Camping pics!

We got back last night from our camping trip. Oregon is beautiful, and we saw a black bear crossing highway 101 on the way home! Halfway there we realized we had left all our meat in the freezer at home, and then when we stopped in Eureka the battery on the van died. The kids did have a great time, though, and the van pulled the trailer just fine!
Here are a few pics.

Trotting!

The girls are trotting now! They love it. Very bouncy! Elsa is also getting much better at posting, or standing up in the stirrups. She enjoys that, and her overall balance is a lot better than Emma's. They both love it, though, as you can see from the huge smiles.

And, yes, I know, I posted the pic of Emma twice. So sue me. :)

Holy horses, batman!

Good grief! That horse is waaay up in the air, and that woman has not fallen off! Just thought I'd share this awesome pic from: http://clackhi.nclack.k12.or.us/physics/projects/Final%20Project-2005/6-Final%20Project/HorseJump/index.html

SWAT competition

Drew and the CHP SWAT team have gone to Santa Clara for the Best of the West SWAT competition. The following is from the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff's website, regarding the 2007 competition:


2007 marked the fourteenth year for the annual Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Reserve Best of the West firearms competition. The event is held on one day and is open to all reserve officers through out the state of California.

The goal of the event is to promote healthy competition between reservists, sharing of war stories, enjoying a barbecue lunch, receiving training and a chance to walk away with an individual and or team trophy. This event also encourages attendance by spouses, family members and friends. This year there was a static display which included various patrol vehicles both old and new, an off road enforcement motorcycle, water rescue, search and rescue, a patrol helicopter and a Bradley fighting vehicle from BAE Systems.

This year, a VIP Range gave participants and guests an opportunity to handle and fire several types of unique weapons including machine guns. These included; An AR-15, MP-40, a Beretta 38/42, a H&K MP 5, a H&K 33 and plenty of ammunition.

The 2008 Reserve Best in the West is already being planned as the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office continues it's leadership role in building partnerships within the reserve community.

camping trip

We leave on Monday for our week-long, 5 kid camping trip. Wanna come? I thought so.

We will be leaving Monday morning at 4 a.m. Says Drew. (Olivia was really shocked to find this out!) Then, according to my husband, all the kids will sleep in the car until we meet Charles and Denise in Willits for breakfast. I have no intention of bursting his bubble. We will then proceed to Patrick's Point state park, and stay there for two nights. Drew took Olivia and Joaquin there last year, and they had a blast. The picture posted is from that trip.

After Patrick's Point, we'll go up into Oregon to Harris Beach. Connie and Andy (Drew's parents) will have been there for a couple of weeks by the time we get there, and we'll stay with them for one more night. Then the long ride home.

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more show pics

Here are some more pics. Go down to previous post for the first installment. :)

Horse show!

Today was the schooling show at the stables. Not a fiercely competitive show, but a fun show. All riders in the class the girls rode in got first place ribbons! We have two blue ribbons hanging in the girls' room now. Evan stayed with my parents, and it was a good thing as Drew and the girls and I got home around 1 p.m. A long day! Anyway, here are the pics! Elsa rode Frances for the first time and was completely comfortable. Krystin's younger brother led Emma and Trigger, and did a great job. Elsa says she wants to do more shows...Emma says she was hot.

Note: Triggers' ears are back in the photo where Emma is brushing him. He's not upset with her, he's making faces at Sid who is in the pasture in front of him, out of the picture. I guess they are not friends!

