The Cowboy Way

Tehachapi-My hometown and a quiet way of life.

Many of you have never been to Tehachapi and hear me talking about how small and quiet it is. Lot's of trees and cattle and 4 different street lights. It has a town square where all the action of shopping at Albertons and meeting up at a fast food place is the place to be. You can tell it's on the up and up because it just got a Starbucks of all things and Home Depot opened up on the edge of town. It's a little sad to see how much it's grown in the last 10 years with big chains now coming in. Growing up there you craved more action and more stores but now that I'm older with my own family I see the charm and luxury of such a small town. I think it's a different way of life. Much more slow paced.

My dad lives on a ranch with a lot of cattle and in the last 3 years he's started a new tradition. Every spring about 4-6 calves are born. When they are old enough they need to be branded because they roam the land and every now and then one will get out. And also that's apparently what you do when you have cattle. The branding has now turned into a full day event with several families coming together. After the branding is all done we barbeque, usually with Mark doing most of the cooking. The kids have a blast playing in the dirt and running up and down the hills. Mark has a blast fulfilling his childhood dreams of being a cowboy. As you can see above the cows are all okay afterwards and continue their lives of grazing in the field. The other pictures are of Peyton and a boy named Drew, which got a little confusing at times, my Drew with my dad, and the guys participating in the Branding. I'm trying to figure out how to caption them but so in the meantime you'll just have to enjoy the messy layout.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend was full of fun. We had something going on everyday and Friday night started it off with a bang. We went out to Fantasy Springs Casino with Jen & Christophe to see the Gypsy Kings. It was such a good concert. I could have sat and listened all night. The show was only an hour and a half so we gambled of course afterwards before coming home. These pictures are from before the show. Everything we took during the show came out too dark.



Saturday I was feeling a little under the weather. Hmm, not really sure why. Peyton had a play date at his friend Ty's house along with another little boy from school so all day was countdown to when he could go over. Courtney's husband Eric came by to pick him up, took the boys to the movie store, got pizza then went back to the house for a swim. I was thinking Courtney was brave and somewhat crazy to have the boys over. She has 2 year old twin boys at home along with 4 yr old Ty and now Peyton and Dean but after talking to her I think Eric gets the bravery award. He was the one that took the kids to the store which I could imagine was no easy task. These boys were SO excited. I didn't get any pictures of this day but Court did get one of Drew and Luke kissing. She also has one of Mason and Drew kissing. There's something about those Hershberger boys she can't get enough of. As Courtney put it, if she married one of them she'd still be a berger.

Sunday was the day I was waiting for. Carly and Sonny came into town!! They decided to celebrate their first anniversary here in the desert so Mark got them rooms at the Westin. We had an early dinner at our favorite place: El Mirasol in Palm Springs. We then went to the bowling alley for some good friendly competition. Carly and Peyton were a good match, while Mark, Sonny and I duked it out. Drew was happy being our cheerleader, until she dozed off in her stoller.












Monday we went to the pool at the Westin. Unfortunately the water was as hot as the air but it was still fun being together. All in all it was a really good weekend.

My little Kindergardner

We can't believe Peyton is officially in school. I feel like such an old 29. It feels a little strange to know he has to be there on time; can't stay home with dad anymore and is going to be doing homework. He was so excited but he did tell us that he only wants to learn to read. Once he gets that down he doesn't want to go anymore. His teachers name is Miss Joanne and the school is Kiddie Kollege in Palm Springs. I love the school and the teachers there. I know it's a good place for him to be. We weren't able to get a picture with Miss Joanne but we got some of him. He name tag was an apple hat that he was so proud to wear. Also, the school already sent them home with the fundraiser packet. So, if you're in need of some expensive, but really cute wrapping paper then check out this website and let me know if there is anything you can't live without! www.innisbrook.com

Looking into the Future

The other day we had Jen and Christophe over for dinner. While we relaxed and visited the kids ran around outside despite the heat. Peeking out the window I caught Drew hopping onto the back of the motorcycle so Olivier could drive her around. We thought it was really cute but Mark and I are hoping it's not a glimpse of what she'll be doing in 15 years! It's nice that the boys have enough patience to include her in some of there activities now. And I thought the pictures turned out cute so I wanted to post them. Oh, one other thing. Please feel free to comment at any time. It doesn't have to pertain to the post, just say hi.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my great friend Jen. Have a wonderful day!

This is a picture of her and Christophe at the House of Blues in Chicago. I know she's not going to like it but you could tell they were having fun and it brings back good memories.

A Day at the Races

On Sunday we went to the Del Mar Race track for my first time. It was to celebrate Jen and Christophes birthday and what a perfect day. It's so nice to get out of the desert for a few hours and enjoy being outdoors without feeling like you're melting. They had jumpy houses and slides for the kids and food/bar booths for the adults. The kids ran around all day on the infield where we set up camp while we studied the program to make the best bet. My strategy was to pick the horse with the catchiest name. It worked for 3 races so I was happy. Here is Mark and I with one of my a winning tickets. Now, I think I won about 5 dollars because I was only betting may 2 or 3 dollars at a time. I didn't quite get the hang of it until maybe the second to last race. It was a good learning experience and I can't wait to go next year. The other is the birthday couple Jen and Christophe, and my brother Randy and Katie. They were able to meet us there and spend the day with us.

