A fun weekend...

Over the 3-day weekend for MLK Jr. we headed down (quite spontaneously!) to San Clemente to spend some time away from home... The kids are always thrilled when a train comes by, and one morning I was up early with Drew, out on the balcony and I caught his excitement...

That afternoon, we all went to the Irvine Spectrum and the cousins had fun going for a little train ride...

After the train ride, we went over to the fountains (the ones that shoot up out of the ground) and even though it was kinda chilly, all the kids went crazy playing in the water...so when we got home, the boys took a nice, hot bubble bath in the big soaker tub at the condo...

That night we went to the Monster Truck Rally, and it was just as awesome as last year! I think our seats were a little better this time though...it was LOUD and those trucks get some serious air! It's awesome! This was my favorite truck, made to look like a dog!

Check out the AIR that this truck got - that's at least 30 feet in the air!

And the truck we all came to see...GRAVE DIGGER! I love how the tires seem to crawl over things...they really remind me of monsters!

The week following this fun weekend was full of rain, rain and more rain, oh yeah and wind and even a tornado/water spout off the HB pier...CRAZY weather for us...so we're happy to be back to blue skies and sunshine this week! 

great advice

If you treat an individual ... as if he were what he ought to be, and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

something funny for all you twilighters...

** Pause my playlist before watching this video **

V-day Exchange

To all those participating...(all SIX of you)...check your email to see who your person is!!!  I just sent them!  Let the fun begin!

xo, shari

a fun tid-bit

I forgot about our New Moon party being highlighted over at Tara's Twilight Party - click here - ...until Megan mentioned that we should start thinking about planning our Eclipse party! So for those of you who are planning on it...save the date! The party will be June 29th...unless they change the release date for some reason! Anyway...it's going to be a blast, as always, and I personally am looking forward to the DVD release of New Moon on March 20th! :) Maybe I'll actually re-read Eclipse before the movie comes out...?? We'll see!

Daily Gem: Who We Will Become

"God the Eternal Father did not give [the] first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration."No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!"For what we love determines what we seek."What we seek determines what we think and do."What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 21–22

it's right around the corner!

Yes my friends, Valentine's Day will be here soon! Ever since we took down all the Christmas decorations, Joshy has been asking me what holiday comes next, because he wants more decorations! So, he will be happy tomorrow afternoon when we go get the Valentine's box out of the garage!

Some of you may remember the St. Patty's Day swap I coordinated last year, and that it was inspired the a Valentine's swap I participated in with my cousin and her friends. Well, I'm trying to stay on top of things this year by announcing it early, so hopefully we will get a good group of friends to participate!

Here are the details of the swap:

1. Put together a fun gift box/bag/basket/etc. full of Valentine's Day themed goodies (i.e. decorations, traditions, recipes, games, etc.)
2. Don't spend more than $20
3. Deliver it to your person within a week of Valentine's Day
   
4. HAVE FUN!

If you're interested in participating (and remember we're keeping this local (FV/HB) sorry out-of-state friends/family!) then leave a comment on this post, or email me at sharibeth78 AT hotmail DOT com by Friday, January 22. I will draw the names on Saturday, January 23 and notify everyone by email who their person is. This will hopefully give everyone plenty of time to plan, purchase, package, and deliver by the week of Valentine's Day! Oh yeah! It's up to you if you want to reveal who you are or if you want to remain anonymous!

I hope to hear back from a lot of you...it will be really fun!

Jakob's 7th Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Jakob's "Mad Scientist Party" and it was a lot of fun! I had each boy put on their lab coat (a men's white t-shirt cut up the middle), safety goggles, safety mask, gloves and name tag before they could begin their first experiment, which was called "Molecule Mania." They got to build molecules using toothpicks, dots and marshmallows:





Next we went outside and did an experiment called "Color Collisions." You put a small amount of milk in a bowl, one drop of food coloring, and then you dip a toothpick in dishsoap and then dip the toothpick in the center of the food coloring and it immediately spreads out making a ring. It looks really cool...the kids were amazed!
Next we went back inside, and did a static electricity experiment, rubbing balloons on their heads, making their hair raise and seeing if the balloon would stick to the wall on it's own.



Their next experiment was "Discovering Geodes." Brad helped by cracking the rocks open with a hammer, and then the boys examined them using their magnifying glasses. Some of the geodes actually had some really pretty crystals inside...thanks Lakeshore!



Next we went across the street to a grassy area and got ready to watch some Mentos/Diet Coke explosions...we had never done this before so we weren't sure how messy it would be...the boys loved it...the only thing I didn't like was how short lived it was...oh well!

Then we went back and made snow...and also checked on our sealife capsules...you can see some of them had popped out while we were gone. The boys loved the snow...it was really fun! We still have it in a ziploc bag in the freezer!

After everyone got cleaned up from the snow experiment, we came inside to sing happy birthday and have cupcakes...of course Jakob had to examine the cupcakes first... :)


Brad got some dry ice and made this punch look like a smoking potion...it was cool...the boys were kind of afraid to drink it though...


After cupcakes all the boys gathered around Jakob as he opened his gifts...he got some really fun things...and had fun reading the jokes in this card...all the boys were giggling!


Here are all the Mad Scientists...aren't they cute?! Joshy actually looks mad... ha ha!


Here's Jakob's impersonation of a real "Mad Scientist" -- I think he hit it on the head!



Since we only plan friend parties every other year, it was really fun to make this extra special for Jakob...after everyone went home, he said, "Thanks for the best birthday party ever!"

I can't believe I have a 7-yr-old!!!!!

a new blog

I started a new blog...challenging myself to take and post a picture a day...check it out sometime:

http://365photosbyshari.blogspot.com/

Pics from Jakob's birthday coming soon...

hope you're all well...please keep praying for baby Gavin!

TTFN!

a prayer please

A fellow photographer and "virtual" friend, Natalie Norton, had a her 4th baby boy 8 weeks ago. He is now in the hospital, and is need of your prayers...as well as Natalie and the rest of her sweet family. Please take a minute or two to offer a prayer on their behalf.

For more on what's been happening, follow her on twitter HERE and read the most recent update on her blog HERE.

Thank you!

(tears streaming down my face as I type this...)

p.s. maybe throw in a little bit about the missing Utah mom, Susan Powell too! I'm sure Heavenly Father wouldn't mind listening a bit longer...

GOOD NEWS!

Cafe Rio has officially opened it's doors in Lake Forest! If you've never had it, then let me tell you it will be worth the 20 minute drive down the freeway!!! Don't let the location deter you! OOOOOOOh my mouth is watering right now!

Can't wait to tell Brad the good news when he wakes up!!!

Here's the address:

Cafe Rio
24312 Rockfield Boulevard
Lake Forest, CA

Anybody want to make it a fun group date night????