So...I tried

Some people may know that my dad is from Venezuela. My kids never got a chance to meet him because he passed away before Jon and I were married. I try to tell them about him. Sam's middle name is Italo(which is my father's first name). Anyway, today I made black beans, rice, and arepas for dinner which is all stuff I grew up with and loved. It turns out, my family is not such big fans. I don't know if I waited too long or maybe it's an aquired taste. I sure had a feast tonight though.

Our Easter

We had a wonderful Easter. The Sunday before Easter we were able to spend with my brother Vinnie and his family as well as my Mom and my youngest brother Ross. The kids loved the chance to have an Easter egg hunt with their baby cousin Italo.


We also had a big hummus tasting event. My always health conscious mom wanted to see if hummus was a good snack or not so we had to give it a fair chance. We tasted 6 varieties of hummus that day! I had to chuckle to myself later that day when Vinnie posted on facebook that he was eating hummus. There was a LOT of hummus. Oh...by the way we decided hummus is a pretty good snack!


Then, we actually had Easter! What can I say, the kids loved their baskets and we had a nice visit from Nana(my mom). Easter dinner was chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatoes, squash, and a nice green salad. Mom brought a vegan meatloaf which was okay but Mom and I agreed it tasted a lot like stuffing and wasn't the best vegan dish we have tried.

One thing I love about living in a small town

When something exciting happens, people usually come! Recently, Colusa had it's annual Western Days and children's fair. Bekah and I kept our tradition and went to the celebrity team penning held Friday night. The celebrities are local school teachers, teenagers, and other community members who really don't have a lot of experience penning cattle. It's always a fun show.

Saturday, I took Sam and Bekah to the children's fair. The highlights were the big inflatable slide sponsored by the Lions Club, a pony ride, the rice box(like a sand box), blowing bubbles, getting a free book, learning how to rope a pretend cow, and seeing a magician. Here they are with the hats they won when they roped the pretend cow. All of this was free of charge by the way. Now that really makes for a fun day!

What are your needs?

Copied from my sister in law Kristy
What you do is go to Google and type in "_____ (your name) needs", so for example I typed in "Vanessa needs"(couldn't find Venisa) and pushed enter. You post the first 5 things that show up. Here's what mine said:

1. Vanessa needs to watch this show.
2. Vanessa needs to get a LIFE.
3. Vanessa needs hugs.
4. Vanessa Needs To Step Up.
5. Vanessa needs our prayers .

he he and since I couldn't get enough using my name (well, sort of my name), I did Jon too.

1. Jon needs real women with real sound systems(cough, he can have a new sound system...)
2. Jon needs to stop sending drinks now.
3. Jon Needs Prayers. (for his soul? This Jon is not looking so good!)
4. Jon Needs to Touch his Roots.
5. Jon Needs Cash Quick.

Sarah got her haircut

Sarah has been asking me for a long time to get her hair cut. She has very fine hair that tangles easily. This morning she asked me for the millionth time and I finally agreed. We called and they had an opening and I jumped on it, before either one of us could chicken out. She is very happy with her new bob style haircut. Hopefully this will make life easier for me too!

Here you can see the length.

And here you can see how cute Sarah is!

Building our backyard playset

It took us a while to decide which playset to buy. Eventually we found this one on sale and with free shipping from BJ's wholesale, which is apparently like Costco on the East Coast.All the reviews were great but there were some comments about it being hard to put together. Obviously, it is not because here is a picture of 3 year old Sam doing just that!

Here we are holding up the posts so that Jon can make sure they are the appropriate distance apart(he didn't have a square and had to use a level) and then screw another crossboard on the top.

Of course, I do have a husband who has more than his fair share of cleverness. He made it look easy and even let patiently let the kids help. As a side note. I had to stand on a ladder and hold part of the 2nd story up while Jon drilled it in place. Most people probably know that just isn't my thing(heights, ladders) but it's all for the kids.

One last picture after Jon snuck out on Sunday and installed the swingset portion. You know, ox in the mire type stuff! We now have more of the playhouse on the 2nd floor part done. I'll post one last picture when we have a finished product!

I had a great opportunity to visit my brother and his family in Hawaii, just me and my mom. My sweet husband Jon insisted I take it while he spent a week of his vacation time watching our little ones while I vacationed in Hawaii. We had a great time! Here are just a few select pictures of all the things we did!

Here I am swimming in the pond where Kate finds the case. This is the botanical garden where we actually saw them filming Lost later that day. Jack, Locke, Sayid, and Kate all waved or sayed "hi" to us during the afternooon. We were in 7th heaven. Then we got an even better treat! Just Mom and I were standing on a path near the road in and out. Suddenly, a little white SUV stops and a girl jumps out and runs down the path to where we are standing...It's Kate(Evageline Lilly)! She noticed us standing around all afternoon and wanted to stop by. She asked our names, shook our hands, and even asked us if we were having a good time. She was the sweetest! Then she thanked us for coming and ran up the path again(in clogs), slipping in a bit of mud and had to grab onto her car to keep from falling down. We could tell she is good natured because of the way she laughed when she slipped. We were a little star struck that day!

Here is my brother Roland at Matsumoto's. The shaved ice was really good there!

This is Mom and I looking for rescue planes at the Lost crash site!My sister-in-law Joi and I at Byodo-In Buddist temple featured in lost.

It was the trip of a lifetime. I never thought I'd be able to do something so awesome with just my mom and I . Of course one of the best parts was to be able to see my newest nephew Liam while he was still only 7 weeks old. He is a joy to be around. Thanks so much Roland and Joi for having us and especially for being such great tour guides!