Hammond Ranch Happenings

Day #2 - 'Thinking of You'

2010-11-09T19:57:00.000-08:00

I'm on an email list for inspirational messages from Bob Perks. I'm not sure how or when I signed up for his emails, but I truly enjoy them and they always leave me feeling inspired.

Here is a link to today's message ...

Bob Perks Message for Today

I pass on this message via my blog because I'm 'thinking of you'. Have a wonderful day ♥

30 Day Challenge ...

2010-11-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

I 'borrowed' this idea from a friend's blog http://www.sleeplessmornings.com/2010/11/30-day-challenge-im-little-behind.html (who borrowed it from another blog http://thebabblingsofmere.blogspot.com/2010/10/thirty-day-challenge.html).

So, I first ask myself, am I up for the challenge? I haven't been a particularly faithful blogger, but I'm an dedicated scrapbooker/family historian. First, as is normal for me, I'm bending the rules to suit me. Yes, I understand it's supposed to be for the month of November, but because it's already the 7th I figure I'll dare to be different, so for me it's 30 days from the time I begin - 30 consecutive days is what I'm looking to do, but it may be 30 days by the end of 2010, we'll just see ...

In order to make this work for me I've decided to do my 30 days of blogging a little differently. It would be fun to dig into a variety of questions on different topics, but I need something to hold my 30 days together, and something that will be a way of digging a little further into something I'm already doing. What is it that I'll be blogging about? Well, it's going to be an extension of my prayer time, a way of working through whatever my reading from The Bible and my Daily Devotional is for the day. I have to admit that today I didn't do my normal routine which includes exercise (and watching mindless TV after I wander through emails on my Droid while on my exercise bike or stairclimber) and prayer. So, I figured I'd do just a quickie introductory blog about my 'plans' for this next 30 days (or so). Sort of commit myself to the idea by writing it down. So, that is exactly what I'm doing here, making a commitment to myself, and anyone out there reading my blog, to write 30 blog posts in (hopefully) 30 days.

Here's a bit of what I'm reading as I write this post ... the title of yesterday's Upper Room Devotional is 'Open Doors' As I read through it I realized it was quite appropriate for this first post, so here I go ...

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

-1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

ONE day I came to the checkout counter humming a gospel tune. The clerk said, "You certainly seem happy today." Bingo! A door opened. I replied, "Every day is a great day when you have Jesus in your heart." This opened the door for me to speak another word about my faith the next time I saw her.

God is always working, and every day offers opportunities to proclaim the Good News. Whether we are at the supermarket, the gas station, the mall, or on the street, opportunities arise. Paul says in Colossians 4:3, "Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ." Every day before leaving the house, I pray, "Lord, help me to see the open doors today, and give me the courage to tell someone the good news of Jesus Christ."

Doors of opportunity open for every believer, and many people need to hear of God's grace. Who is willing to talk about the wonderful grace of Jesus Christ? If you and I don't tell them, who will?

Today's Prayer ... Dear God, help us respond to the open doors of opportunity you put before us so that we may tell the good news of Christ each day. Amen.

And, the Thought for the Day ... Look for ways to speak of your faith to those around you.

And, lastly, Prayer Focus ... For courage to speak about my faith.

Matthew, the High School Marching Band Boy :-)

2010-10-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

Just a few 'Proud Parents' pictures of our boy doing what he loves, playing the trumpet in the High School Band! We're very blessed to have a great Band Instructor at our Middle School, who happens to also teach Band at the High School. He gave the kids who want to do it the option of being a part of both Bands :-)

Matthew is an extremely dedicated trumpet player, and boy does he continue to just get better and better!

No Bah Humbug! for me this year, especially because ...

2010-10-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

... I'm hoping to help with the Christmas 2010 Budget just a bit by getting some Shutterfly Christmas cards for free :-) We send out about 150 cards each year, and so this year when I noticed I could possibly get 50 for free I was feeling pretty good. The design I've pinpointed (I think) for this year's card is the "Family Memories Christmas Card". Why, you ask? Well, because I love to include as many photos as I can on our cards, and this one allows me to include 12 photos! In the past I've done newsletter style cards with pictures, but I'm not always satisfied with how it comes out - I'm kind of picky that way. And, I also started noticing which cards I'm more likely to keep, and truthfully, I like the cards with pictures that come with a nice informative 'what's been going on in our family' type of letter. Since quite a few of the people we exchange Christmas cards with are not ones we keep in touch with, it's great to hear all the things their families have been doing during the year. And, I've also discovered when I write my annual Christmas letter it gives me a chance to focus on the positives of our family member's lives during the past year, which I feel is a great way to end the year and start the new one!

To check out all that Shutterfly has to offer for your Christmas cards, just check out ...
www.shutterfly.com
or to check out stationery and Christmas cards go to ...
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

And, check it out ... “Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards”
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Wow, am I really going to get going on my Christmas cards before Halloween?! Hmmm, we shall see :-)

Yup, time to blog again ...

2010-10-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yup - it's been months, but what they hey, it's time to get back on the bandwagon again. Here's a few pictures from our recent trip to DC ... it was a pretty awesome trip, and one of the highlights was getting me on the airplane! Nope, don't love to fly, but I did okay, which kind of opens up a whole world of traveling for me to do :-)

So nice to have a TV to watch while we fly :-)

Layover time in New York - never been there before, and I guess I still really haven't!

A great picture of Bob at Shaun's football game!

Drinking wine and watching football with the lovely Annie in his lap.

Arlington Cemetery.

One of several morning lattes made by our gracious hostess Pam :-)

A little morning porch sitting time for me and Annie.

Matthew being a silly kid in one of the many museums we visited!

Yup, I really was there!

A Taste of the Hammond Family Reunion ...

2010-06-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Reg Hammond Clan

Pictures of the other clans and more to come ...

Happy Father's Day! ♥

2010-06-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day, Bobby and Richie!

Summer 2010 ...

2010-06-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

Summer 2010 ... we've been looking forward to it for a while, and now it's here. Now, realize that our life is not what I'd call, well, exciting. We like to hang out at home, although we do love a trip to a bookstore (even if it is 30 minutes away). We like to get out and skate or bowl or miniature golf, too. But, we also have responsibilities at home in the form of chores that need to be taken care of. We try not to let that get in the way of our fun, but these things do need to be done. That all being said, I decided to make a list this summer of things to do - for those days when we know we'd like to do something, we just don't know what. I modeled mine after this one one from http://asoftplace.net/2010/06/hello-summer/

Here's our version ...

