Kathy's Mindless Chatter

Hollywood Sign

2011-05-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

I took Mary and Katie hiking to the Hollywood Sign. It was a lot of fun, and a rough hike with a stroller.

Katie liked picking flowers

We went to the front of the sign and got pretty close

She's such a ham

Her treasures included feathers, flowers, and a "bean stalk" which was actually a long string of Ivy

Poser

Mary and Katie

Katie and I

The view was awesome

and she is even more stunning than the view

the neighborhood

we saw this awesome tree house on one of the streets

she had fun

This house reminded me of Snow White's cottage

Earlier, I got her skates from a yard sale. $3

She had some trouble

We also ate at Mi Ranchito. She loves rice. I also got her watermelon juice. YUM

Crazy Hair Day at Awana

2011-03-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

Katie had Crazy Hair Day at church last night. I knew she wouldn't go for anything that made her look weird or ugly, so I just added lots of color with ribbons from the Dollar Tree gift wrap section then added body glitter.

She loved it. She said all the kids at church were trying to pull the ribbons and play with it.

She's such a model, with all her funny poses.

Life Is Like A Cup of Coffee - Inspirational Video Movie

2011-03-08T03:52:00.000-08:00

Live Simply. :)

Sweet Harts and my Sweetheart

2011-03-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

We went to Sweet Harts Sweet Shoppe in Sherman Oaks this weekend so Katie could ride in a Cinderella Carriage.

She wore her Cinderella dress and we waited on Benedict for the carriage to arrive

Katie loves to pose for pictures now.

She loves dressing up

She got excited when she saw the carraige arrive

And she looked like a princess in it

The carriage took us around a couple of blocks to Sweet Harts, where they were doing a huge promotion. Jamie Priestly from My Name is Earl was there, along with Melissa Joan Hart and some others. I recognized one of the HGTV Design Star 2009 contestant, Lonni Paul there. I think she was actually the winner of last season. I don't know if she was there to promote, or just lived in the area. Her family was with her. Katie was playing with her kids on the slide.

She stepped out of the coach like a real princess

While we were waiting for the coach, we took a few pictures

It was so nice and warm out

She went up and down the slide all day

Heather really wanted a picture with Melissa Joan Hart but she was too shy. One of Heather's friends came along too and also wanted a picture so I asked for one and she was very nice about it. She's much thinner in person and she was very nice and excited about her shop.

We had a great day. Afterwards, we drove to Covina and ate at The Hat. Chili Cheese Fries with Pickles. YUM

Suds in the bucket and the clothes hanging out on the line

2011-03-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

That song has always reminded me of Desiree. I guess because she was the oldest of the kids and I saw her growing up.

This past week she moved to New Mexico with Thomas, David and Sam. She's been gone 9 days already. David's already in a new school, Ranchvale. They seem to be doing well and I'm glad for them, but it seems strange.

Desiree won't add me on Facebook or her blog so I have no way of seeing the kids anymore, unless she emails me a picture. It's hard because I used to see them almost daily and now I have to wait for a morsel to be sent. :( That makes me sad.

Heather drove to Rosamond with Desiree, to get the truck weighed

I watched them drive away. I had to go to work.

We left at 2:00 in the morning. Sammy was awake

But David was sleeping. He woke up soon after and then stayed awake the whole rest of the day. I think it was a lot for him, but he did good in the car. He played with his DS most of the way.

My mom was up at 2:00 a.m. to say goodbye.

after we dropped them off, we slept then got up the next morning, uppacked and started back for home. We spent the night in a Knigt's Inn in Flagstaff, and woke up to 18" of snow. The roads were closed, but we went through anyway and made it back home about 4:00 p.m. Sunday

The drive was beautiful but scary. We saw a trailer cut in half on the road, with all it's contents exposed.

Sara Evans - Suds In The Bucket

2011-03-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

David's Birthday Invitations

2011-01-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

I made this invitation for David's birthday. He loves Super Mario!

Dance With My Father- Music Video

2011-01-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

I know Luther Vandross has a beautiful version of this, but this video was so sad. I've never heard it in a Country version.

Pumpkin Patch, Stu Miller

2010-10-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

We went back to Stu Miller's last night, for the rides. This time, Hannah, David, and Madison got to come. I don't have a camera anymore, so I'm only able to get a few shots with a cheap camera I have from work. Heather got a lot more pictures.

David and Katie, posing with the hay

They liked using the dried corn to chase and tickle each other

David was playing with Hannah

She looked so cute

Katie on the bunjee jumping ride

David on the bunjee

whoo hoo

Hannah on the bunjee

Katie was mad because she couldn't throw the pumpkins around like balls.

San Antonio, Texas. Graduation and Marriage

2010-10-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

We went to San Antonio to see Thomas graduate from the Air Force. He's officially an Airman now. The base was not as nice as Fort Jackson, but we had a good time. Thomas was overjoyed to see Sammy. He cried when he held him for the first time. Sammy seemed to take to him right away.

Mary and I went to this little town with Blake. I think it's called Gruene. The Guadalupe River runs through it's backyard.

They had antique stores and a little outdoor boutique. This woman was trying to sell me an energy bracelet. It really did seem to work, but I didn't want to spend $32 on it.

This is what I expected to see in Texas, but San Antonio was very much like L.A.

the Natural Ridge Caverns had beautiful grounds. The trees were stunning. The cave itself, was hot and humid inside.

The Alamo SUCKS

Although, I did like this door leading into it.

This was part of the San Antonio River Walk. It's a marriage island. It's supposed to be good luck if you are proposed to here. The bench has a carved heart in it. Apparently, several weddings take place here each year.

Where we ate.

Blake got this Gelato, and they guy burned us. $17.60 for 2 scoops.

It's official!

My New Bike

2010-08-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

I got a new bike from a yard sale for $50 and I totally LOVE IT. It's very comfortable and rides perfectly. So smooth and comfy. I love the basket. I'm not really a fan of purple, but it's a cute bike. I've been wanting one for several months but didn't want to spend a lot of money on it, so I am thrilled with this one.

So far, in the past 3 days I've rode it 30 miles. About 10 miles per day. All I need now is a bell.

:)

David

2010-07-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

David, going down mud pit at Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach. He had a blast today.

David adventure playground

2010-07-31T18:06:00.000-07:00

David, on the rope bridge at Adventure Playground, Huntington Beach, CA

4th of July 2010

2010-07-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

For the 4th this year, we stayed local. Everyone was broke and we just wanted to do something small. We had a barbecue at my mom's house. I brought Grilled corn on the cob, Macaroni & cheese, Pineapple and marinated chicken breast. My mom made hot dogs and steaks. The kids had a blast in a small pool Mary and I got for $5 at a yard sale. They played in it all day.

David was here for the end of June and first week of July. He was scheduled to go back to Korea the next day. I wanted to get a picture of him and Katie together, with the flag in the background. I think it came out cute.

We went to Heather's at night for fireworks. David's dad and brothers were there to help them install a ceiling fan. We brought huge amounts of Rite-aid (Thrifty in my book) ice cream to share. We lit fireworks on the street. Heather has a brick wall in the backyard that is perfect for sitting on, to watch the city fireworks. The adults sat on the wall and watched the Fair Ground and probably Jet Hawks fire works. They had a great view.

The girls were adorable in their dresses. Hannah and Katie both love dressing up in dresses right now.

Even though we didn't do much this year, it was one of the best 4th of July's I've had in years. It was so relaxing and I loved watching the kids have fun.

David went to the Rose Bowl with Desiree and Thomas so it was a little sad not having them with us, but I had a great time.

Toy Story 3

2010-06-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

What a GREAT MOVIE!!

This was such a great movie. Funny and sad and endearing.

