292. Simple Things

Sometimes, something simple can make people smile; For example, Fall leaves on the ground... Lots of them. Today, when the kids got home, I pointed out that a lot of the leaves from our trees in the backyard had fallen. That's all I had to say. Christina immediately went outside with the rake and started piling up the leaves. She spent a good 20 minutes trying to get as big a pile as possible. Then, she started playing with Rocky, Making him do tricks in the leaves. She even dropped a treat into the pile to see if Rocky could sniff it out. And he did! Anthony also played in the leaves for a very short while before returning to his homework. I, of course, took lots of photos! Here are just a few :

 

 

 

 

I have a feeling this is the last time they can do this for this year; Strong winds are in the forecast, which means all the leaves are going to fall. And tomorrow is the day when the gardeners come to cut the grass, which means they will surely pick up most of the leaves. At least, they had this one afternoon to enjoy such a simple thing!

291. Warm

Today was unusually warm for this time of the year; Can't say that I am complaining, but it's hard to get into the spirit of Christmas when it's sunny and warm outside.

290. Another One

So last night, Nicholas was honored during a small ceremony and received an Award for "Outstanding Fall Student-Athlete 2011-2012". Actually, Nick Devantier was honored... Once again, someone messed up and he ended up with another certificate made out to Nick. On top of that, the Principal called him up using Nick. Well, I am done. Nicholas is old enough to take care of this. And if he doesn't, that's his problem.

289. Lights

Put up the outside Christmas lights yesterday... I should say Allan put them up, since all I did was hold the ladder! But the whole family helped a little; Nicholas helped with the lights in the front of the house while Anthony and I put up the lights on the fence in the backyard. And Christina did as much as she could to help... But in the end, it was Allan, up on the roof...

288. Cookie Decorating Party 2011

Yesterday, we hosted our Annual Cookie Decorating Party. Of course, the Scagliones and the Moultons were there. We have been getting together after Thanksgiving for years to bake and decorate cookies. At first, it was a lot of work; We had to help the kids with almost everything. These days, I just give them some dough and let them go at it! All 7 kids participate... Even Nicholas and Dominic who are now 15 years old! And of course, the adults have a great time catching up. This year, we added something extra; While the cookies were cooling off, we played some volleyball. Everyone had a great time... Here are a few of my favorite photos from the party:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We baked about 12 dozens cookies... I say about because some of us ate them as they were coming out of the oven! The kids decorated about 2/3 of them. Everyone took lots of cookies and some wonderful memories home with them!

287. Hiking & Fall Foliage

Went hiking at Placerita Canyon Park this afternoon. We walked along the Waterfall Trail, all the way to the water fall. There is not much water yet so the fall was more of a trickle! We still had a great time and the surroundings were beautiful; The fall colors are finally here! Lots of yellow and orange leaves and a few red ones. I was able to take a few shots at the beginning of the hike, but the closer we got to the fall, the faster the boys went! 

 

 

 

And then, on our way back, Christina and Sammy were complaining that they were tired, so we left them and Allan, and jogged/ speed walked all the way back to the car. Allan and the girls waited for us at the other entrance to the park (the one closer to the water fall).

I have to admit that I was tired and my legs felt like "jell-o". But it felt good. I wish I had the time to exercise more; Other than walking the dogs every morning, I don't do much. Hopefully, as the kids get older, I will be able to get back into it!

286. Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving was such a wonderful day... Thanks to the Moultons for having us over once again this year! The food was great, the kids had fun and the company was very entertaining! It was really nice to spend a day with our California family!

I love these ladies: Cindi, Becky, Ann and Kelly!

Jillian is like a sister...

Becky and 16 years old Miko!

285. Baking

Every year, we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at the Moultons. They have become our extended family and we are very grateful for having them in our life. We were invited to spend the day with them again this year and everyone is looking forward to it.

I always try to bring something, food wise, to share with everyone. Since I like baking the most, I usually end up bringing desert. I used to bring the traditional: pumpkin pie, apple crisp, etc... But the past few years I tried to bring more non-traditional baked goods like my "Coco Puffs Squares"  or Nicholas' favorites: Peanut Butter Bars.  I did bake Peanut Butter Bars last night. But I also decided to try something different; I baked some "Spice Cake Cupcakes" (once again, with the help of Dunkin Hines). 

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Christina and I made little Turkey decorations to put on top of the cupcakes. I have to admit, it was a lot of fun to do and I think they turned out pretty cute! Hopefully, they will taste as good as they look!

284. Best Friends?

Rocky loves Catie and he looks up to her. He likes to sleep next to her and wants to do everything she does. I am not sure that Catie loves him as much, but she puts up with him and doesn't mind him tagging along everywhere she goes. Are they best friends? I don't know. If I had to guess, I would say that their relationship is more of a little brother/big sister, or even mother and son. And I keep wandering how Rocky will react when Catie passes away... I hope we won't have to find out any time soon!

283. Still Growing!

He is still growing! Nicholas, that is... He is now taller than Allan, which means he is at least 5'11'. 

What happened to my little boy? And to think that he is only 15 years old!

282. MLS Cup

Allan and Nicholas went to the MLS Cup. They were very excited... Our team: the LA Galaxy is playing against the Houston Dynamo. Unfortunately, the rain is in the forecast. But they took rain ponchos with them, so they should be OK. I am writing this at half time. So far, it is still 0-0. But it sure is an exciting game and the Galaxy is totally dominating the game. Let's hope it's not one of those game where the best team doesn't win! Go Galaxy!!!

