May Photo A Day - 5/4/13

"In My Cup"

 

 

A big thanks to my Mom for passing along a client gift of loose leaf tea from Kenya!  She knows how much we love tea and tea time at our house. 

A Day at the Safari Park

The Safari Park was always called the San Diego Wild Animal for the longest time and recently changed its name.  Of course, we all still just call it the Wild Animal Park because we have been going there for so long while it has had that name.  We have made many visits to the Wild Animal Park (WAP) and the Zoo even before the kids were born, but many, many trips since having the girls.  Lately, the hubby and I haven't renewed our passes every year, but only do so periodically.  The girls have passes, though, that the grandparents keep up with, so they have been going continuously with our without us all this time.  Recently, the three older girls went to the Safari Park (WAP) with my hubby's parents for the day.  They took our old point-and-shoot digital camera with them to document their trip.  Here are the pictures from their marvelous day out with Bama and Abuelo.

A beautiful, talking macaw.

#2

#1

A crazy-looking bird.

#3, with her exuberant expression, as usual!

The 3 sisters together.

Must have been an interesting-looking plant if they took a picture of it.

A warthog.

A water play station.

#3, soaked after standing under the water - in January, that is.

The cheetahs, just chillin'.

The girls love to visit the lions.

Hard to see, but I think a lion is sleeping over by the gutted Range Rover.

A lion's tooth - the girls were very impressed by this.

Around My Yard

A couple of weeks ago, as I drove across the bridge over our creek, I noticed something surprisingly beautiful that I wasn't expecting.  It was a feathery-like extension growing out of a grass that had been transplanted twice on our property.  The grass originally came from my parents' old condo and my dad put in in a pot and brought it out to me and planted it first behind our house.  Then, we decided it needed to be moved, so my dad was nice enough to plant it down by the creek (he planted 2 of these grasses, but only 1 survived).  To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of this plant because the grass is sort of like a razor grass that can give you a cut as bad or worse than a paper cut, but now that I see it in its full glory, I've decided it is definitely a keeper.  This time of year in inland southern California is rather dry and naturally brown (unless you irrigate which is costly), so this was a welcome sight when I came upon it.

More Oregon Adventures

My plan to keep blogging this summer has so far been thwarted by lack of internet access.  So, a digital record of our summer adventures is going to be more difficult than I anticipated, but nonetheless, I’ll try and do what I can.  Here’s a little recap of our last few days in Oregon.  My hubby and I went on our yearly date to Ashland, OR, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  We stayed at a lovely B&B in the hills above Ashland and saw a excellent production of Henry the V in the outdoor Elizabethan theater. 

Hubby on the beautiful grounds of the B&B.

Downtown Ashland.

At a local winery.

The next day, Augustus, Isabella, Arianna, and I went on a hike past Galice (an area where raft trips are launched on the Rogue River) to Rainie Falls.  The other girls stayed home with the grandparents.  We hoped to see the salmon jumping up the stream, but to no avail.  We were probably a week or so too early.  The great excitement came when we saw an otter swimming in the river and then saw him jump and play with yet another otter.  They then went to their den where we spotted at least 4 baby otters in a little cave by the river. 

Rainie Falls behind me.

A view of the Rogue River from above.

Our last big event was attending the annual Rooster Crow celebration on Saturday in Rogue River.  The girls always love attending the parade and walking around afterward to see the goings-on.  We were just beginning to watch the rooster crowing contest get underway (with actual roosters), when it started to rain.  Needless to say, we didn’t stay to see the rest, and I can only imagine that the roosters were not crowing to the best of their abilities in that wet atmosphere.  As much as we didn’t want our Oregon fun to end, we had to get on our way because we had places to see and go, so after packing on Sunday, we hopped in the van on Monday morning en route to Glacier National Park in Montana. 

Little D, cheering at the Rooster Crow parade.

The fam.

30 day photo challenge: day 9 - faceless self portrait

 

This post is a day late, I do admit, and, O.K., so I cheated and made this a portrait taken by my hubby instead of a "self" portrait, but I wanted to get a good depiction of my state last night while still attempting to recover from the flu, having a husband maybe on the verge of getting sick, #4 (the 3-year-old) having thrown up everywhere which required extensive clean-up, and still managing the going's-ons of the household.  By 8:30, I gave up, watched the new "PanAm" pilot with the hubby, and went to bed.  Thankfully, that hideous pile was brought into submission this morning. Also, thank God for parents that step in to rescue us in the time of need; Mom brought by dinner and lunch fixings which really saved the day.  Thanks Mom and Dad, you're great!

