Elder's Quorum BBQ

Last night the Elder's Quorum BBQ was held at our place. It was fun. The kids swam. Everyone ate (once we got the food BBQ'd because OF COURSE the night we have a big event at our place the BBQ craps out!). The Wii got some use too. I didn't get a final head count, but I think including kids there were probably about 30-35 people there. The missionary's came for a bit too. I don't know what happened yesterday, but there is a picture of Jacob that I got where he looks like such a big boy. Where did my baby go??? He also was playing around and sat in a bowl of water. He didn't look like he was going anywhere soon. I definitely think that the Elder's Quorum should have more get together events. It's hard with guys though, and really, there's only so much they can do without the help of their wives. Let's face it, they need us!

Pixieland (again)

We decided to take Shyla to Pixieland in Concord one last time before they raised the prices for off-summer pricing. We asked our friend Renee to join us. She was house sitting for her parents and she was going to be by herself for a little while so we asked her to come along for some fun. It was colder than we thought it was going to be so unfortunately we weren't dressed warmly. It was still lots of fun! Shyla continued to enjoy it and wanted to ride all the rides over and over and over again. It's a safe bet to say we're taking her next year. She leaves filled with enjoyment and we leave with some money since we don't have to pay over $30-40/ticket to stand in really long, hot lines at a large amuzement park. One day we'll take her to a big amuzement park, but for now this one will do just fine. Next year though I hope to take her with a friend. I think she'd have more fun.

Shyla's favorite ride BY FAR is the roller coaster. She had to go on it with all of us... more than once... each. Frog Hopper. Only 1 adult at a time. It brings you up in the air and after a few seconds drops you down. It bounces a little, takes you back up, and you do that a few more times. Poor Jacob can't fully enjoy the place yet. He can only go on the slow train ride and the self- driving cars. He really enjoyed driving the cars. He looked like a big boy driving in a car with his seatbelt on! I think he felt like a big boy too!

Welcoming Double D To The Family

Earlier this month we finally made the trade of Miss Ava for Miss Double D. We did this for many reasons I'm not going to get in to because there isn't enough time in the day. For those wondering, Double D is short for Dodge Durango. If you're thinking I've become a Sister Wife and there's another woman in the family... you're WRONG.

The purchase took place in San Jose and came after months of trying to make it happen. It started sometime in May when we were talking about trading vehicles. But then Ava died. Literally. She had to be towed to the mechanics and $2,100 later, she was back to new. But add on an oil change and new brakes on one axle to that and we were hoping nothing else would come up. Once all the work was done we tried to sell Ava on our own with Craigslist. I think only 1 person even asked questions about her, so Jake went another route and wrote "for sale" on the windows. He got a good response this way. People would call and say they just saw him on the freeway. One time we were in Home Depot and someone actually called from the parking lot while we were inside.

When that didn't happen we decided to try the county auction route. That was a joke to say the least. I'm sure some people out there get a good deal that way. But we had to jump through so many hoops and put in more effort that saving a few bucks was worth. Jake found a wholesale dealer in San Jose that we decided to go with. OH! I forgot to mention that within days of making the final decision that yes, we were going to trade her in, some numbskull came by and keyed the entire. length. of. the. truck!

Jake originally saw the soon-to-be Durango on this dealer's website on Craigslist. We went there knowing what we wanted, but we played like we didn't know. The guy tried to sell us the Durango several thousand more than what was listed on the site. That's when Jake mentioned he saw the ad on Craigslist. The guy gave a new price, but it was still a thousand higher. Jake said he would pull it up on his phone and the guy responds with he didn't know who did it, but they put the wrong price. In any event, we got him to come down even a little lower than that. The owner/salesman ended up being a cool guy and so was his side-kick employee. After many long hours of negotiating, we welcomed Double D into our family!

Homemade Applesauce

I've been trying to become more domesticated lately. I don't think I really need to, but I want to. I wanted to try making The last time I was at the store I bought a few extra apples so I could try my hand at homemade apple sauce. It wasn't too bad actually for my first try. I tried making applesauce for Shyla when she was younger and then many months ago for Jacob. At that time I thought you just chop up the apples and put them in the blender with some water. Yeah... there's more to it. I don't really have a recipe to go off of since I read some stuff off the internet and then dove into it. But here's how I did it.

