MANCALA

For one of our wedding gifts, someone gave us the game Mancala (we didn't register for it). I seriously hadn't played the game since third grade. For the first year of our marriage almost every Sunday, Tyler and I would play Mancala for hours. Tyler would be really close to winning and he would be really smug and just mutter, "Mancala, Mancala, Mancala." I would get really mad and tip over the whole game so he couldn't say he won. (Mature I know).

So on Saturday, Tyler was going through our closet and found our game box and pulled out the game Mancala. I almost forgot that we had it. We have played it almost every night since. I really forgot how much fun it is. It is a really quick game and it is only about luck. And surprisingly enough I don't get nearly as mad, or Tyler is not nearly as smug when he wins. You choose.

Lizette & Daddy

Lizette loves playing with her Daddy. Tyler will call Lizette's name and she thinks it is so funny when she surprises him. It is close to her bedtime when we took this video, usually she is laughing a lot harder...

What a week....

This has been a very stressful week for Lizette (and me). She is getting her top two teeth and has had a really bad cold/fever. Then on Thursday she took a really bad fall and hurt her head. I rushed her to her pediatrician's office, where Tyler met us. The doctor checked her out then sent us to a place 20 minutes away to get some x-rays of her skull to make sure that there was no fracture. After waiting in the waiting room for over an hour (And people looking at her then at us and pointing to her head, I wanted to scream, WHY DO YOU THINK WE ARE HERE?) . We finally got called back to get the x-rays done. Tyler held Lizette down while she was getting her x-rays. I was out in the hall. SHE WAS SO MAD. She was screaming bloody murder. We waited around for the doctor there to read them, fortunately she did not have a fracture. The x-ray doctor and her pediatrician wanted us to wake Lizette up every two hours to make sure that she could open her eyes. On Friday she wanted us to observe her all day to make sure that she was acting normal, ie. crawling, walking, talking, eating. If not she needed a MRI as soon as possible, because x-rays can only detect broken bones and not blood leaks into the brain...(SCARY) Luckily, Lizette was back to herself on Friday. We were both really tired from not getting a good night rest.
I have been putting some homeopathic pain relief on her bump (I am switching between Arnica and Trumeel). The next day the bump was almost all the way gone, and the bruising has gone down tremendously. It isn't as noticeable as it was on Thursday.. I am so happy that all is alright and that Lizette is back to acting like the Diva she is...j/k.

Farmers Market

I LOVE THE FARMERS MARKET. I say this almost every week. We walk to the Farmers Market almost every Saturday. I love going to buy my fruits and vegetables for the week. Everything just seems so fresh and I feel like it last a lot longer than stuff from the grocery store and it is cheaper. All the stuff in the picture (minus the baby) we got for $14. If I didn't get the strawberries and the blueberries it would have been under $6. I think that is pretty amazing. Tyler LOVES the carrots. Every time he takes a bite he says, "This is what a REAL carrot should taste like." It makes me laugh every time.


(Tyler is holding on to Lizette's back. So she is not sitting on the counter without parental control)

Flashback Friday: Big Sur

So this morning, while I was running/jogging up a incline(I really can't call it a hill) by my house. I had a flashback moment. I couldn't help but laugh. (I really was laughing) I was thinking about a couple of years ago when I was training for a marathon with Tyler, Ashley, and Drew. We signed up to do a 5k by Hearst Castle, and I wanted to do a half marathon at Big Sur. I heard that it was beautiful there and I wanted an excuse to go.

I found one on the internet and I thought it would be great. I talked to Ashley about it and she said that 2,880 feet of climbing and descending look like it might be hard, but she said that she would do it. So we all signed up. We left late in the afternoon from Camarillo, and drove to Big Sur and set up our campsite at 11 at night. The campsite next to us had a bunch of loud drunks, and we slept on a whole bunch of rocks (Tyler doesn't believe in camping with comfort). That morning we woke up at 8:00 a.m. to get to the starting point of the race. The first 5k was so steep. I couldn't even run up it, and I had 12 more miles. I remember after each hill thinking why aren't we to the half way point yet....

I found a picture of Tyler running the race. I just remember that Tyler, Drew, and Ashley did way better than me. Tyler came in at the first 50 out of 133, and I probably came in somewhere after the 100th.. It makes me laugh that I was the one that wanted to do the half marathon and it was the most miserable to me. Before we drove home the next day we went back and took some pictures of the trail that we ran. It is a beautiful trail, maybe this year we will reenact the Big Sur Half Marathon, now that I know what to expect. What do you think Ashley?

























