365 Days of Katelin & Shaun

Happy Birthday Daddy/Thomas

2011-07-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

In honor of your 50^th Birthday, we have planned a magnificent weekend. Keep in mind: you are going to eat something good, see something good, and have a ton of fun.

We have contacted Colin and Spencer and you will be on vacation from work from Friday, July 29^th thru Monday, August 1^st. That’s right, no work for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

The mail at 1109 has been stopped. Ricky has reservations at the Doggy Hotel. And all that is necessary for you to do is pack.

We will be leaving Friday morning on Virgin American flight no. 927 en route to San Francisco where we will be staying at the Berkeley Marina Double Tree Hotel.

The iPad Has Arrived

2011-05-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today was considered an epic day for our family- my mom bought her iPad. Now, to an outsider looking in, one would assume it's not that big of a deal...trust me, it is. My mom has been wanting an iPad since it first came out, except she has this policy of waiting until the second generation is released. So, a year later, after much waiting and anxiety, the iPad 2 is released and my mom is ecstatic. But of course, she needs to set up an intricate plan as to how she's going to get it so the experience will be perfect. She didn't want to order online because she wanted the experience of being in the store but at the same time people were buying them like crazy at the stores. So, finally on Sunday, she decided today would be the day to buy one after much consultation with my dad, myself, and an Apple sales associate.

This morning we both woke at 7 AM (I got to miss school) to hurry over to the Grove to get in line to get the iPad. However, some guy happened to get the last iPad that we wanted in front of us. Of course my mom was bummed, but the sales associate, Jei (pictured above) told her to wait around and he'd be able to help her get one. And you'll never guess what happened out of sheer luck, my mom got her iPad. Needless to say, my mom was going crazy like a kid in a candy store and was chatting it up with Jei and you would've thought they were best friends by the end of our visit.

Now that we are at home, my mom is anxiously awaiting for my dad to return home from work so the whole family can play with "the new toy."

2011-04-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

We met Birgit in the most unfortunate circumstances. Grandma was very ill and in the hospital, but insisted that we go to New York for Katelin's Spring Break (2007). When we arrived at the New Yorker Hotel, the reservations that were made 6 months prior were no where to be found. Needless to say, with the stress of Grandma's illness, the long flight, time difference, and then not being able to find the reservation, you could only imagine what kind of mood my mom was in. Dad asked to speak with the front desk manager and along came Birgit.

She immediately fixed everything, we got a suite on one of the upper levels, with a fabulous view of the city. Since then, we've remained close to Brigit. She's German like Dad and just a really sweet lady. Each time we visit, she makes sure that we have the BEST room the hotel has to offer plus complimentary breakfast each morning- We are all very fond of her.

The New Yorker Hotel

2011-04-10T10:38:00.001-07:00

Since my very first trip New York, which was when I was 12 years old, my family and I have been staying at the New Yorker Hotel. The establishment opened in 1929 and during our first couple years when we stayed there, I remembered it for its old New Yorker charm. A couple years ago, the hotel underwent renovations and it still maintains its charm, it's just a little bit more updated.

This time for our trip, my mom thought it would be funny to say that we were NOT staying at the New Yorker Hotel. Of course I was upset, but then again I was just lucky enough to be going to New York, so I reluctantly complied. However, when driving from the airport to the hotel, my parents surprised me staying that we were staying at my favorite hotel after all. Needless to say, I was ecstatic- so here are a few pictures from our floor level (which was the 38th floor) and our room!

Garrett's Popcorn

2011-04-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

So anybody who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE sugar! I'm kind of like Will Ferrel in the movie Elf, I like candy, candy corn, candy canes, and syrup, which is sugar of course. I also love carmel popcorn. On the East Coast, popcorn is surprisingly a big business because of Garrett's Popcorn. I refuse to eat popcorn now unless it is from there because that's just how amazingly decadent it is. If I'm not in New York, we order it. If I'm in New York, I eat it every single day- sometimes twice a day.

Day 4 in New York: Pizza Tour

2011-04-08T20:12:00.001-07:00

On our fourth day in New York we took our favorite type of tour: A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour!- so exciting we know. We went to two different pizza places: Grimaldi's and L&B Spumoni. I think I can speak for my whole family when I say Grimaldi's is overrated while L&B is heavenly. Grimaldi's is a thin crusted margarita style pizza that's located right underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, while L&B is a thick breaded pizza that has the cheese inside the dough as well as on top with sauce on top of the cheese- it's indescribable how amazing it is.

Along with eating monstrous amounts of pizza, we visited Coney Island and learned about the history of the pier, its rides such as the Cyclone, and then drove back to Manhattan where pretty much half the tour entered a carb induced coma.

