IRISH TRIPLETS

Where were you? September 11, 2001

2011-09-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Blissfully asleep is where I was at 5:46 am west coast time. Being the mother of three 18-month olds and having Paul home meant I was getting to sleep in. But he was waking me up, WHY WAS HE WAKING ME UP!!! Turning on the TV in the bedroom, why? I'm still sleeping, why? He is saying a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. What? I was thinking, "what a horrible accident." I'm watching a plane fly toward the building "How do they have a film of it?" "They don't. This is a second plane. Oh my God, this is a SECOND plane." Then.......this isn't an accident!

Babies are crying somewhere in the house. Someone is hungry. Our day has to go on like usual, like it normally does. Bottles and diapers, crying and naps, baths and meals and the pure exhaustion that goes along with all of that doesn't seem so bad today. I get to do all of that. Over the next days and weeks watching the news non-stop is heartbreaking. The mothers, children, wives.......all of the "never agains".

There is another realization also. If we lived on the east coast instead of the west, I could have been one of those wives. My children could have been those children. My husband after all is a firefighter. It wouldn't have mattered that he was home that morning. He would've gone. He would have wanted to, needed to be there with his brothers. I can't imagine all of those wives knowing their husbands were there and then watching the towers come down. At that point I suppose they wished their husbands were cowards rather than heroes

I remember thinking, "I'm glad my parents are already gone from this world", so they didn't have to know the amount of hate that was out there.
I think our world is getting back to something more normal than it was. We aren't quite so afraid of everything. But then something as simple as a power outage brings back the fear. People were wondering if the power going out all over San Diego on September 8th was some type of terrorist attack.
I don't mind being cautious. I don't mind taking off my shoes at the airport or being scanned.
I mind that my children don't get to grow up with the careless innocence that I did.

Jigs and Reels, Hornpipes and Traditional Sets

2011-09-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Dancing on Coronado Island

First Place!

Tied for Third!

Babies

2011-09-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

A family friend gave birth to triplets this past Monday. They made it to 35 weeks 4 days-amazing!! Monster sized babies in the triplet world. Identical girls weighed in at 4 pounds 9 ounces each and their brother was a whopping 5 pounds 6 ounces. That's over 15 pounds of babies! The pictures of the new trio looked like they were full term. None of the little old person look that more premature babies have. I went back and looked at some of our first photos from March 2000. My three made it to 32 weeks.

Just 7 hours old

Easter-2000 They were 23 days old

They're a little larger now

Already!?

2011-08-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of Summer, the last day of my babies being Elementary School kids. Whether you call it Junior High or Middle School, it starts tomorrow.

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

Already?

But they're just babies.

Sooo Yucky!!

2011-08-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

The kids and I (mostly I) spent ALL day cleaning their rooms. They looked like a small toy store exploded in both rooms. I can't believe any of them can ever say they're bored or have nothing to do. They each have a big Rubbermaid box to dump stuff in. I made them dump out the boxes and start going through everything. I also made them empty two book shelves and go through all the books. there were toys and books from years ago and I had to fight them for each and every item I either wanted to give away or throw away. The dust! Oh my gosh, the dust. And the sneezing because of the dust. I feel like I've been camping for a week. I'm filthy and exhausted and we still have to battle the loft. And exactly how many stuffed animals is too many?

FINALLY!! Back to dance.

2011-07-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Their first year of Irish Dance-2007

Yay, we're back to dance tomorrow after about 5 weeks off. I bet everyone is going to be achy tomorrow night.

Their very first feis. Soooo little.

Sacramento 2010.

Our first feis since December is in two weeks. Kieran is going to compete again!

Baby Turtles Swimming Off Into the Future.

2011-06-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

Heading for the water at dawn.

The Kemp's Ridley Sea turtle is the most endangered Sea Turtle. In 1947 there were 40,000 nesting females recorded by an amateur photographer on one beach in a single day. Today there are 1,000 nesting females in total.

Waiting for the turtles to arrive from Sea Turtle, Inc. About 200 babies hatched only four hours earlier.

Here they come!!!

A cooler full of turtles. Not the usual items brought to the beach in a cooler.

The first two to head toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Taking a breath.

SPX-the turtle rescue dog. He can sniff out the nests on the beach.

They're so tiny.

You can just make out the tiny heads and flippers.

Tickle, tickle, wake up, you have an adventure to go on.

Turtle tracks.

The last two head off into the sunrise.

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore"
-Andre Gide

Beach and Sand Turtles

2011-06-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

Kieran's turtle. It's a female, notice her eggs?

Kyle's fortress.

Ummm yeah, it's supposed to be a jelly fish.

Birds and things

2011-06-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

Boardwalk over the Laguna Madre Bay.

Big Hare and tiny Spotted Ground Squirrel

I'm not sure what these are. The Mommy is the brown one and she had a set of fluffy black triplets.

Tri-color Heron.

He was rounding up fish and then grabbing them.

Black Necked Stilt. Related to our Sandpipers.

Red Winged Blackbird-the kids thought it had an injury.

Fresh Water Turtle.

All types of birds together. There is a Roseate Spoonbill in the middle. That's Wyland Whaling Wall #53 in the background.

We saw Ally the American Alligator. She/He was under one of the birding platforms so I couldn't get my own picture.

2011-06-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

Queen Isabella Causeway-the only road connecting the island to mainland Texas. Two miles long.

Sea Turtle, Inc. Rescue, rehab and education. They have lots of permanent residents that have been injured. Most are missing at least one fin. One turtle has a prosthesis because she only has ONE fin. This usually means the turtle is put down. They made her an experimental prosthesis. Very cool! She swam around too fast to get a picture though.

Helllloooo.

Missing front right fin.

How you doin?

Wee baby, already with a predator injury.

Beach!

2011-06-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

My oh so white Irish children! I think that's Kyle's Burt Reynolds circa 1972 centerfold pose.

Fire Power!

Come on...........

Pleeeaasseeee!

