Our Pup and Sunday Walks

Sariah sitting regally in our front yard (she's really on high alert because of the cat she sees across the street, but we'll go with regal).

Took her on a morning trail walk which I don't do very often. It was great to be out on a beautiful day.

A boy and his dog (Kelly didn't really want a dog, but he has so far been her best bud).

Having our pup has gotten us out of doors locally more than ever before. We've been enjoying some family walks in Huntington Beach near the nature preserve. Good bonding time for the family especially since we don't see our dad on Sundays as much with his bishopric assignment. Loved snapping candids of the girls on this walk since they were pretty chummy.

Orange Tree and Growing Things

Our orange tree sits all year long at the back corner of our yard. We hardly notice it until Christmas time rolls around. At that time we look to the tree to provide an orange for the bottom of each stocking, and we see how fat and full of beautiful, juicy oranges the tree has become. We pluck our stocking oranges for Santa, and then the tree is forgotten for a month or more until the first orange falls on it's own. That's the time we know the fruit is the ripest and the harvest begins. We pick all the oranges and bring them in for juicing. And what beautiful, fresh juice these orange yield! I snapped a picture of these two carafes full because it struck me this particular morning that we are very fortunate to have this tree. It reminded me that we need to plant our vegetable garden again this summer and harvest our own vegetables. The things we grow in our backyard seem to be the yummiest. Maybe we're too used to processed foods and store bought items and that's why the bounty from the backyard is such a treat. Whatever the reason, I'm craving some more home grown items. They are the best!

Old Age I Guess

This cute pair of glasses became a necessary item recently. For 47 years I have somehow avoided glasses (with the exception of the few months after meningitis at age 7). I used glasses in high school briefly for headaches, but never really liked them or seemed to need them. Now the words on a page are starting to get just a little bit uncomfortable to read. I decided to try a pair of the low 1.25 reader glasses, and reading is much more pleasant. I guess it had to happen at some point. I've been spoiled so far not having to rely on glasses or contacts, and I'm not quite down with the idea yet. Don't like change.

Open House for Jenna

We attended Jenna's Open House at Fulton tonight. As we moved through the evening, we noticed something that we already expected--her favored subjects appear to be math and science. While she showed us something in almost every classroom, her math and science projects were those she talked the most about. I'm so glad she prefers these subjects although they are not my favorite. Maybe that's why I'm glad she enjoys them. I can help her with English and Social Studies, but Math and Science are not my forte, especially Math. She can fortunately do all her math homework by herself or quickly figure it out as I bumble through it. We're very proud of the focus and attention Jenna gives her school work. She is doing such a great job.

Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day snuck up on me! Thank goodness for Pinterest where fun ideas are readily available, free printables and all! I was able to pull together an all-green dinner with a scavenger hunt and some fun games afterword.  I used to be so prepared for fun holiday festivities, but I find myself forgetting until the last minute. Hopefully it doesn't show. We still had a great time. Oh, and I had to put in a photo of the fun present LeAnn Snow left on my porch. Her wrapping is always so pretty that I wait awhile to open the gift so I can enjoy the wrapping.

March Comes in Like A Lion

The first week of March has brought with it some weird, weird weather. When I taught first grade we used to do a weather unit in March where we did an art project with the saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." We explained that the old saying meant some crazy weather in the beginning of the month, which we usually attributed to rain or wind.  This year we got SNOW! After a day of some chilly, rainy weather, my friend Kim was on the pier the morning that the hail and freezing rain was so extreme that it appeared to be snow blanketing our beach right here in Southern California!  And to continue the lion-like fierceness, with in a day or two, we were experiencing a heat wave the likes that we got out the swimming pool months in advance. How much for extreme can we get? We will have to keep guessing and make sure we keep all the wardrobe options available for use!

 We also said goodbye to our Element this month. This has been an awesome, super reliable car since the spring of 2003 when we drove it home. With nearly 200,000 miles on it, it has seen beaches and mountains and everywhere in-between. It has been Kelly's low-mileage commuter car all these years which is why the mileage is so high. It's hardly been in for an oil change. It has truly been a dream. After we sold the Kia, I used this as my vehicle instead of buying another new car. We were going to turn it over to Heather in a couple of months, and decided to see about repairing a few things to make sure it was up to safety standards for her to be driving it. The cost of repairs were going to be well over $3,000, much more than the car was worth. We decided to sell it and got a pretty good deal with CarMax. It will most likely be used for parts as they don't make this car anymore. We'll be looking into another car, but we're grateful to have the truck for me to use in the meantime.

And finally, it's track season. Heather is getting back in the groove. She will concentrate on 300 Hurdles and the 100 Hurdles this year. She is pretty happy about that and likes the hurdles. Not so much the 100H, but she'll practice.  The 300H is a pretty tough race, and she's showing some potential. The fact that she likes it is even better.  We'll see how she does!

Nails

Things are getting real.  Multiple colors purchased as well as a nail polish rack and nail tools. There is even an Instagram page to follow Jenna's creations. I love that she is so passionate about learning to do nails. Her Grandma Carol would like that. Jenna is so artistic too and not afraid to experiment. Love this girl and her talent!