Visit with Grandma

On Saturday, as Rich prepared for the B.B.Q., I went to visit my grandma in Los Banos. I first met my parents and some other relatives at my grandma's mobile home in Gustine. A few months ago my grandma moved from her mobile home to an assisted living community. She took what she could with her and the family has been going through the rest of her stuff to decide what to do with it. My grandma is a great collector and has a lot of different collections...Franklin Mint coins, figurines, stamps, and even sugar packets. It took my aunt, uncle, and parents a lot of time to go through everything. We have several things from my grandma that have sentimental value and will be things we pass down to our children. On Saturday I brought home photo albums, which to me are the greatest treasure. I plan to scan most of them and save them on a disk. Having these albums also helps me with my family history work and helps me to see what my grandparents were like before I was born.

After spending a little time at the mobile home, my parents and I went to visit my grandma and take her to lunch. When she first saw me she was really surprised and happy. I was glad to see her because it had been too long. My grandma is an awesome lady and I love her very much. She is strong, kind, and generous lady. She has many talents and is very crafty. A few years ago she made Rich and I a big beautiful quilt. I still have the baby blanket my grandma crocheted for me. She is a very special person and I am glad I had the chance to visit with her.

Elder's Quorum Party

Last Saturday Rich had an Elder's Quorum B.B.Q. party. He is the E.Q. President for our ward, so he and his counselors were in charged. I was so proud of him because he along with his counselors did everything and I didn't have to worry about anything. The B.B.Q. was nice and the men had a dessert contest. There were a lot of yummy desserts and some of the wives got to be judges. After tasting all the desserts the winner was...drum roll...Rich! That's right Rich was the winner of the dessert contest with his chocolate cheesecake pie...It was really good!!

There were also fun games and activities that everyone seemed to enjoy. The only problem was it got dark too fast and we didn't get to play human fooseball.

Relaxing in the Shade

Luca loves to play in the backyard, but after a while of running around he gets tired. He loves to lay down and relax in the shade. Sometimes he lays in the shade of a tree or under one of our chairs, but recently he has started laying under our pumpkin. We thought it was funny and oh so cute.

Farmer's Market

Yesterday, Rich and I went to one of the local farmer's markets. We having been going to the one by the Sunrise Mall at least twice a month during the summer. We enjoy all the FRESH fruit and vegetables we can get. Our garden is doing good and starting to produce, so now we usually just get fruit and the most delicious corn. Rich's parents brought us tons of peaches a couple weeks ago that we made into jam and peach shortcake, so I am a little tired of looking at stone fruit and decided not to get any yesterday. We did get fresh corn on the cob 4 for a $1.50...what a deal. Today we barbecued the corn slathered in butter and wrapped in foil. We also barbecued chicken, zucchini, squash, and pepper kabobs. It was so delicious. The zucchini, squash, and peppers were from our garden, but the chicken was from the store...I'm not willing to raise, kill, and pluck a chicken just to say it is fresh. Rich enjoyed the kabobs and wants to make it a regular menu item.

Our T.V. bites the dust

For a couple weeks now our t.v. has been fading. The color just wasn't right and the images weren't crisp. We decided we would keep it until we could save money to buy another t.v. We were hoping we had a few months left in it, but that didn't happen. This past week the t.v. wouldn't even turn on and we pronounced it officially dead. Unfortunately for us we had to put a new garage door in this summer and now we can't afford a nice new t.v. to fit into our entertainment center. We decided having a big t.v. isn't really a priority, so we bought a nice cute little 19" t.v. It works great and the picture is so much better than our old one. The only problem, and it's not really a problem, is that it looks funny in the entertainment center with all of the empty space. Also, Rich will have a harder time seeing when he plays his Wii...I'm sure he will get use to it. All we know is having a t.v. isn't a necessity and going into debt for one would be silly. I think once we get a bigger t.v. (in a few months or maybe a year, who knows?) we will appreciate it and value all that went into getting it.

Objects (meaning t.v.) may seem larger than they appear in the picture.

Luca goes to the vet

Today I took Luca to the vet. He was due for his annual check-up and some shots. Luca was well behaved and did not complain about the three shots he had. He is a tough dog and later in the day he was running and jumping like usual. Since he was such a good boy I gave him some peanut butter in his red kong...this is his favorite treat.

