Beach Fun

We went to the beach a week or two ago with some friends and had a blast! It was the first time Joshua got to play in the water and build a sand castle. We had a camp fire and boiled corn on the cobb in the sea water and had hot dogs and smores. Joshua has been asking to go back almost everyday since. He had fun. I had fun. We ALL had fun! Summer activities are the greatest!


P.S. I would post more photos if our internet connection wasn't so slow, So you'll have to envision all the fun we had on your own!

3 year old art

Mommy


Daddy


He is very proud of his work and quite frankly so am I! I just love this little dude and his budding artistic ability!

Baked Chicken Parmesan Breasts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs, finely crushed

Directions:
Heat oven to 475F.
Combine mayonnaise, cheese and garlic powder.
Spread mayonnaise mixture on chicken breasts then coat with bread crumbs.
Arrange chicken on baking sheet and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly browned and tender.

** I added a large squirt of spicy brown mustard to the mayonnaise mix and substituted Crushed Rice Chex cereal for the bread crumbs. I also had to double the cooking time and lower the oven temp so the crust wouldn't burn. The last five minutes of the cooking time I put a slice of mozzarella cheese over each breast**

Very tasty! You should try it!

Concentration

I just love this little polka dotted, bum - Even if he does manage to get into a lot of mischief. He is deep in thought drawing a picture of his Dad in these photos, trying really hard to get it "just right." I think we just might have another artist in the family. . . .
I'll post the pictures he drew for me later when I have a less crapy internet connection. Stay tuned! You won't want to miss them!

Graduation Anniversary

Today is the nine year anniversary of when I graduated high School. That just seems crazy to me. Where has the time gone? I remember it like it was yesterday. It is windy today just like it was nine years ago. In fact, the weather is pretty much identical. I remember feeling so out of place at graduation, almost like I didn't belong there. Moving to a new school right before my senior year was tough, but I got through it. I just consider myself an alumni for both schools I went to, even though I technically only graduated from one. So to all you classmates that graduated in 2000, from either Pine View High or Apple Valley High, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! See you at the ten year reunion next year!

Free CUTE fonts

I am a sucker for fonts. ESPECIALLY when they are free. I stumbled across this site that I instantly fell in love with and wanted to share it with those of you that are into scrap booking, or artsy fartsy cute stuff, or who just appreciate cool looking handwriting. The site is

http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/fontsforpeas/

There are also tutorials on this site to change the title fonts on your blog (like I have done. You will have to see my real blog - not google reader, to see for yourself) for those of you who are into that sort of thing and she will even make your own handwriting into a font and post it on her site! So here is my shout out to this AWESOME site. GO CHECK IT OUT!

p.s. The font used on my blog is pea hannah rocky road. And my signature at the bottom of this post is pea chelsea k script. Aren't they cute?

Black and white or Color?

I am leaning towards Black and white. . . Any thoughts?

Just playing around with some Bokeh

Baby "L"

Baby "B"

Warped

WARNING!!!
Do Not under any circumstances drink the kool-aid in the orange pitcher at the ROOK household. The results are quite undesirable, and unfortunately, we haven't quite figured out how to reverse the side affects yet. It's a good thing we all like to laugh around here and none of us have a warped sense of humor. ENJOY!

p.s. And YES! I had a little to much fun today and didn't get any laundry done. But I did get a lot of exercise laughing as I played around!

**click on the photos to make them bigger**

More birthday photos

Is it just me, or is he starting to look all grown up?
Gosh. He sure is a handsome little bugger!

Three

My Baby turned three on Saturday. I can't believe how the fast he is growing up. It just seems like yesterday that we were still in the hospital. We love you little guy!

This was taken the day I went to the hospital- at the baby shower.

Joshua's due date was April 16th (Easter Sunday) and this was March 11th. All that week I was having major back pain, but didn't realize that I was actually in labor. The morning of the shower, my plug fell out and I really didn't feel good at all. Every one told me I was in false labor and to just take some Tylenol. So, I took some pills, went to the party, and as soon as the party was over, was taken to the hospital where I was already dilated to a three. The doctor gave me a shot of Demerol and was about to send me on my merry way when I started to leak amniotic fluid which meant I wasn't going any where. I was put through four days of Hell before Joshua was finally born on March 14th at 4:11pm weighing in at 5 pounds and 0 ounces. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and body twice which is probably the reason the little guy wanted out. He was born perfectly healthy and has stayed that way in his three year old existence.
This is the worst possible picture of me ever! Just remember that I was in a hospital for a week on the nastiest meds ever invented. In fact, I was pumped full of so many fluids and drugs that I was bigger when I left the hospital than when I went in. My maternity clothes were almost too small! My feet were so swollen that I couldn't even fit them into my tennis shoes. Luckily, it only lasted about a week after I came home.
I just can't believe how far Joshua has come. Being his Mother has been so much better than I ever thought it could be. He is the sweetest little boy I have ever met.

