Lemonade + Laughter

This weekend, LaVor and I had sneak peek of what it'll be like to be parents. We watched my sisters two kids while she and her husband spent the weekend in Seattle.

Our fun-filled weekend started on Friday night. I picked the kiddos up and we headed out to Livermore. Amazingly, there was hardly any traffic...hallelujah! We had scrambled eggs and toast for dinner and then headed to Downtown to cool off.

We started from our house and headed down L Street, passing the Blue Door Antique Shop.

We then crossed the railroad tracks (a challenge when you have a stroller, let me tell ya!) and made a left onto First Street. We then made it to our destination...the fountains! I wasn't planning on Claire getting completely drenched, but she did.

After a fun time in the fountains we decided to head back home. In the time it took us to walk home, Claire had completely dried...that's how hot it was outside.

It was then bath time and bedtime. It had only been a couple hours that I had had them and I was already pooped. But it was only the beginning!

We woke up just before 7:30 Saturday morning and ate our cereal. We then got ready for our trip to the beach! I lathered the kids up with suntan lotion, got their swimsuits on, got ready, packed the car and we were off.

A little after 10, we arrived in Santa Cruz and decided to go to the boardwalk first, before it got crazy. It didn't open until 11:00 so that gave us time to walk around and decide what rides we wanted to go on.

Claire went on the Nascars, we all went on the Merry-Go-Round, the Ghost Blaster and the Cave Train and LaVor & Claire went on the bumper cars. LaVor won "Cruz" for Claire, by throwing baseballs.

We were all ready for lunch so we headed to Betty's and got some hamburgers. We saw Marlis Grow's sister, Tanya. Small world.

We then walked down the street to Seabright beach where Amy had her graduation party. We picked a nice spot to lay our blankets and could hardly wait to jump in the water. A wee bit cold for me and Will but LaVor and Claire stayed a while to play.

While Will and I were sitting on the blanket, he apparently got thirsty and decided to help himself to the "Amonade" (lemonade). He would do his butt-up salute and take a sip through the straw.

I then noticed Claire down on the ground and LaVor quickly picked her up. Despite him warning her to stay still when the waves came, she apparently wanted to run and it knocked her off her feet. That was it for her...she wanted to come back on the beach. Since she didn't want to be completely buried in the sand, LaVor made her into a mermaid.

We spent a little while just sitting on the beach, enjoying the sun. My back enjoyed it a little too much and I have a gnarly sunburn. It hurts like a mutha.

Soon enough, it was time to head back home. We tried to rinse the sand off the kiddos as best we could but it was impossible to get every little grain.

Before we could even leave the Santa Cruz city limits, both kids had fallen asleep.

When we got home, we rinsed off the remaining sand by running through the sprinklers. Earlier that morning, we were watching the news about East Bay MUD wanting people to conserve. Whoops!

I then put the kids in the bath and made sure they were 100% sand free. We ate dinner and played Scene It!, the Disney version.

Will was getting restless so I put him to bed while Claire and I shared some ice cream.

It was then bedtime for her and the second day was over.

We woke up Sunday, got ready for church, the kids were great, we ate lunch and took naps. It was then time to go back to their house and get back to "real life".

I was done listening to the whining but the lemonade and laughter made up for it.

What a weekend!

It started off Saturday morning, with me waking up a little after 7 to get ready for the "girls" weekly walk. Our goal this week...15 miles!

It was my turn to have everyone come out here but with our Chevy's fundraiser taking place on Monday, we thought it'd be best to kill two birds with one stone and pass out fliers as we walked.

As I got on 580 heading West, I noticed "police action" (what I say when I see lights of a police car, ambulance or fire truck) and traffic was stopped, thankfully on the other side of the freeway. As I tried not to stop and stare, I caught a glimpse of a truck that had flipped over onto its roof. As I passed, I couldn't help but think that if we did walk in Livermore that day, my sisters and mom could have been involved. Hallelujah for the change in plans.

We started our walk in Union City at about 9 and tried to hit every business we could. We only had a few people say "no" to our fliers and I think it was mainly because they didn't understand what we were doing.

Below is a map of our walking route. We ended up only doing a little over 14 miles due to time but we all agreed that this week was easier than the 13 miles last week. We all felt like we could continue on for several more hours.

There were no falls this week but there were bus drivers cheering us on, old women clapping for us and a weird fella asking Kari out. Always an interesting time on our walks.

