Let's spend a little time with Evelyn now

No, this is not the Greg blog.It's a family blog. Where I can write, brag, vent, about what I want to. Mostly write about the family, the kids, the dog.

While Evelyn is at all Greg's games cheering on the team, and playing with the other sisters who are younger than her, Evelyn does have interests of her own. She is quite the young horse woman. She has loved horses for years, gone on trail rides and somehow convinced grandma she needed riding lessons for her birthday. Well, that has turned into weekly riding lessons and dreams of becoming a professional barrel racer.


Since we don't live in the country or have a vast amount of acreage behind our house, Evelyn takes lessons in the heart of Lake Forest. It's a very nice equestrian center nestled back in the trees with nice arenas and even a great riding trail. We have met the nicest people there too, and the greatest horses.


Evelyn is taking Western lessons. She looks like she has been on a horse all her life. Her horse love is Freckles, a stubborn older guy who doesn't like attention and would rather show you his back side. She controls him like a pro in the arena and gives him plenty of hugs and pats and shows him that she loves him unconditionally. Maybe he is warming to this sweet young lady who loves to ride him and dreams of owning him and him alone one day.


Today Evelyn is moving to a more advanced riding lesson. She will be riding with older riders. Should have seen the smile on this girls face, like a jack arsh with a mouth full of bumble bees. I am so excited too and can't wait to see this girl in action.

Over spring break Evelyn attended a one day riding camp at the stables. Oh what fun these gals had. The did competitions, painted the horses, won awards and had a horsey great time, y'all. Evelyn won a few ribbons too. She proudly displays them in her room (messy though it be) Here are some fun photos of the day.

Girls just havin' a fun ole time painting this sweet horse. Can't remember her name but she is so sweet. And she looked so purdy when she was done.
I believe she was summer and spring. The girls were in 2 teams. Each team had a theme to paint their horse.
The other side, the other side, the other side o' this horse.
Oh, just lovely.

Oh, hello there Evelyn. Gotcha!!
Here are the girls waitin' to get their awards for their hard work that mornin'.
Sweet! Evelyn won 3rd and 6th for the 2 events she did. Yee haw!!
Lookie Lookie. How great is that!
The group o' campers proudly showin' off their awards from the day.
Here's a closer view of Evelyn and that's her riding instructor behind her, Miss Nicole. Woah! Back the horse trailer up! Is Evelyn almost as tall as Miss Nicole? Did I forget to mention how tall Evelyn is getting. Hard to keep her in clothes and shoes lately.
Here is one of our favorite horses at the stable. A big ole' sweet horse who can be very intimidating at first given his size.

I must also say , that this girl of mine is just the sweetest, kindest, sweetest, beautiful people I know.Did I say she was the sweetest? Sure she has her moments, but not that many like others in this house who will remain nameless. She is kind, friendly, patient, funny, loving, sweet, kind, a wonderful friend, adventurous, patient, a beautiful young woman, a super friend, sweet, kind, a super sister, loving, funny, and just has a wonderful soul. Can't find enough great words to describe this girl of mine. Just wonderful, super, mine. She just goes with it, hardly a complaint, always happy, always helpful, always her. We have fun hanging out together. I love watching her ride horses and just hanging out with her. She loves to run with me and I am afraid one day here will out run me with those long legs of hers.


So, that's my Evelyn, my girl. You are wonderful, awesome, you are definitely you. One day you will fulfill your dream, you will have a horse and you will be riding. One day. Don't ever loose sight of your dream. Never. Never. Not ever.

Dodger update

Well, to make a long story very short. Dodgers are out of the play offs. The game Saturday did not go very well. While we had some amazing plays and played hard the entire game, the Angels had amazing plays and played harder the entire game. It just was not meant to be.

We sure had an amazing season. Each one just gets better and better. Super, no make that Excellent coaches, excellent players and parents. Could not have asked for a better year. And this is the start of possibly a new team as well as we continue to play with the MV Sox.

