The Stover Family

Our Garden

2012-01-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

I would post pictures, but our camera is dead and I cannot located the charger. I will put that on my list of things to do. hahahah

Here is what is growing:

Carrots
Mixed lettuce
Spinach
Radishes
Green Beans
Peas
Broccoli

We have already cut several batches of lettuce and ate some and given some away.

I love growing my own food!

2011-12-25T16:08:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!

Arcadia Edible Garden Tours

2011-12-11T12:43:00.001-08:00

My Dad and Brother

2011-12-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

DD#1 7th Birthday

2011-12-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Ford Raptor Test Drive

2011-12-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

Nate and the Girls

2011-12-03T10:24:00.003-08:00

My favorite pictures of Nate

2011-12-03T04:27:00.001-08:00

Nate's Visit to Auntie's House

2011-12-03T03:41:00.000-08:00

There were many 1'st for Nate at Auntie's house:

1st In-N-Out Burger
1'st See's Candy sucker
1st time making pizza
1st 19th Hole Donut

Halloween Costumes

2011-11-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

DD#1 went as a nice witch, DD#2 went as a black cat and yes, the dog went a a german shepherd.

Quick update

2011-10-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a blog update.....I am super busy!! My camera broke, I am working full time, both girls are in school and DH has a new job that requires him to work many hours. I have no time to update the blog. It is a sad thing. The only thing that is the same is the dog barks and sleeps.

We are able to decorate the house for Halloween. It is my most favorite holiday! DD#1 is going to be a friendly witch and the DD#2 will going to be a black cat. The dog is going to wear a jingly bells around her neck.

DD#1 will be going her first trip over to Southern Cal, with the grandparents to go to her cousins second birthday party. She is super excited!

My best friend and baby Nate are coming to AZ for a week long visit!! It is their first visit to come to visit me. I can hardly wait. I get to child proof my house, it has been awhile since I have had to do that.

That is about all for now. Until next time. I should be a camera soon. DD#1 7th birthday is just around the corner, I will need to document that!!!

DD#2 1st Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and More

2011-08-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

Sacramento Trip

2011-07-31T09:32:00.001-07:00

Visiting old friends

2011-07-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

Washington Trip

2011-07-31T08:31:00.000-07:00

Oregon/Washington

2011-07-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

After we left Mt Shasta, we headed to our overnight stay in Salem, OR. Coming from the desert, we are used to outdoor pools only, I was pleasently surprised to find indoor pool in Oregon. So, upon checking in the girls swam for an hour.

The next day was a short drive of only 5 hours, compared to the 8 hours the 2 prior days before. We arrived at my Uncle and Aunt's house on 4th of July.

Making our way North

2011-07-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

After leaving San Diego, the girls and I drove from San Diego ultimatly to Marysville, WA. (Everett, WA area) Along the way we stopped to visit different people.

The first leg was San Diego to Sacramento, to stay with my cousin for a place to sleep. We got up early to head up to Mt. Shasta to visit my 2nd grade teacher and my friend's parents.

They have a beautiful home and property with wonderful views of mountains. Of course their garden was to die for, I could only dream of having one that size in AZ. The girls were picking and eating right away. We stayed for a great lunch and an amazing time to catch up on everything!

I cannot wait for our next time!!

DD#2 San Diego Birthday

2011-07-26T19:43:00.001-07:00

We had a "small" party of 21 family members, before leaving San Diego, for DD#2 birthday. It was at a Oggi's Pizza, which was great because her favorite food is a cheese pizza. Happy birthday was sung to her in Chinese, Indian, Spanish and English, we had quite a cultural group gathered for her birthday!!

She had a blast!!

Old Town San Diego

2011-07-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Next Adventure

2011-07-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

We are leaving California today and traveling out of state to our next adventure. DH will have the laptop because there won't be any wifi where we are going. So, no updates for two weeks.

Until then... happy trails!!

Monday Night Potluck

2011-06-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

Monday night we had to bring something to the potluck that started with the letter "L". So, we brought Linguine and Lemon pudding. The girls also brought their flamingo's they had found, so they could receive their reward.

The reward was a free soda from the general store. They were to excited.

A game of dart and balloon was played with a chance to win a flamingo cup filled with candy, however we were not winners that night.

Unfortunately, we will not be at the next potluck, as we will be moving onto our next adventures.

Fair

2011-06-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, was a trip to the San Diego County Fair. The girls got in FREE. I like that word. My Aunt went with the girls and I, and we had a lot of fun. The girls went on a few rids, got to see cows, pigs, sheep and goats. They were able to enter a corn husking contest and watch a worm race (that was exciting). The best past was we were able to take a ride on a fire engine monster truck. DD#2 kept saying, "That was AWESOME!!".

