October 2010, pt. 1

October started out with a sad event. On 10/01/10, my last living grandparent, Grandma Berkline, passed away. She had been in a lot of pain so it was a blessing, but it's always sad to see someone you love go. We went to California for the funeral and made it into a fun little vacation while we were there.

This is the drawing Casey did of my Grandma when she was younger. What a beauty!

Owen being cute.

Evan being cute.
(We had a few umbrellas for shade at the cemetery. It was so hot!)

Emily decided to participate in the funeral by being a pallbearer. This gave us a chance to laugh a little at her expense. :)

Another light moment, which Grandma would have totally approved of, came when Jenny told us the story of how Grandma reminded people that her name, Frances, was spelled with an 'e' and not an 'i.' She was a funny lady and did not want any of us to be sad when she died. She wanted a big party. We pretty much obliged.

Bye to Grandma "Brokeline," as my kids would call her. See you later!

All the cousins (a whopping 2 families' worth).

We took the opportunity to go to Disneyland and California Adventure while we were there. The night and morning before we went were kind of disastrous. The power went out on just a portion of the street my Grandma lived on. Edison International said they were on the problem, but we don't think they sent anyone out to fix it until the morning. We spent that evening trying to get ready for a long day at the theme parks by what little candlelight and flashlight light we could find in Grandma's house. We had to buy ice to keep food in a cooler (which, luckily, was still there from the post-funeral luncheon). Everyone bathed and showered by candlelight. We couldn't charge phones unless we had car chargers. We had frizzy hair because we couldn't blow dry it and we tried to put makeup on in the dark (when we go to Disneyland, we leave early and make good use of all our time). And then, 5 minutes before we left ... the lights came on. Boy were we mad!

But we still had a blast and the boys loved it as much as the rest of us.

We spent time at Aunt Carol's house and got to see her turtles, kitties, giant spiders (those aren't pets), etc.

Of course we had to visit Seal Beach and walk down the pier.

And we can't forget the traditional photo by the seal.

Casey did some plein-air painting on the beach while we walked and played.

It was a little chilly, but not chilly enough to keep us away from the water.

We hung out in Grandma's backyard for, what has turned out to be, the last time.

And no California trip would be complete without a trip to the duck park.

A new and exciting feature this year ... the giant mushrooms.

And one of the favorite traditional activities at Grandma's is bouncing all the super balls down the stairs. We are going to miss Grandma and her home. We have a lot of great memories there.

November 2009 in 3 Pictures

Thanksgiving dinner at our house ... yummmm!

The resemblance is uncanny!

Owen discovered his love of scissors (which Evan didn't even know existed until preschool).

Family Photo Session

I have tried no less than 5 times to upload pictures from our latest family portrait session (clear back in the beginning of October), but I just can't get it to work. So let me just direct you here:

http://webblisa.blogspot.com/2009/11/childs-family_26.html

or here to see all 40 photos we chose:
http://www.facebook.com/amandamchilds?ref=profile#!/album.php?aid=34720&id=1655324036

Casey's cousin, Lisa, was kind and patient enough to do our photos. I think she is incredible. I told her morning would probably be best because the kids would not be tired and cranky. Hmmm ... well, you just never know when kids will be in one of their moods. Owen would not crack even a hint of a smile for anyone. Especially Lisa. So the photos started out with a pouty Owen and a stoic Evan. After various attempts at making Owen smile, we finally succeeded. I just remember all of us looking like crazy people, which somehow ended in Owen being chased around and laughing and smiling. Success!

Lisa took our photos in Casey's art studio first. Then we piled everyone in the car and drove up American Fork Canyon. We found a beautiful spot with all the gorgeous fall leaves and the mountains in the background. Some photos look like we are in front of a fake backdrop because it's that perfect. At that point it was a little cool, but we made one more stop by the river and the kids nearly froze to death. (All for the cause, people!) I guess I didn't plan our outfits very well, as the kids were dressed in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. But we did it and got some great photos that I am so pleased with. Lisa, I can't thank you enough.
I love them!

September Staycation and Stuff

Well, this past September brought some fun into our early Fall season. It began with ...

... a new bike! A big thanks to my cousin Jenny for this incredible, barely-used kid bike. We put some training wheels on and bought Evan a helmet and such. He was pretty unsure about it. I think once he gets better at it he'll like it more. It's a very hefty, heavy-duty bike, which is great, but I'm afraid if he ever falls it might do some damage on such a skinny kid.

