Expressing Gratitude - Day 2

I logged into Facebook this morning and saw a post from Cost Plus World Market. They have a contest going on and were announcing clues for where you could find five golden llamas in their stores (near something round was the clue).

Golden llamas?!

An associate told me they might be transitioning from their elephant mascot to a llama but that's just a rumor.

I looked up when my local store would open (10:00) and made plans to be there right on time to ensure my odds of finding one of these golden llamas. Sure enough, we arrive at 10:02.

As soon as we walked in, the same associate notified me of their contest. "I saw it on Facebook this morning!" I squealed.

I casually tried to walk around the store, promising Doodlebug we'd look at the toys as soon as we found a llama. We headed to the baking section to look for something round. Nothing in the cake pans or plates, nothing in the cookie section, and nothing near the earrings. I thought there might be something round in the bath section but we were left llamaless.

That's when I turned the corner and saw this...

Something round!

And there it was...a golden llama hanging out underneath it. I might have felt like Charlie Bucket on Willy Wonka.

Doodlebug and I took the llama to the counter, exchanged it for a $50 gift certificate, and browsed the store for the next hour trying to find goodies we could bring home with us.

I'm grateful for simple things that make me happy; new dish towels, new ramekins, cupcake liners, a new pair of earrings, orange raffia, cookies, and a sign about pies.

I'm also grateful for anticipation, excitement, and being able to share that with others. I had a friend call me and say she was going first thing in the morning to try and find a golden llama. I can't wait to hear if she found one or not!

Expressing Gratitude - Day 1

13 years ago today, I went as far away from my comfort zone as I could imagine and started culinary school.

My entire life, I did what was comfortable. After high school, I attended community college because it's what I already knew and it was close to home. All of my jobs came about because someone in my family already worked there. Life was simple and that's what I liked.

But then this idea of culinary school came about and I was intrigued. After tours of the campus and interviews of acceptance, I decided to jump right in and embark on a new, and different, chapter.

The first day was a basic orientation. Chef Steve went over all the courses, distributed supplies and uniforms, and we were ready for our official first day on November 2nd.

Well, everyone else was ready. I went home and doubted my decision. I was scared, nervous, unsure, lacked confidence of my abilities, and wasn't sure I'd be returning to class. My mom said, "Nope! No way am I letting you pass up this opportunity!" and she made me go back the second day.

And I'm so grateful I did.

That experience finally made me feel like a big kid, despite being an "adult" for two years. I learned so much, and not just about baking but about myself. I realized I could do things that I thought were hard. I also made so many memories and friends and look back on the experience with fondness (minus the student loans).

OMGoodness

Seriously, Kimberly? No posting for the last 6 weeks? Yikes!

If I'm being honest, there really isn't much going on in our lives that I feel needs to be documented (or that anyone would want to read about). Also, life is steadily crazy that I haven't had time to catch up on my recorded shows, let alone blogging.

But Doodlebug is sleeping, my baking is done for the day (but I just remembered I need to buy candy for our ward's Trunk-or-Treat tonight), and I don't need to pick The Lime up for another hour. So how about an update?

I'm six months late in announcing I am back in the workforce, if you can really call it that. I wake up in the 2 o'clock hour every morning to go fold and deliver newspapers. I'm crazy, I know. But I needed something that would allow me to stay home with Doodlebug, volunteer in The Lime's classroom, attend mutual every week, etc. It's definitely a different world in the middle of the night but I'm grateful for the opportunity to help my family financially while still being a full-time mom.

The Lime is winding down his season of Fall Ball. Although he's on a Farm team, I don't think there are any T-ball teams so he has some kiddos playing with him that have never played before. It's been really fun to see all the progress the team has made but I'm especially fond of cheering The Lime on. He's been on fire and would love to move up to AA in the spring but we're still talking about it.

LaVor works his tail off at work and then comes home and does the exact same thing. He ripped out our summer garden and has all the fall/winter product planted. We're going to have endless amounts of broccoli, kale, lettuce, beets, carrots, herbs, and more. We can hardly wait!

Doodlebug is a little firecracker, that kid. He cries a lot, just like he has his whole life, because he knows nobody wants to listen to that sound so we give in. But the kid is almost three and a half. This crap has gotta stop. Throwing large rocks at his brother's head is not okay and it will result in consequences. But then he does stuff like slaps my bum while singing, "Spanky spanky spank your butt, doo daa, doo daa" and I have to just eat him up. He's so funny! Soooo funny! He had all three of us laughing hysterically in the car last weekend with his creative facial expressions.

