She's a big girl now!

We have been talking about getting Lizzie's ears pierced for awhile now. She wanted to have an "Ear Piercing 6th Birthday Party" back in January where all of her little girlfriends would go to the shop and get their ears done! We quickly nixed that plan, but continued to talk about when would be a good time to get her ears pierced.

I always said that I'd love for her to wear earrings - I would've loved her to have had them when she was a baby (Call it my culture coming out in me; babies with earrings are sooo cute!), but I knew it was smart to wait until she was old enough to 1. want them for herself and 2. be old enough to care for her ears on her own.

Jeremy and I never really discussed this ear piercing scenario for our daughter. We never decided on an age or event that would define the time when we were ok with her getting her ears pierced. This lack of planning caused some family friction for awhile. Lizzie mentioned wanting to get her ears pierced. Mommy was excited that she was finally aware and excited about it. Daddy was not so sure he wanted his little girl growing up faster than he was ready. After much persuading (from Mommy) and pleading (from Lizzie) and another outside influence (the cousins next door getting their ears done the week before) Daddy finally gave the gave in.

Maddy and Emma (who got their ears pierced the week before) were willing and excited to come with Lizzie to Claire's and help her through this memorable life-moment. Lizzie was prepared for the pain (thank you to Emma and Maddy for detailing their experiences several times over); the pain factor is what held her back initially, but after the convincing of the cousins Lizzie finally decided it would be worth it and that it really wouldn't be that bad.

She took her time choosing the perfect pair of earrings that would be cute and match everything she wore for those first 8 weeks - perfect "diamonds" set in a gold plated post. It's all about fashion these days, people.

The lady in the store was helpful and accommodating. She suggested we have both ears done at the same time so the pinching sensation would only happen once. She gave Lizzie the "Claire Bear" to hold onto while they did the piercing. The lady took her time choosing the correct placement. Can you see her calm face masking her racing heart!?

Ready?

Set?
Maddy and Emma each held one of her hands for moral support...



Pinch!



Ta-dah! Beautiful new earrings!

Here are the 3 cute girl cousins with their freshly pierced ears. Ooh la la. Don't they look stunning?

It was a big day for mama and daughter. I was so happy that she was so brave. She didn't shed one tear! Lizzie really is one tough girl. At the same time there was a pang of sadness. This was the only time my girl would get her ears pierced. I've waited my whole motherhood for this moment and now it's come and gone. I just didn't quite prepare myself for Lizzie to have a "coming-of-age" experience when she was just 6 years old. Anticipation is a tricky tricky thing. My baby girl is no longer a baby. She's a big girl now!

Of course, the happiness outweighs any sad feelings. We are all happy she's got her new earrings. She looks and feels like a princess. And her ears are healing nicely. There is no more soreness or redness. She remembers to clean her ears every day without a reminder from mom and she does it all on her own - exactly how we wanted it to be.

Next comes the which-earrings-are-appropriate-for-little-girls battle. Any pointers or advice from you experienced mothers?

shootin' the summer breeze

The boys found a new passion the last few days of summer: BB GUNS!

Don't let those serious faces fool you, they are quite ecstatic to be out there shooting guns to their hearts' content.

At any time of any day these boys could be found in the backyard firing away at random objects found around the home. Note the pulverized soda can they are holding. Cereal boxes, milk cartons, stuffed animals no longer treasured - all became targets.

This BB gun fetish brought some unique backyard challenges. No longer can you walk barefoot unless you are willing to step on those teeny tiny bb's. Those things are everywhere! Ever done that? Well, you won't want to do it again if you have. And, depending on which door you exited, you'd be forced to yell, "CEASE FIRE!" to protect yourself from being hit by a stray bb.

The bb gun fascination will continue for awhile longer. But, like everything else the kids are excited about, will come to an end shortly. Trevor has BB Gun at the top of his birthday wish list. We'll see how long it stays in the #1 position as his late September birthday gets closer and closer. For now we will hear, "ting! ting...ting! ting, ting! ting..." through the afternoons and into the evenings until the daylight is gone.

school days, school days, back to school once more

Trevor's the old man on campus in 6th grade!
Logan's stoked to be an upper-grader in 4th grade!
Lizzie cannot contain her enthusiasm for 1st grade!
Who would've thought it would be so exciting to eat lunch in the cafeteria?

