Sunday at The Beach

Where else but in California can you go to the beach in February?! Ok, there's a few other places. But we're staying close to home.

(Remember I'm catching up on old times!)

Dominic was busy and after church the rest of us decided we were going to pack a lunch and head to the Marin Headlands Beach.

It was a little chilly but kids don't care right?!

One of my favorite things about the beach...beach pictures!

The kids had so much fun that day and I captured some really sweet moments that I hope I don't ever forget.

They spent lots of time playing "chicken" with the waves. 

And in just a few short days Emmy was turning 4 so I kind of used it as a 4th birthday photo shoot. 

Those curls!

                                           

Here's a few more of my Coco too...



 

It was a little foggy and overcast but it was still so pretty.

There's no place I love more than the beach.

Definitely my happy place!

And oh look!

I made it in a picture...! 

HAPPY SUNDAY!!

Presidents' Day

It's not very often that we all, as a family, get a holiday like this one off of work.

The kids get off school, and with working at the bank, I get all the Federal holidays off too.

But my poor hubby only gets the big ones, like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This Presidents' Day...every single one of us had the day, or at least most of it, to be together.

 

So we decided to go hiking...a new place this time...at Briones.

It was so beautiful, and close...I don't know why we don't go here more often.

Emma Kate was a rockstar!

Her little legs carried her an hour and a half up hill and down.

Narrow paths, along streams.

The girl even peed in the brush!

Most of our hikes consist of my following a little behind with my camera, occasionally

making everyone stop and pose for me.

This hike was no different! 

Libby got to run off-leash.

We even saw horses.

But eventually Emmers had had enough...

Dominic was trying to lead us to "The Lagoon."

"It's just around this bend."

"Or maybe this one..."

Finally we had to turn around and head back without finding the lagoon.

EK almost made it but Daddy had to carry her on

his shoulders toward the end.

It was a close one...we almost had complete melt down.

 

After lunch and a nap we headed out to Tilden Park.

If you live anywhere near the Bay Area, you know that Tilden is AWESOME!

We usually frequent the Steam Trains.

But this time we decided to check out the Little Farm.

(P.S. Dom had track practice in the afternoon, so this was a perfect outing to do without him.)

The kids loved it!

We could get really close to the animals and pet them too.

I am not particularly into petting the animals, myself, but the kids like it!

(I'll just take pictures of them.)

Here's another little animal we found...! 

After the farm we headed over to The Carousel.

My poor Coco wanted nothing to do with it!

He is so weird about things like this...

and to think we drug him to Disneyland!

After a little trepidation, Emmy hopped on and enjoyed a couple of rides... 

Even though Connor had finally mustered up the courage to enter the building, he just couldn't bring himself to ride. He was crying as we left, saying he wanted to ride really badly, but was just too scared.

Poor guy...I wish I knew where he got his fear from or how we could help him overcome it.

 

The day ended with some photos back at home.

I wanted to play with the afternoon light in my bedroom,

which is the only room in the house that gets good natural lighting.

 

It wasn't very successful but I had fun playing with my camera and my kiddos.

And got a couple cute close-ups in the process. 

What do you think?

Black & White?

Or Color? 

 

Overall it was just a really great day spent with the family.

 

Wednesday Night Dinner Challenge

Tonight we had this for dinner...!

Chicken and Biscuits!

Mmmm.....comfort food.

 

"Who," might you ask, "made it?"

 

Good Question...Dominic made dinner tonight!

 

Tonight marked the first night of our official

 

Wednesday Night Dinner Challenge!

 

Here's how it works.

Every Wednesday night (maybe every other...not sure yet)

it's Dominic's responsibility to make dinner.

He finds a recipe that he'd like to try out.

He has a budget...this week it was $25.

He does the grocery shopping for the meal.

(He's allowed to use any ingredients we already have in the house.)

And he cooks it for the whole family.

The only other rules are that dinner has to be ready by 6:00 and

it has to include a vegetable!

 

How'd he do his first night?

Awesome!

It was yummy and we all had "second's."

It was ready at 6:30 but it was his first time.

And he came in under budget with $20 spent!

 

I am so excited about our new challenge.

Dominic has always showed an interest in cooking.

And he will be leaving for college in a year and a half!

