To My Mom - - -

Mom, leave me a comment here sometime. You should be able to click on the link at the bottom of the entry that says # COMMENTS . I tried to set it up so that you don't need to enter code or have your own blog here. Let me know if it works.

After some thought, Brian realized we CAN afford to fly Ki back with him in September! They'll be there Sept 12-18 (approx). Brian plans to go to an Aerodrome Convention on that Saturday. If Ki doesn't want to go, maybe he can hang out with you and dad??

Farmer's Market

Mmmmm! man, this is SO GOOD! I could have this for lunch everyday! And it taste CLEAN. not like soap, but like a clean, crisp mountain spring. With just right amount of chewing. And it smells so yummy!! I bought it today at the Farmer's Market. $10. So good. worth every penny (as was the bad for me, churro! good thing I rode my bike, burnt some of the calories from that.)
So, what it that I am eating?
Pita Bread (the non-pocket type) with
Avocado & Cilantro Hummus ...andtopped with
Taboulie Salad- heavy on the parsley.

for $10 I got 5 pitas. a tub of taboulie salad (maybe 1.5 cups? 2 cups?(all with no additives or persavities. not big words in the ingredients)
and an 8 oz tub of the avocado cilantro hummus. I could be 5 meals- if I had eaten just ONE today...
Also at the Farmer's Market today: (we rode our bikes. 2 miles round trip- how nice is that??)
fresh picked California Strawberries.
the most delicious white necatarines I have ever tasted
TriBerry Jam (For Gavin) it has raspberry, marion berry, blueberry, sugar, pectin, lemon juice (I think that's it) It wasn't cheap. It's a special treat I think. $5,50 for 10 oz.
KETTLECORN - always SCRUMPTIOUS STUFF! fresh popped!
Gavin had a few dollars of his own and bought one of his favorite snacks. red & yellow cherry tomatoes. I bet he'll come next week too. It cost him $1 (1/2 pound and it was more than I would have thought)
2 broccoli heads (2 for $1)
and we tried our first, and definately NOT LAST, churro

wipedia:
A churro is a fried-dough pastry-based snack, sometimes made from potato dough, which is believed to have originated in Spain, and is popular in Latin America, France, Portugal, the USA, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands. It is sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut or Mexican doughnut. The snack gets its name from its shape, which resembles the horns of the Churro breed of sheep reared in the Spanish grasslands of Huarocho.[citation needed] There are two types of churros found in Spain. One is long and fat and the other is thin and knotted.
The churro is typically fried to a crunchy consistency. Its surface is ridged due to being piped from a churrera, a syringe with a star-shaped nozzle. Churros are generally prisms in shape, and may be straight, curled or spirally twisted.
Like pretzels, churros are often sold by street vendors who in many cases will fry them freshly on the street stand and sell them hot.

**ours were coated with sugar and NOT filled with anything:

12th Birthday

Ki's B-Day is in the middle of Sept. He'll be 12. We just moved to CA from Ohio. All his friends are there, and both sets of G-Parents. My DH is flying back there for a business meeting. and it'll be over Ki's B-day. We'd like to fly Ki out with him. Maybe Brian and Ki can stay at Brian's mom's house. Ki will be there with Grammy/Pappy while he goes to work. Ki can see his church friends and other grandparents and his gaming friends.

We just have to find a way to afford it. I think we can. It'll partly be his Bday Gift (which we'd spend about $60 on anyway - when it's all said and done, gifts, pizza/slumber party maybe more)

Brian get's Perdiem on business trip to pay for food and lodging- so if he can stay with his mom, he'd have extra unspent perdiem money. It's be for Ki's birthday- so there is money usually spent on a present and the money usually spend on a pizza slumber party- that go towards the cost of an airplane ticket. I think it will be OK. We had planned on having the boys take turns flying back to Ohio with Brian, as he plans on being back there 3-4 times a year maybe. We just didn't think it'd be this soon, so we have to see what moneys we have. We're still waiting to get reimbursed for the move. I have no idea how much airfare is. If it's about $200 we're fine, if it's $700, that's gonna be too much. I need to get online and look up airfare.

