Gardening and other Watersports

So, for all of you who don't believe that I'm not a green thumb, I have proof. You know those little green bugs that infest the stems of plants, breed ferociously, and look like small grasshoppers? Those little mites (more commonly called aphids) have one of the highest itch factors in my entire "phobia" list. Seriously, when I see them, I feel like I break out in hives and need to go inside for some Benadryl. Well, look what I found the other day...You can barely see it but it's there-the butt end of an aphid, enjoying MY ranunculas. How dare it!!&&** Anyway, after I got past that, I decided to water my lovely? garden and enlisted the help of my 3 year old.
Hey, my grass looks pretty green. I'll pat myself on the back for that one. Oh, and look, I actually have some sort of flowers growing in my "garden." Another pat on the back. Believe me, it's a stretch to want to do any sort of weeding and/or planting in God's great greenhouse. That's why he made people like my mom. While we're on the subject of mom, here's a fun picture I took of her and the kids (well, 2 of them), the other day while I was visiting Nana. I haven't taken a picture of my Nana who is visiting from out of town but I'll get one soon.
This was the scene as soon as an electronic device came out. It was so strange. It was like a magnet drew all of the children to the "king of electronics," a.k.a. my husband, Will. They wanted to see a video of some digital insects on YouTube and were all fighting for a spot to observe the 3 inch screen. *sigh*
On Sunday, we spent some time with some wonderful friends and their families for lunch. I love my fellowship group and it's so much fun that most of their kids are my kid's ages so they have so much fun together. Here they are playing School. Rebekah is the teacher. I'm actually surprised Mikayla gave up that role to sit with the students. Wait...one of the kids is missing!
OH, there he is! When we turned around, there was J, soaking wet and loving the free water fountain in the plaza. I wonder what his carseat looked like after the ride home.

A Weekend Retreat

This past weekend was such a treat. I and a few of my friends went to a lodge up in the mountains to spend some time in worship of our great Creator. This is my first year on a women's retreat and it was a great experience. It had a lot to do with the girls I went with. What a great set of friends I have. Here are a few of those awesome women at breakfast one morning.Chilly would be the word I would use to describe the weather up the mountain. On Friday it started out with blue skies and just the need for a long sleeve shirt and jeans. By Saturday, it was a little colder and the jacket made its appearance but by Sunday morning, the snow had begun to fall. Later in the morning, the speaker decided to cut her message short and send us all back down the mountain before the storm stranded us all in our rooms. To be honest, I wouldn't have complained. The food was amazing!! Here is Emily making fresh footprints in the snow while packing the car.
Of course, the snow presented a great photo op. I don't know how long it's been since I stood under falling snow so it was a treat! Here are a few pics.
Me and Mina. Forgive the repetition of the same outfit. These were all taken on the same day. Believe me, I do change my clothes every day!
At California Pizza Kitchen since we had some extra time to kill on the way back down the mountain.
What a special time!

I can't believe she's 6!!

I think the world now knows that Mikayla is 6 years old. I feel like we've been celebrating for days but she is well worth it! On her actual birthday, Friday, she started the day off with school in the morning and then I took her to Disneyland for the afternoon and evening. It worked out perfectly since I had received a 2fer pass on my birthday and had to use my second free day before one month passed. Since Mikayla's birthday is on the 13th, I had 3 days to spare so we both went for free!

The day was so much fun. We met up with a friend from school and her mom who had passes and Mikayla and Alyssa were so excited to be together outside of school at the happiest place on earth! I had a fun time getting to know her mom a little better and am happy that my daughter is making good friendships at school with wonderful kids.

I couldn't believe I actually made it all the way through the day (I had gone to Disneyland with Cara in the morning to take full advantage of the free pass) on one hour of sleep the night before. I haven't been able to get a lot of sleep lately due to several factors, one being the medicine I'm taking for my asthma and the other comes in the form of a 15 month old with new teeth coming in. Anyway, I actually made it without collapsing all the way until 11:30 at night when Mikayla and I pulled into the driveway after a fun-filled day at Disneyland. Her favorite rides were the roller coasters, especially Thunder Mountain and she even put her hands up and slid back and forth on the seat. I had to be dragged on that ride as a young girl by my Papa and my hands never came off of the safety bar. She seems to have no fear. Surprisingly, Mikayla even waited over an hour to ride Space Mountain even after I told her that it was dark, fast and loud. What a trooper.

Saturday morning, we had her "school" party at our house with 7 of her school friends. Will set up the jump house, we had breakfast at 8:30 in the morning (french toast sticks) and then decorated cupcakes, had a pinata and opened presents. They were excited just to be there together and spend some time playing. Unfortunately, one of her friends couldn't make it. Tragically, the father of one of her best friends in school died suddenly on Thursday of a massive heart attack, much to the surprise of everyone who knew him. I had found out about it on the day of Disneyland but I didn't want to spoil Mikayla's day by telling her since she didn't know why Julia hadn't made it to school that day. It will be hard to tell her and my heart aches for her friend. If you think of them, please pray for their family.

So, here's a slideshow of all that happened for her birthday. Tonight, we had my parents over (who brought yummy pizza, thanks mom and dad!) and my cousin Cheryl to celebrate. All in all, I think it's a birthday that Mikayla won't soon forget. I can't believe my baby is 6. I'm so proud of her, of who she's becoming, and what a blessing she is in my life. Happy Birthday, Baby!!

Finally Finished!!

