Thursday, December 25, 2008

Presh




My wonderful husband got me a really great necklace...and turned me on to a very cool new designer of jewlery. He apparently did all this research and then went to 5 different boutiques in Santa Monica and Hollywood to find it for me. I was blown away by his taste! He knows me! Here are a couple of pics of necklaces that are kind of like mine. The designer takes vintage fabrics and sets them in jewlery. Mine is most like the one on the left, but it's shape is like the one on the right.They are all one of a kind...THANK YOU JOHN!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Today at the Dollar Store

I was shopping at the dollar store with Char and Lou today and told them they could pick out a toy. They both found guns that they wanted and right as they were telling me what they picked, this elderly lady walked up and asked how old Louis was because she had a grandson that age and she wondered what kind of toy he might like. I said, "Well, today my boys want guns. Those are always fun." to which she replied, "Oh, I would never get a gun for him. I never even bought guns for my own children. It's a bad idea." I pretty much shrugged my shoulders and let her know she was on her own then when Louis grabbed another toy and said, "Actually, Mom, I think I want this tool set instead." Charlie got really excited and shouted, "Louis! Did you know that you can KILL people with tools?"

The woman turned her head toward me and raised her eyebrows. Yeah. Whatever.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Louis' Christmas Wish


Louis got to sit on Santa's lap and ask for a present at the ward party the other night. I'm pretty sure he asked for a bulldozer. He doesn't even know what one is. When he got home that night, Miles went and layed in bed with him to help him sleep, and was asking him what else he wanted from Santa. Louis (who shares a room with Miles and Charlie, and sleeps on a crib mattress on the floor) said, "Miles! Maybe he could bring me a new bed! A real one!" to which Miles replied, "Yeah....maybe." Louis thought a bit more and added, "But a real bed probably wouldn't fit in here, would it...But MAYBE a REAL LITTLE bed would!" Miles laughed and told him it was a good idea.

Louis' bed situation is not permanent, nor is it ideal...but we have NEVER discussed it with him once. He must lie there thinking about these things at night while everyone else is snug and already asleep in their REAL beds!


Sunday, December 7, 2008

Louis on the Bunkbed

Louis was disobeying, and I chased him into his room, where he climbed up on Miles' bed to try and escape me. I wasn't REALLY mad at him...we were just playing. Then when he started in with the baby voice, I had to get the camera. Too funny!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Our New/Old Floor!

On Monday, I set out to refinish our 1911 hardwood floor that is in the living and dining rooms. My dad had promised to do it for me in January, but I got anxious, and curious to see if this was something I could do. My brother, Paul assured me that any idiot could, so I set out to prove him right! The first step (and the only step on which I received any help) was to remove the furniture and put it out on the front porch. John was my muscle-man...thank you Johnon. Next step was to rent the floor sander from the rent-a place in Pomona. It was $80. This is me, sanding with that mother-of-a-power-tool:After that, I had to return the sander and go rent an edger from the same place. $40 later, I was in a squat position, scooting myself around the edges of the room, trying to keep control of that CRAZY edger that wanted to pull me in any direction but the right one. Also, whenever it went over a nail head that I hadn't pounded far enough into the ground, sparks shot out and threatened my wool socks!

When the sanding was done, the floor looked like this:
The next step was to vacuum and sweep and wiped down all of the dust. Then I stained. I used a red mahogany stain, and applied it with a rag...at this point, I reminded myself of Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid, waxing on and waxing off. My shoulders, forearms, thighs, and buttox had all gotten very sore by the time these 3 steps were over. Here are some pics of the staining process:

Gotta protect those lungs!!!
At this point, John and I moved some of the furniture back onto the dried part, to protcct it from an especially misty night.

The next step was to polyurithane it all. This, I applied with a brush. I tried a bristle-type brush for awhile and then went with a foam one, which I preferred. It seemed to go faster. At this point, it was my knees and lower back that were hurting mostly. After one coat of the clear stuff, I lightly sanded with 220 grit paper (I wish I had used 320 or even higher, but it's ok) and then wiped it all up...and applied another coat of poly. So, Friday night, at 6:18pm, it was finished! I threw my arms up and drove to get expensive take-out food, because, man...I deserved it. Here's the finished product! We're loving it! Total cost...$165
Oh yeah, the hole in the floor is our old-fashioned gas heater (that is not in use...we have central air/heat) and someday, we will replace the flooring over it, but for now, we cover it with a grate and a round rug.

