Working in the backyard

The past two weekends we have been doing work in the backyard. We love spending time outside this time of year and it is a good time to make improvements. We have been working on our backyard little by little for the past three years...I'm sure it will continue for the next 10+ years. This year we put in fruit trees and last weekend we put bark around the trees and all along the back fence. It is amazing what a dramatic difference some bark and some bender board can make. It is so much nicer to sit and look at the backyard now.

BEFORE

AFTER

We also finished planting our vegetable garden and put in an automatic watering drip system. The timer is not hooked up yet, but will be when we get the last couple of pieces needed to complete the line. This is the first year we've had an automatic watering system. We are excited to see it work and to know are vegetables will be water everyday.

BLACKBERRY BUSH

HUMMINGBIRD

Disneyland -- Day 3

My shirt says "I'm with Beast". (Ha! Ha!)

Our last day at Disneyland was completely opposite of the day before. It was sunny and hot. We can't believe how much the weather changed in a day. Rich was smart and wore shorts. Lisa remembering the chill from the day before wore pants and was really hot.

We got to Disneyland a few minutes early and went straight to the Buzz Lightyear ride. We went on the ride about 4 times before we moved on to something else. Rich scored well and was number 2 for a short while.

About mid morning we met with Rich's sister, Anne, and her two girls, Zoie and Parker. It was the girls first visit to Disneyland and we were excited to be with them. At first Zoie seemed overwhelmed, but after the Dumbo ride she was happy and having the time of her life. Parker seemed to be happy from the moment she got to the park. Zoie told us her favorite rides were Dumbo and Buzz Lightyear.

By about four o'clock we were all pretty tired and the McDowell's went home. Rich and I then walked around downtown Disney for a little while, went back to Disneyland, and then went back to the hotel by 6:30pm. We were both tired from the long week and we wanted to rest.

Disneyland -- Day 2

Today we headed back to Disneyland. When we look outside our window we noticed clouds and that it was lightly raining. We were surprised because I had been checking the weather forecast all week and it did not mention rain. We were kind of prepared because we packed jeans and jackets, but we did not have rain coats. While walking to Disneyland we got a little wet, but we did use an umbrella. At the park the first thing we did was buy rain ponchos. They help a lot and kept us dry. The misty rain stopped around lunchtime, but it was cloudy and cold all day. Rich was fine, but I was so cold we bought Disney clothing to keep me warm. I got a Disney sweatshirt and a Jack Skeleton beanie and gloves. With this extra clothing I was much warmer and happier.

Lisa bundled up and enjoying her hot churro. Later on she added another sweatshirt because she was that cold.

We of course went on Astro Blasters a few more times and then hit all of the big rides we missed on Saturday. We waited until later in the day to go on the new Finding Nemo Submarine ride because then the line was a lot shorter. The ride was okay, but definitely not worth waiting in a long line for. I think the really little kids enjoy it, but it is not as fun for us big kids and people who love the actual ocean.

We went on Pirates again and tried to shoot some video with our digital camera, but there wasn't enough light. We were really impressed with the Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) characters that were added to the ride. They look so much like him it is creepy.

We also went to California Adventure for a little while. We don't love this park, but we learned they have much better food. We enjoyed taking a short tour of the Boudin Sour Dough Bakery and then ate some of their yummy food. Rich of course got the Monterey clam chowder in a bread bowl and I got the vegetarian chili in a bread bowl. Rich said his was good, but not as good as the clam chowder he gets on the Monterey Pier. I enjoyed mine and it was a great meal for a cold day.

Before leaving California Adventure we went on King Triton's Carousel and bought more Disney Mr. Potato Head parts for our collection: Buzz Lightyear, Ariel, Peter Pan's Hat, Mickey Ears, and Dumbo Ears.

We ended our day at downtown Disney. We ate at Napoli Italian Pizzeria. We shared some Mozzerella Fritti (fried Mozzerella), salad, and Pizza. The food was great and fairly authentic. We also went to the Lego store and bought a few items there. I got a Lego Star Wars t-shirt and we got a few Legos to play with.

Sunday in LA

On Sunday we spent time with Rich's sister's family...Anne, Craig, Zoie, and Parker. We met them at church and then went to their house for a nice dinner...thanks guys! We had a great time playing with Zoie and Parker. Zoie is a funny girl and has the best pouty face. When it was time for us to go she began to whimper and said, "I don't won't you to go because I love you guys." It was so cute and almost made us stay, but we were really tired. We told her we will visit her again later in the week, so hopefully she will look forward to that.

