Preschool Party

Today was Moira's last day of preschool before her birthday and our trip to Texas, so Ian and I brought pink cupcakes to her class so she could celebrate with her school friends! I really enjoyed seeing her in a classroom setting and watching her interact with the other little kids. She loves preschool so much, and I'm glad we have her in such a great program! Ian seems ready to start going himself too... now we'll just have to see if Mommy is ready yet! ;) Here are a few of the pictures I got of them at her school today:

Everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to Moira!

Moira and her pink cupcake - she insisted they be pink!

Ian "spying" on Moira's preschool!

Moira playing in the "cabin"

Tomorrow we leave for our trip to San Antonio and we all can't wait to get there and see all of our family! We have all sorts of fun activities planned, like a Princess birthday party for Moira, a night for the adults at The Melting Pot, and a trip to Landa Park. I plan to continue posting to our blog while we're there, so check back soon for more pics and updates on our vacation! :)

Picture Day!

I took the kids out to get their pictures taken today. The pictures turned out pretty darn cute, in my opinion, but they sure were a handful to manage together! The photographers did a great job though, and we got some cute shots. And, of course, being the sucker that I am, I purchased the cutest collage they put together of the two of them! Now, this is the first time I've spent the money for anything like this (not that it was that expensive) but I think it will be well worth it! :) We'll be mailing pics out to the family after we return from our trip to Texas, but here's a sneak peak of the collage! Enjoy! :)

Our 4th of July Week

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! We spent the day with the Hunke family having a BBQ (we always make *way* too much food when we get together), playing around on the trampoline, and then went to watch the city fireworks once it was dark. The kids always enjoy playing with Kindra and Benjamin and they're so good with our 'little ones'!

Diane and I had a chance to get together and stamp on Tuesday while the kids were playing and the bigger kids (our husbands!) played a round of golf. I'm just so excited about all the new goodies in my Stampin' Up! catalog... which Mr. Brown did indeed bring to me last Thursday! ;) Here are a couple of cards we made together that night, with one of my new sets. I can't wait to get the rest of my new goodies in the mail!

Tonight, Diane offered to watch Moira and Ian for us, so Collin and I are going to see Transformers! He, of course, is thrilled about getting to see the movie, while I'm looking forward to having my hubby all to myself!

Artichokes?!

We live in such an awesome place! On our drive to the park in Lompoc today, we passed by the many produce and flower fields surrounding this little city, as we usually do, but something about the drive today hit me. There on the side of the road were tons and tons of artichoke plants! When most people think of artichokes, they think of those little jars of marinated hearts... and here I am looking at a field of artichoke plants! How cool is that?!


Now, I love to eat artichokes, but until recently, I had no idea how to cook them, extract the much sought-after 'heart', nor did I even understand what an artichoke was! It turns out there are two common types of artichokes, the green (which you typically see) and purple, which seem to be growing in popluarity here in California and have a bit nuttier, earthier taste.

The cool thing, that I did not know about artichokes, is that they are really a thistle plant, related to the sunflower. When they're past their prime for harvesting and eating, they actually flower into a breath-takingly vivid purple - which is exactly what the field of artichokes we passed today is doing! Now, I have no idea why the farmer of this particular field decided to let them bloom (as they're no longer good eats) but they're just stunning to look at. Since this sight took my breath away, how could I not share with you a glimpse of something you don't see everyday... unless you live in Lompoc!

Stalking Mr. Brown...

Well, it's that time of year again. The time of year that every Stampin' Up demonstrator or fan goes a little wonkie... new catalog arrival week! None of us know exactly when the dear UPS man will show up with our eagerly anticipated package, but we remain hopeful that "today's gotta be the day!" I got this *memo* from my friend and upline, Jane, and couldn't stop laughing, so I thought I'd share it with you all:

UPS Memo
To: Drivers and Security
Date: June 20th , 2007
Subject: Crazy Stampin' Up! Ladies

This time of the year has come around once again. Stampin' Up! is releasing the New Idea Book and Catalog. Please be extremely cautious of Stampin' Up! demonstrators (SUDs) for the next two weeks.