Here are some of my favorite boards. I know them all intimately now:

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Powerizing...New Sport for the New Millenium!

Christmas present for the kids? Maybe for the parents????

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Let's Remember Larry Bird

#33's clutch shots...There's a lot of them! What a player.


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I Am SO Doing This

I saw this today on my friend's blog, and I'm here to tell you that it won't be long and I will DO this. It's beeeeautiful!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Our Talented Son

Miles has surpassed all of our expectations on this one. We don't know what to do with him. This is what he learned that he could do this evening, and proudly shared it with all who would watch:

Monday, November 17, 2008





These are Louis' 3 favorite books at our house. Rotten Ralph, The Birthday Monsters, and The Very Bad Bunny. He brings them to John, Miles, Ella and I (and Charlie if he's desperate, cuz we ALL have them memorized by now) at least once a day and begs to read them...for the zillioneth time. John and I realized that each of his favorite books is about disobeying or rebellion in some capacity. We were trying to decide if he was doing research for a future plan or something, but decided he would probably be all right. The next day, I went to the gym, and found him on the lady's lap, reading a book. They finished the book, and the lady (Jean...our favorite) said, "Louis asks me to read this book EVERY day!" I asked her what it was called and she replied, "Annie Disobeys." John and I and the kids had a good laugh.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

A Morning Ruined

Sometimes (like TODAY) Charlie likes to be pushed on the rope swing.
Most of the time, he and John have a blast together, and Charlie soars!Notice the big branch right above Char's head.
This morning, while swinging, Charlie got into this horizontal
position, and screamed.
This is what he saw, hanging down from that branch, looking right at him:
Somehow, this squirrel fell, landed like this and died. Maybe he died before he fell, maybe the fall killed him. There is no way of knowing. All we know is that this traumatic experience ruined Charlie's morning. John (and our friend Muggins) came to the rescue:
So, we calmed Charlie down, bagged him up (he was huge!) and off to the garbage bin he went. Weird morning. Well documented though.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Confession of Sorts

Sure hope I don't offend any Noltes with this post, but I dread that's what I'm about to do!!! So, yesterday John came to me with the look in his eye where he won't look me right in the eye, and his lips are pursed and his eyebrows raised in that "I need to tell you something but you're not going to like it" look that I know so well, and said, "Remember my clients that got kicked out of their apartment last week? Well, they've been homeless for about 4 days now, and have been on the streets in the rain. All their blankets are wet, and they are not looking so hot. Can we put them up in a hotel for one night...I already told them we would." After a little discussion, I agreed, and John started on his way to pick them up and take them to the Motel 6 in South Pomona. Right before he reached the door, he turned around and said, "It's only one night, and then they're right back on the street again. Do we have any blankets that we don't need?" Most of our blankets have some sentimental value...to me or to the kids, so I said, "Man, I don't know. Go take a look." He came out with a blanket that his mom had left here on her last visit. She brought the blanket to So. Cal, because they were going to the beach and this particular blanket had been the Nolte's standby beach blanket for probably 30 years or so. There was no room in her suitcase however to bring it back on the plane, so she asked if she could leave it here till we saw her next. I relayed that message to John, and he came to the conclusion that though the blanket had many memories for him and his family, it might be better served for an entirely different sort of purpose now. He looked at it and told me that he can't remember a beach trip where that blanket wasn't spread out at his family's "home base" next to the cooler and shovels and pails. At that point, I could see that his mind was made up, and I told him to wrap it around him and snuggle a little, one last time and that I would take a few pictures to show his family. One night in a hotel and an old beach blanket were all we could give this couple, and I feel bad about two things. 1. That we can't do more for them and the millions like them 2. That they won't have the chance to associate their new blanket with care-free times and warm sunshine. Sorry Noltes, and thanks.