He loves riding his scooter to The Lime's school every morning and usually eats it at least once. He and The Lime race and he gets a little too wobbly, ends up flying through the air (or rolling) and crashes to the ground. But he's a tough cookie and gets up and continues on. Big, brave, tough boys is what we like to call them.

I suppose I should write down how amazing the Coldplay concert was! I drove to my sister's on 10/4, ran inside to brush my teeth, and then we got back in the car to drive to the concert. Someone recommended to her that we take public transportation rather than forking out $50 to park at the stadium. It was a brilliant idea so we followed his directions only to find that the trains weren't running as frequently at 8:00 at night. After debating on whether or not we should wait for the train or start walking, we decided to start walking. It ended up being over 3 miles but we did it because we wanted to see Coldplay, gosh darnit.

I should back up and inform you that when I bought our tickets a year prior, I purchased two sets. When we went to the concert last year, the gentleman sitting behind us told us he paid double what we did for tickets because he waited until the last minute. So when I bought this year's tickets, I thought I could make a buck or two. Nope, I didn't. In fact, I was out hundreds of dollars. I ended up not being able to sell the extra tickets which, financially, sucked BUT it meant my sister and I got to sit on the field! Good golly, was that a neat experience.

We arrived to the stadium during their second song and it was a magical two hours of singing, dancing, laughing, and crying. They put on an electric show. So much so, you can just feel the love and joy everyone around you is experiencing. I'm certain the band is tired from touring but I can't wait until they come back.

The most current news is that we have a mouse somewhere in this house and it's literally driving my crazy. I'm a paranoid wreck that can't keep my eyes off the ground, looking for evidence of where the little bugger might be. In the 11+ years we've been married, this is the first mouse we've dealt with. And while I know it won't be the last, I can hope.

And just like that, I've come to the end of my free time.

I certainly hope the next two months are a little more blog worthy than the last two.

Post-Summer Vacation Fun

The day The Lime started school was the same day LaVor's family arrived in California from Hawaii and Colorado. Since they flew into Oakland, they stayed put on Wednesday and Thursday but drove up to see us on Friday. We took The Lime out of school just a tad early so we could have some fun with our family!

I think the family traveling from Hawaii (they stopped in Salt Lake on their way from Europe to Hawaii, so they'd been ALL over the place) was a bit worn out so we decided to go bowling.

Although we hadn't seen LaVor's brother and his family since our visit to Colorado last year, the boys were able to pick up right where they left off with their cousins. I think The Lime wants a big brother because he was glued to his cousin, Jacob, the entire time they were here. And Doodlebug took a liking to his cousin who also happens to be his twin (just 10 years older).

After bowling, we came back to our house and chatted for a bit before we headed to the outlets so they could use their gift cards before heading back to Switzerland. It was also extremely convenient that one of their favorite Mexican restaurants from when they lived here was just a hop, skip, and a jump from the outlets. Since they can't get Mexican food in Switzerland, they stocked up while in California.

By the time dinner was over, we were hitting 8:00 and everyone was getting tired. Since they had a 2 hour drive back to the bay area, we said our goodbyes and planned on getting together the following day.

LaVor's cousin was having a baby shower on Saturday and a majority of the extended family would be there. LaVor and the boys drove down and met up with his brother's family & parents. I think I overdid it with the nachos, mozzarella sticks, and Mexican food the day before so I decided to stay home where I slept off the yuckiness. They were gone all day but arrived just in time for me to head off to work.

We woke up Sunday with plans of meeting up with everyone one last time before people started heading home. We weren't planning on going to an A's game but were thrilled when LaVor's mom said that's where we were headed. We got ready as quick as we could and headed to Livermore in a flash. Unfortunately, driving through Tracy is never quick (especially when there's a motorcycle on fire) so we ended up missing the first couple innings. But it all turned out great and we had SO much fun!

The Lime REALLY wanted to get some players' signatures so we snuck down to the infield seats (and got yelled at) right before the game finished. On our way there, we ran into Stomper so we had to grab a photo with him. We also had an employee ask us if we were going to go onto the field. Huh? He said after every Sunday game, they allow kids to run the bases.

The Lime was only able to get Matt Joyce's autograph but we told him it was fine because that gave us a reason to come back.

We took the employee up on his offer and got in line as fast as we could for the chance to run the bases. The staff had you moving quickly but it was still a fun experience with the kids.

