The Steindorf's

A note from a lame, procrastinating author

2012-01-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's January 13th and I have just finished my Christmas shopping for 2011. The way I see it, my Santa portrait is still hanging over the piano and as long as it's there, Christmas is NOT officially over. Which means I still have time to get my gifts out to everyone. So, if you should be one of the lucky recipients of a Christmas gift arriving in the mail, in say...oh 7-10 days. Please don't think it as late. But, really, an extension of all the beautiful Christmas magic!

Honestly, it seems the past few months have been a struggle to get off my butt and get anything done. (As you have probably noticed from my lack luster posts.) I seem to have lost my inspiration for things lately. But I'm determined to fix this. With the new year, brings wonderful new opportunities to enjoy everything life has to offer. I plan on taking full advantage of these opportunities.

Of course, that probably won't mean your Christmas presents will be on time . . . but you can expect some kick ass updates on the blog!!!

Happy 2012!

Trenton comes to Texas

2012-01-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

Trenton came to Texas for a late Christmas.

It was so great to have him, even if for a short while.

I dare anyone to find more beautiful children than these three!

Craig and Trent, bonding over their ipads.

And all to soon, it was time to say goodbye.

Yep, one the most sucky parts of being in Texas is being so far away from those we love.

Trent, I don't think we'll ever be able to tell you how much we love having you here and how much we hate being so far away from you! Thanks for making the trip, even though it's boring as hell!

We love you!

Austin

2012-01-13T17:38:00.000-08:00

So, since there is absolutely NOTHING to do here in Houston, well, besides eat, that is. We decided to take a quick trip to Austin to check out the sites and ...well...eat some more.

Surprisingly enough, the kids really enjoyed the capitol.

And we couldn't go to Austin, without visiting Juan for our $3.80 breakfast taco.

I swear, I love the place more every time we come.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-13T17:32:00.000-08:00

Shortly before Christmas, Dee arrived to help ensure the children were adequately spoiled for Christmas.

Yes, she did her job well.

We started the festivities with our annual Mexican Christmas eve dinner, along with Uncle Gary.

After dinner, we headed out to enjoy some of the lights in the neighborhood.

Then Dee got a little spoiling of her own.

And after selecting the perfect sugar cookies and carrots to set out for Santa and his reindeer,

It was time to say goodnight!

As always, Christmas morning came early.

Luckily, the kids got Grammy Dee up before us, so that bought Craig and I a few extra precious moments to sleep.

And then the frantic unwrapping began.

Apparently, everyone was VERY good this year!

I'm guessing there was a bit of misinformation communicated to the the North Pole! Because I'm pretty sure there should have been SOME coal given out somewhere!

As always, it was a fun morning with lots of great surprises.

And once again, we realize just how blessed we are.

The only way it could have been better is to have Trent here with us.

After opening all our gifts, everyone settled in for a relaxing day of doing absolutely

NOTHING!

Yep, it was a good day.

Finally.... a post!

2012-01-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

As we thundered into December,

Chloe finished up her All Star cheer season.

And while it was nice that she made the All Star Squad, we were both glad to see it come to an end.

Speaking of finishing up, Logan had his last soccer game of the season.

He and his forever buddy, AJ, took the field by storm every time they went out.

Of course, the fact that Craig and Hector (AJ's Dad) were offering cash money and McDonald's trips for every goal was a fantastic motivator.

Chloe entertained us at her school's holiday concert. It was amazing

to hear such beautiful songs being played. I was so proud that she was a part of it.

I teared up with pride.

My little girl is an honest to goodness musician.

And we made sure the house was all decked out in it's holiday best.

Craig saw these led trees and just had to have them.
They were pretty cool, the picture does not do them justice.

Oh, and Fall finally found it's way to Texas. Better late than never, I guess.

Of course, the way we're going, it won't last for long.

I'm enjoying every moment of this cool weather because it seems to be precious and very short lived around here.

And that's about it for now.

Here's one last shot of my girl with the beautiful smile.

Somebody got a hair cut!

2011-12-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

Actually they both did! But my girl is workin' that bob!

Oh, so gorgeous!

2011-12-04T06:52:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving!

2011-11-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

Every year I am amazed by how much I have to be thankful for.

This year is no exception.

Mom flew in and Dave and Brandy, along their two handsome boys, Uncle Gary and his friend all joined us for a very yummy feast and lots of pie.
Chloe made a beautiful sign that read, "What R you thankful 4?"

I am thankful for my family. My friends. My healthy, beautiful children.

And for each additional day I have on earth to learn something new, make something better and enjoy all my blessings!

How about you?

Do you believe?

2011-11-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Craig and I took the kids to ride the Polar Express!

We arrived early to check out the train, have a snack and enjoy the atmosphere.

The kids were all comfy in their p.j.'s, many parents wore theirs too.

I was really wishing I was in mine after a bit.

The kids were so excited to hear the whistle, signaling the train was almost here!

We sang Christmas carols, had hot chocolate and snickerdoodles and read along while the conductor read The Polar Express over the speakers.

Then Santa came aboard to give each child a bell from his sleigh.

(Craig and I asked for one too!)

It was a wonderful experience.

It warmed my heart when Chloe told me, "This was something I will remember forever."

Me Too!

Yep, they are perfect.

2011-11-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

I had to share this photo with everyone. It's my favorite right now.

Just a quick snap shot from my phone, nothing special.

But I can't help by smile when I look at it.

God how I love these guys!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween,

To all the beautiful people out there!

