Well, She's Officially Four

I've been a bit neglectful of the little ol' blog and hadn't posted about Miss E's birthday. She had a blast hanging out with family and friends, especially the kids! Sloppy joes, chips & dip, cake & ice cream, presents and swimming - who could ask for anything more! Needless to say we were all exhausted by the end of the day! Mr. Q had some quality time by himself in his saucer before everyone got here; then he was passed around to be cuddled by anyone who wanted him!

More Birthday Fun

We had a few people over on Sunday to celebrate E's birthday! The crew from Idaho were here too, yeah! Miss E has been talking about 'Caweb', 'Garwet' and 'Iwan' ever since she found out they were coming to So Cal. She was so happy and excited to get to play with the boys. Swimming, swimming and more swimming pretty much describes the afternoon, with a little break for presents and dessert! We had Granny, Scotty & Kass, Beppe & PopPop, Sheri, Jeff and The Boys, Kristie & Gene, Jill & Fred & Andrew, Marie & Jackie and Jeff & June & The Kids! Pest had fun swimming with the kids and tossin' them around the pool! Miss E really got the hang of holding her breathe so she could 'look around' under the water - she's taken to the water like a fish!

Bad Beth, Bad, Bad...

Over a month and no new posts... I am a bad blogger! No excuses, I just haven't felt like playing on the computer much lately. Get online, check email, reply to email if need be, then turn off - that's been the routine. But, I've got some cute inspiration for this post:

We went to the pumpkin patch on Thursday. We found a really nice pumpkin patch out in wine country in Temecula. They set up a really cute patch with stuff to play on, cutouts to do photos with, a petting zoo with healthy animals (of all things!), lots of pumpkins and on the weekends, pig races, pony rides and tractor rides. Ellie had a blast running around the patch, we had the whole thing to ourselves! She loved riding on the John Deer tractor they had set up for the kids to play on... she had her Michael Jordon tongue out with incredible concentration trying to move the gear shifter! She even got in on the fun and posed with me in the cutouts and Wes on the train. The goats and chickens really had her going in the petting zoo. There was one goat that seemed to actually like her hugs... may be she was just hopin' for some more food! If you would like to see more of the photos from Pumpkin Patch 2007, click here.

I've been working on Ellie's halloween costume. Since she is so in love with Toy Story and with her hobbie horses, we (well, I) decided to have her dress up as a cowgirl. I'm working on getting the dress and apron sewn, then fixing up a 'Woody' type cowboy hat that we found at a thrift store. Just have to figure out the cowboy boot covers for her feet - we'll see how that goes. She may be a cowgirl with tennis shoes!! I'll post pictures of Ellie in her costume after Halloween. I promise to make it soon after Halloween, not a month later!

I was able to have a really nice visit with some old friends last weekend. I've known Marie and Maria since Jr. High School - WOW!, are we old! It was a lot of fun to see them, hang out and catch up. Marie is a nurse at an orthopedist's office and she and her husband are expecting her first baby, Jackie, in about a month. Marie is about 5 foot nothing and her husband Russ is 6 foot 4... baby Jackie is going to be a giant! Maria is hard at work (2 jobs) as usual. She works at a construction company and also works at a school helping kids 'retrain' their brains to help with coordination and such. She explains it much better than I do, but it sounds like facinating and rewarding work and she really seems to enjoy what she is doing. It's still hard to believe that we have known each other for almost 20 years... Wow!

Well, I hope you all have a Happy Halloween! Get yourselves lots of treats and play a couple of tricks! I'm off to find my treat, I'm thinking something baked with chocolate!! YUMMY!

Ellie's Acrobatics... Well, Sort Of!

Hi all!!!

We had a really nice Sunday. First, we headed out to a Dutch Dairy that I read about in Sunset Magazine. It is out in Winchester, just across the road from Diamond Valley Lake. We've passed it many times on our way to Hemet to visit friends, but didn't know anything about it; just thought it was a little odd to have a cheese shop out in the middle of no where. When we arrived, they weren't quite open yet so we visited with their geese, goats and llama. The geese hissed and honked at us the entire time - basically being the annoying creatures that they are! The highlight of the morning was Ellie 'calling' the llama like she's seen on her favorite show, Go Diego, Go; she hummed hummed to it - because we all know that that is what a llama sounds like, right? That's what Diego told her, AND, she remembered! The Dairy had a small shop that sold the Gouda that they make as well as some Dutch import stuff. We were hoping that they had the chocolate hagel slaw (I know that it's spelled wrong, but that's how it sounds!) that Wes likes to have on his toast in the AM. Fortunately they did, now I can quit searching online for the stuff - after paying shipping it would cost about $10 a box, way too much for some sprinkles!

After the dairy we decided to drop by our friends Jeff & June's new house. Wes has been by a few times, but I hadn't seen it yet. They live out south 79 in Sage, about 45 minutes from us due southeast. Their manufactured home is on their property (which has a really nice view out the back patio), but it not yet complete. It's a nice place and is layed out really well, not at all like the manufactured homes of yesteryear! Ellie had a blast chasing their dog around and loved all of the dirt and rocks! She had a lot of fun playing with the kids and exploring the property. BUT, her favorite part of the visit was the trampoline. She was a little apprehensive at first, but boy did she get into the swing of things quickly! She was all smiles. The kids helped by bouncing us, Ellie didn't know how to jump for herself... it takes a bit of practice to get your sea legs on those things!! She loved being bounced and really enjoyed watching Kyle, Jaylin, Nathan and Allison do their 'tricks'. She didn't want to get off and certainly didn't want to leave! I know what I'll be looking for at future garage sales!

Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Visits With Santa and A Holiday Party

The holiday is in full swing around here! As I mentioned previously, we had our first ever holiday party at our house this past Sunday. We had a pretty good turn out – lots of friends and family were able to attend… We were able to see and visit with people we haven’t seen for quite awhile and those we have. It was a nice afternoon with plenty, and I mean plenty, of food to eat and football to watch (we of course just HAD to put the Charger game on – I was never going to win that battle!!). Ellie had such a great time chasing after the kids and flirting with the adults. Wes’s good friend Derrill’s daughter Hannah really got Ellie’s affection – she pushed Ellie on the swing and pulled her around the yard in her wagon!

Earlier in the week Wes, Ellie and I went to the mall to get our Christmas pictures done. What an adventure!!! Ellie wanted no part of posing for photos… No way, there’s way too much to get into and snoop at! The photo session was like a three-ring circus with a horrible photographer to boot. Oh, well… we got one decent picture – not the best of any of us, but not the worst!! I tried to do a hyperlink to Sears site, but it just didn't work, SO, if you want to see our proofs, just copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.searsphotos.com/?shareid=S204974653lQ23A8M86V8

After that escapade, we decided to chance a visit the mall Santa. Ellie had a blast standing in line and visiting with the other kids. Her visit with Santa was another story altogether!! She was ok with him until we put her on his lap and got out of the way; then the tears started!! Have to give ‘props’ to the Santa, he was a true professional… He’s got a big grin in the photo and Ellie is crying and reaching for us!! We all have one of those pictures though, don’t we??? I know I have a couple… My mom had to give up on visits with Santa because I was so afraid of him – poor Scotty, he lost out!!! Aren’t you all crying for him?!? Ellie recovered quickly, in fact, she was ready to go back when she saw the next kids run up to Santa with smiles on their faces, wonders never cease!

The City of Murrieta has a group of volunteers that travel to each neighborhood every year. The volunteer police drive around the neighborhood singing Santa Claus Is Coming To Town about 10 minutes before Santa will arrive. The whole neighborhood was out at the ‘Star Spot’ this year – in our case just right out front of our house and about 20 yards straight ahead. They bring Santa and Carolers in on a sleigh pulled by an antique fire truck. Everyone gets to visit and take photos with Santa and sing along to the Christmas carols. Ellie kept her distance and got a little upset when Santa came up to wish her Merry Christmas… No tears, just a little tension!!! She really liked the singing and the lights on the sleigh. A quick and fun visit!!

*** You should be able to click on the photos to see a larger view***

This’ll Be A Big One…

Thanksgiving took us to Escondido to feast on turkey with Wes’s Mom, Dad, Aunt Jill and Uncle Fred. We had fried turkey and all the fixins’! After dinner Ellie did some, well, quite a bit of dancing for everyone – she got very tired and very spastic… she had a good time playing with Bepe Brenda – loved hanging upside down!! We were also treated to one of Fred’s Famous Pies… apple, YUM! A nice visit and a tasty meal!!

The Friday after Thanksgiving Wes and Jeff decided to go chase deer around the woods, SO, June and the kids came over for some cookie decorating. We all had fun being artistic and Ellie had a good time tasting our work! After we finished cleaning up frosting and sprinkles the boys arrived empty handed… oh well! We had breakfast, for dinner, and then visited for a bit before they had to pack up their gaggle of kids and their bounty of sugar(y) cookies!

Sunday was our Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom, Scotty and Kass. We watched the Charger game and nibbled on guacamole and chips – Ellie especially loved the Fritos and guacamole, it was all over her face!! My mom had roasted a turkey the day before, so we had hot turkey and stuffing in gravy with mashed potatoes… Yummy! It turned out to be a cold and somewhat gloomy day – Perfect weather for Thanksgiving if you ask me! (Forgot the camera, so no pics… Bad Bethy!!!)

This past week (and this coming week) has been filled with baking and prepping for our Holiday Open House next weekend. I’ve been a baking fool, making cookies, nut breads, fudge and cheese crackers (bought a fancy press for these – what a waste, the cracker doesn’t taste good and the stupid press broke!!) This coming week is work week: clean the whole house, go to Sam’s Club to get the last of the goodies AND finish baking and cooking and decorating… I know I’ve forgotten something, I’m sure it’ll come to me later… probably in a couple of weeks!!! This snicker doodle recipe is VERY good!!! One of my new favs!

Well, hope you all are having a great day… Hope to see some of you next weekend!!! Bye for now!

***A quick note: you should be able to click on each photo to see a larger view.

A Busy Week…

Last night was Halloween – Ellie’s first time dressing up. As you can see, she was the cutest witch ever! She liked wearing her costume and even trick-or-treated at a couple of my mom’s neighbors’. They, of course, thought she was adorable and gave her a treat. One of the neighbors has a little Chihuahua – Ellie was in love! She ran around trying to catch him and was squealing with delight. We also ran over to Scotty & Kass’s house so they could get a peak at our little witch. Ginger (their doggie) caught Ellie’s attention immediately – they had fun chasing each other around and giving kisses! After visiting for a bit we ran home to give out candy… We didn’t have to rush, there were only about 12 trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood! We have a bunch of candy left over and we didn’t even buy that much! Oh well – Next year we’ll have to hand out full size candy bars!! To see more photos click this link

Our good friends Kristie and Gene got married this past weekend, so we had a good reason to dress up! The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were on Friday night and the wedding was on Saturday. The wedding was very nice, went off without a hitch and the bride and groom looked stunning, of course!! The evening had Halloween themed favors and decor, yummy food & cake, and a great band. Wes was our jack of all trades, helping out where he could (he took the photos you are looking at) and I was in the wedding as one of Kristie’s Maids of Horror (I don’t like the word Matron, so I won’t use it!!). Click on this link if you would like to see more photos.

Well, that’s all for now… I’m off to do more laundry and clean some bathrooms… Wanna help??