A San Francisco Treat

I know I have needed to post this, but surprisingly, my life has been a bit busy.  HA!

 I had the pleasure of taking a girls only trip with my mom and sister during Spring Break recently.  We have never done anything like this before.  Our requirements were that we had to go somewhere none of us had been before and it needed to be fairly warm (my requirement of course).  San Francisco it was.

So, we arrived, got our rental car and off we went.  We were headed north of San Francisco really to Mill Valley.  Our GPS took us through classic San Francisco.  The steep streets were amazing.  The homes built on the incline and the architecture took our breaths away.

Classic San Francisco; check.

Crossed the Golden Gate Bridge; check.

 Saw Alcatraz from a distance; check.

Saw a motor cycle gang.  The boys would have that that was so cool.  check.

Went to Stinson Beach. check.
 Beautiful day!  We had amazing weather the entire time.  Fog (of course) in the morning, but beautiful blue sky all day long.

 Cold water.  But so refreshing!

I was so excited to see green grass.  I had to put my feet in it!  There was (and still is) snow at my house.  

Yup my piggies were happy.  Sand, sun, surf and grass.  All within one hour.  

Wish I had gotten that pedi before the trip after all.  Oh well.

Had our only group picture taken by another set of tourists.  For young men from across the ocean and very large communication barrier, I think they took a fantastic photo!

Day two.  Wine country.  

Sonoma was our destination.  I apparently was the only one drinking this vacation.  Jessie drove and Mom was taking it easy.  However, from this picture, you would have thought she was the one tipping back a few too many!

 Jessie was so excited the whole trip.  We couldn't keep her from letting it all out!  Really we were just being goofballs and taking the silliest pictures we could come up with.  Jessie went with the Senior High School photo shoot.  She can totally pull that off.  Lucky.

 However I was stuck with the "Why the heck do I have to carry everything.  I left my kids at home." photo shoot.  You bet I carried their crap.  But, again I was the only one drinking, so they obviously took advantage of me.  I was not in my right mind.  I see that now.

I could totally live in wine country.  Just saying.

We went to downtown Sonoma and walked around all the shops.  We thought the orange tree was so cool!  Mom doesn't know we got her in this shot.  Sorry.  I did carry your crap so I guess we are even.

This sign was outside of a pub.  We decided that if we had husbands with us, we totally would have dropped them here.  You're welcome.

Day Three:  Redwoods!!!!!
This really was what we were coming to see.  We were so excited and so very cold!  A chilly, but beautiful morning!  Yeah, that guy in shorts was nuts!  I bet he took the fastest tour of the redwoods ever!

Amazing!

 
We had to hug the trees.  Everything needs some love.

Yup, I took this picture.  I really did.  Maybe I should be a photographer.  Wait.  Stop laughing.  I meant it.  Well, maybe I should.  But we all know I won't.

Day Four.  We hung out, had a picnic, relaxed and just visited.  It was a wonderful time.  I can't wait to do it again soon!  And I can't wait to take Brad and the kids to see the Redwoods!

Sports Anyone?

Because no one can have too much sports in their lives, I would like to blog once again about the sports in my life.

If you didn't know already, I am not coordinate.  I can not do organized sports.  I have no desire to participate, watch, or referee any sports.  However, all of my children are very good at sports thanks to Brad.  I totally give credit to my husband for giving our children the coordination and sport ability gene.

With it being Spring.  We have club wrestling season and track.  Now, I know I have already been talking and posting about wrestling.  Yes, it is just about dang near as long as hockey here.  But, for us it starts in October with high school season, then middle school season, now club season.  Quite maddening.  All the boys get to wrestle in club.  Little E has been chomping at the bit all year for it to start.  Today was our first tournament.  They did well for themselves.  There is alot of learning ahead of them this season, but it is looking to be a good mix.

Here is Little E going in for a good looking double leg.

He always listens to coach.

Av is ready to "slam someone into the mat".  Or so he says.  He actually did in this match.

Isaak is always cool as a cucumber.  And he was so pumped (he didn't show it of course) to wear his Missouri singlet in competition for the first time since he got it at Christmas.

Are you ready for more wrestling?  You better get ready.  Because this season has only begun.

Technology

Technology is trying to get the best of me again.  It is a daily battle I wage.  Most days I am able to keep my head above water.  Other days, I am beaten to a pulp by the sheer mass of information that my small brain can not comprehend.  Why do I go on about this you ask?  We have said goodbye to our dinosaur laptop, and hello to the world of Mac.
Yes, we have made the jump from PC world to the world of alignment for our home technology.  It is certainly taking me time to get used to manipulating programs and doing the "simple" things I used to do on the laptop.  But, we now have all our electronic devices "connected" to one another and "sharing" information with each other.  I don't really think we do, but the guy at the store assures me that is how it works.
On that note.  I have actually taken classes on how to use my computer.  I feel so old.  I really don't have time to take classes, but looks like I have to if I want to actually use it.  So, my blogging (and everything else I do) has suffered.  Yet, here I am today.  Giving it a try....
Ok, I'm done.  No more sniveling.  No more excuses.  On to the good stuff (if I can get the computer to do what I want).  Here are some pics of the kids' recent events.....

Av competed in the Jr. Native Youth Olympics this year.  He competed in the One Foot High Kick. It is pretty cool to watch.  Google it and you'll find some pretty spectacular footage.  His highest kick was 68 inches from the floor.  Very fun!