Going from top right to left, then bottom right to left.
TR= That red dot is the start of the race. That picture is before the 5k.
TL= See the red dot still not to the half way point of the race.
BR= DONE.
BL= Finally over looking the 6.5 miles that you just ran, time to turn around and go back. KILL ME.

Best Cous

Lizette had a play date on Monday with her cousin Chloe. She was so excited. It so fun seeing the little girls interact with one another. We first played outside for awhile, then we came inside and turned on some music and let the girls play and dance. I love seeing them dance. I did have to break up a few fights, but over all they really get along.

I took some pictures and video of the girls playing together. So I decided that I wanted to learn to make a video. So here is a short video of the girls playing. THEY ARE BOTH SO STINKIN' CUTE!! I really could just eat them up.. And Chloe is so cute. She was trying to give hugs and kisses to Lizette. Lizette was a little bashful and was pushing her away...

The video isn't very good, but it is only my first one. I need to figure out how to use Movie Maker.

What a Monkey

Yesterday, we had a some people over for dinner. While I was getting dinner ready, I noticed that I didn't hear anything. So I went to look for Lizette (which isn't hard because our rental isn't very big), but I found her playing in a drawer. It was the funniest thing. I took a couple of pictures before I took her out. She is so funny. Even when we have hard days she always finds a way to make me laugh..

Happy Birthday.. Eat some raw chicken

I know that I haven't updated my blog in a long time. Life has been so busy, with my aunt in and out of the hospital, trying to move her, etc.... (I know that Cristin was probably about to take me off her blog list because I haven't updated)

So today is Tyler's 28th Birthday. we have had a great day. He invited me to go out to eat with his coworkers and his friend Spencer to J.J. Brewsky's, which is down the street from our house.. It was good. Lizette enjoyed eating Spencer's fries. But for dinner I wanted to go somewhere with just Tyler and I. We haven't been out just the two of us in MONTHS. We decided to go to Olive Garden, we hadn't been there in at least a year, probably longer. It used to be one of Tyler's FAVORITE restaurants. He took me there all the time when we were dating and engaged.

We dropped off Lizette at the Grandma Diane's and Grandpa Tickles' house and we were off. Since it was such a long time since we have been out just the two of us, we thought it was so quiet in the car. So we got to Olive Garden and ordered. I got the Tuscan Garlic Chicken with steamed squash instead of pasta (WHICH WAS DELICIOUS) and Tyler got his usual Chicken Scampi. Half way through the meal, Tyler noticed that his one of his chicken breast wasn't cooked. We said something to our waitress and she was very apologetic and took Tyler's plate. I already ate half my meal and was done. The manager of Olive Garden came to our table and said how sorry she was and that she would make sure that everything was cooked all the way, then she offered to make my meal over again as well. I said no, and that I was fine. (Then I thought about it, I should have said yes...WHAT WAS I THINKING!)

I couple of minutes later the manager comes out with Tyler's food and said not to worry about the bill that it was already taken care of... Then I was really regretting not asking for my meal to be remade.. Tyler ate two bites then asked for a box for both of our meals, then they brought out dessert for his birthday. We ended up leaving a tip for the waitress. So we ended up paying $6.00 for a $50 dollar meal. Not Bad..

On the way home I told Tyler that we need to bring raw chicken in a baggy next time and when we are all done with dinner, throw the raw chicken on the plate. THEN ta-dah.... FREE MEAL... Okay not really, but it is funny to joke about...

Here are some pictures of young Tyler.

It is finally here...

Introducing the newest culinary masterpiece: The Dirty Dog Cooker 2000





Just to remind everyone this was taped in our FRONT yard for the WHOLE block to see. Luckily, Tyler has such a nice friend, Spencer, that will do tons of lame stuff with him. This video makes me laugh so hard. Tyler is truly a ham.. It is about 6 minutes, so be patient it is well worth wasting you day for six minutes... We are going to try to upload it to Expo TV, to make some quick cash.

AT LAST...

I have finally updated my blog. I have been slacking for the past couple of weeks. Keep scrolling down...

A Little Bit of a Teaser

More to come later..... I know that you are either a little scared or excited.....

No Sleep for the Wicked

On Thursday, while I was making dinner. Lizette was playing and was making her usually playing noises. A couple minutes later I didn't hear any noises, so I naturally thought she was getting into stuff. I went to go looking for her and I found her asleep while hold my water bottle. I couldn't help but take a picture.