The Waag Blaag

Beach Day

2011-08-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

What better place to enjoy a picnic than down at the beach?

Hotdogs roasted over a campfire made of driftwood, yummy salads, S'MORES, and...

...watermelon!

Don't forget the watermelon. Or this one will have words with you.

After eating, there is no limit on the number of activities for the kids (and kids-at-heart!)

Playing in the sand at the water's edge,

collecting rocks and shells,

and doing THIS over and over again...

I KNOW! It's just too much fun!

Even though Puget Sound is super cold, it's still fun to wade out a little bit.

Or just have fun from the shore!

Making seaweed hats...

...or holding on to real ones. Either works!

Not really a "beach activity" but we saw plenty of these this year too. ;)

But the highlight of our beach day was a very special concert. Two of the kids disappeared for a while and came back with this - their concert order!

Here they are ready to begin...

Discussing the song order...

And singing their hearts out!

A perfect ending to a perfect picnic.

Vashon 2011

2011-07-24T16:21:00.001-07:00

Vashon Island, Washington

This is the house where Erik's grandmother and her 6 brothers and sisters were born. The house that was built by Erik's great-grandfather who traded the beauty of Norway for the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The house that has heard the conversations of adults and the giggles of children for 100 years.

Each summer, our kids slide down the same sand dunes that Erik and his cousins climbed. They discover starfish and anemones in the same tidepools that Erik's mom and her cousins explored. They play at the water's edge of beautiful Puget sound, just as four generations of children have played.

Thank you, Vashon, for all of the memories so far. We look forward to many, many more.

HAPPY FALL!

2010-10-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

Guest of honor

2010-08-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

Not that he really cared, or even noticed, but Levi was kind of the guest of honor this year. It comes with the territory when you are the new baby at a big family event.

This what what he did most of the afternoon.

But when he made his grand appearance, look out! There was never a shortage of arms waiting to hold him.

Dad got first dibs.

Claire was next, which included a few kisses, of course!

My aunt enjoyed a few minutes worth...

...as did my cousin.

I love these pictures of G.G.smiling and talking to her newest great-grandchild. I love even more that she prays for our kids (and us) regularly.

This cousin got the lion-share of Levi time. This was before he ate (as you can tell by the give-me-food look on his face).

And this was after (as you can tell by the just-in-case-he-spits-up bib).

Welcome to the family, Levi!

Nephews

2010-08-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

I have some pretty good-lookin' nephews, so I thought I'd give them a post all to themselves. Watch out...cute pictures ahead!

This cute little redhead looks like he could belong to me.

I've been tempted to take him back to CA with me - maybe lure him into the minivan with the promise of a trip to Disneyland - but I think my brother and sister-in-law might miss him a little. We're going to have to work on that, though. Twice a year is just not enough nephew time for me.

And this one I need around to fill me in on all of the stuff I don't know yet.

Seriously...if cute wasn't enough, this kid knows waaaaay more trivia than a kid his age should know. Or a grown-up should know.

In this picture he ALMOST pulled off a Dr. Evil impression. We'll have to work on that - maybe when he joins his brother in CA with us. It might be a little harder to pull off, but I think we could convince people that he is mine too.

And here are a few more of my mini-me, because I know that 2nd children get a little cheated when it comes to photo representation (just ask his dad).

And I happened to catch some great playground moments.

And he has red hair.

YAHOO!!

Bruchmiller Family Reunion

2010-08-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

My mom's family gets together every year for a family reunion. It is fun to see aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, and, of course, our precious grandma, who now goes by G.G. - a name given to her by her first great-grandchild (at least that's where I think it came from.)

Here is a pic of G.G. and me! She writes the BEST letters (but that's a post for another time). It is always a blessing to spend time with her.

And here she is with some of her great-grandchildren. At the reunion this year, it was just my brother's kids and mine.

So what do we do at these reunions? Well, we EAT (boy, do we eat), but I didn't get a picture of that. I guess I was too busy eating.

We also play...

(if you didn't notice, that is my mom's hand at the edge of the picture - coming to stop the water war before someone got a direct shot to the eye or a camera got wet)

we share pictures...

and we talk...

and talk...

and talk.

This is what Levi thought about all of that talking.

Don't worry, buddy.

Next year you can get water sprayed in your eye during the drinking fountain water war.

Levi

2010-07-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Seeing as my last post was in February, and some significant changes have happened in our lives since then, it's probably time to post SOMETHING. What better initiation back into blogging than some newborn pictures of our precious Levi! Here are 3 of my favorites.

There will surely be more to come!

HAWAII Here We Come!!

2010-02-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Ever since Erik and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on a Hawaiian cruise, we have been itching to get back. We have only been the one time, and we had short day visits at each of the major islands - a great way to see the unique qualities of each island, but not enough time to really explore and experience all the islands have to offer. Claire has never been, but it's the number one place she wants to visit.

Sooo...after years of charges on our Alaska Airlines credit card, we now have enough airline miles to get the three of us to Maui for a week. We found a great studio condo in Kihei (thanks to all the friends who shared the VRBO tip) and with a full kitchen, we'll be able to save money on meals too - what a deal!!

Click here to see where we'll be staying.

Can't wait!!