The daredevils.

No fear at all.

Tomorrow.......................

2011-06-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

SCHLITTERBAHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Morning South Padre

2011-06-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

I woke him up before sunrise. He's a little sleep deprived.

One of the locals.

California people, what's wrong with this picture? Uh huh, it's sunRISE over the ocean. Just weird!

Saida Towers-we're in the second building from the left.

Boardwalk to the beach.

View from the balcony-one of the three pools.

On the Road Again...

2011-06-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

Fire in Yuma, AZ

Giant metal cobra at some random truck stop.

Gila Monster in our hotel hallway in Tucson. We've never seen one "in person". Only behind the glass in the reptile house.

Kids can sleep anywhere!

Not sure about this technique.

Paisano Pete-the World's largest road runner.

The Alamo San Antonio-we only stayed a short time because it was 103 degrees. No AC in the 1800's-go figure.

A really cool building near the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

View from our room.

Gotta love the Texas speed limits.

We're off!

2011-06-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

We'll be up early tomorrow to head out on vacation. We're en route to South Padre Island on the gulf coast of Texas. Not one of my first choice islands but an island all the same.

I'm going to try again.....

2011-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

...to make posts to my blog.
The kids "graduated" from elementary school yesterday. Summer 2011 is already here and Junior High is only 2 months away. Yikes!! I'm way behind.

I've been bad....

2010-12-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't been here in 7 months. Lots of things have happened. We went to the Grand Canyon, Utah and Las Vegas on a roadtrip vacation this, we have new floors, we went to Sacramento for another Irish Dance Championship. We just spent the weekend in Palm Springs doing our own dance competition. I'm trying to get back here.

Dance Out at Jefferson School

2010-05-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

St. Ambrose Feis

2010-05-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Medal of Valor Ceremony

2010-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

Paul received the Sustained Superiority Award at the South Bay Medal of Valor Ceremony on Thursday.

Firefighter cited for career as leader

Our New Nephew Is SOOO Cool

2010-04-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

That's our big sis.

Not so wee anymore.

2010-03-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

My babies will be 10 years old tomorrow. I'll have to scan some baby pictures and post them. Tomorrow we're off to Disneyland.

I'm not waiting for Suzanne and Jeff's baby anymore.

2010-03-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

He's here!! Gage Daniel was born on St. Patrick's Day. 6 pounds 8 oz at 6:11am.

Oireachtas 2009-Heading for Denver

2009-11-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

On Thursday morning we head for Denver for the Western Region Irish Dance Championships.

Westport and Croagh Patrick

2009-10-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Westport Town, County Mayo

There is a real swan in there with the swan boats.

Flower baskets everywhere. They were so pretty.

CROAGH PATRICK
History

Known in Irish Celtic as Cruach Phádraig and colloquially as "the Reek," Mt. Croagh Patrick has been a sacred site since ancient times. Before the arrival of Christianity, the Celtic people regarded the mountain as the dwelling place of the deity Crom Dubh.

The mountain was the focus of the harvest festival of Lughnasa, traditionally held around August 1. The sacred mountain was especially important for women, who would sleep on the summit during Lughnasa to encourage fertility.

Neolithic art can still be seen on a rock outcropping known as "St. Patrick's Chair" along the path to the top, and a Celtic hill fort was recently uncovered at the base of the mountain.

According to Christian tradition, St. Patrick went up the sacred mountain at festival time in 441 AD. After fasting at the summit for 40 days, he banished all the snakes and demons from Ireland.

The site quickly became an important place of Christian pilgrimage. A stone oratory dating to between 430 and 890 AD was recently discovered on the summit.

Pilgrimage

Mt. Croagh Patrick is the most important Catholic pilgrimage destination in Ireland. Nearly one million visitors, most of them pilgrims, climb to the top every year. Almost 30,000 pilgrims make the trek on the last Sunday in July, known as "Reek Sunday."

For most Catholics who visit Mt. Croagh Patrick, especially on Reek Sunday, the pilgrimage to the top of the sacred mountain is an act of penance. Accordingly, some untake the journey barefoot or even on their knees. The summit has a small chapel where Mass is held each day.

The full pilgrimage route originates in the village of Murrisk, 8km outside Westport. The first main sight on the pilgrimage path is a statue of St. Patrick, erected in 1928 by a Westport pastor. Although it is not one of the official stations it has become a place of prayer and makes a good goal for those not able to climb all the way to the top.

Céide Fields

2009-09-16T08:57:00.001-07:00

So just when you think you're getting the hang of Gaelic, they give you Céide Fields. I'm cool with "fields" but the "Céide". Kady-Kidy-Katy-Kity-WRONG! "Kay-Ja" Fields-who knew.

This was absolutely the most impressive place to me. The one place I just couldn't wrap my mind around. Céide Fields is an area where the remains of ancient (work on that word in your "growing up in the US" brain) stone field walls, houses and tombs are preserved beneath a blanket of peat over several square miles.

Have you worked on "ancient"? I grew up in Southern California. Our chain of Missions up the California Coast are the oldest buildings/ruins I've ever seen. Maybe a few hundred years old. And you East Coasters can add a few hundred years onto that.

The Céide Fields are the oldest known field systems in the world, over five and a half millennia old. That's before Christ. It's beyond what my mind can fathom.

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

2009-09-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

A little Gaelic for you.

Caisleán Bhun Raithe, meaning Castle at the Mouth of the Ratty

We stopped at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park on our way North to County Mayo. The present castle dates back to 1425. There are four towers to climb up to, a banquet hall, many furnished rooms and even a dungeon. The Folk Park is a reproduction of a 19th Century Village. Very cool! There were different types of buildings, cottages, farm equipment and lots of animals.

Are you supposed to ride the cannon?

A little girl and a little door.

Do you see "first born" written all over this?

The countryside from one of the towers.

Flying the pride.

You can just make out the flag where we were on top of the tower.

One of the reproduction cottages.

