Beach Badgers

An Afternoon @ SeaWorld, Birthday Week, Nov. 2011

2012-01-09T22:14:00.000-08:00

What a DAY!

2012-01-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

Ever since someone dubbed me the "birthday brat" in college, I've tried to tame down the expectations for my birthday. In my own defense, I recall that I just seemed to know exactly what I wanted to do on my birthday when I was asked one particular year in college. I didn't think it was too tall of orders to want to roast marshmallows in the canyon and then have funfetti cupcakes afterwards with a bunch of friends, but I guess since it fell on my roomate/best friend to plan it all for me that year instead of my mom, it was sort of a bit obnoxious of me to just assume that even a good friend would want to take "orders" from me, a birthday brat. ANYWAY, birthdays were a big deal in my family growing up, so I guess I blame mostly my mom and sister for always indulging me on my birthday. Really, I'm not talking fancy, expensive gifts, I'm just saying I got to call all the shots. And for me, that is like royal treatment! My mom would always cook whatever meal and dessert I requested, plus there was usually some kind of friend party, treats were brought to school (I guess that only happened in elementary school, but still!) and voluntarily one year my sister decided to become my BIRTHDAY SLAVE! Really, I did NOT put her up to this! She continued this annual tradition, unprovoked too!
So how does that all relate to the picture of Japanese food at the top of this post, you may ask? Well, this year my birthday was super fun and one of the highlights was going out on a lunch date with my husband to a new place (new to us) called Blue Fin. And it was yummy! Speaking of indulging me, I will give you all a run-down of the day since you are just dying to know (yeah right!)
First of all, my good friend Lucynthia made me delicious ginger waffles for breakfast. Then I had a visiting teaching appointment for which we decided to walk to Robek's and pick up smoothies. I forgot to mention that between those 2 things, another super good friend Lori called me up on Skype from Germany! And after the V.T. appointment was dinner with the hubby @ the afore mentioned Blue Fin restaurant. Funny how such a good day for me revolved around a whole lot of friends and good food!
Funny thing though, I was planning to shower after the walk to the smoothie place, but, didn't have time b/c Stephen had a certain hour break for lunch that we had to use and I basically could have showered up and left him hanging at the restaurant for 20 minutes or more ALONE or just gone "as is." I went with option B. Thus, there are NO pictures for y'all to see on this blog of me @ the restaurant, b/c, well I was lovin' life, but not feeling so fresh and clean and "purty." Not to worry, I did eventually shower on my birthday! I also did not show Stephen even though I got a picture of him too because he was sporting a mustach for this men's health awareness thing @ work through the month of November. And let me just say, the man is handsome, but not the type who can work the mustache and turn some heads in a good way.... we'll leave it at that.

On to the next event. Since Stephen was going to take a half day off, but last minute had a meeting sprung on him that he HAD to attend, I decided to take the kids myself to see this lighthouse. I should've left sooner b/c there was little daylight by the time we made it there and we "froze" from the chilly wet wind there at the top of those bluffs. But it was a fun little afternoon birthday adventure with the kids anyway.
The lighthouse itself isn't anything too fancy or spectacular being like 100 years old or more, and I couldn't get a good angle of it with the sun setting and all, but I did enjoy the amazing views and these two little chips of the ol' blocks.
The workers there dressed in period clothing.

I wouldn't so much mind living down there someday!
And of course, to top it all off was a homemade dinner by my huggable husband. My request this year was a mushroom and swiss cheese burger and pumpkin pie for dessert. It did not disappoint! What a lucky gal I am!
Ian even dressed himself in his own jammies. What a champ!

Here I am "taking one for the team." Even though it's not so flattering of me, the kids are cracking me up. Ok, Ian's hillarious and Brooklyn looks like she's about 16. Lovin' it!

Art Museum

2012-01-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures from our last visit to the Children's Art Museum before our passes expired at the end of the year.
The life-sized maze
Brooklyn creating

Details of the creative maze walls decorated in recycled materials
Ian and Dad's dino figurine
Ian posing in the dress-up area

Wrapped Around Her Little Fingers!

2012-01-09T21:20:00.000-08:00

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

2011-11-27T22:19:00.000-08:00

We did it! We arrived at the ward Halloween Party less than an hour ONLY 30-something minutes late and all wearing coordinating costumes! Hooray! This is serious progress, people!
We will NEVER be able to outdo this guy and his SUPER-INSANELY-CREATIVE mother who begins projecting on Halloween stuff way back in oh...JULY! Awesome. SO cool.
I was pretty tickled that Stephen passed for a pretty convincing Woody (we came as close as we could to a bright yellow plaid cowboy shirt, using only the options in Stephen's closet) and the kids, well, they always steal the show. If I were really good, I'd have stuffed my hair into a brown beanie and wore a big colorful hat folded up in the front with a big plastic white daisy. Oh well.
Lucy (on the left) was the only Rapunzel I saw that night. So cute! If Brooklyn was jealous, she didn't dwell on it, but the thought of dressing Brookie up as the Tangled princess did cross my mind a time or two.
This costume gets bonus points for originality and creativity! She even passed out mini-cupcakes to the trick-or-treaters! Can you see her "baker" husband in the background? This couple and their cupcake theme was way too cute!
Here's the Jessi costume before it got returned to the store. I bought it a while back when I spotted Ian's Buzz costume. Thinking I would thank myself when it got down to the wire. But the more I looked at it, the more I really was disappointed in the quality and I got a little bit prideful (?) thinking that I could do so much better than this if I made the costume myself. I did save some money by making it, but more than that, I was more satisfied with the durability and quality of the final product. Stephen even helped me create the hat that had to be altered.
So these are pictures of the store-bought costume which did NOT get used, but was returned to the store instead. I know, I'm ridiculous.
Next should be a picture of the home-made one, but it will appear again later in the post. Sorry about that.
Candy sorting and random yummy dish of asparagus that I made. The stalks were bundled in ham (though the recipe called for prosciutto) and the ham was dabbed with a swipe or two of cream cheese mixed with parmesan cheese and chopped pine nuts. This is a new favorite of mine. Thanks Lucynthia (and Family Fun Magazine, I think...)!
Here's the Kindergarten parade at Brooklyn's school. There's Mrs. R. herself! This is where the magic begins!

Below is Brooklyn's friend Calvin in the knight suit that his mom made him.
Jessi. Either she's already too cool to wave at her mom or she didn't hear me. I'm hoping it was option "B."
Okay, so I really do need a better full-body shot of Jessi just to compare it to the picture of the store bought one.

Here's a friend of ours from another class. He's one of the kids that carpools home with us. I'm pretty sure that's Ian's little hand waving at him at the bottom of the picture.
Speaking of the devil, here he is with a few other dressed-up friends. Funny thing, on the actual day of Halloween, he preferred wearing his superman costume that I threw together in all of 15 mintues. It started with a hand-me-down superman shirt and ended with a pieced-together cape made from the scraps of a much more elaborate home-made cape that got lost/adopted by someone else (?) at girls' camp this year. I'm sorta bummed about that, can you tell? Ironically, Ian wears this other one way more than the first.
cute girls

The big gang of trick-or-treaters that my kids were a part of on Halloween night. It was quite a sight! They loved it!

Pumpkin PATCH!

2011-11-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

We were invited to visit a pumpkin patch with some friends and then carve pumpkins with them for Family Home Evening a week before Halloween. This pumpkin patch was created by some high school students as a fund raiser. We didn't realize this before our arrival, but quickly realized that the pumpkin prices were inflated and there were lots of other activities that required tickets or donations. Lucky for us, our kids are easy to please and creatively enjoyed themselves for free while helping us to pick out 1 pumpkin for each of the two families.
Wow, she's a natural, no?
If only he would open that wide for teeth-brushing time!
D.H.S.'s very own "Most Promising Actor," way back when? He's so camera shy too!
The wheelbarrows were the best. I couldn't stop laughing as I watched the kids and husbands bound through the straw paths with them. It was quite a sight. There may have been a race or two...
Time to carve! Our friends were so nice to allow Ian to help them out so much... while Stephen went to town with a slightly more INTRICATE pirate skull design....
The crack-up is that Ian wanted to use his own knife independently most of the time. He kept saying, "I can do it, I can do it!" When we'd try to offer our help. What's up with boys and their weapons??
The finished products:
My favorite part of the evening was munching on the freshly toasted pumpkin seeds. Thanks Sallee! YUM, YUM! Actually, it was more like a close second to watching the wheelbarrow races.

Time with Ian

2011-11-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

So Ian and I had a couple hours to kill between doctors appointment on the property of the Scripps La Jolla Hospital. Here are a couple of funny photos taken at the little gift shop there. I thought the lady at the gift shop would get bugged that I was just browsing with no intent to purchase something, but instead, she encouraged Ian to test out these motion-sensored Halloween decos that were spooky and funny. Dancing broomstick, anyone?? It was a strange thing for me to try and find things to fill time while wandering around a hospital, but I realized it was also a great time to give Ian my undivided attention. We had a snack at the cafeteria. We watched hummingbirds flit around a big tree with huge yellow blossoms. We watched the rain. Last, we tried to get a good glimpse of some newborn babies on the same floor where Ian was born nearly 3 years ago. Though the morning was completely unproductive in some aspects, (the appointments were very insignificant ones), I had a great time hangin' out with my favorite (then) 2-year-old.

Jenn and Derek's Wedding: Fun, Fun, FUN!

2011-11-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Our family took a fun little trip to Fresno to see our friends Jenn and Derek get married. We were looking forward to this event for a while. The anticipation began when Brooklyn and Ian both got their OWN invitations to the wedding which also came with fun gender-appropriate stickers for the kids to decorate each of their response cards. The wedding and following lunch/reception were no less kid and family friendly. I have to say, it was the most fun wedding I've ever attended. The proof is in the pictures. I couldn't stop clicking my camera because every where I turned were unique, classy, and down-to-earth details.
First of all, the ceremony was perfect: short, sweet, and to the point, about 15 - 20 minutes in length. The event was held on the groom's family ranch which was beautifully landscaped.
I also felt that it was very sweet of the bride and groom to include us in so much of their day! We saw the bride morning of the wedding as we left the hotel. She stopped by to say hi to family and friends who were eating the breakfast buffet there. She also made it known to us early in the day that she and the groom wanted to share a table with us at the lunch reception - wow! Talk about VIP treatment!
Before the lunch and after the ceremony, we had so much to feast on, visually and otherwise. First stop, the CRAFT TABLE, designed with kids in mind. The bride's mother did an awesome job with this one. There were only maybe a dozen kids or less total in attendance, but there was a craft table tempting enough even to the adults. It was stocked with coloring books, bubbles, bubble wands, paper crowns to decorate, markers, foam and other stickers. I literally had to pull Brooklyn away from it to show her the candy table only a few yards away. But before the candy table, there was this lovely beverage buffet table. It was one of many, I might add. The other tables had apple cider, water, soda, and a full-service bar, which Stephen and I didn't visit.
The lemonade was such a sweet refreshment on this warm day!
The table settings were so beautiful and no two were exactly alike, though they all coordinated.
Here's a table for making note cards for the bride and groom in lieu of a guest book. I love how the bride was very casual and had her own unique twist on wedding traditions.
Did I mention yet that there were two air-bounce structures for the kids?? Stephen spent a lot of time there with Ian. He was really sad about downing that orange soda too while minding our little kangaroo, don't you think?
One of the bounce houses was an obstacle course, the other was a gigantic slide. There were even people designated to supervise the bouncy things. Ian became fast friends with one of the super nice helpers, George, who is pictured later.
Ian's awe at the corner of the candy table.
Dad steps in to help out on the stuffing of bag #1. The almonds and grapes used for function and decoration were from the family farms.
Here's the staff that manned the ice cream booth from Marble Slab. I've never been to a Marble Slab ice cream shop, but I hear that they're the equivalent of a Cold Stone Creamery. Jenn and Derek make weekly stops to one near their home on date nights. So, it was only fitting that the crew there catered their signature ice cream at the wedding. Another fun twist - there wasn't a wedding cake, but it was not even missed. Sugar cookies were provided as another dessert as well.

