Christmas Highlights

Here are some pictures from Christmas.

Bekah made a gingerbread house.

The girls on Christmas morning. Before gifts were opened.
The Girls on Christmas Morning AFTER the gifts were opened. They got a Wii Guitar Hero World Tour Band kit. So they have spent hours now perfecting their drumming.

After the presents had all been removed from under the Tree, I found Kiwi there, under the tree with one of her Christmas presents. The silly dog had dragged her bed across the room to be under the tree!

The Girls with Nana. See how tall they are both getting? Or maybe Nana is shrinking. Or maybe both.

We took Kiwi to see Santa at Petsmart. She is either doing the "walk like and Egyptian" song or trying to make a speedy get away! The only thing that I cared about was it got the girls to pose with Santa.. they wouldn't do it last year.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New year!

Busy, Busy, BUSY weekend!

This weekend has been BUSY! On Friday, Hannah had her first soccer game. THE very FIRST ever OAHS Soccer game. We are getting used to saying "the very first" about alot of things for school! :o)

The game was at Carpinteria high school in Carpinteria. It is about 1 1/2 hours south of here. The boy's game was at 3pm and the girls at 5pm. They took a team bus and got out of school early at 1pm. We left when Bekah got out of school, ran in to traffic and arrived at the school as the girls were taking the field to warm up. The boys lost 11-0. They have several boys who have never played soccer, so actually being in a game was monumental for some of them.. there is no where to go but up! The girls played really well. Hannah was goalie and had some FABULOUS blocks and saves. Her coach was very complementary of her. She really likes her coach. She played college soccer and even coached at the college level. We feel very fortunate to have her coaching Hannah this year. The girls lost 5-1. They really had fun and the loss didn't seem to get them down. They play Carpinteria again next week. We are hoping that both teams improve upon their scores! When you only have a class of 118 and all freshman, it is hard to compete with teams from 2000 person schools. But the kids are competing and learning alot about playing high school sports! Hannah got back last night at 9pm. She came home, grabbed some clothes and went to spend the night at a friend's (and fellow soccer player's) home. I picked the girls up this morning (Saturday) at 6:50 am so we could go help reseed the soccer field at school. This is a school of 118 kids and at 7am, there were 37 of them ready to help. What a great "family" building activity! (they also logged community service hours for this.. they need 40 hours of community service to graduate. So they weren't all totally selfless, but there are easier ways to earn those hours, so I was still pretty impressed.) We finished at 11, and Hannah came home, showered, ate lunch and then I drove her BACK to school to work on the float for the Christmas Parade of Lights which was tonight. They finished the float at 3:30, and needed to be at the parade staging area at 4:30. We dropped Hannah off, drove down the parade route a few blocks and found a parking spot. We waited for the 5:20 start of the parade. The OAHS float was entrant number 21 (out of 100 or so), so we watched the parade until they went by. Then we went back to the car, drove to the mall (which is where the parade finished up) and got a table at Red Robin. Hannah came to the restaraunt just as the food arrived (she was pretty thirsty and hungry) and we had a nice relaxing dinner and then drove home. I think that we got home before the parade was over! Hannah is TIRED! And so am I!

MUD!

Wow! Time goes by quick! I can't believe it is almost the end of November already!

So, Hannah has started practice for the High school soccer team. (the first EVER soccer team) and their first game is December 5th! We will drive the 1 1/2 hour trip to Carpinteria to watch history being made! Yesterday and today it poured the rain! They still had practice yesterday. THIS is what came home! She said they did a victory slide in the mud after beating the boys in a scrimage... whatever. I don't know if these clothes will ever be clean again. At least she is having fun!

Halloween 2008

So, here I am on Halloween night, watching a chick flick on TV, and handing out candy. My kids and husband abandoned me tonight (I let them do it too!). Tim's football team is playing out of town, so he left at 4pm. Then Hannah left to go trick or treating (I guess that is still OK in 9th grade..) with her friend and spend the night at 5:30, and Bekah was off to trick or treat with Kiana's family at 6...
So, Kiwi and I are just hanging out, and passing out candy. It is lonely.
Before the kids left, I did take pictures, so here they are!