So glad I got to see it.

I got to sit with Katie to see it, and that made me happy, since I've hardly seen her since David has been in town. She wore her new Jessie dress (and lots of popcorn) and looked adorable in it. Katie said, "you look beautiful today, Grandma. I like your shirt". She's so funny.

I loved spending time with Katie most of all. I miss her and it makes me sad that I don't get to see her this month. I try to be understanding because I know David is leaving soon, but it still tears at my heart because I know she misses me too.

She didn't want to wear her 3D glasses, but she still watched it all. It was funny to hear the kids behind us crying when they thought the toys were in danger and wouldn't be rescued.

The Spanish Buzz was HILARIOUS and so was the Mr. Tortilla. OMG. That cracked me up.

World of Color

2010-06-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Canoes. I love the canoes

Tom Sawyer Island

World of Color

No one will be buying this off the shelf anytime soon

We went to see California Adventure's World of Color. From following Disneyland on Twitter, we knew that we had to get there early to get a fast pass, and I had called Disneyland to find out how and where to get one. California Adventure opened at 10:30, but they were opening an hour early to let people in to get fast passes. We left our house at 5:30 and got there at 7:30. The parking didn't open til 8:00 so I got out and ran to the tram area while Desiree and Mary waited in the car to park. I was the first one on the tram (well, me and one other person who must have stayed at the hotel). I got the the ticket line and there were already a few people in line. At 9:30, when the gates opened, we all made a mad rush to Grizzly Rapids to pick up our fast passes. Desiree was behind so I grabbed her tickets to get our fast passes. We got the blue section. World of Color has a yellow, blue, and reserved section. The blue section is the best and puts you in the center. The yellow section puts you off to the side. At 6:00 we started a line. They rope off the area at 7:30 for people with fast passes. We had a huge line behind us and at 7:20ish, people started arriving and making their own line. Maher, a Disneyland employee, told us that we would be let in single file and that no one would go in front of us, but then, at 7:30, they opened the ropes and let everyone DASH and run in. I was so furious! We had waited for almost 2 hours, to have people who had just arrived, cut in front of us. We still got good spots. The very front is the best spot, but you will get WET there. The water shoots really high, and as it drops, it rains on you. I was happy with the spots we got, 2nd tier, dead center. We got misted, but not as wet.

The show itself was AWESOME! They played clips of all the Disney movies against the colorful water spouts and songs. Typical Disney fashion, they showed villians and heros. Fire lit up the sky during a few battles.

Everyone was quiet as the show went on. It was so beautiful.

The show played up high, so really, you could see it well, at any point, except if you were one of the unlucky people who stood behind someone with a kid on their shoulders. Note to parents, at shows, please don't put your kid on your shoulders. It's very rude and uh...annoying. Notice the 8 foot kid just below Mickey in the picture above.

The lines were really short for most of the day at Disneyland and California Adventure.

We had a rare sighting of Rabbit, and David got a picture with him and Tigger

Tom Sawyer Island is open again. It was David's first time on the island, and he LOVED it. His favorite was the tree house. He went up and down it.

This is a jungle gym type thing, made of "dead man's bones" on Tom Sawyer Island. The canoes were open too, and those were fun to go on.

The rapids were fun. I usually am never able to go on them because Heather and Katie don't like getting wet. I love the rapids.

The day was a blast. No lines, mild temperature, and relaxing. My only disappointment was not getting a "tigger tail" treat from the bakery, but after seeing the pictures of me, I didn't need it. UGH.

Katie's 3rd Birthday Invitation

2010-06-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy with Heather's house and things that we are way behind on Katie's birthday preparations. I got the invitations today and I guess we're going with a Cinderella theme. I have a couple of cute ideas for the party and I hope they work out. It's next week already!

California Poppy Reserves, 2010

2010-04-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

I took Katie to the Poppies yesterday, to take pictures and get out for the day. The poppies are beautiful this year. Really vibrant.

Last year we were able to find a bunch of sheep grazing. This year, I didn't see the sheep, but we did run into a bunch of rusted old farm equipment. I wish I had a cowboy hat. I feel like that's all that's missing from the photo below. She looks like a little cowgirl, and a cowboy hat in her hand would have been perfect.

It was extremely windy up there, so after a bit of frustrating hair in the face, I had to pull it back and put it in a messy ponytail (click on the landscape pictures to see them bigger).

I love this one of her.

She liked playing in the tractor because it had an old spring cushion (minus the cushion) and she kept bouncing on it, saying, "boing, boing"

She looks like a little lady being invited to a ball here. She's such a princess

While at the same time, being a child of the corn. LOL. She kept pulling out the grass saying, "corn! corn!"

I thought this tree was funny because it looked like a hand in the peace sign. I tried to get Katie to do the peace sign, but she didn't get it and she kept putting up her index and thumb instead (double click on picture to enlarge)

Taylor Swift - Save Mart, Fresno, CA

2010-04-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

I went to see Taylor Swift April 10, 2010, with Heather, Ashley and Rachel at the Fresno Save Mart Center. We tried to get tickets for Los Angeles, but they sold out in seconds.

On the way, we found a cheese farm, sort of like Charlie Brown's. They had an awesome tree house that you could go in for a quarter. They also sold food, and I wish we would have ate there, because it looked good, and Ashley and Rachel said it was really good.

This is why I didn't eat there. I kinda get grosssed out eating around animals.

The girls got shirts. Heather got one too, a black one, but she didn't get in the picture.

Kellie Pickler opened for Taylor, but she had sprained her ankle the night before and had to perform sitting down.

Taylor was awesome and the backdrops for each song were really cool

You should have said "no"

Drew

What I liked the most was how personable she was. She spent about 30 minutes walking through the audience, hugging kids, and taking pictures. The kids were so excited (and so were the parents).

She performed at the end of the arena too, for those who had bad seats, like us. We were actually about 30 feet away from her.

Love Story

Holding hands with a fan

There were so many little girls there, and by little, I mean 3, 4 & 5 year olds. They preteens were so excited. This little girl in front of me was doing the "heart" thing with her hand. I had so much fun just watching the kids enjoy themselves. They were all dressed sparkly and cute and had a blast.

Warm and Fuzzies

2010-04-08T13:55:00.001-07:00

"I heard Katie coughing last night. I think she's sick"

"No"

"she was coughing and crying"

"she had a fuzz ball on her tongue and couldn't get it off"

LOLOLOL.

She's hilarious.

Katie went hiking with me today

2010-04-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Katie went walking at Barrel Springs with me today. She's a great hiker. The other day she went walking at the Aqua Duct. She does so good. She can do about 2 miles easily. I'm proud of her.

Things are changing

2010-03-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

I feel like things are changing so quickly. The kids are all moving on, getting married, getting homes--it's making me feel old. I think about how fast time is going by and it scares me to think that in 10 years I'll be 50.

San Francisco-Alcatraz Trip

2010-01-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Mary gave me tickets for Alcatraz and a San Francisco City tour. Me, Desiree, Mary and Blake went for the weekend.

On the last day we went to Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey. Some of my pictures got out of order. Below is a cool maze for the kids. Mary and Blake went in itMary at Fisherman's Wharf Mary and I at Pier 39 At the top of Twin Peaks, formerly named by the Indians Los Pechos de la Choca (The breasts of the Indian girl) Blake, waiting for our tour bus

The old Del Monte Cannery at San Francisco's Fisherman's WharfThe trolley at Hyde & Powell. This was $5 up and $5 back. We have to save up for it to ride it next time.
This is the yard at Alcatraz, where the inmates would go outside to play handball, baseball, or other sports. Notice the beautiful rainbow behind the walls.

