Memorial Day Weekend

May 26, 2008

This weekend Ben, Jenae and Sara all came to Bakersfield to spend Memorial Day weekend with us. On Saturday Patrick and Caleb stayed with babysitters and all 9 of us adults went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. What a nice break that was for Cory and I. For dinner we ordered Mexican food and then went home. Sunday was awesome because we filled up an entire bench in the middle section of the chapel. Monica Ward choir was singing in church so Connie was up front facing us. It must have been really cool for Connie to look down and see all of her kids on the same bench again, even if was just for one Sunday. Monday morning we all ate breakfast together at Loraine's to say goodbye.

Potting the Plants

May 22, 2008

This morning Caleb helped me plant the flowers I bought at Walmart yesterday. He was a big helper. I think he just liked getting dirty and playing with the dirt. The end result was one of my favorite things: Flowers.

Self portrait

May 20, 2008

This morning Caleb decided to paint himself and not so much the paper. He was a mess but oh well. He was very happy. Connie told me that Walt Disney's mom would let him paint however he wanted and let him be creative. And he turned out just fine.

Back at Grandma's

After the appointment I headed back to Grandma's and share the "no news." I found Caleb and Patrick happy as can be playing in the music room with their very own flutophones. This is very promising for such a musical family.

No show and tell

May 19, 2008

Today was the BIG appointment. The one where all the guessing stops and we finally learn whether baby #2 is a girl or a boy. Well, not this appointment. I'm sad to say that we have to wait another 4 weeks before we get another chance to find out the sex.

My B.F.F

Alison is a great friend and I am so glad we are pregnant at the same time. Caleb and Patrick are so close I can only imagine the next two will be the same. Hurray!

The Beach. A welcomed relief.

The first thing we noticed at the beach was the cooler temperature. At the Strawberry festival it had been warm and the asphault made it even warmer. The beach was cool and the breeze was even better. Cory and Caleb were the only two who put their bathing suits on but not the only ones to get wet. While Cory helped Jesus get our kite into the air, I rescued Caleb from being knocked over by a wave neither one of us anticipated. I held his little body next to mine and thanked Heavenly Father that I was right there and he was okay. In the process I got totally wet. Later on Jesus hoped in the hole Cory had dug in the sand for the boys to be funny moments before a wave came and filled the hole and Jesus' pockets with water. One of the pockets held his i-phone, which is now ruined. The sand was amazing it was huge pieces of shell and rock. Alison, Connie and I all stood and rubbed our feet back and forth in the sand as part of our pedicure spa treatment.

By the End

By the end of the afternoon we were all ready to head to the beach and cool off. Cory was especially looking forward to "clean" feet.

Oxnard Strawberry Festival

May 17, 2008

Today we went to the Oxnard Strawberry Festival. I had never been before, Cory was on his 3rd time and Connie her 4th. Jesus and Alison on their 2nd. I couldn't believe ho many people came. There were people everywhere and strawberries in everything! I saw a strawberry in Champagne, Beer, and even in the food court I saw a sign for Strawberry Nachos. I didn't try the Nachos, it just didn't sound good to me. Connie bought a strawberry smoothie and it ended up being the only thing (beside juice and water) that Caleb consumed. By the last sip we all had put our mouths on the same straw and lived to tell about it.
Te best part for me was the craft area. Cory and I both wished that we could have taken more time to enjoy the artwork displayed. So much talent and most of the crafts were useful or beautiful.

Daddy's Back !

May 16, 2008

Caleb and I picked up Daddy from the airport today and what a happy special day it was. It was a long week. We went to Dewar's to celebrate Cory's safe return and I bet you'll never guess what we ordered... A Georgia's Special of course! Cory and I learned our lesson from last time, we ordered Caleb his very own ice cream - Strawberry. It was a big hit. After the ice cream vanished we walked to the car where Caleb gave Daddy a great big smackaroo. I think Caleb was REALLY glad his Daddy was finally home.

It's so HOT!

May 16, 2008

Alison and I decided to go swimming today. The weather man said it would be 95 degrees by 12noon and I think it was actually hotter than that. We put on our swimsuits, hats and sunscreen on and took the boys outside. The cement was crazy hot but Caleb didn't seem to mind. He walked on it with his bare feet! Even though I kept splashing pool water on the cement to provide a place of relief he spent a lot of time on the boiling cement. Yikes!
After an hour the boys were worn out (our goal all along) so we went home, tired and a little less pale. Hurray!

