Thirteen here we come...

Well, it's official...I now have two teenagers. How can this happen? My tiny babies are growing up so fast; I feel like I blink and ten years fly by. Since it was a day at home for Kerry the birthday festivities were spread throughout the day. I got up early and made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then the birthday girl opened a couple select presents -- a new t-shirt from us and an adorable vest (with a FURRY hood!) from Grandma and Granpda which made getting dressed much easier. Dinner was a repeat of last years menu - a Waitrose recipe for Barbecued Thai-Style Chicken with sweet chilli sauce and coconut rice. I made a chocolate ganache cake that turned out SO gorgeous (if I do say so myself!). When the rest of the presents were opened, the grand finale was a locket from here . That has been on her wish list for months and months, so from the look on her face I'd say it was a great surprise. All in all, it was one of those days that you look back on and they make you smile. Happy days.

Torrey Pines Junior Guard

We got a tip at the end of last week about the Torrey Pines Junior Guard camp. We didn't ever get to talk to a real person at the camp, so Monday morning we headed north and thought we'd just show up & see what happened. Well, long-story-short - the big kids got to sign-up and it has turned out to be the funnest week I think my kids have had in a long, long time! They spent the week running, boogie boarding, surfing, learning about the tides and currents, making ocean swims that make their mother SOOOO nervous but proud at the same time, and having a great time. They are already talking about next summer and how many weeks of camp we should sign up for! It's been so great to see them pushing past what they thought their limits were and feeling so bold for it!



Since Truman and I were hanging out this week, we decided to make something special to celebrate the last day for our Junior Guards. We made these "Shark Attack" cupcakes. It turned out to be a little more involved than I had originally planned, but really cute in the end. Truman was great helper and has the potential to be a great sous chef!

Cookies!

Can there be anything better than a sugar cookie decorated with more sugar? Not in my book! Especially when the decorators are three of my favorite chefs. As part of our volleyball team party I made giant sugar cookies with pink icing and then piped "Pink" on them which was appropriate since our team name was the Pink Poptarts. They turned out SO cute (of course I forgot to get a picture of them, but it was a very busy day) and the kids had a great time dealing with the left over cookies.

family fun...

It's been too long since I've written anything. I could say life has been so busy, but whose isn't? I guess it's all about making the time... Well, here goes.

The kids and I got to spend a week visiting my family up in Utah, and what a fun week it was! Everytime we get to visit it makes me realize (again!) how much I miss having family close. I miss all the birthday parties and graduations and special events, but I also miss the day-to-day stuff like fabric shopping with my mom & sister and taking the kids to visit their aunt at work (she gets to decorate cakes...piping bags - could there be anything more fun?). We had so much fun this trip...jumping on the trampoline (OK, I don't actually get ON the trampoline - it makes me feel queasy and sick - but I watched a lot of jumping on the trampoline) and swimming, playing with cousins, sleep-overs with their fun aunt, making swords with Grandpa, and the list goes on & on. We of course ran out of time and didn't get to do lots of things we had put on our "to do list", but squeezed in what we could. I'm really bummed I didn't get to see my friend Val that moved up to Utah a year or so ago, that is probably the biggie that I missed out on!



We did go on an amazing hike Saturday with my Dad. We hiked from Sundance up to Stewart Falls - it was gorgeous. It rained the night before, so everything was dewy and glistening and looked so green and fresh. It was quite the contrast to our house where there are water restrictions and everything has a very dry and crispy. I thought the aspen groves were awesome...the ferns growing underneath made me want to look out for some fairies to flit by!

wood working...

There is one area of our backyard that has served many different functions over the years. Long before we lived here it was covered by a pool cabana I'm sure seeing it's fair share of action. But since the pool was filled it when we bought the house we used part of the cabana to house our first chicken coop with the hens living in one of the changing rooms. Later we built the girls a proper coop and tore down the old cabana and chicken coop and fenced off the area to become our kitchen garden. We grew some award winning pumpkins in the area the chickens had so gracious & copiously fertilized for us. For some reason no matter how much compost and soil amendment we added, we could never get the other half to match the chicken fertilized half. As of a few months ago, we decided to do more container gardening and use the space for something else...what came out of that decision was a gorgeous deck! Kerry did an amazing job and I love it! Now we just need to work on getting the pavers around it a little more level... what will we ever do when all the projects are done?

Torrey Pines State Park

Mother's Day @ Water Conservation Garden @ Cuyamaca College

Toothless

Egg Hunt

Summers Past Farm

Alien Invasion...

My youngest came to me today and wanted to write his own story.   He found a book we have that helps teach young writers how to write an adventure story.  They have great pictures to help get the creative juices flowing & boy, did it work with Truman!   There is a deserted island, a rainforest, a marvelous machine, and of course - the alient invasion.   He originally wanted to combine all the settings and use lots of different characters and travel to different universes in his story.   But, once he got to the actual act of writing, the story got pared down just a bit.   It was so cute to watch him sound out each word & at some points get the most puzzled look on his face..."how do you make the uew sound?"    I love moments like this!   

A full basket...




On most days here is what I see sitting on my kitchen counter. A bowl, not a basket, full of gorgeous eggs. I'm not sure which hormones have taken hold of my brain lately, but when I look at this bowl it reminds me of my life. My bowl is overflowing with colors and shades that I can hardly believe are real. Some eggs sitting in my bowl are speckled and spotted, some are smooth, some are round and some are long and thin. My bowl sometimes has eggs that have shells that are slightly blemished, but they still add something wonderful and unique to the bowl. My bowl is constantly changing, but never completely empty. I'm realizing how very lucky to have such a beautiful bowl of eggs.

Future Baker of America




Here she is, my Future Baker of America. I wish there was an afterschool club like Future Farmers of America or Young Republicans for my little baker, she would be in her element. She is at one in the kitchen with a bowl, some sugar, butter, eggs and little flour. Bea is not what I'd call a risk-taker, but she becomes so bold in the kitchen. I love watching her experiment with different flavorings when she is making pancakes for us in the mornings and learning that sometimes too much of a good thing really isn't a good thing! For Christmas her older sister gave her a cupcake baking set that was VERY cute! These cupcakes were Bea's first attempt, and they were delicious! Here's to my little baker following her heart, or in my families case, her tastebuds!

Croissants



Yummmm, there is nothing like fresh, buttery croissants baked in your own kitchen, rolled with your own two hands to make a woman proud. My wonderful friend JoAnn's daughter who is going to le Cordon Bleu in Paris showed JoAnn and I how to make homemade croissants while she was home during her break. We decided it would be good if we attempted to replicate her pastries before we forgot all the details of the process. Well, I guess we waited a little too long, because we did have a few moments of ...uhhhh...what did she do now? and, what does this direction mean? But, in the end we had great time and created something quite wonderful. Hopefully the next time we attempt croissants we'll remember what 90 degrees looks like!