The Gilles'

Party Time

2011-05-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, I did it! I finally gave my son a real birthday party...theme and all! He only had to wait 8 years, his last big party was when he was 1.

We had a homemade pinata...

...which was destroyed faster than you could say "Death to the Death Star"!

Jedi Padawan training was second only to that of Disneyland. If only I had enough time to make everyone robes...oh well, next time!

And what's a Star Wars party without the buns?

How about these scrumptious delights?

...every one got a real kick out of the names. I forgot to take a picture of the Death Star melon balls, the Yoda Soda, and Pizza the Hut.
Steve and I slaved away on assembling the Lego sets till midnight one evening just to display them for the party.

We had more saber training by trying to keep asteroids afloat....

and defending ourselves from evil water balloons.

Then we were ready to take on the evil Empire with a treasure hunt to free the captured Lego people.

Christopher had a wonderful time with his friends for his 9th birthday, a party he won't soon forget...especially considering that it's not likely he'll have another until he's 18.

Happy Birthday my love!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-03-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

We are having a really wonderful time at Disneyland. None of us have ever stayed for more than one day...we are able to go on rides that we would not have otherwise opted for due to time constraints. It's been really wet until Steve got off work at 4pm. The boys and I only were able to do 4 rides all day because of rain and lines and not knowing my way around....then Steve joined us, the rain stopped and the people disipated and we were on and off more rides in a matter of a couple of hours than we had done all day!...Off to California Adventure Park...stay tuned!

Silly Boys

2011-03-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

The boys got to go to birthday party with an "Old West" theme. We just recently finished reading "Indian in the Cupboard" which inspired them to dress up as these silly characters...the mustaches were in there goody bags...I love boys!

Will you...

2011-02-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

I know there are many that think that Valentines Day is highly over-rated, but I for one am glad that there is a day set aside just for telling people that you love them. God was our first Valentine...it says so in the great big card He sent us...the Bible.

Boys Will Be Boys

2011-02-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

It is true that a boy can make any object into a gun. I've been reading about Davy Crockett to the boys and now everything is about hunting and rifles and wild animals. I love that I have boys!

A Christmas Carol Treat

2010-12-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

We love In-n-Out! After the play today in Visalia I took the boys out to eat. It was a rear treat to have a meal right after the theater and boy was it good!

A New Tradition

2010-12-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

The "boys" love legos and the little miniture snow city scenes...so when Steve and I saw that Lego was releasing a set of winter scenes each year we decided that this would be a really fun tradition for the family to join in on. This was last year's...and this years will be unwrapped on Christmas day and assembled. Hours of Lego fun and lots of great memories!

Mom aka "Oil Artist"

2010-11-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here is my mom's latest paintings, which are showing at Arbor Gallory in downtown Merced. The inspiration was from photos taken by my friend who is a professional photographer. I'm so proud of my mom!

Holiday Crafts

2009-12-22T14:29:00.001-08:00

With Christmas just a few days away and orders filled I found time to do a little crafting for myself, or rather the family.

Take a good look at this beauty! I'm not even the slightest bit modest about this blanket. This is my best yet. I made it in about 3 days...and all because I was walking through the fabric store and happened to see some really adorable fabric I couldn't resist. The flowers are made of minky material, so my little niece will be so very cuddly warm in China. Tell me you don't love this quilt!

And here are our new Christmas stockings all hung by the fire with care. I wanted something fun for the kids, but at least meet my need to coordinate...if they couldn't be beautiful.

Portraits

2009-12-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

Heather & Jojo

Nicole & Steve

Christie & LonnyI'm so thankful for my husband, sisters and brothers-in-law!

Christmas Came Early

2009-12-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

All the kids had a gooey fun time decorating a gingerbread train, which they got to only nibble on later...due to hypersensitive mothers too tooth decay.

Tada!!! Here are all the grandchildren in their hand made pjs sitting for a group picture in front of the Christmas tree. Aren't they adorable? They got to open this one present on "Christmas Eve" so they could all come together the next morning to unwrap the rest looking oh so cute.

Christie got very creative this year with her gifts for the kids. She made silhouette ornaments for each. I absolutely love these...and they look so classic on the tree!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

We had a great feast at Grammy's and Papa's house this year, and only one turkey. Typically we have had two to three. But this years was a doozy, tipping the scales at a hefty 25 lbs. That was one big bird!
Look at all those cute faces. Can you imagine, Kate and Audrey are missing from this picture.

And how about these turkeys? A song comes to mind..."Gobble gobble gobble, fat turkey, fat turkey...." Man was that dinner good!

Japanese Art Museum

2009-12-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

We finally had an opportunity to visit the largest privately owned collection of Japanese art in the country, or possible the world (don't quote me on that, but it's supposed to be something impressive like that).
As you can imagine the possibility of the boys touching something and breaking it was too much stress for me so I demanded that they were to keep their hands in their pockets...Christopher was caught being mildly rebellious.

Here the warriors, or at least the shell of them, sit all lined up like you would expect the armor of English knights of old to be.

This was Christopher's favorite helmet. Pretty intimidating isn't he?!

The bonsai garden was really beautiful. This was my favorite piece. This is a miniature replication of a really old forest. It's amazing how the artist made young set of trees look hundreds of years old...gnarly branches, lightning struck top, depth and space by arranging larger in front and smaller in back...impressive!

Kuri Manju

2009-12-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

My absolute favorite holiday treat...and it takes about 3 days to make, and I am the only one who is crazy enough in the family to do it. This recipe was my dad's mother's recipe...and I have never tasted the equal of it any where, including famous Japanese bakery's. Don't you wish you could have one right now?

