The Horse Stables

I can’t even tell you how much I’ve loved our mild summer temperatures, so far.    We even stopped at a park randomly yesterday without having to worry about burning slides or lack of shade.  I know August and September are coming… and they can be brutal… but I think I can handle it after a beautiful June and July!

All that to say, after breakfast the other day I was dealing with some exceptionally tired kids when it occurred to me; it’s actually cool enough to go for a walk!  Sierra was already wearing her cowgirl hat, so we headed to our favorite spot; the horse stables!

This girl has been a horse fan since she was a baby.  I am already dreaming of redoing the girls’ room and giving Sierra a little horse theme in her corner.

There is a 3 month old colt, who is just precious.  All the horses are, really.  It’s funny to think that I was actually scared of them before we started our trips to the stables.  They are just so big!  Such a beautiful definition of meekness.  Now I find them extraordinary, (though I have no desire to have one of my own!)

The walk back is always the hardest; slightly uphill.  But, a stop at our favorite spot, “the rock garden,” always cheers us up!

We play the jumping rock game.  And, sometimes we run through the bushes and play hide-and-seek, (though Triscuit always reveals our hiding spots!)  The girls pick wild flowers for each other.  Then we’re on our way.

… With a wild flower in our hair!  Hooray for cooler temperatures, summer walks, and horses!

My Big Fat Greek Lunch

Back when I was pregnant with Sierra, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  Honestly, it was a lot tougher than it should have been, mainly because I realized just how much sugar I normally consumed.  Needless to say, as soon as she was born I went right back into my old eating habits.  Dessert?  Yes, please.  But, a few things did change…  For one thing, I no longer wanted cereal for breakfast.  My gd diet got me used to a much heartier breakfast and there was no going back!  And, the second change was my lunch.  I got in the habit of having a salad every day to the point where I still crave it at lunch time.  If I weren’t so lazy about it, I would still make a salad every day.  But, my salads now come in phases… and right now I’m in a big time Greek salad phase!

If you’re a fan of Greek salads at all, you are going to thank me for this post!  After a simple Google search, I came across this recipe.  Ready?

Greek dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil (original recipe called for vegetable oil)

1/4 cup rice vinegar (original recipe called for lemon juice)

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp oregano

pinch of kosher salt

That’s it!  It is so awesome!  I keep the salad very simple.  Romaine, Persian cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta. I have kalamata olives, too, but remember… I’m lazy, so I haven’t cut them yet.  So I don’t use them.  Lazy.

And, we are still eating our naan bread.  This time I tried it with hummus.  Perfect side to my salad!

Random Summer Pictures

It’s hard to believe this week will ring in August.  I blinked and July disappeared.  Other than our little camping trip, it was just a daily dose of swings, bubbles, hula hoops, swimming, smoothies, ice cream, friends, and lazy summer days… July has been amazing!

I have lots of random pictures… and a few random thoughts.  So I’m just going to dump them here for you.

I can never decide if this girl looks younger or older in pictures.  All I know is I adore her smile!

Same thing with this girl, though I lean toward older!

Somebody needs to tell this boy to stop throwing his food when he is done.  Oh, wait… I have told him.  Silly little guy threw this bowl of oatmeal when I thought it was safe to run to the bathroom.  I wish I could have seen exactly how he did it because I am still finding oatmeal in surprise locations!

Oh, these two and that cat.  They definitely win for most time spent with the kitten!

Daniel and I were able to sneak off to San Juan Capistrano for a date at The Rok.  Here’s the thing: you literally cook your food on a rock!  It’s pretty awesome.  The chilly beach air along with wonderful food and the best company made it a wonderful night!

I know I’ve mentioned he loves glasses… did I mention he also loves hats?  He discovered this one from his sister and had a blast.  I will be using these pictures in his future wedding video, no doubt.  He loves to put the fireman hat on me and then sing “E-I-E-I-O.”  (He’s a little confused, but it’s quite adorable!)  He turns 20 months old today!

And this cutie pie randomly asked me to take pictures of her.  She made-up all the faces herself, too.

Whenever Daniel gets a chance to go to the Japanese Market in Costa Mesa, we eat like royalty for a few days.  My favorite is his miso sea bass….

I told Allison she is old enough to look through a craft book herself, find the supplies, and do a craft.  So she did… and now we have tp napkin rings!  Meanwhile, Natalie painted a fairy and Sierra decided to use chicken feathers to paint.  All different.  All creative.  All had lots of fun!

And, one more of our little Spongie.  He is such a time waster!  But, oh so sweet.  I’ve taken a liking to our new cat!

Bye, Bye Birdies!

And, just like that they are grown and gone.  Our four little birdies have flown off to explore the world.   We got to watch them hatch, grow, develop feathers, learn to fly… all in a few short weeks.  Mornings are a lot quieter now.  No baby birds yelling for a morning moth.  No more excitement of watching and waiting.  They are gone.

I won’t even begin to analyze the similarities between how fast baby birds grow and how fast our children grow.  Let’s just say it’s hit me hard lately watching them grow, and I am working hard at enjoying every precious, loud, exhausting moment of it!

