Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Week 30

Hello Tuesday!  We had a great weekend and are enjoying a slow start to our new week.  No swim, no water polo and no karate!  The kids are loving the extra free time, and me, I have a birthday to prepare for so still busy but happy for the additional time to focus on that.  Even better is that we have nowhere to go this coming weekend.  I'm so looking forward to just hanging at home and relaxing for a change.

Here's last week's pictures:


Day 203- Monday, 7/22/13
I found a beautiful red tomato out back.  It's our first ripe one of the season.  There are about twenty more on the same plant but this is the only red one for now.  Can you see the others?





Day 204- Tuesday, 7/23/13
It's a busy week full of appointments.  Both these guys are seeing the Dr. today for simple checks.  This particular Dr. usually has us waiting for over an hour, but luckily today we were in and out in 10 minutes!  I'm hoping that's a new trend.





Day 205- Wednesday, 7/24/13
After taking all the boys for haircuts we had to stop at the eye Dr. before heading home to get Justin's glasses fixed.  They had an unfortunate run-in with a basketball at sports camp.





Day 206- Thursday, 7/25/13
It's Tyler's last day as a Teen Hero at the city's KIDS camp.  He had a great time this summer helping out but is happy to be done so he has some down time before school starts again.  I stopped by to snap this picture of him with his supervisor so he can count the time for the high school's required volunteer hours.





Day 207- Friday, 7/26/13
Just after lunch we headed to the mountains to spend the weekend with friends in Tahoe.  Once we settled in we took a small walk up the hill out back and enjoyed the view from these rocks.





Day 208- Saturday, 7/27/13
The weather was perfect today for hitting the beach at Lake Tahoe.  Such a pretty place to relax and play in the water.





Day 209- Sunday, 7/28/13
Time to leave the beautiful forest and these amazing trees to head home.  The trees are sooo tall and green here.  I also discovered the macro function on my phone camera and was able to get a great shot of this giant pine cone.  I wish I knew my phone could do that months ago.




Wait!  One more--

July's Family Photo
Taken in South Lake Tahoe by our good friend Loren on some cool rocks the kids enjoyed scaling.



OK, all done!  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you in August!  Can you believe it's almost August?

 

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Week 29

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  It's a busy one for me at work today with lots of meetings so I have to make this quick. The best part about last week was the end of swim for the season.  We are done and free for now!  I'm so happy to have my afternoons back and hopefully my weekends too.


Here's what else went down last week:


Day 196- Monday, 7/15/13
Justin is excited to be preparing for a "chip party" at camp tomorrow.  A bunch of his friends and him bring different kinds of chips they all throw into a bowl and share at camp.  His favorite chips at the moment are Takis.  He loves chip party days and has also taken a liking to helping pack lunches which has been great for me. 





Day 197- Tuesday, 7/16/13
My new yellow rose bush, planted in the spring, has really taken off.  This color just pops in our yard and makes me happy every time I see it.





Day 198- Wednesday, 7/17/13
Tonight was family fun night at water polo.  Parents against players in an inner-tube polo game.  John and I had a blast but really felt it the next day.  I'm not sure how those boys do it!





Day 199- Thursday, 7/18/13
Brandon enjoys spending his afternoons playing with Bella or trying to teach her new tricks.  Bella enjoys any attention she can get especially from her boys.





Day 200- Friday, 7/19/13
The boys are reading on this fine Friday afternoon since it's a PG&E save energy day which means no TV or computer until after 7pm, and Rusty decided to join them.  I think he's happy we're spending more time at home with the end of swim practice.





Day 201- Saturday, 7/20/13
This weekend we're at Swim Champs.  That's Tyler on the blocks, to the right, ready to race freestyle.  Today turned out to be a REALLY long and hot day.  We all wish we didn't have to do it over again tomorrow.





Day 202- Sunday, 7/21/13
Day 2 at Swim Champs--at least it's cooler and the events are moving faster.  The boys just finished all their individual events and are enjoying a cool treat before relays.  They had a great day and are happy to almost be done for the year.




That's it for now.  Looking forward to quickly getting through the work week so we can enjoy a fun-filled weekend in Tahoe with family and friends.


 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Week 28

It's another great Tuesday in July.  Welcome back!  We're on our last week of swim practice preparing for Champs this week. I'm so looking forward to spending less time at the community pool and more time at our home pool.  I had a wonderful weekend in Santa Cruz with my oldest son and his water polo team.  It's so beautiful there on the coast and much cooler than it is here in the valley.  You can't go wrong at the ocean--love the smell, the view, and the fun.

Take a look at what else we did last week:


Day 189- Monday, 7/8/13
I'm here at Target working to re-stock my pantry and fridge after our mini vacation to Oregon--gotta feed those growing boys!





Day 190- Tuesday, 7/9/13
Tyler got a flat tire yesterday riding to practice.  His tires were worn pretty thin so John picked up a couple new tires today and worked to get him back on the rode.  He's so crippled when his bike is down and out. 




Day 191- Wednesday, 7/10/13
It was bring a friend to water polo night so Tyler brought Justin to give it a try.  He did great but still doesn't think it's the sport for him.  At least he tried.  I love the color of the water this time of night as the sun is setting.




Day 192- Thursday, 7/11/13
Rusty turned 1 year old this week.  He's such a big kitty now.  Look how tiny he was when we first brought him home.  He's really grown and has been a great addition to the family.  His current favorite pastime, when he's not napping, is chasing and catching flies.