Of course Owen had to have his turn on the bike.

We took a little "staycation" over Labor Day. We spent the night at a really nice extended-stay hotel in SLC. It had a little kitchenette with a front room and an extra bedroom. Em came along. We swam when we got there. Well, most of us. Owen is deathly afraid of the water. He still hates laying down in the bath. He says the water hurts his ears. I think the pressure freaks him out or something. Anyway, the next day we went to the Planetarium (again, Owen didn't appreciate the awesome little movie in the domed theater). Then we helped my cousin Holly and her hubby George move into their new apartment. It was fun to hang out with them for awhile. Apparently I didn't get any pictures during the actual staycation itself, but I got these of the boys trying on their new (cheap) goggles I bought them for the pool.

Owen has quite the healthy appetite. Especially when it comes to corn on the cob. He loves it. He can down 2 ears in one sitting. His polar opposite, Evan, hates corn.

Evan has started writing letters in preschool. I love that he loves to write now and draw, too. He draws the cutest people now, which I need to take pictures of, too. Here is one of his very first attempts at his name. So cute!

Random Stuff from August

Evan started his second year of preschool with Miss Janae, who is quite possibly the best preschool teacher around. Of course, Owen could not be left out of the "1st day of school" pictures.

A rare capture of Evan's silly side.

A not-so-rare capture of Owen's silly side.

This was one of those zucchinis that went unnoticed under the plant's foliage. It got almost as big as Owen.

It was a little heavy, even for Evan.

Time for a Change

I hate to admit it, especially to someone who shall remain nameless right now, but I'm ready for a blog design change. I never wanted to be "one of those people" who had a cutesy background that they got from some free blog template Web site (no offense, please), but I need a change. I tried to hint to this person who shall remain nameless (it starts with C and rhymes with "lacy") to design me an original blog. After all, "he" was the one who detested my black blog with the bright words so very much. But we won't. So until I can convince him that this would benefit him as well, or until I can figure out how to design something on my own, I will be "one of those people" (no offense, please) with the free blog template that you will probably see on several other blogs you view today. Don't be surprised if it changes quite a bit in the next little while. I have to try things on before I settle on something semi-permanent. Thank you for your patience.

O-Dub Turned 2 ...

... last July! Yes, still catching up. I vow to do better this year.

Here he is, showing us his fingers' version of "2"--too cute!

He may have finally mastered the art of opening presents by the end of the night. Evan definitely mastered the art of helping. Maybe a little too much at times.

Owen got some great stuff for his birthday. Stuff he really and truly loves and plays with. The sand toys (thanks, T-Em), the Magnadoodle, and these great golf clubs, just to name a few.

Casey's family all got together for dinner when his sister's family was in town, so we celebrated Owen's birthday, too. As the guest of honor, Owen was chosen to judge an art contest that night. This is evidence that Uncle Barry was trying to sway the judge. This behavior is highly frowned upon in juried exhibitions, but Owen ended up picking everyone as winners anyway.

Cupcakes ... mmmmmmmm! (That injury near his eye is from rolling sideways down the stairs. Ouch.)

Love that face.

One more random photo ... Casey's painting was hanging in the LDS Conference Center in SLC for the better part of the year. It was chosen out of numerous entries to be in the LDS International Art Competition. This is his mom and sister, scrutinizing. :)

Yum.

(Photo stolen from Jennifer McRae)
(P.S. Jen, don't worry--you can see Suzy & Ryan back there behind us.) :)

This is what we had the honor and privilege of doing last night. I guess being the wife of a P712 artist does have a perk or two. Great food and great company--what more could we ask for? I highly recommend you give Communal a try. Don't leave without having the Chocolate Caramel Tart (which they better keep on the menu for a good, long time ... hint, hint). I could have died after I tasted that and felt like my life was complete.

Apology

Dear Blog Readers (do I even have any readers anymore?),
I apologize profusely for neglecting you for the past 2 months (has it really been 2 months since I've posted?). I won't bother you with excuses because I know you don't want to hear them, but just know that life has been ... well ... life. And that's the best I can give you.

I promise to (attempt to) recommit to regular blog posting, as long as I can somehow get my hands on a camera around here. In the meantime, please enjoy this little teaser as a preview to my up and coming post:

Look at that cute little girl in the pink crown. :)