40!!!!

My little brother, Drex, is 40 today! It is making me feel OLD. I remember when he was born! I remember going to the hospital and standing down in the parking lot, and Mom holding him in the window so we could see. No kids allowed in the hospital back then. No visiting. Then I remember him in a white bassinett (sp?) that had wheels so that Mom could roll him around the house.
I also remember being asked to look after him the next summer and I would take him outside and put him on a blanket and then read all afternoon. He didn't like the feel of grass, so I knew he wouldn't leave the blanket! Oh, it isn't as bad as that sounds, I was on the blanket too! I was just reading, so I wanted to know that while I was lost in the book, he wasn't wandering around.
I remember Natalie and I liked to dress him up, kind of like a live doll! I can't find the infamous picture of the Red leather dress and go go boots, but I am sure you can imaging it! (maybe that trauma explains ALOT about him today!)
Drex and I share a love of science. Although he is much more brilliant than I will ever be (don't tell him that though, I like him to think I am at least as smart as he is!)we have been able to talk about science kinds of things.
We also shared a first car (not at the same time, but my first car became his) a 1965 Mustang I named Maynard. It was a beat up car, but it was a Mustang none the less!
Now, Drex is a middle aged (sorry, dude) husband and father. I know that he puts his family first and that is a testament to the kind of person he is.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREX! I love you!

Family and Glasses

Mimi and Dadad were here visiting for the last 10 days. We had a great time, playing games, watching movies, telling stories. We love it when they come to visit. They left this morning to go to Arizona to see my Aunt Dee. Here they are with Hannah and Bekah this morning on the way out the door.

2 weeks ago, Hannah had a sports physical for school. The doctor told me to take her and get her eyes checked because she didn't do well in his prelim exam. So, while Mom was here, we had her checked and picked out frames. They came in tonight, so it was just a few hours too late for Mimi to see the final product. Hannah is excited to be sporting such stylish glasses. She looks really cute, AND she can now see the board at school!

GO BEAVERS! GO BEAVERS!!!!

So my alma mater OSU took on the #1 Ranked USC Trojans tonight...
Yeah baby! OSU beat THE #1 RANKED Trojans 27-21!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Beavers, Go Beavers, Go Beavers!!!!

Guitar Hero.

We bought Guitar Hero for Tim for Christmas last year. He enjoys the game...when he can wrestle it out of one of the girls' hands!

So, Bekah this week, completed the medium level of Guitar Hero. QUITE IMPRESSIVE... especially when you see how she does it! She totally holds the guitar backwards. I asked her if she would just rather turn it around, and she tried, but likes her "Cross handed" method better. It sure doesn't seem to affect her. She is by far the best player in the family!

First day of School... REALLY THE FIRST DAY!

So, today was the first day of school for the girls. I think they were excited because when I got up at 5:50am, Bekah was already up and fully dressed watching tv! Hannah was up already too, but still working on getting ready! I thought that I was going to be dragging them out of bed because they have been staying up late and sleeping in all summer!

This was also the REAL first day of Hannah's school. The Charter school had a ribbon cutting ceremony at 7:45. Hannah is really excited to be part of this brand new school. She is on the ASB as the Commissioner of Clubs and Athletics. She is already really busy. GO SPARTANS!!

Here are some pics from the morning!

Here they are in all their splendor, wide awake before the sun was up!!!

Here the ASB members are introduced. The look on Hannah's face is the "don't take any more pictures" look that I get alot these days!

The ribbon Cutting... Orcutt Academy High School is officially opened with its first graduating class, the class of 2012 beginning the journey.

Blue and white balloons, released with a cheer! GO SPARTANS!

After sending Hannah off to face her high school classes, it was Bekah's turn to head to school. She was greeted with screams and hugs from her bff Kiana and her friend Dorin.

Bekah with her Teacher Mr. Greenup. Off to 5th grade!

They are off to school and I am back to work... Summer is officially over!

