Ella's BIG girl room

A big project this summer was the re-do of Ella's bedroom.  She has SOOO much stuff...art supplies, makeup, dress-up, Polly Pockets, Barbies, books, kitchen set, miscellaneous toys and her room was just not functional to store it all and leave room to play.  Not to mention the glowing pink was just too much! 

After much thinking and talking about it we decided to just go for it this summer.  We started with an exhausting search for the perfect comforter and finally found the ONLY one she liked at Target.com.  We picked a paint (flows with the majority of blue throughout our house currently), found a full size bed on Craigslist, painted her dresser and mirror black, bought some accessories, a trip to Ikea and we are finally done! I wanted to share the before and after pics.

BEFORE:
 

AFTER:

She loves it and I really love it!  I constantly tease her that I'm going to kick her out into Daddy's room and move into hers.

Santa Cruz Vacation

A couple of weeks ago we took a 4 day trip to Santa Cruz. Everything about it was fabulous. We had a lot of great quality time with family and just enjoyed our time on the coast. 

I put together this video of highlights of our time...

http://web.me.com/lisaski/_gallery/100149/ref.mov

Lots to write about!

More posts coming soon but wanted to quickly post this before and after of the kids haircuts today.  School is starting in less than 5 days and we're getting all the fun we can get in before homework starts!

Before - Shaggy Hair! (Oh and notice Jacob lost his first upper front tooth a couple days ago!)

After - Ahhh a respectable 2nd grader and Kindergartner!

More updates coming soon....Ella's room redo, Santa Cruz vacation, summer fun, Juella Designs updates....

Slip 'N Slide

We spend thousands of dollars on an undergound pool and everyday the kids have been begging to do this!  Unfortunately on the second day of slip and slide fun, it blew up.  Oh well...back to the pool and now our lawn will be spared.

Summer is flying by!

Come Friday there will only be one more month of summer vacation...then I'll have a Kindergartner and 2nd Grader in school full time...boo hoo and yee haw!!

Well what's been going on?  Let's see...
 
Jacob at Cub Scout Day Camp His very favorite thing was the BB gun and archery. Aaron has already come home with a gun for him. The issue hasn't been fully addressed yet. [I'm not a fan of guns]

A daily site at our house  This pool has got to be one of our best home improvement choices.

Golf Clinic at Gold Hills CC This time around both kids took the class.  Ella was so proud she made a ball into a hula hoop. 

Visit from the Harris Family We are always so excited when they come to visit us from New Jersey!

Hosted July Dinner Club Always a good time.  I love you guys!

Let's see the coming weeks will be both busy and relaxing...just depends on the day.  Some of our plans include:

• Cub Scout fishing trip in Mt. Shasta


• Ella's room remodel


• Gymnastics camp


• Santa Cruz to visit family

Field Day 2009

This past Sunday we hosted (with Stephanie's help) the 1st Annual Family Field Day at our house.  We got 6 families together and had a variety of activities we all competed in.  After each activity, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbons would go to the winners.  It was a lot of fun!  The activities we had were: 3-legged race, spoon-egg race, chipping contest, diving for rods contest, pillow sack race....we ran out of time (or more like got side-tracked by the pool and laziness!) for the tug-of-war and raft race.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon with friends! 

Click here for pictures

And click here for a video I made!

Hat Creek Camping

Summer is upon us and we're having the 100+ temps that a Redding summer always promises us!  We've been keeping busy with lots of swim time in the pool and lots of movies.  Earlier in the week we took a camping trip up to Hat Creek...we brought Grandma and Molly along with us this time. We didn't escape the heat but we had a lot of fun none-the-less!  We had never camped in that area and we really liked it.  Our campsite was right next the creek and so peaceful.  The kids got a lot of fishing in, we did some spelunking in Subway Cave, we hiked down to Burney Falls, and had fun hanging around the campgrounds. There was a small incident in the middle of the night when Jacob fell out of the bunk bed in the trailer and came crashing to the ground.  Scared Aaron and I to death!  He was fine, just a scratch and a sore elbow but he's insisted on wearing a sling for the better part of the week. 

Click here for pictures

Happy Father's Day Aaron!