Sweet pony. The girl is sweet most of the time.

There was a "Viking Faire" going on while we were there. This was the coolest display of birds. He must have had 30 or 40 birds of pray. Even a California Condor.

Barn Owl hiding in his box.

Random photos

2009-08-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Old water pump across the street from the first cottage we stayed in. Kyle was determined to make it work.

Local cemetery across the street from the water pump. We walked here on our first evening. These were some of the first head stones we saw. Look closely, "Condon" is my Mom's maiden name.

Some of this cemetery was very old.

Ballinure was the village we were in. A gorgeous area of County Tipperary.

This is the hearth stone. We think its a piece of a castle.

Kilkenny Castle

2009-08-21T22:23:00.001-07:00

KILKENNY CASTLE stands dramatically on a strategic height that commands a crossing on the River Nore and dominates the 'High Town' of Kilkenny City. Over the eight centuries of its existence, many additions and alterations have been made to the fabric of the building, making Kilkenny Castle today a complex structure of various architectural styles.
The original Anglo-Norman stone castle was built for William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (c.1146-1219) during the first decade of the thirteenth century. Kilkenny Castle later became the principal Irish residence of the powerful Butler family for almost 600 years. The Butler ownership began when James (c.1360-1405), 3rd Earl of Ormond, purchased the castle in c.1391, and lasted until 1967 when Arthur, 6th Marquess of Ormonde (1893-1971), presented it to the people of Kilkenny in return for a token payment of £50.

Kieran liked the playground on the castle grounds best.

Honey, the lawn needs mowing. This lawn went beyond the horizon.

Open Farm

2009-08-21T22:12:00.001-07:00

We went to an "Open Farm" where you can feed the animals on a real working farm.

This baby sheep has six horns. Mom had four and Dad had the normal two.

Hungry Babies.

Now they're full and happy.

Darcy's donkey?

Marl Bog-Dundrum Village, Tipperary

2009-08-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

The area is a wildlife and wildfowl reserve. Mammals include fallow deer, fox, badger, red squirrel, Irish stoat, otter and mink. There is a great diversity of bird life.
As the name suggests the main soil type is marl and gley over a gravel base.
This was so beautiful and quiet.

This swan followed us around the lake.

Cahir Castle

2009-07-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

Cahir Castle-This imposing 13th -15th century structure was skilfully designed to be a state of the art defensive castle. Every foot of the rocky island was utilised to such good effect as the to make difficult in places to determine which part of the castle is the main part and which is the living rock from which is seems to grow. Located in the centre of Cahir town, Cahir castle is one of Ireland's largest and best-preserved castles.

The River Suir on one side.

And an honest to goodness moat on the other.

The Swiss Cottage-
Built around 1810 at Kilcommon near the town of Cahir in County Tipperary (Ireland), the Swiss cottage is a fine example of cottage ornée, or ornamental cottage. It was originally part of the estate of Lord and Lady Cahir, and used for entertaining guests.

Inside was beautiful but photos were not allowed. It was only refurbished in 1985. Horses were living in the downstairs before this. It opened to the public in 1989.

The beautiful patchwork quilts of Ireland.

River Suir again.

Blarney Castle

2009-07-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

Witch's Kitchen

Fairies?

It's way up.

Mommy

Kendra

Kyle

Kieran

Holycross Abbey, Thurles, Co. Tipperary

2009-07-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

Hore Abbey-Cashel, County Tipperary

2009-07-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

Rock of Cashel

2009-07-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Rock of Cashel-built between the 12th and 16th centuries.

I'm trying...

2009-07-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

to update. I didn't have Internet for the first 10 days, last night it was on and off due to a storm I think and Blogger is being grumpy about uploading photos.

Ballinure, County Tipperary

2009-07-01T08:08:00.001-07:00

First house-Ballinure

Sitting on the wall watching cars go by on the "wrong" side of the road.

Back yard with stables.

View over the back fence of the Ballinure Game Preserve.

The view from the grocery store parking lot. Not quite like the view we have from Wal Mart!

That's the Rock of Cashel in the distance.

Ireland Adventures

2009-06-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit of a rocky start. Our plane from Atlanta was a little delayed. We left at 9:15 rather than 8:55 pm.

Watching the planes in Atlanta.

Waiting.

Our flight from Atlanta to Dublin was not great. LOTS of turbulence. The pilot also let us know that the lightning we could see was WAY off in the distance. After all, we were flying Air France and they did have the plane go down last month.

We got lucky going through customs. We were taken from the back of the line and ushered to an empty window! Then we waited for daddy to get the car which was too small. We upgraded.

Driving from the airport to our hotel was an experience. The street signs are on walls of buildings and fences so it took us awhile to figure out where we were supposed to go. The streets are skinny and driving on the left was breathtaking-not in a good way.

Our hotel is the old Mason's building; very cool looking. The night was really rough for one of us me. One of us me got some bad food on one of the flights and spent the night on the bathroom floor.

We went to Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Grafton Street and St Stephan's Green today.

We're Off!

2009-06-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

We've arrived at San Diego Airport, gone thorough security, had our required McDonald's breakfast and now the big wait. Security was essentially a breeze for Paul. He went through first, I helped the kids get their shoes and jackets off and put their backpacks in bins. They went off through the screening machine. I took the laptop out of my bag like I had read to do, got my shoes and jacket off and into a bin. Then the friendly (really-totally nice guy) ask if any of the backpacks had a DVD player. Why, yes they all do. Those also have to be taken out of the backpacks, out of the DVD cases and put into separate bins. So, I managed about eight bins on my own while Paul put his shoes back on blissfully ignorant of what I was doing. Then he gets pulled aside by security because, after being quizzed by his loving wife, they find another pocket knife in his backpack. He'd already put one in his checked bag before we got out of the shuttle. Men!!!
Only another hour and my happy pill can be taken.

A Pirate's Life For Me.

2009-05-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Have you been on a Duffy Boat? We cruised around Naples last Sunday afternoon.