So this year we were a S.W.A.T. team member and a skeleton bride.

Yikes, these two mean business!

Craig learned the hard way, you don't mess with these two!!

Ah, Chloe...just has to get in the beauty shot, even as a decomposed skeleton!

Hanging out with friends!

And, finally, sorting the loot!

Yep, it was a good night!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-10-28T04:29:00.000-07:00

I really wish we could be there in person to say Happy Birthday!!

And even though we're not together YET,

it makes all the time we get that much more special!

I hope you know what a wonderful difference you make to so many lives!

(here are just a few!)

We love you Grandma!!!

Quick update!

2011-10-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Craig and Logan, along with AJ and Hector, enjoyed donuts with Dad.

Looks like they had a good time!

And here's another cake I made for our friend's little girl's first birthday.
I was excited to try this because I thought it was such a cute design.
You can't really tell, but the trim is chocolate fondant made to look like tree branches. Other than the owl itself, that is my favorite part.

My loving husband's comment after he saw this?

"Not that I question your artistic abilities honey, but I'm surprised that it turned out so good."

I may need some input here....Should I be offended?

The crazy doggies!

2011-10-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

All things Chloe!

2011-10-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

I love this little Punky Brewster of mine!

All Things Logan

2011-10-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

I know. He's perfect.

Aeros Hockey!

2011-10-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to see the opening game of the Houston Aero's with Paula and Hector and the whole family.

The girls trying to get noticed by the Smile Cam

Logan, contemplating the Power Rangers next movie.

Little Miss Julia getting into the action.

And, Craig, just happy to be at a hockey game.

I have this great video of the kids dancing, but I can't get the darned thing to load.

I'm gonna keep working on it....stay tuned!

Austin!

2011-10-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Craig and I headed to Austin this weekend for our friend's wedding.

This was our view from our hotel.

Yep, that's the Longhorn stadium and the UT tower in the background.

We were watching the game on TV, but could hear it through the window.

The wedding was a formal affair at The Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin.

Very fancy.

I even borrowed some impressive heals for the evening.

(which, I am proud to report, stayed on my feet the entire night...even dancing....and I didn't trip once!)

Several neighbors were there to help celebrate

Like I said, very fancy.

The food was incredible. Who know mac and cheese could be so fancy?

My handsome hubby and said mac and cheese.

Craig, enjoying his drink and the view of historic 6th street

Me, trying to convince Chloe, she will not die because we are 3 hours away.

Meanwhile, back at the wedding...
It was a Jewish wedding so they did the chair dancing and everything.

Barb wasn't quite sure about that part....

(it was her son's wedding)

One last shot of the hotel lobby before we headed back to our hotel.

We stayed at the Double Tree.
Not as fancy, so no pictures. But you did get free freshly baked cookies.
SO, in my opinion, that was much better than a fancy lobby.

(we got 14 cookies in all, in case you were wondering)

The next morning I decided we were going to go find a local gem for breakfast. After a google search, we headed to the barrio to Juan in a Million. A total hole in the wall, with serious bars on every window. But when we pulled up and it was surrounded by people waiting to get in, I knew we hit the jack pot.

We had the famous Don Juan breakfast taco.
It was so big, Craig and I shared it and still only finished about half.

It was delicious. So were the chips and salsa.

And . . .the quac on the taco, so to speak?

It cost $3.80.

I can't wait to go back!

Craig and I then went back to downtown for a little sight seeing before heading home.

The Capitol

I'm pretty sure I could do a better job than that "lint boy" Governor who works there now.

( 'lint boy' because he lives in the pocket of corporations)

Lord help us if that nitwit becomes president! - But that's just my opinion!

A baby shower

2011-10-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Dawn had a baby shower for her nephew last weekend and asked me to make a cake.

So I did.

I'm actually doing a cake for Chloe's 2nd grade teacher next weekend. Her little girl is turning one.

I can't wait to see how it turns out....stay tuned.

a whole lotta nothin'

2011-09-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

So, really, nothing has been happening. We've just been pluggin' right along with life. The kids are doing great in school, my class in going well, and Craig is finding his groove as the new Ass. Man...opps, I mean, Asst. Manager over Title at the office. Nothing really photo worthy. But I'll post some anyway!

Chloe getting her groove on during her half time show.

Logan, doing homework.

Yes, it's really homework

Chloe, decorating Uncle Gary's birthday cake.

I know....worst post ever.
I'll try to do better next time.

Although, I don't know if anyone is even seeing these since we went private.

I hear not many of you can even log on.... hmmm, I may need to rethink this.

The Cooking show

2011-09-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Chloe and I went to the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertainment show. Which basically meant we ate free samples of anything chocolate or BBQ'd that you could think of, all day long.
But that wasn't even the best part. We also got to see Paula Deen!

We were so excited.

Chloe even got up in front of everyone and asked Paula a cooking question.

And she answered it and spoke to me as well!

She was fantastically funny and her husband, Michael, was adorable!

But the interesting part of the whole thing, was that Paula didn't cook a thing. Michael and a couple of other chefs cooked everything while Paula told us stories and jokes and talked to audience members. Not that I was complaining. But I really did want to see her actually make that bacon wrapped chicken and Carmel Apple bundt cake. (which I will be attempting VERY soon, by the way!) Oh well! Like she said, I can see her on TV cooking anyway. But the stories she told were priceless....the kind you can't tell on TV if you get my drift! Your sweet little ol' granny, that woman is NOT, that's for sure!

Happy Birthday to my big bro!

