KKs Krazy World

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"Roading"....

"Let's Go Roading!" is what my girls exclaim to my husband each Saturday morning. I love it! because it gives them a great bonding time together with their Dad and I get a little break from my week long routine. Usually Chris takes the just Lilly and Joe out for a trip through the desert or to the local lake for some Jeep climbing and off-roading (hence the the given nickname "roading" by Lilly) excursion. Last weekend after many weekends of displayed interest (insistent actually), Violet was finally added to the Jeep Crew! She LOVES it! Both girls get so giddy and excited when Chris says, "Who want's to get in the Jeep?"

Now that High School has started again, Joseph's homework load has picked up quite a bit. Now Joe has decided he would rather take advantage of the peace and quiet of the girls being gone to get his work done, so it's just Daddy and his girls for now. Last weekend they went to Lake Skinner in search of the perfect place to drink their juice boxes. Chris said they were so excited to find that perfect spot that over looked the Lake and eagerly got out to enjoy those drinks. They sat next to each other feet tapping and sipping down their little boxes of juice, as cute as can be. Of course, he said that lasted about five minutes when our little Violet (she is our "Messy Marvin") decided to squeeze her box, get herself wet with juice and pick up a handful of dirt all at the same time. Ha, ha, ha, ha! Welcome to my world hunny!

This weekend, Mom got to go on the adventure in the Jeep, because it involved "shopping". I rarely miss an opportunity to put my husband's credit cards to good use. So I tagged along to some off-roading fair in town. It was fun to see the girls very attached to their Dad and excited about all the other Jeeps and Mules that they saw. They were even looking under the cars (excuse me, Jeeps) at the struts and wheels and things. I took a few pictures, so that you can see how cute they all were. It was a really nice day, and I thoroughly enjoyed observing my girls interactions with their Daddy.

Here is the link to our Web Gallery: http://gallery.me.com/klafournaise#100399

Hope you all had a good weekend too!

Lilly's 'matoes

Lilly has been trying most of the summer to grow her own tomatoes (she calls them 'matoes'). It has taken a while to finally pick the fruits of her labors, because the snugs (slugs) kept getting her tomatoes.

Lilly was so excited about picking her tomatoes and being able to help cut them up for the family salad tonight. While my blog post on this is short, I will let her little face tell you a thousand words in pictures. Click Here

Wine Country, Temecula 2008

Well, we knew that "Wine Country" area of Temecula had been growing over the last few years. So much that each time we drive through we notice a new winery sign, or building, or restaurant. We just had no idea how much it had grown until we took a couple of friends from Indiana out for their first "California Wine Tasting" experience. We hit the wineries first that we have always gone to and then attempted a new one. Wow! were surprised by going off the beaten path and finding this great winery called "Long Shadow Ranch". Their wines and ports were superb! reasonably priced and the atmosphere was the best we had experienced all day!

For lunch we ended up at one of our old stand-by favorites; "South Coast Winery". Lunch was it's usual consistent good food and great service! The wines there are still mediocre as well as the knowledge of the wait-staff of wines. It sure is beautiful there though.

After lunch we had time for one last stop and desert. Temecula Wine Tasting just wouldn't be complete without visiting the "icon" of Temecula Wine Country for some Champagne and Port (yes together in one tasting) in decadent chocolate cup... Wilson Creek Winery, has been through it's own growing spurt too. I has a brand new wedding and banquet facility adjacent to their "Tasting Room" building. Wow! When did that go up? We drive out that way at least once or twice a month and never saw it being built then suddenly it appeared. It looks beautiful! Go see it! and be sure to have some Champagne and Port while you are there! mmmmm..... so good! I am not a port person.

Chris and I decided we need to get out to visit the other wineries sometime soon. He just needs to close some deals at work and start earning us some wine $spending$ money for our expensive habit. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Hey Mr. Postman!

Lol! Ha! Ha! Ha! ...Sorry, but I had to start this off with a little chuckle. Tonight I found out that to appease our 3 1/2 year old daughter, Lilly, my husband has been giving her blank envelopes to put in the mailbox. Let me elaborate; each night that my husband sits at his desk and writes out his expense reports, pays bills or orders new coins, he prepares his envelopes and sets them on his desk to be mailed when he is done. Then he takes Lilly to the mailbox to put them in the slot when they go to pick up the mail. Lilly decided one day that she need to put her own mail in the box, so to save argument Chris started handing Lilly blank envelopes, which she would draw on (excuse me, address) and seal up so that she could put her own mail in the box. Periodically, my dear husband would throw in an occasional "reply by mail" "postage paid" envelope from some magazine company or credit card company and let her stuff it with drawings that she made and seal them up too.

