December in our Town ~

 Its that time of year again...time for the winter school program.  This years show was called "December in our Town", and all grades, including preschool, participated.  Now, for those of you unfamiliar with my blog, thats my daughter in the front row in the red....and that first picture is about as jovial as she gets during the whole show.

 Normally, she is highly animated and loves to perform for anyone whos attention she can capture, but last night, for some reason, she was a total sour puss!  Just look at her face in this next photo...

 That is how she looked through most of the show, the little stinker!  I also love the kid in the background, who looks like he's threatening to punch someone...in fact, theres all kinds of hilarious stuff going on in this pic.  But to be fair to Jordyn, she did fall asleep on the drive over, so she might have been a bit groggy...and Justin and i are both sick, and i think she is catching our cold too...but still...she had no problem perking up when Santa entered the room...

Anyways, it was still an entertaining evening and we had a great time!  Cheers~

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Forty Eight

Week Forty Eight : Surveying His Turf

I took this image in California on Monday, a gorgeous sunny day...then i got home to 14 degrees and 10 inches of snow, so i wanted to go back to this image to take the chill off.  The original photograph was posted a few days ago in my blog about the Redondo Beach Pier, and as you can see,  ive removed the background and gave it a painted look.  Tips i learned from Susi Lawsons DVD's.  If you arent familiar with her work, you should take a peek at her website...its very inspiring!

Digitally painted in Photoshop.

Home Sweet Home ~

  Really?!?  You couldnt give us a few days to acclimate to the colder weather?  We were in shorts at the beach yesterday for cryin out loud!  :)
  Thats right, we got in late last night and had to drive home while it was snowing.  I drove about half way up the canyon and then Justin graciously offered to take over for me!  Whew...Thanks Babe!  Jordyn didnt get to bed till almost 11:30, so i sort of decided to keep her home today, and when i woke up and looked out side and saw almost 10 inches on the ground and it was still falling, i definitely decided to stay home and call it a day.  Besides, Jordyn is still asleep, so why not take one more vacation day to get back in our groove!  Who knows, maybe ill get out the Christmas decorations today.  Meanwhile, the cats  are thrilled to have us back home, though it looks like Trash ate more than her share of food while we were gone....but shes not the only one....looks like we were both a couple of piggies on vacation!  Time to break out the exercise videos!  :) hehehehe  Ahhhh yes...its good to be home!

The Pier ~

The Redondo Beach Pier was always a big part of our life growing up.  We went here almost every other Sunday to stroll the pier, eat fried clams, chocolate dipped ice cream, hot pretzels and any other yummies we were in the mood for!  This was always one of the stops when family came for a visit too, so we all have very fond memories of this place.
(p.s. as a side note, that ship on the left, the Lady Washington, was used in the Pirates of the Caribbean as the British war ship HMS Interceptor)

The Pier has changed quite a bit since we were kids...there was a fire back in 1988, which dramatically changed the pier forever losing most of its charm, but i still love it here!  My sister had her first job here working at hot dog on a stick, and my folks always dined at Tony's for anniversaries and birthdays, bringing us home goodies from the gift shop when they came home. (they were pretty territorial when it came to their left overs though)  :)

Justin, a retired tugboat deckhand and sailor,  LOVES to come visit the pier and the ocean, so its become a favorite place of his too.  In fact, there was a boat for sale, only $2,500 that he seriously thought about purchasing for some joy rides.

Here he is having a serious discussion with some of the locals...

Jordyn and i enjoyed a hot pretzel as well as some pistachio ice cream, and then we wandered over to the seafood market for more pier dining!

Justin ordered a smoked fish stick, which included 5 different kinds of fish.  Im not a big fan of smoked fish, but Jordyn sure seemed to like it...in fact, i couldnt get her to stop eating for this photo...

or this one...

Here are some of the delicious choices at one of the booths in the seafood market.  I ordered the red snapper, and while we waited for that to be cooked, my mom took Jordyn to see the live lobster and crabs.

My mom loves steamed clams, and she always used to pick them up here for her dad too.  I can remember them sitting around eating them, while we played with the shells.

