- Lady Bumble's Tea Party
Here are some pictures of a theme party I have. It has just taken me a while to get the pics up on my website! BUZZZ!
- Mad Hatter Tea Party
Play flamingo croquet with the Queen of Hearts or have tea with the Mad Hatter! This fanciful party will keep guests entertained with activities and festive colors.
- Mary Poppins Tea Party
It will be a jolly holiday at this fanciful tea party. Guests will wear Mary Poppins-inspired hats, wear white gloves and decorate their own kites! Magical games and photo-ops included. Catering provided by The Tea Gardens, caramel apples from Lady Di's and beautiful photography from Jennifer Wilson.
- Real Life Church Puppy Party
This is the 2nd time I had the honor of hosting the preschool event for the Real Life Church. The kids had a great time stuffing the puppies, playing games and petting real puppies!
- Tinkerbell Party
Magical Tinkerbell party where guests enjoy dressing up as a fairy or a pirate. Favors include costumes, rock candy sticks butterfly bubbles and bubble swords.
- Walnut Grove Bridal Faire
I was invited to attend a lovely Bridal Faire by Erica Valenzuela. I will be her Day-of wedding coordinator in September and I was also her sister's. The girls and their family and I go way back! Erica and her sister, Anna, used to babysit my kids and their mom used to babysit me!
Erica will be getting married in the same place where they hold the Civil War re-enactment every year that I attend. It was so strange to see it without all of the soldier's tents!
They had vignettes set up with tables for guests, food tables, a bar, ceremony site, etc. They served sampling of their hors d'ourves and main dishes. They even had a dessert bar with a peach and berry cobbler served in mason jars with vanilla bean ice cream.
I can't wait until September for this special occasion!
- Superhero Party
I hosted my inaugural Superhero party this weekend and it kicked off my new Party Wishes themed party with a bang! There were 57 guests between the ages of 2-10 with the birthday boys turning 4.
As the guests arrived, they got to choose a Super Suit to wear during the party which consisted of a cape and mask.
Next, the guests were escorted to the craft table where they created their own paper Superhero. I supplied the 10 1/2 " paper cut out, colorful masks and capes and the kids created the rest of the outfit with crayons and markers.
The games consisted of Pin the spider on Spiderman, tug o' war to test their super strength, bubbles for hand-eye coordination, Kickball, running for Super Speed, hula hoops and the big finale was a Silly String fight!
Every guest went home with their mask, Superhero cut out, jump rope, bubbles, coloring book, light up ball, Superhero lollipop and Superhero tattoos.
- Father/Daughter Dance
What a great night at Helmers! Dad and daughter dressed in their finest masquerade masks and attire dressed the night away under candlelight, decorated their own masks, enjoyed a strolling magician, had a professional picture taken and enjoyed yummy desserts. I had such a great time designing all of the decor and It is so great when your sketch matches how it really turns out. My favorite was the chandeliers with battery operated candles...so cool!
- Lorax Party
To celebrate Earth Day, Sheridan hosted a Lorax party for some of her friends. They brought their own t-shirts that we upcycled into tote bags with a few cuts with scissors and 1 sewn seam. Then the girls planted their own Meyer Spruce sapling and painted the pots. The guests were tired from painting and singing so we sat at the table filled with Truffala trees and enjoyed veggies, dip, strawberries and cupcakes. The last craft was to make bird feeders out of gallon milk jugs. For their favors, the girls used their new totes to take home Lorax cookies, cotton candy (Truffala trees) Lorax cake pops and flower seeds. The party time went by very quickly and everyone had a great time!
- Santa Clarita Arbor and Earth Day
Sheridan and I went to Santa Clarita's Arbor and Earth Day celebration. We came home with a pear tree, strawberry plant, a planted tomato and sunflower seed, Swiss Chard plant, learned how to make headbands and bracelets out of old t-shirts, 50 live ladybugs and a huge bag of mulch...ALL for FREE! We also visited the community garden and helped weave a natural tapestry.
- Easter
Kites were a big hit this year. Too bad we had a tiny breeze but the kids tried VERY hard to keep the kites up in the air. The night before, Matt, Chasen and Sheridan had a glow-in-the-dark egg hunt. I put glow sticks in the eggs and we wore GITD necklaces. After 17 egg hunts, you have to come up with some new twists and they loved it!
- Women in History
The Women in History spotlighted this year was Susan B. Anthony, Margaret "Molly" Brown, Ada Lovelace, Dian Fossey, Frances Perkins and Stagecoach Mary Fields.
- Christmas
We spent Christmas Eve at Mom's house opening gifts...Matt got techy gloves and Top Gear book, Chasen got a RC car, In-N-Out gift card and shirt, Sheridan got Moshi Monsters DS game and Wappy Dog DS game, Michael got a Rubik's Cube and I got a Martha Stewart book and lampwork bracelet. Everyone got gift cards to their favorite eateries as well. I got my sister a Show n' Tell from her chldhood along with her favorite record- Three Little Pigs. Of course, everyone got their traditional pajamas from Mom.
On Christmas morn, everyone got books...Hunger Games, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rick Castle and Steve Jobs and Mark Twain's biography.
- Class Holiday Party
Sheridan's 5th grade class celebrated the holidays with a gingerbread house decorating party complete with hot chocolate and coffee (for the parents) bar.
I was in charge of the party and I had some wonderful eleves to help me pull it off! We hot glued graham crackers together for the gingerbread houses and I had different candies for them to use to decorate. I made 4 batches of Royal icing and everyone got their own decorator bag. When the kids were done decorating, they put their creations in the mini gingerbread house boxes I got along with their place card that now doubles as their name tag on the box.
The hot chocolate bar had different syrups, coconut, peppermint and caramel, to add to their drinks as well as 5 different kinds of marshmallows and whipped cream. Mrs. Slattery brought the parents a box of Starbucks coffee which I gladly made myself a peppermint mocha out of.
After we had our fill of sugary liquids, we had the kids play "Pin the nose on the Snowman" and doodle on the white boards with the gingerbread men cut outs.
Mrs. Henley loved her "money tree" filled with $200 cash from the class.
- Girl Scout Random Acts of Kindness
Troop 8212 decided as their holiday party that they would like to do Random Acts of Kindness around our neighborhood. Each girls picked their own act and then we got together to carry them out as a troop.
The girls passed out flowers, Starbucks and McDonald gift cards, candy canes and cupcakes. We taped maney to the Lotto machine and microwave popcorn to Red Box DVD rentals. We even made a trip to the police station to drop off some cookies.
Afterwards, we met up at Ashley's house to have some holiday treats such as potato latkes, Christmas cookies and hot chocolate.
We reflected on our good deeds, the reactions of the receivers and girls would love to do this again for Valentine's Day.
- Neighborhood Holiday Lights
We drove around our neighborhood tonight to see all of the creative holiday decorations. People were gathered around firepits and kids were passing out candy canes. A young violinist was playing Christmas Carols and Santa was in the middle of the street taking last minute requests from little ones. The weather was perfect...a tiny nip in the air and NO wind! Merry Christmas Northbridge!
- Nutcracker Cast Parties
On Tuesday, Act II Opener dancers gathered for their regular class with Miss Wendy. Camilla's mom brought sparkling apple cider and I made Sugar Plum Fairy cake pops, rock candy sticks and festive cupcakes. I really wanted plain white frosting ones and thinking it would be easier to buy than make, I went to 5 different grocery stores and didn't find any. It truly would have been easier if I made them myself!
On Thursday, the mice from the battle scene came to Miss Connie's regular class to enjoy Sparkling apple cider provided by Camilla's mom, once again and mice cake pops that I made with custom purple tutus that matched the tutus the girls wore during the performance. They also got to break into groups and choreograph their own dances to the Reed music. It was so fun to watch them work together and spark their creativity!
Thanks to Miss Wendy and Connie for another fabulous Nutcracker!
- Dance Studio 84 Nutcracker
What a special Nutcracker this year! It was Sheridan's 5th time performing and it was my 1st time! Sheridan was a mouse in the battle scene, part of the Act II Opener and I was a mom during the party scene.
It was alot of fun to be part of the production and spending time with Sheridan. I really hope I can be part of it again next year!
- Tea Sister Cookie Exchange
Lissa and Suzie hosted this beautiful brunch and cookie exchange for the Tea Sisters. We enjoyd quiche, bread pudding , salad and fresh fruit. Gifts, cookies and hugs were exchanged. Marina let us pick from her Cookie Lee jewelry basket and everyone went home with an assortment of yummy cookies.
- Thanksgiving
This year, I decided to have a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. My sister's kids are a little older now so it is fun to do some crafts and games with them. We decorated t-shirts to look like the Peanuts characters, played pin the football on the goal post, and sprayed each other with Silly String outside. Then we watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD and ate popcorn and jelly beans just like in the movie.
- Little Miss Homemaker Party
For Sheridan's 11th birthday, we celebrated with a Little Miss Homemaker party. As the guests arrived, they put on an apron that I hand embroidered with each girl's name and then they signed the scrapbook page. I told them as part of being a retro homemaker, looking your best was a must! Each girls got their own blush, mascara and red lipstick. It was so fun to watch them apply it. They really enjoyed the make up because they would "re-apply" after each activity! The next activity was to sew some rosette headbands. Each girl received their own sewing kit and picked 2 different fabrics to make them. After the headbands were all made, we moved into the kitchen to make pies. They rolled out dough and cut it to make lattice tops for either an apple or cherry pie. As the pies were baking in the oven, the guests sang to Sheridan and they all enjoyed the chocolate and raspberry cream filled ruffle cake I made. I also made the cake topper.
The girls loved playing the clothesline game where they had to hang my grandmother's aprons on a clothesline in the shortest amount of time. Ashley won and received a small bottle of Sheridan's favorite candy-Hershey's Kisses!
As the pies were cooling, Sheridan opened her gifts. Her friends are so sweet making her cards and knowing her interests so well.
The guests took home custom party hats that I made, apron, rolling pin, make up, their headband they made, sewing kit and their homemade pie!
- Mad Hatter party at Disneyland
I was contacted by a pharmacist in Orange County to host a Mad Hatter party for the CSHP at the Disneyland Hotel. It was to honor the volunteers of the organization that supports pharmacists around California. The amazing woman honored is a Dr. and teaches pharmacology at USC and is a leader in women's studies and emergency concraceptions.
All of the guests loved the decor that I had made myself for the event. Since it was a much larger event and venue that I usually do, I had to make a lot more decor and think outside the box with such a tiny budget.
I made all of the Mad Hatter hats including the one on my head out of poster board and fabric. It took me 8 hours to make 12 hats. I made the hat stands from Dollar Tree candlesticks and wood trims from Home Depot.
The big hit of the night was the photo booth. I painted a canvas blue and hung it on a frame of PVC pipe. I decorated it with flowers made from colored lunch bags and google eyes. The guests acted like little kids picking out their hats and posing for the cameras. There was a professional photographer and a pharmacist with her cmera as well. I will be getting "better" pics from them later :)
One of the bartenders said she noticed all of the details I had put into everything and said I should work for Disney. That was the greatest compliment I could have gotten!
- All Hallow's Eve
I always have a great time decorating my house in Disney Haunted Mansion theme. I have a graveyard, hitch hiking ghosts, and the ride soundtrack playing in the backgraound. This year, Sheridan and I donned matching Victorian ghosts outfits. My story to the guests is that I was the birthday girl at the mansion (if you've been on the ride, you know what I'm talking about), I spoke in a Southern accent (since it was supposed to be in New Orleans Square) and I had my picture taken with many visitors. At one point, I had a bunch of trick-or-treaters gathered outside my house so it truly felt like I was at Disneyland!
Michael took Sheridan and her best friend, Skya, around the neighborhood. Once around the block was good enough for Sheridan and boys didn't go out at all. I just bought Matt his own bag of Reese's and Chasen picked through Sheridan's stash.
One lady came up to me and said that she looks forward to my decor every year and that I am her favorite house to visit.
- Raven Brunch
I hosted a Poe/Raven inspired brunch for my Tea Sisters. I wrote on the invitation Gothic Attire Encouraged and my friends do not disappoint with their interpretations.
The centerpiece was created with branches from a tree that was cut down the day before next to our supermarket. The small ravens were from the Dollar Tree and the raven plates with quotes from the famous poem are from Home Goods.
I covered existing pictures with poster board and pages from books also from the Dollar Tree and I used my Cricut Wall Decor cartridge to make all of the black silhouettes.
For brunch I served hot apple cider, spinach quiche, pumpkin donuts and fresh berries. I made raven shaped cookies that never got frosted with black Royal icing or black sanding sugar (just picture it in your head) so I gave my guests boxes of scone and muffin mix.
It's always so fun to hang out with my girlfriends!
- "My Fair Wedding" Premiere
I am a big fan of David Tutera , the celebrity party planner and star of "My Fair Weddding" show on WEtv. So, of course, I am also a Facebook fan, too. A few weeks ago, David tweeted to enter your email address to get tickets to his premiere of Season 5 of MFW so I entered and I got 2 free tickets to attend this event.
I invited my friend, Suzie Smith and we headed down to the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. After standing in line for over an hour, we got in. The giant staircase was lined with 2 girls in red dresses and their trains were the red carpet. 2 girls in the center red aisle were wearing bridal gowns from David's line. We were offered champagne at the top of the stairs and there was also a red carpet Press line. Frenchie Davis from "American Idol", "The Voice" and broadway was giving an interview.
We headed into the ballroom which was to be the screening room. Another hour we waited before Frenchie sang 2 songs (such a beautiful voice!) and then David was introduced. He welcomed everyone and introduced his parents who came out from New York and his partner of 13 years.
Then the president of WEtv came on stage an introduced the couple who was in the premiere episode. The bride's son, a cancer survivor, was granted a wish from the Make A Wish foundation and his wish was for his mom to have a dream wedding from David. He had only 6 days to pull off the dream wedding!
At the end of the show a marching band marched through the crowd because the bride's son (and David) were both part of a marching band.
Then it was for the time for the after party. Unfortunately, there was not enough room for the non-VIPs to get in so Suzie and I headed home without winning a raffle prize, tasting an hors d'ourve or meeting David.
- Helmers Halloween Carnival
Helmers Elementary held their annual Halloween carival and it was a huge success. It was hosted by the PTA and raised enough money to pay for all of our wonderful programs and field trips for all of the classes. Sheridan wore her Haunted Mansion ghost costume and won her division and got a ribbon and a purple stuffed snake. She also decorated a pumpkin, played lots of games and visited the Haunted Mansion. She always has a great time with with her best friend, Skya.
- Pirates vs. Orioles
- Pirates vs. Yankees
- Lombardi Ranch
A 44 year tradition continues....
- Pirates vs. Giants
I took 441 pictures and I edited out 200...your welcome!
- Pirates vs. Mets
Chasen's first Pony league baseball game.
- Disneyland Star Tours 5K
On January 2, I signed my family up for the Disneyland 5K. I thought it would be a fun family trip and we could train together. Michael and I started out training with the Couch to 5K program. It is a 9 week program to gradually get you ready to run a 5K. Of course, the kids ran circles around us but were very supportive. On Friday night, we checked into the Annabella Hotel, across the street from Disneyland, and proceeded to the Health Expo at the Disneyland Hotel. We picked up our shirts and bibs, Matt and Chase got some new sunglasses and Michael got a new pair of running shoes. We had some time to kill before our dinner reservations at the Rainforest Cafe, so we decided to see some free screenings of some new ABC Fall tv shows-Last Man Standing and Once Upon A Time.The morning of the race, we took a free shuttle bus to the starting line. 5000 racers were lining up to see the sunrise at 6:00 am. We were sent off on our way by Darth Vader, storm troopers and Jedi Masters. It took us about 6 minutes to GET to the start line after the race started. It was slow going with so many people. This was a FUN run, so there wasn't an official time recorded so people took their time. We ran through Disneyland and California Adventure and saw some behind-the-scenes. There were characters to pose with during the race. All of the voluntEARS and cast members were great. After we crossed the finish line, we got a medal, bottled water, bananas and Cliff bars. We went back to our hotel room to take showers and then had breakfast at Tiffy's.
We spent the rest of the day at Disneyland and the kids visited Tom Sawyer island for the first time as well as the newly refurbished Star Tours. We had a great time but left about 7:00 pm because we were pooped!
Since we started training, Michael now wants to run in the SCV Marathon 5K in November.
- Dreamworks Tour
Anna Fry and Erica Valenzuela were nice enough to give us a tour of where they work, Dreamworks Studios. First we enjoyed lunch outside and then a walking tour of the campus. The kids really enjoyed all of the perks of working at Dreamworks: the break areas with the stocked refridgerators, game rooms, koi ponds, free breakfast and lunch and ping pong tables. Thank you so much to Anna and Erica for the great tour and wonderful favors! All of the kids say they want to work at Dreamworks now :)
- Harry Potter Backyard Movie
To help celebrate the opening of Deathly Hallows Part 2, we had a backyard movie to watch Part 1. I made Fever Fudge, butterbeer, chocolate frogs and Golden Snitch cake pops. We even had a sorting ceremony to sort guests into their houses. Sheridan was shocked that she was placed in Slytherin!
- Bluefin Swim Meet
Chasen and Sheridan took most of the pictures since I was a Timer the whole meet. I have some talented kids!
- Independence Day
- Swim Meet
2nd meet of the year at the Pirhana Pool.
- Suzie's Golden Birthday Celebration
Table for 8 hosted a 50th birthday party of our tea sister, Suzie Smith. This is the 3rd 50th birthday party we have hosted for a member of our tea group, Table for 8.
Suzie grew up a Southern California girl and her dad is an Oscar-nominated sound engineer so the theme we picked for her was vintage Hollywood glamour! The party's setting was at an outdoor patio next to the Valencia Golf course with a wonderful outdoor fireplace. There were twinkle lights, candles and fresh flowers everywhere with hints of Hollywood thrown in. The tea sisters made their own version of Groman's Chinese theater celebrity footprints and we made up celebrity names that lined a red carpet. We served hors d'ourves, fruited water and a signature party drink: Suzie's Sunset Strip Special made with champagne, raspberry liquor and lemonade.
Guests enjoyed birthday cake from Porto's while watching a slideshow of Suzie's past 50 years. Happy Birthday Miss Suzie!
- Swim Meet at Pirhana Pool
1st swim meet of the 2011 season started cool and overcast but Matt was burning up the pool. He shaved 25 seconds off his 50m free and 50 m back. I had a mom come up to me and say "How did Matthew get to be so good with the little kids?". She said all her kids talk about is Coach Matt. I never get tired of hearing nice things about my kids.
It's also great to catch up with kids and find out summer plans while we look forward to the new school year.