OH, and Happy 51st Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!!

Concert Season

I hadn't been to a concert for a decade or so, until May that is. Julie and I went to see Carrie Underwood (see the post in May about that). Then we found out that Fergie was coming to the Paso Fair and Hannah thought that would be fun to go. So we bought tickets. The concert was Thursday, so we went up to the Fair, spent the day (it was HOT) and the kids rode some rides. Then we went to the concert. The opening band was HORRIBLE! Just HORRIBLE! Then Fergie came out and sang for about 40 minutes (minus the brief times to change clothes) and came out for an encore. Tim was SO MAD! He was upset that a concert would only be about 40 minutes long. I told him that Carrie Underwood probably only sang for about 15 minutes longer than this at her concert. He couldn't believe it. After the concert, the kids rode some more, we had funnel cake and came home. We got home about 1 am.

Friday, Tim and I had tickets to see James Tayor at the Santa Barbara Bowl. So Tim's mom came to stay with the kids and we got a hotel in Santa Barbara. We met Craig and Sue for dinner and then they went to the concert with us. The night was BEAUTIFUL! The Santa Barbara bowl is a unique venue. We could see the ocean from our seats. JT came out and did 2 forty minute sets AND a 3 song encore. So, Tim was happy that someone still knows how to put on a good show! I think that I have spent my Concert allotment for the next decade, but it was fun!

Just another Day in Paradise!

So we went to the beach today. Can I just say we live in a beautiful part of this state?!! It was a gorgeous day. Not too hot, not too windy, not too crowded. We got there at noon and left at 5:30. Stopped for dinner on the way home. Home by 8. GREAT DAY! We parked in a 3 hour spot, and hoped they weren't checking since it was mid week. We got to the car, NO ticket... just a great day! The kids explored the tide pools, found some crabs and other critters. They boogie boarded. They had a great time! I sat and talked with friends, took a walk along the beach, took pictures and had a fabulous time. The only problem is that I forgot to put sunscreen on my legs and right now the tops of my thighs feel like they will spontaneously combust any second! They are seriously the color of my red t-shirt! oops.

Can you believe that we live so close to this paradise and yet this is the first time to the beach this summer? We actually do prefer the beach in September after the valley folks have gone home for the season, and when our weather is PERFECT, but usually we would have been to the beach before the end of July! Here are some pictures.

I just want to go HOME... or two strikes and your out!

It is 3:30 am here in Cortez Colorado. We left Horn Creek today and drove here. We came over some of the prettiest country I have ever seen. We went from Salida to Pagosa Springs over Wolf Creek Pass. A must drive if you are in the area. We had lunch in Pagosa Springs and then drove to Durango and on to Cortez.
When we stayed in Cortez 4 years ago, we stayed in a really run down old hotel in a part of town that looks down right seedy. So this year, Tim really wanted to stay in Durango instead. The only problem was that would make for a long day tomorrow (or today I guess) as we need to get as far as Kingman Arizona in order to make it home by Monday. (ok, so some of you think that we are wimps only wanting 7 hour driving days, but with our kids, we would rather split it up than make a 10 hour day.) So we booked a hotel online thru Travelocity. Guess what? SAME hotel new name. SHEESH. Anyway, I don't think that we will be staying in Cortez again. If you happen to find yourself needing to make reservations in Cortez, find a big name brand hotel on Main street, not an independent motel on Broadway!
So, we got here at 5 pm and then went to Pizza Hut for dinner at about 7. Everything seemed fine with the meal. I got to sleep at about 11:30. I woke up at 12:30 with terrible acid indigestion. Took some meds and went back to bed. At 1:30, Bekah woke up complaining about stomache pains. She was crying about how bad it hurt. She can be a drama queen, so I was trying to get her to be a little quieter so as not to wake other motel guests with her complaining. Well, that went on for about 3o minutes until she threw up. Poor baby, it really is terrible to be sick away from home! Then she went back to bed for about 20 minutes and then got up again and started all over. This has now become the routine. Just as I started to drift off, she is up again. I figured I might as well get online since I was not sleeping. Oh and at 2:15 the neighbors upstairs must have come home from a bar, because they spent the next hour or so, stomping around, yelling, slamming doors, etc. At 3:30 when Tim went out to get some paper towels out of the car, they were out on the balcony yaking it up. Really loud... so I am not so concerned about how much noise Bekah is making now.
It is now 4am and she just got up again. We decided around 3:30 that we were not going to try to get an early start tomorrow. We will get out of here around 11 which puts us in Kingman at 9pm or so depending on how many rest stops we have to make. I just want to go HOME!

