Summer Update

Well, I was wrong about having more time in summer, that’s for sure! I just put up three quick posts with pictures from our major adventures. It has been a hard summer in ways, but we have also managed to have a lot of fun. We went to Catalina for 5 days to stay at my in-laws’ condo, then we came home just in time to throw a July 4th party. After that,there were all sorts of family stresses, near deaths, hospital stays and more. It has been quite emotional, but everyone is safe and/or recovering nicely. Just recently we were able to go to Spokane to stay with Nick’s cousin Keith. They have 5 kids of their own, and just welcomed us into their home and made us feel like family. We really didn’t want to leave!!

We came home just in time to start packing to move. We are just unable to hold on to the house that we own and have called home for the past 4 years. It is a great lot, and has tons of potential, but our mortgage is super high (bought near the top of the bubble), and it needs a total overhaul to be anything close to what we need. We just can’t afford to do what needs doing. Nothing has been redone since 1955. The electricity isn’t grounded, the plumbing is shot–no hot water in some rooms, terrible water pressure, we haven’t had working A/C or heat in two years, sprinkler system is kaput, and the water heater went out two weeks ago. Add to that the inescapable fact that the house only has two bedrooms, and there are five of us. So, we will be trying to do a short sale on this house, but in the meantime, we just need to get out of here. This has been pretty stressful, at least for the grown ups.

Luckily, we have found a nice house to rent on the street where we used to live. It has 3 bedrooms, so we will probably outgrow it in a couple of years, but it is right next door to Zack’s best friend (whose mother I just love!), and we know tons of great people there. Nick is out of town this week on business, but is getting back tonight, and we have a moving truck scheduled for tomorrow. Our official move in date is Saturday. Wish us luck!

Anyway, I need to get back to work. Just wanted to give an explanation of why I haven’t been online and what is going on with us.

Spokane Adventures

Here are some highlights of our amazing trip to Spokane to stay with Nick’s cousin and his family. They have 5 kids, and there were more cousins who came over as well, so my children were in heaven!! Not to mention the creek and the pond, and the lake, and the water park!

July 4th party

We had our annual July 4th party, and it was wonderful, carrying over into our neighbors’s party as well, including the use of their pool. My only regret is that I didn’t get on the roof for the fireworks, since it is our last year with this view.

Amazing Avalon

My kids have been so lucky to have grandparents with a condo in Catalina, or I’m pretty sure we could never afford to go (or would just go somewhere more affordable). As it is, they have been able to go almost every year, sometimes twice, since they were little. It is such a wonderful place, and we were able to spend 5 days there earlier this summer. Here are some of the shots from our stay.

Catalina

More of what we’ve been up to…

IMG_3155.JPG, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Well, we are continuing to be busy around here. This is a shot of Isabella (second from the right) and her three best friends at their 6th grade graduation party. It was a pool party at a nearby park, and they had a taco bar cater it, so the food was fantastic too.

This is her teacher:

The next day a friend threw a party at her house for some of the kids. Just a small affair for 60 or so!

Then Zachary had his guitar recital at the House of Blues. My kid is the one who is too cool to smile. ;p It was like a real rock concert. They played Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day and Holiday by Green Day. Other classes played songs by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, GNR, and more. Afterward, we got a big table, and a bunch of us grabbed a yummy meal and hung out for a while. The guy with Zachary is his teacher. How awesome is he to get the kids a venue like that for their recital?

More of what we’ve been up to…

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IMG_3155.JPG, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Well, we are continuing to be busy around here. This is a shot of Isabella (second from the right) and her three best friends at their 6th grade graduation party. It was a pool party at a nearby park, and they had a taco bar cater it, so the food was fantastic too.

The next day a friend threw a party at her house for some of the kids. Just a small afair for 60 or so!

Then Zachary had his guitar recital at the House of Blues. It was like a real rock concert. They played Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day and Holiday by Green Day. Other classes played songs by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, GNR, and more. Afterward, we got a big table, and a bunch of us grabbed a yummy meal and hung out for a while. The guy with Zachary is his teacher. How awesome is he to get the kids a venue like that for their recital?