California Science Center

You know how sometimes an idea sounds like a lot of fun… and then you remember half your kids are still toddlers?  Yeah.  Well, it really wasn’t all bad.  I asked Allison if she had a little bit of fun, to which she replied, “Oh, mom… I had a great time!  Why did you say just a little?”  Aw, kids are great!  I guess it was just me who was a little stressed fighting the crowds, pushing a stroller, and running to the bathroom every 15 minutes for a 3 year old with an upset tummy.  (I won’t even tell you how loud the screaming was in the crowded elevator as I tried to find the bathroom… again.)

A video on how astronauts go to the bathroom… great stuff!

Seeing the space shuttle really was spectacular.  I only wish I could have spent more time reading about it.  Incredible!

Picnic lunch in front of the rose gardens.  Lovely.

Before we arrived, Allison guessed we would see a Wright Brother plane.  I told her probably not because I believed it was in the Smithsonian.  Turns out she was at least half right; they had a replica which was cool to see.  We LOVED reading about the Wright Brothers in school this past year; I highly recommend it to you!

We ended by seeing the fishies.  I think we may have seen 10% of the entire museum.  It is massive.  I’d love to send my husband with the older two some time.

We left just as the power went out, so we had to carry the stroller with a sleeping 3 year old down the stairs.  I was so thankful we didn’t get stuck in the elevator!  And, thankful for little traffic both there and home; and very well-behaved kids on both drives.  Gotta love adventures like these!

Meet Spongie

Hooray, Charlene!  You WIN!  (Ummm…. I don’t know what you won, but you guessed correctly! 🙂 )

We decided our little farm here needed a kitten, after all.  At least that’s what the kids decided.  After several trips to the shelter with their dad, I was the only one hesitating.  Then I went to the shelter and…

So, yes… those were cat toys the girls made!  Our local shelter has a special for the month of July where cat adoptions are just $5 on Fridays.  There were SO many kittens to choose from, but we finally went with “Bustle,” whose name was promptly changed to “Spongie.”  Sierra came up with it, and immediately the big girls agreed.  It was a bit unusual for such a unanimous decision, but I’m not complaining!

We picked him up yesterday, just hours after he was fixed.  So far, he has been very tired and a little afraid.  But, once you sit with him for a while, his motor starts going strong!  I can’t wait until we can play with him, but for now he is in our little bathroom.  Tomorrow he should be doing much better.  Isn’t he cute?  I’m sure you’ll be hearing much more about Spongie very soon.  For now I haven’t even taken many pictures because the camera is a bit frightening for him!  I did tell little Spongie that to be a part of the Yeh family, he will have to get used to the camera!

Take a guess…

So, the girls and I spent a little time crafting, yesterday.  Here are the supplies we used:

Any guesses as to what we made?  Here are a few more pictures to help you out…

Any guesses now?  Hint:  They are NOT fishing poles.  I’ll fill you in soon, but first I want to see if anyone can figure it out.  🙂

The Egg

Look what our “Sleeping Beauty” gave us: our first blue egg!!  Hooray for chickies turning into chickens.  I can’t wait to give it a try…

The Circus

What a weekend!  Busy, busy, busy.  When the girls asked what was on the calendar for today, I joyfully said, “NOTHING!”  The highlight of the weekend, (at least for the kids), was a trip to the circus!

After church I surprised the girls with cotton candy.  (I had cleaned out my cupboards Saturday and found it — shhh, don’t tell!)  It turned out to be perfect because the cost of cotton candy at the circus for our entire family would be…. drumroll please… $84!  I kid you not; it’s $14 a pop times 6 people in our family.  Yup.  Outrageous.

We arrived just in time to catch the end of the pre-circus show.

The kids were all super excited.  But, none was as excited as…

This little guy!  Oh, it was so exciting for him.  And that meant I couldn’t stop smiling myself.

I love how they start with our national anthem.  Still makes me cry!

Seriously, this kid did so well.  It was a long show, and I never once had to stand up or step out.  He did get quite squirmy, but nothing unmanageable.  It couldn’t have gone better!

Sierra fell asleep at intermission and we had to wake her for the dogs and elephants.

You can check out our first visit to the circus here. (That’s when Natalie fell asleep!)

We missed going the last 2 years, but I think it will be a fun tradition for every couple of years!

The Slide

This is one of those posts that really makes me want to upgrade my blog service so that I could download videos.  I think I could win $10,000 from AFV!  But, since I can’t  you’ll just have to take my word for it.  And, these pictures will have to do.

So, today I was staring at some boxes and remembering a slide I had pinned a while back.  I knew right then it was time to do it!  It took just 3 boxes and a little tape, and our slide was ready.

I told the kids to get their blankies and meet me at the top of the stairs.  I thought they would be thrilled.  I was certain my husband would at least think I was a genius.

My husband’s initial comment?  “I think this is too dangerous.”  Say wha — (That right before he grabbed the boogie board, and later sent his baby son flying down.)  So, yeah… I think I won him over.  The kids were initially afraid, as well.  They all tried it, but none were too thrilled.

Malachi had fun helping me fluff the pillows.  The video of him coming down would be the one to win us some money.  (I’ll show you when you come visit, Grandma!)

And so, what I thought would be a huge hit was neither a flop nor a hit — just a fun little experiment.  I’d say give it a try!