When Alcatraz was open, Police families actually lived on the island and sent their children to the school on the island. They had a social hall and would play games, have parties and dances, and bowl. I believe the building below is a gutted out warehouse.

Alcatraz from the boat. It is 1 1/4 miles from the shore to Alcatraz. It was rainy when we went, so the view is cloudy

Beautiful rainbow over Alcatraz

Getting off the boat

Blake in "the hole"

San Francisco Bay from the boat

Pier 39 dock view, from our boat

Salinas beach

Santa Cruz boardwalk

Salinas Fruit Stand

Dennis the Menace Park. They had the coolest equipment there! Rock climbing, a large bridge, train, maze....way cool!

Slide just like the one the kids used to go on in Arcadia, with the rollers in the slide

Knott's Merry Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T17:50:00.000-08:00

The tree outside Knott's Berry Farm

Katie chasing roosters
She had a blast doing this

they escaped

************

On New Years Day we went to Knott's Berry Farm. We didn't get there til' about noon and then had to get in line for our season passes. I wasn't sure how the lines would be because I've never been on New Years' Day. They were really light, actually, and the park was not crowded at all. We were able to get on everything within 10 minutes time.

As we left the park, we walked around by Independence Hall. One day I'm going to actually go inside and have a look to see what they have there. I love history and I would probably really enjoy it--without kids. The grounds were very nice. They had a lake and beautiful trees and lots of roosters and hens running around. I didn't realize that chickens could fly so high and the trees all had groups of birds inside them. Katie had fun chasing them around and loved when one would actually cock-a-doodle-doo.

Afterwards, we went to Downtown Disney to look around. It was a really relaxing and nice day.

**************

Katie in front of the rollercoaster as we were leaving the parknear the parking structure, by Independence Hall. They have a lake here and it was so pretty. Ducks swim along and there are benches to sit on. Katie had a blast just running around here.

In the parking lot

The sunset was so beautiful

She was finally big enough for the huff and puff

Katie, trying to catch the "rain" from the center of the Knott's sign

Katie in the bouncer. She was next to the last one out on this because she wouldn't come out.

I finally got to go on the Stagecoach. Katie loved it

Katie at the front entrance

On the airplanes. She got stuck on it at the end when she didn't know how to bring the plane down

Katie was jumping up and down excitedly. I love all the bounce in her hair.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was a sad Christmas for me. I had a lot of fun watching the kids open their presents and things, but Anthony and his kids weren't there, and my mom refused to come too. Blake was 2 hours late because he spent the night at Kevin's and didn't get up in the morning.

Katie, with her Princess bag

Katie with books
She loved her stocking

and Snow White dolls

Sammy was in a cute little Christmas outfit

David got the Wii

Zhu Zhu Pet

Blake got a new guitar

Little Tyke's Disc Swing

Katie's new playhouse. She hasn't been able to use it much yet because of the cold

checking out the shutters
Here she is with her "lot". Minnie Ears, DVD Player, Nerd bowl, LL Bean Slippers, and Cinderella shirt

The aftermath

Katie Reading

2009-12-26T08:44:00.001-08:00

Katie read this book about 15 times in a row! LOL. With as much enthusiasm each time. Where do kids get their energy?

1st Photo Shoot

2009-12-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from work asked me to do a photoshoot for her brother's friend, who is trying to get into the singing business. He's an R&B singer and her brother, who works for a radio station, is trying to get him signed. I was nervous at first, but I had the most fun. We took the shots at Cedar Performing Arts Center in Lancaster. Mark was really nice and he has a great voice. I hope they like the photos!

Katie in hats

2009-11-15T20:08:00.001-08:00

Nothing to blog. Just took pics of Katie in these cute hats and wanted to post them. They are from the Children's Place and Pumpkin Patch.

Valenica Mall, Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY

2009-11-15T07:05:00.000-08:00

In the Valencia Mall they have large animals you can ride around on. Katie chose this spotted dog and how I wished they had a Clifford the Big Red Dog to choose, but unfortunately, they didn't.
$5 for about 5 minutes of riding. You can steer it all around. Katie loved it.

Hanging out today and Apollo Park

2009-11-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to work today, but my client never called me back. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I went to visit my mom for a while. David and Katie played in the backyard, riding bikes and playing hide-in-seek. Katie doesn't really get hiding and seeking yet, just sort of closing her eyes and popping out randomly, saying, "you found me!"

Sitting on a bench
David, playing obstacle course on the swing set

Katie had fun playing in the backyard with David

Later we took Katie and David to Apollo Park to feed the ducks. The ducks were ATTACKING us and it was hard to feed them. They started chasing us and the kids were scared.

David posed next to an Apollo Nasa mural at the park

On the way home, we went to McDonalds and got the kids Happy Meals. We also drove down the Musical Road off of Avenue G, and let the kids listen to it.

Tinkerbell

2009-11-03T06:42:00.001-08:00

Katie, getting ready for Trick or treating :)

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party 2009

2009-10-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

We went to Mickey's Halloween Party again this year and had a great time. Katie's favorite movie right now is Snow White. We got pictures with Snow White and the evil queen too. Mary and Katie went on Toy Story, which is an interactive game, where you wear 3D glasses and shoot at carnival type games with a laser gun and rack up points.

Hannah was Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba, but she wouldn't wear her costume. She wore the hat for just a few seconds
Katie was Tinkerbell, but we lost her wings after the first ride!
David was Peter Pan.
Katie, waiting for us to get done with bathroom breaks and things
In front of the new ferris wheel
David, as Peter Pan
Katie on the Carousel
Hannah. She cried when it ended and had to go on again.

Irvine Park Railroad and Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

Our intention was to have a great time at this really cool pumpkin patch. We looked it up online and it seemed to have everything. What we didn't realize is that everything also included 2 toll roads, 2 miles from each other. I forgot it was Orange County. So by the time we get there, it's already been a 2 hour drive. We pull in and there is no where to park. We drive and drive and finally at the very end, find a spot to park. Katie still has a sprained foot so she's in the stroller and it's hot out and we have to walk close to a mile to the entrance. By the time we get in, my underarms are wet and smelly, Katie's ready for a drink, and there are wall to wall people. I mean the place is crowded! We realize that it's $4 to get on a train, $4 to ride a pony, $4 to go on the hayride, $4 for everything..per person! We then realize, we aren't too far from Disneyland and this place will end up costing the same. We get a ticket for the train, take a few pictures, then get in line. The train ride line takes about 45 minutes. We get on the train and go around the park, which is, honestly, a nice park, but after the train ride, we're done. So we headed to Downtown Disney to walk around and have dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe.

Not since the Thomas the Tank ride incident, have we been this disappointed with an outing.
Anytime with Katie though, is a special day.

Late blogging

2009-10-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while. I've been so busy. Here's a couple photos to catch up. The above is from Hollywood. We took Katie to see Snow White at the El Capitan. She had a blast on these lights. They lit up and she had to chase them all around and step on them. She found a little boy to play with and they hugged goodbye when it was time to leave.
This is the first trip to the patch this year. She's getting so big. When I compare this photo to last year's pumpkin patch photos, I can see that she's turning into a little girl and no longer a baby.

Berry Star Yogurt

2009-10-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

The kids went to Berry Star for yogurt after the pumpkin patch. They really liked it. You select your own yogurt out of pull down machines, then add your own toppings. You can pick from healthy fruits or sweet cookies and treats. You then weigh it by the ounce and pay for it according to its weight.

Katie shared with Anthony

Stu Millers Pumpkin Patch, October 18, 2009

2009-10-19T08:13:00.001-07:00

We took the kids to the Pumpkin patch again, for the second time. They had a blast. They got on rides, petted animals, and went in the bouncer. Katie kept picking up the poor bunnies by their feet. Afterwards, we went to get yogurt. It was a nice night.

