more random

Here is something random.  Emma has become a "backseat driver".  She sits behind the passenger seat, so she has a great view of both me and the road.  Yesterday she started telling me how I need to hold the steering wheel.  "Like this mom!" (With hand at 10 and 2)  "No, mom.  Like this"  She says.  "Like this?"  I say, accommodating her.  "Yep"  She says.  "No", she says next.  "Do it like this" (Hands at something like 5 and 7) "Like this mom, LIKE THIS"  And on it goes.  Which, for some reason, made me more aware of steering wheel hand positions.  I thought it would be fun (OK, a scary glimpse into my brain, here, be warned) to do a mini-survey to see how most people place their hands.  So, on my way to a friend's, I began to notice that MOST people have one hand on TOP of the steering wheel.  There were the few people who had the standard 10-2, and some had no visible hands at all- which I am assuming meant that they were like me, and are most comfortable at maybe 5ish and 7ish.  Then, there was ONE guy who had is RIGHT arm all the way over on the LEFT side of the wheel, while the LEFT arm was hanging out the window.  Needless to say, I tried all of the hand stances to see if they were comfortable.  Most were not- especially the most common hand at the top of the steering wheel.  SO UNcomfortable!  Why do people do that?  I am crazy, this I realize.  It is the randomness of a drive across town.  That would make a funny blog, I thought.

Random thing number two.  Scrapers.  They are amazing tools.  Yes, they scrape off paint.  But they do so much more!  Gunk, stickers, dried jelly splotches.  I was washing my kitchen floor yesterday with the scraper in one hand and rag in the other.  It made the job go so much faster.  (No, I don't use a mop... too much extra work)  And while I was doing it, I thought- this could be a good blog.  Because it saves your fingernails.  Because does anyone else ever use their fingernails to scrape up stuff?  Or is that just gross?  Because it sounds kind of gross now that I am typing it.  Thank God for scrapers.

Random thing number three.  The kids collected ants in their wagon the other day.  And they fed them cake. Cake. There were hundreds of ants.  "Isn't it cool" they asked, happily enjoying their new pets.  Not as pleased, I answer "Just, please don't bring it near the house" and "Please, guys, no more food for the ants".  How could I NOT blog about that?

Summer Playtime

We decided to do some fun fridays this summer.  Today, we went to a mission in Lompoc, La Purisima.  The kids had a really great time.  Meet some of our friends...

Bella and Torri... 

Eva and Evie

Emma's 2 favorite people, Elliot and Josiah

Oh, the fountain.  This was used to wash clothes in the old days, by the way....

Abigail and Mia

Austin, Josiah and Emma.

More of the crew.

Abigail in a tree.

The turkey.

perfect day for...

Today we went to a friend's birthday party at the beach.  She turned 5.  I can hardly believe it.  I remember when she turned 2.  And now she is 5.  And soon she'll be 18, probably.  But for now, she's 5.  And it is hard to believe these babies are going to be in school next year.  

So, we had a party at the beach.  And aside from the bees, it was a perfect day.  Not too hot, but beautifully sunny.  We spent a little time at the playground, a little time at the beach.  Before I knew it, 5 hours had past.  Where does the time go??  We thoroughly enjoyed our beach day. We celebrated how blessed we are to live next to the wonderful sea and to have great friends to enjoy it together.

And the bees.  The kids titled themselves bee-killers.  They each held a sandal.  They each swatted away.  But that was not working well enough.... They made a trap of Capri-Sun pools and smashed fruit.  They sat in wait.  They pounced when their prey took the bait.  "WAIT TILL IT LANDS!"  They shouted.  And then came the smack.  And the bee graveyard.  We were all just hoping we wouldn't somehow be fined for killing bees in the state of California.  I don't think it's against the law... yet.

Pretty amazing place to spend the day, don't you think?

more mac fun

More Mac fun, our first podcast.  It is a little cheesy, but for our first one, it is pretty cool.

Click Here to listen... hopefully :)

Craft Monsters

"Mom, do you have any fluff?" asks Bella.

"Mom, you have fluff?"  enters Emma.

Both girls are holding "Pillow making kits" given from a crafty Sunday School teacher as Ab looks on, waiting for my reply.

"No, girls, I don't have any fluff" I say.

"Oh!  I know!"  yells Ab, running upstairs determinedly.

"No!  Ab!"  I say, knowingly.  "No tearing apart any stuffed animals!"

"Aw.  Why, mom?  How about just the ones that are ripped?"  begging.

"No, guys.  Please. Just do a normal craft with paper and scissors and glue or something."  I say, and then turn to finish up the dishes.

"We can't do the pillows, guys.  We don't have any fluff."  explains Bella.

They go rustling into the garage.

Enter back in with construction paper, glue and scissors.

"Mom,"  says Bella "do you have any sandpaper?"

"Who needs sandpaper?"  I ask, "Dad?"

"No, for my craft"  says Bella.

