Christmas Pillowcase Preview

Wendy H. showed April how to make these super cute pillowcases with hidden seams around the contrasting bands (see here for a good tutorial, although the dimensions were slightly different). Once she started making them, it almost became an addiction and we ended up with several fun presents for family and friends.

Space motif for a boy in our Primary who is undergoing chemotherapy treatments for leukemia;

we put together a care package and thought a pillowcase would be fun.

This was one of Erin's birthday presents. Owls, of course!

 

We made these for Carla S. who lets us ride her horses.

These are for some of Erin's friends.

Megan made this for her friend, Amelia, who likes dragons.

These are for the cousins, Scott and Dean.

We love the bright colors!

And, for our herp-loving friends: snake skin and lizard skin fabric.

Kevin got lizard skin pillowcases for his birthday, and April is kicking herself 

for not buying the whole bolt of fabric--it's no longer available.

It's a good thing we always are behind on our blog posts or else the surprise would be ruined for those who might see this before Christmas.

Happy Halloween!

This year, we surprisingly had NO Star Wars related costumes. What's up with that???

Megan was a Snow Leopard.

She did her own face painting, naturally.

Ian was Artemis Fowl, 

a character from one of his favorite book series.

 

Erin was a Great Horned Owl again.

She still LOVES owls.

Dallin was Flash,

not because he necessarily likes Flash a lot,

but because Flash wears a red costume,

and Dallin is currently obsessed with the color red.

We had a fun day, starting out with a group activity with our homeschool co-op. Sadly, I forgot the camera, but you can try to imagine a witch making witch's brew, children decorating Halloween sugar cookies and drinking the brew, eating the cookies, and eating some eyeballs.

Oh, we do have a photo of the "Edible Eyeballs" we made. We took these to co-op and sent a bunch with Kevin to share with his Anatomy students. (Note to Kevin: please insert the photo of your students with the eyeballs when you get a chance.) We altered the recipe and made them with rice krispies instead of doughnut holes (Megan's preferred choice) so they turned out a bit lumpier. We also used almond bark instead of the Ghiradelli white chocolate because AWC doesn't pay its employees enough to afford the amount of white chocolate it would have taken to make enough eyeballs for all the Anatomy students. They still tasted good and everyone really enjoyed them. Well...except for Dallin who spit out the gummy saver part and said he didn't like it--he likes gummy bears just fine--go figure!

 

The morning was so exhausting that half the family took a nap.

Dallin wore his costume ALL day long.

 

Group photo before going out to collect candy from the neighbors:

While we were trick-or-treating on our street, we left a bucket with candy on our porch to share with other trick-or-treaters using the honor system (we used to do this in Logan). When we returned, someone had STOLEN THE BUCKET AND ALL THE CANDY!!! So, next year if you come trick-or-treating to our place, you'll have to see us in person if you want to get any candy from us. (Side note: parents drive children from other areas of town to go trick-or-treating in the nicer neighborhoods, so we are guessing that random other kids were the thieves rather than our local neighborhood children.)

And, last, but not least, here are my renowned Halloween Scorpion Cupcakes!

They were mighty tasty!

 

Only privileged people get to have these, since most people don't appreciate the effort that goes into making them. Jim from the power line crew had made a special request. Look how excited he is to have some!

Eight is Great!

Erin's 8th birthday was today!!! She was so excited and had been counting down the days for the past two weeks. She opened her presents before church.

For some reason, she got a lot of presents relating to owls: owl DVD, owl necklace, owl pillowcase, owl cross-stitch pattern, and owl stickers among a few other non-owl-related items.

After church, she played with some of her new things, then we made a big batch of homemade pizza (but forgot to take photos), and ate her owl cake. Mom modified it from this design. We thought it turned out pretty cute!

 

We're taking a trip in a couple of days to the San Diego Zoo to celebrate the rest of Erin's birthday.

D-boy is Four!

Dallin turned FOUR YEARS OLD this morning!

Look at what a handsome boy he has grown into.

He LOVES the color red, just in case everyone is not aware of this fact.

Dallin waited patiently (well, as patiently as a 4-year-old can wait) 

while we held our homeschool co-op lessons (since it was a Wednesday), 

and then everyone gathered for presents and birthday brownies.

Dallin chose pizza for lunch.

He wanted a cake "with one red light saber and one green light saber."

So, that is what he got.

