Salsa

My grandpa has a decent sized garden in his backyard that Emma is in love with. When we visited in March nothing was growing so she and her cousins from Kansas had fun digging in the dirt and getting it ready to be planted.

This summer jalapenos, bell pepper, squash, tomatoes, green beans, cucumber, and rhubarb were growing. Emma was excited to be able to help water and pick vegetables with my grandparents.

At the end of the week, there were so many vegetables that my grandma wanted to make salsa and my mom wanted to learn how to can it. Naturally, Emma jumped at the chance to help and after donning an apron was ready to go. She helped cut tomatoes, put them in the blender, mix all the salsa ingredients up in a giant bowl, and then ladle it into jars.

I have never seen Emma so proud of herself and we made sure to bring home plenty jars of her salsa! It was a great experience for her and me as well. It's not everyday you get to watch your daughter cooking with her grandma and great grandma, and I will be sure to share these pictures with her and tell her this story many times as she grows up!

Checking the garden out

So excited about her pepper

Posing for daddy

Getting her apron on

Ready to make salsa!

Helping Grammie and Grandma jar the salsa

Tasting the finished product

By the way, can you tell which photos are from my camera and which ones are from Eric's camera?

Boyfriends

My friend blogged about her celebrity boyfriends a few days ago and I laughed. Mostly because I always say the same thing about different celebrity men being my boyfriends (don't worry, Eric has girlfriends I know about too). So, here are my favorites!

Brendan Fraser
How can your resist both The Mummy and George of the Jungle?

Topher Grace
I wish I lived in the 70's with Eric Forman


Ryan Reynolds
I have seen Van Wilder more times than I care to share.

Michael Buble
My musician boyfriend


Zac Braff
My doctor boyfriend (I know he only played one on TV but it's my dreamworld)


Tom Welling
My superhero boyfriend

David Boreanaz
Both a vampire and an FBI Agent, what's not to love?

Well, that's the list. I am sure I could think of a few others but I wouldn't want to overdo things! :o)

Seal Beach

During our trip to California were spent a day at Seal Beach. My aunt and uncle have a house at the beach and even though they were out of town, they allowed us to use the house for the day.

I love Seal Beach, they have a great Main Street with some cute shops and really great places to eat. There is a nice long pier to walk down, a playground right out of the sand where you can still see the ocean, and best of all it is never crowded or dirty.

The weather was beautiful again and I was mistakenly deceived into not putting sunscreen on myself or the kids. Luckily I got the worst of it and Josh only got a little pink on his cheeks. Emma loved the water and Josh loved the sand. Emma loved the sand and Josh did NOT love the water. I don't blame the kid, it was freezing! Despite a little wind, a sunburnt Jill, and cold water we had a terrific day.

Grammie showing Emma how to make sandcastles

Sandcastle hands

Wondering about the water

Deciding if they should run into the water

Getting closer

Finally in

Josh is content

Josh's reaction to being up close to the water (love it)

Of course Daddy gets him in

All smiles now

Chillin with Papa on Main Street before dinner

Walking on the pier after dinner (it was pretty windy and cold)

The beach just before we left

Preschool

Emma started preschool last Tuesday! Maybe it's the wacky teacher in me but I am so excited about her being in school and I can't wait until she gets to kindergarten. She loves school so much that she wakes up in the morning immediatley wants her hair done and clothes changed then literally cries when we tell her it's not time to go yet. For the first week, she sat wearing her backpack all morning before school and all afternoon afterward. This girl was born to learn and I hope by getting her excited about school now that she will always be excited by learning. Her teacher Ms. Carrie even told me that she has never seen a student more excited about school then Emma!

Waiting for school on her first day

Skipping to Ms. Carrie's house on the first day

Saying goodbye to daddy and Josh on the first day

Watch out Harvard, here comes Emma Hildwine.

Orange County Fair

While we were in California the Orange County Fair was happening. I had gone to the fair before with my grandparents and Danielle the summer after I graduated high school and had a great time. The fair is huge! There are rides, games, and food everywhere. I suppose that it's like any other county or state fair but having never been to any other, I don't really know.

