Muffin Man

Christmas....

2011-12-28T21:50:00.000-08:00

and then some!

Christmas morning

Christmas sunset at the beach

Snowboarding 12.27

Beach 12.28

The days can be long and hard, but how can I really complain?

I love this life.

Another Birthday!

2011-12-28T21:47:00.001-08:00

My Two Boys

2011-02-25T21:57:00.000-08:00

5 and 2. I can hardly believe it. But they will always be my babies!

We Made It!!!

2010-05-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

After 4 long but incredibly smooth and enjoyable days of driving up the west coast, we arrived at our final destination yesterday afternoon. The three of us are experiencing some mixed emotions, and still processing the whole journey that we've embarked on, but overall are happy to be here. The rain from the past couple of days has gone, the sun is out today and the Skagit Valley is beautiful! Dylan is napping in a bed (as opposed to a car seat!), Kalani is outside riding the tractor-mower and burning yard debris and Gus is resting, happily, on the stairs. This feels good so far.....

I don't have my computer and I'm still figuring out how I will be able to upload pics, so I don't have any to share yet. But my wonderful friend Amiel, who flew down to OC to be able to accompany us on our drive up, is a fantastic photographer so I had him document our trip. I will post those pics asap!

Thank you, friends, for all the well wishes! This journey would be much more difficult for me, without all of your love and support!

What I Will Miss

2010-04-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

John. Dad.

Grampa Fred and Granny Sue. Disney Days.

Beach. Friends (and I am incredibly blessed to say that there are WAY too many of you, friends, to picture here!).

The best neighbors EVER.

Balboa Island.

Balboa Ferry.

Endless sunshine.

And I'm signing off, for now anyway. I'll be packing up my computer next as we are quickly approaching our final days here in OC.

Easter Monday

2010-04-10T21:44:00.001-07:00

Kalani was so excited about his Easter basket treasure hunt (still think of your crazy good treasure hunts all the time, Momma!!) and all the fun stuff and goodies he found that I let him have 2 tiny jelly beans and a stick of gum Easter morning, before breakfast. Bad idea. He was sick on the couch, throwing up, for the rest of the day. Poor guy, got his Mama's sensitive tummy :(

So, since our Easter celebration was to be just us, John, and Grandpa Fred and Granny Sue this year, we decided to let Kalani be on Sunday and have our celebration and feast on Monday instead! I had been cooking and preparing all the food from Saturday afternoon, on through most of Sunday, so I was initially pretty bummed to have it all just sit there over night. But it turned out really nice! Our Easter Monday morning was very relaxed and everything was already completely prepped and ready to go so it was totally stress-free for me. And we ended up having a fabulous meal, a really nice and casual day ending with some beach play time and a beautiful, long walk along the boardwalk. It was perfect.

The jelly beans...

and stick of gum. Argggh. But check out this expression. Priceless. Love him.

Flashbacks of naked, long-haired, 2 year-old Kalani in bunny ears, anyone? ;-)

Coconut Kumquat cupcakes. Yum.
(although my food photography could still use some work...)

My worker guy, workin' at the beach.

No caption necessary :)

Big Thursday

2010-04-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

'Cause that's what my Dad always called it. And that's when my dad always dyed Easter eggs. We always used the vibrant Greek dyes; of course red and usually yellow, green, and blue also. And when my dad was feeling creative he'd make some purple with the red and blue dyes and we'd have some beautiful magenta eggs as well. Definitely my most fond and vivid memory of dying eggs is doing them Greek style with my dad, and then rubbing the almost too hot to touch eggs with olive oil to make them shiny and beautiful.

I wanted to carry on the "Big Thursday" tradition with my boys (well, I think Dylan was napping, actually ;-)) but wanted to go for a little more natural dye options. This year anyway. I'm sure I'll do the traditional Greek eggs with them another time. I used turmeric, red cabbage and annatto. The turmeric and red cabbage dyed eggs turned out great, super vibrant and gorgeous! The annatto was a little pale and speckled, but still pretty.

Our neighbor, and Kalani's best friend, Riley, joined us :)

Spring

2010-03-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

Man, I just don't have the energy to post on here these days! Sorry followers, as few as you may be :)

Anyway... it's been beautifully warm here lately! Day after day of sunshine, and kids running around playing outside after dinner, hoping the sun will never go down. I love it.

Here's a couple cute pictures of the boys that our friend took for us.

And those spring time changes are definitely coming our way......

Catch up :: A Photo Journal

2010-03-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

Auntie's come to visit. Pure fun, joy and happiness.

My sweet baby boy turns 1!

Seriously contemplating his homemade (of course!) gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, sugar-free, rice-whip topped birthday "cake".

Guess he approved!

Nana couldn't miss this special day :)

Best friends and leftover cupcakes.

Enjoying his "leftovers".

Dylan's spotted the chicken bone on my plate and refused to eat another bite until it was in his hands.

He is definitely one of us (us, you know who you are ;-) )!!

The best, most handsome date I could ever ask for.

Thank you SO much, Melissa!!!

2010-02-18T20:19:00.000-08:00

My friend, Melissa, saw my last post and offered to give me a camera she no longer uses! Oh my, I was so shocked and excited and incredibly grateful when I received that message!! Kalani was way more excited when it arrived at our door today, than I ever expected him to be, and immediately spent the next 45 minutes taking pictures. Too cute :)

"Mom, does it work?!!"

Still no camera....