Today was Father's Day and unfortunately Aaron had to work it.  The kids and I wanted to do something special for him so we made him cupcakes from scratch and dropped by the station to visit him. 

You are the greatest father I could ever ask for for my kids Aaron.  Thank you so much for all that you do for us. I love you more than anything!

Shasta District Fair 2009

Going to the County Fair every year is one of our favorite things to do.  We went Saturday and had the best time ever!  I think we literally saw it all...not to mention ate it all!  Fair food has got to be the best and here's just a sampling of what we managed to eat...a HUGE BRICK of chili cheese fries, large corn dog, soda, hot fudge sundae, cotton candy, pulled pork sandwich, tri-tip sandwich, waffle cone, kettle korn.  Oh my gosh, I think I'm sick just typing all that! 

In addition to gorging on fair food, here's some of the other highlights to this year's fair:

• Pig Races - a new addition to the fair this year and we got to 'bet' on which pig would win, the kid's pigs both won their races and they each got a ribbon


• Seeing the biggest pig, smallest horse, and biggest gator--totally inhumane to the poor animals I'm sure, but the kids sure get a joy out of it. 


• Grand Champion Pig - a friend of ours raised the Grand Champ pig of the fair and sold him for a whopping $21 a pound!  Aaron, back in his day, raised a Grand Champ of his own so it was neat to see.  


• Hypnotist Show - Jacob sooo wanted to be hypnotized but unfortunately (fortunately?) you had to be 16 or older.  The show was such a crack-up though and now we're all fascinated by hypnotists. 


• Milking a goat - Jacob got to milk a goat for the first time! He's a natural at it and if only we were able to have a goat in the city, we would.  Some of those goats were definite cuties.


• Thunderstorm - Right in the middle of the hypnotist show a thunderstorm broke out! We got drenched and it was quite exciting with people running every which way.  We stuck it out though and it cleared up within 30 minutes...it took slightly longer however for us to dry out.


• Games and rides - All a highlight at the fair for the kids and the biggest money sucker of them all. Fortunately a kind fair worker gave us some free ride passes and the kids managed to win something at just about every game.


• Stock Car Races - We always talk about going to see them on a Saturday night but never make it...Saturday they were free with fair admission so we had to watch.  We had fun picking different cars to win. 


• The Climbing Wall - Jacob attempted to conquer the wall and reach the $100 at the top. Didn't happen this year but he's set it on his list of goals for the next fair!

Click here for a video I put together of our fair experience

Click here for more pictures

 

The next Tiger Woods

Thursday was also Jacob's Jr. Golf Tourney at Gold Hills Country Club.  After the tournament all the players received a certificate and had a BBQ lunch.  The Junior Golf program was extra fun because his good friend Chase participated as well. 

Another successful dance season has concluded

Last night was the big show and Ella boogied down....I am so proud of her and how she did.  She had a week of ups and downs with dance and it ended perfectly.  Wednesday she told me that rehearsal day was her most favorite day ever and that dancing on the big stage was so fun. Thursday rehearsals started out great but by the afternoon she was breaking down exhausted and forgetting everything.  After a power nap and treating her like a princess until we got back to the convention center, she was back to DancerElla and she got that excitement back.  Video to come at some point hopefully soon!

Dancing and Golfing and Fishing

This week has been busy (today in particular!) but all with fun stuff.  Ella has her end of year dance recital Thursday night and we've had rehearsals most every day.  Jacob is in a Junior Golf program this week as well.  Today after golf, Aaron and him even went up to Whiskeytown and got some fishing in.  I wanted to share some pics....

Jazz number...."Walking on Sunshine"

Hip Hop number..."The DJ"

 

As part of the Jr. Golf program, all the kids got free Tiger Woods-Nike golf clubs with bag and balls.  They were so nice that I almost wished I golfed and could get a set for me!

Emerald Forest Invasion 2009

This past weekend we had our 6th Annual Emerald Forest Invasion camping trip on the coast with friends.  Every year the dynamic is a little different and this year we had a fairly small group with five families.  Still a total blast and went by super-duper fast!  We went up on Thursday and after getting settled in to camp we headed over to Trinidad Beach to get a glimpse of the ocean.  We even spotted a whale off in the not too far distance. 

