Week 8

Happy Tuesday!  It's hard to believe another week has come and gone already.  Where does the time go?  I seriously could use a few extra hours in each day.  There is just not enough time to get everything done.  Oh well!  At least I have these pictures to look back on and see what the blur was all about ;0)

Here are last week's shots:

Day 50- Sunday, 2/19/12
Justin spent a good portion of the day finishing up his black history poster.  Unfortunately, school projects or the only action my Cricut sees these days.  Two of my boys know how to work the thing better than I do!

Day 51- Monday, 2/20/12
Brandon has been spending a lot of time over the past couple weeks practicing timed addition and subtraction tests.  Today was no exception.  He's pretty good with the addition but is having a hard time with the subtraction.  He's counting on his fingers, and that eats up a lot of valuable time.  We'll have to try flash cards to help him memorize the facts.  Next year multiplication!

Day 52- Tuesday, 2/21/12
Puppy love!  Who couldn't love this sweet dog?  But I think Brandon loves her most of all.  These two are inseparable and often times lead to trouble as partners in crime.  Gotta love a boy and his dog. 

Day 53- Wednesday, 2/22/12
It's mussel mania as we like to call it.  Here in the lab we are dissecting over 60 mussels collected along the coast and processing the samples to look for evidence of fecal pathogens.  My job is to collect the hemolymph, a clear fluid that's like the mussel's blood, by drawing it out with a syringe.  It smells like the ocean in here today!

Day 54- Thursday, 2/23/12
Tyler and his friends, Cameron and Brennen, are eagerly awaiting the start of their first basketball game.  It's going to be a fun season with the three of them playing together.  Good luck boys!

Day 55- Friday, 2/24/12
This is my first ever champagne cake made yesterday to take to work today for a birthday celebration.  I found the recipe on Pinterest (love that site) and it turned out great with raspberry, butter-cream frosting.  Yum!  It was a big hit and gone in no time.

Day 56- Saturday, 2/25/12

The best thing I've ever taught my boys was how to clean their own bathroom.  Today is house cleaning day, and it's so nice to go in there and just have to touch up a bit instead of cringing at the thought of cleaning up after 3 boys and their bathroom business.  They don't really like it (look at the disgust on Tyler's face--LOL), but I sure do!  Also, since they know they have to clean it, they are more careful about not messing it up so much during the week.  Win! Win!
 

Wait!  One more-

February's Family Photo

This was taken on a cold winter weekend when turning on the oven to make homemade pizza sounded like a perfectly warm idea.  We love making pizza as a family--good food, good times!

Now that's it ;0)

Thanks for stopping by and see you next week.

 

Week 7

Last week was a really good week.  It went by super fast because there was a lot of new things happening at work, and it ended with a 4-day weekend.  It's hard to beat that!  I love getting extra time to spend with my boys.  Hopefully this week will be much of the same.  At least it's a short work week anyway.

Enjoy our week in photos:

Day 43- Sunday, 2/12/12

John spent a good part of the day smoking some pork for dinner.  It started out as kind of a gloomy day, but then the sun came out for him which helped a lot.  The best part is that this pork roast will feed us for more than one night--yum!

Day 44- Monday, 2/13/12

We bought a much-needed, new mattress yesterday and just had it delivered today so of course the boys and I had to try it out.  I love how much taller it is, and I'm hoping it will do wonders for my aching back.

Day 45- Tuesday, 2/14/12

Happy Valentine's Day!  It's 8:30pm and John and I are finally getting to sit down together to exchange gifts.  Tuesdays are always really busy and today was no exception.  I had to work early, he had to work late, and the kids had karate until after 8!  Thank goodness we took time to celebrate over the weekend.

Day 46- Wednesday, 2/15/12

My favorite feature on all 3 of my boys has got to be their eye-lashes.  These are Brandon's but his brothers' are just as impressive.  They get them from their dad's side of the family.  You know if we had a girl she would have gotten skunked.  LOL!--Such a waste on boys. 

Day 47- Thursday, 2/16/12

I'm working my way through this box of chocolates John gave me for Valentine's day.  We both love See's Candies and enjoy creating custom boxes for each other.  His favorites are the peanut butter patties and mine are the milk chocolate creams.  I grew up on See's and can remember my whole family fighting over the favorites in a one-pound, pre-made box.

Day 48- Friday, 2/17/12

The boys were out of school today, and I had to drag them to a lab meeting, but after we took in a movie and all enjoyed Journey 2- The Mysterious Island.  It was quite the adventure film. 

Day 49- Saturday, 2/18/12

Justin and I are enjoying some one-on-one time after his early morning meeting with Dr. Art.  It was a cold and gloomy day so hot cocoa at Starbucks was in order.

Thanks for dropping by.  See you next Tuesday.

