Thursday, July 29, 2010

kids say the darndest things

Jackson: Mom, where's my dollar? [actually, he says, "donner" because he still can't say his L's]

Mom: You have to do a job first and then you can have a dollar.

Jackson: No, I don't do job.

Mom: Well then, you can't have a dollar.

Jackson: Ok, I just watch TV. Then I done. And I get donner.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

We're eating lunch in a small San Diego park. Jackson starts chasing the birds and yelling at them to get out of his way and making quite a ruckus.

Trevor: Mom, Jackson is going to wake up all the people from their naps.

Oh, my sweet innocent child! There were about 7 homeless people snoozing on the park benches - he was so concerned that they wouldn't get enough sleep.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jackson: Where's Deigo?

Mom: What?

Jackson: Where's Deigo?

Mom: You mean San Deigo?

Jackson: No. Go Deigo Go!

Mom: Jackson, we will not see Diego in San Deigo. Deigo is on TV. San Diego is here!


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jackson: First we go Sandy. Then we go Eggo.

Mom: What?

Jackson: Sandy Eggo.

Mom: Oh. I see. San Deigo is Sandy Eggo.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Frosty Loss

We were at Wendy's 2 nights ago for an FHE treat. Lizzie chose the vanilla frosty - her favorite! She also chose to eat her frosty with a straw. Doesn't she know how how difficult that is? Well she does now. She was sucking on her straw so hard that it pulled her loose tooth right out! (The bottom right tooth was the one that came out - those two front teeth came out ages ago and her new ones are coming in so nicely.)

So, if you ever need to pull out a stubborn loose tooth you can head right over to Wendy's and order a frosty. It's a fun and tasty way to perform this difficult task.

P.S. Make sure to check out Jeremy in the background also enjoying his Frosty Root Beer Float!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Wizard of Oz on stage!

Last week I got to take Lizzie to a live production of the Wizard of Oz. It was done by the Clovis Community summer theater Centerstage production. I had never seen Wizard of Oz on stage before. It was a great show!

There are 2 songs unique to the stage show - not in the Judy Garland movie version. It was quite a treat to hear and see these "additions" to the show. The many background screen changes were so impressive. The costuming was a feast for the eyes.

Lizzie's favorite part of the show was the Jitterbug scene (one of the new ones). She thought those bright neon pink and green costumes were so fun!

My favorite part of the show was the tornado sequence with Ms. Gulch riding on her bike in the tornado and then quickly changing to the witch flying on her broom! And those crazy flying monkeys were the best (not to scary and had some funny bits too).

I would say that this version was definitely geared more towards a younger crowd. The costuming, the lighting, the aerodynamics/flying, and shortened storyline all work together to make a family friendly theater experience.

Here are the details for the run of the show if you'd like to attend:
July 22-24 and 29-31
7:30 curtain
1:30 matinee on Saturdays
Doors open 30 minutes before the show. Seating is first come first serve.
$5 - $15 Tickets

Monday, July 26, 2010

Our Perceptions of Inception

Some critics have categorized this movie under Sci-Fi. Let us put your mind at ease if you are not necessarily a Sci-Fi movie lover. There was plenty of action, drama, plot & story, suspense and CG effects. And NO aliens. We have heard reviews from 2 friends that are NOT Sci-Fi fans and they both LOVED this movie.

It was fun to see a star-studded cast - Leonardo Dicaprio, Ellen Page, guy from 3rd Rock from the Sun and 500 days of Summer, and Alfred from Batman. I was personally skeptical of Leo's acting. I can't get past his Titanic performance and was bracing myself for his awkward delivery of lines or his voice to crack, but neither of those happened - thank heavens! He did really well in this role.

Jeremy thought this show was great. Here's what he said about it: "It was a movie unlike any other and really grabbed your attention. It's one of those movies that you think about afterwards. It helps to talk through those thoughts with someone else so you both understand it."

I thought it was the very end - the last 5 seconds of the show - that gave us the most to talk about. Some guy that was in the theater with us loved the ending so much that he clapped one great clap, and yelled "YES!" when the screen went dark.

Jeremy and I compromised on our rating (he said 4 and I said 5) - together we give this movie 4.5 dream levels out of 5.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

La Familia Duran

We were together at Shaver for one night at Family Camp. Everyone came up to watch the fireworks show and we took the opportunity for a family picture. Yeah, we are all lookin' our campin' best! Camping clothes, no make-up, all enjoying that unescapeable thin layer of dust - I wouldn't say they were exactly the best conditions for a "nice" photo op. The picture itself turned out fine, we all are great at situating ourselves so we can all see the camera and putting on our picture smiles. But, you know what I like - the coordinated outfits, the nicely combed hair, the perfect lighting and background... Those are the kind of portraits I can enlarge to a 20 x 30 inch print at Costco and hang on my wall for years to come.

The last time we took a family picture like that was at Marcos & Melody's wedding. That was over 4 years ago! (See?! Don't the coordinated outfits and nice lighting make all the difference? I definitely think so.) We've had some new babies born in the last couple of years and there are our fantastic spouses that also need to be included in this Family Portrait. I'm going to push for a new one this year for Christmas (after Jordan's wedding - oooh! maybe AT Jordan's wedding!) - let's see if I can make that happen.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Family 'Foot' Foto

These babies took many a stroll down the shore line in search of shells, sand dollars, and cool rocks. They touched the freezing cold central coast water, tiptoed across prickly pine needles in camp, carried us across the tide pools, and cliff-jumped off the dunes. Sandy toes, sandal suntans, chipping polish - all together make some happy feet.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Pier Fishing

One of Trevor's favorite summer activities is fishing. He LOVES to get out there with a fishing pole and wait for a great bite. or a nibble. or anything for that matter. He was fully anticipating our pier fishing experience before we left town last week for our Pismo Beach trip. He had to wait a few days before we actually made it out to the pier, but in the end it was soooo worth it. He caught the first fish of the evening!



