The Little Black Dress

We've had a fantastic vacation. I still need to write part 2 and 3 of our vacation. I haven't had time. As of this writing we are in our hotel room in Santa Barbara on our last day of vacation (sigh). I just have to tell you the story of the beautiful black dress in a downtown Santa Barbara store window.

My story starts on our first day of vacation, a week ago, when we were in Santa Barbara. We were walking downtown in the evening and C noticed this beautiful black dress in a store window. Just below the knee, sleeveless with a low v neck. Just beautiful.

C tells me, "You should get it." I say, "It's beautiful, but it's probably too much and I shouldn't spend too much money now." So we leave it at that and continue on our wonderful vacation.

Last night we stay in Santa Barbara again on our way home. First thing C say's, "I want to get you that black dress." Are you kidding?! We just spent a lot of money (for us right now) on hotel rooms and you want to buy me a black dress. I love it! It's a beautiful dress. Of course, I would LOVE to have it, but it's gonna be too expensive, but he's insistent we look at it so, who am I to say no?

We go to the store, Blue Bee Luxury (there is a series of Blue Bee stores in SB). We walk in and find the dress. It's beautiful, but walking into this store, I could tell (without looking at ANY prices) that there was not going to be anything in this place lower than $100! I hold up the dress (the girls are with us-very well behaved). I ask the sales lady if this is the dress in the window. She says, with a big smile, "Yes, IT is." C's face, lights up. He wants me to try it on, I can tell, but he doesn't say anything. I look at the front and back of the dress. The perfect little black dress. I could wear it for everything! I, very smoothly, look for the price tag (the sales lady is still standing right there). I'm not sure I read the price correctly, I look the dress over again and look at the price tag again. Yep, I read it right. OH - MY - GOSH!!!!!! I start to put the dress back and thank the sales lady, take the girls hands and walk out the store.

C at this point can't figure out what happened. I didn't try the dress on. He wanted me to try the dress on and gives me the sad puppy eyes. Once we are outside the store I say, "Do you know how much that dress cost?!" "No, how much?", he says. $935.00!!!!!!!!! His eyes just about POPPED out of his head. "Are you KIDDING?!" "NO"

I told him I didn't want to try it on, have it fit perfect, fall in love with it and then not be able to buy it. There is just NO way we could afford that dress. I told him if it was $150 even $200, I would, at least, try it on. But $935....NO WAY! So, the beautiful little black dress stayed in the window at Blue Bee Luxury. It might be there a very long time.

We continued walking downtown to find a place for dinner. CK asks "Mommy, when we get home can we count all my money in both my piggy banks?" I tell her, "Sure, why?" My sweet, sweet girl tells me, "Because I want to see if I have enough money to buy you that dress." This has been the best vacation ever!

Our So. Cal. Vacation....part 1

On Monday we packed up the Suburban and headed for Southern California. Our trip will last 10 days and we will have several stops.

We start by just driving to Santa Barbara. We normally stop here for lunch when we go to So. Cal., but this time we thought we would spend the night. We arrived in Santa Barbara about 4pm. After checking into our hotel, we headed downtown to walk around and have dinner. We love this town. Someday we'll have to spend more time here.

The next day we headed for sunny San Diego. Another favorite city!!!! C has history here with UCSD and we still have a very good friend who lives here. We arrived at about 3pm and then met J for dinner. Wednesday, we promised the girls we would spend the day at the beach. Their absolute FAVORITE place in the world to be! We had a great breakfast at Brockton Villa Inn. Now this is the life! You sit outside at this tiny place. I guess they have seating inside. I have NO idea--never been inside. You sit overlooking the ocean in La Jolla!!! After our wonderful breakfast (Coast Toast!!) we drove down a few blocks and went to La Jolla Shores and spent the day on the beach....just like we promised. The girls were in heaven. They played in the sand, ran in the water, even jumped waves with daddy. J joined us at the beach until lunch then she had to get to work.