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2009-12-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Time marches on. It's been a couple of years since we visited the aquarium and where there once was an old empty run down lot now stands a large beautiful hotel suite.
It was homeschooling day at the aquarium...and surprisingly it was not packed out, so we actually got a chance to get a decent spot at the feeding times.

Joshua: "Be the ray. I am the ray!"

Can you say "Fishy face?"

Children's Discovery Museum

2009-12-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

Wow! I missed all the events of November! I have to backtrack now. At the begining of the month we went to the Children's discovery museum in San Jose. The kids had a blast touching and running and "discovering" all over the place.

Steve is not in prison...just picking up some mail at the post office.
Here is postmasted Christopher picking up the daily delivery.

And here is Joshua on the recieving end, eagerly awaiting the work load.

How's this for up close and personal. Christopher is checking out the snot on the bulls nose.

Row, row, row you boat...

Harvest Festival

2009-10-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

We went to a wonderful little Victorian Harvest Festival today with the boys. For about 2 hours the boys busied themselves with activities from apple bobbing...

to making candy apples...

to pumpkin painting...

to games...to treasure hunts...

and music!

It was a full afternoon of fun with friends and making great memories!

Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken

2009-10-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

This was a really good dinner and it was really easy to make. And just look at how beautiful it looks. I'm not always so pleased with my attempts at new recipes. Try it and let me know how you liked it!

Orange-Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: --
Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts or any combination of light and dark meat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 scallions, whites and greens, finely chopped
4 cups baby arugula
Directions
In a large pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high to high heat.
Season the chicken liberally with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. When the oil is hot and ripples, add the chicken and brown for 5 minutes, then turn and sprinkle with rosemary. Cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
In a small bowl, stir together the marmalade, vinegar and stock and pour over the chicken. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and becomes a thin glaze. Add the scallions during the last minute of cooking time. Arrange on a serving platter and serve topped with arugula greens.

Pumpkins

2009-10-21T12:40:00.001-07:00

We got to go to the Reedley pumpkin patch with the home school group this year. It was a little cold, but a lot of fun to be with friends.

Here are a few of the regulars in the group with younger children. The group seems to have grown this year.

Five dollars got us a story, a hayride and a pumpkin. Who says a dollar won't take you far these days?

And for some reason Christopher just couldn't smile right for the pictures. I may have clocked him in the mouth with a pumpkin so that he got a fat lip, but he should have just been able to shake that off...right?!

PBS Station

2009-10-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy with field trips for the homeschooling group. Last Thursday we went to tour the PBS station in Fresno. This was the boys very first real life train trip and they were running all around with excitement. From the train station we walked about a mile to the TV station, and managed not to loose or kill a single child. However, Joshua did end up with a scraped elbow.

We got the tour the sets and see the control room where all the behind the scene stuff takes place.
Afterwards, we went to the Fresno Metropolitan Museum to explore some more. We weren't allowed to take pics in the fine arts museum but here we are having a bit of fun in the hands on area.

Jukebox

2009-10-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Wendy, sent me a marvelous gift just in time for my trip this weekend. I head back to the beach on Friday for another 48 straight hours of pure unadulterated scraping! With the increasing populartity of the Cricut, the chance of mixing up mine with someone else's just decreased from 99.9% to 0%. With this handy little machine every cartridge I own is at the tips of my fingers (literally)! I can't wait to get started! Thanks Wendy, I'll be rock'n and roll'n all weekend long to the music of my new "Jukebox".

Joshua's 1st Day of Preschool

2009-09-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Joshua had his hair cut at a salon for the first time for his first day of school. I took a picture of it knowing that he probably wouldn't let me put goop in it again...I was right. He says that he likes his hair soft, not poky.

Joshua has been so excited about preschool that he endured a physical and 3 shots without a single tear...something that has never happened before.

He knew just which apple had his name on it.

And he knew just where to sit to gain access to the play dough.

At the end of the day, when asked "What was your favorite part of the day?", he said emphatically "PAINTING!!!!". (Something Mom always put off by saying "not now" or "it's too messy") "I LOVE PRESCHOOL!" said mom and Joshua together.

I'm High on Speed

2009-09-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

My friend, Kim's dad, Jim...the same one that took Steve and I on our first cross country ski trip, took us on our first speed boat tubing ride. What a blast! Now I have to say that Jim is actually Pastor Jim but don't let that fool you. His passion for adventure is as daring as ever I met. Here in these pictures he was driving so fast that I couldn't even lift my head off the tube. As I was plastered down all I could do was laugh/scream uncontrollably. We did get some major air at time as well only to be yanked back down to hold on for dear life. I do have to admit that it is much more fun having someone (another girl) screaming next to you on these rides instead of (some guy...Steve) analizing the environment to predict what the captain of the boat will do next to knock you off.

Ingenuity

2009-09-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've been reading this really great book about boys..."Wild Things" by James and Thomas. If you have boys this is a MUST READ (no, I'm not getting paid to say that)! Anyways, in it the authors talk about how the male mind is wired for spacial thinking. So being the type of mom that I am, sometimes I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I don't notice what the boys are doing until I stumble upon them (literally). I just had to document this amazing structure that I found just the other day. Joshua had constructed this fine specimen of ingenuity and physics. I marveled at how he found the crux of various toys where they would support an expansive bridge of great length at just the right heights. This is not how my mind works...at the age of 4 (or 32 for that matter) I would never have thought to do this.

Boys Day Out

2009-09-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

All the guys went on a day hike to spend some quality time together to the Sequoias again (by golly, we are going to get our $80 worth out of the all park pass, even if it kills us!) We've done almost every hike there is on this side of the Sequoia park. Bear Hill was about 2mi. hike. I thought that this was an extra cute picture of the boys totally possing.

