San Diego Walls

Adventures in Cooking

2012-01-22T19:18:00.001-08:00

I cooked cauliflower for the first time tonight. Growing up I cannot remember a single time my Mom made cauliflower and Dan detests the vegetable, so I've never had a desire to attempt a cauliflower concoction.

Well, since joining a CSA I've been cooking and eating some vegetables that I've never considered before and with very good results. We've had kale, beets and now cauliflower. Dan had one piece and said it was okay which was very encouraging, considering the mere mention of eating cauliflower would cause him to gag. Daniel, who is not a big veggie lover also said it was okay, and Sammy and I really liked it.

I used a recipe called Cauliflower Poppers I found on Pinterest. The only changes I made were I mixed the cauliflower with a little olive oil and because I was out of chili pepper I sprinkled on some Cajun seasoning and red pepper flakes. I would definitely use this recipe again if we get more cauliflower in our CSA box.

We also had some left over chili that I made yesterday. I used a new recipe, Spicy Chili, that was really good. I used ground turkey meat instead of beef and added some black beans too. It was very soup like, so I have renamed it Spicy Chili Soup. It was perfect for the cold rainy day we had yesterday. I love finding good new recipes.

A whole lotta beef...

2012-01-13T12:12:00.001-08:00

Tonight I will be cooking up more ground beef than I have probably cooked in my whole life. Although that's not saying much since I rarely cook beef (I am more of a chicken, turkey and seafood girl). Why so much beef? Well, I am helping out with our church's Winter Shelter program and cooking dinner for the guests and the volunteers and decided to do a taco bar meal. Easy and yummy. I've never cooked for this many people (about 20-25), so I hope we don't run out of food. Wish me luck!

Things that make Daniel giddy...

2012-01-09T19:08:00.001-08:00

One of Daniel's favorite stores is Staples. I had to get some stuff at Staples yesterday and took Daniel with me and he was giddy with excitement as he perused the assortment of pens, paper and various office supplies. He is a funny kid I'll tell ya. He really liked this open/closed sign and thought it would look nice hanging by his bed. He decided to save the $6.00 and attempt to make one instead.

I'm thinking that a Staples gift card might make a good present for his upcoming birthday.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

So thankful to be the mother of these two boys.

Home Bound

2011-04-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am going on day four of being couped up inside the house with a feverish boy.

It hasn't helped that we've been having beautiful warm days.

At least I can work in the garden.

It started on Monday morning with Sammy.

A bad headache and an almost 104 fever.

Poor little guy was miserable.

Tuesday his temp was down, but he was still not feeling great.

Wednesday back to his chipper self.

This morning I was glad he could go back to school.

Then Daniel came down stairs crying that he had a headache.

Yep, it was the fever.

So Sammy when off to school and Daniel stayed home.

Another gorgeous day today too.

Hopefully by the weekend Daniel will be back to his old self.

We'll have to see about Dan and I.

A Cub Scout Hike

2011-04-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon some of my cub scouts and I went on an adventure. Some of the boys (they don't all go to the same school) had this week off for Spring Break, and I wanted to do something out of the ordinary to break our routine, so I decided to push them a bit and have them hike up a mountain. To be more precise, Cowles Mountain, the highest point in the city of San Diego.

We got to the trail head just before 4pm, with some threatening clouds in the sky, and some threatening looks from the parents. Totally kidding on the second part of that. One thing that has been great about cub scouts from the very beginning three years ago has been the friendship with the other parents. They have been great, supportive, helpful, willing to put up with some of my crazy ideas (like take their little angels up a 'mountain').

Four scouts were with us, Cameron, Daniel, David and Malachi, and a fellow parent, Dave, was going up with me. The boys haven't seen each other all week, so there was much to share on the way up. Dave and I were amazed at the unending conversation between the boys. Suzy later asked what they talked about. I have no idea, but it never stopped. Never is too strong a word, the only time it stopped was when one of them biffed it trying to scramble up a steep part. I tried upping the pace to see if I could tire the conversation out of them, no go. All the way up, all the way down.

There was one more situation where it got quiet, both times we crossed the first bridge (going up and going down) the boys all were eerily quiet, probably because every other hiker we saw had mentioned the rattlesnake seen near the bridge. I was disappointed that we didn't actually see (or hear) the aforementioned rattlesnake, but the boys sure loved the drama. Cameron's first thing he said to his dad when we got down was, 'I am so glad that i'm alive!'. His dad gave me a bit of a look, and then got the story in a rush.

I had a great time with the boys, and seeing their happy faces at the top of the mountain is one of the main reasons why. They had some boyish confidence at the bottom, trusting that us adults wouldn't push them past what they could take. However, when we would point up and say that's where we were going they seemed rather doubtful. When they at last turned the final corner and saw that we were at the top, it was one of those moments as a parent that you cherish, happiness.

UPS!

2011-03-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you whom work in a small business you will know what that sounds like. A man or woman enters your location, calls out in a loud, questioning voice, 'UPS'. There is a nuance to the call. A practiced office worker can tell a lot about the mood of the driver just by the sound of his/her (I throw the /her in there but in reality I can recall only a short two or three month period in the last fourteen years when our UPS guy was actually a UPS girl) call. The place I work, RCK Controls, has changed locations twice in its history and once since I have been around, call it Fall of '97. In all that time we have had, to my admittedly shaky memory, four, maybe five, regular UPS guys.

A big chunk of my time working here I was the closest person to the door, so I was most often the person that responded to the call. For a multitude of reasons I felt like I should treat the UPS guys with a lot of respect, and try to get to know them a little bit. These are the guys who bring everything to us, from our new computers, to the Christmas presents for our much loved families. Be nice to the guys who bring you birthday presents for your wife.

Last week the people who are normally the first line of response for the UPS! guy in our office were off for lunch. I, being all the way down the hall, was the first responder to the call. When our guy (do they even have names?!?!) made it to my office I signed the pad, exchanged greetings, and as he was leaving he said something that struck me as bizarre,

'So, what's all for sale?'

My quick-witted response, 'Uh, what?'

'I saw the sign, it said, 'Everything for sale.''

Me, again, with the snappy repartee, 'Sign?'

My brain was spinning and the UPS! guy was growing tired with the game. I searched for anything possible, and that is when I went into my default mode, if I am confused, blame it on my kids.... Got it!

'Oh', I said, 'You mean a sign in the window at home!'

'Yeah, it looks like you guys are having a pretty good sale.'

'Yeah, I think you're right, come by and talk to the boys to see what they'll charge you for some Legos.'

'OK, see you later.'

'Have a good one, bud.'

About three weeks ago Daniel and Sammy had a garage sale. If I recall it was raining pretty good, so the foot traffic was lower than normal in our cul-de-sac, but that didn't deter them. A bunch of toys (I think they even tried to sell some of my scrap wood, they were very excited when I gave them permission) were laid out, signs made, all the things you need to make a little side cash. Unsurprisingly nothing was sold. I think that they may have seen two humans during those three hours on a Saturday afternoon that didn't live under our roof. But, it occupied them nicely for an afternoon, and they didn't burn anything down (that I know of, remember the rain?), so it was a win all around. Unfortunately not all the signs were removed. In our studio window, clearly a prominent position for advertising in the neighborhood, was in bold print,

San Diego being the small town that it is, my home UPS! guy is also my work UPS! guy, so when he saw the opportunity to get a good deal he jumped at it. If you are looking for some cheap stuff, come on by. The boys would be happy to sell you some scrap wood or mostly fine army men. Forget Craiglist or Ebay, come see the Walls boys, they would be happy to hook you up.

Pinewood Derby

2011-03-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Today was the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.

They boys made race cars and then raced each other.

This was Sammy's first year doing the Derby.

He made his race car into a pack of gum.

Sammy is in the first track.

On your mark, get set...

Go!

Sammy came in 2nd place.

Amazingly there were no tears.

Then it was Daniel's turn.

His car was an e-racer (eraser).

His is in the first track.

He also came in 2nd.

Sammy with his den.

Aren't they cute?

Daniel and his den.

Big smiley Sammy face.

Don't ya want to kiss it?

Book Bed

2011-02-28T13:51:00.000-08:00

How cool is this bed?

You can close it up during the day.

At night open it up, crawl under the pages and fall asleep.

Sammy would love this.

by Yusuke Suzuki

Sammy Rides a Bike

2011-02-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Sammy learned to ride his bike without training wheels today.

It took all of about 10 minutes for him to learn.

