Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Week 48

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Last week was a wonderful week with everyone home for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It was so nice to have the whole family back together again.  This week we try to regroup and focus on getting back to our normal routine so we can get things done and be ready for winter break in a few weeks.  Time is flying by!  The new year is right around the corner and I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around that but it will come.

Now for last week's pictures:



Day 326- Monday, 11/21/16
It's so nice to just be home.  There is not a whole lot going on today besides a doctor's appointment that has already happened so why no bake cookies?  The boys were totally on board with that idea, and Tyler will be happy to enjoy some homemade cookies when he returns tomorrow.






Day 327- Tuesday, 11/22/16
What a busy and eventful day!  Tyler flew home from college so we picked him up at the airport and it was great to see my 3 boys together again.  Then Brandon tested for his Black Belt in Karate.  All 3 boys are now done and have all been taught by Mr. and Mrs. Saxton over the past 12 years!  They were thrilled to see Tyler and Justin there tonight supporting their younger brother.  We'll miss them but wish them well in their retirement.  Finally, we went out for ice-cream treats to celebrate such an amazing day.





Day 328- Wednesday, 11/23/16
Today was Thanksgiving prep day.  I prepped the turkey brine, made the cornbread for stuffing, finished up the last minute shopping and then Justin helped me make pies.  It smells amazing in here.





Day 329- Thursday, 11/24/16
Happy Thanksgiving!  We started the day with cranberry orange muffins for breakfast, had some light snacks for lunch, grubbed on turkey and ham with all the fixings for dinner, and then ended with pie for dessert.  It was a great feasting day that had us all stuffed and happy by the end.






Day 330- Friday, 11/25/16
We spent most of the day with the Wong family in Rocklin at TopGolf.  Our families both wanted to try the games and food at this new place.  It was fun and we all enjoyed the experience once we figure the system out and got our food orders right.





Day 331- Saturday, 11/26/16
Time for more family fun.  It was a wet and dreary day which made it a perfect day to see a movie.  We saw Fantastics Beasts which was a fun, wonderful, and very creative movie.  Speaking of fantasic beasts Bella is Tyler's favorite and he's so happy to be home spending time with us and her and also enjoying the privacy of his OWN room.  Three to a room in dorm space in not his favorite part of college but he's loving the rest of it.





Day 332- Sunday, 11/27/16
It's time to send Tyler back and we're sad to see him go but he'll be home again in 2 short weeks after the 1st quarter's final and yes, he wore that sweatshirt religiously all week.  It's much colder here than it has been in LA so he needed it.  Safe travels Tyler!  After we saw Tyler off it was time to take Brandon in to get his first phone.  Big day for him!  He's been wanting one for a couple years now and I promised we'd get him one once he turned 13 OR after he received his Black Belt.  Lucky he tested 6 months before his 13th birthday so here ya go--enjoy buddy!




Wait!  One more-

November's Family Photo



Here we all are on Thanksgiving Day very thankful to be together and have our family complete again.




That's it! Thanks for stopping by and see you next week.
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday too.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Week 47

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Tyler flies home today--TODAY!! I can't wait to see him and have him here for at least a few days.  We're enjoying being on Thanksgiving break and just hanging out at home. We have no big plans except to spend some good quality time with each other and to stay dry and warm.  It most certainly feels like late fall here which will be a shock to my LA sunshine boy's system ;0)

Now for last week's pictures:


Day 319- Monday, 11/14/16
Crushed it!  His migraine that is.  He was in a bad way as soon as he got home from school and took some meds but still wasn't feeling well.  Then I had remembered reading something about taking caffeine in addition to help and just so happened to have a small can of Coke on hand.  He gave it a try and it worked.  That smile did not exist 10 minutes ago and there was no way he'd be doing his homework otherwise. It may just be a fluke this time, but we'll try again when needed to see.





Day 320- Tuesday, 11/15/16
Now for my caffeine--served today in a festive red cup.  They have so many cool designs this holiday season and it's great to see the change from last year's fail. 





Day 321- Wednesday, 11/16/16
I'm getting creative with leftovers by sizzling up some fajitas tonight while sipping on a margarita.  We haven't made fajitas in years because we usually don't have leftover steak but with Tyler gone leftovers are now plentiful again ;0)





Day 322- Thursday, 11/17/16
Last week they started charging for bags, and I still for the life of me can't remember to take the bags I have in my car into the store.  One of these days, soon I hope, it will become a habit. At least the bags they make us pay for are so much nicer than the ones we got for free, and I  now have a good collection of them to reuse providing I remember. 