The first day of school began quickly. The kids were up earlier than usual - giddy, excited, and nervous for the day they'd been anticipating since 3 days ago. (Reality never sets in for these kids until it is nearly upon them.) They dressed quickly and got their shoes and socks on in record time. And what beautiful NEW shoes they were!

Jeremy made a delicious first day of school German Pancake breakfast then hopped in the shower while they baked.

Then the smoke alarm went off.

Mass chaos ensued while mama tried to persuade the smoke coming from the oven to go outside.

Jeremy's yelling from upstairs, "WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE!?"
[the smoke alarm continues to screech]
The kids are all yelling simultaneously in response:
"THE OVEN'S BURNING!"
"DAD, IT'S OK!"
"IT'S JUST SMOKE!"

Jeremy yells again because he can't hear a dang thing they're saying, "DO YOU NEED HELP?!?!"
The kids yell back again trying to outdo the volume of the ear piercing smoke alarms:
"THE OVEN'S BURNING!"
"DAD, IT'S OK!"
"IT'S JUST SMOKE!"

Jeremy yells again, "DO YOU NEED HELP?!?!"
The kids finally get that he can't understand when they're all answering him at the same time. They all yell at him in unison, "NO!"

Just then the alarms quit. *Sigh of relief.*

The volume of those smoke alarm were... well... alarming! Oh, the ringing in our ears! No worries, it was only some butter burning off the bottom of the oven that spilled over the side of the pan that caused all that commotion.

The yummy pancakes were eaten in record time. And then lunches were packed while the kids ran outside to take some back to school photos with dad.

We ran out the door (without the carefully prepared lunches! Ah! Completely forgot to pack the lunches INTO the backpacks!) and drove over to the school for the traditional first day of school "parent drop off". There we met up with some of the kids' good buddies and took some more embarrassing pictures before saying our final goodbyes.

All in all it was a great start to the 2010-2011 school year. (- besides that smoke alarm business and forgetting of the lunches.) We can't wait to see what this year has in store for us!

Hiking the Hollywood Sign (or our hike to the entrance of the underworld)

We had a short sweet visit with Jeremy's sister Kristen and her family this weekend. It was a jam packed 24 hours we spent together full of lots of good times, good eats, and good memories. She has been wanting to take us on the hike up to see the HOLLLYWOOD sign and this visit was the perfect opportunity.

We watched the new Percy Jackson movie The Lightning Thief for several hours of our trip down to San Diego, back to LA, and then home. There is one scene in this movie that intrigued the kids the most. In the movie Percy and his gang must go to the underworld to talk to Hades and rescue Percy's mom. The entrance to the underworld is through the HOLLYWOOD sign. The scene in the movie shows Percy and his buddies entering a magical doorway in the letter "H". Trevor was especially thrilled to see this "entrance" to verify the reality of his new favorite movie. So, to say that Trevor was excited to take this hike is definitely an understatement. His energy and excitement were contagious as he helped the DVD player in the car play and replay the HOLLYWOOD sign scene over and over and over.

We began at the bottom of the hill. The beginning. A very good place to start.

The smaller children got to be carried for part of the journey.

We saw some wildlife on the way up and back.

After about an hour of hiking we made it to the top! You don't actually get to touch the sign because it's fenced off due to vandalism. You hike up to the backside of the letters. Check out this view from the top. Read from right to left - you can see the back of the H,O,L,L, and Y.

And check out this lovely view of the LA skyline. Mmmmm. Smog. It was worse than usual today because of a local fire - normally the smog wouldn't be this bad.

Family Pictures at the top of the hill

The children were proud of themselves for making the hike all the way up to the sign. They were not disappointed to find out that there wasn't really an entrance to the underworld at the base of the sign. (Although, they did a thorough search for it when we got there.) The kids are already enjoying telling everyone about their hike to the HOLLYWOOD sign.

It was a fun active way to spend the afternoon. Thanks to our great hosts and excellent LA traffic navigators, Kristen and Doug, for taking us on an adventure of a lifetime.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.