May 15, 2008

This morning Caleb and I went to the Toyota dealership and got the oil changed on the Corolla. There was a huge flag on the premises. Caleb and I had a little picnic beneath it while we waited for the car. Cory usually takes the car in but since he's "out of town" the privilege fell to me. I'll just say it was not a very positive experience and when I told Cory about it he said that if he had had the same experience he would have talked to a manger about it and then said that he didn't want to pay for the service rendered. Looking back , I wish I would have talked to someone. After the Oil Change it was off to Costco where even though Caleb was very tired he was a very good little boy, just like at the dealership. Within 2 minutes of driving Caleb was fast asleep in his car seat.
We went home, rested and then went to Noni and Nono's. Caleb loves Nono. He played with him and the water hose. Nono gave him the hose and the chase began. Of course Caleb could never get Nono wet, even though he tried with all his might. Noni came to the rescue and Nono ended up at least a little wet.
After a bath Caleb and Nono disappeared to the back bedroom. I found them sitting together on the bed watching Blues Clues. Did I mention Caleb loves his Nono?

All in a Day

May 13, 2008

On Monday Caleb and I went to Green Frog market and picked up a few special things for Mommy since it will be dinner for 1 for the week. I pa roused the butcher's selection and decided on Chicken fajitas and a stuffed bell pepper. Last night I made the bell pepper (yum) and tonight Caleb really wanted to make dinner so I let him stir around the fajita stuff (with close supervision of course). Caleb loved every minute of it and was quite pleased with himself. I "oohed" and "ahhed" over the finished product and this made him smile. After dinner Cory called and it was nice to hear his voice (I miss him...) then we left for Noni and Nono's. My Dad pulled out the bike/jogging stroller and two bikes and the three of us took a ride around the neighborhood. It was a workout for both of us. Me, because I am pregnant and my Dad because Caleb weighs 30 lbs. and the stroller is like 1000. So, way to go Dad! As Dad and I were putting away the stroller we heard Caleb cry really loud and hard, my Mommy ears deciphered immediately that it was a "hurt" cry. We ran to him and found that he had been mauled by dear old Pumpkin Brat. He cried and cried and just pointed to the cat who's tail was swishing back and forth, like, "Hey, he was asking for it." Poor Caleb. He had several scratches on his face and a puncture wound behind his right ear. I put him in the bath and scrubbed the scratches really good. Who knows where those claws have been? In the end Caleb is amazing and I have vowed to keep a much closer eye on Pumpkin and never leave the two of them alone. It is a lesson learned with relatively minor consequences...it could have been much worse.

Fire Truck Fun

May 12, 2008

Today Caleb got his first up close and personal look at a firetruck. He loved it. He loved it so much that he was the last kid left in the firetruck. One of the firemen had to go in there and pull him out.
Caleb then got to shoot the fire hose. Good thing the pressure wasn't on full blast because shortly after his turn was over he ran in front of the hose just as it turned on. The other Mom's in the crowd said he smiled right after the initial shock wore off, so maybe it wasn't an "accident" after all.

More please

My Dad prepared a meal fit for a king. But instead it was for two women who felt like queens. After the meal Mom and I opened presents and I was really glad she liked what Cory and I had gotten her. I found this really awesome poem about a Sunflower and how it always follows the Sun and how the poet wants to be like the Sunflower in following the Son of God. We included a packet of dwarf sunflowers and a gardner's kneeling pad. Mom got me 3 maternity tops and I loved them. Mom and I both got cards that said we would be taken to the Coach store to pick put a new purse of our choosing. Hurray! The last picture is Caleb standing in front of my parent's TV. He just thinks it's the coolest thing since his discovery of Flags.

The cat

Meet Pumpkin. He's a cat that I brought home with me my Sr. year of H.S. He was a sweet loveable cat that was wandering around campus one early October day earning a lot of attention from other students . Needless to say, I fell in love and decided to bring him home what ever the consequences. Hillari named him "Pumpkin" because of his orange color and the season may have also been an influence. And once an animal is named and there are two girls who want it to stay that's the end of that. So Pumpkin became the family cat. Pumpkin became my parent's cat when Cory and I married and now my Dad would never part with him. Caleb is an animal lover just like his Mommy. He loves Pumpkin and sometimes Pumpkin "let's" Caleb show him just how much.

A new toy

After Caleb and I said our goodbyes to Cory we went to my parents house to celebrate Mother's Day. My Uncle Bill came over and suprised us with a new toy. Caleb loved it. In fact every time the ride ended he signed for "more." First it was Aunt Hillari, then Uncle Bill and then me.