Riding show is tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the fun show at Penryn Oak Stables. I can't wait! The girls are going to get all gussied up in their western shirts, jeans, and belts with big buckles. Elsa chose one with a pink sparkly heart buckle. Of course. :) I even bought myself a new pair of Wranglers and some boots. Justin. How fancy! (Not really--they're pretty plain, but oh so comfy!!)
I will post pics as soon as we get home tomorrow. One of the girls will probably be riding Frances, for the first time! Exciting!
Going over to Audrey's to play after school today, which the girls will love. So far, it's a surprise. Also, I may be getting a daycare kid soon! Only part-time, but, hey, it's something. A foot in the door, so to speak.
Have a great weekend!
Mattie

Highlander Review

I've spent a full day with Big Blue. I like it! It's not as roomy inside as my van, and the storage behind the third row seat is virtually non-existent. The third row is not a split seat, so it's either up or down. The middle row of seats do not tumble, they just fold forward, making it necessary to walk on the back of the seat to reach the third row bench. Which is located conveniently on the floor, so that unless you are a 7-year-old child your knees are up your nose.
The middle row of seats cannot hold all three car seats, either. Even the back seat of Drew's Mazda can handle the big full-size seat in the middle with a booster on either side. This arrangement is impossible in the middle row of the Highlander.
The biggest negative for me is the storage. My van is cavernous behind the third row!

Now for the positive aspects, and there are many. The engine, for one. It's bigger than the 3.3 L V-6 in my van. It's a 3.5 liter and I can tell. It goes like stink, considering it's a huge heavy vehicle. (It's not really a truck, by the way, and even calling it an SUV is a stretch. It's frankly a minivan for people who refuse to drive minivans.) The breaks work great, and all the controls have a solid feel. (The turn signals click very quietly--if you see a "periwinkle blue" highlander driving around Roseville with the blinker on, it's me.)

It also feels more planted to the ground, thanks to it being all-wheel-drive. The AWD aspect helps eliminate torque-steer. There is none. My van will rip the wheel out of your hands if you romp on the gas. The Highlander simply rockets forward. The seats are comfortable, being longer on the bottom, offering more support for your legs. The visibility is really great, and the height of the vehicle is perfect. There's also that reassuring expanse of hood between you and the car in front of you.

I like the vehicle! It doesn't suit my every day needs as well as the van, but it's a nice solid vehicle that I could drive every day quite happily. Until I had to go to Costco with 6 people in my vehicle. Which I do.

Honestly, though, it's a girl car. If you're a single guy and drive this, you probably also have cats and Michael Buble's latest album.

Thank goodness for warranties!!

Well, the van is in the shop. For a week!!! Drew and I were driving around on Saturday night while the girls were at my parents' house, and the tranny made a loud pop! and then grinding noises upon acceleration and deceleration. Not good! We took it in to Toyota and they said, "Yes, it's your transmission. We do not repair them, we replace them." Oh, very swell. What's that gonna cost? "Nothing. You are still within your 60,000 mile drivetrain warranty."

Drew and Mattie do the happy dance.

The bummer bit is the loaner. I'm so glad that we get a loaner, but it's a Camry. A Camry, folks. Not the new Tundra or the Sequoia, or even the new Highlander. A Camry. I'll bet you anything it's a 4-cylinder with the oh-so-fancy cloth and plastic interior. You see, I'm used to being in my shiny gold, leather and faux-burl wood, traveling movie theater Sienna with 240 horsepower. I am spoiled. I could look Sigmund Freud in the eye and admit that.

The last time I got a loaner Camry from a Toyota dealer was in Sanger, CA when the Sienna had to have one of the seatbelt do-hicky thingers replaced. (It was a service bulletin, and didn't cost me a dime. just like this tranny issue.) They gave me a dirty early-model Camry which I am almost certain belonged to someone who worked there. It smelled like old Burger King. I am hopeful, ever hopeful, that Roseville Toyota, in its snobbery, will give me something nicer. I go pick it up tonight, with the help of my mom to watch the kids, and of Abby to ferry my ass to the dealership. In her Suburban. For those of you who know me well, you will know that I have a soft spot for Suburbans and have been nagging Drew to buy me one for simply ages. That's another story, though.

They refused to give me a Sequoia off the lot. The nerve!


LATER:
6:42 p.m. They gave me a Highlander! Cool! It's a sparkly blue, but at least it has a V6 and 4wd. I'll post my full review with pics tomorrow.

Ads on my blog

Start clicking, people! The ads are waaaay down at the bottom, but, apparently, I earn money when those ads are clicked upon. The amount is yet to be determined. They do seem to be magically related to the topics on my blog; horses, yarn, etc.
Clickety click click!!