Here were some of the topping choices
Brooklyn revisited the craft table several times.
One of the guests donning her paper crown from the craft table.
Ian and Brooklyn at the candy table. Brooklyn's holding her bag of loot...before it broke due to the over-stuffing it.
Crafting again.
Simple, yet stunningly beautiful flowers in Mason canning jars
A view of the farm-grown cotton that was included in some of the flower arrangements. I loved all the little farm touches! Ok, the boy with the crown in the background is pretty dang cute too.
More flowers with a touch of cotton at the base.
Jenn, the bride, and Brooklyn
Jenn and Derek with our kids. Derek was looking forward to seeing his "Buddy" Ian. Too bad Ian was playing Mr. Shy Guy.
mother and daughter
The three gals: Me, Brooklyn, and Jenn. I actually thought my hair might look more formal if I took it out of the ponytail just before this picture was taken - HELLO pony-dent!
Ian and George
Ian bounding through the obstacle course. Crazy kid!
Ok, I see a future teenager in this face. This could be the face I see in a future high-school sports game...if he's not too cool to acknowledge his mom/#1 fan on the sideline.
Down he goes! (Those shorts were put on after the ceremony.)
Brooklyn and a new friend Jillian, who attended the wedding with her grandma who is a friend of the groom's mom.
Now another kind of fun begins...the DANCING! Jenn was opposed to having a DJ and an official dance floor, but I have to say, the dancing was just so entertaining. First of all, I think we were all drawn to the beat by these energetic middle-aged mommas and grandparents who were ROCKING OUT! We couldn't just watch with out catching the FEVER!
My husband and kids are NO strangers to the dancing scene. Somehow I'm not quite so confident as them, but I do sneak in a few moves to the beat here and there.
This whole scene was highly entertaining. I couldn't stop grinning!

It was a perfect way to work that sugar through the kids (and Stephen's) systems!
I don't know who had more fun, me watching them or Stephen and the kids dancing like nobody's business! I shamelessly admit that I was totally adoring my family at this point.
Stephen was sure working up a sweat! He said it felt like Louisiana summer day - hot and humid. I was getting a little hot and bothered myself with this view of Mr. P90X graduate.
Cotton again!
The kids could not get enough of their Daddy's attention! They loved dancing with him.
Like I said, this man is no stranger to the dance floor.
I love reading between the lines of this picture. Big sister and friend teach little brother his first dance lesson. Classic.
Uh-oh! The shirt is untucked people, we are really getting down!
A too-scared-of-the-hot-plastic-on-my-bare-legs Brooklyn being escorted down the slide by George. Thanks for the rescue once again, George!
King and Queen of Bounce
Make that Prince and Princess. The true grand finale was the bride and groom's little escapade to the kingdom of air and bounce. I don't know about the other guests in attendance, but I couldn't help but think of her poor dress! Would it SURVIVE the slides? NO! It did not survive she later reported. Does she regret this? Not a chance.
Love this. Love them.
One of the bags of candy, sorted by Brooklyn upon returning home from the little adventure. (The two pictures following this should be first, chronologically)
This was Ian moments after being buckled in for the journey home.
And a few minutes after that, Brooklyn looked this way too. I'm chuckling that she was literally mid-stroke in the Strawberry Shortcake coloring page.
Jenn and Derek, thank you thank you thank you so much for including us in your momentous day. We loved every second of it was great to see you again! Best wishes!

September/October

2011-11-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

I'm still catching up on some overdue posts, so here are a few snapshots of our lives in September and October. Me and Brooklyn take a few minutes to document our coordinating colors in these church outfits. I love breaking out clothes that are those odd in-between sizes and wearing them on the day when they fit just right. I haven't worn this dress for maybe 2 1/2 years and won't be wearing it again for who-knows how long. This picture was taken on September 11th, so yes, my belly is 2 months of pregnancy bigger than that now.
Sigh....Can I just say that this guy is my LIFESAVER? Without a doubt, the highlight of my day is the moment he returns home from work. I love that he usually whisks the kids away for some outdoor activity while I finish dinner. He even, at a huge sacrifice to him, has been known to watch animated movies with them and read superhero stories too.
This is what we did the day Brooklyn stayed home from school due to illness. We finally painted that tea set that she got from Aunt Helen for her 5th b-day which was only six month ago.

Our little table hasn't forgotten this painting experience despite my best efforts to rid it of all the residual paint that didn't get immediately scrubbed.
Here's a Halloween craft we did on a night when Stephen had a boys' outing. Its supposed to be a skeleton crown.
I just had to laugh when I found these little imprints on our plush new rug. It reminds me of that saying or poem about little hand prints everywhere that young mothers always clean off, then miss when they vanish years later.
Though the photography doesn't win any presentation points, this was a super-yummy side dish that I was proud to bring to the table to complement our dinner of left-over split-pea soup. The dish pictured is a new recipe I tried called "Gratin of Cauliflower with Gruyere." Even the name sounds fancy, no? So the key ingredients here are cauliflower, panko (Japanese bread crumbs), a little salt, pepper butter, parsley, flour, milk, onion (regular and green), and Gruyere cheese.
The next picture is of the roux that was the base of some gumbo that was made later that same night at a cooking demonstration I attended here at our complex. One of the fun benefits of living here these cooking demonstrations that are held twice a month. I HAD to go to this one because it was Cajun/Creole cooking night. We watched Chef Jeff or Mike or whatever make dirty rice, gumbo, and, as Brooklyn a la Princess Tiana might say, "Man-catchin' BEIGNETS!" YUM!
Here's a picture of my kids during about the first 20 minutes of the first session of General Conference this October. Of course, these first few moments they were still on their best behavior. At least we are glad that they are getting into the habit of tuning into conference every 6 months.

Between sessions of conference on Saturday, we went to a street fair in Pacific Beach. On our walk back to the car, I saw this sign at a church and had to laugh/take a picture of it. "Welcome Saints, Sinners, Surfers." Can you tell we were only a couple blocks away from the beach?
Here are my handsome boys before they got some much-needed haircuts a la Desi's salon. Funny thing, there are no official "after" shots, but I guess what ever pictures come next can testify of the trims that took place.

I was thrilled that Stephen was so into his book that he couldn't keep his eyes off of it even for the usual few minutes of bonding-time or just regular ol' conversation that I look forward to during our routine hair-cutting sessions.
I am just shocked at how grown-up Ian looks in these pictures by the library. It must be the baseball hat and overall big-boy sporty outfit. I love hangin' out with this kid during the day while Brooklyn's gone at school. It's great to have more one-on-one time with him than I ever have before now.
I had to snap a photo of the cover of this book which was a huge hit with our family. I loved it from about the second page into it and highly recommend it. It's about a mom and dad who go out of town for a few days, but each parent calls his/her own mother to babysit their one child, Pip. (Yes, another HUGE reason I checked it out was for the name Pip in case you wondered.) Anyway, both grandmas show up and both decide to stay and watch the child together. These two grandmas couldn't be more opposite in their approaches to life and child-rearing. I cracked up as I noticed the similarities here between mine and Stephen's different approaches. One granny was way more regimented with scheduled nap and bed times, and she tries to eat super healthy while the other one is super relaxed, wants to have fun, indulges the child with treats, and enjoys plopping down on the couch to watch some good ol' t.v. I was cracking up. Love love love it!
In the end, the grandmas agree to let Pip lay down the rules, which happen to be a nice compromise. ;)

Love This

2011-10-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

While trying to get ready to head out for the day, I caught myself instructing Brooklyn to clean up her crayons before I realized the artistry with which they had been placed. Can you determine what kind of a scene she created here? I must say, I was pretty impressed with her creativity. Hint: I think this scene she portrayed here came to mind because we used headlamps the night before when there was a power outage. The other times we typically use headlamps are for these types of outings. Still, I was impressed with the detail of it all.

Children's Museum 9/9

2011-10-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm doing some catch-up posting. Here's what we did on Friday of the first week of school; we went to the children's museum. The reason? School was cancelled? Why? We had a long power outage on Thursday afternoon throughout the whole county of San Diego. Some power lines all the way in Arizona were the problem. Anyway, since the power was out indefinitely, all the schools were canceled for Friday, even though the power ended up returning around 10:45 PM Thursday night. It was nice to have a day off, even though it was already a short week since school started on the Tuesday after Labor Day.

I had never been down to the bottom floor of the children's museum, but this huge bird-house structure extends up to the main or middle level, which I have seen. The cool thing though was that there was imaginitive play stuff at the bottom for nest-building and bird dress-ups.

This was a fun craft, especially since it involved launching things off the balcony outside to the patio below where all the clay-making and statue painting took place.

More shots of the bird cage. Sorry if some are repeats. Oops!

Where the Turf Meets the Surf

2011-10-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

We joined some friends for an outing to the Del Mar race track. It was so fun to be a part of the action and excitement. This was a first for me!
We accidentally entered the side where the top-breed horses parade around for a smaller audience who will be placing bets...no wonder our tickets were a little more costly than we had planned for. Oops! We won't be making that mistake again. It also explains why there were little to no kids there except for our own. Also it explains why we were privileged to experience this close encounter with a beautiful horse.
Here we are heading off to the back lot where all the fun kid stuff was set up. It was "family day" at the race track, so all of these extra activities for the kids were free. :)
Anyone searching for dandruff?
Here the horses are pounding down the final stretch of the race. The intense excitement of the crowds was so thrilling!

