The Great Watkins Adventure!

Lets play catch up

2011-10-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Say Cheese!

2011-02-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

Say Cheese!

This girl is making us grey! Let me explain...This morning I'm at work and I get a phone call from Chris. He asks me if genetian violet is poisonous because Mikaela found it, opened it up and has it all over herself. She has a purpke tongue, mouth and fingers. I told him no but she was goin gto be stained"violet" for a few days. He responded "she's in the bath right now. I might put the rest of the genetian violet and turn her purple" ... maybe that'll teach her a lesson. We're just glad she didn't get it all over the new carpet. Yikes!

FYI, genetian violet is a homeopathic cure for thrush. It works great but it stains you purple (violet).

Weekend get away

2011-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Chris and I finally took a weekend off from our parental duties. My wonderful mom came to our house while Chris and I enjoyed a nice hotel a few miles away in Anaheim. We stayed at Disney's paradise pier. Since we have Disneyland annual passports we got to go to Disneyland by ourselves and enjoy a "magical morning." We got into Disneyland 1 hour before regular opening hours. We took advantage and rode Space Mountain 2 times with less than 10 minute waiting times. It was great.
We needed this get-away for a long time.
We ate at the FABULOUS Napa Rose at the Grand Disney Hotel. OMGoodness it was delicious! We had delicious appetizers and the salad I had was to die for. Full of crunchy goodness. oh and I could go on about the soup. It was a lentil base with bacon and shrimp. mmmmm, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Chris had the most delicious pork chop ever. Our compliments to the chefs. All I can say if you have a few dollars to spare and want to eat at a great restaurant you gotta eat here. We were dressed to the nines and we ate like pigs, (civilized oinkers at least). If I was shameless I would have licked the plate clean, sadly, I had to hold back.

oh ya, and we went to a MX super cross event too. Amazingly, I had fun at that too. Chris was happy cheek to cheek. Happy husband, happy wife. ;-) Happy wife, happy life.

Tyler turns 7 yrs old

2011-02-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Tyler!

Tyler turned 7yrs old. I'm still in awe at this young boy. He is smart, handsome, courteous and was happy hanging out with just the family at Chuck e cheese. We stopped doing parties every year for the kids. This year was Tyler's "off" year but we still do a dinner of his choice. He choose Chuck e Cheese. All the kids were happy and it wasn't crowded so parents were happy too. Happy birthday kiddo. and MANY, MANY more!

Being silly with frosting from his cake.

Tyler is into making silly faces at the camera. Here he is holding his fighter jet kite we got him. Goofy kid. He gets it from his dad.

A week in the life of the Watkins

2011-01-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

Monday- worked
Tuesday- worked

Wednesday -was supposed to go to lunch with my friend but bailed out on her. (I'm feeling a little guilty.) Instead I cleaned house and did some grocery shopping. When I got home Chris had made me a delicious sandwich. It was gooood, all that was missing was the avocado. We didn't have any ripe ones. DARN. I also made sure the kids finished all their weekly homework on Wed. so we could go to Disneyland on Thursday.

Thursday- Go to Disneyland. Cameron and Tyler were acting like bozo kids and as we got through the entrance I got a feeling to remind them if they lose us at the park to find a Disneyland worker (a lady worker) to help you. All was going great until we go to Tarzan's tree house. The boys went together and Mikaela, Chris and I waited for them at the exit. Time went by, we saw Cameron coming towards the exit and then went back to play with the rope swing. Tyler did the same. We weren't worried because we saw both boys together. A few minutes later, Cameron comes out wondering where Tyler was...and the search began. I stayed put with Mikaela. Chris went up the tree one way and Cameron went the other way. There was no Tyler to be found. I was getting a little worried, but not too much because I kept telling myself "it's the happiest place on Earth, bad things don't happen here." Then another thought came into my head..."I've heard there are ALOT of sexual predators that live around the Disneyland area." I tried not to panic yet. I send Chris to the lost parents area to find Tyler, I stay put with the other 2 kids and wait to see if Tyler appears. I ask Cameron to keep his eyes peeled for Tyler. He did just that. About 2 minutes later Cameron spots Tyler walking with a lady worker. Tyler with a churro in hand. Poor Tyler, I could tell he was scared and had crying. I grab him and hold him and don't know if I want to kiss him or kill him. He apparently walked out of Tarzan's tree house without even seeing us and started walking towards the Haunted Mansion he stopped at the churro cart because a lady was working there and she brought him safely back to the last place he had been. I gave the lady a big hug and a few more kisses to Tyler, I called daddy and everything was the way it should be. whew! Don't need to ever do that again. We enjoyed the rest of our evening and bonus! Tyler was finally tall enough to go on the Indiana Jones ride. Yay!

Friday-made yummy tacos with black beans on the side.

This is how I kept the kids busy so I could make dinner. Hee hee.

Streaming Dora videos and xbox 360 can be mom's little helper.

Saturday- new neighbors arrive. Chris and I show them around the property and get to know our new neighbors. So far they seem like a normal couple.
I give Chris a much needed haircut and later we go to the Fullerton Arboretum to enjoy the most beautiful day in So. California in mid January.

That's about it for this week.

7 months behind...Cameron's baptism

2010-12-12T22:17:00.001-08:00

I had good intentions to posting this long ago, and we all know where the road of good intentions leads to...so without further delay here are some pictures of Cameron's baptism June 2010.