2010-02-12T20:33:00.001-08:00

which means I don't have any new pictures to post, which means I haven't posted anything at all in a VERY long time! This blog really is mostly (ok, entirely!) about my two boys and what they're up to, and most importantly, pictures of what they've been up to. I have now been without a camera for over 3 months and I'm trying really hard to not get too emotionally distraught knowing that I have not been able to photograph over 3 months of my boy's, Dylan's in particular at this age, lives! That being said, I still want to blog about us and what we are up to. It's way too hard to "catch up" here when I wait this long between posts, so I'll just have to start blogging about other things, and about the boys, just without pictures.
As many of you know, I have been battling with Dylan's food sensitivities for quite some time now. What started as chronic congestion and excessive spitting up, has now been diagnosed as an excess of yeast in his gut. After many failed visits with "traditional" western doctors, we have now been seeing an amazing chiropractor who has been able to really help us make some progress together and get Dylan back on track! Within the first few weeks of changing my diet, both his congestion and spitting up completely went away! That being said, he still has too much yeast in his system and we're having a hard time getting that balanced out, so we are both now on a very restricted Candida diet, with a number of other eliminated foods as well. It's tough! It's tough for me anyway! Being a total food lover, cook, and baker, I have REALLY had to adjust my thinking in the kitchen and get incredibly creative!
So, I have come up with a number of really good recipes and meals over the past few weeks. Our diet has to be entirely gluten, dairy (butter, yogurt and kefir are ok), egg, sugar, fruit and corn free. Yes, completely free of all of those things. None at all! I figured since I can't share pictures with you, I'll share some crazy creative recipes instead :-)

Pancakes:
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut (1/2 pulsed into a flour in a food processor)
1/2 cup gluten free oats (pulsed into a flour)
1/2 cup Ener-G rice mix
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 "eggs" Ener-G egg replacer (mixed as package instructs)
1 cup rice milk
1/2 cup plain kefir
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Pour wet into dry and mix together. These took a little longer to cook through than a regular pancake, so I cooked them at a lower temp. than usual. They were really good! Dylan ate them plain, I smothered mine in butter, and Kalani got the real deal with organic maple syrup :)

I also made some zucchini pancakes, which were great for Dylan to feed himself, since he really prefers that these days :) I just shredded up some zucchini and a little onion, added some Ener-G rice mix, a dash of salt, a dash of pepper, a little rice milk and about 1-2 eggs equivalent of Ener-G egg replacer and fried them up. Yum!

Salmon Noodle Casserole:
I package small shell rice noodles - cooked according to package.
3 cans salmon
about 1 1/2-2 cups rice milk
1/2 stick of butter
olive oil
1/2 cup Ener-G rice mix
1 green bell pepper
2 stalks of celery
1 onion
garlic to taste
salt
pepper
Buf's Rub*

Chop up the veggies and garlic and saute in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. In same pan add the butter and rice mix and cook together, bubbling, for a few minutes. Whisking, add the rice milk. Cook until thickened a bit. Add salt and pepper (and any other seasoning you like) to taste. Add cooked pasta, veggies and salmon to the sauce and mix well. Toss it in a baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

*Buf's Rub is my dad's amazing spice mix/dry rub. I use it on/in EVERYTHING! It is delicious on any meat, grilled or baked etc. But I also put it in anything I'm making if I'm feeling like it just needs a little something, but I'm not sure what. Use any spice mix, house seasoning, or dry rub you like, but it wont be quite as good as mine, without the Buf's Rub! ;-)

Turkey, Millet Moussaka... sort of? Not sure what else to call this one! Inspired by Our Life in the Kitchen
1 cup millet - cooked according to directions
1 package ground turkey - a little over a pound
2 1/2 red bell peppers
1 onion
1 zucchini
1/4 large eggplant
olive oil
garlic
salt
pepper
oregano
basil
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup Ener-G rice mix
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
3 cups rice milk

I had some leftover sauteed zucchini and eggplant that I used for this, if making fresh than chop them both up and saute together, with salt, pepper and garlic until tender, and set aside.
Saute red pepper, onion and garlic together until soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, ground oregano and ground basil. Cool slightly then pulse in a food processor until finely chopped, but not totally smooth.
Saute ground turkey and season with salt and pepper. When turkey is nearly cooked through, add sauteed veggies and red pepper puree to pan and cook together for a couple more minutes.
Put the cooked millet in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan and press down firmly. Add the meat mixture on top of that and press that down on top.
In a pan melt together butter and about the same amount of olive oil. Add rice mix and arrowroot powder and cook together, bubbling, for a few minutes. Add rice milk and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste.
Pour the bechamel sauce over the meat mixture and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I realize that these are not recipes that you'd probably be inspired to try, unless you too are on some crazy restricted diet. And I also realize that most of us don't just happen to have the unusual mixes and replacers and things that I now have in my pantry. But, if you do happen to have any food allergies or sensitivities or are on a restricted diet of any kind, yourself, than these recipes may just be helpful or inspiring to you! If nothing else, I just wanted to share because I was proud of myself for coming up with some really yummy things to eat :) I'm surviving without pastries and chocolate. Barely. But I'm making it.
You can take the food out of my kitchen, but you can't take the passionate cook that I am, out of me!

Christmas

2009-12-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

So much time has passed, and there are so many "reasons" why..... but the main reason is that I no longer have a camera, so I have not had the pictures to motivate me to post here. I know, still not a very good "reason". And I am working on getting a new camera, but I just can't quite settle on which one I want, and am planning to invest in a decent one, so I don't want to make the wrong choice. On that note, if any of you (uh-hum, I know for sure that I have a few wonderful photographer followers out there... ) have any suggestions for me, please share in my comments!

Anyhow, here we are on Christmas Eve. Me and my crazy, silly, beautiful boys.

I hope all is well with all of you, during this special time of love and happiness. Be light! Be merry! Be joyous!

Adding

2009-10-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

On our way to the car, after a few fun hours at the annual API of Orange County potluck, Kalani said to me, "there were two boys, and one girl, which means there were three of us."
Wow! Simple math, I know, but math! I was shocked and amazed to hear him add two and one and tell me that it equals three! Amazing boy he is. I just love that guy.

Fall :: Transitions

2009-10-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

Fall has come, even here in sunny orange county. The weather has cooled down quite a bit, enough to wear long pants and even a sweatshirt here and there! Still in my flip-flops every day though ;-) I love fall, always have. It feels homey and cozy to me. Calmer, in some way, then the hot days of summer. Fall is also a time of changes, changes in so many ways.

