la jolla...

from left to right

jones-kendra-errin-brent

....

january 23rd 2010

saturday was so much fun! my cousin plays water polo for her highschool... and she is awesome! go pumas!

she had a tournament this past saturday in la jolla and seeing that la jolla is only about 25 minutes away and the rain finally stopped... we just had to go...

we were a little early so we stopped to check out the crazy awesome waves...

although the rain was gone... the ocean had not calmed down yet...

then it was on to the game... she had three games in one day... we went to the second and third... they won both that we went to...

this is kendra (dark blue cap nearest the goal) and she unfortunately was blocked on this shot... dang goalie of the other team... too bad i didnt get her in action and i only got the goalie blocking...

i especially loved the boys that came to cheer them on... their own cheer team!

when they turned over these signs... they said "boom shaka laka" however... they had it backwards and the whole crowd laughed at "laka shaka boom"...

then it was on to lunch, the boardwalk,the beach and the beach park...

i love the hotel in the background... and totally want to stay there someday... a hotel on the pier...

awesome!

discovering sea foam...

discovering sand and seaweed...

well jones knows sand very well... unfortunately he loves to throw it and then everything and everyone around him also know sand...

and once again... dont you love that hotel...

crystal pier hotel...

more seaweed...

honestly... this was the biggest most gigantic seaweed i have ever seen in my life...

huge!!!

like some of the balls were as big as my head!!!!

feeding the birds at the park...

these birds were crazy!

they would get way too close...

second game...

what is this a picture of...

well, it is of kendra...

the splashing in the middle... that is her and the girl she is guarding... they both got ejected from the game... this game is crazy! they have super strong legs and i cant even understand it!!!

so happy she won!!!

....

(and i cant forget... we stopped at another donut place: the hill street donut house: for breakfast on the way to la jolla... and they are the best!!! really they are my new favorite donut shop... i mean house ever...

we tried the jalapeno ham and cheese croissant

the donut hole

and the coconut cake donut

all to die for... if you like donuts...)

seaworld with the echols...

starfish...

beluga whales...

sharks... we loved the sharks...

the shark tunnel

scary teeth...

so serious... while watching the "pets rule" show... he loves when all the dogs, cats, birds, pigs and ducks come out all at once...

sesame streets bay of play... with sophie or as jones would say, toe... he is such a good copy cat right now... that is her nickname and he would say it every time maegan would...

as always jones loves animal life... so seaworld was a treat! and thanks to anheuser busch's heres to the heros program we got in free...

(jan 16th 2010)

rain rain and more rain...

good thing that i dont mind the rain...

because as of today... it has been raining for six days...

growing up it was always exciting when it rained because it didnt rain too often... and when rainy days came that meant that mom would make soup and cookies... i think i have written about that before...

anyhow... i thought to myself after it had been raining for two days... i cant make cookies everyday or else we will end up looking like the mayor on cloudy with a chance of meatballs (one of jones's favorite movies right now)...

(jan 19th 2010)

so jones and i went to the french pastry cafe... and got a treat for after dinner... i loved the apple tart... they have an apricot one that we should try next time... and this yummy cream stuffed caramelized chocolate dipped thing... i cant remember the name... but it was good too!

(jan 20th 2010)

then we opted for an even healthier snack... baked apples... thanks to martha stewart... they were good but i would add more sugar and obviously i did... with the ice cream and raspberry sauce...

wait i thought i was trying to not look like the mayor on the meatball movie... i cant help it... i love my sweets... and i never hear any complaints from brent or jones... ha ha...

one healthy thing i made that turned out awesome...

my first time ever making pork chops... and we will definitely be making them again!

white jasmine rice with yellow coconut lime curry sauce and a brined/marinated pork chop... we didnt have the ingredients for any of the brine recipes that i found so i made up my own... something like this:

1 cup water

3-4 tablespoons salt

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons dried garlic chips

1 tablespoon dried onion

2 tablespoons brown sugar

couple dashes of pepper

marinate overnight then grill until done...

as of late...

we have tried a few new things lately...

some we liked others we didnt...