New Year...Not So New Blog

2010-01-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

Since it's January, I have resolved to be a teensy bit more consistent with updating my blog. (O.K...so it's January 31st, but I still made the cut-off for New Year's resolutions.)

I wrote a post called Finishing a few months ago and technically followed through by finishing the pictures from Vashon, but I really wanted to post ALL of the summer pictures before I went on with September, October... you get the idea.

Now, so much has happened, that I'm overwhelmed with the idea of going back and catching up, so I'm just not going to. I'm starting fresh. Right now.

It's a new year, so I don't have to worry about LAST year's news and pictures, right?

Well, here's just a couple of things...

1. Claire started 1st grade and loves her teacher. Her reading took off all of a sudden in October and we can't believe everything that she is reading these days!

2. Our chickens started laying eggs - 2 lay brown eggs and 2 lay the most beautiful blue-green eggs. I'm hoping to post a picture soon, but if I don't - it's a new year.

3. Claire celebrated her 6th birthday with a "Candy and Costume" party in the park. She had a big part in the planning this year.

4. We finished our last job with our videography business, Creativedge Video and Erik started his new job as a partner with Blue Skies Cinema. It has been a wonderful change for him and we are so grateful that God opened up this opportunity.

5. Oh, and one last thing...WE ARE EXPECTING A BABY!!! Our baby boy is due to join our family on June 12, but we are already experiencing the joy of adding this little miracle to our family through these months of expectant waiting.

All for now. More to come.

Promise.

Leaving Vashon

2009-11-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Another great year, hundreds more great memories.

Here are two shots from our ferry ride off the island and on to the rest of our vacation.

(Are there really more photos to go through?)

This is one of my new favorite shots of Claire. She loves riding on the ferry.

And this picture gives just a taste of the tranquility that we experience during our time there.
Until next year...

Puget Sound TUBING!

2009-11-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

Uncle Harold brings his boat every year and takes the kids on WILD innertube rides!

Here are the first victims...er...tube-riders. Yeah...they're smiling now...

I won't post the "after" picture - it just wasn't pretty.

This guy had some fun - check out the air he caught!

Claire got to go for a ride with one of her aunties. Too bad they didn't have any fun. :) Someone wipe those grins off their faces!

She got REALLY brave with Daddy. "Look, Mommy! NO HANDS!!"

Next year...wakeboarding? Counting the days...

Winslow

2009-11-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is Winslow.

One of my favorite things about Winslow is that his little pink tongue is ALWAYS hanging out.

Seriously.

The funniest thing I saw this summer was a tired Winslow walking slowly on the beach with his head so close to the ground that his tongue was dragging through the sand.

It doesn't make him look like the sharpest tool in the dog shed, but it certainly puts him a few notches higher on the cute meter.

It's important to know about his tongue habit, because otherwise you might think he's being choked to death by a little too much love here.

It is kinda hard to tell whether he appreciates all of the love or not...

O.K...that's probably enough love for one day. Time to let Winslow breathe again.

Fun at the Beach

2009-10-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

The calm Puget Sound makes our little beach PERFECT for the kids to play and explore without fear of waves and riptides (well...until a big freighter goes by and brings a few "waves" to shore). Here are some fun pictures of kids at the beach.

This is a view of the house from the beach. We are so lucky to have the beach just a short walk away.

The weather was so warm this year that the kids actually played IN the water, not just NEAR it. Some years, it's pretty chilly to think about braving that frigid NW saltwater!

And look at what Claire found in the water - a seaweed hat! Who woulda thought?

The sand provides hours of entertainment creating sculptures and digging holes.

Up in the dry sand (where most of the grown-ups hang out), there are other fun things to do like...

play in an exersaucer that's a leeeetle bit too small for you,

chomp down on some juicy watermelon,

and roast the perfect marshmallow to make the perfect s'more.

That s'more is really SO perfect that we need to see it just a little bit closer.

mmmmmm...

Kids, kids, KIDS!

2009-10-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

Every year we seem to have at least 2 new little ones when we all get together. Don't know how it works out this way, but our babies seem to come in twos. We were tied - boys to girls - until my sister-in-law announced that she was breaking the tie with another...BOY!

Here's her first. If her baby-to-be is HALF as cute as this one, it will be just too much to handle.

The girls! Our babies also seem to follow gender patterns. Each family (with more than one child) has either all girls or all boys...so far. Here are the girls from 3 families (including mine). The two cuties in light pink welcomed their little sister to the family shortly after we all returned home.

This little guy wanted to show off his muscles.

The youngest this year was loved by all (maybe a little too much - he doesn't look so sure...)

There's a smile!

Since he IS the youngest, he gets the most pictures. Take that. (And anyway, who WOULDN'T want to see more pictures of this little face??)

This is proud big brother. You can see that CUTE certainly runs in the family.

Hangin' out.

After-dinner games.

And this little doll...

...took this picture. I think I see a future career in photography, yes?

Vashon Treasures

2009-10-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

Vashon is one of the most perfect playgrounds for kids. They spend HOURS on the beach, digging in the sand, splashing in the water, and looking under rocks for crabs. Some treasures are there every year, and others are fun surprises. Here are some treasures that we found this year.

