Catching up on Some zzz's

College students never seem to get enough rest. When I was in school, I remember walking around campus finding people taking a nap in the strangest locations. Park benches, libraries, stairwells, classrooms and, of course, dining halls seemed to be the favorite snoozing spots. Whether it was studying or not, staying up all night is definitely the norm.

Dylan must be prepping his body for his future college days, as he seems to prefer to be awake at all hours of the night. Just like a student, this can sometimes take a toll on his day-time activities:

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Make....

Arthur and I do not have green-thumbs (shocking, isn't it??). It is really sad that we finally have a house with a little bit of land, and really have no idea what to do with it. Our backyard is more like an untamed vine wilderness complete with the freakiest cactus tree thing I have ever seen. We keep talking about hiring someone to just rip everything out so we can start fresh, but of course, it is all just talk and no action.

Our front yard is in a little bit better condition only because we would most likely be complained about in our weekly Neighborhood Watch emails. I can't tell you much about the species of plants in our front yard, but I can tell you that we have a huge lemon tree. For the first year we lived in the house, we were convinced the lemons were poisonous. Given the condition of the plants in the rest of our yard, we just couldn't risk tasting even one. So, we watched them drop onto our driveway all year long. I even thought about having the tree removed to save myself some work.

This year would have been the same if we did not have a visit from Arthur's parents. Even after we warned them that the tree had never been watered or cared for since we moved in, the ladder was pulled out of the garage, and up went my father-in-law to retrieve some fruit. We waited for them to return home to tell us how it went. Apparently, the tree produces some pretty tasty lemons and nobody had to go the emergency room to have their stomach pumped!

So, now I have this huge tree that is full of delicious lemons and am faced with the problem of knowing what to do with them all. I have perfected my lemonade-making skills, though. So, if anyone has a lemon recipe to die for, please send it my way (just no lemon chiffon - Arthur is not a fan)! Or, if anyone living in the area would like some lemons, please take them! I have officially become that lady who shows up at any function with fruit to give away.

Wolfgang Shek

A couple weeks ago, my friend Jane had the cutest picture on her food blog of her daughter Cate helping her bake. Since I don't bake very often (and I hardly can say using a cake mix is actually baking), there hasn't been much opportunity for Tyler to actually help me. But, this week, I decided to break out the Betty Crocker Strawberry Cake box and let him help me make some cupcakes. I was surprised at how carefully he poured the mix, water, and oil into the bowl, so I let him help me crack the eggs as well. Don't tell Arthur, but I suspect that a bit of shell may have made it's way into the batter! Below are some pictures. As you can see, by the end, even Dylan was licking his lips. The poor kid just isn't old enough to take a sample. So when we were all enjoying the finished product, Dylan had to make do with his rice cereal - peas mixture.

California Dreamin'

In one week, we went from this weather in Salt Lake:

To this weather in Southern California! Jealous??

Happy Birthday Grandpas

Today is Grandpa Wong and Grandpa Shields' birthdays! We are dedicating this video to you.

---Tyler strapped himself into the car seat and refused to get out, so I had to just start taping--

Cruisin' for a Bruisin' in Utah

Last week, Arthur was up in San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Conference, so I took the boys to Utah to visit Steve, Patty and their 4 kids (Amanda, Jimmy, Todd, and Tyson).

Even though Tyler has been on an airplane several times as a baby, it seemed to him that this was his first time. He was so excited when we entered Long Beach Airport to see the planes and to be able to go "up in the sky"!




I was so nervous about managing the two boys alone on the plane. Thinking back, I should have known that going to the house of the brother who has jumped out of airplanes, broken his arm playing football, and had a nail impaled into his foot would be much more adventurous than a 2 hour flight!

Once we arrived in Utah, there was a bit of snow on the ground, so Uncle Steve decided to take Tyler for a ride on his 4-wheeler up the mountain. Of course, Tyler did not complain at all!



Later that night we tucked all the kids into the big bedroom upstairs. Thinking that they had finally settled down to go to sleep, we enjoyed the first quiet moment of the day. This was soon interrupted by screams from Tyler. Apparently, he had been jumping on the beds and had fallen and hit his face. He ended up with a pretty bad swollen black eye and a scratch on his face. So, it seems my fears a few weeks ago actually foreshadowed this event.