In the midst of all of my personal changes and turmoil, if you will, we have had some wonderfully amazing changes this fall also! Kalani has started school! He loves it!!! He started at North Huntington Beach Community Nursery School (NHBCNS) three weeks ago. This school is THE BEST! I hesitated for the past year plus about getting Kalani into preschool because I was just so uneasy about all of my options; too expensive, too "oc-ish", and most importantly, too against my beliefs and what I've worked SO hard at for the past almost 4 years. We have a few friends that have been going to NHBCNS for a while now and have always heard rave reviews. The distance was keeping me away; its about a 25 minute drive, each way. I still do not love the drive, especially 4 days a week, but it is so worth it! I can't even explain and go into detail about all the perfectness that this school is, because I wouldn't know where to start or stop. But it is perfect. Perfect for us anyway :-) Kalani's at school Mon-Thurs from 12:30-3:30 which is a pretty huge change from not being in school at all. He's adjusted wondefuly though and loves every minute of it. He woke up today (Friday) and asked if he was going to school today. I said no, not for the next three days, and he replied, " awwww, I really want to go to my school today. Let's go see if it's open anyway!" Enough said.

So no pictures of school yet, sorry. Lots of new pics of other fun fall stuff and those two adorable boys I've got though!

A Sunday family hike at Crystal Cove.

Great Grandpa Lincoln's swiss army knife...

...and a Star Wars spy watch. Kalani is ready to work!

Cutest hat on the cutest baby ever.

Soakin' up the early fall rays.

We took our annual trip to Tanaka Farms for the Pumpkin patch tour - but this time it was with Kalani's class from school! First field trip ever! :-) He still loves the wagon ride around the farm the best. But I think having all his buddies along for the adventure sure made the trip that much more fun.

Kalani's first ever "class picture".

picking pumpkins

D and a green bean.

hmmmm.... which one should I choose?

Found just the right one :-)

Dylan is sitting up on his own and LOVING it! He sits and plays for minutes on end! ;-)

and yes, he really is almost always this smiley :-)

the three of us.

Family Portrait

2009-09-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

... in a silly kinda way.

Hot Summer Days

2009-09-06T22:10:00.001-07:00

Lounging in the shady grass.

Art with his best buddy.

My Babies

2009-09-06T22:04:00.000-07:00

Funniest Picture Ever!

2009-09-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Seafair Sunday in Seattle. Sorry it's so small, I stole it from my cuz and that's the way it saved.

For Auntie...

2009-06-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

as promised :)

Silly Boy

2009-06-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Smiley

2009-05-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, not much time to type these days, so I figured I'd at least update with a bunch of new pics!

I love my two boys so, so, so much! Well, all three of them, actually ;-)

Dylan is unbelievably happy, giggly, and smiley. I love it!!!

Brothers in Love

2009-05-06T16:28:00.001-07:00

Just for fun

2009-05-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

Kalani - 9 weeks old

Dylan - 8 weeks old

Cousins

2009-05-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

The Sunday before last, Ben, Chloe and Nikki were in LA for a couple days on their way to Australia. We were delighted to be able to spend the afternoon with them by the pool!

Baby Dylan

2009-04-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

7 1/2 weeks ago my second angel baby came into this crazy world. I am only now sitting down, uninterrupted, to tell the story... I did say it was a crazy world... our world is crazy anyway :)

John and I both knew that this baby was going to come early. My midwife, Kris, was pretty sure too. My 37-week mark came on February 18th, and we joked with each other that I just needed to make it through the weekend, so I could have my baby shower! And I did.
That Monday, I started to feel (mentally and physically) that things really were going to be happening a little sooner than expected. By late in the day on Tuesday, I started to wonder just when exactly. I woke up early Wednesday morning, around 3:30 am and got out of bed. It was happening!
I decided to take a walk outside to get things going, and to let the boys sleep, undisturbed. I came back in about an hour later, got online to check my email while I still could ;-) and called my Mama.
It was 4:30 in the morning, February 25th, exactly two weeks before my estimated date of birth. I woke up John. Within the next couple hours my contractions really intensified and started getting longer and closer together. Kalani woke up, took a dip in the birth tub, and watched Peter Pan. Then Grandpa Fred came to take him out for the day. Kris arrived around 8:30. Being myself, and always wanting to know what is going to happen and when, I asked Kris and her wonderful assistant, Brigitte, when this baby was going to come out!?!! I was ready! Brigitte very calmly told me that it would be before dinner time. I said that is wasn't even lunch time yet (basically, I didn't like that answer!). So then she said it would be by snack time between lunch and dinner.... Around 11 o'clock I decided to have Kris break my water. I gave a few good, strong pushes and my mom walked through the door. I pushed about three more times and baby Dylan was here. It was 11:51 am. Not even lunch time yet ;-)

Dylan James Helmrich. Born February 25, 2009. 11:51 am. 8 pounds 1 ounce. 20 inches long.

Welcome to the world baby boy. We love you so, so, so much!

37 weeks....

2009-02-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

.. and counting. I've entered the "safe zone" so if anything happens from this point on, we are good to go! Got a final blood test done and it came back good, my weight is good, and Kris (our fabulous midwife) says the baby feels good.
My baby shower is on Sunday, and I am SO excited!!! I'm pretty confident that I'll make it thru that, then I'll be ready for this baby to "pop out!" as Kalani says.

Here are just a couple photos of my very round belly :)

Puddle Jumping

2009-01-10T12:27:00.001-08:00

Do not be deceived, no rain here. Just some left over puddles from the sprinklers :)

Kalani is 3!!!

2008-12-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe it but my baby boy is 3 years old already! Wow!!

I made him an awesome front loader, backhoe truck cake (thanks to auntie Pertz suggestion) that he loved. He was very anxious to eat it so it was hard to get very many pictures ;-)

We also had a great party for him at the park, with all his favorite friends.

Thanks

2008-12-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

Thank you to the higher being that is, that has blessed me with an amazing, growing family and a beautiful life thus far.
Thank you to all of my family for being so loving, present, and supportive no matter what my life seems to throw at you.
Thank you to all my wonderful friends, for being just that, wonderful friends.

And thanks for my baking skills, 'cause boy are pies delicious!

Hope everyone had as enjoyable of a holiday weekend as I did!!

The Birthday Extravaganza Begins!

