Then & Now

For those who didn't know, Trek & I spent our honeymoon in San Francisco over 9 years ago. Now that we live so close & go so often, I was looking through some of our old honeymoon pics & found some matches to some new pics we took. It's funny to look at them side by side to see how much & yet how little we've changed over the years. Enjoy! I hope they make you laugh as much as they made Trek & I laugh!

The Blue Angels Air Show

Did I mention how much I love San Francisco? It's been so long since I've been a city girl & boy does it feel good! We decided to spend the day at the Pier & Fisherman's Wharf so we could watch the Blue Angels Air Show!

We parked the car & immediately ran into this guy. . . he was his own one man band. At first I laughed because it reminded me of Burt on Mary Poppins, but this guy was amazing! He was playing modern alternative rock music with his guitar, harmonica, & drums hooked up to his legs & feet. It was VERY entertaining.

The girls were hungry so we stopped off at Burger King & got some good eats! I swear Phil (Tylee's roommate) is a total kid magnet. My kids wanted him to sit next to them. He was so good with them! He needs some kids!! He'll be a great dad someday!

After lunch we found a perfect shaded spot on the lawn by the beach to watch the air show. We were under a big tree so the shade was WONDERFUL on such a hot sunny day.

Bladen was the big winner of the day. Who knew he'd love airplanes so much? We were cracking up at him. It was like Christmas to him. What a cutie pie!

Where we were sitting we had a gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge. How cool is that?

After the air show was over, we walked up to Ghirardelli Square for some chocolate!!!

Tylee gave us a tour of the factory & we got to see how they made the chocolate as well as the chocolate river (that reminded me of Willy Wonka).

It was a perfect day in San Francisco. I can't wait until next month to see what we're going to do next!!! Love you Tylee!

At Auntie Tylee's House

Once a month we get to go visit Tylee in San Francisco. We always stay the night on Friday night & then go to the temple on Saturday morning. Then we tour San Fran for the rest of the day. I LOVE IT! And Tylee LOVES being with the kids which makes me really happy.

She lives right in the middle of the city in the cutest little yellow apartment. I love how all the houses/apartments in San Francisco are tall & have lots of stairs. They are adorable. Thank you Tylee, Phil, & Elliot for letting us stay in your home every month. We sure do love it.

Oakland Temple

We finally got to go back to the Oakland Temple for the first time since our honeymoon nine years ago. I love that we live SO close to San Francisco & Oakland now. And with Tylee living in the city, it makes for the perfect scenario for going to the temple. Once a month we get to stay a Friday night with Tylee & then she watches our kiddos while Trek & I go to the temple. After the temple we get to go & explore San Francisco. I can't think of a greater thing in the world. Hooray for living in CA!

Scared-y Cat

Bladen is a Scared-y Cat. . . he gets scared over EVERYTHING! It is absolutely hilarious! Poor little guy has parents & sisters who love to torment his jumpiness! But we sure do love him!

A few more photos from Taya's Birthday

So I was going through Trek's phone & found a few really cute pictures I hadn't put up for Taya's birthday. So here you go. Enjoy!

Car Repairs

Well, ever since we moved to CA, Trek has become quite the car mechanic. He said he wanted to save us money & learn something in return so mechanics was a perfect option. I'm SO happy he is enjoying it (& that my van is in good shape now thanks to him!)

We knew our brakes & rotors were bad, but when all the car places were quoting upwards of $700 to get it fixed, I about died! It's not that we couldn't afford it, it's more of I HATE TO AFFORD IT!! There are SO many other things I could buy with $700!

So Trek got right to it. He bought brakes & rotors at his new favorite store "KRAGEN!" He got it all for under $200! How awesome is that? He saved us $500 right there! He got a manual for our van, read it, & got to work.

The brakes were easy. Once you get the wheel off they are simple to change. Once we got the old brake pads off & compared them to the new ones, we knew we would have been in trouble if we had driven much longer on them. Can you tell a difference?

The rotors on the other hand were a pain beyond belief. Changing rotors is supposed to be as simple as pulling the old one off & pushing the new one on. . . but not after you move from Germany where all the salt has rusted your rotor TO YOUR VAN! The rotors were screwed onto the metal part (there's Honda's 1st mistake) & then those screws as well as the rotor itself was rusted to the van. It was NOT going ANYWHERE! Trek spent 2 full days trying to get the rotors off! We have mechanic friends here who even lent us an air compressor as well as a ton of high pressure mechanic's tools. NOTHING was taking these things off. Trek ended up drilling the screw heads off entirely & then we pounded, kicked, & did everything else known to man to get those things off. They finally DID come off thank heavens! It was nice to see shiny clean rotors on my van instead of the nasty old ones.

Thank you Trek for a fabulous job that saved us a TON of money! I love you!

Creature Taco Salad

This dinner is one of Cadence's favorites. All you do is make your favorite taco salad the way your family likes it best. Then add 2 slices of tomatoes for eyelids, a scoop of sour cream for each eye, & an olive slice for the pupil. Taya told her food to stop looking at her!! Fun stuff!

Mummy Dogs

This is my kids' all time favorite Halloween dinner. It's simple, fun for everyone, & really yummy! Here's what you need:

1-2 packs of your favorite hot dogs (my kids like the cheese-filled ones)

1-2 packages of refrigerated breadstick dough

mustard

Simply wrap the breadstick dough around the hot dog like a mummy! Leave an opening for your mummy's eyes. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes (until golden brown). Add mustard dots for your eyes & voila! You have a delicious & fun dinner for your kiddos!

Skeleton Ribs

Tonight I made skeleton ribs for dinner. This recipe came out of the Taste of Home recipe book from 2009. I've never done this one before & it was FABULOUS!

4 cups diced cooked chicken breast

1 1/4 cups water

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 Tablespoons paprika

2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons of onion powder, garlic powder, basil, & oregano

1 teaspoon of salt, thyme, celery seed, pepper, & cayenne pepper (I only used 1/4 tea. cayenne)

1 bay leaf

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 Tablespoon grated lime peel

2 tubes of refrigerated french loaf dough

2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

Mix chicken, water, paste, paprika, lime juice, & all the other seasonings in a saucepan. Boil & then reduce heat & simmer for 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Combine cream cheese & lime peel. On a large piece of foil, roll one tube of dough into a 14x10 inch rectangle. Spread with 1/2 cream cheese mixture & sprinkle with 1/2 the cheese & 1/2 the chicken mixture.

Starting with the long side & using the foil, fold into thirds. Form a loaf with a seam. Pinch edges to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with other loaf.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove & cut into 1 inch slices. Arrange on a serving platter to resemble ribs with a skull if desired. I let the kids make the skeleton head & limbs. They had fun being involved.