not self-raising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Hershey's baking cocoa

Dash of vanilla
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

1 large microwave safe coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.
Add the vanilla, egg, milk and oil to mug and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using)
Mix well.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3
minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise above the top of the mug,
but don't be alarmed, it will not run down sides of mug,
But will drop back down when Microwave stops.

Allow to cool a couple of minutes and tip out onto a plate if desired.
Let cool, Serve with cool-whip or drizzle a spoonful of can frosting
over
top.

Super Easy!!
ENJOY!!!

Words I will miss hearing Allie say

2008-09-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Handaburger - hamburger

Skingky - stinky

(and my personal favorite...)

Strawbaberry - strawberry

Vocabulary lesson needed

2008-09-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

This morning Mollie was looking at a Fisher Price catalog that showed up in the mail a few days ago and came across the holiday section. And I quote, "Hey, Mom! Here's the Jesus farm you got me!"

Old Cars Old Homes

2008-09-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the annual car show at the San Jose History Park. I loved seeing all the antique cars in a small town of perfect old homes. There wasn't really anything for kids to do, but that was easily remedied with a stop to the old candy store of sweets and ice cream.

I can't even imagine what riding this would be like!

Some people were in period dress. My mom was able to catch these ladies in front of my parents' car. Beautiful details in the dresses.

Stopping to smell the roses.

Sweet treats

1st Place!

2008-09-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

We decided to get a jump on the upcoming season and get the flu this week before all the good germs get used up. I bet you're jealous!

Happy Labor Day

2008-09-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

Today Calvary had their annual Grill n Chill. The parking lot is taken over with classic and show cars. There is a band stage and several groups perform, a BBQ business comes in to sell lunch, and several areas designed for different aged kids and tons of bounce houses and slides. The surprise this year was a snow play area for middle and high school students. When they were done the little ones got to check it out. Both girls loved the snow area!

My parents had their Mustang and A there. About a year ago my parents found this little car that almost matched their regular A. The paint job is perfect! So my dad started adding little details to make them match a little better. The mini car now has spoke wheels, working headlights, and a working back tail light that blinks for turning!

Scott and Mollie made a snowman. I took this picture before Allie could knock it down again.

A Message from Mollie

2008-08-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

My school's annual fundraiser with Innisbrook has begun. Innisbrook Wraps has beautifully designed gift wrap printed on quality recycled paper, coordinating gift wrap accessories,
gourmet foods and fine Helen Grace Chocolates that make great gifts, Time Inc. magazine subscriptions, and more.

For every item that is purchased, Innisbrook donates up to 50% of the purchase price to my school. I also earn a prize credit for every item purchased except school supplies. The more prize credits I earn, the more prizes I win!

Please consider visiting the Innisbrook website and making a purchase on my behalf. A link is included below. Our sale will be over soon, so don't wait. Place your order today.

Thanks for your help!

Seller: MOLLIE Seller ID# R10096D
School: HACIENDA ELEMENTARY
School Number: 103845

Click the link below to visit Innisbrook.com and they will recognize me and my school automatically.

http://www.innisbrook.com/index_students.cfm?id1=R10096D&id2=&id3=

If the above link does not work:
1. Click below
2. Enter the Seller ID# R10096D
www.innisbrook.com/id.cfm

Also, if you live in the area and you are thinking of a dinner out, Hacienda is having a Dinner Night with Sonoma Chicken.
Tuesday Sept 9
5pm-9pm
5925 Almaden Expy in San Jose
and
200 E Campbell in Campbell

Hacienda receives %15 of all take out or dine in meals when you give them this flier below.

First Day of School!

2008-08-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was Mollie's first day of school at Canoas. She was so excited while getting ready. Both girls were giddy and squeaking while brushing their teeth. And at 7:30am the four of us headed out the door and walked down the street to school. I love how close it is to home. After a short meeting with the teacher we said our good byes and off she went into class. This was the first time I remember her ever being timid before going into a class of any kind. Except the first time I left her in the church nursery when she was 3 months. And she cried just that first time. Since then leaving her for class or anything has gone smoothly.

Picking up my little one was not what I expected. Mollie loves to learn everything and loves school and classes of all kinds. She came walking out of class so tired and looking sad and she didn't want to talk and she said she didn't like Kindergarten. Oh no! Scott and I told her we'll give it a couple weeks thinking she will get over the shock of the day and it will get better.