At low-tide, we love to walk down to the tide pools and look at all of the starfish, sea anemones, and tiny crabs. Here was one that was found under a rock.

The kids soon learn that the tiny ones can't pinch, so they love to let them crawl around on their hands.

Another treasure that we always look forward to (as long as we're there in August) is BLACKBERRIES! This year we even made blackberry ice cream, which was Y-U-M-M-Y!

My nephew thought he found a treasure in the smooth rocks on the beach, but I'm not sure his mom liked them in his mouth as much as he did!

Our surprise treasure this year was discovering this nest with two beautiful eggs inside. The nest was built on the ledge of a basement window, right next to the door leading into the basement. We never saw any birds, so we're pretty sure it was abandoned, but it was sure pretty to look at every time we went downstairs.

Looking forward to next year's treasure hunt!

Finishing

2009-10-11T16:38:00.001-07:00

I have trouble finishing things.

I start off with a bang and get pre-e-e-t-t-ty far down the road, but then something happens - I catch a cold, I can't figure the next step out, or...most often...I get overwhelmed with the task I've created for myself and I just STOP.

I can't tell you how many times I've started a regular workout routine, only to get sick two weeks later and then stop completely. (Soooooo many times...)

I have about 4 or 5 unfinished quilts folded neatly in a drawer.

My house...oh, my house... (let's not talk about that right now.)

So, this blog. I think I did pretty good in the beginning and was pretty sure I could keep up with it, and then ROAD TRIP PICTURES happened. Now that I've discovered Photoshop, my photo editing time has pretty much quadrupled. No more quick red-eye fixes and easy crops - now I'm looking at just the right contrast, color correction, and blemish removal (and on and on and on...) It's worth it in the end, but my mountain of pictures was just too much to handle once school started and we got back into our normal crazy routine.

But the guilt over not finishing yet another project is getting to me more than the urge to procrastinate, so I'm pledging to at least catch up over the next couple of weeks. If I say it here, maybe I'll really do it.

Here's hoping.

Vashon Dunes

2009-08-23T17:18:00.001-07:00

Every year we gather on Vashon Island to celebrate a family reunion with Erik's extended family. His great-aunt (she's 97!) still lives in the farmhouse where she was born, and she graciously allows 20+ adults, an ever-growing number of kids (this year there were 11 with more on the way) and a handful of dogs to invade her usually quiet home. We eat, take naps, play on the beach, eat, pick blackberries, fish for flounder and dogfish, eat, read the latest novels, go for walks, eat, and...eat. I think I gained 6 pounds and took 500 pictures while we were there this year, so it has been quite a chore trying to work off that weight AND get those photos all organized, but I thought I'd start with these. (The exercise can wait, right?)

When Erik was a kid, one of his favorite things to do at Vashon was go with his cousins down the beach to the sand dunes. They would spend HOURS running up and down the sandy hill. Now the cousins are passing along the dunes tradition to the next generation.

I had to back up quite a way to show just how high up they were. It's no little hill...

What do you do on a huge hill made of sand?

Jump down, of course!

Here's Erik in action:

His cousin...

And then this young punk showed us how to REALLY do it.

Yep, he definitely took it up a notch. Let's see that mid-air shot again...

Awesome.

From Colorado to Vashon

2009-08-22T00:18:00.001-07:00

We drove from Colorado to Washington caravan-style with Erik's parents. On our three day journey, we tried to cover 400-500 miles each day and camped at night in their RV. At one rest stop, we looked out into an open area and saw a bunch of little prairie dogs sticking their heads up out of the ground.

Claire and I crept forward s-l-o-w-l-y to get a better shot...

...but we didn't really need to worry because they were obviously used to people with cameras. This guy practically posed for me. "Alright, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

Right after I took that picture, another prairie dog started coming right toward us, and almost touched our toes! I was too freaked out about a wild animal coming so close to our flip-flopped feet to snap a photo.

Our second day of driving was Gramma's birthday, so Claire decorated a cake for her that night. Remember the extra batter from the dump truck cake that went into the regular loaf pan? We found a great use for it!

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but she wrote "Gramma" in black frosting and then used the star tips to decorate all around the top and sides in yellow and blue.

We stayed in Baker City, OR on the 2nd night, so we decided to visit the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center the next morning. We both felt that we had gained a pretty good knowledge of life on the trail from the computer game (smile), but thought we owed it to ourselves to at least check it out.

These were models of the covered wagons. I was surprised at how small they were. No "Little House on the Prairie"-sized wagons here.

This was the view from outside the museum. Inside, there was an observation window that showed the same view, but with a map next to it showing the location of the actual Oregon Trail.

Thought this moss on the rocks looked kind of cool.

Inside were displays of "lifelike" people and animals with pre-recorded voices playing as you walked by. Claire liked this one of the shepherd.

She also liked the buffalo.

Erik liked the buffalo too -- in the computer game. While everyone else was wasting their time trying to shoot rabbits, he could shoot one buffalo and be set for food for a LONG time. Yes, I think we learned all we needed to learn from that game...

Vashon Sunset

2009-08-18T00:45:00.000-07:00

Not much time tonight to work through the 500+ pictures that I took while we were on Vashon Island. However, I thought I'd post one of my favorites. This is the view from the front porch of the house.