(jan 13th 2010)

brent and i both have no idea how jones liked our first new item... vitacoco... it is coconut water with other natural fruit juices added in... we had the vitacoco with peach & mango... i cant stand coconut water... i tried to like while in mexico and just didnt... brent can handle it... but not long and jones... he chugs it... absolutely loves the stuff and begs for more... good for him.... i guess...

(jan 14th 2010)

egyptian food from our local farmers market... this was a three yes item... i love that they put french fries and hot sauce on my chicken shawarma just before i eat it... we also tried some homemade cheesecakes... yumm and yumm... then some jalapeno peanut brittle... i loved it... and usually i dont really care for peanut brittle...

(jan 18th 2010)

then... we tried a new hair cut...

jones...

is impartial...

he doesnt even notice... he does hate it when he see chunks of hair falling everywhere and he then proceeds to scream like a little girl... saying, "oh shoot" every time... he was also very frustrated that his sucker was then covered with hair... and then on his tongue...

(we think he learned "oh shoot" from watching mater's tall tales on from disney...)

brent...

he did the damage... i mean hair cut... so he is happy with it... thinks he looks cute...

me...

can you tell i dont really like it... he is still my cute little boy... but i like more hair... plus i say... keep it longer while he has it... you never know he might grow up to be like his daddy...

love you brent!

thank you....

this is brent...

saying thank you... to his family...

for an awesome gift!!!

.....

he finally did it! he designed and ordered his nike id shoes... it only took him five and one half months to decide that he liked a design enough to order them... his face shows how happy he was... words could never capture that face... (he was not so happy that i made him wait to open the package until i had my camera out and ready... haha...)

(jan 9th 2010)

january 6th:dia de los reyes magos

i know this doesnt look like the most appetizing thing ever... but we had to get it...

happy three kings day...

my brother found the "baby" (the little plastic baby doll baked into the rosca bread) that means he has to host a tamale party on february 2nd... we will be waiting...

ok... actually we ended up finding at least five different babies... so i guess we are all going to have to have many many tamales... fine with me... especially because at our farmers market here in oceanside... they have some of the most yummy tamales ever! the masa is so good! i loved the feta, spinach and green chile... melt in your mouth good!

nuestro otro pais...

we went for a quick trip to mexico with my dad a few weeks ago...

loved our first stop... leos tacos... i miss those things so bad... and i love that jones loves them and has to put lime of them himself...

thanks for the tacos dad!!!

then carlos was ever so nice... he is the manager of the dolphin aquarium in san carlos and gave us our own private show...

jones got to help the trainers feed the dolphins and play with them...

you can see the one in the background playing ball... the trainers told us they love that ball and always tuck it under their fins like a football player... jones played catch with them... he loved it!

then it was on the the sea lions... he just walked right up to them and started talking to them... "hi hi sea lion... whatcha doin?"

i smile every time i remember that... he was so excited...

this is him talking to them... there was a mom, dad and baby sea lion... we also got to play catch with them... they are amazing... they did some flips for us... sang when we told them to sing, splashed us a ton while doing many tricks and flips and best of all loved giving us kisses...

although incredibly fishy smelling... they were some sweet kisses...

thank you carlos for the unforgettable experience and the stuffed dolphin... jones loved every second and wont stop talking about it...

gracias mil veces...

we also got to spend a night with many old friends... it was so nice to say hello, catch up on what and where everyone is...

and once again eat our hearts out on carne asada...

.....

gracias a la familia ibarra por tener la "fiesta" en tu casa...

ojala la proxima vez podamos tener mas tiempo!

saludos y hasta pronto...

mua...

(jan 4-6 of 2010)

pch:pacific coast highway

new years day

01-01-2010

We decided that since Brent had the day off new years day we would go on a little adventure. Brent and I have always wanted to drive the pch and just see what we could find. We only had the day and wanted to drive only a small part of it… So we started just south of where we live in Carlsbad at Dons Country Kitchen for breakfast. So good, if you want some delish biscuits and gravy, this is the place.