We had several hours to spare before we needed to head to the airport so we took a detour to Alameda for some bagels and beach time.

As we were leaving, I told LaVor I really wanted to find a field of sunflowers somewhere (not necessarily in Alameda) to take pictures of. We literally turned a corner and a home had a patch of sunflowers in their front yard. Ah! It made me so happy.

We had to visit La Piñata for one last Mexican dinner and we made it out just in time to get them to the airport. It was a weird/chaotic departure from our car so we didn't get to hug them or say goodbye but we did wave and wished them luck.

After one more bathroom break and a quick photo with Grammy & Papa, we were on the road back home. It was a quick three days but also wonderful to see everyone and catch up.

The following Sunday, we had some friends from Southern California invite us to their cabin in Lake Tahoe. We missed an opportunity to see them when we were at Disneyland so we didn't hesitate when they asked us if we wanted to join them.

The last time we saw them was when The Lime was about 2 so we were really excited to introduce them to Doodlebug (because Christmas cards can only do so much). Carol was kind enough to buy some toys for the boys and they had lunch ready to go as soon as we got there (yummy hamburgers!).

I actually met Carol on some message board that I joined WAY back in the early 2000s. The first time we met Joel and her was when they came to our wedding reception. We then met up with them for dinner when we were in Southern California for our honeymoon and then we got together in about 2012. But we've maintained contact over the years so it's nice to be able to see them in person every once in a while.

It took no time at all for the boys to jump in the lake. Surprisingly, it was not that cold. Well, for them. I hesitated for a long time getting in and only stayed for a short while. I much preferred sitting on the beach, chatting with Carol.

For the next several hours, the boys took turns going in the lake and playing in the sand. They could have stayed there all day but the clouds were coming in and I didn't think thunder and lightning would be as much fun to play in.

We took a few photos before saying goodbye and we promised each other it wouldn't be another 5 years before we got together.

The weekend after that happened to be our 11th anniversary AND the A's were in town. It wasn't a hard decision to make that we needed to head back to Oakland, just like we did 11 years ago, for a fun-filled day. Except, I left the camera charger in the car so there are no pictures of us at the game. It was really hot (but not as hot as the following weekend!), the boys had fun in the updated Stomper Zone, I managed to convince an usher to let us move from the bleachers to the shade, and The Lime didn't get any new autographs. Two baseball games in two weeks meant we were pretty happy.

I asked LaVor to take us up to the temple so we could re-enact our wedding photos...just kidding :) But it was fun to be in the same spot we were just a few years ago, celebrating our family where it all began.

Because it's what we do, we stopped at La Piñata on our way home and then sat in traffic through Tracy (this time a big rig ran into a tree). Like most Saturday nights, we made it home just in time for me to go to work.

And just like that, our summer came to an end.

Mud Run

A few months ago, LaVor found some information about a mud run for kids.  The Lime was on board from the start and we've been counting down ever since.

Yesterday was the big day and The Lime was ready!  One parent was able to run alongside the child and The Lime chose LaVor.  Maybe next year we'll all be able to participate.

We arrived early and got to watch the first group start/finish.  Every person we saw cross the finish line was way too clean.  The last obstacle was a full on army crawl through mud but kids were climbing over the ropes!  And parents had the option to bypass the mud, which most of them chose to do.  I encouraged The Lime (and LaVor) to get as muddy as possible.  Heck, that's why we were here!

Before we knew it, it was time for the boys to line up and get stretchin'.

Their bodies were warmed up and it was time to begin!

Doodlebug and I were able to see The Lime go over one obstacle and then we parked it at the finish line to catch them at the end.

Doodlebug loved pointing out all the dirty people (and there were lots of them at this point!). One girl even dunked her entire head in the mud :)

Before we knew it, we spotted LaVor's hat and The Lime swung his way over a mud puddle (but dropped midway...possibly on purpose). Then it was the finale...the army crawl!

Go big or go home! Just don't eat the mud :)

We ran into LaVor's aunt, uncle, cousin, and his family as we were headed to the rinse off location. It was great to catch up with them and we wished them luck (and lots of mud) on their run.

LaVor tried to hose as much of the mud off of him and The Lime but there was a line of kids behind them so we had to call it quits. They rinsed off in the parking lot and changed into clean, dry clothes. The Lime sighed with relief when he put on his warm socks and dry shoes.

We finished the day off with lunch at Dad's Kitchen. The Lime worked up an appetite and ate every.single.thing. off his plate. We left with full bellies and all took good naps when we got home.

It was a great day!