And, here's a few things we have done from the list ...

And, a couple of things not on the list ...

While the summer got off to a bit of a rocky start, I think we're starting to settle into a routine that includes the normal day to day routine stuff as well as some pretty cool fun stuff! I even bought myself some skates yesterday so the boy and I can go hurt ourselves together!

Our Award Winning Poet!

2010-06-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Matthew entered the Ventura County Writers Club 2010 Poetry Contest. Here he is with one of his certificates. He submitted 6 poems and won a 1st place, 3rd place and an Honorable Mention! Pretty exciting stuff!

He read 2 of the 3 poems that won ...

... to quite a large audience!

There were 228 entries total for the entire contest - adults, young adults, and children. So awesome that 3 of his poems were chosen! Congratulations, Matthew! ♥

Memorial Day

2010-05-30T21:11:00.001-07:00

We went for a walk on the Ventura Pier this evening, the evening before Memorial Day. Flags were placed all up and down the pier - it really was quite a beautiful sight.

Now for a story to help us remember this very important day ...

It was raining “cats and dogs” and I was late for physical training. Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, KY and was moving way too slowly. I was probably going to be late and I was growing more and more impatient.

The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial Grove, the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the Gander airplane crash, the worst redeployment accident in the history of the 101^st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

Because it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been placed in the ground next to each soldier’s memorial plaque.

My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck. Getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time.

All of a sudden, infuriatingly, just as the traffic was getting started again, the car in front of me stopped. A soldier, a private of course, jumped out of the pouring rain and ran over toward the grove.

I couldn’t believe it! This knucklehead was holding up everyone for who knows what kind of prank. Horns were honking. I couldn’t wait to see the butt-chewing that he was going to get for making me late.

He was getting soaked to the skin. His BDU’s were plastered to his frame. I watched as he ran up to one of the memorial plaques, picked up the small American flag that had fallen to the ground in the wind and the rain, and set it upright again.

Then, slowly, he came to attention, saluted, ran back to his car, and drove off. I’ll never forget that incident. That soldier, whose name I will never know, taught me more about duty, honor, and respect than a hundred books or a thousand lectures.

That simple salute --- that single act of honoring his fallen brother and his flag --- encapsulated all the Army values in one gesture for me. It said, “I will never forget. I will keep the faith. I will finish the mission. I am an American soldier.”

I thank God for examples like that.

And on this Memorial Day, I will remember all those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom, and one private, soaked to the skin, who honored them.

A windy Santa Barbara beach walk with Nana (and Emily)

2010-05-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

We decided to visit Nana one Saturday and went on what turned out to be a very windy beachwalk. Nonetheless it was a beautiful walk.

Another one bites the dust ...

2010-05-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

One of our baby avocado trees has gone to Avocado Tree Heaven ... someone sadly decided to run the stop sign across the street from our house today and ended up taking out one of our baby avocado trees (just a little over a year old). I came to find out this afternoon that the person ended up being arrested for DUI as well as child endangerment. And, all around 10 or 10:30am! Now, I'd say that's not the way to start a 3 day weekend.

That sad little stick sticking out of the round used to be our avocado tree filled with leaves ...
but alas no more :-(

Mostly Matthew ...

2010-05-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

Just a bit of this and that (yup, mostly Matthew) ... Matthew as the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, and then with a moustache just for fun for the Cast Party!

Shaking the Ventura Mayor's hand when he received an Honorable Mention for a poem he wrote in response to the picture below.

Shooting targets with his BB gun ...

And, reading with Tiger ...

A wonderful Mother's Day weekend in Monterey!

2010-05-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was absolutely wonderful. We spent Mother's Day weekend in Monterey at the Best Western Monterey Beach Resort (thanks to credit card mileage!). We had business to deal with on Friday (AND I got to spend some time with wonderful friends in the evening), but then on Saturday we had the WHOLE day in Monterey! We hit Toasties (our favorite breakfast place) in Pacific Grove for the 2nd time on Saturday morning (we ate there on Friday morning too), went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and ate at The Thai Bistro II! Yum yum! It was a day that seemed to go on forever, but in a good way. Sunday was spent packing up and heading to Hollister for church, then driving to Clovis for a short visit with Ellie Belly Jelly and then heading the rest of the way home. Here's just a few pics from our weekend ...

A quote for today ...

2010-04-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.

Be the living expression of God's kindness:

kindness in your face,

kindness in your eyes,

kindness in your smile.

Mother Teresa

Just catching up finally!

2010-04-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so I'm not so good at this blogging thing ... would love to get it up and running and more current, but right now I'm trying to deal with getting the Family Scrapbook Albums caught up, so ... well, we'll see if I can't get both done! Here's a few pictures from March ...

This first one was a picture I took of a truck in Ventura - reallly? 1800DogPoop?!

Yup, you saw it here! People are strange aren't they?!

And, Bob got a shipment of his favorite red stuff ...

Matthew trying out the trombone, and doing a little fencing!

A nice glass of champagne for my birthday, and a beautiful bouquet of flowers ♥

A trip to Yosemite for Matthew's Spring Break ...

A trip to visit Ellie Belly Jelly ...

First, she helped G'ma Lisa brush her teeth.

Then, she hung out with Uncle Matt while she had a bite to eat.

And, because that was all a lot of work, she took a little snooze ...

And, finally, a few pampered pooches ...

That's about it for now!

Alice in Wonderland!

2010-03-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post about Matthew's new endeavor ... he's going to be in our community theater's upcoming production of Alice in Wonderland! Here's the poster for now, will post more later ... oh, and he's White Rabbit!

The cute little Ellie Belly Jelly ♥

2010-02-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

Just have to post some pictures of that cute little girl - I had the privilege of hanging out with her (oh and her Mom and her Auntie Beth) this past weekend (the boys were at Boy Scout Winter Camp). Here's the girl having some fun taking a bath ...

She also ate at Spencer Makenzie's in Ventura - a little rice and fish for the girlie girl!

And, then we went for her first ice cream cone with Auntie Beth ...

Oh, but I forgot - before all of that we had yummy strawberry margaritas ...

And, on Saturday morning Ellie and I got to hang out while Katie and Beth slept in ...

And, then there was playtime ...

