Wow It's Almost March

Time flies when working full time and family affairs happen.

Mollie, our family chocolate lab is in "Dog Heaven" now. There

was really nothing more I could do for her in order to give her

a quality life. I think the seizures did some brain damage over the years and

it finally affected her ability to walk. My Mollie girl - the dog with the most

beautiful chocolate eyes. We have had her since she was such a wee thing. She loved tennis balls. I remember when I bought this house one of my favorite things was that there was a long hallway so I could throw the ball for her. Miss you Mollie Girl and think of you often.

Mollie enjoying the wind in her hair.

Below - pretty and pink.

This Eve

Just have an added comment about something that happened this evening and maybe it happened for a reason to bring me back to reality? I have been frustrated all day with happenings with my youngest daughter and certain things that have been going on and her not seeing the reality of things or showing respect and then that carries over to other relations in the house. Late this eve Danielle and I went out to the store and when we returned I saw someone picking through our recycling bin. I took a deep breath and waited for them to get out of the way and was a little ticked off since I pay the city to do the recycling if we don't get around to doing it ourselves. Anyway when I got out of the car I told the lady that we have security in the neighborhood and that I do pay the city to do that. She walked off with her head down and wished me a Merry Christmas, and that is when it hit me that I was letting all the anger and frustration that I have been having lately build up and took it out on a complete stranger. So, after entering the house I decided to offer the lady some money $5 instead of her having to pick through the recycling. My daughter Danielle and I went looking for her and couldn't find her then we heard a voice saying here I am, like you are going to get after me again, it was her. She said she was leaving and was getting into an older car, and then I offered her some money and she said no that she couldn't take it because she didn't work for it. After several minutes of talking about it, she took the $5 and I wished her a Merry Christmas and to have a good new year. I hope that she has a better year, because I know that I am fortunate to have what I have.

December 2009

Well, December is almost over; that is hard to believe. Right now my cat is sitting in my lap purring away, and my youngest daughter ran out the door, because she was late for work and her dog is barking outside. This is probably one reason I never get a chance to catch up on my blog. Away all seems well, with a few bumps in the road, but we are all well and very fortunate this year. The following are some recent pictures from December.

Post Christmas ride on Saturday. We rode the trail to the beach then rode along the beach too. Perfect weather and fun time.

Mollie wearing Danielle's new scarf.

Mollie and Gibson with Danielle and Margaux. X-mas day.

Greg with his new Cal mug. He's happy.

Lil E trying out his new pogo stick.

La La is down for Winter Break.

So, Lil E is enjoying some fun times with her.

Finally got into the baking spirit and Danielle and I

found a bunch of new recipes to make this year, some were so yummy.

We made Christmas Crunch, Rum Balls, Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls,

Reindeer Chow, Cherry Snowballs, Molasses Crinkles,

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, Expresso Chocolate Cookies,

Coconut Macaroons, and Christmas Noels.

Here Lil E is decorating a Gingerbread house at a little party our friends had.

Lil E with Santa. It was later in the evening but both Santa and Lil E had a nice conversation.

A quick picture of my mom and me by her tree.

Back Tracking

Quilt I am working on. Some of the blocks are going in the wrong directions. That is what happens when you stay up too late.

Beach ride with new bike trailer for Lil E to ride with us.

Ethan at the playground after a ride to the ocean.

Two vampires.

Lil E and dad after applying all the makeup.The beginning of the transformation.
Dress up day at school. I am Pippi Longstockings and Lil E is Harry Potter.
Lil E as Harry Potter - for dress up day; the day before Halloween. 10-30-09.
Pumpkin carving time.
In the pumpkin field at Cal Poly.

New road bike I got as an early birthday/x-mas present. Love to ride.

Lil E's eye exam. Eyes are doing better, but still need help.
Extraordinary dessert - after visiting the Festa in Little Italy. Yum!
Some art at the Festa.
Mom down in Little Italy. A once in a blue moon outing that we got to share.
Silly kitties.
Ethan meets a new friend at the bike shop
Crazy hair day at school - we did blue hair this day.
Sprinkles - an escape up north for a treat.
Lil E's first day of 1st Grade. Way back in August '09.

Berkeley Bound

Danielle heading off to Cal. It's bitter sweet. Danielle is such an awesome daughter, sister, and person. We are going to miss her a lot, but we are also excited for her knowing that she is heading out to start a new chapter in her life. She is so smart and is always eager to learn and grow, I know that her destination today will help to fill those voids that need filling.

Lil E and GoGo will really miss her game playing, her kindness, and her silly sister dances, but we will visit via ichat and going up there too.

Lil E started to cry when LaLa gave him a hug. It is a really hard concept for him to understand why she is heading out to school and when he will see her again. She started to cry too, because she loves him so.

Regrouping after hugs and kisses too. She is off.

GoGo started to run next to LaLa's car and then Lil E got off his bike and really started running after her car not realizing his sisters were joking around. He cried for awhile after she left and I had to carry him inside. He loves his big sister LaLa and all his sisters.

Busy Week

Lil E had eye surgery this week. He was such a trooper too. Here he is learning how to give his bear some sleeping gas.

Lil E in recovery. He was enjoying a cherry Popsicle and was very talkative too.

On the ride home we stopped and got a Slurpee; it felt good on his throat. Note the cool glasses to protect his eyes from the sun. He fell asleep shortly after this picture was taken and slept even after we moved him into the house. His little body was stressed and exhausted.

Lil E didn't sleep well the night after his surgery, so he was very tired the next day. A lot of rest to help to heal the eyes. Note his favorite stuff toy, Beary.

Cool new jacket for school that Lil E saw at Target. He got so excited about how cool he thought it looked. Cute, this is a new style by Shawn White, the snowboarder. It is really too hot to wear right now, but try telling that to him.

Summer Fun

Adventure Guides End of the Year Beach Day:

Lil E went ahead and won so many races/activities on this day that he won this really cool surf monkey.

Lil E was taking private swim lessons to refine his skills and he learned a lot in 2 weeks.

He learned how the free style, back stroke, butterfly, pencil dive, kneel dive, and standing dive. On his very last day which was Monday August 10, 2009; he was being taught how to do a flip kick off the wall under water. Pretty cool. We did all this just in time for his eye surgery which is scheduled for next week on August 18th.