And will Ki have to fly on the same fight as Brian, or would he be OK flying by himself and Brian or a grandparent meeting him at the airport (if there is a big difference in ticket costs)..... things to think about

LAPIDARY FUN

This will be GREAT, esp for Connor my rock hound. He loves rocks and gems and shiny things. A GEM SHOW in town and there is a mineral society in town, too! (Expect pictures)

41st Annual OMS Gem Show*
Earth's Treasures - Rocks - Minerals - GemsExhibits - Tailgaters - Demonstrations - Lapidary Equipment

3 Big Days! 10 AM-5 PMAugust 1st, 2nd, 3rd 2008

Come and join the fun at the annual “Rainbow of Gems Show” which brings craftsmen and lapidary artists from many California counties. Several dealers will be presenting their wares of jewelry, gems, minerals and lapidary equipment. Local craftsmen will be displaying fascinating jewelry in gold and silver as well as mineral specimens. Also to be found will be collectibles, unusual gifts, fossils, rocks and geodes. The indoor show and outside tailgate event is family oriented and is educational for both children and adults. Kids get a free polished rock from the Rock Box. No admission or parking fee is charged for the show.

ONE OF A KIND CRAFTED STONE MERCHANDISE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. ROCK BOTTOM PRICES! RAFFLES! PRIZES! FOOD ON SALE!MONSTER SANTA MARIA STYLE BBQ ON SATURDAY NIGHT ONLY $10 FOR ADULTS, $5.00 FOR KIDS 12 AND UNDER.
THIS IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! MUSEUM QUALITY DISPLAYS!

Unhatched and orphaned

There have been 3 eggs in the tree behind our house since we moved in (2 weeks ago). The mom and dad YELLED any any living creature in the back yard and didn't seem to back away from the cat (who was just walking around smelling flowers and plants and chasing ants). well, the parents left. I didnt see them yesterday or today. My husband has been frantic and beside himself with worry.

I knew they wouldn't leave live eggs, not with how aggressively they were gaurding them. I figured they never hatched and the mom know show long it should be and they were probably unfertilized.

He keeps asking what he should do, should he get a incubator? Should he take the out of the next and shake them ot see if he can candle them (after I explained what it was). I told I had no idea, I didn't think they were fertilized, but he needs to just decide what to do and do it. He took themout and gentle shook them.

Brian is sure they are fertilized and the mom left and now they are dead. They are cold and he felt somehting slosh when he shook it.

He asks what he should do. How can he tell is it is dead or alive. I suggested he get my stesthoscope and see if he can hear anyhing. He didn't.

I ask if we can do an autopsy on the eggs. He said he'd do it. So, we took the boys out, he cracked it open, it was unfertilized.
It was a like big let down ending somehow. "Oh, yep. they're not fertilized. OK." and that was that. not that I wanted them to be dead embyros.

What's Next?

Here's the calendar of events for us for next week.

Ki is going to a half-day Theater Camp next week. It actually begins Sunday. He and his dad are going to Solvang (cute town about 45 minutes away) for dinner and to see a play (Godspell). It's part of the acting camp, each student get to take one parent with them to see a play/have dinner.

On Monday, Gavin and Connor are going to LA (3 hours from us) with a group of kids from Vandenberg Air Force base (base youth program) to a science museum. They will be gone from 8AM til 7PM. Brian will take them with him to work and drop them off at the Youth Center. This leaves me without a vehicle, but the Theater Camp is at the local colleges which is about a 20 minute walk. So Ki and I can ride our bikes. I'll lock his up there and ride home, then ride back to pick him up when he's finished.

Ki will need to pack his lunch, so I will have to shop with that in mind. Hhe doesn't eat meat and can't have peanuts, so I may just pack protein bars and fruit.

Brian MIGHT go to LA next week (Thur-Sat/Sun) for a business trip and HOPEFULLY buy a car. He'll take the train there so he can drive a car back, if hr finds one.

I need to start thinking about Gavin's birthday and what we can do. (It's not till Aug 31, but Ki's is 2 weeks later so I have to start thinking early, b/c I don't have time to think about Ki's if wait till after Gavin's)

I need to call about signing the boys up for Gymnasics. Hopefully they can start in August. I am hoping that some kids quit when school starts up so there will be room for my boys. It's a class given by a lady at the Base Youth Center, so I have a feeling it's not open to a huge amount of kids. Then I need to send out emails to see if anyone is interested in an ASL class. (homeschool group).

Tuesday I plan to have Brian take me to work with him (and all 3 kids) so I can get a new base ID. Unless I need a drivers license first. That may take a while here, since I have still not gotten an appointment. (we didn't need to make an appointment in Ohio to get our license.)

That's all for this month. Gavin, Connor and I will have to find some things to do while Ki is in camp. We can all bike up the college and maybe G&C can have fun running the track or going the park that is close.

What I Did Today.....

BEFORE: it may look all pretty and floral, but it is mostly dead, overgrown and scraggly.