Tonight I caught them doing their little "mail routine" and Lilly had just stuffed a big manilla envelope with scrap paper she found lying around and colored the outside of the envelope. She asked me "mamma, who can I mail this too? I told her we could mail it to her Aunt, when Chris stopped me and informed me that they had been just putting unlabeled, unstamped envelopes in the mail box each night. "OMG!" what must the mailman be thinking I wonder? My only guess is that the "Dead Letter" pile in Temecula must be pretty big by now and its not even Christmas!

Christmas Lights in July!

In just a couple more days I hop on a plane headed for Conroe, Texas (Houston area) to meet people who like Christmas Lights as much and even more than me! I know can you believe it? There are people like me out there? People who think about Christmas lights, Christmas music, Christmas anything in the middle of July and all year long. The best thing about these people? They don't look at me with a glazed over "OMG, here she goes again..." look on their faces. Nor do they politely smile at me and nod as if I was a mental patient on the edge... LOL!! :-)

I chat with about 50 to 100 of my Christmas friends every day on online Forums for Christmas Light decorators from all over the world. We talk about how to make things for our displays, the best and coolest lighting products that we use, our favorite Christmas music, share pictures and videos of our displays, help each other out with our displays, help the new people who just crossed over to the bright side with their display questions... and everything that a great community of people with a common life experience do.

It truly is a community of its own. So many different kids of people from all walks of life with the one common thing. It doesn't matter who you are, where you live, how much money you don't make, what your family status is, what your culture is, all we want to talk about is Christmas! Of course we throw in the personal stories and jokes and important moments in our lives here and there that have nothing to with Christmas, but that is for the sake of getting to know each other better.

I love all my online Christmas friends! I love them even more when I get to meet them in person. In California because of the new Christmas Lights Community chapter that Chris and I started here, I have been able to meet probably close to 150 people in CA that decorate for Christmas. They are all very supportive of one another and are so willing to share what they have learned and what they do with their lights. It is totally awesome!

So now I am off to meet my friends who live in Texas and some others who are traveling in from other states too to learn about the ins and outs of Christmas Light decorating. I will even be able (like at any other Conference) to meet and make special purchases from specialty Christmas Lights vendors. You all know how I LOVE to shop! So this will be a fun experience for me too!

Anyway, I know this is long, but I am REALLY, REALLY, REALLY Excited about this Workshop and meeting my friends!

I will let you know when I get back about what I did and learned. Hopefully a few pictures too!

Like this one here that I took at the BBQ/workshop that I went to in Stockton, CA last month.

This week she was a MERMAID!

OMG! Lilly and I are having all kinds of fun with her new "Princess Dance Class" at Miss Sue's Dance! She LOVES her teacher and her new "Dance" friends! This week was Little Mermaid week, so they wore the Little Mermaid costumes while they learned new dance moves. Of course I had to create a music video of her! http://youtube.com/watch?v=a4PL4TWceVg

Lilly's First Dance Class

As if being a "Princess" for a day wasn't enough, we lucked out in discovering a "Princess Dance Class" at a new dance studio in Temecula (Miss Sue's Dance). Lilly had her first lesson and crown making yesterday. She has been on top of the Moon ever since!

She has been living in her new ballet slippers and leotard set that we went to pick up after school yesterday. She also has new tap shoes! OMG! SHE is in love with tapping! Ha Ha Ha! Her Dad is already going insane by the noise -LOL! ;-) But she is so dog gone cute about it all, who could possibly begrudge her of her joy?

I captures a little video to share with you all and put in the YouTube ;-) You will have to mute the sound though, there were some mom's next to me who were talking next to my mic. Here it is:

Princess for a Day (or 2 or 3...)

We went along with Daddy to Anaheim, Ca for a few days. While he worked we played! :-) We went to the Santa Ana Zoo (yeah they have a zoo there), Adventure City (a super fun, super Cheap place to take kids under the age of 12 to ride all kinds of rides). Then we finally talked Dad into letting us go to Disneyland.

For our kids Disneyland is the most magical place on earth. For Lilly that is now even more so that it was before. Especially now that we discovered the "Princess Pavilion". All day we kept seeing little girls everywhere dressed up as Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella and Snow White... and hearing all kinds of good advice that we should take our girls to the "Princess Pavilion". So finally I talked my 15 year old son into finding it and hanging out in a REALLY long line for it, not knowing at all WHAT we were waiting for. Turns out we were waiting to meet a few princesses and have our pictures taken with them ahhhh! However there was also a really fun interactive show with other Princess Characters that we got to do too.

