PCJBR Awards Banquet 2015

We celebrated all the hard work the kids put into competing this year and had a great time with our bull riding family this past Saturday.  Elsie took 4th place in her first year of calf riding and Seth is the Reserve Champion!

The two look extra sharp in their new team shirts!

Our 'lil Reserve Champion and all his loot!  He earned a shirt, bell buckle, a buckle, a jacket and a metal wall hanging.  Way to go Seth and my God continue to protect you as you move up to steers in 2016.

Thanksgiving

Super cute picture of the cousins!

Singing and Playing in Daddy's Band

Seth and Elsie are doing so well at learning how to play the guitar. Elsie is even able to play while singing in front of a crowd.  They recently had the opportunity to play again at Wayne's brothers church and they nailed it!  Kya loves to sing and play the piano here at home, but usually declines playing with the band.  She is very social, but ever since she was young (preschool age) she has hated having all eyes focused on her and therefore prefers to sit in the audience and watch.

I chose to take pictures during practice so that I wouldn't disrupt the service, hence Wayne and Roy in their t-shirts.

Southland celebrated their 30th anniversary this month and had a reunion concert. It was fun to see a lot of the old guys come back to play and to introduce "Southland the Next Generation".  Seth & Elsie played along with our drummers son Carson.  They received a standing ovation!

Snowline 2015

It was good to be back at Snowline up in Oak Glen, after having to miss out last year due to two of my kids having hand, foot & mouth disease. Every year seems to bring its own adventures.  Some years the weather is hot and not quiet perfect for apple cider & donuts, others years it can be cold or just right.  This year, it rained!  It was raining so hard when we got out of church that we opted to go over to my in-laws house to eat instead of eating at Snowline.  Eventually the rain stopped and we headed on up, but my in-laws couldn't make it due to time constraints.  Luckily our niece still joined us!

We took some pictures for Christmas cards, but then I discovered that I lost all of my addresses.  Ugh!  So here you can enjoy what would have been pictures on our cards.

Kya is 10 and starting to show some signs of maturity.  She enjoys redecorating her bedroom on a regular basis and almost never has to be told to do her homework.

Seth is 9 and is quite the jokester.  He thinks it is funny to burp and fart on a regular basis.  I am hoping to break him of this habit pretty quickly!

Elsie is 8 and are little bossy girl.  She is on student council, gets amazing grades and loves to snuggle still.

Hard to believe our niece is a grown up now!  We love that at 24 she will still come hang out with us.

Elsie is Eight!

For Elsie's 8th birthday, she wanted to go to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor. She was so funny, because she knew they would sing to her and she wanted them too of course, but when the time came she got all embarrassed and didn't want them to come sing.  Of course she was all smiles and loved every minute of it.

August Happenings

The kids went back to school on August 6, so besides getting used to our new schedule, there wasn't too much going on.

Elsie still loves to help Mommy cook and discovered that wearing sunglasses not only helps her to look adorably cute, but also helps keep your eyes from watering when working with onions.

Thanks to our cousins organic apple trees, we were able to put up 10 pints of applesauce and 5 quarts of apple pie filling

The kids on their 1st day of school.  Kya is in 5th, Elsie in 3rd and Seth in 4th grade.

Adventure's in Camping 2015

We went camping as a family of 5 for the first time last week and had a wonderful time. We definitely have a lot to learn, but we survived! Ha Ha!!! Here is a list of memories (good & bad):

• Spending time together as a family without the distractions of technology is wonderful!
• Watching my kids play together and bond was a treasure
• Not being allowed to have a campfire due to our drought and extreme fire danger is a huge bummer
• Preparing all of our food before leaving was a huge help
• Hearing Mama scream at having a Kangaroo Rat running thru camp is quite funny to the kids
• Sleeping on the hard, cold ground is not good for these old bones and muscles.  Will have to invest in a blow up mattress for future camping
• Having the zipper to the tent door break is not fun, but super thankful it happened on our last night
• Three nights of camping is more than enough
• Can't wait to vacation with my family again soon!

Not having a campfire didn't keep us from making smores, we just used our propane camp stove!

We even put the stove in the campfire pit and sat around it each night

Thankful to my brother for giving us their tent so we could make memories

Standing on the wildlife preservation bridge over looking what should be lake water.  Yup folks, the drought is BAD!

Love these fun girls!

Seth loves swimming, but wasn't so fond of the muddy ground beneath his feet

I could stare at this view all day long!

Celebrating Independence Day at the PBR

On July 4th my kids had the opportunity to participate in the PBR (Professional Bull Riding) event. It was a real treat for them and something I am sure they will always remember. I was able to be behind the chutes for the first time and I have to say that I definitely prefer the grandstands for the following reasons: There is a whole lot of testosterone back there, things move really quickly, the bulls are HUGE and most of all it is almost impossible to see the rides unless your up on the cowboy grate.

My lil cowfolks a bit before the rodeo began.

Behind the scenes picture.  I was amazed how all the professionals would stand and stare at the bull they chose for the longest time.  I guess they were trying to figure out the bulls temperament, but who really knows.

The three bull calf riders and one of the mutton busters and their cute cowboy butts!

Kya and my parents in the grandstands waiting for the fireworks to begin.

One of the best firework shows we have ever seen!

Love the excitement on her face

I loved how the American flag was lit up and could be seen in front of the fireworks

Gorgeous shot of the full moon, flag and the calm after the storm.  It was truly very peaceful.

And I just have to show off the new sticker I made for the back of my van window!

The Fort Macarthur Museum

The Fort MacArthur Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history of Fort MacArthur, a U.S. Army post which guarded the Los Angeles harbor from 1914 to 1974. The Museum was established in 1985, and it is housed in the corridors and galleries of historic Battery Osgood-Farley. The Fort MacArthur Reservations hold an important collection of historical structures which were part of the U.S. Army's role in the defense of the American continental coastline from invasion. These structures clearly trace the development of American coastal defenses, from the all big gun era of the turn of the century to the missile era of today.

Entrance to the underground gun bagging bunkers

Loved how the people who work at the museum dressed in authentic looking time period uniforms

Sanding up on the cliff overlooking the ocean with the top of the lookout to the left of us and the Korean Friendship Bell in the distance.

Marine Mammal Care Center

With the ocean being so warm this year, we are seeing an extra large amount of sick sea lion pups.  All of the marine life centers are over flowing and therefore are doing all they can to raise awareness and collect donations to help take care of the pups.  The Marine Mammal Care Center had a "Seal Day" where we got to go see these animals up close, talk with the volunteers and learn how to make a Fish Smoothie.  If you are near such a facility, they could really use the following items: bleach, Vitamin B-1, Dish Soap, Vegetable Oil, Corn Syrup, Laundry Soap, Laytex Gloves, Outdoor Flood Lights, Hose Nozzles, etc.

Standing in front of a blow up Elephant Seal.  In the trunk behind it was a touch tide pool.

Hanging out with the Seal mascot

Seth in front of the holding area

Daddy, Elsie and some rescued sea lions

Daddy & Kya watching the sea lions dive for lunch

Sun bathing beauty

Pups playing in the kiddie pool

Elsie making a fish smoothie

Seth making a fish smoothie

Kya learning how to restrain a sea lion pup so that it can be tube fed a fish smoothie