Here's the story:

Daniel and Sammy come back from riding their bikes (Sammy with training wheels) around the block. Daniel says he wants to ride by himself because it is too hard to stay with Sammy (because Sammy is too slow). Daniel likes to ride fast and as he likes to say, "fell the wind in my hair". Sammy, not one to be left behind, basically says, "That's it, I'm taking these training wheels off." Dan is all excited and starts whipping out the tools to detach the wheels. "Wait a minute, Sammy," I say (the voice of reason), "You don't know how to ride yet." "Yeah I do," Sammy says confidently and Dan proceed with the training wheel removal. I have to admit I was pretty skeptical. It took Daniel a while to learn how to ride and the best place to learn is in a big wide open space, not our small cul-de-sac. Well, Sammy jumps on his newly de-wheeled bike and Dan pushes him around for a while and the next thing I know Sammy is riding on his own. You can tell how excited he was by the big smile on his face. Way to go Sammy! You amaze me every day.

Things Sammy says...

2011-02-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

Sammy says some of the funniest things.

Like just now he said, "This thing is as stubborn as a yak!"

I had no idea yaks were so stubborn.

And the other day he asked, "Mama, do you want me to crush this bug like a bug?"

This kid cracks me up!

Video: Friendship

2011-02-02T21:48:00.001-08:00

Be scared, be very scared...

2011-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it is a little scary living in a household dominated by male genes.

You can find Nerf guns, swords and light sabers in almost every room.

And I often find notes and pictures like these scattered around:

Yikes! Definitely don't want to do any 'evsedrop"ping here.

Or else what? I don't think I want to know.

Sammy loves drawing an inventory of weapons. I love that he included pans and cheese as part of his artillery.

A Short Film by Sammy

2011-01-31T22:21:00.000-08:00

Once Sammy saw Daniel's stop motion film he decided to make one of his own. It includes two of his favorite things: baseball cards and rocks. I think the two Lego figures are bragging about whose collection is better. I love Sammy's little voice.

Film Debut

2011-01-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

I got some books for Daniel's birthday about movie making and stop motion animation. Here is his first creation.

On the Art Table

2011-01-23T22:31:00.000-08:00

I founds these little pieces of paper on the boy's drawing table. It looks like a Lego game Daniel was making. I love coming across these little bits of creativity by the boys.

Tutu's Tea

2011-01-20T20:15:00.000-08:00

Daniel loves comics. Loves to read them and loves to draw them. I especially like it when he makes up his own comics. They are very funny.

Well, Daniel inspired my to try my hand at it. My Mom (Tutu) loves to drink tea - probably because my Dad is cheap and doesn't like to turn on the heat so it gets cold in their house. We like to tease Tutu because she is continually heating up her tea and then forgetting about it. If Tutu is around there is almost guaranteed to be a cup of tea sitting in the microwave. I can't tease her too much though because, like mother like daughter, I do the same thing. And like father like daughter, I don't like to turn on the heat either.

9 Years Old!

2011-01-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Daniel turned 9 years old!

We had such a fun day.

Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

Daniel made a list of 'to dos' for the day.

1. Eat breakfast

2. Legoland

3. Go home

4. Shoot papa (with nerf guns)

5. Create-a-war

6. (my favorite) Mama & Dada play spin the bottle

Sammy gave a Daniel a drawing of TinTin (a cartoon character Daniel really likes) he drew for Daniel.

It was a beautiful day.

9 years old!

Tutu, Papa & Nana came with us.

Lots of rides and playing.

Hot fudge brownie sundae for dessert.
Perfect ending for a perfect day!

Thursday Evening Happenings

2011-01-13T20:31:00.000-08:00

Cub Scout meeting for Sammy tonight. They made posters for a popcorn sale.

Played a 'sit on a balloon to pop it' game, which they loved, of course.

They were so light they needed help popping the balloons.

Even the Moms got in on the fun, although we didn't need any help popping the balloons.

We walked out to a beautiful sunset.

Walked down to a little taco street a block from school for dinner.

And ate so much our bellies ached.

2010 Year in Reveiw

2011-01-01T19:50:00.001-08:00

1) celebrating Daniel's 8th birthday at Legoland - 2) 100th day of school - 3) park day at Balboa Park - 4) Disneyland getaway - 5) a blue ribbon at the speech meet - 6) Dan & Suzy visit Chicago - 7) 4th of July in Portland - 8) Hawaii with the family - 9) church camping trip - 10) celebrating Sammy's 7th birthday at Corvette Diner - 11) drumsticks at Thanksgiving - 12) Disneyland with the McLaughlins

Wow, what a year, 2010!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T13:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I look around at my life and shake my head. God does some pretty funny stuff in our lives. As I type this, my beautiful bride of the past thirteen years is watching our two rats, Nibbles & Charlotte, play in our newly decorated Christmas tree. Rats? Yes, our Christmas present to the boys last year was their first pets, a pair of rats. Surprisingly enough both rats survived the year, despite the over-loving attention from Daniel and Sammy. In addition to the rats, much has been new during 2010, but much has stayed the same.

We continue to be fortunate enough to attend First Presbyterian Church, San Diego. Both Suzy and I are very grateful for the brothers and sisters that we have here in our church family. God provides opportunities too numerous to count to serve Him, as well as wonderful ways for each of us to grow spiritually. A new aspect of our family’s growth in faith this year has been daily family devotions. Each morning, Monday through Friday, we spend time together praying, singing and studying the bible. No offense to Suzy, but my favorite days are Wednesday and Friday, the days when Sammy and Daniel pick out the music and lead the bible study. Some days all you get is them going through the motions, but some days God really speaks to us through them.

Another thing that has not changed this year is the boy’s school, they both attend City Tree Christian School, Sammy in first grade, and Daniel in third. Both boys continue to take after their grandparents, as neither has any problems with excelling scholastically. Sammy has been doing a wonderful job with reading, despite his regular complaints that he can’t read, don’t believe him. He still loves to do homework, possibly because he finishes in about two and a half minutes and gets to bounce around and mock his still working brother. Daniel also continues to do a great job reading, in fact he does a bit too good of a job, as we can’t seem to find enough books for him to read. Anyone with suggestions for an almost nine year old who reads at a high school level please let us know.

Other than volunteering at the boy’s school or church, our most common extracurricular activity is without a doubt Cub Scouts. Daniel is in his third year, and is now a Bear Scout, while Sammy is just getting started and is a Tiger Scout. Earlier this Fall I had the boys on a scouting camping trip here in Balboa Park that was quite an experience. Suzy wisely slept at home, but was able to join us for some of the daytime fun. I don’t know how much the boys are learning about being good citizens, but they both sure love to run around with the other boys and get into whatever mischief that they can find.

The highlight of the year was without a doubt another amazing trip out to Hawaii. As soon as we got off the plane we started eating ono food, seeing amazing sights and doing wonderful things. Boogie boarding, snorkeling, swimming in waterfalls, spending time with family. Those memories will last a life time. Suzy was able to go up to Portland again for the Fourth of July with Sammy, but this year Daniel stayed here in southern California, attending his first summer camp. Unfortunately for Daniel, he only made it about twenty four hours before having to come home with a stomach bug. Hopefully Summer 2011 he might last more than a day. All was not lost, though, as Daniel and I got to spend a lot of fun time together while Suzy and Sammy were partying it up in Portland with the McLaughlins. Suzy and I also got to sneak away to the Midwest for a long weekend in June for the wedding of some close friends from church. Decatur, Illinois might not be on the list of must see places, but the chance to spend three days hanging out with Suzy made it a vacation that I cherished.

We are trying plan a trip back East some time in 2011. It has been way too long since we have spent time with the East Coast parts of our family. I also am tired of hearing all of the fun stories from Portland, without enjoying the festivities myself, so hopefully I will be able to go north next year as well.

You, our family and friends, are a continued blessing in our lives. We thank God for you, and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May God continue to bless you and keep you. May His face continue to shine on you and may He continue to look upon you with favor and give you peace.

7 years ago today...

2010-10-29T15:20:00.001-07:00

Sammy, oh how you've grown!

Koko Crater

2010-10-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

View of Koko Crater from Haunama Bay.

Hawaii, oh how I miss you!

Forest Home

2010-07-05T20:30:00.001-07:00

I have heard so much about Forest Home, a retreat area here in Southern California, over the years, but hadn't ever had the chance to go. Suzy went on a Women's retreat there last year, and loved it. Now that Daniel is heading into third grade in the Fall (wait, that can't be right?) he was able to go to Indian Village this year with the school/church kids. Some kids his age have no interest in going to some strange place hundreds of miles away from their parents, out in the woods with the bears and mosquitoes. Not a problem with Daniel. He was sold from the get go.

'We get to sleep in a teepee? I'm in!'

When I dropped him off yesterday for the bus ride up there he never even said goodbye, I turned to say hi to another parent, and when I turned back around I caught a glimpse of him scrambling onto the bus.

'Uh, bye, bud. Have a good time.'

Well, lucky(?) for me I got to visit Forest Home much sooner than I expected. Around two o'clock today I got a call from a nice sounding young lady who identified herself as 'Nightengale'. She informed me that Daniel was ok, but he had been throwing up all day. I thanked her for calling and told her that I would be up in about two and a half hours. After checking Google Maps for directions (thank you internet) I hopped in the car and headed north.