Instead...
On Wednesday Mollie had her first day of Kindergarten at Hacienda Elem. Yup, we switched schools. Tuesday afternoon I got a call from the district office saying that a space opened up at the magnet school for which we were on a waiting list for. I was shocked; totally didn't expect this to come up. When they sent me a letter in the spring Mollie was number 60 something. Turns out that was just a student number. She was 9 of the waiting list! After a rushed trip over to Hacienda to meet people and check it out and a couple phone calls to Scott we decided to switch schools. Mollie was pleased that she got two first days of school. I had to convince her that didn't mean she got to have a second first day of school cake. :)

Her reaction to school was so different on Wednesday; complete opposite from what I got on Tuesday. She came out happy and energized. Excited about school again. And I am excited about it too. Parent involvement plays a big role there. At lunch time kids on the playground of a great play structure, balls and hoops. It feels so much like the school that I grew up at and I am excited to be a part of it. I'm still learning what it means to be a magnet school though. I know that kids throughout the district can apply to go there, so kids are from all over. There is PE and art and music still. The bent of the school is environmental science. Last year Mollie got to be a part of a home school science class and fell in love with science. The school does a lot of hands on with learning which I love and agree with. There are large planting boxes for each class and an area with ponds and a creek and lots of Redwood trees. Pretty campus. And I am hoping that the science aspect will be an advantage for her as our current culture is about "going green." I know, I know. That is a big hot topic and there are lots of arguments. And maybe I'll get into that another time.

Anyway, we have started school. Everyday. Another new phase of life for our little Mollie.

Beach Day

2008-08-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

We declared Sunday as a family vacation day and headed to the beach. Mollie loved jumping over the waves. She's not a fan of playing in the sand, just like her daddy. Allie felt unsure about going into the water until I showed her how we can fill the buckets with water to go make wet sand for castles. Scott and I made several trips back and forth filling buckets with her. She did well going in the water after that, even when a wave knocked her down.

Many of my friends know I am a people watcher. I was noticing how at the beach people are very similar to one another, no matter what the age. People of all ages were going to the water's edge, sticking in their toes, and running out because it's so cold. Mollie gained confidence in playing in the waves while I sat near by and watched. I watched her dance and jump and laugh. At one point she was just standing there letting her feet sink into the sand and the waves came in and out. You know that feeling? Wondering just how long you can keep yourself up before falling down, and wondering if you can save yourself before you DID fall. There I was, watching my daughter discover her limit in balance, and I was ready to jump up and help her if needed. And I got to thinking about how God allows us to figure out how long we can balance. About how He is always just right there for us when we need Him.

Jumping Weekend

2008-08-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

My girls both love to swim. And jump into a pool. This last weekend we were invited to go swimming each day with different family (thank you again Betty & Elliott and Barbara and Dan!) and treated to delicious dinners. Many of you know I have been really busy the last couple weeks with different events I was involved in. Being able to enjoy the weekend with family fun and dinners was a huge blessing.

My sister and her husband were in town visiting this weekend. Kathy played with our camera and took a bunch of action shots of the girls. Jumping has been one of their favorite pool games in the past. Kathy loved the excited looks on their faces just as they were jumping off the edge.

I recently got them back floats ("power packs") and now they love being in the water practicing their swimming skills. Such a different experience letting them go and not having to hold one constantly! Mollie is really getting the swimming thing down with the float. Yesterday she wanted to practice without it; not quite there yet, but I was proud that she tried for a bit. Allie can also do a little swimming with the float, but she prefers to dog paddle all around the place. She gets mad when I try to hang on and redirect her.

Happy Birthday Sweet Fairy

2008-08-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated Mollie's birthday. My grandma graciously opened her home to 11 little fairies for the afternoon party and a bunch of family at the evening party. Mollie went thru a lot of different birthday themes before she figured out exactly what she wanted. We combined candy and fairies into Sweet Fairies. Girls came dressed beautifully and all the little fairies had a wonderful time. We decorated crowns and wands, went on a fairy hunt in the garden, made sweet jewelry, played Pin the Wings on the Fairy, and ate sweets! What could be better?!

Tiny fairy sneaking a preview at Fairy Wonderland.

Crowns waited for girls to pick and tie on ribbons.

Wands and glitter glue fun.

Scott painted this for our Pin the Wings on the Fairy.

Mollie blowing out her candle on the cupcake tower.All lined up and ready for fun!