Sweet Virginia

Grandma, #5, and I in April; my last visit with her.

Yesterday, my Grandma Ginger (Virginia) died and went to heaven to be with Jesus.  She would have turned 92 in October, so she lived a very long and full life.  At the very end, Grandma had pancreatic cancer and had suffered from dementia for a little more than a decade, so God in His mercy saw fit to let her pass quickly and not stay and suffer unnecessarily.  If one characteristic sticks out in my mind about Grandmas from her later years as she aged, it would have to be her sweetness.  It is such a common complaint that older people get grumpier and more set in their ways as they age, but such was not the case with Grandma.  As the dementia set in and she got older, she only got sweeter over time.  It think this is a neat reflection of her true character because the dementia strips an individual of many of their faculties which leaves them more exposed and vulnerable; this is the time when someone’s true nature will be shown, and in my Grandma’s case we saw more than ever what a sweet and dear woman that she was. 

Grandma meeting Little D for the first time.

Having grown-up in Panama during my formative years as a child, I wasn't in very close contact with my grandparents.  It wasn't from any animosity or dislike, but merely a matter of distance and lack of time spent together (very much in contrast to my children now with both sets of grandparents).  My connection with her might not be very strong emotionally, but I'm thankful for the relationship that did have.  Even so, my Grandma was very good to us whenever we came back to the United States; she also made several trips down to Panama to visit us, as well.  During those years, Grandma lived on a very tight budget, but somehow managed to save up for gifts for her kids and  grandkids (and even international plane tickets); that was one of her gifts - making the most of what she had.  

Some of the adventures that Grandma had that stick out in my mind are:

-Wiring General Eisenhower’s plane in WWII

-Riding horse and hunting

-Raising her first couple of children far north in North Dakota without a washing machine.  She had to wash clothes by hand and hang them out to dry, even in the middle of the winter.

-Raising 6 children and defying the housewife conventions of the time by being more involved with what her kids were doing (be it fishing, hunting, camping, swimming at the city pool, softball, etc.) than joining the neighborhood “social club”. 

-More towards retirement age, working at K-mart and loving her job.  She had a great work ethic and took pride in her work. 

4 Generations of Ladies in our family - My Grandma, my Mom, me,and my youngest daughter.

I will be going to a memorial service for my Grandma later in the week.  As much as we all may be sad for our loss and will miss her, I hope that we, as a family, will more than anything take time to remember the wonderful lady that my grandma was and the strong example that she set for us all.  She will be greatly missed, but all the stories and adventures from her life will live on with us.  

Memorial Day 2011 - Remembering

Just a quick thank you to all those who have served and do serve in our Armed Forces protecting our country and keeping our freedoms safe here in the U.S.A. 

Both of my grandfathers went to war during WWII as very young men.  In fact, my dad told me that his dad (my Grandpa Schwan) was picked up from school since he had turned 18 and was drafted right then to be shipped out.  My grandpas served in the South Pacific.  My Grandma Ness(who is almost 92) worked on military aircraft in the U.S. wiring the panels on planes.  She has small hands, and so she was able to get into tight places more easily than most men.  My mom told me that Grandma was asked to work on an important plane, wiring it, and that it turned out to be General Eisenhower's plane.  And just last summer, going through some family memorabilia, we found a Japanese yen that my Grandpa Ness had brought back with him as a souvenir.  My hubby was able to piece together most of it with tweezers and used a laminator to save the bill.  So, thanks to my grandparents who set an example of patriotism and service to our country!

Busy Bees

Well, it seems I've been slacking off a little on the blogging.  I need to get in gear and post a little more often.  We've been staying busy here at the Garcia homestead.  Here are a few of our goings-ons recently.

-the hubby getting a colony of bees and starting the hobby of beekeeping (which he is loving!).  Surprisingly, we haven't seen any increase in the # of bees near the house or in the yard.

-Putting in new kitchen cabinets from IKEA, little by little.  This is a project that is very much in progress at the moment, but it has to get worse to get better.

-Putting up an above ground pool where the previous owners already had one.  It will feel really great on the 100 + degree days throughout the summer.

-Tending to the vegetable gardens which was very fun at first, but has recently become frustrating as we realize we have pocket gophers in several parts of the yard near our garden plots and roses.  They are vegetarians, so all plants and roots are very attractive to them.  So, hopefully we'll find a solution to the problem that doesn't cost too much $$$ and still have some plants left in the end.  We haven't had much time this spring to be very prepared in our gardening so it is more of an experiment the first time around, but I definitely want to put in raised beds next year and chicken wire under all new beds and plants to start combating our underground pests. 

