We said YES to Grass

A Project List Topper (on Riley's list that is), and is nearing completion! This has been one gnarly task. It all began for Riley with pulling out giant Rose bushes (ouch!), then nearly killing himself when he rented a gigantic sod cutter from Home Depot (one of my biggest regrets in life will always be not getting pictures of this-quite a sight!), then researching how to install a do-it-yourself sprinkler system (looked pretty complicated to me!), buying fencing, ordering sod. Then suddenly towards the end of what seemed like an endless one man job turned into an "I can do this! " job when Riley's Dad and our brother in law Cody came flying in to the rescue, armored with tool belts, and who knows what kinds of high tech drills and what nots to aide in our poor yards completion. So thanks guys for your help. The kids absolutely love it. Now all we need is to paint the fence white, get a dog, a cat, and I think half of a child and then we'd officially be living the American dream.

Thanksgiving 2008!

So usually we head down South to celebrate Thanksgiving with our Ramones side of the family, but unfortunately Riley had to work..but FORTUNATELY, because of the schedule dilemna, I was actually able to host Thanksgiving in our new house! This of course made me So very happy (: We just had it small with the family and Heather (who is pretty much family too!) It was a great time. Our day begun around 1pm with appetizers, kids playing, making a thanksgiving craft (their own place mats), watching the game, reading about next day sales in the paper...then dinner when Riley got home, followed by a moonlit walk to the park and tennis courts, pie, and a fierce game of Tripoly after the kids were nestled all a snug in their beds. We are so thankful this year for the Lords continued blessing upon our family! We love all of you and hope you too had a great Thanksgiving..heres a few pics of the day (:

Cone

So today on our way running some errands, we pulled through the McDonalds drive through for a couple ice cream cones.

As Tatum was almost finished silently devouring hers in the back seat, I turned around and she was holding it out to me, politely asking if I could please "roll up her Ice cream " for her...

She was bummed to find out that no, ice cream doesn't quite work like a tube of lipstick. I think she might be onto something though...

P.O BOX

Everyone in Spreckels has one. I think its because the post office doesn't want to employ more than one person, so they make everyone come get their own mail. But we don't mind though. In fact, our daily trips to the Post Office have become already a sacred event for the kids. Its pretty cool though-the P.O boxes haven't changed since..? Inevitably though, our Post office trips turn into a trip to the park too, and of course a roll or two down some grassy knolls.

FALL

My favorite time of year without a doubt. For some reason I have always loved fall. I think it must stem back to my childhood when the freshness of a new school year would begin-the blank crisp pages, freshly sharpened number twos, brand new shoes, and the hope, at least, of good grades o: To me Fall has always felt more like the beginning of something than the end...maybe its the the beginning of our traditions starting all over again. To kick it off -pumpkin patch! Then of course Pumpkin carving night (Christina let me host this year!), and of course trick or Treating. Not to mention some comfort food baking in between..
Tatum decided early on that she was to be a kitty Cat for Halloween (no surprise from my animal loving 3 year old)..and of course made a heck of a cute one. Brady ended up being Tatums lion from last year and was so stoked-even though he waa a lion last year (shh dont tell him!) They were both champs at trick or treating too. Tatum was cracking us up all night..after every house she would say "Lets keep going for more trick or treating houses Okay?". The most hilarious part though was that she literally could not simply say "Trick or Treat", accept her candy with a polite "thank you" and walk away. Oh she would say "Trick or Treat"..say "Thank You" and THEN without fail would seek to engage her new candy giving friend in the lengthiest conversation possible while Riley and I were smiling and nodding, prodding her along from the sidewalk (usually without much luck). I was amazed at the sheer randomness of her questions and comments and her eagerness to converse-she was throwing everybody off left and right, as the door began to close, she would follow with-"Are those two Reindeer on your porch?"..or "Do you have any doggies or Kitty Cats?"..or.."What are you supposed to be?" or "Whats that girl doing?" ..seriously anything, to just get them talking. Other times she would begin her conversations with lines of jr. high kids behind her waiting for their turn to score some candy. She never seemed to be fazed. So with that said, we hit up about half the homes, because it took twice as long, but I think she ended up getting about twice the candy because these people just kept plopping skittles and Mounds bars into her pumpkin as she continued talking. Great strategy if you ask me.

Literally Literal

I've been noticing lately that Tatum is indeed very literal. She likes things to be said the way that they are precisely, and any deviation from the exact truth, has been, well, corrected promptly. Here's a few examples of things recently said. This girl is nutty.

 

Mom: Wow Tatum, you just did a Summer Sault!

Tatum: No No Mama..ACTUALLY (a very over used word now in her vocab) its FALL time, so its REALLY called a FALL SAULT. And in the Winter, you say WINTER SAULT and in the SPRING, its called a SPRING SAULT!

Mom: (To Grandma with Tatum overhearing) So look, heres  Tatum's  Kitty Cat costume-black pants, ears, tail and black turtle neck..

Tatum: Um..no its not a TURTLE neck..its a kitty Cat neck!

Mom: Tatum, please just hold your horses!

Tatum: But mom, I dont have any horses to hold!

 

Anyone:Oh man!

Tatum: BUT Im not a MAN! Im a lady!

HOME

                                                                                          

Excuse the long absence please, but we are now officially HOME (in our new home that is!) Its been a long and crazy ride buying this property, but we are now in and feel so blessed to have found this Gem of a home! I guess you could say it all started with casual house hunting about a year or so ago. We weren't sure where we would end up, but we kept our options open. Then, on the 4th of July, we decided to head out to Spreckels (about 10 minutes away off of highway 68 from our old house) for a little independence day parade. It was then that I totally fell in love with this town. Its 3 blocks wide and 5 blocks long. The streets are lined with trees and old victorian and craftsman homes. In the center of the town is a park. And a tennis court. Racket ball court. and baseball field. Its funny, but I was telling Riley the other night..Ive never felt like I really belonged in California. And Ive never felt really, that Ive even belonged in this era (okay this is sounding weird) but really, the thought of churning butter on the front porch, quilting by candlelight at night, riding hoses bareback to the general store, or even milking a cow has always appealed to me.  And seriously, this town feels like a nowhere around here, and many features have remained untouched since the 1800's. (including our house) Also a dream of mine, to live in an old home with lots of neat charm and character. Rileys dream? Not so much. The word OLD to him, has always meant BROKEN, and NEEDS REPAIRED. Its been an ongoing battle really-what kind of house is better, an old (really cool) house, or a brand spanking new one. Well this home is the perfect combo. An old victorian (built in 1889) that has been totally remodeled from the outside in, without any of the homes integrity lost. The kids love the space, and we love everything about it. Really we are still pinching ourselves that its ours! We could not have  engineered our circumstances ourselves to have this outcome, but only the Lords hand we know. We feel so blessed to be here. We arent quite all the way settled yet, and theres some work to still be done (especially the yard..ugh)  but heres a few pics to atleast give you an idea.                                             

                                                                                   Kitchen

                                              Play Room!

                                             Our Bedroom

                                            Tatum's Room
                                              Brady's Room
                                                 Guest Room 
                                            Guest Bath
                                            Front

                                             Entry Way

                                            
                                           Dining Room
                                             Downstairs 1/2 Bath
                                      Living Room