2011-09-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was Gary's birthday. We had a fun dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. But I forgot to bring my camera....So no pics. And I made him a cake, but he wasn't up for cake so we brought it home to eat later, but it fell over in the car. So no cake for Gary... although, honestly, I'm still going to give it a go. It's a bit ugly, but I'm thinking it will still taste pretty good..

Anyway, long story short...Happy 42nd Birthday Gary. I hope you have a really awesome year!

We love you!

Let them eat cake

2011-09-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a cake I made this weekend for little Miss Olivia. She's turning 4.

I've made her last three cakes and I love that her mom keeps coming back for more. I love the colors on this cake, I hope she does too.

This cake, along with 4 loads of laundry, is the ONLY productive thing I'm doing this weekend.

Cheer season, um...I meant Football season, is here once again.

2011-09-03T20:11:00.001-07:00

Sorry, it was just too darned hot to get a decent picture.

I'll try to do better next time.

Our Last Days at Splashtown

2011-09-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Summer has come to an end.

We enjoyed a few last trips to Splashtown before they closed.

Season passes were money VERY well spent this year.

First day of school!

2011-09-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHHHHH (deep sigh)

The kids are back in school.

'nough said.

Logan and Mrs. Scogin.

Who we will, no doubt, love.

I would have a photo of Chloe with her teacher.

But this was the only one she'd allow me to take.

What's up with that?

Don't all 6th graders let their parents follow them around with a camera on the first day of school?

Chloe's birthday

2011-09-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, So I'm finally getting some pics posted of Chloe's little get together.

No big party, nothing crazy. Just family.

Notice how the candles make up the number 11. Yes, I planned that.

If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.

We had exactly two pink candles in the house.

Here is Dad, photo bombing Chloe's shot.

But she doesn't care, because she got a cell phone and that made EVERYTHING right in the world.

Her world anyway.

Yeah, I have no idea why this picture is so big.

But, honestly, it makes me laugh cause it's so messed up, so I'm leaving it in.

Dylan was so cute. He ended up in just about every photo with Chloe.

Chloe spent the next two hours texting and calling everyone she knows.

If you haven't already gotten a call from her, you will soon

Great Grandma comes to Texas

2011-09-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

So mom finally made it out to see her new house. Lucky for me, she liked it.

She also brought Great Grandma

Of course we experienced the hottest days in HISTORY while they were here.

But Great Grandma is just crazy enough to LOVE it.

She even went house hunting.

It was a real treat having the Grandma's here.

We can't wait till they're here full time.

4 Generations of very feisty women!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

2011-08-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to our little girl, who gets more beautiful every year.

There are not enough words to explain how much we love her.

Florence Oregon Tourist attractions

2011-08-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

We took our annual dune bug ride out into the dunes.

As always, everyone, including Grandma had lots of fun. We learned from the past to cover up as much skin as possible to avoid eating sand and keeping the wind off us.

Actually I think we were the most prepared people out there.

That's right people We are pros.

Grandma took us over to show us a Armed Forces memorial wall they built down in Old Town Florence.

Both Grandpa and Great Grandpa have a brick for their service.

We also drove over to Sea Lion Caves.

But there were no sea lions, they were all over at Strawberry Hill, so no pics of sea lions.

Just one of my little rugrats.

And, in one of the state parks, they have wild bug eating plants.

These are the Cobra Lilies. Logan was excited to see them.

Well, for about 3 seconds anyway.

Then the excitement dimmed and it was time to move on.

And that's about it for the tourist attractions in Florence.

Chinook Winds

2011-08-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

So we took a mini vacation in the middle of our Oregon vacation up the coast at

Chinook Winds Casino and Resort.

They had this awesome package for a room right on the beach, with money to spend on food, gambling and even some to check the kids into a great little play club so we adults could get some much needed shopping time at the local outlet mall.

Inge and Kaitlyn drove over to meet join us.
The beach was beautiful. Windy, but beautiful.

The kids spent most of their time digging a hole in an effort to get out of the wind.

This was the view from our balcony.

We really could not have asked for more. Its was beautiful

Inge and I shared a room and mom stayed with the kids. When we got up the first morning, this is what we saw from our balcony. The kids already had mom up and on the beach by 7:20. Apparently, they needed to get an early start on their hole.

It was so windy, Chloe had taken to walking backwards during her search for items to decorate their hole.

And when they weren't diggin' their hole, they were feeding the seagulls from the balcony.

(the grateful seagulls)

And another beautiful night sitting on the balcony.

Mom watched the kids while Inge and I headed to the casino to make our millions.

Did you know it's pretty much all electronic now? No more coins dropping into the tray.....

God I loved that sound!

Now you just print out a ticket. Not too exciting.

Although the machines did do that sounds of coins dropping...but it wasn't really the same.

So Inge and I figured out that, if we cashed out every time we won, we could get back some of the money they gave us to play (from our package).

Of course, this took a while since we were playing mainly penny slots.

Our average pay outs were about 5 cents....

(I am NOT kidding, enlarge Inge's photo and you'll see!) I think I even had some two cent payouts.

We did play a few quarter slots and a dollar slot ONE time. But that really was WAY to rich for our blood.

I think Inge won more than me, but I hit a jack pot with an $11.00 payout. Which doesn't sound like much, but I was playing the penny slot at the time....For all I know, I may have hit the only jackpot there that night.

All in all, I think we walked away with about $83.00.

That's HARD, COLD, CASH my friends!!

(no, not EACH, $83.00 all together, but WE considered that night a huge success!