Ahhhh...Puget Sound at sunset. Doesn't get much better than that.

Birthday Bash at the "Waage Woods"

2009-08-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, my nephew just turned one and his party was held at Erik's parents' new house, located on a beautiful 5-acre plot that has been appropriately named "Waage Woods."

This party had it all - horseback rides (thanks to the neighbors across the street), playground equipment, ATVs, and tons of yummy food.

Here's the birthday boy - love the hat (and it would become the "official" horse riding attire).

Claire taking her turn. She's a natural.

I'm thinkin' we're going to start seeing "pony" on her Christmas list.

Papa with one grandson...

...and the other. I love this picture.

Yee...HAW!

Birthday boy on his new bike. Think he's having fun?

So here's some more experimenting with PS actions. The first is the original (straight out of camera). That's my nephew's boot, by the way.

The rest are as follows:

1. Boost

2. Heartland

3. Boost/Sepia

4. Vintage

1.2.

3.4.

I'm so often behind the camera, that I rarely get a picture of me with my girl. I thought this one was pretty cute. Love that girl.

Aaaand...I'm done with Colorado pictures. Now, on to the rest of our trip (after I take a little nap).

American Idol...Prince Phillip!

2009-08-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

So I have to take a brief hiatus from my roadtrip blogging to share something I found in Claire's room last night. While she's with Grandma and Papa, I'm using this opportunity to deep clean and organize her room (and probably toss some stuff, but shhhhhhhh...don't say anything and maybe she won't notice...)

Anyway, I was picking up some of her Barbie dolls, and when I picked up Prince Phillip (Sleeping Beauty's beau), he looked like this.

Yep, he's rockin' out these days, boots and all, on an American Idol electric guitar.

"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream..." I just love that song, but I'm not quite sure I'll like it as well accompanied by electric guitar. I fear it will lose some of that Disney magic.

Shhhhhhhh...don't tell ol' Walt and maybe HE won't notice.

Dump Truck Cake

2009-08-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

My SUPER-cute nephew just had his first birthday, and they had his party while we were there in Colorado! Erik's sister asked if I could do a cake, which I gladly agreed to.

The theme was centered around this cute dump truck that was a baby shower gift and became a focal piece for pictures during his first year. Click here to see a fun picture.

I baked a chocolate cake (always best for those oh-so-messy-face photos) in two mini loaf pans. The extra batter went into a regular loaf pan - couldn't stand to waste perfectly good cake batter! I carved the shape I wanted, stacked it on top of 1/2 of the other small cake, and then cut graham crackers to form the sides. As you can see, one of the graham crackers broke in two mid-cut, but a little buttercream worked wonders to glue everything together!

That picture makes it look kind of like it's sitting on a reflective surface, but it's actually two little cakes stacked on top of each other.

Here are the leftover scraps. Don't remember if they got eaten or not...

On to the icing. I panicked when I realized that I hadn't bought Oreo cookies to use for the wheels (and in typical Camille-fashion, I was putting this cake together at midnight...no stores open) but I improvised by cutting out circles from the cake scraps.

Like this.

I added the blue frosting on top...

...and black frosting on the bottom. TA DA!

For the large cake, I asked them to order a plain frosted one from Costco and I just piped on the truck design.

That little truck didn't stand a chance.

He needed a little coaching, since he hadn't ever tasted black frosting before (or any frosting, for that matter).

But it didn't take long for him to figure it out!

The happy family.

Wanna try some?

A much-enjoyed cake equals...

...a happy birthday boy!

Home again

2009-08-09T14:28:00.001-07:00

We're back home now and...surprise, surprise...I haven't posted any new trip pictures, but I PROMISE they are coming. The task is a little overwhelming, frankly. Curse you, digital photography. It's waaaaaaay too easy to take waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many photos.

We returned home to a sparkly-clean house (THANK YOU MALLORY!!!), well-fed chickens, fish, and dogs, and a literal jungle in our garden. The warm weather and daily watering was very kind to both my intended plants AND the weeds that are now threatening to take over. I'll try to take a couple of pictures and post them soon. I'm praying for relatively cool weather for the next few days so that I can tackle those weeds with gusto.

Wish me luck.

More Colorado Pictures

2009-08-03T00:31:00.000-07:00

I just finished looking through a TON of pictures...Colorado, Vashon, Oregon...and I realized that I have some work ahead of me if I want to get this trip documented before it's over. (O.K... who am I kidding - I'll be happy to get these pictures posted before the end of this month!)

Since I've been having some fun experimenting with some different PS actions, I thought I'd feature a few "new and improved" photos from our Colorado trip. Thank you again Pioneer Woman for the fun and FREE action sets!

First, the photo I posted the other day, but with the "Vintage" action applied:

This one of Claire uses the "Colorized" action.

Chase in "Sepia Tone"

Josiah in "B&W Beauty,"

then in "Seventies,"

and his cute little toesies in "B&W Beauty" again.

This next one's up for a vote.

Here's the original...

..."Colorized"...

...and "Seventies"

Sooooo...which is your favorite?

36

2009-08-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'm a perfect square today.