That Ellie Belly sure is a cutie pie ♥

St. Stephen's Anglican Church

2010-01-29T18:00:00.000-08:00

As of January Father Brother Bob is conducting services at St. Stephen's Anglican Church (at the Methodist Church on Sespe St. here in Fillmore). St. Stephen's used to be DaySpring, but a name change, location and time have occurred. Services are at 9am (rather than 12:30pm) and they're pretty close to downtown. We're hoping this will help draw more people - and so far it's worked a little - one new couple attended! Let's cross our fingers and say a few prayers :-)

Our beautiful Pt. Mugu hike!

2010-01-20T17:41:00.000-08:00

When Amy & Perry came to visit we (Amy, Perry, Beth, Bob, Matthew and I) went for a hike on a trail off of Hwy 1. It was the best of both worlds - hiking AND beautiful views of the ocean!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-01T22:01:00.000-08:00

We did our 'usual' - eggs benedict and an orchard walk. Beyond that, not much else. Some naps were taken, and books were read (and listened to - Matthew had some audiobooks he was listening to). Oh, and of course, some football was watched. Not a bad way to spend the first day of 2010 ...

Tryin' for a good family picture ...

2009-12-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Will post more pics later, but here's our attempt at a good family picture ... Ellie was having nothing to do with it!

Okay, so maybe it didn't work (for that last shot we put her bottle near the camera which is why she got so mad). It doesn't matter, that Ellie Belly still is one cute girlie!

a beautiful hike in Santa Paula ...

2009-12-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

Today we went on a beautiful 6-7 mile hike to the Punch Bowls in Santa Paula with Matthew's Boy Scout Troop 406. We kind of took our own trails for part of it, but did make it. Here are a few pictures ...

So proud of that boy!

2009-12-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

This Reading class assignment was not an easy one, but my boy and I tackled it, and it turned out pretty darn well!

Bagels, bagels, bagels ...

2009-12-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

We love bagels in our household, so I thought I'd take a stab at baking some today ... they didn't turn out half bad. We have some Parmesan cheese ones (Matthew's favorite is Asiago cheese), some Everythings, and a couple of plain. Matthew and I taste tested a Parmesan and it wasn't terrible.

Ahhhhh ...

2009-12-13T11:20:00.000-08:00

The dogs love the sunshine after a wonderful rain ...

That Tiger dog loves his daddy!

2009-12-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

Yup - Tiger loves to be touching his Dad as much as possible - and when it gets late into the evening, he also protects him fiercely!

The Band Boy (again!)

2009-12-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

This was the boy at the Fillmore Middle School Winter Concert - he looks so grown up all dressed up in a tie!

Yay - we got our Christmas Tree!

2009-12-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

With the forecast of rain, we were a little worried we wouldn't be able to get our tree this weekend, but there was a break in the rain yesterday afternoon, and so here it is!

And, that green jacket I have on has been worn for many many years for our trek to pick out a Christmas tree. I haven't worn it for quite a while, but decided to put it on just for this occasion.

The Marching Band Boy Part 2!

2009-12-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

Matthew was in the Annual Fillmore Christmas Parade today - it was so cool to see him marching down the street with 97 other members of the Fillmore Middle School Marching Band! Here are a few pictures of that boy who is growing up waaaay too fast ...

This first picture is of the whole group marching ...

Now the boy ...

And our Fillmore Parade would not be complete without ...

a bright yellow hummer owned by our local Edison's Up in Arms (the storefront says 'guns, ammo, gifts'). Yup, our local gun shop!

Next, we had 14 of these (but I only included a few pictures) ...

Gotta love this local parade!

And, last but not least ...

Santa on the Fillmore Fire Department's Fire Truck!

It was an awesome parade - good job Fillmore!

Some antiques, and an antique cat to go with it!

2009-12-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

I caught Mindy Lou sitting outside sunning herself yesterday - she was hanging out amongst the other 'antiques'. She is, after all, about 23 years old - that pretty much classifies her as an antique don't you think?!

The Marching Band Boy!

2009-12-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Matthew will be in his very first parade as a member of Fillmore Middle School's Marching Band! Here's a preview shot of him in his 'uniform' (sadly, they don't have enough band uniforms, so they had tshirts made up). I'd say he looks pretty sharp!

And, he's going to be in the Winter Concert next week - for that he has to wear a tie!

Check him out in these preview shots!

I'd say that boy dresses up pretty well!

More pictures?! Yup!

2009-11-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

Oh, that Ellie loves her Papa, and she thinks her Grandma Lisa is pretty okay too ...

She was pretty intent on what Uncle Matt was eating ... she's a very curious cutie!

Hanging out with Papa some more is pretty fun ...

As shot of Beth and Kona - we all relaxed outside in the morning the day after Thanksgiving - it was beautiful!

Katie and Beth ...

It was a really nice Thanksgiving - and we have so much to be thankful for!

Just a whole BUNCH of pictures!

2009-11-28T18:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving AND Happy Anniversary

2009-11-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all and a Happy 15th Anniversary to my hubby and me! We started the day with champagne, pumpkin spice lattes (and yummy cranberry margaritas later in the day).

We are very grateful for a wonderful life, family and friends.

More November pictures ...

2009-11-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to find these wall art sayings at Kohl's. I put one above the pictures above our bed.

And, the other one above the beautiful family photo take in Cabo that's hanging in our dining room.

And, Matthew is on the Principal's Honor Roll - great job Matthew!

And, check out the boy's outfit for the Winter Band Concert! Quite handsome if I don't say so myself!

And, 'Mal our pal' who can't seem to keep his tongue in his mouth when he sleeps!

And, Tiger loves a warm body as the evenings get a bit cooler.

Apparently I'm gearing up for the holiday season when I take TONS of pictures - this month I'm doing a lot of picture taking of pets and not much else!

Just a few pictures ...

2009-11-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

Pictures of that crazy boy of ours ... he was a 'Mad Scientist Fisherman' for Halloween - I LOVE his imagination!

Here's our beautiful Malcolm boy - he is a Retriever all the way - he HAS to have a toy at all times!

And, I do believe our Tiger has officially bonded with Malcolm!

Yay - a new haircut for me - now if I could figure out how to style it like my hairstylist!

And, the tree that Bob planted for little Ellie Belly Jelly ... a pomegranate tree just like her momma requested :-)

I'm sorry Bob, but I just had to!

2009-11-14T19:32:00.000-08:00

After this Girls' Weekend I was lucky enough to have 2 stragglers - while Jen and Molly's flights left on Sunday evening, Heidi and Gayle's didn't leave until Monday. So, they came to my house for the royal treatment. So, here it is, Bob catering to 2 of my very dear friends ... first by dressing in one of our very cutest aprons and serving coffee in bed to Gayle and Heidi. Next, by loading them up with oranges to take home.

