cloud jello

Today we made cloud jello! Jason and I have been studying water, the water cycle, evaporation, etc. in his science studies. I had planned on starting our homeschool adventure the first week of August but Jason couldn't stand waiting any longer and I compromised by starting science early. This is an easy recipe: make a batch of Berry Blast blue jello. Whip up a small carton of heavy whipping cream and 1/8c. of sugar. Take a spoonful of jello and plop it in the glass. Follow it up with a plop of whip cream. Layer until you reach the top. Eat, eat eat!

disaster!

Yesterday I read an article in the paper about how kids are not getting enough physical activity. Especially as they get older, which in turn leads to the inevitable obesity threat on our fabulous healthcare system.... Also, yesterday, Jason was incredibly cranky, I think because of boredom, or lack of activity. I tried my best to keep him busy with time in the pool and a little bit of a science lesson, but nothing would satisfy the beast once unleashed. Also yesterday it was almost 100 degrees out and we have a pesky bee problem in our backyard. I know that it's a good thing for mankind that we have such lovely roses lining our yard and attracting bees, but it is not a good thing for the kiddos. They go outside to play and last maybe three minutes before a bee sighting sends them into a frenzy and they scramble back into the house. The bees particularly love Darren's grill where culinary greatness is born and meat is tamed to melt in your mouth. (I know right, I'm totally scoring points here...).
So this morning I thought we would take a hike along the river trail before it got too hot. The kids would get in a little physical activity and they would be glad to settle in to a quiet morning of playing inside. We set out at 8:30, it was still cool. The kids had field bags and were ready to collect rocks and leaves and sticks. The sun was shining, birds were singing, lizards were scattering across the sidewalk.... a beautiful start! We checked out the geocache that we had hidden on the trail, still there. We checked out the first sign along the trail, and matched the animal tracks to the animals pictured on the sign. My plan was to walk to the next sign and then head back, it would be enough of a hike for Cameron. The next sign was about the Chumash Indians and how they used native plants to build shelter and create medicine and food. I had seen these signs many times on my walks and knew Jason would be interested. We approached the sign and began to read but I heard a voice faintly singing through the trees. I knew that most walkers and joggers didn't sing, and I started to get worried. As the voice got closer I could tell that it was shaky, off-key and slurring. I told Jason that we needed to go quickly because a drunk man was coming up the trail. He didn't believe at first, was a little confused but I quickly told him to just obey and I'd talk about it later. Thankfully for our nightly Bible readings, Jason's already had discussions with us about all sorts of lovely things like drunkenness, murder, etc. Cameron, of course was not about to cooperate so I grabbed her and held her like a football while she kicked me and yelled. We ran up to a short spot in the fence and hopped over to the sidewalk of a busy street. I looked back and saw the gentleman leaning on the sign as he continued his song. No danger, just a little scare for me. I had my cell phone with me, but what kind of weapon is that? I suppose I could defend my family with a rockin' ringtone...
We walked back home safely on the sidewalk, enjoying the lack of nature. Although we did see a dead cat that someone had wrapped up in a beach towel.... As we walked back home I leaned down to Jason and apologized for the disasterous ending to our hike. He looked up at me and said, "yeah, I knew it was a bad idea...." What?! We got back home and the kids watched an episode of Dora the Explorer. From now on I think we'll leave the exploring up to the professionals...

pictures!

Yeah! After 32 attempts (maybe a slight exaggeration) the pictures are finally here. I included a pic of the mini cupcakes and 2 pics from our scary beach adventure. (Pictured are Cam, Chloe and Garrett). We went with some friends to San Simeon. They said they knew of this hiking trail that led down to a little beach with great shells. They failed to mention the hike was about 30 minutes (no strollers) and included a death-defying scramble down a cliff. Nice. We are happy to be alive.

what's the scoop, jen?

Well here it is... I officially hate my camera. Yeah, that's pretty much the cause of the blog delays around here lately. Last week we did a cool mini cupcake project that was both fun and delicious... pictures to come soon I hope. This weekend we went on a hike on the coast (on some scary bluffs and then down a scary trail to a wildly scary beach at high tide with a wicked undertow.... but very beautiful shells to collect)... pictures to come soon I hope. And we received our boxes filled with our delightful homeschool books for this year, it was like Christmas opening them.... pictures to come soon I hope. And this is why I hate my camera. It takes forever to coax it to turn on. And then, once it's on, it eats through batteries like Jason attacking an In-n-Out cheeseburger (or, more honestly, like ME attacking an In-n-Out cheeseburger). Do you watch the show "Jon & Kate Plus 8"? Kate hates her camera too, and then one Christmas Jon bought her a new one. I was so happy for her because I understood her frustration. All you want to do is record the adorable things your kids do and your camera wants to torture you. Like I said, I'm so happy for her... and a little jealous. Darren, I don't want to wait for Christmas! Our kids will do too many cute things between now and then, and maybe our new kid will arrive too, and then what? Poor third child, no pictures, no baby book, no memories.... This is how you can make up for your very unfunny joke about being "Darren & Jen Plus 10". We'll start the "Make Jen Very Happy By Buying Her A New Camera" Fund.

new Office webisodes

Hey gang! If you are in the minority who still have no idea why I posted a picture with a guy named Oscar, play the video on the right of your screen. This summer The Office produced webisodes, 2 minute shows telling the story of Kevin's Loan. There will be a new webisode every week, so check in here or NBC.com. Kevin is an accountant in the office who needs help tallying receipts, filing paperwork and controlling his gambling habit, er wait, what gambling habit? Did I say gambling? I didn't mean that.....

happy 4th of july!

We spent the evening with Grammy and Papa in the motorhome at a RV park across from Barney Schwartz park. The city does a huge fireworks show every 4th at Barney, so we had a great spot to view the show. Cameron and Jason love the motorhome (or the "mohome" as Cameron calls it). They especially like to spend time with their cousins. The kids spent the afternoon swimming, riding bikes and scooters,playing games and eating snacks. In the evening we settled n to watch the fireworks and as soon as they started Cameron declared "I want to go home!". She calmed down in the motorhome and watched the show from inside because the noise was just too scary! Jason loved the fireworks, especially the ones that looked like Saturn and the happy faces. (Double click on the top picture for a special message from Darren, the super-patriot).

first look

We got our first look at the new baby on Tuesday. The kids voted to put this picture on the blog because it looks like the baby is sucking his/her thumb. It finally feels real, seeing a picture helps so much because my symptoms have been so mild. (I really don't mean to brag, I just can't believe how easy this one's been.) Cameron is convinced that she has a baby in her belly too, it's a girl. She thinks my baby is a boy. So does Jason, I really hope he's not disappointed! I'm in between regular clothes and maternity clothes, one set is too small, the other is too big. So I wear a lot of t-shirts and elastic waist shorts... dressing for church is the hardest right now. We'll have another ultrasound in 7 weeks, I think we might find out the gender... maybe... it's such a temptation!