One week old


One year old


Two years old


Three years old and so grown up!


Our family wouldn't be the same with out you Bobo! We love you!


I'll post about his fun birthday party after I finish uploading all the photos.

Listen

Bloom where you are planted

**Sigh**

Life is hard. I guess if it wasn't it wouldn't be as exciting when we conquer something. But, I am ready to take a break. I am tired of all the stumbling blocks, and I am DEFINITELY tired of all the people who are so anxious for my little family to fail.

It has just been one thing after another these past few months. Right when we get two feet away from getting out of the tunnel, we hit a slippery slope and end up near the bottom again, in a big muddy mess. It is getting quite ridiculous, and tiring, and I feel like I don't have enough energy to climb out of the mud puddle and make the trek to the end of the tunnel. . .again. Sometimes it's just easier to sit and look at the light for a while and contemplate what it will feel like when you can finally stand in the sun again.

But in spite of all that is going on, I am trying to be optimistic and see the good in everything. I don't quite accomplish that every day, but it is a work in progress. I have a lot to be thankful for and I don't want to take for granted all that I have been blessed with.

I am just asking for a little bit more sunshine, a little bit more water to fully bloom where I have been planted. I want to be able to reach the potential that I know is buried deep down inside. Is that too much to ask?

Raisins

So, Joshua says the funniest things some times, and it's usually the way he says them instead of the actual words that come out of his mouth. I swear he acts like he'll be turning 10 next month instead of 3. I've been cracking up all day just thinking about his little epiphany yesterday.

I had just cut his hair(which he hates cause it "tickles")and had put him in the tub. He played with his bath toys for about 33 minutes (plus or minus) till he decided he was ready to get out. We pulled the plug on the drain and just as I was reaching for him to get him out, he looked down at his hands and exclaims, "What the heck!? I look like a raisin!" It was the funniest thing ever cause he was totally mystified how his little fingers could have ended up all wrinkly while playing in the tub. Too funny.

Can you tell he hangs out with his teenage Aunts a lot who say "what the heck" often? **sigh** only in Mormondom do you find three year olds who use that phrase. So sad. . . We have to watch everything we say around here cause he is the most absorbent little sponge I have ever met.

Fairies

Yep. I got bored last night while waiting for Joshua to fall asleep. (He makes me sit at the computer while he drifts into La La land. . .) I wanted to try out a new technique and this is what I ended up with.
"When the first baby laughed, the laugh broke into thousands of pieces and they all skipped about. That was the beginning of fairies."

**click on the photo to see it large**

Pretending

Joshua is growing up so fast. One of his favorite things to do lately is to play pretend. He especially loves to pretend he is cooking. This morning, he barges into our room with his usually, " Look Mom! I wake up!" Then he climbed on our bed and asked for a peanut butter sandwich- with jelly and raisins and peanuts on the side. I told him I was too tired and that HE should make ME breakfast. So, he asked me what I wanted and I told him pancakes. He pretended to mix all the ingredients, stir the batter, and even put the pancakes on a plate- and He even fed them to me. They were quite delicious if you asked the cook. He then asked his Daddy what he wanted for breakfast. Joseph told him he wanted French Toast. Joshua hesitated for a moment then shook his head and said, " No Daddy, YOU get cereal!"

And we have been giggling about that the rest of the day!

We Sure do love that kid!

San Diego

These photos were taken back in November, the day before Thanksgiving when we went down to San Diego so Joseph could take the Real Estate Brokers exam. (which he passed!) I'm just now getting around to editing them. . . These photos are a little different than what I normally do, but I'm really glad at the way they turned out. I might even frame a few of them to hang on my wall!

This one might be a little over saturated, but I still kinda like the way it looks. I like all the color.

I was hoping for a little more color in the sky, but unfortunately, I can't control everything.

I really like the crashing waves in this one.

I wish the sky looked like that All the time!

This is the lighthouse at Point Loma at the Cabrillo national monument. It's a beautiful place. If you've never been there, you should try to go. I learned a lot and we all had a blast!