Category Archives: Fun

Santa Ynez Trail ~ Saturday Day Trip…

 

Dear and I are heading North today to check out wine country north of Santa Barbara. Here are the wineries we’re going to try to visit. I hope to get some good photos along the way. We also have a great spot to stop for lunch in Los Olivos.

• Sunstone Winery – best picnic spot, Provencal setting
• Kalyra Winery – a touch of Australia in wine production
• Gainey Vineyards – beautiful setting, twenty-minute wine tour
• Buttonwood Farm Winery – small production winery, great Sauvignon Blanc
• Rideau Vineyard – historic tasting room, Creole touch, the gardens

Have a great Saturday and I’m posting a couple of fun quizes for Saturday. So scroll down and enjoy…

 

Show and Tell ~ Torch Relay 1984 Olympics

 

Before the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles Dear was chosen by his company to run a leg of the Torch Relay. This was a fun event for our family to experience. He ran his leg of the relay in Ontario, California. We were all there to cheer him on. His company representatives were there too with one of their Cal-Mat Cement trucks on the sidelines. Fun times…

Oh and no we didn’t get to keep the torch. The company has it on display somewhere but they did pay for the photo!

For more Show and Tell Friday go to Kelli’s at There’s no place like home….

10-20-30 ~ Meme

 It’s another carefree Saturday meme post.

I stole this little gem of a meme from Mary at Relevantblog…

10-20-30! Let the Virus Begin!

Quick: What were you doing ten, twenty and thirty years ago?

10 Years Ago ~ 1997

We were getting ready to move to our 2nd rental home after a huge landslide had forced us out of our lst home in Washington State. Our oldest Son was away in his freshman year of college at Westmont in Santa Barbara. Our 2nd son was in his Junior year of high school. I was homeschooling our daughter who was in 6th grade. Dear was working in downtown Seattle for a Biotec Company. This was an emotionally tough time with the loss of our home and the beginnings of letting our children go…

20 Years Ago ~ 1987

We were living in Ventura, California and had made the decision to move to Washington State so that Dear could complete his education at the University of Washington and apply to Pharmacy School there. Josh and Dan were in Elementary school and Katie was almost 2. Greg’s mother Verna was living with us after Rex’s death in 1985.  Lots of packing, planning and emotions going on. The photo below is taken in 1988 when we stopped in Yuba City at Dear’s Aunt and Uncle’s on our way to Washington State to start our new life….

Aunt Carol, Dan, Josh, and Katie (July 1988)

30 Years Ago ~ 1977

Married for almost 3 years. We were living in Huntington Beach, California in our second home. We didn’t have any children yet (Josh arrived in 1979) I was teaching 2nd grade in Bell Gardens, California. Dear and his brother worked together in their own house painting business. We were active with our church young marrieds group and on our 2nd ski trip to Mammoth, California decided we were going to move there and live the life of bliss skiing our life away. At this time there was a building moratorium going on in Mammoth because of lack of snow and other issues in the city. We bought a beautiful lot for a great price because of the moratorium. We were dreaming big! Within the next year I got pregnant with Josh and the practical reality of not being able to make a great living in Mammoth set in. Just before Josh was born we sold our lot for double what we paid for it (biggest snow fall in years and the moratorium had lifted) We really could use the extra money since I was going to quit my teaching job to be a full time stay at home mom!

Well there you have it. I’m sure there are bigger things I forgot to mention but there will be another meme in the future that will bring out more lost memories for sure.

If you decide to steal this meme like I did and play along, let me know. I’d love to read about your decades….

Friday’s Feast ~ #5

Appetizer
When was the last time you were surprised?

When my over 40 year old brother and his over 40 year old wife told us they were expecting a baby. They’ve been married for a year and this is the first marriage for each of them. The baby is due in January. Very surprised and filled with joy for them…

Soup
Fill in the blanks: My eyes are Hazel, but I wish they were more green.