 

Early Friday morning the guys headed out to play some golf while the rest of us played around the campground.  Then in the afternoon we packed up some dinner and spent many hours playing on Big Lagoon beach.  Before the beach however, we made a pit stop at Humboldt Marine Laboratory where we got to see a variety of sea creatures and play with starfish. 

Saturday morning we visited the Samoa Cookhouse for a DELICIOUS and much appreciated (we didn't have to cook!) breakfast.  We then headed to Moonstone Beach for the rest of the day. 

 

 

Our nights were spent around the campfire...making s'mores, telling stories, singing campfire songs.  Another successful Emerald Forest Invasion concluded!

Click here for more pictures!

Samoa Cookhouse

Just had a BIG Breakfast! We are stuffed. Heading to the beach now.

Lisa Sent from my iPhone

Check us out!

On our way to the coast for our annual camping trip with friends!
That's us in the front of the caravan.

School's out

We planned a school's out fun in the sun party and look...

Oh well...we're going to salvage it and have a School's Out let's play Rock Band and poker instead party!

No one can say I'm obsessed again...

Check out these chicks! 

Jacob's Musical

The school year is quickly coming to a close (only 2 days left!)....last Friday, Jacob was in a 1st grade musical performance called, "Open a Book."  It was very cute and a nice way to see the progress the kids have made over the course of the year.  He was one of the few kids in his class to have a speaking role.  His part was that of the Father.  So cute!  [Video upload coming soon....]

Great...I'm hooked again!

Ella is onto a new chapter!

It's now official.  Ella's preschool career is over. It's so sad. But it's also a happy time.  

Wednesday was Ella's end of year preschool party at the park and it was a bittersweet time for us all.  We have been attending the preschool out at Shasta College for the past 3 years (2 years with Ella and 1 year with Jacob) and have enjoyed it so much.  We will miss everyone out there.  I must say though, Ella has been ready to move on for quite a number of months.  I don't know if she's been bored mentally or academically but Kindergarten will be a welcome change for us all, if not a bit scary! 

What's on the horizon beyond that?  She has just informed me she'd like to be a fashion designer. And I now have a stack of pictures showing various clothing she has designed.  She is asking if we can go to the fabric store tomorrow so she can make some of them.  Ella amazes me everyday with what she can do. 

Click here for some pictures from the party.

The Lego Mystery

So the other day Jacob came home from school and was in his room scratching his head thinking and saying he thinks he may be crazy.  I asked him why and he said because he thinks that maybe he woke up in the middle of the night and put together one of the Lego toys he received for  his birthday and he's bewildered that he can't remember any of it.  There sitting on his desk is a fully completed Lego car that I know I never saw him build.  I found out later, that that morning he even accused Aaron of putting it together without him.  I then was totally confused.  Jacob does have a history of sleepwalking, but sleep Lego building? 

It wasn't until later while the kids were eating their after school snack, that the mystery was solved.  Ella leans over to Jacob and says, "I put together your Lego car last night."  What?  Apparently Ella woke up in the middle of the night (sometime between midnight and 6:30am), couldn't sleep and decided to open up and put together one of Jacob's Lego 165-piece Lego toys!  There were 38 steps in the instruction manual and she followed them perfectly on her own, in the middle of the night unbeknown to all of us.  That girl never ceases to amaze us. 

Hip Hop Dancerella

Included in another Etsy Treasury! Love the theme...

So happy to be included!
 

New Rob Video Out!

His new album will be coming out this summer so that means publicity tour is soon to come as well as concert dates...you can bet you'll hear all about it here! LOL!

http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:vh1.com:380630

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Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day...I love you Mom!

Today was another good day...but I gotta say Jacob's birthday weekend always falls on Mother's Day and it can be exhausting!  I got to sleep in a little bit (7:15 or so)...after lounging around the house for a bit, we went to pick up Grandma and Uncle Jeff and cruised (in style again in the VW bus) to Win River for their brunch.  Really good food...half breakfast food, half seafood.  So we definitely knocked out breakfast and lunch and pretty much also dinner.  We then went back to her house to lounge for a bit before shopping for some patio stuff.  Then back home for a little outdoor work and more hanging poolside.  So happy the weather got nicer for this weekend. 

