Childhood memories

As part of their Christmas gifts, I made each of the kids an animal from their baby blankets that had been their favorite(s).

I chose a dog for Ryan's since he loves Buddy and works with dogs and cats each day as a vet tech.  It was difficult finding enough fabric on each of the four to make even this little dog!

Christmas 2016

We were fortunate to celebrate the holidays with Grammy, Crystol, her son Jake, Ryan, his GF Shazy, Kelleigh, Mark and I.  Sadly Connor wasn't able to come home so we will see him at the end of his class in early February.  We enjoyed a great dinner together on Christmas Eve and opened gifts leaving Christmas Day for relaxing.

While Jake was here, Mark took him to visit Gold's Gym in Venice Beach where "fitness started"!  On the 27th, Mark, Jake, Ryan and Shazy went to the Ducks vs. Sharks hockey game at The Pond as another of their Christmas gifts.

Our Marine

I love this picture of Connor and his group of guys as it reminds me of one that I have of my dad when he was in the service.  He looks so handsome!

Happy Birthday Dad

California night

We've been having some very hot weather which is not the norm for November and to have warm evenings is even more unusual.  Yesterday Mark put up new lights around our new sitting area under the pergola and I love the end result.

Jake is eight!

Happy Birthday to our Jakey!

Off to Hawaii

Connor received his orders and will be stationed at Kaneohe Bay, HI and from there he will deploy as needed.  He was the only one in his group to get Hawaii and is very excited as he's more than ready to get settled somewhere.  He gets to come home for a short time probably near Thanksgiving before heading west. We're excited for him!

Halloween dogs

Neither were too happy with their costumes!

Beautiful sunrise

A ittle bitter ...

While my generation was more known for actually using their imaginations while they played, I must admit that I'm a little bitter to see some of the amazing toys available today.  My sister and I would have LoVeD these ...

Baby gift set

One of our friend's is to have another baby girl anytime now.  I always loved the non-traditional colors for babies so decided that is what this gift set would be!  I crocheted a blanket designed for use with a carseat or stroller (no edges hanging over!) and then found an outfit that went with it.  Love how well they coordinate and the pom-pom edging is so cute I'm going to do it on another one!

A cute visitor

I forgot to post this cute roadrunner that was walking behind our fence the other day.  We used to see them quite often but the last couple of years it's only occasionally that we do.  (The picture isn't very sharp as he kept moving!  Can you see him between the trees?)

New pool landscape

We had to remove the palm tree since its roots were invading the auto-fill system.  As a result, it was a make-over but I'm happy with the outcome given the filters we had to work around!

Pals

Great pals and playmates ...

All the boys napping!

Just too cute

Baking kinda day

It is a dreary, misty kinda day so perfect time to bake some banana bread!

Gold Fish 3!

While Kell was at Ryan's, Mark and I decided to go have dinner at a local casino that has my favorite slot machine - Gold Fish 3!  While I always donate a little before the night is out, I always hold out hope that I'll win some or break even.  Fun nevertheless!

Visiting the Irvine Spectrum Center

Kelleigh drove up to spend Saturday and part of Sunday with Ryan.  It's so hard to believe my kids are old enough to be driving to visit each other but I couldn't be happier that they enjoy each other's company.  They went to the Irvine Spectrum Center which is a fabulous mall with an incredible amount of stores and a ferris wheel.  Definitely worth seeing if you're in the area!

View from the top

First election

Kelleigh received her first election ballot and information guide.  Quite an election to be her first!

Squirrels and acorns

When I saw this candy dish in the Pier 1 flyer I knew it would be the perfect thing for my collection of pinecones and acorns.  How could I resist?!  (It would take a LOT of candy to fill this dish as it's quite deep!)

Framed pictures

One of my favorite pix is a collage of the kids' graduation announcements.  I love how each of them reflect where they are at this point in their lives.

I can remember ordering these frames and mats when Ryan was starting elementary school and thinking how long it would be before they were all full.  Little did I know that the years would go by much faster than I could imagine.

Finally a flower

We've waited over a year for this barrel cactus to bloom and we finally have one flower.  So much for having a whole circle of them!

Pink Ribbon Month

For anyone doing a mammorgram this month, The Women's Center gave a pin that is from "seed paper" which can be planted and a notebook.  I'm good for another year!

Mom's project

Mom's favorite room in her house is her TV room.  Since she didn't use the desk any longer, she gave to a friend and got a new sofa to take it's place and decided it needed painted!  Here's the new look ...

Great recipe

As anyone who knows me is aware, I HATE to cook.  But every now and then I come across a recipe that I get inspired to try.  This was one of them and it was AMAZING.  I highly recommend!

Hard life for our dogs

It's very hard being a dog in this house ...

Kelleigh

Kelleigh and Ashlie spent the day at Sea World and this was taken on one of the rides.  Love it!

New car

We were fortunate enough to receive enough from the insurance company (fromm the Prius being totalled) to buy Ryan a 2016 Ford Fiesta Hatchback.  We're crossing our fingers that this was a good choice and will last him for years.

Sammy is 10 months old

Hard to believe he's ten months old already.  He had a spa day a couple of days ago and looks so much bigger to me now.  Of course he is 22 lbs so maybe that's why!

Sophie

Sophie's new mom, Barbara, is so great and sends me often pictures of Sophie.  Here are a couple as she's resting after a hard day at the spa ... love and miss that sweet girl.

Saying goodbye

Saying goodbye to Dave and Eileen Johnson was very hard to do.  Eileen has been a dear friend and a much-loved member of Carmel Mountain Ranch.  She was the kindergarten teacher every parent wanted for their child and the kindest soul you could ever meet.  They are moving to Virginia to be near their grandchildren and I look forward to visiting them there some day.

Matt and Kristin Bradvica threw a surprise party for them and it was amazing! Many of her past co-workers and lots of friends were there to give them a well-deserved send off.  Her daughter Shannon also flew in to surprise them (she and her husband had just been here the weekend prior so it was really a surprise that she was back!).

Dave, Shannon, Kristin, Eileen, and Matt