Sorry Bob, I just had to post the picture of you in your lovely apron serving coffee!

Finally, back to the blog ...

2009-11-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, time to wrap up the Girls' Weekend trip that happened about a month and a half ago and get on with current happenings. So, here are some pics of the rest of our weekend. The main great thing we did was spend 4 hours with our toes in the sand at the Shoreline Cafe

Can't believe it was a month ago!

2009-10-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

What you ask? My Girls' Weekend. I got so tired from posting about our S.F. trip I decided to take a rest before I posted about my Girls' Weekend in Santa Barbara. Anyway, here goes ... and for those of you wondering about tattoos this year? Nope, not a one!

Day 1 (Thursday) - no pictures of the airport pickup - it's really not that exciting.

Gayle arrives first, around 2:30pm, sadly without her iPhone which was taken from her in Dallas :-( So, the next hour or two is spent finding her a cheap and no frills replacement. It doesn't really matter that we had to do that, I was just so excited to have the first of 4 arrive! Next arrival was Heidi at about 5pm. So, where to from there as we wait for arrival #3, Molly, and arrival #4 Jen? Why, Chevy's of course! We had a nice leisurely meal, and after looking at Ikea, a huuuuge Ikea, across the street we decided that would our after dinner destination. Gayle had been there, but Heidi nor I had, so it was quite a treat! Wow, there sure is a TON of stuff at Ikea, and it's so cool because you can sit and relax everywhere! Okay, so after we were done, and boy were we done, we went back to the airport to get Molly and Jen. First, we got Molly - yay! But, sadly, Jen's flight was delayed ... and delayed ... and delayed. She finally arrived at about 10:15 (we had gone to hang out in Starbucks). So, at that point, off we went to Santa Barbara - an almost 2 hour drive! We arrived sometime after midnight, got ourselves settled in, and off to bed we went.

Day 2 (Friday)

Today was the day we saw a real live Super Model! But, first we went and ate lunch at Pascucci's - generally this is a restaurant we love, but today, eh, not so great. We hung out at the house for quite a long time - drinking coffee, chatting, etc. We finally got ourselves out of the house, and were quite hungry. We ended up at Pascucci's, but it was kind of a 'linner' - too late for lunch, too early for dinner. We think that's where things went wrong. Anyway, not a great meal, but as always with these wonderful friends, great company!

Now for some pictures!

First for some eyebrow tweezing by Heidi ...

Next, a few pics at Pascucci's ...

Sunglasses? Not sure why, it's just something we did ...

And, check out Molly ... always too cute!

And, what a great shot of Gayle and Heidi!

Ah, and after lunch we headed up State Street to wander through shops. We were doing fine until we had our very first Super Model sighting! Yup, it's true ... we were on one side of State Street, and one of us who shall remain nameless, said something like "Look, that's Cindy Crawford (and her husband and 2 children)!". So, what did we do? We tailed her for several blocks, until we figured out that she was probably on to us, and was getting fairly annoyed.

So, after we stalked her and her family down State Street, we decided to try for some pictures (taken by www.agirlandacamera.net).

Here, Heidi and I in focus (nope, that's not what we were trying for)

A cute one of the '3 Super Models'!

Ah, now she's in focus ...

Just a little past this point, we figured we were getting fairly annoying, so we backed off. Besides, we had gotten our pictures!

Tomorrow ... more about our trip ...

Alcatraz, finally!

2009-10-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

One of the main things Matthew wanted to do on our trip up north was to visit Alcatraz, and finally on Day #6 we're going to make it! We got up, got ourselves packed, and off we went. Thankfully, we left a little earlier than we originally planned because we caught some pretty good traffic. Luckily, we made it in time anyway. We took the 10am trip, and it took us a full 3 hours to see Alcatraz, and there were some places we didn't get to! Much of the time was spent in the Cell Block with the Audio tour - that was pretty darn cool.

And, thank goodness, those wonderful Alcatraz folks sent a follow up survey where I kind of griped about not getting a refund for the first day (the horrible rainy, windy day when we decided not to go). They were very understanding and to refund my money. I highly recommend purchasing your Alcatraz tickets through them http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/

Once we finished with our Alcatraz tour, we did a little more in San Francisco - the main thing being buying more of that awesome Boudin bread (and of course one of the loaves HAD to be a bear!).

Then, we were off to Clovis, via San Jose and picking up Laura :-) Once we got here, we were well on our way. We arrived in Clovis around 6:30ish, and how wonderful it was to see that beautiful baby Elliana (oh, and of course Rich and Katie too!).

Sadly, I was having such a good time hanging out with Ellie, I didn't take many pictures of her (and none of Rich or Katie). Ugh - sometimes it would be nice to have a personal photographer with me!

We spent Thursday night and Friday night in Clovis (we won't talk about the football game), and left early early on Saturday morning so we could return in time to get our doggies (otherwise, we'd have to board them 2 more nights, and no, no, no, that just wasn't going to happen!).

That's it - a week in the life of the Bardsdale Hammond Family on vacation in San Francisco. We had a good time, but we sure are happy to be home!

A day in Sonoma and Napa ...

2009-10-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

I guess this would technically be our 5th day of vacation. We decided to pack as much into one day as possible so that's why we went to ...

Downtown Sonoma where we had Boudin bread and Sonoma cheese (yup, we got just one more teddy bear loaf of bread). Yum, yum - that bread and cheese (and salami) were scrumptious! We even sat in a park to partake in our yummy lunch.

Check out the beautiful fall leaves ...

and our yummy cheese, salami and bread ...

We also checked out the Mission and a few other spots ...

And, off to the Jack London Museum we went ... here is a drawing of what it was going to be - sadly, it burned down just before Jack London and his wife were to move in.

This is a picture of the remnants of it - it is deteriorating quite badly, but we could still tell it was a magnificent house!

On our 1/2 mile hike to the house, Matthew even saw a deer!

From here we set off to see the Petrified Forest ...

Here is Bob, looking petrified!

And, Matthew too!

And, I had to take a picture of the 'no running' sign because I kept telling Matthew not to run, but he said he was only jogging!

Next stop, a castle! Actually, it's a winery, but it's also a castle (part of 'Bedtime Stories' was filmed there)

And, while Dad tasted some wine, Matthew and I checked out the chickens!

We made one more stop at an overpriced wine store looking for gifts, but Bob said he decided against buying anything there because nowhere in the store were any prices listed - he knew then and there that the wine was too expensive for us!

