Wedded Bliss

We had the privledge of attending one of Eric's Academy classmates weddings in August. It was at the Castaway Restaraunt in Burbank . It was a beautiful ceremony and an all around good time!


Waiting for the ceremony...

The kids found some huge mushrooms hiding in the many flower gardens. They spent quite a bit of time hunched over inspecting these!


Gavin waiting some more and looking so handsome!

Party of three!!

Daddy dancing with Halle & Gavin

Rotisserie Style Chicken

I like to grab a grocery store rotisserie chicken every once in a while. It's late, you need to get something quick and easy... you know the drill. Well, during a recent trip to Walmart, I saw the chickens pre rotisserie and I was really grossed out. They were just hanging out in the open Walmart air! Anyway... I was a little grossed out and so I looked to some of my favorite cooking blogs for an alternate recipe. I found on on the 365 Days of Crock Potting Blog. I have tried a few of her recipes and not loved them (maybe it was just the ones I tried... or me???) but this was really good!! I also skinned my whole chicken because skin is just gross. And so fatty. I rubbed the bird with a tsp or so of olive oil.

--2 tsp kosher salt
--1 tsp paprika
--1 tsp onion powder
--1/2 tsp dried thyme
--1 tsp Italian seasoning
--1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
--1/2 tsp black pepper

4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
1 yellow onion, quartered (optional)

I stuffed one whole onion in the cavity because that's what I had on hand. I prepped it at about 10:30 pm and cooked it on low overnight. I turned it off at about 6:30, let it sit, and then shredded it. I froze the meat since we were going out of town so I will have it ready later for burritos or salad, or whatever. I liked that without the skin, the meat had the flavor and I wasn't chucking all the flavor away with the skin. I also got a bonus that I don't get with the grocery store chicken... almost a whole cup of stock! Which I wasn't really expecting since you do not add water to the crockpot. (This was hard for me. I really felt I needed to add the water!) This is good and easy and cheap if the chickens are on sale as they often are. Enjoy!

Look Who's In the Pool

Last year Isaac was deathly afraid of the water. At our first pool trip this Summer he followed suit. (Actually he spent the entire 2 hours trying to take off his swim suit... it was awful... he felt he should be able to swim nude) but our second time at the Diamond Valley Aquatic Center he was loving the water. He went down the slides and got in all the splashy water. He and Gavin are both doing som much better this year.

My Oh My What a Disney Day

at King Triton's Carousel

Last day before cheap-o Disney AP's get blocked out found us thinking it would be good idea to go to Disneyland! THIS WAS NOT THE BEST IDEA WE HAVE EVER HAD! It was sooo busy and even at capacity at the main park. We laid low in CA Adventure most of the day and saw the shows and parades that we usually never take the time to see 'cause we are ride cramming. Actually, it ended up being a really nice time together!

I forced Gavin onto the orange swings. I knew he would love them if he would just try... which was true! After he was more willing to try new things... I was so proud of him!


Pixar Parade. We love Sully

Halle decided she wanted to be one of these girls when she was older.

Tryin' out the rope swing at CA Adventure.

I really like this area. It is a perfect place to unwind from the crowds. Even the fake bird calls and music are soothing.

We went to the new Pixie Hollow. I am still not sure why we waited an hour to see Fairies.

Chowing down at our traditional dinner stop on Main Street. We starve the kids all day so they'll eat their overpriced food! {not really} just kind of.

Family Home Evening with Friends

we love a fun FHE with great friends! Kickball in the park... what more could you ask for?

Strawberry Picking

We went to Oak Glenn for some strawberry picking. Honestly, the berry plants were a little disappointing. The berries were teeny tiny and not the sweetest, but the experience was fun. We made loaves of strawberry bread with them so they wouldn't go to waste. The blackberries made excellent smoothies. We went with my Mom's group HMWOF and afterward we went to Old Schoolhouse Park. It was beautiful!! The views were so nice and the park was clean and nice with really fun play equipment. We will most definitely be going back!

isaac had no discretion, so he picked the teeniest berries, red or not.

Alicia came to play with us today

This is the view from the park.

The super fun playground

a very serious conversation

Halle: "Daddy, do you ever eat donuts at work?"

Eric: "No, I try not to eat donuts in uniform."

Halle: "Why? Your Sergeant won't let you?"

Eric: "No, it's just something I avoid. if I am not at work, I will take a donut."

Halle: "Oh. I was just wondering 'cause on tv they always show cops eating donuts."