- Robby Rey's Star Wars Party
I was so honored to host Robby Rey's 7th birthday celebration. Last year, the theme was "How to Train your Dragon" and this year, he chose Star Wars. We played put the light saber on the Jedi, painted Star Wars Rock Buddies, Jedi Bingo and got official Jedi training and fought Darth Vader himself!
The guest received their own light sabers, custom t-shirts, C3PO chocolate lollipop, Jedi Training certificate and Pop Rocks candy.
I look forward to working with them again in December for Sydney's birthday.
- Angels are Champions!
What a great season for the Bronco American Angels! They lost their very first game and then never looked back. They won every single game after that and retained home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Final game against the Devil Rays ended with a score of 13-3 with Matt Tate stealing home to score the winning run. I'm so proud of my hubby and son for being a strong part of this team.
- Dance Recital Rehearsal
Sheridan had her picture taken for her jazz and tap class performances. She has been dancing at Dance Studio for 8 years and is now taking 4 classes a week- 2 ballet, 1 tap and 1 jazz. After the pictures are taken, family gets a sneak peek at the performances that will be in this Sunday's show.
- Fort Tejon
Sheridan's 4th grade class spent 2 days at Fort Tejon living like soldiers in the 1850's. I went up to teach laundry and candlemaking. The soldiers also learned blacksmithing, carpentry (they made picture frames), adobe brick making and they even worked in the kitchen by making stew and homemade butter. The next day, we had eggs, bacon and hot chocalate for breakfast after the soldiers cleaned up the barracks. They learned about different kinds of cannonballs and the adults got to shoot off a cannon (no cannonball, of course!) It was a wonderful learning experience for everyone.
- Angels vs. Rays Semi-Final Playoff
Angels mercied the Rays in 5 innings, 11-1, and only allowed 2 hits. Headed to the Championship game!!
- Chasen's Surprise Paintball Party
I organized a surprise paintball party to celebrate Chasen's 13th birthday. The boys played for 6 hours and had a blast! I supplied snacks, a tub of drinks, lunch and push pop mini cupcakes. Sheridan was the hero of the day by finding a baby rattlesnake hiding under our picnic table.
- Mommy & Me Princess Party
Party Wishes hosted a Mommy & Me Princess party for Sunshine Preshool. 40 little princesses and their mommies and a few daddies attended the tea party. We gave the littles royal hair dos, had them make some crowns and lead them on a scavenger hunt to a candy buffet down by the pool. 5 wonderful princesses came to take pictures and sing for everyone.
- NCL Strawberry Tea
The National Charity League of San Marino held their annual Strawberry Tea hosted by the Class of 2013 at Annandale Country Club. My friend, Jan Emamian, and her daughter, Yasi, are members of this wonderful group. The 42 sophomores modeled fahions from Bloomingdale's and their own outfits during the presentation. We also got to hear how amazing and well-rounded all of these young women are.
- Family Fun Run
Helmers Elementary has a wonderful program where all of the students and teachers can run on Fridays during lunchtime. The kids were also able to run 25 miles on their own and then complete the Santa Clarita Marathon in November. Tonight was the final run and all the families were invited to come and take some laps around the track at Valencia High school. Sheridan earned her 25 mile charm, a Fun Run medal and some Weepuls. It was so much fun to see so many Helers families exercising together.
- Angels vs. Marlins
The Angels have increased their winning streak to 13-1 and clinched the 1st place spot heading into the playoffs.
- Easter Festivities
- Buddy Field Trip
Mrs. Candib's 4th grade class and Mrs. Young's kindergarten class took a walking field trip to Red Mango, a local frozen yogurt shop, and to Heritage park to have some lunch and playtime. The kids were paired up with their "buddies" that they have been assigned all year. Sheridan's little buddy is an adorable little girl named Isabella.
- Spring Garden Tea party
Belinda invited Table for 8 to a lovely tea party in the Santa Clarita community garden at Central Park. She has a little plot of land to grow vegtables and fruit with her friend. We had yummy, chicken salad sandwiches, Green leaf salad with cranberries, french bread with brie, apples and cranberries, fresh strawberries and cream and brownies for dessert.
We went around the table to tell the person on the right how grateful and appreciative we were of them. Lots of happy tears and hugs all around! I love the tea sisters!
- Angels vs. Dodgers
Angels win 14-4
- Women in History
I chaired another amazing week of Women in History performances at Helmers Elementary. The women represented were Mary Pickford, Rachel Carson, Sarah Forbes-Bonetta, Mary Pickersgill, Amelia Earhart and Beatrix Potter. My niece, Katherine, stepped in 2 days before the performance to be Amelia Earhart. I wrote the script for Sarah Forbes-Bonetta, an African princess who was raised under the watchful eye of Queen Victoria and I portrayed Beatrix Potter with an English accent. Thanks to our wonderful reporters Kathlene McCarty and Cathy Suen.
- Angels vs. Yankees
Angels win 18-8
- Angels vs. Rockies
Angels win 17-5
- Bel Air Puppy Party
Party Wishes hosted a Puppy party for a 5 year old repeat client. We had live puppies to play with, stuffed puppies, made t-shirts and had fashion outfits for the puppies. We supplied the glitter tatoos, flower arrangements and sandwiches and scones were from The Tea Gardens.
- Hollywood Tinkerbell/ Capt. Hook Party
This Tinkerbell and Captain Hook party had everything! Threatening clouds, sunshine, hail, games, bubbles, crafts and a treasure hunt that lead to a candy buffet upstairs. The guests dressed up as fairies and pirates and got glitter tatoos. It was a fun party!
- Angels vs. D-Backs
- Angels Vs. Cubs
- SNOW!
For the first time since 1989, the SCV had snow that stuck to the ground longer than 20 minutes. It snowed for several hours that lightly dusted our neighborhood. It was Sheridan's very first time in snow and she loved it! We woke up the next morning and it was gone in a few short hours in the morning sun. I hope we will get to see more of it this winter!
- My Home, so far...
I repainted the family room and kitchen and changed all of the decor from Waverly Country Roses in cream, barn red and sage to bright and white inspired by English designer, Cath Kidston. I replaced all of the light fixtures with custom teacup chandeliers made out of Cath Kidston teacups and teapot imported from England. I made the red buffablo check panels in the family room and I need to make the curtains for the kitchen in a floral. I covered our 20 year old kitchen table with blue polka dotted oilcloth..
Sheridan and Chasen had their rooms re-done a few years ago and I want to get rid of Matt's bookcase and put in industrial style shelves and a modern desk.
I'm off to sew more pillows for our new sectional as well.
- Christmas
We spent Christmas Eve at my mom's house and had Honeybaked ham, au gratin potatoes, baked beans, fruit salad and rolls. It's nice knowing what is on the menu year after year.
The boys received iTouches from mom and Sheridan got her Penbo and Pokemon DS game. I got my new iron I asked for and I got Michael his video camera spy pen he wanted.
Josie, my almost 3 year old neice, got a new digital camera because she is always borrowing mine to take pictures. She is quite the shutterbug and racked up over 400 pictures in just a few hours.
Santa went "green" this year and adopted an Australian tradition of putting all of the presents in one fabric sack. It was so nice to not have to pick up paper (or wrap them) and they match my new family room decor and can be used for years!
Michael wrote me a beautiful letter about how much he loves me and I got him tickets to the taping of Conan. Christmas Day is spent at home playing with all of our new goodies.
- Cookie Exchange
Lissa hosted our Table for 8's cookie exchange at her beautiful home. The pictures really don't do it justice! It was a rainy day and candles filled the rooms. Everyone brought gifts and cookies to share. I made Rolo cookies and gave them in retro cookie jars as my gift. It was such a special morning to spend with friends.
- Nutcracker
Sheridan performed in her 3rd Nutcracker as a Spanish dancer. She has been dancing with some of these girls since she was 2. This year, backstage was in the Hart High band room, much warmer than the cafeteria in the years past. They occupy themselves with video games, practicing their moves and watching the show on closed ciurcut tv. Sheridan received a Nutcracker for her collection from Grandma, Auntie and the girls and we gave her a Spanish dancer ornament for her Christmas tree in her room.
- Thanksgiving
- Sheridan's Ice Skating Party
We hosted a "vintage" ice skating party for Sheridan at The Ice Station in Valencia, We had a private event room and decorated it with snowflakes and had pink carnations adorning the table. I made snowflake scarves that doubles as chair sashes and made earmuffs for all of the guests. We had cupcakes from Kupcake Kitchen and the guests stuffed their own polar bears with ice skating outfits. The guests also received gloves, lip balm, ice skate cookies and a bag of Instant snow. It was Rachel and Josie's first time on the ice and they loved it! Such a fun time...I can't believe my baby is 10!
- The Blue & The Gray
This was our 3rd visit to the Civil War re-enactment in Moorpark. I love to go every year because you always learn something different and meet different people each time. I had the boys interview a Union soldier and a Conferderate one so they can do presentations in their history classes. Matthew interviewed a Conferderate Chaplan and he had a very different view of the war than a solider did. Such a fun and educational afternoon.
- A's vs. Dodgers
- Santa Clarita Marathon
Sheridan's elementary school participated in a program that allowed the students to run 25 miles on thier own 5 weeks prior to the SCV Marathon. The day of the marathon, they completed the last 1.2 miles so they could earn a marathon medal. I walked the 5K portion in 50 minutes. My first 5K in 5 years! It was a great experience for the both of us.
- A's vs. Royals
- Halloween Fun
Sheridan's Tap and Jazz class had a Halloween party on Thursday and we cut out our pupmkins on Halloween. Sheridan was a Madagascar penguin (Private) and Chasen was a scary clown. I was on the porch all night as a Haunted Mansion ghost. I love it when people don't think I'm real. It's amazing, they still ask to touch me!
- Lombardi Pumpkin Patch
My family has visited Lombardi Ranch, every October, for the last 43 years. We were lucky enough to catch my sister and her youngest girls buying their pumpkins when we arrived. I brought 2 cameras, my Canon Rebel decided it didn't want to have a CF card inserted into it and my Fuji green machine took only 2 pictures before the battery died. I decided I was going to get pictures no matter what, so I shoved the CF card into the camera. It allowed me to take about 20 pictures before it's battery also died. I then resorted to the camera on my phone. What a mom needs to do to preserve precious memories and a family legacy!
- A's vs. Orioles
- Legoland
I had to deliver a Mad Hatter tea party to Lake Forest (1 1/2 hrs away) to a client while Sheridan was still enjoying Fall break. I decided to make it a girl's only trip to Legoland since we had a 2 for 1 coupon from school. I got a great deal on a hotel room and Sheridan and I had fun at Legoland's "Brick or Treat". On Saturday, they had Halloween festivities and I got Sheridan a cat costume at a local Walmart to get in the mood. We had fun eating at Ruby's Diner, shopping a Carlbad Premium Outlets (a happy accident), playing on the beach, panning for treasure, visiting the adjoining aquarium, getting her driver's license and spending all day at the park.
- Disneyland
With all 3 kids on Fall break and our annual passports about to expire, the family spent 2 very wet days at Disneyland Resort. Of course, I would spend 2 rainy days at Disneyland than a sunny week at home!
It was the first time we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, Dreams Tower 10th floor over looking Downtown Disney, and had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. I had cookies and milk delivered to our room after a long day in the rain. We saw World of Color and when the show was over, it started to rain. I'm sure Disney imagineers planned that. Sheridan complained in line at Indiana Jones that she didn't want to go on the ride and then spent the rest of the day begging to go back on the ride. We went on Pirates of the Carribean 4 times and Haunted Mansion 5 times- always family favorites. I got to sit on the Mary Poppins horse on King Arthur's Grand Carousel, ate at the Rainforest Cafe and had a great time with my family. Childhood is quickly coming to an end....
- A's Double Header
The A's a little bit of everything : double header, rain delay, 2 bases clearing hits, and batted around twice...not a bad day.
- Rachel's Dance Recital
My neice, Rachel, had her very 1st dance recital at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center. This is her first year with "Dancin' in Acton" and she did a great job. Of course, no pitures were allowed at the performance and she changed her costume by the time we say her at intermission, She received flowers and after the show, we went to my sister's house in Acton for pasta. Josie and Rachel enjoy taking pictures with my camera! We also celebrated Debbie's MIL birthday with cake and ice cream.
- Angel Stadium
This was the family's first trip to Angel Stadium (well, Michael had been there before) and it was Fan Appreciation Day. We sat on the 1st base side and got to see Torii Hunter make some great plays. Most of the time we were in partial shade, but the last hour in the 104 degree heat, it was unbearable! We left at the top of the 8th inning after all of the prizes had been given away. Everyone was very impressed and said they liked it better than Dodger Stadium. I'm glad we have the option to root for 2 Los Angeles teams!
- Matthew's 16th Birthday
I can't believe my oldest is 16! It seems like yesterday I saw the pilot episode of this new sitcom called "Friends" and then went into labor hours later. Matthew is very sweet, kind, smart, funny and a computer wiz. He is very low key and doesn't like a lot of fuss, so we had a quiet celebration with the family. I still wanted to have some special touches though so Sheridan and I blew up 72 balloons and put them in his room when he was sleeping (she didn't have school the next day), we woke him up and sang Happy Birthday, made him his favorite breakfast, waffles, brought him lunch from Wendy's to school, decorated the van with birthday wishes and baked him a French Valilla cake with white frosting (I told you he was low key). We had dinner at Johnny Rockets and Grandma and Kate joined us. He doesn't have any interest in getting his driver's license but we will sign him up to get his permit. Happy Birthday Matthew!
- Bronco A's vs. D-Backs
- Rachel's 5th Birthday
Rachel had a puppy party with her family with dinner from Rattler's and cake and ice cream.
- Rainbow Party
I had the pleasure of helping a repeat client with her daughter's dual Rainbow party. I decorated the candy/favor buffet and all of the table decor. I made a rainbow out of tissue pom poms over the table and white "cloud" poms surrounding the rainbow.
There was a Pink Fairy performing magic and making balloon art and also a face painter and a bouncy. They had a hot dog, hamburger and corn on the cob cart as well as a snowcone cart.
The guests descended on the candy table like hungry wolves and enjoyed filling their bags with candy, Silly Bands, rainbow crayons and bookmarks. Guests were ask to bring new books that will be donated to www.bookends.org.
- Labor Day BBQ
Suzie Smith had the brilliant idea of getting the Tea Sisters AND their families together for a Labor Day BBQ at her lovely home. Everyone brought a dish to share and Suzie and Kenny supplied the burgers and hot dogs as well as all of the entertainment. Everyone enjoyed the trampoline, Beatles Rock Band, pool table, board games, basketball hoop, jacuzzi and wonderful conversation. Thank you to the Smith family for hosting such a fun party!
- Lemonade Stand
The kids and I hosted a lemonade stand complete with lemonade, lemon cupcakes with chocolate frosting, brownies and sugar cookies. People were impressed with the special touches such as the tags on the straws and how everything was packaged. Some people said it was the nicest lemonade stand they have ever seen. We sold out of the cupcakes and came back with 5 brownies and 6 bags of sugar cookies...just enough for school snacks this week. Total income $40.
- Medieval Times
After 2 hours on the freeway (it should have taken us only an hour and 10 minutes), we settled into our seats just as the show started. The menu consisted of tomato basil soup, garlic bread, beef ribs, roasted 1/2 chicken and potatoes all eaten with our hands. The knights were amazing on horseback and showing off their knightly skills. We cheered for the red/yellow knight would threw a flower to Sheridan. Sitting in the front row offers great viewing and everyone received their own photo of the family, show program and a DVD of behind the scenes. This package was part of the King's Royalty package. Everyone had a great time!
- Bug Boxes
Sheridan and Rachel made bug boxes at Lowe's Home Improvement store. In this free program, the kids receive a bug box kit to complete at the store, a Lowe's kid size apron and a completion certificate with a patch to sew unto their apron. The girls really enjoyed it and I hope we can do it again soon!
- Magic Castle
The family enjoyed a visit to the Magic Castle for the first time together. We were invited by a local magician, Dan Jordan, to watch young magician show off their talents and to watch Dan perform as well. Chasen and Sheridan were both picked to be assistants for several magicians. Sheridan has now informed me that she wants a dove as a pet. We had a delicious buffet brunch before the shows and we were not able to take pictures inside.
- Malibu Beach Portrait Session
I was lucky enough to host a beach portrait session through Autumn Hull Photography. We had 7 families join us for individual portrait sessions at the beach for a great price! The kids played in the surf for hours while 2 photographers took pictures of them in between other family's sessions. I can't wait to see the pro shots!
- Girl's Day Out
Sheridan and I spent a lovely day in Santa Barbara. We visited the Zoo, Ty Warner Sea Center and the beach. Sheridan's favorite part of the day was when she met up with 2 teen boys who caught a fish off the pier. One boy held the fish under his foot to take the hook out of his mouth. Obviously, it didn't work very well. Another boy came up, picked the fish up-in his hand- and got the hook out easily. Too funny!
- Swim Team Practice, Meet and Awards
This is our 8th season with the Northbridge Bluefins. Matthew started in 2nd grade and now completed his 3rd year coaching. We start the day after Memorial Day and practice 4 days a week for 8 weeks with 4 swim meets in between. Chasen is already getting excited about being a Junior Coach in Training (JCIT) for next year!
- Beach Dining and Dodgers
My girlfriends and I went down to Santa Monica to the Shutters Hotel for a leisurely lunch. We ate on the beach at the Coast restaurant. We all shared some chips and guacamole, our own entrees and then split many different desserts: berry cobbler, red velvet cake, carrot cake and ice cream cookie sandwiches. It was a wonderful 3 hour lunch!
In the evening, I took my kids to a Dodger game to watch the Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2.
A great day in Los Angeles!
- Independence Day
We celebrated at Mom's house with swimming, BBQ and fireworks.
- Toy Story Backyard Movie
Our 3rd backyard movie of the summer was Toy Story.In addition to our usual candy raflle, I also gave away Toy Story popcorn (Walmart), Toy Story gummi, candy dips and ring pops (Walmart), Toy Story sand molds and Toy Story movie poster and paints (Dollar Tree). All guests got a ticket for coming and a ticket for each food item that wil be delivered to a local food pantry.
I used children's blocks as a plate stand for the cupcakes and barrel of monkeys were hanging from the chandelier.
I took my kids to see Toy Story 3 on Monday and I cried like a baby.
- Magic Mountain
I spent the day at Magic Mountain with Chasen and Sheridan-both 1st timers! Chasen got a season pass from Grandma for his birthday and LOVED it! Goliath was his fave. We got Sheridan on Colossus and Goldrusher. Fun day!