Disneyland -- Day 1

Our vacation officially started on Saturday. We dropped off our dog, Luca, with my parents and then headed to Disneyland. We made it to Disneyland around 6pm which was in plenty of time to see the fireworks. During this time of year they only do the firework show on the weekend, so we wanted to make sure and see it. Disneyland has the best firework show and is always a must see.

That night the first ride we went on was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, which is our favorite ride. We also went on Pirates of the Caribbean (2nd favorite), Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, and Jungle Cruise. It was a late night and we didn't get back to the hotel until a little after midnight.

Happy 10th Anniversary

On Friday, May 9th we celebrated our 10 year anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been that long, but then again it is hard to remember life without each other. Rich had to work and then we left for vacation, so we did not have much time to celebrate. We did take time to eat pizza and open our gifts. We decided when we get back from Disneyland we will go have our annual anniversary dinner at Il Forno Classico which is our favorite Italian restaurant.

Good Movie

Late Friday night Rich and I watched, "Dan in Real Life", with Steve Carrell. It was pretty good and we laughed a lot. We like how the movie went from rolling on the ground funny one moment to so sad you want to cry to next moment. It was well cast and had witty lines. We enjoyed the family talent show and singing around the piano, but are favorite moment was when the family was gathered around the dinner table and Steve Carrell said, "this corn is like an angel." We laughed for at least five minutes straight and have been saying the line ever since. I don't know if the movie was really as funny as we think or if it was just so late that anything and everything is funny because you are just so slap happy.

Family Fun

This weekend was a blast, but now we are both exhausted. We spent all weekend with our family. First we went to Gridley for our sister-in-law's surprise 30th birthday party. Her husband had been planning the party for a couple months and amazingly was able to keep it a secret. At the party there was a bounce house, water slide, and yummy hot dogs and hamburgers. After eating there was also a softball game.

Lisa on the bounce house slide.

Rachel, our niece, on the water slide.Rich connects with the softball.

After the party we went to Rich's parents house to play with some of our nieces and nephews. Kobie and Nathan wanted to build lego spaceships with Lisa and Bella wanted to play with Rich's stethoscope. Kobie built a satellite, Nathan built small spaceships, and Lisa built a garage to house all the others. Bella listened to her heart and then our dog Luca's heart.

That night our niece, Rachel, and our nephew, Nathan came to our house for a slumber party. They have been wanting to stay overnight and we finally were able to do it. We have a bunk bed in our exercise/video room and that is where they slept. Nathan calls it his room. Nathan and Rachel were excited to play Mario Kart and Smash Bros. with Rich on the Wii. We got home kind of late so we didn't have a lot of game time. They came to church with us today and they both went with Lisa to primary. When we got home from church we played badminton and with a giant flying disc. Their parents came for a spaghetti dinner and then they headed home.

We are now relaxing on the couch and Luca is sound a sleep. We are really tired and worn out from all the action this weekend. We love our nieces and nephews and always have a blast with them. They are so much fun!

Luca the Punk Rock Dog

Last night we turned Luca into a super cool dog. We have been letting his fur grow out on the top of his head, so we could give him a Mohawk. Last night while we groomed him, he was especially antsy, but we were able to get it done. His Mohawk is pretty cool, but doesn't want to stand up. We are considering getting some dog hair gel (if they make it), so it will stand up better. Luca is a great dog and we thought he should look cool too.

Pre-grooming Pictures

Luca's Mohawk

Grandma's House

On Saturday we went to my grandma's house to help pack up items and get her dinning room set and china cabinet. My grandma moved to an assisted living community a few months ago, so we are sorting through the items still in her home. This is hard because she kept everything and there is a lot of emotions involved. We went through some of the items in her front room/dinning room, bedroom, and kitchen. I had fun finding items that brought back childhood memories and Rich had fun trying to sneak items into our take home pile. My grandma is a collector and a pack rat. She has more Franklin Mint coin collections than I can count. She also has figurines, stuffed animals, 8-tracks, Happy Meal toys, and the list goes on. She also has a lot of paintings and pictures of family. This is going to be a big job and I feel bad for my mom and uncle who have to do most of it.

I am happy to now have items in my home that belonged to my grandma and that we will be able to pass onto our children. I have added some pictures of the more memorable and interesting items we have. I have also added a picture of my grandma, Charlotte Oliveira, who I love very much.