Afterward we were shown the "Princess Makeover" area... uh, oh!... Daddy is going to poop his pants when he sees the bill. Anyway how could I resist to give Lilly her very dream to become a "Princess". It was like she completely transformed right in front of our eyes. Even her brother was impressed with how different she became, from the inside and out. She carried herself differently and had a the most fun and sparkley personality to match her sparkle dress and makeup. Everywhere we went people noticed her and thought she really looked like a princess. She loved the attention!

Now three days later and she hasn't taken the dress off except to sleep or bathe. She says she feels pretty in the dress and like a princess. I think it is so cute to see her face light up just at the thought of her experience at Disneyland and being a "real" princess.

I am so happy that she had her dreams come true.

The Thing About Bubble Wrap...

What IS that thing about Bubble Wrap? Why do I find popping its little bubbles so addicting? I recently found it on a moving van company website and even virtually it is so fun to pop! and pop! and Pop!

You Try it!

KK

Apples to Pie - OH MY!

I came home this weekend to an already early crop of ripe Apples! We are about 2 weeks ahead of our usual piking time for apples at Ferme' LaFournaise. We picked the first large bowl that we could hold today and there are still more waiting on the tree to be picked over the next week or two. So off to the Temecula Berry Farm to get some fresh blueberries to add to our fruit pies. Mmmmm Fruit Pies!

It is time once again to start my creations, I am wondering how many this year we will get from our little crop. I think I just may call in some friends to come over and have them put together their pies to take and bake :-) Wouldn't that be fun? So who would like a KK Pie?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAREN! I Love YOU!

My super best friend Karen is celebrating yet another year here on our glorious planet! Yeah! How lucky am I to be counted as one of her friends to make the journey thru life with. I tell you I am glad she is a big help in my journey :-) I am so grateful to her for all the many hours she spends listening and counseling me as a good friend does. I love that she never judges me, but gives me an abundance of courage and love like the big sister I always wanted. I know that good or bad she is always here for me. She is one of the most giving people I know, with her heart, her wisdom, her wit, her time and her friendship. I love Karen for all the things she is to me and to others. I admire the Mom that she is to her kids. I am touched by the dedication and love she displays for her husband. And the time she commits to her friends! Yes, you could say she is "Wonder Woman", but I don't think I was supposed to tell anyone, so keep that under wraps ;-) But as beautiful as she is, that costume would fit her well!

Today I raise my shot glass of tequila (which I rarely drink, but it is her favorite) and I make a toast to my Super Best Friend in Life Ms. Karen Black! Happy Birthday! You are so very special to me :-)

Love you!!!!

June Gloom....

While the the first days of June are actually perfectly sunny and the perfect 75-80 degree days... the Gloom came more in the form of flu! :-( My poor little Lilly has been laying on the couch for 3 days now just absolutely ill! I feel so bad for her. She wants so badly to be up and playing with her sister and her friends at school. The flu-gloom is one of the hardest things as a Mommy for me to watch my kids go through. I feel so helpless. I want Lilly to be better and like she wants, so she can be cheery and playful again. Well off to pet her back and stroke her pretty blond hair so that she feels comforted while she endures the worst virus ever!

ahhh... Found it!

So I went to my friends house today for our last parenting group meeting... while I was there chowing down on one of the blueberry muffins I made for her, a piece fell off into my shirt. I sorta I could feel it there, but didn't see it at first glance and didn't think digging around in my shirt in front of a bunch of ladies would look normal (ha ha ha! - like I care about being normal)... anyway I let it go, but it was there the rest of the day and I had forgotten about it until about a few minutes ago... ha ha ha and felt something in my cleavage ;-) found it!

Glad that's over with...

Wow! my friend Shalynn was right this is sort of fun to have my own little space to type my pea brain thoughts... about just anything I think of!!! HA HA HA!

I found my ?? on... BlueBerry Hill (or Valley)...

Well we went up a hill to only go down the hill into a cute little valley of Blueberries! So much fun! Saturday, May 24th we took the kids to a U-Pick Blueberry Farm here in Temecula. The kids had a blast! Especially Violet, who thought her bucket was for making soup in. It had both Blueberries and greenberries along with sticks and rocks and sawdust in it. She just squeeled with delight as she went up and down the rows of berry bushes.

Forgot I had this....

Me bad... I totally forgot I was going to jump on the bandwagon and have a blog like everyone else! -LOL!!!

It wasn't until I read my friends the Deschepper's Blogspot that I remembered I had this place. Oh yeah? so Here I am back to try it again. LOL!!! Let's see how well I can remember this time that I have this place to go and post, like whatever.

I do manage and create the my family's website. But the Blogging feature on it isn't all that cool and well everyone else is blogging here. I wanted to be cool too. So here I am :-)