EARTHQUAKE!!!! Not so SWEET Sensations...

"We're Alright", is the phrase I have used several times over the last couple of hours since the 5.4 quake hit!  And that we are.  The kids were a little shaken up, but everyone is fine now.  You ask, "what were you all doing when it hit?"  Well, Gary was sitting in the dentist chair and I was at home with the kids.  It was actually kind of funny.  I was talking on the phone to a friend. Eric was in the office working on the computer and the girls, in the bathtub.  While I was talking on the phone, the earthquake started.  I thought, "oh, just another small, earthquake"--as that is what we seem to get a lot of here in Riverside.  But, no...the small rolling turned into quite a LARGE jolt and at that point, I hung up on my friend (sorry! actually what was funny is I could hear her kids getting scared in the background and we both hung up on each other).  I then ran upstairs to check on the kids and found Eric standing in the office door jam with his legs apart and hands holding on!  He kept say, "I'm okay!" As for the girls, Megan had wrapped herself up in a towel, was also standing in the door jam of the master bedroom with Katie at her side.  Katie, however, had huge eyes and looked completely afraid....and she confirmed that! She sweetly said, "Mom, my shaking!"  I assured them everything was fine and complimented them on doing exactly what they were suppose to do....getting themselves into a safe place! Their earthquake training paid off!  Job well done kids!  You make your parents proud!  

After the earthquake, I walked around to assess our home.  I am happy to say I saw no damage was done to any of our property. It did manage to shake open the glass doors to our fireplace a bit and knocked over a few small things in the kids rooms.  However, nothing was broken or harmed.  It was a good shake, though, that's for sure.  A wake-up call.  A reminder of how we need to get our acts together.  To buy more flashlights.  Buy more batteries, water, non-perishable food and well, let's just say...I REALLY need to put together 72-hour packs for each member of the family.  I will get on that ASAP!  I don't think the BIG one is going to strike anytime soon...but you never know...that's what I've been hearing my entire life living in California.  Someday  it will happen.  Until then, we must live by the Boy Scout Motto, "Be Prepared".

Sweetest Puppy Ever....

I'm not going to say much here. Just this one question: Isn't Buddy absolutely adorable!? We love this little puppy so much....despite his puppy ways! Just look at how much he has grown! He loves sleeping under our patio chairs--maybe he thinks it's his little "den".

Oh, yes and I mustn't forget....he is a very smart dog!

A Truly SWEET Week!

Sweet Surprises in our Home!

Our New Family Member...BUDDY!!!

Where do I even start!? With the most important and exciting events, right?! Today....Gary calls and says, "Hey, are you going to be home in 20 minutes?!" I say, "Why?!" Suspicious that he has a dog he wants to bring home (only because we'd been talking about this for quite some time!). Sure enough he tells me that indeed he has a dog. And it is one our family has fallen head-over-heels with. We adopted a 6-and-a-half week old German Shepherd puppy....his name, Buddy. He is a truly wonderful addition to our family! I joked with Gary that we had a new baby today--except I didn't have to endure 9 months of pregnancy or a painful delivery. What fun! The kids love him and I am surprised they are even in bed actually asleep right now as they didn't even want to leave his side for a second. Buddy is our little boy....isn't he just precious....now to train him....another fun, sweet adventure....but with a very sweet puppy.....

(Sidenote: We bought a bunny 2 weeks ago. However, we are very sad to say with the extreme summer heat, she died. She lived a short life. In the time Daisy lived, we enjoyed her company, but discovered that caring for a dog would be easier than caring for a delicate bunny....so this is why we have Buddy now!)

Then Tuesday last week, I decided to escape the heat of Riverside and head to the beach with the kids. When we got there we definitely found cooler temperatures and even some unexpected, unwelcome (is that a real word?) dark clouds. It wasn't the sunny warm beach day I was hoping for, but we all still had fun! We did a lot of sand sculpting! We even managed to dig a three-way tunnel for our boat to go through! It was pretty cool! Before getting back on the road to go home, we stopped at everyone's favorite hamburger joint, Micky D's! It wasn't too bad, or maybe I was just really hungry this time!