Sliced and chopped up several large apples

Boiled them for a few minutes until they were soft to the poke of a fork

Put the apples and about 1/2 c. water into the blender.

I added honey (about 1/2 c.) and cinnimon (about 1- 1/2 tsp.) to taste.

Blend.

I have to remember for next time not to added any extra water. I found the consistency to be a little too thin. When the apples are boiled in the water they soak up some of it. When blended the water comes out. Some of you reading may already know this, but it's news to me. There really are some things you have to learn by practice. Next time I think I'll try adding a dash of vanilla and see what happens. I like to start off with a recipie, but I always change it along the way. Or I find a few recipes and piece it together the way I think it would taste best.

Hot Day

It was a very hot day so I thought the dogs would appreciate it if I let them come in the air conditioned house. They didn't move much. Pretty much walked in, sniffed around, and laid down. Smokey in the hallway, Bandit in the laundry room. I'll accept their "thanks" later.

Neighborhood Walk

I like to take the kids out on walks, although I do wish I was able to do it more. I'm really tired a lot of the time and going for a walk where Shyla is sure to act up at some point and having to lug the stroller out of the depths of "you know where" in the garage, just doesn't sit at the top of my priority list. I can't complain too much though. When I do take them out... I love it! We pick flowers, collect leaves, bird and airplane watch, and of course take pictures. Shyla cooperated for the first few seconds of me taking pictures, but that quickly changed. I think in her mind she's thinking, "Hey, mom, wanna take some pictures of me?" Me: "Sure!" *CLICK* *CLICK* *CLICK* Shyla: "Psych!"

First is the photo collage where I got not much more than a hand on the hip. That's my sassy girl! When she gets really smarty pants at me I like to think that during a blink of my eye someone swooped in and switched my beautiful daughter with someone else's who looks just like mine. I haven't done a DNA test to know for certain :) At least she wasn't talking back, it was just a silent refusal. There were a few pictures that turned out rather nicely.

Post Photoshoot

Shyla watches EVERY SINGLE THING I DO. After my impromptu photoshoot, I found “this” taking place. She put Jacob on the couch with a bunch of his toys. She had been watching me put the blocks around him earlier (see previous post). She had her camera and was taking pictures of him making all the same hand motions and sounds I do when I’m trying to get Jacob’s attention. It was really cute!

Hot Hot Hot

So the weather has finally been getting hot this summer.  I think other than currently, there's only been one other time this summer that the temperature got over 100 degrees. Definitely a change from past summers where most of the summer is spent above 95 degrees. It would be easier to tolerate the heat if it warmed up gradually like it's supposed to in the summer. Being thrown into it with 80ish degree temps and then suddenly it's over 100 feels a little like being thrown into a pot of hot water. Okay, so that's a little extreme, but you get the idea. 

 

Taking both kids into the big swimming pool is too large a task for me to feel comfortable doing alone, so I broke out the sprinkler in the front yard and let them have at it. Jacob was too anxious to go in the water so I left him in his clothes. He ultimately just stood next to the sprinkler and let the water hit him. He smiled once in a while and even copied Shyla by bending down to drink from the sprinkler. Shyla on the other hand was in her swimsuit asking me to go in the water, which is what prompted this adventure in the first place. She was screaming and hooting and jumping all over the place!

After playing in the water, I got the kids dried off and changed. I don't know what possessed me to try out a photo shoot in the backyard, but I did. By the time I got the dogs in their dog run, the sheet laid out, snacks, and toys laid out, I was tired and sweaty since it was still about 90 degrees out, but I tried anyways. Jacob was interested in ONLY one thing... his Cheerios! He'd eat them for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner if I let him. Here are some of the best shots from my "why do I always do this when Jake isn't around" impromptu photoshoot.

