Eli Turns 10!

I cannot believe that my little Eli turns 10!  It does not seem that long ago that I brought my little scared 4 year old home from China.  He is so smart and loves to build things and definitely loves to laugh! 
 The pictures are a little out of order in the way they happened. 

DESSERT!  Reece's Cup Ice Cream cake

YUUMMMYY!

He loves his picture being taken

He has an apron on because he helped me cook

Eli loves Legos and was so excited to get these

and these

Jillian, his friend next door got him a water gun!

We were all so proud that he read most of the card by himself!!!!

Being a Sponge Bob party theme, we got to looking at the table cloth and realized there were many faces. So we picked out who was who based on their "general perceived" attitudes.

DAD -- of course!!

Benjamin

ELI

Nathaniel

Millie when she sees Isaiah coming to her 

Allenni

MOM!!!!!

Isaiah

Edith

Andrew

I made brownie pops MONSTER style for his friends at school! 

They made quite a scare!

Eli loved his new bike! 

Sponge Bob for The Birthday !!!

Isaiah was pretty upset at first when I wouldn't let him open Eli's presents, but got happy with the food

Eli wanted Asian food  and Sushi so I made some CA rolls

Bulgogi and Broccoli

No Wine, but We Have Bread

What in the world?

No we are NOT preparing for snow!!

When we moved to CA, we had a very hard time finding a house that was big enough for us.  The house we rent is great. It is beautiful, it is on a lake but it is a little small for 10 people. Nevertheless, we didn't have many options in houses.  Storage is definitely an issue. We brought a fridge and 2 freezers with us and there is one in the house. 

Since I buy large quantities of food, especially if the loaves are .69 each, we have run out of room at times to put things, especially if I am on a couponing run.

Such is what happpened when I bought 12 loaves of bread! Every one of our freezers were packed to the hilt. So were the fridges.

I had a moment of despair, thinking that the bread would not last 3 weeks without growing mold. What to do??!!

Standing in my kitchen looking around and pondering, I saw the wine cooler! Aha! it is perfect for loaves of bread and can be chilled!  So this is how we  uniquely store our bread!  Now we have all the ingredients for communion right in the cooler. :)

TROUBLE!!!

I am probably going to get into trouble for posting this on my blog but  this is life in our house!!  

Duane snapped these shots and we both got to laughing at the hilariousness of it all. 

Let me tell you the story! 

I was busily doing my work the other morning getting quotes sent off to various people inquiring about our vacation home, when I hear Duane say, "Well, you just couldn't wait for THUNDER DOWN UNDER!"

I look up and Isaiah had positioned these GI Joes on the table in front of my computer.  

 What makes this funny is that the other day, I was researching what shows we might could go to when we go to LasVegas this month to see Duane's sister and I came up on a very manly show called Thunder from Down Under and told Duane (jokingly of course) that  that was the one I wanted to see!

 (I didnt even know these dudes could stand up!)  They have been passed down through 4 boys and I guess they lost their clothes along the way!

GRAND FINALI- SUSHI Field Trip Part 6

Everybody loves sushi except for Edith and Duane and since we were in Redding for our big day, we voted to go get sushi!  BAD MISTAKE!!! They love it so much, that it got out of control! Our bellies were full!  The bar has this little boat train that floats by with fresh sushi and you pay by the plate.  We had 26 plates!!! I had given them a limit but it quickly got forgotten! 

It was Dr. Suess birthday so that is why Eli was wearing the hat. Andrew made friends with the people sitting next to us. 

The guy making the sushi was impressed that the kids loved it!

We are happy campers!

Field Trip Part 5

Some beautiful Pottery in the gift shop

PHOTO OPS!

Do you think we love each other?

Allenni wanted me to pose!

Allenni got hold of the camera again!

OFF TO JOHN BUNYAN'S FOREST- Field trip PART 4

 It turned out to be a beautiful day and we headed over to see some of the outside exhibits

Spring is here!

This hawk loved listening to people talk. She would twist her head as if she were following the conversation

Allenni in front of the Golden Eagle

WE found Eli at the Gold mining water works station

Here's what happens if Allenni gets hold of your camera

The Loorkeet cage was closed for lunch  but these two were forming a heart

What you looking at????