Today we went to Sea World. What a fun place! J joined us. We had a great time. Saw the Dolphins, Killer Whales, Penguins, Sea Lions, Polar Bears, Beluga Whales.....and much more. I'll write more about our Sea World visit next entry--once I download those pics. Just too tired to do that all now.

Tonight we had dinner with J and another friend who happened to be in town this weekend. It's been a very long day. O tells me during dinner, "Mommy, I'm sorry, I can't do it anymore." Meaning, she couldn't stay awake any longer. I had her sit on my lap and within 2 minutes she was sound asleep. Poor thing. Both girls were SO good today. O got cranky at Sea World, but who could blame her. It was so hot and she was so tired. We have had a great time in San Diego. Tomorrow we'll go to Temecula. We can't wait!

I'll try and add Sea World pics tomorrow. Can't promise anything. So many pictures.....so little time. I'll send out pics, for sure, when I get back. Here are a few from our first few days. C helped me choose them. I think I would have chosen other pics of me, but he liked this one.

Watching Our Garden Grow

The girls and I planted a vegetable garden again this year. This year we started earlier and it's doing wonderfully! We planted Corn, Sunflowers (with seeds), Japanese Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, regular Tomatoes, Green Bell Pepper, Yellow Onion, Pumpkin, Watermellon, Basil, Italian Parsley, and Chamomile. I always have Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage. We had also planted a whole Pumpkin, from last Halloween, and IT GREW. We have so many baby Pumpkins. It's so much fun. I've done Pumpkins once before, but I don't remember it doing this well. I can't wait to see how many we get. I'm hoping enough for a pumpkin picking party.

We're having a blast picking and eating all the wonderful things from our garden. There is nothing like a fresh Cucumber and Tomato salad straight from the garden!

2nd Annual Camping Trip

O's year long wish finally came true. We took our annual camping trip.

We had a wonderful time. We really need this time together as a family....away from cell phones, TV, and the computer. It was our second in a row, but third camping trip. We went camping in 2004 with several friends (6 other adults and 4 other kids). We really want to go camping, at least, once a year. It would be fun to go more.

This year we went to Big Basin Redwood State Park. My second time in Big Basin. What a beautiful place. All the redwoods. Pefect weather - not too hot during the day. It got cold at night, but we planned for that. It was beautiful.

I have become quite the camper. The best part is setting up camp. I just love setting everything up. Washing dishes in a bucket after every meal becomes a family affair. The girls loved "helping" me.

My favorite part about camping is when C comes into the tent in the morning with a warm wash cloth to wash my face (now me and the girls). This trip I was able to surprise him one morning. He was so tired from work, he couldn't get up early to heat up the water. The girls and I got up, while C slept. I heated up the water on our camp stove, washed the girls faces and then woke up C for his turn. He loved it.

We took a day hike (3.5 miles total) to Sempervirens Falls. Nothing like the hike in Tahoe - much easier. It was wonderful hiking through the redwoods. The water fall wasn't very big....still beautiful, but small. We saw lots of butterflies, Steller Jays, squirrels, even a Rattle Snake. Now that was a treat! The girls were a little nervous, but wanted to see it go into its den.

Right after breakfast we were able to see a Banana Slug. Another treat. I havent' seen one of those since 6th Grade Science Camp. The girls loved seeing that as well.

BESTS: O-squirrel, CK-Rattlesnake, C-Watching O fall asleep in her chair after hiking, T-All of the above and spending time with my family....camping. Oh...CK has a P.S. - loved roasting marshmallows.

Camping with my husband is always the best! We are a great team. Now with our girls it's even better.

(don't forget - you can click on an image to see it larger)

Daddy's New Scar

Here is a pic of C's burn mark from an ejected shell casing that landed on him during recent rifle training. He couldn't brush it off since he was under time pressure to make his own hits. He thinks it has a CDI (Chicks Dig It) factor of 8. It looks better now than it did the day he got it.