Daddy and his girls.

Except for my niece on the far left and my son-in-law in the straw hat, these are all Hawkins' children!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

I just have to share my Mother's Day "letter" from Kieran.

My Mom

Do you love your Mom? I do.

These are some things about my Mom.

The first thing is that she will be taking my brother, sister and me to Ireland.

She is also good at cooking and planting.

She has lots of pictures of relatives in her family and our family.

She has beautiful eyelashes and gentle light skin.

She has dark red hair.

She is always good at board games like Monopoly and Sorry.

And those are some things about my Mom.

Hellooo Blogspot

2009-04-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

(The title is my rendition of Carrie Bradshaw's "Hellooo Lover")

I've been neglecting you. I have developed a problem called Facebook. I'm sorry. I'm not alone though. Look at Terrell over there at My Life-Defined. Not a post since March 11th. Bad-worse than me. It's partially you Blogspot. You are being snarky uploading pictures. I want to edit them and you just won't let me. Then I get frustrated and go away for too long, I know. Things have been happening too. It was March after all. We had lots of dancing and carrying on. The Wee Trinity turned nine and spent the day at Disneyland. All of our passports have arrived. Kieran looks like a member of the Hitler Youth in his picture. I think it's kind of interesting that my kids and I all got our first passports in the same year. Do they know how lucky they are?
I promise I'll be back Blogspot if you promise to be easier with the whole picture thing.

Mommy Thoughts

2009-03-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

Boys and Bathrooms

How can the military feel confident about letting men have guns when their aim is so poor?

They Just Make Me Laugh

2009-03-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

We were home late from dance class last night because a reporter from the San Diego Tribune was there taking pictures for an upcoming article about our dance school. So, when we got home I heated up a pre-made batch of cashew chicken minus the cashews for the kids. When I set his plate down Kyle asked, "Do I have any nuts?" Just that sent me into pants wetting giggles. Kyle's reply, "What? Ohhhh." Then the boys were laughing too. It took Kendra awhile to get it.

Opaque Dawg KH

2009-02-19T21:45:00.000-08:00

So Kieran has been taking a Hip Hop dance class. Yes, please do laugh. I find it quite funny. On Wednesday afternoons when he gets home from his class, he strips off his shirt and shows me his new moves. Apparently when you're a Hip Hop dancer you get very hot from all the "move bustin" going on. Plus you've just got to show off your six-pack. Or would that be your juice pouch?
This is how Kieran dressed himself this morning. He thinks Hip Hop. I'm thinking more Red Neck Surfer?

Mommy Thoughts

2009-01-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

"To be prepared is half the victory"
"If you are prepared, you will be confident, and will do the job"
"Chance favors the prepared mind"

All of these quotes about being prepared. I agree, being prepared, especially if it's regarding a certain set of triplets, is a must. So, last Wednesday I prepared ahead of time to make getting passport photos taken an easy task. The kids get out early on Wednesday-12:25. Kieran stays until 1:45 for an art class. Still plenty of time for photos before dance class at 4:45. I picked up Kyle and Kendra, took them home, redid their hair and got Kendra a shirt for her photo. They can't wear their white school shirts because the background is white and they would have "floating" heads. I had to iron shirts for Kyle and Kieran. I was going to have Kieran change his shirt in the car. We went to the school to pick him up and he took his sweet time coming out. No biggy, we still had plenty of time. After all, I was prepared. But I'd forgotten the "Kieran Factor". When he finally climbed in the car, I was met by a filthy little boy, dirty shirt, dirty hands, dirty knees -again no biggy because the photos only show from the chest up. It was the blue marker mustache drawn across his face that really threw a wrench in the works. Thank goodness for Handi-Wipes in the glove box.

Ticead amhain go dti an Baile Átha Cliath, le do thoil

2009-01-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

Translation: One ticket to Dublin, please.
Actually five. The Hawkins' are off on an amazing adventure. We are going to be spending three weeks in Ireland this Summer. We'll be renting two or three cottages/homes across the Emerald Isle. We're not sure which counties yet. We'd like to see County Cork (Republic of Ireland) and County Fermanagh (Northern Ireland) because those are the counties my family is from. We have lots of planning and dreaming to do before June.

Quad Fun.

2009-01-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

We finally got the quad that Paul ordered for the kid's Christmas present and took it out to the property.

I hadn't seen the "bunk house" yet. I think it looks more like a conjugal visit trailer at a prison. But, it is rodent-free!

And just for Nancy, the new location of the privy. Yeah, this was a lot of fun in 40 degree, misty weather.

One of our neighbors is a Clydesdale farm. He and I didn't want to get closer to the electric fence.

Christmas Morning Highlights

2008-12-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Too bad Kyle isn't excited at all.

Wii are happy!!

Elsa is quite pleased with her Chia Pet for cats.

That would be the "don't mess with my present" face.

Feile na Nollaig

2008-12-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

Our dance school, Comerford Irish Dance, had our feis the weekend of December 12th. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. Decorating the ballrooms and building the dance floors starts Friday afternoon and we don't stop until we do the reverse late Sunday afternoon.

Dancing Reindeer.

Santa paid us a visit.

"Bingo" the 9th reindeer.

Kyle and Kendra working the raffle basket table between dances.

Kendra and her trophy.

Kieran helping out at the raffle table.

The new outfits.

Merry Christmas To All...

2008-12-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

And To All A Goodnight.

Oireachtas 2008

2008-11-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend at the Arizona Grand in Phoenix for the Western Region US Oireachtas.

Kendra was on a 8 hand ceili team.

Ready for her costume.

The girls practicing before their dance.

Waiting their turn with the older girls/teachers.

They may not have placed first but they were the best in our hearts.

Award night. Half of the team.

It was a nice resort.

On the way home we trusted the Garmin and headed for "The Outer Limits" restaurant in Gila Bend, Arizona. It was a classic 1960's space-age restaurant. It reminded me of the old "Tomorrowland" at Disneyland. Good food too.