Next stop ... Alcatraz, but not today! Tomorrow, Day #6 of our vacation ...

More vacation ...

2009-10-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sure didn't seem like we did THAT much during our vacation, but I guess we did. So, we've gotten from Fillmore to Hollister to San Francisco. Now, we're still in San Francisco, we've had a day of walking all over Fisherman's Wharf, and now we're back at Uncle Murray & Aunt Muriel's to have a pizza dinner with T'sa and my brother Chris.

The next day we were to head to Alcatraz, but the weatherman didn't cooperate. It POURED rain that day - 4 inches I understand. We actually did go down and give it a try, but the rain and the winds made us go back and forth with our decision with a final decision being 'heck no'! We did end up over at the Vista Point by the Golden Gate Bridge - being outside in the rain and wind really made us feel as if we had made a good decision.

Yup, it was mighty wet out there. So, we're flexible people - we changed our plans and decided to head up to Napa, and return to see Alcatraz in a couple of days. But first, before heading to Napa, we had to get a 'bread bear', right?!

That bear didn't stand a chance with Matthew!

So, we went back to Murray and Muriel's, said our goodbyes, and off we went to Napa to spend some time with Bob's friends, Mike & Gail. We arrived mid afternoon, and since we didn't have lunch went straight out for some Mexican food at the Red Hen with Mike (Gail was still working) - well, Mexican food and maragitas - pomegranate margaritas to be exact (at least for me - Bob had his usual Negro Modelo, and Matthew had his Sprite). After that rainy day beginning, that food and those margaritas hit the spot!

The evening brought some hanging out at Mike & Gail's - great food, wine and conversation. Sadly, I took NO pictures of Mike & Gail's house, nor of Mike & Gail! Sometimes it's just more fun to 'live' the moment than to document it!

Next stop ... downtown Sonoma and the Sonoma Mission, a yummy cheese and bread lunch, the Jack London Museum, the Petrified Forest, and Castello di Amorosa.

So much to blog about!

2009-10-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

I couldn't decide WHAT to blog about today ... Girls' Weekend or San Francisco trip. Well, I tossed a coin and S.F. it is ... the Girls' Weekend will have to be documented another day.

So, after a week away, we have landed - it's not something we do often, but I thought that for Matthew's Fall Break we should actually GO somewhere, and not just to Trader Joe's, or Ventura, or out in the orchard, but SOMEWHERE.

So, we did.

We went to Northern CA - yes, I do realize we lived up there for quite a while - Bob for 20+ years, me for 13 years, and Matthew for 8 years, but we had never taken Matthew to San Francisco to see the sights.

So, that's what we did this vacation.

We combined it with a family/friend visit which was really nice. We saw some things I had never even heard about ...
* the Jack London Museum
* the Petrified Forest
* a 'Castle' winery
* and believe it or not, even though I had heard about it, I had never been to Fisherman's Wharf.

I had visited San Francisco, but I have no memory of anything particularly "flat" there - always a memory of hills and Ghirardelli Square, taking the train by myself to visit my step brother, flying kites with my step brother, macaroni and cheese with sunflower seeds made by my step brother.

This vacation was entirely different.

First, we dropped our doggies off at their temporary home for a week - C.A.R.L.'s Pet Care Center. They do well there, so I really didn't worry. Next stop was Salinas to see Beth's new home, and for a yummy Thai Bistro dinner. We then headed into Hollister so that Bob could do church - we stayed at Aunt Annie's which is always nice. From there we were off to Uncle Murray and Aunt Muriel's. Okay, this is where I fell down on the job ... no pictures of us with Uncle Murray, Aunt Muriel or T'sa, Chris, Allyson or my brother Chris?! Hmmm, well we had a nice dinner anyway.

The next morning we decided we would head out to see the sights of S.F. We hadn't realized it when we planned our trip but Fleet Week was upon us, so we were heading out to go on one of the ships after a yummy lunch at Fisherman's Grotto (forgot to mention that we first met up with Mike & Kim). There were a few problems with this plan ...

1) we didn't know exactly where the ships were located - as it turned out they were about 6 miles away from where we started
2) I didn't read carefully enough that backpacks were not allowed
3) And Bob had a pocket knife with him that was not allowed on board

Forgot to mention we checked out the inside of a submarine - that was pretty cool. We also wandered through an 'old game' museum - very cool as well.

So, the long and the short of it ... we walked a long way, took a trolley (that was kind of cool - Matthew had never been on one), and walked some more, but didn't get to see the ship.

We then headed back to Ghirardelli Square, but also didn't know it was as far as it was from Pier 39, so that was more walking. Anyway, it was a long walking day, and wasn't quite what I had thought it would be, but it was still fun.

Look for more about our vacation tomorrow ...

Chickens - yup, not the brightest bulbs in the box!

2009-09-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, I had to start this post with fluffy chicken butts - our chickies have the most beautiful fluffy chicken butts ever. And, it's just so cool that these fluffy chicken butts produce such wonderful eggs!

Now onto the post ... I love our chickens, don't get me wrong, but I do have to admit that what they say is true. Chickens are NOT smart, and in fact, are quite the opposite. Our beautiful Buff Orpington chickens are now laying - at least it seems like 3 of them are. Today, for the first time, we got 3 eggs in one day! However, yesterday I think we would have also gotten 3 eggs, but 2 of them were laid from the roost! So, what do you think happens when a chicken lays an egg from a roost several feet in the air?! Hmmm, doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure that out. Anyway, it was nice to see that they managed to figure out where the laying boxes are (or at least the floor) and so today we got 3 eggs! Yay!

Fire photos

2009-09-23T06:31:00.001-07:00

A picture taken by someone else, but our house is shown in the background on the left.

a super cool spider!

2009-09-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

You can kind of see him here - he has a fuzzy back.

But can you find him here?

Or here?

More fire pictures ... after all, what else is there to do?!

2009-09-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

If you click on the first two pictures I think you can see flames - that's from our front yard.

And, a few pictures of the helicopters that were circling above the house.

'Bob the Builder'!

2009-09-22T15:44:00.001-07:00

A few pictures of our finished chicken coop built by our very own 'Bob the Builder' - our 4 chicky babies like it (Eeny, Meeny, Miney, and Mo) - they've been laying about 1 egg a day for a week or so (actually we think that Mo is our layer). However, with the fire and the helicopters buzzing overhead, I think they might go on strike!

And our picket fence - I helped put that together - it looks pretty cool!

Fire in Southern CA - it's just a way of life ...