We had a blast! The best part was that the package included all this money to eat with, so we ate, and ate, and ate.....I think I gained about 7 pounds.

You know, I just realized we didn't get any photos of the food!

It wasn't all that pretty....but let me tell you, the dessert bar was fantastic.

We learned that you needed to get there fast to get the good stuff.

So the second night we headed straight to the desserts before we got our dinners. We started with 5 slices of key lime pie and 5 cream puffs sitting at the table, before we had even gotten our dinners. (and NO, none of those items were for the kids, we made them get their own)

You'd think we would have been embarrassed about all those desserts, but really, we had no problem with it.

Stay tuned for my next post.....

"My first weigh in at Weight Watchers"

The Zoo and Aquarium

2011-08-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

So after arriving in Portland, we met up with Inge and Kaitlyn at the Portland Zoo and visited some of our old friends. This is the guy who scared the pants off Logan several years ago. Each year we go back, hoping Logan will willingly go up to see him. And each year, it's a no go. Logan only got this close because the audio wasn't working on him today (that and Grandma was there to protect him)

We also visited the Oregon Aquarium again.

Always a nice way to spend the afternoon.

I think the kids spent the most time with this little guy... and he wasn't even part of the exhibits.

He came right up to the, even stood on Chloe's leg to see if they had any treats for him.

I'm guessing he's a regular.

The kids just love hangin' round the aquarium!

The beach!

2011-08-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, one of the first things we did when we got to Grandma's house, is head for the beach.

It was a tad chilly, so Logan opted to stay up on the sand with me...

while Grandma and Chloe searched the shore for some treasures.

The beach above was really just a walking beach. The next day we headed over to our favorite beach for tide pools, but were so disappointed. There was hardly any sea life. Only a few star fish, way out in the water, no crabs and only a few sea anemones. But they did have a couple of cool caves!

So the next day, we tried Strawberry Hill, just up the coast a bit.

This beach was perfect! Caves, cool driftwood, lots of star fish, anemones, sea urchins and a whole group of sea lions swimming in to get on the rocks.

Seeing how the water had shoved this giant log into a hole in the rock was pretty impressive.

Logan loved it! It has now been dubbed, Logan's Log.

Most of the time, we had the beach, and the seal lions, all to our selves.

We saw two other families the whole time we were there.

We watched about 12 sea lions swim in, search for the best place to hoist up onto the rocks, and settle in to soak up some sun.

This little one was just a baby. She swam around the cove, jumping up on rock, then slipping off until her mom came in (we think). Then she joined her up on the rocks.

A few days later we headed over to South Jetty, a beach I use to visit every summer with my Grandparents when I was Chloe's age.

The wind was wicked,

But the kids still managed to have fun.

Ah, my little angels!

Our Oregon Family

2011-08-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

As always, we had a wonderfully, exhausting time in Oregon.
The weather was better than we expected, with a nice chill to the air and lots of sunshine...

but the best part was spending time with our Oregon family.

Yes...these two are family too!

Finally . . .

2011-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

We went. We saw. We LOVED!

I had several other pictures of our trip to the movies, but, for the life of me, can't seem to find them.

So, what else have we been doing?

No much.

But here are a couple pictures of the dogs!

And a flower design that I practiced on Daisy's cake.

(Dawn made the cake and I added the flower)

And our attempt at face painting, a great way to kill a rainy afternoon.

I found a how to video on You Tube for a dinosaur.

Logan was happy with it, so it's all good!

We are busy getting ready for our trip to Oregon so probably no posts till we get up there.

I can't wait to get to cooler weather!

9 days and counting . . .

2011-07-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

So Chloe will be done with book 7 just in time to see the final installment on the big screen.

Since the whole family will be going, we won't be going to the midnight showing. But we'll all be there, bright and early Saturday morning, eager for our day of family bonding with all our Hogwart friends.

Most boring post EVER!

2011-07-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

SO.... we've been laying low the past week or so. It's been WONDERFUL!

Unfortunately, the down side to that is that we really have no exciting photos to share.

Craig and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a nice dinner out and a movie.

But, alas, no pictures.

We had a little BBQ with several friends and had a blast. But again, no pictures.

Since we are in the middle of a horrible drought, we will have no neighborhood fireworks show.

Which, means...yep, no pictures.

So what can I show you?

Well we did get some rain....A lot of rain in a little amount of time to be exact.

It's been far too long since we've had a rain storm like this.

And we did get to the movies today with Gary and Dad to see Transformers 3. It was pretty good. But, if you ask me, I'd say those darn Autobots took WAY too long to kick some Decepticon butt. The movie would have been much better if it were about 1/2 an hour shorter.... But that's just my 2 cents.

Logan liked it.

And I was working with our three delinquents on their obedience skills.

Sitting for this picture was about as far as we got.

But I like to think we've made progress...

And we went to Splashtown...again.

So that's it.

We'll be winding up this 4th of July sitting on the couch, watching Rocky III and eating ice cream.

Which, honestly, sounds fantastic!

Night!

Old Friends

2011-06-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

The only thing better than making new friends . . ..

Is reconnecting with old ones.

Jodie and I met 17 years ago, in the October new hire class at AirTouch Cellular. Jodie was there to help me plan my wedding and even made the 400 mile journey to Lake Tahoe to help celebrate with Craig and I.

We hadn't seen each other in 12 years, since the day she moved to Arkansas to begin a new adventure. Seeing her again was just like old times, with the addition of some adorable boys and a husband I finally had the pleasure of meeting.

