October Fun!

Crazy fun at the pumpkin patch up Highway 1. The kids used the wagons to ride (and crash) down the hill as well as big corrigated pipes to roll in. And, Mr. Nicolas in a new disguise.

In Honor of Our Veterans!

O happy day...It's another blog hop hosted by Operation Write Home to honor our Veteran's! Operation Write Home is a great organization that supports our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them. It's a great way to bless our service personnel for serving so selflessly for us.

Here's the link to the beginning of the hop in case you missed it. Have fun!

My youngest "Any Hero" card maker showing his lovely creations. Funny how kids are so happy with a glue stick and paper!

In addition to "hopping" today, I wanted to document one of my heroes...my dad. My dad served in the Army Air Corp for just 3 years in Las Vegas, NV. He never saw "action", but he is still a hero in my book. My dad passed away in 1997. He was a courageous and strong man with a huge amount of perseverance. Honoring you, dad, on Veteran's day!

Johnson's Farm Makes Me Happy....

....and makes 40 kindergartners happy too. This is my favorite field trip of all times. Farmer Rob and his wife own a Christmas tree farm and during the fall they open their farm to school children. He gives a short spiel on growing corn, takes everyone on a "hay" ride, lets the kids feed his animals and then treats the kids to a pumpkin from his patch. This guy and his family have a great story and really do bless the community with their farm. So fortunate!

World Card Making Day!

What a great reason to make another batch of cards for Operation Write Home. Here goes...

Back in '82, I Could Throw a Football Over That Mountain!

09.11.09

A very sad day remembering this horrific attack on our country. Thoughts and prayers for those who died on this day and for those who lost loved ones on this day! Gratitude for our military personnel who are "busting it" to keep us safe and free! T H A N K Y O U!

p.s.

This was drawn by Paul when he was 5 and in preschool, only a month after 9-11.

Back to School Monkeys!

Why, oh why, is it so difficult to get my kids to be normal for back to school photos? Paul's in 7th, Emilie's in 4th and my "frosting" is in Kindergarten!

Saying Goodbye To Summer...

We said goodbye to summer with a quick trip to Cayucos, filled with lots of family fun and craziness. Kayaking, horseback riding on the beach in Los Osos, hanging out with family in Cayucos and Morro Bay, farmers market in SLO, trying on hats in Beverly's and posing for the pedestrians, mechanical bull riding at Bubba's in Paso Robles and just plain old nutiness!Come on Nana, you know you want to leave a comment!Don't know this guy, but loved his colorful attire!

Love This Quote

“I am continually trying to keep ‘ME’ out of as much of my relations with people as possible, and transfer a full interest to you/them, which automatically...makes me a more lovable person to them, and them to me,”

Julia Child wrote to her husband Paul in 1946, shortly before they were married—quite a good description of what it was like to have an ego that expressed itself most pleasurably in generosity.

This One Is For You Paul...

We interrupt our regularly scheduled family news for this...

Giants call up Posey, Runzler
In a dramatic about-face, the Giants have purchased the contract of 2008 first-round pick Buster Posey, who will be in Philadelphia for tonight's game, GM Brian Sabean told The Chronicle.

The move is prompted by Bengie Molina's lingering quadriceps strain. He has not started a game since the series in Colorado, and team officials have been sending signals that they are frustrated with Molina's unwillingness to play through the injury in a pennant race.
Posey is not expected to start tonight's game, also Brad Penny's first start for the Giants. But the Giants felt they had to abandon their plans to wait for 2010 on Posey because of a catcher shortage.

In last night's 1-0 loss, Pablo Sandoval batted for Eli Whiteside. Molina then pinch-hit for pitcher Brandon Medders. Had the Giants tied the game or gone ahead, it was unclear who would have caught the bottom of the ninth, Molina or Ryan Garko. Molina has said he wants the quad to be healed before he catches again lest he injure it worse and misses even more time.

Posey had a terrific minor-league season. He batted .326 in 80 games at Class A San Jose and .321 in 35 games at Triple-A Fresno, and combined for 18 homers and 80 RBIs.

The Giants also decided to bring up left-handed reliever Dan Runzler, a 23-year-old reliever and ninth-round pick in 2007, to provide another weapon against the many left-handed bats the Giants must face down the stretch. Runzler rose from low Class A Augusta, Ga., to Double-A Connecticut. He walked 22 batters and struck out 77 in 54 1/3 innings.
September 02 2009 at 09:40

Christmas Cards in August?!?!

It's true...I have been making Christmas cards. Not your ordinary Christmas cards, these cards are for CARDS FOR HEROES. CARDS FOR HEROES is a great organization that supports our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them. I first learned of this organization on Memorial Day and have felt a tug to do this since then. They are having a mini blog hop (scroll down to the end of this post for the next stop) and I thought I would join in. My goal for today was to make a dozen cards, but I actually whipped out 16.

Easy peasy....I went for a whimsical card that our military personnel would love to send home to their little boys and girls. Plus, since it is still August and in the 80's, I couldn't get myself to use traditional Christmas colors. I used only supplies from my scrapbook stash...white pre-made card, pink card stock trimmed out with leaf green acrylic paint (imperfection is okay, inspired by Donna Downey), triangular shaped green tree embellished with paper from the Dollar Spot @ Target, small green bow for the tree topper and a quick pink "Merry Christmas" stamp. So very easy. My goal is to send a dozen a month.

My crafty Emilie made a note of encouragement to send with our cards. Very cute. I love her thoughfulness and kindness.

If you too are thinking of sending cards to CARDS FOR HEROES, the Holiday card deadline is November 1, 2009. Get to it...it's fun and easy!

Go check out the next stop on the hop: Suz G's.

If you get lost, go back to the Mini-bloghop: Happy Holidays for Heroes...have fun, it's addicting.

Chaos Meets Creativity!

I think I might need to clean my office?!?!? Just finished my Fabric Scrapbook...yippee! Completed projected to be posted soon!

Back to 3!

We will be picking Paul up from camp tomorrow. Yes, I know it has taken me awhile to post. It's a very quiet house when one is missing. Can't wait for a little more noise tomorrow!

Miscellaneous Tuesday!

Click on above photo to enlarge!

Joy In A Yellow Van!

And a little green eye shadow!

Staycation!

C E L E B R A T E !

A Shout Out To My Homies

The Fourth of July is always a blast at our house. Family, friends, BBQ and fireworks literally in our backyard. First of all, my Emilie came home from Camp Hammer. She is a trooper as this was her first week away from home. Way to go Em, we love you! This year, we also celebrated my cousin Mike's promotion to Battalion Chief for Cal Fire! Mike worked really hard for many years for this position. Nice job Mike, we are very proud of you!After dinner and cake, we walked around the block to set up for fireworks. My cousin Nick, the photographer, was game to help me shoot fireworks. Nick, you're awesome...thank you for helping me get a couple shots before my battery died. Yes, I am a novice....dated tripod and one battery pack, but I did shoot the following shots on manual. They are not the greatest, but my best thus far. Thank you Nick!

SV 12 Year Old All-Stars

Quick baseball update:
SV vs. SC National: 12 to 0 in the 4th
SV vs. San Juan Aromas: 19 to 1 in the 4th
Email me for next game; great, cheap, exciting entertainment.

Also, learning to shoot fireworks tomorrow night with cousin Nick the photographer!

Summer Time...Where Are You Going?

July 2 already?!?! The last month has been a blurr. All-Stars, Girl Scout Camp, beach days, Camp Hammer, more All-Stars... Fun, crazy and full...what more does a blessed mom need? (A vacation, but that's coming in August)