Merry Christmas '14

Ice skating

Tips

I've never seen 22% before.

Benihana style

Kids were mesmerized at their first Benihana experience.

Buckled up

The books had a tendency to go flying off the car seat so the kids now strap them in. I think the seats were a little too slick. :)

Training for American Ninja Warrior

Poop or pine cone?

Cole picked this up and we were convinced it was some poop but luckily it was a pine cone that was wet.

Side gate fun

The wood in our side gate was starting to break off. It didn't help that the kids would ride their bikes into the slats and even broke off a piece. So I got some quotes to have the wood replaced by a handyman and they ranged from $200 up to $425. A little more than I was expecting so I decided to do it myself with some help.


Here I removed the wood slats, sanded any major rust spots, and then repainted with some spray paint. This is after I taped and covered the area. One piece of advice. If you want to keep your hands and arms clean, wear disposable gloves and a long sleave shirt.


Here's the synthetic fence wood I picked up at Lowes. Hopefully I won't ever have to paint or stain these or replace them for that matter. Our local Home Depot and Lowes carry the same synthetic wood slates but Lowes has this darker color and a red cherry while Home Depot only has the red cherry. My neighbor fortunately has a very nice table saw and even offered to cut the wood while I was at work. All I had to do was let him know the measurements and then pick them up later. Now that's a neighbor.


Here's the finished project. I bought new bolts at Home depot and the kids helped me install the pieces. All I had to do was drill the holes for the bolts.

Cousins 2014

Justin and Caroline came for a visit back in April. So we naturally took them to Butterfly Wonderland since Arizona is known for its butterflies. :) Here the kids are posing before heading into the 3-D movie on Monarch butterflies.


Justin and Caroline showing off their pearly whites.


Lauren and Caroline are trying to pet one of the stingrays. It must have gotten close.


Caroline demonstrating one of her katas.


Justin doing one of his medal winning ones. Okay maybe not but it still looked cool.

World Cup 2030

In honor of Tim Howard's performance in the World Cup today, I thought I'd post about our own little goalie. In Lauren's second attempt at soccer, she took a liking to playing goalie. Maybe it was because she didn't have to run around but overall she was quite good at it. Here you can see her tracking the ball.


Action shot of her making a save.


She was the game MVP. And yes they did get trophies at the end of the season.


Just to be fair so I don't have to hear "It's not fair!" when they are finally old enough to look at this blog, here's a shot of Cole in action. Also note, soccer was back in the spring when the temperature was much cooler.

San Diego 2014

I'm 7 years old today!

This has been the year where I really have gained my independence. I'm now in 1st grade and get to hang out with all the cool older kids, the 2nd and 3rd graders. I traveled to Camp Surf in San Diego with my class for 3 days and 2 nights without my parents. I even got to use my own disposable camera which I pretty much used up on the bus ride there. I took karate for the past year and have learned a multitude of self defense moves. I learned how to ride my bike without training wheels and I still have all my baby teeth. Okay that last one isn't a good example. I'm ready for my adult teeth and all the responsibilities being an adult brings. :)

Top gun at the dentist

I'm 5 years old today!

I'm five years old already. I love playing with my cars and trucks and enjoy doing the bank game at school. I'm just starting to read and sound out words. I love playing soccer especially as a defender. And most importantly, I'm fully potty trained. "Tricked ya!!!" as I like to say. Maybe next year....

Stucco water damage

Our raised wall on the side of our house wasn't sealed properly. As a result, water would damage the stucco and cause it to peel off. The proper fix is to seal the block wall from the inside which unfortunately requires removing the dirt, brushing the wall, sealing the block with tar, and then filling it back again. That is some nice dirt, um I mean rocks.


You can see the rest of our wall and all the rocks. The white stuff on the wall is my attempt to stop the water from the other side which no matter how hard you try, won't work.


Here you can see the nice tar coating on the inside of the wall.

Weekend activities

Did another hike up Telegraph pass. Lauren usually doesn't want to pose for a photo and Cole does but it was the opposite this time around.


Cole is sweeping our grass. I don't think he'll ever get to experience jumping into a leaf pile like you do back East. I found jumping into a pile of leaves as a kid was highly over rated.

Scorpions falling from the sky

I had to change a light bulb tonight in one of our recessed cans and noticed this. Yes that looks like a scorpion.


I wonder how long he's been up there. Of course he was dead.

Tennis fun

Took Lauren and Cole to play some tennis. Lauren's 2nd time and Cole's first.




This might be Cole's last time if he keeps this up. This was his pose when I asked to take a picture of him.

Phoenix central library

After 17 years in Phoenix, we finally visited the Phoenix Central Library.


Lauren wanted to start reading here. Reminds me of undergrad and looking for a place to study.

Girls scout world thinking day

Lauren is getting a braid done.

Happy Valentines Day

Waiting for dinner

The kids are playing Crazy Eights.

Mushroom Kale Pasta

Tried this recipe this past weekend. I substitued real mushrooms for the dry so it required a little adjusting. One piece of advice, make sure your kale is very clean. Despite being washed, we had a little unexpected protein.

Vitamix blender

We replaced our Blendtec blender with a Vitamixer from Costco that we bought during black friday for $350. The problem with the Blendtec was that the jars kept leaking at the seal. We had one jar replaced by Blendtec but the replacement actually locked up. After googling the problem, I found a lot of other folks had the same complaints. I haven't seen the same complaints for vitamix so I thought I'd try that one out. As usual, Costco was great with returning the Blendtec no questions asked. The one problem with the vitamix though is that it doesn't fit under the cabinets. :)

Relaxing at the top

Made it to the top again. 3.6 miles round trip without too much complaining. I think the promise of frozen yogurt helped.

It's official - Lauren can ride a bike

Over the Christmas break, Lauren learned how to ride her bike. She has gotten close in the past but this time she can ride and ride and ride. Here you see her riding around the track at the middle school. Notice she's not riding her bike that she got from Santa. That bike still has yet to be ridden.


Here's Cole following close behind on his new bike. Notice he's trying not to smile for the camera.

Advice for the New Year

One piece of advice for the New Year. If you ever see these little poops anywhere in your house, you have a mouse. I had seen some of these a few weeks or even months earlier and thought they were from a cricket but there were other signs that I missed that should have led me to investigate more. It wasn't until I was searching for a bag in our garage cabinets that I found him or should I say her.


Here she is. I luckily was able to trap her in a box.


She had made a nest in our cabinets. She tore this orange ribbon off of our luggage and used it as part of her nest.


Oh and this is how I could tell he was a she. In case you were wondering we carried them far away from the house and let them go into the preserve.

Cole's turn

Cole made it to the top of telegraph pass. Total hike was 3.7 miles with an elevation gain of 625ft. He can't wait to go up again.