He managed to blow out the 4 squiggly candles.

Stay tuned for Part II of his b-day celebrations when we get to go to Legoland!!!

How To Impress Kevin

April saw this Coachwhip while out biomonitoring on the construction site and knew that Kevin would be disappointed in her if she didn't catch it. So, she braved the nasty temperamental nature of the snake, grabbed it, and survived the multiple bite wounds. It did draw blood. And, yes, Kevin was impressed.

She also wanted to show it to our Homeschool Co-op Group which is currently studying Desert Ecology. We won't keep it for too long, as Coachwhips don't make good pets. They like to move fast and don't appreciate the confinement of a cage.

Field Trip to Da Boyz Italian Cuisine

This year we are part of a small neighborhood homeschool group, and we kicked off the new school year with a field trip to Da Boyz located in old town Yuma. Da Boyz will take you back to the 60's, complete with an Elvis Room and Marilyn Monroe Room.

We met at the restaurant and Robert was our tour guide. 

He showed us through the restaurant, then got everyone drinks...

...and let the children make their own personal pizzas!

Here they are shaping the dough.

Next step was to add the homemade sauce.

Then they went to the toppings bar, and put on whatever toppings they wanted.

The children carried their pizzas over to the ovens 

which cooked the finished product in only 5 minutes.

(We need an oven like that!)

Then they sliced the pizzas, and were ushered 

to the Elvis Room to consume the goodness.

Delicious!

Erin and Ian really were happy to be eating pizza even

though Megan is the only one who looks it.

Group photo outside--you can also enjoy fine dining 

on the patio area when it isn't over 100 F outside.

Rated PG-13 for Promiscuity and Gore

Usually we only encounter tracks suggesting this activity.

However, today these lizards were caught in the act.

So, naturally, we took photos.

When the male ran away, we grabbed both lizards. 

He still had the horn sheath in this mouth from biting his love.

And, sadly, this is one translocated lizard who didn't make it.

We found it on the way out.

Impromptu San Diego Trip

When learned we could have Saturday off from lizard work, we decided to take an overnight trip to San Diego to see Grandpa Tsukamoto and escape from the oppressive heat of August in Yuma. We arrived late around 9:00, but Grandpa came to visit us at our motel in Encinitas. He brought us fruit and cookies. Yum!

The next morning we found a great place for breakfast: Honey's Bistro and Bakery. 

We think that even Janell would approve of eating here. 

 

Side Note: Next to the Bistro is this beautiful "Pink Soul Boutique" which was so pink that it earned a photo and spot on our blog post. We were impressed with the dog's matching pink leash (the owners were eating at the Bistro).

 Back to breakfast: Erin made funny faces while waiting for the food.

 

 Dallin, our non-eating child, actually ate again!

He ate the muffins and the pancakes.

Look how happy he is!

 

 

 They served BIG portions. 

We got French toast, pancakes, and waffles and shared. 

Each plate came with a side of eggs and bacon or sausage.

No one left hungry.

After gorging ourselves, it was beach time!

We went to Moonlight Beach, which was close by.

Ian showed Dallin the sand crabs which were highly abundant.

Dallin was hesitant to go in the water, 

but he felt safe as long as Dad was holding his hand.

Erin and Grandpa

Playing in the waves

California Gull with Ian and Erin in background

Playing in the stream that flowed into the ocean.

Dallin liked having a sand slide, while

Erin was in charge of the mud salon.

Ian got some attention when we buried him in the sand. Right at that time, a group called Kids for Peace invaded our beach space for a short while. They were trying to accomplish 50 acts of random kindness as part of their annual kindness challenge. They asked if they could take a picture of Ian and posted one of their signs by him. Then they gave him a granola bar, we assume that was their act of kindness. They ran in and out of the water for a bit, then left.

Ian played hard for a long time in the water and decided to take a break.

Dallin joined him.

 

Then some familiar faces appeared! Gabe, Betsy, and Brad joined us and brought their boogie boards to share. We were trying to help Emmy go into labor by suggesting a day at the beach, but apparently our efforts didn't have immediate effects. She didn't go into labor during the time her family was away at the beach.

Betsy digging

 Erin riding a wave

 Ian after a ride in--I missed capturing the dramatic moment prior to this shot

 

Megan and Grandpa fell asleep in the sun and got sunburned. 

Note for future beach trip: We need to invest in a shade structure.