More pictures to come! :)

Day 3 in NY

2011-04-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

So for our third day in New York, we went to Times Square and saw Billy Elliott, which was so AMAZING! For those of you who don't know, the play is about a boy named Billy who lives during the miner's strike in England with his father and he wants to be a dancer. The kids were so talented and I highly recommend it to anyone. While we were walking, we discovered one of the many marvels of New York, street performers. We ran into the Tin Man, so of course my mom was overjoyed to take some pictures with him.

After the play, we walked around some more and then went to go eat dinner at Pizza Suprema. Now we used to eat at Ray's Pizza, which turned into Famous Amadeus because all of the copy-cat Ray's Pizzas were so terrible, but Famous Amadeus wasn't that much better- so we found this pizza place near the hotel that has WONDERFUL pizza. Then after we stuffed our faces with pizza, we decided to take a taxi for our annual trip to Dylan's Candy Bar, which was suprisingly not as crowded as it usual is (probably because it was pretty late).

More pictures from New York to come! :)

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2011-04-06T18:14:00.001-07:00

On our 2nd day in New York, we visited yet another museum known as The Guggenheim. They didn't allow us to take pictures inside of the exhibit, which is why we only have pictures of its architecture. My mom, who is an enforcer of all rules, took the "no pictures inside" rule to heart. So, when a woman was standing in front of a painting, taking numerous pictures with her digital camera, blatantly defying the laws of the museum, what does my mom do? Rush over to one of security guards, point at the woman, tell him that there are pictures being taken, laws being broken, and that action needs to be taken. And that is exactly what happened. Needless to say, the woman wasn't taking anymore pictures or getting in mom's way of a painting for the rest of our visit.

The Guggenheim has stunning architecture and it goes in a circle for about six levels, so instead of walking up stairs you walk in a smooth combined circle the whole time. The artists that were on display were Modern Artists from 1900-1910 including Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and many more.

And while this post is our supposed "last" post of our year and a half "365 project." We will still be posting pictures from New York, and instead of everyday we will be posting once a week. It has been a great project and we have had so much fun sharing our lives with our visitors and followers...may the merry times continue.

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2011-04-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

On our epic first day in New York we visited The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We took the subway and walked through Central Park (something we've never done before despite the multiple times we have gone to NY). When we arrived, we visited multiple exhibits and my favorite was the Guitar Heroes Exhibit (where they did not allow us to take pictures) as well as the Grecian sculptures, and "A Room in View." Afterwards, we ate pretzels, took pictures on the steps of the massive museum, and took a taxi cab back to the hotel.

**There will be more pictures to come- We promise :)

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2011-03-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Virgin America Terminal LAX

A very sleepy Katelin (it's 5 AM)

Katelin on the plane...

The New Yorker Hotel Lobby

View from the balcony of our room

We've been super busy with college counseling, school work, ACT prep, AP exam prep, midterms, Mom's work, and the list just goes ON and ON. We are taking a week off for some time in New York, which is one of our favorite cities. There will be more pictures to come!

PS: Hi Aunt Geri! :)

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2011-02-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

Monday's are crazy at our house because Katelin has a conditioning class and she doesn't get home until almost 7 PM, which means everything is later than usual. Since it is Valentine's Day, I picked up her and Thomas' favorite dinner and dessert. It was a wonderful family Valentines, we opened gifts, and had a great time. Hope you had a great Valentine's Day! :)

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2011-02-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

So we haven't been around in awhile and that's because we have had SO SO SO much going on. Mom has been working, I've been working and starting college counseling and prep, we started going to yoga, and the list goes on an on.

Some highlights are that Mom finally took me to the new Promenade and I absolutely loved it just like her. Also, Mom took my dad and I to this new Mexican place in Downtown called 4 Vientos and they have AMAZING shrimp tacos that actually look disgusting but taste great (they even have potatoes in them). Overall things have been quite great, we're sorry for not posting in such an outrageously long time!

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2011-01-17T06:49:00.000-08:00

Happy King Day !

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2011-01-16T16:47:00.001-08:00

Last week was Spirit Week at my high school. It's a week that comes once a year where my school becomes a battle ground between grades where we face off in dress up days leading up the most coveted day of all: Spirit Day. This year, my grade, the Juniors, class of 2012, had the theme of We1come 2 The Doll House (we cleverly integrated our graduation year into the title). So our theme color was pink and we were ballerinas (hence the tutus). On Spirit Day, each grade performs their dance, as well as participates in 3 different games. Our class won Best Dance for the 2nd year in a row and Tug-O-War for the 3rd year in a row. Overall it was a great week and we had tons of fun.

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2011-01-15T20:50:00.001-08:00

It's impossible for me to believe that had Dr. King lived he would have been celebrating his 82nd. birthday today.