I am suddenly feeling a rush to teach him the many things he should know before leaving home.

Things to help him live on his own, be a better roommate, boyfriend, and yes, eventually...

husband!

Things like...

Doing laundry.

Ironing.

Cooking.

Sewing a button back on his shirt. Or pants.

Living on a budget.

Doing his own grocery shopping.

Yes, the list goes on!

 

But for now I'll focus on the cooking.

I have to admit Jeff and I enjoyed coming home from work tonight 

 not having to worry about dinner ;)

 

And I think Dominic was pretty proud!

 

Premier Parking

The school year is in full swing.

Even though Dominic drives himself to and from school,

(making life so much less hectic) I am still adjusting to juggling Emma's naptime and

picking up Connor from school.

Not to mention that the traffic at school is absolutely dreadful!

 

However, do you remember this post? Yup, that's the one where I bid on

A PARKING SPOT at the school auction!

I thought I'd never live that down.

I thought that I'd never stop feeling like an idiot for spending 200 DOLLARS

on a parking spot.

 

Now...THE BEST PURCHASE I EVER MADE!

 

 

Don't you LOVE the sign?

Hilarious!

 

I didn't use it the 1st few weeks, thinking there was no way I was going to be able to

even get to it, the traffic is so bad..

Then I chose a day where I didn't have to be anywhere at any particular time, and took a chance.

 

Ahhhh...How sweet it is!

 

I now use it to drop Connor off in the morning.

And as all the cars are lined up for pickup in the afternoon,

I get to bypass them all...

and park right up front!

 

The Buyer's Remorse is gone.

 

I may have to get to that auction every year.

Budget every month to save for this little gem;)

It is worth EVERY penny. And I can't imagine the next....

8 years of parking at that school without it.

 

Summer Bed-Making Challenge

Confession:

I am horrible at making my bed.

Sure, I go through good spurts of making it religiously.

But mostly, with all the chaos that comes with our morning "routine"

we all run out of the house with not a bed made.

And the saddest part about this bad habit is that I am passing it on to my children.

So in an effort to save Dominic... his future roommates and eventually his wife...we started the

Summer Bed-Making Challenge.

The Challenge:

To make his bed every day by 10am

(it's not mean...he's always up by 9:30 at the latest)

"Mom Style."

(I had to specify because the first day he just pulled his comforter straight over the bed and tossed the pillows on.)

We began the first weekend of Summer Break and we will "finish" the first day of school.

He gets $25 on the first day of school assuming he makes it every day.

(The up-shot...he's gone at least a total of 2 weeks this Summer...of which he doesn't need to do a thing!)

How's he doing so far?

He's missed 2 days.

Every day he misses, his money gets decreased by a buck.

2 days though...not bad!

I'll let you know at the end of the Summer how he did.

P.S. How long does it take to turn an activity into a habit...

21 days?

Hmmm...

Lemonade! Lemonade!

As I mentioned in my "10 on 10" yesterday, we decided to put together a quick Lemonade Stand in front of our house. We live on a fairly busy street... :(  And I have been promising Connor for weeks that we would do one.

Yesterday afternoon, we had about an hour till it was time to get ready for Taekwondo and we were a little bored, when the idea came to me...Today is the day!!!

It seriously took us 10 minutes to make the lemonade...yes...concentrate from a can...and get all ready.

 The kids were so excited!

After Emmy saw "Coco's" sign, she wanted to make one of her own.

 I'm not sure who had more fun...the kids, or me...watching them!

They were so cute!

My daughter's hair is so out of control!

What a princess though...minus the pirate tatoo on her arm.

These kids made a little cash, had a lot of fun...and from setup to cleanup...60 minutes!

I will definitely be keeping some frozen lemonade on hand this Summer.

Here's to California Sunshine, dresses and shorts, bare feet, and lemonade!

Let Summer begin!

Number 93 Has Won!

Last night we attended the annual school auction for Connor's elementary school.

We've been to TWO auctions before, those of Dominic's Junior High, which were put on by the Leadership students, and might I add...were very nice.

This one was different, held at a local hotel, with very fancy dress attire, which I was surprised by.

Actually there were many things I was surprised by!

Firstly, I was surprised by how much this little number got us in "trouble!"

(OK maybe it was me...that got us in trouble...ehhh...We'll blame it on the number.)

