She honked the horn!

We went for free play today at gymnastics and 6 year old Addy climbed to the top of the rope that hangs in the gym!!! To the top! The child has muscles, so unlike her mother. We went to 7 Eleven and got her some sour candy to celebrate. Eww!

Thank goodness for knee pads and helmets!

We had a pretty easy going Veteran's Day. It always drives me nuts that my dad and father-in-law who are Veteran's don't have the day off of work. We hung around and did some housework this morning. It is hard to get laundry and stuff done when I am working so much. The kids and Shawn are really helpful which is great. So we did some catch up. We headed out around 1 pm to eat Subway sandwiches, shop, go to Addy's gymnastics class and hit the skatepark. It was Ty's first time at the skatepark and Cole's 2nd. Ty was about to quit but decided to hang in there and was doing great by the middle of the session. It was fun to watch the kids tonight. Cole and I had a date on Sat. and I took him to the skatepark. He spent half the session walking the ramps and sending the board down by itself. It was hilarious to watch. Finally, he got on his board, made friends and was doing awesome. It was interesting to watch of the process of him figuring out the park.

Fall Adventures with Lewis, Clark, and a Pegasus

Tyler's Mountain Biking Adventures:
Tyler is becoming a great mountain biker! Shawn and Tyler hit the trails at Daley Ranch this weekend. We took the fall off from soccer to be able to try some new sports.

Addy's Made it to Level 2:
Addy is in gymnastics and just advanced to Level 2. I am so excited for her because I would have never passed Level 1 even if I took gymnastics my whole life. Yep, I can't do a cartwheel and my mom likes telling about how she tried to do a wheel barrow race with me when I was a kid. She says I just laid there and couldn't hold myself up. She compares me to a dinosaur with whoosy little floppy arms. Addy is the opposite of me and is amazingly athletic.

Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea... I mean the Pegasus:
Tyler and Cole were the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark respectively, for Halloween. Addy was going to be Sacagawea but changed her mind to become a rainbow pegasus. She assured the boys she'd fly ahead and be their guide for the journey. I made the boys costumes and Shawn and Cole built the cardboard canoe. The boys painted it. We had to strap the canoe on top of our van to get to Trunk or Treat at church. I loved seeing our funny shadow as we drove our cardboard canoe on the road as the sun went down.

Tyler and I carved a dragon pumpkin for Halloween. It was awesome!

Bates, Heise, and Geocaching:
We live by Bates Nut Farm and pumpkin patch. We love heading to Bates after school. We also head to William Heise to camp in Julian. We hit 4 geocaches in Julian with lots of cool junk in them.

Addy's New Threads

I made Addy two skirts and headbands. Grandma Wendy embroidered on some T-shirts to match. We need to paint her nails and she'll be ready to hit the books.

In the sand

We headed to the beach last night. I love going to Carlsbad at Warm Water. It's by the Carlsbad Outlets. We park by the seawall and just through our stuff up on the wall, walk around and find a spot in the sand. Cori showed me the spot and it's great. I don't like lugging the loot too far.

I love summer!

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Summer has flown by! We camped at the beach in June and August, celebrated the 4th on Coronado with friends we love, visited with cousins, celebrated Grandma GG's life (I miss her terribly), headed to Idaho for a family reunion, celebrated Grandma and Grandpa Z's 64th wedding anniversary, has the tooth fairy visit 3 times, found the boy heaven at Smith and Edwards military surplus, Shawn got a 4 wheel drive car of his dreams and got to try it our in ID, and have thoroughly enjoyed our summer. Tyler turned 10 (double digits!), Addy chopped her hair, and Cole saved up to buy a skateboard.

Here Comes Summer

How about a bit of a synopsis of the last couple of months? Addy's Daisy Scout Troop used some of their cookie money to go to Friends2B Made which is a Build a Bear store where you make a doll. The store was closing and I'd never heard of it before. The girls had lots of fun. Addy and I came home and painted our nails silver to match her doll.

We ate lots of peanuts and Crackerjacks at a Padres' game with Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Paul. It is was a beautiful night, the Padres' won, and they had a great fireworks show. It really was a blast.

The Sat. before Memorial Day, we went to Fort Rosecrans and joined hundreds of Scouts to put a flag at each grave. Flags were put 6 inches from the headstone to not cast a shadow and Scouts were to quietly thank each person for their service. It was not a race, but a thoughtful expression of appreciation. We were so glad we took part. We then went to visit Grandpa Bobby's grave and put a flag and metal star. We saw his headstone for the first time. It was a great reminder of what Memorial Day is. Then we ate humungous breakfast burritos which here delish! Good deeds make us hungry.