Before the pumpkin patch. On the swings With the pumpkins

I'm 40!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

For my 40th birthday, Heather and I took Katie and Hannah to Disneyland. They had a great time and so did I. It wasn't too hot or crowded and the lines were about 15 minutes each.

They met Mickey Mouse, but they were so excited, I never could get a picture of them looking at the camera. Katie ran back about 10 times to hug him and I couldn't get her away.
At night, I put the girls in PJs. Dumbo is their favorite ride

Making funny faces in the line

They got their first Mickey ears too.

The tea cups

Katie was so nervous about seeing the mean witch. She acted brave then let out the most hilarious nervous laugh. She is still talking about her 2 weeks later.

At the restaraunt, they figured out that they could see outside and they thought it was hilarious to peek out the window
Knocking on Mr. Rabbit's Door

The Horsey

At night I put them in pajamas. They got so many compliments on their pajamas and so many adults said they wanted to be in pajamas too. They were comfy!

We took tons more pictures but I don't have a camera anymore, so I have to rely on Heather to give me the pics. She put most on her laptop so I don't have access to them.

Fun day.

I still miss Michael.

2009-09-15T13:57:00.001-07:00

Katie, future Country Star-watch out Taylor Swift

2009-09-15T13:39:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, she only sings Spanish now.

Kanye's an Idiot

2009-09-14T15:09:00.001-07:00

This video is much better than Beyonce's Single Ladies. I like Beyonce and her song is catchy, but the video itself is just her dancing in a bathing suit. It's not really thought out and has no story line.

One more reason to dislike Kanye

"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different - Hippocrates

2009-09-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

Katie in pile of leaves
Drinking water. Mary doesn't let him put his mouth on the fountain. Afraid of germs. LOL

Katie just about put her whole hand in his mouth. She's fearless

Climbing the stairs. Heather picked her up on her way up hill and she said, "thank you, mama". I think it was a trek for her!

Brushing the baby cow The dog

Before we had carrots to feed them, we only had french fries. Horses don't like french fries.

David was king of the world on this haystack

Making wishes
Regardless of how they fight, they love each other

******

We took the kids to the Gentle Barn today, in Santa Clarita. They require a $5 donation per person. The Gentle Barn works with abused animals and abused children, bringing them together to teach compassion and love.

They had horses, donkeys, chickens, roosters, peacocks, cows, goats, llamas, sheep, and pigs.

The kids had a really good time feeding the animals. For $1 you can get a pretty decent size bag of carrots in a denim bag tote (the denim tote has to be returned) decorated in fabric paint. The kids had a blast feeding the animals the carrots. Katie held the carrot right in her hand and put it in the horse's mouth with absolutely no fear. David, on the other hand, had to warm up to it and was pretty cautious. He kept dropping the carrots on the ground, until he finally got used to it.

Poor David wasn't fast enough with carrots and one goat, who got tired of waiting, ran up behind him, butted him in the head with his horns, dropping David to his knees and leaving him scared and shaken. Desiree, Mary, and Heather all missed this and I had to tell them what happened. David was clinging to Desiree's leg and she and Mary were just talking away, oblivious to what had happened. A little later, he was brushing the cows and went over to one, who apparently doesn't like to be brushed, and the cow flung his tail at David and smacked him.

Besides that, the animals were pretty tame and the kids really got a long time to touch and play with them. They even had a couple dogs running around. Katie loves dogs.

About the barn (From their website):

I am the voice of the voiceless
Through me the dumb shall speak
Till the deaf world's ear
Be made to hear
The wrongs of the worldless weak.

And I am my brother's keeper
And I shall fight his fight
And speak the word
For beast and bird
Till the world shall set things right.

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)

The 100 farm animals that reside at The Gentle Barn have all been rescued from severe abuse. They have been rehabilitated with deep tissue massage therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, western medicine, herbs, nutritional supplements, top quality feed, and countless hours in the arms of our staff. They have regained their trust in humankind by realizing that they are now loved, and their abuse is over. Because of their ongoing physical and psychological needs, they can't be adopted and are given sanctuary with us for the rest of their lives.
We are home to horses, donkeys, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, llamas, dogs, and cats. We believe that everyone deserves a chance at life, regardless if they are blind, crippled, deformed, sick, wounded, or just old. At The Gentle Barn, the animals leave when they are done, not when someone is done with them!

Because we are home to the abused animals that no one else would take in, their treatment and rehabilitation is extremely expensive. But it is worth it to see them smile again, to hear them purr, to watch their eyes light up, to feel them cuddle in your lap, and to see them play with new life and new hope.

Once rehabilitated, the animals become ambassadors, teaching children about the magic and grace of these precious beings.

We appreciate your donation, which will be used for our animals' feed and vet care.

Trying on Costumes

2009-09-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

The kids were trying on costumes tonight. They were so cute. Katie was the Chesire cat

she was meowing
She was also Tigger
and she did what Tigger's do best

David was Sully from Monsters Inc.

and Katie was Barney

She loved looking at herself in the mirror

Most of the costumes were Katie's size so David didn't get to try on too many. He tried on a Pokemon but the hat was made wrong and it wouldn't go on.

The kids are cute. I enjoy them so much.

Rylan's 4th Birthday - Pirates

2009-09-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today I took the kids to Rylan's 4th birthday party. It was a Transformer's theme. They had a large waterslide.

Katie got into the pool at first, but then got out soon. She's not much of a water person.
David had fun on the waterslide and went up and down again and again

whhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

The whole Pirate garb

They fought with swords

Katie was so cute in the pirate hat

Katie wore this hat for a lot of the day

David had fun with this pirate stuff

David said Heather was the evil villian and they plotted to get her with water guns. She ran off.

Rylan and David

Someone was inside, but I don't know who

Then David got inside

Katie on her 4th piece of watermelon

David, playing Pirates

Katie, still in the pirate hat

Coming down the slide

David, jumping on a big ball

David, just coming down the waterslide

Katie had fun playing with Bandit, even though he was behind the gate

She was riding bikes with the big kids

David, doing down the driveway

We're Cousins!

2009-08-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight we took Katie and David to Pelona Vista to walk. Mary pulled them in the wagon. They were fighting with each other, and Katie hit David. I said, "no fighting", so Katie yelled at David and said, "no fighting!"

Later, they were fighting again and I said, "no fighting guys. You are cousins!". Katie turned to David and said, "We're COUSINS! NO FIGHTING". She's hilarious. She's a little parrot now. She repeats everything!

She was walking through the bushes for a bit and I told her to get back in the wagon. I told her snakes could be in the bushes. She ran back to the wagon so fast. She makes me laugh all the time.

Lancaster City Park

2009-08-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

I took Katie to Lancaster City Park tonight, just to get out. Mary was supposed to go with me, because she's babysitting Madison and Hannah tonight, but she said they were too tired, from playing in the yard all day, so she didn't come. Katie and I stopped at Wendy's first and I got her a cheeseburger. She ate the whole thing! We played on the swings, slides, and playground equipment. There were tons of kids there tonight, at least 75. Everyone was out. The weather is cooling down now, and I think people were just enjoying the nice day. yummmmmmmmm..cheeseburger
Walking up the telephone pole fence

climbing

Katie was walking along the fence post, made of telephone poles. She thought she was so cool

She's cute, even though she was throwing wood chips at me

She thought it was hysterical. Here she is, with 2 fists full

Katie played Happy Birthday for me

She was excited that she got them all over to one side

Starting over

Rock Climbing

On the drive home, she fell asleep. She did a lot of climbing and playing. It's good for her and I had a fun time playing with her.

Katie and the duck

2009-08-23T17:48:00.001-07:00

Katie and the duck, originally uploaded by gardengirl93550.

