Awesome Alarm Clock

I know that weird things make me happy, but this is AWESOME!! The alarm clock not only has the capacity to wake to trickling water, crickets chirping and many other "natural" noises, i-pod hook-ups and dual alarms, but (you won't believe this) it shines the time onto the ceiling! In the middle of the night, or early morning, you do not have to lift your head off of the pillow to see the time, just open your eyes slightly and see the time. Oh. My. God...one of my BEST purchases EVER!!

20 Years of Marriage!

Darrell and I went to Palm Springs to celebrate our 20th Anniversary! We had such a relaxing and perfect time, except I could have used another day or so!

Fruit, crackers, and cheese platters waiting for us!

We bumped into Sonny Bono...don't know why Darrell decided to put his hand on Sonny's knee!?!

Barbequed Chicken Quesadilla...really delicious!

Darrell had Fajitas...delish! Can't believe we've been married 20 years!!

Yes, he went for a run in the 100+ degree weather...I slept in!

We stayed at a great little Inn, we were the ONLY ones at the pool. It was magnificent!! No kids were allowed as guests...darn it!!

Sherman's Deli and Bakery...a Palm Springs favorite!

The bar at our Hotel...a flashback from the 80's...weird!

Me and my HONEY!!

Shoe shot...in the elevator before dinner!

At Tommy Bahama, my all-time favorite appetizer! Goat cheese encrusted with macadamia nuts and mango relish. Oh. My. Gosh. I want another one right NOW!!

We had such a great time...I love my husband!

Nails, Shopping, and Dinner...a Great Day!!

Today was a GREAT day...

This is Tracy, she does my nails every few weeks. She is such a sweet, shy lady and I adore her. She has been doing my nails for years, and she does a great job!

Beautiful!

Then, I headed to the Mall ALL BY MYSELF! I had some Pretzel Bitz and walked around...I tried on some clothes, but didn't buy any! At home...my carpet was being cleaned. Oh happy DAY!!

The bookstore in the Mall was closing, so everything was on sale! Yippee! I browsed for a long while and ended up buying a Fashion book. Why? Because I wanted to!

I left the Mall and had about 30 minutes before I needed to pick up Nathan, so I stopped at World Market. I could walk around in there for hours. I spent a lot of time in the chocolate aisle

Finally, I went to dinner with Mom and Auntie Beverly who is visiting from New York!! 2 of my favorite people...could it get ANY better??! I had Shrimp Scampi...delicious and garlicky!

My dinner dates...aren't they beautiful!! Beverly is Moms oldest sister.

To top it all off...Tiramisu and Lemon Sorbet with Berries!! Wow, what a great unexpected day. I am blessed and thankful!

Summer Reading

The summer is the time I read for pleasure. During the school year, i always have too much to do to sit down and read. I went to the bookstore last week and picked up a couple of magazines and Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother. I have read the first few chapters and it is VERY interesting! Tanya loaned me The Art of Racing in the Rain and I'm about halfway through...makes me think a lot of my little Molly. I hope to finish all of these books before school starts. We'll see how it goes! It's really my first week of summer as I taught summer school the past 2 weeks...

Happy New Year 2011

Once again we spent New Year's Weekend in Lake Cuyamaca, one of my favorite places. Where? It's a very small mountain town near Julian in the mountains outside of San Diego. It is gorgeous, tranquil, and there is NO T.V...and cell phone reception is bad. Basically, it's away from everyone and great way to start the year.We were sad that Kyle wasn't with us this year. He went skiing with Chelsea's family in Mammoth. They had fun, but we missed him so much!!

Darrell spent some time on the computer...but not too much...

We cooked food and went to eat at the restaurants in Julian. This is Chicken Fajitas! They were delicious! Why does everything taste better when you cook in someone else's kitchen?

The scenery is beautiful. It is such a quiet town...They did have snow the week before. Little did we know that the snow had melted the day before and turned into ICE ON THE DRIVEWAY! Oops!

