Another Snowy Surprise

Heather hit it out of the park again - another great party for Christian's seventh birthday. We sent out invitations which said "Its A Snow Party" and told them to bring an extra pair of warm clothes. The parents were a little skeptical - "Snow in San Diego?" My friend Sabah Toma of San Diego Ice came through with snow - lighter and fluffier than shaved ice. We sculpted a 35 yard track for the kids to sled down, put out the beach umbrella, and slathered on the tanning lotion. The first few kids ate a little pavement at the end of the run but that didn't stop them from sledding and sledding and sledding some more. Everyone was pelted at least once with a snowball. Our neighbor Josh ran around decked head to toe in ski gear but without shoes or socks. No one was going to put shoes on him. Below is a pic of just some of the kids from the party. All of them raved about it. Christian wanted "Mom's Texas sheet cake" - easy to make and delicious. Later we topped off the birthday with a late breakfast at Kono's by Crystal Pier.

That Dog Will Do

Christian noticed some empty gift boxes from J Crew and pleaded with us "Please can I have those?" Sure, why not. An hour later he had converted them into a "dog." We loved his creativity but grimaced at the thought our kids were itching for a dog. We're just not ready to make that commitment. At least let baby Juliet be potty trained first.


Erika wanted to make a cat so Christian sat down and wrote detailed instructions. Read them carefully. Its full of wisdom such as "Write the name of the pet on the head" and "Make a photo to remember." I love the instructions more than the dog. Oh, are you wondering why Erika is dressed as a leopard? Beats me.

Two Years In A Row

He did it again. The school photographer snapped another winning photo of Erika. I praised his work last year here - http://nelsonsinspace.blogspot.com/2008/12/give-man-medal.html

When I saw this year's photo I nearly called the school and accused the photographer of PhotoShopping last year's photo into a new background. I must learn his secret to posing kids, especially kids who love to mug for the camera. She the photo below? That's what I'm used to.

Christmas Photo Extravaganza

Monkey Bars

Move Over Geodesic Dome

Check out the new addition to the neighborhood. One day they moved the old cracker box-style home, poured a round concrete foundation, and broke out the erector set. No, I don't know what it is but I suspect Buckminster Fuller would be jealous. Heather says the workers seem apologetically polite when she drives by. You know, they wave a little too hard and smile a little too wide. Just a tad too much enthusiasm. Heather's not a fan but I like it (I hope she doesn't read this blog). Yep, I like it a lot. It brings a little character to the neighborhood. Growing up in La Verne I remember there was a family across the street that practiced witchcraft. They tinted all their windows purple and adorned their roof with bedposts. Definitely an odd family but they made the street a bit more interesting ("Nevermind that woman staring, muttering and pointing at us from her front lawn - she's just casting a spell on us.") We've speculated what the dome might be:

The Brown Derby

Nuclear Power Plant With A View

Igloo

Scrubbing Bubble

The Tip of a Ballistic Missile

Michael Jackson's Mausoleum

Hostess Coconut Snowball

Feel free to enter a guess.

My Wife Is Better Than Yours

So, after a 12 hour day I came home and put a couple of warm slices of pizza on my plate. I walked into the bedroom and began to sit on the bed when the pizza slid off the plate, flipped over, and landed cheese side down on our white 400 thread-count Egyptian cotton duvet. Did I mention it was barbecue chicken pizza? Uh, yeah. Heather witnessed the entire disaster too. Before I could pick off the saucy onions and chicken bits, Heather said "Its no big deal, don't worry about it." How awesome is that! Maybe she took pity on me after a long, rough day of work. Tomorrow I'll be back in the salt mines for another 12 hours and, no doubt, she'll have those stains removed. She's a Houdini with a bleach pen.