The vet said Luca's ears are a little inflamed, so we have to give him ear drops 2x daily for a week. Cocker's are known to have ear and eye trouble, so this is something we need to keep up with. The vet also said his front teeth look great, but his back ones are developing some build-up. Since we got Luca we have been trying to brush his teeth each night before bed. He is really good at first, but does not like his back teeth brushed as much...this is something we will have to work on. It probably sounds kind of funny, but we do have a bedtime routine for Luca. We brush his teeth, wipe his eyes, and then give him a greenie biscuit before bed. He is pretty use to the routine especially the treat part. After we get him cleaned up Rich and I brush our teeth and wash our face before we give him the treat. Luca usually lays down and looks at the treat on the dresser until we give it to him. We also make sure to hide his Kong toy because if we don't the next morning he will get it and drop it on our heads until we get up (especially weekends)...crazy dog!

The following are some fun pictures we took of Luca recently:

Luca loves P.B. & Rich.

Luca trying to drink chinotto (Italian root beer). He has a long tongue.

KIDFEST JULY 2008

We survived kidfest 2008...Yeah! Starting Thursday night we had at least one kid with us until Saturday night. Our nephew Nathan started off kidfest and stayed with us until Saturday. When he heard Rich was going to play Wii Mario Kart with Doug (Rich's brother) who lives in Oregon he wanted to play too. Thursday night Rich called Doug and arranged to play Mario Kart over the internet. Rich, Doug, Nathan, and our other nephew Ian played Mario Kart for about a hour together. They had fun and I enjoyed watching them race.

On Friday Nathan was still visiting and we were joined by a few more. Our two nieces, Bella and Lily, and our nephew Kobie hung out with us for a while, so their parents could go to the temple. I was alone with all four kids for a little over a hour before Rich showed up. I have to admit I was a little nervous being alone with all of them, but it was fine and everyone had a good time. Lily the youngest loved Luca and Mo. She wanted to play with both of them. Bella and Kobie had fun feeding Mo pumpkin flowers. When Dave and Jessica got back from the temple we all went out to eat at Superb Burger (one of our favorite local burger joints). We had a nice meal and the kids were able to have fun because nobody else was in the restaurant.

On Saturday Nathan was joined by his sister Rachel while their mom went to the temple. Nathan and Rachel played some Lego Star Wars and Metroid for a little while. We then went in the backyard to cool down in our swimming pool (kiddie pool). The kids had a lot of fun walking around and around to make a whirlpool with Rich. They also loved having Luca in the pool. After drying off we went back inside to play, what else, the Wii. We played Mario Party 8 until Sherrie came to pick up Rachel and Nathan.

Saturday night Rich and I relaxed!! We were pretty tired and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We treated ourselves to pizza and watched Monk season 6 on DVD. It was great to spend time with our nieces and nephews. We appreciate the great amount of energy their parents must have to keep up with them. They are all wonderful kids and we love them very much. And to the rest of our nieces and nephews that we haven't seen in a while...we love you too.

Crepes for Breakfast

I have been wanting to make crepes for a while now, so yesterday we bought a crepe pan. Last night we made the batter because it was suppose to chill over night. We also made the mascarpone-ricotta filling, so everything would be ready for this morning. I carefully read the directions for making crepes, because they seemed so difficult to make, and then we started. I found it was actually really easy. I just needed to make sure I used 2 spatulas for flipping and everything was fine. We made about 1 dozen crepes, then filled them with the mascarpone-ricotta filling and topped them with fruit. Rich put peaches and blackberries on his and I just had peaches. Rich really enjoyed his crepes...especially the Italian filling. I ate about one and had to stop. I'm not sure what it was, but with the filling, it was just too much for me. I decided I like crepes, but not stuffed. I enjoy them with just some powdered sugar sprinkled on top. I think we will make them again and Rich will eat his stuffed and I will eat mine plain.

Puzzle Crazy

This week we have been a little puzzle crazy. A few weeks ago an area leader in our church gave us a challenge to not watch TV or listen to worldly music for a week to help us to quiet ourselves and have the opportunity to feel the spirit more. We decided to accept the challenge and started last Sunday. It has been an interesting and great week. We have found that we spend more time talking and being able to mediate and think. We have also found time for other activities like puzzles. We usually do a couple puzzles a year, but this last week we have done two. We finished one we started a couple weeks ago then started a new one that we are pretty much done with. We really like the challenge of puzzles and it gives us more time to talk.

