Baby shower

On Saturday I hosted a baby shower for Christina. We set up everything on our front deck and it ended up being really, really warm! There were 18 ladies and 9 kids that joined us for brunch. Here are a few pictures from the shower...

For brunch we served two kinds of quiche (veggie and bacon with goat cheese), zucchini bread, lemon poppy seed scones, banana berry bread, fruit, champagne-fruit punch, and three types of dessert bars (raspberry cheesecake, chocolate-peanut butter, and coconut fudge bars). Everything was wonderful! Thanks to Michelle, Meaghan, Kristina, and Gina for helping with the food.

Christina and baby received a lot of useful baby items. She received a stroller/carseat, bouncy seat, Bumbo seat, baby book, Baby Bjorn front carrier, backpack, bath seat, onesies, socks, blankets, diapers, bibs, and a lot of other great things.

In Christina's hand is one of the newborn diapers that she received.... it's hard to imagine that the baby will be that little. And most the time, these newborn diapers are too big at first.

Entries at the Humboldt County Fair

The kids entered lots of things in our county fair (flower arrangements, vegetables, artwork, baked goods, a scarecrow they dressed, and potatoes they made into a butterfly and bumble bee.). On Thursday we went to the fair so I could see all of their entries and ribbons they won. They both did very well and earned lots of first place ribbons, and a few seconds and thirds. Here are the kids with two of their art pieces...

Abigail received a first place ribbon for her painted lion.

JT also received a first place ribbon for his painted turtle.

Within the vegetable competition, they could enter a harvest basket of all kinds of veggies. Here is Abigail with hers:

They entered a variety of single flowers and arrangements. Here is JT in front of one of his entries:

Overall the kids did very well. They were very excited to show off all their projects and ribbons.

I see things more clearly....

Things are a little clearer to me today.... literally! I cleaned a few of my windows today in the kitchen and living room in preparation for hosting my friend Christina's baby shower on Saturday. Wow! What a difference a little window cleaner makes.... and I am not just talking about boring ol' Windex. I have this stuff that works so great that it looks like there isn't a window there at all! I really need to do all the windows, but I am not sure if I will get them done today or not.... probably not!

Out of JT's mouth

Andy took Abigail with him today out to the hill ranches. At dinner tonight they were talking about what they did today. Abigail said they saw lots of the cows today. Then JT asked, "were any of the cows doing piggy back rides?" :) Every day it gets closer to having "the talk" with the kids. Oh, how I dread that....

Not much to say...

I haven't been a very good blogger lately. I can't remember the last time I picked up my camera. I really need to get out and get some good ones of the kids. Maybe on Wednesday I can do it. I have been in a photography slump lately so my solution was to just take a break and not worry about it. Check back in a couple days....

Looking back

I am in the process of backing up all my digital photos. I came across a lot of photos that I haven't seen in awhile. I picked out a few of my favorites of each of the kids. They aren't necessarily my favorites because they are perfect, photographically speaking. They are simply photos that bring back good memories for me... Here they are...

Abigail first...

And now JT...

Thanks for joining me in my walk down memory lane...

My best work?

Our county fair opened today and I entered six photos in the amateur photography division. Below are the six that I picked. Are they my best work ever? I am not sure, but they are my favorites over the past year. I can't always explain why they are my favorites.... they just are.


San Francisco sunrise

Boy's best friend

Like mother, like daughter

This is retirement?

Cousins

Hawaiian newlyweds

I haven't been to the fair yet so I don't know if I won anything for these photos. To be honest, I don't even know who the judges are or what they base their selections on. Winning a ribbon isn't a big deal to me... I just enjoy showing my best work. Thanks for looking!

My sister

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."
-Linda Sunshine

The above photo was taken when I was about three and Mary was about six months old.

My sister and I have had a lot of ups and downs in our relationship throughout the years. She is 2 years, 7 months, and 1 day younger than me. I wasn't really a very nice sister when we were growing up. Sometimes I am surprised that she still speaks to me. We played together when we were growing up, but it was definitely a relationship of convenience. I really wish I would've been a better sister back then.

