3 weeks and counting

We have 3 weeks until we leave to go home back to Alaska. We're seriously enjoying the families, the sun, and having some great times, but it will be nice to get back to our own house, our own routines, and definitely our own beds.

Some pictures (click to make them bigger):
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 1.Brett boogie boarding 2.Disneyland with cousins from Missouri 3.Downtown Riverside with my Dad 4.piece of the Berlin Wall at the Reagan Library 5. Central Perk (from Friends, do I really need tosay that?) at the WB studios tour 6. Girls Day Out at the American Girl Place 7.Brett at Santa Cruz Island with Grandpa for Boys Day Out



We went bowling, roller skating, to the Santa Barbara Zoo, a kids museum. The kids had a karaoke night, "So You Think You Can Dance" night, water wars (squirt guns and water balloons), backwards dinner night (dessert first, not breakfast for dinner). We've visited with friends and family we haven't seen in a while, taken family photos (hopefully I'll post them soon).

So we've had fun and there's still more fun to be had. But I do have to start getting these kids to bed earlier and waking them up earlier, or we're all gonna be in for a rude awakenning when we get home.

Hello from California!

We're enjoying the sun, the warmth & the civilization in California. We've been here almlost a week and we've had tons of fun so far with much more to come. I've taken some pictures with my camera, but all the Disneyland pictures were taken with the kids' cameras. And I haven't found the cords for them yet, so that's sad I can't share those pictures yet.


something I can't do in Alaska - stand in the surf


Hope you had a nice Independence Day!

so exhausted

I had planned on blogging about my new little workout regimen that I started today, but it's been a long afternoon/evening.

The day started out great - relaxing in the sun with friends and the dogs (I'm dogsitting 2 dogs - Maddy & Jake), a walk down to get lunch with said friends. Then the clouds started rolling in & the wind picked up, so we all went our seperate ways.

I went to the grocery store and when I came home and brought the bags in, Jake jumped the fence & took off running. How he did it I do not know, he's a corgi with little legs and the tip of his nose barely reaches the top of the fence when he's standing on his hind legs. But he did, and he did not want to come back to me. So I chased him down, finally caught him after 5 minutes of running (and I am so not a runner).

At about 8:45 I said "Come on, guys, we're taking the dogs out." Because the dogs are crazy & I either have to walk them 1 at a time or with the kids help. Ashley's friend wanted to walk Maddy (she's a husky, she does not jog, she runs!), and after telling the girls to stay near me so if the dogs pulled too much I could help them, her friend said "I have to go where the dog tells me to". And I told her that that is not right, she has to be in control of the dog, but still she ran with Maddy - even I can not do that because she will pull you down - so she let go of the leash & away Maddy runs. ETA: I would like to add that Ashley did a good job of holding onto Jake's leash (because he can pull!) while I went running down the street chasing Maddy, and she got him safely home.

*sigh* Needless to say my legs hurt, my lungs hurt & my throat hurts, all from running after & calling the dogs. Seriously I am NOT a runner. Maddy is fast asleep on the porch, and Jake & Roxy are playing (Jake does not believe in sleep I think, he only does it because the other dogs do it), and I just want to go lay down & pass out with some Tylenol PM.

Maybe I'll tell you about my workout tomorrow...

Spring Cleaning?

I have been wanting to really get my house more organized and cleaned (clutter free. we really do have so much clutter). I had hoped to do it last week since we had a garage sale on Sat., but besides getting some old and too small clothes cleaned out I didn't get much done. I made $30 at the garage sale so I call it a success (there was only a couple things I really cared about selling, the rest I was just going to donate to the Salvation Army).

Today Jeff and I got the garage all cleaned & rearranged (that happens twice a year - each time we have to change to/from snow tires on the truck LOL), so that feels nice. And then we cleaned & washed the truck so it sparkles :). Tomorrow we're probably doing the car (have to take advantage of the sunshine-y weather).

A lot of the cleaning I need to do is a few boxes of junk in the mud room/entry (and 1 or 2 from the garage), as well as several boxes in the storage unit. I think once I get that stuff cleaned out I'll be better prepared to organize the rooms. As much as I love moving and living someplace new, it's hard because you have stuff that fits in one house but then not the next, so I don't want to get rid of things because it might work again.

Question: What do you do with your kids artwork from school? the random art, not the Christmas gift stuff...
We have so much! And I know my mom kept my stuff, but when she moved she gave a lot of it to me and I threw it away, so then what was the point? Do I keep it or do I toss it?

whoops

I've been busy making baby stuffs lately - there's so many babies due this summer! I got one gift all done and then Ashley & I delivered it this afternoon (I wanted to get her stuff done first since they're moving this month) and a couple hours later I realized that in my rush to give it to her I hadn't taken any pictures of the stuff! Dangit! Anyway, it was a super soft wool (but machine washable!) hat, washcloth & bib. Maybe she'll take pictures of it & post them on her flickr (I can hope lol).

Anyway, there's more baby stuff I'm working on, but won't post it until it's been gifted (and hopefully remember to take pictures)

Hot legs

I finished the legwarmers, and wore them last Friday with a skirt. I will admit that I felt rather silly, a little overdressed for this town, but had to tell myself that it didn't matter because I felt cute (whether I looked cute or not is a matter of opinion).

The only problem with them is that when I walk they fall down. And I don't know that could be the fault of my calves and not the legwarmers. So maybe they are better for wearing to a hangout party or backyard bbq and not a day walking around.

I'm still here

The sun has been shining, the snow is melting, and mosquitoes are out, so summer is on it's way. I had to put up the black-out curtains in our rooms so we can all sleep at night (it's "daylight bright" until after 9pm now). Only thing now is that they're not already awake when Jeff gets them up at 6:30.

It may only be upper 40s-50s right now, but the weather is nice! I bought some new capri pants & a skirt a couple weeks ago, because I have decided that I need to get out of the jeans and sweatshirts rut. It's so easy here to just put on jeans and a sweatshirt and call it good, because really where are you going? You don't want to wear nicer shoes because you don't want them to get wet or dirty/muddy, or your feet to be cold. But I know that once I get back to the real world it might be hard to break the habit of dressing like a schlub, so I am going to stop with the jeans & tees everyday. I am almost finished knitting some legwarmers, so I can still keep my calves warm when I wear a skirt (at least until it gets warmer) and look cute at the same time. It's a win-win.