How to Deliver the New Idea Book and Catalog:
1. Be sure you have fixed your squeaky brakes - if not, park your truck two blocks away so the SUD can not hear you coming.
2. Put in your earplugs and secure your safety glasses.
3. If you see children looking out the window, put your finger up to your lips and say "SHHHH".. They are on a "lookout" for you and are being paid to "alert" their mothers (SUDs) when they see you coming to the door.
4. Approach the front door and very quietly, set the package down in front of the door (Make sure you place it in FRONT so when she opens the door, the box will be in the way and give you a little more time to escape).
5. Back up as far as you can and reach for the doorbell, (BE READY TO RUN !!!). Ring the doorbell and make a mad dash back to your truck and drive away....DO NOT LOOK BACK !!!

The UPS corporation is informing you of this because in the past years, SUDs have been known to scream at the top of their lungs with excitement and try to tackle you with hugs for delivering their catalogs. After you have been smothered with appreciation for getting them their catalogs on time, watch out for flying packaging material as they will open up the box before you have had a chance to leave, or they have gone inside.

They have also been know to drive up next to you at a stop light in their mini vans and SUVs and ask if you have a package for them. Turn up your radio and pretend you cannot hear them. Do not let them approach your delivery truck at an intersection. SUDs have been know to stop traffic and throw all your packages off the trucks until they find their new Idea Book and catalog.

Best of luck to you with this mission, and remember: Let's Be Safe Out There!!!!!

Hee Hee! :) Well, I'm off again to stalk Mr. Brown...

A busy weekend!

Whew! We had a very busy weekend, although a fun one! Saturday we went to Moira's preschool graduation, which didn't really mean anything, since it's a year-round preschool and she won't move to the pre-K class until August, but it was cute all the same! They sang songs to show the parents what they learned that year, and had caps & gowns for the pre-K kids going on to Kindergarten, so it was a neat experience. Afterward was a Luau lunch on the playground, and Moira and Ian enjoyed playing for a bit.

After napping at home for a couple hours, we headed down to Lompoc for the annual Flower Festival, where we saw some neat vendors and got dinner. Then, it was back to the house to get everyone in their PJs and head off to the drive-in to see Fantastic 4! We've decided the drive-in theater is the best thing EVER, especially for families with small children that won't sit still in a movie theather. We spent many years in Montana missing out on all the newest movies, and now we bundle the kids up (with our ever-handy portable DVD player and a selection of Disney movies) and go to the drive-in to see the Summer blockbusters, tailgate style! We love it! :)

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This afternoon my good friend from Florida, Amy, and her family came over for lunch. They're here for a wedding in San Diego and came to visit for the afternoon (which was definitely not long enough)! Amy and I worked together and became good friends when we lived in CA before, and it was a lot of fun to see each other again after 5 years and 3 1/2 babies! Moira, Ian and Riley enjoyed playing together (not that we could keep them still long enough to snap a picture of them together!), and we enjoyed catching up and meeting David. :) Hopefully it won't be another 5 years before we see eachother again! Our door is always open...

Collin's 1st Op

The Western Range was standing by today to support a contingency landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, if they were unable to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Florida weather prevented a KSC landing, so the Shuttle had to land at Edwards AFB, CA. Vandenberg's mission is launching rockets into space, so the base has several radar dishes for tracking objects coming in and out of the atmosphere. Because of this, NASA relies on information received from our equipment when the Shuttle has to land at Edwards. It just so happens that Collin was scheduled as the primary Range Control Officer, and got to sit on console in the huge Operations Control Center and be a part of this mission. Even though he says he didn't really do anything, it's still considered his first operation as a Range Control Officer and it's cool that it turned out to be a Shuttle landing! Above is a picture of Atlantis' landing today.