Did I realize it when I was 25? Nope. But I didn't need a quirky, fun reason to celebrate 25. I was in my TWENTIES - newly married, young, future ahead of me. I enjoyed turning 25.

I wasn't as excited about turning 36. Actually, the 35 mark hit me harder. At 35 I had to start checking the next age bracket box on every form I filled out. That association with 35-44 year olds was kind of hard to swallow. I was no longer considered a "young adult" at church. I felt the middle-age monster leering at me over my shoulder.

So this year, with 36 laughing that it was one year OLDER than that dreaded 35, I wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate.

That is, until my sweet cousin, Miriam (well...technically, she's the wife of my husband's cousin, which would make her a cousin-in-law?) at any rate...my COUSIN informed me that 36 is a perfect square.

*smile*

I kind of like that.

Anything with the word "perfect" in it gives it a nice, positive feel, don't you think? So I'm going to enjoy being perfectly square this year. Some might say I'm already pretty "square" and I'm ok with that too. After all, I heard it's kind of hip.

Collecting Colorado Wildflowers

2009-08-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

For most of our vacation, my internet access has been limited to an iPhone. And, while it is truly an amazing device, the iPhone just does not cut it when it comes to photo editing and blog posting. Now that we're back in the land of wireless, I hope to post some pictures of our trip.

Today I'll start with just one. I found some fun Photoshop actions on PW, and I just love the effect that the "Old West" action had on this precious picture of Claire and her Auntie Minna.

Don't you wish you could join them on their hunt for beautiful wildflowers?

Update: I found a picture of those beautiful flowers.

Mini-trip to Pleasanton

2009-07-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

We recently returned home from a wonderful trip to see friends in Pleasanton. While we were there, the county fair was in town! I can never resist a good fair (although it did feel a little funny to be going without a contest dish in my hands...)

Their daughter and Claire soon became fast friends.

Cute, cute, C-U-T-E!!

First animal sightings (and there would be many more). And for those of you who are oh-so-tempted to make joke about the "animals" IN the picture, I was referring to the animals that are just off-screen...promise.

At the petting zoo, Claire made a beeline for the adorable fawn in the corner. How often do you get to come so close to this beautiful animal?

And here's the mama. I swear we didn't dislocate her head - she's just really flexible...

More animals

Posing with a llama

No, Claire - you're supposed to kiss a FROG, not a pig!

They had this really cute kids area where there were tons of hands-on activities, like roping a steer...

...and milking a "cow."

On our way to the next section, we saw a tap dance/clogging team performing. The lead performer (here in the picture) looked JUST like a guy that I had traveled with on a Disney tour 16 years ago...and it WAS! We talked a little afterward and he actually teaches clogging just a few minutes from our house. I hate to say it (you know, the Disney connection and all), but what a SMALL WORLD!

The highlight of the day was riding the carousel. While we were in line, Claire saw that there was a kitty-cat and she was SO happy to be able to ride it.

Here's a view from the front. Kind of a creepy cat, if you ask me, but Claire loved it.

Their precious daughter shares my first name, so we always try to take a picture together whenever we visit. This one turned out pretty cute!

Great trip, GREAT friends...can't wait to do it again!

Happy Hug Day!

2009-06-30T23:47:00.001-07:00

If you didn't already know, today is Hug Day.

Claire informed us yesterday that it was coming, and sure enough, this morning I got a HUGE hug from the most precious girl in the world.

Now... yesterday, I have to admit that I wasn't so excited about Hug Day. This is because last night, when Claire was asked to come and set the table, she informed us that she HAD to finish her tea party because "tomorrow is Hug Day and we CAN'T have a tea party on Hug Day." I needed the table set -- she needed to serve tea to several stuffed bears and a couple of dolls. I'm not sure when Hug Day became the all-important reason to finish her party, but it kind of irritated me. Partly because it was hard to argue with something as soft and cushy-sounding as "Hug Day" and also because, in my no-fun adult mind, dinner was going to get cold if we didn't sit down to eat NOW.

However, when those arms wrapped around me this morning and I heard the words "Happy Hug Day, Mommy!" I instantly fell in love with Claire's self-proclaimed holiday.

So here's wishing a Happy Hug Day to you all! Take advantage of it - these special holidays don't come around every day, you know.

Parents of potential cheerleaders BEWARE!

2009-06-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

I learned something interesting while taking a little quiz this weekend on Pioneer Woman's website. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, the sport that has been determined to be the most dangerous is cheerleading.

Wait...say that again?

I could understand boxing, maybe rock climbing, or certainly rugby, but CHEERLEADING? Then I found this video and it all started to make more sense.

Ouch.

Update: As soon as I posted this entry, Google chose this ad for me to view:

GO TEAM GO! (Can I get an ice pack, please?)

Father's Day "Hamburgers"

2009-06-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

When I received an email asking me to bring something for a Father's Day potluck at church, the FIRST thing I thought of was Bakerella's latest post. Little hamburgers made out of cupcakes and brownies??? It just about busted the cuteness meter.

Everything (cupcakes, brownies, sugar cookies) was made from a mix, so it was pretty easy. The frosting was the pre-made Wilton buttercream that comes in a big plastic tub. I didn't even need to use my fancy decorating bags/tips - just ziploc bags! Bakerella provided PDF templates for the baskets and fry bags.