Day 323- Friday, 11/18/16
Yesterday was super windy in the late afternoon so now all the colorful fall leaves are no longer on the tress but instead covering the ground.  I do like the crunch they make as we take our daily walk and they are still just as pretty. 





Day 324- Saturday, 11/19/16
Justin's been waiting for this new game release and ordered it online not expecting it until Sunday, but it actually came today so he's a super happy camper especially since he's now officially on fall break and can spend more time playing than doing school work.





Day 325- Sunday, 11/20/16
It's been raining the past couple days so it's pretty wet out with a lot of puddles around.  Bella and I found a nice dry break in the storm for her walk and enjoyed the fresh clean air.  For Sunday dinner Justin was thrilled to discover we were having orange chicken and rice--his new favorite meal.  It's spicy warm which is perfect on a cold wet day.



That's it for now.  I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving week and gets to enjoy some good family time.  See you all next week.



Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Week 46

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  What a week last week was.  Talk about shaking the country up. Just breathe, keep calm, stay positive, and have hope things will go better than we expect.  That's all I can really say for now.

Here are last week's pictures:


Day 312-  Monday, 11/7/16
I'm not liking the dark by 5pm in the evenings, but I do like the sunrises I get to witness just as I'm starting my work day.  Here is the UC Davis campus at daybreak on what will be a beautiful fall day.





Day 313- Tuesday, 11/8/16
This is Tyler's first ever election and I'm proud to see he voted. What an election to start with too! He waited in a 3 hr line (props to him) to cast his vote and then it didn't even turn out how he or most of his fellow students expected. There were protests and a lot of crazy things happening on campus as a result.  It was a real eyeopener for him, but I know he learned a lot from the experience.  Photo credit for the shot on the left goes to the UCLA facebook team.  They posted pictures of polling places on "the hill" where most of the students live.





Day 314- Wednesday, 11/9/16
It's hard to believe this is real and I understand people wanting change, but I'm really not sure this is the best guy to do it.  How do you explain to the younger kids who see him as a bully and monster that this is our new leader?  He behaves in ways they are taught not to and is a terrible example for our youth.  Brandon was pretty upset by all this.  He's confused and unsure what it means but is finding comfort and understating in those he trusts most. I have to give props to his teachers for taking the time today to reassure him and all their students.  It did help.  Just be the best person you can be and set a good example for others--bottom line!





Day 315- Thursday, 11/10/16
Time to move on and enjoy what nature has to give.  I found this beautiful leaf resting on the bricks of our house and it reminds me of how thankful I am to have my family, friends, and life.





Day 316- Friday, 11/11/16
Happy Veteran's Day!  I appreciate all those that serve to help protect our country, and I'm thankful for a day to spend with my kids.  John had to work but still joined us for lunch--double-double anyone? Afterwards the boys and I took in a movie.  Doctor Strange was a good one and a nice distraction.





Day 317- Saturday, 11/12/16
The weather has been amazing all week and quite warm.  We did find on plus side to those earlier dark hours--perfect for making after dinner s'mores.  Yum!





Day 318- Sunday, 11/13/16
Two boys with fresh haircuts and traditional chocolate Turkeys in hand.  We picked up the Turkeys this weekend and will continue to shop for more traditional Thanksgiving items over the next week to prepare for our feast.  One more week of school before fall break and before we get to have our third boy home.  Can't wait!




Done!  See you next week.


Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Week 45

Welcome back, happy Tuesday, and happy election day!  I just want it to be over so we can stop being divided and come together as a united country again.  What a nasty voting season this has been. We're also adjusting to the time change here.  At least we gained an hour and this one is easier on us than the one in the spring. The later starts in the morning are nice, but the poor pet's tummies don't agree with a later dinner time. Hopefully they'll catch on soon and stop giving us the sad eyes around 4pm.

Here are last week's pictures-


Day 305- Monday, 10/31/16
Happy Halloween!  Spooky times here and a super rainy evening for those trick-or-treaters.  It was a nice day all the way up until the sun went down and just as the kids headed out. Then it poured and poured.  They were troopers though and still had a good time while getting soaked.





Day 306- Tuesday, 11/1/16
Justin found a huge leaf to use as he posed with my monthly marker.  I still can't believe it's November already.