Super size my...salad?

Drew and I (and Evan) went to Cattleman's for dinner last night; the girls spent the night with my parents. The food was really good, and the place was nice. We got a seat quickly, and Evan was only slightly annoying throughout the whole dinner.
However, the grilled chicken Caesar salad I ordered was HUGE. I mean, ridiculously huge. Drew ordered a steak, red potatoes, beans, and salad and my plate was bigger than his. Now, really! It looked the same when I was finished eating as it had when the waitress set it down in front of me. I hadn't even made a dent.
Now that's just silly.

Fall is coming!

Weather : A definition:

---

The state of the air or atmosphere with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness, or any other meteorological phenomena; meteorological condition of the atmosphere; as, warm weather; cold weather; wet weather; dry weather, etc.

---

Vicissitude of season; meteorological change; alternation of the state of the air.

---

Storm; tempest.

---

A light rain; a shower.

---

To expose to the air; to air; to season by exposure to air.

---

Hence, to sustain the trying effect of; to bear up against and overcome; to sustain; to endure; to resist; as, to weather the storm.

---

To sail or pass to the windward of; as, to weather a cape; to weather another ship.

---

To place (a hawk) unhooded in the open air.




You all know I am from the Midwest. Illinois, to be exact. So, my idea of seasons is a little different from the California version. For instance, fall means changing leaves, cool mornings, and crisp evenings. It means sweaters, boots, pumpkins, and rolling in the...I mean hayrides.
California's version of fall seems to be hot, hot, hot. Oh, and then we will start to get rain. What the hell? I remember snow on Halloween for goodness sake, and long underwear under the costume. (Arctic ballerinas.)

Anyway, those of you who are transplants from states that have actual WEATHER need to back me up on this. I love California, and all its associated weirdness, but c'mon folks!

And, what the hell was that nonsense about the falcon? I'm lost now...

Kaseberg's movin' up!!

My daughters attend Kaseberg Elementary school, which is about two blocks away from our house. We've had a wonderful experience there, with great teachers and a very cool principal.
Schools are rated with an API score, which you can find more about at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/apireports.asp
It's the Academic Performance Index, and it is a numbered score, with 800 being the target and 1000 being the maximum. Kaserberg's score based on last year went up from 823 to 836. Yay!! We just keep improving.

We're so happy to be at Kaseberg, and are loving our teachers. I know some people have had issues, especially since we are impacted this year and there was much scrambling of class assignments. But, I think, in the big picture, our school is a very good one.

Wishing you all a great school year!

Married with children

Last night we had bed Olympics here at the Steen household. Now, for those of you who are single or married without kids, bed Olympics can be a fun thing. For us, not so much. Here's how bed Olympics works around this house:
Emma and Elsa insist they are afraid to sleep in their own room. So, they recline upon little nests of blankets on either side of my king-sized bed. Evan, for reasons known only to God, is a horrible sleeper and sleeps best when he's with me. In my bed. With me. And he insists on bringing matchbox cars and motorcycles to bed. My bed.
Then, Drew comes home around 11 p.m. and comes to bed around 12 or 1 a.m. Well, he tries to come to bed. By the time he gets around to attempting this, Emma has climbed into our bed with Evan and me. He tries wedging himself into bed with the three of us, but apparently three is max capacity.
Drew winds up in Emma's bed. But then, Elsa decides it's her turn in my bed. At 3:30 this morning. So, I put Emma in Elsa's bed and put Elsa where Emma was. At 3:30 this morning.
Did I mention that all this is going on at 3:30 this morning?
Well, folks, by now I am awake. I mean, awake. And, trying to go back to sleep did no good, since Evan woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 4:15. And tried to go outside and play.
I am tired, dear readers, and the day ain't over yet. I still have a pile of laundry, albeit clean, lying on Emma's bed. It may possibly get moved to a chair or dresser until tomorrow. More than likely.
Birth control, friends. Birth control...