AFTER: I elt like Edward Scissorhands whacking away and throwing dead branched over my shoulder and yelling at the rose trees. (they bite). I cut away a lot of dead stuff, shaped the bushes and rose trees, and cut more dead stuff, cut a lot of 'strangler vines', etc. and cleared the sprinkler house so we can use it. It was covered in dead debri.

that is the rose tree leaning way over. I tried to straighten it.

I an so worn out. I may not bike to the bike shop. (need some bike baskets)

a few more pictures...

Brian/My bedroom. has a fireplace (this one does work, we were told), a bathroom- smaller than the one in G&Ks room) and lots of closet space (but not the walk-in I always dreamed of- but what'd I do with a walk in anyway- ..)




this is the laundry room/pantry. it'll be weird walking down those couple steps to get food. some will be in the kitchen, but I think most will be down here.

GAVIN/CONNOR ROOM PICS

they sleep in their closets, too.

this is the view out thier big window (opposite closets)

this room was originally the master bedroom and has it's own bathroom


and lots of space for a small chest of drawers, too.

kitchen/dining pics

see back entries for more pics)

ki's room

has a great desk/table area. with corner shelves (all the froggies are already in one of the shelves). Desk has a lid/storage area.
the 2 closets and the upper closet storage. Ki sleeps in the closet rigt now.

IT CAME!! (& 1st tset of pics)

Our boatload of STUFF arrived today. We need to have a garage sale....



Here are pics of our ouse, inside and empty.





Our front door. Wit stained glass and a neat little peep hole tat you can twist.



When you step in the front door you are in the big living room. The fireplace is on the wall that is the front of the house. About 4 feet from the front door is the entrance to the kitcen (from where I took this pic)


On the wall opposite the fireplace is the hall. There is a door on the left- a closet. Then another entrance to the kitchen. Then a door that goes out back, then a wide closet. The all ends in a bedroom.

On the right is a bedroom (the door is between the kitchen entrance and the door to the back patio)
a closet, and a bathrom.

PIC POST

Lompoc is known as the Flower Seed Capital of the USA. In Ohio we drove past fields of corn and soybeans. Here we drive past fields of blooming flowers. all in rows, like a field of corn. Here are some pictures:

those rows in the way back are all flowers, too. There are multiple farm fields like this.


they do have fields of veggies, but they have just as many fields of flowers as they do of veggies I think.






and here is a picture that depicts the fog. It's like a heavy rain cloud. Under the lights you can see all the water particles floating down! It is foggy from 4PM till about 11Am the next day.

when you walk it whisps around you like walking through a mist. In the morning you see wet spots on the croncrete under the water drain pipes. The fog is so this of water it is enough to go down the drain of buildings.

On The Move..again

our 2 weeks is up at the hotel. We debated getting a few more ights, but are so ready to be OUT of this small, dank place that we decided to go camping for a few nights. So we're leaving the hotel in an couple hours and going to camp on Base till Tuesday.

FUN

We found a house! we move out of the hotel around July 8th. I may actuallyhave t ime to read other's blogs here in a couple weeks!

in the meantime-
just thought I'd share 2 of the online games my boys are into right now. I thought Levi and Kristy's boys may like them. One is called Magic Pen *click* it actually teaches a lot of basic physics. It's starts easy ans gets pretty challenging. The otheris called Falling Sand *click* I'll give you a couple starter things to do to help you figure out how it works.
your screen starts with 4 collums of falling sand and you can draw accross it. sounds very basic, but you can draw with napalm and set it on fire or make walls to collect the sand and funnel it. Here are a few simple things to do to get to know the game:
your screen:
I drew a all on the bottom (accidentally while doing the screensave)

on the far right it has the word PEN- do a pulldown menu and change pen to 64. The go to the box with the choices of what to draw with and choose WALL. it's the top of the first collumn. Click on the water and it will make a large round wall. now change the pen to 2 or 4 and click on ERASER and draw some tunnels inside the box- starting at the top so the blue sand can fall through the tunnels. make them wiggly. Now click in the C-4 and draw little lines inside the wall and coming out, like a stem. Then click on the FIRE and set fire to the end of the C-4.
Set the pen to 64, then erase, then erase all of it. Now set pen to 4 and choose SPOUT and draw a line accross the screen about 1/4 the way down. Or draw 2rows of dashes that the ends overlap. wait till the screen fills up and then change pen to 64, then choose PLANT and click the screen at the bottom to draw a round PLANT and watch it grow. (and you can torch the plant when your down)