As was noted in an earlier post, the lost toy rule has been amended. We have now adopted the "No Man/Toy Left Behind" act. If this is to happen all peoples/toys on the hike must turn back together and form a search and rescue squad until the missing persons/toys are found. (signed: Dad, Christopher, Joshua & Mom)

Batman & Robin Crossing

2009-08-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

I love the way that this shirt turned out. The boy that this is for wanted Mr. Freeze but the image didn't come out well for this style of craft. But I stumbled upon this image while I was on my search.....and wha laa!

Bruce Lee and Little Japanese Girl

2009-08-07T09:32:00.001-07:00

Here are the shirts that I made for my nephew and niece for their birthdays.

Happy 4th B-day

2009-08-04T19:20:00.001-07:00

Joshua's actual birthday was a very small affair. We mainly hung out at home and had McDonald's for dinner and jello with candles. The boys got a kick out of how the candles danced when jiggled. Happy birthday my boy!

Happy 11th Anniversary

2009-08-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

We decided to make it a family outing this year, so we all went to Yosemite for a day

of hiking. This is the only picture of Steve and I together on our anniversary day. I guess we just didn't think of it. We had fun tromping around in the dirt for about 3 1/2 mi. The boys thought their feet were going to fall off. While on the hike Joshua said that he doesn't "like Yosemite", but after everything was said and done he says his favorite part was everything...so he either liked everything equally as well, or equally as bad.

Great B-day Gifts

2009-08-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am getting my money's worth out of this crafty idea. Here are two more shirts that I have made as gifts.

Joshuaism 101

2009-07-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

"Mom, shopping is very good for you. It makes your heart happy. So go shopping right now."

Not sure if this is just a random observation or a directive in efforts to correct my attitude.

Cheap Shirts

2009-07-24T13:48:00.001-07:00

Some friends of mine turned me on to this really great crafty project that is creative and inexpensive. They turned out so cool!
Expect to be getting this if you have a kids b-day coming up!

Farmer's Market

2009-07-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

For the first time this year we went to the local farmer's market. The kids did some really crazy tumbling tricks...it's amazing that everyone survived with all limbs properly in tact.
Andrew prefered the birds eye view to the bouncing.
So here we all are a year later and not that much has changed...thankfully!

It's just not summer if you can't make time to go down town for some fresh fruits and veggies, snow cones, bounce house fun and a really cool tat!

Steve on at 6

2009-07-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Beach

2009-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

We escaped from the valley heat yesterday and went to cool down at Cayucus.
Tana and Christopher played in the water almost non-stop jump roping the waves.

Joshua spent most of his time running back and forth from the ocean to us making him self busy with what ever delighted his fancy.

Andrew finally worked up enough courage of go down to the water after a sufficient amount of persuasion.

As long as Andrew had Christopher to hold on to he was as happy as a lark.

When the excitement down at the water became impossible to resist, Wendy made her way out from under her blanket and down to the waves to dip her toes in and snap a few shots of her own.

Tana and I had a little bit of a mud slinging fight...which, as you can see, I did not win at.

In the end all four kids did their best to cooperate in bringing water to build a castle of sorts. Everyone pitched in to help Tana haul the heavy loads of water, which ended up being more work for her...it was questionable at time as to whether the little ones were actually helping or just there for the ride.

We conclude our escapades with a trip to the local confectioners for some sugary delights before making our way back home...sticky and sandy, tired but happy.

Crazy Shoes Day

2009-07-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here is our best attempt at crazy shoes...Thank goodness for Crocs! I really had a creative mental block on this one. Of course it doesn't help that I was up 'till midnight last night...not all synapses are firing today.

Be your favorite animal day

2009-07-15T14:27:00.001-07:00

Today at VBS they wanted the children to dress up as their favorite animal. I thought that this would be hard but the kids had a blast creating their own costumes.

Now I feel justified! I always thought my house was a little on the wild side.

Crazy Hair Day

2009-07-15T14:19:00.001-07:00

Today at Vacation Bible School they asked that we bring the kids with crazy hair. So when Christopher requested to have crazy hair I had to get creative...well, what can you do when you don't have much to work with!? You cut some of it off, that's what you do! So here is our best churchy version of Two-face.

Joshy didn't want to have crazy hair. After all where's the fun in having crazy hair when every day is one for you?

Camping in the Sequoia's

2009-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

It was Joshua's first camping trip and Christopher's third. We only stayed for one night to ensure that we would leave wanting to come back...Mission Accomplished! We had a wonderful time. We hiked three trails totaling about 3 mi.
The two dinosaurs you see here were the toys of choice that went everywhere the boys went.

This was the boy's (including Steve) first s'mores experience...they loved it! Steve crashed and burned his first set of marshmallows...just imagine, a grown man, and never roasted marshmallows before! What cave did you just crawl out of Steve?!

Look at this great family! On the top of the mountain...on top of the world!

This was the first bear sighting for all of us. In all of Steve's camping experience he has never witnessed a real bear encounter, much less a mama and two baby cubs! It was truly amazingly cute!

Notice, the two dinosaurs noted earlier taking a cool dip in the stream are being toted on our last excursion, also the last documented sighting of the two beloved toys. Now the dinosaurs are truly extinct! Not .30 mi. later we noticed that both of the dinos went MIA. I had already back tracked once in a search and rescue mission to save one of them by the side of the trail. There was no hope this time. This trail was well traveled. Any attempts would be futile. I suppose that we cannot claim to have abided by the old rule of "leave only footprints and take only memories". We left dinos and took walking sticks.