I am eternaly grateful to Dr. King as well as every person who has every stood up for the rights of "colored people". I often wonder if Dr. King and so many others had lived would "colored people" be better off ? The question that most often haunts me is: Have we as a people taken advantage of all of the opportunties made available to us?

Happy Birthday Dr. King

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2011-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Thomas & I decided to do a little retail therapy - we spent the afternoon at the newly renovated Santa Monica Mall aka Santa Monica Place. It's a wonderful outdoor mall overlooking Santa Monica Beach with lots of my favorite stores; Nordstrom, Nike, Puma, Louis Vuitton, Bloomingdales and Papyrus.

P.S. Have a wonderful week - be good to yourself :)

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2011-01-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

Today my mom and I went to The Black College Expo in Downtown, Los Angles- at the Convention Center to be exact. I'm not really looking to go to any black colleges but we went for the experience and to try something new. When we got there we talked with people from all the UCs (University of California) such as Berkeley, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Davis. We also visited Howard University, Hampton University, Prairie View A&M University, Spelman College, as well as looked at other colleges. The whole experience was quite interesting. There were some booths that had fire orange signs that read "ACCEPTANCE ON THE SPOT HERE." I had never heard of anything like that where you go to a booth, show your transcripts, fill out a sheet, and learn in a matter of seconds whether or not you got into college. Have you guys heard of that before!?! Overall we enjoyed our time there and left with TONS of brochures. I hope you all are having a great weekend so far :)

P.S. I also learned how to manage my money in college with Wells Fargo.

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2011-01-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

For one of my Christmas presents, I got a pair of canvas colored TOMS. I've been wanting them for about 4 months so I can take my sharpies and draw a super cool design on them so then they are my own custom made TOMS. Surprisingly it took my all of two days (a couple hours each day) and I created these (see picture above).

P.S. Happy New Year! May you have a happy & healthy 2011 :)

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2010-12-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

Katelin loves wearing her hair in a hippie-wash in wear-don't comb it- kind of style. I was quite surprised when she came to me and asked to get her hair done. You can't really blame her for not wanting to go for the past 6 months because she spends about 6 hours at the hair salon (3.5 of those hours are under the dryer). After getting an inch cut off, I think it just looks gorgeous. And yes, it is all hers- NO weave, NO color, NO ANYTHING :)

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2010-12-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

My mom came up with this great idea to make Santa Pails filled with stuff that everyone loves. I got OPI glitter nail polish, giftcards, chocolate, rubberbands, and headbands while my dad got cologne, GameStop giftcard, LED flashlight, chocolate, and much more. My mom has a knack for getting all the things a person would love. Of course since she was making pails for everyone, my dad and I saw it as absolutely necessary to make one for her; but of course, we had to hide it in the brown paper bag pictured with the other pails because she would've without a doubt gone through it.

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2010-12-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Late Christmas! I personally had an amazing one and it was so great seeing my parents get excited over the gifts I've given them. We drank coffee and chai in the morning as we sat by the tree and opened our gifts, then we went up to Santa Barbara where we had dinner with my grandparents (Oma and Opa) and opened more gifts. I hope everyone had as great of a holiday as us! Please do tell us how your Christmas was.

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2010-12-24T20:59:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had lunch at Macaroni Grill with Charlene and then afterwards we visited Nordstroms where as you can see Charlene and Katelin had a field day trying on different things. Overall we had a very fun day with Charlene :)

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2010-12-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

Finally after almost a week of showers, thunder, wetness, and rain, it has come to an end in Los Angeles. I personally hate the rain, but Katelin was bitterly disappointed when the sun started to come out. Right after it stopped raining, the sky turned pink and blue and it was SO pretty...Needless to say, I am very happy that the rain storm is over.

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2010-12-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago my mom took me to The Griddle in Hollywood- they serve all types of food but they are known for their pancakes. And OH MY GOD their pancakes are 1) HUGE! 2) AMAZING! They were so good that today I took my dad there for breakfast. I ordered the "Open Your Eyes" which has a shot of espresso and chocolate chips with powdered sugar and my dad ordered the "Very Berry" which raspberries and lemon. Overall it was a very very good experience and we recommend it to anyone and everyone!

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2010-12-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

Today was Katelin's last day of finals and as a special treat we went to Johnny Rockets, ate grilled cheeses, fries, and malts for celebration! Now Katelin has officially started her winter break!

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2010-12-12T18:09:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again...Finals - Katelin has been studying all weekend which is no different than every other weekend. Currently she has a 4.11 GPA. Finals start Tuesday.

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2010-12-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Anania Edwards

July 1947 - December 2010

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2010-12-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

Thomas & I spent the morning at the Grove as you can imagine Katelin has quite a list for us :)

P.S. Are you finish with your holiday shopping ?

