Lucky Find!

So, while watching Russell, I had one of these popsicles, which aren't really popsicles but frozen yogurt on a stick. Oh man...they are delicious! When I got home, I started the search, first we thought we'd try the mexican markets but to our surprise we didn't even have to go that far! They are such a treat and I'm sure we'll love them that much more when the triple digits roll around!

Monkey Boy Memories!

Alright, I was just clearing some pictures off my camera and realized I haven't shared my adventures with Monkey Boy. Spring semester started for my sister and she didn't have anyone to watch her little man. I ran down there the first week of April and stayed a few days to help out. We had some fun! (and I'm not being sarcastic...) Aside from the monotony of doing the same activity over and over we had a good time together. I did learn that you don't introduce something fun to do without wanting to do it FOR EVER! For example...we blew bubble outside for THREE HOURS! I can't complain too much though, it was a beautiful day. I planned on taking him on lots of adventures but it's a lot harder to tote around a two-year-old that I thought. We tried to even just go to Pets Mart to look at the animals so I rounded him up while he rounded his toys up and we drove over there...well, much to my surprise the toys didn't want to stay in the car...he even had a nice carrying cup for all the cars he had. I was NOT having it. I do have to give him points for being smooth...I told him I'd give him a piece of gum if he gave me his cars. Well, of the 6 he had, he so generously gave me ONE! Smart guy, but no deal child! It was pretty funny!
It was also kinda fun to be in the town I grew up in and I tried to take a small walk down memory lane. I visited some old friends, and even drove down to get a root beer freeze at the best place on earth! (no exaggeration...) My mouth was watering the whole drive and I even had little Russell saying "treat" since I told him we'd be getting something yummy. Well, we pull up to the place and the parking lot was EMPTY! I was sad because I thought people were abandoning this little family run joint for the McDonald's down the street. Well, much to my surprise they were CLOSED...on a WEDNESDAY?! Honestly people, who does that? So poor little Russell (and me!) didn't get their treat. Luckily I had some fruit snacks in my purse and he thought that was just as good!
Well, there was still one other thing I wanted to do down south before I came back...Farmer's Market. Again, nothing like it on earth! I mean, there are Farmers' Markets around but this is more like a Thursday night street fair. They shut down the main street of this little college town and have not only your normal fruits, veggies, and flowers, but little bands entertaining crowds, bounce houses, face painting, crafts, AND McClintocks tri-tip Ka-Bobs. MMM...There's nothing like eating out of a cardboard box on the sidewalk curb! I kept debating whether or not I wanted to stay for Farmers or drive home since I'm not much of a fan of night driving especially on those little two lane roads with trucks, but that ka-bob and beans were worth not getting home till one in the morning! YUM-O!
SOO...long story short...Monkey Boy and I had some fun, ate some yummy food, oh, and got our eyebrows done...(well, monkey boy's mom and I). It was such a good time I'm bringing Brian back with me next week for some more adventures!
Russell is actually eating!?!? I had heard of this happening in the past but never seen the rare occurrence first hand. ooooo....aaaaahhh...
Well, it might look like a sad cowboy meal to some of you, but those of you who've had the privilege say it with me..."YE-HAW!"

Spoon+Paper Clips+Tape= FORK!

Alright, I got all set to eat the salad I brought for lunch today and realized I had no fork! The spoon would not do, so in hunger mode I created this little gem. And the best part...IT WORKED! (like a charm I might add.) And the salad was delish!




After I was finished, I realized I could have walked next door to the restaurant and gotten a human style fork! Oh well, it made for an entertaining lunch!

Feelin' Crafty?

So I've finally decided to share my latest hobby with the world. It started a while ago when I saw a purse I couldn't live without--the girl told me, "it's a seatbelt bag!" So I looked them up online and it turns out I could live without it! They're quite expensive. So I quickly put it out of my head so it wouldn't tempt me. Well, much to my delight, my car was totaled and when I went to collect it's remains, it became the perfect opportunity to cut the seatbelts out! Now it's the most expensive bag I own! So, anyway, long story short, I've now made a few of these for some special people and trying to decide if I should sell them. "Buckle-Up Bags" maybe? No, something more clever. Anyway, if you've got any ideas, let me know!

Watch out Kujo--Scout's coming!

So, Scout's favorite place to be is the dog park. Lots of room to run, wrestle, play, and STEAL OTHER DOG'S TOYS! He is the WORST! He'll let another owner play fetch with a dog, wait till they bring the toy back, and when the other dog drops the toy for it's owner, Scouty will snatch it up and take off running! Once he did it to a basset hound, and let me tell you, I have never seen a basset move like that! It was hilarious! One of these days we'll get the little thief on video. This time at the park he was having a blast because he found a friend that looked like him! At first he couldn't figure her out...but two minutes later they were having a ball!

This is the best part about the dog park--he comes home pooped!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

We have had beautiful weather in Sacramento the last few weeks and I am excited that the bulbs I've planted are sprouting! We've got both Ranunculus and Peonies: my two absolute favorite flowers. Sadly--puppy dug up two of the peony roots, boy I was MAD, but the other couple are doing well! Oh how I love the Spring!

This (above) is the beginnings of my Ranunculus---and these flowers (below) are what I hope they'll become in a few weeks! I've got high hopes for these little guys!

