Root beer

Chris loves root beer. LOVES root beer. I can almost count on one hand the days of our marriage when he has NOT had one can of root beer. For special occasions I buy him Henry Weinhards. I'm not a root beer aficionado and even I think this one is superb. So on our anniversary I made a little trip to BevMo and picked up one of each root beer they carry. 22! I did not think there would be that many. We thought it would be fun to take notes on all those root beers and make a little root beer catalog. During our little root beer experiment, we discovered, The Root Beer Project. This guy is on a quest to brew the best root beer ever, so he's traveling and tasting and reviewing every root beer known to man. (And I thought 22 was a lot!) One of my favorite quotes, "Am I really writing about soda like a wine snob?" Yes, he is, but its cool and he has a great "recommended list" for the next time you're near BevMo and in the mood for a root beer.
(Oh, and by the way... our favorite is still Henry Weinhards!)

Family vacation

We had the funnest family vacation this summer. We spent a week at a gorgeous resort in Anaheim with my entire family. It was so fun to spend time with everyone, especially for the kids. They adore their grandma and grandpa and were spoiled rotten! I wish I'd gotten pictures!! We did so many fun things. Of course, Disneyland and California Adventure. We came to Santa Monica and had fun on the promenade and the pier and had a super super fun afternoon at the Skirball. We flew kites and did some serious digging and building at the beach. We went to an Angels game, shopped and ate at the Grove and did lots of driving. :-) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for SUCH a SUPER fun time!!

Clarey and cousin Tate at the Skirball
My gorgeous sister Jaimee and her gorgeous daughter Makell
My cute brother letting his twins get a nap at Disneyland
With Aunt Julie and Grandma and Grandpa at the Angel's game
Lots of driving. :-)
Posing (or resting) in the big California Adventure letters

Sushi baby!

Two years ago Chris gave me a gift certificate for a cooking class at Sur La Table. A month or so ago, I FINALLY went and took the class! It was sooooo much fun.
I learned to make sushi from Andy Matsuda, "LA's sushi chef." Check out what I can make now! And we have a Japanese market just down the street so I've been making sushi like crazy!! Wanna come over?? :-)

Summer fun

Our summer has been so relaxed and fun. We're so enjoying having daddy home and spending lazy days with friends. We've done a few museums and other fun things but we're mostly home relaxing, playing games, reading, swimming, watching The Last Airbender cartoon and LOVING being together before our Shea goes off to full day kindergarten.

The Pool:

The Dino show at the Natural History Museum:

Kidspace:





Summer Sounds at the Hollywood Bowl:


Computer time:

Guitar Lessons

Daddy gave Shea his first guitar lesson recently. Sadly the guitar has been returned, it was much more along the line of toy and not the serious musical instrument that it was meant to be. We're on the hunt for a new one asap. They had so much fun!!

Trying it out standing up.

Figuring it out and having tooo much fun!

Star Wars Pancakes!

Does life get any better than this??



NOPE!! :-)

Oh, by the way...

Our last baby is a boy! :-)

We're very excited. I'm happy I haven't saved every article of clothing Shea ever wore for nothing. And that giving away all of Clare's clothes to my sister and sister-in-law was a good choice. Plus I knew it was a boy, and I'm always happy when I'm right. Now, if only we had any boys names. Aaggh!

Shea was very concerned during the ultrasound that the doctor was pressing too hard on my stomach and moving the skin all around. He was sure it was hurting me, it was too cute. And Clare, even after it was firmly determined that it was a boy, refused to believe it and kept saying excitedly, "It's a girl!" :-) Shea did a little victory dance on the stool when it was announced that he's getting a brother. I guess you can't please them all. :-)

There's no accounting for taste

I try to discourage my kids from choosing their own outfits. Still, sometimes, it can't be helped and this is what we get. :-)

Easter in August??

In the spirit of catching up and for my future blog book, I have to post these cute pics of my kiddos and friends at Easter. And I promise, I didn't know I was dressing them to match their Easter baskets - but how cute are they??

As of 11 this morning...

Yep, that's 3 too many accidents for me. I HATE POTTY TRAINING! Every time I start I give up after one day because of this. I hate it!! It makes me so grouchy. :-(
I made Clare help clean up accident #3. She thought it was funny.
Come on Clarey! You can do it. Let's have an accident free afternoon girl!!!

Anton in my Trader Joes??

You're kidding me right? That's what I think every time I see a celeb someplace I frequent. It's so weird to me that they're real people and that they need milk and almonds too. It's just so odd to have a crush on someone on TV and then see them in your Trader Joes!! I love it!!
So this morning I had to run up and grab some flowers and some tortillas. As soon as I walked in, I saw him. "Anton" from Dexter. Chris and I love this show and have had a great time watching it from the beginning. Anton has been one of my favorite parts! He's so hot (yeah, Chris knows I think this. :-)
So as I always do with famous people, I gawk and follow them around in what I think is a covert manner, trying to get a better look. I was so excited that he was there, I called my friend Tamara, the only other person I know who watches Dexter religiously. I'm a little giddy as I tell her he's here. She says I have to go talk to him. I said NO WAY! I'm waaayyy too chicken for that. But she convinces me that they love it when fans come up and talk to them, so I did it!!
I walked up to a famous person that I watch on TV! I asked him if I could take his picture. He asked me my name, introduced himself, (oh, hi, David? I had no idea that was your name! For shame.) shook my hand and then he asked if he could be in the picture with me. Ummmmm, let me think about that for a second! Shut up!!! YES! He put his arm around me, scrunched down and took a pic with me. He was sooooo nice. I might change my mind and ALWAYS ask them for pictures now.

Oh happy day!! David/Anton whatever your name is, you're a hottie whose show and character I've loved. Nice to meetcha!!

A blog post? What?

As Clare would say, (or rather screech at the top of her lungs) "Whaaaaat?"
Has it really been 2 1/2 months since I posted? So... where does one start? Hmmm. At the beginning I guess. :-) (Jaimee Jo! This is for you! Okay, and my future blog book! :-)

Shea completed his first season in organized sports. I've never seen little boys as happy as these were when they were handed their T-ball trophies. Shea could not believe it was his to keep (it still occupies a place of honor in our home.) He honestly didn't know he was going to get one. He was so excited! And then there was Coach Daddy, who was as excited as the boys were. His first coaching job was fun, but he was happy, happy when we were done.


The kids got bunk beds in prep for Baby #3's arrival. They're big fans of their big kid beds. So far no falling off or broken bones. Knock on wood.


On memorial day this year we went out to Hollywood to visit Chris' parents' graves. It was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad we went and am looking forward to going again next year.



And Shea graduated from Pre-K! How we loved our first real school experience. Teacher Renee and Teacher Kim were absolutely amazing. I love those ladies and am so grateful for the kindness, patience and love they showed to my little man this year. We were so lucky to have them!!

Shea and his school buddies.


I adore this photo. This is Mimi. :-) Shea's first "girl" friend. At this age he didn't distinguish her from any other friend, but he definitely played with her more than any other girl. Her mom told me one day after school that she talked about Shea non-stop at home. I love her turning his face to look at her. And look at the two little girls on either side shying away from the two of them. It's tooooo cute!!


My adorable, sweet little man. I can't believe how big he's getting. I cry every time I think about him going to full day kindergarten in ONE month!! :-( I will miss him so.