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2010-12-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

As one of Juliana's gifts we found this really cool gift. It's a Christmas ornament (Hallmark 2010 Christmas Ornament Collection) clock that counts down the days, minutes, seconds, milliseconds till Christmas Day. And seeing Juliana is 10 years old, we figured she'd like it a lot.

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2010-12-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

The most important meal of the day is breakfast and for me it's imperative that I eat a good breakfast. Since becoming a Pescatarian (one who abstains from all meat except fish) I need to have something filling in the morning so I don't crave the stuff I'm trying to give up. So just about every morning I eat a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, a dash of white sugar, dried cranberries, dark raisins , golden raisins, chopped walnuts & pecans (it's yummy).

P.s. What's your favorite breakfast?

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2010-11-29T18:06:00.001-08:00

Every year I participate in "Secret Santa" with my next door neighbor who is 9 years old. Before she was born and I was her age, her parents would do it for me and now I see it fit to do it for her. So this year instead of her Secret Santa, I'm her "Secret Ginger" starting December 1. So as preparation I made all of these different gingerbread people with the help of my mom to attach to each gift she will be getting.

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2010-11-27T22:09:00.000-08:00

Cleo

Bailey

So Charlene has two Labrador Retrievers, a black and a yellow one. Cleo, the black one, is the complete opposite of Bailey. She's reserved, standoffish, and high maintenance. Bailey, the yellow one, is loving, playful, and easygoing.

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2010-11-26T17:40:00.001-08:00

Just in case you missed the news... Katelin got her braces off, finally (I had assured her that Dr. Pae would have her braces off before she went to college:) ). She spent the afternoon with Thomas taking pictures of her.

P.S. Did you get up for those Black Friday deals ?

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2010-11-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2010 !

Psalms 118:24
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

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2010-11-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

Katelin savoring her last few moments with her braces

Katelin getting her braces off!

Her two favorite dental assistants getting a mold for her teeth (to make the retainers)

NO MORE BRACES!

Drum roll please!! After seven years of having braces on and off, Katelin has finally gotten her braces OFF! (I know it's very exciting). Needless to say, Katelin is incredibly overjoyed about this seeing she has been waiting for the past six months for them to be removed.

P.S. Thank you Thomas for posting for us the other day :) We ♥ the Bhodi Tree!

336 of 365 - Guest Post

2010-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

Bhodi Tree - founded in 1970 it is a West Hollywood icon and one of only a handful of specialty bookstores left in the country. Bhodi Tree carries books on every type of philosophy known to man - but seems to specialize in Far Eastern belief systems.

The store has a very organic feeling to it. From the smell of incense being sold in an abundant variety, to candles, chimes and even free tea ( two kinds) - this store represents the best qualities of a small neighborhood bookshop. Unfortunately it looks like it will close next year. The owners are in their 70's and it looks as though they maybe ready to cash in on the considerable value of the property this store occupies.

Bhodi Tree is located on Melrose Avenue - nestled between several snooty restaurants and directly across the street from trendy boutiques like Kitson, the store seems untouched by time. It is truly a small jewel reminiscent of a time gone by - when people congregated in places like this to find company in similar interests.

I for one will miss this place after it closes. The well worn hardwood floor and wooden benches... the tea.... the amazing variety of books covering so many beliefs and practices. From Nutrition to Christianity - from Astrology to Native American believes and of course a ton of books and multi-media materials on Yoga, Buddhism, Zen and Tao.

The owners of the store a looking for people who can take over the inventory and perhaps resurrect Bhodi Tree at another location. I certainly have my fingers crossed that it will work out.

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2010-11-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

I love President Bill Clinton for a variety of reasons and if he can convert to a vegan diet I know that I can successfully convert to a vegetarian diet.

P.S. Yes, I will be cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving with all of the trimming :)

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2010-11-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

During my free period at school today, I honestly just didn't feel like doing work (typical teenager I know) so my friend Nicole decided to paint my nails in sparkles in order to "distress" and I will admit they turned out really well for a 16 year old girl. My mom is also happy because she's been trying to get me to paint my nails for the past few months :o

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2010-11-16T19:27:00.000-08:00

Many years ago I was a vegan.... yes, no meat, no dairy, no eggs but I did wear leather shoes :). Lately, I've been wanting to return to a vegetarian diet so as a stepping stone I'm going to try following a Pescatarian (one who abstains from all meat except fish) diet until the first of the year then I'm hoping to convert to a 100% vegetarian diet. Katelin has decided to give it a try also (she was a vegetarian for almost a year at the age of 5) - Thomas on the other hand is not at all interested in giving up meat of any kind.

Since Katelin has an orthodontist appointment today we had our usual In- N- Out but no burgers for us... we had their version of a grilled cheese sandwich (a hamburger bun, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and special spread) which was surprisingly pretty good.