Going through my old pictures and I found this one. I think it's so adorable. Katie loves animals. She had so much fun chasing the animals around at this petting zoo in South Carolina.

Katie's Korean outfit

2009-08-23T12:14:00.001-07:00

Heather & Katie, originally uploaded by gardengirl93550.

David sent Katie an outfit from Korea. A cute little pink one. Katie wore it the other night. She's so funny. I love her.

Water Camera Pictures

2009-08-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

A few more pictures from our trip, via the water camera.

Mary took this of me, under the water
Mary jumping from the cliff. I'm next

Mary and I

Shiloh and I

Boarding the bus

White Water Rafting..best TIME EVER!!

2009-08-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

We went white water rafting for the first time this weekend in Kernville. It was so much fun!

Kernville is a small tourist town with small shops and things. Mary and I went to the Riverbend Cottage to look at antiques.
It was a cute little store, but we didn't buy anything

We went rafting with some girl, Shiloh, from work. She invited us and since we've never been before we said, "Sure".

We stayed at the Kern Lodge in Kernville, right across the street from The Pizza Barn. The whole place is family run and the owners live on the premises. It was a really cute spot.

Here I am, going inside room 106, the Eagle's Nest.

Shiloh and Odulia had 104.

This is the kitchen. It was really cute. They had bowls, tuperware, utensils and foil for us to use. Unfortunately, at night, a mouse came in and raided our trash can for the left overs of our ice cream and woke us up. The next day we got smart and put the trash outside.

This is our room. We had the Eagle's Nest room, hence the eagle picture over the bed. Mary is coming out of the bathroom here, which was also very cute, with pink tile and more wood.

Mary and Shiloh in front of the hotel.

Shiloh and I. We were ready to walk to the restaraunt next door for dinner. We went to the Kern River Brewing Company. Everything was so close by that we didn't need to use the car for the whole weekend.

Grilled cheese sandwich and home criss cross fries. YUM! I have never had a grilled cheese on this kind of bread before, but it was very good.

They made their own beer. I had root beer, which to me, is the best kind of beer. We went for a walk at night. This hotel is next door to ours. I can't remember the name of it. Lone Pine or something

Mary and I were anxious to get in the pool

It had killer whales in it.

Not really, but it looked like it.

The pool had 2 whales painted at the bottom. It looked like Mary was swimming with Shamu

After swimming, Mary and I walked around for a while

Kern Baptist church. I thought it was cute.

In front of the lodge

Sun was going down. I look orange. Directly across the street is an elementary school.

In the morning, we walked down to the White Water Voyage station to get ready for our trip. We met our guide, Brian, there. The whole company is family run. Brian's niece, Ashley is a guide, and her boyfriend is too. The other guide is his brother. Our guide was a forest ranger, but retired. He says he's been running the river for 30 years.

Coming out of a run

Dropping

going down the river

I'm somewhere under here, in the front. At one point, our boat flipped over and we all fell out. We had life vests on, so I wasn't scared. I was super bummed though because when I fell out, I felt my shoes slipping off me. I tried so hard to keep them on, by grabbing the straps with my toes, but I couldn't swim that way so I had to let them go. Our guide got the boat overturned quick enough, but it was so hard to get back in the boat without someone pulling us up. Mary was in panic mode and it was so hilarious. She kept saying, "Kathy, hold on. Don't drown". Brian pulled her into the boat and then she said, "Kathy, don't worry, I'm gonna pull you in". She grabbed my life vest but couldn't pull me up, so she said, "wait, let me use my legs. You're not going to drown, not by the hair of my chiny chin chin" or something to that effect, then she pulled back and pulled me in. I landed in the boat like a wet seal. It was so funny, actually. At the time it was scary, but then it was so funny. I was so sad about losing my shoes. I had to spend the rest of the day barefoot.

Me, 2nd on right, Mary, 3rd on left

We ate lunch midway, and then when we were almost done, we stopped at a cliff and took turns jumping into the water. Mary went first, but I was barefoot and didn't want to climb barefoot, but I still wanted to jump, so I walked up to jump, but once I was up there, it looked like such a long jump down. I had to jump though. Everyone else was. I jumped and my stomach lifted. It was a horrible feeling, but once I landed, it felt so good. I climbed back into the boat, but because I wasn't wearing shoes, I slipped HARD on a rock and fell right on my butt! OUCH!

Back at the hotel we hung out in the back for a bit

the owner's actually live on the premises. Right behind Mary is their yard.

They had a giant checker and chess board outside, which was really cute.

At one of the little shops. I got a bear massage.

Our guest...Murphy

He has his own blog, actually. Murphy hung around all day. He was everyone's dog.

Getting ready to get back in the car and head home

I was so glad I went. I really had a great time!

Super Duper COOLNESS!!!

2009-08-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

David has been waiting all summer to get on the waterslides at Drytown. You have to be 48" to get on them. David is 46". Every time we go he stares at them and asks to go on them. Today, since all the kids are back in school, it was really empty so we thought we'd get him on.

We took him to the slides and measured him. He was about 2" too short. We thought we'd try anyway, but got stopped by the life guard on duty. He made David stand next to the pole again to measure him. He was too short. David's face dropped. My mom told the life guard, "come on..give him a break. He just wants to go on one time". The life guard said, "ONE TIME" and let us take him. David was so excited. He chose the red one.

I went down with him on a 2 man raft. He was yelling inside and laughing and saying, "this is FUN!". When we landed at the bottom, he splashed up and was smiling from ear to ear. Next year he should be plenty big enough to get on them.

Katie, in the meantime, isn't a fan of getting water in her eyes. We took her to the play area and she wouldn't play in the water much. After a while, she started getting used to it and having a good time. She likes the river best.

Relaxing Day at the Park

2009-08-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Mary and I took Katie, David, Hannah & Madison to the park today, off of "S". It's just a small neighborhood park, with no swings, but two sets of equipment. Madison is starting to sit up by herself now. Here she is, sitting on a bench. In just 70 years from now, she'll be on a bench again, balding with no teeth, and a pot belly. LOL. Funny how life comes full circle.

Katie did good with climbing up the tower thing to get up and down. She's trying to be independent now and likes doing things on her own.
Katie gave Madison a hug

and gave her a pacifier. Madison looks grateful. LOL

Hannah and David liked playing with the colored sand Mary got at a yard sale. Katie wasn't as interested.

they played for this for a while, and then some kids came and wanted to play too.

It went from 2 kids playing with sand

and funneling it

into a much larger crowd.

After the sand was all gone, they all ended up playing tag together. Katie and Hannah were playing too, but they never knew who was it or where they were going. LOL. They just ran around.

The kids said they might return again tomorrow. Every time we go to this small park, the kids seem to meet friends. They were so funny when it was time to go. They hugged our kids and told them good-bye. They asked Hannah, "are you Hannah?" She said, "yes". They asked Katie, "are you Katie". She answered back, "I'm Katie". Then they hugged them good-bye.

Madison just sort of hung out.

It was a nice, relaxing night. Afterwards, we took them to McDonald's to get chicken nuggets. Hannah just wanted an ice cream cone. After they ate, Katie and David went into the McDonald's play place for a few minutes, and then I took Katie home. She was so exhausted! She took her little Happy Meal kitty home with her.

Kids are so smart

2009-07-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I was babysitting Katie. I gave her a bath, fed her, brushed her hair, and wanted to get her to bed. We layed on the bed and read like 10 books. When I was on the last one, I said, "now, Katie, this is the last book we're going to read, and then we're gonna go to sleep, okay". She looked at me and I wasn't sure what she understood. We read The Very Busy Spider, and then, about 3 minutes later, as I turned to the last page, her eyes got wide and she shook her head and tried to run off. I was so surprised that she understood exactly what I had said. That made me laugh. I put her to bed anyway, and told her a somewhat thrown together story of Alice in Wonderland, as I remembered it. By the time Alice fell into the rabbit hole, she was sound asleep.

