Palm Springs

In June, right after school got out, Kate and I took all the kids to Palm Springs. (You heard me!) That's right, a 9-hour drive with 5 kids...it actually turned into and 11-hour drive but we made it! We stayed in Drew's uncle's time share at the Palm Canyon Resort & Spa and had such an awesome time! The kids are still talking about it and trying to convince their daddy that he shoul go with us next time.

We went to the Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert, Joshua Tree National Forest (where the kids were disgusted by the amount of bugs) and hit the resort's spectacular pool every day. The girls especially liked the hot tub. Go figure.

Emma's birthday

We had Emma's party at Fashion Fo Paws in Lincoln. Crystal, the owner, puts on a great party! The kids had a blast, and everyone went home with a pile of Webkinz.

Recent pics!

A few recent pictures from some of our road trips we've taken with the kids. Enjoy!

This one was to the PG&E Sierra Discovery Trail up near Emigrant Gap. Great trail! Awesome creek and waterfalls. The kids had a good time. We'll definitely go back to this one.

July update

I know, I know.
I still have pictures on my camera from May. Been busy! I've gone back to work, and we've been doing summr activities with the kids. I PROMISE to get those pictures off my camera, and post some new blog entries. Possibly this weekend.
In the meantime, let me know if you want to go look at any houses, sell your house, or find out what your neighbors sold their house for! Check out my boss' website at www.jalone.com
Have a great week!

Potty training part 2

Evan is doing so well! He peed on the potty this morning, and his night time diaper was barely wet! I credit using cloth diapers, and, of course, my genius son. ;) I used cloth diapers with him, so he has always been able to tell when he was wet. This was one of the reasons I chose cloth for him.
I'm not saying we are done with potty training, of course, but he "got it" much faster than my girls--who wore disposable diapers. Another tip of mine is to wait until your child is three years old. Tried at two years old with my girls, but it was so frustrating for them and me that I ended up stopping and waiting until they were three. Seems much easier at three--the kid is able to pull the undies up and down, they are better at communicating their needs, and muscle control is more developed.

Potty Training!

Operation: Destroy the Carpet
Yesterday was the first REAL day of potty-training. We had talked about it for a while, and Evan sat on the potty a few times in the past, but we said "bye-bye" to diapers during the day.
Yesterday was a bummer...Evan peed on the floor in the bathroom of his preschool while I as signing him up for this fall, then he went on the floor at the doctor's office while I was getting his shot records, and he also christened various spots on our carpet at home.
Today, though, was so much better! He went in his chair at breakfast, but in the afternoon he peed on the potty for the very first time while we were at Daddy's work! And, at dinner, he left the table all by himself and went #2 in the potty!
THANK YOU POTTY-TRAINING GODS!!
At night we have been using our Bum Genius and Thirsties cloth diapers but I will have to find someone to give those to when we finally get to that point. I am now on the search for nice kids' underwear...if anyone has any tips let me know!
Have a great weekend!

Boating with the Garcez family

Below is a link to Chris and Stacey's blog. They were nice enough to invite us out on their new boat. Such fun! Next time, however, Folsom Lake needs to be warmer than 74 degrees! The kids got in the water anyway (of course) and Evan loved looking out the back of the boat at the wake. We saw some jet skis doing crazy stuff, and a speed boat going super fast. Chris dropped anchor and we ate some PB&J sandwiches. The kids' favorite picnic ever!
Thanks Garcez family!!
http://sillybonzos.blogspot.com/2009/06/boating-with-steens.html

Still alive!

We're still alive and kicking. Just crazy busy. I have pictures of Emma's birthday party, among other things, on my camera. I need to liberate those cute pics!

I have completed my college-level courses in real estate, and have received my completion certificates. Today I will be mailing my application to take the state exam. I have also been given the opportunity to work as an assistant with a local real estate company! I'm so excited to be in the work force again, but (second to having kids) returning to work is probably the scariest thing I have done! I am happy, though, to finally be working in the field that I have been interested in since befoe I had children.

Emma completed 1st grade and was given awards for Excellence of Character, Academic Excellence (straight A's the WHOLE YEAR), and a certificate for being one of the top five runners in 1st grade--she ran over 46 miles during the course of the school year! She was also awarded a reading medal!

Elsa finished kindergarten and has made great strides in reading. She was doing her sister's 1st grade math homework as well. (She did not get her math skills from me, as most of you know!) Elsa was friends with everyone in her class and one of Miss Lewandowski's most dedicated "assisstants."

I continue to be active at the girls' school, servng on the PTC board in the capacity of secretary and several other volunteer/coordinator positions. Luckily, we are one of the lucky PTC boards on which everyone actually likes each other and works well as a team!

Evan will be turning 3 on June 30th. Can you believe it? We have started potty-training but he is really not very interested. Now that the girls are out of school and our schedule is freer, we will be a little more consistent and hopefully find success! (Wish us luck!)

Drew continues to love his new position at the CHP academy; driving instructor. Yeah, I know...he has found his dream job. He has also been bicyclig to work (a 60-mile round trip) with a co-worker. Insane.

