On my 5th Day of Kindergarten....

My mom finally took my picture. Yep that's just how we roll. Everyone takes a picture of their kid on the 1st day of school, why not be a little different. That's my story and Im sticking to it!!

Learning to Share with Cheetos

Is it possible to inherit a love of Cheetos? I used to eat them all the time as a teenager and my kids love them too. Then I find out that Gramma Sparks (my fathers Mother) also loves cheetos. This makes me happy. It may seem like a silly little nothing, but to me it makes me feel just a little bit closer to the ones I love.

I walked into the kitchen and saw this. I quickly grabbed the camera to capture this small moment.

Attack of the Popcorn Popper Monster

Aarrrgghhhh!

Batter Baby

This girl has more in common with me than just those curls. We both love to lick the batter bowl and sneak bites of the bread dough. She heads straight to the kitchen whenever she hears the mixer or bread maker running. She pulls the chair over to the counter, climbs up and sits there till she gets a taste or two or three. ..

Pizza Dough

Banana Muffins

Summer Fun Fridays

We had a lot of fun this past summer. Every friday we tried to get out and have an adventure with Gram-me, Meli and Tristan.

This friday we went to Ford Street Park to feed the ducks and run around a little. Then we finished the day off with a little ice cream from Thrifty's. It was a nice summer day.

The nice thing about going to the park early is that the ducks are actually hungry, so they will swim to you. These are some well fed ducks.

Too Cool!

Want to Hear a Story?

So Im taking a picture of this cute little duck couple when I suddenly see something in the background.....TREVOR!! What is he doing all the way over there? And if that is not enough he is standing on one of the ponds drains. On the backside of these drains are little water slides. We were playing on one earlier taking fun pictures like the one below. Then all of a sudden he jumps down the backside of this drain and disappears from sight. Oh yeah I totally freaked and ran like a crazy lady around the pond only to find......

This little ramp. Crazy Boy!!!

Fun Friday: Lake Arrowhead

This trip is still fresh in my children's memories. How could you forget your first trip to the Belgian Waffle Works. Where you can order waffles topped with ICE CREAM!! Check out these huge platefuls. The kids were in sugar heaven. Or my personal favorite the Benedict Waffle. So Yummy!! Is it summer yet, I'm getting a craving.

Here is Trevor's waffle a la mode.

Liz is in chocolate heaven.

After our tummies were full it's time to feed the ducks. Oh and the fish too.

Then to work off some of that sugar how about a little bowling. This fun friday was extra special since Grandpa was able to join us. With a crowd like this, it was a good thing the place was empty.

Even though the babies couldn't bowl they found other ways to entertain. Love that Tristan.

Fun Friday: Jump Zone

This is a fun place to go on a hot summer day. It's air conditioned and the kids can run like crazy and burn off all their energy.

We are always outnumbered 5 to 3 on our little adventures. It can be fun and a little stressful juggling (literally in this picture) all those kids.

I think this was Cora and Maggie's favorite part. They sat in this little saucer while we spun them around and around.

They have a little toddler section which was perfect for our 3 toddlers.

Shhhh, don't tell anyone. You're not supposed to slide down together, but come on, you have to at least once.

And since the kids spent the last few hours running around we had the brilliant idea to fill them up with some sugar.

Fun Friday: San Bernardino County Museum

We have been to this little museum several times. The nice thing about kids is that they never tire of looking at stuffed animals. But don't forget to head over to the live insect exhibit.

Yeah it's my favorite (note sarcasm).

Does Maggie actually have little chubby cheeks in this picture?

Watch out for baby eating birds. This one almost took off with Tristan.

Who Who is touching my wing?

My Magpie is chillin' with the Magpie Lark.

That is one big steering wheel.

Now wouldn't it be really fun if it actually spun around.

Fun Friday: Children's Museum and Ruby's

Since the kids had such a fun time on their field trips to this place, we thought we we head on over this summer. Again it is nice and cool inside with lots of things to keep the kids entertained.

This is one of Liz's favorite parts of the museum. Well done Liz, another delicious pizza!

Officer Trevor and Cora on duty.

Geesh this kid looks hungry someone get him some food. How about a tasty Ruby's Burger and Chocolate malt to wash it down with.

What better way to start off lunch then with a tall shake and a cup of ice cream.

Preschool Graduation

Preschool this year was tons of fun and very busy. I pulled double duty with Lizzie in the older class and Trevor in the younger one. I learned so much this year and am so grateful to have found such a good program for my children and myself.

This was Lizzie's last year in Preschool. She has matured so much this year and will be very ready for Kindergarten.

Trevor had a good year learning tons and making friends.

Trevor decided to wink at everyone this night.

So he is making this face in almost every picture. Crazy Kid.

A little excited, just a little.

Check It, Check It OUT!

