269. Happy Halloween!

 

 

  

 

268. Jack O' Lanterns

267. A Picture Tells A Story!

It was another great Saturday that started early with Anthony's soccer game; The Canyon Crew won 4-2 and showed everyone that hey have become a very good team. Anthony played, well, like Anthony... Not too fast, not too slow but overall he contributed to the win.

After the game, I went to the Jewish Home for the Aging, in Reseda, to photograph some very excited pet therapy teams. The Lend A Paw program had their annual Halloween visit and 8 LAP teams were present, all in costumes! The dogs were a big hit with the residents as well as the staff of this wonderful facility!

And finally, this afternoon, Christina was playing her game of soccer. For the first time this year, she played at forward. And she did great! Battling it out and trying hard, she had a few opportunities in the first quarter, but couldn't put the ball in the net. Coach put her again at forward in the third and fourth quarter and after a few more misses, she finally scored a goal! It wasn't a pretty goal... It was what grandpa Borge would call a "scrappy" goal! She chased the ball all the way into the net and kicked it in after falling down and while she was still on the ground. This photo, while technically not very good, really tells the story!

266. Crazy Hair Day

265. Pumpkin

Made some pumpkin bread today with Christina.

I love the smell of pumpkin and spices when the bread is baking!

264. Costumes

Went shopping for Halloween costumes this morning. Christina wanted to be a "hippie" but couldn't find a costume she liked that was her size. So she decided to be a "red crayon". Anthony isn't sure if he wants to go trick or treating; But he still wants to dress up. He is tempted to just hide on the front porch and scare people. Which is so consistent with his personality. So we got a cape and make up and he is going to dress like a vampire, maybe... Stay tuned later this month for pictures.
Nicholas had a soccer game today. There was only 12 players there so he played the whole game. They lost, again... But he is still having fun.
I can't believe the weekend is over! I didn't get to do half the things I wanted to do. Like going for a hike and looking for Fall foliage. Oh! Well... It will have to wait until next weekend.

263. Driving

I did a lot of driving today: I drove about 240 miles, all in one day! Started my driving by taking Nicholas to Mt San Antonio College for an Cross Country Invitational. He was taking part in the prestigious Division 1 & 2 Mt SAC JV National race. Each school who enters in the Varsity race is allowed to enter their second best team in the JV Nationals. He finished the race in 17:10 min. despite the fact that he threw up halfway through the race! It was a tough course with fierce competition. He finished 67th out of 140 runners, some of the best in the country! He was unhappy with his result; He was hoping for a medal. But Allan and I are very proud of him and we hope that he continues to improve.

We got back home for a quick lunch before taking Christina to her soccer game in Malibu. I am always amazed at how different the weather can be within Southern California; In the morning, at Mt SAC, it was in the 80º and getting hotter. In Malibu, it was overcast, windy and the fog was rolling in during the game. Christina's team won the game 4-2. Christina was called for "handling" in the keeper's box and the referee awarded a penalty kick to the other team. This resulted and a goal and Christina was very upset... So upset that she was crying. She was holding her wrist and said that she was hurt, but I know my girl and this was just an excuse because she was embarassed. She was pulled out of the game by the referee. That made her even more upset... She eventually returned to the game and played well.
Anthony's soccer team also won their game 4-0 which puts them in first place! Allan was pretty happy and said that Anthony played well.
So I guess overall, it was a pretty good day, despite all the driving!

262. TGIF

Thank God it's Friday! I need a break! A lot of things happened this week and took up a lot of my time... On Monday, we got the oven, stove top and ice maker fixed; It took a good part of the afternoon for the repairman to complete the work. And Monday nights are crazy busy, with three soccer practices and Christina's rehearsals. Tuesday was a little better but on Wednesday, Nicholas' Cross Country team had a Fundraiser and we all went. Yesterday, I got my tire fixed and tonight, I am helping out at a Cross Country Pasta Party. Not to mention that the boys have minimal days which means picking up all three kids at different times!
So I am looking forward to the weekend; Not that it will be any less busy: Nicholas has a Cross Country Meet at Mt San Antonio College and Christina has a soccer game in Malibu on Saturday. That means I will be driving both of them, since Allan has to Coach Anthony's soccer team and referee. Sunday should be quite relaxed... Nicholas has a soccer game and Christina has a soccer clinic. So I am hoping to go for a hike Sunday morning; hopefully see some Fall foliage and take some photos. But for now, it is off to work we go...

261. Fall Leaves

The first Fall Leaves are here!

These came from one of the trees in our front yard.

That's a surprise because usually, these are the last leaves to change color!

260. Moon

I keep missing the moon at night... But lately, you can still see the moon in the morning! And it has been a beautiful moon. This photo was taken this weekend at Castaic Lake at about 8:00 AM.

259. Birthday Dinner

Yesterday, we celebrated Nicholas' Birthday with our good friends and almost family: the Moultons and the Scagliones. Also among the guests: Greg Timbers. It is always great to see everyone... This is a busy time of year for us, with birthdays and holidays... And these two families always help us celebrate! Every time we get together, everyone has a lot of fun! Yesterday was no different! Christina and Sammy disappeared for most of the evening, only to re-appear for food and drinks. Nicholas, Dominic, Anthony, Jillian and Sophia played together most of the evening. It was great to watch them play "pepper" with a volleyball, in the front yard. And after dinner, the adults started reminiscing and watching old home videos of the kids when they were younger. It is amazing to see not only how much they have grown but also how much they are still the same; Whenever they get together, they always have a great time.

