Yours Mine & Ours

The daily chaos and special moments of a typical American blended family

Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy 9th Birthday, Kam.

This is soooo late, and all the same pics are on Facebook anyway, but here are some snippits of Kamden's 9th birthday party. It was a gorgeous day with our close friends and family. I love low key birthday parties!







I really can't believe how fast he has grown. He was only four years old when I had the pleasure of coming into his life. He is a sweet, caring, wisecracking kid. He is a protective big brother and the sweetest stepson anyone could hope for.

Tom's Farms Pumpkin Patch














Friday Hikes


Every Friday (well...almost), Cash and I have been strolling up the JPL road in Wrightwood. It's a gorgeous stroller friendly hike. If I time it right, he falls asleep about a mile in, and I can go all the way to the top for a nice four mile round trip walk. Sometimes we go with friends and sometimes we are solo.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Winter B-day Party Conundrum

So, I totally need to make up for throwing a lack luster first birthday for Cash. Last year I got so busy that his birthday crept up and left little time for all the frills it deserved. The problem is that his birthday is in the dead of winter, and it's too cold to do anything fun. An outdoor party is out of the question. A party at my house is doable, but limiting. For one thing, it's not huge. If it's snowing, people might have a difficult time getting to my house. If it's really cold, we can't take advantage of the back deck, which is the only thing that makes my house party worthy. I could have a sledding party, but with my luck it won't snow enough. I'm looking into places like Jump Zone but they are pretty pricey. Plus, I don't want some company dictating how our party will proceed. I've done that before at two of Kamden's prior parties (John's Incredible Pizza AND Dave and Buster's) Both were pretty much expensive disasters.

I'm getting a jump on it this year and researching fun winter themed parties. Here are some ideas I'm thinking about ripping off from other people:

Penguin Olives...so cute.
Hot Cocoa Bar
Marshmallow Snow Man

Mmmmm.... Penguin cupcake (what are the chances I will be able to re-create those?? Slim to nada!)
Serve some yummy soup.
This obviously would say, Happy Birrrrrrrrrrthday Cash!

I'm so excited to have found an organic food co-op in Wrightwood. I'm going split a basket with a friend for the first week, to see if can really use all of these fabulous treats. It's no secret that I am a terrible cook (when I do, in fact, try to cook). I'm hoping that learning to make the most of my basket of fresh food will challenge me to try new recipes. Here are a few of the items:

Bell Peppers
Blue Lake Green Beans
Cantaloupe
Cucumber
Lettuce
Mexican Squash
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Strawberries
Zucchini
Grapes
Bosco Pears
Avocado
Chislett Oranges
Marsh Grapefruit
Carrots
Parsley

Basket pickup is accompanied by an great little farmer's market that has fresh eggs and all sorts of additional goodies.

We Love Halloween!

Ordering kids' Halloween costumes. There are so many cute choices, I think they are both going to get 2.

Cash (For Trick-or-Treating):

Cash (For the Halloween Carnival):

Kamden (Trick-or-Treating):

Kamden (For the Halloween Carnival):

(Yes, our kid is allowed to play Halo...don't judge).