Sculpting Sweet Sand Creations....

Thursday was the weekly "Adventure Group" activity. This one was definitely for Eric. Indoor Rock climbing. Boy does Eric "rock" at it! I think he might just take up this extreme sport. He can't stop talking about it and went again on Friday with Gary. He climbed and climbed and never wanted to stop. Perhaps once he's a bit older, we'll find him climbing those beautiful mountains in Utah someday (not may favorite idea, but if he likes it, has mastered the art of climbing and stays safe, then I support him)! You are amazing Eric!!






Anyhoo, now for the weekend, my favorite time. And this one was mighty sweet! The family decided to venture out of Riverside--and so we headed into Beverly Hills. We wanted to pay a visit to the Pink Taco. I must say, the Mexican fair at the Pink Taco was five stars in my book! Very authentic as it was exactly like the food we ate while we were in Tulum, Mexico last summer!! I was so excited when my plate arrived! I just loved those little tacos we ate on our vacation--and thought I'd never have one again! Not so! I will be going back to the Pink Taco again....for sure!! Then again it is just a short car ride away, rather than a 5 hour plane trip....

After our tasty "linner" (that's the meal between lunch and dinner), we jumped into the car and headed over to "Sprinkles" (popular cupcake bakery on Rodeo Drive). What did we find? A MASSIVE line! Last time we went, Gary and I walked right in and didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes. Maybe that was because it was our 12th Anniversary and the Anniversary Gods were watching over us! This time I had the pleasure of standing in line for well over an hour!! Gary took the kids to a nearby park so they could play while I picked up dessert. I was so excited to finally get to the front of the line and pick out all our favorite little cakes. I could hardly wait to dig my teeth into them...and once I did, mmmmmmm, pure heaven.........I don't have a picture of the cupcake(s) I ate, well, because they simply didn't last very long. But I do have a picture of the line I stood in. In fact, it was so long my camera simply couldn't capture the entire thing....now that's what you call "cupcake craziness!"

I've said enough.....good-bye for now......

Fun 4th! Sweet Memories...

Kids excitedly sitting in the car--waiting to leave for our sweet 4th of July Destination...

Patriotic Princess Katie

What an amazingly FUN 4th of July we had! We celebrated with our friends--John & Julie and their family. The party began at 1:00 and we left, let's just say, well past all our bed times!! The kids had an absolute BLAST...actually we all did! You ask what did we do??? I don't think the kids couldn't have gotten in the pool any faster--but before I'd let them dive into the cool of the pool, I tortured them by making them pose for a family photo before they all jumped in and got all wet!

It was a very "American" Celebration...we all splashed around in the Michel's pool, enjoyed a delicious BBQ feast, had chocolate cupcakes for dessert, Eric put on a show playing the Wii and Guitar Hero for everyone, the girls played in the beautiful gardens, had a ball frolicking around on the great playground, jumped on the trampoline and tested out all the toys in the library. We finished the night off by roasting marshmallows and making yummy sweet s'mores (we didn't have Hershey's chocolate bars, but substituted plain M&M's and they were just as good--in fact, it gave it an extra little welcome crunch!) Eric did the boy thing and played with a few sparklers the Michels' had leftover. Here he is being patriotic....

Hard to see Eric, but cool photo...

A big thank you goes out to our sweet friends for throwing such a sweet party...we loved sharing this important holiday together....the kids will never forget it!

The following day, we woke up at 10 AM (so you know how late it was when we went to bed & just how much fun we had)!!! We started out our day by having a tasty chocolate chip Belgium waffle with strawberries breakfast.

Then we headed off to Dos Lagos in Corona. We all saw "Hancock" at the Edwards Cinema. Afterwards, we ended the day with a sweet ice cream treat and listened to some incredible jazz music by the lake.

It has been a dreamy weekend....perfect in every way. What a fun summer....and we still have like 7 weeks of summer left....YAY!!

PS: For those of you who are new to this blog thing, you can click on any of the pictures I post to get a bigger, better version. Also, feel free to leave me a comment...I'd love to hear from you!

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!

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.