southern shindig with my sis

my little sis flew out to san diego for a little rest and relaxation and to celebrate
our birthdays together. i missed her rollerskating party in oakland
and well, we were due for some sista fun.


we got pedis one afternoon and because Girl's Nights are always fun and needed
....especially when one is surrounded by men and boys at home and at work,
i hosted a 'southern shindig' the weekend leslie was in town for some close friends.


we ate fried chicken, cornbread and apple pie, and someone even brought bacon
wrapped sweet pickles {i couldn't muster up the courage to try one even though i
love bacon}.  we ate, laughed and played in the photo booth like teenage girls for
hours and ended the night watching sweet home alabama outside under the stars. 


it was seriously a fun night!


i didn't take a single photo with my camera or phone
{a sign i was having so much fun}, but here are a couple
from the photo booth. disclaimer: i had nothing to do with the confederate
flag. the owner added that without my consent, not understanding the negative
connotation that it has. these cali girls didn't get offended at all...they simply laughed.

~ and where were my boys during all the fun? they ran off to the movies for a few hours.

gladly i'm sure...especially after i dragged finn and scout into the photo booth to pose with

me. they firmly believe those are "for girls". since they read my blog, i spared them any

embarrassment and aren't sharing our photos here, but the photo strips of me and my boys
are safely tucked away.

i must also share that c spent hours cleaning and setting up the backyard

{and training me on the use of our new projector} so that everything would run smoothly

for the night.  he puts up with my bossiness and impatience extremely well i must say.

he loves me an awful lot and well, i am truly grateful. 

more holiday fun: 2014

 

the next day, the sisters and cousins all hit the roller rink!
we had such fond memories from our last outing, i thought it would be a
fun activity for all of us!

i think it's safe to say everyone had a great time and the boys {all of them}
have improved so much.  finn felt so confident,  that he decided to race!
i was a little worried as he isn't known for being a speed skate, but the
auntie sat on the edge of the rink cheering him on. {though he didn't win, he
did fantastic}

leslie and i must have been having flashbacks from our middle school years because,
after watching finn, we were inspired to compete in the adult 18+ race.
i was a teensy bit nervous as i hadn't raced in 20 + years, but more importantly,
i wanted to show finn that it's ok to put yourself out there...that's what life is all about.
i was lucky, racing came back to me.  leslie and i did very well *wink*

such fun memories.  so much that I think this will become one of our 'things'
when we have sister reunions. 

~ in the last hour of skating, ander found himself a cozy nook and
went to sleep. i didn't snap a photo as i was fearful i'd wake him but
he was Adorable. 

holiday fun: 2015

this holiday season was full of family and fun and
though it went quickly, i have the memories of photos
to reflect and smile on.

aunt jen flew in from austin, and aunt leslie and her clan
drove all the way down from northern California so we had
a full house.  the double bunk beds came in handy as the boys
all slept in the bed/playroom and leslie set up a pack n play
for little aria in the guestroom. i did my best to make a cozy bed
for aunt jen who slept on an air mattress in the library.

us aunties spent time loving on our new niece,
and happy to learn that she is easy going. 
she let us all hold and love on her, and the grin she gave us
made us fall even more in love with her.

the first day of leslie's visit was spent just catching up and eating.
early that morning, a big pancake breakfast was prepared - with fresh
fruit, whipping creme, powered sugar, etc.   we tried to replicate
cute pancake christmas figures {santa, snowman, etc.}, but ours didn't quite
turn out as pretty as the ones from pinterest.  no one seemed to care.
the boys had fun and more importantly, they were yummy.

 
 
 
 

 

california cousins: part 3

the night before the berkeley bunch headed home,
we gathered on mission bay for smore making. 
the boys were in sugar heaven!

 

 

california cousins: part 2

leslie and i chose to forgo the crowds and the high ticket prices of legoland,
and stay right here in the neighborhood for our 'outing'.  we went to belmont park.

finn and soren were so excited to ride the park's only rollercoaster, the giant dipper
but poor soren missed the height requirement of 50" by just 1".  what a bummer!
finn was just a hair over 50" which means he got an adult bracelet on his wrist which
allowed him to ride almost anyything in the park.
the roller coaster was what he dreamed about most.

he's been fascinated with this old wooden coaster since 2006. he was 2 years old. 
when we lived on diamond steet, i'd run on the boardwalk with him in the jogger
and the rollercoaster was my 3 mile turnaround landmark.  if i dared to try to shorten
my run,  finn would put up a fuss and point ahead to the coaster in the distance.
he kept me on track and seeing the coaster was the highlight of those mornings.

fast forward to 2013, and finally at age 9, he could ride himself.
he rode with his auntie leslie the first time and then with mom.
i don't think any of us will ever forget the excitement on his face!

