4th of July and Spur of the Moment

We went to the Fresno Grizzlies baseball game on the 4th of July. We went last year too so I guess that's now become our tradition and a great tradition it is. It was an awesome game with some exciting plays! Grizzlies won 5-4.

Afterwards on the 4th, they have the

B-E-S-T

fireworks show ever. The explosions are all set to music and it is so loud and very close. It looks as if they are exploding on top of you as you watch. It is truly spectacular!

As an unexpected day off became available yesterday, we climbed in the car and headed for Monterey for the day to get out of the heat for a little while. It was really windy there which blew out the fog and made for a beautiful sunny 60 degree afternoon. So nice!



The sea lions are usually hanging out at the fisherman's wharf to get all the goodies off the fishing boats, but they keep getting shooed away. It ended up being a nice surprise for us as they have now gathered right on the rocks/beach at the main pier.




See those brown blobs that look like rocks? Those are ALL sea lions. There were probably over 100 of them there basking in the sun. Those that were in the water were having the time of their lives chasing each other and jumping out of the water. They were having such fun! It was like getting a free show and a real treat for sure!

Let Them (ME!) Eat Cake

Day 2 of Summer Break was spent doing more paper shredding. I filled another entire big garbage bag...the lawn and leaf type, 33-gallon jobbers. It's all ready to go out to the dumpster, and I'm DONE! Another exciting day! Actually, I need a few non-exciting days so that is just fine with me.

Onto a much more fun subject.........CAKE, more specifically Birthday Cake. I'm thinking about having DD make this cake for me for my birthday on Saturday. Doesn't it look yummy?!?!



Oh, the gooey, chocolateyness of it! And, it's super easy to make. Click here for recipe. I hope she'll whip up one of these delights for me! I might even invite you all over to share a bite if you're lucky.

DD's 8th Grade Graduation

DD graduated from 8th grade yesterday. Our charter school/homeschool program held a ceremony for all of the 8th grade graduates in our region. There were about 30 other students along with her. It was a short and sweet ceremony with a couple of the 8th graders speaking, the Head of Schools giving a brief speech and the presentation of the gratuates. All in all it lasted about 35 - 40 minutes.

I just finished looking through the pictures and realized that I don't have any of Grandmother, Grandpa or Dear Aunt, but they were there REALLY they were. Unlike DD's father, who was a no-show. What a piece of work! Seems he hit a deer and messed up the car. That resulted in him being too busy dealing with that to attend his only child's graduation (even though he has another car). URGH! It was probably a much more pleasant time for everyone with his absence, but it's the principle of the thing.

On a more pleasant note......Here are some of the better pictures of the event:

The graduate being a goofball


DD getting her "fake" diploma (I have her "real" one)


Mom and graduate (Yes, DD is taller than Mom now by 3 inches)


DS and DD


And, finally, DS holding Mom's purse while she was posing for pictures with her other students


After graduation, Dear Aunt treated us to a celebration dinner at DD's favorite place, Sweet Tomatoes. YUMMY!

Mother's Day Gifts

I received a couple of Mother's Day gifts that I don't recall putting on my official "Wish List". The first was a swarm of these lovely flying, stingying creatures right outside the front door.



After looking at pictures on the web, I think they're wasps. And, lucky me, I received about 50 of them.

Oh, another gift for me?!?! What is that rope-like, bungy cord thing coming out from under the garage door?

A BABY RATTLESNAKE!
And, you know where there's a baby, there's a mama. And, snakes usually don't have just one baby. And, it was coming out from under my garage door so now I'm terrifed that mama's had her babies in my garage. I'm not going in there until WINTER! (Lucky for me, my neighbor came over with a gardening hoe and killed that ugly rascal.)

Ahhhhh! Now this is more like it. This is a gift that I can relate to. DD made homemade waffles for breakfast.


I could have done without the other two gifts though!

Trash To Treasure: Easter Basket

I've turned another piece of trash into treasure.

A few weeks ago when we were driving through a parking lot, we heard a horrible sound coming from under the car. My thought....Oh Great! Just what I need, car trouble. It was very minor. I had ran into a little plastic bucket. You know those empty ice-cream type buckets. I didn't damage the car or the bucket. I told DD to throw it in the car having no idea what I would do with it.

Well, VIOLA.....I used some fabric left over from a pillow I made for DD's room and attached that to the bucket with spray adhesive. Then, I painted the top rim. (I should have painted the rim BEFORE attaching the fabric, but oh well....) I tore some strips of fabrics that coordinate with DD's room and tied them onto the handle. Looky here. Isn't it cute? And, all from a little bucket that I ran over. Truly Trash to Treasure....

Inauguration Day

The picture above symbolizes what today is really about. It says so much without even saying a word.

President Barack Obama rests his hand on President Lincoln's Inaugural Bible as his wife Michelle Obama holds it as he takes the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Edited on Jan. 24, 2009.....OK, call me warped, and I guess you can call DD warped as well because she's the one who pointed it out to me, but doesn't it look like an alien is holding that Bible? I know it was cold out there and everything, but I think she should NOT have worn those green gloves.

Happy New Year 2009 (A few days late)

I know, I know....It's already 4 days into the new year and I titled the post Happy New Year. I've been busy......PLAYING.

Our family has the need to extend Christmas for as long as possible due to location, step-families, in-laws, etc. So, we've had several celebrations throughout the past week.

Boy does the tree look wimpy. It really does look better in person and at night with the lights on - I promise!

CHRISTMAS DAY - Off to pick DD up from her dad's to bring her home. She opened her gifts and checked out her stocking and then the gang arrived for the party. The gang being: Grandmother, Grandpa, DS and Girlfriend. We had a pasta bar meal (spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce, tortellini with alfredo sauce, garlic bread, green beans with turkey bacon, pies, and lemon cake). YUM! But, DS just lost 30 pounds and says that "carbs are evil" so he and girlfriend didn't eat as much as the rest of us.

He's also for some reason decided that cameras are "evil" too.

Then, it was on to opening presents...

Me (Oh Wow! I need some color in my face. I look like a ghost.)

DD and the cat who decided he needed in on the action.

DS and Girlfriend (DD and I made that chef's hat for him.)

Grandpa - No, we didn't MAKE him sit on the floor. He wanted to.

Mother/Grandmother - Snuggled up on the couch.

Oh, forgot to mention that it SNOWED!!!!!!!! It SNOWED!!!!!! It SNOWED!!!!!! On Christmas Day, it SNOWED!!!!!!! DD and I were so excited that we danced in the kitchen!

Since I'm just starting this blogging thing and this very simple post has taken me WAY LONGER than it should have to create, I will continue with the rest of the celebrating later...........(To Be Continued)

EDITED on April 13th......Well, now that Valetine's Day and Easter have both come and gone and I have yet to "continue" sharing our Christmas celebrating, I think I'm going to skip it this time. You lucked out!