Birthday Cake

36 years old

Today is my birthday! I'm 36 years old - whew! I think it's good to be able to laugh at myself so here are some pictures of me when I wasn't 36 years old...

1-year old with Mom and Dad - I still love raggedy ann!

My brother gives me heck about this photo because of my squinty eyes. It's just the way I smile ;)

I'm guessing this was 6th grade. I loved rainbows.

God is so good to me. I have such a blessed life. Now where's that coffee ice cream with caramel and brownies?

Music Lovers

If you enjoy music (like I do), check out Pandora. It lets you create your own personalized radio station. Even my brother hadn't heard of it, which is pretty amazing, so I'm guessing it's new (and very cool).

"You were late!"

A few weeks ago, we took Z (our 1-yr old son) in to see our pediatrician (who we love) because he wasn't feeling well. While we were waiting (a long time) for our turn with Dr. Smith, J (our 3-yr old son) asked me where Dr. Smith was. I said "He's probably running late."

As soon as Dr. Smith came in, Josh said "Dr. Smith, you were LATE!"

I *love* having a 3-year old with me in moments like these - he told Dr. Smith how it was!

(Btw, Z had an ear infection and the beginning stages of bronchitis. We rarely had these sicknesses in dry Colorado. Oh yeah and he's cutting his molars too. Just lots of action in that little head of his. He's doing much better now.)

Enjoyed this "Frozen Grand Central" video today.

My ABCs

A. Attached or single? Attached for life.
B. Best friend? Jeff
C. Cake or pie? cake - but heavy on the ice cream
D. Day of Choice? Thursday (night)
E. Essential Item(s)? sun hat and a stroller
F. Favorite color? red
G. Gummy bears or worms? bears I guess
H. Hometown? Visalia, CA
I. Favorite indulgence? coffee ice cream w/ brownies and caramel
J. January or July? July, for sure
K. Kids? yep, 3
L. Life isn't complete without? God, family and friends
M. Marriage Date? July 8, 2000
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 sis Stacy & 1 bro James - I'm the oldest.
O. Oranges or apples? apple slices with peanut butter and jack cheese
P. Phobias? spiders
Q. Quotes? "Don't get married until you go to college." - my Dad
R. Reasons to smile? My husband's sense of humor and our 3 fun kids, of course.
S. Season of choice? Summer in southern CA - it's heaven
T. Toe ring or bracelet? bracelet
U. Unknown fact about me? I don't drink coffee or wine, and I like to play the guitar.
W. Worst habit? I bite my finger nails.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? ultrasound, are you kidding?
Y. Your favorite food? spaghetti w/ meatballs
Z. Zodiac sign? Leo, but I'm not into signs

Tag, you're it.

post note: my fours
1) Four places I go to over and over: YMCA, Costco, Ralphs, and Kohls
2) Four people who e-mail me regularly: my Mom, Kim, Jeff and Susan
3) Four of my favorite places to eat: Red Robin, Baja Fresh, Cold Stone, and In-n-Out
4) Four places I would rather be right now: Venice, Hawaii, Switzerland, or Ireland
5) Four people I think will respond: you never know.
6) Four TV shows that I watch over and over: not much into tv right now.

Bridge!

So Z's recent "move" is hoisting his bootie up on straight legs and peeking out underneath. Whenever he does the we holler out "BRIDGE!" He loves it. Z also mastered stairs in the last few weeks. We've been hanging out on the stairs a lot recently.

Turtle Bread

We made turtle bread today. We used this recipe, and just our kitchen aid mixer (we don't have a bread maker). It turned out great, but the fun was getting the kids involved rolling the dough into balls. Oh, and the raisin eyes were most delicious. Maybe I'll use chocolate chips for eyes next time.

This bread reminded me of teddy bear bread that my good friend and mentor Carol G. made for her kids. But I couldn't find a teddy bear bread recipe.

Sandcastle at Moonlight Beach

No, we didn't build it, J just thought it was cool.

Pumping Bucket

So I've wanted to post about our pumping bucket for a while now. Not sure why we call it a bucket - it's more like a pumping barrel. But I just love this thing, and it keeps our kids busy for *hours*. My brother-in-law Matt came up with the idea, and my hubby built it a few years ago. It's so great for young kids because they can have running water any time they want, but they have to use some arm muscle to get it. It basically recirculates the water, so I (clean it out) and fill 'er up maybe once every 2 weeks.

I love blogs to get inspiration and new ideas, so maybe this might spur you onto something fun and different. Who knows.

Summer Park Days

Fun Friday

My girlfriend Kate shared this Western Spaghetti video with me this week. Makes me want to make spaghetti for dinner tonight.

Also discovered this MakingFriends paper dolls site that we used this week to print, color and cut out paper dolls/outfits/hair. Yes we have little snippets of paper all over the house now, but the kids loved the craft.

I had a hankerin' recently for ginger snaps so I made these this afternoon. The spices made our home smell like Christmas (in July). They were good.

Escondido Expedition

Last week we hopped on the Sprinter (light rail) and went to the Escondido Children's Museum (a very fun place - we'll return for sure). The museum was a few blocks' walk from the light rail station, so it made for a fun day-time outing. Our family is always ready for a train ride...

Z's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Z's first birthday with a "whale" of a cake (decorated by Daddy - always amazing), and homemade balloon shaped pinata (that Grandad hit down with one whack). Happy Birthday, Z!

Birthday Beach Trip

Surfing with my Honey

So my folks were in town and you know what that means: Date night! Ahhhhh heaven. I love our kids and all, but you gotta have a break! We celebrated 8 years of marriage by going... (drumroll please)... surfing (well, boogie boarding to be exact). My parents gave us their old wetsuits from their Solcat sailing days (check out my retro orange getup), so we put them to good use. We went to Moonlight Beach, and the waves, water and sunset were perfect. Happy Anniversary Jeff!

Z's Monthly Baby Photos

Oh what a difference a year makes.