258. A Medal in Varsity!

Nicholas ran at the Canyon Cowboys Cross Country Invitational in Castaic, this morning. He ran Varsity. Division I and II ran together. Nicholas ran the course in 17:10 a personal best and finished 50th out of 200 runners, earning his first medal in Varsity! Needless to say that he was very proud, and so was I!

257. Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Happy Birthday, Nicholas! 15 years old already... You make us so proud! 

 

Since my oven is still out of commission, I bought some delicious cupcakes to celebrate with the birthday boy!

256. League Meet #2

Nicholas ran in the second Foothill League meet of the season. It was a different course than the last time and with temperatures around 98º, Nicholas had a tough time. He still finished with an excellent time of 17:21 minutes. But he finished 3rd. He was a little disappointed and knows he can do better.

Just like last time, he lead the pack for about half a mile before getting passed by a runner from Saugus. He tried hard to hold on to the second place, but in the end, another runner from Saugus (and a teammate from his soccer team) past him. The good news is that there is one more League meet for him to try and win. In the meantime, he has a few more invitational meets to run and hopefully continue to improve.

255. Bad Luck

Lately, I have been through a series of bad luck; last week, the oven malfunctioned, my flat iron broke and yesterday, I got a flat tire! Whatever I ran into, it tore up the tire so badly that it cannot be repaired. I need a brand new tire. And on top of it, the tires on my car are discontinued. So I have to replace the bad one with a different brand/model. It will take a couple of days to order the tire, so until then, I am driving on my spare. For someone who uses her car as much as I do, it is not very reassuring... Hopefully, I have had my three bad things happen already and I am done with bad luck for a little while!

254. Tulip and Award

Today was quite a day for Christina: She found out that she has secured a lead role in the production of "Alice in Wonderland"! She will be Tulip, one of the talking flowers. This is a big deal and she is very proud of herself. Of course, Allan and I are very proud of her too!
She also received a Certificate of Achievement for her Advanced scores on the Spring 2011 California State Testing. We attended the District's STAR Celebration Recognition Night earlier this evening, and she was able to tell her friends about her lead role. I am not sure what made her most proud; Getting a lead role in "Alice" or receiving the Award?

253. Lombardi Ranch

Yesterday was our first free Sunday in a long time; Since Labor Day, there has been at least one soccer game on Sunday. But not yesterday! So the whole family went to Lombardi Ranch. We have been to Lombardi Ranch almost every year since the kids were very young. It's a great place for the whole family, with music, a corn maze, train ride, and lots and lots of pumpkins to chose from. Plus, it's always a great place for photographs! Here are a few of my favorites from yesterday:

 

We had a great time, and came back with three great looking pumpkins!

Stay tuned, later this month for photos of the kids Jack O' Lanterns!

252. Loud

Anthony has to practice the saxophone for 2.5 hours every week, starting this week. This will ensure him an"A" in the class. So, the first day he tried to practice, Nicholas yelled at him; No matter what room he is in, everyone can hear him! Apparently, the Sax is a loud instrument! I have a feeling it's going to be a long year!

251. Comfort Food on a Rainy Day

Yesterday was a rainy day and I was in the mood for some comfort food; So I made a pot roast and apple crisp for desert. As I sat down to watch a little bit of news while everything was cooking, I heard a funny "beap" coming from the oven. I got up to check and saw an error message on the display. I tried to open the door to check on the food but it was locked! After a little internet research, I found out that the error code means that the temperature sensor is misbehaving and I need to call a repairman. Still couldn't open the door...

Finally, after some time, when the temperature was down enough, it unlocked. But by that time, the apple crisp was kind of burnt on the top and the apples were not quite cooked enough! What a bummer! I tried to microwave it but the result was not very good. I was able to salvage the pot roast by transferring it into my crock pot. We just had to eat a little later than planned. So I guess it wasn't a total disaster.

I guess I will have to make another apple crisp sometime soon. That's OK. I like to make it with McIntosh apples anyways. They are much sweeter and cook much better.

250. Recovering

Catie had surgery yesterday; she had a growth removed. It was on her chest and Dr. Pope used local anesthesia to numb the area before cutting it off. She has only three small stitches that will need to be removed in two weeks.
She came home pretty groggy from the pain shot the vet gave her. She walked in the house and laid down right at the door! She slept most of the afternoon and a good part of the evening. She even skipped dinner... Poor old girl.
When it was time to go to bed, she seemed to perk up and was able to walk up the stairs and come to our bedroom. But in the morning, she had a hard time going downstairs and wouldn't eat or drink anything. I was getting worried. She finally ate breakfast out of my hand and after coaxing her, she finally had a drink of water. As today progressed, I could tell that she is getting back to her old self; she came over for a pet when I sat down to watch the news, ate her dinner and had plenty to drink. Now that the worse is over, we just have to keep her from licking, scratching or picking at her stitches. So she will still wear the cone when no one is around. But for now, she is getting a well deserved break from it!

249. Juicing

Christina was telling me today how much she enjoyed making fresh squeezed orange juice when she was younger. I think the last time we made it was when Guy and Danielle (my brother and his wife) came to visit us a few Summers ago. We bought a case of oranges from a vendor on the side of Route 126 and used the bruised ones to make juice. Fresh squeezed orange juice is sooo good! So, today, when I was at the grocery store, I bought a small bag of "Juice Oranges". And this afternoon, we squeezed all the juice out...

And had fresh squeezed orange juice for snack!