Learning to Write

Lately, I've been teaching Shyla some reading words. Some of them are: I, one, two, three, he, she, with, the, is, and a few more. I recently bought a box of learning cards that are "sight words". I'm not totally sure what those are, but I think they are words that you learn by sight. You see them over and over and just know them. I'm trying to get her familiar with some words that we commonly see in some of her books. That way when we see the word in the box, and thus another context, she can recognize it. So far she's enjoying it... for the most part.

She's also learning to write. So far she can write: Shyla, mom, and dad. And without assistance. Smartypants! I thought it would be fun to make a surface covered in shaving cream that she could write in. After I help her practice a couple words, she can erase what she did and do it again. It's messier than a dry erase board, but it's something new, not to mention messy, so she was very happy to oblige. Blue was taken on 8/12/10.

Black was taken on 8/15/10.

All the red ones were taken on 8/17/10. Mom and dad were written without assistance. Shyla told me that she wanted to learn Jacob's name since she knows mine, daddy's, and hers. I wrote J-A-C-O-B at the top and she copied it below. She wrote the letters all by herself.

I know there are going to be MANY more times I'm proud of my little girl and I'm looking forward to them. It's such a good feeling when you're proud of someone. I will always praise her for her accomplishments and will help her in her failures. How does the saying go? Without failure you won't know success. So true.

Made A Tent

I think one of the best inventions for little kids is a homemade tent. I remember making them when I was little. We'd find the biggest sheets and blankets to use. It was fun to make a space that was "mine" even if it was just for a short time. I don't remember making a tent that I was able to run through, but that's probably because I was older and therefore bigger than my kids during this tent experience.

It was a random day and I wanted to do something for the kids that would keep them entertained while I made lunch. It didn't free me up as much as I'd hoped. In fact it didn't free me up at all. After I made the tent, I made a late lunch, and there was late naps. But they had fun. They both enjoyed running in circles around the couch and through the tent. I'm sure we'll be making more in the near future. I left it up for a few days afterwards, but I guess when the newness wore off so did the interest. Maybe next time I'll just least it up for a day or 2 and take it down to keep it "new".

A Whole New World

There are so many great sites to see when a baby is turned around in their carseat from back facing to front facing! Our experience with Jacob has been pretty much the same as it was with Shyla. Normally there is no problem falling asleep, but once turned around there are so many cool things to look at that they NEVER fall asleep. On our way home from buying the Durango (I still have to post about that) was the only time that he's fallen asleep in his carseat since he's been turned around. We drove from San Jose all the way to Castro Valley, and no joke, about 5 minutes before we got to my parents place... he... fell... asleep!

The only thing that really makes it hard is that when we're at a job, we can put him in the carseat, take him for a drive, and he'll nap in the car while we continue working. Now, however, no such luck. It'll happen once day though. Shyla eventually was able to go to sleep, so I'm such Jacob will be able to, too.

Here are the kids both front facing. They are supposed to be 1 year old and 20 pounds before being turned around. Since Jacob was only 17 pounds at his last checkup, we decided to wait a little bit longer. I'm sure he'd have been fine turned around sooner, but it's one of those things that if we turned him around early and there was a car accident... WE'D be the ones in trouble if he were to get hurt... go figure. About a month ago, we had decided to give Jacob Shyla's "big girl" car seat and buy her a new one that's a tad bigger. She loved it and so did he. Score!

"Mommy, we're being spiders!"

Says my 3 1/2 year old. Quiet sounds can never be a good thing when your kids are young. Yeah, I thought it was cute, the whole "being spiders" comment, so I ran and got my camera. Afterwards, I found out she also drew large lines in the carpet, which thankfully, more for her benefit than mine, came out pretty easily. In the evening I discovered that she also colored her toy guitar. And late that night I get a text from Jake (I was upstairs, he was downstairs) saying, "Did you know she also drew on the tiles by the fireplace?" Um, no I didn't! I got out what I could, but there are still 2 lines that I haven't been able to get out. I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy a tiny can of white paint.

Not Too Shabby

I have been working hard lately to improve my photography skills as well as my Photoshop skills. I've talked with a few photographer friends to get a few tips from them and I've read my camera's manual. After trying a few new skills, here are a few of my results. It helps to have a gorgeous subject like Shyla to work with. And to think, I originally went outside to pick up dog poop.