Salad
If you were a Beanie Baby, what would you look like and what would your name be?

I would be a brown and black Hedgehog and my name would be Tiggy!

Main Course
Name two things you consistently do that you consider to be healthy habits.

Reading my Bible and eating High Fiber Cereal with a banana in the morning.

Dessert
What brand of toothpaste are you using these days? Do you like it? Why or why not?

Crest Paste not gel and not the one that tastes like pepto bismol. (yuck)

For more Friday Feasts go here.

Baba and Deda ~ Grandchildren ~ Heritage

On Sunday afternoon my children got a rare treat of being at their Baba and Deda’s all together. My parents have been in their Senior Apartment for one year now and Katie is the only one of my kids that has had a chance to visit them there. We had dessert then 4 more grandchildren arrived and we got to listen to my Pop tell some stories about their time in Russia and Iran before they came to the U.S. The Photo below is of my Pop’s cousin who served in the Russian Army during WWII. The story my dad told us about him is below the photo…

 

This is Feodor Ivanovich Aryeshen. One night during patrol of the trenches, as he walked with his rifle in his hands he came face to face with a Nazi soldier. They faced each-other with their rifles pointed at each other. Then they both turned around and ran for their lives. When he woke up the next morning his hair had turned pure white! They say it was from being so frightened.

My Father told a few more stories about his life that were great for all his grandchildren to hear. What a rich wonderful afternoon we all had with my parents. What a joy to hear how God has kept them safe and close to Him for so many years. We ended our time with my Pop praying for all of us and blessing his grandchildren again…

Photobucket is holding hundreds of my photos hostage and that’s why you don’t see the original photos on this post.

Wedding Day Fun In California!

We started our day with an amazing breakfast at Nick and Vera’s. Then we all got our wedding attire on and headed to the wedding in Seal Beach, California.

The first two rows of the collage: (DIL Laura), (Josh & his dad), (Katie)

(Katie, Michelle & Laura),  (Brother Tim and Letty), (Melissa, Svetlana, & Kathy)

 

(Kelly & Steve), (Miss, Kathy & Michelle), (Dan, Ryan, & Michelle)

(The mother of the groom, Letty), (Dave, Kristin, Laura, & Josh), (The Groom Derek)

Mom & Pop

Some of their Grandchildren (The Young-uns)

The Beautiful Granddaughters and one old guy!

Some of their Children (The Older folk)

Dear and My Family

My Guys!

Here’s Amy the bride, Lana and Bridget!

Mother and Son Dance

Photobucket is holding hundreds of my photos hostage and that’s why you don’t see the original photos on this post.

4 Things Meme ~ Just “Four” Fun…

Time for some weekend Meme fun. Now we are off for some extended family fun with our Nephew’s wedding today! Blessings on your weekend.

A Meme “Four” You

I saw this at Cherish the Word and decided to play along with Myrna!

Four Jobs I have had in my life….

1. Office assistant

2. File Clerk

3. Elementary School Teacher

4. Housecleaning Business

Four Places I have Lived…  (I’ll do the places since I’ve been married)

1. West Los Angeles, California

2. Huntington Beach, California

3. Ventura, California

4. Bothell, Washington

Four Places I have been on Vacation….

1. Maui

2. London

3. Great Britain (Wales, Scotland, England)

4. Napa/Sonoma Wine Country Bicycle Tour

Four of my Favorite Foods…

1. Anything Russian my mother makes

2. Mexican food with good Salsa

3. Stews or thick hearty Soups

4. Bread! (in any form sweet or not)

Four Places I’d rather be right now…

1. In the State of Washington

2. At a Restaurant having Brunch.

3. In Great Britain

4. At a Cabin in the Mountains

Four Places I’d Rather Not Be…

1. In the desert.

2. At a funeral

3. In Traffic

4. In the Dark!

If you’d like to play please do and let me know if you do because I’d love to read your 4’s!