- Sheridan's Donation
For the 2nd time, Sheridan has donated her hair to make wigs for people with cancer. She had 10" cut off and 2 years ago, she had 11" cut off. She even enjoys sweeping up the hair in the salon and insists that she doesn't need a tip.
She needs longer hair for ballet to pull back into a bun but she really likes shorter hair because it is easier to take care of. It is always her idea to donate her hair. Of course, she has said that she will be doing this again (in another 2 years)!
- How to Train Your Dragon Party
I had the pleasure of hosting a custom party for Dr. Robert Rey's son, Robby. I hosted his daughter's spa party in December and was asked to create a How to Train Your Dragon party for Robby. The tables were dressed with dragon skin placemats, orange chargers and dragon plates. The centerpieces were a Viking ship and a flaming cauldron surrounded by rocks.
The guests enjoyed dressing up in fake mustaches, Viking helmets and getting glitter tatttoos. We had an obstacle course, bow and arrow target practice, tug o' war and dragon wrangling. The kids got to make dragon masks, stuff their own dragons and solve dragon mazes. The canvas favor bags included volcano putty, the foam bow and arrows and inflatable sword and shield along with everything else.
Adults shot off confetti when Robby blew out the candles on his cake.
I have been asked to host Sydney's party again in December!
- Sheridan's Dance Recital
After taking a few years off of tap, Sheridan decided to rediscover her love of tap. She then decided to add jazz to her dancing. She now has a total of 3 dance classes a week including ballet. On June 13th, she had her recital for jazz and tap at the Glendale High School. The jazz routine was to "Chapel of Love" and the girls wore white dresses with white flowers in their hair. The tap routine was to "Sea Cruise" and they wore a very patriotic looking sailor outfit.
Grandma, Auntie, Kate, Rachel and Josie also came to see the performance. It's so nice to see Sheridan embracing dance again!
- 6th Grade Promotion
Chasen is officially a jr. higher! Helmers Elementary put on a lovely promotion ceremony and the kids sang with Mrs. Doing playing the guitar.
- Chasen's 12th Birthday
We celebrated Chasen's 12th birthday at Mountasia Family Fun Center. With family and a few friends, we enjoyed pizza and ice cream in the Farrell's section and then Chasen and his friends went to play laser tag and while the youngest and oldest went to play mini golf. Chasen has big plans for all of his gift cards he recieved!
- Troop 1182 Bridging
Brownie Troop 1182 bridged to Junior Girl Scouts in a ceremony at Bridgeport Lighthouse. The girls recited the Girl Scout promise, sang Yogi Bear, each girls said what their favorite memory was and then made a friendship circle and sang "Make New Friends". Each girl was called to receive their new Jr. vest and then cross the bridge to get pinned with a traditional Girl Scout pin. Everyone was able to look at the scrapbook pages that the girls created and have some yummy dessert.
Thank you girls and families for an amazing 4 years as your leader.
- Women in History
The women portrayed during Women in History at Helmers was Deborah Sampson Gannett, Lucille Ball, Annie Oakley, Marian Anderson, Clara Barton and Grace O'Malley. Everyone had a great time and learned about some amazing women.
- Charity Photo Shoot
My photographer friend, Jennifer Wilson, is raising money AND competeing in a triathalon to help raise money for Leukemia. She along with 3 other professional photographers got together at a gorgeous private ranch in Agoura Hills so 11 lucky familes could make a donation and get amazing photos from ALL of the photographer's talents. The kids had an amazing time! Love you Jen!
- Brownilympics
Troop 1182 had a great time at their last Brownilympics. The girls chose candy for their theme and it ended up being the Gooey Gumballs. We hand stamped the gumballs on their shirts and then covered in a plastic to look like a gumball machine.Sheridan got to carry the torch in the opening ceremony because I was on the event commitee in charge of the awards , patch design and auditions for the singers of the National Anthem. The girls competed in obstacle course, soccer ball dribble, softball throw and 50 yard dash. The team relays were intertube, sack race, 200 yd. relay and Hop,Skip, Jump and Run relay. It was a gorgeous day and I'm so happy that the girls tried their best and won several medals!
- Scouts at Sea World
After 2 years of saving cookie money, Troop 1182 had a sleepover at Sea World in San Diego. The girls fed Bat Rays and Sea Loins, they made their own penguin ID bracelets, slept with the Beluga whales and got soaked at Journey to Atlantis. It was truly a lifetime memory for all!
- Josie's 2nd Birthday
- Alice at the El Capitan
I took the kids to go see Alice in Wonderland at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood. First, we visited the Hot Topic store full of decorations inspired by the movie. The dressing room area was dress up like the Red Queen's court. Then we headed across the streeet to the El Cap. The organ was decorated with flowers and mushrooms as flowers were watching from the balconies listening to the organ music. The kids LOVED the movie and I liked it even more the 2nd time around. After the movie, we headed downstairs of the El Cap to check out props and outfits from the movie on display. So cool! Such a great way to start the weekend!
- St. Patrick's Day Tea Party
Debbie hosted a lovely St. Patty's Day tea for the Table for 8 girls. The weather was so beautiful (it was 84 degrees!) we ate on her back patio. She served green scones, lovely tea sandwiches and fresh fruit. For dessert, she made a dessert out of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies...super yummy! It is wonderful to spend time with these women. We always have so much fun together!
- Disneyland
Michael and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary at Disneyland. It was such a gorgeous day and everyone had a great time!
- Spring Hike in Towsley Canyon
Jen and I have been hiking 2 miles in Towsley Canyon the last few days. According to the plants, Spring has Sprung!
- Valentine's Tea
Suzie, Lissa and Sandy hosted a lovely post-Valentine's Day tea at Suzie's house. We enjoyed Cranberry and Earl Grey tea, assorted scones and a lovely lunch of tea sandwiches, salad and strawberries. Dessert was lemon squares and cupcakes. Everyone is so generous! Sandy gave us adorable chocolate hearts on a stick, Marina, heart letter opener from Marina, pink notepads and pencils from Lissa and strawberry scented candles from Suzie. (Please let me know if I missed anything!) Thank you girls for a lovely afternoon to re-connect with each other.
- Donna's Birthday Tea Party
Table for 8 ladies threw me a very nice birthday tea at Marina's house. I was treated like a Princess complete with tiara! Thank you for making me feel so special!
- Christmas
Christmas Eve at Mom's house...Amrican Girl Felicity, pajamas for everyone, Zhu Zhu pets, and Beatles Rock Band. Christmas morning at our house...Matt's first electric razor, Felicity's horse and bed, Super Mario, Nerf and Sonic at the Winter Games for Wii and Sheridan's first sewing machine.
- Holiday Party
Hot chocolate, cookies and Polar Express book reading. Stuffing reindeer, singing Christmas Carols and watching "Elf". I love my kids!
- Nutcracker
This was Sheridan's 2nd year performing in Dance Studio 84 the Nutcracker. She was a beautiful sugar plum in a purple dress and gold tiara. Grandma, Auntie, Kate and Rachel saw Sheridan's performance on Sunday afternoon and Daddy and brothers saw it Saturday night. Grandma gave her a Sugar Plum fairy and Auntie got her a nutcraker snow globe/music box and mommy got her a dozen red roses with a tiny nutcracker. It is so sweet to watch the older girls with the younger ones and how much the little ones look up to them. Backstage, they play games and teach them new dance routines and carry the younger dancers on their backs. So much energy in the room! It just doesn't seem like the holidays without watching the performance of all of the talented dancers.
- Indiana Jones Party
I hosted an Indiana Jones party for a special 7 year olds birthday. The guests received Indy hats and satchels when they walked through the door. Next, they created their own Sandy Candy creations. They played Pass the Skull and Mummy Wrap and had some lunch. After eating, eyeball soup and other interesting delicacies, they search for coins in a vat of worms (spaghetti) blindfolded and they went through an obstacle course where the guests had to steal the skull statue, shoot the bad guy, crawl under a giant spider, swing across water and then out run a falling boulder and poison darts (straw wrappers shot by other guests). They finished their adventure by having cupcakes and ice cream.
- Christmastime at Disneyland
- Lissa's Birthday at Disneyland
Debbie and I joined Lissa to celebrate her birthday at Disneyland. It was a gorgeous day and we ate on the patio of Cafe Orleans enjoying pomme fritts and Monte Cristo sandwiches. We had our picture taken with Santa and Mickey and enjoyed the lighting of Small World. We ending the evening having coffee and beignets at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney and enjoyed sampling make up at Sephora. We felt like little girls again!
- Thanksgiving
- Sheridan's 9th Birthday
We celebrated Sheridan's birthday by having a safari themed party at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The colors were fuschia, orange and lime and it was reflected in the decor, cupcakes and favors.Since balloons are not allowed in the zoo (it's a hazard to the animals) I used paper lanterns to decorate. I made chocolate animal shaped lollipops for the guests and embroidered nylon favor bags to hold the animal grabbers and activity booklets. We played Feed-the-Frog relay and Cottonball Scoop. The guests stuffed different animals and dressed them in zoo keeper outfits. We even had a real bunny rabbit named Peter visit the party and the kids got to pet it. The celebration continued when Sheridan opened her gifts and everyone enjoyed a train ride around the zoo. The weather was perfect- sunny and 74. Thanks to everyone who made the trip to the zoo!
- Marina's Parisien Soiree
Table for 8 celebrated Marina's 50th birthday with a French-style party at Suzie's house. Pink feather boas, candlelight and ribbons were everywhere to create a magical and romantic mood. We served hot hor d'ourves, wine and chees fondue. Of course, it wouldn't be a party unless there was a tiny disaster. The chocolate chips had melted in the fountain so I turned on the fountain and it worked perfectly. I decided to add some more chips to melt and the chips clogged the intake and started spinng chocolate ALL over the table like a giant spin art! Everyone thought the table looked much better with the chocolate already on the food anyway. I have such lovely friends!
We read passages from some books "Girlfriends" and "The Velveteen Rabbit Principles". Suzanne read a letter from Marina's friend in Paris that was written in French and English. Marina shared with us that this was only the 2nd birthday party she has ever had in her life! We were so glad that we could have such an amazing honor to celebrate a wonderful and generous friend.
- A's vs. Mariners
- Children's Tea at the Tea Gardens
I hosted 2 seatings for a children's Halloween tea at the Tea Gardens. I dressed up as the Queen of Hearts and Sheridan was a cat and my mom joined her as well. We played Halloween Bingo, TP Mummy, Spider Ring Toss and eye ball on a spoon relay race. I also took pictures of each table, printed the pictures and handed out to the guests. The favors were plastic pumpkins filled with candy and toys, vampire teeth, Kookie Halloween monster pen and a giant box of candy. Everyone had a great time!
When I got home at 4:00, it was time to decorate the yard for trick-or-treaters. I love to decorate like Disney's Haunted Mansion and put the 3 hitch hiking ghosts in the middle of the cemetary. I made my ghost costume in about 5 minutes and it got a GREAT response! I had a black light on the front porch and I swayed to the Haunted Mansion soundtrack. I had people (adults) get "in my face" to see if I was real or not. It was a great effect. Chasen (the geek) attended Hailey's party and went begging with the group and Sheridan and Daddy went by themselves this year.
- Mrs. Bailey's Halloween Celebration
Chasen's 6th grade class celebrated Halloween by tie-dying t-shirts orange and making Rice Krispies candy sculptures.
- Tap Class Halloween Party
Sheridan invited her cousin, Rachel, to her Halloween party at dance class. Sheridan is a black cat and Rachel is a butterfly princess. They enjoyed snacks and dancing!
- Scrimmage
2 consecutive nights of scrimmages. Our boys are tough!
- Halloween Chocolate Party
Brownie Troop 1182 enjoyed an afternoon making delicious and scary chocolate creations at Clarice's Cake Decorating and Supplies. They made marshmallow Frankensteins, chocolate covered pretzels and Oreos and Pretzel Witches fingers.The girls even learned how to paint a chocolate mold and make a lollipop. It was a great Halloween celebration!
- A's vs. Rockies
- Wicked Tea
Debbie and Sandy hosted a wicked tea party. They served quiche, salad, cucumber and fluffernutter sandwiches and some yummy Vanilla and Carmel tea. The cupcakes from the Kupcake Kitchen were amazing-S'Mores and Lemon Raspberry! Thanks Girls!
- Halloween Double Feature
The Collins Family hosted a Halloween double feature/party. We had a craft of decorating Halloween flashlights, we had games such as eating a powdered donut off a string and stuff cheese balls in your mouth while saying "Scary Mummy". We served pizza, cookies, fruit, and cupcakes. The first movie was "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and then we had a brief intermission where we served hot chocolate with pumpkin marshmallow Peeps. Then the final movie was "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Everyone left with the holiday spirit!
- Mad Hatter Tea Party at Spanish Hills Country Club
Party Wishes hosted a Mad Hatter party for 7 year old twins at the Spanish Hills Golf and Country Club in Camarillo. We had a candy bar, white rabbit bag craft, Sandy Candy, and flamingo croquet. The guests enjoyed dancing to the music of a DJ, an ice cream bar and playing musical chairs. Cupcake Creations made the amzing cupcakes and Kim from A-1 Party did all of the balloons.
- Disney Halloween
Our favorite time of year at the happiest place on Earth!
- Anna and Chris' Wedding
The wedding was held at the Bella Victorian Vineyards in Camarillo. The bride's mom made the beautiful wedding cake and the bride and groom drove away on a vintage firetruck (the groom is an fireman). I have known the bride's mom since I was 2 and she used to babysit me. The bride used to babysit my kids. They make me feel like part of the family and it was my pleasure and honor to be the day-of coordinator for the wedding.
- Sound of Music Sing-a-long At Hollywood Bowl
- A's vs Orioles
- Bocce Ball in the Park
Suzanne planned a lovely day at Valencia Glen Park for the Table for 8 ladies. She had some giant boxes tied with a blue, green, red or yellow ribbon. These were our lovingly made box lunches that consisted of mini turkey sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit salad, potato chips, deviled eggs and sweet pickles. Dessert was a decadent chocolate chip brownie with marshmallow and chocolate frosting. For our beverage, she serves Arnold Palmers (ice tea and lemonade).
After our yummy lunch, Suzanne all taught us the game of Bocce (BAH-chee) ball. What ever ribbon we had tied around our lunch box that was the color ball and team we were on. Red Team-Marina and Suzie, Green Team-Donna and Debbie, Yellow-Lissa and Belinda and Blue-Sandy and Suzanne.
The red team won 1st place! The prize was...a watermelon! What a fun time we all had! Thank you so much Suzanne for a lovely afternoon in the park.
- Tinkerbell Party
I hosted my first Tinkerbell party in Brentwood for a lovely 3 year old. Tinkerbell came to visit and play games with the kids. She also did magic tricks and a craft of wand making.
- Back to School Party
I hosted a back-to-school party for Brownie Troop 1182 The day before school started. The girls colored tray liners for the hospital, made chocolate dipped pretzels to look like crayons, had snack cafeteria style on trays, sang kareoke and watched a science experiment with Diet soda and Mentos candy.
- Santa Barbara with Sheridan
It was a Girls Day Out with me and Sheridan. We headed out to the Santa Barbara Zoo (where her 9th birthday party will take place) and enjoyed a few hours with the animals. Then we headed down the street to the pier to visit the Ty Warner Center Aquarium. Sheridan LOVED the hands-on science wet deck. They dumped samples collected from the sea, Sheridan sifted through it with tweezers and looked at the specimens under a mircoscope. She was there for almost 2 hours! Then when headed down to the beach where Sheridan stuck her toes in the water. It was a great day with some one-on-one time together!
- Dodger Game
I took Chasen and Sheridan to the Dodger game Sunday afternoon. It was Webkin Day (Sheridan was very excited!) and the Dodgers lost 8-7. It doesn't matter...I got to have a Dodger Dog and spend time with my kids!
- Swim Team Banquet
We just finished up our 7th season with the Northdbridge Bluefins. After the last meet, the kids received their final ribbons and trophies. Matthew received a gift from the Bluefin Board of Directors for his volunteering as a Junior Coach. For the first time, we had a catered dinner and it was supplied by Stonefire Grill. Lots of yummy tri tip and chicken. Sheridan was the photographer of the evening and we brought our projector for everyone to view the slideshow created by Coach Andrew. Thanks for another great season!
- Mad Hatter Tea Party
I hosted my first Mad Hatter party in Brentwood for 15 little girls.
- Swiss Family Robinson Movie
We had a great group for the Swiss movie. Sandy came over early and brought most on the decor. Marina and her family brought a lovely fresh fruit tray. I served s'mores fixin's, Key Lime Cream cheese ball with grahm cracker sticks, fruit kabobs and pineapple orange juice.
A few of the kids mentioned that it was the best movie they ever saw! You just can't beat the classics.
- Swim Meet at the Bluefin Pool
- Harry Potter
We screened Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We already have our tickets for the new movie premiering on July 15.
- Surprise Visit
In May, my cousin Jane called to tell me that she and Aunt Florence would love to come for a visit to California to surprise my mom. They attended my cousin Andria's wedding on July 4th in Albuquerque and then flew into LAX on Monday night. I called mom from the airport (she thought I was at Target) and invited her to breakfast the next morning. I picked Jane and Flo up from the hotel, dropped them off at the restraunt with Debbie and then went to get mom. She was so surprised when she walked in to see her Aunt Florence from Kansas sitting at the table! Even though they were only here for 2 1/2 days, we packed in a lot of time together. I hope we can see them again soon!
- July 4th Festivities
We spent the day at mom's swimming in the pool and watching fireworks at night. I made cupcake and brownie hamburgers and suga cookie french fries. Also, white cupcakes and sausage and puff pastry appetizers.
- Wizard of Oz Backyard Movie
We had a big crowd for the screening of Wizard of Oz! The reason I served cupcakes is because I found these adorable ruby slipper picks and emerald green cupcake wrappers. We had Auntie Em's Lemonade and Wizard Elixer (Limeade). Most of the decor was donated from my friend Sandy. She bought all of the decorations for Teacher Apprecitation week at her daughter's school. I bought red shoes and added glitter for the ruby slippers (they look a little too sexy for Dorothy). I also displayed my Halloween tree and witch silhouette.
- Baseball Awards
Chasen's Mustang team finished in 3rd place out of 26 teams with a regular season record of 18-2. Each team member got a framed mural of the photos I took during the season and a trophy donated by our team sponsor, Scott Shepard. The coaches received Dodger tickets to attend with each other and their sons. Thanks to everyone for making this such a memorable season1
- Willy Wonka Backyard Movie
The guests enjoyed making Sandy Candy before the movie.
- Swim Meet at the Piranha Pool
Meet #2 and another dreary Saturday! It drizzled off and on during the morning. Sheridan came in first in her backstroke heat and Chasen in his freestyle. The highlight of the meet is always the snack bar and hanging out with friends!