We (or should I really just say me) headed to California with the thought of giving Disneyland a try. My grandparents live incredibly close to the park and we figured if Josh was too much of a handful we would bring him back to the house and drop him off. After really considering the price of Disney, we decided it wasn't worth it while the kids are so young. In a few more years when they are older and can handle longer periods of time without sleep we will give it a shot!

My mom suggested that we try the OC Fair instead and that her, my dad, and my grandma would all come. We discovered that on Wednesdays they have a "show you care day" and give away free fair tickets. All we had to do was each bring 5 gently used clothing items to get in and luckily my Aunt Cindy had bins of clothing that no longer fit my cousin. We found enough clothing for all of us to get in free and then some!

After naps we left for the fair, the weather was a bit miserable inside the fair grounds because everything is so close together that air doesn't move much and it just feels hot. We discovered the family area and Emma had a blast riding the smaller sized rides. Josh kept whining from his stroller and we realized he wanted on the rides too. It was great because he was allowed on if one of us rode with him which we were already doing with Emma and it was even better because they didn't charge adults to ride with the kids.

After riding a bunch of rides, playing some games (both kids won their own prizes), and paying way too much for food, we left my parents and Grandma at the fair to head for bed. The kids were exhausted and went straight to sleep when we got back. Eric and I enjoyed a quiet evening at my grandparents without anyone else there (which is very unusual for their house). My parents and Grandma finally got home after 11 with prizes in tow and I think they may have had a better time at the fair then Emma and Josh!

Emma playing her first game

Josh playing the ball toss game (he won a cute stuffed penguin)

Emma won her stuffed animal throwing a dart at a balloon

Emma's favorite ride (because it went "round and round and up and down")

Poppa and Josh on Emma's favorite ride

Fashion Island

On Tuesday Eric and I took the kids to Fashion Island, a beautiful outside mall in Newport Beach. They have a giant Koi Pond in the middle of the mall and the weather was so incredible that not being outside was a waste.

We stopped by the pond first and both kids loved looking at the brightly colored fish. Emma's favorite part was finding the littler fish swimming in between the stepping stones and Josh's favorite part was barking at the fish (the kid thinks any non-human being is a dog).

The Koi

Walking across the pond

Emma checking out the little fish

Emma skipping across the steps

Saying goodbye to the fish, we continued walking around the mall and found that every corner had a fountain. The fountains were neat because each one was different! Some had water that danced, some had water that shot straight up and fell, and others had pretty carvings that the water came out of.

Eric and the kids by Emma's favorite fountain

Emma and her pretty fountain

We ended our trip to Fashion Island by having lunch at our favorite family restaurant Red Robin! It was a fun day trip and best of all, it was free (well, except lunch)!

Here we come

Our drive to California on Sunday morning was pleasant. No more screaming than the normal Josh screams to get your attention, no big melt downs or hysterics, and we only needed the DVD player for about half the trip.

We left around 9:15 in the morning and made it to Blythe for lunch. We ate at McDonald's which is very out of the norm for us but they have a huge newly remodeled play place, so it was worth it. The kids enjoyed not eating (Emma even commented on how bad our food was for our bodies, guess I may have said that about McD's a few times before) and running around getting their wiggles out.

After an hour of being stopped, we hit the road again and drove on to Cabazon, home of the greatest outlets! We had planned to stop and take another break especially since the Coach and Crate and Barrel Outlets were calling my name. When we got there we found that all of California was there too, it was so busy and there were cars everywhere! We drove in, looked for a spot (with no luck) and promptly drove out. Eric said he was sorry that I didn't get to shop but I think secretly he was happy I didn't get the chance to send our family to the poor house.

With only an hour left of our drive we decided to plug on. Luckily the kids both fell asleep and we made it to my grandparent's house in record time. When we arrived my parents, uncles, aunts, and a bunch of my cousins were there for dinner. Hanging out with family and having a huge meal was a great way to end the long day.

Emma asleep with her favorite blanket

Josh watching Barney