Sunset in Santa Monica 11/2010

2010-11-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

The view as we were leaving. I can't say it enough. It was a wonderful family outing.

More ice skating adventures.

2010-11-14T22:16:00.000-08:00

Chris with Cameron and Tyler.

Last time I ice skated I was at BYU. It was award activity at Utah lake. It was fun and cold. This time it was fun and warm. No coat needed.

While we were in Santa Monica, we stopped by the farmers market and tasted DELICIOUS tomatoes and other free samples. Sorry no pictures. But here is a picture of us eating at PF Changs. Never eaten there before. It was quite tasty. I ordered something beefy and really spicy. I forgot the name but it was good.

Had to have a silly picture. Mikaela had fun, I promise. I don't know what the evil look is about in both pictures. She really is a happy kid.

Ice Skating Santa Monica 2010

2010-11-14T22:02:00.000-08:00

Our first ice skating adventure on a sunny So. Califonia day in Santa Monica. It was warm and fun. Where else could you wear shorts and a t-shirt and go ice skating?

Tyler, Cameron and Mikaela ready to go on the ice.

Mikaela did great! She enjoyed ice skating and by the end she was skating on her own. I was completely amazed by her gusto and determination.

Cameron and Tyler .
Cameron is showing me how he can balance without holding on to the wall. He looks to cool for school.

We got a dog!

2010-11-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

On October 29th, we went to the animal shelter and finally added a pet to our family. I've been waiting a LONG time to get a dog. I love pets and I grew up living with dogs. I had 2 German Shepherds and one Rottweiler and a couple of Chihuahua's as a kid. I didn't have them all at the same time but as one would pass away or get kidnapped we would eventually get another. I loved it, my sister loved it and my mom enjoyed it too. Growing up in a house with a single mom, I think it made her feel secure having a big dog to watch over us and they did.
Here is a picture of our new family member. I already LOVE her soooo much!

Time Flies....

2010-11-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Tyler this is for you. I can't believe you'll be 7 soon.

Ever wonder how time flies? I do all the time. Especially when your screensaver of family pictures comes on and you watch all the pictures scroll by. It's amazing how quickly you see life flash before your eyes. I look at these pictures and realize how quickly our children are growing up. It makes me stop and think that I should enjoy every moment. Every cry, smile, eye rolling event, and yes, the tantrums. Even when my life feels rushed and hurried I look at these pictures and stop. I stop and take a breathe, and I smile at my life with a wonderful husband and three great kids.

Love this picture.

Saw this now I want one.

2010-10-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

I've recently started reading Stephanie Nielson's blog or NIE NIE. She is Mormon and was in a horrific plane crash that left her burned on 80% of her body. Her survival story and her life is a true inspiration to me. I enjoy reading her daily blog. She even inspired my Halloween theme for this year.
Today she posted about the Madsen Bike and I had to learn more. How funky cool are they. I could totally picture myself riding one with Mikaela and Tyler in the bucket at the beach. Cameron would probably want to ride on his own, and I'm cool with that.
I'm trying to win one now so here is the link.

Random pictures

2010-05-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Playing around with smilebox.

Free slideshow made with Smilebox

2010 Avocado Festival

2010-05-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Pony rides, I love(d) pony rides. They are sweet ponies with big eyes, and soft hair. It's been a while since I've been able to ride a pony but now my little girl gets to enjoy them. Looks like she's having a great time.
+

Our small city had their annual Avocado festival today. FREE bounce houses and pony rides. Who's going to say no to that! My boys and a friend enjoyed jumping for 3 hours! I wish I had thier energy. I hope they sleep well tonight.

Potty Training

2010-05-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Why does potty training have to be difficult sometimes? My 3 year old girl will not potty train and it's driving me nuts. She was doing pretty well to do #2 but now she refuses and I'm at my wits end. At least I am today....

Recyclesaurous

2010-05-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Cameron had a school project where his assignment was to make up a dinosaur, it's habitat and diet. We slowly worked on it trying to come up with ideas and thoughts of what his creation would be. Well, today I went to work and dad was left to tend the kids (he does a great job by the way). I think sometime he lives vicariously through our boys because when I got home I happened to look up on top of the fridge as I drank my milk and saw this huge dinosaur habitat. It was way better than I would have done. And Cameron was really happy with his creation and the help he got from dad. I can tell dad had a fun time too. ;-)

The Pinata.

2010-03-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

The pictures pretty much say it all. You can see the kids just waiting in the background, and ....they rush as fast as they can for the candy. It all happened so quickly.

Tyler is 6!!

2010-03-08T22:38:00.000-08:00

As promised (rather late), here are the pictures of Tyler on his birthday.
It turned out to be a beautiful day for his party. If we would had had it on Saturday as planned it would have rained. Thank goodness Tyler insisted on having it on his birthday DAY.

We love you kiddo. I want to just pinch your cheeks. You soooo cute!

Some of the guests.

Openning presents. He had a hot wheel party and received lots of Hot Wheel items. He loved it all.