He also played volleyball for the school.  This picture cracks me up!  Looks like he coordinated his clothing with the mats in the gym!  Ha!

Here is what little E and baby O have done for most weekends in the month of January and February...be bored at wrestling tournaments.  Isaak's season is over now (thank goodness).  But, club starts on Monday for us and all three boys will be practicing.  Bleacher butt here I come.  

I don't have pics of Isaak currently.  He is too busy being cool.  

Now that I was able to write this post in a satisfactory time frame, I look forward to posting about my latest trip to San Francisco!  Yup, that's right.  I went on a vacation.  Can't wait to tell you all about it.

New Years Eve

We spent today exploring and experimenting as an end to 2012.  With our very unusual beginning of winter this year, our Christmas break has been no exception. 

Weather recap:  No snow, sub-zero temps, high winds, tons of snow, sub-zero temps, high winds, snow blown away.  Currently warm temps, above freezing temps, melt what is frozen temps.  So, here is the point of my rambling.  The kids like to go to the creek and explore.  Lately, since the afore mentioned snow has been blown off and we have had odd periods of sub-zero and above freezing temps, the creek has experienced some interesting changes. 

We went on a long walk on the creek today to see the cool changes together.  The sun was out and it was about 40 degrees.  (Way to warm for December here.  But of course, I loved the warmth.  Don't tell).    We all started the walk with all our gear on.  We all started shedding our hats and gloves before we even reached the creek.  We took the dog sled for the little kids when they couldn't walk any more and for when the ice was too slick.  No we don't own sled dogs.  Brad found it in the middle of the road one day many years ago.  It is perfect to pull behind a snow machine for the kids. 

 

 

Av did some "ice skating" without skates. 

 

 

Ok,so here is the cool part.  Some how these huge rocks became suspended in the ice.  The ice is about 3 feet thick.  We estimated the rocks to be about a foot from the surface.  But what I find fascinating is that the water is running beneath the ice.  We saw debris and fish swimming below the ice.  VERY cool.  The pictures don't do it justice.  But the rock is as big as two adult heads put together.  How did it get there and stay in a suspended fashion long enough to freeze in the middle of 3 feet of ice?

 

 

 

 

This picture has smaller rocks suspended in the same way.  The white cotton ball looking objects are air bubbles that froze in the ice.  Brad says the ice here is at least 3 feet thick and probably 5 to 6 feet to the bottom.  The rocks out of focus are on the bottom of the creek.  The ice fault lines freak me out however.  Have I ever told you how walking on ice absolutely freaks me out?  It does.  So today's adventure was a big step for me. 

 

Next we found some open water (again, temps have been warm for the past few days) with ice in the center.  We thought it looked like a heart.  Meaningful day.

 

 

Here is some more open water.  Was I freaked?  You bet.  I could have stepped there.  Yikes! 

 

 

Had to have a group photo on the ice. 

 

 

Brad was the tow barge on the way home.

 

 

Look what else I found.  A moose track that has melted into the shape of a heart.  Perfect ending to a perfect adventure. 

 

Later, we tried some neat experiments with sparklers.

Can you read what we wrote?

 

 

 

 

What a wonderful end to a wonderful year.  Thank you all for sharing with us.  I look forward to sharing our adventures in 2013.  Happy New Year to you all!

 

 

 

PROJECTS!!!!

Christmas break.  Finally.  We have had so much illness this month, that we were all ready for this break.  We have been taking things easy and just planning day by day. 

I have wanted to paint the kid's craft table and baby O's play kitchen table for awhile now.  It was my only mission for this break to get it completed.  Here is the breakdown.

Very old kitchen table.  We had cut the legs down a few years ago and made it into a craft table for the kids.  I sanded the top and legs to prep for paint. 

Old kid play table I found at a thrift store many years ago.  Sanded the top and legs of this as well.  I had to take the top off and the drawer out to get paint in all the right places.

 

Old shelving unit from a yard sale.  It is being used for the kids craft supplies. 

 

I taped off the area on the back and sides that I wanted to keep white to prep for the chalkboard paint.  Yup.  Chalkboard paint.  Took about 3 coats to get the desired thickness.

Final products:

Baby O play kitchen table.

 

 

 

Also made kitchen signs for her wall from random boards. 

Kid craft table and shelving unit finished.

Chalkboard paint on table tops and side and back of shelving unit.  Big hit. 

I love repurposing items.  A good update sparks my creativity.  Ready to tackle another project before the break is over. 

Happy holidays

Merry Christmas!  Long time, no blog.  Seems like I say that alot this year.  We have been busy as always.  All the kids are busy with school activities then we stack on sports.  High school wrestling started, middle school basketball came to a close, and gymnastics goes on forever.  We have been battling some nasty virus' since October. Last year we were pretty healthy.  This year we are certainly making up for it.
We started our Thanksgiving weekend with Little E breaking his index finger.  It has healed nicely.
Not much playing outside recently as the high winds have blown all the snow away.

We have had some fun with holiday performances.  Here is baby O for her pre-school performance.

This is baby O and Little E waiting for practice for church Christmas pageant. And here are my silly children torturing me for Christmas pictures as well as some fun experiments with light and my camera. Happy holidays!