They're Home

2009-07-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

My sister and her family came home from China last week. Aside from her kids innately wanting to relieve themselves outdoors, phobia of all patches of grass, Heather's insane craving for Jamba Juice, Jojo's irresistible desire to consume red meat and the whole family experiencing culture shock over the ease of getting around....everything is as it was.

Happy Birthday Elijah and Aiden!

My how big your face is!

The Parent's

2009-07-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a great picture of my mom and dad. We stopped off at Casa de Fruta on our way to San Jose to pick up my sister and her family coming back from China. Happy times!

My How They Grow

2009-07-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

Kate is sprouting like a weed. Like those in my veggie garden...everytime I turn around she is bigger. She looks so different than Christie's other two kids.

My little Mozart

2009-06-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally arrived! And everyone is excited about it! It is quite an upgrade from the little Casio keyboard, so it will take a little adjustment, but I suppose we will manage somehow.

Even Steve is getting in on the act.

Popsicles At Grammy's

2009-06-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

The is nothing that says summer quite like a popsicle!

"I want one tooooooo!"

2009-06-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Ask and you shall recieve.

We aquired another desk this week. Now I have a regular classroom! What fun!

WANTED! IMPOSTOR

2009-06-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

If you know the where abouts or have any information on the Goth Girl impostor you are advised to please call the authorities immediately!

Caution! He is armed and dangerous!

My little Katey Bug

2009-06-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Christie had her baby May 22, 2009

She is as cute as a button, and she love's her auntie the best!

GOTH GIRL

2009-06-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

The newest addition to the superhero role call. She'll save the world from the threat of being smothered by too much chocolate by devouring it at superhuman speed!

"Look, there in the sky...it's a bird...it's a plane...NO! It's...it's Goth Girl! Come to save us all from another bowl of chocolate cake with chocolate icecream smothered in chocolate syrup! Hey Goth Girl, love the cape!"

"If You Tape It Out, It Will Come"

2009-06-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

We have implemented the technique made famous by that old baseball movie with Kevin Costner. This is not hockey goal, though Steve and Christopher have been using it like that since the Stanley Cup finals have begun. It is where our new piano will reside...once we make our final decision on which one.

In excited anticipation I just signed Christopher and myself up for piano lessons starting tomorrow! We don't have a piano yet, but we'll just use the keyboard that we have until we get a real piano.

Steve's grandparents gave Steve bonds for a piano when Christopher was born to buy a piano for him when he is old enough. Christopher became interested in the piano after watching this year's American Idol contestant, Scott, since he too was homeschooled.

Hopefully this is not just a whim, but the start of a life long love for music.

Eggciting Dinosaur Find

2009-05-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

We were leaving Toys R Us the other day and normally I am not a sucker for gimmicky things at the POP (point of purchase for those not familiar with merchant terms) but this I could not resist.

The signage promised "Shaking noise" "Sour surprise" and it was in the shape of a dinosaur egg, two things that my boys have been supremely interested in as of late. So I plunked down my 4 bits and we all got to marvel at this giant egg shaped gum ball.

Needless to say the 4 of us could not consume this much gum, even after spitting out severel massive wads only to savagely bite off another mouth full.

I must say this though, it is so much fun to just through caution to the wind sometimes and bend to that kid-like impulsive desire to "just enjoy the thrill of over indulgence"!!!

Crazy Crayola

2009-05-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

I had a request for another crayon roll, but this time put a little spin on the first one that I did.Can we all say "Button"? I thought that this was a little cleaner look and a lot less effort, plus I have a whole lot of loose ones hanging around.

This one also takes up less material...yay! They are $10 for anyone that is interested. (Crayons are not included, $3 at Target)

Happy 7th

2009-05-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that my boy is 7! This day was all about Christopher. He picked sourdough pancakes for breakfast, lemon cake with strawberry frosted cupcakes for desert, corndogs with a few buddies for lunch and Sonics for dinner.

This year is the first year that we made his birthday into an invite sort of deal. So we gave Christopher a couple of choices, to either have a small party or to go mini-golfing with one friend. Out of a list of all boys save one, he chooses Catie...a very good friend from our homeschooling group.

They had a blast racing from one green to the next...I think Steve and I were only on the 6th hole when they finished up the 18th.

And the arcades were a complete hit. Being a Wednesday night during school there really was very few people there, which made the enjoyment factor a lot bigger for all of us...no waiting and no getting dizzy trying to keep track of which ones are mine.

Happy 7th birthday sweet child of mine!

Ahhh....the beach!

2009-05-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite places to go as a family is the beach. There is nothing quite as calming as the sound of the ocean and the refreshing breeze blowing mist in your face, sand in places you didn't know existed and the sun warming every inch of your body while your children squeal with delight warming every crevice of your heart.

When we used to live in San Luis Obispo we would steal away on a nice rainy day to go stand outside in the rain to order fish and chips with clam chowder in a bread bowl at our favorite restaurant in Morro Bay...Giovanni's. Then we would run to shelter between my favorite boutique shop and a sweets shop to scarf down our ocean treasures...mmmmmm.

They have made a few improvements to the place since the last time we were hear, but the eating is still all outdoors...I'm glad somethings still stay the same.
At the other end of the Embarcadero is a great park that we used to walk around, never stopping to visit since we didn't have any kids back then. Now that we have we used them as a great excuse to climb the play structures.

Up the cost a few miles is a great beach of kids. The water is shallow and the the beach is long with outcroppings of tide pools. I had come here last year to scrapbook for the weekend and always intended to bring the family for at least a day trip but time got away from me. I believe Joshua never stopped running the whole time we were there.

There is no explanation for these pictures, just that they are great portraits of pure contentment and joy.