Yes I have pictures

2010-02-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

I have yet to post pictures of Tyler's party. I am terrible but at least I take responsibility for my faults. I will post them soon. The party was great. All of his invited school and church friends showed up. Tyler had a blast. I still can't believe he is 6. Everything went well except the pinata. The pinata could have been deadly but thank goodness it wasn't. This is what happen... When it was pinata time, all the kids gathered around in excitement. They couldn't wait for the whole pinata to break and drop all the candy. OH NO, whenever ONE piece of candy would drop ALL the kids would go after it. So the kid whaking the pinata (and clueless of what's going on around him) was still attacking the pinata, not stopping when the others came charging for the one piece of candy. You can imagine the chaos. There were a few near misses on kids heads but by a small miracle no one got hurt. I think I owe some credit to my smart hubby who thought ahead and had the kids use a soft bat instead of a broom stick. Ugh, could you imagine getting hit by a broom stick. I'm glad all the kids escaped safely and had fun.

Tyler's Pinata

2010-02-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

My second son is turning 6 tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. What really gets me is my oldest will be 8 this year and will be baptized . Wow!!! I wonder when the heck I grew up and became the mother that I am.(?!!?)

Anyhow, back to my original thought...so Tyler is turning six and he wanted a pinata. Truth is he always wants a pinata, what boy would pass up whacking a beautifully decorated piece of cardboard to smithereens but this year he is especially excited. He is completely aware of the whole birthday party, friends coming over to play, cake and ice cream, presents, and being the center of attention. He whole heartedly deserves his day and I am happy to give it to him. So tomorrow, on his big day, per his request we are having a party for him with a pinata. For FHE Chris thought it would be fun to fill the pinata with candy. The kids we happy to help. We love you kiddo! Happy Birthday.

New Year, New Start

2010-01-22T22:57:00.000-08:00

As we near the end of the first month of 2010, I've realized I haven't kept up on one of my goals, and that's to blog more often. The other of course is to workout more often but that's another story.
I want to blog for many reasons but my main reason is to help me become a better writer. It was never one of my strengths, so I figured if I torchered myself to blog often I would slowly become a better writer or maybe I might get worse at it. Who knows? Oh well. It's late and I'm tired and I've done my entry for today. And if the post didn't make sense, you know what your in for, and bless your soul for taking the time to read it.

Bonus: I've manage to upload a picture of my wonderful grandma with me and Mikaela at Gibbel Park, Hemet, CA.

Brothers and Sister

2009-08-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

I feel very blessed to have 3 kids that love each other. I rarley worry about what they are doing together and a majority of the time they are playing together and taking care of each other. This is not to say I don't have days when the boys are at each others wits or little sister is not getting in their way and pulling apart her brothers lego creation. We are a normal family and have good days and bad. I'm just happy I have more good and less bad. :-)

Current Family photos

2009-06-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't blogging lately and I have a lot of catching up to do. For example, I did not blog Cmaeron's last day of school or the father field day they had at his school or the bowling pictures we recently took or... I can go on. I do want to blog about CAmeron's last day of school but now it will be out of order and I hate that. I like things to be nicely organized and in place. I guess I'll have to get over it and do it anyway.
Anyhoooo.... here are a few current pictures of the Watkins Familia. I must say we are a cute family. hee hee.

swim goggles

2009-06-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

Chris and I decided to put the kids in swim lessons this summer. Cameron is a pretty good swimmer but Tyler needed a little more practice and self confidence. Tyler was used to using a swim suit with a floaty chest and he would not swim without it. He was afraid he would drown if he took it off, and he probably could because he wasn't a good swimmer yet.
Tyler agreed to swim lessons and off we went to get them evaluated to find out what levels Cameron and Tyler would be in. After thier evaluations, a few days later poor Cameron had terribly red itchy eyes. I took him to the Dr. and she thought it was an allergic reaction. I had no idea what he might be allergic to until I thought of the chemicals in the pool, at least, that is what I can trace it too. So to help Cameron continue the lessons we bought him and the rest of the gang goggles. They had to model them for us here. Enjoy!

blogging

2009-06-22T22:10:00.001-07:00

yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know I don't blog often enough.

Sunny Day

2009-03-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

I think these pictures were taken in mid February when we had an unusually hot week. My neighbor and I thought winter was over and summer was here early. I remember we had a few day in the 90 degrees. My kids felt the heat too and wanted some water playtime. Cameron, Tyler and Mikaela had fun making mud pies and playing with the water hose. Don't worry, the kids played on the lawn or near the ivy hillside, the water did not go to waste.

Student of the Month

2009-03-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

Cameron receives STUDENT of the MONTH!
We are so proud of Cameron. It was a surprise to him too.

All smiles. Congratualtions buddy!

ok ok!

2009-03-26T23:31:00.000-07:00

yes I need to blog. I have moments captured on my camera that need to be blogged about and shared with family and friends. But all this takes time! It not an easy 1-2-3 task it usually goes something like this.

turn on computer
place memory card in slot
look at pictures
oooo and ahhhhh
crop, enhance and play with other enhancing gadgets
open blog
think, think think of what I am going to write
add a picture here and there.
somehow lose picture or what I've written
start all over
kids surround me wanting this and that. Mikaela starts to play with the keyboard while she is on my lap then starts to cry because I move her hands out of the way and say "no no, mommy is trying to blog"

I could go on about the steps it takes but you get the picture and I know you've been there done that.
So, this is my pitiful excuse for not blogging lately. Pictures to come soon. I promise.