P.S. One more week and Katelin should have her braces off :)....for the sixth time.

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2010-11-14T18:19:00.001-08:00

Sadly my father in law's brother passed away yesterday morning.
Rest in Peace James Mead Dial

P.S. Please pray for the family during this difficult time.

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2010-11-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

BEWARE these cupcakes may look sinfully delicious and heavenly but you will be sadly mistaken once you buy them. Lark Cake Shop in Silver Lake was rated #3 in the best cupcakes list of Los Angeles. Well I have no idea who tried them but they are the most disgusting cupcakes we have ever eaten. The cake is the same quality of a 5 year old's attempt to bake: dry, hard, the work of an amateur baker. The frosting is liquidly and lacks flavor, I felt I was drinking it (not a good thing). Needless to say, we will not be returning and we were quite disappointed.

P.S. We found Charlie, she called :)

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2010-11-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

Have you seen or heard from this person? If so contact us immediately.
Charlene has a new job and she seems to have forgotten all about us - we haven't talked to her or seen her in almost 11 days... Please help!

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2010-11-08T17:22:00.000-08:00

I frequently say " I've seen it all" but when it comes to this 2 year old smoking a cigarettes " I've really seen it all".

It's not only very sad but disturbing that a parent would allow a baby to smoke cigarettes. What do you think?

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2010-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

We've been pretty busy lately but not too busy to find a new cupcake store..... the Frosted Cupcakery - yum. They had a variety of delicious cupcakes I think this is Katelin's favorite. Vanilla in Santa Monica, CA is still my favorite.

Frosted Cupcakery

Vanilla Bakeshop

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2010-11-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

You would think on a fall day in November that it would be cold or windy or raining, but NO it was a scorching 90 degrees today! But anyways, my mom picked me up early from school and we ate at In-N-Out (yum). Afterwards we decided to go to Dee-Dee Reese and since it was so hot we wanted ice-cream sandwiches but we were too stuffed so we bought 6 cookies and some Haagen Daaz Vanilla ice cream at Vons and made our own homemade ice cream sandwiches (amazing, I know).

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2010-10-31T19:26:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Have a blessed week :)

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2010-10-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

One of our neighbors, Denis, gets really into Halloween and every year we are excited to see his decorations. This year he added even more crazy and grotesque figures to his yard that not only look cool but can move as well.

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2010-10-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

A sad day for Katelin..... she did not get her braces off. Dr. Pae feels like her bite is not perfect so she will have to wait until November 16th. He's 99% this time....again

P.S. Hope you had a good day & things went your way :)

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2010-10-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

Thomas & I have both been wearing glasses since we were young children so naturally when Katelin was born we figured that she too would need glasses but that has not been the case. She can see anything, anywhere, anytime. Recently, she has been having some eye strain, so off to the Optometrist we went, and it looks like Katelin will have to wear reading glasses +1.00 while doing her school work.

P.S. Her braces are suppose to come off tomorrow... please keep your fingers crossed :)

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2010-10-24T17:32:00.001-07:00

The Anniversary Show at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Painted by: Frida Kahlo

Painted by: Diego Rivera

Painted by: Matisse

Painted by: Jackson Pollock

Self Portrait: Andy Warhol

Mom posing with MJ and Bubbles

So we decided to make a separate post about the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and some of our favorite pieces (unfortunately we could not remember all of the artists). We had a great time going to the different exhibitions while we were in San Francisco and this one was by far our favorite.

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2010-10-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

Bart Station in Downtown Berkeley

On the rental car shuttle

Our luggage

Tunnel at LAX

As promised, more pictures from our last day in San Francisco. After we visited UC Berkeley we headed back to the hotel and took some pictures of the harbor that's right outside of the hotel. And of course the inevitable had to come, we had to go to airport and say goodbye to an amazing vacation in San Francisco :(

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2010-10-22T10:22:00.001-07:00

Cal Student Store

Dad and I checking in for the tour

Paleontology department at Berkeley!

One of their many libraries

On our last day in Berkeley we decided to visit Cal and take a tour, which was just as amazing as Stanford just in different ways- more pictures from later in the day to come!

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2010-10-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to leave the hotel for the day!

At SFMOMA

Getting ready to get on the F street car to Fisherman's Wharf!

The Lefty's Store (Mom is a lefty) !

MMM.....Fisherman's Wharf has great clam chowder!

As soon as we rolled out of bed, we all decided to go into the city and go to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where we saw an AMAZING anniversary exhibit (more pictures from the actual exhibit to come). Afterwards, we went to Fisherman's Wharf where we walked around and ate clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowls (something I personally had been waiting to do for the whole trip). Again, we had another fantastic day in San Francisco.

