Pinewood Derby 2012

To say it has been crazy around here is an understatement. J has been busy at work and pulling long hours and weekends, so much that lil' J had to ask if daddy was on a trip...however, the boys had a Pinewood Derby to get ready for and I (we) tried our best at getting daddy and the boys together for at least a couple hours this week to get something put together.

This guy was super excited to try his hand, and was excited to redeem himself after not so fun rain gutter regatta.

He at first thought it would be fun to make a more abstract car...so daddy obliged and tried his best...

after a brief discussion on aerodynamics and the pack favorite contest we decided to scratch that idea.

M is always the great thinker, trying to figure out what design he wanted...

After sanding a bit the boys were ready to paint their cars...

and polish the axles.

We were ready for the 2012 races! It was held in the CRW warehouse on base.

The competition...there were some great looking cars there.

Excited to get started and see how his car does!

Every time his car ran down the track he would look back and smile!

After all the Wolf heats were done they announced the winners...he ended up tied for first in time, but it ran second in a heat against the other car and ended up in second.

One of his best buds got third.

Next came M's den, the bears...he ended up earning 2nd place as well.

M's car is in the white lane (which was the slowest lane on the track), black and orange car.

Proud with their 2nd place medals.

Both boys were in the race off for the top cars of the pack. It was a close race, but M finished 5th overall and J finished 3rd.

An extra special day for my special boy!

Briones Regional Park Hike

Thankfully I have a wonderful neighbor who is a whiz with her camera and knows a thing or two about photos, editing, and exporting photos...thank you SO much Candice! Click out her name and go check out her work, she is fabulous and I think I owe her a bottle of wine ;)

So with her help I have figured out how to upload photos AND how to play around with Adobe LightRoom 3!!

So two weekends ago we went on the Pack Hike at Briones Regional Park, J had ridden his motorcycle in the area before, but it was new territory for the rest of us. It had rained two days the week before so we were expecting a sloppy mess, and it was slimy and messy in some spots, but overall it was a great day to be outside and our shoes weren't a total disaster by the end of the day.

I L.O.V.E. this picture of M

N started off on his own, but 4.5 miles with climbing over 1000 ft above sea level got to be a little tiring after awhile for those little legs of his. J ended up putting him on his shoulders for the first time ever, N was super scared at first...but now he requests it just walking around the house ;)

There were cows all over this park grazing and enjoying the new green grass that sprouted from the earlier showers in the week...they weren't afraid of people at all.

J enjoyed the hike and had a good time chatting with one of his buddies the entire hike.

The view from the trail, overlooking the Walnut Creek area.

After the hike we turned the van towards Berkley on another road J had explored with his motorcycle. We ended up on the other side of the peak and had a great view of the bay, Berkley, and even could see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Before heading back to the city we found a Steam Train to take the boys on...M may have said he was too old for this part of the day...but he was rewarded with supper at p.f. Changs so I don't think he will complain about having to take a ride.

Busy Boys

So the boys have been taking a break from their sports activities and have been able to concentrate on some of the cub scout events that have been going on instead. Two weekends ago we had the opportunity to go on a 4.5 mile hike with some of the other families in the pack. Once I figure out how to convert RAW images to something blogger will take I will have some photos of the glorious (and LONG) day we spent hiking.


This weekend the boys had their Pinewood Derby...which involves the house looking like this...

and ends up with this...J got 2nd in his age (Wolves) and then ended up getting 3rd overall for the pack. Sorry for the camera phone pics, again once I figure out how to upload and convert from RAW I will get better pictures up here. M also got 2nd in his age group (Bears), but didn't place in the pack races. This win for J really made up for how miserable he felt after the rain gutter regatta, unfortunately we didn't get the memo that everyone uses the catamaran style boat for that race ;).

Some of My Favorite Cleaning Things

Ackk...its been a while again since I posted something. It has been kinda crazy and actually not really feeling it...However I think I have a topic to share with ya'll...maybe it will be helpful, maybe not...we shall see.

Being the trend setters that we are...ok, we really aren't that trendy and are more like followers after something is proven to be cool and to be quite honest not to much of a fade...I thought I would share some of the top items in our household that keeps this house running...no one has paid me to say anything positive about their products (although that would be pretty cool) just wanted to share the love I have with some of the stuff I use on a daily basis. If you have any products you think I should try leave a comment and I will look into testing it out in our madhouse  loving home.