 

 

 

 

ander, wishing he was big enough to ride...


 



 

the best part about having a child  50" tall was NOT having

to go on the 'make me want to puke all over the place rides'.

leslie nor i would have anything to do with those and with finn having an adult

bracelet, we were able to sit back and let him take all the little ones on those.

 





they rode this one {tilt a whirl} 6x

 

 

 

we had a really FANTASTIC evening together -

just us sisters and our little boys. despite the moms not riding certain rides,

we made sure we had fun with them too - challenged them at the bumper

cars and tried to beat their time at the laser maze.   

 

soren promised us he'd be back next year when he will be big enough

to ride the giant dipper alongside his cousin finn.

 

I see a belmont park visit every time our cali cousins visit.

 

 

california cousins: part 1

i'm SO far beyond in posting.
{i crammed my entire summer into the last 3 weeks}

leslie and her boys {including her new husband}
drove all the way down to san diego from berkley a few weeks ago to visit.
it had been a little over a year since the cousins had seen each other and
we were due. it's quite a trek south, so their effort meant alot to us!

we crammed so much in that i will have to summarize in two posts.

the boys spent a good part of a day playing in the invention room,
another evening at belmont park, {this deserves a separate post},
a day at the air and space museum, at the beach, playing in the backyard,
and roasting marshmellows on mission bay.

we were sure to squeeze in an adult night too.
leslie, rob, jen and me snuck off to dinner at bali hai
while the kids stayed stayed home with a sitter and had a movie night.

here's a few fun photos of our time together:

california cousins:
soren (7.5), finn (9), ander (4) and scout (6)

 

 

 

 

there's so much to share but it's late and i have a presentation
due to my boss at 7am {he's on the east coast this week}.
i need to finish!

besides work, we've got grandma flying back to florida tomorrow and
the two little guys are starting back to school. we are ALL so ready!!

sunday with my sis

last weekend i met up with my jen for an early
morning hike at torrey pines state reserve.

it had been too long since i had been to this beautiful reserve.
i use to take the boys when they were wee things.
i'd bring the jogger and carry scoutie in the bjorn.
life was easier then.  the boys had no agendas,
their agenda was whatever mom and dad wanted to do.

we'd gone since for morning hikes and beach days
but not nearly as often as we did back when they were
babies and preschoolers.

torrey pines has the most scenic trails in all of san diego.
to get to the over 8 miles of trails, visitors can drive or
walk up a steep paved road to the trailheads.

once your feet are on the unpaved paths,
that's when the fun really begins.
the reward at the turnaround spot is an ocean view...
you can walk down a path on a cliff and along the
ocean to go back to the parking lot OR
do a big loop and hike back through the reserve
which overlooks the water. .

it's pure heaven!
words can't describe this place.
{this is one of the places we take first time visitors to san diego}

last sunday was special.
i got some exercise, sister time and sunshine.
what more could a girl want?  well maybe some coffee
{i made sure to get than afterwards}

i really must remember to do this more.

i am thinking i'll take my mum here when she flys
out to visit in 2 weeks.  there's nothing close to the
experience in florida. i think she will love it.

you say it's your birthday...

happy birthday to you...
{i have that beatles tune in my head tonight}

probably because today is my sister jen's birthday.
yeppers. the baby in the family is 31!
now i really feel old. {thanks for that sis}

i was looking for a pix of a pretty baked good to send
to her this morning and i found this crazy cute cake.
it's perfect for a girl who loves sugar and DONUTS.

via

the cake i had baked for her wasn't this fancy schmancy,
but it was baked in a bundt pan and it was going to have white glaze
frosting dripped over it and presented to her on a pretty white pedestal.

unfortunately she didn't get that cake.
i couldn't get it out of the bundt pan in one piece.
{i ended up just tossing it}

the birthday girl didn't go without something sweet.
she got donuts from her roommate, and i picked up some gourmet
cupcakes from the bakery. she enjoyed a raspberry chocolate one.
YUMMY!

we had a nice evening together, eating {too much}and celebrating at the station,
a casual neighborhood eatery in south park.

not more than 2 minutes after leaving the restaurant,
scoutie asked if he could text auntie jen and leave her a birthday message.
{c let him text me a few days ago and now suddenly he's 5 going on 15}.

i suggested he CALL auntie jen and leave a message so, with a little help, he did.
he told her she was the best auntie in the whole weeeold and then said XOXO.
she really is.