2008-11-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Fred and Granny Sue took all of us to the Pirate Dinner Adventure to celebrate Kalani's 3rd birthday. It was fabulous! Kalani enjoyed it about 100% more than I even expected him too. So of course, we all loved it too :) The dinner itself was (as expected) pretty awful, the dessert was pretty darn good, the free drinks were great and the entertainment was really really good. The performers were actually really great and very talented! There was a good amount of acrobatic type stunts and the acting was much better than I had expected. Kalani's eyes did not move from the entertainment for a single minute and he happily sat in his seat for the full two hours. If you know Kalani at all, that is saying a LOT!

Dessert! He had this expression on his face the entire time

Leaving the adventure, all decked out :)

**I have a funny video of Kalani too, but I have never been able to upload videos onto here. I just get the box with a red x in it?? I'll keep trying though

Sticky Buns

2008-11-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to make these and then SO proud of myself for pulling it off! They were DELICIOUS!!! I have made plenty of loaves of yeast bread, but had never made a yeast dough for pastry's or sweets, like this one, so it was extra fun and exciting to do. Kalani helped with every single step, including eating them :)
The recipe made a ton so we have two pans, ready to go, in the freezer too.

I could sure use some tips on how to photograph food though. My camera would not focus correctly on the buns, and neither the flash or non-flash picture really shows how beautiful these were.

Halloween Projects

2008-10-28T09:31:00.001-07:00

I've been having so many memories of my childhood these past couple weeks. With Kalani being almost 3, we've really started actually doing all the things you do with kids, and he is really actually being involved and excited about them! It's really been bringing back all of my memories of this time of year when I was younger. It's fun :)
We got our pumpkins about a week ago, but waited until this past weekend to carve them so that they would last until Halloween. We got four pumpkins, so we decided to carve all four pumpkins. Neither John or I had carved pumpkins in quite a few years. We forgot how much work it is! So we cut the tops off of and cleaned out all four of them, but only carved two. We'll get to the other two in the next couple days.

John wanted to save the pumpkin seeds and roast them. They are supposedly VERY good for you; they kill parasites in your stomach, which we all have. Anyway, I hate picking the seeds out of all the muck, just one of those things I remember really not wanting to do when I was younger. So he did it and we got a lot of seeds out of those four pumpkins! I roasted one batch with just salt and the other with salt, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder. There good. I don't really like them, I don't like the texture. But there good :)
We took Kalani to a little Halloween Carnival on Saturday and he loved painting these little pumpkins. He also got a lollipop, which much to my disliking, is his all time favorite thing these days.

Now for the BIG project! Kalani was going to be a pirate for Halloween which I figured would be a pretty easy costume to put together. Then about a week ago we were talking about his costume:

Me: So you wanna dress up like a pirate on Halloween?

Kalani: Ummm, no. I wanna be an abominable snowman!

Me: You do? Are you sure you don't want to be a pirate?

Kalani: No. I want to be an abominable snowman with a pirate sword.

I continued to ask him every day for about five days what he wanted to be for Halloween just to be really sure. Every day the answer was an abominable snowman, with a pirate sword.
Sooooo, I don't like the idea of buying a cheap, crappy costume that he will wear one time then have it just sit around and eventually give it away. I wanted to make it myself. The seamstress that I am NOT, I've really been channeling a few important people in my life to get through this project; mom, first and foremost, I have been thinking of you and all the costumes, dresses, and everything else you have sewed for us over the years, and also my good friends Allysun and Angela. You are all creative inspirations to me and, so far so good.... !

Buddies

2008-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Best buddies. These guys just love eachother; they have so much fun together. This was a beautiful, sunny and warm mid-October afternoon at the beach by the Newport Pier.

Just 'cause

2008-10-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

He's so darn cute! And he likes green beans.

20 weeks

2008-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

So we're half way already, wow, it's sure going fast this time! And these are the FIRST pictures we've taken of my growing belly.

Enjoy :)

Tanaka Farms

2008-10-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

Kalani loves this place!

Highlights: petting the goats and pigs. the wagon ride around the farm! picking his own veggies :)
Note to keep in mind for the future (and to any others with toddlers going to a fall harvest/pumpkin picking farm): Corn mazes are not very interesting or exciting to toddlers. And they use up all their walking energy and make them hungry and tired. Skip the corn maze.

Sorry I don't have better or more pictures; I forgot my camera so I took all these on my phone.

Oh....

2008-09-12T14:00:00.001-07:00

and John proposed! We're engaged!!!

I had been wanting to go to Pea Soup Andersen's for a while now, and talked about it quite a lot. I also made it a point before we left, that we would be stopping here for lunch on the way to Sonoma this time. John proposed at PSA! It was such a surprise and so right for us right now.

I love him.

An Amazing Trip to Sonoma!

2008-09-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

John, Kalani and I took our very first road trip, the three of us, to visit Auntie Zoi and Kristy in Sonoma, last weekend. It was great! Kalani does SO well in the car, for the long 8 hour drive, I'm amazed every time. It's hot in the central California farmland. Thank goodness for AC.

And drills :)

We drove into Santa Rosa and met Zoi at Zazu at about 7pm on Saturday night. We had a bite to eat then headed off to see her cabin in the woods :) Kalani requested to "drive in auntie's car" so we switched the car seat and off we went. We arrived at Goat Rock State Beach just after the sun had set, to see the most amazing view of the northern California coastline. I had been here a few months ago, when we visited Zoi, so John was particularly surprised at the site. Breathtaking. We proceeded down a long, bumpy, gravel drive to the cabin. The location is very rustic and private, and the house looks pretty rustic on the outside also, but immediately upon going inside we realized this was not a funky, run-down place. The cabin was gorgeous and so super cozy. The kitchen and all the walls are brand new, along with the 2 wood pellet-burning stoves. I could go on and on about how cool the place is, but I'll leave it at that :)

We woke up to a calm and foggy coastal morning of even more abundance and beauty than we were able to see the night before. Off to the beach we went!

Prune especially enjoyed running FAST, and digging holes with her ball. Kalani especially enjoyed chasing Prune, tossing her ball, running in the sand, and working on "the beach house" with Auntie.

Furry Friends

2008-08-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our new kitter's.

