Summer Fun

I remember when summer was fun and relaxing. We went swimming all day or night, or all day and night. We got up when we wanted to. We went to San Diego for vacation for a week here and there. We went to the mall, summer concerts, etc…Yes, we did chores, but they didn’t absorb mass amounts of our free time. This, of course, was summer as child.


Summer as an adult is much different. Even though it’s summer, I still have to get up on time and go to work. I have to do chores that take up mass amounts of time (if I get behind on them). I don’t get to go swimming all day or all night (unless I've snuck away for the day and taken Q to SunSplash). Summer means: get everything done that can’t be scheduled during the school year. Currently, my big project is moving. Even though we're just going a few miles down the road, we have to pack everything like moving across three states. It's not fun, but we are looking forward to being in our new place. A townhouse. No one below us or above us, so I don't have to keep reminding Quentin to quiet down. Cute little backyard too! And a fireplace. But, my favorite thing about the new place is that it has dual master bedrooms! Yes, I finally get my own bathroom! I haven't had my own bathroom since...uh, I think it was back in 1994 when I had my own apartment for a while. Good grief!
The fun part about summer as an adult is getting to watch the kids enjoy summer as a child. Andrew and I took the boys to Disneyland for a few days last month.

We were able to get a great deal on a hotel that had a kid’s suite. Austin called it their “man cave”. Too funny! The suite included bunk beds for the kids. We were a little nervous that they’d fight over who got to sleep where, but Andrew and I ended up really impressed that they boys worked out their sleeping arrangements on their own. They’re solution was to take turns sleeping on the top bunk each night. It worked out great!

I am doing my best to make summers for Quentin similar to my summers as a child. He sleeps most of the morning. He gets to go to Grandma’s house off and on. Okay, it’s not in San Diego, but he loves Sonora and he’s still getting spoiled. He has chores, but they’re not overwhelming. Last summer we went to a couple of concerts, but this summer we haven’t seen any advertised that we felt we couldn’t miss.

For the weekend of July 4th Andrew and I went on a trip by ourselves. We “cruised” to Phoenix and Las Vegas. Good gravy, it was HOT! It was 119 degrees when we crossed the state line. We visited my Dad and Yvonne for a day. Andrew got Dad hooked on the Stupid Zombies game on his phone. 

We also got to visit with Andrew’s friend Jarrod and his fiancé Debbiesue. They were great! I loved watching Andrew and Jarrod remind of each other of things they’d done when they were younger.

When we were done visiting we headed home, via Las Vegas.  We went to lunch at Serendipity 3, where the portions are ridiculously humongous! But, the drinks are spectacular! If you ever go, sit at the bar and ask if Juan is working. He’s awesome.

The Bellagio is as amazing as ever. Our room had a view of the lake and I swear I could sit by the window and stare at those fountains for hours on end. It’s a good think they’re only on every 30 minutes. LOL

Andrew was like a kid in a candy store at the Carroll Shelby Mustang Museum.

We got to sign the wall in the manufacturing area. The cars are unreal. I would really like to take this one for a spin!

Piepalooza

I love my job! One of our vendors lost a bet with my boss and as a result he got a pie in the face.

Here is the pre-pie picture.

Post-pie picture. :-)

But, it wasn't fun enough to just watch Scot get pie in the face...we had to eat pie too!

Pie, ice cream, cheesecake, chocolate tarts, and I don't know what else. Piepalooza!

5K...

Earlier in the year I watched a news story about a 5K walk/run event for charity. I remember doing one in L.A./Hollywood many years ago with Rob. Actually, that might have been a 10K. I don't remember, which is nothing new to me as of late.  What I do remember is that at the end of the walk we saw Jamie Lee Curtis! That was pretty cool.  And, that is the only time I have been to Hollywood.  Anyway, (please excuse my squirrel moment), I half-heartedly made completing a 5K a goal of mine for the year. 

A few weeks ago I stared the Weight Watchers program and low and behold they were advertising the Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge 5K Walks! My half-hearted goal was thrown in my face every time I logged on to the website. So, I decided to do it.

I also suckered my friend Megan into doing it with me!

She was a good sport about it even though she did not like waking up so early on a Sunday morning. :-)

There were almost 700 people there!

Clearly, we did not finish first. But, we didn't finish last either. It was fun! Megan wants to do another one. She thinks we should run the next one. I think she's CRAZY!

Thoughtful Thursday

This past month has been interesting, stressful, exciting, disappointing, but still good.  Easter was spent at my Mom's house in the morning and then at Laura and Andy's house for lunch in the afternoon. 

Justin and Lily had a good time working together on the decorating.

Andrew and Austin were able to spend most of the holiday with us, which was great for me! The kids had a great time hunting eggs, especially the bonus plastic eggs that Mom put money in.

Chandel made the cutest egg of all and we named it Rockin' Robin.  Sadly, later he was part of the potato salad...Well, sad for Chandel due to the fact that she had grown attached to it, but yummy for me. :-)

The stressful and disappointing aspect of the past month come from me screwing up royally at work. I don't like making mistakes. I especially don't like making mistakes at work.  I was supposed to hold a conference call with four County Directors. No problem, I can handle it. I was completely prepared. Had my agenda prepared, had my notes template ready to go, had the conference call number all ready to go.  How could I possibley screw this up? Only one way. I FORGOT to make the call!!!! Pure stupidity. I'm thinking about going in for a brain scan. Seriously. I hope it's not a tumor.