The challenge has not been easy, but it has been worth it. We have enjoyed more peace and quiet in our home and lives. We have also found that doing a puzzle after a long hard day of work is relaxing, but still requires us to use our brain. I think we will try to keep up with our new challenge and limit our TV and find more productive or stimulating things to do...it just feels good.

Luca Loves Pizza

Earlier this week we had Round Table Pizza...YUMMY!! We usually get Round Table once a month as a treat to ourselves. Lately, we have been getting the Chicken Garlic Gourmet pizza. At first I wasn't sure if I would like it, but now I love it. I have learned I just need to be a little more daring and try new foods because I sometimes I find things I love...chicken garlic pizza and avocados.

Luca also loves when we get Round Table Pizza. As soon as Rich walks in the door with it he goes crazy. He jumps up and down and seems to know what we are having. We don't give him his own piece, but we do give him a little bit of ours. This last time we thought it would be interesting to see what he would do if we put the empty box on the floor. He went up to it immediately, got it open, and started to lick the crumbs. He is a funny dog and loves to eat. He will eat pretty much everything and always wants more.

Luca Goes for a Swim

This weekend we decided it was hot enough to get into the pool...our kiddie pool that is. Rich got it all ready and then we stuck our feet in to cool off. We thought Luca might like the water too. He is always trying to get into the river when we go for walks, but he wasn't as excited about getting into the pool. At first, we tried to coax him in on his own by putting his favorite outside toy in the pool, but that didn't work. We then resorted to picking him up and putting him in. The first few times he immediately swam to the edge and got out. He then avoided and ran away from us because he knew what we were up too...that was pretty funny. Eventually, he was getting in the pool by himself and he stayed in it for a while when Rich and I both had our feet in it. I think once Luca got used to it he kind of liked it.Luca looking at his ball in the pool...He looks so sad, but so cute.

RICH AWAKENED BY THE PAGER (re-enactment)

4th of July Weekend

We hope everyone had an exciting 4th of July! Ours was pretty boring and uneventful, but that is okay. I wasn't feeling very well and Rich had the pager from work, so we weren't up for much excitement. Unfortunately for me, I have had hives for about 3 weeks. I look like I was attacked by mosquitoes and itch like crazy. We are unsure if the hives are from an allergy or stress. I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday, so hopefully I will know more then. On top of the hives I got Rich's cold, so for most of the weekend I rested and soaked in oatmeal baths for the hives.

Rich spent his holiday answering pages for the office. He usually doesn't have the pager and doesn't mind taking it once in a while to help out Dr. Quinto. Most of the calls he answered were for nursing home patients, so it wasn't too bad. We were surprised by the number of calls he got on the 4th. It seemed liked the pager didn't stop.

Eventhough, it sounds like we had a crummy holiday weekend we didn't. We actually enjoyed hanging out at home together. Sometimes it is nice to just be together and relax. We had fun playing with Luca, watching some Food Network, and playing the Wii.

Mystery Solved!

This week our mystery daylily bloomed. We were hoping for something a little more exotic and exciting, but we are happy with the light red color. We don't know the name of it and probably never will. Rich thinks our daylily looks a lot like the daylilies around the Sacramento Temple and that makes us happy because we love the temple.

Mo Enjoying the Garden

Summer is Mo's favorite time of year. He loves to eat the fresh squash, pumpkin, and cucumber leaves. He also enjoys a variety of flowers from our yard. The other day we fed him one of our Hibiscus flowers. We are probably the only people you know that mow around our dandelions and encourage them grow (only in our backyard) because Mo loves them.

Hot Dog Taste Test

I really enjoy the Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines and the America's Test Kitchen t.v. show all done by the same people. The magazines and show give great step-by-step instructions to different recipes and they test everything you would need to cook (food brands, kitchen gadgets, pots, pans, etc.). Also, all the recipes in the magazines and on the show have been tried many times to get it just right, so it takes all the guess work and ruined dishes out of the equation.

