Feliz Aniversario: Once Anos!

What a day!

Or should I say,

"What 11 years!"

That doesn't really make sense,

but either way,

for our family,

it's happy commeration

of when our family began!

Samuel surprised me by coming home for lunch,

and announcing that he was home for the day!

Woo-hoo!

Then he whipped out a picnic,

complete with a baguette and chev're goat cheese

-my favorite!-

and we headed to the park!

For dessert,

my fatal hubris:

Scotchmallows...

11 of them!

Recently we scored a bocce ball set from a

second-hand store,

and with courts just down the way at a local park,

it's our new favorite game!

Now that we had an audience...

Let the games begin!

What a wonderful day!

The only flaw was that my girls

were at school and missed out on the

"stolen" afternoon!

More excuse to get out again

-and soon-

to do this all over again!

...

P.S.

Samuel,

I love you!

xoxome

Free Museum Day: The Aerospace Museum of California

How can you not love an airshow?

It's as American as apple pie

-which ironically, I don't like very much!,

or say the hot dog

-which again, I don't like very much...

Hmmm...

but it's everything that I DO love about this country!

It's freedom, innovation, adrenaline...

Really, you can't go wrong!

And when free museum day rolled around,

we took advantage of saving big bucks on admission

and hit the road...

 

Grandpa Lopez flew

the Coast Guard "doggie-nose".

We still see it flying in the sky,

and always, always think of him.

We love you, Grandpa!

Ready for take-off!

Not exactly warp-speed...

but one-day,

I want to fly in one of these babies...

I love seeing my boys on the "tarmac". 

They look so small!

My girls in a fighter!

Did you know I almost joined the Air Force?

I was on board with the recruiters and

would depart after graduation to report

to Lackland Air Force base in Texas.

Thank goodness for a little thing called,

"The Book of Mormon",

which changed my life forever!

Big mouths...

Samuel giving his cheesiest

"dignitary" grin!

Yes,

out of all the amazing things to see and do,

leaves top Gabriel's list!

Demonstrating how to go,

when you,

you know,

have to go...

And the proper washing of hands!

Thanks, Bella!

Love the fan!

One of our favorite parts of the day,

standing near a roaring propeller!

We screamed and whooped and hollored

and you could not hear a thing over that engine!

This was a really great day!

Beautiful weather, beautiful planes!

And free!

The Living Book Fair

What is a Living Book Fair?

Turns out,

it's pretty awesome!

Each grade selected a classic story

and brought it to life!

Thank you, Iris!

You did amazing in your play:

The Giving Tree!

You worked so hard to

memorize all of your lines,

and you sparkle "on stage"!

Ava's puppet show,

"Jack and the Beanstalk"

was a hit with all the kids!

Way to go, Ava!

Bella's class shared

"The Sign of the Beaver",

and brought to life a Native American village,

complete with a wig wam,

fishing, setting snares, and grinding cornmeal!

What a fun way to end the night!

Girls,

we're so proud of you!

Thank you for a wondeful evening!

We love you!



This Never Gets Old...

We have a tradition of

Family Fun Fridays,

and the usual night consists

of homemade pizza-

pepperoni, olives, and pineapple for the kiddos,

gourmet masterpieces for mum and dad!-

and a movie.

This time,

I thought we'd mix things up and

get off the couch!

And where to but one of our family favorites,

The Fountains!

We all go nuts over the sourdough bread,

and all that chewing is best done watching

the awesome water shows!

The kiddos got in some playtime before

it became "officially" dark,

and I discovered, "Crazy 8's",

a kids clothing store that I will definitely

be visiting another time!

Happy Friday!

January Madness

Boy,

what happened to

easing into the new year? 

Our January calandar filled up in no time...

proving, once again,

that the old adage is true:

No rest for the weary...

and the righteous don't need none!

By the way,

we're definitialy the former-not the latter!

January did give us the opportunity

to watch Samuel coach-for two minutes-

the young men in Basketball. 

Then they needed a ref-

something he's not to keen on,

but did great!

The young men weren't

so fond of him thereafter,

but I,

to the great embarrassment of Owen,

screamed my head off for our side...

and the awesome ref!

He kept saying,

"Mom, why are you yelling?!?

Stop!"

No way, boy!

And get used to it!

Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall...

Owen,

You are one funny little boy!

I love you!

You found a wall,

and before I know it,

you called to me

and sang

-and acted out-

"Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall..."!

Thanks for making my day, hon!

Love,

Mom

Miner's Ravine

Determined to get in a little day hike,

we hit Miner's Ravine late in the afternoon.

Knowing the sun would set quickly,

we gobbled our goods

(string cheese & salami)

and then hit the trails.

We oogled the pretty homes on the hillside,

disrupted a parade of skittish turkeys,

climbed a sweet overlook,

and

I fell flat on my face!

Awesome!

Seriously,

good family times,

And the bonus?

Only fifteen from home!



S'more Brownies

A major family favorite...

not to mention a hit at the bakesale!

I'll never forget when the kids told me these were

priced high and sold fast at school!

I won't lie,
I was pretty proud!

S'more Brownies

Makes 12 generous "inside" brownies

(We save the edges for snacking!)

Ingredients

1 pkg. Betty Crocker family-size brownie mix, unprepared

1/4 c brown sugar, unpacked

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 c fat free milk

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 large eggs

4 tbs Nutella spread

3/4 c chocolate chips

4 sheets of graham cracker, crushed

1-2 c mini-marshmallows or 6 large marshmallows cut in half

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13 x 9 in. glass pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the first five dry ingredients and create a well for the wet.  Add the milk, oil and eggs and whisk briskly in the well before incorporating into all of the dry.  Add the Nutella, whisking thoroughly, and pour into the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.  Your oven will most certainly vary from mine, so keep a close eye.  You're looking for brownies that are nearly done, but not quite.

Once they've reached that point, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and return to the oven for one minute.  Gently spread the melted chips like a frosting over the surface. Sprinkle with the graham cracker and top with piles of the mini-marshmallows or the halved large marshmallows in the center of each brownie.

Set the oven to broil at 400 degrees and toast until the marshmallows are puffed and golden,

approximately 1 1/2 minutes.  Watch carefully-they burn quickly!

Let cool and then cut-making sure to stay away from the marshmallows (they don't cut well at all!).  Holler to the kiddies that the brownies are ready, and you have yourself one happy family!

{special note}

Because of the additional toppings added in stages, these brownies require some careful timing.  Just remember to pull them before they're done and you'll be good to go with the adding of everything else!

Owen-Boy...

OWEN

My runner, jumper,

dinosaur monster...

who loves legos, toast, and

all things under my cake dome!

He is never more my Owen

than when running around in jammies,

with a new affinity for socks,

and that wonderful bed hair!

Owen,

I love you!

Thank you for taking some photos for your mum

so I can capture what intrigues you,

makes you happy,

and makes you

YOU!

You are a good boy

and I love that you are my son!

Have a happy day!

xoxomom

Chutes n' Ladders

The boys have discovered the game closet,

and though the rules escape them,

they love to "play" nonetheless.

Now if I can only get over

my hatred for

"Chutes n' Ladders",

I can join in the "fun"!

They're only young once,

right?

Shoot!