Wordless Wednesday: Automatic Sprinkler

Starbucks Love

Every Sunday on our way to church we stop at Starbucks. It's a different Starbucks than we normally go to - I call it our "Sunday Starbucks." So, this week I decided to ask the girl at the counter about the whole "no more decaf Frappuccino base issue" and she said that they do still make it and that the chick at the other Starbucks was nuts. She said that them getting rid of the decaf base would be the "stupidest idea ever." Yup, I totally agree. She said that she couldn't imagine how many parents would come in and yell at her for getting rid of it. So, hooray, I was able to get my grande decaf pumpkin spice Frappuccino. And, Starbucks isn't totally out of their minds - just some of the employees are.

Football Cupcakes

Jason had a Monday Night Football party tonight and I whipped up these cupcakes for him:

Happy Birthday David

Thursday was my brothers birthday and we had him over tonight to celebrate his special day. Since the Slagle household is David and Kara's favorite "restaurant", we cooked for them. Barbecued steak with Chimichurri sauce, oven fries and salad was on the menu. And what birthday would be complete without a (as Dillon would call it) "happy birthday cake." David requested an ice cream cake with rocky road ice cream. So, being the nice sister that I am, I happily made him one. I have to admit that it wasn't the best looking cake I have ever made, but it was sure yummy!

I Speak Chinese

So my little guy is multi-lingual. He frequently tells us to "vamonos" and sometimes greets us with "hola" or "ni hao." I will tell him that we are going somewhere, like the store, and he will take me by the hand and say, "let's go, vamonos" so there is no doubt in my mind that he knows what it means. As for saying "ni hao" which is "hi" in Chinese, I'm not a hundred percent sure that he knows what he's saying (and he says it so cute) but, twice when we've been out and about he has seen Asian people and said it, so he's headed in the right direction at least. And, as if he wasn't already cute enough when he says "ni hao" he will often say: I speak Chinese.

Football Game

Yesterday was Ryan's first football game of the season and Dillon and I headed out in the scorching heat to watch it. They won big time - 30 to zip!

A Letter To Starbucks

Dear Geniuses at Starbucks,

I love you. I really do. All summer long I drink your wonderful Shaken Iced Teas, rotating between the Passion Tea and the Black Tea. If you read my blog, which I'm sure that you do, then you would know how much I am longing to sip down something from the Pumpkin Spice family. And today should have been the day I satisfied my craving. I pulled up to the drive thru menu and there it was... Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino! I practically shrieked with joy as I gave my order to Jason to give to the nice lady on the speaker - A Grande Decaf Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino. My husband repeats the order to the nice lady on the speaker and suddenly the nice lady becomes my worst enemy. "I'm sorry sir, we no longer make a decaf base for the Frappuccino's" My eyes widen, horrified and then they start to fill with tears. For you see, Dear Geniuses, you have broken my heart. Crushed my spirit. Taken away one of my simplest pleasures in life. I can never again indulge in a Frappuccino - not just my beloved Pumpkin Spice, but also my Caramel Mocha one, and well... all of them. For you see, Geniuses, my body simply can't tolerate caffeine from coffee - I get the shakes and feel dizzy and get nauseous to the point that I want to throw up, well, actually, I feel that way now, from this devastating news. I doubt that I am alone. All you Geniuses are trying to come up with new ways to increase your sales, like your new fancy schmancy breakfast options, but yet you have the brilliant idea to take away my drink. If you knew just how often Pumpkin Spice calls my name, multiple times a week, you would see how much money you are going to loose by your ingenious decision. Now, I am down on my knees begging, pleading with you to bring back my drink. How am I going to survive the Fall without quenching my thirst for Pumpkin Spice? Oh, woe is me!

