Btens San Diego

Isabella goes to Girl Scout camp for 4 days! First time away from home for that long!

2011-07-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion in Lake Forest

2011-03-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the picture of everyone who went to Lake Forest for our family reunion. My mom, brother and his family and my aunts...

Isabella's Daisy Troop went to the Wild Animal Park on Saturday.

2010-10-10T21:07:00.001-07:00

Bates Nut Farm Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful picture. Fortunately, I unwittingly captured a man in the background trying to shoplift a pumpkin under his shirt.

Casey's Trip to the Ozarks...

2010-08-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

Me and Landon holding nature's bounty. I tried fried okra for the first time last night and loved it.

This is a picture of the type of snake I saw in the garden today. A southern copperhead. It was about 3 feet long. Yuck!

Sunset Landscape

2010-08-14T20:02:00.001-07:00

Done and hanging in the living room...

2010-08-13T09:15:00.001-07:00

Painting is done and hanging in the living room. Now for something to fill that other space...

Done and haning in the living room...

2010-08-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Painting is done and hanging in the living room. Now for something to fill that other space...

Still in the squidgy stage...

2010-07-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

More progress on the landscape...

2010-07-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Progress...

2010-07-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Generic California Landscape # 1

2010-06-22T13:38:00.001-07:00

Just the start, don't judge too soon...

San Diego Zoo

2010-06-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

Well, our camera's battery was winding down, so you'll just have to use your imagination to think how wonderful our trip was the the San Diego zoo. Lions, tigers and bears, OH My!!!

Isabella's Daisy Troop

2010-06-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this sooner. This is Isabella's Daisy Troop.

Livin' Off the Land

2010-06-19T20:35:00.001-07:00

The first fruits of my labor. (If I had to depend on gardening to feed the family, we'd starve in a matter of days.)

Scottie's Painting

2010-05-28T10:01:00.001-07:00

Here's a painting I did for my friend Scottie. She's a big fan of Van Gogh. ;)

Greetings from Old Town San Diego!

2010-04-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

Me, my mom, and my Aunt Martha...

Grandma and Grandpa visit

2010-04-16T10:23:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from Grandma and Grandpa's visit. We had Isabella's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese! Also, my friend, Renee from the old Marine Corps days came to visit. We had a great time! More pictures to come... Tomorrow, Old Town San Diego.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T12:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone! Here are the girls at the local Easter egg hunt!

Christmas visit with Oma and Opa

2010-01-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here's our family portrait with Oma and Opa. We had a great visit! Thanks! xoxoxo

Night before Christmas...

2009-12-24T20:10:00.000-08:00

Placemats are done...

2009-12-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

Eight placemats sewn. I'm sure that's somewhere in the 12 Days of Christmas song.

Deck the halls

2009-12-20T15:54:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures of the inside of our house. Yes, I know, the living room needs a painting or two. The walls are so big and high though, that will take me forever. Mark and I are on the lookout for some sort of southwestern wall sculpture. (Our good camera bit the dust, sorry!) Merry Christmas Everyone!

Santa and SeaWorld

2009-12-15T08:04:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone! Here are some pictures from our SeaWorld trip this past weekend. Santa was there. Doesn't Katherine look thrilled?

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T08:39:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween Everyone! Yes, Katherine actually wore her costume without screaming. (She was afraid of it at first.) The girls got lots of loot last night and I hope they get tired of eating it after a few days. Yeah, right!

Big Mama

2009-10-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest project. Her name is "Big Mama" and she's my sourdough starter. Yes, I cheated and used dry yeast to give it a boost. This is the third day and I can smell the fermentation. I've also got a little pot of starter going, which I'll call "Little Baby." I didn't put any dry yeast in Little Baby and want it all to be from wild yeast.

Ornament issue is out

2009-10-07T21:40:00.001-07:00

I don't have a picture of my ornament, but here is the cover of the magazine if you want to look for it in the stores. It's a little purple penguin. :) Merry Early Christmas!

Gymnastics

2009-10-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

Isabella at gymnastics class today...

Katherine's B-Day

2009-10-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Katherine!

Yesterday's trip to the zoo.

2009-09-07T13:38:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the San Diego Wild Animal park yesterday. :)

Isabella's swimming lessons...

2009-08-07T20:43:00.001-07:00

Isabella finished her swimming lessons today. She even jumped into the deep end by herself!

Julian, CA

2009-07-29T15:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we took a quick trip to Julian. They are famous for their apple pie. Julian Pie Co. rocks!

Our new home...

2009-07-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Finally! An update...

