Christmas Day

Ohhhh....the sleepy anticipation!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was celebrated at our house this year. It was a "last minute" decision, but ended up being an enjoyable evening. We ate our turkey dinner, followed by a nativity play and christmas carols. Then we exchanged gifts with Dan's family and the cousins.
After everyone left, Heidi sprinkled "reindeer dust" on the front lawn, (consisting of oats and glitter) to attract the reindeer to our house. She was very precise in her placement of the "dust" so it could be seen from high in the sky.

Reed's first baby "Cheeto"

In 8th grade health class each kid is required to take home an electronic baby for 24 hours and care for it. This is to show kids how much responsibility caring for a baby is. Reed signed up for his baby and had to go to school early to get it. He cared for it during all classes. If it started to cry, he had to rock it until it stopped. If it is not rocked when it fusses, it will break out into a full screaming cry, and it takes longer to try to settle down.
When Reed arrived home, we asked him if his baby was a boy or girl, but he wouldn't check. Undeterred by my previous "diaper checking" experience, I looked for him. It was a nothing. (Asexual)
Reed named it "Cheeto" because the caucasion skin had an orangish glow to it. He took care of it all day and night and I really didn't hear more than a little fuss out of it. I think he did a really good job. The affection he had towards it was very cute, he seemed to bond with it. In the morning he told me that Cheeto screamed around 4AM really loud, but not enough to wake the rest of us up.
Reed told me that when he had to turn in Cheeto the next morning, he almost teared up. He also said he had an empty feeling all day and tried to peek in the health room to see if he could see him again. How cute is that? He is going to be a great Daddy some day! (When he is 35-40)

Christmas 2010

We went for a fun holiday evening of strolling through the Mall and Gardens in Newport Beach and the kids ran into Santa there. They told him what they wanted and went on their merry way. Audra (sis) was in town for the holidays and we had an enjoyable evening.

Heidi's Thanksgiving Play

A week before Thanksgiving... Heidi's Kindergarten class put on a Thanksgiving play. It was soooo cute. Heidi was a pilgrim and had a little speaking part. She also got to drag the Mayflower across the stage.

Halloween 2010

This halloween we had about 35 friends/family over for our traditional Pumpkin Dinner followed by trick-or-treating. Dan dressed up as Hitler and I was his mistress Eva Brown. Some people were shocked by Dan's non-PC costume. But one could argue....who is scarier than Hitler? Is he any worse than the Devil? Someone in the neighborhood refused to give a kid who was dressed like Obama any candy because she said "you've taken enough of my money already" and seriously would'nt give the kid any candy. We ate and then hit the streets for trick-or-treating. As always....we had a spooktacular night!

Honey Harvest #1- Success

Last wednesday, I had a "honey professional" come out an look at my hive to tell me how many frames I could take out of it. Ordinarially, you have to leave some honey in the hive for the bees to get through the winter. But since we live in a year-round warm place, and my hive is a strong hive, I was able to take alot more honey. In all I got 19 frames (which are the things I am holding in the picture above.)

So on Saturday, we took the frames to a place in Anaheim where a local Beekeeping Club (of which I am not a member) keeps their spinner. We spun the honey out of the frames and got somewhere between 4-6 gallons total. I havn't put it in jars yet so I am not exactly sure. While spinning, the smell of the honey attracted thousands of bees. We were pretty much entirely surrounded. I never got stung, but Julie got stung 2x. The head of the Beekeping Club said the honey had a spice taste to it. He said it had some eucalyptus and acacia in it. It is really yummy!

Being used to bees swarming all around me, the next day I had to put the empty frames back on the hive. I was stupid and did not use my bee suit and I ran out of smoke in a very important time. My bees were very pissed and attacked me. I had to jump in the pool in order to get them away from me and got stung 10 times. This rouined my day because I had a party to prepare for. I had 40 people comming for my halloween party in 4 hours. Luckily Dan helped out alot and we pulled it off. After the party I went to bed at 10:30 and slept very well from taking too much Benadryl.

Emily's Jack-o-lantern

Emily Carved the cutest little jack-o-lantern in her class this year.

Reed's Bizzare Scout Camp

So many things that happen around here are surreal. This is one of them.... Reed went on a Boy Scout Camp last night and Dan went with him. They planned on camping for the night and then on the way home, doing some Air-Soft Shooting. There were 7 boys and 3 adults. One of the boys was in a wheelchair/granny cart thing. Dan said he was a huge brat and threw a few tantrums while they were up camping. When it came time for airsoft...Dan was trying to show the wheelchair boy the safety rules and how to correctly use the gun. The kid had no regard for anything Dan was saying and was pointing the gun everywhere. (Airsoft won't injure...unless shot in the eye or ear...but it will bruise you and does sting when you get shot). The boy continued to be an idiot, pointing the gun in Dan's eyes, and ended up shooting one of the adults in the back. This is where it got crazy.
The adult grabbed the gun and said he would make sure that the boy would remember not to shoot people and said he was going to shoot the kid to "teach him a lesson". The terrified kid was shrieking in fear and tipped his cart over in a scuffle with the adult trying to get the gun. Dan and the 3rd adult then tried to help the kid up. When they got him up, Dan moved away thinking the kid got the hell scared out of him and he wont do that again....then the injured adult shot the kid in the back from close range. The kid then tipped his cart again and slithered out of it. Dan & Reed were in disbelief. Then another kid at the camp was so mad at the adult for shooting the kid that he shot the adult again. The adult became so enraged he litterally threw a tantrum and thew a metal water bottle at the kid....fortunately missing.
Now when Dan was conveying the story to me, I must confess I was laughing my head off. The mental images I conjured in my head were very entertaining. But this man is obviously an idiot. I will never let Reed go on a campout with him again. As for the handicapped kid...he probably got what he deserved

