Saturday, June 28, 2008

Sweet Summer Adventures!!

This past week was certainly a fun and memorable one for our family. It started out with my baby girl, Katie, celebrating her 5th Birthday! She is such a little princess. Katie absolutely loves animals--so of course she chose to have an animal safari themed birthday party. It turned out adorable! And everyone seemed to have a fun time!

The following day, we decided to go on a real "sweet" adventure together as a family. After dinner, we got the kids in their pjs, threw them into the Tonka Truck (nick name for Gary's Pilot) and headed off for Palm Springs to go "road cruising". For those of you who aren't familiar with this term, it is when you go out late at night hunting for snakes on the move. (Yes, to some of you this may seem strange...as I am sure many of you have snake phobias, but I assure you that once you understand these creatures, you won't fear them at all!) Let's just say, we all had an amazingly good time and the pictures of the kids are a clear indication of that. Just look at the photo of my son, Eric-once his dad checks to make sure the snake is "safe", he excitedly jumps out of the car and says, "I got it", grabs the snake off the road, and this is what you get....nothing but a night full of "sweet" times and memories.






Then came Friday. The "sweetest" day of the week for me. Gary went to the pet store to get food for our pet snakes and lizards. However, when he arrived home, I found him in the kitchen peering inside a box on the kitchen counter. He said, "come look what I've got!" I peeked inside and there was the most precious, sweet little white dwarf bunny. Gary decided that we should have a new addition to the family and so please welcome with love, Daisy....

The kids can't get enough of her and it is fun to watch them chase her around the yard.

We are only two weeks into our summer vacation, and alls I can say is this one, so far, is turning out to be truly wonderful! So much of what we have done is spontaneous and I think that is what has made it that much more fun and exciting for everyone!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Sweet Beginnings

My first blog entry!! How exciting is this!? And how fun? What do I say? Where and how do I start?! Well, I guess you could say, I am the product of peer pressure. Everyone's doing it mentality. Hopefully, what all of you find here is in some way, shape or form enlightening, insightful, fun, enjoyable to read and "sweet".

Perhaps you ask yourself, Why the title "Everything Sweet"?? Well, first and foremost, I love everything that is sweet to eat. Candy. Chocolate. Cookies. Cake (especially cupcakes). Ice Cream. And the "sweets" list goes on...Yes, I'll be the first to admit I have a problem. I am an addict of sorts I guess. But, I will say this, I don't go overboard with it. I do feel that everything in moderation is important and try hard to live by that. So here on my blog, I am sure you will find entries on "sweet" treats I have made and tried.

We have "treats" (that is "sweets") of all sorts hiding in the pantry, fridge and freezer, but we only indulge when the cravings strike--which is usually at night, before bed! However, I will say that I do bribe my kids with dessert every night at the dinner table. "If you eat all your dinner, then you can have dessert!" Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. But, most often it does! Right now the kids favorite, ice cream. Perhaps that's because it's well into the 100's outside right now.

It's funny. My husband and I love to have our "treats" after the kids are in bed. Somehow TV shows and late night movies are better when you have a "sweet" to munch on. My husband was away on business last night and when I woke up this AM I found the following text on my phone, "Went to get dessert". That was at 11:30PM. Too funny! He and I share a love of good things to eat. That's another thing you may find here, good restaurants we've tried--and who has the best desserts! Gary, my husband, and I love to try new places to dine and do so often with the kids in tow.

You know, as I sit here and write this, I think I could safely blame my sweets addiction on my Grandma. I have a very vivid memory of going to my grandma's house as a child and there was always a candy dish out full of sweet treats! Her fridge was always full of mini Shasta sodas--and she always had such a wonderful variety of flavors. We would often make floats with these mini sodas. My favorite--the cream soda float! Now that she has left us, I appreciate having this "sweet" memory of her! Thanks grandma.

Oh, and as I sit here "blogging", my "sweet" almost 5 year old, is snacking on the best trail mix ever (Target's Monster Mix)!! She has successfully eaten everything sweet in it...and left the protein behind (that would be the peanuts). She's definitely a female. Her name is Katie and she just ate the chocolate and peanut butter chips, plain M& M's and raisins. She is great at mixing the peanut butter chips with the chocolate chips and saying "LOOK HOW GOOD THIS IS!" She is a "sweets" monster! Much like her mother, I guess!?

Okay....when do I stop with this blog and start the next? Maybe I should stop now before you all get bored and stop reading.

I think you get the idea. Life is full of "sweets". Sweet places to dine, sweet people (that would be my entire family & all my wonderful friends that you'll get to hear about a lot, I'm sure), and last, of course, the obvious, sweet treats of all sorts.

I just want to say that I have the sweetest life with my husband of 12 years, and 3 children. I have one 9 year old boy, Eric and two daughters, Megan (6 years old with Down syndrome--which is a "sweet" topic in and of itself) and Katie (5 next week!)!

Are any of you craving a "sweet" yet? I think that is what the English call candy. Go indulge!

Until next time....have a good one. Maybe it won't be such a long entry...just short, "sweet" and to the point.