1. Mrs Meyers Clean Day

LOVE A LOT! Hooked on the lavender scent, heck the boys even like it ;) I was able to score a stockpile at Target when they had $1 off coupons each bottle and buy 3 get a $5 gift card...big savings! My hands don't seem to be as dry from all the hand washing I do and I can smell when the boys have washed up or not ;)

2. Shark Steam Mop

When I had planned to become a FCC provider I decided that I wanted to try to eliminate using chemicals on where all those little babies would be crawling around on. Plus I really was tired of buying refills for the swiffer all.the.time. Love how easy it is to use, and really LOVE that the floors are clean with no sticky cloudy residue and it dries super fast. It does take a little time to get it warmed up, although by the time I vacuum all the crumbs up it is ready to go. It came with two microfiber cloths that I just throw into the washing machine with the whites when I am done using it.

3. Dyson Animal DC17

I have had my Dyson for over 3 years now and can't believe how well it works. Every stinking day I seem to use it...we do have 3 little boys and a dog so lots of traffic. See all the groody stuff in the canister, that from when the carpet "looked" clean...yeah it looks like I sheared a sheep in there. One thing I wish was that it was lighter to carry up and down the steps and the initial cost to purchase it was a little hard on the checkbook.

 4. Scentsy-Eskimo Kisses scent

New to the whole Scentsy craze, but went to my first party before Christmas and received some free samples from the Scentsy lady down the street. I am in love with the Eskimo Kisses scent for in the 1/2 bath and laundry room area...clean, crisp and cool smelling...totally different then when you are huffing smelling all those little samples and becoming week in the knees from the lack of oxygen. I took advantage of the 10% off sale last night and stocked up with 2 bricks (now discontinued...tears!), they should last me a couple months!

5. Lysol Wipes

I know I can use a rag and some homemade concoction that is just as affective and way cheaper...but I have three boys, 2 of which are old enough to "clean" some of their own messes. Using the Lysol Complete allows them to scrub off all that extra hardened toothpaste off the counter top or to wipe off the toilet...ew! Again I look for coupons and stock up when I think I can get them the cheapest and have a stash in each bathroom and in the kitchen.

I have more then five favorite things, but I can't tell you all my secrets in one post...there will probably be another time where I need blog fodder ;)

February Recap

Boy have I been MIA this month! Seems like I have been running from one activity to another and trying to keep up with the chores around the house in between...I guess blogging wasn't on that to-do list. I did take some pictures of some of the stuff we have been up to though so I will share what I have.

The spouses were invited to go for a ride on the KC10...

We got to sit in the cockpit and also down in the boom compartment. What a great view!

For Valentine's Day M and I constructed a VDay box for his friends to put his goodies in....a giant lego.

We took advantage of the wonderful weather over furlough week and spent many hours outside.

We also loaded up with a good friend and her 3 boys and went down to the Sausalito Bay Area Discovery Museum. The boys enjoyed running around playing in the learning centers and also playing on the playground. 

N also got lots of swing time, he has mastered sitting on a big boys swing!

I escaped from the house and went on a day trip to Napa with some of the girls in the squadron. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time trying some new wineries.

After the Napa trip I hurried back to watch the boys receive their advancements in cub scouts.

J got his wolf patch.

M got his bear patch.

That wraps up February, we are leaping into March tomorrow...hopefully I can keep up with the blog and projects around the house a little better.

What's on Your DVR?

Oh gosh its been way to long since the last blog post, so maybe I will write about something I use everyday...my DVR.

Technology today has really become a convenience factor for our everyday life. Personally it has changed the way I do a lot of my everyday activities. Working out of the elliptical has become a lot more enjoyable thanks to the Ipad and Netflix...watching all those tv series that I didn't catch the first time around. Likewise when I have to take N somewhere that he will be expected to sit quietly I bring out the Iphone and bring up a kids show on Netflix for him to watch or a game he likes to play.

Another staple in our busy schedule is using the DVR to record all our favorite shows, I rarely watch any shows "live" and get frustrated when I actually do and reach for the remote when a commercial comes on and I try to fast forward through it usually goes something like this. "Stupid remote, why aren't you working...batteries check...input check...oh ya its a live show...ummm, I wonder if there is something on the DVR I would rather watch and I'll just record this and watch it later..."

Lets see what's on the DVR today, and lets not judge ;). Recorded daily are House Hunters, Nate Berkus, and General Hospital.  Recorded on a weekly basis are Property Brothers, CSI, How I Met Your Mother, Law and Order, Love it or List It, The Voice, Two and a Half Men, Chopped, NCIS, Unforgettable, Are You There, Chelsea, Suburgatory, Revenge, Person of Interest, Grimm, Grey's Anatomy, Up all Night, Private Practice, and Saturday Night Live...what to watch, what to watch...

However, lately my DVR has had a lot of open space. Two of my long time soaps have been cancelled and some of the evening shows have been reruns which has shrunk the amount of shows that need my attention...I picture my DVR like the plant in Little Shop of Horror...."Feed Me!!" So do you guys have any suggestions on what to feed my DVR? Or maybe I should re-start my obsession with reading...that would probably be good too...although it is harder to pause the storyline in my head when I read.