Romeo, Romeo…

IMG_4059.JPG, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Well, here are a few photos from one of the many events that has been keeping us busy. To tell the truth, I have been exercising nearly every day, which is stealing away a lot of the time I used to spend online. I am walking 4-7 miles 5-6 days a week, which feels great, but does take time. I am also trying to go to the YMCA for the machine circuit a few times a week.

We are also getting ready to move soon, probably the first of August, so I am trying to get ready for that, as well as continuing to buy books.

Most important are all the kid events. The 6th graders did a Renaissance Faire at school. Isabella’s class did a spoof on Romeo and Juliet, and Isa was cast as one of the Juliets. The top photo is her with the other girl who played Juliet in the second cast. I was amazed at how my normally shy girl came out of her shell. They were supposed to overact, and she really hammed it up. It was really fun to watch her. Summer will be here in two days, and then we should have some time on our hands again.

Are you all ready for summer?

It’s been a whirlwind here

 

Well, it always gets crazy during the last month of school, so I apologize for being absent. We have been busy with school projects, a 50th anniversary party, and so much more. Unfortunately, my camera is on the fritz lately, so it only works some of the time. Thus I don’t have very many photos to share.

I do have a few photos from my friend Ninder’s annual party, a great chance to have my fill of homemade Indian food. Every year she throws a big bash for 30+ people who all met when their kids played Pop Warner football. She works for days ahead of time preparing, and then she recruits all the women to help prepare the food. I got there a couple of hours ahead of time to chop veggies and help to some last minute cleaning. Then six of us lined up to make fresh roti. It’s just whole wheat flour mixed with water. Two women made balls of it, two rolled it out, and then Ninder and I cooked them on a griddle, searing our fingers in the process. We made 200 of them, and it was so worth it! Just look at my plateful of food. My daughter’s favorite dish was the vegetable pakora. This was a mix of diced cauliflower, garam masala (spices), chopped onion, minced spinach and garbanzo flour with water added. We scooped up small handfuls of this mixture and dropped it in boiling oil to make little fried dumplings of goodness. It was delicious with mint chutney and yogurt.

It was great to see so many friends, although most of the women refused to be photographed. And the little girls gave us a fashion show to round things out. At the end of the night we had strong, hot homemade chai tea and ice cream (which we had stirred every half an hour for an hour and a half) made with real cream, cardamom and diced almonds and pistachios. Unbelievably rich and good!

Just to prove that I still exist

Mother’s Day, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Life hasn’t slowed down much, but we spent a lovely Mother’s Day at my mother-in-law’s house. We had a health scare with my oldest (looks like she is going to be fine), and I didn’t get much sleep last week. It was so warm and breezy in the hammock with birds singing and the leaves rustling all around, that Nick and I just crashed hard for over an hour! Sophia, my seven-year-old actually snapped this photo. I haven’t slept in a hammock since my honeymoon. I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day with your kids and/or mothers!

Got pancakes?

Just add pancakes, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Sorry for the lack of online activity! I have been so busy lately with family and school events, not to mention working at book buying. Isabella has started volleyball lessons twice a week, and Zachary takes guitar twice a week as well. Sophia is activity-free right now except for tons of playdates. Yesterday I ended up taking home three extra kids.

Besides working and family obligations, the bulk of my time lately has been spent on the school’s annual pancake breakfast. Here is one of my favorite photos from one of the earlier breakfasts. It is something we volunteer for every year, and this year I took on a lot more responsibility. Today, I turn in the volunteer sheets and flyers for approval/school handout.

Last weekend we had the school’s annual Parents Night Out. For $100 per couple, you support your school, have a delicious Mexican buffet and hang out with friends all night. It is held at a local outdoor patio, and there is tons of dancing. I don’t bring my camera, because adults never want to be photographed! Here is one cell phone shot of me my daughter insisted on taking.

We had a great time as usual. There was fake casino gambling with raffle tickets as winnings. Even my anti-social husband enjoys this event every year, since he can play poker all night. We ended up with tickets to the Festival of the Masters, a 70s Soul Jam concert at the Greek Theatre, and tickets to the Pacific Symphony. Not bad for free! I hope you all are well. Things should hopefully slow down a little here after Mother’s Day, and I can catch up on all my friends’ blogs.