They boys were upset after the game, as could be expected. G asked Greg to go swimming with him, which turned into a bbq and turned out to be a great evening. A very good diversion for Greg. He was very upset. The kids had a great time swimming while the parents had a great time chatting and grilling and we enjoyed a great dinner with great people. :)

All Star practice was this morning and Greg had an amazing practice. He won the 2-strike drill. Basically a hitting drill. And he was hitting great at practice, hustling and looking like he was having fun.

After practice Greg and a few other guys found Appleseed and his dad at the field practicing. Greg stayed to hit and field while I dashed to the grocery store so I could feed the family for the week.

We ended up getting summer passes for the Sierra Rec Center and Montonoso Rec Center. Dashed back home to get in swim suits and I took the kids swimming this evening before dinner. After dinner we made another dash to Golden Spoon for some frozen yoghurt before bed.

It was a weekend of dashing around, but if it was nothing else, it would not be a typical weekend. We have AS practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, possibly Friday with a full day on Saturday. Championship game which we will go to watch, closing ceremonies where the AS's also get their hats and introduced, then back to the field at 5 for the first All Star (AS) game. Whew.

I know it's very late, but I have tons of emails to answer and I must iron and fold clothes as I need clothes for the week. Finishing my book will just have to wait.

Hope y'all had an excellent weekend and have an excellent week ahead.

50 things about me

I got this in an email from Melanie. You are supposed to put it in an email form and forward. But at the time,I didn't feel like doing that. So I put it on a word document to post here when I had some time. And I also edited it a little. Like I do now. I have only a few more minutes and then it's time to get ready for the big game this afternoon.

Greg and G and I went to see the Rangers and Red's play this morning. Rangers won. We knew that but Greg still wanted to go. G and Greg are here now playing around. But it's just about time to get them a snack of oranges and drinks before getting dressed. Already had a power lunch of homemade beef bowl. Really easy, it's rice and beef, in a bowl. But good and easy to make and good for you.

Wish us luck this afternoon. GO DODGERS

50 ODD Things about me! forward it FILL IT OUT!Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things aboutyou!(send back to your friends)

1. Do you like blue cheese? yup
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? no way Jose!
3. Do you own a gun? Nope (except for water guns)
4. Wax or Shave your body parts? both
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? yup
6. Real or fake nails? Fake over real finger nails, real toe nails
7. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night and Jingle Bell Rock
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Chai tea latte
9. Can you do push ups? yes
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? wedding ring
11. Favorite hobby? Being me
12. Do you have A.D.D? don’t think so
13. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? uuuuummmmmmmmm
14. Middle Name? Jean
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? Time to get ready for the game. Sure hope we win. What else do I have to do today?

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, iced tea, chai tea latte
17. Current worry right now? What to do with the kids this summer
18. Current hate right now? I can’t sleep
19. Favorite place to be? With my family
20. How did you bring in the New Year? With family as usual
21. Like to go? On vacation
22. Name three people who will complete this? Tara, Robin, Julie
23. Do you own slippers? yep
24. What color shirt are you wearing? Dodger blue tank and white tank
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no
26. Can you whistle? yup
27. Favorite color? blue
28. Would you be a pirate? Yes, a fun pirate
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever I last heard on my I pod while running
30. Favorite girl's name? Evelyn
31. Favorite boy's name? Gregory
32. What's in your pocket right now? Lint and I found a few bucks
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Julie’s funny cooking post on her blog
33. Best bed sheets as a kid? They were this funky plaid type, bright colors
34. Worst injury you've ever had? Carpal tunnel
35. Do you love where you live? You bet
36. How many TV's do you have in your house? 3
37. Who is your loudest friend? Ummmm, Traci (sorry)
38. How many pets do you have? 5 (at the moment)
39. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that I know of
40. What is your favorite book? I like most I have read so hard to name just one, recently it would be Pillars of the Earth

41. What is your favorite lollie? A blue one
42. Favorite Sports Team? Right now: Mission Viejo Dodgers and MV Sox
43. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Trying to sleep
44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Do I really have to get up now
45. Worst habit? Spending too much time on the computer
46. Do you play an instrument? Used to play piano, still do sometimes
47. How long does it take you to get to work? About 5 seconds (I work at home)
48. Plans for the weekend? Sleep in, baseball game, laundry, work in the garden, clean up my office, church, relax, movies, grocery shopping and cooking up some food for the week
49. If you could eat anything in the world right this second? Waffles with blueberry syrup, cantaloupe, orange juice and a cold mimosa
50. Do you like the person who sent this to you? You sure bet I do J

Oh, Oh, Oh, It's Friday....