2009-09-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's just a fact of life when you live in Southern California - fires. Especially when you've got Santa Ana winds. While it's great to watch our SCE meter turn backwards because it's so windy, it's not a great thing for the fire.

A shot from our back yard ...

... and from the front of our house

here are some flames ...

The boy has a blog!

2009-09-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

Matthew has a technology class during his Advisory period at school, and right now they're talking a lot about iWeb (something I don't understand!). Anyway, I suggested maybe a blog would be a fun thing for him to try out, so we're working on one together for him. He's already written a couple of posts - 2 poems he wrote - one at Writer's Camp and another in school this year. He's quite the writer - he sure does make a momma proud!

http://knowitallboy.blogspot.com/

'tooterull' - what is that?!

2009-09-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Ah, talking with my boy last night - he's telling me what he had been doing on the computer last night - he's learning about iWEb and iMovies and stuff in school in his Technology class, so he was explaining some of that to me. He then asks me if I know what a 'tooterull' is.

Well, I know a lot of things, but that was a new one on me, so I respond with a 'no, don't know what that is'. Ah, being the Middle Schooler he is now, he proceeds to laugh, saying he can't believe I don't know what a 'tooterull' is! I get a bit, well, grumpy that my getting bigger, not a baby anymore is trying to show me up. At this point, I start spouting off about teacher stuff, bookkeeping stuff, anything I can think of that he doesn't know anything about. He then proceeds to point out that the stuff I'm asking about isn't in the dictionary, but his is. All the while I'm thinking he's talking about something that's a proper name, not just a word.

And, then the light bulb moment for me!
He's not actually meaning to say 'tooterull' ...

he's meaning to say 'tutorial'!

Ah, now who got the last laugh dear Middle School son of mine?!

(by the way, this story was put on our blog with permission from that wonderful boy!)

Richie in the Fresno Bee!

2009-09-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Clovis High football's Sept. already best in years

Published online on Monday, Sep. 14, 2009

By Andy Boogaard and Nick Giannandrea / The Fresno Bee

The post-game celebration suggested Clovis High had won another Central Section title in football, something the Cougars have accomplished at least once in each of the past four decades.

Yet it followed a 14-7 nonleague win at Atascadero on Friday in the team's second game of the season.

"I had to calm them down a bunch," first-year Clovis coach Rich Hammond said. "The biggest thing for us: It can't be the pinnacle of the season, just another win in the course of the season."

Still, the Cougars could be excused for being a bit giddy.

The victory was their first in September after 10 consecutive losses in the month since the 2006 season.

And it also came after an 0-1 start this year and a 2-19 overall record the previous two seasons.

"Everybody's extremely excited," Hammond said of a win that carried extra value, in that Southern Section Division II power Atascadero had opened with a 33-21 win at the section's then-No. 8 Clovis East two weeks ago.

While Clovis has returned to what was once commonplace -- The Bee's Top 20, at No. 16 -- the challenge of sustaining that success will be daunting while opposing No. 2 Bullard on Friday night at Chukchansi Park.

Regardless, the future has brightened considerably for the Cougars, who had three sophomore linebackers -- Ryan Davies, Zack Nevills and Nate Palomino -- come of age at Atascadero, which was stuffed on three fourth-down attempts.

They were complemented on defense by senior lineman Joe Gustafson and junior safety Gil Ornelas.

The offense was guided by senior quarterback Trey Mitchell, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 268 yards, without an interception, while also rushing for both touchdowns.

"We were fortunate -- we got some breaks," said Hammond, referring to six Atascadero fumbles, four of which were recovered by the Cougars. "But we held them to 180 yards. And we had seven plays over 20 yards, which was huge, changing field position. This was definitely a confidence builder."

Quite a mission for Gambini

Mark Gambini walked away from the Central Valley Christian football program after coaching it to a third straight section Division V championship in 2005.

But he's finding life a little more challenging in his second stint as a head coach at Tulare's newest high school -- Mission Oak. The Hawks, in their first varsity season, are 0-2 after losing to Lindsay (66-0) and Hanford West (58-0).

"The kids are resilient; they bounce back," Gambini said. "We try to keep practices light and fun. Everyone knows the situation we're in."

Mission Oak won't have a senior class until next year, and the Hawks' 24-man roster features only 14 juniors. Six of the juniors didn't suit up Friday against Hanford West either because of injury or eligibility, Gambini said, forcing several sophomores to play both ways.

Mission Oak will have to grow up in a hurry. With the addition of their first seniors, the Hawks move into the East Yosemite League next season, alongside established city schools Tulare and Tulare Western. Mission Oak -- like fellow first-year programs Kennedy-Delano, Mira Monte-Bakersfield and Independence-Bakersfield -- is playing as an independent this season.

Mission Oak's junior varsity and freshman teams are off to strong starts this year, and Gambini expects to have a roster of 40 to 45 players next season, full of experienced juniors.

"We'd like to say the future is bright," Gambini said. "If we continue to build the right way and lay the foundation, I think we will be good in a few years."

Gambini went 51-10 during his five seasons at CVC before spending two seasons as an assistant on the varsity staff at El Diamante. He then jumped at the chance to launch the Mission Oak program, starting by coaching the Hawks junior varsity last season.

"It's been a lot of work, probably a little more than I expected," Gambini said. "But I'm enjoying it because you're building it from the ground up."

Dinuba officials probing locker room theft

Dinuba administrators are reviewing three hours of surveillance video shot outside its girls locker room, searching for clues pertaining to an alleged theft of personal items belonging to members of the Washington football team.

The alleged theft occurred after halftime of the Panthers' 21-20 loss to Dinuba on Friday.

Dinuba athletic director Martin Tovar said any findings on the surveillance tape would be turned over to the police.

"We pride ourselves on being good hosts," Tovar said. "We're very upset about this and we're looking into procedures to make sure nothing ever happens like this again."

Washington athletic director Jeff Cardoza said he would file a report with the Dinuba Police Department after talking to his school's players.

Is it really only 15 days to go?!!!!

2009-09-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

Only 15 days until our 6th Annual Girls' Weekend?! It seems so strange that this year will be the 6th year! Our weekends are the best - we sit around and drink coffee, knit, drink wine, knit, drink beer, knit, occasionally get tattooed (actually, more than occasionally - almost every trip has included that), and talk, talk and talk!
And, to think it all began with a birthday celebration in 2004!

The first destination was Santa Barbara ...

Next, we hit Coeur d'Alene ...

From there it was Tahoe ...