Everyone caught a fish! As a right of passage, you must HOLD the fish you caught, nice and firm around it's belly so it doesn't flop away, for the camera. Yeah, Lizzie couldn't do it.


Jordan was an animal fisherman! He caught 2 fish at once! And I just love the look of pure joy on my dad's face as he proudly held his catch (before he tossed it right back into the ocean).


Here's the bucket o' fish at the end of the night. Yummy, right. The fish were only half alive in that bucket. They'd flop around trying to get free - sometimes they would flop out of the bucket, scales flying everywhere, women screaming for dear life, until a manly man would pick up the fish and throw it back in there. Bella had a great time splashing around in that fishy water. Check out Gramma Elizabeth's face as she's holding Bella aka "fish fingers".
Make sure to stay tuned for another story about this bucket o' fish...



Trevor's pier fishing dreams came true once again. And we all enjoyed a nice evening being together. Nice weather. Beautiful sunset. Good company. Great fishing memories.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Summer Games

Our kids have discovered some new games this summer. It has been fun to see them get excited about new things. It seems like we stick with the same ol' same ol' for so long and it's hard to break away from that. This summer they've all gravitated toward different interests. Here are each of their latest obsessions:

Jackson: CLUB PENGUIN

This little boy can log on to Club Penguin at any time. He has his own penguin, house, puffle, and items he's "purchased" for his living area. He loves playing the games and buying new things for his wardrobe and his igloo.



Logan: FUSION FALL

He is content to spend hours and hours in front of the screen on this game. All I know about this game is that it's made by Cartoon Network and the kids all wanted to try it out after seeing the advertisements between TV shows. He logged on, created a username and password, and hogs the computer all day long




Lizzie: OLD MAID

Lizzie spent some time at Gramma Elizabeth's house this summer. She came home with this "new" card game called Old Maid. (We'd never played this game at our house before and she was sooo excited to teach us something new!) She has taught everyone in the house how to play. She sounds like an expert as she teaches the rules and explains exactly what an old maid is. She looks so cute hiding behind her fan of cards trying NOT to choose the Old Maid from another player's hand.











Trevor: RISK the game of world domination

Trevor discovered this board game at Family Camp this year. All the big boys were playing the game and he got sucked in. He was OBSESSED. They played for hours and hours 2 days in a row trying to conquer the world! When we got home from camp he had to keep playing. We decided it would be a good investment for our family to spend some quality bonding time together so we purchased it from Target. We played 1 game - for 6 HOURS! Oh boy. We had fun, for sure, but wow. It is time consuming! Anyone that will "risk" the time commitment to play this game is welcome to come on over and feed Trevor's need to dominate the world.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Family Camp 2010: Campfires & Treats

Campfire is a well loved tradition at Family Camp. The kids and adults alike look forward to these evening activities. Each family took a turn preparing a treat for the group to eat around the campfire and the kids provided most of the entertainment. Here is a short tour of our fireside moments.



Talent Night
This evening speaks for itself. Whatever the kids wanted to do in front of the crowd - they did it. Check out my short video below for proof that "anything goes" on talent night!








Fireworks Night
Shaver Lake always does a great fireworks show over the lake on the weekend of the 4th of July. They never do the show on the actual holiday, so we were there on 4th of July EVE - or, July 3rd. We always use this fireworks show in place of an actual campfire (less work for the adults and lots more fun for everyone!). The kids always enjoy some glow in the dark dollar store items before the show begins. Jackson held still long enough to get this awesome picture.


My family came up for a couple of days and got to be there for the fireworks show. It was so nice to be together - especially since we got to celebrate Jordan's birthday! He's our Independence Day baby brother - born on the 4th of July!





Patriotic Night
For the evening that actually was the 4th of July we got a tasty treat - a down home All American dessert - Peach Cobbler. It was more of a Peach "Crisp" than a cobbler, but oh, it was so delicious. It was served up hot by the Davey family with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. YES! Ice cream while camping! It. was. amazing.




Skit Night
Smores were on the menu for treats tonight. The kids roasted and ate and roasted and ate marshmallows to their heart's content before the skits began. The kids were stoked to get 'SIX PIECES OF CHOCOLATE' on each smore. Wowza. Who knew that's all it would take to please those little people.


Jeremy was our MC tonight. He (along with his ipod, sound system, and microphone) worked the crowd like no other. He had the sound effects (tooting noises), intro theme music (Indiana Jones for the boys & Miley for the girls), and corny jokes for all to enjoy.


Zachary and his boys did "Dad Impressions" and the Daveys did a cool water trick


Emma and the girls did "American Idol" and Logan did "The Important Papers" with the boys


It's amazing the creativity inside these children. They came up with great skits on the spot. Most were unrehearsed and impromptu. They love being in front of a crowd!


Movie Night
One of the kids favorite nights is Movie Night. They get the ambiance of a movie on the big screen while still enjoying the outdoors. Jeremy hooked up his great sound system to a projector and DVD player and showed a movie on a portable screen.


Notice the absence of parents. Ahhhh.... it was a blissful moment as the children were entranced by 2 episodes of Phineas and Ferb. The adults got in some good conversation time while the kids vegged in front of the screen. See? Campfire is good all the way around. It has benefits for everyone big and small, young and old. Er. We parents are not old. How can I rephrase that? It has benefits for children of all ages! YES! That's it!