We slipped back into San Diego for a California sunset.

Religious Studies for the Day

2008-11-18T10:22:00.000-08:00

Idleness and Sloth

Proverbs 10:4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness-thought to be an anchient Hebrew proverb.

In his 'Advancement of Learning' (1605) Francis Bacon wrote: 'Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.'

Kitty Porn

2008-11-14T07:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry-it's the best I could do this morning. Kieran spent yesterday afternoon and night throwing up again.

Luckily, this all made it into appropriate receptacles. Unlike the middle of Sunday night when I spent over an hour on clean up after that spectacular event. Remember the scene in "The Shining" when the blood came pouring out of the elevator like a flash flood, swooshing under the furniture and up the walls. Now imagine that with partially digested pasta. Yeah-life's good. Oh did I mention Paul was out of town for that?

Just Because

2008-11-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

I miss when they let me make the costumes.

It's Official

2008-11-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

Kendra is a Brownie Girl Scout.

Wedding Day

2008-10-26T16:01:00.001-07:00

The wedding dress and the red hot shoes!

Something blue needs a little explanation. Suzanne had a baby girl, Hailey, 11 years ago. She was born far too early and we only got to share a few hours with her. I bought a tiny outfit for Hailey to be buried in. I kept the tiny bloomers because she was swimming in the dress. I was going to give them back to Suzanne some day when she was older and settled. Her wedding day seemed perfect. So I cross stitched the "H" for Hawkins and Hailey on a piece of those bloomers and I trimmed it with a little of my wedding dress (14 years since I wore that, it should have some good luck). She tucked it in her dress next to her heart where Hailey always is.

The ceiling of the gazebo was lighted and reminded me of a wagon wheel.

First dance as Husband and Wife.Dancing with her Daddy. Paul loves The Beatles and Suzanne loves country so she was able to find a version "In My Life" sung by Johnny Cash.
Jeff and his Mom.Barbeque sauce face.

Yuck! Big sisters have ~~beer breath~~ cooties!

Vicky, the family artist, of "Yer Cheat'n Heart Tattoos"

Our July bride, Melissa and our son-in-law, Lane.

Wes sitting on the stage.

The three cowpokes.

Erica dancing with Dad.

Now they are about three hours from landing on Maui.

Girl's Night

2008-10-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

The ladies spent the evening arranging the flowers for the wedding.

Suzanne had gone to the L.A. Flower Mart and picked out tons of red, white and black flowers. The room smelled heavenly. Of course every guy that walked in the room thought it smelled like a funeral home. Are those the two different views women and men have on marriage too?

Practicing with Vicky.

A kiss for "squirrely" sister.

Last minute advice from the old married sister.

And then there was the "hair dryer incident".

Round Two begins.

2008-10-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Suzanne, the oldest, is getting married tomorrow at Green Mountain Ranch.

We did the rehearsal, had lunch...

Ohhh Jeff, you're so busted! I always have the camera.

...and went bowling.

So Long, Farewell, auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye...

2008-10-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yippee, the cast is going... going...

gone!!

Now we'll just have to soak his foot to get rid of the "funk".

Mommy Thoughts

2008-10-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Will I have to wait until my kids go away to college (of course not Kyle-thanks again Gaelic Storm-see Born to be a Bachelor) before I can have a garlic press, tea ball, pastry cutter, rolling pin etc., not encrusted with dry Play-Doh?

Your Kids Rock!

2008-10-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to a Gaelic Storm concert. I was able to set up a performance by four of our Irish Dance school's best dancers. They danced twice in front of the band. They were so amazingly good it almost made we cry. I was so proud of them and they aren't even my kids. Although I did get to be stand-in Mom for the night. I've noticed over the last 18 months that the kids have been dancing, that in general, the kids at our Irish Dance school are really good people. They are polite and have good morals and their values seem to be in the right place. They can and will (without being forced) carry on a conversation with me-an adult-an old lady-yuck. I'm not sure why, maybe just the structure of being an Irish dancer? And I don't know if it's true of all Irish dance schools or just ours. Whatever, it's a nice change to the usual attitude of teenagers today. I bet they are all going to turn out to be very good adults too. I really like the Comerford kids.

Signs of Autumn

2008-10-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

You can always tell Autumn is here when the ~~leaves~~ lips start changing color.

North County on Fire

2008-10-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

This is the second fire in less than a week in Oceanside.
These are from right in front of our house.

P-3 Orion en route to fire.
Super Scooper over the backyard.

This was last Wednesday night.

Here we go again...

2008-10-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

Red Flag Warning.

Casanova? Valentino?

2008-10-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was the first time ever one of the kids went on a field trip without me. I'd signed all the permission slips but hadn't realized the day was here until Kyle said, "Yea, it's field trip day!" Huh?!? Today? Where were the requests for parent drivers? The pleading for parents to ride the bus and take control of three or four kids? I guess we have funding this year for buses, so no parent drivers. And I guess they had parents already to ride on the bus. Seems like a free day for me right? Noooo, I spent the field trip hours worrying about the bus rolling over, driving into the lagoon they were visiting, the lack of seat belts, the sudden 100 degree weather that would surely cause the bus driver to pass out...and roll the bus over into the lagoon.

They made it through unharmed but not without incidence. Kyle, my wee tiny baby, was caught making out on the bus!!! Holy crap! NOT what I expected, he's only 8 1/2 .

I asked him about the field trip. "What did you do?" "Saw a frog, caterpillars, plants." "Anything else?" "Nope" "Who'd you ride with on the bus" "Brad." "Hmm. Any girls on the field trip?" "Mrs. Nathan and Mrs. Gonzales." "Uh huh. No body else?" "Nope"

I finally had to admit to him what I knew. "So it was just one little kiss?" Kyle looked up with his big innocent eyes and held up three fingers! I explained that he was too young for a girlfriend but that she could be his best friend that was a girl. And no more kissing.

