One of those

Yep, it's one of those days. I've been peed on, spit up on, and forced to change Jacob's bath water not once, not twice, but three times. I've spent the day making more of a mess than I cleared up. I've been battling what appears to be a colony of ants living in our kitchen. To top it off all three kids are sick. Well, Anna was sick all weekend and appears to be recovering. I kept her at home today because she's still not 100% and she's a big ball of mush. For example, this afternoon she started bawling uncontrollably because her school called with an automated message to say she was absent. Lauren is in the midst of it, running a fever of 103.6. She's spent almost the entire day in bed. I can't stand to see any of my babies sick but at least she wasn't out ding dong ditching the neighbors....oh yeah, remind me to tell you about that one. Jacob is in the first stages of whatever this is. He doesn't have a fever yet but my normally happy baby has been very restless and whining. In addition to all of this, Anna says she has a sore tooth. Yikes. I've been carting around a tooth fairy pillow pattern for months now and it will be my luck her tooth will fall out before I can get this pillow made. So, I know what I have to do tomorrow. Of course, it will have to wait until after Lauren's open house at her new school...if she's well enough to make it. I just keep reminding myself that tomorrow is another day. :)

The eyes have it.

There are no seven wonders in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.


Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?



My eyes are an ocean in which my dreams are reflected.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw you hang up my first painting on the refrigerator,

and I wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved.
When I thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared,
and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I LOOKED...
and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.
~Connie Back

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme...

Perhaps fairs of the middles ages, like the Scarborough fair made famous in the song, carried wonderful herbs but at today's fairs it seems you're much more likely to find candy apples, corn dogs, cotton candy, and some strange deep-fried items like fried avocadoes or banana splits. That may not be such a bad thing....especially the corn dog. I try to eat well but once in a while those corn dogs just call my name. :)

Tuesday evening, we made our annual trek to the California State Fair in Sacramento. We decided to go at that particular time in an attempt to avoid the crowds and the heat. It was kids' night and the whole family got in free (military) and rides were only $1. The crowds were minimal and although it was still quite warm when we arrived, there was a very nice breeze that cooled everything off. It was a wonderful evening and Jacob got to take his first ferris wheel ride.

He wasn't very impressed.

Doug took the girls on any ride that had anything to do with spinning. The girls definitely take after their Daddy in this respect, they could spin happily all day with no ill effects. I, on the other hand would have been violently ill. Just can't do it anymore.


I got to take the girls on the scary ride (which by the way was not at all scary but they sure thought it was. They grabbed on tight and screamed like...ahem..little girls ;) I got a kick out of the little boy sitting in front of us. He smiled for our picture and then proceeded to give the girls a "heads-up" about what to expect on the ride. He repeatedly assured them it wasn't "that" scary.
In addition to the rides, there's always a lot to see and do at the fair.

Of course, there's the requisite junk or treasure...depending on how you look at it.



There are fun fair stunts.

Lauren's absolute favorite was the motorcyclist doing a little freestyle. She's been talking about him non-stop and thinks he was "totally cool"! Oh my, do we see a motorcycle in her future??!



There are always fun colors and shapes....



..and like I mentioned earlier, there's often fun food to eat. The girls got to try cotton candy for the very first time. In the beginning reactions were mixed but everyone soon came around to declare it the 8th wonder of the world. The bag disappeared quickly after that.




Of course, it wasn't all fun and games. Fat-fat (aka Jacob), normally our happy fellow, decided he'd had enough. In his defense, he had gotten two shots a few hours prior and probably wasn't feeling the greatest...poor planning on Mommy's part. He was only sad for a minute and then went back to checking out all the sights and sounds. You can still tell from his eyes that he's not 100%.

One of my favorite sights definitely had to be his sweet little foot poking out of his stroller. I wouldn't mind munching on that for a bit. Move over cotton candy...you ain't got nothing on baby feet! :)

Do you have any tape?

I need a little to mend my broken heart.