Two point five hours later I pulled into the parking lot of this enormous facility and realized that I had not a single clue about how to track down my little vomiting nugget among all of these acres and acres of retreat facilities. Thankfully I soon ran into Pat and his golf cart, who called around for me and got me on the right path. As an aside, all of the folks that work up there, while strangely named (excepting Pat I met Buffalo, Sand Piper, Fox Fire and Nightengale) were very nice. Poor Nightengale had to tend to Daniel all day in the medic's teepee and she had the grace to thank him for keeping her company all day. As someone who has taken care of Daniel when he's not feeling well I can attest to the fact that it can be a trying and difficult day, but she seemed to genuinely care about him.

No one wanted Daniel to have to go home, so we decided to see how he tolerated a light dinner. Not well, so off we went. Another aside, kids are so into other kids throwing up.

'Did he just throw up?!?'

'Yes, yes he did, back to your dinner little fellow, nothing to see here.'

Quick stop at the bottom of the mountain for Daniel to take care of his business in a gas station bathroom (don't recommend that, an unpleasant experience for everyone), and once more into a bowl while driving south through Perris, but other than that we had a pretty pleasant trip home. Despite his disappointment at having to leave, Daniel was chatty and in good spirits. He's hopeful that he will be able to go back up on Wednesday if he has a good day tomorrow. I don't know if that would be a good idea or not, but I am trying to be open to the idea of another five hours in the car. I guess God will make it pretty clear.

All in all, I wish that I could have waited a bit longer before going to Forest Home, but it seems like a great place!

My Chatter Box

2010-06-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

Daniel had a play date today so it was just me and the Sam-man for most of the day. Whenever I am alone with Sammy I am reminded how much this kid talks. Non stop. All day long. Good thing we still have a "nap time" each day or my head might have exploded from the non-stop chatter. Here sure is cute though. And quite messy when he eats an ice cream cone.

Shave Ice in Balboa Park

2010-06-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning in Balboa Park.

I love Balboa Park.

Tons of cool museums and and beautiful architecture.

So much to explore and see.

Especially on a beautiful day.

They even have Hawaiian Shave Ice.

Sammy got bubble gum and coconut.

Daniel got rainbow.

The guys put on red, yellow, green!? and blue.

Green?

They said it was pretty good.

But not as good as Keneke's.

First Day of Summer Vacation

2010-06-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Is there a better way to start off summer vacation than a trip to the pool on a warm sunny day?

"Vampy Strikes Back" by Sammy

2010-06-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the cutest vampire you've ever seen?

Almost Summertime

2010-06-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

In exactly 3 weeks from today we will be on summer vacation. I don't know who is more excited, the boys or me.

Retreat

2010-05-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Wishing I was here:

It was warm and beautiful.

It was a great time with God and friends and myself.

A Very Happy Sammy

2010-05-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Fun day for Sammy.

A love award for Obedience.

He was surprised and very happy.

Can you tell?

And a play date with his best buddy at school.

To say Sammy had a good day would be an understatement.

It was a great day.

Full Bloom

2010-05-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

I love our backyard right now.

Actually I love our yard pretty much year round, but the spring and summer are just outrageously beautiful.

Show off!

Empanadas

2010-05-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Daniel's class is studying Panama for the Multicultural Fair at school. Tomorrow we will tour all the different classrooms and their chosen countries and get to enjoy some of the local foods.

Today I made some empanadas for the fair and I must say they are quite delicious. I love empanadas but this is the first time I have ever made them. My love affair with empanadas started a long time ago when I was probably in middle school. We used to sell empanadas at a music fair held at our school every year and my Mom would bring home a whole bunch of them when the event was over. They were really good and I still remember them.

They are a bit time consuming to make, but well worth the effort. Yum!

Into the Wild

2010-05-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

Another letter from Daniel from a while back, but appropriate for today since Dan, my Dad and the boys are heading up to the mountains for some camping. Good luck boys!

Get Better Card

2010-05-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Back in the fall I was doing something stupid and accidentally cut my thumb pretty good right across the knuckle. I was so mad because a) I was doing something stupid b) because I cut myself right across the knuckle so I couldn't bend my thumb without opening the wound and c) I had a big school event coming up and I needed the use of both hands. I guess Daniel felt pretty bad for me because he presented me with this get better card:
A very sweet card but what is up with the big old bloody hairs!?

Sammy Self Portrait

2010-05-11T19:21:00.001-07:00

Sammy is becoming quite the artist. Don't you love this self portrait of his?

Quotes I like...

2010-04-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Love these quotes by Chuck Swindoll:

"The family is the place where principles are hammered and honed on the anvil of everyday living. In other words, it is the place where character is taught and caught. It is where we learn we are loved and cared for. It is where we learn that we have worth and something to contribute. It should be where we learn that we can be forgiven when we have failed. It is where family members show one another what God is like and how He relates to us. It is where children learn obedience so that they will understand what it means to obey God. Home is where we learn who God is and learn to love Him. Home is where we learn who we are and who others are. It's where we learn to live unselfishly with other people, taking them into consideration. All of this and much more, happens primarily within the family."

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”

“I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.”

Mini Book

2010-04-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

I found this mini book Daniel made a while back while doing some spring cleaning. I though it was pretty cute.

I just wonder who the 'one great parents' is. Probably Dan since he is the Lego master in our house.

Baseball Cards for Sale

2010-04-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Sammy has set up shop in the hallway of our home. If you are interested in purchasing some baseball cards from the 60's, 70's and 80's come on by. Sammy claims there are some really valuable ones.I believe the prices are listed here and you can drop your money in the hole.

Noses

2010-04-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

This is what Daniel has been up to the last few days. Blowing his nose and having his nose buried in a Timothy Zahn book. He has been spending most of his free time alternating between the two. I could definitely do without the first, but I am loving the second.

Writings and drawings

2010-04-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Daniel loves to write and draw. For a while now I have been collecting bits and pieces of writings, letters and drawings that I have received or found laying about my home. I love them and often think they are hilarious. Here are a few:
I love how Daniel puts a subject on top and of course I love the p.s. and how he spells 'attitude'.
I think this is Daniel and I. Very sweet.
Can't remember what this was on, maybe his door?
Daniel loves making maps.
Apparently there is a book in the works and you can buy one for the low price of $5.50. I was a little concerned about the lower regions of the boy in the drawing. I asked Daniel what was going on there and he clarified that it is the boy's pants and the "B" stands for barn door (which Daniel's is often open). I think I need to give him some lessons on drawing the lower half of a person before he offends someone.

Hosanna

2010-02-28T22:18:00.000-08:00

This morning in church we were singing a song in which the chorus went, "Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest..." Sammy was really into the song but was was belting out "Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna on the highway!" I'm not sure if he was trying to be funny or if he really thought those were the words. Funny kid.

What to do on a cold and rainy day...

2010-02-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

Put your little brother in a box.

Family Devotionals - Day 2

2010-01-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

Sammy did great this morning, he talked about the poor widow giving her two coins and why that was more than the rich people putting in lots of money. We sang 'Away in a Manger', one of the songs he sang at the Christmas program.

A good day two, now the pressure is on for Suzy, as tomorrow is her day. Sammy is a tough act to follow!

Family Devotionals

2010-01-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

We have been meaning to do family devotionals for a long time. We have tried to start things in the past, Suzy has done some with her and the boys, I do something with them before bed, but we have never had a consistent time of the four of us getting together for worship, prayer and studying the bible.

That all changed this morning, and boy, was it not what I expected.

We are patterning what we are doing after what our pastor did with his kids when they were growing up, and that consists of each of us taking a day of the week (Daniel is Tuesdays, Sammy is Wednesdays, Suzy is Thursdays and I am Fridays) and that person picking some songs to sing and a passage or bible story to talk about. I was assured by our pastor that the little ones could handle things, with a little help from others getting them started.

Until child number three miraculously shows up we are going to have Mondays be a time of prayer and singing, no lessons. So that is what we did yesterday, and it went great. Suzy uke'd out some great praise songs, the boys kind of sang along, and we prayed for awhile.

This morning Daniel was going to go solo, so Suzy and I were a little worried. We kept asking him yesterday if he wanted help preparing, and prompting him to see if he knew what he was going to do. He was evasive. He wanted it to be a secret. Those were our warning signs. We didn't heed them.

When I got the boys up (15 minutes early to accommodate our new activity) Sammy hopped out of bed with his usual enthusiasm and Daniel gave a characteristic moan. After making sure that their morning routines were good and going I went to finish getting myself ready for work. We all stumbled downstairs fifteen minutes later to get started, and another warning sign appeared, Daniel was wandering around with a tissue.

