CALIFORNIA "WORK" PICTURES

Nathan spent 3 weeks in California for work in December and another 3 weeks in February.  He took lots of pictures and saw some great places...Places that I'll probably never, ever see in person.  Some of these pictures are absolutely beautiful, especially to have been taken with a camera phone but, at the same time, they absolutely TICK...ME...OFF!  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he got to do the things he did but, pulling single mom duty was no walk on the beach.

This is right across from his hotel...Nice.

The people he worked with there got him hooked on hockey.  He says it was so much better watching it live but, it was so cold.  He bought a sweatshirt there...Which you'll see him wearing in most of his pics since he didn't take a heavy jacket like I told him to.  Grrrr.

PALM SPRINGS

UCLA VS TEXAS BASKETBALL GAME & PETCO PARK - HOME OF THE PADRES

SANTA MONICA BEACH

SOME BEACH IN SAN DIEGO

FLYING OVER SOME MOUNTAINS SOMEWHERE & THE GRAND CANYON

BELAGIO HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS

He did work very hard with some very long hours and had to stay in a hotel for a very long time but, it's hard not to squint my eyes, grit my teeth and squeeze my lips together when I see these amazing pictures knowing he took them WHILE I was doing laundry and dishes, cleaning the house, cooking meals, grocery shopping, going to basketball and baseball practices, rushing from work to pick up the kids from after care in time, doing homework or listening to the kids fuss about something completely annoying.  Me...Bitter???  Nah...Just sayin. :-)

BASKETBALL (six)

Cole started off the game with an awful face smash into the mat.  I really didn't see what happened through the camera but was shocked at what I saw when I got home and saw the replay on the computer.  I busted out laughing the first few takes until it hit me how badly he could've gotten hurt.  No wonder the poor thing had a headache.  He quickly got over it though.

 

It's so great to see and hear Nathan back on the sidelines coaching his team.  Even though the kids have been winning without him, they've really needed his guidance to keep them from running wild.  The fill in coaches did what they could but, it's hard to fill Nathan's shoes as a coach in any sport he coaches.  The team did great and won 57-39.  Wow!  

 

Random...pictures of Brooke as she purposely walks in front of the camera.  Such a good little sister that really doesn't complain about Cole's sports all that much.

 

LOOK AT THIS...

Why do I think I can just make things work in a pinch sometimes?  I mean, really.  Brooke wanted pancakes for breakfast and I only had a little bit left of the ridiculously easy "just add water" pancake mix.

Problem is...If you put the exact amount of water and mix as the box says then it's too runny.  So when you accidentally dump the tail end of the box in the water and forget to account for the fact that you need extra mix to thicken the batter, you're pretty much screwed.



For some stupid reason, I decided to just make one GIANT pancake.  That would be so cool, right?  Umm, not so much since I didn't think about how I would possibly flip it over.

And after stuggling to flip it over, the result is BURNED...A typical turnout of most things for me.

With the little bit of batter I have remaining, I some how come up with an even brighter idea to put mini chocolate chips in the mix in order to "thicken" it up.  Once again, fail.

And that's what this is supposed to be...A chocolate chip pancake.  I have to believe that it takes talent to screw up the simplest things.

  

Brooke said, "Really, Mom?"  She tried it and I even picked out the charred chocolate but, she still said,  "This doesn't taste so good."  Sad face...As I clean up the mess I made and think about the time I just wasted.  Lovely start to a Saturday.

(this was a couple Saturdays ago while Nathan was still in California)

BASKETBALL (five)

This game was so sloppy because the kids had to play 3 on 3 and were constantly running out of gas.  The final score was 41-40 but, I'm not really sure which team won.  I'm almost positive I saw the score being changed on the wrong side a few times so, we just told the kids they won.  Thank goodness this was the last game without Nathan.  The team really missed their coach.

NEED ME TO BE

Remember when I mentioned Josh Miller and Brandon Lay a couple of months ago?  Brandon just released his first CD this weekend.  So awesome for him!!!  He and Josh also officially recorded the song they wrote together in the studio.  It will be available on iTunes March 9th so make sure you get it!

A couple more of Josh's newest covers...Hearts floating all around.  Tee hee :-)

Can you believe Josh pretty much does this just for fun???

BASKETBALL (four)

Pictures come out a lot better when I use the flash in the gym but, the flash is too distracting for the kids.  I took these during half time and Cole was beyond annoyed with me.  Sorry son, it has to be done...Cause your momma loves pictures!

Check out the flick of Cole's wrist.  He has perfect form when he shoots...Courtesy of his daddy.  Nathan says he can just look at the ball in the air and know that Cole shot it because it has the perfect rotation.  The ball might not always go in but, it sure looks good getting there!

A lovely game played on Valentine's Day.  We won 53-45 though...Gotta love that.