Seeing Jodie made me realize that, a true friend will be just as special to you, whether you've seen her 12 minutes or 12 years ago.

Love ya Jodie.

And we will definitely be heading your way soon for a visit!

My Summer Project

2011-06-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

I saw one of these and just had to try to make one. I ran right out and bought some thongs (YES, where I come from, we call them thongs!) and a few embellishments and got right to work.

Logan's teacher had one of these on her back fence by her pool.

Which really is where it should be.

But I loved it so much I had to put it on our front door.

It says Beach Bum Hideaway

I can't wait til Craig gets home to see it.

He is gonna LOVE it!

(did you catch the heavy sarcasm in that?)

But...no matter... I love it.

When it falls apart, Chloe will have 6 new pair of thongs to wear!

Now that's recycling!

Our down time

2011-06-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

So we finally got a little down time, here's what we've been doing.

Made a cake for our friends movie party.

Eating LOTS of shaved ice.

Celebrated Craig's birthday with a date night with our friends Paula and Hector at Benihana.

(and yes, I did eat all of his birthday ice cream)

Saving birds that fly into our house. This little guy came flying in after we got home from Benihana's. You know it's hot out when the birds don't even want to stay outside!

Curled Chloe's hair.

Lisa, Ally, I finally got those curlformers. They worked great until the humidity got to her.

But she loved it so I have no doubt we'll be using them again soon.

And going to Splashtown A LOT!

Peace out!

San Antonio

2011-06-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Craig left for San Antonio for a work conference on Wednesday. Thursday he called me and said I'd better bring the kids since they had their own little water park there at the hotel. So Friday morning we packed up the mini van and high tailed it to the JW Marriott for a mini vacation courtesy of Integrity Title.

The place was incredible. Could easily give The Disney Grand Hotel a run for their money.

The kids loved that we had our own little balcony.

But that was nothing compared to their pool.

They had four water slides that could rival our local Splashtown. With life guards catching you at the end and litterally walking your tube over to the stairs for an easy exit. Each time asking how your trip was and if there was anything they could do to make your stay nicer.

And, honestly, other than handing me a Smirnoff Ice to enjoy on my way down the slide...

I couldn't think of a thing!

The kids loved the stairwell.

Being use to Holdiay Inn Express' they'd never seen one this fancy.

After swimming most of the day (all while Daddy was hard at work in his fancy meetings and his fancy dinners) we walked around the property and took some pictures!

(I found this cool 'movie grain' mode on my camera and tried it out)

Then we were invited to join the S'mores campfire on the East lawn and, like, we would really pass that up.

So we headed over and were handed a stick already loaded with marshmallows. All the kids had to do was roast them, then they took them back and the staff stacked the s'mores and handed them back with a napkin and a glass a water.

Yep, it was pretty cool!

After we got back to the room, Chloe just had to use their robe.


We can't wait till Craig's next conference!

America's next top model

2011-06-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Beauty beyond words

I prefer the term 'big boned' thank you very much!

2011-06-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Craig sent me this funny old ad's thing and this had me giggling for hours.

Recently, I've found I can buy certain clothes in the 'plus' girls section. A lot of the time they are identical to items in the adult section, but at a much lower price. Other than an occasional ICarly emblem, I can get some pretty cute stuff. The funniest part is that most of my shorts now come with an adjustable waist!

Which comes in quite handy actually!

If you don't have children under the age of 10, you probably don't know what I'm talking about! So just go back to enjoying the title "Free for Chubbies"

The beginning of summer!

2011-06-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well we finally made it to Splashtown to kick off summer!

And we've been in the pool quite a bit

Between the two, I'm hoping we might just survive this summer heat, but just barely.

Oh, and I made a couple cakes

2011-06-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

I made two cakes in the past few weeks, but they were both this exact design and colors. I'm posting this one because I really like the new bow that I tried. I'll be making this bow much more now that I know what I'm doing.

AND NOW, I am happy to report, THIS BLOG IS OFFICIALLY UPDATED.

I will expect comments from all!

My Husband

2011-06-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

So in the past month, my husband has been to Orange County, Vegas, San Francisco, back to Orange county to DRIVE back to Texas with my Dad and to Dallas TWICE. I know I've said it before, but the man truly is the energizer bunny.

I know, in my inexcusable neglect of the blog, I failed to do a birthday post for him. But truth be told, there is not a day that goes by that I don't thank my stars that I get to share my life with him. And while, at times, he drives me so crazy I want to scream, I wouldn't trade him for the world . . or even chocolate.

He's in the other room right now, playing with his birthday gift, an iPhone.

Yep, he's gone over to the dark side. I'm sure he'll be calling everyone soon to SKYPE or whatever you kids are calling it.

Our model daughter

2011-06-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

Last month, a photographer asked Chloe to do a session for her new blog, spotlighting Tween photography.

Tomorrow we go see all the proofs and get to pick two free 8x10s.

I doubt if we'll be able to afford to buy anything else (her packages are around $800 dollars!)

but I can't wait to see the beautiful shots.

Don't think I'm not trying to figure out a way to take her logo off these shots so I can print some out!!

Family time!

2011-06-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Dad, Gary, Craig and the kids and I, all took a road trip up to Dallas to help celebrate the graduation of my 2nd cousin.

Sarah is an amazing young lady.

She's so talented, so beautiful and so sweet. She's going to have a very bright future.

Much to the delight of . . .well....everyone, Sarah will be heading to Iowa State in the fall.

Her mom, no doubt, is smiling down from heaven.