Tyler's Disney Birthday

2009-02-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Tyler From Mickey Mouse!

This year Disneyland is celebrating birthdays by allowing guest to visit Disney for free on their special day. Since we have annual passports, Tyler was given a gift card for the value of a child ticket (value $59). We thought that was great. For the first time in his life he could get off a ride and go to the store and buy whatever he wanted. He ended up with a treasure box from Pirates of the Carribean that has a Pirate hat, tlescope, Pirate booty, pirates map and other fun things. Later we went to Astro Blasters (buuzzlight year ride) and he used up the rest of the card there buying a Astro blaster gun, and and Buzzlight year light toy spinning thingy, and of course to round it off, some candy.
Thanks Disneyland!
Cameron and I can't wait to go on our birthdays so we can have fun spending our gift cards. Too bad for Dad, his birthday is a black out date. :-( No freebie for him.
We'll just have to share the wealth. ;-)

Happy Birthday Tyler!

2009-02-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

Tyler Turns Five!!!

Wow, I can't believe another year has flown by and my youngest boy is now five. He had a great time at his birthday party. He kept telling Dad and I how he LOVED his party. He would randomly tell us "mom, this is the bestest party ever. " I'm happy he enjoyed himself. We had a great turn out of family and friends.
Tyler choose a Star Wars theme this year. He didn't want to dress up in costume but did wear his shirt for the party. A few kids came in costume and gear. It was a little scary watching the so many boys play with their toy Light Sabers but no one was hurt.
The kids also played on the play ground and in the "fortress". They ran around the property and entertained themselves. It turned out to be a beautiful, great day.

On Tyler's official birthday I took him to Baskin Robbins for an ice cream sunday. He thought it was fantastic. Two scoops of ice cream, strawberry topping , whip cream and a cherry on top. He was in heaven. yum yum
Cameron was happy to tag along. As you can see he is happy he got to participate in the celebration.

Christmas in California...again

2009-01-03T21:09:00.000-08:00

Our first Christmas back in California has been great. NO snow to shovel, or ice storms to deal with. NO below freezing temperatures or wind chill penetration through every layer of clothes that you have on. NO more frozen fingers, noses and toes. Those days are over, done, finished and in the past. Hello to my warm, sunny Christmas' again. the Christmas' I love and am used to. If I chose to have a white Christmas the family could drive up to the mountains and enjoy it there and then drive back down and enjoy a mild winter. What can I say. I was a total wuss in NY. My body was not used too those cold, hard winters. And I don't think I would want to get used to them. Off my soap box...here are some pictures. :-)

The family at Disneyland. We took the kids to see Santa and enjoy the Small World lights. As always they are spectacular.

Cameron and Tyler thought it was neat to see Santa's Reindeer. This was actually the last night to see Santa and his crew before he took flight back to the North pole.

All I want for Christmas....

2009-01-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

If you read the previous post, you would know getting to Cameron's Christmas performance was a task to tackle. As you can see we made it and he got to sing with his class. The show was nice and all the school grades performed well. We had a definite perk this year that I thourghly enjoyed, the show was outside. It was a brisk evening but some friends shared a light blanket with us and we were pretty cozy.
Cameron is not much of a singer. He doesn't like to sing, so to see and hear him actually sing was a bonus. He even sang in the van on the way home. What a delightful surprise.

Sorry for the blurry picture.

I think this was when his class was signing Silent Night.

Chaos with Lotion

2009-01-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

The day was going great. The kids and I did our chores, ran our errands picked Cameron up from school and got home without a hitch. Tyler was being great and we had a wonderful, normal day. Nothing out of the ordinary happened... until 45minutes before Cameron's First grade Christmas performance. That's when my night got crazy. I started rounding up the kids for the performance, getting them fed, cleaned up and in the van. When I noticed Mikaela was being very quiet. That is never a good sign. I go to check on her and there she is in the bathroom with moisturizer all over the counter and smeared in every place possible on her face. I had to laugh and take a picture. It was one of those moments. So, I took the picture and tried to clean her up as quick as possible, when I realized the water had been shut off on our road. Ughhhh , how was I going to clean her up. I couldn't take her to the Christmas performance looking like this! Luckly, I still had a small trickle of water coming out of the down stairs bathroom and I was able to clean her up. She was very fresh and well moisturized. I guess watching Mom every morning put lotion onCameron and Tyler's face prompted her to do such a thing. Anyhow, the night got worse after that, short story... Tyler threw a fit, traffic was terrible on the way to the performance. They were doing road work and had to detour and once we got there I had to park in the great beyond and Cameron decides he had to go pee. I told him to run to the school and we would catch up. Fortunately, he made it to the bathroom on time and made it to his classroom before his class went up to perform. Pfeww. Oh and where was my Dear husband during all this? He was at work and said he would meet me at the school. When he saw me fly by taking Cameron to the bathroom, he said something like "what's going on? you look like a chicken with it's head cut off" hmmm let me tell you what happened.....and I begin to tell him the events of the night.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Wishing all my friends a Happy Thanksgiving. We had two great dinners and are feeling the effects of the feast. Thank goodness for stretch pants!

Family Photos at the Beach

2008-11-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

The day before Veteran's Day we had someone shoot some family pictures of us at Crystal Cove. We had never been there before. I never knew we had a treasure of a beach so close! The kids had a great time after the photo shoot looking at the tide pools. Even though it is November the day was beautiful, sunny and the temp in the 70's. It was a great day.