Happy Birthday America!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. I know we did. We had a small BBQ at our home and then went to the park to watch fireworks with friends and neighbors. I brought dessert and coffee to the park. The kids played on the playground. A fun time was had by all. Now this is great way to celebrate America's birthday!

I've always wanted to take photographs of fireworks and for one reason or another (CK and O) I haven't been able to. I finally got my chance! Here are a few images from our evening at the park.

Last Day of a Great Week in Lake Tahoe

This morning TC and I had some girl time and went into Tahoe City. We had a great time, walking up and down Tahoe City window shopping. We found some great little shops. Very fun.

After lunch the Dads and I took the three girls down to the Lake (Little T was napping so TC stayed at the house with her). Another relaxing day at the Lake. The girls made a new friend, collected rocks from the Lake and washed all the dry ones to make they "pretty". O sat for about 10 minutes burying M's foot in the sand. The girls watched in amazement as their Daddies jumped from the end of the pier into the Lake! It has become a tradition. This year the water was much colder than last year. (since we were here in July last year) Those two guys are CRAZY. Does make for some great pics, I must say.

What a great week. A much needed vacation. We are all ready to go home. Tonight O must have told me three times "I want to go home". Poor thing. So tired, from staying up too late and not getting regular naps all week.

Look for more Tahoe trips during the summer. We are hoping to get back up here with family and other friends. Also look for our big Southern California vacation at the end of July, beginning of Aug. We should have web access. At least a few days out of the two weeks. I'll try to update the blog during the trip. If not, as soon as we get back.

Next week, I go to a professional photography class. I can't wait!

A Day Hike to Eagle Lake

Today we went on a day hike to Eagle Lake (#7 in "best easy day hikes Lake Tahoe" -at the house). What a beautiful way to spend the day. It was just spectacular. We hiked 2 miles total (elevation gain: 400 feet). The girls all did wonderfully. O is our little billy goat. She is so sure footed....and fast. I could barely keep up with her. Her and C were our leaders. Little T had it made. She was in the Baby Bjorn. What a way to hike.

The reward for a tough 1 mile hike up the trail was just spectacular! What a beutiful little lake. Tucked in the mountain. The only way to ge to it was hike. There is no beach, however, we sat and enjoyed the beautiful view from a tree stump and granite slab. Putting our feet in the water to cool off after our long hike in.

The girls were all tired on the hike back but did great, not one complaint the entire mile back to the car. Little T fell asleep on the hike back and the other three fell asleep in the car.

What a perfect day.

Hanging out at "The Lake"

The "B" family arrived yesterday afternoon. Our third annual Tahoe vacation together. Today after lunch we walked down to the lake. The water was ICE....ICE!!! Did that stop the girls (all four) or C? NO! You'd think we were in Hawaii the way the girls played in the water. The cold water did affect C, but he still jumped in. Yikes!

Little T, now 1 year old, scooched right down to the water. I'm sure she came back to the house with rocks in her diaper. She didn't care. She wanted to know what all the fuss was about and what the big girls were all doing.

Tomorrow, I believe, we are going to go on a day hike. Can't wait! Should be fun. Look for an update tomorrow evening.

Cleaning up the front yard for Nonna

Yesterday afternoon and this morning the girls and I cleaned up the front yard here in Tahoe a little.

Yesterday I swept the driveway. You can park three or four cars in it now. I started weeding, but needed some gardening gloves. Pine needles and other little things pinch!

This morning the girls and I took a nice walk to the PDQ and picked up some gardening gloves. Much better! Here are a few pics of our clean up job. It's a good start. We need to do more of the path, but it got to be lunch time. Maybe later or tomorrow morning. We'll see if we get back to it or not.

Note: click on any image to enlarge.

Another Tahoe Adventure

We can't have a Tahoe vacation without some type of adventure. It's either a blow out tire in a snow storm (with two babies in the car), a flat tire in summer, or now the Alternator needed replacing. We're lucky we made it as far as we did.