Then it was on to Dana Point and Laguna Beach… we stopped at a beach called a thousand steps beach, although it was a short 192 steps to get down to the beach, (brent counted), we loved being there…

(jones decided to get wet = no shirt)

next stop, nothing new but we just happened to be driving by fashion island in Newport… so we stopped for some wahoos tacos and pinkberry… just as we sat down to eat, jones wipes something from the table and says, “yuuummm” then sticks his finger in his mouth… yeah, he ate bird poop… I freaked out and brent laughed… at least he can see the humor in moments where I cant… we ended our fashion island trip with a short stop at one of the coolest water fountains… i love watching jones watch this one... it is crazy...

then it was nap time so we didn’t stop again until we reached the santa monica pier….

Pretty cool and I was loving it there, we parked near the promenade and then walked to the pier… there were some public restrooms… we stopped for a bathroom break…. Which I will never do again… public restrooms are now on my ‘do not go there’ list… I went first and then came out to stay with jones while brent went… I sat down on a bench with jones and this guy almost immediately came up and this is the conversation we had….

............

Guy: are you ok? Are you ok?

(he had a weird drawl/southern like accent... or maybe just drunk/high)

Me: yes???

(me thinking… oh, great, he is going to ask me for money or something)

Guy: do you have something to eat?

(me thinking, oh I was right, this guy is intense, oh brent hurry)

me: yes, I have this fruit by the foot. (jones was eating a fruit by the foot)

guy: that is it… oh my goodness… that is all?... oh my goodness... you need more than that…

(i swear it was like he was about to cry)

me: no… we are fine…

guy:you don’t have anything else...?

me: no, but we are fine (thinking oh, brent please hurry)

guy: oh my goodness, oh my goodness, do you have somewhere to stay tonight?

Me: yes…

Guy: you do???

Me: yes, my house…

Guy: oh, really where is your house??

Me: Arizona… (obviously I am lying, but I was totally creeped out… I was actually so nervous that I was tearing off pieces of jones's fruit by the foot and shoving it in his mouth... poor kid i wasnt thinking about what my hands were doing)

Guy: oh my goodness… you have to go all the way to Arizona… tonight… oh my goodness… how are you going to get there

Me: in my car (this guy is so weird, he is actually really worried… I think he is high on something)

Guy: oh, you have a car…

Me: yes I have a car… and we will be fine…(brent please please hurry)

At this point he was just starting to sit by me on the bench… I have no idea what he was going to get out of his backpack… luckily brent did hurry and he walked out right then

Me: see here is my husband and we are fine…

Guy: oh, this is your husband.. (now talking to brent) sir, oh, I was just so worried, I saw them sitting there and…

Brent: um... ok thanks... (brent was so confused... we both had a good laugh when i told him what had just happened...)

We quickly left and I was so bugged/scared/baffled… I guess jones and I looked homeless and helpless …

the end

(thank goodness)

............

After that we did have some more fun… santa monica pier was fun… jones loved watching the ferris wheel and all the lights… then the promenade… there were a bunch of cool street performers and some good people watching…

After taking all day between our stops and fun we only took an hour and a half to get back home…

Thanks for the fun pch day…

el jardin de mis suenos...

i wish my jardin looked something like this... brent tells me i have big dreams...

or this...

i love both of these pictures... i love the simplicity of the bottom picture and the bright happy blue contrasted with the green of the top picture...

i love plants and gardens... and i honestly love working outside... there is something so refreshing about it...

like i said, brent tells me i have big dreams... it is so hard sometimes being in a rental... you dont want to just invest your money on something that you wont be keeping forever...

the goal

to make our backyard more kid friendly and fun to be in by finding free stuff from craigslist...

wish us luck...

new years eve...

fun things to discover... for new years eve we explored a few new places here in oceanside... we have been wanting to see the oside pier so we finally went there...

checking out one of the locals... i think he lives there... there is a sign saying something about only stupid people get close to this bird...

watching the waves...

and the people fishing...

so many parks on the beach to choose from...

we ended our day with some happy new year sparklers, vanilla ice cream with grandma clarks sugared raspberries... yummm...

i know i talk about food a lot... i love food... cant help it...

happy new year...

2010...