Are You Ready for Some Football!

Vegas, baby!

That's where Tyler's team is going.  His team remains undefeated for the season.  Not only has his team never lost, but no team has been able to score on his team.  I am soooo proud of them!  It is very fun to watch those big boys play.  Not only are they good, but they have great sportsmanship.  They are always helping kids from the other team back up after they get leveled.  (An irony, don't you think?)

This last game was an exception.  A coach from the other team started a brawl.  He was encouraging one of his players to "get" one of ours.  Tyler's position is close to the opponent's side so he heard the coach yell this and he also heard some Gilbert blondie (yes, for those who know our area, Gilbert) mom yelling to Tyler she would meet him and numbers so and so - I don't know details-  in the parking lot.  And here I thought Coolidge was supposed to be the white trash....  Anyway, it got ugly.

A kid from the other team hit one of ours, and the fight began.  Derek went out there are started throwing football players off each other and off the field.  (Personally, I think he enjoyed that...) But not before Tyler was able to throw out a few punches.  He came home with swollen knuckles and a big grin.  It's not too often (never) he would be able to get away with decking someone without any consequence, but this happened to be the exception. Who knew that he would enjoy brawling?  Methinks the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

Anyway, it's been an interesting season so I'm looking forward to the rest of it - and the END of it!  (Did I say that?)  :)

Happy Beach Day!

My family loves the beach. 

 The day we went to Newport Beach on our vacation, it was high seventies, sunny and no wind.  (That is summer weather!)  We were able to park right next to the boardwalk and we basically had the beach to ourselves.  I thought the kids would be cold in the water, but just like summer, they never left it. Tyler, Michael and Julianna body surfed and "boogie boarded"  all day.  Derek worked on teaching Matthew how to boogie board and Joshua built a sand city.  Bella LOVED the sand and I loved laying there watching everyone!  Sometimes, I wish we lived closer...

It was such a Happy Beach Day! 

Recaps and Highlights from our Disneyland Vacation

I was going to blog a daily diary of what we did on our trip, but I decided to give highlights instead.  We had a TON of fun - that's the main thing.  However, there are some things that I learned about each of my kids and I think those are the things I want to remember most.

First of all, Joshua is pretty brave.  His absolute favorite ride at Disneyland was the Matterhorn.  He went on it five times which considering the line that thing had, was pretty impressive. After his first ride, Josh comes running up to me...  "mom, that was awesome!  There was this Yetti in there, but he wasn't even scary.  He was, like a toddler Yetti, he only came up to here (hand on chest) to me.  It was totally cheezy."  Hilarious.  The unscary Yetti was only a toddler.  Whoda thought?

Matthew went on several rides you couldn't have paid me to be on.  When he came off the "Tower of Terror"  (one of the rides I would never do)...  he said "Dad, my legs are pretty wiggly, they won't stop moving.  Go figure.  And Matthew came back for more.  He rode every ride he was tall enough to except Space Mountain.  His mother put a stop to that.  Too scary...

We learned that Michael actually has an honest fear of heights.  I've never taken him very seriously when he says that.  I tell him to "buck up" and "get over it".  But he actually babysat Bella several times so that the rest of us could go on rides that he didn't want to be on.  I have a different perspective on his phobia now.  Sadly, I benefitted from it so much this trip, I don't think I'm in any hurry for him to get past it.  (Does that make me a bad mom....?)  :)

There were lots of things that Mike and I did do together and I loved that he hung with me and Bella so much.  Who else would stand in a half hour Peter Pan line more than once?  Mike, Bells and I literally hung around Fantasyland for hours and loved every minute of it! 

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that Bella didn't meet any ride at Disneyland she didn't love.  Every morning the first thing she did was try to climb in her stroller so we could get out the door again.  She started to get sick towards the end of the trip so she lost some of her zip, but she was such a trooper.  I had a great time with her!  On this occasion, I was glad for her little daredevil personality.  So Fun!!!

Julianna....  she was brave about some things, not as much about others but overall she loved her time at Disneyland also.  Here is my funny (and is it funny) story about Jules. 

So Derek and Greg (dad of the other family we were with) were going to pick up dinner one night.  They drive past a "Gentleman's Club."  Jules says, "dad, we need to send Tyler there"  pointing to said club.  "Oh really"?  Derek asks.. .  "Yes, maybe they can teach him some manners there"!  Needless to say while trying not to laugh too hard, he explained that while Tyler would probably enjoy learning manners at the "Gentleman's Club", that was never going to happen.

Tyler had a blast.  He rode every ride as many times as he could.  He was a one man comedy act while I was waiting to go on space mountain with him.  I was super nervous because it was the first ride we did when we got there and I didn't realize it was a roller coaster until I'd already been standing there for twenty minutes.  I'd planned on starting small and working my way up to a roller coaster, so I was anxious!!  He was telling me, "don't worry mom, you're only at zero gravity for about five seconds" and "ok, now when we get in there take a deep breath because they suck all the oxygen out.  Don't worry, there is a fifty fifty chance that you'll land back in your seat after we drop..."  Thanks Tyler, but I sure did have fun hanging out with him.

And in some strange wrinkle in the universe, my Padowan Learner turned out to be.....

Yes, Michael was picked as the Young Jedi....  Evidently, Joshua wasn't really listening to the instructions the "Jedi Master" was giving.  (Come to think of it, maybe that isn't so weird....)

I really can't wait to go back!  I love my family... 