Gus (the little guy) came out of hiding on day 3 and has been terrorizing our apartment since! He's awfully cute though and he loves to cuddle and lounge on our laps. He also puts up with Kalani picking him up, tossing him around and just generally being too rough :)

We're still undecided on the big one's name; John wants to call her Gretchen or Gretch, but it just doesn't sound right to me. I still like to call her Kitty Fat-Fat ;-) She doesn't tolerate Kalani's roughness that much, but she sleeps with him every day during his nap and all night long too. It's very sweet. I think she knows he saved her from the Humane Society and an uncertain future.

They are messy, smelly and are costing us extra money, but we love them.

Catching Up....

2008-08-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! There has been a lot going on with us, and I haven't updated here in a while.

Ok, so the biggest news would be that we are having another baby, yay!!! I am due around March 10th. Although we were quite shocked, and honestly not very excited at first, we are now feeling really good and happy and looking forward to our new addition. Kalani seems pretty happy and excited too :) I'm also happy about the due date; I like early spring time.

Like having a nearing 3 years old toddler and another baby on the way isn't enough, we splurged and got 2 kitties yesterday. I know, we're nuts. What are we thinking? is what I keep asking myself...!?!! But, they are both very cute and sweet. We went with the intent to get one, maybe two, kittens for Kalani to have. When we got to the Humane Society Kalani went right to a huge, fluffy, gray cat and said he wanted this one because "it looks like a lion". So, we got that one. She's awesome, about 5-6 years old, super fluffy, HUGE and so super sweet and lovey. She just follows us around all day. When I was getting Kalani ready for bed last night he said he wanted the "big one" to come and sleep with him. I told him we'd have to just see what she wanted to do and let her be. Well, I snuggled up on his bed with him, read him his story, and then turned out the lights. In a matter of seconds, the "big one" came creeping into his room and jumped right up onto the bed. She snuggled down at his feet, right between Kalani and I, and fell fast asleep. He loved it :)
The other kitty we got, John and I picked because he was so fun and playful while we were picking them out. He is about 3 months old, mostly black with a few white patches on his under side. Well, he's not so frisky now that we're home. He quickly found a spot under my dresser and has pretty much stayed right there since we brought him home :( He seems pretty scared and I'm hoping he just needs some time to adjust. The "big one" has also been sort of antagonizing him; going right up to the dresser and hissing and growling at the poor little guy. So we're keeping our bedroom door shut for now in hopes that the little guy will get a little more brave and explore our bedroom on his own.
Geesh!

And the last, but most definitely NOT least important bit of news is that... drum roll please.... Kalani weaned! Oh my, I can still hardly believe it myself!! Having another baby coming, I had really been thinking a whole lot about how I could go about weaning Kalani gently and "easily" without him feeling like it was "because of the new baby" at all. I honestly thought that Kalani would nurse until high school, if I allowed it! But alas, as of Wednesday of last week, we seem to be done. I am so super, extra happy about this because he seemed to self-wean, which is what I had always wanted to have happen. His way of going about it was, well, a little different than anything than I had ever heard, but that's ok with me!

Sorry there are no pictures with this post. I've been bad about taking pics lately. I'll update again soon with some pictures of Kalani, my little growing belly, and the kitties!

Picnic Dinner at the Beach

2008-07-21T11:27:00.001-07:00

Seattle: A Photo Diary

2008-06-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Seattle was great... and rainy. But really fun!

(sorry about the little pics. I don't know how to "convert" those. Anyone else know?)

Potty Time

2008-05-06T14:40:00.001-07:00

Kalani is getting VERY close to being totally potty trained!! He's in undies (or nothing at all) for most of the day, including naps. And he's pretty much only in diaper's at night now! This is so exciting for me, more so than it is for him I'm pretty sure ......

although he does look quite happy here :)

The Cut!

2008-05-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

We actually did it this time.

Before:
Awww, I do love the long curls......

During:

I know, it was very tempting to stop right here ;)

After:

YaY!!! What a big boy!

My Boys

2008-05-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

A nice, sunny, so-cal Sunday afternoon at the beach :)

(Allysun- this could use some photoshop work)

Best Friends

2008-04-20T11:08:00.001-07:00

Never too early to start.

2008-03-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend in the Desert

2008-03-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

Kalani's first round of mini-golf!

It was HOT... really, really, hot.

The bunny ears were in his Easter basket from Gramma Ilo and Grampa Buff. He also got to eat a chocolate bunny.... at 10:30 am! The rest of his Easter eggs were filled with dried fruits and crackers, and he seemed to like those just as much. That's my healthy little boy ;)

I think he just spotted another egg here....

I got to prepare our Easter brunch, it was great! John serenaded me in the kitchen and made the pitcher of mimosa's.

A ham (I was suuuper stoked to make and EAT a ham!), new potato and asparagus tart, blueberry coffee cake, fresh fruit, and mimosa's. Yum!!

Ok, ok.......

2008-02-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

I know most of you really just want to see new pictures of the little man. So here you go........... :)
watching BIG trucks rip up and lay new asphalt.
us, having dinner on the San Clemente pier.
disneyland!!
smells nice ;)
eating soup with Aiden

I'm back!

2008-02-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the loooong break in new posts here, I have no excuse really, so I wont try to make one up. No excuse aside from the usual trials of daily life living a healthy and green lifestyle in ridiculously expensive orange county, raising my beautiful 2-year-old angel on a single mother's work-from home budget, anyway.
Plenty has gone on in the past 2 1/2 months, and I'm not going to touch on everything right now. But what was really great, exciting, and oh-so relaxing was my overnight getaway last weekend! John took me on a completely surprise night away last weekend for Valentines Day!! We went to Santa Barbara and it was AMAZING; the most fun and relaxed time I have had in over 2 years :)

Not great pictures, I know, sorry :( We stayed in a great hotel though, and had some good food and good drink, and lots of good times!

a HAPPY new year!

2007-12-31T14:08:00.001-08:00

Well it has certainly been an interesting year, yes, I used the word interesting and we all know what that really means. It has been long, challenging, and hard, perhaps the hardest yet for me, and yet I feel very refreshed and rejuvenated coming into 2008. I need renewal right now like you would not believe and so I am grateful that today will be the last day of 2007, and that tomorrow will be the first day of a whole new beginning........ a whole new life!