- 2 Blondes Tea
Lissa and Suzie hosted a lovely tea at Lissa's home. We played some games hosted again by the lovely and birthday girl, Belinda. One of the questions was "If you had an unlimited amount of money, what would you do?" We weren't allowed to use any for charity although all of us would save the world with it! We would invite each other to private island via private jets, have personal trainers and massuses, LOL
Thank you my dear sweet friends for another wonderful experience getting to know you better! Happy Birthday Belinda!
- Kate's High School Graduation
My niece, Katherine, graduated from Vasquez High in Acton, CA. There were 129 graduates and 2 Valedictorians. After the ceremony, we were invited by her boyfriend's parents to their home in Agua Dulce. They served an amazing Tex-Mex buffet and we all enjoyed a 3-tiered topsy-turvy cake.
- Shannon's 13th Birthday
Chasen and Sheridan were invited to our neighbor, Shannon's, birthday celebration. The guests were instructed to arrive at 10 am sharp! They gathered in the backyard where there was festive decor and plenty of munchies. The kids even tried blowing up Bloonies(rubber you blow up with a straw) Then their transportaion arrived! It was a Expedition stretch limo! They drove around the city for 25 minutes and they arrived at their final destination of Mountasia. There they played mini golf, bumper boats, drove go-karts and enjoyed lunch. They came back home and Shannon opened her gifts. Chasen said it was the best party he was ever invited to!
- Playoff Game #4 vs. Pirates
This is the 4th time we have faced the Pirates and the 4th time we have defeated them. Since the Marlins dropped down to the loser bracket, they must play 4 more games to be champions!
- Swim Meet
The first swim meet of our 7th season with the Bluefins was a cold one! With the temp in the 60's, the swimmers were having a hard time staying warm.
This is Matthew's first year as a Junior Coach and he is doing a great job! I had one mom come up to me at the meet and said because Matthew was so sweet to her daughter, that she decided to swim in her first meet today. She was extremely nervous and didn't come dressed to swim but Matthew spent some time with her and she changed her mind. I am SO proud of him! He also shaved off 15 seconds off his 50 yd. Freestyle.
- Playoff Game #2 vs. Braves
The Marlins have beat the Braves twice this season but not by much. They have definetly been our toughest competition.They made us work for another win and the Marlins came out on top again, 10-8.
- Chasen's Adventure Party
We celebrated Chasen's birthday with friends at the Valley Trails Ranch in Castaic. The guests enjoyed flying on a zip line, climbing a rock wall and playing a dodge ball game called Ga-Ga.
For dinner we had hot dogs, chips, tri-tip and salad. I made s'mores cupcakes with a graham cracker crust, chocolate cake and toasted marshmallow frosting. I also made vanilla cupcakes with homemade buttercream.
After we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed the cupcakes, we headed down to the campfire to toast marshmallows. The guests received military bags with their names embroidered on them. Inside there was a water bottle, trail mix, first aid kit, water soaker ball, mini flashlight and playing cards.
Everyone had such a great time!
- Celebration at Universal City Walk
We celebration Chasen's birthday and Matthew's graduation at Bubba Gump's at Universal City Walk. After dinner, we went to It'Sugar, Game Play and watched the faux skydivers at iFly.
- Rio Norte Jr. High Graduation
7:00 pm- Matthew is now a Freshman in High School! Rio Norte held there graduation ceremony at Valencia High's football stadium. There were 692 graduates. We are so proud of you, Matthew!
- In-N-Out Burger Field Trip
11:00am- Chasen's 5th grade class took a walking field trip to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. It is about a 3 1/2 mile walk, one way. When the kids got back to school they finished watching "Night at the Museum".
- Chorus Permormance
10:35 am- Miss Vatcher and Mrs. Bixler's 2nd grade classes performed many songs that they have learned from Mrs Dry, the music teacher. Sheridan lead about 5 of the songs.
- 13 Colonies Play
Chasen's 5th grade class put on a play about the 13 Colonies. Chasen played a "Colonial Boy".
- Court of Honor
Chasen is a member of Boy Scout Troop 2. 3 times a year they host a Court of honor where the scouts receive rank advancements and merit badges. It was held at Hart Park, Campsite #1. Chasen received his first in both catagories. He earned his Scout rank and his Rifle Shooting merit badge. We even got to witness a flag being retired. The next Court of Honor is in October and Chasen hopes to receive much more!
- Playoff Game 1 vs. Pirates
The Marlins were down 4-0 heading into the top of the 4th inning. They went on to score 6 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th and won the game!
- Rumpus in the Rainforest
Sheridan's 2nd grade class put on a play about the rainforest. She was Howler monkey #2 the exact same part Chasen played 3 years earlier. She did a wonderful job speaking loud and clear and people laughed at her joke.
- Intimate Tea
Suzanne and Belinda hosted a tea for the Table for 8 ladies. Though we have been together for several years and love each other dearly, Suzanne and Belinda hosted some games so we could know each other better. The first game was "Middle Name" We wrote down our middle name and people had to guess whom it belonged to. The second game was 2 truths, 1 lie. People had to guess the lie about you. That was TOO much fun! The reactions were fabulous!
Then we sat down to a wonderful lunch on Suzanne's patio and celebrated Suzie's upcoming birthday. Now we love each other even more!
- Marlins vs. Twins
With one more regular schedule game to go, the Marlins sealed their fate as the #1 team in the league with a a record of 16-1. They mercied the Twins 13-3 in the 4th inning.
- Court of Awards
Last meeting of the year for Brownie Troop 1182. Try-it and patches were passed out after eating lots of ice cream! I made copies of a DVD of all of the past year's activities.
- Night at the Museum
Opening Day of our Backyard Movie series! This year, we are accepting donations for the Hunger Defense Fund. For every pantry item you bring, you get a raffle ticket to win GIANT candy! The Jarocki family won 2 boxes and Kiara Fairbrother won one. Matthew dressed up as a security guard, Sheridan passed out tickets and Chasen collected tickets at the door. The table was set with "museum" pieces such as the Hope Diamond and Spanish dubloons. Of course, everyone enjoyed making s'mores and receiving glow-in-the-dark bracelets!
- Alice in Wonderland Photo Shoot
My lovely model, Kylee came home from Kindergarten to help me with a print ad for my new party theme, "Alice in Wonderland".
After the photo shoot, I took her to lunch at McDonald's and we ate in Sheridan's playhouse. She can't wait for the "full" photo shoot that will involve paper lanterns over the tea table and flamingo croquet with the Mad Hatter!
- Breakfast at Sheridan's
On Mother's Day, Sheridan and I cleaned and organized her playhouse. She was so excited that on Monday morning, she stood next to my bed at 6 am, fully dressed, and invited me to breakfast in her playhouse. She made waffles, eggs, donuts, croissants and tea. What a lovely way to start the week!
- Marlins vs. Pirates
14-1!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!
- Women in History
Helmers Elementary PTA hosted Women in History this week. 6 famous women are represented in the permormances done by Helmers moms. Tuesday had Cleopatra, Pearl Bailey and Sally Ride. On Thursday there was Babe Didrikson, Irena Sendler and Tasha Tudor. The moms portray the women themselves by giving a 10 minute synopsis of the famous women's life. We arrive on stage through a "time machine". We have other moms introduce us and asks questions after our presentaions.
I had the honor of portraying Irena Sendler, a Catholic social worker, who saved 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto.
We performed the presentations 4 times in front of 1000 students and teachers. Next year, I will be coordinating the event!
- Building Art Try-it
Cadette Troop 4092 hosted a Try-it workshop for Troop 1182. The girls worked on their Building Art try-it and visited 3 different station.; AeroSpace engineering, Structural Engineering and Civil Engineering. Each time they completed a task at a station, they were given a stamp on their passport. The scouts built paper airplanes, structures out of marshmallows and tooth picks and tested to see if it was earthquake worthy by placing it on a tray of JELLO. They also created their dream homes with different foam shapes.
- Dodger Game
I took the kids and Chasen's friend, Shane, to the Dodger game to watch the Boys in Blue extend their winning streak to 11 in a row at home!
Chasen and Shane got on the big Dodger Vision screen 3 times! Everyone had a great time!
- Brownilympics 2009
Troop 1182 attended their 2nd Brownilympics on a hot Sunday. The girls competed against 400 other Brownie Scouts in individual races such as 50 yard dash, softball throw, obstacle course and soccer dribble. In the afternoon, there were team events such as 200 yard relay, inner tube relay, Hop, Skip. Jump, Run relay and sack relay.
Sheridan participated in the torch relay in the Opening Ceremony and there was also the "Parade of Banners" where all of the troops march around the track being cheered on by the crowd. Since we were the Playful Puppies, the girls barked as we made our way around the oval.
Everyone had such a wonderful time and I would like to thank everyone for attending and making this such a special day for the girls!
- Marlins Vs. Padres
It seems as though nothing can stop the Marlins this season! They beat the Padres by a score of 20-16 to make their record 13-1.
GO MARLINS! We are so proud of you!
- Forgetting Dad Premier
My friend, Jan, was nice enough to invite me to the family premier of her brother's film "Forgetting Dad". 16 years ago her father, Richard Minnich, was in a seemingly minor car crash. A week later, he had total amnesia. Rick made this amazing documentary trying to understand his father's condition. The movie has been shown in Europe and won an award and is now going to premier in Canada.
It was great to see Anne, Jan's twin sister, Rick, their brother the film maker and father of 5 gorgeous children and Ben, their youngest brother.
The movie was shown at Ben's home that just happens to be the same house Jan and Anne lived in when we attended the prom together.
After the screening, Rick had a camera crew there to get reactions from the family. I felt like I was on a Reality TV show!
It was a very emotional movie and offered an in depth look at a family coping with an unexplained condition.
Thank you so much Jan for allowing me to be such an intimate part of your family!
- Marlins vs. Cubs
The Marlins are 10-1 facing the #2 ranked Cubs. Going into the 3rd inning the Marlins found themselves behind 8-4. After a big rally and going around the whole batting rotation, they scored 10 runs to go ahead 14-8. They held the Cubs in the top of the sixth and then sealed the deal by giving the Cubs their second loss by a score of 18-8. The Marlins still have the best record in the league (out of 24 teams) of 11-1.
- Lazy J Ranch
Troop 1182 attended their very first Camporee. It was held at the Lazy J Ranch in the foothills of Malibu. The girls went on a hike, horseback riding, took care of horses, rabbits and guinea pigs, met llamas, goats and birds, played volleyball and learned a new game called Socco (creative dodgeball). They enjoyed eating all of their meals outside overlooking the beautiful valley, performing in front of 200 people and exchanging SWAPs with 140 other scouts. The scouts learned a lot and had fun!
- Troop Shoot
Chasen earned his first Boy Scout merit badge at a troop shoot at Oak Tree Gun Club. Chasen had a baseball game the night the troop went over all of the rifle information so Michael had to help Chasen at home. I guess Michael's military training has come in handy!
The troop shot .22 single-shot rifles and Chasen got many bulls-eyes to earn his Rifle badge.
- Josie & Rachel
Josie turned 1 on March 27 and I gave her her birthday present of a teaching tea set. Rachel served to "tea" and Josie drank it. Grandma even had some after her PET scan. Josie had her 1 year baby check and is 30.5" tall and weighs 22 lbs. She walks by holding on to things. Rachel thought the pictures turned out "crazy".
- Butterfly Swaps
Troop 1182 is busy getting ready for Camporee in Malibu April 17-19. The girls will wear a turquoise t-shirt, white baseball hat and a colorful pink bandana with a butterfly on it. This made the choice easy for our swaps. Swaps are trinkets that are exchanged with other troops during a special event. We made our swaps out of coffee filters and clothes pins to make butterflies. We painted both with watercolors. We were told that there will be 140 scouts at camporee, so we did A LOT of painting over 2 meetings! We also signed a thank you note to Troop 852 for the great St. Patrick's Day party they hosted a few weeks ago. The girls also decided to sing the song "Yogi Bear" that they learned at the party.
- Ronald Reagan Library
Matthew went with his "team" (350 students) from school to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. His got to go in Air Force One in the simulation.
He had a very nice time.
- New Boy Hike
Chasen attended his first official Boy Scout outing-the New Boy Hike at Walker Ranch on Placerita Canyon. It is stressed to the parents to let the boys pack their own bags and take care of their own stuff. The night before, Chasen and I went to WalMart to buy all of his 10 essentials. He had a lot of fun picking everything out. When I was driving him to meet the troop, I asked if he had his water bottle. He said "no". I really wanted to turn into the closest store but I resisited. He ended up borrowing an extra bottle from his buddy, Diego. They made a 3 mile hike to camp and had many activities planned.
When I picked him up the next morning, he was exhausted but had fun.
- Tea with Natalie
Natalie was visiting from Texas. We got to spend 3 hours with her. Much too short amount of time!
- Girl Scout St. Patrick's Day party
Junior Troop 852 invited Brownie Troop 1182 to a St. Patrick's Day party.. They started things off with the flag salute and Girl Scout promise. Then they headed to the backyard for some snacks. The Juniors served green grapes, green bagels and cream cheese and chocolate cookies with green frosting. While the girls enjoyed their snack, Elena read the story "T'was the night before St. Patrick's Day". Then the girls learned the Yogi Bear song and then went inside to decorate Lucky Charm bags. The girls had some face painting and played "Capture the Leprechaun". They finished off the celebration by having a scavenger hunt and girls received goody bags filled with gold coins, a fancy green pen, a bracelet and Junior Mints. One more song and it was time to say goodbye! What a wonderful celebration!
- Sheridan's 5 year Dance Award
Sheridan has been taking dance lessons at Dance Studio 84 since she was 2 1/2 years old. She went from a combo Tap/Ballet class, took 1 Hip Hop class and didn't like it (so not like her mom!) and finally settled into ballet.
She has set a goal for herself-she is dying to be on pointe and asks Miss Wendy, her teacher, constantly when she can have toe shoes! Not until she is 13 when she gets her 10 year.
- Marlins vs. Reds
This was Chasen's 4th game of the season but the first one played during the day so I could take pictures! Chasen is a catcher for the Marlins who are 2-1 for the season. The Reds have been mercied twice and have lost all of their games. Today was no exception. The Marlins mercied the Reds 16-6. So now Chasen's team is in a tie for 1st place with a record of 3-1.
- Suzanne's 50th Birthday
Table for 8 had the honor of hosting a birthday party for our dear friend Suzanne. The theme was Breakfast at Tiffany's and the theme was carried out from the attire of the guests to the blue punch and Tiffany Blue favor boxes. We were so happy that Suzanne's mom was able to join us from North Carolina. Belinda made a Red Velvet cake and the flowers were in mint julep cups as a nod Suzanne's Southern heritage. We had a slight mishap with the mini Bloody Mary shrimp cups--the carnage! The music that was played throughout the party was from 1959- the year Suzanne was born and guests were treated to a DVD slideshow of Suzanne's family photos.
The "tea girls" are now looking forward to planning Marina's 50th birthday party in November! Happy Birthday Suzanne!
- Blue & Gold - Bridging Ceremony
At Chasen's last Cub Scout Blue & Gold, he bridged to Boy Scout Troop 2.
The theme was Americana and baseball and Cub Master Michael Peterson dressed up as Uncle Sam. We had a BBQ dinner of Tri Tip and chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, beans and chips. I the bridging ceremony, the parents of the Weblos II presented their sons plaques to honor their accomplishment of earning the Arrow of Light. They need this rank in order to become an Eagle Scout. Chasen received a Boy Scout handbook from the pack and then bridged over to Troop 2 were members of his new troop presented him with a new troop neckerchief, slide, appelets and hat. Chasen is so proud to be a Boy Scout and looks forward to work on his Eagle rank.
- Debbie's Valentine Tea
Table for 8 girls were treated to a Valentine tea hosted by Debbie. We enjoyed yummy tea, cranberry scones, raisin bread with melted Gouda and baby Swiss and apple sandwiches, cucumber on dark rye, yummy sausage quiche and fruit. For dessert, Debbie came out with homemade Scooter Pies from a blog that I told her about. We all got to take some home along with a pink rose. Everyone shared Valentines gifts with each other and had a wonderful time!
- Bristol Farms Tour
Sheridan's 2nd grade class took a walking tour to our new neighborhood store-Bristol Farms. It just opened about a month ago and I had yet to go shopping there. The store was just beautiful and they gave us many samples! We enjoyed fresh squeezed juice, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, cucumber sushi, oranges and fennel. One of the best parts is when the kids got to "pet" a live lobster! The kids also got to take home heart shaped sugar cookies and a box filled with bottled water, chips and an apple. I will definitely be going back soon!
- Last Pack Meeting
Chasen attended his last Pack meeting as a Weblos II. He has decided to bridge to Boy Scout Troop 2 on February 20. He is looking forward to working on and earning his Eagle Scout rank.
- Brownie Chinese New Year
Troop 1182 celebrated the Chinese New Year-the year of the Ox. For snack, Sophie brought lots of Chinese treats including fortune cookies! I told the girls some customs of the New Year such as cleaning your house before the New Year and wearing red. I gave them each a tangerine to signify prosperity and completeness in the coming year. I read the story "Sam and the Lucky Money" and then gave each girl their own red envelope of lucky money. They bowed 3 times to show respect for receiving the money and were not allowed to open it at my home as to insure good luck. We passed out cookie order forms and Sheridan will start taking your order on Saturday :)
- Donna's Bowling Birthday Bash
I turned 44 on Sunday, January 11th, and my sweet girlfriends took me to Lucky Strike Bowling Alley and Lounge in Hollywood. What a super fun time we had! We ordered drinks and appetizers-Coconut Shrimp and Artichoke Spinach dip with pita chips. For dinner, we had mini cheeseburgers, tomato and cheese smores and turkey and brie sandwiches. We bowled for 2 hours, I opened some wonderful presents and we enjoyed some cake pops that I had made. After bowling, we took a stroll around the block to look at stars on the Walk of Fame and to Mann's Chinese theater to see the hand and foot prints in cement. What a wonderful birthday! Thank you so, so much ladies! I love you very much and count my blessings everyday that I have such wonderful friends!
- Rose Parade Floats
My friend, Sandy, and I went to view the Rose Parade floats in Sierra Madre on Friday morning. I haven't been this close to the floats since I was a little girl when my grandma lived in Pasadena and we could practically walk to the parade. The flowers and the attention to detail is simply amazing! You just can't get a grasp of it on television! Enjoy the beauty! PS- They cut up the flowers and make potpourri and Rose Parade Tea. The proceeds go to cancer research.