Hope you enjoyed our little update. I promise to post pics soon!

Make way for ducklings!

Emma's class has been raising ducks, and we had the opportunity to duck-sit over the weekend. It has been really fun, and the kids have had a blast! The challenge has been keeping Desi away from them, and keeping Evan from squishing them when he picks them up. He looooves them, and is eager to help feed and water them. Elsa is actually a little scared of them when they're all crowded up, wandering around the yard. Maybe too many of them at once? She's scared of little dogs, too. Go figure.
They are, I believe, mallards. The brown and yellow splotched ones are the males, and the grey ones are the females.

EVOC demo

On Friday Evan and I went to the CHP graduation. After the graduation ceremony, EVOC did a driving demo. It was Drew's first Demo and I was so nervous for him, but he was relaxed and did an awesome job! I didn't have the best vantage point for filming, but I got a few neat videos. Enjoy! Next time I will try to get a better spot.
If you scroll to the bottom of my page and pause the music, you will be able to hear the roar of the cars & helicopter!

Transporter 3

You all probably know that I have the hots for Jason Statham. Mmmmm....Jason Statham....sorry! Where was I? Oh, yes!
Anyway, Drew and I arranged for a quiet evening at home together to watch this kill-em-all action flick. Little did we know it would turn into a "chick flick" complete with cuddling and whispered promises. PUKE!
The best parts, of course, were the fight scenes. Of course he had to take his shirt off to kick ass poperly! But, even these scenes which are normally my fave, were irritating. 16 guys with machine guns and he dispatches them all? With no firepower of his own? And the chick in this one is especially annoying...wimpy, whiney, and useless and this is the one he picks to settle don with at the end? PUH-LEEESE!!
A quick review here, I know, and not very in-depth, but my advice is to fast forward to the fight scens where he is forced to disrobe, and then skip to the end credits.

Scottish Games

The kids and I went to the Scottish Games in Wodland last weekend. We took Nana and Papa (my parents) and they loved it too! The girls got their hair braided, which they absolutely loved, and Evan enjoyed looking at all the animals. The frisbee dogs were awesome!

Easter

Here are some pictures from our Easter in Galt.

Desi's Easter bling

No, I don't even have Easter outifts for my kids yet. But Desi has her Easter bling, thanks to Crystal at "Fashion Fo Paws" in Lincoln, CA. It has little sparkly Easter chicks on it!

Desi doesn't seem to have a problem with her new "lovely" but Evan hates it. He keeps going up to her and yanking it off in one swift movement, while screeching "She doesn't like this, Mommy!" Then he tries to throw it in the trash. Drew thinks this is all quite hilarious, and rolls his eyes when I put it on her.

Kill joys. They're all lucky I didn't get a custom Easter dress made for the dog, because Crystal makes those, too. ;)

Harley FXLR

Drew's new toy. 1991 Harley Davidson FXLR. The video is of our friend Charles riding it today. Live to ride...
Whatever.
Turn off the music on my "Music Player" and you can hear the roar of the V-twin. Yeah baby!

Fish story

Kate gave us some fish, which were given to her by a friend who had moved. One is a red Betta, the other was a blue paradise gourami. ;) They had apparently ben living in blissful domesticity with each other, but i did some reading and learned that both could be aggressive and that this particular gourami variety had a reputation for jumping out of its aquarium. Not encouraging information.

I decided to just let it play out, and all was well for about a week. The little fishies were happy living on my kitchen counter, until one day, while the girls were at school, I heard a wet flopping sound. You guessed it--the blue fish was flinging itself around my counter, headed for the sink. I grabbed a paper towel, scooped up the fish, and said "Your time here is up, pal. I don't have time for this!" Down the toilet he went.

The funny part of this story is that Evan was by my side the whole time. He was much impressed, and keeps climbing up on to the counter, determined to grab the remaining fish and flush it. I found him the next day, kneeling over the fish bowl, a tissue in hand. Oh goody!

I'll keep you all posted on the Betta's survival!

Spotted in Natomas...

followers of rex Kwan Do!

Are these guys for real?

Invaders!

Yesterday the kids and I picked up my brother Todd, his wife Wiwik, and my nephew Charlie from the Sacramento airport. Then we went to Woodstock's Pizza in Davis to meet some friends of theirs from Indonesia who also happened to be passing through the area. Five kids under 7 at pizza! Thank goodness we were the only ones there! You'll hear the noise level on the video. Stop the music on my blog before you play the video...

overkill

He looks so innocent, doesn't he? The top screen of the fire pit actually started to melt.

Back off, ladies, he's mine...

more hatchery pics

nimbus hatchery

What an awesome place!

telescope!

Drew's parents got our family a telescope for Christmas! Kate Burns came over with her daughters while Mike was at work, and we roasted marshmallows and looked at the moon. Way cool! Kate (whose daughter Isabelle is Emma's best friend) also brought us a twin mattress to use for Evan. Yay!

Marshmallows!

On Tuesday night we roasted marshmallows with Lexi. Evan and Elsa had a hard time keeping their marshmallow stick above the wood, so some of them turned out a little crunchy. :)