whatdga do?

Even though my parents are out of town today, they were sure to greet me on my birthday.

Not only that-- they were the first ones I heard from: at 5:20 in the morning!

they know i'm an early riser...and

how cool is that? i love that about them -- they

stayed up late in their time zone to be sure to wish me a great day....

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[i hope that today brings back memories for them about the day I was born. I heard it was a rainy day, friday the 13th...and I couldn't wait to get out..so I was born at the doctor's office instead of the hospital! ]

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.......mom asked, what are you doing today? so , here's the 411.... after a long trafficy one hour ride home from work, i was greeted with smiles and a special home made meal including my sister's signature salad (i love her salads) with spinach, red onions, slivered almonds, pear slices, and vidalia onion vinagrette.
...my dear husband took on the task of making my favorite non dairy dishes including alfredo-style pasta, a streusel layered coffee cake, and fresh baked bread while caring for our sick little boy today.

what a blessing that my sister joined us

check out this poster card...

here's the four of us. i'm wearing the kids' puppy caps,

those'll be great for the next silly hat bunco

Thank you friends for your thoughts, words and calls on my birthday. they each brought me a smile and i pondered "where did the time go?"... i went down memory lane remembering how and who i'd spend past birthdays with (theirs or mine)...my 18th at Corvette's diner eating a ruby burger...my 21st at a Comedy Club in downtown La Jolla, seated front row center and being included in the comedian's routine...my twenty-something seeing the musical Cats and eating out at Prego ristorante.....

now here i am pushing 40... i am so thankful for each little blessing that fits together in my life right now. Thank you Lord.

Flashback to the Country Fair

The boys dressed up as cowboys for our church's annual country fair on Oct 31st. Here is our little cowboy and his pony:

Neigh!

This pet horse has been around for three years :)
Mom sewed up 4 big holes just before we headed out of the house:

Daddy met us there

See the cowboy on the left hanging on to his hat? these real ponies really trot.

The horse in the foreground is carrying our little cowboy AND his pony:

Dancin' to the music with lollipop in mouth

One of my favorite pictures of this guy:

Fall season at the Park

On October 26th, we met Daddy at work and hung out at the tail end of that day's Pumpkins at the Park:

Our pumpkins:

"Scarecrows are my favorite"

popping out of the tube slide

"Here I am!"

"I hol(d) my baby pumpkin"says our little one

Moving through the zoo

It was my special day with the boys...just the 3 of us..so we went to the zoo to enjoy some of the privileges of being part of the zoo family -- complementary rides. While waiting for the bus, we enjoyed the new giraffe enclosure.

the giraffes are so close and TALL. it's neck is as tall as an adult.

it was cute to see them hold hands as they walked (but i didn't catch it in the picture)..we usually go with friends and these two often don't walk together but with buddies their own age

Look how excited this one is to be on the skyfari


Here we are the only ones on the express bus..they thought it was cool to be on top of the double decker bus!

the little one is a little more apprehensive at the start of the skyfari

they both love it by the time we are on the return trip :)

the little one says "i go on it again"

A new tradition

I've enjoyed hearing about friends going up to the local apple orchards and
picking apples for the past few years.

This year my husband and I chatted about starting that tradition this harvest season.

We had a spontaneous opportunity this week and off we went.

The apple picking season starts in late september..

you can see many apples fallen to the ground -- maybe they were more than ready to be picked

The apples are delicious.

The gentleman who greeted us suggested we could eat them right off the tree as we picked.

they were organic and we'd just need to polish them off before taking a bite.

Johnagold, fuji, red delicious..the list went on...we spent our time in the rows of empire apples.

there were 50 trees in each row...

we took a leisurely 30 minute apple picking walk down one row, and then turned down another row and kep picking to fill up our bag.

It was cold and windy - so nice to have chilly weather in November

The boys really enjoy their dad & that tickles my heart

I juiced some apples a few days later, the juice was just as yummy!

Rainy Day Fun

I often enjoy rainy days, especially when I can hang out at home,

and even when we are out and about....

The boys and I ended

our stream of visits to Pumpkin themed attractions

last weekend with Pumpkins in the Park.

We learned how to make a scarecrow,

made pumpkin crafts, handprint bracelets and pinatas
decorated cookies,

We were rained out after lunch and our playdate was cut short(our lunch picnic spot below)

...yet we had much to look forward to - an afternoon of rain and watching it rain through the window while all warm and cozy wrapped up in favorite blankets.

[above] The little one says "I want (to) kiss you" then

turns and tickles!

I moved their bed next to the window and let them watch the rain drop from the roof.

They took as long as they wanted before they finally dozed off for nap time a bit later than usual.

[above is an odd angle of the rain drippng from the roof]

Ten on Tuesday

1. I am praying this week Nov 3-7 for our nation, for God's will be to done, for our leaders, and so much more. If you'd like to join me this week, see http://www.weekofprayerandfasting.org/

2. An hour at The Call http://www.thecall.com/ in San Diego was time well spent for me.

3. I voted.

4. It's a blessing to have the opportunity to vote and pray for our country. I've heard "As California goes, so goes the nation"... it would be amazing to see California praying for God's will for our nation, and then so prays our nation.

5. The country fair last friday was so enjoyed...by all four of us. The fun was in fellowship with friends, meeting new friends, running into people, hanging out for a chat or riding a ride or waiting in line til we eventually wandered through all the activities and music.

just finished foraging through the inflatable obstacle course


above: the cowboy (horse and all) riding a pony
below: hitched up, and getting ready to go for a galloping romp

5. Aunt Sammie, traveled from Redondo beach, & dropped by for an evening and morning to hang out last week, thanks for the sweet times!

6. It was a sunny warm day, with some clouds in the sky...for several minutes it rained...so we looked for a rainbow in the sky of course (sun and rain!) and found a DOUBLE RAINBOW across the sky over our home.

7. Potty training here we come, or came and went. that was fast. is it ever done? just kidding

8. Our little one decided last thursday that underwears were the thing and diapers are of the past. So, there are now "peeps" and "poops" in the potty...and rushing to get there in time.
9. Lolo and Lola now have a "magic phone line" (not sure why it's called that) that has a USB connection to the internet for free phone calls even internationally!

10. I'm off today (and working thursday instead) so we're choosing for today to be our family day and doing something special. find out next week.