Today the boys are at Bates for a town wide Yard Sale. I help collect stuff and will go and shop around. I am not a fan of being a Yard Sale seller and Shawn is a good sport about handling that part. We have lots of ideas of how to spend the money... movie tickets, ice skating, toys... The kids like getting a large sum of cash.

We ran away last weekend to Indian Wells for our 13th Anniversary. We took the kids and spent the weekend hanging out at a pool. No laundry or junk to take care of. I finished reading "Last Lecture." What a great book. So inspiring!

I am working on helping close out VC Adult School which is closing it's doors. I have worked there for 5 years. Fortunately, Escondido has asked me to teach more classes for them. In the fall I will work 3 days a week and be off by 1:30 to get the kids from school at 2:15. Just enough time to grab milk etc. and be with the kiddos. I am grateful to have such a great schedule with all of the school cutbacks. Poway has closed the parent ed classes I taught and made lots of cuts. The opportunity to have good steady hours and finish before the kids are out of school is a huge blessing!

Getting Cheap and Creative

I am a big advocate of goals and making plans for your life. I truly understand that challenges come along and plans and goals have to be readjusted. It's just a normal part of life. It happens to everyone. Although it is a pain, opportunities to learn come too. It has been months since Shawn was laid off and I am proud to report, we are still totally fine! We aren't planning a big trip to Hawaii or anything, that may be a couple of years. The truth is, we are having lots of fun still and are hopeful. There are moments we are down and feel crummy. We have tried to use that energy to find solutions rather than wallow.

Creative solutions are key. I have a lot to learn still but here are a few things I've learned...

• Walmart has iron on patches in different colors. When patched from the inside, jeans look pretty cool.
• Allowance saves the day! We have made an agreement with the kids. If they clean their rooms and feed the animals they earn a couple of bucks a week. I automatically enter the money in Excel in the "Bank of Mom." The kids withdraw money from a pencil box for candy, the book fair, toys, movies... I then withdraw the money from the "bank" in Excel. The kids don't go without things I might say no to and the kids learn to choose wisely because it is their money.
• Marketable skills = food on the table. Learn a variety of marketable and useful skills. This has saved us. We are currently adding to our skills. I am taking an class to learn about online marketing this week. Shawn is in a 10 week course for ESRI arcgis certification. He is also finishing up his MCSE certification.
  
• It is great to have a trailer or motorhome. In case of a fire or if we want to rent our house out- we can at least have a roof.
• How can you afford a pedicure? Well, it just looks like I went to the spa. I got fancy nail stickers at the drug store and I put them on my toes after I painted them. Then I did a top clear coat. I learned that from Shannon.
  
• Library- Movies and books can be requested online from the local library. You receive an e-mail when they arrive and you pick them up at the local branch. Brand new movies take awhile because so many people request them. You can request a lot of items so you'll get something. Ask your librarian for a login ID.
• Less is more. Less junk around the house looks good, even stylish. I don't even go into stores unless I need something otherwise I'll probably buy stuff. I don't need to spend the money and I don't need the junk.
• Bean and cheese burritos with enchilada sauce are delish. Kate gave me a great recipe. We eat it almost every week. It is so inexpensive and it the kids' favorite.
• Sell extra junk on craigslist. If you post it cash will come.
• Geocaching is fun and free, except for the gas you spend driving around.
  
• A garden and fruit trees are must haves. I can give gifts from my garden and feed my family. We are thinking of seriously expanding the garden beds.
  
• Not having credit card debt is liberating, the stuff isn't worth it. Now if the car breaks down, that's another story.
• Best friends call when they see a sale on stuff you buy. I love it when friends tell me about good deals!
  
• The best dates are the cheap ones. Shawn and I just rode our bikes 13 miles from Carlsbad to Encinitas. Then we got carne asada burritos and watched the sun go down on a bench at the beach. It was fabulous!

What are your best tips?

Spring on Woods Valley

Do you love craigslist? The fountain is a fabulous craigslist find as well as the vintage style metal chairs and dining table. We re-used adobe brick from the property and are still looking for fabulous treasures to add to our back yard. I picture some fabulous outdoor lighting including a chandelier to top it off. The wrought iron chairs are from Matilda's Mouse and oh so comfy! We still need a top for the arbor but we are plugging away.

My sister, Lolo, gave me some suggestions for the back yard when she was here from WA on vacation earlier this year. We have been using her suggestions and working on the back yard. It has a ways to go but we have made some improvements. It is nice enough that I hang out in the back garden to read or have a break. I am posting some pics from my garden and flowers.

I could use a manicure because my nails constantly have dirt under them. I love digging in the dirt. Mostly I am weeding but it is therapeutic. I can take out frustrations on icky old weeds.