$100.00 Omlet - Flying from Ramona to French Valley

Dad and I took the Cessna for a burn from Ramona to French Valley Airport (Temecula) this morning. It was a picture perfect Southern California morning, although it was a bit on the nippy side (34 degrees). We were airborne by 7:15am for the short 20 min flight north. We ate and then made our way out of the increasingly busy traffic pattern at French Valley and headed home. We found the Ramona Airport deserted and for good reason.....winds were blowing 22 knots across the runway. The little Cessna does OK in the wind, but we were glad to land. Overall a good time. Need to go flying more.

Evidence of Global Warming.......

Yep, 8"+ of snow in Socal and no signs of letting up. Had a blast making a snowman this morning. Next up, dragging the kids behind the Honda 50 on the sled. Have to warm them up to the idea because right now they don't want any part of dad being a kid again.

Christmas Tree - 2008

True to our family tradition, we made the trek to Tehachapi this past Saturday to find a live Christmas Tree, cut it down, and bring it home. We surprisingly found a nice tree pretty quickly but we cruised around the lot looking for a better one. Finally settling on the first tree we picked, Landon and Skye helped me cut it down. Landon found an interesting stump which he made his home for a few minutes. Doesn't take much to entertain the little guy!

Tonight, we brought the tree in and decorated it. Last year Landon was too young to really get into it, but this year, he couldn't get enough of decorating the tree. He kept grabbing ornaments and throwing them on the tree. He also likes our tree so much that he gives it hugs when he passed by. He was so excited to be able to help this year. We heard "look it" about 1ooo times tonight. He has also picked up saying "goodness", which is pretty dang funny.

Palmdale 10K

Some time ago I set a goal to run a 10K race and then eventually a half marathon. On November 8, I finished a local 10K in 59:25. It was a blast being out there running on the street and the feeling of finishing was great. I signed up for the SLC Half Marathon in April of next year, so I am currently getting ready for that.

The kid in the picture is one of my scouts who did the race as well. He finished well ahead of me and came back and ran the last 1/4 mile with me.

Halloween - 2008

Trick-or-Treated in Irvine. Kids had a blast.

Landon was a caveman or tarzan, depending on who you talk to. Skye was the only Hannah Montana in the US, I am sure!!! Halloween was cool this year........

Disneyland on Halloween.....

Went to Disneyland on Halloween. We had a great time. The kids were exhausted on the way home and they all fell asleep with their heads leaning in the same direction. They were getting geared up for a little trick-or-treating in Irvine.

Meet Heather........

Darren and I went on a Yes on 8 sign event today in Irvine. We were standing at a major intersection near a shopping mall with about 250 other Yes on 8 people and a handful of No on 8 people, who i am sure felt out of place.

This blonde young lady drove by honking and yelling YES ON 8. Next thing we knew, she came up behind us with a Yes on 8 sign and asked if she could join in. We of course put her to work holding a sign. At this point, she was dressed normally.

Then, she gets this bright idea to go put on her "Devil Hooker" Halloween costume that she wore last night to show all the gay guys driving by "what they're missing". We of course didn't encourage her, but she was gone before we knew it. Next thing we know, she is walking down the street, all garbed up in her Halloween costume, holding her Yes on 8 sign. It was quite the sight to see her amongst a huge group of Mormons!!

Yes, she got a lot of honks.......(you should have seen the front of the costume).......

Dirtbike Girl......

Todd, I mean Skye, got a new toy tonight. Found an almost brand new 2007 Honda cfr50. We had a blast burning around the neighborhood. Can't wait to get Skye out there on the dirt. Landon kept saying "cycle....cycle.....cycle.....vroom....vroom..." on the way home. He is rearing to go, too!

Meet our new Pumpkin "Punk"

Landon named our pumpkin "punk" because that is as close as he can come to Pumpkin!!!. Good times......

Lombardi Ranch - Oct. 24, 2008

Todd ditched work early yesterday and went to Lombardi Ranch with Stacy and the kids. We went on a guided tour of the ranch and checked out some animals and the petting zoo. Landon was SOOO tired, but once we let him run around, he had a blast. He especially liked the petting zoo where he tried to poke all the animals in the eyes. They must get that alot cause they just sat there and took the abuse!!!! We got to pick a few pumpkins to bring home. I have a feeling FHE on monday is going to be pumpkin carving night. Enjoy the pics.....

Treadmill Thrill Ride.........

Don't ask me why, but my kids love the 1 second thrill ride on the treadmill. Skye thinks its funny to crank up the speed and watch Landon try to keep his balance. It has really helped him learn to balance alot better. They will do this for hours, if we let them. They have a blast! Ahh, to be young again.........

Saydi's Baptism......

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Las Vegas to see Stacy's grandparents and then we continued on to St. George, UT to see our friends the Campbell's. Saydi was getting baptized that weekend, so we were able to be there to see that. We had a great time, even if Matt killed me at Wii Golf.

Treehugger-in-Training

Landon deserves a special post just for this picture. Stacy snapped this picture of Landon giving a tree in our campsite a big hug after we got done calculating our carbon footprint for the trip and deciding how much to spend purchasing carbon offset indulgences (just kidding) :)

Camping At Hume Lake - Sept. 5-7

This past weekend, we took a trip up to Hume Lake in the Sequoia National Forest. We took some time to visit some of the giant Sequoia trees in the Sequoia/Kings Canyon area. We drove to Chad and Lyndsay's in Clovis on Thursday afternoon, spent the night at their house, then hit the road for the Lake late Friday morning. After we got to the park, we stopped at General Grant's tree on the way to the campground. Don't ask me the story about that big tree, cause I don't remember, but Stacy might. Landon took a nice face plant once he was set free from his mean old car seat. He was running up the path and WHAM.......he tripped over his feet and face planted on the asphalt. Poor guy. I snapped a great picture of his pain, but Stacy wouldn't let me post it!!!! He was back at it within minutes having the time of his life.

After we got checked into the campsites and camp set up, we went down for a leisurly stroll around the lake, which turned into a 3.5 mile hike. It was really cool to see the whole lake, but we brought too much stuff along the way to carry. After getting back to camp, Chad and Lyndsay made a great BBQ chicken meal with corn on the cob, salad and the works. Great food!

Saturday morning, Grandpa and Skye made a very healthy french toast/peach dutch oven meal. it had lots of brown sugar, butter and all that good stuff in it. Needless to say, it tasted fantastic! We spent Saturday at Celebrate Sequoia! at a nearby campground, which was a festival with booths and crafts and stuff. After doing that, we headed down to the lake and that is where we tried to roll the log. Grandpa, Chad and I could only get about a quarter rotation. We convinced ourselves that it is bottom heavy and there is no way to actually spin it. We tried, but we kept falling off. I took Skye out on it with me. She was really brave, but we went in the water a few times. The water was freezing, by the way, but we kinda got used to it after being in it for awhile. Everyone had a blast at the lake beach. For dinner, I made a chicken/rice dutch oven recipe that we tried in Wrightwood in July.

Sunday, we got up and had dutch oven sour cream coffee cake, broke camp, and headed down to the lake. We rented a rowboat and chad and lyndsay paddled the lake in a canoe. Landon contributed to the peace and serenity of the clear blue mountain lake by screaming most of the time. Once I decided to go back, he quieted down and chilled with Skye as they dipped their hands in the water. After we got back, we fed the ducks the last of our bread rolls and hit the road for home.

Hume Lake is a fantastic place. We will definitely be going back there again, maybe every year. There is alot to do there and we could only fit in a fraction of what there is to do.