Easter Morning

Easter morning was spent doing something very UN Easter --- we did all our toes!  Even Daisy Mae's toes!  Then we had brunch, played rummicub, took a walk, looked at property and then watched basketball.

Easter Eve

Last nite there was a tremendous thunder and lightening storm for about 2 hours.  We were all up watching and Jim took some video.  This video is just a small piece of the lightening - at one point we were surrounded and the whole sky lit up. 

I was alerted to the storm by Ahi who is afraid of thunder.  She was running all around the house and then jumped into our bed and hit me right in the face.  It was so noisy and the flashing lights were so fierce that even Daisy Mae was freaked out.  At one point, my queen size bed held my me, Grace, Ahi and Daisy Mae!

The storm also brought 1 and 1/2 inches of rain.

PML - Day Before Easter

Another beautiful spring day.  Even got a little sunburned today.  Grandma Anna and Grandpa Roy came out and spent a couple hours fishing and touring the lake.

Each day we learn a little more about our boat and the best way to use it, park it, drive it, etc.

Cabo in the Morning

Our morning today was spent on a boat on a lake in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  My friend, and faithful blog reader, Tia Tracy, spent her morning in Cabo, Mexico and sent me this picture!

I would say that we are both pretty lucky people!

Hillbilly Fishing

So we buy a fancy new boat and immediately ghetto it up. 

Here we are fishing off the back of it.  That's a picture of a bag that Jim took our snacks out of and used as a drag to make the boat troll slower.

And below is a fishing pole holder made out of a a piece of 2 by 4 and bungee corded to the ski rack!

You can take the hillbilly out of the boat but you can't take the hillbilly out of the owner!

First Family Trip out on PM II

We packed up yesterday and took the PM II to New Melones.  It was an amazing spring day - sunny and 79 degrees.  We were on the water from about 11 am to 5 pm.  Only caught one fish but that was ok.

We came home and met Grandma Anna and Grandpa Roy up at the club for dinner.  It was their first time back to the cabin since his heart attack.  It was so awesome to see them here!

Grace reading Yosemite facts to me.

Parked the boat and took a hike up a river.

Ahi's First Trip on the Pontoon Mama II

Ahi is one of the luckiest dogs in the world (Murray is the other one).  She went from being a rescued dog who was too scared to leave her crate to having her own pontoon boat!  Here are pics from her first trip out on the new boat.

She immediately decided she liked the spot under my chair!

Sunning her belly!

We were packing up to go and she was in the driveway wanting to bring her xmas toy on the boat with us!

Snuggled in under my chair

After a good nap under the chair, it's time to see if we are catching any fish.

On - off

I was working today at home when suddenly the tv in the family room went on!  I got up and walked out towards the family room to see who was home....and no one was home.  No human, that is!  Ahi had jumped on the remote control and turned on the tv.

Champs

Grace's Junior High team won the soccer championship today.  They ended the season with 16 wins and one tie!

They are back....

Remember last year when the ducks took up residence in the front yard?  They are doing it again.  Hubby and wife are hanging out, napping, drinking and eating bugs in the front yard.  If they decide to lay eggs again, I hope they are more successful then last year.

Clap your hands!

Grace is a big fan of the t-rex - his short little arms crack her up.  She saw this over the weekend and was giggling!  So silly!

When I get old....

When I get old, I am going to:

1.  Ride an old persons tricycle with a basket on the front and the back.
2.  Have a lazy, English bulldog named Porridge.
3.  Not watch what I eat.
4.  Grow veggies and flowers in pots....and talk to them.
5.  Be a bee keeper to harvest my own honey.

And I am considering playing bingo....

A new sport

A new sport means new gear!  Grace is going to try track at school, so we all (even Drew) rushed out to get some new gear.  Check out these sick track shoes!

And the video above shows her practicing the triple jump at the local high school, with former track star Renee Screwtop!  Renee loves track and has waited her whole life to have some kids to watch.  Now she will get her daughter, Kayla, Grace and their friend Ry to watch.  I expect to see Renee and Grandpa Roy in the stands rooting them on.  Here is the conversation that will occur:

Grandpa Roy:  There go those two milers.
Renee:  Yep
...3 minutes pass...
Grandpa Roy:  There go those two milers.
Renee:  Yep.

Such fans!!!!

Pontoon Mama II - first time running

This is a video of the Pontoon Mama II running on Don Pedro.

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cake

This cake is amazing!  Next time you have a chocolate craving - make it!

 

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus additional butter, for greasing pan
• 1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
• 1 egg, plus 2 eggs
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside.
In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Funky Munky Brackets

I am tied for first place in my March Madness Pool at work!  And I have no idea what I am doing.  I have 28 out of 38 correct picks!

LAX - Pacific Grove

G had two games today in Pacific Grove.  They won one and lost won.  This is her in the goal!

Pontoon Mama II is home

Gassing her up

The Pontoon Mama II went to her new home today.  Jim, Mr. C and Big Dan took a trip to the cabin and took her out on Don Pedro for the first time.

Parked safe and sound at the cabin

First time on the water

Mimi!

My niece just got these super cute glasses!  She looks so grown up!

Pickle Ball!

Jim's Aunt Nancy is visiting from Arizona and challenged us to a game (or more) of pickleball.  She plays on an over 70's league in Arizona and has that athletic/competitive gene from Jim's family.....and was ready to kick our butts!

Jim and Drew gave her a run for her money....Grace and I....not so much!

It was a lot of fun!  And true to my family's love of gear, everyone thinks they need their own pickleball paddle.


http://pickleball.com/

Air Balloon

 I woke up this morning, opened the blinds and saw what looked like a garbage bag on our roof - but it had seams in it!

After some investigation, we thought that it was a little home made hot air balloon.

But then a girlfriend told me it was a lantern and that her family let's them go in England.  Here is what I found about them:

"Sky lanterns are so simple to use, you can invite your guests to join the fun! With guests lighting and releasing their own sky lanterns, you can coordinate a larger launch while making everyone part of the excitement.

When purchasing sky lanterns for your festivities, it is important to consider quality. Lanterns made from common rice paper are flammable and delicate, while our lanterns use superior materials that are both fire-retardant and biodegradable."

I wish it would have had a note on it saying where it came from.  And I am glad it was not released in the middle of fire season.

Pontoon Mama 2

We picked up Pontoon Mama 2 on Sunday.  We had a soccer game for Drew in Fairfield and that is where the boat was so it worked out perfectly.  We watched the game, had some lunch and went to get the Pontoon Mama 2!

It was love at second sight - I was thrilled with it.  Until the boat shop owner pulled it out of the shop for us to hook up to the Tahoe.....that's when Jim and I started thinking, "what were we thinking...this thing is HUGE!"

But it was a done deal, so we hooked it up and off we went.

While driving home, it felt like a bus was right on our butt!  Every time you glanced back you had a panic attack because you were sure there was a bus coming in the back of the Tahoe!

On the way home (it's about an hour drive), I texted our neighbor and said, "we are coming home with a new boat, it's huge, we need to park it in front of your house!".  It wouldn't fit in front our our house becuase its so long.

So we turn the corner and there he is, waiting for us in his front yard, wanting to be in on the fun!  We backed in, in front of his house, and it took up the space between his driveway and our drive way with the trailer sticking a few feet into our driveway!

Then we all jumped out and started looking at every nook and cranny in our new boat!

This is the area in the center pontoon where we store skis....and bad children!

Murray loves the new boat - he put the first dirty paw prints in it!

 We can't wait to get it up to the cabin!

Backing up the truck to it for the first time.

Parked in the "hood"