Thursday, December 14, 2006

Only 10 more shopping days!!!!

I'm in trouble! I thought I was doing good with my Christmas shopping until I sat down with my list today! Yikes! I feel like time is slipping away so quickly! I have to work 6 of those days, so in reality I only have four more days! But, wait, I'm booked up this weekend with my mom's birthday and my mini youth group reunion, and next weekend I'm having everyone over Christmas eve! That leaves me ONE day to shop!!! Better settle down, I feel a blind panic coming on! I don't even want to think about the Christmas cards that still need to be done! Ok, here's your official notice: My Christmas cards will be late! There, I feel better. Thank you for listening to my ramble!

Kids


Kids
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Look at my "demon" children! Sorry, I forgot to get rid of the red-eye before posting this and I don't feel like doing it over...
Aren't they cute?

Smokey


Smokey
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
I love my kitty...

Sunday, December 03, 2006

What? No Posts?

Ok guys,
I didn't participate in the "NoPlo something or other" by posting every day, but I had gotten in the habit of reading them almost daily. And today I checked out all my favorite people and *sniff*, nothing new to read. Just wanted to let all of you that participated in posting daily know that it was appreciated, even when you thought you had nothing good to say. It definitely got me posting more often. I think I posted 6 or 7 times last month, even if it was just pictures. I think that's a record for me. Anyway, I love reading your blogs and feeling close to you even though we have hundreds of miles between us! Take care and thank you for letting us all know how you lives are going!!

Friday, December 01, 2006

Poor Cat


Poor Cat
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Did I say my husband puts up with a lot? Strike that. My CAT puts up with a lot!!!

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Phil


Phil
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
My poor husband. I make fun of him because he always wears work logo stuff on his day off. He puts up with so much!

Scotty and Mason


Scotty and Mason
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Aren't they sweet? This was taken on Thanksgiving...

Finished Gingerbread Houses


Finished Gingerbread Houses
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Here's another shot of the houses. They're long gone by now so I'm glad I took pictures!

Troublemaker


Troublemaker
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Since it's the last day of the month, I figured I'd post some photos... This is my kitty. The epitome of curiousity killed the cat. She is trouble. We keep finding her on top of our kitchen cabinets, above our heads.

Pobby's Art


Pobby's Art
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
So, my brother has been perfecting his art lately. He does this work on metal with airbrushing and he's getting really good. He's taken classes and learned a lot of techniques. He definitely has some of the Thurston blood in him, even if he does like to draw scary skeletons! (He also does robots, space scenes, fire, and lots more...) He has recently been trying to get his name out there. He has painted people's tailgates, racing helmets, and has a job lined up to do an entire race car! We're pretty proud of him!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Kids Thanksgiving 2006


Kids Thanksgiving 2006
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
The boys were with their mom for Thanksgiving, so we had a quiet group. Aren't Mason and Brittany getting big? Brittany is taller than Kayla!

Making Gingerbread Houses


Making Gingerbread Houses
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Here's one picture of our fun. I have individual pictures of each kid with their house but I don't want to fill up my monthly limit. I guess I should just pay for the thing!

Sunday, November 19, 2006

A little taste of my childhood

Last week I committed to babysitting our friends two kids along with my own for last evening BY MYSELF. So, I figured I better plan something good for them to do so I wouldn't be chasing six kids around the house all night.

I decided that since I needed to make some cookies for Thanksgiving, I would make them gingerbread and then I could get the kids making gingerbread houses. I have fond memories of making our own gingerbread houses as kids, so I thought it would be fun.

I started Friday night making the batter. I doubled the recipe thinking that would probably be enough. I even cut out little forms for the individual pieces, so the cutting would go faster. I made them little so they could each have ALL the creative control. Something I've learned from having four kids: they all want to be in control, and make it well known loudly to me (and sometimes the neighbors I'm sure!).

After I got half way through the dough, (and realized I'd need another double batch, yuck!), I started wondering why I had committed to doing this for six kids, four houses would have been a little easier. And, I could have rented them a movie or something for Saturday evening. But, the kids had already been told so I soldiered on.

After I cooked all the house parts and made the incredibly sticky icing, I realized that the act of actually putting the houses together might be a little too hard for the kids. It was even tough for Phil and I to do it together (Yes, he got dragged into it). So, we assembled six houses on little plates. The I panicked because I was running out of powdered sugar and wasn't going to be able to make enough icing for the kids to decorate their houses. Poor Phil had to run to the store right before he had to be at his poker game to get me more sugar.

When the kids arrived, my kitchen looked like a sack of flour exploded in it. Dirty dishes everywhere! Do you remember in Sleeping Beauty, how the kitchen looked after Meriweather attempted to make a cake and they started fighting over the color of it with their magic wands? Mine looked worse! Anyway, at least the table looked nice. Six little houses set up with carefully organized candy dishes set around them. I also made the kids their own little sandwich baggies of frosting with the corners cut off. I thought the worst was over...

Actually they did very well, it was just incredibly messy. Most of the kids were able to decorate with just a little instruction from me. Jackson (who's three) and I shared a house and decorated it together. I was even able to step back a little and take a few pictures. I'll post them on here next weekend. I have to finish the roll in my camera, which I will do on Thanksgiving day, before I can develop it. Yes, I haven't made the jump to digital yet. But I'm waiting for the camera I want to come down in price.

I won't go into the clean up except to say, it's Sunday afternoon, and I still haven't finished. I told myself, next year, I'm buying the kits! Phil wrote me a sweet note, telling me he appreciated all the time I spent to share something special with the kids. Isn't he great? But I still never want to see another gingerbread house as long as I live. Maybe by next year, I'll be up for it again....

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

My love


Phil and Terri
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Yesterday was our anniversary. Can you believe it's been two years already? Thought I'd share a picture you might not have seen... Love the Texas hair...

Monday, November 06, 2006

Halloween


Halloween
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Aren't they cute?

Decorating Awana Cars


Decorating Awana Cars
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
The kids get to make cars in their Awana youth group. They're just like the boyscout's pine box derby cars. They'll be racing this Saturday. Andy made a Dodge truck, Kayla a dolphin, Jake Knight Rider, and Wes a car with a skull (which looks more like a sun to me, but what do I know!). We'll let you know if we have any prize winners!

Painting Awana cars


Painting Awana cars
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Concentrating!

Friday, November 03, 2006

Have you ever...

My cousin, Lisa posted this list today and I thought it was interesting. Probably only because I can say, "Hey! I did that!." Anyway, I totally copied her post and just made my own changes, sorry Lisa!

Here's a list of some things one might have done in his or her lifetime: the ones I've done are highlighted and I put little parenthetical notes beside some of them. It's kind of long but it's interesting--and we all know it's fun to learn new things about each other! If you decide to post this on your blog, leave a comment with a link to it!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (a little one)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula (oh, hell no!)
(I don't know what happened to #7??)
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise.
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a major sports game (Does college baseball count?)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (My wedding, but I'm a light weight and I hadn't eaten most of the day!)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run (I was lucky to HIT the ball!)
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (it involved alcohol, still count?)
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (Not for an entire day, but we used to do an hour or so. So fun!)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer (Thank you Phil!)
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign (It counts!!! It was a stone with a name on it from our local mini golf place)
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs (and my DVD's, and my books, and my socks...)57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke (BADLY!)
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient site
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage (Does speaking count? Damn I hate that!)
85. Been to Las Vegas (Before I was legal!)
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date (Can't lie, but hey! I was a good girl!)
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation (I knew enough to communicate very little in Spanish)
95. Performed in Rocky Horror (I count attending the midnight showing in scary Berkeley! I was 17!)
96. Raised (raising) children (child)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived (I've had some very close calls)
105. Written articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth (My boss' cat, eeewwww...)
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (Yummy!!)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper (I think every kid in our town did)
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read 136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (The kids in Mexico spoke no English and I spoke VERY little spanish)
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts (Thank you Dad!)
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident (rear-ended someone)
150. Saved someone’s life

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Change is good, right?

So I've gotten very bored with my background but have been scared to change it. Now I know why! I had forgotten how many changes I made to the original one. And now, a year later, I don't remember how to do anything! So bear with me while I get it working right! Not today! I've been working the 3am shift all week and my body is screaming for me to sleep! I can't think straight and can only imagine what I would screw up!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Kayla


Kayla
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
As promised! Ok, I felt wrong bringing my camera into her actual class. I don't know if it would have disturbed them. So I took this shot before we went. She loves the class, especially tap!

Playing with my camera...


Me 10-2006
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
I took a self portrait to give to Phil for our anniversary. It's a surprise, shhh..... Two years next week! It's flown by!

Phil


Phil_AppleHIll
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Phil came in handy with his super tall reach!

Kids at Apple Hill


Kids_AppleHill
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
We went to Apple Hill this weekend. It was fun. It's a two hour drive from our house and a great day trip. The kids got to hand pick their own apples. They also had pumpkin patches, corn mazes and farm animals. For those of you that aren't from our area, it's a group of about 30 farms, mostly apple orchards, that are open to the public. Very cool. I would highly reccommend going to anything like that. There's something very special about eating fruit right off the tree! The kids you don't recognize are Andrew and Elias, Vickey's boyfriend Patrick's boys...

Monday, October 23, 2006

Kayla4


Kayla4
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
More boys to come... They've been at their mom's for a couple of weeks. Kayla's ready for my photographic attention to move to someone else...

Kayla1


Kayla1
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
See below...

Christmas 2001


Terri 2001
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Ok, I'm starting to see this "mini me" resemblance everyone talks about...

Kayla3


Kayla3
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Fun with black and white!

Friday, October 20, 2006

Wes


Wes
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Ok, it's hard to see, sorry! This is Wes playing goalie during his last soccor game. So cute! I need a better zoom lens!!