As a brief aside, Daniel is a terrible sick kid. Good natured and pleasant most of the time, when he has the slightest cold it is like his life is ending. Yuck. And that is how he was this morning. Moaning, moping, the whole bit.

[Me, in a scared voice] 'You need anything to get ready for devotional, buddy?'

[Daniel, sniveling, half crying voice] 'I can't find a bible.'

Our house is filled with Bibles, kids bibles, adult bibles, at least seven translations, bibles all over the place. Much like with spiders, in our house you are never more than two feet away from a bible.

[Me, again, more scared] 'We have lots of bibles, is there one you are looking for?'
[Daniel, mumbling unintelligibly]
[Suzy, entering to save the day] 'Oh, that's right here.' (I don't know how she understood him, I don't know how she knew where this random bible was, I don't understand a lot about my wife's skills, but I sure do like them.)

So now Daniel has his bible and it looks like he finds a particular spot in it, so we all sit down to some more uke-ing from the multi-talented Suzanne.

After a few songs, we pray and all look to Daniel to get us started. He looks like he is about to collapse under the pressure. Nothing is coming out. He is flummoxed, he is crying. The gentle prompting from his parents do nothing but send him deeper into his hole of despair. The surprisingly gentle prompting from his brother helps not a bit. Finally I decide to throw him a lifeline.

'Daniel, do you want me to get things started today and you can do your time next week?'

[Daniel is barely able to nod 'yes']

'Ok, buddy, why don't we look at ...' and off we went to learn about seeds planted in various soils. Sammy was able to follow along and participate, but Daniel never got into the swing of things. When I left for work a few minutes later Daniel was still looking forlorn and barely keeping things together. I am more than a bit scared about how he does at school today.

Our first day of family devotionals was less than successful, and tomorrow, Sammy!

Please pray for us.

Two Down

2009-12-08T15:48:00.000-08:00

Sammy threw up on the way in to school this morning. Poor little fellow. Daniel threw up this morning, but was able to hold down banana, applesauce and crackers throughout the day and was pretty energetic at the end of the day. Will it ever end!??? I am hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

The Rain is Here

2009-12-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

The wind is blowing and the rain has been coming down since the morning. I love rainy days. The way the water streaks down the windows of my kitchen making everything look somehow greener and more alive. I can almost hear my plants sucking up all that precious water, thinking "at last, at last". I think everyone is glad the rain has come after a dry summer and fall.

But with the rain, also comes all the colds and flu and germs. Poor Daniel spent most of the day Saturday with his head over the toilet and still feels queasy and not quite right. The stomach flu is the pits I tell ya. I wish there was something I could do to help him feel better. If only the rain could wash away all the germs and yuckiness.

Mr. Charisma

2009-11-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

It is sometimes weird to live with a celebrity. You can't go out in public without having this person upstage you, everyone wants a piece of this person, everyone wants to catch their eye, just an acknowledgment, that's all people are hoping for, dreaming of.

The celebrity in our house? Is it Suzy? Although she is the best thing that has ever happened to me, she falls short in the fame category to Mr. Charisma. Is it me? Nope, none of you were thinking that! 'Daniel?', you ask. Good guess, tons of reasons why he will one day rule the world, but sadly you are mistaken again.

Sammy.

While walking out of their school last week in our group were me, School Board president, church elder, Sunday School teacher. Not a peep from anyone. My mom, a Pastor at the church in which we are standing. Nothing. Daniel, recent recipient of the school wide VIP award. Crickets chirping. But when Sammy walks through the courtyard it gets ridiculous...

'Sammy, are you leaving already?'
'Hey Sammy!'
'Sammy!'
'Wanna play, Sammy?'

These things are coming from kids of all ages, preschoolers call out to him, middle schoolers (who are not known for their ability to acknowledge the world in any way) are high-fiving him. Teachers give him broad smiles. Parents give him enthusiastic hugs. It is weird, and it happens all the time. Really it has happened his whole life. I can remember carrying him around the neighborhood after he was born and having people pull their cars over to talk to me about him.

He is Mr. Charisma, if you don't believe me, just spend some time with him, you will know what it is like to be in the shadow of celebrity. What it is like to be captured by his spell.

Sammy, please use your super powers for good, not evil.

What's the big deal?

2009-10-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

I wonder how far to go back with this story. Its origins lie many years ago (many to me right now is about three or four). When Daniel was three or four he cracked a tooth on a popcorn kernel. As a result of that he had a 'spacer' put in soon thereafter, to keep his other teeth from collapsing in on the gap. He loved to fool around with the spacer, and it repeatedly popped out, and we had to take him in to have it popped back in. Having finally had enough, the dentist cemented it in there so well that now I am a bit concerned that that sucker is never coming out. But, I have wandered off the path of my original story.

Because of the spacer, Daniel had to avoid chewy candies and gum. No big deal, he is more of a cookie aficionado like his father anyway. However, we recently realized that there is a massive gap (no pun intended) in Daniel's candy protocol knowledge.

Sammy loves gum. Loves it. Not as much as spicy things, but a lot. If he ever discovered spicy gum he might jump right out of his pants with excitement. So, for Sammy's recent sixth birthday, Suzy and I got him a gumball machine (good call on our part, it was a big hit). Daniel thought it was pretty cool too, so he ran upstairs, grabbed himself some coinage and returned to purchase his first gumball. Suzy and I were playing 'Sorry' (I ended up being the Sorry one), so we weren't paying the greatest of attention, but I soon realized that Daniel had shoved a decent percentage of his life savings in that gumball machine so I decided to check on him. My gaze wandered to his face as he walked around the room looking at and playing with all of Sammy's new loot. A tell-tale sign of gum chewers was missing. Warning flags were going off in my head. No chewing.

'Uh, Daniel, what did you do with your gum?'

'Oh, that wasn't gum, it was just candy.'

Having purchased said gumball machine and additional gum supplies, Suzy and I were pretty sure that it was gum, but Daniel is not often wrong, so I paused and thought things through for a while.

'I am pretty sure it was gum, what did you do with it?'

'It got soft and squishy, so I swallowed it.'

Now is when I remembered the common knowledge bestowed upon children of my generation, that gum was going to stay in his stomach forever. Thankfully I long ago rejected all knowledge imparted to me as a youngster and knew that eventually that gum would no longer be hanging around Daniel's innards.

'Daniel, that was gum, bud, you aren't supposed to swallow it. When you are done with it you go and throw it away.'

Daniel was looking at us like we were crazy, or trying to be funny.

'Why would you throw it away? Why don't you eat it?'

'That's just what you do, bud. Once it loses its flavor you chuck it... in a trashcan.'

Daniel, having seen his brother gush over gum for the last year or so, was by now very confused.

'What's the big deal, then?'

I don't know, bud, I don't know.

Now at least one more piece of parental wisdom has been imparted to my children. He knows how to call 911, he knows what to do in a fire. He knows how to make peanut butter crackers. Now he knows what to do with gum. My parenting duties are almost complete. Who's ready to learn how to drive?

Drunken Frat Party

2009-10-28T10:13:00.001-07:00

Last night and this morning Suzy and I got a little view of what things will be like in about 14 years when both our boys will be in college.

In the span of one night the boys (some combination of them) accomplished all of this:

1. Breaking one of the slats in Papa's beautifully designed and built custom bunk bed (repeated jumping from the top bunk seems to be the culprit here).
2. Destroying a reading light (Daniel holding onto light switch while Sammy body slammed him from behind).
3. Drawing all over each other with pens (he started it!).
4. There also was a sleeping accident, but we won't mention that so I don't embarrass my youngest son (can blame this one on all the beer).

Please let me re-iterate that this all occurred during the course of ONE NIGHT! Some day I will look back on this and laugh... but not this day.

So far, so good...

2009-10-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

The boys have been in school for 4 weeks now and so far, so good. Actually I should say so far, so great. The boys are really enjoying this school year. Great classes and great teachers. Neither one has complained about going to school or doing homework yet. I would say that's pretty good. They both have already grown so much. Both of their handwriting have improved and they are learning new things every day. They really are like sponges at this age. I am thankful they are so happy and blessed that they go to such a great school.

Yellow Fever

2009-09-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

I am haunted by the color yellow. At night, when I wake up in a cold sweat it is not due to the fact that I have been reading The Bone Collector, by Jeffrey Deaver. The real source of my concern, the thought that dominates my walk to work...

The Yellow Card.

'Have the boys started playing soccer?'

Good guess, but no. Sammy has started kindergarten. If you get in trouble in his class you have to go 'flip your card', one infraction, yellow, two infractions, orange, three infractions, red. There was a time when my oldest child got a red card, but we don't mention that in our home anymore. It's better for everyone that way.

