Memorial Day Fun

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend!  Dave went down to Visalia for three days to spend some time with the boys so Michele came and stayed the weekend to keep me company.  On Saturday, we took the kids to have their pictures taken in honor of Noelle’s second birthday and then went back to Michele’s house to hang up the new blinds she bought for the bedrooms.  That was an experience!  It’s a good thing we didn’t have the camera!  By the end Michele and I were both tired and frustrated but the blinds were up and looked great!  We came back to my house and let the kids play outside with the neighbors until the street lights came on.

One of my favorite things about our new house is our neighbors!  We have finally moved to a neighborhood that has children to play with!  Thomas and Noelle are having a great time getting outside each evening and playing.  Thomas loves the little boys next door and is learning so much from them.  He has finally started riding his bike instead of his scooter all the time and has been playing all kinds of new games like four square, wiffle ball, and hide a go seek (the right way, not the way you play with your mom in the house).  Noelle loves the neighbor’s dogs and the fact that Daddy will always get her something when the ice cream man comes around!

When Dave got home on Monday we decided to take the kids to the zoo at Micke’s Grove.  It’s fun there because it’s just big enough that the kids have a good time and see lots of cool stuff and it’s cheap!

 

And finally, Dave has been working super hard in the yard since we have moved in, turning them from yuck to beautiful!  Here are some pictures he took of his favorite flowers.

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Busy, Busy, Busy

We did a lot today!

We…

went to the dentist, yay, no cavities!

We…

took Thomas to school.

We…

went cake tasting with Katrina.  Yum!

We… had dinner at Grandpa’s house and then dropped Noelle off with Grandma.

So that we…

could go to the Ports game!

I’m exhausted!

Ramblings…

I’m going to continue on with blogging about the things that I love.  Today’s subject:  Dave.  I love so much about him but today I mainly want to mention how I love that, through him and our relationship, I have found pieces of myself that I didn’t know existed.   Since our relationship began I have grown in so many ways, as a spouse, as a mother, and as a woman.  I love that we always have something to talk about even though he is famous for never talking.  I love that the majority of the time we just “get” each other and know what the other is thinking or feeling without having to say it.  I love that  he has opened my mind to so many new things.  In the past few years I have developed a love of many different kinds of food and cooking, crosswords (even though I will never be as good at them as Dave is), documentaries, boxing,  and many different books that I would never have chosen for myself.  And finally, the one thing that he introduced me to several months ago that I can’t get enough of is National Public Radio.  I totally love it!   Dave has always listened to NPR but I usually turned it off as soon as I got in the car but for some reason we ended up listening to it one day and I was hooked.  I love listening to the news, all of the human interest stories, the movie and book reviews and everything else I’ve  heard to be honest.  I’m totally converted and I’m even trying to get Michele on board.  So, if you’re local check out 91.3.

I titled this post “Ramblings” for a reason though so , lets move on.

This next portion is a cry for help… I have been looking for ways to be more thrifty and ways to save our family a little money.  If you have any advice I would love to hear it.  I’m also looking for great recipes.  I think I spend half of my life trying to figure out what’s for dinner.  I would love any of your favorites.  My kids are not picky so send whatever you can think of.  If you don’t want to post them in the comments feel free to e-mail me at kgrave514@yahoo.com.

And one last thing, I think my sister and Melissa are the only ones who have a link to my blog on their blogs…. So, somebody please add me to their links so I don’t feel like such a loser!!!!!

Australia

One of my other favorite things to do, aside from Sundays with my dad, is our traditional Mexican breakfast with friends from work.  We all head to Manteca, the wrong way home from work, to eat at La Estrella.   We lovingly refer to this ritual as our “family breakfast” at “Australia” in our terrible Spanish accents.  We have a great time eating, talking, and being rowdy.  It’s a good thing we are usually the only ones there so early in the morning.  I love the Cherry Coke, the chile rellenos, the shrimp rancheros, the green salsa, the friends, and the fun, and I love sleeping in the car on the way home! 

Family Tradition

One of my favorite traditions that we have started with the kids is spending Sundays at Grandpa’s house.  Each Sunday after church we take the kids and a ton of luggage to my dad’s.  Sometimes it feels like a lot of work for me, taking a bunch of bags with special Sunday treats, clothes, toys, and anything else we might need to make it through the day.  But in the end it’s always worth it.  The kids love to spend time with Grandpa and we love the awesome dinners!

Here are some pictures from yesterday…

 

Thomas singing in church next to my mom.  I wouldn’t normally take a picture during sacrament but he looked so cute and we were in the back row.

 

Thomas covered Michele up with a blanket while she took her traditional Sunday nap.

 

 

 

 

 

Noelle eating popcorn while we played outside.

 

 

 

 

Michele, Thomas, and I playing hopscotch while Indy tried to bite our ankles.

 

 

Dad getting ready to cook a Stockton favorite fried asparagus.

 

 

 

 

The end our our night, the kids are clean and in their pajamas, we eat dessert and watch America’s Funniest Home Videos.

I love Sundays!!!

Lets Go Fly a Kite

While Dave and Noelle slept in late this morning Thomas and I made pancakes from scratch for breakfast.  It was my first time without help from Bisquick.  Julie would be so proud! 

They were very good especially topped with my homemade strawberry freezer jam.  I had only had the cooked kind and then several years ago Sister Welton gave me some of her freezer jam and my life was transformed.  It’s the only way to go.  It tastes so fresh and sweet, I love it!  My mom is going to laugh and say that I am finally becoming domestic after so many years of refusing to do so, but I think I just needed to find the right place to blossom in.  I think I’m finally here.

The weather here has changed dramatically in the past few days.  The temperature today was about 25 degrees less than it was on Tuesday and it was totally windy!  Not good for Thomas’ allergies but great for flying a kite.  So that’s what we did.

 

Dave spent more time flying the kite than the kids did.

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas taking a turn.

 

 

 

 

 

Noelle had to take a turn as well but to be honest she was much more interested in the dogs at the dog park down the way.

Spring?

We have decided to embrace California’s idea of Spring at our house!  So, this still being April mind you, yesterday when it was 94° in Stockton and we were  just getting over the flu, we headed outside to play in the water!  The kids had a great time and I enjoyed at least one hour without anyone crying!

I was getting excited to go to the farmer’s market this Thursday evening to feast in the bounty of the central valley but apparently they don’t open until June!  I guess we will feast from Raley’s until then…