Peace and Serenity

'Tis the Season

2007-12-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

We finally got our (20 inch) tree up, just six days before Christmas. Kalani helped me make the star! Now it's feeling a little bit more like Christmas around here :)

No we didn't.......

2007-12-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

..... Oh yes we did! I took Kalani roller skating!! He wasn't extremely thrilled about having the skates on his feet. But he liked the music and really liked the flashing lights at the end :)

Cheeeeeezzz!

2007-12-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Catching Up :: A Photo Album

2007-12-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

Here are a bunch of new photos. Some from our trip up to see Zoi and Jen in San Francisco for Thanksgiving, and some of Kalani's many birthday celebration's...........

My Big Boy Turned 2!

2007-11-29T21:34:00.001-08:00

Daily visitor

2007-11-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

The photo does not do this Hawk justice, I zoomed in all the way and got as close as I could without scaring him away. This guy has flown in and landed on the branch just outside my window day after day. When you sit at your computer for four, five, six hours straight, the sight of such a beautiful, majestic creature is very refreshing!

Taking the afternoon off

2007-11-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

I decided to skip work yesterday afternoon and take Kalani to Fashion Island instead. We ran around, took care of a couple quick errands, then Nana took us out for taco's at Wahoo's. Then we decided to splurge (our bellies, that is) on some ice cream too! Kalani has had some ice cream lately, mostly with his favorite "apple piiii-eeee", but this was his first ice cream CONE. He loved it :)

Please Pray for my friend, Giulietta

2007-11-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

A friend of mine in my moms group needs your prayers. She has something called Guillain Barre Syndrome... it is a problem that begins in the spine and causes the outer sheath of the nerves to become inflamed. Her name is Giullieta and her 16 month old daughter is Chloe, her husband is Jim. If you can spread the word at your church/temple or among your friends, I would be very grateful.

Giulietta is back in CCU at Hoag Hospital for the third time this week. She has had countless blood tests and finally got a spinal tap to discover what was wrong. They are pumping her full of globulins for a week. If this fails they will have to then extract and clean her blood. The paralysis travels up and down her body over the course of hours, she loses speech and sight capacities daily. She hasn't been able to hold her daughter for almost a week and now being in the hospital she hasn't seen her for days.

Hopefully her treatments will take affect and then things will settle out in about two or three weeks and become more manageable. Then our moms group and other friends will help with chores and food etc. Right now we need prayers and good vibes- lots of them!!!

A Paypal account has been set up to recieve donations for Giulietta and her family to help cover medical costs and care for Chloe etc. If you would like to donate, please click here:

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best Halloween Ever!

2007-11-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have never really been that into Halloween. I think it is one of those holiday's that some people just love, and look forward to and plan for, for weeks ahead of time. I have never been one of those people. I was a black cat for like, 4 years in a row because the people I was hanging out with said I had to be something. But like so many other things, Halloween was so much more fun to celebrate with Kalani! I got excited about his costume, and planned it out weeks ahead of time, and I anxiously awaited Halloween night so I could take him trick-or-treating. He was the CUTEST "worker guy" you have ever seen!

first house, and loving it already!

that bag is fillin' up fast...

Kalani's first EVER candy treat...

mmmmmmmmm

Off to a few more houses....

After trick-or-treating we went home to have some delicious homemade chili. I have this thing about chili and Halloween; I think I made it up, but to me it is the meal to have on Halloween! I realize that chili does not look that great, or appetizing, in a photo, but it was gooood :-)

cool pumpkin cup from Gramma Ilo

Kalani LOVED the chili

Back out to go see our neighbor friends and get a couple more pieces of candy, before calling it a night!

Like I said, cutest construction worker you've ever seen!!

Pumpkin Pickin'

2007-10-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to our favorite farm in orange county this morning, to check out the pumpkin patch. Granny Sue and Nana came along too! It is a cool, cloudy, and almost misty day here, which is rare, but actually quite nice. It did warm up by noon to about 70 degrees, but it was still very overcast and moist, so it felt like a very appropriate day to do something so "fall-ish". Tanaka Farms is orange county's only 100% working farm, and it is 100% organic too! It is a (dirt-loving, active, energetic) kid's paradise! They have wagon rides that take you around the farm, the engine is actually a tractor, but that work's in our favor because Kalani is pretty into tractors these days :) And during the pumpkin season, they also have a corn maze and a petting zoo. I noticed today, that Kalani is becoming quite used to the petting zoo's, we go to them on a fairly regular basis these days. He went from one goat or sheep to the next (usually the only animals at these petting zoo's, this one also had a couple little pigs running around), making sure to give each and everyone one a little pat on the head or back, like it was his task to complete. It was quite funny!

Kalani really liked this one...

and this one really liked Nana

on the "wagon"

in the 'maize' maze

Kalani thought this one was "biiiig!"

anybody want to get me photoshop for Christmas ;).....
(so I could take my foot out of this shot)

we went home with 4 beautiful pumpkins, and 1 tired boy!

Disneyland!

2007-10-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am really a southern California mom now, because I LOVE going to Disneyland! I not only did not expect, but I did not even think about certain things when I decided to move down here. I never really thought about Disneyland for the first, oh, 9 months I was here. And now I have an annual pass!
Some special people get a 'shout out' on this post ~ Pertz and Sar, WHAT, WHAT!!

just because....

2007-09-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

my angel

Peace

2007-09-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Pinwheels For Peace

Oh Oregon....

2007-09-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

I never really had any draw toward Oregon, or any desire to spend a lot of time there. I had always kind of figured, "why Oregon, it's just that state stuck between Washington and California?!" Then my good friend Allysun, her husband Dave, and there silly daughter Annabelle moved to Brownsville, and I couldn't wait to visit! Kalani and I were invited to spend a long week with Allysun and her family and we quickly jumped at the opportunity. We were able to combine this trip with our visit to SF and it really worked out perfectly for us.
I had an absolutely wonderful time. It was so realaxing, comfortable, fun, and enlightening for me to spend this time away from California and with an awesome friend. I have a new love for Oregon, I really do. Brownsville is a small town of 1500 people, located equally between Corvalis and Eugene in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I will let the photos tell the story of this trip :)

We had this "thing" going with apple pie. We got the kids totally obsessed with it, in a good way :) This is our beautiful, all natural, healthy and delicious, sugar-free apple pie! Kalani and Annabelle ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was good!!