"How Does Your Garden Grow?"

2009-04-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend working very hard on a family project that I have wanted to do for a while. With the rising cost of produce and the summer months well on their way an activity was begging to be created. Now there are community garden projects in the area but getting out of the house in a timely fashion with two squirly boys is sometimes a challenge, so for the sake of ease we planted our own veggie garden in the back.

The boys have been more than excited about the whole project. In Joshua's eagerness he nearly plucked out all the sprouts of the watermelon plant...oh well, its a good learning experience anyway.

Hopefully there will be something to show the fruits of their labor when all is said and done.

Writers Cramp

2009-04-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that I have been in the market for a new desk for Christopher. Well, I found one! And best of all it was free.
We traveled out to Fresno Wed. night to check it out and we were stood up. However, Christopher had his heart set on it so I called the next day to let the man know we were still interested...after all what is $20 and another 40 min. car ride when it would improve his schooling? Low and behold, the man was very agreeable and offered to simply give it to us at no cost for the confusion the night before...SCORE!!!! God is good!

Christopher woke up this morning begging to begin school...sigh. I love it!

Quilting Bug

2009-04-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little complicated lately. What better to simplify it than to QUILT? My little sister is going to have her third baby in May and I wanted to make a blanket for her. So on Sunday I thought I would start it. It's Wednesday now, and I didn't realize that I would be done so soon. So far I have been at the birth of all of my sisters babies, six, including my own. We are all excited to start evening the odds on the girls side!

Joshua's Baby Album

2009-03-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Steve gave me some money and told me to go out and have some fun by myself...WHOA HOOOOO! Well, I found myself at Michael's...surprise, surprise! And what do you think I found?...The most adorable pack of baby boy paper I have ever seen! I was so inspired that I raced home, separated out the paper, organized all my pictures of Joshua's 1st year on the computer, developed them and went to work.

Here are the 1st and last pages of what will be his baby album. Since Christopher's are at least in a slip album, I thought that it would only be fair to do Joshua's first, seeing that I didn't even have any of his printed. I was so motivated that I have organized and grouped power layouts for the entire thing! And I am ecstatic about these pages!

My little boy is growing up so fast.

It's a Slippery Slope

2009-03-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

We got to go on a "Day Date" thanks to our good friends Kim and Rob. They not only took our kids from sun-up to sun-down, but they hooked us up with a cross-country ski instructor, guide and photographer (which so happened to be Kim's dad)! Now how's that for a great date!?
Surprisingly enough, we were not too sore afterwards, which I credit not to my amazing abilities on the snow, but to the fact that as we were leaving the house Kim's mom yells to her husband "Take it easy on them!". THANK YOU DEBBY!
This is only one fall of the countless number of times that I "gracefully" plowed to a powdery stop...thank heaven for soft snow! As you will notice, there are no pictures of Steve on the ground...and no, it's not because he is far more superior in his skills, there are none to speak of...though I cannot prove anything, I will let the facts speak for themselves...the photographer was of the masculine sex.

Needless to say we had a blast! In fact, Steve has been saving up his allowance and has just purchased his first pair of skis. Kim's dad was so good to give us a pair, so now I just need to find some boots and we are set. We'll just strap the kiddos on and pull them behind us and off we go.

Meanwhile...back that homestead, our little snow fox were having a blast of their own with their friends shoveling, making snow balls and having the time of their life.

Kim's mom took these great snap shots of the brilliant time they all were having!

Thank you Kim, Rob, Jim and Debby for the unforgettable memories!

Latest T-shirt Quilt

2009-03-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

I started this quilt last March and finally finished it this February, in time to take it up to give it to Uncle Fred in person.
The thing I love about doing these kinds of quilts, is that although it is a lot of work it is unique in and of itself and very personal for the receiver and is really a work of art with the individual quilting that happens in each square. If you can't tell, I am overcome with pride...better watch out, I sense a fall coming!!!

Color Me Happy!

2009-03-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling the creative itch lately...haven't...quite..been able....to reach it......ahhhhh!
Now I feel better. My friend's boy is having a birthday coming and so I thought I could make something. Not my original creation, however...what is it that people sometimes say...the Japanese are not good inventors, they just like to take an idea and make it better...well something like that.

Anyways, thought the ribbon that you often see on "crayon rolls" was a cute touch, but not as practical as a boingy cincher-upper thingy. So here you are a great way to tote your kids colors with a little bit of style and practicality (even comes in a small purse size)! It's made for the "twist crayons"...no sharpening...no losing them in the pockets because they are to short!

Future Leaders of Our Country

2009-02-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

For our craft project today we decided to celebrate President's Day with beards and hats! There is nothing quite as fun as pretending that you're the Head of State! The boys monkied around in front of the mirror with their disguises on making very silly faces...sadly enough, perhaps not far off from some of the actual activities that have been taking place in the White House today. What would Washington and Lincoln say?

Hawaii!!! Finally!

2009-01-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

So its been about 2 1/2 months since our very first honeymoon to Hawaii happened (and for those of you doing the math, yes we have been married for 10 years). I realize that the glorious vacation got smothered by an avalanche of tragedy, however "love concures all!!!"

We tried to hit all the highlights of the little island of Kauai. This was one of our exciting stops. Kauai Coffee was a wonderful spot to buy gifts for those who so generously helped us to have this wonderful experience, so in vacation style we both pulled out all the stops and tasted every single type, flavor, brew of coffee they had. Needless to say I had more coffee in an 15 minutes than I have had in my whole life time collectively and Steve.....well I think the picture speaks for itself!