Pumpkin carving

2008-10-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here is our little family carving pumpkins a few days before Halloween. We probably should have waited a day due to the hot weather we've been having. Oh well, instead of our pumpkins looking young and scary, they are going to look like they are aging and trying to be scary.

Tyler and his funny face, Me and Mikaela.

Chris trying out the black and white feature on our camera.

Chris and Cameron posing for the camera.

A Day at the Museum

2008-10-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

We enjoy free things as a family and a free day at the Childrens museum is rarely missed. At first glance the La Habra's Childrens museum looks small and you can't imagine there is enough inside to keep a child entertained for more than an hour. I was totally wrong.! This little museum is awesome. It is like a magical little place that transforms as you enter. It is the little museum that could (and does)! Inside you'll find a hands on dinosaur dig, a huge shadow box, a theatre room, a toddler room, train room, the changing exhibit room and a taxiderm room full from top to bottom. There is more to it that I could tell you about but you really have to be there to appreciate it. Oh I must mention the carousel. Tyler LOVES the carousel and I think Mikaela is following in his footsteps. Here are some pictures of our latest trip to the museum.

Cameron finding a bone in the dig.

This quarters exhibit is about the human body and the senses. Tyler is having fun in the touch sense.

Forgot to mention the half bus in the museum. Cameronwas pretending to be the bus driver. He was pretty demanding! He wouldn't let us on the bus unless we paid the fare.

Little Mikaela goofing around in the bus.

Cameron's a First grader!

2008-10-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

Cameron started first grade this year and he is loving it so far. He is happy to be back in California close to family and familiar friends. He started school not a day too soon. Towards the end of summer break he start to keep a count down. Every morning began with the same question, "how many more days until I start school?" After about 10 mornings of the same question, Cameron and I made a count down on the calendar. It helped him out with his count down and Mom & Dad got to sleep in a bit more before
Cameron would come in after checking his calendar and exclaiming "Mom, Dad only 5 more days and I start school!" I hope this excitement lasts all the way to Senior year.

In the month of September they learned about Johnny Appleseed. They had an outdoor presentation and got to eat apple goodies, make apple crafts and eat apples grown on thier own trees on the school grounds. it was delicious.

This is Cameron and his buddy Owen. When we moved to NY for a while, he missed his buddy Owen and Owen's older brother Ethan. We were pleasantly surprised when I found out they would all be in the same school district and going to the same school. Sure, there are a few schools closer to us and I pass a few on the drive to drop him off but it's a small sacrifice Chris and I are willing to make. As you can tell he is happy to be with his friend again.
P.S. Owen is 1 1/2 months younger than Cameron, difference is his parents are much taller than Chris and I.

Little known facts about me.

2008-08-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Tiffany tagged me:

Three Joys
1. My Family and friends
2. Blue Skies and sunshine
3. Fancy desserts

Three Fears
1. child predators
2. my life flashing before my eyes
3. death of a loved one

Three Goals
1. have more patience with my children
2. becoming a black belt
3. instead of a fancy vacation, I want to do a humanitarian vacation withmy family.

Three Current Obsessions/collections
1. cleaning
2. gardening
3. being frugal

Three Random Surprising Facts about ME!
1. I don't know what my talent in life is, (except piss people off).
2. I want to go back to school for business or dentistry.
3.I've always wanted to learn how to play base guitar and rock out with Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Now I tag.....everyone who reads my blog!!!

Summer fun

2008-08-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

Cameron was brave enough to ride his bike again. We live on a slope and our driveway has a small grade to it. It didn't take long for him to get his confidence back.

Tyler is my daredevil. He'll go down the driveway without flinching. I have to close my eyes sometimes because I'm afraid he's going to hit a pebble and crash. Dad says I worry too much.

I guess Mikaela was thirsty. Mikaela and I were sitting on the edge by a leaky sprinkler watching Dad, Cameron and Tyler go down the driveway. She saw the sprinkler and began to play with it and splash. A few momnets later she's taking a sip. Don't worry I only let her take a few sips before I stopped her. Chris has since fixed the leaky sprinkler, we can't waste water here in California!

Lipstick Jungle

2008-08-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

This never happened with my 2 boys. My lipsticks never had to suffer the wrath of little fingers poking at it and turning them into complete mush. This is the work of our daughter Mikaela. She has somehow managed to ruin all but one of my lipsticks on different occasions. Once in church, during sacrament, a couple time when I carelessly left my purse within reach and the last one was when I was putting on my makeup. I guess she wanted to be like mom and put lipstick on her lips...and clothes...and floor...and a little bit in her hair and randomly on her face. I wish I had a picture of her face. I'm sure it will happen again, she's a sneeky little girl.

Yes I do Blog, just not often....

2008-07-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

My friend, Tiffany, makes fun of me because I rarely update my blog. I try, really I do. Often though, I get online and quickly check my e-mails, after that I stare at the screen for a second and think about where I want to surf the world wide web. That's usually when chaos breaks loose ( the kids go Lord of the Flies on me and I realize I DON'T have time to be playing on the web. Anyhow, here are the latest pictures and adventures.

Enjoy!