Sunday, November 2, 2008

Our Saturday Hike


The weather has changed, at least for the time being, here in the inland valley. We saw this rainbow (it's actually a double, but the 2nd one is hard to see) on Friday morning while driving to school, and got inspired to take a Saturday hike to Bonelli Park. We knew it might rain, so we were PREPARED!









Once we got to the park, we had a great time on the fun playground. It has a zip line!

Then, on our hike out, we saw a pretty awesome tarantula! And of course, John had to mess with it.

All in all, we hiked about 4 miles, and took Louis out of the back pack and re-packed him about 8 times. He was the crankiest by far. Charlie was a real trooper, and Miles and Ella are non-complaining pros by now which is NICE. It feels good to get out in nature and be together. We had fun.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Sunday, October 19, 2008

WICKED!!!














On Saturday, Oct 18, John, Miles, Ella, Charlie, Uncle Brad, Aunt Katie, Audrey, Justin and I went to see one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) broadway shows ever! We caught the 2:00
matinee of Wicked, and even though our $35 tickets were all the way in the back corner of the balcony, we were BLOWN AWAY! As the orchestra started to play, this feeling of excitement and awe washed over us all (bringing tears to sweet little Audrey, and almost tears to sweet big Aimee), and it just got better and better from there. The story is absolutely FUN, and after you watch the show, you will forever view "The Wizard of Oz" in a new light. The singing was really amazing, and I am pretty picky about broadway singing. It was really unbelievable to look over and see my kids' faces as they were moved by what was going on, and glance over at my husband after one of the phenomenal numbers were over with our eyebrows raised, to say "wow that was good stuff" to each other. Even more special was that the kids got to share it with their cousins. If any of you get the opportunity to go see it (though I doubt it will be as spectacular as it was in the beautiful, historic Pantages Theatre), DO NOT pass it up! WOO HOO!!!!!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The 6 of Us

Where I'm From











I grew up in a small town in Northern California named Weaverville. It is located in Trinity County, which is north of anything you've ever heard of in California, most likely. Once in a while I will meet someone who has heard of Redding or Eureka, which are the two closest small cities, but mostly no one has heard of Trinity County, and I am used to saying, "No, not San Francisco...actually it's about 5 hours north of there...closer to Oregon, really."

If you are in Redding or Eureka and you'd like to drive to Weaverville, you must travel either an hour or two (respectively) on Highway 299 which is one of the most ungodly roads you'll ever hear of beginning with the word, "highway." I say ungodly because after winding left and right and rising and falling in elevation countless times, you need God's grace to keep you from losing your lunch. The term doesn't apply to all aspects of the drive however, because 299 is one of the most beautiful drives you'll ever take. If you can get past the car-sickness (which all locals accomplish around the age of 7 or so), you will feel God in smell of the pines, firs, and cedars, and you will see Him in the way the sun splashes off the lake and river waters as you drive past. You will feel Him in the tree-covered mountains that seem to hug you as you wind in and out of the dogwood-covered banks, and you will see Him in the angle of the hawk's dive if you're lucky enough to catch a glimpse or in the blank stare of the brown bear who would rather not have been seen drinking from the roadside water. Ungodly was the wrong word to use after all. It is actually almost holy.

I was born there, and lived there until I reached adulthood, and though immersed in it all those years, I only recently have started to marvel at the uniqueness of Weaverville, California's population-makeup. It is so strange that I never thought about it while I was growing up, but I suppose it's difficult to notice the unorthodox when it's all you've ever known.

There are trees everywhere. It is a heavily forested town and consequently manages to keep itself populated because of the timber industry. The majority of residents find work falling trees, clearing brush for roads, driving logging trucks or heavy machinery, running saws in the mill, surveying, or managing the forest in some way or another. A large part of the work force deals with the cutting of trees. Not all by any means, but a large percentage of these laborers also love the outdoors and are avid hunters. The typical mill-working father has short hair and a mustache and wears jeans, heavy work boots, flannel shirts and ball caps. He comes home from work and take his boots off and eats dinner with his family that is full of kids who play sports for the high school and boys who will go hunting with him on the weekend. He turns on country music when he gets in his Chevy or Ford truck with a "Support the Troops" bumper sticker as he bullets up remote dirt roads with his rifle and bow to hopefully bring home a deer for Mom to cook. Families of this fashion love the outdoors and the bonding they do on their hunting and fishing trips, the sound of their dirtbikes and quads tearing up the mountain, and the fact that they are miles away from the smog and crime that city life might bring.