I always thought that it wouldn't matter what time of year that a person was in Hawaii, that the off season would be as marvelous as any other. Well it turns out that even in Hawaii some things are better enjoyed during the on season. Here we are standing on what looks like any other beach. We were in search of "Queens Pond", unbeknownsed to us, what we spent nearly an hour in search of was hidden just beneath the waves right out in front of us. We stood right in it actually, innocently asking the only other two tourists on the beach where the "Queens Pond" was, they stopped splashing in the waves just long enough to say "No", but when we find it to let them know so that they could check it out too! Talk about not being able to see the pond for the waves!

Here is another great stop. As many of you know Hawaii is known for their shave ice. Wow! That stuff is good stuff! Especially with the macnut icecream! And by the way...the best places on the island were the ones that were all run down and funky looking!

We went on a CRAZY 12 mi. hike on one of the days. It afforded us some extraordinary sights, but in the same breath it was an arduous journey. I thought that I was in shape...that trip kicked my butt! However, here Steve is smiling in triumph at the trails end. Notice the the angle at which the picture is being taken. Laying down was an involuntary thing.

Charlie Brown Christmas

2008-12-23T09:42:00.000-08:00

At our hotel the boys settled in for a little R&R. They sat mesmerized by the "Block Head" that we all grew up loving. It was very funny to see how intently they watched. I think that this is the most still they sat without bugging each other the whole trip.

Stops At RR X

2008-12-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

Coming home from Oregon we broke up our trip by stopping for a night in Redding. While looking for a place to eat we came across an open air park that was decorated for the holidays. To the boys delighted suprise, they had train rides that went around the whole lighted park, and of course we had to climb aboard. We need one of those stickers for our van that says "Caution: This vehicle stops at all toy train rides".

Grammy Ann

2008-12-23T09:08:00.001-08:00

We are finally home after being away in Oregon for almost 1 month. We left on Thanksgiving day when we found out that Ann (Steve's aunt/"mom"), who had been battling cancer for about 2 months, took a turn for the worst and had to be admitted to the hospital. After about 3 weeks in the hospital she lost the battle for her life. She past away on December 13th quickly after being removed from all the life support. She was always a joy to be around, full of life and love for good food, good wine and good company. The day after her passing it snowed for the first time this winter. It was so peaceful, and the boys really enjoyed it. This was their first snow experience ever. Thanks Grammy Ann, no one will ever be able to top this Christmas gift! We love you and miss you so very much!

More Coffee Huggers

2008-11-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

Here are two more designs. I'm trying to figure out some really clever packaging so that I can take these to the shop downtown.

"Coffee Huggers"

2008-11-23T22:03:00.000-08:00

OK all you coffee lovers out there! Here is something that you might be interested in. If you can't live with out your Starbuck...Pete's...neighborhood cafe...Here is a lovely way to be conservation savvy and be oh so chic too! Drum roll please............................................

Introducing the Coffee Hugger!

It's a unique handmade reusable coffee cup sleeve that you can take where ever you go. What a great little $5 gift for all the coffee lovers in your life! You may even be considered an humanitarian!

My very good sister Jenny requested me to make these for her going green coffee cup promotion in her magazine that she publishes, titled "Artful Living". It features talented people on the central coast who have turned their passion into their occupation. It is a beautiful magazine, take a visit to her web site, you won't be disappointed!

More Aprons

2008-11-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

The quilting store downtown has requested that I turn over my stock for the Christmas season, so I decided to make a whole new line of aprons with matching potholders. I am so excited to see how great they are turning out! (If I don't say so myself) Here are the first couple, with more to come. I even incorporated my "colie birds" on them! $29 for the apron and $12 for a set of 2 potholders.

Homeward Bound

2008-11-19T22:56:00.000-08:00

It's been difficult to define the condition of our hearts in these sad recent days. Michi has been gone now a week and 4 days and it still seems unreal and all to sobering at the same time. There has been a decent amount of tears and regret, particularly over whether we will ever see her again. This has perhaps been the most difficult part for us to come to terms with. I think that maybe, for our sake, it is best to just simply believe that the moment she saw Jesus she loved Him. Who does it harm to have faith and hope that we will one day rejoice with her at Jesus' feet? So I am resolved to resign my worries, and from this day forth...love a little deeper, cherish a little more, give grace a little more freely and procrastinate a little less.

In the eyes of a child...

Christopher had the following conversation with Steve the day we came home to tell the boys the news of their Grandma Michi.

(Steve has Christopher gathered in his arms as Joshua plays at his feet)

Steve: Christopher...Joshua, dad has to tell you something. (pause) Grandma Michi has died. (pause, quiet tears)

Christopher: Dad...are you sad?

Steve: (nods)

Christopher: Is she with Jesus now?

Steve: I hope so. (Pause)

Christopher: It must be nice to be with Him. (Pause) There are big houses in heaven.

The faith of my child aught to teach me to believe as well.

We'll miss you, Grandma Michi!

And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matt. 4:19 NASB (Note: Christopher is holding his Spiderman fishing poll and wearing Spidy glasses too. He is my little superhero that is trying to save the world one soul at a time.)

Colie Bird Card

2008-10-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Wendy sent me a card with an image that she has termed "Colie Birds". I have a tendency to be drawn to them and and now she says that these silly whimsical looking fowl remind her of me (I'm sure it's not because I can be a bird brain at times...right?). In any case, she is my creative inspiration and I enjoy sharing her talents with everyone.

Dino Dens

2008-10-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Our science lesson today was about where the dinosaurs may have lived. Christopher built houses for the dinos to live in and hide from bigger ones. His idea was amazingly similar to how ours are built all in a row.

Unfortunately, for the inhabitant, there was no back wall to protect from a sneak attack and only enough room to back in and not turn around. Perhaps this is why they are extinct today?!