The next day he wanted to know how old does he have to be to kiss girls. Oh Lord, what am I in for?

The Amazing Mind of a (ADHD) Child

2008-10-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

This boy, my boy, his mind is amazing. He bounces off walls, chatters non-stop, forgets to raise his hand in class, can't shut his mind off at night to fall asleep but he can sit for hours building with Legos and K'nex. Some "plans" he gets from the Internet and follows every step. Some things come right out of his imagination. He wants to be an architect and an archaeologist. I'm sure he will.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2008-10-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Oh screw that!!

When Life Gives You Grease and Dough.......

Make beignets!!!
And if your arteries are closing too slowly...SLAM them shut with some bacon!!

It's kind of cool and it's supposed to rain. Just like a lovely New Orleans morning. Granted we're not in Jackson Square or at Cafe du Monde but we can always dream. Or just stand and stare at the pictures in the downstairs bathroom.

I spent almost a week in NOLA in December 2004 with my Aunts and some of my female cousins. One of my Aunts is a writer and was in the Big Easy as a finalist in the 2004 William Faulkner Wisdom Competition. She was in the Novel in Progress category for The Monumental Hoax. It was the first time I'd been away from the kids. Before I left I researched until I found a live web cam in the French Quarter that I could walk to every morning with my cup of chicory laced coffee. It was in the window of the Cats Meow on Bourbon Street. Early in the morning, Bourbon Street is nice and quiet. Being just 4 years old the kids didn't quite understand how they could see me on the computer but it helped with missing them. I could talk to them on the phone and they could see me at the same time.
It's time to go back to NOLA I think. The kids would love it. I didn't get to do a plantation or swamp tour last time. That would be fun. The ghost tour we did get to do was great. The Irish Pub we found the first night was also fun. Figures the Condon-Murphy-McCaffertys could sniff out a pub in the heart of New Orleans. "Is that Guinness I smell?"
Hmmm, when exactly is Feis New Orleans?

Unfortunately there's the beignet cleanup to do.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2008-09-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

We were at the LAX Marriott this weekend for the St. Ambrose Feis put on by the Cleary School of Irish Dance. Kendra was excited to wear her new wig. I was just as excited that it stayed on. I've become a pro at putting on a bun cover but this was my first "wigging". Both kids did really well in all of their dances. They brought home a total of nine medals. Kendra-5 & Kyle-4

Kyle's disclaimer: "Girls dance one more dance (slip jig) than boys. Kendra is not better than me!"
Practicing outside the ballrooms.

He's Back..

2008-09-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Old Soul is getting his groove (or hop) back. Kieran has gone to school three days with his crutches. The wheel chair is now parked in front of the bird feeder window and Elsa quite enjoys it. He's also back to building with his beloved K'Nex. The mark in the middle of his forehead is a rug burn. Maybe a little too much time on his hands and knees (and apparently forehead) building.

Happy Dance

2008-09-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

He's going to school tomorrow! Yippee for Mommy!

2008-09-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Kieran had a quiet night. He slept without any pain meds and he's finally made it down stairs.

Recovery Time

2008-09-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Kieran's surgery went very well. It took less time than the Dr. thought it would. The only problem is that it takes him so long to recover from the anesthetic that we were at the hospital from 6:30 am until about 3:00 pm. Every time he sits up he turns green and gets clammy. The nurse gave him an extra dose of an anti-nausea med which promptly put him back to sleep. I had forgotten that when he had the last surgery, his brain reverts to some type of very basic comforting mode. He "nurses" while he sleeps. It kept me up all night after the last surgery but I guess I was just too tired last night for it to bother me. It's really kind of sweet that he goes back to the most basic thing that Mommy gave him for comfort. He is on the mend today. Last night was a little rough. He's in a little more pain this time because he had a bone graft taken from his hip to put in the ankle. That is bothering him more than the ankle.

We put his mattress on the floor next to my side (of course) of the bed again. For the first few days I like him next to me so I can hear him if he needs anything during the night. He really likes taking over my bed all day though.

The King.

Yes, it's a bra on the corner of the bed. whatever!
Edit: 9:40 pm My bed is full of pretzel crumbs!!!

If I could not walk far and fast....

2008-09-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

....I think I should just explode and perish. ~Charles Dickens

Kieran has one more day of walking. He has to repeat the ankle surgery he had in 1st grade. He has non-traumatic AVN of both talus (ankle) bones. He'll have core decompression surgery again and maybe a bone graft this time. One ankle at a time this go 'round so he doesn't have to be in a wheelchair. We are trying to get a knee walker so he doesn't have to use crutches. He'll have 6 weeks of no weight bearing on his right foot. I planned it so he should be healed by his big sister's wedding and Halloween.

We have to be at Children's Hospital at 6:30 am. No eating past midnight. This is the worst part because he doesn't come out of anesthesia well and when he finally does wake up he's a ravenous animal.

Bling

2008-09-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

We had fun this weekend at the Hidden Valley Feis. Kendra wasn't being loved by the judges. She started practicing as soon as we got home. She's determined to "bring home the gold" at the next feis. Kyle brought home a second, fourth and fifth.

Hidden Valley Feis

2008-09-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

The kids have a Irish Dance competition this weekend. It's the first time for both of them doing a hard shoe dance. They both have been practicing a lot. I need ear plugs.

It's here in San Diego so not a lot of driving this time. Yeah for Mom.

Tip for the Day

2008-09-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

Don't stand in front of the fan with your open container of Bare Minerals.

Funny.

2008-09-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

"You know what the difference is between a hockey mom and a pit bull?"
Lipstick.
~Sarah Palin

This one's funny too.

An email from Ireland to all of their brethren in the States...a point to ponder despite your political affiliation:
We, in Ireland, can't figure out why you people are even bothering to hold an election in the United States. On one side, you had a pants wearing female lawyer, married to another lawyer who can't seem to keep his pants on, who just lost a long and heated primary against a lawyer, who goes to the wrong church, who is married to yet another lawyer, who doesn't even like the country her husband wants to run!