 

Week 6

Happy Valentine's Day! Unfortunately I won't see my Valentine until well after 7pm today which is why we celebrated this weekend.  Oh well, he'll at least be on my mind.  On a brighter note, I think winter is trying to make a presence with a rainy day here or there and it's about time!  As long as there isn't much wind I'm fine with the rain.  I'm also looking forward to a short week and a long weekend.  The kids have this Friday and next Monday off which means I do too ;0)  I like the sound of that.  Things in my world need to slow down a bit so I can catch up and hopefully a 4-day weekend will do the trick.

Now for last week's pictures:



Day 36- Sunday, 2/5/12

It's Super Bowl Sunday and we spent the day at Raul and Wendy's not just for the game but also to help their son, Marcus, celebrate his 13th birthday.  I had to take a picture of Tyler and Marcus together.  They have known each other since the day Marcus was born, and I have a lot of pictures of the two together when they were younger but not really now that they are teenagers.  How did that happen so quick?

Day 37- Monday, 2/6/12

Today was a rough day for Brandon.  He got in a lot of trouble at school so he was quietly sitting by the slider sulking when Bella decided to join him for support.  She does not like it when one of her boys gets in trouble as I'm sure she can relate.  It's good they have her to lean on though.  They know she does not judge and will always be there for them.

Day 38- Tuesday, 2/7/12

Here is a typical scene--rushing off somewhere while kids put their shoes on in the car.  Ugh!  Today was Tyler's last day of basketball tryouts, and he's still getting used to how long it takes to lace up and tie those hightops.  Later he found out he made the team along with 2 of his close friends.  Should be a fun season!

Day 39- Wednesday, 2/8/12

This week I've spent a great deal of time at work trying to get our insect cells growing in suspension which is a new technique for me.  They are tricky buggers and have given me a lot of trouble, but after a great deal of trial and error, I think I finally have them under control and happily growing. 

Day 40- Thursday, 2/9/12
I used to laugh at my kids when they would panic because their game systems turned red and they'd have to rush to recharge.  Well now I'm a slave to the recharge with my smart phone and have learned the hard way in this past week that my phone's battery does not like any other charger besides the one it came with.   A dead phone can be so crippling!

Day 41- Friday, 2/10/12

Awe--brotherly love.  Justin earned some gift cards by participating in a mind study at UC Davis and was eager to spend his money at Target.  Once we got there he told Brandon that he would also buy a little something for him which is what sparked the PDA.  It's so nice to see them hug and not slug which is usually the case with my boys.  Luckily I had my camera because I was going to take a picture of Justin selecting his reward but this made for a better family moment especially since its so rare!

Day 42- Saturday, 2/11/12
Date night!  This isn't the best picture but it's cute.  John and I went out for dinner and a movie as an early Valentine's treat since celebrating on Tuesday is not going to happen with the kids in karate.  We had some good pizza and enjoyed an action packed movie while Tyler babysat his brothers.  They got to watch Real Steel at home and also enjoyed themselves so it was a win-win.


That wraps up this week.  See you next Tuesday.

 

Week 5

How is it February already and only 80 days left of school?  Time sure flies.  It's finally raining today!  The past 2 weeks have felt more like spring than winter, and while I enjoy the sunshine and warm temps I'm not too thrilled about skipping winter altogether.  Even the plants, animals, and insects are confused.  I've been fighting off mosquitoes lately and that's just plain wrong in February! 

Anyway, here are last week's pictures:



Day 29- Sunday, 1/29/12

Yum!  Burgers for dinner.  As long as the weather is good John will grill burgers and dogs for us on Sunday nights.  It's a great way to wrap up the weekend and enjoy some family time around the table before the craziness of a new week sets in.

Day 30- Monday, 1/30/12

I was putting clothes away upstairs in the boys' room and caught Brandon in deep thought staring out a window from his bunk ladder.  The click of my camera brought him back to reality, and when I asked what he was thinking about he just shrugged his shoulders, said, "nothing," and trotted off to play.  Maybe it was the chirping of some birds that put him in a trance?  They are pretty loud these days! 

Day 31- Tuesday, 1/31/12

How can this be?  Time to pick the pick High School courses for my 8th grader.  It seems so early, and I'm not really ready to think about him going off to high school just yet.  *sigh*

Day 32- Wednesday, 2/1/12

Happy February!  Justin was sporting a nice red shirt and was eager to have his picture taken so he helped me with my monthly marker. 

Day 33- Thursday, 2/2/12

Now that the days are getting longer we're able to walk the dog while there's still light out, and if we're really lucky we'll even catch a beautiful sunset like this.

Day 34- Friday, 2/3/12

The boys and I snuggled together with a big bowl of popcorn to watch the movie Soul Surfer.  I guess this could be my "weary" shot.  It's the perfect way to unwind on a Friday night after feeling weary from a long, busy week.  John is out of town hanging with the guys again in Tahoe--must be nice! 

Day 35- Saturday, 2/4/12



Brandon and Justin were searching the deep-dark depths of our coat closet for some empty shoe boxes to play with when Brandon came across a puzzle that intrigued him.  He spent a good hour working and keeping himself entertained.  Love it when they rediscover old toys.

That's it for this week.
Thanks for stopping by and see you next week.