Jacob turns 7....woooo!!!

Saturday Jacob turned 7 years old and it was a crazy, fun day!  He woke up at 6am completely excited...6am on a Saturday is not cool, I don't care what is happening!  I managed to stay in bed for a little while longer though and heard him finding his annual "Birthday Bucket" and the dozen donuts left for him on the kitchen counter.  We did something a little different this year and got him 7 presents that we gave him throughout the day...the trick was in order to get them he had to do a variety of scavenger hunts and answer different questions, puzzles and even some math problems to find where they were hidden!  He really enjoyed that and says he wants that to happen every year.  Yeah, me too...I want 30-something presents on my birthday too....I'll gladly solve clues to get them!  

In the afternoon we had a birthday party for him at our house.  It started with a Wii Mario Kart tournament, game of laser tag, followed by swimming in the pool.  Everything was a great success and everyone was sorry to go. 

That evening we went to Hometown Buffet for dinner, Jacob's choice.  His meal consisted of jello, pizza, and bread...followed by 3 or maybe more trips to the desserts for ice cream.  The day ended with a game of Battleship and a movie.  I think Jacob had a great and memorable 7th birthday!
Click here for more pictures from the day!

Ashley Furniture SUCKS

So in order to get on with my life, I need to tell this story.  Redding's Ashley Furniture Store SUCKS and this is why...

• January 25th we purchased furniture to complete our family room...a sectional couch, coffee table, pub table w/4 chairs, and a new TV stand and shelf to complete our existing entertainment center (previously purchased from Ashley).  We were told 6-8 weeks for delivery. 

• At 5 weeks out we called--were told they have been busy and delivery has been running the full 8 weeks.

• At 10 weeks we were told they would call to set up delivery for the week after Easter. That didn't happen. We were then told that portions of the couch have been backordered.  They have the other pieces but they can't deliver them separate (huh?)

• At 12 weeks we demand that what they have be delivered immediately. "Oh yes, oh yes, we'll get it sent to our distribution center for delivery."

• We are now at 14 weeks.  We call them on Tuesday and they say they have everything available but a section of the couch and that they can deliver everything else on Saturday (today).  That section is still in no where's land.  Fine give us what you have. 

• Friday afternoon-they tell us that they've got the WRONG TV stand and they have to order another one.  Aaron goes in to find out what the heck is going on and to pick up the add'l shelf for our entertainment center that has been waiting for us.  First off-it ends up being the WRONG shelf.  Oh and then with a whole other big screw up related to the TV stand (complete other story), they eventually say they'll order the correct stand (which they claim will take about a week) and shelf and that the wrong stand won't even be on the truck. 

• Saturday-Delivery guys come, kids are excited--we will FINALLY have a place to sit! It's pouring down rain so as they're delivering the pieces I'm wiping them down.  They go to deliver the TV stand-yes the one that was supposed to be canceled and not even on the truck-have to do a whole refusal process.  They then go to put together the pub table and chairs...they are the WRONG ones...the saleslady put in the wrong order number so all this time we have been waiting for the wrong table and chairs to be delivered.  I go to call her on her 'oh so special personal cell phone number she gave me in case of ANY problems from now on out' and guess what?  Goes to a voice mail box that says I can't leave a message because it's full. I call the store--goes to voice mail - the same voice mail that "NO ONE HAS EVER RECEIVED ONE OF OUR MESSAGES" ON. 

Current status--still waiting for the middle portion of our sectional couch, the pub table and chairs need to be swapped out for the correct ones, and we still are waiting on the TV stand and the additional shelf for the entertainment center.  Oh and I won't even go into the damaged coffee table....

In all these instance WE CALLED THEM, no one has called us. They have made excuse after excuse and will say whatever they can to get off the phone or have us leave the store.  The manager of the store Peter something or other is NEVER in the store and has NOT returned any phone calls. Customer Service should be everything to a business and is extremely important to us.  

When we purchased the furniture our saleswoman said that if we received the furniture within 6 weeks she'd be a hero, 8 weeks a heal.  What does it make her now that's it been 14 weeks and counting?