Visit to My In-Law's

2011-06-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

The girls and I left on Friday to drive up to Orange, CA. We went to visit my Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law, niece and nephew and stayed the weekend. My in-laws were invite a party down the street at a neighbors house, which included a bounce house and pizza. All the kids enjoyed the entertainment and the adults enjoyed the conversations.

Saturday, my sil make amazing mickey mouse pancakes for the kids. My niece had a gymnastics class and we just hung out, at the house. Then it was off to the splash pad for some sun and fun. My bil picked up McDonald's for lunch for a great picnic lunch at the park.

Then, home for naps and mandatory quiet time. After naps straight to the pool for some more sun and fun.

Sunday, all the kids played together and we tried to get pictures of all four kids together. My mother-in-law requested an up close casual picture of all the kids. So, all weekend we had been trying to pose the kids and get them to smile. My sil is great behind the camera, but getting the kids to participate....she downloaded the pictures from the camera with 248 pictures, I thinks we got 2 good ones. We will let MOM be the judge.

Uncle, Aunt and Cousin Visit

2011-06-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Reading to Linus

2011-06-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

The local library had a great program where children ages 5 to 12 could read to a therapy dog. DD#1 read her Hello Kitty book to Linus, a Golden Retriever/Lab. She was to excited to show off her skills.

Catching up

2011-06-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we took Cousin to Balboa Park for a wonderful walk through the park. We took the free trolley around the park, which had amazing information giving by the driver, so Cousin could fill her memory banks.

After Balboa Park, it was off to a Father's Day lunch for my Grandpa, aka Great-Grandpa to my kids and my dad and of course the rest of the family. There were 13 people in total. I love when the family gets together!!

Sunday ended with a swim for the girls and a good night sleep for all.

Monday we had to take Cousin to the train station in the morning. :( The girls and I had an amazing visit and wished it could have been longer!!! I am sure she wishes it could have been also.

After the train station, he headed to the zoo with my aunt. We spend most of the day enjoying the animals. It is always fun to see animals we miss.

Monday night I had enjoyed a night out with a girlfriend, while my dad was able to watch the grandkids. It just so happened to be the camp potluck, "Breakfast for Dinner". So, I made sausage and cut up watermelon, for the girls and papa to bring. There were games and lots of entertainment. My girls were the only kids among the older, more wiser group of people, so they were a hit. At the end of the potluck the clubhouse host said she would be hiding 12 specially labelled pink plastic flamingos in the RV park area. They were be brought back to the next potluck on Monday, for a special prize.

Tuesday we were supposed to go to San Diego County Fair aka Del Mar Fair, kids get in free, however, my aunt was to go with us, but needed to help my grandparents with doctor appointments. So, the plan is to go next week.

In place of going to the fair, we rode our bikes all around the RV park for about 45 minutes looking for flamingos and look what we found.....

The rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday we didn't leave the RV. We walked to the playgrounds and used the swimming pool.

Papa's Birthday

2011-06-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

Fairy Festival at San Diego Botanic Garden

2011-06-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Day One of Cousin's Visit

2011-06-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Beach

2011-06-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

My Godmother's House

2011-06-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

It is so funny how each generation has it's "thing" to do. When my brother and I were little, we would go my godmother's house and look for salamanders in the backyard. Well, my girls like to find snails, once they find they, they name them, and have snail races. The girls love it.

The other thing be handed other to the next generation is the love of "pink salad". I had to take a picture, with my phone, of DD#2 helping make it and send it to my brother, he was sad he couldn't have any.

I am hoping to get a couple more visits in with my godmother and her family before we leave San Diego!

Wild Animal Park

2011-06-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Along with our annual San Diego Zoo pass, we get into the San Diego Safari Park, aka Wild Animal Park. It is located north of San Diego, in Escondido. I usually only take the girls there once, because it is a drive and usually pretty hot.

So, Monday I drove my Aunt and the girl up there. It was the perfect type of weather cloudy and cool in the morning and it warmed up to 90, as we left. To Phoenixians 90 is a nice cool day, hahaha.

The other interesting thing about the Wild Animal Park, there are so many HILLS. I was so sore from walking. The girls did great and so did my Aunt!!! As you can see below, there are not any real pictures of animals, because most of the animals are off in the distance. Plus, who wants to see animals when you can look at my girls instead? Just kidding.