- Christmas
I love traditions! We spent Christmas Eve at Mom's house, enjoyed Honeybaked ham, scalloped potatoes and baked beans and opened presents with everyone receiving new pajamas. It's the same every year and I wouldn't have it any other way! We gave Mom a digital picture frame which she seem to really enjoy and the she gave the boys ipod nanos. They were very excited! Mom is even paying to have our dining room and garage windows to be replaced. Sheridan and Rachel both received FurReal puppies and ponies. On Christmas morning, the kids received a Wii and I got the Wii Fit board. I have already worked out twice and can feel it in my thighs...WooHoo!
- Debutante Ball
My friend Jan invited me to The Langham (formerly the Ritz Carlton Huntington) for the San Marino NCL Debutante Ball. She is on the Photography committee and asked if I would like to be her date. There were 13 debutantes that were presented. All of them were college freshman and had been in the program for 6 years. The first dance for the fathers and daughters was to Edelweiss (the first song I sang to my children after they were born!) There was a lovely beef tenderloin dinner, chocolate mousse for dessert and dancing to a live band. It was so fun to see all of the debutantes with their families!
- Christmas Festivities
I attended an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party at my friend, Paula Ferguson's, house on Wednesday. You had to wear an ugly sweater and Sandra bought one from Wal Mart, left the tag on and returned it later that day...too funny!
Thursday night, I took the little ones to The Grove in Hollywood. They have a 106 ft Christmas tree and it "snows" at 7 and 8 o'clock. Really, it is a tiny bubble machine but the kids loved it. We waited in line to see Santa almost 2 hours. I kept looking for the Fast Pass line like at Disneyland. He must have taken a long dinner break at the Cheesecake Factory without us knowing. I bought a picture and a DVD of the visit only because this is probably the last year for at least one of them to sit on Santa's lap!
- Cookie Exchange and Gift Wrap ideas
Marina and I hosted a cookie exchange and gift wrap idea party. We both attended a Holiday Soiree in November and was so inspired, we decided to have a party to show our ideas to our friends. We had a coffee bar and served drinks such as Angel Mochas and Snowflake Lattes. I made Egg Nog French toast with apple-cranberry compote and Marina made a delicious quiche with spinach and puff pastry. Belinda commented that she thought she was having brunch at the Ritz!
After brunch, we shared our gift wrap ideas that were cleverly disguised as their Christmas presents. Suzie brought gorgeous plates for everyone to put all of the yummy cookies on and Marina and Suzanne played some Christmas songs on the piano.
A few friends hung around and we made custom gift tags with LOTS of glitter!
Everyone had so much fun and Marina and I are glad that we inspired our friends to have a decorative Christmas!
- Brownie Ice Skating
The Brownies celebrated the holidays with a trip to the ice rink. We revealed who our Secret Sisters are and exchanged gifts. When we arrived at the rink, the girls had a private skating lesson. After an hour of skating, we headed upstairs to the snack bar where they served us hot chocolate with whip cream and warm chocolate chip cookies. The girls had so much fun and it was hard to get them off the ice when it was time to come home.
- Nutcracker Weekend
What a weekend! Sheridan was in her very first Nutcracker performance as a solider. She was in all 4 shows- 2:00 & 7:00 on Saturday and 1:00 and 5:00 on Sunday. She didn't like wearing eye make up but liked the lipstick. All of the dancers were fantastic! My niece, Katherine, and my mom attended the Saturday show with us and Kate knew all of the lead dancers since she danced with them for 10 years but had to quit because of a knee injury.
The dancers had fun back stage playing video games and watching the live video feed of the show. I got some pictures from backstage of the girls on stage. Enjoy the show...
- Nutcracker Rehearsal
It's almost time! The Nutcracker by Dance Studio 84 is Dec 13 & 14 at Hart High. Sheridan had 4 1/2 hour rehearsal on Sunday and pictures and rehearsal on Wednesday. She is very excited to be a solider and has been practicing in our living room non-stop! The family is attending the first show on Saturday and I will see the last show on Sunday. Sheridan is in all 4 shows!
- Brownie Hanukkah Celebration
For our Brownie Girl Scout meeting, Mrs. Sparber read a wonderful story "The Confusing Hanukkah", made homemade latkes, cookies and frosting. We played dreidl and saw a menorah. The girls had a great time!
- Holiday Decoration Inspiration
Sandy and I headed to downtown LA to get some tiaras for an upcoming Princess party and to pick a few goodies up for ourselves at the Flower Mart. The smell of the Mart was heavenly--pine and sweet flowers---AAAHHH!
We then headed upstairs to GM Floral. We could have done a lot of damage in there! Since Sandy and I have a strange penchant for ribbons, you will see a lot of those pictures! The trees and decorations were amazing! We decided that we want to decorate other people's homes for the holidays, you know, for a lot of money :)
We then headed over the hill to Burbank and enjoyed a lovely lunch at Bob's Big Boy. The perfect day!
- Part II Birthday Celebration: Sheridan's Chinese Tea Party
For Sheridan's party, I bought all of the guests Mandarin dresses and passed them out 4 days before the party. I made chocolate dipped fortune cookies with custom fortunes and put them in frosted take-out boxes. I built a bamboo pagoda in the middle of the living room to hang the paper lanterns from. When the girls arrived, they practiced picking up grapes with chopsticks. For "Tea", the girls enjoyed raspberry lemonade, egg rolls, PB&J, Fluffernutters, turkey roll-ups, chocolate dipped strawberries, grapes and veggies with dill dip.
Yasi taught the girls how to make origami bunnies and they stuffed Panda bears.
The cake was Devil's Food with homemade chocolate ganache and cherry blossom flowers and was inspired by a wedding cake by Martha Stewart.
Sheridan enjoyed opening her gift and receiving 3 Webkins!
- Sheridan's 8th Birthday Celebration-Part I
Sheridan had her family serenade her when she awoke on her birthday. Mom made monogram pancakes with a "S" and an "8". Of course, she had a candle on the pancakes and we sang to her--AGAIN!
Saturday night, the whole family went to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on Universal City Walk. This is Sheridan's new favorite restraunt since our visit to Monterrey this summer.
We visited a few of the stores and then headed home to prepare for her Chinese Tea party tomorrow!
- Sandy's Autumn Craft Tea
My dear friend, Sandy, invited the girls to breakfast at the Tea Gardens. After our yummy meals, we headed over the Sandy's house where she treated us to a paper crafting bonanza! She had tea sandwiches from the Tea Gardens and desserts that we munched on while we crafted. Some of us made tags while others made scrapbook page layouts. Sandy was such a gracious hostess...she let us run wild and gave us goody bags with ceramic Fall leaves and a lovely pen and tablet set. After our crafting, we took a field trip to a discount home decor store that is only open on Thursdays and Saturdays and picked up a few holiday goodies. :)
- The Blue & the Gray
This was the second time we attended this fabulous event. We stayed for 2 battles and enjoyed some roasted corn and hot apple cider. Next year, I hope we can all dress up!
- Leader Daughter Camp
Sheridan and I attended camp with 75 other leaders and their daughters at Camp Valley Trails in Castaic. We made leather embossed necklaces, painted giant clothes pins to hold a photo and made tropical necklaces in Arts and Crafts. Next, it was off to the Zip line and Rock Wall. Sheridan wasn't quite sure about the zip line, so she made me go first. Then it was her turn. When she was done, she said it was AWESOME! Then, she tried the rock wall. She must have climbed it at least 50 times! We also played disc golf and low ropes.
At campfire, we exchanged SWAPs, made s'mores and learned a lot of new camp songs.
The bunk beds were very noisy and we didn't get a lot of sleep but we did have a lot of fun!
- Marina's Spa Birthday
For Marina's 29th Birthday ;), 4 of us decided to have massages at Glen Ivy Day Spa. We arrived early to enjoy a steam and then a dip in the jacuzzi. Then we showered off in time for all of our appointments. After our super relaxing treatments, 3 other lovely friends joined us for a spa lunch in the solarium. We think this would be a great monthly treat!
- Election Day
Troop 118 took a visit to the polls! First, we took care of some scout business; collecting dues, attendance and snack. Sheridan brought patriotic cookies and fruit punch.
There was a polling place at Helmers Elementary (very convienent) so the girls were able to cast their votes. They were allowed to use the demo ballots and vote for Abraham Lincoln or John F. Kennedy.
I got them all boater hats and made some "Vote" ribbons. They were very inspiring to the voters!
- Holiday Parisian Soiree
Marina and I attended the Parisian Holiday Soiree at the Mission Inn hosted by Heather Bullard, an interior designer from Orange County who's blog I love the follow.
There was a holiday boutique, chocolate fountain, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream bars and many drinks to choose from.
Heather put together craft packets and we learned how to wrap home made bon-bons and made an ornament out of wire ribbon and a rhinestone pin.
She had tons of unconventional gift wrap ideas from wrapping with maps to making your own paper by photo copying Italian prayers cards and printing them out at home. She used vintage hat flowers, mini frames, old pictures, a torn up satin bedspread from the 40's... Everything was gorgeous!
Marina and I both won door prizes. Marina got a copy of Artful Blogging and I won a pair of glittered reindeer.
Such a gorgeous setting and wonderful ideas really got us in the holiday spirit. So much so that we have decided to host a cookie exchange and gift wrap party!
- SCV Marathon
Troop 118 joined Senior Troop 106 to pass out water at Mile 8 of the Santa Clarita Marathon. Our theme was "patriotic" so we wore red, white and blue and I did a little face painting on the girls. We had thunderstorms the day before and the weather was perfect for the runners..nice and cool. Sheridan started saying "Free water, get your free water right here!". It made the runner's smile! It was wonderful to cheer on the runners and lend our support.
- Halloween Festivities
- Witches Tea
After 2 months of planning, I finally hosted my Witches Tea. All my friends came dressed as witches and enjoyed each others company. I served Autumn Orange Spice tea, cucumber and roast beef sandwiches, pumpkin & apple scones with cinnamon clotted cream. Belinda brought pumpkin soup and Suzie brought mushroom pinwheels. For dessert I had brownies, mandarin orange mini cheesecakes and madelines. Everyone loved the Witches necklaces that were tucked into the mini cauldrons. I didn't even recognize Marina & Debbie-they came in green face!
- Cub Scout Halloween Carnival
This is Chasen's last year to attend the Cub Scout Halloween carnival. Pack 66 has different carnival games for the kids to play and win prizes. Chasen's patrol always does the Mystery Fishing booth. Chasen''s costume is an old lady. He borrowed it from our friend, Mason Briggs, who was the old lady last year. (this year he is the blonde leprechaun) The scouts got to wrap up their parents in toilet paper in the mummy contest. The guessing jar had 344 candy corns in it. If Chasen listened to me he would have won. I guessed 347. I guess we didn't need that much candy anyway!
- Light the Night
Chasen, Sheridan and I had the honor of joining Team Evan at the Light the Night event at Bridgeport Park. Evan Gabor is my neighbors nephew who is only 3 with Leukemia. Light The Night is the nation’s night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of patients battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost.
They served dinner from Stone Fire Grill and had a bounce house for the kids. They announced they would give you a pint of ice cream for a pint of your blood. The kids thought that was a great idea, so I went to sign up. I filled out lots of paperwork and went to have my vitals taken. I was too anemic to donate blood! I guess I better start taking some supplements!
We held red balloons lit from inside. White balloons were those who had survived cancer and the gold ones were for those we have lost. We were cheered on by the Valencia High cheerleaders and they recognized Sheridan from the day before. Please consider giving a donation on my webpage
http://www.active.com:80/donate/ltnLosAn/2387_donnasue65
- Cheer & Baseball Clinic
Another busy day for the Collins kids! Chasen had a 10:30 baseball game where he pitched 1 inning and caught for 4. Sheridan attended Valencia High Cheer clinic from 3-6pm and Chasen went to Velocity for a Pitching/Catching clinic 4-5:30pm. Chasen's clinic was taught by a former Chicago Cub catcher who is now the coach of Valencia High Baseball. Everyone learned a lot and made some new friends!
- A's vs. D-backs
- Abby's Halloween Playdate
Abby and her sister Kimberly invited a few girls over Friday night for some Halloween fun. The girls dressed up in costume, had pizza, made crafts, played games and had a sundae bar. So much fun!
- A's vs. Rockies
- Bennett Honey Farm
Troop 118 headed out to Fillmore to visit the Bennett Honey Farm. We received a tour from Mrs. Bennett. The girls got to see a real hive in action, visit the bottling and packing room, learned about the workings of a hive and got to sample 8 different kinds of honey.
Did you know a bee is chosen to be queen in the egg stage and fed Royal Jelly to become Queen? Did you know a Queen Bee lays 1500 eggs EVERYDAY? Did you know a Queen Bee can live up to 5 years? That's a bunch of eggs! Did you know that in one bee's lifetime they make 1/2 teaspoon of honey? We learned A LOT about bees!
- Last Chance Popcorn
This is Chasen's last year as a Cub Scout before bridging to Boy Scouts in February. The only fundraiser they have is selling popcorn. Jeffrey Taylor and Chasen both happen to be in the same patrol and on the same baseball team together. They sold popcorn outside Pavilions Market from 9-1 and then went home to get ready for their baseball game at 3. Together, the boys sold a lot of popcorn but did much better with straight donations from the very generous people of our city who support scouting.
- A's vs. Phillies
- Pumpkin Pickin'
Last year, Lombardi Ranch was nearly destroyed by fire. The family rallied together to rebuild and keep open our beloved pumpkin patch. I have gone to Lombardi's every year since I was 2. I even came home from college to visit for Halloween. Kids picked their pumpkins and Chasen got his corn-on-the-cob.
- Celebrating at Disneyland
With 2 days left on our annual passes, the whole family headed off to Disneyland and California Adventure. We celebrated both Matthew and Sheridan's birthday (by wearing birthday buttons; everyone wished them Happy Birthday) and enjoyed all of the Halloween festivities. It was Sheridan's first time on Soaring over California, California Screamin' and The Tower of Terror. She loved them all! She even asked to go on Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion-who swapped out my Scaredy-Cat Girl with Brave Girl? I guess she really is growing up! Enjoy all of the Fall decor!
- Matthew's Go-Kart Birthday
Matthew celebrated his 14th birthday at MB2, an indoor go-kart facility. He was joined by 5 of his friends which raced against each other including Mom and Dad. Chasen and Sheridan raced against each other in a Junior race. First, we started off with a 12 lap race and then took a lunch break. We had pizza and soda. Then we had a 10 lap race, played in the arcade and then enjoyed some cupcakes. Matthew opened his gifts and then I passed out party favors which included a MB2 t-shirt and a bag of candy. The boys want to come back again soon!
- A's vs. Brewers
First game of Fall 2008. I took 264 pictures. No, that isn't a typo! Enjoy this edited version and the boy's efforts! **** Parents of the A's**** You can order your own prints on the right side of this main page :)
- Rachel's 3rd Birthday
My niece turned 3 this weekend and my sister had family over for a Hello Kitty BBQ. Debbie and her family live in Acton, a rural community about 30 minutes from where I live. She has 2 dogs and a cow. The kids had a great time playing together and getting really dirty. Chasen loved running with Cody and the dogs, Sheridan climbed up and down the gravel pile numerous times and Matthew kept the little ones occupied by chasing them around the yard.
Debbie made Beef Spare Ribs and BBQ Pork sandwiches. The Hello Kitty birthday cake was chocolate chip with Bavarian Cream filling made by Clarice's. So yummy!
Rachel seemed to enjoy the tea set I gave her but loved her elephant from Kate and her word game the most!
- Princess Party
I finally hosted the Princess party today in Pacific Palisades for the Disney lawyer. I LOVED her house and I had so much fu n hosting the party. When I pack my car for a Princess party, I have to remove ALL of the seats in my car to get the 2 dress racks and variety of "stuff" inside. Melanie, the mom, had me create the flower arrangements and order the catering. I rented the table, chairs and linens also for the party. It was so much fun to have so much creative freedom. Sandy Fairbrother helped me out for the first time since all of my teenagers had "prior obligations" (Black Belt testing, packing for a semester in Italy, another job). Sandy was fabulous! The little girls were very cute (age 4) and loved to dress up and have make up put on. Their favorite game was Princess Bingo. One mom said she will be calling me tomorrow to book a party for November! Yeah!
- Orchard Adventure
Troop 118's first "official" meeting of the year was a field trip to an orchard in Littlerock. We arrived at Yingst Orchard greeted by the owner. A nice older woman with her 2 dogs, Lucky and Suzie, directed us to the apple, pear and peach trees. Apples were easy to find as well as the peaches, but there seemed to be fewer pear trees. The base of the trees were surrounded by prickle weeds with thousands of burs on them. Our "city" girls were not liking them one bit! After we filled our buckets, we went to have our fruit weighed. The cost was .95/lb. which I thought was quite reasonable. Sheridan and I picked a lot of peaches because I will be making Peach Jam with them and I needed at least 3 lbs. After our fruit picking, we said thank you to Mrs. Yingst and her pups and decided to go to McDonald's for a bathroom break. Some of the girls got a snack. I told Elizabeth that I thought the store down the street looked really cute. She said her family would stop there all the time on the way to Las Vegas. It was a funky fruit stand with some whimsical critters in the back. I got some Garlic Pumpkins Seeds but I passed on the bug filled candy (no joke!) They had cricket and worm lollipops and Cheddar Cheese flavored Larvae! EEEEWWWWW!!!! But I wanted to try their Deep Fried Twinkies. :) The girls had a great time and I will be making jam tomorrow!
- School Valet
Chasen is now in the 5th grade and eligible to be a student valet in the morning. They are trained by the Sheriff's Dept. and have to arrive at school by 7:30. The school has a special section marked off in front of the school where the valets help the students out of their cars and walk them to class, if needed. Chasen and the other valets, open the car door, say "Good morning", help the kids out and then say to the parent "Have a nice day". Sheridan wanted to help too but she has to wait a few more years. They did a great job and made morning traffic a little nicer!
- Cheetah Girl Event
All over the country, Girl Scouts were having Bollywood parties celebrating the premiere weekend of Cheetah Girls 3. Disney and Girls Scouts arranged the event to show diversity and social skills to the girls. Ours was held at Lamppost Pizza. The scouts enjoyed pizza and cake, took a Cheetah Girl movie quiz, learned how to wear a Sari and won some door prizes. They even did a little dancing in the aisles and a conga line! Sheridan won a magnet set for her right answer on the quiz and Sophie, in our troop, won a beautiful Sari!
- Grease
Our final backyard movie of the summer was a big hit! We served chocolate and vanilla malts as well as a Make-your-own Sundae bar. Yasi Emamian made an amazing Poodle Skirt cake-completely from scratch! It was delicious! I also offered our guests sunglasses to wear and fuzzy dice to take home. I can't wait for next summer's movie schedule! Thank you to all of our guests who made this summer so special.