Here's a picture of our new house in Ramona. We can move in as soon as our furniture and other household things arrive. Yippee!

Queen Mary 2

2009-06-22T18:55:00.001-07:00

Here we are on the Queen Mary 2 coming back to the U.S. Took us 6 days to cross the Atlantic and it was wonderful. Gourmet food and onboard childcare. ;)

Found the shoes!

2009-06-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Found the shoes for my red formal dress for the Queen Mary 2. :)

Moving...

2009-06-04T04:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Well, it's that time again. Moving!!!

This is my pile of junk. Mark has his folded nicely in the closet. I'll fix mine later. Ha Ha!

Jenny's House

2009-05-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a painting I did of Jenny's house. She's our milk lady and lives just down the road.

Dancing queens...

2009-05-22T08:46:00.001-07:00

Just plain ol' cute.

2009-05-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

Watercolor I painted of our village, Spaldwick.

Bath

2009-05-17T06:50:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!
Here are some pictures of our trip to Bath yesterday. Cotswold hills. Beautiful and GREEN!!!!

Roman baths fed by hot springs.

Katherine, please don't fall in.

A "Roman" woman and her "slave girl." The make-up on this woman looked positively ghastly. She was demonstrating the instruments and cosmetics of Roman times. Hmmm...I'll pass. Very sweet lady though.

Get back here, you rascal.

The Pump Room. Here we had a complimentary glass of the hot springs water. Mmmm...nothing like a glass of hot water to soothe the parched palette. It actually tasted like the Romans had bathed in it. One sip will do ya.

Um, strange bunny sculpture. I have no explanation.

The Jane Austen Centre. A capital fellow...

Punting on the Cam

2009-05-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today Max and Monika came up from London to visit. After Japanese food, we went punting on the River Cam. It was a sunny, wonderful afternoon. Where'd that weather come from? :)

Disney Paris

2009-05-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!
Here are some more pictures of our Paris trip. The second day we spent at Disney Paris.

I Love Paris in the Springtime...

2009-04-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
Here are a few pictures of our trip to Paris...

Macarons...

I can honestly say that I'm sick of croissants now.

At the Louvre...

Code of Hammurabi...

Mark and Katherine down in the medieval Louvre showing the model.

Isabella next to a huge Assyrian statue.

Mark and Katherine looking pretty tiny.

Voltaire...

Joan of Arc...

Whatever...

Venus de Milo...

We took so many pictures at the Eiffel Tower it was obscene.

The tourist boats on the Seine...

Isabella chasing the birds...

Isabella took this. :)

Tomorrow, Part Deux. Disneyland Paris...

Isabella's Birthday Party!!!!!

2009-04-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Isabella's birthday party that we had today. We had it at Big Sky Adventure play place. And it was lots of fun...

Wimpole Farm

2009-03-22T13:54:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Here are pictures from Wimpole Farm in Cambridgeshire this weekend. It is lambing season, so we got to see a new lamb being born. Isabella was completely grossed out. The pictures are a bit out of sequence--and the flower pictures were taken in our village.

Music Festival in Bedfordshire

2009-03-16T00:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a short video of Isabella at the music festival in Bedforshire. She's in the front row, third from the left. Enjoy!

Supergirl!

2009-03-13T10:24:00.001-07:00

Today for school, the children had to dress up as superheros. Isabella went as Supergirl.

Trip to London's Royal Observatory

2009-03-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

Well, these first two pictures are from last weekend when we went to visit Kimbolton castle.

Standing on the Prime Meridian. Katherine and I in the east, Mark and Isabella in the west hemisphere.

Are we lost?

Greenwich market...

Isabella goes sledding...

2009-02-05T22:46:00.000-08:00

A Snowy Day in the UK

2009-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! It snowed here today, and made everything look like a wonderland! Isabella loved it. Katherine, not so much.

Totally cool picture of my hometown...

2009-02-02T03:31:00.000-08:00

I found this old photo of a little girl in the 1920's in my hometown of Point of Rocks, Wyoming. The hills looks exactly the same and I love it!

Isabella and her mates...

2009-01-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Isabella and her two best friends from school, Carla and Hermione. It was Carla's birthday this weekend and her mom took the girls to the cinema and McDonald's.

Toad in the Hole

2009-01-25T11:07:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I am blogging such a strange picture. This is the "Toad in the Hole" that we made last night. It is a Yorkshire pudding with roasted sausage in it. Looks weird, but it is soooooooo good! Ha Ha.

To the Tower...

2009-01-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
Here are some pictures from our trip to the Tower of London today. We took Katherine while Isabella was in school. Wasn't that sneaky of us? Ha Ha!