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2010-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

On the way to Stanford

Herbert Hoover Tower at Stanford!

Dad asking for directions over the phone.....

Dad and I on the campus tour :)

Inside of their church

Stanford Fountain

The main form of transportation for Stanford college students.....bikes!

Late lunch at Spengers

Good ole cup of Clam Chowder

And fish & chips!

Yesterday we made an 1 hour and 30 minute drive to Stanford to take a campus tour which was SO SO much fun and now Stanford is starting to tie with UC Berkeley in my book. I loved the atmosphere and I could definitely see myself there! Anyways after our tour, we drove all the way back to the hotel and had a late lunch at Spenger's where we had very very good clam chowder and fish & chips!

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2010-10-18T19:08:00.001-07:00

Waiting for Dad at the Mall

Outside of the de Young Museum

Sign of the exhibit we went to see

Mom and I outside of the museum

The harbor near Scoma's restaurant

A candy store on the Wharf

I get excited over candy....

Waiting at Ghiradelli's for Ice Cream

Mmm mmm Good...Ice cream sundae

Spy Store on the Wharf (it was actually really cool)

Waiting for the street car

Yesterday we went ALL over San Francisco. We went to the de Young Museum to see an exhibit featuring Van Gogh, Cezanne, Rosseau, and plenty more. It was so nice and of course we loved it- we love art. We also went to Fisherman's Wharf where we ate at Scoma's, which has excellent seafood, and many other places. After a long and fun day, we decided to take the street car back to the BART station back to the hotel.

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2010-10-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Waiting at LAX

On the Virgin American Flight (cool huh?)

Getting ready to go to baggage claim (just landed)

Architecture on our way to baggage claim

Waiting for the BART

Waiting for the BART...again

Mom passing out random Jesus pamphlets that she received to other strangers....

Going out to dinner

Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, and Mashed Potatoes

Schnitzel, Green Beans, and Mashed Potatoes

Today marks out first day in San Francisco. We started out very early in the morning and got into Berkeley with plenty of time to go sightseeing and have fun. We also went to a East German restaurant called the Walzwerk as well. Overall today we had such a wonderful day and we are ready for part two tomorrow!

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2010-10-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Katelin was 8 months old in this picture she is now 16 years and 8 months. In the morning we will leave on a little vacation to the Bay Area to visit colleges with Katelin. We will be visiting UC Berkeley (#1 choice), Stanford (#2 choice) and possibly UC Davis ... Katelin has her heart and mind set on UC Berkeley.

It's amazing how time flies :)

P.S. Enjoy your weekend

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2010-10-13T18:24:00.001-07:00

Ideally we would be finished with the blog, however due to external problems that have come up, we are a little behind. It's Halloween again in our neighborhood and we always get excited to see what our holiday fanatic neighbors have decided how to decorate their houses. Here are some of them.

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2010-10-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we spent some time in Santa Barbara, here's a sweet picture of Thomas & Katelin

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2010-10-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

Most people have Taco Tuesday, but not us- I was too lazy to cook so it was Taco Monday at our house.

P.S. I hope you have something yummy for dinner :)

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2010-10-10T11:16:00.001-07:00

Today we decided to take all of my IDs from 6th-11th grade to see the Evolution of Katelin... So here it is.... 11 to 16 years old in my awkward years for the world to see.

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2010-10-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

I am addicted to TOM shoes and after viewing the video I'm sure you will be too. For me it started a few months ago when I heard this amazing story for the first time, since then I have purchased 3 pairs to date. Katelin finally decided to get a pair of TOMS and I think she's hooked.

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2010-10-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

Katelin and I love the New York Yankees! Tonight Mariano Rivera & Andy Pettitte put the Twins in their place with a 5-2 win - GO YANKEES!

P.S. Which baseball team is your favorite?

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2010-10-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we found out that after 7 years or 2,555 days of wearing braces off and on, Katelin will be getting her braces OFF in 3 WEEKS! You could only imagine how excited she was. She even decided as a celebration of getting her braces off that she would pick a color for every tooth when picking her bands.

P.S. Please keep your fingers crossed that she'll get them off :)

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2010-10-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are more pictures from the fair of the animals! Enjoy :)

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2010-10-04T21:26:00.001-07:00

We figured this needed to be in a separate post. As you can tell my father had quite a wonderful time at the fair yesterday :) More pictures coming!

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2010-10-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

We had such an amazing day today- we went to the L.A. COUNTY FAIR with Auntie Charlie! I got a Henna tattoo of a geicko and had a fried Klondike bar (That was an experience). We also went shopping, looked at the attractions, and ate a WHOLE lot of food. Overall today was so much fun and there will be a lot more pictures to come :)

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2010-10-02T19:23:00.001-07:00

Here we go again... I have not felt much like posting despite all of the extra time I have as you can imagine I miss Granny terribly.