The exciting part is that reservations have been made for our vacation with the boys next month. We still need to make some final decisions on some of the trip details, but I'm trying not to be such a "control freak" about those decisions right now. It's hard on me though.  I think they can wait a week, or maybe two. :-)

We finally received notification that Quentin was approved a transfer to another school district, so we'll be moving this summer. I do not like moving. I'm already thinking about what stuff I'm going to get rid of just so that I don't have to move it. It's not a big move...just a few miles away. We need to find a place that is within walking distance of the school because there is no school provided transportation thanks to the State budget.  I can't believe he is going to be in Junior High. He has changed so much in the last few months. It's difficult on both of us. Here is one of my pictures of him when he was a baby. I think he was 6 or 8 months old in this one. Now he is 12 1/2 and has acne! Uggghhh!

Monday Musings

1.  It is an absolutely gorgeous day outside and I wish I could go bask in the sunshine!

2.  I wish there were such a thing as a "How to Put Your DIRTY Laundry in the Clothes Hamper" training session for children. Really. Seriously.

3.  I smiled today when I saw my favorite flower (Ranuculus) for the first time of the season. I had to stop and take a picture, so I could see it again later. :-)

 

4.  I love that Quentin loves the Nook Color we bought this past weekend. I truly hope it helps him to concentrate on what he's reading and not how many pages are still remaining to be read. The first book he purchased electronically? "Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder" Yes, he is all boy!

 

 

Blog, What Blog?

Okay, okay...so, I've been slacking on the blogging. Sorry, but you can read about everything on Facebook! :-)

We've been very busy since my last post. We've celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Valentine's Day! Trust me when I say, we were truly thankful at Thaknsgiving; knew we were blessed at Christmas (and always); partied like parents with 9 and 12 year olds on New Year's Eve; and were very loved on Valentine's Day.

Summer vacations are rapidly approaching. We've got plans in the works and some of them could include any combination of the following: Phoenix, Disneyland, Sea World, Las Vegas, or who knows what...depending on funding and the general mood of all of those involved. Whatever the next few months bring, I know I'll enjoy it and I hope everyone else does too!

Wordless Wednesday

Nor Cal Renaissance Faire

Okay okay, I'll try to do better with my updating of this blog. I'm making no promises though.

At the beginning of the month we took a little trip to Hollister and went to the Northern California Renaissance Faire. Quentin loves the jousting and of course anything having to do with swords and other weaponry. He's such a boy.

The first thing we did was see the Moonie comedy show. It was hilarious! The guy does his introduction and then informs the audience that the show is a non-speaking show, so he'll no longer be talking. Well, that lasts until someone in the audience, or a show participant, does something he doesn't agree with. Then, he laughs at himself and has to put back on his "quiet" face. :-)

Austin rented the Robin Hood costume for the day, but Quentin wasn't interested. He opted to wear his new fedora all day and received many compliments on it.

We watched the jousting, saw the queen, Austin participated in a story telling skit, and Quentin tried his hand at the bow and arrow.

He did pretty well. There were some that got away from him, but he got a bulls-eye too.

I think he was inspired by his instructor.  He decided he needed to try it again later in the afternoon and was able to get a picture with her.

It was a very long, but fun day...well, except for the throw-up on the way there and the throwing of a royal fit on the way home. But, really, it was a great day! ;-)

September

September is flying by! We've had two birthday parties for Quentin, taken him to a few doctor appointments, gone to the circus, started the soccer season, made lots of new friends and are looking forward to spending time with old friends too!

Andrew took the boys and I to Ringling Brothers earlier this month. I love the circus! I think I enjoy it more than the boys do.  Well, maybe not more than Austin. He's such a cutie!  Quentin is less willing to participate. Gotta' love the tween attitude. He did end up really enjoying himself, but he tried hard not to. :-)

Quentin really likes his new soccer team. He is making friends and they are playing well as a team. Here are some pics from the game last weekend.

1st Day of 6th Grade

Quentin started 6th Grade yesterday. His official report was that his new teacher seems nice, but that she sometimes speaks to them like they're 2nd Graders. (She taught 2nd Grade previously.) He said that the After School Program seems okay, so far. He's not committing to liking anything yet. He's the kind of kid that likes to keep his complaint options open. :-)

I bought him a bunch of new school clothes while he was gone. Not smart. He grew so much that I had to take back about 90% of what I bought! He put on over 10 pounds, his shoe size went up a size, and he grew almost two inches.

Summer = Busy

Okay, I figured I better do an update before I go on vacation because when I come back from vacation I’ll have to do an update about my vacation. You see the logic, right?

It’s been a busy couple of months. Quentin has been a traveling man. He has spent a lot of time at Grandma’s house, which by the way, is over the river and through the woods! :-) I’m very happy to have him home. He’s definitely in the pre-teen stage, but I still love him and like to have him around.