PS.  I feel the need to mention this for the safety of any family member that may go to Disneyland in the near future.  Use extreme caution when riding "It's A Small World".  If you have to wait in line for any amount of time (I would say, longer than ten minutes), then walk away....  JUST WALK AWAY!!  When your ride through "It's A Small World" takes thirty minutes, yes, not a typo, 30 MINUTES!!  I would argue that the ride becomes scarier than a Halloween Space Mountain ride, or even Halloween the movie.  No one should EVER have to listen to the song "It's a Small World" for longer than five minutes.  NEVER EVER!!!  Seriously the stuff nightmares are made of....  



Quiche

I made this tonight and I need to clarify one instruction.

I finally came up with a Quiche recipe that is the correct consistency for our family to enjoy it.  I've been experimenting now and again with different recipes and now I believe this is the ratio of fat to eggs that makes the best texture for our family.  I've learned that to make any egg dish requires a certain amount of fat to prevent the eggs from being runny.  I've made a few quiches now without enough of one or so ingredients that keeps the eggs from setting the way our family likes it.  This ratio of mayo and cheese to eggs makes it perfect for us.  (The cheese is actually pretty important, I've tried with only a cup of cheese and it doesn't set up correctly.)

Combine the following ingredients in a mixer:
1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Mayonaise
4 large eggs or 5 medium eggs
Seasonings, I usually use regular salt and pepper.  I will occasionally add 1 tsp. dried dill

Into the pie crust add:

1 1/2 C Cheese  Any kind of cheese.  Our family always has co-jack on hand so that's usually what we use, but mild cheddar is really tasty also.

The rest is up to you!
We love to add:
Steamed Asparagus
Steamed Spinach
Ham cubes
Sauteed onion and green pepper to the adult quiche.

Mom also loves it when I add cream cheese.  I cut a block in half and then break pieces of it off around the inside of the crust so every piece has a bite of cream cheese.  It changes the texture just a little.  Mom loves it, Derek doesn't.  You do what you want  :)

Pour the egg mixture over the ingredients in the pie crust

Bake at about 375 until set.   About 35-45 minutes.

Green chili, green onion and monterey jack cheese in your quiche is awesome also.  If you don't live close enough to Casa Palomino to get a perfect Chili Relleno, this has some great flavors.

Disneyland IS the Happiest Place on Earth!

We got back from our Disneyland (and beach) vacation last night.  I was going to blog a little daily, but closing Disneyland down three days in a week turns out to be a little exhausting.  We didn't want to waste a minute so we literally collapsed into bed every night.  We had SO MUCH FUN!!!

Beans and rice, hot dogs and grill cheese sandwiches will probably be on the menu for the next two weeks, but we have no regrets!  Best. Family. Vacation. Ever.

I will break down my days in upcoming posts, I feel closer to my family and in love with my husband.  AWESOME!

Go Tyler!

This is Jaren. 

He loves Tyler.  He sees Tyler at school and church and he's one of Tyler's biggest fans.

He's been asking his parents to take him to watch Tyler play football for the past few weeks.  He even made this sign  (in the picture above) that says, "Go Tyler!"  It's on a post it note.  Seriously, the cutest thing you've ever seen.  He was holding it up for Tyler during the game.

After the game, Tyler asked to go to Jaren's house to tell him thank you for coming to the game.  I guess he went and told Jaren that he saw him up in the stands cheering for him and he saw him hold up his sign. He told Jaren how happy he was that he came to the game and gave him high five and knuckles.  

After Ty's visit I recieved a text from Jaren's mom, letting me know how sweet Tyler was with her son and how much it meant to her and Jaren.  Jaren struggles with autism so any time he really makes a connection with someone, it's a big deal.

I am so thankful that Heavenly Father puts us in places where we can touch each other and help each other grow.  HE placed Tyler and Jaren in the same place so that they could bring out the best in each other, even if it's just for a little while.

And Go Tyler!  (What a good kid.)

Whew!

Here is an update from my last post.

Superman saved me  :)

First, (and most important), he let me lay in bed with the covers over my head way too long for the second day in a row where I was able to find enough courage to face my day.

Then, he ran all the errands for the vacation, took care of the children, grilled hotdogs for the Birthday Party, ran kids to the game, packed up half the kids clothes for the vacation and is now cleaning out the car so we'll be ready to go. 

I seriously couldn't do life without him. 

Help!

So what was the mother of six doing the morning of her daughter's birthday and two days before she leaves on vacation?

Why sleeping in and laying around of course!

Well she must be so on the ball, this mother to have so much done that she can just lay there, right?

Of course, the laundry is done ready to be packed, the birthday party is organized and the food is done.  The football uniform is washed and ready to go for the game happening right after the birthday party, the house is cleaned of trash that will surely rot and stink up the house while the family is away on the vacation they are taking in  48 hours.

This mother is ready to jump out of bed and go sell popsicles and popcorn at the school to make money for the PTO and visit with her childrens' teachers, then go run errands for her family's vacation, then help get Grandma's house ready for the party tomorrow, then take her daughter out for her birthday, and then come home and clean up the  mess at home.

Hmmmm........  what do you think?

The truth is, this mother is laying in bed with the covers over her head scared of her big bad day!  Too bad that big bad day is going to come and get her anyway....

The Pool is Cool

 So Mom and Dad's pool is done.  Once they got going on it, it just didn't take much time.  I have to admit, I'm surprised how much our family loves it.  We been at the Grandparents' house swimming literally every day (but Sunday) since it was finished.  It's helps that it's been blazing hot here for the past week.  105 or more.  I just wanted to add some fun pictures...

FYI, this was the first day we could swim.  Before too long, Derek just jumped in clothes and all!

Take note of my no fear baby. She scares me to death!  The upside is she is sleeping much better lately.  Nothing like swimming every day to help wear her out!

Brave Little Monkey