....you know.... never believe it's not so. It's Friday, you know............

Whaz up for today? Well, kids are out of school at 12:15. I so have to remember to leave to get the kids.

Greg is going to his bestest buds after school. These guys could be twins but for the fact that they each have a different set of parents. They have their secret handshake which involves the chest slam, have this goofy run and just plain ol' have fun no matter where they are or what they are doing. This friendship developed in 2nd grade. They were on the same soccer team and out of coincidence, sat at the same table in class. This was quickly changed. But they are just inseparable ever since. Hope they can be on the same soccer team this year. But we don't get a say in that.

Evelyn and her bestest friend are coming here after school. Nicest, sweetest, fun girl. They both are. But first, we are going to lunch with another friend. This transpired last night and not part of the original plan, but plans are always subject to change. The girls will hang out doing girl hang out things. They can do this for days on end without bothering anyone. They are both way into the American Girl Dolls. So, my guess is that Evelyn's room (which she finally decided to clean after I threatened to lock her in until it was clean) will be transformed into a place for Samantha and Nelly and any others that may arrive with bff. Also perhaps a visit to our fave clothes shop on our fave on line mall, ebay. Can get great AG clothes there, and accessories.

Tonight, well just chillin and bbq'n.

Saturday is a game at 3:00 GO DODGERS!! Greg also wants to see the Rangers/Reds game at 9. I'll take him (along with my book) so he can see the game. Maybe we will all go. Then home to rest up prior to the big game at 3.

Sunday, 11 am is All Star practice. The first one. We met last night to get uniforms and discuss a few things. First game is June 14 at 5 pm. Hopefully we will get the game bracket early next week. I have pretty much put the month of June on hold. The last game will be June 25 (maybe). then it's on the Sox games. Whew! Like Appleseed Dad said, what are we going to do when baseball season is over? I know! Soccer season, riding lessons.

I was browsing through my stack-o-things for summer. Mission Viejo puts out these great to do catalogs. This one is all about events and activities. I think I solved my summer dilemma. I am almost certain we will get a summer membership to a rec center. there is swimming, tennis, basketball, a water slide/park (have not seen it) plus other activities and a drop off kids activities for the kids. I so want to sign up for kick boxing class. Have always wanted to do that. I want to head over there this weekend and check it all out. Looks like fun.

Have a save and fun weekend everyone :)

A nail biter - first play off game

What a game I tell ya. We went a full 7 innings! We won the coin toss so were home team tonight.


End of first inning was 1 - 1.


Fast forward to the 6th inning. Score was 3 - 1. We were behind. 2 outs. Runner on 1st and 2nd. Who was up? Oh, that would be Greg. He batted in the #2 position. My heart just stopped. I was so nervous. I have never seen Greg look so nervous in all his life. I didn't say a word to him. Didn't want to throw him off as he was really in this game. He sure has his game back! As do all the Dodgers.


First pitch, Greg swings. Strike. Super swing, as he was going for the fence. Throw in a few balls there. Swing, foul ball for strike 2. The entire time coach Scott is telling Greg to breathe, relax, breathe, relax and to imagine what it is like to hit the ball over the fence. And all the while, I am trying to breathe and relax too. I was keeping pitch count and kept peeking over my clip board, tapping my nails on the clip board. But I wanted to see what was going to happen.

Here's the pitch.....a swing by Murphy, aka Smurph, Murph, Smurphy, Greg-o, G, Bud...... and he connects with the ball and good hit to short, runner on 2nd runs with all his might not looking back and slides into home! Score for the Dodgers! Runner on first makes it to 3rd. Greg running to first, fumbled ball, so he dashes to 2nd without looking back. Run Smurph run!