So, no more Wild Animal Park this summer, but lots more Zoo!!!

Puppet Show

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

Papa,the girls and I went a puppet show down at Balboa park this morning. http://www.balboaparkpuppets.com/who.html. The show was called "The Wonderful World of Puppets Around the World." It was a very unique show. It was more about introducing puppets from different parts of the world to the children, with allowing them to touch and interact with them. They loved it!!

We may have to see more puppet shows before we leave San Diego.

Friday Morning Donuts

2011-06-10T19:58:00.001-07:00

Staying Put

2011-06-10T19:40:00.001-07:00

The girls requested that we stay put for the day. So, we didn't leave the camping grounds. Papa rode his bike over to our RV spot and spent the day with us.

Since there are 7 man-made lakes, 4 playgrounds, swimming pools and a splash pad, there is no reason to leave the grounds at all. We all rode our bikes up to the boat rental area and rented a paddle boat for a 1/2 hour. As we made our way around the islands, the girls had a audience of ducks, as they were feeding them duck food.

After the boat ride, we rode the bikes over to one of the many playgrounds, for an adventure of rock climbing and swinging on the swings.

Once that was finished, we rode back to the RV only to get swim suits on to finish up with an hour of swimming at the pool.

I was joking with my dad, that he might be happy to go back to work only because of all the activity of being on vacation with the grandkids. I know he is enjoying every minute he is getting with them!!!!

Flying a Kite

2011-06-08T14:49:00.001-07:00

Sailing for the first time with Papa

2011-06-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

Bowling for the 1st time

2011-06-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

We headed over to Parkway Bowling for the girl's first ever bowling trip. They did great, the bumpers were up!! Each child rolled a good amount of balls down the alley, before the workers decided it would be better we have the ramp to push the balls down.

DD#1 even got a strike. I think all the bowling on the Wii really helped.

Papa Time

2011-06-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Papa has taken a week vacation off while we are here. So we have been spending lots of time with him and Nana. We have been doing yard work and learning to change a flat tire on the bike.

The girls have been teaching Papa to play Angry Birds on my phone. It is funny to watch.

We have taken the bikes to the park and ridden around, they are giving Papa lots of exercise!!

Papa has read them several books from the Rainbow Brite series and taught DD#1 how to play Battleship.

Surprise...Disneyland

2011-06-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have been planning a surprise trip to Disneyland for the girls for awhile. I arranged for a girlfriend to come with us, for an extra set of hands, plus it would be her first experience as an adult at Disneyland.

We would only be spending one day and only at Disneyland. DD #1 would spend most of the drive guessing where we were going, roller skating, ice skating, and even going to our cousin's house, which was a great guess because they live nearby. It wasn't until we turned off the Katella exit and DD #1 read the sign "Disney" and was so excited!!!!

Her is our day in a nut shell:

Rides ridden:

Pirate of the Caribbean
Haunted House
Casey Jr. Train
Carousel
Tea Cups
It's a Small World
Roller Coaster in Toon Town
Matterhorn (DD#2 was tall enough to ride on it. The girls were not thrilled with the ride)
Autopia
Monorail
Mark Twain

Pictures with Characters:
Mary Poppins and Bert
Jessie
Mickey Mouse

Watched the Parade

Spent time in the Toon Town playing

At the end the girls were able to spend money purchase Sleeping Beauty dolls of their choice. I got silhouettes of the girls made, like what what was done with my brother and I when we were younger. I also got a Mickey Mouse pancake mold for my brother because he makes pancake for the girls all the time.

We didn't stay for the fireworks, due to the fact, we had a very full day and wanted to end on a great note!!!

Left San Diego at 6:30 am and returned at 10:30 pm, I would to it again. A special thanks to my girlfriend for coming along!

2011-06-02T07:14:00.001-07:00

We have arrived in San Diego for the start of our vacation. The first day we had to get settled into the rv and the second day we hit the ground running. We spent the entire day at the San Diego Zoo.

Tomorrow is a biggest super secret surprise I have been keeping from the girls for awhile. I have mention we are going to Anaheim, but since we travel so much they have no idea what or where that is. I am bringing an adult friend to help out, who has also never been. I am very excited!

Pre-K and Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Check out this amazing website!!!

2011-05-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.sockmonkeypress.com

Out with Friends

2011-05-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Our friend celebrated her 30th birthday. Her husband surprised her with friends, limo ride and a great dinner at Different Pointe of View at Tapatio Peaks Resorts.

http://tapatiocliffshilton.com/dining/different-pointe-of-view/index.cfm.

