A Christmas Story

Tonight started the 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS, and I decided it was time to introduce Sarah to the movie. Yep, she loved it! You'll shoot your eye out, kid!

What is that in the distance?

One of the few advantages (other than the weather) of living in Southern California, is that we are treated to breathtaking views from time to time. Last week there was a winter storm and here is the result:




Yes, there is snow on top of the mountains. These pictures were taking in Thousand Oaks on the Amgen campus, atop one of the taller buildings, 5 stories including basement. I only wish my camera had more zoom, and that the day had been more clear...

Parade of Lights

Thanks to a coworker of James', we were able to attend the Ventura Harbor Parade of Lights 2008 from a prime spot on a catamaran-- the boats were all going practically right in front of us. We had a great view, lots of fun, and even fireworks at the end! The girls were hesitant to climb aboard at first (as in CRYING about going on, both of them!) but by the end of the evening, were climbing on and off with ease. Julia required a little more help, being not yet 4 and not tall enough to get on and off solo with her little legs. The pictures didn't come out quite as well as I'd have liked, but I'll share a couple.

Picture Tag!

Instructions:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

So, consider this your tagging. And here's mine:




This was taken this past summer at a local city pool/aquatic center. Sarah is at the top of the slide in orange. I have no clue who the other kid is.

Christmas Cards

I'm still waiting on my shipment of Christmas Cards to send them out. I'm not being a slacker, really! I probably ought to get a new ink cartridge too. I never address the envelopes by hand because my penmanship is horrible. I rely on help from Canon and MS Word to help me with my "calligraphy" each year. I'm sure the post office appreciates it!

Rain? Really?

Sometime around 10 pm PST last night, the rain started coming down on Ventura County, and for the most part hasn't stopped yet. I'm sure all the natives are freaking out about now. I mean, really, RAIN? That would be like a blizzard in Texas! These people really do not know how to handle rain when driving. The freeways slow down to 2 mph, or something like that. The number of accidents more than doubles. Of course, in their defense, it rains so seldom that all the junk that accumulates on the freeways makes for a nice slick surface when the rain starts coming down.

I'm staying home and baking today. No need to get out in the wet stuff any more often than I have to!

It doesn't really snow in Ventura County...

But the girls DID get to play in snow today! In spite of temperatures in the 70s (though kind of cold over the snow that was blown in) the girls had a ball. Every year, James' company has a big party for the families with kids and it's big fun. They used to do it off site, but then started doing it on campus. They have a Santa and Mrs. Clause, food (though it gets worse every year), crafts for the kids to do as well as cookie decorating. There are lots of cute little scenes set around and people take pictures in front of them. Of course, the girls didn't always cooperate with Mom's camera, but I did try my best! That's the great thing about digital cameras. I took 128 pictures, and most weren't all that great, but some were fantastic. I reserved those for Christmas cards, but am sharing some others in this post. :) Please notice all the green grass, green trees and of course people wearing shorts! 70s during the day, 40s at night!

Sure, I'm still alive...

Sorry that I've not updated in a while. Nothing super exciting has happened. Although, the other day I was talking to my mom and she was telling of HER adventures. Every weekday morning, my mom and dad go walking with their walking buddies at around 5 am. Apparently my dad is more of a wanderer than a straight line kind of person. In his wanderings, he somehow managed to trip my mom, who may or may not have broken her left wrist. Fun stuff, I tell ya! Oh, did I mention that she's left handed? She did go get x-rays that day, but they were inconclusive (must be because it was done at a walk-in clinic) but they gave her a split to wear.

Me? Well, the kids have been driving me crazy. They are so mean to each other, so now I am figuring that the consequences for being mean have got to be big. For example, every December, my husband's employer has a big party for the kids of employees, complete with catering, a Santa, crafts, snacks, fun and games AND snow trucked in (to Southern California no less) to one of the grassy areas on the main campus. The kids love this and look forward to it all year. Julia is still too young to remember it well, but Sarah certainly does. Earlier, she got mad at me for asking her to read some chapters in her Faith Formation (aka CCD) book so we can do the work together when she is done. She told me she didn't want to, so I told her that I would be happy to stay home with her tomorrow and Dad and Julia could go to the party. This made her angry, so she goes up to her room in a huff. Julia is in her room, so she pinches her and tells her in a mean tone to get out. Of course, I had to again remind her of the party. The kid has one more chance and if she blows it, she's not going. She is aware of the consequences and although I hope she gets to go, in a way I hope she doesn't so that she can learn the hard way that we are really serious about her needing an attitude adjustment...