Here she is showing Jordyn how to hold a lobster.  Jordyn was afraid grandma was going to get pinched, but grandma returned the lobster to the tank without incident.

Then my red snapper was ready...doesnt it look tasty?  Well, trust me...it was!

My mom treated us to a bag of steamed clams and two steamed crabs, which we happily took home to munch on later.

And heres a shot of Jordyn trying her first steamed clam...

Looks like she likes it!

As for me...i spent most of my time tearing into the crab...outside of course, as it can get a little messy!

Hope you enjoyed our trip to the pier~

Lifes a Beach ~

 After an entire day at Knotts, we decided to take it easy on Sunday...and what better way to do that than to go to the beach!

Does this look like the face of a person on vacation?!?  A late lunch at Prontos,  followed by more delicious take out for dinner...this time, Italian food from Sorrentos, courtesy of Mom....yum!  Thanks Mom....Meanwhile, i think the treadmill is calling!  :)

Knotts Berry Farm ~

   We spent Saturday at Knotts Berry Farm...Jordyns first time at an amusement park and also her first roller coaster ride.  It was firefighter/policeman appreciation month, so all 9 of us got in for only 134 bucks!  Not too shabby, considering the regular price is 56 bucks a person.

  Our first stop...the Sierra Sidewinder, a ride we could all go on, and it was a blast!  She was smiling the entire ride, and then decided since she heard other kids screaming, that she would scream too...and boy, did she scream! :)

  After the sidewinder, she went on Woodstocks envelope ride, which was a cute bouncing ride for kids.  Then we all decided we needed to do the Log Ride, the perfect ride to cool you off on a hot winter day in Cali :)  Please excuse the grainyness of this next photo...it was taken by the park camera...but just look at her face...she loved it!  But even funnier...look at her cousins face in the orange t-shirt!   :)

  Obviously face painting was on the list...Jordyn chose the fairy design...

 

Then it was time for funnel cake...it took four people to finish this beast!

but Chucky did most of the damage!

Then we split up and Jordyn and i headed back over to Camp Snoopy, while the big kids headed for the deluxe rides.  Jacob, not a big fan of roller coasters, decided to come hang with Jordyn and i, which was great!  We rode Lucy's Tugboat, the Camp Bus, and then we decided to go back to the sidewinder again for another go!

We picked a different seat this time, and the ride was a lot better! 

  Meanwhile, the big kids were still in line for the Perilous Plunge, so Jordyn and i had enough time to squeeze in a few more rides...

She loved being able to control the plane on the Red Baron ride, and then of course, there was enough time for several rounds on the Log Ride again (that was everyones favorite!)

We all met up for dinner, but it was getting late, so we after we ate, we all decided to hit a few more rides and then head home...

While we were enjoying the lovely views from the Ferris Wheel, the rest of the clan decided to take a turn on the Ghost Rider...

  Once again, my poor nephew James looks a bit frightened!  But not just him...even my sisters are a little freaked out in the back!  Talk about capturing a moment!

  We noticed this ride, the Log Splitter,  while on the Ferris Wheel, and we discovered there was no line at all...so Jordyn walked right up and went for a spin.  She was soooo cute...after every ride, she kept saying, "can we go on that again!" 

It has been really awesome to see Jordyn bonding with her cousins!  We live so far away, so she hasnt had much time to get to know them, but now that shes older and we've had this time together, she is really getting to know her cousins.  The boys are a lot older than her, but they are so sweet, always watching out for her and playing with her!  Shes the only girl and the youngest, so i think they all feel a bit protective of her :)

  At the end of the evening we met up at the Log Ride, and since the lines were incredibly short, we decided to ride that a few more times.  On the last round, i went over to the arcade while they were on the ride, and tried to win Jordyn a little prize for her to take home .....

Success!!!

 Yep...it was definitely a good time had by all!

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Forty Seven

Week Forty Seven : The Beach Towel

I find it entertaining that last weeks photo was of my daughter in the snow, and this week shes at the beach.  This was Jordyns first time in the ocean, so i wanted to capture the magic of that moment.  Digitally painted in Photoshop.