Jake


Jake
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Another monkey! They were bored. We were at Wes' soccor game. It's amazing how long an hour can be for kids when they aren't involved in the game!!

Andy


Andy
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Boys! They can be so much fun! Have to share something funny...He had this great pose and I went to take his picture, but my camera wasn't on! I made him stay there while I got it ready. Poor kid, what a head rush!

Kayla


Kayla
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Isn't she getting big? Such a sweetie, she's been willing to let me practice my photography with her. I'm trying to learn how to really use my camera, instead of just using the dummy modes! That's why I bought an SLR right?

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

First day of dance class!

My baby's growing up! We signed her up for a tap/ballet combo class for beginners and just got back from her first class. They were so adorable. And, man that looks fun! If it wasn't a group of eight year olds I might consider doing it, too! Kayla surprised me. She actually paid attention, tried hard, didn't get frustrated, and didn't screw around! What happened to my daughter? I have to say I didn't expect her to do as well as she did. Most of the kids in her class have been in it since this summer and she kept up with them pretty well. Kayla is about as graceful as me, so I was impressed with her balance (and flexability!) during the ballet part. She even has rhythm! Too cute. Anyway, I just wanted to share with you all. I'll try to take pictures next week!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Censorship

Hi everyone! So I haven't been writing in my blog because I really don't have much going on that would interest anyone. But after reading my cousin Lisa's blog, I felt like voicing my opinion. I read this list of the top 100 most challenged books of all time and it made me so mad. I mean I understand why they are being challenged, but these are the books I read in school that really stuck with me and made me the avid reader I am today! I can't imagine my children not getting to read them because some group of people I don't even know made the decision for me that they weren't appropriate! Books like Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein just to name a few. Plus, my favorite book at the moment is on there!-Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It scares me that these books are being challenged mostly by parents. Do they really want their children to lose their freedoms? My God, I swear I read about this somewhere! Oh ya, wasn't it Farenheit 451? No wonder they challenged that book! So my cousin is encouraging everyone to go out and read these "bad" books and I fully support her. I think I'll start by rereading some of my old favorites. And believe me, my children will read these, even if it means buying them now and hiding them away for later!

Monday, June 05, 2006


The "Sonseeker" girls in 1994(?) (My church youth group) Posted by Picasa

So glad winter is over

I am so sorry for forgetting about my blog for so long. My time has been consumed by springtime gardening, work, kids with homework and my newest project: Jackie and I are planning a reunion for our high school church youth group. These are people I haven't seen in years and I'm very excited to get back in touch with them. They made my high school years fun and we grew close during our many trips. We went to Mexico every Easter and did a "Play Tour" every year, too, where we put on our church play. Plus, we spent most Thursday nights and Sunday mornings together. These people were my family. If you're interested, I had to start a myspace to get this all started (it's the lastest craze!). This is my address:
www.myspace.com/tktahoe

I'll try to be better about blogging. Especially since I found out a friend of mine from England (Hi Shaun!) has been a regular reader. Don't get me wrong, you are all special too, it's just neat to know we can keep in touch with people so far away through this little site!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006


Gabby, our new addition. Posted by Picasa

A new addition to our family...

So, we gained a cat. This was not planned. She adopted us. We had a four day weekend so we took the kids to visit Phil's sister, Lori, in Redwood City (just south of San Francisco). We drove to Monterey and visited the aquarium, too. The kids enjoyed it. Anyway, when we got back we discovered this little kitty in our yard. She came running up to us meowing. She was very friendly and it was so cold out that we decided to let her inside for the night. (It was going to be in the teens that night and she would have frozen to death, especially with the snow). We took pictures and figured we'd try to find her home the next day. To make a long story short, we did everything we could to find her home. We put up flyers, contacted the animal shelters and local vets, Phil even put flyers at each door on our street and the immediate neighborhood. We had no takers. In the meantime she won us over. She is very lovey, and great with the kids. She is learning to get along with our other cat Smokey. He's a little intimidated by her (even though he outweighs her by 10 pounds!), but I think they'll be ok. She's been to the vet and they say she's healthy. They were surprised we couldn't find her home because she seemed so well cared for, definitely someone's pet. Oh, and one more possible surprise, they thought she might be pregnant. Boy, I hope not! They said her stomach was a little bigger than they would have expected, but they did an ultrasound and didn't see anything. We're hoping for the best! So, we named her Gabby because she's a talker. Oh, and she has this really scratchy, loud voice. Oh boy!

Anyway, that's been our excitement recently. Other than our house giving us grief, (a leaky ceiling caused by poor ventilation and condensation build up, and most recently, 3 inches of standing water beneath our home caused by all the rain lately and poor drainage in our landscaping), life is good. Oh, the joys of being a home owner!

Just wanted everyone to know we're still here. I haven't taken the time to sit down and blog for a while. Something new for me!

Smokey, our first kitty. (Mirror image fun!) Posted by Picasa

Lori, Phil & the kids "in" Monterey Bay! Posted by Picasa