Drytown at Night

2009-07-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Drytown is open on Friday nights, free for passholders and $3 for non-pass holders. We took the kids tonight, just to get them out. It was still warm when we got there at 6:30, and the kids had a blast. Next year I'm going to get me a water camera.

Mary and David in the river. David can float all by himself when he's wearing a vest
Katie had a lot of fun

Katie in the river
with my mom

Just starting to get in

She liked it

Heather's Wedding - July 19, 2009

2009-07-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

Heather & David, after the ceremony

Katie with her lollipop
Hannah & Katie, dropping petals
Karli, Hannah & Katie

The money tree

David's family and ours (the girls)

Heatehr and David with the minister. Karli & Desiree in back

Desiree getting David ready

Karli, Heather & David

My cousin, Michelle and her daughter Sarah, and husband, Jayson

Desiree, signing the marriage license.

Heather and David

Anthony, Katie, Me, Hannah & Ashleigh, Blake in the back

Karli dancing with her grandpa

Me & Anna, my friend from work. Those are not our drinks. LOL

The wedding topper. I never got it back. I'm not sure what happened to it.

Before the reception

The cake

David, the ring bearer
Walking down the aisle

Heather, Mary, Hannah, Desiree, me, Katie, Ashley, my mom, Becky, Madison, Lauryn, Ashley, Debbie, Melissa

Amanda caught the bouquet
Heather & David

Heather & David

Blake, Heahter, David, Anthony & Boo

I think Anthony was more nervous than Heather

Katie & Hannah. They were so adorable.

Heather & Katie, the best man, Adam's wife

Heather & David

Heather getting ready
Heather, with her bouquet
The same picture, colorized

David & Heather

Katie, Hannah & Karli, spreading flowers

The 3 flower girls. Karli in front, Katie & Hannah behind her. They did so good. I was shocked. They did exactly what they were supposed to do.
Heather & Katie when we were getting ready. It was so hard to get pictures, get ready, and everything. It was so rushed towards the end!

Mary and I and the grandbabies, minus Madison, who was asleep. My eyes are closed in this one

and Mary's are closed in this one

David and his best man, Adam, at the front

Katie & Karli. This picture almost looks like Katie is looking in a mirror. LOL

Karli & David. David was in love

Becky, Debbie, Mary & I. I had to photoshop my mom out of this one.

Becky, Debbie, Mary, Me and my mom.

Drytown

2009-07-12T21:43:00.001-07:00

I took Katie to Drytown today, for about an hour or so. She went in the river and said hi to random people. She liked seeing the kids in the water. I took her to the playground and she played for a bit in there, but they wouldn't let me go down the slide WITH her so she wouldn't go down at all.

Katie didn't like the water splashing in her face so we had to go back into the river. She really liked floating around. She wanted to wear a green life jacket, so she did.

Afterwards, I took her to eat at McDonald's.

I had a good, relaxing time with her today, even though I didn't get as much done in the house as I had wanted to. I enjoyed spending time with her.

Father's Day 2009

2009-07-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

We went to have a barbecue at the park. Anthony tried flying a kite with Hannah but it never really took off
She still had fun
Then pranced on over to everyone else
With Katie following

Madison just hung out

Katie brought along her little electric ATV that she got for her birthday. Hannah didn't want any part of it, until Katie got on it, then they had to fight.

Katie rode it a bit, but it was hard on the grass

Hannah got tired of watching Katie ride, I guess

Afterwards, we came home to eat because I forgot the meat at home (DUH). We had to come home to eat it. The girls played while we ate

Katie eating her hamburger. Her and Hannah shared one

Then Hannh fed Katie strawberries

Hannah eating her burger

Afterwards, they ate ring pops

It was a nice day

4th of July 2009

2009-07-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

For 4th of July this year, Debbie invited me over to her friend, Anita's house for a swimming party. I took Katie and she had a great time. We swam for a bit and then she changed back into her dress and ate. Anita made great food. They played Michael Jackson's music and barbecued. One of the girls was getting married July 18, so she was getting dance lessons from Anita. I had fun watching them all. Here is Katie, jumping into the water. She was so excited. Each time she would say, "I did it gramma!"
My brother-in-law Greg was there. I haven't seen him in about 2 years. Ashley, his daughter, hadn't seen him in a while either, so she was happy to see him and glad that he got out for the day.

Ashley & Katie

Katie in the pool

Ashley, eatingKatie and I.

She liked the water, but didn't like the kids who kept jumping in and splashing water in her face

Ashley, Katie & Debbie

Katie was dancing to Michael Jackson here. She was really moving.
She got back in the water again.

drinking juice

Jorge
Katie. She wanted to play with the little girl in the green suit so bad, but she just couldn't get her to get up and play.

HAPPY 4th of July

Later that night, I went to David's dad's house to watch Katie do sparklers and a few fire crackers. She was hilarious. Heather got some cute pictures of her. She liked the sparklers. After the first firework, she said, "it's boring". She had just learned that word that day. It was so funny when she said it.

2nd Star to the Right and Straight on til' Morning

2009-07-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

This morning, Desiree and I got up early and left for Neverland. We took David with us. He was sleeping in the car.
When we got there, we saw a bunch of people. Some were selling shirts and food which offended me. I thought it was an inappropriate place, since we were there to honor Michael, not make money off of him. There were whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics. That was the thing with Michael. He transcended all races. Everyone loved to dance to his music. Everyone loved him and he was never categorized as a black artist, an R&B artist. He was just Michael, and he was an icon. Everyone could relate to him. Some people were so clever with their signs. Some came from Ireland and Hungary.

People put a lot of time into the signage and letters. They were all very kind.

One family brought these wood circles and drew or wrote on them. They were really nice. Only one is pictured.

The flowers on the wreaths had withered away and will probably be replaced. All that were left were the green spongy things. The ride up was beautiful. The whole area is stunning and close to Cachuma Lake. There were horses and cows and beautiful trees like the one Michael used to write his songs in. Good, strong, climbing trees.

David and I in front of the gate.

I enjoyed reading all the letters. I left one of my own as a last minute thing.

There were a lot of Spanish fans and fans from all over the world, really. I'm glad I had a chance to go. I wish I would have went earlier, when he was alive and lived there. You never really appreciate someone until they are gone. I grew up with Michael Jackson. I remember dancing to PYT. I remember so many days at Mountain View park, hanging out with my friends and listening to him on a giant boom box (when people pulled their boom boxes around in wagons).

I have spent the past 10 days watching youtube, reminiscing, remembering Michael and just wishing that he had been shown more love when he was alive. I watched his concert today from 1992. Fans adored him and he loved his fans.

His music is timeless.

When I first found out he died, I was emailing a friend back and forth, talking about Ed McMahon and Farrah dying and I said, not really expecting an answer, "I wonder who will be next", referring to the old adage about celebrities always dying in 3's, then she wrote me back, "Michael Jackson" and I was like, yeah..that is random and so far from left field. It actually sounded impossible, and then she wrote that he had just been taken to the hospital. I quickly googled it, and found out it was true. He was in the hospital. I googled everything I could find on it and was in so much shock when TMZ was reporting he was dead. I couldnt' function at my desk and I just never expected to take his death this hard. I feel like I lost a part of my childhood, even though I never knew him. I felt like a piece of who I was died.

It has been 10 days and I just can't even imagine what his family is going through, or his children. He was a beautiful soul, who loved children and really found joy in watching them play. I can relate to that, because I also find so much happiness in just sitting with a child and seeing them happy.