More from March!

Well, Brian turned the big 3-1 on March 6th which was right after our San Antonio adventure. I surprised him and we flew straight from Texas to LA where I had planned to take him to Disneyland and just have some fun! We were both so exhausted that we decided to just lounge on the beach and enjoy the sunshine. Thanks to Gordy and Janet we crashed at their house and enjoyed beautiful Laguna Beach and other fun places around. I did hold one surprise up my sleeve--we went to go see Wicked! (He didn't realize it until we were on Hollywood Blvd and you could see the marquee!) Anyway, the show was great! We also found another hidden treasure while down there. We got there quite early because you never know how LA traffic can be...on the google directions is gives an estimated time of 40 minutes, but also says "1 hour 50 minutes is traffic." So, we planned for the worst and got their early! We situated ourselves and decided to find something to eat... THAT was an adventure! Now, when you hear the word "Hollywood" you think glamour and fame and beautiful people--the reality of the walk of fame is garbage, bums and scary shops! At least where the Pantages is. Anyway, we stopped at the first place that looked like we could trust the cooks and much to our surprise we stumbled on a little gem! This little Italian place in the middle of the chaos was sooo good! They had a piano player serenading us with an Italian singer and the BEST FOOD! YUM! It was a really great time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!

Texas Adventures

Look at all this loot! It shows you how busy we were all week...(and this was just the good stuff!) It's funny because at the show EVERY little thing is exciting when it's free, and when you bring it all home it's kinda like, "What are we going to do with all this junk?"

Brian at the Alamo--luckily there was something for him to do that he enjoyed while we were there...he even took the little tour...aww...my little history buff!

Here's the famous River Walk in Downtown San Antonio--notice, no railing to help avoid the treacherous 4 foot plunge! It was beautiful at night...we ate up top on one of those balconies and they light all the trees up...it's quite lovely.

There you have it--not the serene landscape I envisioned, but definitely some fun!


Alright, so this was the coolest thing we saw in Corpus Christi! A MASSIVE shark! You had to go in the mouth to get to the door. It was a huge surf shop! Lots of fun! I tried to make it look like he was chompin' down on me--but it didn't work out so well. :)

What a beautiful temple they have in San Antonio--stained glass windows and all--really gorgeous. (And if you look closely you can see Jessica and Ryan posing for a photo op w/el papa as photographer.)

We really pulled the tourist card in some of these places--I actually wanted to buy the hat to send to Austin but we couldn't figure out how we would get it home...So I made Brian wear it--You can tell people were looking at us by the look on his face..."HURRY UP MARISSA, THEY'RE STARING!"

What a way to unwind after a long week...ahhh...alright, only kidding--I'd never touch the stuff...but it did make for a great picture!

TEXAS!

So, our family went on a business trip to San Antonio, Texas for a trade show in early March that has schools supplies, back packs, clothing, stationary, basically one-stop shop for all your campus bookstore needs. It sure was an experience. I had envisioned in my head some sort of carnival of vendors all handing out the coolest things to get you to stop by their booths. There was a bit of carnival there, I mean I got some popcorn, but for the most part it was a hurried rush to see all that was there to make sure your store had the latest and greatest. By the end of the day you were exhausted and ready to sort through the treasures you got that day. Whew! By the third day we were all ready to skedaddle! The most fun was at the end of the day when we dumped out our loot and everyone tried to one up the other for the free stuff they'd been given---

"I got a pencil pouch!"

"I got a T-shirt!"

"Yeah, well I've got a full set of 36 permanent markers!"

"Yeah, well I GOT A BACK PACK!"

...and on and on it went. The free stuff was fun!

Anyway, it made for very long days, and not much vacation.

We did manage to sneak in a day trip to Corpus Christi which we had heard great things about! We heard it was warm water and because it was near the Caribbean, it was supposed to be tropical. Alright, well no offense, but I'd like to talk to someone who started those false rumors! It was cold, and dirty and grimy and so much trash on the shore...the best part was watching the fisherman who literally drove their trucks to the water's edge and put fishing pole into PVC pipes that had been tied onto the front bumper of their truck. I'm sorry, but that's a little hill-billy for me! So our day trip turned into about an hour at the beach itself...2 1/2 hours in the car both ways for the beautiful oasis called Corpus Christi! --I should make a disclaimer though...growing up on the coast of California, I will say I'm a little spoiled and I can see how people would think of it as such a great place if that was the closest thing around...anyway, we'll let the locals keep that little gem to themselves.

There were some other moments of fun on the journey. We visted the Alamo, the San Antonio River Walk--which we learned the river is only 4 feet deep--the scary thing is that there aren't any rails! If you're not watching where you're going...you may end up taking a dip! Especially at night, there are a lot of restaurants and so it gets quite crowded.

So, there you have it--our week-long adventure in Texas--it makes me a little proud to be a California girl!

Long Time, No Write...

I'm pretty bad about keeping my blog up to date...I need to be better...it seems like I do lots of post when I have nothing much to talk about and when life gets busy and fun, I'm so consumed by it all that I forget to tell the world (or my 3 blog readers) all about it. So, I'm going to try and be better, once a week! (I know shocker, since I hardly post once a month...) ANYWAY, I've got a lot to catch up on so here goes...