....Not So Idle Hands....

This is a site that I really enjoy visiting. She has lots of great ideas and tutorials. As a matter of fact we will be creating a few at our upcoming Christmas in October Activity. So head on over check it out and enter the giveaway while you're there.

Looth Tooth

This morning Miss Lizz lost her first tooth. She was very excited, then we almost lost it down the sink. Oh my, could you just imagine if that happened. I don't even want to go there. And just last week the purl bee posted this cute tutorial and I had to make one for her little tooth. So sweet and VERY easy to make. The little tooth goes in the tooth pocket, isn't that adorable.

Getting Crafty

So working on this Quietbook Swap has got me feeling all kinds of Crafty. I've been having lots of fun searching through blogs and finding fun little projects to work on. We celebrated my Sweet little niece Ella's Birthday this Sunday and that gave a the perfect opportunity to make this cute "kids flick" purse that I found on the object project. Then I added a sweet little felt flower I found on Craft Leftovers. I think it turned out cute and it was super simple to make. I left the bag of buttons out and Lizzie really wanted me to make something with them so I made a bracelet for both her and Ella. I found the tutorial for the bracelet over at creative kismet. Happy Crafting!

Our Happy 4th of July

We had a busy but great 4th of July. We started the day at the Scout Flag Ceremony and Pancake Breakfast. Todd left early to help cook and I showed up later with the kids. What I didn't know was that he was going to cook the whole time. Thanks to the muffin table and Lizzie the kids all sat in their seats while I waited in line to get the pancakes. After Breakfast we headed over to the Kennelly's for Lunch and Swimming. This year was the first time I was able to get my ENTIRE family in the water HAPPILY!!! No more fear of water, Yay! It was a lot of fun and it kept us nice and cool. Next we headed over to the U of R for the fireworks show. I love going here. We always meet up with a bunch of friends and hangout all night. This year the show was fantastic. It's amazing how with a little less money you can come up with a better show. I think they put more emphasis on why celebrate this wonderful Holiday. The Red White and Blue finale took my breath away, and it just kept going and going, even after the music had stopped and they were offering their thanks to those who helped put on the show. Anyway it was a great day. God Bless America!

Every year they have the parachuters drop down from the sky and land on the track. So Cool. The kids really get a kick out of this.

Here is Trevor busting a move to the Celebrity "look alike" Singer. Not sure who it was though? But it was from the Disco Era so all the kids where getting their groove on.

Yes you are seeing this correctly. That is Lizzie, Isabella and Trevor jumping in the pool unassisted. During swim lessons Lizzie wouldn't jump into the pool unless she was holding the teachers hands. And Trevor would never jump in, he would run away and grab his towel instead. So now swimming has become a fun summer activity for us FINALLY!!

Climbing Rocks

A few weekends ago we headed up to Big Bear (such a pretty drive) with Gwen and Bennett Milloy. Todd's found a new hobby and yep that's right I climbed a rock. I haven't done this since I was back in YW's. It' wasn't pretty but I did it. What surprised me the most was that the kids wanted to try, well at least put on the cool gear. Lizzie made it up farther then Trevor. That was a real shocker.

I was so impressed watching Bennett and Gwen practically run up the rocks. They are some serious "rock stars'. Oh man that was a really cheesy pun, but I couldn't pass it up. Once again Mama Sparks would be so proud.

There's Cora hanging out with Gwen playing with the ipod touch. Why doesn't that surprise me. She's better at that thing than I am.

I've discovered I have a little adventure seeker. She really is a daddy's girl. She was all over the rocks. Her motto seemed to be why follow the trail when you can go through the trees.

Check her out. Mama's so proud.

Yep we even brought the Mag-pie. But what we didn't bring was the baby sling. We could have really used that.

Trevor loved the idea of climbing the rocks. He wasn't however a fan of actually doing it.

Minute Mug Cake

For Father's Day we painted mugs and filled them with the ingredients for a "Minute Chocolate Mug Cake". I think the kids liked it more than their daddy did though. But it's going on my list of quick and easy treats.

Here's how you make one...

Mix in your Mug: 1 egg, 3 Tbs. Milk, 3 Tbs. Oil, a splash of vanilla, 4 Tbs. Flour, 4 Tbs. Sugar, 2 Tbs. Cocoa, and 3 Tbs. Chocolate Chips. Cook in Microwave for about 2.5 minutes, cool slightly, turn out, and enjoy.

Try it out and see how you like it, or experiment and come up with your own creative concoctions. Although I do not suggest doing what Trevor did and add the chicken seasoning that was sitting on the counter. But we did make him a cinnamon vanilla cake since he is not a chocolate fan. 2.5 minutes and I have some happy kids. Love it!

A little sprinkle of powdered sugar and it is ready to eat.