Day 193- Friday, 7/12/13
Brandon was showing me how he can do a handstand now--what a fun and perfect summer evening thing to do on the cool grass.




Day 194- Saturday, 7/13/13
Ryan's mom, Brenda, took this picture of Tyler and some of his team mates at the beach before their first game in the Santa Cruz Water Polo Classic.  The t-shirt design was perfect this year and made for a great souvenir.




Day 195- Sunday, 7/14/13
All the water polo games were yesterday so today we got to play at the boardwalk before heading home.  The boys had a blast, and it was such a beautiful day to be out near the ocean.



That's all for this week.  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you next week.


 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Week 27

Happy Tuesday!  I feel like summer is slipping away from me.  We had a nice 4th of July weekend traveling to Oregon and back to see the in-laws.  It's beautiful up there and cooler than here.  The break from the heat was just what we needed and the opportunity to re-connect with nature was wonderful hence a few extra pictures this week.  Of course I have so many more!  Their property is just amazing.  It's back to the grind now with more work, water polo, and swimming lined up to round out the rest of July.  I'm hoping we can squeeze a trip to the State Fair in there somewhere but I'm just not sure how. 

Take a look at last week:


Day 182- Monday, 7/1/13
Brandon is super excited it's July 1st and was more than happy to pose with my monthly marker since it all means his birthday is coming up.




Day 183- Tuesday, 7/2/13
Tonight at karate Brandon earned another stripe on his green belt.  One more and he can test to advance to brown belt.




Day 184- Wednesday, 7/3/13
We were supposed to be traveling to Oregon today but our big truck ended up needing new brakes and was in the shop all day.  In the meantime the boys beat the heat playing around in our pool.  It was 105 today so some pool time was surely the way to go.




Day 185- Thursday, 7/4/13
Happy 4th!  We spent the day on the road and made it to my in-law's Packham Ranch just before dinner.  The boys took no time at all making themselves at home.




Day 186- Friday, 7/5/13
What a fun filled day!  Justin got to feed the steers out front, Tyler got to drive a 4 wheeler around the property, and Brandon helped his grandfather pick cherries off a tree for dessert.




Day 187- Saturday, 7/6/13
On our last day in Oregon we went into the town of Roseburg for a bit (more car trouble) and then checked out the vista point at Colliding Rivers.  Back at the ranch we let Bella run while we took a small hike up behind the house and then listened as Brandon learned to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on the piano.  He actually picked it up pretty quick just before we sat down to our yummy steak dinner.




Day 188- Sunday, 7/7/13
This morning we headed out early for the long drive home and someone was happy to see us return.  He's been pretty much under foot ever since.




That is it for now.  I'm heading to Santa Cruz this weekend for more Water Polo--the last summer tournament before HS practice starts in August but not the last of my summer travels.  Next summer I think I want more down time at home and less time in the car.  Thanks for stopping by and see you next week.


 

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Week 26

Boy is it HOT!  We are in the middle of a heatwave here with no end in sight.  Thank goodness for air conditioning and pools.  Luckily tomorrow we are heading north to visit the in-laws in Oregon and should find some cooler weather there.  Of course last week another busy week--big surprise!  What was I thinking when I dreamed of the lazy days of summer?  July is looking just as crazy busy as June.  Maybe August will show me some love with a lighter load just before school starts again.  At any rate, happy July! 

Here is how we ended June:


Day 175- Monday, 6/24/13
John was lucky enough to have a work function at a local winery and even got to bring some bottles home.  We sampled this one tonight and it was nice.  Not bad for a work freebie!  I'm going to have to convince my boss to hold our next big meeting there ;0)





Day 176- Tuesday, 6/25/13
Brandon has been busy at camp making all kinds of fun things and brought a lot of them home this afternoon.  I'm not sure why he crossed out NASA on his rocket ship and put Lala instead.  Haha!  Crazy kid.  He says his mask is just a normal alien too.  As opposed to what? --not so normal??






Day 177- Wednesday, 6/26/13
There is nothing like sunflowers in June.  We are lucky enough to live in a place that has fields of them big and small.  They just scream summer--I love it.  Another thing the screams summer is 100 degree temps.  Here we go!  Looking ahead at the forecast makes me sick to my stomach.





Day 178- Thursday, 6/27/13
Today is my colleague's last day of work before she retires.  The two of us manage the lab together and are partners in crime so it will be sad to see her go.  To celebrate we took her out to high tea at Ciocolat in Davis.  It was so fun and yummy--a perfect way to end her last day.






Day 179- Friday, 6/28/133
Brandon has a hard time not treating the cat like a dog so Rusty usually avoids him, but today Brandon was ignoring the cat so Rusty thought it might be ok to sit next to him.  Brandon was silently very happy and wasn't about to let Rusty know for fear of making him flee.  It's a learning process.






Day 180- Saturday, 6/29/13
After a long, hot day Tyler and his friends are waiting for their relay race.  It's the last race of the meet and we are all eager to get home out of the sun.






Day 181- Sunday, 6/30/13
Justin keeps asking to be given odd jobs so he can earn money for a video game so today I took him up on his offer and had him help do some housework.  He dusted, he cleaned the bathroom, and he made lunches.  It was nice and I'll take what I can get!



That's it for this week and this month! See you next week hopefully in cooler times.