Mikaela

2008-07-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am testing a movie clip here. It's Mikaela in her crib when we lived in NY. Nothing too exciting, just a test run to see if I've figured out how to put a movie on here. :-)

UPDATE: yeah I know It didn't work. :-(

HOT HOT HOT!

2008-06-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

It is a hot Sunday afternoon. We were trying to be frugal and avoid turning the AC on but we had to give in since we are all home. With 5 bodies in the house it makes the house warm. Before you call us cheap, let me explain why we don't want to turn on the AC. First, we still haven't sold our house in NY and we are still paying the mortgage and bills that go along. What a pain but I am grateful we are in a circumstance to be able to pay the bills and live in So. California.
Second, I've been reading the Tightwad gazette and have found it addicting. I got the complete volumes I-III. I'm almost half way done and I find it hard to put down. Most things we do as a family are already pretty frugal. Some examples are, we avoid eating out and I try to make 91% of our meals from scratch. I've started line drying the laundry to avoid using the dryer (why not it freaking hot out here, clothes dry faster and I get my daily dose of vitamin D!) and I make sure we are not wasting electricity by leaving lights on around the house. I've also learned if I made a weekly menu of dinners and lunches and go grocery shopping for the items needed for the menu I save money on the grocery bill. Pretty simple idea but I wasn't doing it. I am guilty of going to the grocery store and buying what I needed but also what looked good and hmmmm, maybe I'll try this and buying things on sale just because. I've tried doing coupons but making my menu and going accordingly is what is working for me.
Anyhow, that was my little tid bit of what I've been reading and doing lately.
To all my NY and PA friends...I miss you guys a ton! Someday in this lifetime we will have to have a reunion of friends. Please keep in touch.

Back Online

2008-05-09T21:56:00.002-07:00

YAY!!! We are back onlone now. Since we arrived in California almost a month ago, we had 2 major problems. 1. the transmission on the Odyssey broke and 2. our computer died. We are fortunate to have savings to cover the expense of each item but receiving the extra $$ tax relief check was a blessing. Now all we need to do is sell our house in Seneca Falls. Any buyers out there???

More Niagara Falls

2008-04-11T06:25:00.000-07:00

Cameron and Tyler playing underneath one of the observation bridges. Cameron said that was his favorite part of Niagara Falls.

Dare you to go down in a barrel!

Niagara Falls

2008-04-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

It is getting close to our departure from NY and we had not seen many of the surrounding sites so last weekend we went to Niagara Falls. It was amazing to say the least. I am always in awe at what Heavenly Father created.

Cameron, Tyler and dad.

Gone bowling.

2008-04-11T06:15:00.000-07:00

I think this ball weighs as much as Mikaela.

Cameron, my happy bowler.
We were happy to get out go bowling. We had the bowling alley all to ourselves that morning. It was really nice because the boys could run around and get some energy out before it was their turn to bowl again.

Chris and his crazy hair.

Mikaela's Hair

2008-04-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

Some pictures of Mikaela for the family to see. I love her hair! I've only cut her bangs a couple of times to get it out of her eyes.
Mikaela is a joy to have in our family. Her brothers love her very much.

Finally the sun came out!!!

2008-04-11T05:57:00.003-07:00

The weather has improved and we finally got to go outside to play. Mikaela had a wonderful time sitting on the grass next to me. Cameron and Tyler were excited to be outside after a long winter. They immediately were drawn to the water and mud.

Ice Storm

2008-04-11T05:45:00.003-07:00

The wonderful weather of central NY. Ughhh :-(
We had an ice storm in late March. It was not fun. We have a lot of tall thin pine trees around our house and thought a few of them were going to break and fall onto our house. We were very fortunate, no fallen trees. One neighbor had 2 tree fall, one on their shed and another neighbor had a tree fall on their fence. The forces of nature, do I need to give another reason why I want to move back to California? I'd rather put up with an earthquake than extended winters and ice storms.

Happy Easter 2008

2008-03-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

My Handsome boys.

Still very cold out but at least the sun is shining!

My beautiful family.

Getting Ready for our Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Having fun coloring Easter eggs.

Our happy boys

Say CHEESE!!!

This seemed to be the first year Cameron and Tyler were able to enjoy and paint eggs on thier own. They really enjoyed putting the coloring tablets in the vinegar and watching it sizzle and dissolve. Once they saw the pretty colors they couldn't wait to start dipping they eggs. I must say it went pretty well. Cameron and Tyler shared and took turns and did "team work" it was great. I love it when projects turn out. :-)

2008-03-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

Rub a dub dub 3 kids in a tub. We currently have a tub in our living room. It's part of the remodeling to our bathroom before we leave to California. I just hope I'll be able to get a nice soak in it before we leave.

Here is chubby cheeks Mikaela at 10 months. She looks happy doesn't she.

2008-03-05T10:33:00.002-08:00

Cameron got off the bus yesterday and the first thing out of his mouth was "I GOT A LOOSE TOOTH!" Needless to say the whole time he was home, he kept telling us how "much looser" it was. Even after bed time, he woke up to tell me "my tooth is more loose". Funny thing was he let me wiggle it with my finger and it barely moved. I tried to convince him to eat an apple but he refused. Darn smart kid.

2008-03-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Geesh, I look tired!

Mikaela not exactly sure what to do withthe fudge pop.

My happy helper.