We woke up Sunday morning, ready for Mother's Day! I got up and got ready for church early so I'd have enough time to get started on the dessert for my mom's dinner...homemade raspberry sorbet with chocolate lava cakes...yum! We went to church, I taught my lesson then we rushed to LaVor's parents house so we could talk to Brett, his brother that's on a mission in Orlando.

It reminded me of when we were able to talk to my brothers while they were out in the field. For one Mother's Day, they were both out so we were able to have a conference call and they were able to talk to each other as well.

We were able to talk to Brett for an hour and he sounds great! I told LaVor tonight that he didn't sound like the same Brett that left almost a year ago. It's true that they leave boys and come back men.

We then went back to our house so I could finish the cakes and then we headed to HC's & Keith's for taco salad. Do you see a trend in that delicious dinner in our family? :o)

All of the kids chipped in and were able to get mom a gift card to Lady Foot Locker so she could get some shoes for the walk. She was so excited!

It was a great day, filled with family, fun, guitar hero and Taboo!

Raise your hand if...

My niece asks us this question all of the time. Sometimes the question is chocolate cake, other times its regarding a tv show. This time, she asked, "Raise your hand if you want to go to Disneyland with me this summer!" Oh how I wish we could afford a trip to Disneyland! I told her I'd love to go but that I was going to Europe while she was going to Disneyland. She then said, "Oh you're so lucky. Europe is so beautiful!" Not sure she's ever seen a picture of Europe during her 5 years on earth but she's right.

Zac man!

I've known Zac my entire life and I couldn't imagine not knowing him.

In the 4th grade, my best friend and I wrote our Young Author Faire book about Zac...and we won. I still have the ribbon we received.

My Senior year of high school, I was able to be the Teacher's Assistant in Zac's class. What a blessing it was to work with those great kids. I think about them daily!

Zac participated in the Special Olympics this weekend. LaVor and I pulled into the parking lot just as his family was leaving. We saw his cousin and asked if he was done and she said yes. We were so bummed!

My mom called me this afternoon and read me an article she had received in her e-mail. It stated that as Zac circled the track in one of his events, he received a standing ovation. I started to cry, for a few reasons. One being, I was even more bummed that I missed the event on Saturday. Two, I was proud of him and appreciative of the joy he brings to others. You can't be around him without smiling. He loves life and I look up to him and hope that I can be as he is one day.

Big Brown brought it home!

We went to our first A's game of the season last night...yippee!

The game started awfully slow until about the 7th inning and then it took off. The A's finally scored and the Orioles still had nothin'. At the bottom of the 10th inning, Emil Brown came up to bat and hit a single to center field, allowing Daric Barton to run home, ending the game with a score of 2-1.

A great game, great ice cream sandwich, okay weather and great seats.

Although we didn't get home until 11:00, it was worth it. Can't wait for the next one!

The things I witness

At work, I see, hear, and experience several interesting things a day. One of which is...people do not know how to address a postcard.

We get teenagers, engineers, grown men and women who either don't address the card at all or who manage to fill it out COMPLETELY wrong.

Did I go to a special school that taught me more than I needed? Do people think that we don't use the US postal system anymore? Why would anyone just put their address on the card and not include their name? How is someone supposed to know who it's for?

If anyone can answer these questions for me, please do so. In the meantime, this is how one would address a postcard:

Line 1: Name
Line 2: Street Address
Line 3: City, State Zip Code

I have thought of posting an "example" next to the postcards at work but I'm not sure if that would be more insulting than helpful.

At least it's a cute sign

I was told that by a driver that passed me while I was holding up our huge "yard sale" sign on the corner of Santa Maria and Alvarado Niles Road. He suggested that I dance around but I told him holding the sign was embarrassing enough. At least I know if I ever need a job, I can always be one of the sign spinners I've laughed at for so many years.

We held our garage sale fundraiser yesterday and it was a total success! We could not have done it without the generosity of those who donated items. We had my parents entire front yard covered with things from furniture to clothes to knick knacks and toys. Thank you again to everyone that helped us out! We really appreciate it.

We're now getting ready for our Chevy's restaurant fundraiser in Union City on May 12th. We're passing out flyers that will need to be brought to the restaurant that night, in order for us to receive the 25% donation. If you're interested in participating, please let me know and I can provide you with the flyer. And please tell your friends and family!