What can I say, I have created CRAFT MONSTERS.  Everything is a project.  Everything could be SOMEthing.  Everything MUST be elaborate.  Just a crayon drawing?  NO WAY... it must be decorated with glitter, at the very least.  Maybe some feathers or beads or... whatever else we can find.  Creative kids.  I love it... yet at the same time... oh, the mess.

the heat wave

Yesterday was the hottest day ever.  Literally, it was the hottest it has ever been in Santa Maria.  110 degrees here in our moderate climate takes it's toll!  We've been trying to stay cool- but it's almost too hot to be outside with the burning sun.  So yesterday we went bowling during the hottest part of the day, and then went swimming at the YMCA when Todd got of off work.  It was a blast and cooled us off!  They said today was cooler... I was just as hot.  But right now, it is 65.  So nice.  And we're cooling down.  So, we might go to the beach tomorrow if it's not so hot.  It might be fun.

Summer!

It's been hot HOT here.  Like summer is back East.  And we're LOVING it.  Today we made a hot-day-needs-relief-air-conditioning trip to WalMart for sunscreen and squirt guns.  Home again, the girls are hanging out in the back.... little pool, water toys, Otter Pops and lemonade.  

Summer summer summer.  

I realize that at times I can sound idyllic. Enter real world: Utopia, only to be tainted by...

screams of "DON'T SQUIRT ME"

"Mom, I peed"

"Oops, the Otter Pop fell in the water, can I have another one... And can it be red this time?"

"MAMA!  Can you help me fill up this water gun?"

"Mom, Emma dropped her cookie in the pool and now she's EATING it!"

"Brrr.... I'm cold!" (while standing towel-less and dripping water all over the kitchen floor)

"MOM!  I need help with this water gun."

"Mom, Emma took two Chips Ahoy and now there's NONE LEFT!"

"Mom, is Abigail supposed to be squirting Evie?  Because she is."

"MMMOOOOM.  PLEASE HELP ME FILL UP THIS WATER GUN!"

I guess I better go....

yea, yea, macs are fun for everyone

Todd made this.

the newness

Our new computer is new.  And I love it.  Those 2 factors together clearly add up to me spending the entire day... between making lunch, throwing in laundry, and whatever other "distractions" happen..... in front of the beautiful 20" screen.  

iWeb.  iPhoto. iChat. iMovie. iDVD.  New mail browsers. New Internet browsers.  Garage Band.  New Address Book!  All mac-fantastic.  The more I play, the more I love.  I am so excited. :)  And we even have a new .mac email account.  

love, love, love. 

iPhoto

I gave this a try....

my mac gallery

from a mac!

Backyard bubble time.... our friends got a new amazing DSLR and I was excited and happy and obviously jealous :)  Anyway, it inspired me to be content with the camera that I have- so I played a little yesterday.... so with a little help from iPhoto:

Evie tried to sneak out!

....AND....I am posting from a Mac!  Can you believe it?!  It's amazing.  We are a little excited about finally owning our very own Apple computer.  It has only been 8 years since our new PC....and it definitely wasn't a Mac! And it is so nice.  Love you!

let's go cubbies!

OK, so they were DODGERS tickets....even though T. likes to say we went to a CUBS game.
Our seats were great.

I was supposed to be the Dodger fan while he was the Cubs fan...
Downtown, Chinatownland.
Union Station.

Last weekend we got away....a friend watched ALL the kids. We stayed in beautiful Pasadena and visited Dodger Stadium and downtown LA.

a change is gonna come...

I am thinking of changing the name of my blog. I have an idea...but can't find the right words. Something to the effect of...having the idea like...something about....how each day is a gift. Hmmm. Each breath, really. Hmmm. Any ideas?

Peaceful Afternoon

2:30 in the afternoon and all is quiet. Ab, Emma and Evie are all napping, and Bella is quietly reading her Junie B Jones chapter book. I am smiling to myself, fully enjoying the silence. I should be doing....SOMEthing- laundry, cleaning....but instead I am wandering through blogs....researching cool new computers....reading a cookbook.....while eating some peanut butter fudge ice cream.

I love summer. Did I tell you it is summer? We had our last meeting yesterday, and right after our teacher left the house, I packed up everything. School is out in the Moore house! So we are enjoying it today. All we have left is a couple of parties next week and we're free.

the back of the backyard

is filled with picture perfect overgrown grass. I need to go back out and get some really cute photos before the company decides to finally cut it. These are from our walk today...

life is good.

Over the weekend, we celebrated the 5th anniversary of Church for Life. After much preparation, it was finally here. I didn't get many photos, but I have to say it was a really amazing weekend. God's presence and approval was overwhelming. I loved it. And the books I have been working on which almost didn't come on time came in. Thank God.

Now, the last meeting with our teacher in this week and all the final year end outings. Summer is almost here along with the end of homeschooling. I am excited for what the next months will hold.

Today we're going to visit a beautiful blue old house that I have driven past so many times wondering about. I randomly met the women who lives there and she invited us to stop by anytime. So, today is the day! And the best part is that we're going to walk over. It's that close. Well, maybe that's not the best part....but, you know.