We had a blast.

Easter

2011-05-20T18:52:00.001-07:00

Rockabilly in Las Vegas

2011-05-20T18:37:00.001-07:00

Two Jeeps to the Snow

2011-05-20T18:31:00.001-07:00

Bass Pro Kid's Competition

2011-05-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

Jeepin and Camping with Dad

2011-05-20T18:15:00.001-07:00

Misc Pictures

2011-05-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

BBQ with the Girls

2011-05-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Dad took the girls to Thee Pitts Again BBQ http://www.theepittsagain.com/across town. DD#2 ate so many fried pickles she had to be stopped. On the scale of BBQ in the valley my DH said is was average. He said Haps ranks pretty high. http://www.hapsbbq.com/.

Some Garden Pickin

2011-05-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Two Birthdays

2011-05-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is from February, it has taken me a while to post these pictures. My father-in-law are only a day apart in birthday celebration, however I will point out a years in age. Hahaha

I love getting things in "teal" boxes!!!!!

Jeepin in the desert with dad

2011-05-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Migraines

2011-04-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have had migraines for 20+ years. Over the last few years, they have been getting more and more intense. The good news is I have responded very well to a low dose of Zomig, with the on-set of a migraine. However, I wanted to be more preventive. I decided to seek out what might be new and might work for my migraines,with my doctor. My doctor prescribed one month supply of a low dose of birth control and wow, I had the worst migraines EVER. I had 20+ migraines in one month, the ones that put you in bed all day, vomiting, and I just feel like I was going crazy. It felt like it took 2+ months to get the out of my system, because I had 10-15 migraines each month for the next few months. Then, the doctor referred me to a neurologist. I was hesitant to go to a neurologist, due to the fact, I didn't know if I had to do a MRI, if he would really believe that I had migraines and what I had do to get help. To my surprise, after 5 minutes of speaking with my the doctor said, "You have migraines and we don't have to do a MRI and we have lots of options." I was so AMAZED!! Why had it taken me this long to something about my migraines???? So, I have been on my new medication for almost 3 months, I have have about 4 migraines per month. The severity of the them has dropped significantly . The interesting thing, I have most of the side effects of the medication which include: tingling in my feet, any drink with carbonation tastes like it is flat and nasty, and loss of appetite. I will take any of these side effects to lower my amount of migraines I have per month. I will see over time what the new medicine will do.

Happy Birthday Heather!!!

2011-03-18T21:25:00.001-07:00

Super Cute Nephew

2011-03-10T20:52:00.000-08:00

1st Birthday

2011-03-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

I headed out to North Carolina for my "nephew's" 1st birthday. What an amazing party. I went out for a week, which included professional 1st bday pictures, nap time changes, daily tooth checks, attempts to walk and of course the party. He is such a happy baby, cute as a button and so excited that auntie was there to play with him.

Although I am back in AZ, I am able to Skype with my 1 year old nephew. He misses me very much.

Cooking Time

2011-03-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Two Birthdays

2011-03-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

Jeeping with Dad

2011-03-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

Moonshine?

2011-02-17T06:05:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this picture of my dear friend and her family, I just had to post it!!!

Grandparents

2011-02-17T06:04:00.000-08:00

More Family

2011-02-17T06:03:00.000-08:00

Two Aunts

2011-02-17T06:02:00.001-08:00

Mud Bogging

2011-02-14T05:43:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we headed out to the local motorcross track with some friends, for some mud bogging. We were able to bring the rv out for an overnighter, even brought the dog. The girls had a blast. Here are some highlights:

Phoenix Supercross

2011-02-14T05:32:00.000-08:00

Cold Camping

2011-02-14T05:28:00.000-08:00

Camping at Catalina State Park after the first of the year and it was cold. It dipped into the freezing tempertures. It is snow. Everything was frozen. The girls loved playing on the the frozen puddles found around the campground.

Christmas Pictures Finally

2011-02-14T05:23:00.000-08:00

Counting down

2011-02-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

I am going out to North Carolina, for my "nephew's" 1st birthday party in the beginning of March. To say the least I am counting down the days. I think so is the birthday boy!

2011-01-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been awhile since I have updated my blog. We are all alive and well. Part of the problem is my DH was cleaning up our computer and somehow messed up the program to download pictures off the camera. So here is a highlight of what is on the camera:

Christmas

Supercross

Mud Bogging/Car Demolition

Rving

I am sure I am missing somethings. As soon as he can get it fixed I will be posting them.