Back to Sammy. Sammy has been in school for a grand total of 11 days so far. Three of those days when I got home he had a forlorn look on his face. He knew that he had to face the music and fess up to his foul deeds. Usually I had received advance warning from one of my numerous sources, so I already knew all of the gory details. The sordid tales of picking at the tape on the floor in class, goofing off during chapel, turning off the lights on the other boys in the bathroom. The details stumbled out of Sammy with great shame. Even on the days where he escaped the sentence of the card flip there were discussions of 'almost flipping'. It seemed to me that few and far between were the days that Sammy was not on the edge of yellow.

On Monday when he received his third yellow card, which was two days in a row, and I think three out of four I had had enough.

'To your room!' I bellowed in a fit of rage (rage might be a bit of an exaggeration, frustration? consternation?). How to deal with this? The willfulness. The disobedience.

We had a long talk, there were tears, there were harsh words spoken, there were hugs exchanged, but in the end I think the talk was fruitful, and we came to an understanding. Then I had to stop talking with Suzy and go talk with Sammy.

'Sammy, you can't keep bringing home yellow cards, bud. It just can't keep happening.'

'I know, I just forget.'

'I know you are trying, and mama and your teacher say you have been behaving well for most of the day, but you have to make good choices, OK?'

'OK.'

Well, not to jinx anything, but my sage words of wisdom, my awesome parenting seemed to really have an impact. Tuesday, green card, baby! OK, it was only one day, I admit that, but we are talking about baby steps here. If he makes it today, that will be two days in a row!

Go, Sammy, you can do it!

Back to School

2009-09-08T21:21:00.001-07:00

First day of school! First day of School!

The boys were ready and rearing and excited this morning. They had their uniforms on, their backpacks loaded and lunches ready.

Daniel barely gave me a departing glance when I dropped him off. Sammy was pretty wide-eyed, shy and quiet...at first. I actually got to stay for the morning and help out. There were a couple of criers, but once school got going and the parents got out of sight, they all seemed to settle in. Sammy did a great job, cutting and gluing and coloring.

I didn't even cry, although I think it helped that I stayed for the morning. We'll see how I do tomorrow.

My boys are growing up...

Unpacked, Mostly

2009-08-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

It was hot today. I miss having the ocean breeze as my constant air conditioner. But I won't complain as it only hit 90 and for only a short while.

I've mostly got everything unpacked and put away. We are still trying to adjust to the time change. I had to drag myself out of bed at 8 and Dan and the boys didn't rouse until almost 9. Thankfully we have a full week before school starts. What?!! Can that be right? In one short week Daniel and Sammy will be off to school? Daniel a second grader and Sammy his first year of school? I am still a little sad/depressed about the whole thing. You know me and how I don't like change.

So we are slowing getting back into the groove of things. But I still am missing this:

And this:And today I could've really gone for one of these:

12 Years

2009-08-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that 12 years ago today Dan and I got married. That seems like such a long time. I mean 12 years! I was just 23. But it has gone by in a blink.

Thanks for 12 wonderful years, baby! Looking forward to many, many, many more! Love you forever and always...

Little Swimmers

2009-08-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

I love being able to walk to the pool. One of the many things I love about where I live. We have been able to go up to the pool quite often this summer and the boys have improved in their swimming so much. Sammy, who didn't even like to put his head under the water a month or so ago, is now jumping in and learning how to swim. And Daniel was able to swim from one side of the pool to the other (the short way) all by himself today. How cool is that?

When In Rome

2009-07-31T21:20:00.001-07:00

Today was the last day of VBS (vacation bible school) at our church. For the last 5 days the boys have been learning about Paul and the underground church. They had a blast (they always do) and have been playing 'Rome' at home being Caesar, guards and undercover Christians. Here is Caesar (looking oh so serious) and his loyal guard:

Buzzzzz

2009-07-22T21:20:00.001-07:00

Who are these clean cut boys? They couldn't be mine could they? Where is the thick shaggy hair you might ask. Well, I finally got around to buzzing it all off today. I certainly do not like cutting all that hair, but I love their soft fuzzy head when it is all said and done. And they look so darn cute too!

Sun and sand and seaweed, oh my!

2009-07-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

Nana took the boys and I down to the Shores this morning. It was hot and crowded and wonderful. I just love the beach and so do the boys.

We wandered down the shore and even made it all the way to the tide pools (luckily it was low tide). Sammy loved all the seaweed and liked dragging, carrying and lugging large pieces of it around and Daniel loved splashing through the cool water and jumping the waves. Me, I just loved the sound of the crashing waves, the sand between my toes and the cool, misty sea breeze.

Snaggle Tooth

2009-07-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

I just love this boy and his big snaggle tooth. I just wish he would stop growing!

Summer Camp

2009-07-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

Daniel and Sammy just finished a fun filled week of summer camp at City Tree. They must be exhausted because they were on the go almost every single day. Trips to parks, an aquarium and the zoo, water days, movies, crafts and more. I guess they kind of liked it since they both complained when they asked if they were going next week and I said "No". What? Am I not fun? I guess not. Well, I am glad we will have next week to just relax and do whatever we want or don't want to do.

This week was a test run for Sammy. All day, every day with a schedule similar to his kindergarten class this fall. Just more work and less play. I am so glad he enjoyed himself and hopefully it will help make the transition from preschool to kindergarten easier for both Sammy and I.

I'm Losing

2009-07-04T11:41:00.001-07:00

Rat 2, Dan 0. This time the rat(s?) got the bait without springing the trap. Maybe they will get so fat on peanut butter that they won't be able to waddle away from me when I finally see one.

RATS!

Rats! It's Gone.

2009-07-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Suzy's mad. Thankfully not at me. Thankfully not at the boys. She's mad at the rat(s?). A few months ago our neighbor's cat, Missy, went out for a stroll and never came back. It was a sad day, but not unexpected as Missy was getting up there in age and it was only a matter of time before her surly nature wrote a check that her cat skills could not cover. I am thinking that she picked on one coyote too many. But I digress, so Missy is no longer in our lives. Missy was a hunter. Some cats are standoffish, some cats are cuddly (doubtful), some cats are fun loving and some cats are dumb (I am looking at you Spud up there in Cat Heaven). Very rarely did a day go by that a present was not left by our neighbor's back door. Mice, birds, large insects, mastodons, there was always something. Missy was earning her keep. It was sad that the occasional bird nest in the spring was harvested for her sport, but the birds learned to stay away. Apparently so did the rodents, because since Missy has been gone, the rats have come out to play, and Suzy is mad.

'What are the rats after?'

I am glad you asked! Tomatoes. Big, fat, red, juicy home grown tomatoes. I am not much of a tomato fan, unless it is in salsa or some similar concoction, but Suzy is, and her wrath is fearsome when she finds a half eaten tomato in the backyard that she was planning on picking. Her wrath is so fearsome that she took the surprising tact of telling me before she and the boys left for Portland to,

'Take care of the rat(s?). I want them gone.'

Awesome, rat hunting season has opened in our backyard. Doing some quick internet searches it became apparent that 1. rats love peanut butter, and 2. poisons are probably a bad idea. We do have a fairly active red tail hawk population in the area and I would be bummed out if one of them died from secondary poisoning (I know, I know, I am getting soft in my old age). Rat traps it is. Home Depot had two types, the normal one you all have seen before, and what I call, 'The Chair'. The concept of The Chair is simple, stuff some 'C' batteries in there, put in some bait, and energize a big metal plate. Rat goes in, zap, and the neighbors are wondering what you are barbecuing for the Fourth (sorry that was a little gross, that's what happens when Suzy leaves for a while, I downgrade my humor standards).

I settled for the standard. As much as I wanted to try The Chair, I couldn't see myself spending 30 bucks on it. The standard for $1.99 was much more in my price range.

I baited the sucker up (peanut butter crackers, Daniel's favorite snack!) and went inside to watch more bad TV. This morning I figured I would go check things out.

'Rats! It's gone.' They took the peanut butter cracker, the trap was sprung, but no rat. Lousy, cheeky little buggers. Didn't even leave me a tip.

We are re-baited, and ready again. Maybe this time I will get a little something for my efforts. Or I will have to rethink my purchasing decision... I can hear The Chair calling to me, ZAP!

Keeping My Head Above Water

2009-06-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

So far so good. Suzy has been gone on her yearly backpacking trip with her buddies since Friday morning. I have heard from her once when she reached the last town on their way to their base camp area, that was Friday evening. Unfortunately it was a brief call due to the fact that I had two boys vying for my attention when she called. I debated yelling at them to shut up, but I didn't want that to be the last thing she heard me say before heading off into the wilderness.

Grandma Walls stepped up to the plate and took them out somewhere (I should know where they went, but that detail wasn't critical to my well being, so it has slipped quickly from my brain) yesterday for most of the day.

I successfully got both of them to church today, and I am pretty sure they were both mostly clean and wearing decent clothes. I can't say the same for me, but that's just nitpicking. Tomorrow morning I am hoping to hit the matinee of 'Up', and if they are behaving well they can come too. Suzy gets back tomorrow night, and I/we will have survived another year.