This is a picture of the driveway AFTER the towtruck pulled us back up. It didn't look like it was "slicker than snot" ice that was almost 2 inches thick. We started down and slid just a few feet...not a great start to our weekend!

A picture of the Lake. The air was so crisp and clean.

We always see a lot of wildlife there. They have tons of wild turkeys who are NOT afraid of people. We also saw many deer, but didn't get a photo...bummer!

Nathan got a cap gun at one of the tourist shops in Julian! I think he went through 200 rounds of caps. I hope they're gone now!

Many of you know that Nathan is fascinated with fire, he loved starting the wood stove and kept the fire going all night. The cabin was near 80 degrees at one point!! Sheesh...

We played Blokus, it was so fun. We got the game last Christmas, but had not played before. I think it'll become a favorite.

Sooooo serious...

So NOT serious...and guess who won? The NOT serious one!!

Always have to play a game of Jenga....we built a very tall tower...

and Darrell knocked it over! Here's praying for a great 2011 for all of us.

Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza!

We went to the Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza on Friday night. It was AWESOME!!! It is at Universal City Walk, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Here at the loves of my life...all dressed for the concert.

We had tickets in the "pit" section...which means we were literally leaning on the stage. The Gibson Ampitheatre is a great place to see a show, especially the Big Band orchestra. It was really really REALLY LOUD!! My ears are still ringing.

Nathan and I went to the middle of the theatre and sat for most of the show, but Kyle and Darrell were front stage the entire time. Hopefully, this will become a family tradition for us. This is the second year we've seen him and his orchestra...what a great way to start Christmas week. We missed you Newbry family!

Vacation Wrap-Up

We wrapped up the last 2 days of our vacation with family, dear friends, and Mexican food!!! Could it get any better than that?? The above picture is of Darrell with the boys and Dave and Betty...his parents. We don't get to see them very often, but they love our boys and enjoy spending time with them.

Kyle's favorite food is Grandma Groff's tacos!! They are a Groff family tradition...passed down. I guess that means I should learn how to make them!! Kyle ate 8 tacos...not kidding!

We also spent a lot of time with the Golyer family. Paul was in my Pre-School class many years ago, and we have become dear friends. Joshua is Darrell and my Godchild. We adore this family and loved spending so much time with them. Denise's sister, her children, and her Mom and Dad were there also. Actually, we kind of invaded their family vacation. We pretend like we're part of their family!! Ahhhh...

"The Mommys"...you don't want to mess with us!

On Saturday, my Mom and Larry came out to spend the day with us. Nathan and Grammy hung out on the balcony and ate ice cream after Grampy, Darrell, Nathan, and Kyle golfed. I didn't get any golf pictures because it was 110 degrees and I didn't want to go out and take pictures. Call me crazy!

Denise's Mother made us authenic Mexican food. OMG...it was so delicious. This is a photo of her homemade salsa set up on the table.

All the boys winding down our family vacation together. Wonder where we'll go next year??? I can't wait!!

Wordless Wednesday #29 ~ Kyle's New Exhaust!!

note: Mom's do not understand the excitement and necessity of loud cars!!

San Clemente

Today Nathan, Darrell, and I went to San Clemente because Nathan needed new Rainbow sandals. They have their factory outlet store close to the beach, so we decided to take a field trip. This is the three of us wearing our Rainbows, before entering the store! We all love these sandals...our favorites!

Stacks and stacks, and shelves and shelves of sandals. They have a lot of funky new styles, but we always get the traditional sandals.

Check these out...fleece-lined sandals. They look so cozy, but they would get nasty, dirty and stinky really fast.

Then, we went to a Mexican food restaurant for lunch. This is my Taco Salad...yummy!

We took a walk down to the beach, and they were having a Surfer/Hawaiian festival. The Woody's were lining the street.

The Hula Dancers were performing...

To Beautiful Hawaiian music...

We drove down PCH to get home. The weather was beautiful and we had a fantastic day. What did you do today??