After that, Santa Barbara again
(and sadly one of the five couldn't make it that year ...
maybe that's why I can't find that picture!)

Next, to Reno ...

And, this year back to Santa Barbara!

(Pictures coming SOON!)

9/11 ... We Will Never Forget

2009-09-11T10:22:00.001-07:00

Dear, what are you doing?!

2009-09-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I thought Bob was outside beginning work on our garden fence. However, when I walked outside I found this ...

Bob said he had to move the rock anyway (he loves to collect rocks in our orchard - he's made some beautiful pathways in our front yard, too).

And, here it is with the view of the orchard behind it. We've been wondering what to do with this area - we'd like to put in a firepit and a patio, but maybe something that incorporates a labyrinth - I kind of like that idea!

Good job, Bobby!

Friends at last!

2009-09-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness our new Malcolm dog is now a part of the 'pack'. It took a few months, but I believe the bonding process is complete.

A little snooze time with Osa ...

... and some snooze time with Tiger (he was the hardest to win over - such little dog attitude!)

We knew all was okay when Tiger started licking Malcolm's gooey jowls and eye goobers (he used to do that with Lukey).

The view from our front patio ...

2009-09-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

This is the beautiful view we often see from our front patio.
Pretty gorgeous, don't you think?

Our first egg!!!!

2009-09-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Yay, the first egg (and check out our ladies in the background!)

Do you know which egg is the one our chickens laid?

Just had to post it - last night one of our almost 5 month old Buff Orpingtons laid their very first egg! I heard commotion in the chicken coop, but lately they've been pretty loud at times so I didn't really think much of it. Matthew went out, and lo and behold he came back in holding our very first egg! It was little, and brown, but quite tasty! By the way, do you know how to tell what color a chicken's egg will be? They have a small patch on the side of their head near their 'ears', and that is almost always the exact color their eggs will be - pretty cool!

Nature's beauty

2009-09-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Poofy clouds ...

The sunrise behind our wind turbine ...

Ahhh ... Life is Good :-)

I sold our home!

2009-09-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

A day after my horrible fiasco with my email account, I sold our home! Yes, you heard me right. And, you ask, is this a good thing? Selling our home? Of course it is! But, what home you might ask?! Well, it was our home for 5 months (while we remodeled our now gorgeous beautiful new home).

The home I sold was our 1987 Alfa Gold 29' trailer!

We've been using this 'home' for storage since we moved out of it in September 2007. Seemed like it was time, we knew it was time - we even just managed recently to get the items out of it that we had been storing. What kind of stuff do you store in a trailer such as this? Well, boxes and boxes of glassware - yup, drinking glasses, wine glasses, glasses of all shapes and sizes! I mean, how many glasses can one actually use?! We kept enough to fill our dining room hutch, but it was time to let a lot of it go. Even got rid of a set of Normal Rockwell mugs, a beautiful teapot and plates, 2 punch bowls with cups, and a mish mash of other stuff (some were sold at Relay for Life rummage sale, the rest to a Soroptomist Rummage Sale - I felt better as they are both good causes).

Anyway, we've been talking about clearing it out and selling it, but as I find often, everything happens in its own time. And, everything about selling this trailer just fell into place - getting rid of the stuff, and finding a buyer for it! I had just put a 'for sale' sign in the window a week or so ago, and it just so happened that someone driving by saw it, stopped, and I happened to look out to see them looking at the trailer - we spoke for a short time, and about an hour after that they brought me cash! I have to add though, that in between the time they said they'd buy it and they brought the cash, I spoke with the vet ... and all I can say is 'easy come easy go' - looks like one dog needs a biopsy, the other needs a ruptured cyst removed. But, hey, at least we have the cash to cover it (almost)!

On a last note - it's going to be so strange looking out the window and not seeing that old trailer out there. I can see the trees now, but that trailer has been there for years - literally! And, it's like selling an old friend, like selling memories ... hubby's parents traveled quite a bit in that, camping at a variety of Thousand Trails RV Parks, and the kids all have fond memories of Grandma & Papa and the trailer. It is just a 'thing', and we are still blessed to have those memories. (Besides, we still have the truck!)

Here are a few shots of our trailer driving down the road ...

Bye bye, trailer!

If it seems too good to be true ...

2009-09-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

I suppose I shouldn't have opened my mouth so soon, spouted off about how great our SCE bill was - after all it came in 2 months in a row at just over $1! I knew, I just knew it was too good to be true. And, yes, sadly it was. Since we moved 3 years ago hubby kept thinking there was something we could do with the wind machine that hadn't been used for many many years. He thought and thought and thought - he figured we get a good amount of wind here, and that somehow it could be turned into energy. Well, the day finally came where that did indeed happen. We became proud owners of a wind turbine. The wind machine is no more, and now every time there is a breeze I can just hear the sounds *cha ching cha ching*. And, for 2 months that sound was LOUD because I thought our bill was a mere $1. I kept looking at our bill, wondering where the hidden information was, and finally I found it. I didn't realize that when we switched over to the wind turbine that we would be paying our actual bill only ONE TIME PER YEAR! The $1 we pay each month is just a tax portion, but the rest is just waiting to be paid, I'm not sure when, but when SCE decides. Thankfully, I'm fairly meticulous in my money management and had been putting away our savings in an account to help pay off the wind turbine so the money hadn't been spent, just put aside. I had proudly posted on FB that our SCE bill was super low, but sadly I now have to take that back. Our beautiful wind turbine is definitely saving us money, but not in the bucketloads I thought it was for those 2 months. Oh well, it was a fun 2 months, and we are still making a difference, savings some energy, and making a difference in our energy consumption and our environment. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, right?!

Did I really do that?!

2009-09-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I did that! Did I really? And, it can't be undone? Really? Wiped out completely?! Of what am I talking about you ask? My family's email accounts - yup, wiped clean, irretrievable information, off into cyberspace. I cannot believe I did what I did. I was trying to save money, trying to simplify. I had decided we didn't need our family website, it was a pain to update, I only updated about 3-4 times a year, I had looked and looked and looked at how I needed to make my account changes, spoke with a customer service person on the phone, and still managed to screw it up! Oh well, I had been meaning to clean out my email inbox anyway ... hmmm, guess I did that didn't I! And, my 2 step daughter's, my son's, and my husband's as well. I'm sure there wasn't anything in there that was of any huge importance, but I also know that I won't really know what's missing for months. Ah, technology - the question is, how wonderful is it really?! The next question is ... will my step daughters and husband forgive me?!