Sadly,

Rachel

a.k.a. the girl who actually cries over lost Frappuccinos

Falling

I can hardly wait for fall... the colors, the smells, the weather. I am longing for the cooler weather, the crispness in the air and fires crackling in the fireplace. My nostrils are craving the smells of apples, pumpkins and cinnamon. My taste buds are anticipating the first taste of a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. I am excited to see the wind swirling the leaves on the ground. I love the shorter days and the longer nights. I love the clothes - cozy sweaters and jeans and boots. I've already started bringing out the fall decorations - I can't wait the extra three weeks until the Autumn equinox. There is a street a few blocks away and the leaves on every tree change color. The leaves on the tree in my front yard change to brown, but on this street they change to the fall colors of orange, yellow, and crimson. It's a street I find myself driving down over and over again in the fall and as it nears winter I almost expect for it to start snowing. To me there is something so magical about fall. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is but it is stirring inside me.

love these place mats from crate & barrel

saw these at target and had to have them

Oil Changes Can Be Fun

I dread having to take my car in for an oil change by myself. This is only the second time I've had to stay and wait for my car but it's the first time I've had to drag Dillon along. My car was due for it's three-thousand mile service and we were headed out of town and that would put me past the mark. So I had no choice but to load my purse up with books and goldfish crackers and a sippy cup of water and just go for it. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found when I pulled into the Dodge dealer. They had an outdoor waiting area complete with a pint sized table and chairs. Perfect. The dealer is not far from the beach and the weather was great. Dillon was able to play with the toy that he called a roller coaster and read his books. He was also able to run around. I was so thankful - I had no idea how I was going to contain this great force of energy know as Dillon in a stroller for an hour. He did great and had fun. And I didn't hate sitting at the dealer waiting for my car.

I would also like to introduce my new car. I guess that I should really call it newish because it already has almost four-thousand miles on it. Back in June, Jason and I did a car switch-a-roo. He drives so much everyday and gas was costing us a fortune in his V-8 Ford F-150. I don't drive nearly as much and we have been wanting something bigger than my Toyota Corolla for our family car. So, we sold the truck, painted the dark blue Corolla white and bought ourselves a 2009 Dodge Journey. I absolutely love it! It's not too big, but it can seat seven. It has an abundance of storage and is super comfortable. And it came loaded with Sirius satellite radio, a navigation system, hands free Bluetooth calling and a DVD player. The DVD player wasn't an option that we were looking for, but it has been a lifesaver on the trips we have taken to my mom's (and that's the only time we let Dillon use it - on long trips). The gas mileage isn't super but it's better than the truck got and Jason loves driving the Corolla and getting almost forty miles per gallon.

my version of off-roading (haha)

Date Day

While we were up at my mom's, Jason and I got not just a Date Night, but a Date Day, too! It's been so long since we have done anything just the two of us. It's always the three of us, so it was amazing to be able to spend the day with my husband. We went to Starbucks and sat at a little table inside while drinking our beverages (as opposed to just zipping through the drive-thru as we normally do) and we did some shopping. For our evening, we had planned on going bowling and then out for sushi. We headed to the bowling alley and we're totally bummed - they were closed for Labor Day - on SUNDAY! So, we sat in the car deciding what we were going to do with ourselves. Bishop is such a small town that going bowling was really our only option. That's it, nothing else to do. And to top it off, the restaurant didn't open for two more hours. So on the spur of the moment, we decided to make the forty mile trek up to Mammoth. We drove along cranking the Octane channel on Sirius and talking and not being interrupted every five seconds by a cute little boy asking us cute little questions (mommy, where are we? daddy, you heard that? where are the cows at?...).

I guess that I should mention that Mammoth is pretty small, too, and there really isn't much to do there either. There are a few shops and outlet stores and some restaurants, but, we had also gone up there the day before too and had exhausted all the shopping options. So, we ended up going to a Mexican Cantina for some drinks and then out for Sushi. After dinner we (well, actually, I, since I was driving the car) decided to go for a drive. I just started driving and pretty soon we were going up a big mountain with some breathtaking views and then we ended up at the lakes. It was cold and windy and we were so not dressed for it, but we had to get out of the car more than once to take in God's amazing work. We were the only ones with out jackets and Jason was wearing shorts. But it was worth it! Great Day!

our drinks

our sushi

the view from our table

the dead lake

(the trees have died from the carbon monoxide in the air caused by volcanoes. there are warnings not to stay there too long)

God's Amazing Views (and some of me and Jason)

I've learned how to take half way decent self portraits...

Jason's has not.