One of the BEST part of each day is being blessed to be Katelin's Mom - I'm sure glad she picked me :)

Katelin is in Spanish III this year and she has several assignments to complete before this semester is over. One of the assignments was to go to a Spanish restaurant, speak only in Spanish, take pictures, and write a paper. This was very easy for Katelin because we've been going to the same Mexican restaurant since she was born- and she knows everyone who works there as well. It was a wonderful Saturday.

P.S. We're off to the L.A. County Fair tomorrow :)

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2010-09-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

One of our doctors insists on buying donuts everyday - here's what was left after 10 minutes of the donuts arriving.

P.S. Hope you had a sweet day :)

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2010-09-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hello.... I've been MIA (Missing In Action), since Granny's death. I have been lost but I'm blessed enough to have an amazing daughter, sister, and husband in my life. Katelin had her usual Tuesday orthodontist appointment and of course we had lunch with Charlene... it was a perfect day.

P.S. Hope you had a perfect day :)

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2010-09-13T16:32:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since we've posted, I've been really really busy with school and Mom is sort of at odds as to what to do with herself since Granny's passed away. Tonight, is Parent Night of Classes, where my parents meet all of my teachers. Every single year since 4th grade my mom has made a picture of me on a stick so all my teachers will know that my mom and dad are my parents. So here is this year's picture to add to the coveted collection.

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2010-09-05T20:49:00.001-07:00

Today was my Mom's birthday!!! I decided to create this collage card on my computer with all the good times we've had. My mom is an absolutely stunning woman and I appreciate all of the things she consistently sacrifices for me. She's one of those people who don't just "give birth" to their kids, she cares about me with all of her being. She is the perfect definition of a good mother and wife. And even though we fight (like all teens and their parents do), I know in the end she'll always be there for me. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY :)

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2010-09-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry that my mom and I haven't posted in a long time, with Granny's death, school, and our attempts to get back to a normal life, we both have been VERY busy!

The school I go to has a tradition where when you become a Junior you get a little sister whose a freshman and keep her as your little sister until you are a Senior. During "Friendship Week," which is a welcome week for the Freshman, we get paired up into little families where typically 4 Juniors with their little sisters come up with ideas and participate in dress up days and at the end of the week take a "family portrait" and eat special lunch together. So today I got to meet my little sister! I made her a sign and got her a little gift. She's so adorable and sweet and I am very pumped about spending next week with her.

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2010-08-24T18:50:00.001-07:00

We buried Granny today and while it was extremely sad there was a sense of tranquility about the whole day... maybe it's because two weeks ago while in the hospital Granny told me that it was time for her to go and that everything was as it should be. Knowing that has given me enormous comfort & strength.

A Special Thank you to all of you who have prayed for Granny and our family; we are truly grateful.

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2010-08-23T16:49:00.001-07:00

Katelin & I ~ September 1995 ~ First Day of Pre-School

Katelin is a junior! I can't believe it.... where did the time go? It seems just like yesterday that she was off to Pre-School.

My dearest Katelin,
Your junior year will bring new challenges just remember to stay true to you & enjoy every minute.

I love you,
Mommy

If we don't stand for something, we may fall for anything. - Malcolm X (1925 - 1965)

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2010-08-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

I usually pack everything I own no matter how long or short the trip is going to be. But this time I completely forgot the camera IFC (Interface Cable) which basically means I was not able to upload the pictures from my camera during our trip :(.

Here are some pictures of Katelin from Thursday when we arrived in Santa Barbara, it was really nice to see her smiling and having a good time despite missing Granny.

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2010-08-20T17:41:00.001-07:00

We decided to take a trip up to Santa Barbara to visit Thomas' parents before the start of school and Granny's funeral. There is truly nothing better than a summer day in Santa Barbara.

P.S. Enjoy your weekend :)

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2010-08-18T16:54:00.001-07:00

July 7, 1921 - August 17, 2010

Sadly Granny passed away yesterday at 6:22pm.
Thank you for all of the prayers and kind words - we are going to missed her dearly.

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2010-08-15T19:00:00.001-07:00

Granny has sadly taken a turn for the worst over the course of the last few days. Please continue to pray for her.

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2010-08-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of camp :( But I have a whole lot of little goodies to remember this summer. The first laniard pictured was made for me by one of my campers while we were on the bus to Disneyland 2 weeks ago. The second picture (the one of the monkey bead critter) was made by my counselor Natalie. The 1/2 snake pictured in the third picture was made for me by one of the campers and the small lizard next to it was made by me. And finally the bottom picture are the Silly Bands that the kids gave me. For those of you who don't know, Silly Bands are a huge crazy trend with kids ranging from 6-11 years old. At first I refused to get caught up in the hype of Silly Bands but as I began to work more and more at camp and kids gave me some of theirs- I couldn't help but fall in love with them. I must say I will truly miss my day camp and my camp kids until next summer.