Harvest Time Fixx

Today we went up to Oak Glen for our Fall Fixx. We toured a Cider Mill, picked apples, lost children in a corn maze, and had a fun day.

The usual nonsense occurred.
Reed probably would rather have been somewhere else...but I think he had a good time. And come on, what teenage kid wouldn't enjoy picking an apple right off of a tree?

Bjoern showed us how strong he was by lifting a pumpkin over his head..... Those germans are built so solid........Impressive Bjoern!

Dan tried to scare us by hiding behind stalks of corn in the corn maze. Unfortunately, his bright shirt gave him away....and the fact that he is slightly larger than a stock of corn.

Auslanders (foreigners)

Our friends Bjoern & Melanie are here from Geestacht Germany for 12 days. We went down to the beach for an evening of ocean air and fish & chips.

Mariachi Migrane

Today I needed to go down to Dana Point to pick up some feed for the chickens. Usually when I do this we will go to one of our favorite authentic Mexican restaurants for lunch/dinner, Ricardos. I had a slight headache all morning and after going to the feed store it was starting to escalate. So I asked Dan to rummage through the glove box and find me an Excedrine. Now, all I needed was water. As we walked into the restaurant, I noticed the regular harp player leaving with his harp. I was a little bummed because I enjoy hearing him play when we eat. As we sat down and ordered we were served our chips an salsa....slowly followed by that water I needed for my headache medicine.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, we were literally surrounded by a 15 person Mariachi band. The trumpets were placed 6 inches from my throbbing head. It was so surreal, it was funny. They played 6 loud, long, very authentic mexican songs....accompanied by off key singers.
So much for the quiet lunch.
Also...another "star sighting". Jerry Van Dyke sat across from us. I think he was with a younger star...I didnt recognize, but he was cute.

Rain, How Exciting!

It is a rare occasion when we get rain here, and even more rare when it is warm outside while raining. This morning when the girls woke up, the rain started to pour. So instead of eating breakfast, Emily & Heidi, threw on their swimsuits and played in the rain. They had so much fun. It rained for about 1/2 hour. When it stopped, the girls just transitioned into the pool. Dan & I had fun spying on them from the upstairs bedroom window. It reminded us of a seal habitat at a zoo.

Heidi meets Toothfairy

It was a wonderful thing when Heidi's first tooth finally fell out. It dangled and wiggled in the front of her mouth for 2 months! It ended up taking a permanent position of laying sideways on top of the other tooth. When I asked her to try to wiggle it to get it out...she would use her tongue. That night she put her little tooth in her special "Tooth Fairy Pillow" and woke up to $5. The toothfairy pays very well for your 1st tooth. Then she is pretty cheap on the rest. I am now having Heidi say "sister-susie-sitting-on-a-thistle" it is hilarious!

Kenny Loggins Concert

On the weekends in the summer, our Lake Club puts on a free concert series. Sometimes we get some pretty good talent like The Fixx or The Doors. On Saturday, Kenny Loggins was playing so we planned a "girls night" and went to see him. Dan was not interested and so he stayed home with the kids. We were able to get great parking because the girl who drove was an on-call police officer....so we took her car and parked illegally. I have to admit I really wanted her to use the sirens more. You know, if someone was crossing the street a little slowly, or j-walking, just give them a little "WOO-Woo" to speed them up. Oh the power she possessed with those horns.
The concert was really good. I forgot how many songs he actually sang that I knew. Thanks to my friend Lorie getting there in the middle of the night at 6am, we got great seats. Except, my poor friend Stephanie had to sit right behind a tree the entire time so she couldn't see him. So she listened to the tree sing. (Quite frankly, I think she was developing a strange affection for that tree in a Mary Catherine Gallager-kind-of-way.) He was not your typical "live performer" and sounded just like his recordings. It was a fun evening and a good concert.