- Back to School
Summer is officially over! The kids headed back to school this week. Chasen & Sheridan started on Wed, Matthew began 8th grade at Rio Norte and I enjoyed a Back-to-School Tea with my girlfriends.
Chasen is now in 5th grade. This is the first year in many years that he has not asked to be transferred to another class. His teacher, Mrs. Gould is a neat freak and very organized and it has already rubbed off on Chasen. He has organized his folder and back pack and lays out his clothes every night.
Sheridan is in 2nd grade and when she met her teacher, Miss Vatcher, she informed her how smart she was (not to mention modest!) I've been hearing a lot of "Miss Vatcher says this" and "Miss Vatcher says that". She really likes her.
Matthew got the elective he wanted- Computers, so he is very happy. He has informed us that he will be getting all A's this year. Music to my ears! I guess a few weeks at summer school made him realize he needs to put in a little more effort.
My tea buddy, Suzie Smith, hosted a fabulous Back-to-School tea for us on Friday morning. It was potluck and I made some chocolate chip and lemon poppy seed scones. Suzie made a yummy quiche and a souffle and others brought dessert, fruit, side dishes and champagne for Mimosas. It was so wonderful to get together again and we realized how much we needed each others support this week. We even made some plans for the upcoming "Tea Season".
- Kidnap Breakfast
Today is the last day of summer vacation and Troop 118 started off their 2nd year of Brownies with a kidnap breakfast! I only had to wake up Abby and Sheridan; all of the other girls were up at 7:00am! Lilian, my co-leader, and I picked the girls up and drove them to IHOP for breakfast. Sophia's mom and brother also joined us!. We discussed the upcoming year: field trips we want to take, setting goals for cookie sales and special guests for our meetings. Of course, there were conversations about what they did on vacation, how many teeth they lost and what they will be wearing for the first day of school. Paige commented that she wished all of the troop members would get to be in the same class this year...how sweet!
- Walt Disney Studios
A few weeks ago, I got an email from a very nice lady asking if I did Birthday parties on the West side. I emailed her back and booked a Princess party for her daughter celebrating her 4th birthday. Turns out, this very nice lady is a lawyer for Disney and she invited my to the Studios for lunch to discuss the party's details. I was more than happy to oblige! I brought over a mock up of the party with pictures of the table decor. She loved it! She then treated me to lunch in the commissary. I had a yummy chicken salad with goat cheese, cranberries and walnuts with raspberry vinegarette. Yum! After lunch, she took me to the Disney Store (yes, they have one there too!) and she let me use her 35% discount. I picked up a few Hannah Montana items for Sheridan. She was walking me out when I asked if I could take some pictures. She said "yes" (silly girl) and left me on my own. Of course, I took this opportunity to give myself a tour of the studios. :)
In one of the building's lobby, there were display cases of Camp Rock outfits that the stars used in the movie. Across from that was a hat display. (you know how crazy I am about hats!) There IT was...Mary Poppins' hat! I was awe struck. I could not believe my good fortune as to meet such a lovely woman and to get to roam the studios like that. I had such a great time. I can't wait for the princess party!
- Big Sur
This is the first Collins Family vacation together in 3 years. We drove up the coast on Aug 4 and made our first stop at Hearst Castle. I hadn't been there since I was 19 and no one in the family had been there before so we took Tour 1 which covers the 2 pools, guest cottage, entry room, theater, and dining room. It was better than I remembered and they have a great visitor center.
We arrived at Big Sur Lodge just in time for dinner of the lodge's buffet.
Aug 5- We headed up north to Monterey to visit the Aquarium. The last time we were here, Michael & I were on our honeymoon! My have things changed in 15 years! What a beautiful facility! We headed over to Bubba Gump for lunch. While waiting for a table, we stepped into Candy Land (the name speaks for itself). I LOVED the Victorian homes in Pacific Grove (winter home of the Monarch Butterflies).
Aug 6- Point Sur Light Station. Built in 1889 on top of volcanic rock. We climbed 300' elevation to the top of the hill, went inside the lighthouse and saw the old buildings that have stood there for almost 120 years! We were there on a nice day :) They said the winds can whip up there more than hurricane force.
After the 3 hour tour, Michael, Matthew and Sheridan headed to the lodge pool and Chasen and I went on a hike high above the lodge on the Valley View trail. We saw the devastation of the recent fire and how CLOSE in came to the lodge. From our mountain top view, we could see the lighthouse in the distance, 6 miles away.
Aug 7- We spent the morning playing in the Big Sur river skipping rocks and playing Pooh sticks (from Winnie-the-Pooh). Sheridan kept crying that she didn't want to leave! On the drive home, south of Cambria, we found a herd of Elephant Seals. Females and babies were sunning themselves on the beach while the males were having a slug fest out in the surf.
This entire vacation was inspired by Michael's friend, Shawn. I was reading his blog last year about his own family's camping trip in Big Sur and it looked like so much fun. I hope I have inspired your next family vacation. Thanks Shawn!!
- New Dodger- Manny Ramirez
How fitting to end our week of baseball camp at Dodger Stadium! In June, I bid on Dodger tickets to go on the field during Hollywood Stars night but unfortunately, my car had other ideas. We never made it down there and I called the guy in charge of the event, David Brennen, and he said he would make it up to me with Field level game tickets and VIP pass to batting practice. I set this all up with him last week. Yesterday, the Dodgers aquired Boston Red Sox Manny Ramirez. It was a HUGE trade for the Dodgers and TONIGHT was his Dodger debut! Sooo.... we got to go on the field for batting practice, had a ball signed by D-back Chad Tracy and got to see Manny in Left field seats-right in front of Manny! The crowd stood for every one of his at bats. It was even cooler bag night and Sheridan got her helmet full of popcorn. What an exciting night!
- Last Day of Baseball Camp
Chasen had a great time at UCLA Baseball Camp. It was taught by some of the Bruin players and Pierce College players who followed the Head Coach over to UCLA. J.D. Haver, Bruin OF, said that Chasen was very enthusiastic about baseball. While everyone was still eating lunch, Chasen was bugging the coaches to play more ball. ADHD at it's best :) He received a certificate for his efforts, is extremely tired and his muscles are sore but he said he had a great time and wants to come back again next year!
- UCLA continued...
Day 3 of baseball camp at UCLA for Chasen. I took some pictures of him in the pitching rotation. His coach is the closing pitcher for the Bruins, Gavin Brooks.
I made friends with the team's trainer, a sweet girl named Nadia. She will be a senior at UCLA next year and is studying veterinary medicine. I offered her a Martino's tea cake yesterday and this morning she brought me a cream puff from The Coffee Bean! I love making new friends! Matt and Sheridan had fun at Ackerman Union and we got a few school supplies (with UCLA on it, of course!) One more day of baseball camp!
- West Side Story
Chasen has baseball camp at UCLA this week so Sheridan and I hung out on the west side of LA today. We started at the Santa Monica Pier. Sheridan befriended a fisherman, a nice young guy from the Bay area who LOVES the Dodgers. He had 2 poles in the water and let Sheridan man one. They caught 3 leopard sharks in the hour we were there. Then we headed over to Montana Ave. to check out the Shabby Chic store and a kids toy store.
I wanted to take Sheridan to the Hard Rock Cafe at the Beverly Center (an old haunt of mine) and it was gone! We had to settle for Sbarro pizza in the food court. I bought her a sparkly Hannah Montana thermal and star necklace and then visited with the animals at the pet store. We spent the last 2 hours at the Jackie Robinson field watching Chasen at practice. He is completely exhausted-just as it should be!
- Sandy's Un-Birthday
Tea Buddy, Sandy Fairbrother, had a birthday on Thursday and a few of us got together for some tea to celebrate. We love gathering at our local tea shop-The Tea Gardens. I had the Afternoon tea with Chicken Curry and Cucumber sandwiches, a Mango scone and petit fours of lemon bar, cheesecake and cookies. We were there for 2 hours catching up on our summer happenings. None of us seem to be having a "lazy summer".
- Oklahoma
I hosted a Oklahoma Sing-a-long opposite the premiere of the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert movie in 3D. Oklahoma guests brought pie to share; Yasi Emamian made her first homemade apple pie, Marina brought peach pie and Debbie Hattox brought Razzle Dazzle pie form Claim Jumpers. The kids stayed inside to watch Hannah while the "older folk" watched Oklahoma. Our neighbors were hosting a Hannah party and Sheridan joined them for a while. They even decorated their door!
- Cosmic Bowling
On Thursday afternoons, The Santa Clarita Lanes turns into "Cosmic Bowling". They turn on the disco lights and crank up the tunes! Jan and her kids came out from Pasadena and Chasen's friend, Parker, joined us. We bowled a few games, ate some pizza and calzones and had a lot of fun!
- Norton Simon Museum
Today I took the kids to Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. We joined my friend Jan and her 2 kids, Yasi and Cameron. It was the first time for all of them to meet and they had fun together. It was interesting what the kids were drawn to. Chasen liked the modern marble structures and Sheridan enjoyed the moving optical illusion piece. Of course, I am drawn to the Renaissance and Impressionists but the Picasso and Matisse pieces were interesting to see up close.
We were only allowed to take pictures in the sculpture garden which reminds you of a Monet painting. After we explored the museum, we trekked down the street to get some frozen yogurt in Old Town Pasadena. Yasi wanted to check something out in the Apple store and the kids were mesmerized by the iPhone. There was a line outside the building and I asked Jan what it was for; People were waiting in line to get an iPhone! Unbelievable!
- Final Swim Meet & Award Banquet
Our 6th season of the Northbridge Bluefins has finally come to an end. For 8 weeks, we have been at the pool Monday-Thursday 4:00-6:30pm and 4 swim meets (getting there for 6:30 am check-in until noon) on Saturdays. It always amazes me how much the kid's swimming improves in such a short amount of time! This year Sheridan didn't swim with the support of a coach in the water with her and didn't have any anxieties about her performances. Matthew seemed to take home more 1st and 2nd place ribbons this year and Chasen even got to lead a practice! As I sat across the other side of the pool and heard his booming voice, I couldn't believe how much he has grown up and what a fabulous program this is! Now, the kids have 4 weeks left of summer vacation. Plenty of time for us to spend as a family and experience new adventures. Can't wait until next year!
- Hitting the Greens
Michael, Sheridan & I went to Vista Valencia Golf Course to hit some golf balls around. Sheridan took golf for after-school enrichment and was bitten by the golf bug. Since she earned straight A's on her report card, I bought her her own set of PINK left-handed clubs. We started on the driving range and then worked our way to the putting green. I learned how to golf here when I was 13 years old. There was a junior golf camp going on when we were there lead by Brad Gallagher, a guy I went to elementary school with and we were taught by the same pro-Ron Osbourne. I re-introduced myself, but I'm not sure he really remembered me ;). Sheridan wants to go to golf camp this summer now!
- Classic Car Show
Michael and Matthew attended the Classic Car Show at the Route 66 Diner in Canyon Country. Before they got there, Michael told Matthew not to touch ANYTHING! These car guys don't even want you to breathe on their cars. So the both of them were shocked when the first car they looked at, a Camaro, the owner told Matthew to have a seat inside! The owner said every boy should sit inside a Camaro! There were well over 100 cars at the show and they had a lot of fun checking them all out!
- Ghostbusters
More movies! Tonight was the showing of Ghostbusters. I had a dancing Slimer and slime (lime jello). The kids roasted marshmallows in honor of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and we attempted to make our own slime out of white glue and Borax.
- Happy 4th of July!
The Collins family had a very low key celebration. The excitement of the holiday seemed to disappear when my dad died almost 4 years ago. It was his favorite holiday. My dad always wore red, white and blue year round and he would spend a small fortune on fireworks. He was the master of the BBQ and loved playing with his grandkids. The 4th just doesn't seem the same without him. We headed over to mom's and went swimming. My sister's family was there and the kids have fun playing with their cousins. Mom's neighbor, Rita, joined us for dinner, the Hand family came over to say "Hi" and Michael bought a few sparklers for the kids.
- Oxnard Beach House
Our friends, Joe and Lisa, own a beach house right on the beach in Oxnard. They invited us to spend the day with them. The boys played golf and the women and children played on the beach. It was a bit chilly and windy but we were just glad to be at the beach and out of the heat in the valley! After golf, we all gathered at Eric Ericsson's in Ventura, right on the pier. I had some yummy Ono fish, Michael had fish and chips and the kids had pasta. It was nice to see our friends again!
- Mary Poppins Movie
One of my favorite movies! I know every line and song! It's so nice to have others watch it with you who have the same enthusiasum you do. Another great crowd tonight...and they brought goodies to share! Marina bought some chocolate dipped strawberries and cookies and the Castano family brought all sorts of yummies...merigues, cheesecake, fruit and dip, almond cookies and vanilla marshmallows. I made some brownies, served Kettle Korn, lemonade and mini cupcakes. The Hovey's joined us as well as Suzie and her daughter, Hope. The kids had fun dancing prior to the movie screening.
- Surprise Croquet Party
The Tea Ladies celebrated Belinda's birthday with a surprise croquet party! Belinda had been cleaning all day and was very surprised when she showed up to her birthday party in her "cleaning duds". The event was arranged by Suzanne and hosted at her home. She served iced tea, Pims (an English refreshment), brownies, and English Trifle. Suzanne's son, Patrick served as official score keeper and briefed us on the rules of the game. We used the mallet to decide who went first-it was me! We played a very spirited game and the most competitive, I mean, competent player won...Suzie! We rounded out the evening with Belinda opening her gifts. I feel truly blessed to have such special friends!
- Wallace & Gromit Backyard Movie
It was still hot out tonight, but Wallace & Gromit drew a crowd. I served vegs, crackers and cheese and of course, we made s'mores. Sheridan served Marina by spreading Brie on her cracker. The Hershey bars were quite soft from the heat which made the s'mores extra gooey...mmmmmm. The kids even started roasting the veggies! Everyone had a lot of fun. Marina and her 2 kids, Chris and Rosie joined us, Sandy and her daughter, Kiara, Shannon, Kayla and Kevin and it was great that Parker even joined us on his birthday!
- First Swim Meet of the Season
This is our 6th season with our Homeowner's Association Swim Team-The Northbridge Bluefins. Sheridan has moved up the the 7-8 division and learned how to do the breaststroke. Chasen is in the 9-10 and Matthew in the 11 & Ups. It was extremely hot with everyone trying to stay cool with the kids filling their swim caps with water and dumping it on their heads and each other. Not to mention a lot of snow cones and iced coffee. I briefly worked by putting labels on the ribbons for the swimmers. It was nice to be in the air-conditioned clubhouse! The kids had a lot of fun and Sheridan had more confidence in her swimming than I have ever seen. One of Matthew's friends commented how much faster Matthew was this season. They sure do grow up fast!
- When Harry Met Sally Backyard Movie
Boy was it hot the night of our backyard movie! I decided to have a New Years theme to go with the movie hoping we could pretend we were in New York in the winter....HA!. I served apple pie with strawberry ice cream on the side just the way Sally likes it! I also offered Sparkling Apple Cider and Sheridan enjoyed dancing to Harry Connick, Jr. before the sun went down. Debbie and Chelsea Hattox and Cheryl Uhl were the only ones brave enough to endure the heat with me! Thanks girls!
- Cherry Jam
AHHH...the fruits of our labor! The kids and I pitted SOME of the cherries. A job defintley less appealing than the picking of the cherries! I do own a cherry pitter, but we decided to use a straw instead. I made the Cherry Jam with the recipe I found on the Villa del Sol website. I cannot give a review since I have yet to bake some scones!
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Backyard movie #2. I decorated my table with all of my Indy decor. We had S'Mores and roasted hot dogs and I made some Movie Theatre popcorn. It was great to have the Fredrickson Family, Parker and Shannon join us.
- Cherry Pickin'
I told my children the story of when I went cherry picking with my grandparents when I was little. They made the mistake of putting the box of cherries in the back seat with me. When we arrived home, most of the cherries were GONE! They asked me where the cherries had gone and I answered "I don't know"; very convincing with cherry juice dripping all over my face!
This story intrigued my kids so after the last school bell rang, we headed out to Leona Valley to pick some cherries. I have been receiving emails from Villa del Sol and they said that the Bing and Rainier varieties were ripe for the picking this weekend. The kids had a fabulous time! Sheridan said she couldn't stop! Chasen said he wants to make this a tradition every summer and even bring his children when he grows up, just like my grandparents did for me. Mission Accomplished!!!!
We picked over 15 pounds of cherries! We will be making Cherry Preserves, Cherry Ice Cream, and Cherry Pie. Keep an eye out for pitting and baking pictures.
- Old Slides
My mom finally handed over 2 large boxes of slides that my grandfather took when my sister and I were little. I bought a slide converter off of ebay for $80 and transferred all of these precious memories to my computer. What made this such a simple job (well, it did take me 3 days!) was my grandfather labeled each and every slide with dates, places, who was in the picture and sometimes who took the picture. He was VERY organized!
My grandmother was an avid hiker and she and Grandpa Linn would take us hiking to Vasquez Rocks, Devil's Punch Bowl, Desert Hot Springs and Wrightwood. She also loved to garden (like I do) so we visited LA Arboretum and Descanso Gardens.
You will also notice in a few pictures that my sister, Debbie, and I have matching dresses. My grandmother made them. She was also the person who taught me how to sew and embroider.
I am so glad that we have the technology to preserve these photos. Many of them are already showing their age and I'm glad I could salvage what I could.
Please vote which of my children look the most like me. And, yes, I know. I look like my mother. June 16 is her birthday. She will be getting a copy of this DVD ( the 20 minute version) for her birthday!
- Hansel & Gretel Eat Right
Sheridan's 1st grade class along with Mrs. Aldous' 1st grade class put on a play Hansel & Gretel Eat Right. Sheridan was Bird #2 and had a speaking part. Of course, she was fabulous! It is amazing what 7 year olds can do! There were also a few of my Brownies in the play!
- Toy Story Mania
As an annual Disneyland Pass holder, I am privy to some perks. I entered a drawing to be one of the first guests to preview the new Toy Story Mania attraction and I won! The ride doesn't open to the public until next week but today was the day we were told to go from 10-3 pm. I took the kids and it was a blast! It is virtual carnival games. Totally fun! We went on it twice. It was also Sheridan's first time on the Indiana Jones ride. She was finally tall enough! Chasen and Sheridan had their maiden voyage on the canoes. BTW, don't sit behind Chasen, he is a terrible paddler! I got so wet! It was a bit crowded and now the kids know why we don't go to Disneyland in the summer. We are so spoiled to have passes and go whenever we want!