Coming Undone

2008-10-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

My wondrous child has a myriad of peculiar habits that he picks up from who knows where. I always thought that it would be a wonderful thing to document, but thus far have not followed through with this thought. Well this all comes to an end today.

Joshua does everything backwards. When he first started identifying letters he would invariably proceed to shout out letters starting at the back end of a word. You will regularly find him with his shoes on the opposite feet, and if they are on the proper feet you know that a discriminating helper assisted.

But what is funnier yet is his pants. He will ALWAYS put his pants on backwards. After being told they are on backwards and to take them off and try again...he will do as he is told only discover that they are on backwards once again.

Some moms find it necessary to point this out to me...I just laugh and am relieved that he doesn't insist on going bottomless (knowing me I would oblige him for the sake of ease). Now he has discovered buttons and zippers. I find this extremely hilarious and it must be documented for posterity.

Harvest Time

2008-10-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our church had a harvest festival this Saturday evening. It was only supposed to be a quick get-togther, but it turned out to be a very exciting 3 hour long event! We piled into the car at 5:00pm and didn't come home until almost 8:30pm.

After a parade of costumes, where Joshua took prize for the best 3-5 year old boy costume as Speed Racer, Christopher and Joshua participated in a cookie eating contest.

This is our pastor and his wife.

Lazy Walking "M" mom and her little outlaw.

We also went "treating" from trunk to trunk in the parking lot to marvel at all the wonderfully decorated vehicles, and to gather an eclectic bag full of treats. Unfortunately, due to my lack of forethought we were the only ones not decked out (oh well there's always next year).

After this thrilling outing we attended another social (being the little butterflies that we are...yeah right) we stayed for another 2 1/2 hours. Our neighborhood has little gatherings every now and then. This particular neighbor had planned out quite a night of activies from flinging bugs to pumpkin decorating. We finally tuck our little bugs into bed at 11:30. Needless to say we barely made it to church today.

2008-10-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a card that Steve requested that I make for his dad's birthday. I think that it is "Wendy" clever.

In all God's Glory

2008-10-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

I took about 300 pictures of the beach for my mom to paint. I can't share them all with you, but here are a few. God used only the best when He created our earth.

Scrapbooking Retreat

2008-10-19T19:34:00.001-07:00

What a view, huh? Twice a year a friend of mine has a scrap retreat at her beach house and invites 9 other women and I have been blessed to be amongst those for the last 2 trips. For 48 hours we exchange laughs, stories, food, walks on the beach, creative ideas, scraping equipment and encouragement. We go to bed when we want, wake up when we want and senselessly self-indulge until we drop from exhaustion. And then we go home happy, fatigued, but happy (and hopefully with a few more pages for the scrapbook).

Tee Any One?

2008-10-15T17:17:00.001-07:00

Steve has resurrected his golfing passion, dusted off the old clubs and purchased a new pair of shoes. Yes folks, the golfing legend has returned to the sport after a 10 year leave of absence. With all this enthusiasm Christopher's interest has been peaked. We may have another Ben Hogan on our hands.

School, Books, Teacher's Dirty Looks

2008-10-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here is Christopher doing his math. He appears to excel in his arithmetic abilities. We are almost done with the kindergarten curriculum. We will be starting the 1st grade math in about 1 more week.

Pie in the Sky

2008-10-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

So the apple pie was edible as you can see. Please don't confuse this with finger lick'n good. Apparently I used the wrong apples since it was not only so tart that our faces turned inside out but the consistency was really more like applesauce sandwiched between two crusts. My mom ended up buying some store bought cookies to forgo my tart delight. Steve maned up and did his husbandly duty by ingesting the slice without so much as a single grimace.

It will be better the next time!

HOLY quilt

2008-10-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

OK. So Steve has a quilt that I made for him way back when we were dating. Infact, it is the 1st quilt that I ever made so it has lots of sentimental value. However, it is starting to wear in various spots and is in bad need of replacement.

Since I have been giving the opportunity to take a formal quilting class I thought that this would be a good time to make him a new one. For those of you who may not know Steve very well...his favorite color is orange and he delights in all things Japanese (being a hapa and all). This quilt should fit his personality a lot better than the last sunflower one. I finished piecing the nine patch last night at class and will be putting the blue boarder and orange binding on in the coming weeks.

All aboard for Pumpkin Picking!

2008-10-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful visit to the Pine Hill
Pumpkin Patch. Grammy, Papa, Jojo, Christie, Lonny and the kids came for the weekend so we made it a harvest celebration.

We rode the true to life miniature steam locomotive. We all crawled into the cattle car under the one condition that we would all moo like a bunch of pathetic bovine. Joshua was in 7th heaven rattling the cage from side to side to get a
glimpse of the sites passing by.

Pumpkins galore for the picking (or biting what every your fancy)!

The tractor race was a run-away success!

Photo ops were literally around ever bend.

And luckily no one was lost in our jaunt through the corn maze or eaten alive by any R.O.U.S's.

Happy harvest time to all!

Junior Fire Fighters

2008-10-11T13:57:00.001-07:00

The Hanford Fire Dept. had their annual open house.

The boys enjoyed a various array of FREE activies!

They hosed down a fire...

Climbed in and out of a fire truck and a haz. mat. truck...

And road in an old fashioned fire engine.

After all that we had a hot dog and went home happy! What a blast!

All American Apple Pie

2008-10-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it! I have always wanted to make an apple pie from scratch. Now I can say I have done it. Haven't tasted it yet, but it's not about the product, it's about the process...right?! I'll keep you posted.

The boys really did "get into it".

Finally (Tired of looking at the aprons!)