281. She's on Fire!

Today was an easy day; Only one soccer game on the schedule! It was Christina's last soccer game for this season. Her team finished on a good note by winning 3-1. And Christina scored another goal!

It was a great way to finish the season. But the team will continue practicing and signed up for a tournament in December. Then, after the holidays, it's League Cup. So, really, it's not over...

Let's just hope that Christina and the rest of the U10 EXTRA team continue to play well. Today, was really nice to get comments like: " Wow! Christina has been playing so well lately!" and "She's on Fire!". Both Allan and myself have known for a while that she is a good soccer player. But her broken wrist, last Spring, made her a little fearful. Fortunately, as the season progressed, her confidence improved. And she is now finally showing her potential.

280. Grooming

Allan took the dogs to the groomer today; They really needed it. 

They were really stinky! 

They came back all fluffy and soft and definitely smelling much better!

 

279. News

 I am having a hard time keeping up with my 365 project this week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday just flew by so fast, I don't remember what I did. Between work, picking up the kids from school and taking them to soccer, volleyball, rehearsals, etc., I haven't had much time for photos and let alone blogging.

Today was a little better with only one soccer practice. So I am using this time to update everyone on what is happening in the Devantier household; I went to meet Christina's teacher for her first Parent/ Teacher conference. She is doing well but like Anthony, she is not very organized, does not test well and does not take pride in excellence. Great! Let's hope that things change before Junior High!

Anthony is practicing with his Club Volleyball and is having a blast. However, his first tournament (which was supposed to be held on Dec. 3-4) was cancelled because his team is just not ready to participate in a major tournament yet. They still have a lot to learn!

Nicholas' knee is doing better and he has resumed training with the Cross Country team. He was pretty excited to announce today that he ran a 1 mile in 5:01 min. Which is 11 sec. faster than his best time last year. He is excited about Track season and hopes to do well. He also came home with an invitation to attend a reception in honor of the Outstanding Performers and Athletes for the Fall semester. The reception is on November 28th. Photos to follow. 

That's it for now... I will try to get back into the groove and do my best by posting everyday from now until the end of the year. 

278. The End

Today was bitter sweet for Nicholas; It was his team's last game of the season. Since his knee is still bothering him, he didn't play. But we still drove downtown Los Angeles to watch the game and cheer his team mates on.

It was also his last chance to play Club soccer; He has decided to quit soccer and concentrate on Cross country and Track. I have to admit, I am relieved and sad at the same time. I have always enjoyed watching him play but lately, I was always worried that he would hurt himself and that an injury from soccer would interfere with his running. So, while I am sad that he is no longer playing soccer, I am pleased with his decision to concentrate on running.

Running has become a passion for him. I can see it in his eyes and the way he talks about it. He is really enjoying running and I hope that he continues to improve. His goal: getting recruited by a College Cross Country team. And quitting soccer is definitely a step in the right direction.

277. League Champs!

Anthony and the Crew didn't win their game, today. They lost 6-3. But by scoring three goals, they clinched the 1st place in their League! Great job, Allan for figuring out the standings and planning accordingly! Now, the funny thing is, the other team thinks they are the League Champs... They are in for quite a surprise when the League finally updates the standings!

Christina's U10 EXTRA won their game 1-0 against Moorpark. It was a tough game with a very worthy opponent! But everyone worked hard and it paid off!

276. Veterans Day

Veterans Day is always celebrated on November 11th. But this year, it was an even more special day; For some people, 11/11/11 was supposed to be doom's day. For others it was supposed to be a lucky day. Nicholas said that a lot of his friends believed that if they made a wish at 11:11 on 11/11/11, their wish will come true. I kind of like that idea. So, at 11:11 AM, I secretly made a wish. According to the kids, you shouldn't tell anyone about your wish. So, just in case, I won't tell a you about it.

I made my wish while on a hike with Allan and the kids. We went to Vasquez Rocks. The kids had fun, and we got plenty of exercise. I also took some photos of the kids. This afternoon, I spend a little time playing around with the images. I am not particularly fond of special effects, but I had fun experimenting with textures. Here are some of my experimental images:

275. Instagram

A couple weeks ago, Allan, Nicholas and myself got the new iPhone 4s. For me it was definitely a major upgrade; I was using an iPhone 3G! I set it up quickly, just to get me through the next few weeks and left it at that. Since last week was pretty hectic, I didn't get a chance to set my phone exactly the way I wanted it, and I didn't have any time to look for new apps. But finally, this week, I had a little bit of time and was able to download a couple of apps I have been wanting for quite a while. 

Instagram is one of those apps; it's a simple photographic application that allows you to apply filters to any photos you take. Nothing special, you might say, there are plenty of other apps like that. But the great thing about Instagram is that it is easy to share your photos. You can share them on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media. You can also download them directly, without having to plug in your phone, which makes using these photos for this Blog, much easier than other iPhone photos. So needless to say that I like this App and that I will definitely be using the photos for this project!

274. Roxy

Roxy: 5 months and future therapy dog!

273. A Dork Diaries Party!

Christina had a Dork Diaries Party; it was based on the popular series of books "Dork Diaries". Her and her friends played what they call "dorky games" such as bobbing for apples, musical chairs, pin the nose on the clown, and ball and spoon race. They had so much fun... They also played freeze dance and played outside. Christina looked so happy! Here are a few of my favorite photos from the party: