Let it Snow, let it Snow, Let it Snow....

Last night it started snowing here. The forecasters said it was going

to keep snowing until tonight. Of course I didn't believe them

because really how many times do they accurately predict the weather?

So around 7 pm I went and started shoveling my driveway.

If you have seen my driveway you know that this is a project

that I can not tackle on my own. Usually my hubby gets out his

snow plow and helps me but last night it was all me.

So I set out to shovel right in front of the our garage doors,

an impossible place for the plow to get to, and our walkway.

Pretty soon my sunshine had suited up and was playing

in the snow in our front yard. After about an hour I was getting

pretty tired of shoveling not to mention it was still snowing and

so I felt like I was fighting a loosing battle. So I took my shovel out

to a part of the driveway that I had yet to touch and decided to write

a little message. My heart was happy because I was thinking that we

just might get that white Christmas after all.

My sunshine decided to join me and we had a great time

together trying to figure out how to write big letters

in snow with snow shovels.

Where was my princess?? Well she had gotten a very bad headache

and fell asleep on the couch right before I went outside.

This morning though she was up at 6am with her snow gear

on and playing out front. She almost got buried in the angel

she made in our front yard.

Sally also loves the snow but when we opened the garage doors this

morning she stopped in her tracks and tried to figure out the best

way to hop into the snow.

P.S. It is still snowing!!!!

The kiddos

My M&M

3rd grade

My Sunshine
5th grade

Happy Birthday to you.....

Happy Birthday to my hubby.

In his eyes....

A couple of days ago I had the TV on and tuned in to Food Network. Don't ask me which show because I really don't remember. My kids were home from school and having a snack while watching the host cook something...no I don't remember what but I do remember that it was in a certain baking dish that I have been salivating over for the last couple of months. As we are watching my 10 year old boy says, "Mom you should have your own cooking show because you cook good food. Grandma and Grandpa could pick us up from school and then we could eat the meal you made on TV." My heart was happy for two reasons. First this child of mine who can sometimes be picky and take a long time to eat a meal I made because he just really doesn't like it just gave me an out of the blue complement. He likes MY cooking!! Second it made my heart happy because he is so secure in his love from his family that he knows without a doubt that if I am not able to be there with him then his Grandparents would be. What a blessing that is.
Last Sunday we took a trip up to Apple Hill and brought home some eating and baking apples. While we were there we of course had an apple pie. We were kind of disappointed with it and when we got home my family wanted me to make them an apple pie. Last night I did and as we were sitting around our table eating it my boy told me that he liked my pie better and that I should call Apple Hill and give them my recipe..."then they would sell more pies because more people would like them." So this last week my boy complimented me and my cooking, twice. So look out Food Network TV Stars and Chefs in my sons eyes I could be right there with you and that is worth far more than any TV program you could ever give me.
As I plan my menu next week you can bet that my sons favorite meal will be at the top.

How I roll....

This is how I roll to the grocery store. Unfortunately

on this trip my stomach, and my list, was bigger than

my ride and I had an overflow situation.

Notice the Frito's, all 5 bags , in the front basket??

It's not that we just love them but when they

are a buck a bag you buy them.

My hubby made this cart for me. Now that

I have tested it out a couple of times and we know

that it works he will paint it white to match my bike.

(Note to Hubby: Please oh Please paint my cart white

to match my bike soon!! Love you!)

Flashback to the 80's with a twist

My friend emailed me this clip that I am sharing with you. I watched it and was AMAZED!! First lets go back in time...the year was 1982 and yes big hair was in, especially the bangs.
-Side bar- I just have to know if anyone still uses Aqua net? Anyone?
Sorry but I just had to ask. Where was I??? Oh yeah the 80's. Do you remember the group Toto and their big hit- Africa...remember-"hurry boy she's waiting there for you" that was me singing and just be glad that you got the typed version and not the live one. My kids are walking by with their ears plugged. Nice. Well the clip below is from an a cappella jazz choir from Slovenia and they do their own rendition of this song...I actually like it better than the original and as you know I really don't like change but it is that good. So please turn up your speakers and sit back and enjoy this fabulous show...for that is truly what it is.

African thunderstorm

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Give me S'MORE!!!

What better way to end a day at the beach than having

s'mores! You know the oooweeey gooey mushhy smushhyy

yummy treat that we all know and love from camping.

What?!? We are not camping tonight?

Well that's true but we still can have that wonderful summertime

favorite right in our own back yard.

How?!? My Hubby bought me an outdoor Fire pit

for Christmas, two years ago, and it would be nice to use it.

So after the boys stacked firewood and the girls rode our bikes

to the store to get the goodies we needed the kids sat

around the fire pit waiting for their uncle or daddy to

light the fire.