Now...On the other side, you have a nice old war hero whose name starts with the appropriate 'Mc' terminology, married to a good looking younger woman who owns a beer distributorship!!

What in God's name are ya lads thinkin' over in the colonies!

Not what I expected....

2008-09-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

...to be going through drug withdrawals.

I've been taking Effexor for at least two years now for my fibromyalgia. Although it's usually prescribed for depression and anxiety disorders it also relieves fibromyalgia symptoms. It is thought that perhaps the medicine blocks nerve pain signals in the spinal cord or brain.

At the last appointment with my Rheumatologist, he bumped me up to the max dose. He said, "If this doesn't help we'll have to try something else". Well, it didn't help any more than the previous lower dose. I figured I'd try to go without the meds. I started weaning myself off slowly. I could only get down to my old 75mg dose every other day before having horrible withdrawal symptoms. How white trash is that? "Mommas not feelin' well, she's comin' off of the meds." I started researching a little more about Effexor and decided I really want off this drug.

This should be fun. I'll take the pain any day over the withdrawals and side effects.

Mervyn's is filing for bankruptcy.

2008-08-25T10:42:00.001-07:00

There were some great deals!

Did you know..

2008-08-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

you can freeze avocados?

I'd never even thought of it. Why would you? Avocados don't last very long at our house. I never had the need until my sister moved ~~away from me. Off of the block we've shared since my babies were 9 months old. To another neighborhood. Far, far away. But I'm not bitter.~~ a few miles away to a house that sits in the middle of an avocado grove. Can you imagine having your own avocado grove? Yum!! They harvested so many avocados that she had to find a way to save them. And like always, Google came to the rescue. You can freeze avocados. You just mash them up a bit add lemon or lime juice (about a tablespoon per avo) and seal them in a freezer bag. They come out perfect, bright green and ready to make guacamole. So when we're freezing in January, we can make guacamole.

Is it so wrong?

2008-08-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

That for the last week "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" has been going 'round and 'round in my head? School's back in today-Yippee!!!

And so it ends...

2008-08-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Entering Oregon going south was not as much fun as it had been 3 weeks ago travelling north.

We took the same route stopping in Eugene and Sacramento. I lost the desire to take many pictures on the way home.

This long stretch of California should be known as appetizer alley.
There were tomatoes. I stopped counting these trucks when I got to 50. That's a lot of salsa and Bloody Marys!

Onions-brown and white.

Some type of nut trees. Maybe pistachios.

And wine. What more could you ask for?

Certainly not this!!!!

Welcome to Los Angeles-blah!

Coming to an end.

2008-08-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful vacation was quickly coming to an end.

We went the town of Langley.

This is the most beautiful rose bush.

Thousands of mini climbing roses.

We went bowling when the newlyweds got home.

Check out that old woman's form!

As usual Kieran has his own technique.

Fine dining. The menu at the bowling alley.

Baby seagulls on the roof of a building.

This was a weird log flow that went by the house one morning.

I like to take pictures of what I looked at every day while on vacation.

You talkin' to me!?!

The Fort. We hope some other kids found it when we left.

Clam Obsessed

2008-08-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ever since the great mussel harvest, Paul has been clam obsessed. He longingly looks at the tide. Is it low enough?

Child labor.

He knows where the clams are!

The corner office always has the best view.
Maybe the Internet has clamming tips?

...later that evening.

2008-08-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

We went down to "our" beach with our bucket and harvested a few mussels. Penn Cove Mussels are famous. They're at our local Costco. It was so fun to get our own dinner. Once we got home Paul scrubbed off the barnacles and removed their beards. I cleaned and steamed the mussels in a little butter, garlic, onions and white wine. The kids loved watching them pop open when they were ready. YUM!! The mussels were really good. Kendra and Kyle ate tons. No doubt those are my genes. Kieran refused to even try one.

Coupeville

2008-08-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

We stayed in town today and just relaxed.

The Knead and Feed for lunch.

Testing the temperature of the hot chocolate?

Whipped cream please!

PB and J on home made bread.

No scurvy for Kieran.

Do you think they'd give me a job?

A little dance practice.

It's not hard to practice when it's so beautiful!

Ebey's Landing. So much open space!

Multi-tasking.

Davis Block House at Sunnyside Cemetery.

Port Townsend

2008-08-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

We went over to Port Townsend for the day. It's a small ferry and we walked on this time because we didn't really need the car.

You can just see his "lady" on their nest.

US Post Office 1893

Jefferson County Courthouse 1891

He was just happily standing out there playing his bag pipes.

And of course we need another fort to explore.

Point Wilson Lighthouse 1913

Whales!!

2008-08-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

This was the most awesome day. No explanation needed.

Donuts to start the day and then this....

Reader's Digest Version

2008-08-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

I really need to finish adding vacation entries so I'm going to do a condensed version here.

These are all pictures from Fort Casey and Fort Ebey.

That's a tiny Swallow's egg on Kendra's thumb.

Admiralty Head Light House 1903

On top of a bunker.

Really cool tall ship.

Cute boy.

Inside the forts are pitch black. The flash from the camera and our flash light were the only way to see. Some of the rooms were really freaky feeling.

This plant was every where. I don't know what it is though.

A little Geocaching at Lake Pondilla.

Trails in the beautiful campground. This isn't your typical California type campground.

Wedding Day

2008-07-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

The weather on the evening before the wedding was a little worrisome. We had rain on the way home from the rehearsal barbecue.

In the Bride's Changing Room.

Big sister/maid of honor getting ready.

Mom putting on the last touches.

The Reverend Hawkins performing the ceremony.

The little brothers.

Husband and Wife.

Wes and Erica (younger brother and sister)

First Dance.

Father Daughter dance.

Bouquet Toss.

ONE...

TWO...

THREE.

And for the gentlemen...