- Chasen's 10th Birthday
Chasen turned 10 today and we celebrated with a few of his friends by having a cupcake decorating party!
He invited 8 guests to Clarice's Cake Decorating and Candy store and for their party favors they received red aprons with their names embroidered on it and chef hats.
The kids decorated 6 different cupcakes, filled them with lemon, chocolate, Bavarian cream, Hershey Kisses, mini marshmallows and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They learned how to make grass, faces and baseballs as well as spaghetti and meatballs and caramel apple cupcakes.
Chasen received a lot of baseball cards to add to his collection and gift cards to Sport Chalet, Big 5 and Target. I'm sure he will be able to do some damage with those!
- Fort Tejon
Chasen and I went with his 4th grade class up to Ft. Tejon for an overnight trip. The students were soldiers from 1850. They wore uniforms from the time period, had actual solider names from Ft Tejon and went on 5 different rotations: blacksmithing, kitchen, adobe brick making, laundry & candle making and carpentry. I was a blacksmith with 3 other parents; Larry Bernstein, Andy Pabalan and Betty O'Grady. When the soldiers went to bed, the adults sat around the campfire while Pete Brosnan played the guitar and sang. It was amazing how many stars were out...just beautiful!
The soldiers made soup and butter for the bread for dinner and apple cobbler for dessert. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee and hot chocolate.
Tuesday, the soldiers pulled a cannon to the field and the parents got to shoot it off. Then we had a Tug 'o War. The kids learned a lot and were very tired.
- Sound of Music Sing-a-long
Opening night of the Collins Summer Backyard Movie Series included a viewing of the Sound of Music. Everyone brought a picnic dinner and a dessert to share. I made Bavarian Apple Strudel. Some came dressed in costume (Anastasia and her daughter, Alexandra, were brown paper packages and Nancy and Shannon were Austrians) and we had a Sound of Music quiz. I proudly displayed the Austrian flag on the fence and in the floral arrangements of red roses and Snow Mountain foliage. Anastasia and I were the only ones to last to the end of the movie!
- Locks of Love
In January, Sheridan told me she wanted short hair. We have been growing her hair long since she was born with trims a few times a year. I said why don't we wait until May, right before Swim Team starts and then you can donate your hair to Locks of Love. She loved the idea! So, here it is, the 1st day of swim team practice! My stylist, Dawn at J Sisters Salon in Newhall, did the honors. The total length of Sheridan's hair is 20" (down to her waist) and she got 11" cut off! Dawn gave her a great blunt cut and Sheridan loves it! She said that she wants to grow her hair for Locks of Love again! What a sweetie!
- Dodger Game & Steve Garvey
I received an email from the Dodgers on Wednesday that they were selling Field level seats for $20. (they are usually $50) I used to sit in the field level for 25 years above the Dodger dugout until my dad's accountant died (he was the season ticket holder) so we have been subject to buy tix in the Reserve level :( In the second inning, they announced that Steve Garvey was on the Club level signing his new book "My Bat Boy Days". Matthew, Sheridan and I headed up there and bought a new baseball for him to sign as well. He was one of my favorite Dodgers (next to Steve Sax!) and it was a thrill to meet him. While we were also in line, we saw Jerry Royce walk by (he was a Dodger pitcher in the 80's as well) Dodgers lost 4-0 on Brad Penny's birthday (he was the starting pitcher) Thank goodness for email!
- Croquet & Tea
Belinda and Suzanne invited the tea girls to a game of croquet and tea. They served tea and Tea Garden scones and Suzanne's homemade biscuits. Unfortunately, the weather was very uncooperative. Instead of playing croquet, we had a quiz game about croquet! We were divided up into groups as Belinda and Suzanne asked us question about the history and rules of croquet. Sandy and I came in second with Lissa and Marina taking home the prize of Suzanne's homemade apricot and plum preserves.
Tea was served in the living room with Lettuces wedge with fresh fruit and Poppy Seed Dressing, Apple, Goat cheese and Walnut sandwiches, Pesto Tart with bread, and an assortment of yummies.
- Brownie End of Year Party
Troop 118 had their last meeting at the Grandview Pool. I gave out Year pins and a DVD of the past year. Afterwards, the girls took a dip in the pool. Katie was upset to hear that the next meeting is in August!
- Women in History
Every May, Helmers Elementary School celebrates famous women in history with an assembly of Helmers moms, students and teachers performing life accounts of 6 different women. The 6 women portrayed were Gudrid the Viking Explorer, Abigail Burgess Grant, Coco Chanel, Joan of Arc, Louisa May Alcott and Ella Fitzgerald. The assemblies took place over 2 days with 8 separate performances in front of 1000 students each day. For my first acting job, I portrayed Gudrid the Viking Explorer and I even had to sing! I had a lot of fun!!! All of the actresses did a fabulous job. I even had a student come up to me and ask "how did you get here?" I told him through the time machine but I was headed back tonight. I guess I gave a convincing performance. :)
- Mother's Day
Today we celebrated the greatest job in the world! I received gifts from my babies...flowers, cards, letters and a key ring. Chasen had his first attempt at making pancakes. He used a little too much batter. He made GIANT pancakes! In the afternoon, we went to my mom's house. I gave her a necklace with matching earrings. Debbie and all of her girls were there and it was the first time my kids got to meet their new cousin. Josie is now 6 1/2 weeks old. We enjoyed eating Chi Chi's for dinner.
- La Brea Tar Pits
50 members of Cub Scout Pack 66 (scouts, siblings and parents) had an overnight trip to the La Brea Tar Pits along with 2 other packs from around the southland. Before the doors opened, Chasen was racing down a big grassy hill and fell and hurt both of his knees. Brilliant! First, the boys enjoyed a scavenger hunt around the museum, then we ventured outside to view the tar pits and an excavation site. Next, we went back inside for a snack and Goo making. Before bedtime, the kids enjoyed a game of hide-and-seek. Chasen and his friend John did a little late night touring through the museum after lights out. (naughty, naughty!) In the morning, the museum staff served us breakfast of cereal and mini-donuts. Chasen and I went outside to re-discover the tar pits and some wonderful sculptures of short-nosed bears and ground sloths. We headed home to take Sheridan to a 9:00am birthday party and attend the Swim Team Pancake Breakfast.
- Sheridan's Butterflies
Sheridan received a butterfly habitat from the Easter Bunny so we sent away for live caterpillars. We received these teeny, tiny caterpillars in their own self container, complete with food and watched them grow for about 2 weeks. They grew from microscopic caterpillars to about 1.5". One by one they spun their own chysalises and stayed there for about a week or so. Sheridan watched them intently until one morning, we saw our first butterfly! 2 more came that same day and 2 the next. Sheridan saw the last one emerge from it's cocoon! We fed them sugar water on fresh flowers for 4 days and then today we released them! Sheridan is ready to raise some more. Maybe we will try frogs next! :)
- Santa Barbara Zoo Snooze
Troop 118 spent their hard earned cookie sale $$ and took a trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo to participate in the overnight program, Zoo Snooze. We arrived at the zoo Friday night to have Jessica and Hilary greet us. They were wonderful! They kept the girls busy with footprint rubbings and molds, owl pellet dissection, trip to the creepy, crawly house to meet lizards and snakes, took a trust walk in the dark by ourselves and late night snacks for the giraffes. We even celebrated Abby's 7th birthday with cupcakes and birthday hats.
We woke up before 7 am to pack our cars and then met an oppossum named Wilbur, visited the zoo hospital, animal food kitchen, decorated tubes with grapes to feed the lemurs, received our Conservation Awards and went into the elephant yard to leave food "presents" ALL over the yard for them. The zoo served us pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage for breakfast. We ended our trip with a ride on the zoo train. It was cookie money VERY well spent! Good job girls!
- Brownilympics
WOW! What a fun, fun girl scout event we attended! Our team (troop) dressed in matching tanks and head scarfs with the theme BFF- Brownie Friends Forever. Olympic Gold Medalist, Sherri Howard, gave the girls a pep talk during the opening ceremonies. We marched in the opening parade, had a torch relay and competed in individual and team sports such as obstacle course and inner tube relay. Every one in our troop EARNED their medals by placing in all of the events! I am SO proud of our girls!
- Becoming Jane Tea
My latest Jane Austen Tea was full of highs and lows. First the lows- the DVD player kept freezing (about 7 times) and it was impossible to view the last part of the movie. I had to "describe" the ending :( My phone also rang about 7 times as well! The highs- 4 of us broke out into song singing Eidelweiss at the tea table. After inviting Anastasia to tea the last 5 months she was FINALLY able to join us. Belinda brought a friend visiting from out of town, and all my friends love me despite everything not being perfect! I have the best friends EVER!
I served Black & Blue sandwiches (roast beef with bleu cheese spread), Smoked Turkey and Brie on baguette, green salad with mandarin oranges, gorgonzola and candied walnuts, Lemon Squares, Brownies, Madelains, and Fruit tarts all with Raspberry Lemonade. We enjoyed Rose Tree Cottage tea and Cherry Cardamon scones with Devon Cream during the movie.
- Dodger Stadium
The Los Angeles Dodgers are celebrating 50 years in LA. My grandfather shot 8mm film of the stadium being built. You could say that my Dodger roots started long before I was born. I have been going to Dodgers games regularly for the last 35 years I was at Game 1 of the 1988 World Series when Kirk Gibson hit the game winning homerun. My dad wanted to leave early and beat the traffic, so we heard about the homerun from the parking lot. I'm so glad I can share Dodger memories with my children. They have been members of the Blue Crew since they were babies. Of course, feeding them the whole time we're there helps a lot! It was Jackie Robinson night and the kids received Jackie Robinson t-shirts. Also, as Blue Crew Fan members, they got Russell Martin Batting Practice jerseys.
- Malibu- Spring Break Day 6
It was girl's day out at the beach today. Michael took the boys on a real estate appraising field trip (he took them on appointments) while Sheridan and I headed to Malibu. We thought we would escape the heat of the Valley but when we got there, it was 90 degrees! Sheridan spent 2 hours in the water and had fun with all of Mommy's attention!
- Wicked Bowling- Spring Break Day 5
Today, we went bowling in the early afternoon, I finished painting the bench in the backyard and in the evening, I took the kids to "Behind the Emerald Curtain". On Friday nights at the Pantages Theater, they give a behind the scenes look at the production of "Wicked". I have seen Wicked 3 times and the kids have seen it twice. The lobby turns into a mini museum and 2 cast members tell us about how they got involved in the production and more tidbits. It was very fun and informative!
- Spring Break- Day 4
We stayed in town today! We saw the movie Horton Hears a Who, ate lunch at Johnny Rockets and had ice cream at Baskin Robbins. The kids didn't feel like going to Paint-A-Dream so I did some prep work for some painting of my own. I started scraping off old paint on the backyard bench so it will look nice for my tea party next Friday. Please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this picture. I'd love to hear from you! :)
- Long Beach Aquarium & Queen Mary- Spring Break Day 3
Another long day on the freeway...we headed south to Long Beach to the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary. We took a "Behind the Scenes" tour at the aquarium and met some of the volunteer divers who feed the fish daily and the kids tried to recruit me! Sheridan liked the touch tanks while Chasen made some new feathered friends in the Lorikeet Forest. When we went to the Queen Mary, we took the "Ghosts & Legends" tour. It freaked Matthew out! It was extremely dark and spooky. The kids enjoyed running on the deck of the ship which we found out is twice as big as the Titanic! Matt was pretty tired, so we didn't get a chance to visit the Russian sub. But, we did manage to try on some Russian hats! Tomorrow- "Horton Hears a Who" movie, Johnny Rockets and Paint-A-Dream.
- Knott's Berry Farm- Spring Break Day 2
I started my day by weighing in at Jenny Craig-don't ask!. Then, Sheridan had a 9:00 appt with Dr. B to check her new palatal expander. Finally we were off to Knott's Berry Farm. I had not been there since I was 13 years old. The kids had a great time panning for gold and seeing the Wild West show. It's always hard to balance everyone's "likes". Chasen wants to ride roller coasters all day while Sheridan is perfectly happy in Camp Snoopy. After we got home, I had 10 minutes to make it to the polls to vote for my friend, Laurie Ender, for City Council. Tomorrow--Long Beach Aquarium and Queen Mary.
- Spring Break- Day 1
I have activities planned for me and my kids every day this week during their Spring Break from school. Today, I had to make some minor changes to our itinerary. My dentist, Dr. Myers is moving up north and had to seat my crown before he leaves on Thurs. His office is in Burbank so all of our activities revolved around that location. First, we went to Travel Town in Griffith Park to check out the trains. We have never been before and the kids had fun climbing into all of the trains. Next, we headed to Martino's Bakery for some tea cakes to take home. Lunch was at Bob's Big Boy on Riverside Drive down the street from NBC studios. We made my 2:00 appointment in plenty of time. I received my crown and said goodbye to Dr. Myers. Next, it was a quick trip to Krispy Kreme donuts for a dozen for breakfast tomorrow. Lastly, I finally convinced Matt to get a haircut. Tomorrow--Knott's Berry Farm!
- Gala del Sol
I attended a black tie charity event for Camp del Corazon held at the Globe Theater at Universal Studios. My friend, Jan Emamian, ( I have known her since high school), has a daughter with a congenital heart defect and attends this camp and others like her free of charge every year. They have a camp in Malibu, Catalina Island and they even went skiing in Mammoth this winter. The camps are fully staffed with doctors, nurses and counselors who volunteer their time. They had a silent auction (I donated a puppy party) and a live auction. The honored guest was Mike Paseornek, the head of Lionsgate studios, whos daughter had a heart transplant by the camp's founding heart doctor, Kevin Shannon. The evening was hosted by McKenzie Westmore (Sheridan Crane of daytime soap opera Passions), and actor Tom Arnold.
- Ballet Class
Sheridan has been taking dance lessons at Dance Studio 84 since she was 2 1/2 years old. Up until December, she has been in a combination tap and ballet class. Now, she is in a formal ballet class that will perform in the Nutcracker in December. Parents are invited to observe the class the 1st day of the month. Her teacher, Miss Wendy, was a professional ballerina. Unfortunately, Sheridan was not in the best of moods on this day.
- Jazzy Luncheon
Chasen's 4th grade class was invited to make lunch for parents, school VIPs and local firefighters. The Santa Clarita Valley School Food Agency serves 30,000 lunches a day to local students. The luncheon was held at their facility in the Industrial Center. The class chose a "Jazz" theme and they made 3 kinds of pizza, vegetable kabobs, fruit kebobs, salad and rice krispy treats with chocolate dipped strawberries. Chasen was a greeter and lead the Pledge of Alligence. The children also made the colorful placemats. Only 14 classes are invited a year out of the entire valley to participate in this program.
- Rapunzel
A few scout families from Brownie Troops 118 and 900 spent a Saturday morning at the Glendale Centre Theatre to see the children's production of Rapunzel. The families enjoyed a show full of laughs and audience participation. After the show, the audience was able to be autograph hounds and get pictures with the cast.
- Josie Grace
I have a new niece! She was born March 27. My sister, Debbie, had her by emergency C-section at 12:30 in the afternoon. She had a blood clot in her uterus and the baby swallowed a fair amount of blood. Debbie's body temp dropped to 93 degrees and had an allergic reaction to the Morphine. She has pressure cuffs on her ankles to prevent more clots. Mother and baby are doing fine now. The baby, Josephine Grace, is named after my mom's mother. We will be calling her Josie.
- Happy Easter!
Friday night, I took Sheridan to the mall to see the Easter Bunny for some very quick pics (the staff photographer offered me a job). Saturday, we went to Grandma's to dye a few eggs before heading off to the Clipper basketball game. Easter morn, the kids woke up at the approved time of 7am and proceeded to dig through their Easter baskets and hunt for eggs. The family spent the afternoon at Grandma's eating lunch, playing and staring at Debbie's very pregnant belly!
- Sounds of Music
Lori Smith, a fabulous Troop 118 parent, lead the troop meeting so the girls could earn their Sounds of Music try-it. They made 4 different types of instruments- water bottle, maracas, wind chime and string can. The girls performed "Mary had a Little Lamb" for the parents at the end of the meeting.
- New Orthodontic Patient
Sheridan is unfortunate to have our family's trademark mouth- small jaw and big teeth. She had to loose 2 baby teeth for just one adult tooth so that means a trip to Dr. Barbakow. She officially became a patient (after being an "assistant" for her brothers). She had formal x-rays, molds and was fitted for a palatal expander. She was not a compliant patient but after everything was done, she received movie passes and that seemed to make her much happier!
- Pasadena Symphony
Chasen and I had the oppurtunity to attend a concert of the Pasadena Symphony. Chasen's 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Candib, offered her students free tickets to attend the concert of 3 Mozart Piano Concertos. Chasen and I went to the lecture prior to the concert. It was a very nice date night together.
- Blue & Gold
Chasen became an official Weblos II with the Arrow Patrol on Friday night. It was a Glitz and Glitter theme with Cub Master Peterson dressing up as a 1940's movie director and then changing into tails for the awards ceremony. The bridging ceremony is always so emotional. Chasen won a movie poster door prize of "The Greatest Game Ever Played".
- Lucky Tea
When I planned this tea, I didn't know how lucky we would actually be. The "founder" of our tea group, Natalie Kirschner, moved to Texas last year and made a journey out to California for Spring Break. Luckily, she was able to attend our tea and catch up with friends! I served Elderflower Cordial with strawberries, Smoked Sausage & Potato quiche, Rose Tree Cottage scones with clotted cream and Jane Austen tea. We played a game of Pride & Prejudice on my new game board. We are all ready for a re-match!
- Gardening Tea at Suzie's
What a gorgeous day to welcome Spring! Suzie had the "girls" over for a lovely Gardening Tea. She made yummy homemade scones and delicious tea. We then made our way out to the patio where she had everything we could possibly need to make beautiful color bowls to take home. We ventured back inside for a lovely lunch with chicken salad, egg and roast beef with bleu cheese sandwiches, fresh fruit and salad. The precious favors were a pink handled trowel, flower seeds, garden gloves and a Easter egg flower pick to put in our new flower bowls. Thanks Suzie! :)
- Brownie Cookie Boothing
Troop 118 boothed for one day at WalMart on Copperhill. They sold 87 boxes of cookies in 2 1/2 hours!
- Valentine Tea at Lissa's
Lissa hosted a beautiful tea at her home today. We watched to movie Emma with Gweneth Paltrow, ate scones, cinnamon buns and drank tea. For lunch we had cucumber, turkey and egg salad sandwiches. We celebrated Suzanne's birthday with tiny heart cupacakes, brownies and sugar cookies.