I have never seen a sky I like as much as our good old

Nevada sunsets. The clouds, the colors, the mountains. Now I have seen

many nice sunsets- nothing like a Hawaiian sunset with the

tiki torches on the beach or the sun setting into the ocean

as you sit relaxing on a beach in Mexico with no kids..HMMM

one thing both those have in common is that they are vacation

sunsets on beaches. So yes those are both enjoyable for their

own reasons but in all honesty, and this is only my humble opinion,

I love our Nevada sunsets. Now ask me next week after I have

seen a Montana sunset and maybe I will have a different opinion.

What was my original post about?? Oh yeah s'mores mmmm.

My nephews waiting patiently.

Daddy and his little girl.

We have a couple of bats that come out right as the sun sets

and they fly around looking for food. It is pretty neat to watch

until they start to dive bomb near you to get the bugs.

I screamed a couple of times.

Roasting mellows.

Sally really wanted someone to drop something.

To bad, so sad. It all ended up in our bellies.

Showing my little girl how to twist the stick to

get the mellows to puff to just the right size.

I waited for my turn then I made myself one.

I think it was even yummier because there

was no sand in it, no bugs biting me and

I knew I would be sleeping in my own bed.

This one makes me laugh. I just have to wonder

how he got marshmallow all over his face?

The smile shows you how much he liked it and

that makes me happy!!!

Fun in the Sun (or clouds)

Today we went up to Tahoe to spend the day in the sun and sand.

Well it started off as a beautiful day but then the clouds came

and the thunder started and we didn't stick around and wait

for the lightening. Of course the kids had a blast and Grandma Rose

and I played cribbage while watching them.

"This is the life" Grandma said. Of course I agreed with her whole-heartedly.

(Thanks honey for working so hard for us.)

After the sun screen soaked in the kids were off to catch crawdads.

They caught about seven then made a little hole for them

in the sand in front of us.

For lunch we met my mom and grandma treated us at the

Harbor House. Uncle Paul even treated the kids to ice cream

afterward.

After lunch is when the clouds started and so the kids stayed out of the

water and buried each other in the sand.

We left the lake around 2:50 and when we headed back to town we

decided to stop off at the farmers market and get some tomatoes.

Then we dropped Grandma off and got back into my car to head home.

The boys (G&J) were sad that they were not going to be seeing their

great grandma again on this trip but I know they were grateful for all the

time they spent with her.

How does lunch and a movie turn into 9 1/2 hours???

Today was our first full day with my nephews visiting from Montana.

My Grandma Rose wanted to take us out for a special treat.

First we went to lunch at Applebee's. Cousin Sheena

also joined us for lunch. The food was good and the visiting was great.

After lunch we had about 30 minuets before we needed to be at the movies.

So without much time we headed over to the duck pond park

and the kids played. R & J are two peas in a pod actually more like

two monkeys. The first thing they did was find a tree to climb.

Then when that wasn't fun enough they decided they would rather

hang from that tree.....

Grandma Rose couldn't believe it.

I love that my kids love their cousins.

After the park we went to the movies to see G Force.

I have come to realize that I really don't like 3D movies.

After the movies we decided that we would go to Target to let

the kids use their gift cards that they got the night before

at our family birthday celebration. After shopping for a little

over an hour we headed over to Grandma's and she invited the

kids to play the Wii. Then since it was getting close to dinner

we decided to order take-n-bake and have the hubby pick

it up on the way over. The kids had fun playing the Wii again after

dinner and we were able to play two rounds of cribbage, I won

the first game and Grandma won the second. Hubby wasn't to happy

about loosing to girls but had a fun time anyway.

So that is how we turned lunch and a movie into 9 1/2 hours.

10 years and still growing...

Yesterday was my sunshine's 10th birthday. I remember when he was a little tyke thinking to myself...I have no problem getting older but the thought of having a 10 year old really freaks me out...now not so much. I do have to get used to letting him do more things with out his mommy like climbing on the rocks and catching crawdads with his buddies. Of course he has to be where I can see him at all times.
When we were planning his birthday he really wanted to have a sleepover with is friends. Well after the hubby and I talked, tried to get him to change his mind, and then talked some more we decided OK. Well then I took it one step further and since Tuesday is our Tahoe day and it just happened to be his actual birthday we invited all his friends to join us at the lake for the day. Luckily one of the moms also wanted to join us so I wasn't left alone with the boys and my M&M had a friend too.

Here they are waiting patiently so I could take a picture before they all ran to play in the water.
The boys eating cheesy puffs.

I know that at some point my son would start noticing that girls are different

but I didn't expect it to happen on his 10th Birthday. They played out in the

water with this one set of girls. The best part was that the girls held their own

and in my opinion they walloped the boys. HEHE!!

Grammie from SOCal was here and joined us for pizza dinner and dessert.

He loved his legos from his Aunt and Uncle and cousin in AZ.

They built it right away.

At 10:30 my hubby came out of our room and told me that the boys were

being to loud and needed to come inside, he was trying to sleep.

So I went outside and told them that they needed to quiet down and

that they got me in trouble. They thought that was funny.
11:30 I told them that it was time to go to bed. I know that they were tired

because I only had to get up once to tell them to quiet down.

Happy 10th Birthday Sunshine!!!