Yesterday and today Anna has decided that she does not want to go to school and leave Mommy and Daddy. Yesterday it started with extra waves and kisses blown our way. Then it progressed to a run back to the gate for just one more kiss and hug. It culminated with crocodile tears and pleading for us not to leave her alone. Today the tears started as soon as we got out of the truck. As of Monday, no parents are allowed on campus during school hours (unless you sign in) and you must say goodbye at the gate. Yesterday I told her all the things you're supposed to say to make her feel better but my heart was breaking in two. I really just wanted to pick her up, carry her to the truck, drive home, and climb back into bed with her and eat chocolate chip cookies all day. Instead, our wonderful neighbor happened to be standing near by and when she saw the situation offered to have her Lauren (age 7) walk in with Anna. After a few more minutes of consolation and hugs, Anna finally agreed to go in the gate. She and Lauren headed off toward the playground together with Anna still in tears. As they rounded the corner, Lauren put her arm around Anna and that's when I lost any composure I had left. I burst into tears and was sad, happy, and extremely touched all at the same time. I'm so thankful for my sensitive, sweet Anna who loves her parents AND I'm also very thankful for sweet, thoughtful new friends and neighbors who will go out of their way to look after our girl. (No, she doesn't wear glasses but she wanted to "play" being the teacher. Also, please ignore the quality of these pictures. I think I was having a serious off-day. I couldn't seem to get the focus right at all!)
Lauren will be starting school next Thursday. She's been there to see Anna's dismay and I hope she'll conquer heading off on her own with no problem. She's already expressed some reserve about meeting new kids and her teacher. I guess we'll need a lot of pep talks in between now and then.


These pictures cracked me up. Even though they're sisters they have a lot of dissimilarities except when it comes to their silly faces. They make the same ones!! Too funny.

87 Years Young

Today Grandma Ruth turned 87. What an exciting and interesting life she's led over the past 8 decades! To celebrate she wanted fish and chips and a lemon birthday cake. She loves "The Cheesecake Factory" and so we headed there for her fish. Afterwards we opened gifts and had cake and ice cream here at the house. It was a really nice day. Happy Birthday, Grandma! We love you. (P.S. Please ignore the paint patches on our bright orange wall. We're still working on getting the new house in order :)
Holding her beautiful scarf from Jan and Mike

Are we really here already??

Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know. ~ Daniel J. Boorstin

Today our little Anna started 1st grade!! We all went to her classroom to get her settled in and to meet her teacher. Anna actually has her own little desk and even got to bring a lunch for the first time. When we picked her up, she said she had a fantastic time and even made four new friends~Emily, Hallie, Madison, and a girl with braids. :) Here are some shots of our first-grader.

Lauren insisted we take her picture with Anna on her big day.
Anna's desk

I wanted her to have a lunchbox she could use day in and day out without creating a lot of waste. I found this cute little bento box from Laptop Lunches at a store in Auburn. It's perfect and gets the "Anna seal of approval". She's quite particular about her things.

She chose what she wanted to have for lunch~pasta & pesto, fruit salad, celery, carrots, and bunny graham crackers. Oh, and she wanted water with lemon in it. Like I said....very particular.
Last year I made back-to-school cupcakes for Anna. This year she kept mentioning that she couldn't wait for her surprise. Yikes!! I was a bit behind but tried to throw together these "apple" cake pops. They may have not been the prettiest treat on the planet but they tasted yummy! Bakerella I am not. Please click here to see how cute they should be.

Anna didn't seem to mind. She ate three. I call that a success. Congratulations, honey! We love you.

Blackberry Time

It's that time of year again. The blackberries are ripe. We drove out to Amber Oaks Farm today to pick a flat. Our new neighbors and friends came along with us. We all had a really good time. I can't wait to cook up some blackberry goodness!
Ready to do some picking!!

Taste test.
Juicy and ripe.

Jacob took advantage of a momentary distraction to get a closer look at some blackberry leaves.

I was so in love with these little baskets they gave the kids to use.

Our neighbors and new friends
Grandma even got in on the act.Jacob managed to pluck one and almost had it in his mouth before Mommy grabbed it.