Horsies

Last Friday, Dan surprised us an took us to a horse jumping competition in San Juan Capistrano. It was a lot of fun. The purse was a $50,000 prize and the winner got to go on to the World Championships. The jumps were HUGE! Like 6-7 feet tall, and doubled! I used to jump horses when Dan went to school and was in one tiny novice competition..... I have not been to a competition since. And to see one at this level was really cool. We also got to see the most expensive wild Mustang ever purchased. He was $50,000. He did not jump, of course, but led the national anthem. The girls really enjoyed it and had a good time. Reed opted to stay home and shoot air-soft pellets at his friends all night. To-each-his-own!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Contrary to the photo above, the kids were actually really excited to start school today. Reed started 8th Grade, Ashley 5th, Emily 4th, and Heidi is in Kindergarten. FREEEDOMMMM!Last week Heidi was somewhat nervous about school but as long as she knew her friend Olivia was going to be with her, she said she would be fine. After school she did tell me that 3 kids in her class had meltdowns.
Reed, ending 7th grade with knock down-drag out fight, wore a shirt that said "Silence, I Keel You". I am not sure what kind of message he was trying to send.

Ashley & Emily were anxious to see their friends (although Ashley did not get in a class with one friend this year). Both girls have good teachers and we are looking forward to their brains increasing in volume tremendously.



This opens a new chapter in our lives. No more babies at home. Its bittersweet.

4 Eyes

When I took Heidi to her 5 year Dr's appointment..... She had some trouble seeing the symbols on the eye chart with one eye. So, after procrastinating for 2 months, I finally got her to the eye doctor. Prognosis: she is far sighted in one eye and needs glasses when reading or looking closely at things. So we ordered her some glasses and she looks so cute in them.

Geeb & Geeb Weekend (Bomb Squad)

Every 6 months or so, Dans lifelong friend Ray, comes down to visit us. Every trip he makes, I am dumbfounded when they make it through the weekend without one of them being arrested. They have know eachother since they were around 11, so they revert into 11 year olds when they are together. This weekend started out as such.

Dan picked up Ray in complete disguise. He wore a white-trash leather cowboy hat, hiking boots (something you won't see Dan in unless he's camping), Long jeans (another thing you won't see Dan in unless he is on vacation and it is snowing), and a long sleve shirt. He had a fake mustache, sunglasses and a fake cigarrette. Ray was expecting him to drive through the airport and pick up at the curb as ususal. So he was not expecting Dan to be walking around. Dan took one of the girl's rolling backpacks to make the costume complete. The disguise worked perfectly. Dan stood right infront of Ray.......no identification. So then he dragged his foot across Rays as he restlessly walked by......still no ID. Then he rolled his rolling backpack completely across Ray's feet.....still no ID. Ray said he thought that "the guy" had too much to drink on the plane and was ready to say something to him because he was so rude. Then Dan stared Ray right in the face and Ray noticed the crooked fake mustache and finally ID'd Dan. Hilarious!

Ray always brings us the best pastries in the whole world from Glaus Pastries. These coveted bits of heaven are the type of dessert that are best tasted in a dark closet with no distractions, bite by delicious bite. So, an hour into the trip I asked Ray if he remembered the pastries. He looked all over for them and realized he left them in the airport, right at the feet of the John Wayne statue, because he was so distracted by Dan's disguise. So we hurried up to the airport (abt 10 minutes away). Dan and Ray checked the last known location....no pastries. Then they started rummaging through the trash. ( Yes, these are good enough to eat out of the trash.) This is when security Segway'ed over to see what was going on. By the third trash bin, Dan had found the little white pastry box. The police officer said "Gee, you guys caused me a little trouble today. We had to call out the bomb squad and bomb sniffing dog to ID the box. (good thing the dog did'nt like pastries.) He cradled the box like his firstborn and scurried towards the car to indulge in the chocolately/pineapple/rum goodness.

OC Fair

On Friday we took the kids (and Annik) to the OC Fair. The last time we went, Ashley & Emily were in a stroller, so it was a whole new experience for the kids. We rode the rides (I was sick after 2) and looked at the animals and exhibits. Heidi told us she had never seen a cow up close before. (Such is the life of a child raised in Orange County). The kids had a good time and I think their favorite part was playing the ball throwing games and the Tilt-a-Whirl ride.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

In honor of the man with the biggest muscles ever -pro big wave surfer Laird Hamilton,

inventor of Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Annik & I decided to rent some boards and try it out. Our first option was to go to Dana Point and learn out in the harbor, but since it we watched a little too much of Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" this week, we opted to learn on Lake Mission Viejo. We had 5 minutes of instruction and were sent out to sea. We did pretty good for our first time. We made it all the way to the end of the lake. But as I turned to see if there was any writing on a bouy, I heard a short scream. I turned quickly to look and saw an empty paddle board and bubbles under the water. Annik had somehow fallen off. I had to drop to my knees because I was laughing so hard, I almost fell off. We made it back to the other end of the lake and I thought I would try some tricks on my board, so as I went to do a one foot arabesque, I too fell, loosing my sunglasses. We had a fun time and I would definitely like to do it more. It wasnt much of a workout and I was not sore at all the next day- another plus!

Minigolf

We went to Mini golfing at Boomers on Monday. We started with lunch then went bumper boating, where Annik's wicked side came out. She had a very sinister look on her face as she soaked everyone. Once drenched, we were ready for our 19 holes of golf. We had a good time and the kids hardly fought. (Quite a feat these days). Heidi had the highest score and I had the lowest.