I ordered some new water bottles for the kids and they arrived the second day we were there. They are suuuper great! All stainless steel, insulated, and very durable.
Please note: we did NOT color coordiante these shots.

Fresh popped popcorn and good company. Yeah!!

Drumming on the wall! Bath time is so much more fun with a buddy!!

Future hairstylist, Annabelle. (In case you can't tell, that's a comb in her hand.)

Kalani really enjoyed this...

really, really enjoyed it.

Surprise!! I'm watching you two :)

A morning at the playground in Brownsville.

And an afternoon of rain.

Kalani LOVED the rain!

Kalani and I went to the neighbor's sunflower garden to pick some of these giant beauties for our very gracious host's. He was so happy and content in between the rows of towering flowers. It was one of my favorite moments with him on our whole trip. Splendor. Love.

Kalani's first trip to the Big City!

2007-09-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Kalani and I headed out on our second airplane trip to go and visit Auntie Zoi in San Francisco! Once again I found myself embarking on this adventure, just me and my little man. This seemed like a daunting task when I was preparing, and I think I tend to psych myself out that it is going to be really difficult and exhausting. But lo and behold, it was a breeze!
Kalani was fascinated by the airport and airplane, I think he talked faster and said more words than I have ever heard before. "Ah-plane, up, down, oh oh, on, on, ah-plane, down, uh-oh, uh-oh, down, up, ah-plane, on, oh oh, ah-plane, up, down, up, up......" seriously, this would go on for 15, 20 minutes, NON-STOP. It was hilarious and adorable. He stomped thru the airport like he was a first class business man, traveling the globe. No fear.

I was very excited and anxious to have Kalani in a big city for the first time, really. We had an awesome time! I finally got to see The Presidio Social Club in person and enjoy a fabulous meal. I got to see Zoi and Jen's adorable apartment, and spend a some more time with little Pruney. "Aw-tee" taught Kalani how to tell Prune "noooo-w", and point his little finger at her when she barked too loud. He caught on really quickly and was quite proud. Prune took him very seriously and would run away with her little tail between her legs. Unfortunately I did not get any photos of this :( Here are a bunch of pictures of Kalani playing at Zoi's apartment though. He really liked it there!
ahhhh, so sad, but such a cute, funny face :)

we bought these shoes the day before and Kalani LOVED them, he insisted on wearing them out of the store! He got them on all by himself this morning and refused to take them off. I had to pull his pants on over them!

I had a great time kicking around the city, after not being there for quite a few years.
Union Square in downtown San Francisco
doing some late night shopping with Gram and Gramp

We also got to have a very long overdue (over 8 months, can you believe that?!!) visit with "Buff" and "Ay-Yo". The 4 of us went to the SF zoo which was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful zoo with the coolest farm and petting zoo I have ever seen! It was a chilly, cloudy, misty day, typical of SF, but still a great day for the zoo.

uhhhh, wrestling the goat?!! Perhaps having a reminiscent moment of the old days back home on the farm :)!
workin!
workin some more, with buff
riding on the "choo-choo"
All in all our visit to SF was quick and busy, but so much fun!

Home Again. Home Again.

2007-09-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

We are back from our WONDERFUL and much needed time away from orange county! The weather has cooled down a bit here after out return, kids are back in school so the "feel" around town is much calmer, and it actually rained yesterday. I like it. I love the summer here and the heat and the crowds.... but I am ready for it to all settle a bit now. I guess that's the northwest girl in me shining thru! Nothing like some time in Oregon farmland to remind me of my roots :)

Mmmmmmm

2007-09-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

I thought I would finally post something about me on here :) We had a bbq at mom's house last weekend and I was, of course, in charge of dessert. Mom made ribs, delicious ribs and grilled veggies, and I made some baked beans, so I thought I'd stay with the whole southern-ish theme. I made a 4-layer pecan spice cake with cream cheese frosting, it was sooooo good! I wish I could have sent a piece to all of you up north!!

Yay for packages from Gram!

2007-08-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to encourage friends and family to give Kalani less plastic and electronic toys, and more wooden and natural material toys. Kalani does love his noisy, musical, brightly colored plastic, and I do plan to keep the ones we have around. I try to remember to keep moderation in mind about almost everything in our lives, Kalani's toy's included :)
So... we got a HUGE package in the mail the other day from Gramma Ilo and it was full of really cool, new, wooden toys!! And a big plastic fire hydrant, that Kalani adores and points to and says "dai-ya-ya!". He learned how to say his version of fire hydrant a few weeks ago, so when he pulled this one out of the box he was just ecstatic! There was also a cool wooden fruit set that goes perfectly with Kalani's new kitchen (that we finally put together last week after rearranging the living room). The pieces of fruit velcro together and you can cut them apart with the cute wooden knife that came with the set. Everything in the package was awesome, and is so what Kalani is into right now! Once he pulled all the new things out of the box, he really enjoyed playing with, and crumbling all of the packing peanuts. He played in the box for at least an hour!! I was asking him to please NOT crumble the peanuts all over the floor... ummmm, ya. He really does usually listen to me :)

The HAIR

2007-08-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

I've got to write a little something about Kalani's hair here, because I think we are going to get it trimmed tomorrow! Kalani's hair is long and curly and beautiful. I love everything about it. It was trimmed a while back, six months ago I guess, but it has grown very long and lush again since then. I love it long and messy, it is the essence of Kalani more than a short, cleaned up "do" would be. I know little girls everywhere, and their mom's too, look at his hair enviously. It is long enough to clip back or put in a pony tail, but he is a boy, so we can't do that. The dilemma right now is "what to do with this head of hair?" His bangs hang down in his eyes and the back tends to get a little snarly throughout the day. So with our trip to San Francisco and Oregon quickly approaching, I have decided it needs a trim.
These pictures are a memento of Kalani's long hair. I will miss it.
so curly...
and cute
he likes it too
with the bangs a little more tidy
ummm, ya
I'll miss you, little tail

Just because...

2007-08-28T13:07:00.001-07:00

I love this picture. Don't know what he was doing exactly, but I love it!