A Yeoman Warder giving the tour.

The White Tower.

Aren't the uniforms cool?

Memorial for Anne Boleyn and the others who were beheaded at that spot. Poor Anne.

Where they keep the crown jewels...

The dungeon. That's a device that keeps someone in a kneeling position. Ahhhh, so pleasant looking.

And what would a tour of the Tower be without....noodles afterward. We went to one of my new favorite places, Wagamama. Thank you, Scottie for introducing me to it!

Katherine is walking!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

Germany trip...

2008-12-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our trip to Germany...

Getting on the overnight ferry at Harwich to Hoak van Holland.

Our cabin at the Edelweiss resort.

Lunch with Uncle Willy and Erika.

Around the town of Garmisch...

Us getting on the cable car at the Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany.

Scary as hell...

Incredible view... (If my Photoshop skills were good, I'd get rid of that stranger staring at me.)

Top of the Zugspitze...

Belated Merry Christmas!

2008-12-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

Santa!

2008-12-07T01:39:00.000-08:00

What can I say? We tried having both girls on Santa's lap. Katherine didn't go for it.

Marine Corps Ball

2008-11-16T20:43:00.001-08:00

Marine Corps Ball 2008.

Me and Katherine

2008-11-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

Me and Katherine. We like purple.

Natural History Museum

2008-11-10T03:51:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our trip last weekend to the Natural History Museum in London.

Me and Scottie...

Me and Darwin...

Mark and Isabella...

Isabella and Madison...

No pictures of Katherine this time. She was sleeping in her stroller for most of the tour. More later...

Isabella in her ballet dress

2008-10-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

I snapped these pictures yesterday at Isabella's ballet class. I forgot to get her ballet shoes in it though! Better ones next time!

More cross stitch ornaments...

2008-10-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

Yippee! I've got two more ornaments in the JCS magazine. Here is what the cover of the magazine looks like.

Katherine's birthday...

2008-10-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here's Katherine on her birthday. We would have taken pictures at the party, but she was crying when we sang her "Happy Birthday."

Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue is out!

2008-10-01T03:06:00.001-07:00

The magazine with my ornament in it is now on the newsstands. It's a little snowman cross stitch. So go check it out! L,C

Stratford Upon Avon Tour

2008-09-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend, along with some friends, we went to Stratford Upon Avon. This is the village where William Shakespeare was born and is buried.

His place of birth...

Living statue--which totally scared the kids!

Us in the back garden of the house.

A costumed guide.

The girls with some of the guides.

Scottie and Brendon after our picnic by the river.

Our way into the church where Shakespeare is buried.

Shakespeare's grave.

South Park Characters

2008-09-13T03:14:00.001-07:00

With Isabella in school now, I do have a bit of creative free time. Here is our family as South Park characters.

Meanwhile...

2008-09-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

Isabella has started school. Meanwhile...Katherine learns to feed herself spaghetti.

First day of school!

2008-09-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Isabella getting ready to head off to her first day at school. *sigh*

Almost 11 months...

2008-08-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that next week Katherine will be 11 months old! Isabella loves playing with her little sister and doesn't mind sharing her toys--yeah, right!

Look at those chompers!

Trip to Sandringham

2008-07-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

Last week Tom, Rose and Angela came to visit. That Saturday we went to Sandringham Estate. That's where the Queen spends some of her holidays including Christmas. No pictures of the inside though. More to follow...

Trip to Maryland

2008-07-03T02:27:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!
Here are a few pictures of our trip to Maryland... Our camera battery died, so we weren't able to take very many.

A Few France Pictures...

2008-06-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our trips to France. Will post more when we get them. Did I mention that we forgot our camera and are now dependant on the kindness of people to email them to us? (cough...Col. Moyer...cough, cough)

Here are the Marines at the War Museum in Paris.

Me and the girls in Disneyland at Paris.

The Memorial Day ceremony at Belleau Wood, France.

Isabella Feeding Katherine

2008-05-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

We just got back from France yesterday. We'll post pictures soon. Meanwhile, here is Isabella feeding Katherine some carrots.

Never Fear, Grandma's Here

2008-05-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

My mom came for her England visit last week. The cupcakes "runeth over." Isabella never had so many sweets in her life. More pictures later...

Katherine is 7 months old.

2008-04-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

Katherine turned 7 months old last week. Where has the time gone?!

Isabella Turns Four!!!

2008-04-12T13:19:00.001-07:00

Isabella turned four today and we had a great birthday party. A lot of her school friends came to celebrate. Here are some pictures...