Quick Update

So, we left my parents this morning (thanks for all the good food, sleep and fun, Mom and Dad!) and drove to Lehi Utah. The kids are in the pool at the hotel, Tim is down there reading the paper, and I thought that I would get online awhile. I was able to get some internet at mom and dad's since someone in their neighborhood had unsecure wireless, but the signal was really weak and didn't allow much. I have pictures to post, but they are in my camera which is in the car. I am too lazy to go outside, so I will post pictures later!
We are on our way to Colorado (Gunnison tomorrow night and then Horn Creek on Saturday) and glad that the driving is over for this day.
Let's see.. we left off on the fourth. Well, the kids went fishing again and snagged another 20! So we cooked 20, and froze the other 23 to bring home and gave some to Grandma. After dinner, we decided to go watch the fire works. They are shot at the other end of the lake and if you go down there, you find yourself in a HUGE trafic jam coming back (only one way in and out of the resort, so you are in a 6 mile long line coming into the camp.) Anyway, we drove half way aroung the lake, pulled off and my brother scouted out a place to sit... we just had to jump a fence (ok, I am vertically challenged and climbing a 6 foot gate is not easy!), so we got all our stuff out of the car and just as we walked up to the gate, a guy comes and unlocks it. So Dad asked him if he minded us walking up and sitting on the hillside. He gave us the thumbs up and we had GREAT seats. We only had to climb the gate on the way out, as the guy had locked it back up behind us.
Saturday, we were just bumming around and Hannah said that she wanted to go up on the tram. I walked over to find out about tickets and they said they were having issues and were closed for the day. Here is the story.. 150 people were stranded on top.. really glad that we hadn't been more on the ball and gotten on the tram in the morning!http://www.wallowacountychieftain.info/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=61&ArticleID=16341

We drove back to Mom and Dad's on Sunday (and said goodbye to my brother's family and my sister) and then kicked back at their house until this morning. I really enjoy sitting on my folk's patio and watching the humming birds and flowers. Very relaxing. So far this trip, I have read 6 books and slept in several mornings. GREAT relaxing time! The kids kept Dadad busy playing games, and Tim took them Golfing a few times!

I will try to update from Colorado at least once! Later.

Swimming, Deer, Eagles, Bumper Boats and Fish

So, we are busy with lots of fun stuff. Here are some pictures.


Swimming in the lake... COLD, but fun!
We see lots of Deer.. they wander right through by the cabin. They are pretty tame and come up to get food. That is what happens when you are deer who have been in a state park protected from hunters for several generations! Their biggest predator is a 3 year old chasing them!

We walked down to get more pictures of the bald eagles. The parents were off somewhere, but we spotted their nest and got to see the babies.

We went to the bumper boats last night. The whole crew took over the place and had a great time!The big hit this week has been fishing. They went out the first morning and caught one lone trout (the 4 kids) and then the second day, they caught 5 among them. Then Tim took the girls out the 3rd day and they caught 16 between the 3 of them. Today, Dadad took the grandkids out(by himself , brave man!) and they caught 20 between the 4 of them. They caught more this vacation than on all the previous years put together! We are grilling half of them tonight and the other half is in the freezer to take home.

Another fun thing we did was go make smores at the day use area.Here is a picture of the 3 generations of Drexell's playing catch.. with Fletcher trying to join in.

Tonight we will go and watch the fireworks. Tomorrow we have miniature golf on the itinerary. We love Wallowa Lake!