Ian in a blue bounce house
The pony rides, with one side of the race track in the background.
Face/Body painting (Hello Kitty)

Brooklyn and Ayzia

Kindergarten!

2011-09-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn is officially a kindergartener! I don't know who had more anxiety about this big transition, me or her? I swear I had dreams that she wore her pajamas to school, I had dreams that I was back in high school and had no clue what my class schedule was, etc. etc. I only snapped one picture of her on the first day because we were rushing around trying to get to the right place at the right time. The next picture is an "after school" picture a few days later. I just mostly loved the pink outfit with the bow. She seems like such a big girl in those denim shorts! It was really fun that my mom happily assisted in the building of Brooklyn's first back-to-school wardrobe including a cute pink backpack.
Wouldn't you know that I totally had an opinion when we got to the backpack aisle? I pulled out all the stops in trying to dissuade her from the Disney Princess backpack. With the help of my mother,we were able to entice her to select a Fancy Nancy one instead. So far, I am thanking myself for "fighting" (creatively of course) that battle. I think she may even have chosen a "one-of-a-kind." No one else that I've seen at that school has one like it. There are quite a few princess ones though. I did let her get a Tinkerbell lunchbox though. Luckily I wrote her name on all her stuff because one of the first days of school Brooklyn thought that some other girl was getting into her lunch box before realizing that she and the other girl had matching ones.
I tried to pry as much detail out of Brooklyn about the first few days after school, and the responses to my inquiries went a little like this: "We learned today that we are NOT allowed to draw stick figures in kindergarten." A day later it was, "Today we learned that when Mrs. Redmerski hears the sound of Velcro coming apart, she feels like she wants to pull her hair out." Way to go, Mrs. R! I love that you are so feeding the imaginations of these young and impressionable minds. Really though, I think she's a great teacher with just a little bitta spunk. ;) My kinda gal!

This and That

2011-09-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

My mom sent us home with all the supplies to make this fun kitchen craft featured in the August "Friend" magazine. They are lady bugs made of crackers, cottage cheese, tomatoes, olives, and chives. The kids enjoyed making and eating them. It was kinda sad though that a couple of them bit the dust before we could consume them. (Ian reached over them and they fell to the carpeted floor below - yucky!)

I failed to snap any family photos on our recent trip to Petco Park to watch the Padres game, so I'll post the best shot I have. The kids were in heaven with that cotton candy! I am so glad that their father is fun enough to let them eat pure sugar. Brooklyn kept offering me some and couldn't figure out why I never obliged. The fireworks after the game were definitely worth staying for the entire game.

Moving Day

2011-09-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

Ugh! Moving is seriously the PITTS! I wish we didn't have to do it so often. Basically, when our lease came up for renewal at the other place, the cost of our rent would have been increased, so we looked around a bit but to no avail. At one point, I put our name on a waiting list at a huge complex within our ward boundaries where a few of our friends lived. After we had decided to stay in our current apartment (Stephen "negotiated" a lower renewal rate), but before our lease was up for renewal, we heard back that there were some openings at the place where we were on the waiting list. I wasn't that anxious to jump on the opportunity to move, but Stephen doesn't waste any time in making decisions (unlike me) and he raced to pick up an application and fill out all the necessary paperwork. Needless to say, after having only stayed in our previous place for 6th months, it was time to say goodbye. I do miss those granite countertops and the plush, green outdoor pathway to our door, and the quiet seclusion of the tucked-away neighborhood in which we lived. However, we now have an "in-apartment" washer and dryer to appreciate along with two bedrooms with closing doors rather than a real bedroom plus a second bedroom/loft area.
Can I just say that Stephen is an AMAZING project manager? It's like his brain is wired to think in flow-charts and process improvement. While my kids and Ella and I spent the week @ my mom's house in L.A., Stephen basically packed up 90% of the house - to the point where I felt like I was camping out for the last week of our stay there when I returned from L.A. It was crazy amazing! I mean, pictures were off the walls and the holes were patched and repainted. All of our storage, kids clothes, and kitchen stuff was boxed, labeled and ready to load. He had a color-coded system of where the boxes were to be placed in the new apartment and all I had to do was pack my own clothes as well as help wrap the furniture the night before. Sheesh! I am one lucky gal!
Stephen, thank you thank you thank you for nearly moving our entire family and belongings yet again! You continue to prove heroic in my eyes! ***Just remember that next time I vent to or about you... heee heee!

P.S. Any guesses as to the signature piece of furniture that those lucky home teachers got to move in the picture above?! HA! Had they only known what they were signing up for!

GoodBye Elder Valikoula!

2011-09-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

This Elder (pictured on the far right) served in our ward for nearly a year! He became part of our ward family. We miss him already but I'm sure New Zealand is glad to have him back!

Week 2 with Ella

2011-08-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

For week two with Ella, me and the kids stayed at my mom's house in Glendora. We had a blast. I loved sending the kids to play in the back yard. Actually, I didn't even need to "send them," they found it first thing every morning. They would find sticks and stick them through the slits in the deck, they'd watch insects crawling on the ground, point out fresh dog poop, (or Ian would even try to dispose of it in the designated trash can), and help Poppa feed the dog. All this before I arose to feed them breakfast. ;)
Ian and Ella though....they were like an old married couple or just true siblings with their love/hate relationship. Luckily Ella was very forgiving and accepted all of Ian's apologies for times when he got a little too rough with her. Usually Ella would copy whatever Ian would do and generally the two of them were glued at the hip. Sometimes Ian got tired of being followed or would try to regulate on Ella, so his actions would usually get him into time-out. Also, they occasionally fought over toys. What can I say? They both behaved like adorable 2-year-olds and they kept me on my feet. :) We resolved a sharing dispute by finding them both a car of their own to play with and push around the house. After the possessive two-year-olds each had their own set of wheels, they happily cruised them around the house.
This is Ian's other cousin Lilly. She's my sister's daughter and is about 2 1/2 weeks older than Ella. This scene occurred a day or two before Ella arrived which means my pictures are out of order, but I had to show Ella first, since the post is mainly about her. So Lilly's mom, (my sister Pip) decided to let Lilly paint a piece of wood outside rather than help my sister work on her craft inside the house. My sister often sends her girls to play in the backyard at their own house in just undies or diapers so that their clothes don't get destroyed. I thought I would let Ian run on the wild side and go join Lilly in only his undies. He did not last long. I sat and watched him from inside the house. I could see the wheels turning in his head, 'Something is just not right about this,' he seemed to think. After a couple minutes he came back inside reporting that he wanted his clothes back on. Ian... he's so modest. Good job buddy.
One evening, my brother let his boys have a sleep over with us. In the morning, I took the kids to a park. Here are a couple shots from our park visit.
Ella looks so cute. She kinda reminds me of her Gammy with that cool California smile and sparkly blue eyes and blond hair.
Here's the rest of the gang on one of the climbing structures.
Another day was spent have water fun in Calvin and Carol's backyard. I don't know who had more fun, the kids, Calvin, or Carol and I, the observers.
They had a few slip 'n' slides lined up next to each other. Ideally there were about 2 lanes for the "big kids" and 2 for the little kids. My brother Calvin has never been one to shy away from water games. He was right in the midst, the ringleader and comic relief of it all. I could NOT stop laughing.
My kids were obviously not as experienced on the slip 'n'slides since they were not brave enough to "Superman" it and just land on their bellies. Instead, Brooklyn would first land on her knees, then lean forward.
There were plenty of races, big and small.
Did I mention that Ian had a cute little shadow? I thought I had framed the perfect picture with the two of them, but when I asked Ian to smile, he had to make things difficult and look away/NOT cooperate. He relocated a couple of times and Ella was right behind him following his cues of non-cooperation and no smiles.
A lovely action shot of Calvin
Ian and Ella fighting over a scarf.
Okay, I think I need to start a portfolio. This next one is just too classicly cute and colorful.
Friday evening my parents and I brought a bunch of the cousins to the Monrovia Street Fair. I was at first hesitant, but it was another highlight of our stay that I will never forget.
Here's my Dad holding hands with four of the kids. It was so cute, though not practical of them to walk this way. I thought it was really cool of my parents to treat the kids to some fun activities like horse-back riding.
There were 6 ponies in all, so when we were up, we filled all but one of them. My camera was running out of the batteries so the shots were very delayed. Behind Caleb you can see Ian and Brooklyn on their horses.

Then the two girls (Brooklyn and Ella) went to the petting zoo with me and my mom. Brooklyn was in heaven. Here's a lamb nibbling her ear while Brooklyn's holding a bunny. Their fur was super soft.
Ella would touch them hesitantly, occasionally.
Brooklyn couldn't get enough of the furry little four-legged friends.
Ella wanted to sit in a little blue chair, but wasn't quite so hot on holding the bunnies. She endured briefly though.

Brooklyn with the "BIG" bunny
and a chick
Now we were back home again to attend our own ward on Sunday. This was our last car-ride with Ella. It was so much quieter on the way home...We noticed her absence in the silence and missed her right away.
Ella, we love you and we had A BALL! :)

The Belle of the Ball

2011-08-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

We adopted our niece Ella Badger for a couple of weeks this summer and had more than a few fun adventures with her. We affectionately called her "Ella the Bella the Ball" Here are some pictures for the proof.
Ella was very adaptable to her new environment, thankfully and she embraced having a "big sister" who dressed her up in costumes... and "did" her hair.
Here's Ella's famous monkey friend. P.S. The next few photos were shot by Brooklyn.
While attending a BBQ at one of our friends' house, Brooklyn and Ella were each given a cute flower to take home.
Here are a few bathroom essentials just in case we forget to document things like these...
Brooklyn models her sparkly shoes with Ian's bike in the background.
This is the morning when I had a few extra co-op kids. We took a wagon ride to the mall and played in some water by a statue. Livia thought it was time to bathe, apparently.
Here we are at SeaWorld. The walrus mascot was just about the only stranger that Ella did NOT warm up to.
We watched a pet show there at SeaWorld. At the end, the kids got to go up to the stage and pet all the pets. Brooklyn as always, was the most brave about touching these furry friends.

This is just a funny random pic. of Ian after he polished off a fudgesicle.

These are the Moments...

2011-08-14T23:35:00.000-07:00

I can't stand waiting to publish this picture from this morning's drive to church. Who can't smile when they see this? Love those cuties.Our ride home from church however, was a much quieter jaunt without Ella. Her real mom and dad picked her up during church. I guess we couldn't claim her as our own forever even though we tried/pretended she was part of our family for a couple of weeks. ;)

Courtney's Wedding Reception

2011-08-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

The happy couple

Alyssa's first "slow dance"
She was all smiles.
beautiful pastel flowers
the cake
the backyard
the candy shoppe
the vintage photo, inspired by the vintage-themed reception
Ryan and his wife Chantal
The first dance of the evening was sung by Tracy. This was our vantage point. You'll find Tracy way in the background.
During the lovely musical number, Drew was experiencing a major sugar high. He was all jittery. Literally. He could not stand still. Stephen and I were cracking up. Stephen also heard Drew say, about the song that Tracy was singing, "She's been practicing that one in the car." Hilarious.
the happy Badger family
the entrance

Colorful Dinner

2011-08-14T23:00:00.001-07:00

I had to take a picture of the pretty colors and different textures of this dinner before it disappeared. I believe it was peach-glazed pork tenderloin with beans, green beans, and mashed sweet potatoes.

