Happy Valentine's Day

 My daughter made these amazing cookies last Valentine's Day...

they tasted as good as they look, no better.

 I was hoping she would make this an annual baking event for our family but her husband was in a little accident over the weekend which left him with a concussion. I am happy and quite thankful to report he is fine. They have been married for 4 years now and this was their first "injury" to weather.  On my very first married Valentine's Day my husband broke his ankle but was so determined to get flowers for me, he hobbled across the street to the grocery store (on crutches) and returned with a bouquet. 

What dedication and determination. 

Wishing you love & romance today and every day.

Having My Cake!

My birthday was tuesday and my family had a little party for me....

 Only 2 candles, I didnt want to set the house on fire!

The official cakebaker and her cute sidekick aka the babysitter!

I cant even begin to tell you how good this is. Three layers of chocolate cake with chocolate granache over the top with more whipped ganache between the layers. Pure heaven on a plate.

I got lots of goodies for my coffeebar. I'll post pictures of that as soon as its done.

Then my husband took me to "Blue Bayou" inside the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland!

Yes, its really dark in there, LOL! This is what it looks like from the boats while on the ride.

This is the only picture we took inside the restaurant that came out. It really is dark inside but the atmosphere is amazing and the food is over the top. Maybe this getting older business is worth it?

Visitors & Update on Ella

Thank you for all the kind wishes & prayers for Ella. She is doing really well. The best news is that she may not have had a stroke after all. The doctors have decided the test is inconclusive! Oh and it gets even better, she is not on a ventilator she is breathing on her own. She is eating really well and the NICU nurse says she is the most active baby on the floor! Please continue to pray for her as she will be in the hospital about 10 more weeks.

On a different note........

Here is one of the visitors I had today. A pigeon? Yep. We don't have pigeons around here. We have lots of Redtail Hawks, Owls, a few Turkey Vultures(yuck) and a very wide assortment of song birds(which I adore). anyway this poor thing was sitting on the deck this morning and look at who was just dying to get outside....

STAY PUT!!

I picked up the poor little thing. She was so scared. She had a band on her leg and the other leg was broken. My girlfriend said it was a homing pigeon? Should I give her a note?

I decided to make her comfortable as she was going nowhere fast. A dish of water, some old bread and birdseed just in case.

Dont ask me why I have birdseed. I have cats! She sat here all day long and when I went to check on herfor the zillionth time, she stretched her wings and flew away.

I was releaved.

Here is my other little visitor.....

I love this little guy. He is shy. We have quite a few "regulars" stopping by to see what they can rummage from the trash cans. I think racoons are just the cutest things ever!

Well, it has been a busy day. Wishing all of you a great week.

I will post the "great cat rescue" in a few days!

Boy Meets Caterpillar!

Boy meets caterpillar. His name is "Jim".

Jim likes apples and grass.

The boy and Jim are very good friends. They read together, share secrets and go for rides in the car. One day the boy decides that Jim needs a caterpillar friend. He finds "Lucy" waiting in the yard.

Jim and Lucy become jar mates. One day the boy decides that Jim and Lucy cant see the t.v. very well from inside the jar. So the boy lets them sit on his lap and watch a show together. All three are very happy. Jim decides he wants to play hide and seek. But he forgets to tell Lucy and the boy to look for him. So mommy and daddy look for him...........

To be continued!

The "Booth" and Balloon Boy!

The "New Booth" makes its debut....

I completey forgot to bring my camera on setup day so here it is after 3 days and 8,000 people rummaged through it!

Since several of you asked how it turned out I thought I had better share it and not leave you wondering what I did with that crazy mess of doors in the last post!

You get the idea! Boy this is picked over. But here is the cutest thing.....

This is my little Balloon Boy! He gathered up all the balloons from the show and wanted to see if he would fly away like Winnie the Pooh. It did'nt work and believe me he worked at it! Thanks for visiting me today. If you have'nt entered the giveaway, visit the previous post and leave a comment.

Funny Valentines,Surprises and a Giveaway!

I forgot to share my funny Valentines with you.....

These 2 silly love birds (my daghter & son inlaw) made these...

What could be better than more of these......?

Here are my other funny Valentines that gave me sweet
 handmade cards and lots of hugs & kisses.....

And here is what the cat, my dear sweet Tigger gave me.....

Tigger and I played a game of hide and seek with this very large mouse(the largest mouse I have ever seen I might add). But after getting a shoebox and laundry basket, with me on one side of the dresser and Tigger on the other we caught him. And thank goodness we did. Other gifts left on the doorstep were'nt so attractive!
Now if that isnt enough excitement for you, then run over to Simply Stated! Rebecca is having a giveaway and you get to pick part of your prize. Now that is exciting!

Reindeer need their Rest

Getting ready for the big sleigh ride.....

Reindeer need their rest! I was supposed to post these weeks ago....

On the way home from Albuquerque we stopped to feed the reindeer....

They are so sweet. Gentle as can be. When they take the food from your hand its like feeding a puppy. The boys loved visiting the deer park and so did I! I'm really sappy about animals though.

I can't believe the antlers on this guy. The boys think the magic to make them fly must be in those big antlers. I hope they are rested up....can't believe the big day is almost here!

Dog Days of Summer

This is Roxy our boxer at the only dog beach in Orange County. A dog running on the beach freely is....well, quite frankly doggy bliss! She ran back and forth for an hour.

A boy and his dog.....another one of life's simple pleasures.
These are the men in my life. Cute, huh? I'll keep 'em!

They are trying to coax Roxy into the water. This is as far as she'll go.

I hope all of you have had a great summer. I can't believe it's coming to an end. As summer fades, fall will appear bringing with her the smell of baking pies, the longer evenings, cooler weather and golden leaves. I can't wait.

More love from Tahoe

More love from Tahoe! It is truly beautiful here. We decided to take the gondola to the top of "Heavenly". So we boarded this dangly thing that is not very well ventilated!



That is the top.....very, very high. Have I mentioned I dont like heights? I think we were above 8500'.

That is where I left my sensibility, on the ground.(I've always prided myself about having my feet on the ground, where they belong!) I am not sqeamish.

We are not at the top yet...I am not a girly girl....I have power tools.

These flowers grow wild eveywhere.

A sweet little bird's nest with new hatchlings.

We made it back safely and went to the lake. This is the welcoming committee.

He gave us a big hiss!

Here is Cody's collection of shells, rocks and feathers.

Yes, I am raising romantic boys.

This is a hike we took to a waterfall.

This is just one of the breathtaking views we saw.

My three boys!

This is the top part of the waterfall (lower left). I couldn't get a picture of the water coming over the rocks which is actually below where this was taken because of the way the trails turned. It would have been a very tough hike with the kids.