March of the Penguins

2008-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Camerons kindergarten class studied polar bears and penguins one week. Later the kids got to pick what they wanted to be. Guess what Cameron choose. He was excited to be a penguin. He said most everyone else choose the polar bear but he got tobe a penguin.

The Kiddos

2008-03-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

WOW! I didn't realize I was sooooooo behind in my blogging. I didn't even post Christmas pictures. Here is a recent picture of the kiddos. They are awesome!

Feeding the Reindeer

2007-12-24T18:15:00.000-08:00

Cameron made reindeer food at school and was given specific directions to sprinkle it before you went to bed on Christmas eve. It's so cute the things they do at is school. It's was of the nice things about being in a small town, it doesn't worry much about being politically correct. The school celebrated "Holloween" and they celebrate "Christmas", "Santa" and all the wonderful things about this season.

Here they are sprinkling the food. Our snow melted away on the 23rd, :-(
Our county had a flood warning because it melted so quickly. Our drainage was full and flowing fast. If it would have been summer the boys would have been swimming in it.

Magic Reindeer Food
Sprinkle on the lawn at night.
The Moon will make it sparkle bright!
When Santa's reindeer fly and roam,
This will help them find your home.

Merry Christmas everyone!
December 2007

2007-12-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Chris! Tyler and I made Chris Brownies for his birthday. Tyler is my helper in the kitchen. He'll mix, crack and pour ingredients and Cameron is my taster. He loves to taste the whatever we are making.

Happy Birthday.

2007-12-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

We went to Skaneateles, Ny to the Dickens Festival. It was great to see Scrooge and all the other characters walking around town, Unfortunately it got cold really quick. However, Cameron and I (mom) went to the Chamber of Commerce and rented costumes to keep us warm. Cameron looked like Tiny tim.

Tyler was so excited to see Santa. Tyler asked Santa for a Jack In the Box and Santa let out a big laugh and said the elves LOVE making jack in the boxes! Tyler had the most beautiful smile.
Cameron asked for a transformer by the name of SCORPONOKS. He was pretty happy when Santa knew it was a transformer. Santa teased both of the boys for a minute making sure they had been good this year. He asked the boys if they helped with the dishes, cleaned their rooms, and changed the oil in the cars. Cameron just kept nodding, say yes, uuha, and yup. It made Chris and I laugh. It was really cute.

Here we are, December 2007

First Big Snow!

2007-12-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

Right on time, December 1st, it snowed. This was a few days later when it really snowed. They cancelled church on Sunday and cancelled school on Monday. Cameron, and Tyler had fun playing in the snow. Mikaela and I stayed inside where it was cozy. It was fun to watch the kids having fun. I think I'll pass on the snow. Just the thought of having a snowball hit the back of your neck and quickly slide down the back of your neck is enough to keep me away from the powdery stuff.
Obviously the kids didn't mind. Our neighbor was using his snow blower to clear his driveway and his girls and my Cameron liked having the snow blown on them. Like I mentioned before, NO Thanks!
Here is Tyler, my peanut, in the snow. He was tired after a couple of hours of hard play in the snow. He had a grin from cheek to cheek. Daddy pulled him on the sled behind the 4 wheeler. Tyler could have done that for hours. He was so happy.

Mikaela's on the move

2007-11-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well, here is our little girl at 6 months, almost 7months! She is growing fast and starting to get around pretty well. In a blink of an eye she will roll from one part of the rug to another. She looks like she'll be crawling soon.
She is a sweet girl, always smiling and doesn't complain much. Why should she complain anyways? She has great hair!

Lego Tower

2007-11-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

Engineers in the works! Cameron and Tyler built a very tall lego building. They worked together on it and dad helped put it together. They look so proud of their accomplishment. Sadly, it only lasted for one day before Tyler his T-rex decided to knock it down.

Cameron's Kindergarten Picture

2007-11-10T16:07:00.000-08:00

Cameron's first school picture. He looks too dang cute!

Cornell University

2007-11-10T16:04:00.000-08:00

We had to get away from our small town routine and went for a drive towards Ithaca. Ithaca is a college town where Cornell University is located. It's one of the Ivy league schools and we had to check it out. Actually we wanted to see how an Ivy campus was like compared to BYU. Once we arrived and went to the visitors booth we realized how big this campus was. It is huge! We walked in the arboretum and the herb gardens. Later we went to the art museum and enjoyed much of the art work there. The was a life-like display of a nude woman sitting on a chair, Chris and I got kind of worried wondering how the boys would react but it didn't phase them. Tyler did say "she's naked! but they kept on walking and pointing out other art work. We all enjoyed the beautiful Tiffany art that was displayed.

A couple of breath taking views of the campus.

2007-11-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Halloween night and all the kids were ready to go and get candy. Cameron was so impatient. he was ready to go "trick or treating" since he got off the school bus. I tried to get him to take a nap but that didn't work. We went out with out friends and thier kids. We were out for a total of 1.5 hours and it quickly filled thier pumpkin buckets. Tyler complianed his bucket was too heavy. He's not complaining anymore, now that he has his stash at home.

Cameron had a costume parade at school after the sing a long. It was lots of fun and the costumes were great.

Tyler as Spiderman aka. Peter Parker.