The aftermath...

Another Month Older...

2008-04-07T01:18:00.001-07:00

Katherine turned 6 months on March 27th. I should've posted a picture then. But here's our latest one--taken just this morning!

While Mark's Away...

2008-04-01T02:13:00.000-07:00

Dinner for two...*sigh*

Snowy Easter

2008-03-26T00:56:00.000-07:00

It snowed here on Easter morning. Very beautiful.

FLOOD!!!

2008-03-16T05:44:00.001-07:00

We woke up this morning and found the tiny stream in our backyard overflowing its banks.

Katherine is 5 months old!

2008-03-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Katherine is 5 months old this week!

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!!

2008-02-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

We had an earthquake last night. It woke us up at 1 a.m. The whole house was shaking and it was wild. Luckily, no damage to anything. This one was much stronger than those we would usually feel in Japan.

Monkey what?!

2008-02-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Mark told me to "blog it" so here it is.

Trip to York

2008-02-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
Here are some pictures of our trip up to York this weekend. Enjoy!

Katherine all cuddly warm in her stroller.

"Vikings" getting ready for the battle re-enactment at the Jorvik Viking Festival.

Enthusiasts in their chainmail.

Who knew they had Diet Coke way back then?

On to Woodhouse Farm bed and breakfast.

It's a real working farm, complete with chickens and such...

Very cozy.

The next day we visited Kirkham Priory. This was established in about 1100 AD.

Next stop was Castle Howard. This is where they filmed Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. Isabella had a blast.

Look at the date on this time capsule. To be opened in 3982. That's 2000 years from now!

On to Wharram Percy medieval village ruins. See Mark carrying Katherine--she was a pretty heavy 14 pounds by the time we got back to the car. It was a very muddy walk down to the village. Luckily, a good scrubbing salvaged Isabella's shoes.

After walking a mile and a half in the mud, we get to the ruins of the church. Isabella was more excited about the snail you see her holding in her hand.

And that's it, folks!

More 4-wheelin' Fun

2008-02-11T02:54:00.000-08:00

Here is Isabella on her 4-wheeler again. Mark turned up the speed on it, so now it goes faster.

Katherine is 4 months old!

2008-01-31T02:38:00.001-08:00

As of Sunday, Katherine is 4 months old! What a cutie-pie!

Ladybug Ladybug Fly Away Home

2008-01-18T03:26:00.001-08:00

A picture of Isabella wearing her ladybug raincoat on her way to school.

Our Trip to London Last Weekend

2008-01-18T03:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our trip to London last weekend. It shows us at the London Eye with Big Ben in the background.

Ready for School

2008-01-10T01:52:00.000-08:00

Here's Isabella's stack of school stuff. I thought it was so cute, I had to take a picture of it. Kitty Cat has been to show-and-tell numerous times now.

Homemade Pasta

2008-01-07T04:09:00.001-08:00

Last night Mark made pasta from the pasta maker I had bought him for Christmas. It was so good!

Meanwhile, Katherine slept...

2008-01-03T05:40:00.000-08:00

Here are Mike, Lauren, Hope, and Veronika touring London. "Look kids! Big Ben, Parliament!" They've seen more of London than we have and we've been here for a year!

2007-12-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

"Isabella Knievel"

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T22:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Katherine may not look it in this picture, but she REALLY is in the Christmas spirit!

This is our little European fridge overflowing with food awaiting Mike, Hope, Veronika and Lauren's arrival.

Master Sergeant!

2007-12-17T08:18:00.000-08:00

Mark just found out this morning that he's been selected for Master Sergeant! More later...

Toys for Tots

2007-12-10T03:45:00.000-08:00

Here's all the loot that Mark and his fellow Marines collected for Toys for Tots.

2007-12-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

Here's Isabella singing " 'Way in a Manger."

Are we to become video bloggers now?

2007-12-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

Ooooh Julie! What have you started?! Now that I saw Noah's video on your blog, I had to do the same. Here's Isabella and Katherine. Sorry so short...it takes a while for me to upload.

L,C

Family Portrait

2007-12-04T05:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a family portrait drawn by Isabella. Front row is Isabella, Dad, a kitty cat and Mom. Back row is Opa, a dog, Oma, and Katherine. Oma and Opa, she talks about you a lot since your visit! (Cat and dog are imaginary. I wish we had pets!)

Our window...

2007-12-04T01:35:00.000-08:00

Here's our front window ready for Christmas. We ought to do decorating for Macy's. Isabella loved it and I think she wanted to get inside and play with it.