This photo below was taken when Mary was two and I was five. She framed this photo and gave it to me on my wedding day (almost nine years ago!). The frame has the following imprinted in it.... "Sister, you are close to my heart. So many dreams we've shared, all the laughter and love. You tell me your secrets, I tell you mine. A lover of life, kind and true. Beautiful sister, your spirit is strong. We'll always be together in our dreams. Our hearts will stay side by side."

It wasn't until we were both in college that we started to get closer. She visited me a few times at Cal Poly and I went to see her at Santa Clara several times. Since that time, we have remained close. We have been the maid/matron of honor in each other's weddings. Here's a picture of her and I from her wedding day...

I try to visit her at least once a year in San Francisco, just the two of us. She has a completely different lifestyle than mine (city vs. country, no kids vs. kids, full-time job vs. "work at home" mom, etc). No matter what, though, I still feel like our values are the same.

We still have our ups and downs, and we definitely don't agree on everything, but I can't tell you how blessed I am to have her in my life. She is the first person I go to when I have something bothering me. She can always help me work through things and feel better. I know I don't tell her often enough how much I love her and appreciate her.... I love you, Mary! And thank you for being such a wonderful sister and friend.

And to those of you that have a sister, please tell them how much they mean to you.... today!

Letting it go...

Do you ever have something that bothers you that you just can't let go? There is something really bugging me right now and it's been bugging me for a while. I am not going to explain what it is because I don't think it's necessary. I just can't seem to let it go and I really want to. It's been making me very grumpy whenever I think about it. I try to tell myself that it really doesn't matter, but I am am having a hard time convincing myself. I know that I just need to let it go... okay thanks for letting me vent.

Mini family vacation: Redding, Calif.

On Tuesday we left for our 2nd annual mini family vacation. This is a three-day trip where we invite the kids' grandparents to come along. Last year we went to Six Flags Marine World and the Jelly Belly Factory. This year all the grandparents except my dad were able to join us (he's in Alaska on a fishing trip with his golf buddies!). So it was Andy, Abigail, J.T. and I, joined by Grandma Pam and Grandpa Charlie (Andy's mom and step-dad); Grandpa Chet and Granny Karen (Andy's dad and step-mom); and Ma (my mom).

When we left around noon on Tuesday, it was 65 degrees. When we arrived in Redding at 3:45 pm it was 108 degrees. Yes, we knew it would be hot.... but that is HOT! The first thing we did was get in the pool at our hotel, Oxford Suites. That helped cool us off a little. Abigail is much more comfortable in the water and she loved it! J.T. only stayed in the pool for a little while but I think he had fun.

Here's J.T. and Granny Karen trying to get cool in the pool...

And Abigail and Grandpa Chet...

Our main activity of the trip was to go to the Water Works Park on Wednesday. We got there at 10 am, right when they opened, to avoid the lines. I am glad we did because it was much cooler in the morning. Abigail loved being there and had a great time all day..... I am not sure if J.T. enjoyed himself or not. Here's a picture of J.T. on the kiddie slide.... he looks like he's having fun here!

We were able to talk Abigail into going on one of the big waterslides. Once she figured out how to plug her nose before she went into the pool, she was much happier!

Both kids liked the "Lazy Lagoon" the most. Here is J.T. with Ma...

And Abigail with Grandma Pam...

I would venture to say that Andy and I had more fun than anyone! We tried all the rides... my personal favorite was the "Cyclone" and I think Andy liked the "Raging River" ride the best. They were both rides that we could go on together using the double "tube". Here's one shot of us floating around the Lazy Lagoon on the double tube.... we only rode around this one once.... too slow for us!

I forgot to put this in my original post so I am adding it now. This is the sign that was posted above our table at the water park...

We had some great meals while we there. If you asked the kids about their favorite one, it would be Chuck E. Cheese on Thursday. I took Michelle's advice and we went at lunchtime instead of dinnertime. It wasn't very crowded so the kids were able to play more games! After lunch, we left to head home. At 2 pm in Redding it was 106 degrees.... when we got back to Fortuna it was 61 degrees...