- Hannah Montana Movie
It was a "Girl's Night" for Sheridan and I to go see the Hannah Montana Movie at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The movie was so much fun and I couldn't believe my 7 year old was screaming for the Jonas Brothers! We had dinner at the counter at Johnny Rockets after the show.
- Flat Stacie
Brownie Troop #118 is exchanging "Flat Stacie's" with a Daisy troop in Kentucky as part of a "Thinking Day" event. The girls decorated large paper dolls to look like themselves and then we are sending them to have their picture taken at a council event in Kentucky on Feb. 22. In turn, the Daisy troop will be sending us Flat Stacies for us to take pictures of with our troop and send back to Kentucky.
- Valencia High Cheer Clinic
Sheridan just loves going to cheer clinic at Valencia High. The girls are given a cheer t-shirt, face painting and have their picture taken with the cheerleaders. They are broken down into groups by school grade. The 1st graders were great!
- Bridget Jones's Diary
Today we celebrated modern day Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. I just adore my girlfriends and hearing them laugh together is just the best! During the movie, we enjoyed chocolate chip scones from The Tea Gardens and Jane Austen Tea from Bath, England. I served Pecan Chicken Salad for lunch and chocolate fondue for dessert! The party favors were a keychain of Colin Firth as "Mr. Darcy" in Pride & Prejudice.
- Santa Barbara Butterflies & Zoo
It was one of those picture perfect days in Southern California. Sunny skies, 72 degrees, no wind and spending time at the beach...Perfect. And it's the middle of January!! A few members of Troop 118 joined Junior Troop 408 to visit the Coronado Butterfly Preserve. It is the winter home of the Monarch Butterflies. We saw them clustered together in the trees and then took a walk down to the beach to explore some tidepools.Then it was back up the hill to play a game of Butterfly Bingo and share a giant chocolate chip cookie. After we left the scouts, I took the kids to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Much to our shock, our beloved crooked-neck giraffe had died 11 days earlier. It wasn't the same looking at the giraffe exhibit.
- Girl Scout Cookie Rally
Saturday is the official start of Girl Scout Cookie season and tonight the girls kicked it off in style. Cadettes hosted a Cookie Rally with a Hollywood flair! Scouts were asked to bring a box of Mac n" Cheese for admission and they were greeted by reporters on the red carpet asking them what their favorite cookie was. Candy girls offered treats along with popcorn. The girls learned some tricks of the trade through the play and got to sample the cookies. There are 2 new flavors...Sugar-free Chocolate Chip and Lemon Creme Chalet. Both are very yummy! Please call Sheridan to place your order! :)
- Happy New Year!
The family went to Grandma's house on New Year's Eve to celebrate. We had Chinese food from The Grand Panda and played poker and the board game "Are you smarter than a 5th Grader?" and apparently, Donna is! We turned on CNN to watch Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin and celebrated with the New Yorkers. We all wore festive hats and blew our horns at 9:00, I mean midnight!
- Skating with the Brownies
A few members of Troop 118 went to the Ice Station for some frosty fun! We had a short lesson with Mrs. Jordan, leader of the Junior troop we helped at the marathon. We also took a break upstairs by drinking hot chocolate and Icees.
- Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve we found ourselves at Grandma's house for the traditional meal of Honeybaked ham, baked beans, scalloped potatoes and rolls. We drew numbers this year to open our presents so we could savor and see everyone's gifts and that lasted about 4 rounds. Matthew loved his "Psych" package from Mom and Dad, Chasen loved his new baseball bat and Sheridan loved her new Barbie car. Kate, a newly licensed driver, received a Dooney and Burke purse and Rachel loved her animal magnets. More gifts from Santa on Christmas morning!
- Visit with Santa
We made our anuual pilgrimage to visit Santa at the mall. Chasen asked for a Wii and Sheridan asked for a Barbie Dream House. Mom put in a good word for Matthew whom wants a cell phone.
- Brownie Holiday Party
Troop 118 celebrated the holidays with a party. The scouts have been exchanging gifts for the last 2 weeks with their secret sisiters and today they were revealed! The girls enjoyed ice cream sundaes and sugar cookies for snack and played a "white elephant" game.
- Holiday Merriment
We invited a few of the kid's friends over for some "holiday merriment". We had pizza, decorated cookies, drank hot chocolate and watched the movie "Elf". I did some holiday face painting on a few of the kids. The guests went home with a box of decorated cookies and a cookie ornament.
- Pride & Prejudice Tea
I had the honor of hosting another Tea and a Movie for my friends. I served Rose Tree cottage scones with "Jane Austen" tea from Bath, England. After the movie, we enjoyed tea sandwiches from The Tea Gardens and I baked White Chocolate Peppermint scones with Candy Cane Cream, Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch, Snowflake Truffles and Brownies. I gave my girlfriends a copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice wrapped in brown paper (no tape!), vintage seam binding and a sprig of douglas fir. We all had a wonderful time sharing in this experience. I can't wait until next time!
- Ice Skating
It was a day full of ice skating. First, Sheridan was invited to her friend, Jackie's 7th birthday party at the Ice Staton. We haven't been on the ice in about 8 months. It was a small group but we had so much fun on the little pond. Her party ended at 3:00. I was back at the ice rink at 4:30 with Chasen for his Cub Scout Holiday party with the whole pack. The scouts donated toys for charity and brought a treat to share with everyone. Of course there was yummy hot chocolate to go with it!
- Dance Studio 84 Holiday Show
This is Sheridan's 5th year performing in this holiday show. Her class danced to Hannah Montana's "Who Said". It was a big hit! Enjoy viewing the rest of the cuties!
- Build-A-Bear Chairty Event
Our Girl Scout Service Unit offerred a service project to stuff and donate a bear to charity. Who could pass that up? Of, course Sheridan had to get a little something for herself! :)
- Brownie Sleepover
Troop 118 had their first oppurtunity to have an official Girl Scout Sleepover. Cadette Troop 507 hosted "Playing around the World" at the Christ Lutheran Church. The girls sangs lots of songs, played games and made crafts. They even had a lovely "Leader's Lounge" complete with chocolate fountain, Starbuck's coffee and a movie. The girls had a lot of fun but it sure was tough making themselves stay up until 11:00!
- Hart Fall Baseball 2007
This was Michael and Chasen's first time in Hart Baseball. It is a National ranked baseball organization (a bit more competitive than Park & Rec!) It was a wonderful learning experience for all. Chasen was 3rd string pitcher and found a new position as catcher. Chasen will continue into the Spring and Michael will not be a Manager but he will be an assistant coach since it requires 2 practices, 2 games and batting practice each week.
- Thanksgiving
We piled the kids in the car and headed to Mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner-5 miles away. Chasen and Sheridan made a Happy Thanksgiving sign and taped it together. Sheridan and Rachel danced, Matthew played PlayStation, Chasen bounced off the walls, as usual. Kate made a yummy Dutch apple pie and we took our annual photos for the Christmas cards.
- Sheridan's 7th Birthday Party
Since Sheridan just adores animals, we decided to have a horse party to celebrate her 7th birthday. The theme colors were pink and purple (her faves!) and Lucky #7. Everyone rode a horse for an hour at Don-E-Brook Farms, had lunch from Stonefire Grill and stuffed their own horses to take home. Each family also took home a horseshoe to hang in their room for good luck. Chasen and Sheridan both would like to take riding lessons. I can hear the money emptying out of my pocket as I write!
- The Blue & The Gray
We went to the largest Civil War re-enactment and encampment on the West Coast in Moorpark. We saw sewing and weapon demonstrations, met President Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. There was a debate between the 2 presidents, Lincoln and Davis with questions from the press and audience.We witnessed the bloodiest battle of the war-the Battle of Antietam. It took place for over 10 hours on Sept. 17,1862. Sheridan declared she was going to be a solider next year.
- Hart Baseball
Hart Baseball is not like Park & Rec! We fell as if we entered a Major League training camp!
- Sense & Sensibility
At tea one day with a few of my friends, I mentioned that we should dress in Regency period gowns and go to tea. I said, "You know, like Jane Austen!". One friend said "Who?". I couldn't believe my ears! So I am now taking it upon myself to educate my friends about Jane Austen. I have decided to have a tea once a month and show a Jane Austen movie. My first selection is my favorite-Sense and Sensibility. My friends just loved it. My friend, Suzie, even took the DVD home to watch it again. Next month, Pride and Prejudice!
- Valencia High Football Game
Sheridan was part of the cheer squad at the Valencia Vikings football game. She attended the Cheer clinic in October and was eligible to "show her stuff" tonight!
- Santa Paula Oil Museum
Cub Scout Pack 66 went to visit the Santa Paula Oil Museum. It was a 5 part tour including the tour of the original Union Oil building built in 1890. The scouts saw a real oil rig from the early 20th century and had an earthquake demonstration.
- Santa Clarita Marathon
A few members of Troop 118 woke up early Sunday morning to volunteer for the Santa Clarita Marathon. They joined Junior Troop 405 to pass out water and Gatorade to the runners. We were stationed at Mile 10 so we got to see the marathoners and half marathoners. There were over 2250 people running in the Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K. The girls had a wonderful time helping and cheering on the runners. We will definetly be doing this again next year!
- Mad Hatter Tea Party
Troop #118 attended the Mad Hatter Tea Party hosted by Junior Troop #111. The girls decorated Mad Hatter hats, ate butterfly sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes. They closed with the Macarena and friendship circle. The Queen of Hearts presided over the event and no one lost their head. ;)
- Pre-Birthday Celebration at Disneyland
This is becoming an annual tradition-celebrating Sheridan's birthday the day after Halloween at Disneyland. The kids have the day off and it's just Mom, Chasen and Sheridan. We finished with a lovely dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.
- Halloween Festivities
Halloween is our family's favorite holiday! We went to our orthodontist's annual Halloween party and Matthew won 1st place for his Donald Trump costume for age 13 and up and Sheridan won her age division with her Mary Poppins costume. On Halloween, our neighbors, the Arima's, had a pre-trick-or-treat party and served everyone dinner. Donna loves to decorate the house. Her prized purchases for this year were the hitchiking ghosts from Disney's Haunted Mansion. Dressed as Elphaba, the wicked witch of the West, she sits on the porch and passes out candy.
- Cub Scout Pack 66 Halloween Carnival
Annual Halloween pack carnival at Helmers. All the kids wear there costumes and play carnival games. Chasen won a big trick-or-treat bag full of candy by guessing how many were inside.
- Sheridan's Halloween Party at dance class
- Lombardi Ranch-After the Fire
What a difference a week makes! Last Thursday, the kids and I were happily taking our annual photos at the the local pumpkin patch. Who knew 4 days later, it would be destroyed by fire. Lombardi Ranch is open for business, but I overheard an employee say that she doesn't think they will be open after Halloween. I hope that is not the case!
- Valencia High Cheer Clinic
Sheridan had so much fun at cheer camp given by the cheerleaders of Valencia High (where our kids will go to school) Sheridan learned cheers, had her face painted, got a picture with the cheerleaders and performed in front of the parents. She now gets to cheer in front of a High School football game on Nov. 9th. Look for a new album then!
- Lombardi Ranch
For the past 40 Halloweens, my family has made the trip to Lombardi Ranch. It is a vegetable stand just outside of town that we go to buy our pumpkins and fresh corn (Chasen's favorite!) It has grown quite a bit over the years. They have a "train" ride through the sunflower field and a scarecrow contest with $500 grand prize. Kids play on the hay bale pyramid and giant jack-o-lantern. We like to look at the animals-horse, ostrich, turkey, pigs, etc. We bought about 10 pumpkins this year. We will carve about half and leave the rest for Thanksgiving decorations. I can't wait to post the pics for Halloween!
- Girl Scout Bonfire
Tonight was a GIrl Scout Bonfire with about 200 girls. It was our troops' first time at the event and they had so much fun! We wore pink bandanas and exchanged mini pink bandana SWAPs with other troops. There was a animal demonstration with "movie dogs"; Bruiser from Legally Blonde and Paul Anka from Gilmore Girls. We had a cooking demo and made brownies in a box oven and made S'Mores. It ended with a story around the bonfire.
- Spooky Disneyland
We LOVE Disneyland at Halloween time! Chasen and Sheridan had the day off so we celebrated Matthew's birthday as well. It was our first time on the new submarine ride-really great! Matthew wore a Happy Birthday pin and everyone wished him well all day.
- Matthew is 13!!
Our oldest son, Matthew, officially became a teenager today! It was the first year he didn't have a party (tear) but he went up in a helicopter instead. Matthew and Dad took off from Whiteman Airport in Pacoima and as they were taking off, Shawn, Michael's friend drove by. He was going to wash his plane. So as Michael and Matt were up in the helicopter, Donna took Chasen and Sheridan to clean Shawn's plane. Dinner at Red Robin's restraunt with Grandma and a new pair of shoes rounded out the celebration.
- Vegas, Baby!
Michael took the boys to Vegas for the weekend to see his brother, Phillip. They saw all the major sites and won a plethera of stuffed animals. They even got to meet Pete Rose!
- Michael Cheats Death
Michael was on his was to an appointment in Ventura via Highway 33. It is a windy road between Frazier Park and Ojai. An oncoming car floated over the yellow line and forced Michael off the road. The other driver did not stop! He went down a 40' vertical cliff and LIVED! He climbed up the moutain to the road and flagged down a passing driver, an off duty EMT. He gave Michael a quick exam and he had only bruised his wrist, knee and small bruise on his back. The EMT then drove him to the Sherriff station in Ojai (32 miles away) and had the car towed back up the hill. Michael had enough sense to take pictures and video of the tow. He was very shaken up but ok. Now we get to go look for a new car!
- Michael's Pirate Adventure
We celebrated Michael's birthday at the Pirate's Dinner Adventure in Buena Park.We were cheering for the Purple pirate, Saxon (he was a little nutty!). Dinner was roasted chicken and beef with ice cream and apple cobbler with chocolate and raspberry puree. Chasen was chosen to go on stage and take the "Pirate Oath". I had a cake made for Michael that we took home to enjoy tomorrow (his "real" birthday!).
- Backyard Movie
We borrowed a 10' screen and projector a few times from a friend this summer and hosted some backyard movie festivals. We showed Shrek, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Singin' in the Rain and a Bug's Life. We toasted marshmallows, made S'Mores and ate a lot of candy bars and popcorn! It was cloudy the night of Singin' in the Rain and then it rained later that night! I had to pay extra for the effects!! While waiting for it to get dark, we had pillow fights and showed family movies. We would like to invest in a system of our own for next year!
- Harry Potter
I took the kids to Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix movie Friday afternoon and then the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book party at Barnes & Noble Friday night. They gave away Gryffindor colored tassel key chains, glow-in-the-dark Harry glasses, sorting hat and had face painting for the kids. If you read any 8 books there that night, you could get a free book. We earned a book about baseball. There was a costume contest and jellybean guess. We left at 10:30 because I had my book delivered the next day.
- Swim Team
This is our 5th season on the Bluefin Swim Team. The kids have so much fun going to practice 4 days a week and the meets on Saturdays. The season just seemed to fly by this year! Does that mean I'm getting old? It is so great to see the kids improve their strokes and accomplish things they never thought they would! We can't wait for next season where Matt is going to be a Junior Coach in Training!
- 4th of July
Chasen and Donna marched in the Santa Clarita parade with Cub Scout Pack 66 in 102 degree heat! Then it was off to Grandma's to cool off in the pool, eat some yummy BBQ and play football. At 9:00, we headed over to our neighbors backyard to watch the fireworks in Stevenson Ranch, the mall and Magic Mountain. The kids are exhausted-not to mention the parents!
- Sound of Music Sing-A-Long
I took Suzie, Belinda & Debbie with me to the Hollywood Bowl to the Sound of Music Sing-A-Long on June 30, 2007. We bought picnic dinners at the Bowl Market and had dinner in our Terrace box. We enjoyed music and yodeling with the opening act, Liesl und Schotzie with Franz. The costume parade was so fun. The winner was a child dressed up as a hand catching a moonbeam. We had so much fun! We are all planning on going again next year and dressing in costume!
- Jethawk Game
The family went to the Jethawk game on free t-shirt night with our scout pack and saw a Blow-out by the Hawks! 16-4. One player hit 4 homeruns! The Jethawks are a Class A farm team of the Boston Red Sox in Lancaster, CA. The kids got to run across the field at the bottom of the 8th inning and they give out lots of foam balls and t-shirts. There are inflatable slides and bouncers in the outfield for the kids and a speed pitch competition. Some scouts stayed to camp in the outfield and watch a movie after the game. It's a great time in the desert!
- Dodger Stadium Tour
This was our first stadium tour in almost 8 years! A lot has happened! We got to go into the press box, Stadium Club, clubhouse, Dugout Club and in the Dodger Dugout! Chasen kept drinking from the dugout drinking fountain. I think he was hoping for some professional ball player magic to enter his body through the fountain! Sheridan even brought her pom pons so she could cheer on the field.! Her cheer was Dodgers-Are- Num-ber-One!
- Verdugo Oaks Cub Scout Camping
Chasen became a Weblos and earned his BB gun belt loop. Mom had her feet sniffed by a bear in the middle of the night!
- Matthew's 6th Grade Graduation
Matthew graduated in the morning and went to the big party at the clubhouse at night. Donna was in charge of all of the decor. It was an American Idol theme with a DJ, red carpet and "swag bags". Very L.A.!
- Disneyland
- Sheridan's Dance Recital
Sheridan performed a tap routine to "California Sun". She was FABULOUS!
- Chasen's 9th Birthday Party
Chasen had a golf party. We had a mini golf tournament in the backyard and the kids won trophies for 1st,2nd and 3rd place. The cupcakes were a big hit!
- Family Golf
Donna, Michael, Matthew and Chasen hit the links at Vista Valencia Golf Course.
- Daisy Girl Scout Tea Party
Last meeting of the year! The girls wore hats made from wrapping paper, tulle and silk flowers. They enjoyed fluffernutter, chocolate hazelnut/peanut butter and turkey sandwiches. Most of them said it was the best part of Daisies!
- Chasen's Baseball
Dodger baseball-Little League Style!
- New Album
- Dancing with the Stars
When I took to kids to the taping of the television show, America's Funniest Videos, little did I know I would receive an invitation from Tom Bergeron to be his guests at Dancing with the Stars! I took my neice, Katherine, and we sat in Tom Bergeron's personal seats. After the show, we were allowed to go to the Green Room to meet the dancers and their families. What a thrill!
- Rose Tree Cottage
Bittersweet good-bye to Natalie Kirschner and the Rose Tree Cottage
- Christmas Tea at the Ritz
Tea at the Ritz Carlton Huntington in Pasadena, Ca
- Sheridan's Pirate Party
November 2006