-We were treated by friends (and babysitting grandparents) to a night away at a local resort and given tickets to see the PBR (Professional Bull Riding) the next day.  Gotta love a mini-vacation!  It was the first night away from #5 who is now 13 months, and she did marvelously!

Off to check on my tomato plants now and do some watering.  I sure hope they are still there . . . and alive!  :-)

A Beach Day

Highlights from today's beach trip:

-The weather forecasters being wrong about the 60 degree day and instead finding it to be about 70 - 72 and sunny

-Enjoying a short, but fun time on the beach with my in-laws watching the girls play in the sand and water (and loving every minute of it!)

-Seeing that Arianna had been knocked down by a wave, gotten completely wet eventhough that wasn't the plan, and hearing her exclaim in delight, "That's what it all about!"

-Watching the great excitement and joy the girls derived from a chance to wear their new swimsuits the day after shopping for them with Grandpa and Grandma

-Observing that despite all of today's gadgets and technology, all it still really takes to engage my kids and make them happy is some sun, sand, water, and an imagination

Wordless Wednesday 12-29-10

Life in the Country

Our barn-shaped house with an already fenced-in yard for the dog.

Well, a new phase has begun in the life of our family.  We have made the move out to the country - a new house, a new school for the kids, a new and longer commute for the hubby, and all the new differences from living in the middle of a city to living further out in an unincorporarted part of the county.  And, as you can see, I am finally reconnected to the internet - albeit via wireless internet because that is the only type of service available to us in our location (who would have thought?).  


I've missed blogging for the past couple of weeks, but to be honest, daily life just took over anyway and I'm sure I wouldn't have had time to blog even if I had wanted to.  The first couple of days of the move were very stressful for me.  I do pretty well managing day-to-day stress with 5 kids and staying calm through most situations, but when it comes to big transitions and major upheaval, I am quite the opposite.  I feel very tense, stressed out, and almost immobilized for a day or two wondering where I should begin to tackle the monumental new task.  For me, this was compounded by my stove not having arrived (and it still hasn't) and having to rely on 1 electric burner, a toaster, and foods I can keep in the fridge that don't need to be cooked.  Thankfully, I have my parents close by and they are very involved in our family's life; they sensed that I needed not just the physical help to get my house to look more like a home, but also the emotional help that this would bring.  So, God bless them, they came over two days in a row and helped whip all my major rooms into shape by cleaning, helping me re-arrange furniture, unpack boxes, and generally make it more livable while I continue to unpack.  Then, the day after, they came back with me to the old house to clean that out some more as it needs to get ready to be rented.  So, this week I have come full circle from wondering, "What in the world did we move for?", to "I'm so glad we made this move; this is such a blessing!".  Now as before, home is where a new page of our story will begin to be written.   

View from my kitchen window.

View from the front of the house.

Dog playing behind the house.

Looking down the driveway to the bridge and creek.

View from the bridge up to the road.

You're still hungry???

Apparently, my children who are all still quite young have failed to realize that Thanksgiving Day is the "Great Day of National Over-Eating" in the U.S (which is just fine with me).  They understand the joys of getting together with family, hanging out at Grandpa and Grandma's house, playing with the grandparents' dog, watching cartoons on cable T.V. that they don't see at home, eating a yummy piece of pie for dessert, and playing with the toys in Grandma's toy box.  But, when it comes to sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner, they seem to eat the same or less than any other meal of the year.  There are a couple of reasons I think that this is true.
1.  Holidays are exciting and this can actually reduce the kids' appetites instead of increasing them.  2.  Many of the holiday foods that adults enjoy and serve are foods that are not commonly found on our tables throughout the year.  To the adults, stuffing and cranberry sauce may sound like a delectible delight, but to children this may just seem strange and unappetizing.  

All in all, my children ate quite well.  They enjoyed the fresh fruit and vegetable appetizers as much as any of the main dishes, but none of them ever got anywhere near over-eating.  Of course, I was full as we were preparing to leave to go back home, having had a lovely dinner prepared by my mom, pie for dessert, and an eggnog lattte to top it off.  So imagine my surprise when the first question I get from the kids after getting into the van is, "What's for supper?".  Of all days of the year, this is the last day I would imagine needing to eat more after coming home from feasting, but as it turns out the girls needed a snack upon arriving home.  Good thing Grandmas sent so many leftovers home with us! 

Fall is in the Air

Our goof-off.

Always ready to strike a pose.

Doesn't get much cuter than that!

A magical moment.

My little cowgirl.

My five beautiful treasures!

Grandma doing one of the things she loves best - spending time with her granddaughters.