birthday photos coming tomorrow. just need to pull from my cell.

life's a beach

before too much times passes,
{and this old brain forgets},
i wanted to share a couple of pictures from
the petersen's visit to san diego.

after the fun photo shoot under the pier,
we spent the rest of the day playing in the surf,
building sandcastles and soaking up the sunshine.
{and eating pringles too}

a few photos from our fun day together.



salty sisters: jen, leslie + angela

 

moonrise kingdom







via

happy tuesday to you!

i hope you had a fantastic weekend.

mine was productive and that's always a good thing.

i got a good run in on mission bay saturday morning
while the boys rode their bikes ahead of me.
every so often they get the reminder "i need to see you with my eyes"
{my rule now that i gave them a pretty long leash}.

and the fun didn't stop there.
i washed four loads of laundry,

tidied the house {so that it was presentable to anna, our summer sitter} monday am.

last, i got all of scoutie's birthday thank yous cards in the mail.

he had so much fun writing in each of them - a dozen! 

since saturday was mostly taken up with chores/errands,

i tried to squeeze in some fun on sunday.
c spent a chunk of the day at the beach with three little guys {finn's buddy josh in tow},
jen and i snuck away to play.

we went to the cineapolis,  a new luxurious movie theater here in san diego. 

we went before noon and tickets were still almost $20 {ouch}.
the good news is, we didn't have to pay a dime for them.

we used the giftcard i received from my breakfast club girls for my birthday!

so what does one get for an almost $20 a seat?

well, probably the most comfortable chair i've sat in...EVER!!

it was super thick, wide, reclined all the way back and even had a footrest.

seriously, if the movie wasn't interesting, i would have fallen asleep.

there were two deep cupholders on each chair, and a little tray that swings out 

for your food/snacks and then tucks away neatly when you don't need it. 

the theater sells more than typical movie snacks - they have coffee {gourmet too},

alcohol, and hot and cold appetizers. WOW!!

so on to the movie.


of everything that was playing, the wes anderson's moonrise kingdom was the only

movie that sounded interesting and jen was up for seeing it.

{she's a fan of the director's artistic films}

and YES, this film is artsy - in a good way. 

if you are familiar with wes anderson's other films, you will recognize his style.
i think more than anything, i loved the costumes and music.

the story is about two awkward 12 year olds who fall in love and run away together.

i won't say more about it, as I don't want to spoil it for those who might see it.

watch the trailer at this link to learn more.

as for the fancy theater, it was nice, but i certainly won't be going back

regularly or i won't be able to feed my three, but someday i do hope to go back

for a special date night with c or to celebrate a birthday with a girlfriend.

fun-filled weekend

leslie was in town and we were able to gets some sister time together which was really nice.
we enjoyed the soaking in the sun, dancing at bar west until the wee hours of the morning -
something i can honestly say i'm much too old for anymore.

it was crazy fun but i'm exhausted and still feeling the pain from saturday night.
i joked i could have been the mother to some of those boys in the club. *grin* 

other fun things included getting pedicures with jen and leslie, lounging at the hilton,
shopping at the boutiques along garnet, eating out and celebrating tina's birthday,
watching a chick flick and yes, a few GLEE episodes too!
leslie's officially a GLEEK too.

very few pictures were taken because i was well, busy busy and it's hard to do both.
here's one i snapped of my sis enjoying the sunshine.
can you believe she's the mom of a 16 month old? 
she looks FAB!!

oh and i can't forget waking up at 6:30am on sunday
(after being out till almost 2am) to cheer on jen and tina.
the girls ran the san diego 2010 rock n roll marathon
that's 13.1 miles for you non-runners. 
what an accomplishment ladies!!

despite finn and i having a cheer made up for jen,
we somehow missed seeing her (next time she must wear a giant neon wig).
we did see my coworker tina at mile 9 which was nice. 
here's a picture of the girls with their beautiful medals. *CHEER*
so proud of you both! 

i admit - being a spectator was fun but also tough for me. 
i SO wanted to be out there running with them.
i've committed to running the carlsbad half marathon in january.

the story behind this: runners can have anything printed on

their race bibs they want. jen's said "i'd rather eat donuts"

so as a little congrats, we gave her a box of donuts and i wrote

this on the box. *laugh*. 

sisters

a sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and
very much not ourselves - a special kind of double.
- toni morrison

leslie will be here VERY soon and
i'm so excited i can hardly stand it.

i have some fun things planned for us
but most of it will be low-key.
with the exception of one night -
we (she) will be tearing it up on the dance floor. *grin*

she sent me a birthday card a few days ago
she had been saving it - hoping to give to me in person,
but decided she couldn't wait any longer.