His memorial is Tuesday. I tried so hard to get tickets but was unsuccessful. I will watch it on television, I guess. I have no choice, but I'm so disappointed.

Michael Jackson Staples Center Memorial Lottery

2009-07-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

I registered for tickets to the Staples Center Memorial Service in honor of Michael Jackson. I feel like Charlie from Willy Wonka. I desperately want to get one of those tickets.
I would be overjoyed. I am so sad about his death.
I'd probably do a few cartwheels like Grandpa Joe if I got any tickets

R.I.P. Michael Jackson. I'm sorry that the media abused you, broke you, and destroyed you. It's so ironic that now they are so desperate to lift up the man they tore down.

Actually, it's kind of ironic that Michael Jackson was so kid like and loved fantasy so much, it seems fitting that there would be this type of lottery for his service.

Michael Jackson

August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

Funny girls

2009-06-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Congratulations David! YAY!!!!

2009-06-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

David graduates from Pinecrest preschool tonight at 7:00. He'll be going to kindergarden a year early. Congratulations, David! I love you and am proud of you!

Childhood

2009-06-25T21:50:00.001-07:00

Lyrics:
Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for
The world that i come from
'Cause i've been looking around
In the lost and found
Of my heart
No one understands me

They view it
As strange eccentricities
'Cause i keep kidding around
Like a child, but pardon me

People say i'm not okay
'Cause i love such elementary things
It's been my fate to compensate
For the child
I've never known

Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for
That wonder in my youth
Like pirates and adventurous dreams
Of conquest and kings on the throne

Before you judge me
Try hard to love me
Look within your heart
Then ask

Have you seen my childhood?
People say i'm strange that way
'Cause i love
Such elementary things
It's been my fate to compensate
For the childhood
I've never known

Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for that
Wonder in my youth
Like fantastical stories to share
The dreams i would dare
Watch me fly

Before you judge me
Try hard to love me
The painful youth
I've had
Have you seen my childhood

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (1983) [Motown 25 Live]

2009-06-25T20:37:00.001-07:00

Summer of 1983. I was 14. Michael Jackson was King. The Moonwalk had never been seen before. He was magic.

Michael Jackson Died Today

2009-06-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

He was 50 years old. He died of Cardiac Arrest. I grew up with Michael Jackson and loved his music. I'm sad for his family and for his children. I believed him when he said that he liked spending time with children because they didn't want anything from him like adults did. I couldn't believe the accusations made against him and still don't.

In the 80's I spent so many hours listening to his music at Mountain View park, watching his Thriller videos on MTV and trying to dance like him.

He was an icon and he will be missed.

Barrel Springs Road

2009-06-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Barrel Springs tonight to let them get out. We had so much fun with them. They had some crackers and gummies for snack.

The trail is 1.5 miles each way. The kids mostly sat in the wagon, but they also got out and walked a bit, looked for rocks, and flowers.

It was a really nice night. Breezy and cool. David and Katie with their snacks

She rocks.

Mary pulling them up the trail

Mary, running down the hill
They thought it was so funny

Here they go

They had so much fun

Me running down with them

speeding it up a notch

They liked going fast

My mom, acting silly

Picking wild flowers

going back up the hill

The view from the top

My mom, at the top of the hill

It was beautiful at the top. The Fin & Feather Club is where the water is. Down the hill is a farm with horses. Right before the water is Sierra Highway.

Coming down the hill

David decided to randomly give Katie a kiss on the cheek

They are excited about finding rocks and each of them are trying to prove how strong they are by holding the rocks up over their heads.

She's saying, "I'm strong!"

Collecting rocks. She was proud that she was strong enough to carry them.

By the barn
Mary was making them laugh.

My mom thought it would be funny to hang from the railing

so of course David had to copy her

and of course Katie had to copy him!

Dare devil stunts

My mom, hanging around

Katie & Hannah

2009-06-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Madison
Hannah, getting caught in the kite strings

Katie and Hannah, out on their own

Katie & Hannah on the trail

Strawberry Shortcake

Apple Juey

Running

ring pops

chase

Slides

Hide and seek

Playing chase

Chalk

Katie, driving her quad

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T12:12:00.001-07:00

Blake Finally Graduates Junior High

2009-06-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

Katie's 2nd Birthday.

2009-06-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday, Katie Elizabeth

I love you!

Katie had her 2nd birthday party on Saturday, June 13, which is lucky, because it was her actual birthday too. Her theme was Wow Wow Wubbzy, however, since she has become 2 she's totally too mature for that now and has moved on to Dora. She's talking so much now. It's amazing how quickly they grow up.

Because of Heather's wedding, I had to cut back on the games and things. We had hamburgers and hot dogs and a bouncer, and then just a pin the bow tie on Wubbzy game. I had another game that involved playdough, but the kids were all playing and doing their own thing and it was too hard to coordinate them to play the game so I just let them play in the bouncer. We did stop for the pinata.

I pulled out Katie's Up & Down rollercoaster and her sandbox for the kids to play in too.

Katherine's boyfriend, Robert, showed up and he cooked all the food for me. That was such a help. It really took the stress off of me. I really appreciated that. I've never had anyone step up like that before and I just thought it was awesome.

Katie got a ton of presents. She was so cute, closing her eyes while Mary opened them, then opening them, all surprised. She got 3 water babies, a Princess tea set, a book and book plates, clothes, blocks, and Yo Gabba Gabba singing toys. I think there was a mic in there. She loves microphones. She wants to use her tea set to eat her meals now.

The weather was breezy, but I would rather have it that way than hot. Towards the end, we had to move everything in doors because it got a bit too cold.

All in all it was a really nice day

(pictures are not in chronological order. Too hard to manuever them today for some reason) David & Rylan

taking turns on the rollercoaster

The kids, opening Katie's presents

David & Hannah, playing with Katie's blocks. Thanks, Anthony & Ashleigh

Katie opening her baby

Her Cold Stone cake

David, Katie & Hannah, blowing out the candles. It's like looking at Desiree, Heather & Anthony

Katie, David & Hannah

Lisa, Jessie & Becky

Rylan & Katie

Hannah & Katie in the moon bounce

Katie in the bouncer

Katie & Mary

Anthony feeding Madison

Katherine & Amanda

Hannah

Katie, eating her hotdog, strawberries and watermelon

My sister, Becky, My Nephew Boo (Daniel) and my grandniece, Madison

Hannah in the moon bounce

Robert, cooking the food

Katie in the moon bounce

for more pics, see Heather's blog here

Griffith Park Train

2009-06-08T20:37:00.001-07:00

David and Katie went to Travel Town. David was upset that he didn't get the front. He's hilarious.

Stressful

2009-06-07T18:35:00.001-07:00

So we went to Jessica McClintock today to look for a dress for Heather. They used to have a huge assortment and great prices. When we got there, there were only about 10 different styles, and they were really ugly and junky. I was so surprised because they've always had great stuff there. I haven't been there since my cousin, Christina got married about 10 or so years ago, but it's changed so much. I was really disappointed.

We then went to David's Bridal, which was very stressful. They make you register before they will let you try on dresses. They lure you in with the $99 dress, but none of the dresses are $99. Once they register you, they pick out dresses for you, based on your budget. Heather tried on about 5 dresses. I really like one of the poofy ones but she didn't like it. She got another one that is very pretty too. I'm sure she'll be a beautiful bride.

Katie and David were acting crazy in the store and Katie was sick with boogers going down her face. It was really hard and stressful. The sales people were rude and pushy and didn't give us any time to discuss in private. It was like planning for a funeral. They work on commission, so it's sell, sell, sell. I was getting annoyed and I think they saw it, so we were able to get out of there without going too broke, but it's so stressful! Everything is so overwhelming and I feel like I'm constantly sad and under pressure. I want Heather to have a wonderful wedding, but I am not rich and wish I could do more, but I really can't. Not without taking out loans and things and I just can't do that. They are talking about furloughs at my job now and I can't get myself trapped.