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2010-08-12T19:15:00.001-07:00

There is nothing better than spending time with my sis - we met at Pann's for breakfast this morning, eggs, grits, toast and sausage... "not organic" but yummy:)

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2010-08-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

So these are my mom's latest obsession... Organic Grape Tomatoes. She's usually pretty healthy but now she's taking it to a new extreme- she only wants to eat organic foods.

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2010-08-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

It warms my heart to see Katelin loving her camp experience as much as my sister & I did.

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2010-08-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Exodus 15:2

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Have a blessed week ~ do something kind for a stranger

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2010-08-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went with the camp to Disneyland. Here's a picture of me and one of the camper's on the ride Space Mountain.

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2010-08-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the campers in the 5-6's age group (I work with 9-11s). Granted I love the 9-11s but I can't help but spend time with these kids when I am supervising the playground :).

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2010-08-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

Everyone says the president is aging before our eyes but if you had the same amount of work leftover that Bush left behind- you'd probably be looking the same. But anyways, today is President Obama's birthday who is turning 49 years old today. So Happy Birthday Mr. President!

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2010-08-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today was Superhero Dress Up Day at the camp I work at- I went as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle while one of the counselors I work with and one of my campers (pictured above) dressed up as Batgirl and Batwoman :).

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2010-08-02T16:54:00.001-07:00

On our way to go out to my dad's birthday lunch we passed by a HUGE fire that went on for 12 acres. We were able to see the smoke from very far away but the fire was SO close to the freeway it was ridiculous. My mom managed to take a ton of picture here are just a few.
12 Acre Blaze

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2010-08-01T17:41:00.001-07:00

We haven't posted in awhile... after the Reunion we took a much needed break. Katelin survived her class at UCLA and now she's back volunteering at the Day Camp and Teen Line which means we are back to our usually hectic life.

We spent today celebrating Thomas' birthday with his parents & Charlene ( his actual birthday was Friday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS! ) - it's never a dull moment when we all get together.

P.S. Granny has been in the hospital since last week Tuesday - she went in for an upper GI but her heart rate was to high for the test to be performed , after a battery of other tests it looks like all is well and she will return to the Skilled Nursing Facility tomorrow.

Have an amazing week :)

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2010-07-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

I decided to surprise Thomas with the above Skin for his Kindle2 - it is a perfect addition. I also purchased the Mighty Bright Clip-On reading light for his Kindle - now he is good to read wherever :)

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2010-07-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

Our 2010 Family Reunion pictures, as you can see we had a great time :)

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2010-07-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

After all of the Reunion activities we decided to take a break and treat ourselves to Sonic Drive-In - they just opened a location right next to the hotel where we were staying. Yummy :)

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2010-07-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Katelin and Taylore (5 years old ) are like two peas in a pod - whenever they are together it's as if no one else in the world exist - they absolutely adore each other.

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2010-07-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday was our last day of the family reunion and early in the morning we had a "family meeting" about who was going to plan the next reunion in two years and its location. We decided on two of my cousins, Tommie Jean and Sham to plan the next reunion and then a cruise either to the Bahamas, Alaska, or Cancun. I think I can say for the whole family this year's reunion was amazing and we were all brought close together :)

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2010-07-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had a Luau on Central Park's Senior Center, where we had dancers, Hawaiian food, games, raffles, and so much more. The dancers even taught some of my family members how to do Tahitian dance. I have to say granted the whole family reunion was amazing, this night was probably my favorite :)

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2010-07-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday- Day 2 of the family reunion we took family portraits, went to go eat at Famous Daves, took the Metrolink to Union Station then the Red Line to Hollywood and Highland where we walked around and played tourist with our cousins. Although it was a very long day, my mom, my dad, Auntie Charlie (Charlene), and I had the best time spending it with family :)

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2010-07-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

So sorry that we haven't been posting but my mom and I have been incredibly busy with our family reunion that occurred last week. So here are pictures from the very first day- Thursday's Meet and Greet.

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2010-07-14T20:10:00.001-07:00

I think I'm going to purchase this Skin for Thomas' Kindle and yes he loves his Kindle almost as much as I do :)

P.S. The Mathews Family Reunion starts tomorrow :)

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2010-07-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

Katelin has been waiting these past five weeks to get her braces off today but as luck would have Dr. Pae doesn't think her teeth are "perfect" yet; so she will have to wait another five weeks due to her busy schedule. All was not loss we got to see Charlie, eat In N Out burgers for lunch, and chocolate chip cookies... Yum!

P.S. Only 2 more days until our extended family come to California from Texas:)