Sisters dancing.

I played the part of cake decorator.

The Donut Cake.

These are Lane's favorite donuts. A really good idea. While the real cake was being cut everyone grabbed a donut.

The girls.

No turning back now.

Bye-Bye.

4th of July Rocks Hope Island

2008-07-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Our daughter's fiance (husband now) is a member of Swinomish tribe. So we got to spend the 4th on the reservation where it's "no holds barred" for fire works. It'd been years since Paul or I had bought fire works in the tinderbox known as California. The kids on the other hand have never been involved in a 4th of July with all the safe and sane goodies. It was a blast!!!

This isn't Hope Island but it's pretty.

The daughter's and the sons in law to be.

Fire Safety Officer

Were you touching the fireworks?

Just a tiny bit of the spent arsenal. And it's not even dark yet.

What you can't see is the M-80 tucked in side the hot dog.

The sun finally sets at about 9:00 pm.

Because we like to mix our alcohol with our flammables.

Oohhh!

Aahhh!

Washington!

2008-07-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

Our goal is in site-literally.

Our first ferry ride. We picked the wrong day to go on the Mukulteo-Clinton Ferry. Thursday July 3rd-the start of a big holiday weekend means a 3 hour wait for the ferry. So close and yet so far. It turned out to be a little under a two hour wait. There was even a spotless Porta-Potty to use. So, Kendra and I did...and then the cars started moving. I was telling her to hurry as our car passed us. And kept going. We ran after it. As we rounded the corner, our car was nowhere in sight. The nice Washington policeman directed us toward the car after he told us that they had already been routed back through the city. Ha Ha. Not funny after hours in the car. We caught up to where they were waiting and had just a short time to go before boarding the Ferry Kittitas.

Two ferries were going back and forth as fast as they could load and unload people and cars.

Our welcoming committee at the house.

The private path to the beach. Someone is building a new home with an amazing view.

"Our beach"

Let the building begin.

I love Whidbey Island.

We found out quickly, if you're carrying a bucket back from the beach, it probably contains your dinner. Crab, mussels, oysters and clams. Take your pick. Penn Cove mussels are the best. I saw them at out Costco yesterday.

Now if we only had a talking sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, we'd have a hit TV show.

Oregon here we come.

2008-07-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

We went from Sacramento to Eugene, Oregon on our second day. Until we reached the Oregon border we were under smoky skies from all of the brush fires in central and northern California. It reminded me a lot of the days here when San Diego was on fire. There were tons of strike teams from all over. We saw engines from as far away as Corona.

Smokey skies and 95 degrees near Redding.

Fields of sunflowers.

Mount Shasta.

One of the prettiest rest stops we went to. That's the Klamath River just over the Oregon border. Most of the stops in Oregon and Washington serve free coffee, tea, lemonade and cookies.What's with California rest stops? You're lucky to get a vending machine.

Lots of logging trucks in Oregon.

We stayed in a brand new Residence Inn in Eugene. We got a two bedroom suite. Aaaahhh, that was so nice! In the morning we headed farther North toward Portland and Washington.

Portland is really cool looking. They have every type of rapid transit you can think of. We could see trains (light rail and commuter) and buses and street cars. I'm sure there were ferries down below us on the Columbia River. By far the coolest thing was the Portland Aerial Tram. I was so stunned at seeing it going over the freeway that I didn't get a picture.

And trees, trees, trees! It's so green.

We're Baaack.

2008-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

I never had a permanent Internet connection. Thanks to LattaNet who ever you are. I was able to intermittently ~~steal~~ borrow their wireless connection. I didn't have a strong enough single to upload photos or to send e-mail from my regular server though. Soooo, I'm going to try and recreate our trip over the next few days.

Off to Oregon

2008-07-02T08:27:00.001-07:00

More to come if we have Internet access.

Road Trip 2008

2008-07-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

We are driving to Washington State for our second oldest daughter's wedding. We left this morning. The plan was to be out the door by 5am. We left at 4:40!! The trip is starting off great.

Doesn't every one look great at 5 am!

Our plan is to make our first big stop in Sacramento and spend the night.

We made a stop near Magic Mountain to have a road food breakfast at McDonald's. We were back on the road by 7:30; still about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

The next five hours went by surprisingly well. The kids watched movies and read. I had put together some activity pages for each state from a home schooling site that were a big hit. They each had maps to mark there progress and we listened to the first CD of a Harry Potter book. We stopped in Stockton for lunch and Paul and I were amazed at how good everything was going.

Cool truck.

Corn.

And then it happened-Murphy's Law. Kieran didn't want to eat his lunch. He said he was sooo tired and his stomach hurt. I finished quickly and took him to the car to nap while every one finished their lunches. he had "the look". I've come to know the throw up look. He gets really pale. And as much as he told me he wasn't going to throw up, I knew he would. It started as we pulled into our state capitol. We found a nice Best Western and Paul took Kendra to the pool while Kieran dozed and barfed and Kyle zoned in front of the TV. Then I took the two non-purgers to see the capitol building. It was too late to go in but fun to walk around the grounds. There are a lot of really cool buildings right around the capitol. He only stopped throwing up about an hour ago and finally ate. Now at 8:15 he's bouncing off the walls and ready to party.

County Fair 2008

2008-06-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

We went to the County Fair on Saturday. Everything has gotten so expensive. Luckily, the kids like the free fun. We love seeing all the animals. Last year a chick hatched right in front of Kieran. There are so many types of bunnies. Thank goodness they didn't have the sign from last year that said something like "meat stock". That took a lot of explaining. We pet the llamas, calves and horses. There was a parrot club in the San Diego Pavilion that let us hold their Cockatoos and a green Eclectus named "Toby".

The boys new favorite thing is a demolition derby. haven't been to one of those since Ascot was still around. And we watched people ride on the big fire truck.

I think they like each other (today).

All three had an art project in the Kids' Best area.

If there isn't a steer to rope, a sister will do just fine.