You know those projects that kind of sit on the top shelf of your brain and remain there, gathering dust and continually nagging at you until they're finished? I've had a few and I am proud to say that I have finally finished them, at least 3 of them.

The first projects were diaper bags. One of my friends just had her first little girl and I was unable to attend her shower. I meant to finish the bag by the shower but didn't get around to it. The fabric was sitting on the table, calling out to me (fabric always does) but I didn't have a chance to make it until now. Here it is, finished! I'm pretty happy with it. Here is the inside. Then there was Joyce's bag. This one is a LOT late. I like to make diaper bags for my friends who have new babies but, unfortunately, was never able to make one for Joyce since her baby was born about a week after Lynnea. Since I was in a sewing frenzy, I whipped hers out once I had finished Valerie's. Here it is.
The other project that kind of sprouted up was the repainting/redecorating of my master bedroom. Ever since Will and I have been married, our bedroom colors have remained the same, lavendar and green. A great color combo but, after 9 years of marriage, I wanted a change. Throughout the last few months I've been picking up a few things here and there, throw pillows, paint swatches, curtains, and finally, a bedspread that I liked and tackled the huge project of redesigning the bedroom.

This first picture is the before; not the decorated before but the "prep before painting" before.
and here's the after.

The bathroom before painting (missing a few shelves on the wall.)
and after.
Now I need to finish Lynnea's scrapbook...

Backyard

Just some fun shots of the kids in the backyard. Lynnea's favorite thing was dumping sand all over her body. I'm working on a slideshow for Mikayla's birthday. It's been a full week!Loving being dirty.

Fun with Popsicles

I don't have much to write about as of late with the exception of the nasty asthma attack I suffered due to my desire to repaint my bedroom. I really don't know how it started but, after vacuuming the Frankenstein-sized dust bunnies under my bed and dresser, I started to have what some would call a sneeze attack of the worst kind. I thought it would be over once I was finished cleaning 6 years worth of dirty carpet but it prolonged into the night and then started becoming something a little different...more of a cold, really. The next day I fought to breathe and could not get a deep breath. That night, I got a whopping 2 hours of sleep and the heavy chest went on into the next day. I made an appointment with my Dr. who said that I was having an asthma attack and gave me some pills to lessen the inflammation in my lungs. So far it's been working for the most part but it was still a scary experience.

To lighten the mood a little bit after cleaning, painting, and doing other chores today, we let all 3 kids have a Popsicle. Now, usually, only the 2 oldest get one all their own but tonight Lynnea got to have her very own as well. She was in heaven. Here's a slide show of "Popsicle fever."

I also got a treat tonight. A few years ago, a company that rented one of Will's dad's buildings made ice cream that they sold to stores. Every once in a while, dad would bring home a box of the most delicious, perfect ice cream bars ever. Whenever I saw one in the work freezer, I had to savor each scrumptious, savory bite. Now, for those of you who don't like things out of the ordinary, this wouldn't be your kind of treat but for me, it is divine. Green tea ice cream lovingly enrobed in a coating of white chocolate. Heaven. About a year ago, Will came home with devastating news. They had discontinued the green tea bars because someone over in Hong Kong had died...(don't ask me what the correlation is). I was devastated and thought I would never taste them again. Then I got a phone message a few days ago from my techy husband that a box had arrived from the ice cream company. Inside, was pure heaven. Here is a picture of the ice cream masterpiece (albeit a little blurry). MMMM! After having a bite of it, Mikayla said she wanted to eat the rest of them. I firmly said "no, these are mommy's treats." Something has to be sacred, right?

Colorful Times

This weekend, Mikayla went to 2 birthday parties. At the first one, I didn't take any pictures but I probably wouldn't have gotten any of my kids anyway since they disappeared into the jump house and never returned. The second one was at Color Me Mine. I had never set foot in this store before and it looks like it could become one of those addictions for those of us who drool at any kind of craft. In celebration of Bekah's birthday, about 6 little girls got to paint their very own sculpture. Mikayla chose a cat and was very deliberate and exacting when she painted it. An artist in the making! The paints don't look that vibrant when you paint them on but after they fire it I guess they get more colorful.Here she is, the picture of absolute concentration. Emily even went to such lengths as to make all of the attendees aprons. There are those of my friends who know how to throw a party. I can do it if I try but it's not one of my gifts, that's for sure. Way to go, Em!
Here is the almost finished cat next to the colors she was painted with. (I did make the mistake of calling it a "he" during the painting process. I was quickly corrected.)
Here's the birthday girl with her beautiful cake, made by my friend, Aly. It was so cute and very delicious.
On to the colorful nature of my youngest. We have recently discovered that Lynnea is a dipper. Almost worse than I am. She has even been known to "dip" chicken nuggets into bowls that have no dip in them. It's instinct, a genetic trait. I must say that this innate gift is highly respected by me since Ranch is the dip of choice for me as well. Here she is after I gave her her own little dish of ranch for her pizza. Where's the pizza, you ask? Well, after she used it as a spoon, she discarded it and decided that fingers were better.
And my son is potty training...for the 3rd time. This time I think it's working (crossing my fingers as I say this). We promised one Wii Mario Cart game per potty session but if he pees at all in his diaper, we take one away. It has worked amazingly well. I'm patting myself on the back for coming up with the "winning" bribe but, in reality, I think it was just because he decided that he was ready. I think I've lost quite a bit of patience along the way but the hard work is paying off. Maybe next year in MOPS he won't be with the babies...
Good job, Tyler!!