Friends and "big boy pants"

2007-08-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

Kalani has become quite a social butterfly. He loves playing with all of his buddies and he loves meeting new friends too. He is so kind when he plays and has such a gentle demeanor. He always approaches kids at the playground and when they snap at him or yell "mine!" when he tries to play with their toy's, he just carries on. We visit our friends Angela and Aiden every week, Aiden is one of Kalani's best buds, they wrestle together which is hilarious! I'll have to post about that, with some pics, another day :) While we were there the other day Kalani got to try on some "big boy pants" for the first time! It was soooo cute and I wanted to get a really good picture, but he was not in the mood so I tried my best...

Another of Kalani's best friends is Kaley. Kalani really likes Kaley!

Yet another girlfriend ;)

Concerts in the Park

2007-08-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our new, favorite, Sunday afternoon! We have been going to the free concerts at Bluebird Park in Laguna Beach for the past few weeks now. This is my favorite park to take Kalani too anyway, and these concerts have just been such a fun and relaxing thing to do at the end of the weekend. It is sometimes a bit challenging to find an activity that Kalani, John, and I all really enjoy doing; but this has been just that! My mom comes along sometimes too, and I think she enjoys it just as much as we do... if not even more :)

Obsessions...

2007-08-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

We all have them, but I think we try to hold back or something... it seems like our own obsessions, as adults, are not so well known. Kalani's, on the other hand, are! He Love, Love, Loves "agua" right now. He says agua when referring to any sprinklers, showers, the ocean... but NOT drinking water. In Kalani's mind these two things are still very different! He picked up this Spanish word from all of the gardeners at our complex, and at the nursery across the street, Roger's.

Enjoying some "nana time" at Roger's

Normally the sprinkler system at our apartment complex comes on late at night, but once every week or two they turn them on during the day to test and adjust them. We were getting ready to head out of the house for the day when Kalani heard them come on, so he HAD to go out and check them out for himself.

I was about to get him dressed which is why he is naked!

This morning exploration only made us a little bit late to where we were headed ;)

Yesterday at the beach was one of the first times Kalani really got into playing in the waves! The pictures don't quite capture the sheer happiness he was experiencing, or how hard he was laughing as each wave splashed into his little naked body. But they do show how much fun he was having! Nana was holding his arms and lifting him up as each wave came; lifting him up high for the big ones and not so high for the little ones. One wave came and splashed him in the face a little, but he didn't seem to really mind, his body was shivering and his teeth were chattering though, so we decided he was done for the day. He will have so many more days to play in the waves!

Kalani's other obsession these days is candles and fire. Nana has had quite an influence on this one ;)

Visitors, Visitors, and More Visitors!

2007-07-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

July has always been my favorite month, for a very good reason, of course ;) And this July was NO exception! We were so happy and felt so lucky to have some of our very most favorite people come to visit us this month.
Sister Zoi, aka auntie "o-wee", and Jen came first. It was a whirlwind couple of days, but soooo much fun! What did Zoi and Jen want to do when they were here? A nice dinner... no, go to the beach, perhaps... no, they wanted to go to DISNEYLAND!! Crazy, I know, I never excpected that. But we had a really fun time!

Our silly family on It's a Small World; Kalani's FAVORITE ride.

Arrrrgh!

Next came Carrlee! Kalani liked to call her "dow-wa". Carrlee is my beach buddy, for sure. So we spent a good amount of our time at the beach soaking up the california sunshine and working on our tans :) We went out on my birthday, yes out, and we didn't get home until 1:30am! I have not been out that late in over 2 years!! We had a REALLY fun time too. We got wined and dined by the boy's (thanks John, Wes, and Riviera magazine) and then went bar hopping, again, something I had not done in over 2 years. We even went dancing, yeah, it was awesome! Of course, in our drunken night of fun we didn't think to pull out our cameras to snap any shots, but I do have a few from earlier in the day. We went to the beach in the morning then had burgers (turkey and veggie, he he) for lunch. All in all it was a really perfect day, and a REALLY perfect birthday!!

Kalani sleeping in the booth at Ruby's on the Balboa Pier. My Birthday lunch.

Kalani helping Carrlee with her clothes in the morning; she taught him how to say "bra" which he has NOT forgotten ;)

Ahhhhh, kisses (nice hand placement K!)

Kalani has also become a climbing monkey; I think he was enjoying showing off for all of his visiting buddies and getting some pretty great reactions! He still doesn't say the word "no" which I thought was really great until recently... he now screams instead. This photo shows both of these behaviors quite well!

He climbed up onto his water table (which stands about 2 feet off the ground) and refused to get back down!

Last, but most definitely no least, Great Aunt Kathy and Great Grandpa came down south too! It felt so nice to have more family in town. We had some good nights BBQ-ing and chatting at my mom's house on Lido. Then we finished up there stay with a nice dinner (and a little wine tasting) at Fred and Sue's house.

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-05T16:34:00.001-07:00

We got all around the county yesterday for our July 4th celebration; we went down to visit Granny Sue and Grandpa Fred at Niguel Shores for a yummy pancake breakfast in the morning, then we headed to Nana's house on Lido. From there we decided to pack up and WALK to Balboa Peninsula to see what this day was really all about here in OC! It was CRAZY!!! There were thousands of people everywhere you looked, walking, riding bikes, and generally just partying! This was a big change from the usual northwest festivities that I am used to; generally starting in the afternoon/evening and really focusing on the firework show at the end. Oh no, the party starts first thing in the morning here and goes on strong all day long! We hung out at the beach, had a couple drinks at the bar, hung out at the beach some more, then headed back to Nana's for some fireworks. Kalani liked it! He wasn't scared at all!! He actually got sleepy and ended up nursing thru half of our "show" (whats new, ha ha). All in all we had a great day!

2007-07-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Kalani watching the "snakes" fireworks.

I finally did it...

2007-06-26T17:32:00.001-07:00

I created a blog!!! I have been wanting and meaning to do this for all of my family and friends. We miss you all dearly and I figured the least I could do was to create a way for you to read and see what we are up to down here in OC! And of course, those of you that are close by may enjoy this too :)

2007-06-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

My happy boy, and his signature grin!!