Remember this name!!

We got to listen to our nephew Travis Bengard sing and WOW!!!! It was from an attachment that Kim sent me. If he doesn't make it to the top, there is something wrong. He missed out on the American Idol try-outs, got there too late. I hope you are able to click on this attachment so that you can hear what we heard. This is in a garage, not a studio. Amazing voice. Crazy Lov...mp3 (2.4 MB) If you can't get this, email me at sccermom1@hotmail.com and I will forward it to you, if I haven't already.

Countdown

Geez, 6 more days until the wedding of Tyler and Shelley. Where has the time gone?? I am so happy for him to begin this chapter in his life, but I hate not having anyone here. Yesterday, Tyler, Alex, Erik , some cousins and friends went out on a half day deep sea fishing trip. What a great idea! I am sure there were quite a few beverages consumed on the boat and elsewhere later. Today they are all playing golf, nice time for them. While the boys were celebrating the end of Tyler's single life, we went to Vicky and Greg's new house in Temecula. WOW WOW WOW To say it is an amazing house is not doing it justice. It is a "fixer upper" and when it is done it will equal any house you will see in a magazine or in a movie. Vicky has added so many new state of the art stuff. I lost track of the number of rooms in this place. There is a complete living room, fireplaces and all, at each end of the massive kitchen. From the front of the house there is a complete view of the valley that can be seen from every room in the front of the house and the balconies. I told Vicky if I had that view I would be out there all the time. The pool has a wide "staircase" going down to it. There is a lot of work in progress and when it is done it will be unbelievable. They are on 2 1/2 acres and need a golf cart to go get the mail. It brought a tear to my eye when I saw Vicky, in the middle of all the splendor of the decor, had a sewing table set up facing the TV in one of the living rooms. My Girl!!!!

Happy 4th

Well, today is the 4th of July. We are going over to Jerry's house. He has a full on view of the fireworks show from somewhere and we are going to bbq there. I am REALLY worried about Payton. After I went to bed I could hear the boom, boom, boom and I looked out my bedroom window and I could see aerial fireworks and Payton was going crazy. Hopefully the fact that she can come in the house will help and she will just go hide somewhere and not fly over the fence looking for me. Last night was great!!! Erik, Jamie, Alex, Jamie, Aiden, Gary and Shira joined the rest of the usual suspects at Felipe's. I was so happy. We have 2 weeks to the day before Tyler's wedding. He called me last night to tell me that they are doing the table seating arrangements, I was hoping that I would be able to help with that, but I guess not. I got my dress, very plain and I will be able to wear it again anywhere. Well, I am going to go and make a couple of desserts that I have never made before. This is the good thing about family gatherings, I have testers!!!

TGIF

and BOY do I mean it!! This week is my "Ayden K week" and he is one totally his age. Because Tyler needs to sleep, I have been taking all the kids to Rincon Park to play for a couple of hours everyday before lunch. It gives him the quiet and wears them out a little, not much, but heck it is better than nothing. It worked out great for me Thursday because Alex called and asked me if I wanted to take the kids to Rincon park so I could watch Aiden while he had practice. He had no idea I was already on my way there. Aiden had a blast with the kids. Yesterday Garin turned 7. Wow, I have had him since he was 4 months old, where has the time gone!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO looking forward to tonight. Well, have to go and finish a blanket. It is hard to get in the mood to do anything when it is hot and muggy, but I have to take advantage of Ayden K sleeping.

Good/Bad Weekend

The weekend started out pretty good, lots of good company for Felipe's on Friday and there will be a new face this Friday. My new friend Nancy is coming. Her son and daughter are great friends of Erik and Jamie. Nancy is a blast to be around, I wish I was more like her. Then on Saturday Alex called and said he had 2 extra tickets for the Galaxy game and he was playing in the alumni game before it started. WHOOPEEE!!!!!!! I get to see Alex play!!. Well, Rick was already helping Robin put in a door. They were in the middle of it all when Alex called, so there was no turning back. OK, Rick said he would be done "shortly". I knew right then and there that we are not going to make the kickoff of Alex's game, but hey, part of a game is better than none. As soon as we got to the 91 off of the 57 we saw smoke in the distance. As we got closer, we saw that it was huge, but it was hard to tell where it was because the freeway winds and turns. Almost as soon as I said "I wish I had gone to the bathroom before we left", the freeway came to a standstill. The fire, I found out later on the news, was a tanker full of ethanol that had flipped and was on fire at the 91 and 710 freeways. God rest his soul, the driver died in the accident. The highway patrol closed the 91 going both ways, so we never even made it to Home Depot. I sent Alex and Jamie a text that we weren't going to be there. I won't complain about missing Alex playing and getting to see Jamie and Aiden because a man lost his life. After a LONG while, we were able to be diverted off of the freeway and headed back home. As we were getting close to Brea I called Rick's sister Marianne and we met her at Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was a nice visit and salvaged a little of Saturday. Yesterday Alex called and we went over to their house for BBQ burgers and dogs. DELICIOUS Aiden showed us his tadpoles and it was fun to watch him play and just be Aiden. The Laker game was on and they won the finals. It was a great way to end a weekend and I can't wait to do it again. Right as we pulled up in front of our house, Erik called and asked me if we wanted to stop by on our way home, too late. Like I have said before, this empty nester stuff is crap!!!

Just Tuesday

This last Sunday was Tyler and Shelley's family and friends wedding shower. Lots of people showed up and so far no one has called to complain about food poisoning. They got lots of great stuff and the weather was perfect. One of Shelley's bridesmaids found a kitten in the middle of the street on her way here, so she brought it to see if anyone would take it home. Well, it stayed in Erik's room with Jerry's girls for most of the day. My brother Robin took it home. NOW, the vet thinks that the "kitten" is actually a baby bobcat. They will find out by the end of today. There were lots of reasons why they thought the kitten was different, but couldn't nail it. If it is a baby bobcat, they have to give it up to the SPCA, having a wild animal is against the law. The bounce house is still here and the day-care is loving it. Actually, I am loving it, they aren't fighting for a while. Tomorrow night is Aiden's "graduation" at pre-school. He will still be there for a while, but they get to "graduate" each year when they go up to the next age group. So cute. Well, I can always think of a zillion things until I sit down to write, but now my mind is blank, well - blanker.

Too much

Well, I have had a lot going on. My "baby" Erik turned 27 yesterday. Jamie organized a dinner for him at this Mexican restaurant in Brea that we all have been wanting to try. It was good, the company was better. He got Rock Band from Jamie and her parents, so I expect the landlord to be knocking on their apartment door this weekend. They have the cutest little dog, Q (short for Q-tip) that they are not supposed to have at their place, he is so dang cute. Q and Payton like each other and it is hilarious to watch them run around. A true Mutt and Jeff act. Yesterday I got to watch Aiden for a couple of hours, loved that!! He is growing up so fast and I can't wait to hold my new grandbaby in December. I am suffering from empty nest even though Tyler is still here, it hurts just the same. We are having the family shower for Tyler and Shelley this Sunday and I have one list after another going. The problem is that most of the stuff can't be done until the last minute, but it will be all worth it. The weather was bizarre this morning, there was so much thunder and lighting!!! The computer even shut off and so did my cell phone. Weird. We didn't lose any electricity though. Well, my dullness is done, I need to go. Hope to see everybody soon.