Good Times at the Laundromat

I've never had to take our laundry to the laundromat, I have always been fortunate enough to have a working washing machine and dryer.

But this last Sunday, after returning home from camping, I decided to take all our blankets to the laundromat and get them all done in one swoop instead of dragging it out for days using my smaller machine at home.

I thought for a Sunday afternoon, it would be busy, but it was just me and another guy. After I acquired some cash, changed it in for quarters, and selected my machines. I read the directions as to how to operate the front loading machines and in went five blankets in four machines. And then I sat waiting, thankful I had an iPhone to pass the time.Towards the end of the cycle, I noticed one of the machines starting to leak suds out the front. I didn't think anything of it really and patiently awaited for the machines to finish up.

Once finished, the blankets were all still very sudsy. Not rinsed at all. And still very much full of water. The suds began to spill out onto the floor as I opened each door...I had used too much laundry soap. The first thing that came to my mind was that episode of The Brady Bunch whereas Bobby and Cindy used too much soap and caused the laundry room to overfill with suds. LOL.

After scratching my head for a few minutes and trying to decide how to fix this mess, I loaded the blankets into the biggest machine they had, and rewashed them, this time not using any detergent. This picture was taken after a lot of the suds had dissolved.
Meanwhile, the laundromat was beginning to get busy and people were coming in and were concerned about the suds on the floor. LOL. I would have cleaned up my mess, but there were no paper towels or a mop to be found. I simply just sat there, minding my own business, surfing about on my iPhone, acting as though I had no idea about the mess or who'd done it. LOL.

Finally, I was able to get all the blankets into dryers and eventually made my way home. But I'll never voluntarily go to the laundromat again, for one it was expensive!! And two, I hated all that waiting around. And three, I hated not knowing what I was doing. :)

1st Day of School

Today is the 1st Day of School for our girls.

The morning went great, everyone was up and dressed, beds made, and ready to go by 6:45am. The morning went real smooth and we were out the door early. This is the first time in ten years that both my girls will be gone everyday, all day.

I don't have to make three trips to the school everyday. They both get dropped off at 8:00 and both picked up at 2:15. As of right now, I still have three hours before I even have to leave to pick them up!

It's a little bittersweet, having them both gone. Having my baby, Rachel, gone all day. But they're getting bigger and life is moving forward at what seems like warp speed and this is just the next season of my life. And I'll get used to it soon....

Now...Who wants to go to Disneyland with me!?!??! :)

Back to School Teacher Gift

The girls and I were at the mall the other day, picking up a few things for school, etc. I stopped in Bath and Body Works as I needed some hand soap, and as we were walking out, I found this cute little dispenser of Market Apple Hand Sanitizer.

I thought to myself what a cute gift that would be for Rachel's teacher for Back to School. So I bought it and will wrap it up in cellophane and have Rachel take it to school tomorrow!

Been Busy, But Lots to Share

The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy ones for me, including a sleepover with sharks at SeaWorld, six days of beach camping, lounging about poolside at Disneyland's best hotel, and so much more.

I have lots of pictures, stories, and things to share, but today, we are getting around backpacks, lunch boxes, writing names inside said items, on folders, sharpening pencils, etc.

The girls start school tomorrow and then I'm going to have a TON of time to catch up on blogging...

Summertime Memories: Lake Perris

I'm sure for any of my readers who live locally and know where Lake Perris is, your first thought when seeing that Blog Title was "Eww", but really years ago, Lake Perris wasn't bad.

Like I said in a previous post, our summer breaks stretched out for almost 3 months. That was a lot of time to keep two kids entertained and busy. One of the things we used to do a couple times a summer was to pack a lunch, our beach chairs, and umbrella and go to Lake Perris for for a few hours. Sometimes we'd meet friends, sometimes my Mom let us each take a friend.

It was a fun and inexpensive thing to do.

I remember as a kid camping in the campground as well. I remember one particular summer whereas we were camping the for the week and my eyes got so sunburned and strained from the constant glare of the lake, that my Dad had to bring me home for an afternoon. Just to give me a chance to get out of the bright sun for a few hours. Ahhh, summer memories....

Summertime Memories: Swimming and 7-Eleven

One Summer Memory that I think of every summer, are of the days we used to go swimming at my Aunt Judy and Uncle Denny's house. They lived not too far from us, and had a built in pool, with an awesome slide, and if I remember correctly, there was a diving board.

Quite often during the summer break, we'd pack our towels and sunscreen and go swimming. It'd always be a fun afternoon of splashing about. Now that I am a mother, I know the hidden agenda behind swimming days in someones pool - the kids wear themselves out and sleep really good that night! LOL.

But every time, following an afternoon of swimming at Aunt Judy's, on our way home, Mom would stop at the 7-Eleven and get us all a Slurpee!!! It was a great way to end a fun afternoon, and a refreshing treat at that!

It's something I've done a time or two with my own girls after an afternoon of swimming at my brother's pool.

Heatwave Across the Nation

Up until the last three days, Southern California has had great weather, something we're really not used to in the months of June and beginnings of July. Our temps were mild, low 80's, while the Eastern part of the United States was getting slammed with our normal high 90s and even some triple digit temps. All the while we knew how good we had it and were very thankful for the mild weather.

But two days ago, BAM! Just like that, overnight, we went from mild to triple digits. The heat is scorching and the humidity is great. And low and behold thus the official summer season in Southern California has begun!