July 4th

2011-08-14T22:27:00.001-07:00

In my mind, Badger reunions come in 2 or 3 varieties. First there is the every-other-Christmas get together which usually takes place in DeRidder, Louisiana. Next there is the "some-one's-getting-married" reunion. Finally there's the more informal reunion, which lacks no amout of pressure to attend by the blood Badger spouse which reunion is called "Mom and Dad and Kimberly's family...(then quickly everyone else is added to the list) are ALL going to be in Utah, we GOTTA go!" We do appreciate Bethany and her tireless smile and willingness to sacrifice her house for these 3rd type of occasions. We had a great time bonding with all Badgers in attendance. As always, we missed those who could not attend.
This is a park near Bethany's house where we all played after our afternoon BBQ.
Taber has got a knack for frisbee-throwing!
The moms and babies camped out on the grass and supervised the kids on the playground.
The Fowler kids dominated the jungle gym, especially Bridger who crawled in and out, up and down and around those monkey bars as if there was nothin' to it!

I loved this sight. Bridger and Brooklyn attending to baby Gwenevere.

This was the second of 3 stops for us on our 4th of July. This is the back yard of my aunt Barbara and Uncle Morris's house in Provo. The 4th is a standard celebration here because it is also Uncle Morris' birthday. Sadly, Morris and Barbara are not pictured here.
Cameron McKendrick (my brother's 3rd and youngest boy) charmed me with his brown eyes, thin, stick-straight hair, and bright blue Bruins T-shirt.
The amazingly delicious and festive cake. Not pictured: the equally amazing and yummy home-made by Aunt Ruth corn dogs.
Visiting Temple Square in S.L.C. was a fun outing. I just wish I had thought to recharge my camera battery the night before! By the time we got to our first real destination, my camera was useless.
I really appreciated the opportunity to see the new Joseph Smith movie in the Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg. while Rebecca and others (Jana? Kimberly? Am I missing someone else?) stayed behind and tended a BIG batch of little kids. Thank you, ladies!

This and That

2011-08-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here are Ian, Lilly, and Brooklyn on the steps enjoying a snack while my mom, my sister and I did some sewing/dress-making for Tracy's crew.
I made BBQ pork ribs for the first time because I happened to find them on super sale. I don't know why I'm such a foody gal, but it was so exciting for me try something new that I felt like my husband would appreciate. It would definitely be a considered "manly" dinner that I normally don't cook, because it's centered on red meat. I usually try to be healthy with leaner, different meat, not so much of it, and lots of different fresh veggies and grains. Luckily, he doesn't usually complain. Yummy garlic mashed potatoes, black beans, and cole slaw served as sides. Thanks for the pointers on the ribs, Alice, a.k.a. Sister Rodney. They were delish! Ian loved them too. He kept calling them bones. And thank you Stephen for taking the kids swimming while I finished cooking! :)

Our Staycation

2011-08-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Stephen fills up at Phil's BBQ.
I chatted on the phone about some exciting news with a friend. I am embarassed to admit that this was terrible, horrible, no good, VERY bad date etiquette! I am so glad that my husband is so forgiving and the food was so delicious... I owe you a better dinner date, Sweetie! ;)
Turtles at the new Turtle Reef Exhibit @ SeaWorld.
It was fun to go at night, without the kids! :)
The dolphin show, with acrobatics.

Besides doing SeaWorld, we visited the beach, exercised together in the mornings (after sleeping in 'till 9ish - what a treat!), cleaned the house without kids (also an exciting adventure for me because it STAYED clean!), went to the temple, ate out every night at places that were recommended by friends, and listened to 80's music in the car ride back to Vista to pick our kids. I had a super long list of other fun things I wanted to do, but we weren't so great about scheduling ahead, and we did sleep in and work out every morning, so that sort of put us on the late start track.... Needless to say, we had an enjoyable, relaxing 3 days to reconnect and pretend we had not a care in the world.

La Jolla Shores with Grammy

2011-08-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

Grammy requested that we experience the beach while she visited so of course we did! There was more of cool breeze here than beaches in the south. She was glad to have layered up. Now that it's August, our weather is finally feeling more like a warm 85-degree day... as opposed to a cool, wintery 63 degree day. It's so rough to live in a place that has year-round sweater weather!

Sunday Afternoon (2 Months ago!)

2011-08-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how overdue my posts are, here they are anyway....
This was after church the weekend that Grammy and Grandad were here. The classic comment of the day from Ian was, while sitting in the pew @ church, "Mom, you're a LION!" I'm sure it was my hair that earned that one.
Speaking of hair...my earring got caught in Brooklyn's hair between photos and Evelyn kept snapping away. It makes a kind of funny picture story though.
Ian could NOT part with that fire hat.

The Grand Del Mar

2011-07-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed touring the beautiful grounds of the Grand Del Mar Hotel where Grammy and Grandad stayed during their visit for Grandad's conference. So fancy! So not someplace we'd be staying on our own dime! Maybe someday... here's for dreaming, right?
Evelyn and I posing by the pot full of fresh blooming roses.
Mr and Mrs. Badger, twice.
Engagement photo, anyone? Ha! No, I think engagement pictures need to be a little more lovey-dovey with an occasional shot of kissy-face.

Aaaah. The fountain of youth! It almost looks like we're young enough to not have a care in the world. Wait a minute. Not possible. We have children.
"Put that camera away and enjoy the movie already!" Okay, you should all know by now that I can't just put my feet up and watch a movie while someone else is staying up watching my kids at their house! Not even that. I just can't usually sit still long enough to just watch a movie. I've got issues, I know.
Good ol' Clint Eastwood.
Thanks for the delightful evening and dinner, Ted and Evelyn! The food was so delicious! I wished I would have eaten it a bit more slowly. That fancy fish fillet just vanished way too quickly off my plate! It was sweet of y'all to let me sample your stuff though. ;) And Grammy, I give you props for sharing your dessert with no one. I love a woman who knows when to put her foot down. ;)

Reading Time

2011-07-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

This scene was found one afternoon during the visit. I loved it. Thanks for sharing with us your love of learning and reading, Grammy and Grandad! What a legacy!

Sea World

2011-07-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

After the "big" preschool graduation, Grammy and Grandad treated us to SeaWorld. This was a huge treat for us because in the 3 years we've lived in San Diego, this was our first visit to Sea World. Interesting fact: SeaWorld is about 10 miles away from us. Basically, we've only bought zoo passes to this point because they're so much cheaper. Why is it that sometimes I feel like a tourist in my own city???
The Shamu show was pretty sweet.
Here's one of the whales splashing the audience.
This is a viewpoint of the big tanks where the killer whales chill while they're not performing in a show. Of course while we viewed, we heard and read some interesting facts about killer whales....Somebody stop me before I bust out the whale trivia!
Here was a cute coincidence. This little girl we bumped into was wearing the exact same shirt as Brooklyn. Her parents were much more doting than we are with our tomboy Brooklyn. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, and did she know how to pose for a picture or what? Her mother or grandmother shared with us that this little girl had just filmed a commercial the day before. I wish I remembered which one, some Maytag commercial or something if I recall correctly.
Here was one of the oldest whales at the park. He likes to bob up and down in the water. Funny, no?
I was pretty impressed by these acrobats performing in the style of Cirque de Soliel.
Below is another scene from the show.
Brooklyn checked out the starfish in "Discovery Reef." I'm embarassed to admit that I totally played the unintentional starfish police b/c I heard a worker announce that the starfish needed to be kept inside the water in order to "breathe." Kids kept wanting to pick them up and take them out of the water to pose for pictures though. So I got worried whenever I saw some kid grab one out of the water. I tried to hold back, but couldn't keep it down, "I think those are supposed to stay in the water so they can breathe." I'm sure the starfish survived though.

Seeing everyone else pick them up, Brooklyn tried the same thing. Don't worry, I was right there to defend the little 5-pointed animal! You can thank me later, little guy!
The "Sea Lions Live" show. It was pretty funny because it parodied many of the other shows at the park. I finally learned the difference between Sea Lions and Seals. Not that it was part of the show, but my friend Lucynthia shared this with me on my more recent trip to SeaWorld. Sea Lions have longer limbs, flaps over their ears, and the use their fins to maneuver. Seals have shorter limbs, move in floppy motions without much help from their short limbs, and they have no flaps over their ears. So basically, I just remember that Sea Lions do things closer that of 4-legged animals like lions. They use their limbs.
All in all, this was a wonderful, pleasant, entertaining, and MUCH overdue trip to SeaWorld made possible by our ever overly-generous Grammy and Grandad. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures with THEM facing the camera at SeaWorld, but the next post will surely compensate for that as we got plenty of photo ops at our nice dinner at their hotel. ;)

Preschool Graduation

2011-07-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

Grammy and Grandad were supportive enough to join the early-morning graduation ceremony at the high school where Brooklyn attended preschool. I'm sure it rivaled in pomp, triumph, and achievement David's medical school graduation that they attended earlier in the week. Or not. We enjoyed their presence and their support nevertheless.
After the ceremony, Ian and Graden waited patiently in line for some refreshments while the big preschooler boy ahead of them didn't notice that the line was moving ahead without him.
Here are two of Brooklyn's official preschool teachers. There were several more high school students who gave plenty of individual attention to each of the twelve preschoolers.
Here's Brookie with her buddy Ariana in front of a book display shelf.

Brooklyn gave Beck a HUGE hug goodbye. We'll miss you guys!

The kids with Ariana and her baby sister Aniyah.

Picture Book Recommendation

2011-07-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

This book's unique title caught my attention. It is not as grotesque as it seems though. It's about two animal mothers. One is very "careful" and has total control of her 8 perfect children. She persuades a toad mother (who is less perfect because her child is busy and messy) to adopt this perfectly-behaved, but abandoned child (doll-head). The only problem is that this "perfectly behaved child" never speaks, eats, or does anything but stay in one place with one expression until Eulalie (the busy/messy child of the toad mother) gets stuck inside of it and brings it to life. Mothers and children alike will appreciate this adorable tale of loving our family members, imperfection and all.

We Love You, Grandad!