Look at the salt...I mean SUGAR on those "fries"! They were Y-U-M-M-Y too.

The guys seconded that motion...

And here's my cutie-patootie with a basket that was leftover. My name would have been "mud" if I hadn't saved one for her.

THANK YOU BAKERELLA!! Also, Cakewrecks featured them on their Sunday Sweets post. Check it out! (Scroll down past the shirt/tie cakes - it's at the bottom.)

Happy Father's Day!

Vines attack!

2009-06-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

The phone rang the other day and I was surprised to see Erik's name on the caller ID. I knew that he was outside working on cutting down the vines along the back wall.

"Camille, come outside. I'm stuck in the vines."

It took me a minute to find him (he hadn't stuck his hands out yet) but here is what I saw...

Nice.

Save the baby!

2009-06-16T23:54:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law sent us some pictures today of our nephew.

Claire thought this one was particularly funny.

Me: "Claire, who is that?"

Claire: "Ha ha ha - Auntie Minna eating Chase! Guess that's the last day I'll see him..."

Heavenly Ponderings

2009-06-11T22:25:00.000-07:00

On our way to church choir practice last night, Claire said,

"Mom, guess what?"

"Yes?"

"Heaven is going to be really easy."

"Oh, really? Why is that?"

"On Sundays, when we need to go to church, well...we're already at God!"

Thanks, Jen!

2009-06-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

Wow.

Until Monday, I would have never guessed that my humble blog would be read by so many people worldwide. I was "Twittered" and lived to tell about it.

When I posted my story about my cake contest snafu, I sent the link to Jen at Cake Wrecks, hoping to at least bring a smile to her face. After all, I kind of owe her for the many MANY laughs I have found at her site. Unbeknownst to me, my friend Kim also sent her a link. (Great minds think alike, I guess.)

On Monday, Jen tweeted (is that even the right lingo??) the link and the response was CRAZY. I have loved reading all of the comments and I am glad that so many people enjoyed it.

Thank you, Jen for seeing my story as "Twitter-worthy." I'm a L-O-N-G way from ever providing the daily laughs that you do, but I'm proud to have played a very small part.

Let's All Dance Like a Daisy...

2009-06-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Claire's first fancy-schmancy dance recital. She has been taking dance lessons through the city's parks and rec department, and this year they went all-out with costumes and a nice auditorium.

Here she is in her daisy costume. SO CUTE! She was very excited to wear make-up for the first time.

This was a photo taken at the dress rehearsal. My camera settings were better than the pictures I took of the real performance, so I wanted to include it here.

Right before going on stage, we took them downstairs to the dressing room. They had coloring pages, tiny bottles of water, and fruit snacks for the kids. Love it.

The performance begins - "Let's all dance like a daisy..."

Claire's big moment was to lead the dancers in a big skipping circle and back to their original pots.

Rounding the corner...

...and back to the pots. Mission accomplished.

Wait...why is the girl on the other end gesturing like something's wrong? (Look at her hands...)

Oh...SHE want's that pot. And, as you can see, she took it!

Claire eventually found her way to the empty pot on the other end and climbed inside.

But she was NOT happy about it.

The whole moment made the audience laugh. We're still trying to convince Claire that it all worked out O.K.

And...the final bow!

Chickens are getting bigger

2009-05-30T23:26:00.001-07:00

Here are a few recent pictures of the older chickens. They are bigger now than our bantys were full-grown. It's hard to believe that they will get even BIGGER. No complaints, though - bigger chickens = bigger eggs! And yes, they have names. We decided to go to Disney for inspiration and named them as follows: Flora (white chicken), Fauna (speckled chicken), and Merryweather (whichever Araucana - blue egg layer - we keep). For now, Claire has named the other Araucana "Aurora." ('Cause they all have to have names, you know...)

If you look closely, you can see the feathers starting to grow on Flora's feet. Fancy!

Chickens!

2009-05-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

Ever since we lost our banty hens to the new neighbors' cat a few years ago, I have been pining for new ones. The neighbors (and their cat) moved away and we finally felt that we had the time and the secure yard to try again. This time, I decided against bantams - they were smaller, making them easier targets, and we had to constantly clip their wings to keep them from flying over the garden fence. Instead, I researched some full-size breeds and then took a trip to the local feed store to pick them out.

We started with two - a Barred Plymouth Rock and a Light Brahma. They were about a week old when we brought them home.

After just a week they had almost doubled in size!

They have doubled in size again, but I haven't taken any recent pictures. They are fully feathered now and live in the coop outside.

A few weeks later I received an email letting me know that Auracana chicks had arrived (they lay blue eggs!) I went and picked up two more - they were only a day old. We only want three chickens, but there's a chance that one might be a rooster, so I picked up a 4th, just to be safe. Thankfully, I have a friend who will take either a rooster or a hen.

Look at these little balls of fluff!

We're crossing our fingers for our fun brown and blue eggs by fall, but we may have to wait until the spring. Sooooo excited!

Chinese Ice Cream Giver

2009-04-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Claire - "Daddy, you'd better move to China someday."
Erik - "Why?"
Claire - "Because I'm going to be an ice cream giver in China and I won't even drop it on the floor!"