The evening started with the Silent Auction.

I was all ready for this...I'm a pro!

I wore my comfy heels to allow for some stompin' to get my bids in at the last minute.

(Second surprise: Those moms can dress up! I didn't even recognize a lot of them from their normal sweats and tossled morning hair...to, well, as Heidi could relate..."prom dresses!"

I felt under dressed in my dressy jeans and shimmery aqua top.)

Jeff just stood by, watched, and laughed as I fought my way through, and teasingly fought for what I wanted.

Third Surprise: We won all 3 of our silent auction bids!

Oops...didn't plan that one!

I guess I got a little too excited;)

So we won the ice cream package, complete with Baskin Robbins and Cold Stone gift cards.

We also won the movie and dessert package.

(4 movie tickets and 4 gift cards for frozen yogurt.)

 And lastly...6 "free" bowling passes, shoe rental included!...and a gift certificate to one of our favorite restaurants.

Finally it was time to settle in for dinner and the Live Auction.

This part...I'm not such a pro at.

But we were ready for some fun, sitting at a table with one other couple, who we knew, and 3 others, I have never seen before in my life...except I think I may have elbowed one of the ladies during the silent auction;)

After 2 glasses of wine, and the announcement that the Live Auction was going to begin, I got our "Number" ready to raise in the air, joking that we could jack the bid up higher early on.

"Let the bidding beg..!"

I raised my number high in the air and couldn't get it down before hearing,

"We have 100...200...thank you Number 93...Do I hear 300?"

"300?"

"300?"

Me: For the love of God...someone please bid 300!

"Sold to number 93 for 200!"

You may be laughing now...

but just wait...

You may ask, "What did you get for 200 dollars?"

Are you ready?

I got Preferred Parking for the whole 2012-2013 school year.

"What does this mean," you may ask.

It means, that there will be a parking spot right next to the office, with a plaque on the fence above...

that reads,

"Reserved for

the

Schwab Family"

Oh yeah. You still may be laughing.

But who will be laughing when I roll up on the first day of school

in my Swagger Wagon with Bible Tunes bumpin' on the stereo, sportin' my shades, and roll open

the sliding door to let Connor out for school.

Oh yeah...who'll be laughin' then?!?!

So when Connor got up this morning, I didn't tell him I won him an Ice Cream Party for his class, or lunch with his teacher...

"Honey, I got you a parking spot!"

Lesson Learned!

Words with Connor

I LOVE playing games with Connor!

Better Than Ever

We have been debating for a couple weeks as to when we should pick our oranges from the tree.

And today was the day!

Remember last year, our first year that the tree actually produced fruit?

Well this year, we actually needed to recruit some help and Connor was happy to oblige...

We thought this year we had 10-15 oranges on the tree...

Nope!!

                   #1

31 in all!

I have one excited husband today!

                                   #2

And the chowing down has begun!

They are so juicy!

Last year they were just...ehhh.

I am also super excited to blow up one of my "Orange Pictures," frame it, and put it up in the kitchen for a pop of color.

What do you think?

Picture #1 or #2?

Happy Friday!

A little break from the Holidays...

Here's a picture of Emma Kate after a walk the other morning.



She had been up since 4:45am...not my ideal time to rise in the morning!

So by 9am as I am huffing and puffing up hill in the freezing cold, my darling sweet angel decides to take a nap!

At least she stayed asleep while I snuck her into the house. And she allowed me an hour and a half to get some things done..

Hope you're getting more sleep than I am these days ;)

Thanksgiving Break In Pictures

A few mornings in which we didn't have to be at any particular destination at and particular time!

This causes some sparks of creativity with Emma Kate's baby stroller and Libby's leash...

Playtime with the cousins...

The transfer of a cold from Corben to Emma...

A sleepy afternoon...

A very special visit from a life-long friend who now lives in Georgia...

We got our daughters together for their very first playdate!

And some more vegging with Daddy in the morning...

Dom was either sleeping, doing homework, or off somewhere most of the vacation.

:) For Him

:( For Me

Oh, he did venture out to People's Park in Berkeley with a Christian Club from school to distribute food to the homeless. (A true-letting-go-experience for Mom!) 

Goodbye Vacation...3 weeks to go until the next one...LOVE this time of the year!