2011-06-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

We have been SO SPOILED to have had personal visits by Grandad twice in the last month! Thank goodness for VHA and whatever other conference or Hospital group that just HAD to have an event in San Diego this summer! Wahoo!
Since grandad's flight was delayed a few times on his way over, he arrived right around dinner time. Naturally, our first order of business was to find some GOOD FOOD! We thought we'd hit up the famous PHIL'S BBQ, but were quickly turned away by the line that wrapped around the outside of the restaurant. Let me mention, that we found this after having first reported to a bad address. We weren't getting anxious to eat or anything... yeah right! Next choice, how about Wahoo's Fish Tacos? I think there's one in downtown La Jolla. Oh man, was parking quite the fiasco! We just took the first free 2-hour parking zone we could fine, as I shielded the men's faces from the Victoria Secret propaganda that welcomed us on the curbside. So, unfortunatly, Wahoo's would have been about a mile walk from our parking spot, so we were onto plan C. A Mexican Restuarant, recommended to us that was not far away. The food was decent, my pictures of us there was not great at all, other than it captured the colorful tile of the table. Stephen and Ted were such good sports to hold the kids on their shoulders while we wandered around like clueless tourists.
My awesome picture. YES!
Here we are dressed in our Sunday best! Ted even got to hear Stephen speak as the high council representative in our ward that day. Funny coincidence! And in case you're wondering, NO, I didn't force Brooklyn to wear THE dress again. I think she actually likes it!
We hadn't seen enough of Grandad yet, so we had to venture off and test out the pool at his hotel the next day (Monday). The pictures are out of order here because we swam before the carriage ride and dinner. Actually, Stephen and the kids swam. I chatted with Cindy about her move to Louisiana from Virginia.
There's Grandad's hotel, the Marriot, from a little distance away.
Speaking of SPOILED...I had Brooklyn pose by this horse-drawn carriage just for the picture. However, Grandad had to escort us all in and treat us to a nice little old-fashioned stroll around the park!
We saw a nicely dressed wedding party taking some pictures. Most of them, particularly the men, were very drunk. I am so glad that was not our wedding story.
Here was my scene as I chatted with Cindy. I am so glad Stephen is such a great sport about taking the kids swimming. It wasn't the warmest evening. In fact, it rained the next day.
Here's the inside of the Fish Market restaurant. I was in 7th Heaven! I love eating fish and feel so jazzed when I get the opportunity to indulge...especially when I'm not the chef. The decor was, well, as you can see, fishy. There were replicas of Marlins and old photos of fishermen doing their thing in good ol' San Diego. One thing that I had no idea about was that TUNA fish are huge, huge huge!
Brooklyn and Ian saw a live lobster.
And on our way back, we had to take a quik pic. of this boat because of it's name. I'm wearing a little white flower that Brooklyn picked for me on the way home.

Grandad, thanks for the visit and for treating us to dinner!

The Co-Op Crew

2011-06-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

It was a great day for earning lots of tickets! Thanks for the handy home made wooden wagon Dad. It really comes in handy on days like this!

The story
So I decided to fill in someone else's shift for co-op this day. And what a day it was! I had a total of 5 extra kids (7 including my own). The other child not shown is in a Baby Bjorn that I am wearing. I got QUITE a few long stares at the mall as we all paraded through. I thought it would be a great idea to let them run around in the children's play area. However, once we got there, the children gradually drifted away from the designated play structures to explore all kinds of various other sights, in all directions away from the play area, so I had to abruptly end the phone conversation with my sister and corral the children back into the wagon for the return trip home. A week or so later, my sister called me with the exciting news that her two new next door neighbors (Pip just moved to a house in Murrieta) were not only members of the church, but also involved in money-saving baby-sitting co-op. Lucky for her, she had a small taste of the experience vicariously through me. We both had a good laugh about it.

Mother's Day

2011-05-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! (Belated) I love being a mom!
I am so thankful that my mom passed on to me her LOVE of sewing. It is such a fun creative outlet for me. However, I'm not so great with deadlines, self-imposed or not...Hence our Christmas dresses became Mother's Day dresses! But I like to pretend that it was planned that way all along. Really though, too many other pressing matters, projects, and activities got in the way! A diaper bag, a pioneer trek, a 5th b-day party, etc., etc. Life. You gotta love it!
I wouldn't be a mother without these two handsome fellows! Thanks for making every day a Mother's Day, Steve-bo! I am so spoiled to have actually landed myself a guy who regularly washes the dinner dishes, takes out the trash (with only a few "gentle" reminders), and does the laundry. Oh my! What did I do to deserve this? I pitty the poor fool who tries to date my daughter! Unfortunately, her daddy has set the bar pretty high!
Ok, so next time I'll try to keep little Ian Buddy in mind when planning the coordinating wardrobe. In the meantime, you rock those hand-me down Sunday clothes like no other, little boy! We still love you!

Our Days in May

2011-05-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Watermelon. YUM!
Here are pictures from the Fathers and Children camp out. I love our ward. It was a great Mother's Day present to have a little time off. Never mind the fact that I accomplished none of the planned sewing and cleaning tasks. I did, however, enjoy lots of time lounging around with my lady friends, sipping smoothies, planning date-night babysitting swaps and having a brunch party with gourmet treats made by Lu!
I have to narrate this picture above. Stephen says it went a little something like this, "Hey Ian, stand in from of the tent for a picture!"
"No, Dad!" Ian loves to run. Even more than that, he loves to be chased! He cracks me up. Speaking of running and chasing, his favorite "hiding spots" that he runs to when being chased or doing naughty things like eating butter straight from the stick are under the dining room table, under the piano, or behind the rocking chair. Sneaky, sneaky!
Brooklyn sportin' the trusty headlamp. Ian is eating who-knows-what.
The "sleeping" arrangements. HA!
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a pleasant rest!
Thank you Crestline for hosting yet another ward camp out.
Ian loves sticks! They are so handy and versatile. Mostly, they stand in as swords. He carries them with him in either a pant pocket or the ankle band of a sock.
The other day, Ian grabbed a 3-pack of small, colorful rubber-scrapers from the shelf @ Target. I thought to myself, 'Lame impulse buy, but sure! I could use a few of these since my miniature one at home is broken.' Come to find out, Ian thought I was buying him a 3-pack of new swords! When not in his pockets, I'll find them stashed under the piano alongside a play plastic slotted serving spoon, also another "weapon" of choice. I'll save the knife stories for another posts. This kid is ALL BOY!
Here's Brooklyn checking out a fancy dancy telescope at the observatory by the campsite. I should NOT mention this, but in case you think I didn't notice or that I think my children are perfectly well mannered, Ian is digging for gold in the background.

Happy Easter!

2011-05-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

Surprise! I decided to let my supermodel sis. and her daughter DAISY represent this smattering of family photos! My guess is that some of you thought that either you landed on the wrong blog or that I went for a hair, face, and full-body make-over! ;)
You'll find the less glamorous sister (that would be me) with the hubby and kids below. :)

Here I'm trying to procure a smile with a smooch!
Ian with the boys.
My brother and his supermodel wife and stunningly well-coordinated Easter clothes. Check out the bow tie on the little guy. Mom, you rock!

The proud grandparents claim their 7 grandkids under the age of seven.
Sisters Lilly and Daisy. So precious!
The biggest and smallest girl cousins. The only other little girl, Lilly, wasn't too interested in the camera at the moment.
The Badger kids. I think Ian was just bribed to smile for some candy.
Pip, Jeff, and their 2 flowers
The happy egg/basket hunter
Ian buddy with his basket
The big girls with our matching shirts. Thanks Mrs. Easter Bunny!

Popsicles

2011-05-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Beach Weather, Briefly

2011-05-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

The Trek

2011-05-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

The second week of April, Stephen and I became "Ma" and "Pa" Badger to a group of youth in our stake. It was quite the authentic pioneer adventure! I had no idea that we'd be treking in super dense fog one day, and tredging through snow the next. It was just so fabulous to know that we were doing this for "fun" and not "for real." Wow. I have so much more respect for those wonderful pioneer ancestors of ours!
Before the trek began, we had several preparations to make, including a family flag. I went a little overboard on the detail. I know this surprises you all. Here's our group on one of the days when it was totally foggy. Can you see that most of our pioneer outfits were totally swallowed up by our modern coats and cold-weather gear. Good thing I spent so much time on the flag that I did not end up making my own pioneer costume, but borrowing one from the stash Grandma Grace had made for Aunt Margaret's seminary class. Sadly, the skirt and apron now have a recently added band of beautiful brown "prairie lace" (stained mud and dirt) to boot.
Here are some of the horses we passed at Riley Farms, the ranch that hosted our Trek.

See this kid? He's showing how the fog is so dense that the edge of the path looked like a great abyss.
We all just kept warm as best as we could. See one of the family flags on the back of that wagon? It was really cute. It had a lamb and a lion on it.
This is Sister Arrington, our ASL interpreter for the deaf "daughter" in our group.
I tried to keep our spirits up by singing pioneer songs from the songbook they gave us all. Unfortunately, our group wasn't too into it, so I mostly felt geeky singing by myself or with one or two other people. Awesome.
Here's a temporary pet lizard that was acquired along the way.
The Arrington Family walked ahead of us in this picture. Our interpreter was the daughter-in-law of President and Sister Arrington. It was President Arrington that called Stephen to the high council.
Here's another view of other handcarts behind us.
Here's the biggest Red Rover game I've ever seen played during a lunch break one day. See the storm clouds looming?
Here's a picture of one of the handcarts fording the river on a raft that the men put together. I was happy to help out in the effort by supplying the men with a spool of thread which was attached to an arrow which was shot across the river. The other end of the thread was tied to some twine, then the other end of the twine was attached to a rope which eventually pulled the raft across the river.

Here's the beautiful scene to which we awoke to the next morning. We were not surprised at all though because while the majority of the trekkers spent the night in a crowded barn, Stephen and I decided to have a quiter night and a softer floor outside. We pitched our tent under the roof of a wooden patio area.
Here's one of our boys standing just outside of the barn where people slept warmly. Neither the barn sleepers nor the tents got much sleep at all that night!
REAL ICICLES!

The skies cleared somewhat, but the trail was still super slushy and filled with muddy potholes. YES! Our favorite!
Stephen enjoyed a nice little snowball fight. The boys quickly learned that this Badger does NOT back down.
See the tussled hair and red splotchy skin? All signs of a fun little play fight!

Badgers at Home

2011-04-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

Here are Ian's locks before they got all chopped off. They were cute like this, but of course, they never looked this way outside of the tub.
Here is our cobb salad dinner after the last session of conference. I think I've done this dinner at this time before. I don't know what it is about the good word of the gospel, but it sometimes whispers "cobb salad" to me at the end of a nice long weekend of general conference.
After dinner we headed out to the beach to try catching a sunset. It was okay, but nothing amazing like the ones our friend Aaron Rutman catches on his camera. You can peruse his website here. I have ordered a couple of his prints that are now hanging in my dining room and they have definitely raised the bar for my expectation of a San Diego sunset.