Debbie drove us all, which was nice. She has a van and we were able to all get down together. Debbie helped with Katie too, so that helped a lot. I just wish I had more time for the planning and saving up.

May 30, My mom's birthday and watching Katie

2009-05-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

I got Katie this Dora chair at a yard sale for $1
She and David played in the water, but she was tired and cranky all morning!

Mary got her this Pluto that barks and flips. She liked it.

the lattice

2009-05-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

I worked my butt off today!

2009-05-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

We haven't added the lattice to the top yet. We're going to do that tomorrow.

I'm exhausted! Debbie, Jorge, and I built a patio today and painted it. It took so long. I went with brown because I really don't like the green on the house and eventually, in a year or more, I hope to be able to paint the rest of the house brown and get rid of the yellow and green. We haven't put the lattice up yet, but we will staple that down tomorrow.

David was home from Maryland, for Memorial Day weekend, so Heather and Katie were gone all day and I had the day to myself. I wanted to go to the beach, but I'm glad I got this done instead.

The lumber and hardware was only $110.00, the paint was $40, and the lattice was $45, so all together, we were able to do this for under $200.

It's nothing fancy, just a nice place to sit and relax. I'll probably put Katie's pool under there so she can play in it without dragging grass into the pool. I am trying to figure out ways to keep all the mulberries from taking over the grass. I had so many weeds this year, because of the mulberries. I added the concrete to cut down on the watering, and added the pergola to cut down on the mulberries that drop and stick like glue to your shoes, and get drug into the house.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?

2009-05-23T22:12:00.001-07:00

I am so beat. I cut my tree down today. Not all of it of course, but more than I wanted to. I love the tree, but during this time of year, it drops mulberries all over the ground, which become sticky and sweet, and gets embedded into the grass, and brings swarms of flies and ants.

I cut lots of branches and lost most of my shade. I'm kind of sad about that, but I can't have the mulberries all over the place.

Tomorrow I will have to spend the day sawing all the large branches into small ones, and then trying to get them tied into bundles for the trash.

It's so much work!

So this is what I'm up against:

All these tree branches have to be put into a small trash can. Waste Management only allows one yard trash can per week--and there are as many on the side of the house.
Flies all over the roses

Mulberry stains all over the concrete

Swarms of flies nesting on the lattice. GROSS!

New Driveway

2009-05-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Omar finished the concrete today. It looks a million times better than it did. It was so bad before!!

He added the mailbox, which makes a huge difference.
This is the only photo I have of my old driveway.

The new one. It's still drying.

The backyard cement.

Before.

I want to build a small pergola here.

Mother's Day 2009 - Seal Beach, California

2009-05-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

**click pictures to enlarge**

Today was Mother's Day. Heather got me an Ipod charger for my car, to charge and play my songs. I've been wanting one, so THANKS HEATHER!

We went to Seal Beach for the day. We took David too.

David and Katie loved the water. They ran right in it. It was a little colder than I was hoping for, but they still went right in. At least it wasn't so hot that they got burned.
Katie had trouble balancing in the waves. David had trouble not bumping into her and making her fall.
Katie running.

You can see the excitement in her face.

She thought it felt weird when the waves would pull back and dig her feet into the sand.

They kept running back and forth, letting the waves catch them.

Heather, staying dry.

Katie loved the water.

Heather and Katie walking down the street. I looked at one for sale today. It was $4,500,000.00 Much more than I thought they were going for. There goes my dream.

David wanted to take a picture in front of these beautiful flowers. He picked one for his mom, but lost it.

I tried to get Katie to take a picture with the flowers too, but she didn't do so well.

He chased the seagull away.

Heather, with her mother's day flowers from Ruby's.

We went to Ruby's to eat lunch. David had a cheeseburger and Katie had chicken. David like Katie's chicken better. The waitress didn't bring the kids anything to drink, which I thought was kind of rude, since they are little people too, and were thirsty from the water.

After lunch they had dessert. She threw her cherry on the table.

They were pretty melted so they ended up eating them with a straw.

Katie walking down the pier. She took sooooooooo long to walk.

I told David to hold the flower and say "I love you" and "Happy Mother's Day" to his mom. At that same time, he noticed the sparkles in the ocean and wanted to know what they were. I told him it was the reflection from the sun, dancing on the water. He wouldn't take his eyes off the sparkles long enough to take the picture.

At the playground

Katie liked playing with the sand.

She thought it was fun to let it slide through her fingers.

Summer is official

2009-05-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

This morning, Mary and I went to yard sales. I got Katie 8 new books for 50 cents each. It was a $75 value. I was going to buy a couple of the books at Walmart for $9.99, so getting them for 50 cents was a steal. Especially, since they were in brand new condition.

After I came home, I had to babysit Katie while Heather went to her Saturday class. She was in a bad mood so I put her to bed for about 45 minutes. When she woke up, she was in a much better mood.

We read her new books and she went in the pool. Her top fell in the pool before I could get it on her, so she wouldn't let me put it on her once it was wet. I got the pool last year for $20 from a yard sale. This is her second year using it and it's still in great shape. The slide was included. It will probably be another year before she really takes to it. For some reason, Step 2 has discontinued the slide, which is a shame, because it's really a nice size for kids. It was originally a couple hundred dollars.

Afterwards she played with her Thomas the Tank Engine that I got her for $1. You push the head down and it takes off on it's own. She liked that a lot. We also drew with chalk, then she ate pizza and cherry juice.

Heather picked her up at 2:30. Getting Dora wet.

Getting used to the water.

Dora went swimming too.

Going down the slide

Reading her books.

Getting her books ready. We read them about 5 times each.

Playing in the pool

Oops..Splashed in her face. She liked drinking water out of the hose She probably drank a quart.

Here she is, playing with Thomas. She would send it to me and I would send it back to her.

She tried to get risky here. I wonder what goes through kids' minds. LOL. For some reason, she laid down so Thomas could run her over.

The passing of Adam Cook, David Cook's Brother

2009-05-03T11:49:00.001-07:00

Sadly, David Cook's brother, Adam Cook passed away from brain cancer this week.

Here, David makes the announcement.

Mathematician and vocabulary savant

2009-05-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Pelona Vista with the girls. They walked and I stayed with Katie, walking around, hunting lady bugs, squirrels and rocks. The rocks were by far the easiest prey, but there were also quite a few lady bugs to be squished. Katie was careful though and I didn't let her do her George impersonation and hug em' and squeeze em' and love em' for her very own.

Lady bugs were actually popping into her hair, there were so many around.

At one point, she hit me by accident. She said, clear as day, "I'm sorry". It sounded more like Sour-ey, but nonetheless, it was the first time she's ever said sorry to me. Her vocabulary is really increasing in this past month. She's talking a lot more and putting words together into sentences.

Later, I picked 3 flowers for her. I told her, "one is for you, one is for mama and one is for ReyRey (Desiree)". She looked at them carefully, studied them, smelled them, and then put one in her left hand for her, and put the other two in her right hand for Heather and Desiree. I do believe she counted, calculated, considered, and made a mathematical decision, by golly! LOL

The kids are growing up so fast. It's just amazing to me. They are so smart. Not just our kids, but all kids. It amazes me how such a tiny little person knows so much. Because they don't have the words, we forget how much they really understand. I guess, back in the day, when they referred to "deaf and dumb", it was the same idea. The deaf weren't dumb, it's just that hearing people had no idea how much they understood because we couldn't understand them.