A couple months ago I read in one of the magazines the findings from the hot dog test taste. Rich and I thought this was interesting and thought we would have a taste test of our own. We tried 2 of the recommended hot dogs from the list: Nathan's Famous Beef Franks and Hebrew National Beef Franks. We barbecued the dogs and then topped them with our favorites condiments. We made sure the hot dogs were topped the same, so there were no unfair advantages.

After trying both hot dogs the winner by a small margin were the Nathan's Famous Beef Franks. Our conclusion matched the findings in the magazine. We know this probably sounds pretty silly to most of you, but it was just good-old-fashioned fun!

Recipe of the Week

We have added a new item to our blog called Recipe of the Week. I, Lisa, use to make one new recipe a week, but then I stopped when I was distracted by other things. I decided I need to start this tradition again because I enjoyed it so much. Sometimes I made things we loved and other times I made things we didn't like (broccoli rabe...yuck...too bitter). If we liked it or not I just enjoying experimenting and learning new ways to cook. I have quite a few recipe books and many cooking magazines (thanks to my mom), but I haven't been using them recently and we have been eating the same boring food. Tonight I put a stop to that. I made Sauteed Chicken w/ Pesto-Mushroom Cream sauce and Escarole & Gruyere Salad w/ Walnut Oil. It was so good and fun to try something new. Rich thought I was funny because all through dinner I kept saying, "this is so good...this is so good", but it was!! I plan to keep trying new things and showcasing them on the right side of the page. I don't know if this will appeal to any of you reading the blog, but I hope it will inspire you to create new dishes in your kitchen.

Dinner and a Movie

Yesterday we decided to take a break from yard work and enjoy ourselves (it was also 100 degrees and we didn't really want to be outside). In the morning we went to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian". We have been wanting to see it, but with everything that had gone on we kept putting it off. We realized it probably wouldn't be in the theaters much longer, so we better go while we can. I read this book a year or more ago, but we recently listened to the book on C.D.'s when we drove down to Disneyland. We both enjoy the Chronicles of Narnia series and were excited to see the movie. Our opinions on the movie are a little different. Rich liked the movie more than me. I was pretty disappointed and was upset they changed the story somewhat. I have a hard time when the stories of good books are changed when making a movie. I also envisioned some of the characters different while reading the story, so it was hard to see all the actors as their character. I think if I watch it again on DVD I will probably end up liking it. I think I was so excited and had such high hopes that I was a little let down.

Lisa's Rating: B-
Rich's Rating: B+


Later in the day we were treated to dinner at Dos Coyotes by our friends, the Normans. They are a great couple and we enjoy spending time with them and their family. Rich has eaten there before, but this was my first time. We both enjoyed burritos and the conversation.

GOOD MORNING WORLD! (Part 2)

This morning I got up early with Rich again, but this time we went on a bike ride. It felt good to be on the trail with the cool morning air blowing against our faces. In the morning the air seems so clean and fresh. This morning we saw a lot more animals. We saw several deer and one with a good set of antlers. We also saw many rabbits and turkeys. We saw one turkey sitting on the side of the road and thought it was kind of weird, but as we got closer the turkey got up and a little baby turkey emerged. The baby was so cute and the mommy turkey was keeping it safe and warm under her wing. The only sad thing was when Rich noticed there was only one baby and usually we see at least 5 babies with the mom. Starting off our day like this was great and I plan to try to keep it up a couple times a week. Rich is in the habit, so it isn't too hard for him. But, anybody that knows me (especially my parents) knows I'm not a morning person, so getting up at 5:30am two times this week was a big accomplishment and will be hard to continue. I just have to remember how good it feels to be out in the morning air and how good I feel when I get home.

GOOD MORNING WORLD!

This morning I got up with Rich at 5:30am to go on a walk. He usually gets up at 5:30 during the week to exercise before heading off to work. Sometimes I get up a little before 7:00 to make Rich breakfast and see him off and sometimes I get up a little later. Last night I decided to get up early and go on a walk with Rich and Luca and I'm glad I did. The bike path was beautiful and quiet this morning. We saw a deer, some turkey, and a few jack-rabbits. I think a couple times a week I'm going to get up early, once to walk with Rich and Luca, and once to go on a bike ride with Rich.