And the crowd goes wild. There is jumping, yelling, happiness by all! And this was not the first time. Even the single A game stopped for a few moments to take it all in! See what you get next year guys :)

Tie score now 3 - 3. It's a blur after that. I have never seen Greg so nervous in all my life. After strike 2, he turns around, walks out of the batters box and blows out a big breath of air, and a little spittle with it. Everyone commented on how nervous Greg looked and that they have never seen him so nervous before. Whew, I was glad when that inning was over.

7th inning, Nationals scored 3 more, we scored 1 more. Final score was 6 - 4.

but, hey, that is fine. We play the Angels on Saturday, 3 pm. We've got to get a crowd down there, wearing Dodger Blue to cheer on the mighty Dodgers.

Greg played 3rd, 1st and even a short stint at 2nd. He also pitched an inning. Threw some darn good pitches too. I do say, Dodgers were so in the game today. Greg got his game mojo back. It's a good thing.

No practice tomorrow so 2 days to rest before the game Saturday. Can do some much needed sleepin' in on Saturday morn. I will make sure of that. Will rent some baseball movies, "The Natural" and "61" Greg 's coach told me about "61" Have never seen it but supposed to be good (and he's in the movie too) We saw "Field of Dreams" the other night (one of my favorite movies) and "The Rookie". And yes, Evelyn, I will look for a horse movie for you my cowgirl.

GO DODGERS!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GUYS!!

(All Star meeting Thursday. We get uniforms and practice schedules. Maybe game schedules too)

Public Service Announcement

I have heard of this and seen this before. Something to think about and oh so true.

Food for thought*****

HANDBAGS...Have you ever noticed gals who sit their handbags on public toilet floors, then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot!It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what you don't know will hurt you"!

Read on...Mom got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been.It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we ma y know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside?

Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day.

"I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in toilets.""I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts and on the floor of the toilet," says another woman "and of course in my home which should be clean."

We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag.Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of the kitchen table and counters where food is prepared.Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their handbags were at least a little bit dirty.It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked.Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of t he handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick.

In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There is fecal contamination on the handbags" says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. "Some type of feces, or possibly vomit" says Amy.

So the moral of this story is that your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. "If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops" - Your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc!Do you really want to bring that home with you?

The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags.

GO DODGERS!!

Daily thought

I would like to start your day out with a nice daily thought.

Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.
— Michael J. Fox

Tonight is our first play off game. We play the Nationals.

GO DODGERS!!!

May you all have an excellent day. Make it the day you want it to be. And enjoy to the fullest.

All Stars

So, our baseball days are no where near over.

GREG MADE ALL STARS!!!!

Tryouts were on Friday. I still was not feeling good, actually feeling worse than ever. Greg came home from school not feeling well either. But I still took Greg to All Star tryouts. It actually was nice to get outside in the fresh. I hung around for awhile until Tom got there and then headed home.

There was a scrimmage scheduled for Sunday morning for the players who were called back. We got a message on Saturday for Greg to be at the scrimmage on Sunday.

Scrimmage went ok. Greg pitched, played 1st, 3rd and left field. They had the boys playing all over as they wanted to see them in different positions.

So, later Sunday, I am changing to go running. I thought I heard the phone ring and heard the kids talking. They were playing webkinz. I asked "did the phone ring?" answer "yes"
Me: "well who was it?"
E: "it was for Greg"
M: "who was calling?"
G"coach Jones"
M "oh, what was he calling about?"
G"All stars"
M "and.........? what did he say?"
G "That I made All Stars"
M "Great! And did he say anything else?"
G "That he would either call or send an email about the practice schedule"
M "Ok Great! and what did you say?"
G "OK"

End of conversation. This was one tired kid. He stayed the night at G's house and was up late. Tom picked him up at 8 am Sunday morning for the scrimmage. He was tired and cranky and more interested in furnishing his webkinz house than talking to me at the moment.

But very exciting. And yesterday Greg was more excited about the news and asked if I got an email about the practice schedule.

Our TOC (playoffs) start this week. Our game is Wednesday. Then Saturday. Closing ceremonies are June 14. And that is our last regular season game. Then I heard the All Stars have their first game that afternoon.

Also, the MV Sox tournament team are playing in 2 tournaments this summer. July. One in San Diego and the other in the Inland Empire. Not sure where that one is.

