Kitties Part II

I never expected to become attached to a feline, let alone 5 of them! But here they are and here they will stay until either we move away or another neighbor takes over feeding them. As the evening cools, the kitties all come out from the shade of the bushes, ready to eat and snuggle.

Even Austin who is not really an animal person has enjoyed having them around. Holding them is very soothing as long as he can immediately use a lint roller to remove every last strand of hair from his clothes.

This is Dolly. She started out as one of our favorites until she went through a moody spell. Now she has been bumped down the favorite cat lineup, being replaced by Princess and Scout . This is Scout. For a long time Austin and I tried to think of the perfect name for her. We didn't want anything too girlie. We came up with Scout at the same time. I was thinking of the young girl in "To Kill a Mocking Bird" and he was thinking of a military sniper scout sneaking through the bushes. Whatever, it works for us both.

Kitties

When we moved to our current neighborhood almost two years ago, one of the first things we noticed was that our street was over-run with cats. They all belonged to the neighbor next door but they seemed to have free reign and made themselves at home in all the neighbors yards. I never gave much thought to them other than the annoyance I felt when I discovered my yard is part litter box. A couple of months ago the neighbor who owns the cats lost her home and had to move out quickly. She was unable to find homes for her kitties and so she decided to abandon them and leave them in the neighborhood to fend for themselves. The animal lover in me refused to let them starve and couldn't bare to call the humane society. Now every evening the Kitty Club meets in our driveway for their evening meal and play time. There are five beautiful cats with very distinct looks and personalities and each of us has our favorite.My personal favorite is Princess (named by Amanda). She is the chunkiest, fluffiest, sweetest kitty in the bunch. She just can't get enough lovin' and we can't seem to keep our hands off her.

She is such a purr-ty cat and I don't know that we will be able to leave this house without her.

I held her like a baby for half an hour the other day and she was in heaven.

I never thought I would become a "catwoman". You never know what is going to drift into your life.

Cell Phone Photography

Amanda is now a professional photographer...self-portrait photographer, that is. She has mastered the art of holding out her cell phone, pointing towards herself and taking some pretty cute pictures. Sometimes she includes her best friend Kaitlyn, her sister Lauren and every once in a while, me. Here are a few she snapped today on her "monochrome" setting.

Corona Del Mar

About a week and a half ago one of my forever friends, Leah, was out visiting from Utah and we all decided to hang out at the beach for the day. It was a bit windy and cold but we still had a great time.

I didn't go in the water but the kids did and they said it was warmer than our pool. I kinda doubt that!

Whenever we are at the beach Austin and Lauren love to dig huge holes. This hole came up to Austin's chest and he needed a little help to get out of it! They wanted to dig until they hit water and they actually did.

Somehow, I got lazy and didn't get a picture of Leah but I did snap one of my girls with her daughter Marissa. Marissa looks so much like Leah when she was a kid, it's scary! The girls had a great time together even though they haven't seen each other in many years.

Family Gathering

Last weekend we had a family get together while Aaron's Dad was visiting from Hawaii. We had a great time enjoying each other's company, BBQing and swimming. Hope to have more of these in the future!

She's Got Skills

Today I had so much fun teaching Lauren how to sew and she had just as much fun learning! She started out watching me turn pants into shorts, then before I knew it she'd learned how to thread the machine, fill the bobbins with thread and attach the bobbins underneath. She practiced sewing straight lines on an old shirt and then once she was confident we decided to make a sleeping bag for her special stuffed animal (AKA "Dog Dog"). The sleeping bag turned out perfectly and Dog Dog is sleeping comfortably in his new bed. Lauren, on the other hand can't wait to get back to work. Oh, the things you can create with a sewing machine!

Manda's New Bag

I'm not much of a crafty person but tonight I made Manda a designer bag out of an old pair of jeans and a pillowcase. Ok, it's not so designer but she's pretty happy with it.

Not a Perfect Picture...

...but sweet.

Pesky Little Sister

Need I say more???

Moving On

Today was a big day for Amanda. She had her 6th Grade Promotion! She's been looking forward to this day for years. She's always had the idea that real life starts in Jr. High. Hope it lives up to her expectations!

Twins!

Yesterday Amanda and her best friend Kaitlyn dressed up for the "twins day" being held at school. Kaitlyn's mom took them shopping at Ross where they found these matching tops and headbands. They looked so striking and were very proud of their outfits.

There is never an ounce of drama between these two, which is a rare thing in the sixth grade. Kaitlyn is a little on the shy side but when she and Amanda are together it's constant laughter and silliness. I think this is a friendship that may be around awhile!

Airfest 2010

My kids are obsessed with the military. Well, two of them anyway. I think Austin knows the name of every flying and shooting machine ever made. He has enrolled in ROTC for his sophomore year and is planning to join the military after high school. Amanda decided a few months ago that she wants to be a military nurse and help put soldiers back together. The idea of them being in harm's way kills me but I don't get to choose their dreams or tell them what to do with their lives. Instead I will do the same as any other mother. I will do what I can to support them and pray....pray that they will change their minds!
Ha, ha!

Yesterday we went to the Airfest at March Air Reserve Base. As we pulled onto the base we saw uniformed soldiers with guns in their arms and pistols strapped to their legs. Everyone got pretty excited.
Then we saw things like helicopters

and F15's that threw your eardrums into shock and made every baby within a 10 mile radius cry.

There was this gigantic beast that made you wonder how something that size could actually fly.

This is the inside of it where we got to get out the sun for a bit.

A helicopter with big gun. The things dreams are made of.

See that smile on Austin's face? That's what "love at first sight" looks like. Maybe someday it will be a girl instead of a gun.

The girls enjoyed having their faces painted in camouflage colored stripes. In this picture Amanda is blushing and giggling because the lady told her she loves her freckles. I love her freckles too.

Lemonade

Today the kids decided to make homemade lemonade out of the lemons they picked from my Grandma's backyard tree.We don't have one of those fancy electric juicers. We don't even have one of those cone juicers you smoosh the fruit onto.

They just juiced these lemons by hand, squeezing every last drop out of them.

After the squishing and squeezing they sifted out the seeds,

then decided to taste their juice before it was sweetened.

Here is Austin's reaction...

and Lauren's. Amanda barely flinched.

We ended up with a large pitcher and a half of lemonade that's suprisingly good. Strong, but good.

Easter 2010

Another Easter has come and gone. We celebrated by going through our usual routine. I guess "tradition" would be a more heartwarming word to use. On Easter Eve we boiled, then decorated 2 dozen eggs. Notice the look on Austin's face and you can probably guess what's going through his head. After dying a few eggs he said apologetically, "Mom, I'm just too big now to hunt for eggs in the morning." I told him that was ok, that now he could be the one to hide them.

That put a smile on his face!

Aaron tried to get in on the fun but got sent to the couch for teasing too much :) Ha, ha!

We dipped some of the eggs in dye and did a marbleizing technique others. Then Lauren decided to add some finishing touches.

The kids either got ultra-creative or ultra-sloppy, I'm not sure which, but we sure ended up with

some colorful, unique eggs.

The next morning after opening Easter baskets, Austin got to work hiding the eggs...

and the girls got busy finding them.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out at home. Lauren played with her new ball, Amanda read her new book and Austin played his new video game. Aaron and I spent the day raiding the baskets for treats and begging our children for chocolate.