BACKGROUND: About a month ago, Claire shared with us what she wanted to be when she grew up:

First an astronaut, then the president, then an ice cream giver, and finally a pastor (a crazy music pastor like Pastor Jay...her words).

It's nice to know that she'll at least be closer to home for the first two career endeavors. After that, I'm sure the People's Republic of China will welcome another ice cream giver. We ALL need more ice cream givers in our lives.

Is that nature calling, or the fire alarm?

2009-03-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

Claire sometimes tries to find reasons to get out of bed after the last "goodnight." We finally found a way to make it simple for her - the ONLY reason to get out of bed is to use the restroom.

The other night, she got up (again) and Erik got on her case. To make sure she understood the rules, he asked, "When is the only time you can get out of bed?"

"To go potty," she said.

He shut the door, paused, and then opened it again saying, "And if the house is on fire. You can get out of bed if the house is on fire."

She responded, "But we don't have that problem."

(smile)
Let's pray we never do.

Southern California Snowman

2009-03-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

My computer broke down a few weeks ago, leaving me stranded without my photo editing software and easy uploading ability. We finally got another one in place, hooked up the external hard drive (where all of the recent photos are stored) and now I'm able to get back to work!

The hundreds of pictures I've taken in the meantime is leaving me a little overwhelmed, so I thought I'd start with this - the day our front yard hosted an unexpected snowman on a very warm day. Erik had gone to Big Bear on a men's retreat with the guys from our Sunday School class and brought back an ice chest full of snow!

Claire was thrilled and promptly ran into her room to find her "snow gear." When she emerged, she was sporting a stocking cap, fleece gloves, and a long knitted scarf - PERFECT for a 90 degree day.

They got to work. It's a little hard to roll out a ball for a snowman's body when you're working with partially-melted snow and warm grass, but they did their best.

All we had were dried beans for the eyes (I think anything bigger would have overwhelmed our little snowman's face), but Erik found a gen-u-ine carrot for the nose. Now the snowman's legit, right?

Pretty cute, if you ask me! (And the snowman's not too shabby either...)

I had to put this shot in too, because I love the look on both of their faces.

Yep, that thermometer says 90 degrees. Poor Frosty...never stood a chance.

So here he is in all his glory, but it didn't take long for the sun to win.

Going...

going...

gone.

A Dress-Up Bin Full of Love

2009-03-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

Claire said to me just now, "Mommy, guess what? I love you more than my dress-up."

That's just about the highest compliment one can receive from a 5-year old girl. But THEN she followed up with this:

"I love you more than my BARBIES."

Now I know I'm loved.

Move out of the way, kids. Cake coming through!

2009-02-27T16:04:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that, 5 years ago, I got bit by the "fair contest bug" and have been entering food contests at the L.A. County Fair ever since. It pays our way into the fair, we have won some fun prizes (including cash!), and I have been able to experiment with different recipes. However, the one contest that I have shied away from is the cake decorating contest. The cakes on display are AMAZING (well...they are amazing for the first week - after that, they start to look a little like this.) I always stand at the glass case and stare in awe at the carefully placed gumpaste flowers, flawless buttercream frosting, and fondant masterpieces. All of this helps to explain my excitement when this came home from school in my 5-year old's backpack.

A cake decorating contest for average moms like me? SIGN ME UP!

So, armed with fondant/buttercream recipes, a bag of supplies from Michael's, 3 cake pans, and 2 cake mixes (plus a bunch of other "baking stuff"), I went to work. I baked the cakes on Tuesday and prepared the fondant/assembled the cake on Wednesday. My kitchen was a DISASTER by midnight Wednesday night, and the fondant was much harder to work with than the recipe led me to believe, but the cake turned out pretty nice in the end.

Here is the aftermath of my baking frenzy (I think I'll be finding powdered suger in nooks and crannies for years to come)...

...and here is my apron. I even found a powdered sugar footprint in the hallway.

and...

(drumroll please...)

TA DA!!

I wasn't too thrilled with the yellowish buttercream next to the white fondant. I thought I had white shortening in the house, but all I had was the butter-flavored stuff. Erik tried to make me feel better by reminding me that gold was another patriotic color, but, although I appreciate his husbandly efforts, off-white is no gold. Oh well.

Thursday afternoon I rushed home from work and got everyone ready for the PTA program/contest. Erik dropped me off at the door to the school and I proudly carried my cake right up to the cake table.

Two cakes were already there.

And then a feeling of horror struck me.

...

It was a KIDS cake decorating contest.

...

Erik took a picture of the table while I took my red face as far away as I could get. Here are the three cakes all in a row.

1/2 way through the PTA program (and prior to the "judging"), Erik saved the day by sneaking to the table in the back, grabbing the cake, and whisking it off to the safety of our car. (Whew!) A couple of kids nearby were a little concerned, though. Erik overheard one say, "Hey! I think that guy is trying to steal one of the cakes!"

Lessons learned:

1. Don't assume anything. If there is anything non-specific on a flyer from school (go back up and look at it), ASK for clarification before spending two days making a cake.