We also got to visit with some other very special family members.

The whole clan!

(including Toby!)

Here is Grandma with her great and great-great grandchildren.

She's one impressive lady!!

My first grader, my star!

2011-06-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

So Logan had his Kindergarten program the other day.

(He's in the back in the blue hat!)

I doubt if any mother has ever gotten through one of these things without crying.

I was no exception!

Then they had 'fun day'. Complete with Snow cones and hair painting.

Then one final awards show in their classroom.

Logan's award was the Expert in Trivia award.

For always knowing the correct term or definition for any dinosaur, bug or reptile.

We were so lucky to get such an amazing teacher.

She has set the bar very high for Logan's future educators!
Of course, my boy is a genius, so she had a lot to work with!

And this past weekend, we hosted Logan's soccer party.

I am happy to report, a good time was had by all!

San Francisco!

2011-06-08T19:17:00.001-07:00

The Graduate!

2011-06-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

So the whole reason for the trip was to get to see Trent graduate. Unfortunately, his major did not have a separate ceremony, so he just took us on a tour of the campus.

But he did put on his cap and gown.

I don't think we could be prouder of this boy!!

Later that night we all went out to a favorite restaurant of his.

Then a favorite bar of his . . .

Yeah, Craig was feeling no pain by the end of night.

The Tourists!

2011-06-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

So I've been to San Francisco quite a bit. But haven't done too many of the tourist attractions.

So this time we decided to check out some of the more famous sites of San Francisco.

We walked about a third of the way across the bridge, but I gotta tell you, I was freaking out a bit. I'm not one for heights and all these horrible scenarios where flying through my brain as my children skipped down the bridge.

Here they are, feeling the vibrations from the cars....

NOT HELPING

And leaning over the edge . . .

again, not helping with my irrational panic attack!

My caring husband just kept say "Oh, would you relax!"

Although, all panicking aside, it was kind of cool!

Of course, I was much happier closer to my own comfort zone . . .

the chocolate factory!

I got us a very yummy sundae to share,

of which we got about 3 bites, before having to chuck it since we had to run back to Pier 39 for our bay cruise.

I'm still a little bitter about that!

But the kids got a real kick out of cruising under the bridge

And Logan loved getting so close to Alcatraz. We read him the stories about how the sharks in the water made it almost impossible to escape. He spent most of the trip looking for those sharks.

yeah, it was a bit chilly!

And we, of course, had to hit up the local In and Out.

We then decided to have a local street vendor draw the kids....

Yeah, it didn't turn out so well. While we are really thrilled to see a detectives age progression interpretation of Trent when he's 45 and Logan at age 12.

We're still not sure who the boy in the pink shirt with the mullet is.

(By the way, DO NOT bring this up to Chloe. It's a VERY sore subject!)

Moving on . . .
Nothing says having a good time like your big brother giving you a world class wedgie!

TWICE.

(Trent cracked us all up with his comment: "We have a sports fan here!")

We took a quick walk on the beach . . .which was another thing I had never done in SF.

Another cool thing, it was so windy, I got a free microdermabrasion facial.

This is up the hill past the Castro district. Just that morning, a group put up a huge red ribbon for AIDS awareness that covered the hill side. I had just read about it in the paper and Craig's friend Randy took us up there. The view was incredible!

Then we took a trip over to Golden Gate Park to The Conservatory.

The greenhouse was closed, but the grounds were beautiful.

Then we found the coolest park!

Our brave girl didn't miss a beat before climbing straight to the top of . .

what did Trent call it... a death trap!

Of course he couldn't let his little sis show him up.

They had these great cement slides where you just grabbed a patch of cardboard and went for it.

Trent said they have these all over the city, this was the first one I'd ever seen.

But, THESE little chairs were the hit of the day.

They are spinner chairs

and they were awesome!

Everyone had to give them a try.

(Well, not me. Vomit really is just way too hard to get out of white wool)

Craig and I looked these things up.

As soon as we can save up $895.00, we're putting one in the back yard!!!

Watch these videos!

Totally worth every penny I think!

We also did the usual sights,

Lombard Street

The aquarium

This fish totally cracked me up!!

And then, sadly, we headed home.

Which is always so bitter sweet.

While we were eager to get home, we hate having to say good bye to Trent.

Friends

2011-06-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

While we were in San Francisco,

We caught up with Randy, a friend of Craig's.

He was a great tour guide and it was wonderful to finally meet him!

Boy, you just never know who you're gonna run into in San Francisco!

Miss Annie Oakley

2011-06-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

One of Chloe's final projects was the 5th grade Wax Museum.

Each student had to pick a person from history, research them, then

become a wax statue of that person for a night.

One of Chloe and Craig's favorite movie to watch together is Annie Get Your Gun.

So, am proud to introduce to you,

Miss Annie Oakley

When we got to school, we were told that students could not use guns....and yes they actually said, "fake or REAL". So below is a picture of Chloe holding her playing card that she 'shot' in half. One of Annie's most famous stunts.

Of course, as I walked through the Wax Museum, I counted 4 guns and a real sword.

Go figure!

But even without the gun. My girl still rocked it!

She also did an excellent speech on Annie, with the southern drawl and everything.

2011-05-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow!

Has it really been over a month since I've posted!?!

Life has been crazy, with the end of my school year, the kids school year, a wonderful trip to San Francisco to spend some much needed time with Trenton . . . throw in a cake or two and that's been our month.

A post is coming soon....

just as soon as I can find those darned pictures of all that stuff I just mentioned!!