Grandma and me Christmas of 2007.

Grandma's China Cabinet. Isn't it beautiful. I have always admired it.

Stained glass window my grandma made.

Some of Grandma's old purses and her beaded rose shoes I use to play dress up with.

Rich snuck home a giant fork and spoon. My grandparents got them in Hawaii. They will eventually hang in our kitchen. Rich was pretty excited about his prize and they remind him of the TV show "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Happy Birthday Mom!

Last Sunday we went to Rich's parents to celebrate his mom's birthday. It was a lot of fun. We got to spend time with some of our nieces and nephews and visit with Rich's grandpa. Luca also had a blast playing with all the kids. They love him and he loves them. Luca had so much fun that he was completely worn out the next day.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Last Sunday Rich and I fed the missionaries. I have been wanting to try a recipe I found for a pork tenderloin, so we tried it out on them. The pork was stuffed with a basil pesto which was also spread on top and then covered with a bread crumb/Parmesan mix. I was a little nervous that the pork might not come out, so we also made spaghetti and meatballs as a backup. We were happy to find the pork was delicious and went well with the spaghetti. Luca also enjoyed both the pork and meatballs.If you look closely under my arm, you can see Luca staring at the pork hoping to get some. He was sad he had to wait the hour for the pork to cook, but was happy when his bowled was filled with pork and meatballs. He ate faster than anyone at the table.

Daffodil Hill

Last Saturday we went to Daffodil Hill in Volcano, Ca. This is something we have wanted to do for the past couple years, but it is only open for a few weeks each year and we always seem to miss it. This year we were determined to go and last week was our only opportunity. The daffodils and tulips were beautiful. There are over 300 varieties and over 300,000 bulbs throughout the grounds. We were amazed that there were so many varieties of daffodils and took pictures of our favorites. Next year in our backyard we plan to make our own miniature Daffodil Hill..

Turkey, Deer, Pheasant...Oh My!

Today Rich got home earlier than usual, so we took Luca on a long walk along the bike path. I decided to bring my camera to take some pictures of the reasons we love the path so much. We saw a lot of wildlife and had fun watching Luca track the scents through the fields. The only problem was when we got home we had to remove the weeds in Luca's fur and he did not like it. We found a lot of burrs stuck in his fur, so we decided we probably won't take him walking through the fields of weeds anymore.

On our walk we saw deer, turkey, woodpeckers, and many butterflies.

While Luca and Rich were walking through the tall weeds tracking a scent they scared a pheasant and it went flying. It was pretty neat to see and I barely got a picture. I was really far away, so the blown up picture is a little blurry.

Easter Weekend

SATURDAY

On Saturday Rich and I went to his parents for an Easter egg hunt, B.B.Q., and visit with the family. Easter egg hunts are always fun at Rich's parents because they hide chocolate and money in the eggs. Rich and I usually go slow and let are nieces and nephews get most of the eggs though. It is a fun time and we enjoy watching the little ones get chocolate all over their faces.

After the Easter egg hunt we enjoyed spending time with everyone. Our nieces and nephews like our dog Luca, especially Nathan. He had fun playing with Luca and thought it was funny to get inside Luca's crate. We also took Luca on a walk and Nathan was determined to hold his leash. It was fun watching Nathan try so hard to hold on to Luca's leash and not get pulled around.

After playing with Luca and enjoying our B.B.Q. we celebrated Kobie and Rachel's birthdays. Kobie will be 5 on March 31st and Rachel will be 10 on April 1st. We enjoyed strawberry cupcakes and ice cream. Then the two of them opened gifts. Rachel loved her Legos and Kobie was really excited about his transformer.

That night we enjoyed watching Enchanted on Rich's mom's projector. Rich's dad watched the UCLA basketball game on the TV and we watched the movie on the wall. It is a cute movie and I enjoyed the music. Everyone enjoyed the "Happy Working Song" scene and we had to watch it for a second time because it is just that funny.

SUNDAY

Unfortunately on Easter morning I woke up with a migraine which lasted until 2:30pm. Rich went to church and I took medicine and stayed in bed. That night we planned to feed the missionaries, so we had to keep that appointment. I did feel better that night so we were able to have a nice Easter meal and color eggs. Rich and I have know each other for almost 12 years and we have colored eggs for 11 of those years. This is a tradition that we enjoy and will probably continue each year. Besides its always fun to have colorful deviled eggs or egg salad sandwich following Easter.