Size Matters!

2011-04-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

I never knew that there was this little nook at the zoo that I haven't seen yet. It's been around forever, and I was really impressed by the awesome reptiles that we saw there. First of, the Komodo Dragon - super cool! I don't think I've ever seen a 4-legged reptile this big before. I've only heard of them/seen them before on a coloring page, but who knew that there'd be such a random and awesome creature at OUR zoo?
After seeing this at the zoo, we found a library book entitled Komodo! by Peter Sis that Brooklyn is loving thanks to this live encounter. The book also has some interesting facts, which of COURSE I will share with you all because I know you're dying to hear them! (Wink,wink! Skip ahead if you're bored already.)
Komodo Monitors/ "Dragons"...
1. Are giant monitor lizards with bodies that can be up to 9 feet long and weigh 300 pounds.
2. Are the sole survivor s of the carnivorous dinosaurs that thrived in tropical Asia 130 million years ago. They are considered to e the last of their kind inhabiting the world today. They are extinct everywhere except on the island of Komodo (in Indonesia)
3. Can go up to 1 1/2 months without water.
4. Can kill water buffalo 15 times their weight. They often strike their prey with their tails.
5. Unlike other reptiles, their body temperature remains uniform day and night.
6. Have a lifespan of about 50 years.
7. Shed their skin in February.
8. Can maneuver in so many ways! They are swift runners. They also swim, dive, dig, walk on two feet (now this I'd love to see!) and climb.

Another fun find: The Galapagos Turtles. From the Zoonooz magazines, I've read that several decades ago, children were allowed to actually pose for pictures on the shells of the real turtles here at the zoo. Now they only have some bronze statues for more animal-friendly photo ops. Brooklyn shares her shades with one such below.

Don't these kids look so innocent and loving? You'd never guess that we rushed out of the house that morning to divert any continued contention between the two of them.
Apparently, the different shells identify the islands from which each of the turtles came.
Speaking of larger than life animals, these turtles are huge too! Their shells can measure up to 6 feet long and 4 feet wide, and the whole animal can weigh 600 pounds. Beyond that, they can live up to 150 years. Some of the fellas here are already over 100 years old! They are the top herbivore on the volcanic islands where they live and they don't have much competition for food!
Amazing that something so OLD and slow moving can be such a "top dawg" in his neck of the woods!
We also checked out some other lizards and geckos. Of course it was exactly noon, so the sun was blazing overhead and consequently, the shadows were sharp and telling. Here's one, it's called "Desi looks like a total tourist."
The kids didn't mind the heat though, they were mesmerized by even the seemingly every-day desert-dwelling reptiles. You've gotta feel for us though, we're "suffering" at anything above 80 degrees here.
Oh, so I did include that picture of the Galapagos Turtle sign! It's basically my source for the facts listed a few photos back.
There was also another indoor hall of more reptiles. I love the Holly Hobby (is that what the 80's doll with the bonnet, or am I confusing it with the craft store in Louisiana?) look that Ian is sporting here.
Aaaah! The zoo. We call it our classroom away from home!

Odds and Ends

2011-04-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

On St. Patrick's Day this year, I decided to dye the oatmeal green. The kids have not stopped asking to dye their oatmeal EVERY morning now. Of course, they want to select the colors themselves and man the droppers. I am anticipating some "accidentally" dyed clothing or other body parts. So far, they've only come away with pigmented fingertips. Finally this week I tried to regulate this dying business and am only allowing it Tues/Thrs/Sat. I am such a party pooper!

Below is a total different meal story...
While Stephen was conferencing/vacationing in Chicago, the kids and I really tried to "live it up" by having super fun dinners. Examples: corndogs one day, waffles another, mac and cheese another, and some RANDOM combination of things that Brooklyn came up with to go along with the corndogs. Here we have celery with cream cheese and strawberries and raisins. The ketchup is for the corndog, yet awfully close to that gingersnap cookie. Bordering the other side of the corndog is a strawberry between a bunch of raisins and craisins. Watch out Bobby Flay!
Here's the kids with my completed diaper bag project for Rebecca just outside the post office before we mailed it off. Now I finally feel like I have appropriately thanked her for watching my kids last summer while Stephen and I gallivanted around Yosemite. ;)

'Tis the Season

2011-04-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

Of the STRAWBERRY! I love these little gems, especially when they go on crazy sale for less than a dollar a pound! I always tell myself that I'm going to make some strawberry jam with them, but they never last long enough for me to break out all the gear for that process. Either that or I'm just too lazy - probably the latter! Pictured below is one of my flavorite snacks! Toast with peanut butter, sliced fresh strawberries, and honey. Yum!
Here are some interesting facts that I learned about strawberries:
1. They are beach bums! They thrive in areas with mild temperatures between 55 and 78 degrees.
2. California harvests 83% of the strawberries grown in the U.S. on 24,500 acres. Florida is the second largest producing state with 5,000 acres.
3. Strawberries are "early risers" or one of the first fruits to bloom in the spring. Their peak season is April - June. During this time, up to 10 million pint baskets are shipped daily.
4. They are most people's favorite fruit. Respondents to a recent national survey labeled strawberry lovers as "health conscious, fun loving, intelligent and happy." Non-strawberry lovers, on the other hand, were described as "weird, boring, stuffy--picky, fussy eaters who avoid healthy foods."
5. They are not considered true berries because they carry their seeds on the outside unlike blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Each strawberry contains, on average, about 200 of these yellow "seeds" on their exterior.
6. Strawberries are a good source of folic acid (dig in, pregnant ladies!), fiber, and potassium.
7. American Cancer Institute suggests that strawberries may reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.
8. Strawberry juice combined with honey will reduce inflammation or sunburn.
9. Strawberries have long been associated with love and flirtation. In France, they are traditionally served at wedding breakfasts with a soup of thinned sour cream and powdered sugar.

You can read more interesting facts and find my source from here.

A Day at the Races

2011-04-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, our primary held a car race activity.
After a few hours of carefully wrapping this cardboard in cheap gift-wrapping paper, I thought I had a decent looking toy car. When we arrived, we had another thing coming!
Can I just say that all of the most creative parents in the world live in my ward? Seriously. This is ridiculous! I tried to talk the "competition" out of this whole affair with Brooklyn as we built the car, but nothing could have prepared me for the mighty masterpieces that awaited us in the cultural hall that day. We had a bat mobile, a Hummer with real head and tail lights, a couple of old classic cars, a Ferrari, a Jeep, and a fire engine.
There were not a few, but many cars that were built with great detail and assembled to look like real models of existing cars! A few of them were made mostly by the children and even those were pretty impressive!
This just is one small example of how our creation stacked up against the others. Here we have scale-models of a Ferari and a Jeep! I really should have used a glue gun and spray paint. It was so much more effective, as shown here! After this activity I actually realized that I don't own a glue gun. How did that ever happen? I feel somewhat crafty, how can I truly not own a glue gun?
Do you love the personalized license plates that this brother and sister had? Even the license plate frames were customized. Max's read, "Italian Stallion" and Lia's was something about a princess in training.
Here the cars are at the "drive in" movie theater. They watched a movie/slideshow of themselves. Can you see the fire engine in the back corner?
Here Ian is donning one of those "cool cars."
You've gotta love the flames escaping from the exhaust pipes!

This and That

2011-04-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

These boys rock my world! Can you spot the blue car? Love it. And them.

The next picture shows that I don't just bake. Really, it's true! I only document my baking more often than my regular stuff. So here it is, one of my latest favorites, white chili. Big and little white beans, chicken, chili, corn, chicken broth, green chilies, and some cilantro make this flavorful and nutritious. Toppings: sour cream and cheese. We can't forget to add some fat! :)
Here's another crowd-pleasing favorite: ham and veggie mac 'n' cheese. See the spinach and carrots mixed in with the shell shaped noodles? Yum! (I think this picture was taken on the day it was eaten as a left-over. Less dishes, even better than the first round!)

Sweetness

2011-04-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

This is what my kitchen filled up with on the eve of a very important birthday! We had cupcakes up to our ears! Some for preschool, then more for the "friend party." I can't imagine how many cupcakes we'll be pumping out this time NEXT year!

Brooklyn's Birthday Bash

2011-04-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn celebrated her 5th birthday way back in March with some fun friends, games, and treats at a park. This was her very first "friend" birthday. She may need to wait another 5 years for the next one. Thank you Mom and Pip for driving down and thank you Claire (my cousin) for helping out!

We enjoyed some good ol' duck, duck goose.
I had a just a tiny bit of fun. Here I'm tagging Tate as the "goose!"
Brooklyn explained some of the rules to a game while her friends eagerly listened. Future teacher???
We had to do the traditional McKendrick birthday treasure hunt.
The treasure included gummy bears and other small treats in good ol' brown paper lunch bags.
Ian thought he was big stuff mingling with all the older kids.
Plenty of sweet treats for all!
Brooklyn here is carefully guarding the flame of her #5 candle.

This is the look of, "Hold me!" We were all partied out!

Birch Aquarium

2011-03-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

I love these silhouettes!

February was Museum month again. Needless to say, we're already looking forward to it again next year... So many places, so little time! And, we had to revisit some of our favorites! This time we went to the Birch Museum with our friend Ariana from preschool and her mom, Ivy and sister, Aniya.

Here we are doing the "one finger touch" to feel a sea cucumber. Both of my kids were brave with touching the other things, but were a little more reluctant to feel this one. It was squishy!
Below Ian is checking out one of the many tanks of seahorses. Brooklyn remembered these from last year. How could we forget the one species that has the MALE carry the baby eggs to term? Yes, we just HAD to watch the short video again. Over and over again. It is so amazing to see several teeny tiny seahorses just burst out of the male with each convulsion. Sadly, seahorses are endangered. Very few survive to adulthood and their best self defense is a good camoflauge. Their small fins make them poor swimmers, so they just wrap their little tails around the stems of stable plants for protection.
This picture of Ian cracks me up. Thanks to the C5's (Calvin, Carol, Caden, Caleb, and Cameron) Ian has some "new-to-him" accessories that have become part of his daily uniform!
Above are some starfish without the camera flash. Below are some eels with the flash. Hopefully I didn't blind the fish... Oh well they're just eels. Yuck!
Creepy, Scary, Gross! EWE! (Not the girls, of course!)
I love this HUGE aquarium. It looks so authentically ocean! Below is a little display about the glass used to make this particular tank. CRAZY STUFF! I wonder how many mad scientists and engineers, it took to create this thing? I would think that it'd be a tough job getting it right the first time!
I like all the coral in this tank below.