2008-10-09T20:30:00.001-07:00

Ok! I am just going to do a quick post...perhaps this will get me going on the blog thing again. Quick update for any who may not know, we decided to start homeschooling Christopher about a month ago. All is well now. We are enjoying it immensely now that we have a routine.

I just started a Facebook account, so we will see how well I can keep up with that.

My brother-in-law, Jojo just returned from China again after only being gone for 1 month so that he could complete his citizenship requirements...he just got sworn in on Tue...HOORAY! Poor Heather is left in China by herself, eagerly awaiting his return with two wild boys hanging off her wondering where their "Tataiy" went.

CBS (Community Bible Study) started about a month ago...which means I am gone all morning on Tue. and Wed. (so don't expect to find me sitting on my duff at home then). Steve starts his men's bible study on the last Wed. evening of this month (so he will be sitting on his duff, just not here at home).

Aprons

2008-08-29T07:44:00.001-07:00

Here is a really cute, very functional apron pattern that I found. After such a difficult week I needed to create something. The pink polka dot is for Christopher's kindergarten teacher and the blue flower is for my sister Heater, who will be returning to China on Monday. If anyone is interested in one I will make one for you for $15 plus cost of fabric.

The Martins

2008-08-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are wondering...Who is this Wendy person she keeps referring to...it is my best friend and this is her and her family. Nick, her husband, is in the Navy and has been selected to complete a PhD program in Maryland. So they moved away in July of this year. They have two really great kids, Tana 7 and Andrew 3, of which Christopher and Joshua miss immensely!

The Martins stayed with us for about a week after their stuff was packed up into a moving van.On one of our last nights together the 2 big boys constructed the Lego Millenium Falcon while Wendy and I watched a sappy chick flick. We miss them beyond expression!

Run, Steve, Run!

2008-08-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Doesn't he look like a champ? Dispite his injured knee he has found a way to cope with the pain. Instead of running on the asphalt, he does an incline circut on the treadmill for 40 minutes. Mixing it up every other day with weightlifting. He is by my estimation in the best shape ever!

It's all Chinese to me

2008-08-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

The boys are just having way too much fun with their cousins from China. It's nice to have a crowd around. Elijah is speaking a little bit of English and Chinese as well as some other words that he has made up all on his own...perhaps a hybrid of English and Chinese. Aidan speaks very clearly in English and can count to 10 in Chinese.

A couple of visits from the Tooth Fairy

2008-08-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Christopher has lost his 1st two teeth and now a top front tooth is loose. Hopefully they don't all fall out at once.

Kindergarten

2008-08-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! Christopher's 1st day of kindergarten! He was so very excited. He had been asking "Do I go to Kindergarten today?" since the last day of preschool. I was finally able to say today is the day!!! And I didn't even cry.

Three little bumpkins

2008-08-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

While Heather and Jojo are in LA we are taking care of Aidan. He has worked his way in to our little clan just fine and seems to be quite happy to be just another half naked little boy running around getting dirty and stuffing his face with what every he can find to eat.

Happy Birthday to you

2008-08-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

We had a joint birthday party for the 3 kids born in August.
Joshua is 3 and loves loves loves trains and race cars. He likes cupcakes, but not the icing. And "Bwuder" is his "bestfwend" whom he "wuvs so much"!

Logan is 5 now and will also be starting Kindergarten in about 2 weeks. He is really doing well at karate and swims like a fish!

For those of you who have not seen Londyn, my only niece, lately...here she is in all her glory. She is now a whopping 1 years old and loving every minute of it. The night of the big birthday party after she went to bed she decided that all the yummy things that she consumed for the first time ever, like pizza, candy and cupcakes, were all too good not to be viewed again. So she spit it all up in her crib...MMMM, YUMMY!

Skypebooking anybody?

2008-08-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Now this will be a repeat for those of you who view Wendy's blog, but it was too cute a picture not to put this on my site as well. We started "Skypebooking" 6:00pm my time (9:00pm her time) and crafted for about 4 hours. We now proved to ourselves that it is possible to bond no matter near or far.

Also on the cutting table

2008-08-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

This is a quilt that I am working on for Uncle Fred. He is a retired track coach and has one too many t-shirts lying around. Perhaps we can put them to better use? I hope to be sending off to my friend Sally, who has her own quilting business, to be quilted together in time for Christmas. I'll keep you posted.

On the cutting table

2008-08-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is a Christmas quilt that I am currently working on for Quilters Quarters, a small quilt shop in downtown Hanford. A little brightly colored for my taste, but easy none-the-less. It is the second quilt that I have done applique on. I should be done with it soon, infact, I should be working on it right now.

Wii-laxing

2008-08-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Heather and Jojo are back from China for just a short while to raise some more support and to tie up some lose ends with INS. They came to visit us in Hanford for a couple of days before heading on to LA. Hopefully in the midst of all the hard work of support raising they are able to find some time to goof around and relax.

Felt fun

2008-08-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the great felt book Grammy Anne. As you can see the boys are having a terrific time creating imaginative creatures. Joshua directed and Christopher created.

Summer fun

2008-08-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

We had a get-together for the end of the summer celebration just to keep ties and a total of 8 adults and 9 children showed up. Steve cooked really yummy chicken and tri-tip, which we are still living off of 3 days later! The adults all had fun catching up on summer activities and the kids had a blast playing in the water in the backyard. Farwell long summer days.

Keeping in touch

2008-08-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

I am so inspired by Wendy's amazing ability to stay connected to all that care to know what she and her family are up to and create a wonderful memorabilia for her kids. So I have decided to give this a go and see if I have the tenacity to stick with it. Wish me luck and visit me often!