RVing at Catalina State Park

2010-12-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

Fall has Arrived

2010-12-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

It took about 15 minutes to rake up all the leaves from our tree. Yes, it is the middle of December and the leaves are starting to fall. I love the fact we have a tree that loose it's leaves, it marks the fact there is a season change.

Phoenix Children's Museum

2010-12-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

www.childrensmuseumofphoenix.org

Lucas Oil Off Road Race

2010-12-20T07:59:00.000-08:00

DH took the girls to the truck races http://www.lucasoiloffroad.com/. As you can see my dh found some interesting things to take pictures of....

Great Friends

2010-12-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

We had an early Christmas meal with some great friends at Four Peaks Brewery. www.fourpeaks.com

Get your pig on

2010-12-10T06:03:00.000-08:00

www.getyourpigon.com

Golfing with Uncle

2010-12-10T06:00:00.001-08:00

Cookie Decorating with Uncle

2010-12-10T05:57:00.000-08:00

Baby getting bigger

2010-12-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

This is nephew, he is my best friend's son. I went out to North Carolina when he was 5 weeks old. I get updates at least once a week of just how big he is getting. I am planning on a trip back out for his 1st birthday in March. Here are 2 latest pictures of him. If you look closely you can see his first tooth poking through on the bottom. I am a very proud Auntie!!!

Special day with Grandma

2010-11-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

Husband's Bento Boxes

2010-11-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

This was the first container I purchased for him from Chinatown in San Francisco. The downside is the items inside cannot be reheated in the container, due to the fact it is metal.

This is his newest container. He loves it! The containers are able to be reheated and it comes with it's own chopsticks.

My Bento Box

2010-11-21T17:11:00.001-08:00

I figured since DH and the girls had their own bento box, it was time to get mine. I love the fact it has a built in spoon. Yes, it is YELLOW, it was the only color to choose from.

Baby Shower Thank You Cards

2010-11-21T17:03:00.001-08:00

My cousin is due with a girl on January 11, 2011. I was right about my cousin wanting YELLOW in her baby shower cards. I made 50 of them and I thought they turned out quite cute. What do you think?

My Oldest Daughters Candy Birthday

2010-11-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

Jeepin with Dad

2010-11-18T12:18:00.000-08:00

Fall Festival

2010-11-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

Quite the Artist

2010-11-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

DD#1 has been checking "how to draw books" out from the library. She loves to sit and draw. Here is her latest creation. Figures it is a giraffe.

Trick or Treat

2010-11-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

Witches Shoes

2010-11-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

I made 15 witches shoes and filled them with lots of goodies and handed them out to my co-workers. They thought I went out and purchased the shoe. It was alot of fun making them.

Random Picture

2010-11-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

Picture of me from the eye of DD#1

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-01T17:12:00.001-07:00

Halloween Cookies

2010-11-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

She is here

2010-10-18T18:05:00.001-07:00

McKinley made her entrance into the world today at 2:08pm, weighing 5lbs 15 oz and 18 inches. Mother and daughter are doing fine.

Let's get started

2010-10-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

My cousin is going into the hospital tonight to start the induction process. Baby could be here quick or not so quick. I believe one of her deliveries took 19 hours. Let pray for a quick delivery!!!

Still Overdue

2010-10-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

My cousin is now 8 days overdue. She went to the doctor yesterday and they did an ultrasound and ran some tests. I believe everything looked fine. Doctor said if baby does not come naturally, she will induce on Sunday. We all get to wait longer.

Overdue

2010-10-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

My dear cousin is 6 six days, over her due date. She had also thought that her daughter would arrive early, but I guess she has other plans. We are all waiting patiently for her arrival, so please come out!!!

Where are the seasons?

2010-10-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

It is the middle of the October and today's temperature was 101 degrees. This is the part of the year in AZ that I don't like. When I was younger living in Sacramento, this time of the year meant, the leaves would start changing colors, a slight coolness in the air and the smell of fall. I have found in AZ there are only 2 seasons....HOT and HOTTER. I miss the 4 seasons!!!

Bento Boxes

2010-10-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

My new obsession is bento boxes for the kids. I want out and purchased several types of boxes and am having a great time filling them. I am finding the girls are eating more of there lunches. I am getting more and more creative with them as well. Here is my first attempt.

DH also got a new bento box for his birthday. I will have to take a picture one of these days.

Here are a couple of the blog I look at for great ideas:

http://crafty.littlerockmamas.com/

http://www.bentolunch.net/

http://lunchinabox.net/

http://www.laptoplunches.com/bento-lunch-boxes/school/