Looks like it will be a base ball summer.

Congrats Greg!!

My Zingz

Check out www.myzingz.com. It's a Fiskars product. I signed up right away when I heard about. Got some free ones in the mail for the kids. And you can see what Evelyn did with hers. Pretty neat-o. She decorated her guitar hero guitar with Zingz.

Taste of America

The 5th graders are learning American History this year. Each student as assigned a state and had to do a state report. Then, for Taste of America, they had to make a dessert recommended by the Governor or know from that state and share it with the entire 5th grade, parents and guests. They had to either dress appropriate for their state or wear formal uniforms. They had to display their dessert, report and travel brochure on their desk and be prepared to answer questions about their state. They were all graded on this.

Lollipops were first made in Connecticut. Evelyn's state. Evelyn wanted to make lollipops for this event. At first it was to be 100, then Evelyn said 120, then it went to 200 and the last buzz was 60. Well, we made 140 on Monday.

Wednesday after school, Evelyn arranged the lollipops in a basket and made signs for the flavors. She also made a Connecticut sign. Connecticut is has many beaches, so Evelyn dressed like she was a tourist headed to the beach. Brought her beach towel, which was draped on her desk, she wore her sunglasses on her head, shorts and a t shirt. She did look cute :)


I really had no idea what to expect at this event. Let me tell you it was exciting, fun, chaotic and crowded. The desks were lined up in rows in the 4 classrooms and the hall. All the desserts, etc... were displayed, kids in costumes, etc... Elvis was even there. After a few desserts, I had had enough. I got a cup and just collected desserts in the cup and it was overflowing. I left it for Evelyn as she also wanted to sample desserts. the kids did have a chance to walk around at the end of the evening.

To view the recipe for the lollipops, click here for my Tasty Reviews site. The lollipops were a hit. We didn't bring many back home.

I'm sick, ugh

Well, the bug finally caught up with me. Yesterday. Sore throat, runny nose, runny eyes. Typical cold. Last night I took some nyquil so I could sleep. Boy did I ever sleep. And It's 12 hours later and I still feel like I'm asleep. I got the kids off to school with Tom and then took a nap for an hour. Still sleepy and loosing my voice. Bear with me.

Dodger update: won!! secured 2nd for the regular season. Way to go Dodgers. TOC starts next week.

Taste of America: fun, hectic, fun. I got great pix. Will post after I re load my camera on the computer.

Updated: noon.....finally, I was able to download my pictures. Thank you camera/computer for working out your differences without me having to unplug it all and start over.
My voice is almost gone. Oh what fun this will be. I think I am waking up now, 14 hours later. Thankfully no activities tonight

Hey, It's already Wednesday

Yippee! It's Wednesday. The week is cruzing on by. Almost the weekend. Again. :)

Tonight is a play off game against the Yankees. This will determine 2nd place. Win or loose, it's ok. Going into the TOC we are in a good position no matter what place we are in. Plus our Dodgers are kickin' some baseball booty. Excellent practice and 5 of us are on fire still from the tournament last weekend.

Tonight is also Taste of America where Evelyn gets to set up her Connecticut report and other stuff and display her lovely display of lollipops. We made 140. Evelyn said she needed 120. Now the buzz is that only 60 are needed. Oh well. I wonder if they will keep unitl Halloween. No, just kidding. I'll stash the blue ones and hand them out after a Dodger game. he he!!

Thursday night nothing going on. One more time, nothing going on. Oh my what are we to do? Well, there is always plenty to do around her. Plus it's nice not to have anything planned. Seems like my life has been so planned out for me since February it's hard to make any other plans or to think too far in the future.

Friday is all star try outs. Greg want's to try out. Fine and dandy. I will take him.

Saturday I am going scrappin at the Red Bee. It's a charity crop but I just needed a day away to scrap. I have get my stuff together but won't take long. I'm looking forward to the day.

I am printing up lollipop recipes for Evelyn to bring tonight. Then I need to work on installing my camera on to the computer so I can download the hundreds of photos I took over the weekend.

Update: Ipod********found
checkbook***still MIA
phone*******still MIA and probably hiding out with the checkbook.