This picture says it all with the heart sweater. We love life, our family, and all the beautiful creations that surround us!

The New Children's Museum (of San Diego)

2011-03-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a peek at a wonderful tutorial on an artform using masking tape.
Brooklyn made two pictures. For the second attempt, she tried to mimic the sample.
This machine allowed kids to make their own "music." Each color was a different tone. The kids had to line the little statuettes up, then the conveyor belt processed them in a big blue box and the tones would come out in the order they were placed on the conveyor belt. The only thing is that there wasn't really a rhythm, but oh well. We're glad we got the passes to this place for Ian's B-day last year. The kids love to go back and visit. I love that they get to create art projects that don't destroy my carpet and furniture. :)

Popeye

2011-03-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

We have been very creative with our letter-themed share days. Every Friday at Preschool, the students may bring an object to share that either begins with the letter of the week or relates to the theme of the week. Would it be appropriate to show this picture for "M" as in muscles??? Hillarious picture anyway. You've gotta love Stephen's confidence. I could NEVER pull this look off, no matter how toned my arms were. It's the face. That is the face of confidence. At moments like these Stephen might say, "You know you love it." (My response: the eyeroll with a big funny smile.)

Valentines Dessert & Dinner

2011-03-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

As if we didn't have enough dessert on the eve of the big day, we made still more sweets for Valentines on Monday. Besides that, I had to use up all those "good sale" strawberries! Stephen and I had fun dipping them after the kids hit the hay. Brooklyn knew something scrumptious was brewing though and didn't go to bed without escaping her bedroom a few times.
For dinner we had Monterey chicken, fried rice (made with left-over Mexican rice from the night before), and a salad and veggies. Smiles all around. Brooklyn even brought her stuffed gorilla that Dad brought her home that day. Thanks for the alstromeria, Stephen. They lasted forever and were probably lots easier on our pocket book than roses!

Happy Heart Day!

2011-03-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun celebrating Valentines Day on a Sunday last year, that we had to repeat it once more! Sunday is such a great day for good ol' non-comercialized family bonding. So we started the day out with this yummy breakfast. Cover your eyes, Cindy! It's full of white flour and sugar and topped off with some homemade whipped cream! At least I threw some fresh fruit on it. That counts for something, right? Next time I'll try and throw in some whole wheat flour...maybe.

Thank goodness Brookie's v-day dress still fits and even better, she still chooses to wear it regularly to church...probably because I hound her about appreciating stuff I spend hours making for her. ;)
"No, you sit by me!" They both say to each other. These kids are stubborn!
Finally, they met somewhere in the middle. Thank goodness for compromises!
The family portrait... and Stephen must be crouching, because we all know he's taller, right?
Some candid shots of the men vying for dominance.

Finally, smiles prevail!
The gals.
The dessert I made was from the book next to the plate. The picture is on the front cover, but I changed my torte to have fresh fruits (and powdered sugar) everywhere instead of just filling the heart with cherry pie filling. Hence the heart is a little difficult to see.
My moment of baker's pride.

My New Kitchen

2011-03-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

For those of you who didn't already know, we moved. Same complex, different apartment. Reasons: to get away from too many chain-smoking neighbors and equally as wonderful, an upgraded kitchen. I am in heaven.
Can you spot what left-over dinner is heating up in the oven?
My new spice "rack." Someday the labels will be clear and beautiful, instead of trimmed-down post-its. One slow step at a time, here!
The man who made this all possible. I tell you, he is definitely a mover and a shaker! He doesn't mess around when it comes to making decisions. I guess that's why he's my better half (50% of the time, that is! J/K). If it were up to me, we'd still be back at the old place.

Quick Zoo Visit

2011-03-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

These are some poodles we met outside of the zoo. Apparently on my first draft I forgot to label this picture "LOOK-ALIKE!" The poodle owner taught me a thing or two about this breed while the kids cuddled and pet these well loved creatures. Lesson #1: these are STANDARD sized poodles. Standard is the only way they should breed, because it is the size they were intended to be in the first place. Next, poodles don't have fur, it's HAIR and it doesn't shed. Next, poodles have lots of different hair styles or cuts, but they take a lot of upkeep to keep them in those ways, so this particular "leg warmer" look (my label) is the preference of this particular owner. Also, poodles are great dogs to have because they are very gentle with humans. It was a crack up that they were dressed and treated like little kids.
Here's little Miss Sass-a-frass posing, quite appropriately (much to my chagrin) with plenty of Attitude!
Apparently Ian wasn't feeling that caterpiller-y.

Children's Museum of Escondido

2011-03-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome, February! I love that it's Museum Month here in San Diego again! This year our first stop was to the Children's Museum of Escondido. It was quite the bargain price, but then when we stepped inside I realized that the small size of the place could precisely account for the "steal of a deal." However, the kids played for hours on end because there was tons to do! Even better, the moms didn't have to cart our cargo around to different places; we could just hang out and chat forEVER on some benches in the nice warm sunlight outside. So that is exactly what we did. The kids were getting into everything that their little hands could touch, feel, grab, and manipulate without getting "busted" and without messing up our own places. What a treat for everyone!
These pictures are out of order. The aprons are from the water table.
Water is definitely NOT a welcome plaything in our home. Even big splashing at bath time has made it to the "Thou Shall Not" list of house rules.
Bubbles GALORE! Also something that takes supervision at home since we don't have a yard!
Lunch time! I love how Calvin is smiling in this picture. He and Graden both have a girl on each side of them. On another note, why I let Brooklyn out of the house with the fountain and bow hairdo, I will never know.
Is not a fireman costume the most ultra-cool thing a little boy could wear for dress-ups? Ian seems to think so.
Ah, there she is - our little STINKER!
She dressed the dog up. Very much a mother this girl is. Always wanting to take care of the little creatures.
This last picture is for the "Elder Badger" (spoken in any number of languages) who sent us the stacking babushcas that look like the one on this apron. David? Eric? We treasure those dolls!

Last Half of January

2011-03-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

You'd think we'd have taken a long sigh and recovered from the holiday festivities, but we sure did NOT! We had a warm spell in January and spent some time at the beach with friends...
If you look close, you'll see that Ian's hair is doing a serious comb-over. That's the result of me sticking his head under cold running water to rinse out what seemed to be a bucket full of sand.
We had a new friend over from preschool, Ariana. She and Brooklyn call each other "buddy." Even Ian has learned to spot Buddy's car from a mile away. "There's buddy's car!" he said as we drove the freeway home from L.A. a couple of weeks ago. It took me a minute to figure out what he was saying. Then I just had to laugh. What a car guy. Thanks, Dad and Ted!
Speaking of the little guy and his obsession with wheels. Have I ever mentioned that he loves to charm the ladies? It must be how he earned this sweet ride on a busy weekend when this wagon was being used to cart stuff over to our new apartment. (For those of you who have our address, everything is the same except we're now apt. #310 instead of #324...Details later.)
And lastly, we made sure to stop at In-N-Out once or twice. Now that's what a hamburger's all about!

January: Home Again

2011-02-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

Badger Town, USA

2011-02-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

The Final Moments of a few Beautiful Wrapped Gifts

2011-02-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Louisiana Christmas Nativity

2011-02-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Louisiana Christmas Part 1

2011-02-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Two Tough Cookies

2011-02-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

Ho, Ho, Ho!

2011-02-07T22:12:00.000-08:00

Four Women and a lot of Children

2011-02-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

Back in December, my sweet friends and college buddies Tiffany and Jennette road tripped it down to San Diego with their 6 (total) children to visit Mandy (also a college buddy) and me. We had enough children between the 4 of us to create a regular preschool.Here are the moms and our offspring...
It really is crazy to see that some of my friends have really kicked up the mommy gear and already have a full brood. Tiffany (on the left) has four kids already and her oldest one is about 6 weeks older than my oldest. To her credit, she has the most darling little set of fraternal twins.
The kids loved playing on the mounds of sand. Apparrently I'm the "lenient parent" who let them roll around in it and then watch them bound off to toward the ocean.
Who can resist running wild and free on a long stretch of beach? I just read a picture book about Walt Whitman tonight (it was one from my old classroom library) and he ran on "private beaches" all the time, naked! At least we kept the little ones clothed!

Gratitude

2011-02-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

The turkey, stuffing, potatoes, spinach casserole, raspberry pretzel jello, and pies were amazing. Unfortunately, the only pictures to be found from this weekend of feast were of this scene of a homemade princess game. I am thankful for family games, traditional and unique.

Birthday WEEK!

2010-11-22T23:04:00.001-08:00

I know the green boogie is a little too much information, but it's a sad truth that we've all passed around that lovely changing-of-the-seasons cold even during birthday week! Stephen, Ian and I all have birthdays to celebrate within 5 days. I'm the lucky one with the job of planning "sufficient celebrations" for the three of us while still leaving room in our budget for Christmas and anniversary in December. Lucky for us, Brooklyn has been cheerleading our every candle-blowing, red-plate-using event without too much jealousy. She creatively finds ways to steal the show, I mean participate in all the fun. The morning of Ian's b-day, I told her that I was bringing cupcakes to the stroller group. As I was gathering stuff up, she came out dressed to party, like so. She is a barrel of laughs, that girl!
Ian's b-day got the biggest formal recognition on his b-day this year because we went as a family, on his b-day, to the Children's Museum in downtown San Diego. It was our first time, and we were not disappointed. I'm cracking up at the thought that Stephen is probably wearing the EXACT same work outfit as he sported last year at Ian's b-day. Can you tell he took a short break from his workday to celebrate with us?
These chariots were fun!
Brooklyn was in heaven with crafts galore! Here she's learning how to create a birdhouse.
There was some artwork on display on that tree. So cute and crafty, yet super modern looking in the building.
Outdoors, Ian and Lilly (cousin) played with clay. My sister, her two girls, and my mom joined us there at the museum, THANKS GALS! I'm loving that tradition they started last year of coming down to celebrate with Ian on his big b-days!
This was the rain house. There was water sprinkling up from the roof, then running down to the drains which then recycled the water back up through the sprinkler system on the roof. It made a cool sound inside and the kids had these big puzzle mats to play with inside of the house.
Ian and his grandma checked out the Trojan horse.
They also gave the climbing wall a whirl.
Stephen and Brookie created a flying turkey out of paper cups.
Ian and Lilly near the felt wall with Nienie
The outdoor bubble station
The artist at work
Good-bye! We'll be back soon!
Ian thought he was sooo cool sticking his legs into these holes in the sidewalk where the trees stood.
The tool belt.
And the harmonica that he couldn't part with
Happy Birthday, big guy!