Our dog, a lemon?! Certainly not!

2009-09-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

Our Malcolm, dear sweet, lovable Malcolm, a lemon?! I spoke with the vet today because dear sweet lovable Malcolm is having some skin fungus issues (bleh!), as well as some other weird stuff. I'm at my wit's end with his skins issues because it's in between the folds of his neck skin and it doesn't get any air! I'm supposed to keep it clean and pray he doesn't scratch at it which makes it worse. At night when he starts to scratch at it, I launch myself out of bed to stop him, and after a few too many launches I just bed down with him on the floor (well, not exactly - I do have a tempurpedic style bed pad on the floor).
Anyway, talked with the vet today and she is baffled by our beautiful baby. He has skull atrophy, and it appears his whole front end is muscularly atrophied. She's really trying to figure out what's going on with his atrophy issues and skin issues (she even said she wondered if he had a brain tumor - yikes!). I don't think she meant it as badly as it sounds, but she said something about us kind of getting a 'lemon', but she said it didn't seem like it mattered because he's such a lovable dog. We think he's a hunka lunka love, but we are finding out that maybe he has some 'disabilities'. It doesn't really matter, it's just important that he found his way into our home and our hearts.

3 days of birthday - you can't beat that!

2009-09-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

We had a great day of miniature golfing, ice cream, dinner and more ice cream for Matthew's official birthday celebration (the day before his birthday). The next day (his actual birthday), we were going to start with donuts, but being that we had overdone it on ice cream we had to wait a bit. But, not worries, we did force ourselves to get those donuts (and put candles in them for a birthday wish!).

We also got to watch some of the great Tom & Jerry cartoons - the old ones, not new ones - they're the best!

On the 31st, we got to have yet another day of birthday celebration with cousin Jackson - he turned 3! Check it out - he had to stick his finger in the cake first ...

... followed by his face! Now that's a boy who gets into his birthday cake!

Happy Birthday Matthew and Jackson!

Am I a pain in the butt parent?!

2009-08-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, so first those are a few pictures of Matthew's first day of Middle School since I hadn't posted them before.

Now onto my post ... sad to say, I think I am ... or now that I think of it, I'm not so sad to say that. I think the administrators at my son's school might be sad to hear it though ;-). Okay, let's call it an 'involved' parent, rather than 'pain in the butt'. This is my son's first year at Middle School (6th grade), and being that I have an education background, you know, being an educator and all (okay, so it's been 11 years since I had my own classroom), I guess I feel the 'right' to question what's being done at school. Oh, wait, I guess I do have the right - he's my son, and it's his education we're talking about. Anyway, I have now emailed the V.P. a minimum of 6 times since the day before school started. All valid questions, but I am starting to feel a little too inquisitive. Eh, what the heck ... better to be this way than completely uninvolved, right?! I really do believe that parents should be involved, and I think it's okay that my inquiring mind wants to know!

Happy Birthday Boy of Mine!

2009-08-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Ah, the boy is 11 years old today as of 6:44am! Even he can’t believe he’s 11! And, I just know I can’t be getting that old! We had a birthday celebration a day early so we could also celebrate Uncle Chris’ birthday. Miniature golfing, McConnell’s ice cream cones, steak and mashed potato dinner at home, and homemade cookie dough ice cream (did you catch that we had ice cream two times?!). Quite a nice day. The plan for the actual birthday is to head out for donuts in the morning, church, homemade pizza for dinner, but not sure what will happen in between (can you tell we love some good birthday food?!). If it is as hot as it was yesterday then probably laying low will be the plan. All I can say is thank goodness for AC!

Miniature golfing first ... Uncle Chris kicked our butts!

Then one Star Wars arcade game (no pic of that), and some Air Hockey! Two games with Mom, one with Uncle Chris.

Ah, and the presents ... the boy had made a Power Point Presentation - yes, you heard me right, a Power Point of his birthday wish list! He got quite a few items from his list - Nana gave his this great journal (which he really wanted!)

And, Uncle Chris gave him an Amazon gift certificate, and Uncle Jim gave him a Barnes & Noble gift card - both awesome gifts! Other gifts were mostly books (which he's thrilled with), as well as a watch and Tom & Jerry cartoon DVDs!

Happy Birthday Bestest Son of Mine!

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo!

2009-08-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Well, since I posted about our beautiful new doggie, I figured I should give Eeny, Meeny, Miney and Mo equal time. Who are they you ask?! Our chickens of course! They are 4 beautiful Buff Orpingtons, born on April 11th. We got them in the mail (yes, I did say in the mail!) when they were just a day old (well, actually our 4H leader received them in the mail, and then we picked them up a few days later when we were finally ready to take the plunge!). Here are a few pictures of them - they haven't started laying eggs yet, but we can't wait until they do!

Here they are just a few days old ...

They lived in this box in our laundry room for quite a while ... it took a bit of time to build the 'chicken mansion'!

They sure have grown!

And, now pictures of the 'chicken mansion'! Although now it is fully enclosed and I realized as I was posting this that I don't have a picture of it completely done! Ah, something more to do another day ...

Just who is Malcolm Wilkerson?!

2009-08-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Malcolm Wilkerson is our very wonderful, almost new to us, Golden Retriever! We rescued him through the Southern CA Golden Retriever Rescue (http://www.scgrrescue.org/) in June and we just love him so! Here are a few pics of our beautiful baby (well, he's not exactly a baby, he's really more a hunka lunka love!).

Here he is ASLEEP with the toy in his mouth!

And, here with his paw over his face - he doesn't sleep like this all of the time, but every now and then maybe when life gets to be too much for him I guess.

Here is he looking quite regal - check out all of that skin!

And, just looking content here.

These were all pics we took when we first got him. He's even more handsome now that some of his Golden Retriever coat is coming in!

A new day, a new blog

2009-08-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not so great at keeping up our family website, but I'd love to figure out a way to put the happenings of our family 'out there'. I do enjoy reading blogs, I like the fact that there's a history to them, that you don't write something, then change it as I have to do with the website. So ... I'm trying the blogging thing again. We'll see how it goes ... and just for fun, here's a few pictures of what's going on with us these days.

First, let's start with the Big News for this past summer ... our first grandchild was born! Elliana Kristalyn Hammond born June 25th weighing in at 8 lbs. 2 oz. 20 inches long. She's a beauty!

Over the next few days I'll continue to post the goings-on of our summer. I have to say, it was a pretty good one! I'll also continue to work on the layout of my blog - gotta give everyone a reason to come back!