Yesterday, as I was with friends poolside, my friends husband was reading the newspaper and came across the weather section and we were all fascinated, and thought it was kinda eery, that the weather map for the United States showed that all the States were experiencing a heat wave, the coloring in the map showed that all the States were experiencing temps between the 80's and the 90's.

I found a weather map for today's weather and it's pretty much the same all across the nation, a heatwave.I think it's just another reason to be looking up!

"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven."
Luke 21:10-11

Summertime Memories: Summer Reading Program

Summer vacation also meant it was time for the Summer Reading Program at the local library. It was another thing always on our "Summer List".

Again, we had a specific day of the week that we went downtown to the library. The Children's Room was always decorated up fun and festive for the summer reading program. I don't remember what the prizes were when we were kids, but I know now a days the prizes are pretty good!

I've taken my own girls the local libraries and signed them up for summer reading, but our summers are always so short (we're on a year round school year) that the program sometimes gets forgotten by us. But as far as the Summertime Memories go, those will never be forgotten, neither will the distinct smell of the downtown library!

4th of July

I received these pictures this morning via email from a friend and they were good enough that I thought I'd share. They were taken on the 4th of July. We spent our 4th with church family at the home of friends who live at the base of the local mountain whereas the city's fireworks are shot off every year and for years and years.

The festivities started late afternoon and included a BBQ and potluck with all the typical BBQ fixin's. There was football being played in the front yard by all the teenagers in the youth ministry, a neighborhood scavenger hunt, a craft table for making crowns for the little ones, and Mexican Train Dominoes going on in the backyard. When it came time for Fireworks, we had an awesome view. The hilltop was smack dab in plain sight from the backyard. They seemed to last forever and were the highlight of the night...

Kidless for a Few Days

Our girls left midday Friday, and aren't due to return until tomorrow, or so I've been told, they are with their Gramie, my mother in law.

What have I been doing with my free time you might wonder...?

I made a trip to Costco on Friday. Came home and started a "chick flick" marathon and folded some laundry. Friday night we went to Claim Jumper for dinner, thanks to a gift card we'd won at Bunco last month. Followed by a trip to Golden Spoon for yogurt, where we got it 'to go' so that we could enjoy it later in the evening after our dinner had settled. Steven worked on a home improvement project and I finished up the day with yet another chick flick on Lifetime.

Saturday was more of the same, watching Chick Flicks, catching up on some Food Network shows, Steven working on church things. We went to a late afternoon movie, followed by dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with yet another very generous gift card that not only covered our dinner, and two pieces of cheesecake to go (and later enjoy at home), but part of the tip as well.

Sunday morning we went to church, followed by lunch with friends and then home to putter for a while before meeting up with some other friends for an early dinner and off to an evening church service, only to be followed up by a stop off at somewhere else to eat and hang out. Sunday was a day of fellowshipping and eating and enjoying not having to answer the usual questions that we must face when in our 'parent roles'. LOL.

Today, well, the "Date Weekend" has come to an end and it's back to work for Steven. As for me, I'm puttering about the house, getting things in order, making a grocery list for a trip later in the week. I have a load to take to the Salvation Army I should make, a trip to the post office to make, a few things to pick up at Target or Walmart, a gift card to Jamba Juice to use, and then perhaps home, to sit and watch a few more chick flicks...

Summertime Memories: Summer Bargain Movies

Back when my brother and I were kids, summer vacation was from the middle of June until after Labor Day in September. There was a good three months of vacation that my Mom had to keep us entertained.

One of the things that we did every summer was to take advantage of the free summer movies that the local movie theater provided. It was a set day, set time, and every week there was a different movie. I think they might have been free. But every week, on that set day, my Mom took us to the movies.

And the same holds true for me today with my own kids. At the end of the school year, I research the three local theaters that offer the bargain movies and make a list of what's showing at what theater and when and post it on our fridge. And depending on what's showing, we go to the movies a few times during our summer break, which isn't nearly as long as it was when we were kids.

Depending on the theater it's a $1.00, but one of the theaters is free. Make a trip to the Dollar Tree before hand for a bottle of soda and a box of candy and it's a morning of cheap entertainment that's fun!

Check out your local theaters and see if bargain summer movies are available near you!

God Knows Best

A week ago, we had the opportunity to hang out with some longtime friends. It was supposed to be a group of us with our kids, but one by one, things came up, or more than one became sick, and in the end, it was just me and my girls, and Carolyn and her two children.

Carolyn and I have known each other for years and years. She was the camp nurse way back when I used to be a primary camp counselor in the Children's Ministry at Harvest. When we both were pregnant with our firsts in 2000, we reconnected and once the girls were born, we started making trips to Disneyland together. We're both Disneyland fanatics and as new moms, it was fun to put our girls in their strollers and go to Disneyland. Those were the days when Disneyland was empty, walking down Main Street just about being the only ones.

We both were blessed with girls the first time around.

We always wanted one of each. Carolyn always dreamed of having two girls.

In February 2004, Carolyn was blessed with a baby boy. In August 2004, we were blessed with another girl.

It's funny how things work out, because as much as we wanted a girl and a boy, and as much as Carolyn wanted two girls, I know that neither of us would want it any other way. And it's a reminder that the Lord always knows whats best, even coming right down to the gender of your children!