The real reason for this blog post, however, is a self-reminder. Daniel lost a tooth this morning. Nope, no funny stories about sneezing or tickling, this one just came out while he was fooling around with it during breakfast. The critical aspect of this is that I have no one to remind me to perform my secret parental duties tonight. I am envisioning myself stumbling upstairs at the ungodly hour of 11 tonight, completely forgetting that I am supposed brave the legos and somehow climb up to the second deck of the boy's bunk bed, find where the tooth has been hidden, and replace it with a nice shiny new penny, all the while avoiding the traps that Sammy has, no doubt, laid for me.

Wish me luck, and please send some good mental reminders to me throughout the night. In fact, I am going to put out the penny right now.

[Just kidding about the penny, I think he gets a nickel, is that right, Suz? A nickel?]

[10:49 PM Update: Abort, abort, abort, someone's awake in there! Get out now! (can you tell I just finally watched the season finale of 24?) Guess I am going to be awake a little longer. Anybody got some coffee?]

[11:49 PM Update: Transfer made. What the heck do I do with this tooth?]

How Beautiful...

2009-06-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

I will soon be here. Breathing in the clean fresh air and marveling at the beauty that surrounds me. It is just what I need.

"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom."

-Isaiah 40:28

Work Chaos

2009-06-19T12:08:00.001-07:00

Suzy has been a trouper recently, as she has had to deal with the end of the year busyness, the start of summer craziness (after yesterday at the pool, today she took the boys to the zoo), and also my work being particularly zany.

The company I work for (all seven of us) has, for most of its history, existed almost solely in the realm of aquatic life support systems. Occasional forays into cogeneration plants and golf course irrigation notwithstanding, by and large our money comes from parks like Sea World, zoos and aquariums. This is a very tight niche, so we have always been really cyclical in our income, when those things are building we do well, when they are not, not so well. We have always wanted to expand that niche, but the opportunities have been few and far between.

About six months ago a big opportunity fell into our laps, doing HVAC controls for a large community college here in Southern California. From a complexity standpoint, HVAC controls are very simple compared to aquatic life support, so technically we felt we would be more than qualified. That has proven to be true, as we are putting together a pretty neat package for this college, but the buildings are getting close to being ready, so things around here have been crazy. For the first time since Daniel has been on this side of the real/'figment of my imagination' line, I have had to go on regular business trips. Those trips are also very spur of the moment, and with no firm durations, so Suzy has had to be planning her life (and the boys lives) recently without knowledge of whether I will be around or not.

In the past twelve hours I was leaving for two days, not going, leaving for one day, and every combination and permutation thereof. My wife has been patient, but I think I am pushing my luck. This morning I was noticing a definite up tick in her exasperation meter. My mom is taking the boys tonight, so hopefully I can take the missus out to a nice dinner to thank her for her patience and supportiveness, at least I hope I will be able to unless I get called out of town again...

[Edit: Things have changed a few times since I posted this, right now my co-worker is scheduled to pick me up at 3:40 to go up there, 3:40 AM that is. Yikes, that is early, I hope Suzy doesn't want to stay out too late tonight!]

First Day of Summer

2009-06-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally felt like summer today. The sun was out and it was bright and sunny. A perfect way to start our summer vacation. We had a nice mellow morning. A walk down to the store, a science experiment (making crystals) and playing in the garden. In the afternoon we went over to a friend's house and the kids all ran around and had fun together. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

School's Out!

2009-06-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

The school year wrapped up today with an awards ceremony. Daniel received the Outstanding Scholarship award. Afterwards we all headed back to class to say our goodbyes. It was quite sad. Many parents hung around not wanting it to end. Daniel came close to tears as he hugged his wonderful teacher of two years goodbye. But hopefully Sammy will have Ms. Foust next year for Kindergarten.

So now we are free. Free to do whatever we want whenever we want. No rushing to get ready in the morning. No where to rush off to. We can stay in our pjs all day if we want to. Oh sweet summertime. How I do love you.

And so things end, and so things begin...

2009-06-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the end of Daniel's first year of Cub Scouts. He has completed his Tiger Cub existence, and is now officially a Wolf Cub. The Pack had a advancement ceremony at Mission Trails Park today, where each of the dens advanced on to the higher level, tiger to wolf, wolf to bear, bear to Webelos, and Webelos to Boy Scout.

I have had the honor of being the Den leader for Daniel's Tiger Den this year and it has been surprisingly fun. Tiring, but fun. It is a good bunch of families, and a good bunch of kids, so that makes things much easier.

To spice things up for the boys today I decided to give them wolf names (thank you Google!). I found a bunch, but not all so appropriate for youthful consumption. Daniel's wolf name is Sandalius, which is Latin for True Wolf. Suzy made some very nice picture frames for each boy with their new wolf names, and I said a few words about the boys and why I gave them the names I did.

This summer we are making things much more relaxing, maybe a trip to a fire station, a hike or two, a movie night. Stuff to lull those boys into thinking that Cub Scouts is all about fun. At least until next year, when we get down to all of our wolf business. Watch out world. The Wolves are coming!

The intrepid leader saying a few words, and the boys waiting impatiently.

Daniel during his metamorphosis from Tiger to Wolf.

A proud Mama and Sammy welcome their new wolf cub to the family.

Don't be too proud of the new outfit, Sandalius, you have a lot of hard work ahead of you...

Radulf, Ulric, Sandalius, White Fang and Bertulf, The Wolves!

Zoo Day

2009-06-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Daniel's class took a field trip to the World Famous San Diego Zoo today. I got to tag along. Taking a bunch of 1st graders and kindergartners on an outing (and especially somewhere crowded) is always a little bit exhausting and stressful. But the kids always have a blast so I guess it is all worth it. We walked for about 2 hours straight and I am tired. We did get to see the new Elephant Odyssey Exhibit (although not all of it and pretty rushed), but it was very cool. I will have to go back when we have more time to spend exploring and have about 3 kids less. Elephants and jaguars and peacocks, oh my!

Tired

2009-06-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

I think Dan fell asleep before the boys tonight and that is pretty early since we put them to bed around 7:30 pm. Poor guy. Work has been busy, the boys have been up early, school has been busy and life in general has been busy. Come to think of it I've been pretty exhausted myself. If I lay down, doesn't really matter the time of day, I can be out in less than 10 minutes. Maybe I should hit the sack too. He does look most snugly. Good night.

Payback

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

I love music. I love to listen to it. I love to sing it. And when I really like a particular song I like to play it over and over and over again. Growing up I used to torture my parents and sister listening to songs like 'Particle Man', 'Cats in the Cradle' and 'Volcano' repeatedly. I guess I haven't really grown out of it since Dan refuses to listen to the soundtrack of 'Evita' anymore because I played it so much a while back.

So this morning on the way to church I was picking out some music to listen to and Daniel and Sammy piped up wanting to listen to 'The Mysterious Fox of Foxhollow' (Sammy) and 'Sneaky Snake' (Daniel). These are two songs from an album my sister and I loved growing up. Actually I still love it. But the past week the boys have been wanting the hear these two particular songs again and again and again.

'I want to listen to something else because we have been listening to those songs over and over again and I'm getting tired of it," I said a little peevishly.

And then Dan chuckled and mumbled 'payback'.

Up

2009-06-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

A group of my mom friends and I took our kids (11 of them, they practically took up an entire row) to see the new Pixar movie 'Up'. I had heard it was good and it was. The boys also seemed to really enjoy it. Daniel especially since he was recounting all the funny scenes afterwards. There are many, just ask Daniel. But beware, there were also some quite sad scenes too. I was crying pretty good at one point, but then again I am a crier. So go see 'Up' and bring a kid or two.

Endings

2009-06-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day working in Daniel's classroom this school year. This morning at breakfast Daniel said, "I'm so excited it is almost summer! But I am also sad that school will be over. I really like school." I have to agree with Daniel. I am so anxious for summer to come already and yet I will miss school. Daniel has had such a great year. A great teacher and an amazing group of classmates. How can next year even come close to topping this one? And yet you have to let go and move on. You cannot stop change. Oh well, I can't say I didn't have fun. It was quite a ride. So I will savor these last two busy and fun weeks of school.

Boys will be boys

2009-06-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Sammy had a meltdown today and I have to say I got a strange pleasure out of it. Let me explain...

I love having boys. I really do. BUT... I could do without the whole bathroom peeing on the toilet, floors or anything within a 3 foot radius. I mean GROSS! That is just so, so wrong. But that is boys. And I've kinda come to accept it.

Well, tonight I noticed clumps of toilet paper that had been thrown behind the boy's toilet. I was pretty sure I knew the culprit, so I asked Daniel first. I was right, it was little rascal boy #2.

"Okay Sammy, since you threw it back there you get to clean it up."

