christmas lights

Last night, Scott & I called some of our friends up to go look at Christmas lights for Family Home Evening. We started at our house where we had some hot chocolate, & then we drove to a neighborhood that is completely decked out for the holidays. We bundled up nice & warm & strolled around looking at all the fun displays.

(me w/ Will, the Taylor's, the Fisher's, & Ruby in her carseat)

What a roadtrip to Tehachapi looks like

This last week, we braved a fairly long roadtrip down to Tehachapi. While looking through some photography blogs earlier in the week, I was inspired by a project that many of them were participating in: "What _________ looks like." I decided to give it a try & document our roadtrip down to visit Scott's hometown. As it turns out, these ended up being my favorite pictures that I took of the entire trip. It was such a fun project to work on!

We started out with a stop to McDonald's to get Will a "cheese-booger," in other words, a cheeseburger with nothing on it but a bun & cheese - no condiments, & definitely no meat. This kid is seriously the pickiest eater ever!

After a couple of hours of being on the road, we hit a traffic jam. It took us about an hour to drive 7 miles. Thank goodness the kids were asleep, or it would have been Hell.

Every time we drive down Highway 99 or Highway 5, we always pass a bunch of stinky cows. If you don't turn the air on recycle, you will pass out &/or gag for a good 5 minutes. The stench is disgusting.

The sky & landscape were beautiful as we drove past (minus the cows). The vineyards looked like they were glowing in the sun. I just couldn't get over how pretty they were.

After driving about five hours, Ruby finally woke up & wanted a snack. By this point, we were 30 minutes from our destination, so we made it a quick stop & then hurried on our way. 

It's always such a peaceful & relaxing feeling to arrive in Tehachapi. It's so secluded from everything else, & we have many fond memories of the place. We had a dream roadtrip, apart from the earlier traffic jam, & continued to have a wonderful stay with Scott's family throughout the Thanksgiving holiday.

Halloween 2011 - a gwragon & a peacwok

On Monday evening, we went to a neighborhood potluck to hang out with friends & celebrate Halloween.

Will loved flying around in his "gwragon" costume while Ruby sat pretty in Scott's or my arms dressed as a "peacwock."

It was so much fun watching Will run around with his little buddies - Jake (the caterpillar) in particular.We practiced saying "trick-or-treat" before heading out, & by the time we finished, Will was a pro.

Month of July - Interesting Holidays/Events

I was thinking of ways to be more creative in my everyday life & hoping to come up with something that would incorporate some fun activities for Will. I had the thought to look up a calendar of "significant holidays or dates in July," & came across a lot of interesting (or not) holidays/celebrations I had no clue existed. This list should give me plenty of ideas to work with for the upcoming month. I'll be happy if I can do something related to at least one thing on this list, but the more, the better!

National Blueberry Month

National Ice Cream Month

National Picnic Month

6th - 1st Picture Postcard Made

8th - Video Games Day

9th - National Sugar Cookie Day

10th - Barn Day

11th - Cheer Up the Lonely Day

13th - Go West Day

17th - Sewing Machine Patented

18th - Cow Appreciation Day

20th - Armstrong & Aldrin land on the moon

29th - National Lasagna Day

30th - National Cheesecake Day

smell the roses

I have been in love with flowers this year. I notice them everywhere & just can't get enough of them. When I was at my parents' house this last week, I went out back with my mom to cut a bunch of roses. Even with my nose itching & running from allergies, I couldn't resist smelling them every chance I got.

When I drove home on Saturday & was getting ready to pull the car into the garage, I opened it to find 4 rose bushes lined up blocking my way. Scott (in his few hours off from work, so he could DJ a wedding) bought me my very own rose bushes for Mother's Day. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was! I jumped out of the car & just had to smell all of them & show them to Will. 

This morning, Will & I went outside to cut roses from our new bushes. They smell incredible, & look gorgeous! Scott got me the perfect gift - even better that it was a surprise.

Thank you Scott! Love you!

Easter!

The Easter Bunny left a trail of chocolates leading to Will's Easter basket. Will loved following them, but struggled keeping them all in his hands. He got creative & shoved some under his chin, so he wouldn't lose any.

This kid loves chocolate & passed the toys right up. I don't see that I blame him.

Before eating dinner, all the cousins went on their Easter Egg hunt.

Sammie, Timmy, Zach, Cole, Wes, Lily, Drew, Will

Zach

Drew

Sammie - Timmy

Cole - Will

my brother Brad w/ Wes & Will

Valentine's Day Follow Through!

It's been said that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." And let me tell you, I've always had great intentions for every holiday, but very rarely follow through with any of my ideas. Valentine's Day is no exception!

Scott's & my Valentine's Days are usually horrible! I don't know what it is - laziness, procrastination, not wanting to give in to the commercialization . . . Whatever the reason, we usually end up with brutally failed dinners (my first attempt at making the "perfect" dinner & dessert for our first Valentine's), lack of gifts (I like presents, so I'm all for them - although I never get around to buying one for Scott either), & a heart-shaped pizza for dinner since all the restaurants are booked/too crowded (the pizza is usually fine, but I can't stand it right now with this pregnancy, so that wasn't an option for Lover's Day 2011).

Well, this year was going to be different! I actually planned ahead - ME! I haven't done that in so long! I bought heart-shaped pancake molds on sale at Crate & Barrel, made sure I had the ingredients for Wheat Germ Pancakes (my favorite breakfast!), & bought fresh berries & whipped my own cream (from the carton, not the cow) instead of opting for the spray kind (my mom trained me better, but I'd fallen off that wagon long ago). I also went to See's to splurge on some sweets for my sweets - red foiled chocolate hearts for William & sour (& I mean sour) hearts for Scott.

I'd never used pancake molds before & was amazed at how fun & easy it was. I went out & bought 2 more, so I have them for next year.

I was also excited to pull out my Valentine's Day glasses that I bought when we were first married. I don't think we'd used them in five or so years.

I told Scott a couple days before the BIG day that I didn't want flowers from the store, but would rather have flowers to plant or flowers from an actual florist (not that store-bought flowers aren't beautiful, but the others are just exceptional). Since I didn't give him much warning with my request, I didn't expect much. Well I was shocked when he actually had a present for me, wrapped in a bag & everything! It was a beautiful silver necklace with circle pendants hanging from it (one saying "L & S" with our anniversary engraved on the back, & the other saying "W" with Will's birthday). I'd been wanting a necklace like this for years & was unsure if I still really wanted one or not, but after seeing it, I got so excited - it was even prettier than the ones I'd been looking at! He did such an awesome job & totally surprised me!

Now I'm just hoping I can keep up the follow-through for the other upcoming holidays. I was amazed at how accomplished I felt - like a real domestic wife from the 50's or something (I even wore a cute vintage-looking apron while making breakfast to add to the illusion of "domestic perfection").

This was by far the best Valentine's Day I've had!

WHEAT GERM PANCAKES

1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. wheat germ

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 T. sugar

1 c. milk

2 eggs

2 T. oil

1. Mix dry ingredients.

2. Mix liquids & add to dry mixture (don't overmix!)

3. Let sit for about a minute & add more milk if it's on the thick side.