Abby's 4th B-day

2010-11-22T22:53:00.000-08:00

It was so fun to celebrate Abby's birthday at her Cinderella party. Christy (Abby's mom) was so sweet to include both of my kids on the invite and in her planning of the goody bags. Brooklyn got Cinderella stuff while Ian's trinkets were all Mickey Mouse. The Cinderella cake was so delicious! I ate the whole chunk that was sent home for the family to "share." Oops!
I am cracking up at the progression of Ian's faces in these pictures.
There's our birthday girl in front! It was a beautiful day at the park by the beach.
Sometimes Brooklyn is a little too helpful in unveiling the gift despite my many reminders to "Step away from the present," and "Let Abby open her own gift, please!"

New Arrival

2010-11-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

Here he is, the newest arrival to the Thack Shack! Congratulations, Maren and Brian! Brooklyn insisted that I take a picture of this little guy when I went and visited him for the first time since she couldn't come with me. Brian and Maren used to be Brooklyn's sunbeam teachers, now they get to be first time parents, Yay!

Halloween Under the Sea

2010-11-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

Please excuse my shiny-ness. Ursala was fresh from the ocean I guess! Sorry Stephen, next year I will really try harder to get your costume done. In the meantime, we just have to pretend that there was a USC fan in The Little Mermaid movie. Stephen, the fan, was the man behind the camera and therefore was not pictured here. :( Usually that's my job, right?
Here I'm wrangling the kids and you can see my tentacles better. I credit Stephen with the creation of my shell necklace. I had the shell but couldn't find a way to connect it to a string. He got a Halloween necklace from the kids trick-or-treat bag, and I was able to wedge the plastic Frankenstein pedent up into the shell to hold the weight of the shell.
The picture above wasn't the greatest of the kids, but I like how it shows the cool backdrop that was created for our ward trunk-or-treat party. The activities committee got all high-tech this year and had a photographer who put the pictures up on some website that everyone can see. (Once I get that website address from Stephen, I'll do one of those nifty little "click here" links.) The next photo is better of the kids faces, but the color is off. These, by the way, are NOT the professional ones.
My personal favorite family theme this year was the family who dressed as characters from the movie UP. Sister Gemlich - oh my stinkin' creative and ambitious - was KEVIN! Please tell me you've all seen the movie! The life-size costume of that bird was AMAZING!
She used a bunch of feather boa's to cover the body (a pillow case, sinched at the top) and the neck and face were made out of paper mache! Genius! Pictured above are Russel the boyscout, Kevin the bird, Carl the 83-year old grandpa (and his walker with tennis balls in the background), and Dug the dog.
In the picture below, you can see an airbender in the background. This costume was made by my friend Aurora. The Airbender's (Aurora's son) is our friend Ezra. Do you remember the picture of the big brown-eyed baby Lorenzo a few posts back? Ezra is his big brother.
Next we have Emilee who created a basketball with her belly. The coolest thing is that this (unbeknown to her at the time) was her last day of being pregnant! She gave birth the very next day on Halloween! What a trooper! She makes being pregnant look so easy!
Flounder saying, "Trick or Treat?" (The head piece was too small to close in the front even though I made the largest size and only sewed tiny seams.
The back view of Flounder. Oops! I forgot too add another fin on top.
This next little guy is Keaton dressed as a jockey! My friend Michele had a cute hat that she wanted to use for a jockey costume. We brainstormed how to make Keaton a silky jocky shirt and she ended up picking up 3 different silky clothes from a thrift store. We then pieced them together on a onsie. Shona, the dog, played the prize-winning horse.
I just couldn't believe how creative people got this year! We had the Flinstone family, a ship of Vikings, a blue angel jet, conversation hearts, Rocky (the boxer), Dorothy and the scarecrow and lion from Oz, all show up to trunk-or-treat. It was a feast for the eyes! I couldn't stop gawking and staring and asking questions. Consequently, my pictures are a little lacking, sorry! (That, and Ursula didn't come together 'till after the party started. Another story entirely...)

Goodbye All-Saints!

2010-11-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn just completed a short two-month stent at All-Saints Preschool. We only lasted that long because All-Saints began in September, while the high school preschool, which had us on the waiting list, didn't begin until November. The high school preschool called us late September to notify us that we were in, so we had to give our month's notice at All-Saints, and we were sad to say goodbye. The highschool preschool begins in November and there are only 12 students that they accept each year. The class is a lab for a high school class that is learning about child development. The perks of the high school preschool is that it is much much more affordable, even though All-Saints was the next least expensive option. Another thing is that to go the "economy" route, we only signed up for two days a week at All-Saints while we're going to the high school four days a week now, and are still paying less than half the price.
Even though I sometime teased Brooklyn about the very loose academic structure at All-Saints, the staff was so warm and friendly. The administrator would greet all of the children by name every day as they all filed through her office to go to their various rooms. Also, the teachers would wait by their doors with a smile on their faces in the morning and the same pleasant expression after three hours with 12 preschoolers a piece. (Come to think of it, I believe I smiled biggest when I taught school at the magical moment at the end of the day! Oops! Did I just write that?)
Here is Mrs. Preston. She is wonderful. I can tell she has a great love for the children because she listens to their dialogue during freeplay and sometimes relays funny conversations to me when I'd come to pick up Brooklyn. Also, she received the highest rating of approval from Brooklyn on the day when Brooklyn had a little accident.
The accident? you say. Yes. It all happened one day when I picked up Brooklyn from class and noticed she was wearing a different skirt and socks. I immediately knew the unthinkable had happened. I was so embarassed for her and for me. 'How could this happen?' I thought. 'She never has accidents at home. This is toddler stuff. What on earth?' All of this raced through my mind in a matter of seconds, and then I proceeded to sort of remind/nag her to not wait 'till the last minute, etc., etc. while the whole time, Mrs. Preston was trying to sooth it over like it was no big deal. After talking to another friend of mine, I realized that this is not uncommon for kids to have accidents in a first school-type setting because they are not always certain of the procedure, how/when to ask the teacher or just leave the room/playground and go independently. So, I finally settled into the taste of humble pie, and to top it off was this crowning comment of Brooklyn's, "I like Mrs. Preston because she never gives mean faces and she never puts me in time-out." It was a double hit to my parenting self-esteem that day. I then realized that Mrs. Preston is exactly what a good preschool teacher should be, someone who really cares about the child (not that I don't care about my child, you know) but who sees things in perspective and tries to make the kids feel comfortable even when they have really embarrassing moments. When Brooklyn had her accident, Mrs. Preston just discretely escorted her away from the scene and changed her clothes without making Brooklyn feel bad at all. She was comforting and kind and I so appreciated that! I guess I just got all caught up in my parenting pride and basically had to take a chill pill! We will miss you Mrs. Preston!

Big Ham and Coy Boy

2010-11-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Aren't pictures worth a thousand words? Ian is SO difficult to photograph! He does NOT cooperate!

I hope this isn't a preview of teenage years to come. (I think I've said that about his older sister too.)

My How They've GROWN!

2010-11-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

I'll have to find an old picture of these two way back as babies. It's crazy that these were the first two McKendrick cousins of their generation, and now they seem so BIG! Caden's in first grade, and is too cool to hug his mom when she drops him off at school!
If that day ever comes for me, I think I'll cry! Wait a minute, on second thought, I'll probably do something really embarrassing that will get ALL of my child's friends' attention so that next time my child will just hug instead of risk the other alternative. (I am so my Dad! Yikes!)
Anyway, back to pumpkin patch, no back to hugging! Caden used to run up to me and give me big "Aunt Desi" hugs, but nowadays, he's reluctant. Caleb hasn't outgrown them yet. Ian sometimes punks me out though. I'll ask him for a hug, and when he gives me the "no" look, Brooklyn will run over and give me a hug. Thank you, Brookie!

Friendship Brings Happiness

2010-11-05T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a little taste of how lucky we were this month: we got a surprise visit from some of our favorite friends, the Southwicks, who moved up to Monterey a few months ago.
Gabe, (not a Southwick) helped us decorate Halloween sugar cookies too. It felt like old times. We decorated cookies, (thank you very much, Lori), ate at Red Robin, hung out, and made a shopping trip to Mission Valley. Aaah! Life was good!
Another day, we were fortunate to have a few extra visitors romping around for our first turn at the co-op babysitting. We had a blast! Here the kids were dancing to some music.
Below is the only scene I snapped on camera from our recent ward camp-out. We went on an overnighter near Palomar Mtn. I was a better sport and actually went this year instead of sending Stephen and one of the children. Yes, it was a terrible night's sleep, yes the gnats were out in full force, and yes all our gear begged to be rid of lingering campsmoke when we returned, but it was worth the memories of singing off-key round the campfire, getting super sticky s'more fingers and feeling around in the dark for baby wipes, having your children eat more potato chips than anything else at dinnertime, and "holding it" as long as possible in the morning to avoid getting out of the tent and into the outhouse. Despite popular belief, Desirae Badger can muster "roughing it" with children for one night with a good attitude despite her neat-and-control-freakish ways. And it was genuinely fun. I didn't even have to try or pretend that I was enjoying. Really though, there is something uplifting and spiritual about breathing and sleeping in the wilderness. Aaaah.
Soooo, now that it's said and done, I think that I can check my "family campout" off the list for this year. :)
And I do apologize to my children that I'm not as fun as most other parents, especially Jana and David who plan their own super fun family campouts without the help of the ward activities committee. I am making strides though.

Flattered

2010-11-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

is what Stephen should be.

Family Outing

2010-11-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

What can I say? We fit right in.

I love the clean-up station right outside of the petting zoo. Everything is just rightly child-sized.

The zoo is best when Dad comes along. Then I don't have to push Ian in the stroller while also cheerleading Brooklyn along that she really CAN continue to walk. Retelling of the story The Little Engine That Could has become especially helpful in teaching her the power of positive thinking. (Thank you Nora for helping to create that poignant college memory in my class "Drama in the Elementary Classroom.")

Only a Month Behind

2010-11-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

So much time, so few posts! Sorry we've been MIA on the blog scene lately. Here's a brief update. Ian (and Brooklyn, not pictured) enjoyed the finger painting activity that Brooklyn earned from her parents by participating in the Primary program this year in sacrament meeting. She knows most of songs from the Children's songbook, but for some reason, shied away from participating in the primary's sacrament singing on Mother's Day and Easter this year, so we had to go with a bribe...it worked.

Here's a reading time so quiet that...
Stephen actually caught a little snooze. Notice how shamu got booted off the trampoline, poor guy!
Brooklyn has been practicing reading and making simple words. I love the phonetic spellings she came up with. It makes sense to me!

His and her Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato head glasses
I'm loving the trade of babysitting Lorenzo in exchange for a haircut. He is such a cutie with those HUGE brown eyes! No, this is not a subtle announcement, but Ian loved playing the older sibling part.
My husband and children love the idea of a new baby in the home...
I just don't know if I'm ready for a year of fragmented nighttime shut-eye. How did our mothers ever do it without a complaint?