Oh, Sammy did not like that one bit. And I don't blame him. I would probably throw a fit too if someone made me pick up pee encrusted toilet paper. He was writhing on the floor in tears.

"I can't do it! I can't do it!" he wailed. It was so hard not to laugh, but I kept it together.

"You can and you will."

And he did. And then rushed to the sink and scrubbed his hands with soap and water. I don't think he will be throwing anything behind the toilet anymore. Do you think?

Hallelujah!

2009-05-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

There are all kinds of unexpected consequences to Daniel being able to read. No longer being able to edit (or even shorten) stories that I read to them. Not being able to spell things out with Suzy (e.a.r.l.y. b.e.d.t.i.m.e.?). One of the strangest unexpected consequences happens on Sunday mornings at church. We do a responsive reading of a passage of scripture during the service. The pastor reads a line, then the congregation reads the next line, you get the picture. Well, Daniel has started to join in when the congregation reads, and he does a great job with it. But he is about a half beat off from everyone else. It is surprisingly hard to deal with. You have 300 people saying something at a particular rhythm, and Daniel is syncopated off of that rhythm.

So this morning, we are doing the responsive reading, and Daniel is just about a second behind everyone else. The last word in the passage was 'Hallelujah!', with the exclamation point. One of the things they have been emphasizing in school is paying attention to punctuation, and how that impacts what is said. So Daniel is very aware that an exclamation point means you stress that word, almost a shout. The nuance of the stressing of the word may be a bit lost on Daniel, so I am sure you all can see where this is going. Everyone else in the congregation had stopped talking, it was quiet and contemplative for about 0.5 seconds, when Daniel lets out with a raucous,

'HALLELUJAH!'

Amen, preach it son!

Dreary Day

2009-05-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today felt like a winter day. It was cold and grey and drizzling. I actually had to put on pants and a sweater. For dinner I made hot soup and freshly baked focaccia and it fit they day perfectly. At one point I was even tempted to get out a log and make a fire. That is just not right. It is almost June guys. What is going on here? As Dan likes to say, "It must be global warming." I hope the sun comes out tomorrow. I don't know if I can take another dreary day.

One of those days...

2009-05-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days. It started out fine, but by the end of the day both Daniel and Sammy had all privileges revoked and were confined to their room. Not good. Not good at all. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Fireproof

2009-05-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

I tend to not proselytize to my extended family. It is probably wrong of me, but it is the truth. Where ever you are in your relationship with God I, for the most part, leave you to it. That being said, I will occasionally interject something in that I think is important, or I feel called to mention.

Consider this one of those times, the price you have to pay to be a part of this family. Sorry.

Last night Suzy and I were able to join about fifteen other families at a showing of the movie Fireproof at our church. We had NetFlixed it a few months ago, and enjoyed it, so we thought we would go last night to support the organizers, and to participate in the discussion. The movie is about a young couple who are going through marital troubles, on the verge of divorce, and how they deal with things.

Some of the folks that read this blog are married, so I definitely would recommend watching it, as it specifically talks about how to improve things there. But, the lessons taught on relationships extend beyond just between spouses. The sacrificial love that is emphasized applies to any relationship that is, or should be, important to you.

I don't want to spoil the movie, and I don't want to give too many details because I think it is important for you all to watch it yourselves and come to your own conclusions. I don't ask a lot of you all, but I am asking this, please watch this movie... twice. Suzy and I decided twice would be better because for about the first thirty minutes you kind of cringe for a few reasons, the acting is not great, and the kid from Growning Pains (Kirk Cameron) is all grown up. The acting became less distracting as the movie goes on, and the second time we watched it (last night) neither of us cringed at all.

Please take a few nights out of your life to watch the movie. If you do watch it and have questions or want to talk about it we would love to do so.

Elbow Alert

2009-05-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

When the boys were wee little chunky babies we always knew when they were going through a growth spurt because Dan and I would notice our backs would start to hurt. I guess even a pound or two is enough for our bodies to notice. It has been a while since I've been able to lug either one of the boys around on my hip like I used to, but I now have a new indicator of boy growth. It is my elbow. No, my elbow doesn't get sore are anything like that. It starts to bonk the growing boy on their head. I noticed that every so often it seem like I am whacking a boy left and right with my elbow and at first I just thought they were getting in my way, standing too close or something. But I think it is just that they have grown and I haven't adjusted to their new height. So over the past few days Sammy's rather large noggin' has been the target of my elbow. Must be a growth spurt.

A Sneeze Should do the Trick

2009-05-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that yesterday, while at the beach, Daniel sneezed out his top front loose tooth. Yep, he sneezed it out. So far he has had one wiggled out, one pulled out, one fallen out while sleeping, one tickled out and now one sneezed out.

While eating pretzels yesterday Daniel pulled his hand from his mouth and his fingers were covered in blood. Now, Daniel does not do well with blood (remember Sammy's split head incident?) and seeing all the blood coming from his very loose tooth made him quite upset. It was just hanging by a thread, but the thought of pulling it out brought tears to Daniel's eyes. He sat whimpering in my lap (can we say dramatic?). Then all of a sudden he sneezed and said "Oh!?" and pulled the offending tooth out of his mouth. Thank goodness.

I wonder how he will lose his next one. Any guesses?

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

We spent all morning at a little hidden beach in Point Loma with some friends. The kids loved playing in the sand and water and the adults got to relax in the warm sun. A perfect way to spend a day off.

Den One Rocks The Padres Game

2009-05-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Suzy, Sammy and I got to join Daniel's cub scout den today for a raucous time at the Padres Game. It was Sammy's first Major League Baseball game, and the Padres decided to stay hot and win it for him, 7 to 2 over the dreaded Cubbies. Daniel had fun with his buddies, Sammy enjoyed his cotton candy, and Suzy and I had a nice time enjoying the game, and hanging out with the other parents.

The last time I took Daniel to a Padres game he was very little, and it was an enormous hassle. Everything from worrying about parking (not wanting to carry him for blocks through the city), how he was going to behave, missing his nap. It all conspired together to make me not want to go to games with the boys. Thankfully today as a test run wiped all of those concerns right out. Both boys were great at the game, they no longer require any assistance to hoof it to the parking garage, and missing nap time now only seems to be a problem for my wife, not my children. I can't believe that I am even saying this, but I might even consider taking them to a night game. Nah, that's crazy talk, but day games, that I would do again.

Sammy, at his first game. Yes, our seats were very far away, but perfect anyway.

A beautiful sight, not a cloud in the sky, about 73 degrees, it cooled down a bit once we got in the shade, a perfect San Diego day.

Five Cub Scouts are in this picture, can you name them? I can, there's David, Cameron, Daniel, Alec and Justin. And their respective families. Hey, where's Suzy?

Daniel enjoying his refreshing lemonade and sporting the awesome looking brown 1984 commemorative batting helmet.

Now Daniel is sporting the current incarnation of his goofy smile. And Sammy is hiding. Can you see him?

Mmmm, cotton candy. Suzy remembered to bring baby wipes, so don't worry. She thinks of everything!

Joy.

Go Padres.

Hiking Boys

2009-05-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to Mission Trails Park for a hike this morning. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Blue skies and warm, not hot, weather. The boys did great and loved leading the way.

Snail vs. Jet

2009-05-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

Why is it that some weeks seem to drag on forever while others just whip along at jet speed? Well, this has been one of those snail pace weeks and I am so glad it is finally Friday. The past week has had it's share of ups and downs, smiles and tears, busyness and idleness. I feel emotionally and physically spent and am looking forward to three days of rest and rejuvenation. Yes, three days should do just fine. I just hope that this weekend resembles a snail more than a jet.

Growing

2009-05-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

Sammy and I hung out a Starbucks this morning to kill some time. I got a hot chocolate and chocolate croissant (love, love these) for Sammy, thinking, 'I'll get whatever Sammy doesn't finish." Well, I should have thought about the fact that Sammy and Daniel have been packing away food like it is going out of style. Daniel often eats more than either Dan or I at dinner. Sammy just scarfed down the croissant (sniff, sniff) and all I got was the dregs of the cold hot chocolate. Sigh. Next time I will have to remember to get my own croissant because these boys are growing and there is no stopping it.

Do you believe in miracles?

2009-05-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight Netflix provided Herb Brooks, Mike Eruzione, Lake Placid, 1980, Gold Medal. The Miracle on Ice. A classic moment in sports history. Heck a classic moment in our nation's history. Kurt Russell starred in Miracle, a movie I had been meaning to watch for a while now, but never had gotten around to it.

Suzy and I have a deal. She suffers through my movies, sometimes, and I try to put movies in our Netflix Queue that I think she would like. So tonight we are finishing off Miracle (movie watching in our home is still usually a two night affair) and we have reached the exciting conclusion to the film. Five minutes left in the hockey game, dramatic music, tension dripping from the TV. Suddenly a voice rings out from Suzy's comfy chair,

'I fell asleep, what happened?'