When he comes home we our season passes to go to the water park. Our friend Megan bought a season pass too, but I don’t know if we’ll take her with us anymore since she almost got in a fight with a very large woman in a yellow bikini last time we were there. That’s another story though.

Grandma Nihla turned 75 years old this summer and Mom hosted a party for her. Lots of family and friends came to celebrate with her from as far away as Yuma. Wanda and Juanita did the decorating and the guys were responsible for the BB-Q. It was a delicious Mexican Fiesta! Mmm…carne asada, pollo asada, home made salsa, etc…

Andrew and I celebrated one year together by him meeting the family and him actually agreeing to have his picture taken without half of his face covered or his tongue sticking out. I think that means he likes me. Maybe? Or, it could have been because Chandel told him to do it and Chandel (a.k.a. Dizzle) can be very intimidating. Or so she thinks. :-)

I took Quentin to see The Fray in concert. It was a great show! We froze though. I didn’t think it would get into the 50s in June! I should have known better.

4th of July weekend was really fun! We saw fireworks, BB-Q’d twice, went to the water park and went swimming at my cousin’s, at the apartments, and at Sun Splash. I thought the boys were going to morph into fish by the end of the weekend.

One of our more recent adventures was a trip up the pass. Mom and I took Quentin and Lily so they could swim in the river. Well, that part didn’t work out because the river was the highest I’ve ever seen it. It was flowing way too fast for adults to be in, much less little children. So, instead we had a picnic and witnessed the results of two motorcycle accidents. Not cool. Here’s a hint people…drinking and driving do not mix. Drinking and driving something with two wheels instead of four is even worse!

And my last bit of information…my kid broke my brother’s kid. :-( It was an accident, but my Little Man feels awful. He is Lily’s “protector” and he is devastated that he broke her.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I love sports! I can’t play them worth a damn, but I love being a spectator. Attending an event is even more exciting than watching it on TV of course. My favorite is football, but baseball is a close second, followed by boxing, tennis, hockey, NASCAR, basketball, etc.

Sunday morning Andrew surprised me and invited Quentin and I to go to the Ports baseball game with him and Austin. He got us excellent seats in the first row, right behind the home team dugout.

In between innings there are silly competitions that the fans can participate in. Andrew and Austin got picked to participate in one at a game last season. I would have liked to have seen that! The announcer kept walking by our seats and Andrew got his attention once and told him that it was my first Ports game and that if they were going to do the dance competition I should be picked to participate. I couldn’t believe my ears! I know my eyes were as big as golf balls behind my sunglasses. I kept shaking my head no and waving my hands so the guy would know that I was not at all interested in dancing in front of a stadium full of people. Okay, it’s a small stadium, but that matters not. I DO NOT dance in public…unless there has been a liberal amount of alcohol consumed beforehand. And I mean consumed by everyone, not just me. Luckily, the announcer was on my side and we happened to take the kids to walk around the park during the time that they did the dance competition. The participants ended up being a father and son and they both did break dancing. As for my dear Andrew’s consequences for even suggesting the idea, I haven’t decided as of yet. But, it will be good.

It was a really good game. Unfortunately, Stockton lost to Visalia by one run. We all thought they were going to make a comeback in the last inning. The tying run was on base with no outs. After a couple fly balls to the outfield and the runner getting caught between bases, it was all over. Three outs and no tying run. :0(

We paid for the boys to join the Kid’s Club, so they got a t-shirt and they got to run the bases after the game. Quentin had to be a show-off and run as fast as he could, which ended up upsetting his stomach because of all of the Nerds he ate during the last inning.

A great time was had by all!

Jean-NAY

Jean-NAY,
It's your Berf-DAY!
It's your Berf-DAY!
I hope it's great!

The Past Few Weeks

The highlights...

1. I have remembered to wear my make-up everday!

2. I turned 35 years old. Quentin heard these lyrics in a Kid Rock song (or something close to it)..."It seems I was just 16 and now I'm staring at 36." To which Quentin replied, "Wow, Kid Rock is 36? He's older than you Mom!" Here is a picture of the giant cupcake they gave me at work. It's from one of those "As Seen on TV" commercials.  It was really good and there was enough for everyone!

3. Easter came and went. Chandel and I had a good time coloring eggs with Quentin and Lily. I dropped the same egg several times because the paint Chandel bought was very slippery! She thought I was just a dork until the same thing happened to everyone else. Yes, I realize that this could indicate that we are all dorks.  Here is an egg that Lily painted. I think it looks like the Joker from Batman.

4.  It has been storming off and on for weeks. I love stormy weather. I wish there were more thunder and lightening in the storms we get. Generally, it's just rain and wind.  Here is a shot I took on Highway 4 this past Sunday.

5.  At the end of last week I realized that Quentin is out of school for the summer in two months! That is just plain ridiculous to me. It was just January the other day...wasn't it? Maybe, I am getting senile in my old age. Anyway, I've got to figure out some affordable entertainment for my Little Man for the summer. I thought being in the Big City would give me more options and really it does. The problem is that the options are astronomically priced. We're in a recession people! Does summer day camp really need to cost $1,330? I think not.