Let It Snow

Taking out the trash,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

I had the day off but the kids had school. Or so we thought.

And then there was snow.

Since the snow gear was still out we geared up and headed outside.

First thing. Time to take out the trash. Thank goodness I had an assistant.

Sledding ,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Once the chores were done it was time for fun, which translated into me pulling Parker and Piper down and up the road.

Soon, it was time to find something less exhausting for me.

Hair Club for Snowmen,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Time to build a snowman!

The kids started small but we soon went bigger...at least closer to Piper's size. The kids gathered the snow. Frankie (unwittingly) provided the arms and hair. And I assembled the final product.

The hardest part...keeping Frankie from running away with one of the arms.

Snowmen,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

The best part...the smile on Parker's face.

Christmas Encore

Christmas Encore,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

First morning back home means we can open all the Christmas gifts we didn't want to haul up north.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, we seem to have brought snow back from Tahoe. It's started to snow and it's slated to keep snowing for a good while. Good thing I don't have work tomorrow. Of course, Chris does and Parker also has school. :o/.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. Good thing the snow gear's still out.

1/1/11

Sitting Pretty,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Back from Tahoe in San Francisco. Time for new year resolutions.

Live with less clutter. A big challenge with Parker and Piper but since storage is premium in the house this can make life easier. Plus, we can learn to appreciate what we have not what we don't.

Write every day. I got pretty lax last year so now's the time to change that. At minimum I need to find an hour a day.

Organize my work zone. Along the lines of writing more, I need a dedicated work space. With Piper, I just blocked off and stopped using areas (like my desk) in order to prevent curious hands from grabbing stuff, which has left me with no place to work. It's time to reclaim my spaces and figure out a better way to address Piper's grabby hands.

Make more progress on my genealogical research. I've got this membership to Ancesry.com. I need to use it or cancel it.

A picture a day. Along with the past, I need to better record the now. I've been guilty of taking less photos of kid #2. It's time to correct that.

Lastly, a list of resolutions wouldn't be complete without a weight loss goal. I've just made it into the pre-Piper pants. Time to get back into the pre-Parker pants. :)

Well, that''s it for now. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Baby Anchovies for Piper

Baby Anchovies for Piper,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Yes. This is a bag of dried anchovies for kids.

Even more weird, the little girl totally looks like Piper, which makes me wonder...1) will Piper grow up to love anchovies? 2) will Piper ever get compensated for the use of her likeness.

I'm thinking the answer to both questions is...not likely.

Tag, You're It

Tag, You're It,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Glad to see I'm not the only one Piper like to poke while drinking her bottle.

Also glad to see that I'm not the only one who let's her put her finger in their mouth and probe around. :o)

Happy Halloween!

This year we celebrated Halloween in Tehachapi with Gram. That means the kids got to go trick-or-treating with their cousins.

Piper was a monkey (can't let a good costume go to waste!). Parker was Scooby-Doo (this is the first year he got to choose his costume). Carli was a cat. (No, Scooby was a gentleman dog and didn't chase Carli around all night.) And Josephine was a suffragette. (She recently finished a book on famous women and would have been Amelia Earhart -- but her friend already snagged the idea.)

Tehachapi was a great place to trick-or-treat. Lots of houses in the holiday spirit. A lot of people got nostalgic when they saw Scooby (which is always good for the candy haul). Even better, the kids got to share the fun with Gram and Grandpa (who are also very good for the candy haul).

Like Brother, Like Sister

Like Brother, Like Sister,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Uh oh, Parker. Another fan of watermelon.

Even with hardly any teeth, she's willing to gum at it through her food strainer.

Looks like there will be less for you, Parker. Better eat as much as you can...while there's still some to be had.

2009 LA County Fair

The family hit the LA County Fair...a.k.a. Fried Food on a Stick marathon! Piper was quickly initiated with the tried and true corndog -- foot long, of course. Meanwhile, Parker hit the balloon darts and immediately came away a winner. Awesome...yes. But we were soon back to the main objective and we tackled a pork chop on a stick and fried dill pickle spears.


But that was just the start. We soon found Nirvana -- fried smores, fried avocados, fried oreos, fried twinkies, and...le piece de resistance...the zucchini weenie. The best find of the fair...yes, the zucchini weenie. The worst of the fair...the fried avocado.


Mission accomplaished, we then pursued Parker's objectives...fun, fun, fun. We hit the kid rides. (Talk about HUGE lines.) Parker and Chris did a water gun competition and...yes...came away a winner again. Then, on our way out, the boys flexed their muscles while I grabbed one more treat. That's right, chocolate covered bacon. (Believe it or not, I think it could have used less chocolate and more bacon. Go figure.)

Legoland

Now Legoland...that was a big hit -- for both kids and parents. Legos where everywhere. We even went home with some. (Yeah, we're suckers.)

Parker did an awesome job driving. No track and he avoided the other kids and obstacles. He truly earned his license.

There were a bunch of scenes done in legos...including Obama's innaguration, which was accurate down to the lines to the porta potty. :o)

Teeth!

Sea World,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Parker, what big teeth you have?

Better to eat everything with!

Sea World

Vacationing in San Diego, which means we have to go to Sea World. Of course it's been years since I've been there and...to be honest...not sure it's worth it. If we opted to see Shamu earlier in the day, we definitely would have blown through the park in half a day. Bummer.

Parker's favorite part wasn't the animals but the rides...of course. Piper...well, she loves everything and everyone.

Not Again

Yes, it seems to be a sad annual ritual. Another wildfire. This time resulting in evacuation...our second since moving into hour house.

An enhancement since the Crown Fire evacuation...at about 4am this morning we got an automated call warning us of the impending danger and the need to prepare for evacuation. I guess this happens for anyone with a landline. (So my friends, any of you who have ditched the landline and rely solely on your cell service...you need to look into registering your cell phone so you will be included in any emergency announcements delivered via phone.)

Not sure if this is a bright side...but that Station fire actually started a few days ago and I had been preparing for this moment. I've been driving around with some stuff in the back of my and Chris' cars. Plus, I've had a bunch of other stuff stacked by the front door. Within an hour or so of the call, our cars were packed. Me and the kids were off to Thommy & Geoffrey's house while Chris and Frankie stayed behind to tend to any loose ends -- clearing any debris near the house that he never got to, moving equipment, etc.

Of course, all the while I'm fretting about Chris and Frankie's safety until I see this post on face book -- ''Frankie enjoys a steak and Stella on a smokey afternoon.'' Yeah, this fire is much different from the Crown Fire where I left the house with flames licking over the nearby hill tops.

So, knowing that Chris and Frankie were safe, it made it much easier for me to create a normal experience for the kids -- which means bathtime! But where? Yup, the bar sink makes a perfect bath for Piper. Talk about a multi-tasker.