Not to worry, Grandma and Grandpa - he only complained that one night and was back to his normal active self the next day. While Amanda and Jimmy were at school, Todd played with Dylan and Tyler.





On Friday, I took the boys into my old office at Harmans to see all my former co-workers. Tyler amused himself by collecting candy from every one's desk and by raiding the free soda machine. Meanwhile, Dylan had fun being passed around the office so that everyone could have a turn holding him. After that, we went to Ashle's house to visit with her kids Kjardin and Bergen as well as Jessica's girls Sarah, Carolyn and Grace. I forgot my camera that day, so I don't have any fun pictures to show you.

Saturday, we went to the Fire Museum in Tooele where the kids had fun playing on an old fire truck. Tyler wandered around making sure to count every tire in the museum. When we were ready to leave, we spent about 10 minutes chasing the two year olds (Tyler and Tyson) to get them back into the car.



Then it was back to Steve's house for a final 4-wheeler drive before we returned home. If you double-click on the last picture, you can get a glimpse of Steve and a couple of the boys on the 4-wheeler at the top of the mountain behind their house.



We had a great time, and Tyler now is back to his boring life in South Pasadena. He is excited to be reunited with his cousins at the beach house in Florida in May.

Thank you, Steve and Patty!

Sumo Wrestler In Training

I had to post twice today because I forgot to mention that Dylan is now 6 months old. At his appointment on Friday, we learned that he weighs 21 pounds 11 ounces and is 26 1/2 inches long. His weight is what always shocks people. When my doctor saw him, he said, "wow, he is a big boy!" and sat there staring amazed at the size of his cheeks. The boy does like to eat. When Lucy, his assistant, came to give him his first of two shots, he barely even screemed. She said it was because of the extra padding on his thighs. Here are a couple of pictures I just took for your enjoyment.

You can't see them all here, but he has about 6 rolls on his thighs


Sitting up well these days


Sampling the Costco Baby Wipes


Hopefully, he will soon be able to lift his weight and start crawling

Don't Forget your Goggles

Some of you may wonder why there is a picture of a kitchen sink on my blog. Yes, it has been a while since I last posted. Yes, we have been all had colds the last few days, so there is not much to share. Yes, I am running out of fun stories to tell. But, if you give me a minute, you will realize that yes, a kitchen sink can be blogworthy.

My kitchen sink looked really cool when we bought the house. Complete with 3 sections, a disposal, and a spray, you might think this was actually the perfect sink. Little did I know that the devil can appear in all places - including the kitchen sink.

First of all, the sink had really high water pressure. Whenever I turned on the faucet, I had to step back a couple of feet to avoid getting sprayed. Of course, I always forgot and before even one dish was rinsed, I would find water all over my face.

Second, the raised middle section was where the disposal was located. I would have to do most of my dishwashing in a tiny 2 inch deep sink to ensure that all food particles were drained correctly. Because pots, pans, plates, and even some of our silverware are actually bigger than this sink, water would again dump all over the lower section of my shirt and the top of my pants fell victim. Tyler used to have fun playing in the puddle that would form on the ground under the sink.

Third, the dreaded sprayer. The dishes would all be finished, and I could actually picture myself relaxing at some point in the evening. I would pick up the sprayer and give the sink a good spray-down to complete the job. Upon releasing the spray, I would lift the hose to return it to it's appropriate slot only to find the water still gushing out at full-speed. Once again, water would hit me all over my face, shoulder and chest. Who else needs to include changing their clothes as part of the dishwashing routine?

The fourth and most critical reason why a new kitchen sink can be blogworthy is the comment Arthur made once the new sink was installed. He turned on the faucet and said, "Wow, this new sink actually makes me want to do dishes!"

There you have it ladies and gentlemen. If the story didn't do it for you, maybe you will just enjoy looking at pictures of our sink for a couple of days. Stay tuned - I will be in Utah next week visiting Steve, Patty and their 4 kids. At the very least, there will be some fun pictures coming soon..

Our glorious new sink - Thank you mom and dad!