'You fell asleep? It is 9:15! It the climax of the movie! How could you fall asleep?'

Then I remember whom I am talking to. My wife is a napper. She will take any excuse for a nap. Those of you Tolkien fans will get this reference, Suzy takes naps like hobbits take their meals. Often.

It is a constant, daily fear in our home that Suzy will 'rest her eyes' in the afternoon, and not be awake to go get the boys from school. The true miracle wasn't the US Hockey team beating the unbeatable Soviet team, the miracle is that Suzy managed to stay awake after that and finish the movie.

USA, USA, USA!

Pests

2009-05-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

The boys have been pestering each other (at least more than normal) lately and I have to say it has been driving me batty-bat. "Daniel poked me." "Sammy grabbed it away from me." "Daniel's being mean to me." "Sammy is bothering me." Come on boys can't we all just get along? Apparently sometimes not.

Today Daniel came up to me half whining and half crying, "Sammy called me a name."

"What did he call you?" I asked exasperated.

"Katydid!" Daniel cried.

"Are you sure he wasn't just saying the word 'katydid'?"

"Yes! He said 'Hi katydid." he complained.

And that has been my life lately. Oh I hope this will end soon or I will be saying some words a lot worse than 'katydid".

Discovery and Creativity

2009-05-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

I went with Sammy's class to The New Children's Museum today. I love this museum. Absolutely love it. It is creative and cool and so fun. Oh and the kids liked it too.

As you can tell from the photos Sammy had just a little bit of fun (understatement of the year). Blowing bubbles. Sammy mostly ran around trying to pop them all.

Rock climbing. That kid sure can climb.

Pillow fight room. The kids really loved this. So did the adults.

Making clay sculptures.

Can you guess what Sammy made?

Peek-a-boo! I love that face.

And the piece de resistance, colored goggles. Very, very handsome.

How could you not have a great time here?

4 Weeks

2009-05-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

4 more weeks of school and then it will be summer.

I really don't know where this school year has gone. I guess because Dan and I have been so busy with stuff it has just flown by. I fear that the summer will pass just as quickly. But we have so much fun in store. I am dreaming of hot lazy days, dips at the swimming pool, a visit to Oregon, the county fair, wearing pjs all day long, trips to the beach and parks and the highlight - 3 long weeks in Hawaii. Oh yes, I am looking forward to summer. It will be knocking on my door sooner than I know it. I can hardly wait.

One Berry, Two Berry

2009-05-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

We have been having the most amazing Spring days. Sunny and warm and perfect. My garden is loving the sunshine and warm weather and is just exploding. The strawberries and blueberries are ripening everyday and the veggies are flowering and starting to grow tiny fruits. And my roses. Obscene with buds and flowers. Once the gardenia, plumeria, pikake and stephanotis start going it will be like a fragrant paradise out there. Don't you just love this time of year?

Date Night

2009-05-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a date with Dan. Dinner and a movie (Star Trek - it was good). Nana has taken the boys for the night and will return them in the morning. Thank you, thank you Nana. You are truly the best!

Ladybugs Galore

2009-05-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

Sammy loves ladybugs and is always on the lookout for them, so this morning Sammy and I went on a ladybug hunt. We found a grand total of three ladybugs, although one got away. Since our hunt turned out so poorly we decide to head over to the nursery to see if we could buy some. Sure enough there were ladybugs galore to purchase. 1500 of them! Boy was Sammy excited.

We don't have a very big backyard so releasing 1500 ladybugs into our small garden was pretty cool. They were everywhere. On plants, on the ground, flying through the air, crawling on our arms and legs, in the boy's hair, everywhere. I doubt there will be one aphid left alive by tomorrow morning. Thanks little Miss and feel free to stick around as you are always welcome.

Swinging

2009-05-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

We have been having beautiful Spring weather here. Sunshine and clear blue skies all the way. Yesterday Sammy and I found ourselves at our park while out hunting for bugs. Sammy jumped on the swing and I couldn't resist either. Sammy is finally old enough to swing himself although he needs an underdog every once and a while. We swang and swang under the beautiful blue sky. Straining to get as high as possible. Lean forward, pull back, lean forward, pull back. Just like when I was a kid. And then I had to stop because I was getting a little nauseous. But what a perfect day for a swing with my little guy.

When was the last time you took a ride on a swing and tried to touch the sky with your toes?

Stinky Laundry

2009-05-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

Our laundry has reached new levels of stinkiness.

'Oh, that blog topic has been done to death, no one wants to hear one more thing about people battling with laundry!'

Well, last night we made family history because we broke the three wash barrier.

'Three washes? We go through more than three loads all the time! You got nothing!'

The three wash barrier actually means we washed THE SAME load of laundry three times. We have a bad habit of forgetting about a load. We run the washer, and forget to switch over. So, a few days pass, and you have a load of mildewy clothes and towels sitting in your washing machine. Last night we finally completed the cycle, the same load of laundry was washed three consecutive times over the course of a little more than a week before we remembered to switch it over to the dryer.

Is it possible to have 'Senior Moments' when you are only 36?

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T21:09:00.001-07:00

Once again on Mother's Day I was fortunate enough to be able to cook dinner for my own mother, as well as the mother of my rascals.

Since I didn't have much interest in doing all the work I enlisted the help of my boys in planning the meal. Originally the boys were going to do some cooking, but Daniel came down with a cold last night, so I figured that was out. Suzy was off on her Saturday hike with the girls (she says she was hiking, but she came back with a full water bottle, clean shoes and shopping bags. Should I be worried?).

So the menu planning went something like this:

'Boys!'

'Yes, dada?'

'Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I want you guys to figure out what we are going to cook for Nana [my mom] and mama. Remember, this isn't something that you guys want, I want you to think about what they want.'

The boys scrambled off to do their scheming. I had a feeling about what cookbooks they would gravitate to. We each have our favorites. Suzy actually has more than one, and they look very fancy and healthy, but they actually come out surprisingly good. My favorite is 'Help my Apartment has a Kitchen', I have used it for years (since I lived in an apartment), and it has the stains to prove it.

The boys, however, have two favorites, Wookiee Cookies and Disney the Magic Kitchen. Daniel is regularly pestering us to cook things like, 'Han Burgers' or 'Skywalker Smoothies'.

So the boys came back with their selections,

'Galaxy Grilled Cheese' and 'Disappearing Chocolate Cookies'.

As much as cooking grilled cheese sandwiches for Mother's Day appealed to me I sent them back to try again,

'Remember boys, this is supposed to be something that mama and nana will like.'

'Ok.' They were clearly disappointed, but glumly walked back to do more research.

About a minute later they came back with attempt number two....

'Crazy Cantina Chili'

Not wanting to push my luck I decided that would work. We talked about ingredients, made a shopping list together (Sammy was there mostly for moral support during that part), and finalized our plan of attack.

Excepting Daniel getting sick the plan worked pretty well. The boys were good today, Mama and Nana made all the appreciative noises one could hope for, both for the chili and the homemade cards the boys made. The chili was actually quite good for being veggie (who knew the Star Wars world was so hip to come up with veggie chili). And the Disappearing Chocolate Cookies lived up to their name, they disappeared quite quickly.

Happy Mother's Day, Suzy, Nana, Tutu, Cassi, Chrissie and all the rest of you mom's out there in CyberSpace. I hope each of you got what you wanted, maybe even a little Crazy Cantina Chili.

Three Sisters Waterfall

2009-05-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

We went in search of waterfalls today and found three of them. Absolutely beautiful. It was an adventurous and challenging hike, but totally worth it. Vertical drops, mounds of poison oak, refreshing water, rock climbing, blooming flowers, slippery rocks, cool breezes and amazing scenery. A great hike with a group of great women.

A Momentous Day

2009-05-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

While searching through my photo archives for a pre-kid snapshot of Dan's hair I found this photo. We took this picture early on January 15th just before heading to the hospital to have Daniel. Wow was I big. I remember I was quite huge, but wow. The word wasn't yet invented back then, but would have been so appropriate - GINORMOUS. My poor belly, no wonder it still hasn't recovered.

It seems such a long and short time ago. I can still remember the excitement and nervousness I felt at the time. Scared and unsure about being a parent and being responsible for this new life. So anxious to finally meet this little miracle growing inside my womb and finally hold him (although at the time I didn't know it was a him) and get to know him. What a time it was.

Before and After

2009-05-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

A week before Daniel's birth and yesterday - seven years later and two kids later.
Dan requested a side by side photo of pre-kid hair and current hair. Poor, poor hair.

Crazy Hair

2009-05-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

There is a strang man living in my house. Big crazy hair. Big head...could that be? No. Yes? Yes! That's my hubby.Would someone please give him a haircut!? Oh wait, that would be me...