along with the sweetest card, there was a gift that made me scream with delight -
the glee season one dvd which we are DEFINITELY
going to enjoy together when she's here!
that was so very thoughtful - she knows me well.

i scanned the front of the card because it was pretty
and because she included one of my favorite photos of us.

the photo is special to me for two reasons:
- it was taken at c and i's 10 year wedding vow renewal in mexico and
- leslie made the day more special with her beautiful gift of music.
she sang this song as a duet with my father-in-law.

i miss her voice.
i miss our conversations.
i miss her laughter.
i miss her smile.

i miss my sister.

sisters at the starlite

what's the good of news if you haven't a sister to share it?
- jenny devries

my sis jen called last week to share some news.
we text message alot more than we talk,
so i knew she had something pretty important to tell me when i saw she was calling.

shortly into our conversation, i thought oh no, she's been laid off
(there had been rumblings and rumors of layoffs)
but the story had a twist and a happy ending.

her boss actually walked her outside to tell her privately that he was giving her a raise.
she was being rewarded and well, it was good news - the best news i had heard all day!
i was glad she shared with me. i enjoyed celebrating with her.

tonight we snuck away for a few hours after work for happy hour and were able to share even more.
we had been trying to get together for two months and finally we just made it happen.

we went to starlite, a hipster hangout on the outskirts of downtown. we settled into a cozy booth,
ordered drinks, appetizers and yes, even dessert (we have to indulge sometimes).
we spent a few hours just talking and catching up on each other's lives - it was so needed and so nice.

j - thanks for your friendship and sharing the calories *wink*.

i'm looking forward to our next girl's night out.

.

sisters

how do people make it through life without a sister?
- sara corpening

 i talked with my sis jen tonight and she told me she had a really bad day, actually she's had a bad week.
i tried to listen to her instead of speaking (one of the things i'm working on) so she could just vent her frustrations.

i tend to fall back on the 'big sis' role and try to find solutions to her problems so i can help,
but i know that's not what she wanted or needed. she needed someone to talk to and to share with.
i hope i was an 'ok' listener. i'm going to continue working being a better one.
i was thinking about how lucky i am to have her in my life and in my boys' life.
there aren't any other family members on my side here in san diego - she's all i have and i want us to be close and to be there for each other. she's been good to me in so many ways: she was my roommate at the hospital after scoutie was born, my running and race partner, my shopping and movie buddy, my babysitter, our family photographer, a great auntie and well the list could go on and on. basically, she's just been a good sister and friend to me. i love her and all my sisters.

i can' t imagine not having them in my life.

taking care

if i'd known i was going to live so long,
i'd have taken better care of myself.

- leon eldred

my sister jen and my coworker tina ran the carlsbad half marathon this past sunday.
i wasn't able to be there to cheer them on but i am SO proud of them.
this particular run is special to me as it was the first race i'd ever done.
christopher and i ran it together in 2002.

13.1 miles is quite an accomplishment and the girls inspired me to sign up for a few upcoming runs,
including a 'mud run' in march. i'm excited!

congrats ladies!

tina & jen (pre race)

tina & jen (post race)

give me a J

for auntie jen!

scoutie is 18 months now and his vocabularly is increasing. a few nights ago, i was listening to my voice messages over speaker so i could have my hands free while i was preparing dinner. my sister jen's voice came across the speaker and scoutie's face lit up and he said "aunt jen". this was the FIRST time he's ever said her name (at least that i could distinguish as her name), but it was clear enough and in context. he said it again and reached for the phone. i quickly said let's call aunt jen. we did and then put her on speaker phone so she could hear her nephew say her name. it was a celebratory moment. jen loved it, i loved it and scout was all smiles. he's on his way to speaking. we love ya aunt jen! see you soon.

ander arrives

the moment a child is born, the mother is also born.
she never existed before.
the woman existed, but the mother, never.
a mother is something absolutely new.
- rajneesh

i am a new auntie (again) and to another BOY!!

my sister leslie gave birth to her second son on wednesday, jan .14.
his name is ander and he and mom are doing great.

he weighed in at 7 lbs. 13.6 oz, and was 22.5" long.
leslie shared this photo with me a few days ago and I admit,
my eyes grew moist, seeing her smiling and looking at her little miracle.

as a mother, i can say there's nothing more special than meeting the little
person you've been carrying around for the past 9 months.
there is an overwhelming love that words simply can't describe.
what a happy time it is.


i can hardly wait to meet him. congratulations sis. xo





ander and big brother soren