Day 307- Wednesday, 11/2/16
After the rain and a couple foggy days Bella is happy to find a spot to lay where she can soak up the sun and also a little attention from her biggest fan.





Day 308- Thursday, 11/3/16
Typical teenage boy--always in the fridge.  He's also taller than it now and has changed so much in the past 6 months.  Puberty finally kicked a couple months after his 15th birthday and now he's looking a lot more mature.  No more baby face or cute little voice ;0(





Day 309- Friday, 11/4/16
The past few days have been beautiful fall days with a lot of sunshine--perfect for walks collecting colorful leaves.  It's also perfect for the end of high school football season.  Tonight I worked in the Boosters' snack bar during our last home game.  No more snack bars until December when basketball and soccer season start.






Day 310- Saturday, 11/5/16
It's a night out for us.  We had dinner and cocktails at Pizza Rock across the street from the Crest theater where we then watched the latest Warren Miller ski movie.  Bring on the snow.  It's time to gear up for a new ski season.





Day 311- Sunday, 11/6/16
Justin spent his Sunday afternoon casing the neighborhood for canned food to give to the Sacramento Food Bank.  They are having a canned food drive at school and everyone around here was kind enough to help out.  This is only half of what he collected. Our neighborhood rocks!




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


Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Week 44

Happy Tuesday and welcome to November!  How did we get here already?  I hope everyone had a good Halloween.  Ours was very wet but still fun.  We seem to have a lot of rain lined up lately which is good and it's also nice we get sunshine breaks here and there without too much cold.  It's all needed so we're happy to have it.  Only 3 more weeks (exactly!) before Tyler comes home to visit.  Can't wait!

Take a look at last week's pictures:


Day 298- Monday, 10/24/16
Here's my spooky cat with those big eyes lurking under a blanket ready to pounce.  With the weather change he's been spending more and more time under blankets.  This week in particular I wish I could have joined him.





Day 299- Tuesday, 10/25/16
Justin had a minimum day and a dr visit after in Sacramento.  Before heading home we hit up Jamba Juice across the street from the dr's office for a nice cold afternoon snack.  It was raining out but still pretty warm and my throat was hurting so a cold smoothy hit the spot.  Later I had snack bar duty at a volleyball game for the Booster's club.  It all made for a super long day.





Day 300- Wednesday, 10/26/16
Today was career day at the middle school, and I was asked to present to two classes.  There were lot of great speakers with different jobs which is wonderful for the kids to see.  I hope we inspired them.  Afterward Brandon and I hit up Target to load up on Halloween candy.  Now we're set and I just need to hide it until the big day ;0)





Day 301- Thursday, 10/27/16
The homework never ends.  At least its raining out and there is nothing better to do--yeah right!  Rain or shine Bella needs her daily walk.  She's a hyper mess if she does not get one.  It wasn't too bad out, but we did get more wet than I was expecting.





Day 302- Friday, 10/28/16
Sadly I was living off this stuff all week.  I should have taken a couple sick days but had too many commitments that couldn't be rescheduled.  I was fighting hard, but the virus won out in the end.  At least we have no real plans for the weekend so I can finally rest up and hopefully kick this thing.  It's all in my throat and ears.  My voice is official unrecognizable today--confirmed by many :0(





Day 303- Saturday, 10/29/16
There's nothing better than rainy day Legos.  These Lego Dimensions that you build and then play in a video game are pretty cool.  Meanwhile in LA Tyler was happily watching a polo game on campus.  His dorm is right next to this pool.  My boy is somewhere in that crowd. USA Water Polo posted this picture on their Facebook page with the comment: "Big crowd in Westwood for UCLA and Stanford. Airing now on Pac-12 Network.  Spieker Aquatics Center at UCLA.





Day 304- Sunday, 10/30/16
Time to carve pumpkins.  We had really large pumpkins this year so it was a lot of work gutting them but still fun to carve and see them transform.  I painted a small one for Tyler.  It's just not right to have only 4 pumpkins in our entry.  Five it must be!  Also the slow weekend was helpful to my health.  I'm finally feeling a bit more normal and have my voice back.  Bye-bye virus!



Wait!  One more-

October's Family Photo



Obviously we are missing Tyler this month but his pumpkin represents him and we'll get a family picture the next couple months with him included so all is good.




Ok, done!  See you next week.