2. Fondant is not my friend.

3. Buttercream IS my friend - it hides a multitude of fondant sins.

4. Don't assume anything, EVER.

Theological Comparisons...Kindergarten-style

2009-02-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

In the car yesterday...

Claire - "John the Baptist is kind of like Winnie the Pooh."

Erik - "Oh, why is that?"

Claire - "They both have the same middle name - John THE Baptist and Winnie THE Pooh."

More Big Bear pictures

2009-02-18T21:18:00.001-08:00

I promised more pictures, so here they are...

To see even MORE pictures, click here.

Snowy Weekend in Big Bear

2009-02-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

We spent a couple of days this weekend at a friend's cabin in Big Bear and enjoyed playing in the snow!

First we stopped at Paoli's Pizza for lunch...

...then it was outside for some highly anticipated snow play!

On Monday morning, we woke up to beautiful falling snow.

Claire enjoyed catching a few flakes on her tongue.

What a GREAT way to spend a 3-day weekend!

There are more pictures to come...check back soon!

Pink Polish and Pizza Party

2009-01-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

Claire went to a birthday party today for a friend who was turning 6. They all met at a nail salon for pink manicures and then went to Round Table for the girly-est pizza party I've ever seen! Here are a few pictures:

Thanks for inviting us, KP!

CreativeEdge Video Blog

2009-01-31T14:58:00.001-08:00

We just started a blog for our videography business. Check it out at http://creativedgevideo.blogspot.com/

You can also go to "My Blog List" on the right side and click on the link there.

January Hike in Marshall Canyon

2009-01-28T02:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks for coming back after that last l.e.n.g.t.h.y post. I just couldn't take out any of those details. The whole story had to be told and I thank you for humoring me.

Today I thought I'd take a stab at inserting some photos. I took these at the beginning of January when we went on a hike in La Verne.

As you can see, "autumn" arrives a little after schedule here in S. California!

Claire LOVED collecting the beautiful leaves!

Thanks again for reading!
Camille

Starting to understand why people lose their minds during remodeling projects

2009-01-27T12:08:00.001-08:00

One week ago (Monday)

(Phone rings) "Hi! I'm calling from World Wide Construction (http://www.servicemagic.com/rated.WorldwideConstruction.13948992.html). Are you planning to do any upgrades on your house any time soon?"

Erik - "Actually, we are going to add a bathroom to our existing master bedroom, but I'm planning to do most of the work myself. I just need to hire someone to do the foundation."

WWC - "GREAT! We'd love to come out and give you a free estimate.

Erik - "How about Thursday?"

WWC - "Is there a time that both you and the missus will be home? You see, we need to have both of you there because if there were to be a divorce then that would really leave us in a bind."

Erik - "O...K... Um...Tuesday would work. Not this week, but next week is good. How about 11:00 a.m.?"

WWC - "No problem - we'll see you next Tuesday at 11:00 a.m.!" Click.

A week ago (Tuesday)

WWC - "Hi! I'm calling from World Wide Construction to confirm our appointment for 11:00 today."

Camille: "Um...O.K." (Thinking...I thought it was for next week, but must have mixed up the days.) "See you at 11." Click.

"Erik - someone called to confirm that estimate appointment today."
"What? It was supposed to be next week!!"

Dial...explain...reconfirm...settled.

Today

WWC - "Hi! I'm calling from World Wide Construction to confirm our appointment for 6:00 p.m. tonight."

Erik - "No, no, no. We're down for 11:00 a.m..

WWC - "Hang on, let me go get my order." (Silence) "Let me call you back." Click.

(Ringing) WWC - "Oh yes, ok, sorry... we have you down for 11:30."

Erik - "I think we agreed on 11. I need to pick up my daughter from school so 11:30 won't work."

WWC - "It will be between 11 and 11:30"

Erik - "I need you to come at 11. 11:30 won't work. What time will your guy be here?"

WWC - "O.K., he'll be there at 11... maybe 11:10...or 11:20...but it will probably be 11:30."

Erik - (rolling eyes) "Fine, I'll see you then." Click.

(Ringing) WWC - "Hey, I have you down for a foundation...what was this going to be for?"

Erik - "We're adding a bathroom to our existing bedroom."

WWC - "Great! So we can draw up plans for this and give you an estimate for the whole job."

Erik - "NO! (voice raised at this point) I'm only interested in an estimate for the foundation. I'm going to do the rest of the work myself."

WWC - "Oh, ok...we'll see you at 11:30." Click.

(Ringing) WWC - "Uh, my manager said that we're not going to be able to accommodate you."

Erik - "Wow...ok...any reason why?"

WWC - "Uh...no, he didn't really give a reason. Sorry."

Erik - "Well, I guess that was a big waste of your time and mine."

WWC - "Ya...sorry."

Erik - (forced cheerful voice) "O.K. bye!" Click.

Erik (muttering under his breath) "Now I understand why construction guys are always swearing..."

Gotta start somewhere...

2009-01-24T18:22:00.000-08:00

We've finally decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon! There have been SO many blog-worthy things that have happened to us over the past couple of years, but it always seems weird to start with a random story, so I'll just start right here.

It's a rainy Saturday with nothing special happening.

Thanks for reading, and I promise we'll post all of the exciting Waage adventures from now on.

Happy 2009!
Camille