My little pumpkin Mikaela. Later that night she was a LION. She had so many costumes to choose from. What a lucky girl. No candy for her this year. :-)

Seneca Falls Halloween

2007-10-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

Our town has an annual Halloween parade and it starts out with the children trick or treating to the businesses on our main street. Our town is small but the kids ended up with enough candy to last them the rest of the year (it really only lasted 2 weeks).

Tyler was "the Thing" from Fantastic Four. He had some big muscles for the occasion.
Cameron was "Beast" from X-men. He scared a few younglings and you can see why. If I was a toddler and this thing came up to me I would be running the other way too.
Daddy and his boys. Cameron and Tyler love it when daddy joins in on the fun. They love having daddy around.

2007-10-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Mikaela and mom joined the fun at the town halloweeen parade. Mikaela was a strawberry and I was her farmer. Mikaela got a lot of oooo's and awwww's. She really is a cute little girl her hair is long.
We have about 5 halloween costumes for Mikaela this year. Later that day she went from strawberry to a ladybug. Too cute.
Fayette ward Halloween Festivities. He I am pictured with some of my friends and our babies. From left to right. Debi and her baby cow, Gabrielle, Maren and her pumpkin, Casille, and me with my ladybug, Mikaela.

Elle and Tyler. Tyler has an admirer and her name is Elle. She likes hanging out with Tyler and thinks he is the greatest. They are in nursery together and spend time together in playgroups and Joy school.
Tyler is clueless about Elle's admiration. He's just happy he has someone to play with. :-)

Mikaela's Hair

2007-09-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

Mikaela is only 4 months old and she has HAIR. She was born with a lot of hair and I used to style it in a mohawk. It's a little to long for a mohawk now so we are trying pig tails.

People always comment on how much hair she has, and NO I didn't have terrible heartburn (well maybe just the first trimester).

This picture is to show you my first attempt of styling my baby girls hair. Yeah...now I know why I was a beauty school drop out. Hee hee. She has been a treat to have in our family. She is always happy and has plenty of smiles to make you heart melt. We all love her so much.

First Day Of School

2007-09-07T16:42:00.001-07:00

Cameron had his first day of school! I am sooo proud of him. He rode the bus by himself and looked like he had done this all before. I was more worried about him riding the bus but he insisted he wanted to ride it. I think it will work out best especially on those cold snowy mornings, it will be easier to walk him to the corner instead of loading 2 kids and a baby into a van every weekday.

Cameron didn't hesitate to get on the bus, little stinker...I didn't cry much either. what I noticed was how quiet the house was without him. Cameron was ready to go to school and learn and I was ready for him to make new friends and have an outside of home learning experience. Thursday and Friday were only half days. Come Monday, he'll be going to school from 9-2:55. Poor Tyler was bored without his brother. I thought it was quite peaceful. Tyler and I hung out, read books, and played on the trampoline while Mikaela slept.

Tyler waiting at the bus stop with big brother.

Cameron getting on the bus.

Tyler and Mikaela waiting for big brother.

Cameron coming home.

Cameron happy to see little bro.

Empire Farm Days August 7,2007

2007-08-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! There are ALOT of tractors out there. this must be a farmers toyland. The boys had alot of fun. They were amazed at all the types of farm equipment. Chris had fun too. Toyota had a driving experience course, using the new Toyota Tundra. Chris could not pass it up. Yamaha also had a driving course and Chris road on a Grizzly and drove a Rhino.

Pioneer Day

2007-08-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Pioneer day in Palmyra on the hottest day in July! It was very hot and humid that day. Cameron and Tyler were fine until we decided to wait in the LOOOONG line for the pony ride. Tyler had a meltdown and couldn't take the heat anymore. We did have fun though. Making butter, decorating cookies and learning how to walk on stilts and lots of good food. Yum yum.

Hill Camorah Pageant

2007-07-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

We went to the Hill Camorah Pageant on Tuesday night and it rained the whole time. Luckly we had friends manning a booth there and they let us take cover, otherwise we would have left. Mikaela was a trooper. Cameron thought the pageant was awesome. Tyler got tired towards the end but when Jesus descened from heaven he woke right up and could not keep his eyes off Jesus. It was fun. Next time we are going to sit closer ( we were way in the back grassy area). Sorry, I didn't take pictures :-(

The Kids

2007-07-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some current pictures of the kids. Cameron loves to fish. We can't believe he catches something EVERY time. Tyler's not to shabby himself but is less patient with fishing. He'd rather be jumping on the trampoline. Mikaela is growing sooooo fst. I can't believe she is 2 months already.

Our House

2007-07-12T16:19:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of our house. It's nice and roomy, we just need to fix up some stuff and get rid of some awful painted walls!

what we've been up to

2007-07-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

Since our family has moved out to NY from California in January 2007, Chris started his new job, we've lived in temporary housing, bought a house, house fell through, bought another house, moved and had a baby. It was the shortest and the longest 5 months of our lives! All the snow made it a long winter!

Upstate New York

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

What are we doing in Upstate New York! Chris and I find ourselves asking that question often. The transition has not been easy but now that spring is here it's not looking to bad. It is beautiful here, with lush green grass, and breath taking gardens all around. Unfortunately, fall is around the corner and then winter with it's chilling cold snow. My neighbor just told me winter ONLY last 6 months. I said "yeah it last SIX MONTHS!" A native So. California girl is NOT used to this weather. I tell myself it could be worse. The bright side is I have 2 wardrobes!