Don't laugh, I'm totally serious!

Leaving on a jet plane . . .

2011-04-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we headed to Orange County.

It was a long flight, so while Logan caught some zzzzz's,

Chloe and I caught up on some homework

And then we all caught up on some sweets during a layover in Salt Lake City.

Not a bad way to start the trip!

Papa Steindorf's Birthday

2011-04-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we drove to Vegas to celebrate Papa Steindorf's 70th birthday

Chloe and Logan had a great time with their cousins.

And the weather was beautiful.

The birthday boy and his bride.

Pretty dapper looking fellow if I do say so myself.

Yep, trouble, if I ever saw it!

We had so much fun.

It's such a shame we only get to see these guys every ten years or so.

What a memorable evening!

And while the adults were having fun,

Logan was making a friend for life.

His cousin Trevor.

These two never left each others side.

We even thought about smuggling Trev home in our carry on.

But, I don't think Lisa would have liked that.

Sunday brought the rest of group and we all enjoyed a fun picnic and Easter Egg hunt.

Which turned out to be very profitable.

(While Chloe and Logan counted the coins in their eggs, I stole their peanut butter cup eggs. Don't tell!)

We even had some very sweet entertainment

We loved being there, helping to celebrate this pretty impressive occasion.

Happy Birthday Papa.

We love you!

Why we love the O.C.

2011-04-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

uhhh, No.

The beach...yes.

Here I am with my true loves.

Oh, come on now!

Craig knows he rates a very strong fourth in my heart!

The best part of the trip was being able to spend time with our friends and family, who we love very much!

Unfortunately, we forgot to get some pictures with those we love.

But you know who you are!!

We also manged to find time to take a Duffy trip around Newport Bay.

(Thank you Groupon!)

It was such a perfect day!

Will somebody please tell me why we moved again?

Oh yeah, now I remember!

Disneyland 2011

2011-04-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ahhh! How great it felt to be back in our old stomping grounds.

Although, it was a bit more hectic and exhausting, having to get everything in in one day

But we managed quite nicely.

Trenton and his friend Alex met us later in the day

Truly making it the happiest place on earth.

And with ice cream to boot?

Nothing wrong with that my friend!

Of course what better way to let the ice cream digest peacefully, then a trip on the tea cups.

Craig and Trent tormenting Alex. The poor girl was scared to death.

As you can see, Craig and Trent were extremely sensitive to her feelings.

I think this is where Craig was trying to kick open the sliding door.

It was a great day.

An expensive, exhausting day. But great all the same.

Trenton comes to Texas

2011-04-11T17:24:00.003-07:00

Trent and his friend, Alex, came to Texas for a visit.

Alex is a photographer and got some great shots of all the fun.

Trent certainly got his hockey fix while he was here.

Much to his fathers delight.

Craig's Aunt Sandy and Uncle Yoon where also in town and stopped by to say hello. It has been years since we've seen them and we were very happy to have them stop by.

Trent and Alex treated us to a nice dinner

(I guess my suggestions of left overs was not to their liking!)

I say they made the right decision.

The day Trent and Alex left we took some time for a quick family photo shoot.

(shamelessly abusing Alex's skills)

No, these amateur photos are from my camera (except the nice family photo below)

We are still waiting on her shots.

We loved having them here and were so sad to see them go. But we're all looking forward to May when we head to San Francisco to see our boy walk with his class major for graduation.

It's Spring school photos time

2011-04-11T17:24:00.002-07:00

I can, without a doubt, say our children took the most beautiful photos in the history of Texas schools.

If you think I'm joking, just take a look at these beauties!

Okay, I may be a bit biased.

Yep, it's soccer time again!

2011-04-11T17:24:00.001-07:00

Logan is back on the field, playing soccer once again.

He's actually back on the ACES, he's got his old coach from his first season and several of the same team mates. Which we LOVE!

]

Oh yes, and remember Logan's love, Maddie . . .

Yep, I think some of those old feelings are stirring!

Luckily he was able to pull himself away from the pretty blond to kick the ball once or twice at practice.

A day in the life . . .

2011-04-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

We spent this weekend taking care of some things around the house.

First, we had fun watching Dylan while Brandy and Dave went to a wedding.

Craig installed two rain collections bins.

We're excited to be able to use all the rain we're supposed be getting to water the plants and garden . . .

Funny thing is that it rained this morning and this bin is already almost full!

Speaking of our plants and garden, I had to share this beautiful Lollipop Gerber daisy I found at Lowes.

I LOVE this. The blossom is huge, I can't wait till more bloom.

I just hope I don't kill it.

And the kids and I planted our garden last weekend and everything has already sprouted. (well, to be fair, a few were seedlings)

We can't wait to see how we do this year.

We planted corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans, lettuce, green onions, zucchini, yellow squash and cantaloupes.

And lastly, I found out about Knock out roses. They're beautiful, grow fast and full and stay blooming from Spring through the first frost. I've been told they do wonderfully here, so we planted several of them.

I'll let you know how they do.

2011-03-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Trenton is here.

All is right with the world.

More to come . . .

Our Staycation . . .

2011-03-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break, we stayed in town. But we tried to keep busy.
Along with taking in a movie and bowling a few frames, it was warm enough for the kids to take a quick dip. The pool was still pretty cold, but they didn't seem to mind.

We also went to an Aeroes game (thank you very much Groupon!)

And, as you can see, Logan had a growth spurt over the break.

He must take after his Uncle.

I don't really see the down side to child labor . . .