Well, we had a great afternoon in Tahoe City waiting for the car to be fixed. Love the Chevoron in Tahoe City! Those guys are great. While we waited we walked down to Rosie's and had lunch. Then we walked down to the little mall and went to the bookstore. Always a great place to be. It is just beautiful up here. Dark blue sky with huge cotten clouds. Just paradise.

On our walk we discovered a wonderful lake front park, Commons Beach. They (Tahoe people) have been restoring this strip on the Lake right in Tahoe City. There is a small parking lot at the end of Commons Road (between the Firestation and Tahoe Community Center). There are picnic tables (some with BBQs), a nice play area for the kids, complete with climbing wall, restrooms, grass area right at the lake and a place to play in the water. Everything you need all in one spot. If you walk from the street in Tahoe City there is a nice paved walk all the way down to the Lake and play area. They have signs posted all around this area with the history of Tahoe and Tahoe City. There is a historical home-the oldest log cabin in Lake Tahoe, and a jail. Very fun.

We had a great time. O says "Mama, next time can you remember to bring our swim suits and put them on us!" Sure, if I had planned this. We just went into Tahoe City for a few grocery items, a push broom, and a rake. We didnt' plan on spending four hours there.

We were home (Tahoma) by 4pm, car fixed. Exausted but relaxed and ready for naps. We all rested. O took a nap. Then the girls and I went out front to sweep the driveway and weed a little. (see next posting) What a wonderful family day! Boy did we need this vacation!

Keep checking the blog for more posting through the week.

Spring Cleaning Starts - The Garage Gets Cleaned OUT!

Most of you have seen our garage. How embarrasing. We litterly had a little path from the house into the garage around junk to the washer and dryer and to the back door. It was horrible. Some of the boxes we never even went through from when we moved TEN YEARS AGO. How bad is that? Pretty bad!

Well, I can finally say we are all moved in. We cleaned out everything. Four and a half days, two full Suburban loads of donations, one dumpster size truck load of garbage and lots of going through memories later the garage is cleaned out and organized. The very best thing.....the Subaru is now IN THE GARAGE. The second best thing....C found his shop apron he had been looking for for years. He was so excited, I cried.

The girls were great these past four and a half days while we cleaned out the garage. On Sunday, while C slept, I started putting all the items I already knew I wanted to donate out on the front lawn (then into the Suburban). I also cleared out the side of the garage where the garbage cans are. There was just garbage piled there. I put that out on the front little strip of lawn....starting our garbage pile. The whole day on Sunday the girls were playing and digging through all the donation things. A few things came back into the house. They thought we were having a garage sale and set up their little store. They did not want to hear we were not having a garage sale and that no one knew we were here with our stuff. They had a great time anyway and played all day.

We are exhausted, but feel so much better that the garage is cleaned out, organized and the car is in. This will be much better to be able to have the car in the garage. Heat, rain, late nights out with the girls when C is at work. Much better.

Next project - THE OFFICE. 99% of that is my stuff. I'll start on that next week.

Girls New Play "House"

The girls and I have been outside enjoying the yard and beautiful weather the last several days. O has also been in PANTIES since Thursday! Thank goodness it's been nice and she's been outside, because she has "accidents" at least twice a day! If you know O, she only pees three times a day and she drinks a lot of water. I can't turn back now. I have to keep her in panties. She is doing MUCH better. Wish me luck! I'm affraid to take her out any longer than bringing or picking up CK from school.

The girls and I have also fixed up a nice play "house" under our Japanese Maple. It's a perfect spot. I had to move the compost bin, but found a better spot for that anyway. It's the coolest spot in the yard. I finished fixing it this morning and the girls played all morning under the tree. They ate their lunch there too.

I would love to landscape the side yard now. I'm not sure what to do. I have always wanted that side yard to be a "secret garden" type of spot. I also like to have my vegetable garden in the summer, but I'm slowly loosing all my nice sun in the side yard. The darn pine trees on the other side of the sound wall are growing too tall!!!!! I might have to look for a totally different spot. I need to find a good, cheap landscape person. Know one?

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather. I hear we're getting rain on Tuesday.