Just as abundant, but perhaps less noticeable is the other part of the population who also have moved to this corner of the state because of their love of the outdoors. For lack of a better word, I will call them the "Tree-Huggers." Those who eat only what they grow in their pesticide-free gardens or purchase at the local farmer's market, and drive 4-wheel drive Subarus with "F*** Bush" bumper stickers and Bob Marley CDs in the stereos. They sign petitions against the mining of streams and the clear-cutting of trees on the mountain. They are vegans and vegetarians and would never cause harm to a single living creature in nature. They swim naked in the streams and don't shave their body hair. They also don't care if you happen to see them and would gladly share their swimming hole with you. They grow their hair long and go on arduous hikes in the back country for days on end in the summer-time, packing grains and fresh vegetables to cook in their mess kits and always using biodegradable toilet paper. They love the forest and know that it loves them. They love the tranquility they find when they lay down under the black sky and see blazing stars spangled across it. The rush of the cold water against their skin as they dive deep into the river and the sound of the crickets at night keeps them content.

The timber workers and those who hug trees peacefully coexist in Weaverville, for the most part. I don't think that they necessarily understand each other, but they continue to live together and attend the same community functions, shop at the same local stores, walk on the same sidewalks and raft on the same river. Their children go to the same school and make friends with one another and most of them never think twice about all of this. I know I never really did. Somehow, I listened as my dad's log truck pulled in the driveway, while talking on the phone to my friend who had dread locks. I wore a tie-dyed poncho on our hunting trips. I took breaks from stacking wood to play hacky-sack, and thought it was pretty normal.

Now, as I sit in my cozy Southern California bungalow, I wonder how all of that shaped me. I think of all of the kids growing up in Weaverville and wonder if they ever notice any of this. I find it fascinating that two groups of people can love the forest in entirely different ways. It seems crazy that both groups live in the same area because of this love but are simultaneously pulled apart and drawn together because of it. It seems so far away, and writing this makes me miss it. I'd better get to bed now. It's late.

Monday, October 6, 2008

My New Favorite Quote


Jane Eyre is so madly in love with Mr. Rochester...they are clearly meant for each other. They are about to be married when someone shouts from the back of the chapel that Mr. Rochester is already married to someone else! For page after arduous page, Mr. Rochester explains that in his youth he was forced to marry, and never really loved...and that this woman was and is clinically insane, and a danger to himself (having tried to kill him numerous times), and has been privately tended to by a caretaker for years and years. He pleads with Jane to stay with him - to be his and live with him as his wife, though he has this prior commitment and obligation. He makes such a case for himself that while reading, I (Aimee) thought that if I were Jane, I would probably have conceded. It is at that moment that Jane makes this resolve and tells him:

"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad — as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth — so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am quite insane — quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot."

At that moment, with everything in her (and the only man to ever have loved her) telling her to change her mind and give in, she refuses. If all the young people in the world could read this! In your most sane moment, and before any temptation comes your way, write down your goals, your principles, and your LIMITS. Know what you are willing to do and what you will never do. These limits might not make much sense now, but if you already have your mind made up - when temptation comes, you will not have a choice to make, because you have already made it. Plant your foot there! Don't budge!








This is John. He's my handsome helpful heck-of-a-kisser husband of 11 1/2 years. He puts the kids to bed every night, reads to each of them separately, and flosses their teeth without fail. He works hard to get legal rights for kids with special needs. He mountain bikes at high elevations and for long distances with those long legs of his, on his HUGE bike. He can balance almost anything on his chin. On occasion he lights up our home with his amazing baritone voice. He reads and loves the NY Times, and never misses the movie reviews. He is passionate about politics and can often be found grooving to his "Rufus Wainright" or "Chris Cornell" channel on Pandora, while trying to organize and answer the hundreds of emails that come his way each week. He is my hero. I'm lucky.