Christmas is coming.. the goose is getting fat... ???

Well, since we are not growing our own Christmas goose, I guess that song doesn't work for us.  The kids had their last day of school yesterday.... now we can have all day pajamas and lazy days until January 11th!

Since I haven't blogged in awhile, lets go over some highlights...

Hannah went on a trip to Tijuana Mexico.  Our church supports an "orphanage", it's a boys home really.  Run by a couple who wanted to help some of the street children.  They aren't a govt. agency or anything, just people who want to share the love of Jesus with these destitute boys.  We, as a church, undertake buying all the kids Christmas gifts.  A family in our church selects a boy or girl (the staff have some girls, but it is a boys home) and buy what that child wants for Christmas and some clothes etc.  Then they bring the box back to church where our 1-5th grade kids wrap the gifts.  Then a group of people go down to hang out with the boys and deliver the gifts.  Hannah and Tim went a few years ago. Then, last year, we got Hannah a passport so that she could go, but the trip part got canceled becasue there was some pretty scary violence going on in Tijuana.  The boys home director, Luis, met our people on the Cali side of the border and picked up the gifts.  Hannah was NOT going to miss the trip this year.  She had a great time.  Here are some pictures...

Painting is DONE!  Well, the Family room, living room and dining room are done, but now the entry way and hallway and kitchen look shabby... so maybe after Christmas there will be MORE painting.  We are loving the new colors.  Here are some pictures...

Well that is about all... things are looking like Christmas inside.. but in California it never seems to look like Chirstmas outside! This is what I saw outside yesterday...

Vultures are the bane of Kiwi's existance... they favor the pine tree in our neighbor's yard.  Yesterday when I drove in from work, there were 12 vultures out there!  Kiwi is offended that they want to sit there and barks her little head off... and if they DARE fly over our yard, she runs the length of the yard after them and telling them to STAY OUT!

 Here is a picture of Kiwi in her Christmas finest and in her favorite Christmas hiding place...

Merry Christmas!

Painting is not done..

But here are a few preliminary photos.  The color is Mesa Taupe.  I love it.  The accent wall is a dark brown.. not done yet.  I will post more pictures as I get finished.  Mostly just wanted my parents to see the results, since they were here during the color selection phase. :o)

New Family Room Furniture!!!!

Ok, it has been about 8 years since we purchased our sofa/sectional and put in new carpeting.  The sectional was getting pretty thread bare and the recliners didn't work anylonger.  So we decided to look for some new furniture.  I tried all the furniture stores in town... they want at LEAST $700  for a sofa.  Then I remembered that my friends John and Roxanne had gotten a great couch at Big Lots. (sorry if that was supposed to be a secret you two!).  SO, I went to big lots... and guess what??? They have a lot of VERY nice furniture.  AND the sofa's were under $400.  They are made by Simmons.. they are just last years stuff I guess.  Anyway, we are now the proud owners of new furniture! We got a sofa and two big overstuffed chairs and an ottoman. They are SUPER Comfy!  Bekah has already decided they are great reading chairs!

I am thinking that we need a second ottoman... but we LOVE our new room. Now I just need to paint...

YIKES!!! I am a BAD blogger!

So.. I really am a horrible blogger.. it has been June since my last post... I guess I need to post an abreviated update of July, August and September!!! So, here it goes:

At the end of June we drove up to see Mom and Dad in Payette, Idaho. My Aunt Dee and my cousin Laura and her husband LeRoye were there. We had an open house for my Aunt Dee's 80th birthday. Got to see a whole bunch of people from when I was a kid.
We drove with Mom and Dad and my sister Natalie up to Wallowa Lake for a week.

While at Wallowa we played Mini Golf, the kids went with Tim and my Dad fishing, we went swimming, Skyped with my brother Drex and his family while they were in Paris, and fed the deer that were all around our cabin. We even had to shoo them off our deck.

Then we drove home, thru Nevada as usual... such beautiful scenery...

We stopped in Reno to spend an extra day. We stayed at the Peppermill... who knew this was here? I didn't. Reno is usually just a place we drive thru... anyway, I would recommend the Peppermill's Tuscan Tower suites. VERY nice.

Hannah turned 15 in August... Her BFF turned 15 the day before... here they are with the cake at their birthday party. We had a car rally. Kind of a scavenger hunt on wheels. It was really fun.

The day before school started we went to the water park in Paso Robles. It was only about 96 that day.. so very nice. The kids had a great time. One last fling before school.

First Day of school. Hannah is in 10th grade. Bekah is in 6th grade. Our last year in elementary school... we have been coming to this school every year since Hannah started Kindergarten in 1999!

 

Over Labor Day weekend, our kids had Tuesday off as well. We went to the beach for a friend's birthday party. It was SO nice. The summer crowds are all gone and our best weather of the year is just starting.... I can see several more beach trips in September and October.

So, that is our summer in a whirlwind tour. For the whole story you will have to check out my scrapbooks!

Cleaning out...

Ok, I have been organizing my scrapping stuff... Can you say WAY TO MUCH???

So, I have started downsizing some stuff. I will try to sell things to my interested friends before heading to craigslist. If you live out of the area, I can mail them, so add $5.00 (everything but the work station.. no international please!) So here are some things you might be interested in. (You can call me, or send me a message on FB or the Dawg or Freak. Most of you can find my phone number... church directory, dawg list, freak list etc..):
Creative Options Rolling work Station. I LOVE this storage tote! It went with me to numerous crops and retreats! It holds so much stuff! I used to always leave it loaded and just sitting by my scrap table, so when it was time to go to a crop, I just closed it up and rolled it out to the car! So, why get rid of it? It won't fit in my new car. Bummer. But that might be good for you! The listed price on Overstock.com is $122. I think that is high. I think I paid about $100 for it. Anyway, it can be yours for $50.

The Magic Mesh Freeze Frame.

LOVE this idea! I just don't scrap this way, so I have only used it once. You can see it used in a video at http://www.thefreezeframe.com/ check it out! Retails for $29.99 and refills of the mesh are $5.99. I have the freeze frame and one refill. It can be yours for $20.

We R Memory Keepers Crop-a-dile:

This punches a hole in almost any material. It cuts like buttah... and it can set eyelets and snaps like nothing else.. no more hammering! I LOVE this tool. I got a new and improved version for Christmas and I don't need 2. Retails for $29.99. You can have it for $13.

Hero Arts Rubber Stamp Set- Ribbons and Stitches

This is the cutest stamp set.. stamp your own ribbon, ric-rac and stitches. The set retails for $24 and is Brand new never been opened. Yours for $12.

That's it for now. Call me if you are interested!

Spring Formal

Orcutt Academy had a Spring Formal last night. The theme was Hollywood, and it was a Masquerade ball. We found a beautiful purple dress with black and sparkles. Then we found a purple velvet mask. We added a few things to the mask to make it totally unique. She looked stunning. She seems to have had a good time too. Of the 110 students in the school (just the freshman class this year) I think they sold something like 57 tickets. The school year has been great. We are really happy that Hannah decided to go to the Academy.

Ahhh, spring in San Francisco!

It is FREEZING here! We spent today doing all the touristy stuff... Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, Cable Cars, Fisherman's warf. It was bright, sunny, and blowing a gale! It was about 55 degrees outside, but the wind chill made it downright COLD! Tonight we had dinner with the SF branch of the Pettey Family at Buca di Beppo... yummy! Good to see Marvin and Janice, and Jonathan and Rhoda. Tomorrow we are off to Sacramento. We are having dinner with Hannah's Birthmom, Laurie on the way. Here are some of the pictures from today...