2011-03-22T17:34:00.001-07:00

She does an excellent job. I'm thinking of hiring her out.

All our damn animals

2011-03-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. We're keeping her.
Introducing: Pepper Cynthia Steindorf
(Chloe had the honor of giving Pepper her middle name)

So who should I send all the stays that I find since our home is now maxed out?

Anyone? Anyone?

We've been trying to teach them to stay out of the kitchen and dining room while we eat. So they just sit there and stare at us until we're done. It doesn't make for a very relaxing dinner.

But, I guess that's what we get for having all the damned animals!

Are we crazy?

2011-03-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened on the way home the other day!

Yep, I saw this little thing running around the street, just waiting to get hit. She had a collar, so I figured I'd just catch her and give her family a call. Well, low and behold. There was no tag on the collar. No microchip to be found. No postings at the local vets or animal shelter.

So now what?

I'm am SO my mother's daughter.

Lord help us. We're falling fast for this one.

If she does have an owner, they'd better speak up fast and even if they do, I'm not sure we'll give her up.

Luckily Yorkie Rescue will sponsor her so we can have her spayed, heart worm tested and groomed. We'll basically foster her until we find her owner or .. .well, keep her.

By the way, we've named her Pepper.

ABBA Flash Mob

2011-03-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

Are you guys tired of watching this yet? SO here's one more You Tube Post I found of the flash mob. Once again, Miss Chloe is front and center for most of the video.
I just don't get tired of watching this girl!

Flash Mob Market Street

2011-03-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've explained many times that my preschool class, if nothing else ,will know how to bake a mean cake and will be the best little recyclers around. But did I mention that they will also be able to sing every ABBA hit ever recorded?

I love ABBA and play their music in class all the time. And when I heard the news that someone was organizing an ABBA flash mob at Market Street, I was in. Chloe and I went home and took about a half an hour to learn the steps and headed over with Dave, Brandy and Dylan. Brandy posted this on You Tube. Chloe is front and center in red. I'm a bit behind her with the sunglasses on.

Enjoy!

Chloe went off to bed tonight, dancing and singing "Dancing Queen"
God I love that girl!

A busy week for A Sweet Idea

2011-03-05T09:53:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had two cakes due. I was a bit worried that I'd bitten off more than I can chew considering the frantic state of my kitchen when just doing one! But I'm happy to report all turned out well.

If fact, everything went pretty smooth, surprisingly enough.

The coconut cake was fun to do and I am really happy with how it turned out.

It's for a 50th birthday luau.

This next one is for my best customer. I've done two of her daughter's parties and this is the second for her son. It's nice that she keeps coming back. And I work with her now, so it's all good. I love how my pins turned out. The bowling ball, well that's another story. But what can you do right!

Anyway, I'm happy they are both complete and delivered and now I can relax . . .

right after I clean up the disaster in my kitchen!

Sue

2011-03-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

Weekend before last, I traveled to Dallas to attend a memorial for my cousin, Sue, who lost her battle with cancer on Valentine's Day. She was 48 years old. She was a beautiful person with an even more beautiful spirit. And it was so wrong that we had to say good bye to her so soon. And wrong that I didn't know her better. We saw each other every 5 or so years. But we were family and when we did talk, she never failed to end our conversations with I love you. I realized how much I take for granted. I just assume that those I love, know I love them and am thinking of them regardless of the fact that I rarely call or actually say the words I love you. And I take for granted that Chloe will always want to tell me about her day, even after I tell her to "PLEASE! Just give me a few minutes without you talking." Or that Logan will always be so eager to tell me how much he loves me each and every day! Or that any special moments that I get to share with my family will wait until I close the computer or turn off the t.v. So, to my family and my dear friends I'm going to do better. For all of you who make my life so full, I'm going to do better. So, whenever it is that we have to say our last goodbye, one of us will be able to say we shared a great conversation . . .hug . . . laugh. . . cry . . .or moment the other day.

Okay, so just so you don't expect miracles, you need to know that as I was typing this, I had to tell Craig to stop touching me. Clearly, I have my work cut of for me.

Thank you in advance for your patience!

I truly love you all!!

A cake for A.J.

2011-02-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we went to A.J.'s TaeKwonDo birthday party. I thought this was going to be a pretty simple cake. The cake had other ideas. The frosting would not behave and would not smooth out. I finally had to throw my hands up and surrender.

Cake: 1 Christy: 0

A.J. was thrilled I got his belt right and Logan had a great time, so I'm thinking it was a good day, regardless of my lumpy icing job!

Snakes ALREADY!

2011-02-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

This darn crazy weather we've been having has brought with it some very unwanted guests. Mosquitoes

and SNAKES! Yep, here's our first for 2011. Shelby found this one.

Luckily he's just a little guy, but I'm scared with all this warm weather, the big bad guys will be coming out soon and it's only February!

Introducing Shelby Rose Steindorf

2011-02-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we became 'foster parents' to one Miss Shelby Rose.

Yorkie Rescue had sent out a request for someone to foster her and we basically decided, What the hell!

She's so tiny, I put the remote next to her so you can get a good idea on how small she is.

6 lbs of pure attitude, this one is.

The kids love her, although she's still not too sure of them. Craig is smitten, since he's always wanted a little dog. And I'm getting used to such a tiny little thing running under my feet all the time. Sadie and Roger love her. Sadie even plays, which is saying a lot for our little ol' granny poodle.

I can say, without a doubt, that we will fail miserably at being foster parents.

We are now a 3 dog family, Lord help us!