Off to the Beach

It seems like it has been a long time since all of us have been to the "warm beach". We hit the northern coast every summer, but it just isnt the same when you have to wear a hoodie sweatshirt by the ocean. We were thrilled to meet my mom and dad in Mission Bay and enjoy our seaside time with them. We were joined by Zach's brother, Uncle Milo and aunt Kirsten and cousin Elle for the weekend, and of course Paycey for an extended visit. Since we missed an AZ visit this year, we'll take any family time wherever we can get it. We hit Sea World and Legoland since who knows when we'll ever get back there. We took many bike rides on the boardwalk, Sawyer learned to skim board, kayaked in the bay, visited the children's science museum, and played for many hours in the sand. I finished 4 books on vacation!

Mammoth

In Mammoth, we went on a few hikes, Sawyer ziplined, the boys fished, we watched fireworks over Crowley Lake, played in the snow, rode bikes, used the town trolley and shuttle and enjoyed the ski resort village. Oh yeah, and had a bear encounter in our campsite the first night! Next year, maybe Sawyer can hit some of the mountain bike trails.

Catching Up...bear with me

yeah! We have internet again and we can't be more thrilled! In fact, as I'm typing, I realize that I'm waiting for auto correction because I'm so used to my Iphone. If only my PC were as smart! I have no idea how I'm going to recapture our lives for the past 6 months and I don't intend to, but there are definitely highlights and of course random thoughts. Number 1 random thought, we've been back in our house for 3 months and I am thankful everyday to be here. We were so blessed in our moves and the places we've stayed and the people we've met over the last few years, but it feels really good to put nails in the wall that won't need to be spackeled in the near future. Our front porch is definitely a haven for me (and the snails for some reason). Number 2 random thought: I love having a toaster oven. We have had it less than a year and I'm still learning all that I can do with it, but not heating up the kitchen in summer is awesome!! This morning we made cinammon breadsticks from scratch in the toaster..too cool! Especially since we are back to propane living and any savings in gas usage is smart! Just realized the first pictures I posted are with Zach, lucky me I'm the family editor and the camping pics with me were on the chopping block! There is a pic of Sawyer's ultimate Nerf Dart Party. We went to the park next door and messed up their lawn, yep, genious! One pic is Fisher in the shasta daisies. The boys have spent alot of time with daddy this summer as I have had some quality couch time. In July, we learned that the City of Redding approved 2 furlough days a month to help cut the budget. So when life gives you lemons, um..., take even more days off. I guess that is Zach's philosophy. No complaints from me. We decided to work the system and add a week vacation to our already planned trip to San Diego. So spur of the moment, cuz that's how we roll, packed our camping gear, and decided to explore the Sierras on our way down. Our first stop was in Arnolds CA. I went here with my family as a little girl. I have some memories, but I'm pretty sure our stay with the boys was way more rustic! Our highlight was getting candy from Murphy's, and the uber cool reptile demo at our campsite. Up to 40 snakes and lizzards is the most brilliant ranger talk show we've ever been to. Yes, we are the nerds that attend the camp amphitheater for ranger talks. The next morning, Sawyer (mostly Zach) caught a blue belly lizzard. Poor lizzard made it all the way to San Diego and back to Redding and with a 2 year old shaking it twice a day. Remember Darla from Nemo? Similiar style! After 2 days in this area, we headed to Mammoth. I have never been there before and was way impressed. We were so blessed to find a great campsite on the 4th of July with no reservations, especially since many of the campgrounds were closed due to gobs of snow!

Signed off

Wow! I can't believe January was the last post! It hasn't been quiet around here by any means! There is so much to catch up on, but Internet is now considered a major luxury as we are no longer in an area that wants to supply it. Yes, this is sad news, but we are thankful for 3G! So for a small update, we moved again this spring back to our old Shasta house. We are so thankful to be settled in again (even without wifi:) Sawyer finished the first grade, turned 7, lost a ton of teeth, played spring baseball, went to his first summer camp, and is learning how to be a great helper! Fisher is now in a big boy bed and shares a room with brother, loves his "super guys" and fishing. He is still a diaper dude, since neither of us are ready! We went on our first camping trip of the summer last weekend and they did better than ever! Sorry there is no pictures, but it may take days with 3G.

Dinner....here to stay

So in my 13 years of marriage, I've finally realized that dinner is here to stay and I need a new approach. I don't plan well, I mostly wing it, spend too much on food and so much goes to waste. The crazy thing is dinner happens every night and you think I would have had it together by now. I always marvel at women that have a meal plan and stick to it. There have been some weeks that I have done this, but I stink at planning to use leftover ingredients in my next meal, hence the waste! This week as I was blog stalking, I came across someones recommendation for a meal planning website. I was initially turned off by paying a subscription fee, but as I thought about it, a dollar a week was worth it to try, these wonderful women have put together a system that makes my heart leap with joy! I got to choose which meal plan would work for my family of 2 and a half eaters for 5 low fat meals a week. What will we do the other 2 nights you may ask. Wing it...of course. So I wish I was starting on Monday because I do like order in some aspects of life, but hey, we gotta eat tonight. Right after school drop off we went to Winco( my favorite place,not!). I had my amazingly organized shopping list, prepared not by me, but my favorite new ladies, and down the aisles I zipped in record time! We drove into the parking lot at 8:20, found a non dud cart, strapped the munchkin in with a working seat belt, divvied out the snack and away we went, feeling quite empowered by my sweet official shopping list. My cart was so organized, that my bagging skills looked professional! I had my groceries bagged, put in the car, driven home and unloaded by 9:00 am! Oh yeah and a happy toddler to boot! Did you catch that timing? 40 minutes total...oh yeah baby! So at 4:00 today when some of you may be thinking, I hope hubby is up for pizza tonight, I'll be starting my first no brained meal! No, I won't be sacrificing any of our favorite meals because our favorite meals are in burnout mode. I'm not sure how good they will taste, but they look pretty basic, nothing weird. So if you want to join me in brainless meal planning....the website is.......