GOOD MORNING!

I look so forward to the weekends. I always have it in my head that I'm going to sleep in, wake up, have coffee (or a glass of milk cause I don't really drink coffee), sit on the couch and relax. Reality then hits me like a brick when I hear "MMOOOMMMMM" coming from the crib across the house. Oh well, she's worth it. Lately though Drew is waking up at 5:45 and won't fall back asleep. I know the time doesn't change until November but hopefully that will have an inpact on her. Even Peyton is now getting up early which is weird because he's my sleeper. Here is just a cute pic of the kids before going to bed. It was taken with my camera phone because my Koda chewed up my USB cable and I havn't gone to Best Buy to get a new one. Darn dog! Drew of course has just a diaper on. If she never had to wear clothes she'd be the happiest baby ever. Here is also a picture of Koda for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting here. We adopted her in April and she's about 7 months old now. The kids and Mark adore her but I'm a little bitter because it's only my shoes she chooses to destroy! Can't you just see the guilty look in her eyes!

........

Happy B-Day

Today is Christophe's Birthday. I hope you're haveing a great day and we'll be sure to celebrate at the Del Mar race track this weekend!

Speaking of birthdays, mine was at the beginning of the month and it was a lot of fun. Birthdays as kids was always fun with the parties, favors, games and pinatas. But, as adults they seem to last about a week. My good friend Courtney took control of my birthday and called up Mark to find out what his plans were. He had planned to take me out all day on Sunday so that left Friday night open for a girls night out. Courtney sent the email to the "girls", made the dinner reservations and we were off. We went to Azul in Palm Springs which is an excellent restaurant but just as we were getting ready to order the electricity went out. The kitchen was then closed but thank goodness we could still order drinks, I didn't want anyone to get dehydrated sitting in the heat. We finished our drinks and headed to the casino for dancing, gambling and a few more drinks. It was a good time and thanks to everyone for celebrating. Now, don't get me wrong. The time I had with Mark was fantastic. We just didn't take a camara and I thought these pictures would be entertaining.

One of my favorite things is to go on a day date. It just has a different feel. Sort of like a vacation. To just walk about and hold hands is nice. Normally I'm pushing a stroller and he's carrying Peyton on his shoulders and we're constantly picking up flip flops that fell off or bunny whos been thrown. So, Mark had a sitter come at 10:00 in the morning I was thrilled. We went to bruch with Jen and Christophe and my brother Randy. It was so nice to sit and enjoy a meal with our worrying about the food being thrown on the floor or drinks being spilled.

Jersey

I went to Princeton with 2 co-workers, Veronica and Stephanie. Here is the only picture I got on my trip and it's of me and Veronica. I don't know where Stephanie wondered off to. At first glance I think we look like sisters. Any thoughts?

We had to take a flight from Palm Springs to Dallas then Dallas to Philadelphia, a car would then drive us the rest of the way. Well, when we got to Dallas our flight had been cancelled. We were lucky enough and got to tour the Dallas airport for 9 hours until we could get on a flight! After wandering the different terminals, playing yahtzee, learning to play Texas hold em, and riding the tram, there was nothing left to do but hit the bars. This was taken with my cell phone, by the bartender, but at least it's a memory. Even with that layover I wouldn't change anything about the trip. It was a good time.

2nd Try

Well, I tried this a while ago and my computer crashed. So...here we go again. As I've said before, I want to give this a try to keep our friends and family in the loop of our crazy lives. I'm absolutely horrible at sending updated pictures of the kids and Mark can't stand to make a phone call so we thought this would be great. Hopefully you'll enjoy it and will come back often to check it out.


I wanted to start off with a couple of things we've done so far this year. Me, being the terrified traveler that I am, have gone on 3 trips. This is huge considering I haven't traveled in 7 years since my honeymoon. But this year so many things came about that I've ended up in Chicago, Hawaii and Princeton, NJ. All were so much fun in there own way and I survived each one so it made it that much better! In May we went to Chicago for Mark's work. It was the National Restaurant Association Food Show. It was a great time and such a beautiful city. I never thought of that as a place to go and visit but I can't wait to go back. Here is Mark and I next to our favorite watering hole The Red Fish or as we called it Pescado Rojo. We got to go with Jen and Christophe and a few of Mark's other co-workers who made the trip that much better. Thanks to Grandma Ann for watching the kids for this little get away.


In June, my mom and Art invited us to go with them to Hawaii and use their time share. This was our first family vacation so we jumped at the opportunity and had the BEST time. Randy was able to come along for a few days and we packed it in with snorkeling, hiking, outriggers, swimming, eating and doing what the normal tourists do. Peyton couldn't get enough of it and even climbed to the top of Diamond Head faster than the rest of us. Drew was happy being pushed around in her stroller and getting treats when she couldn't participate in the things everyone else got to do. Notice the snow cone below. These are just 2 pics of the kids on the beach our last day. We stayed there for hours not wanting to think about coming back to the HOT, SWELTERING desert. The last pic is of Mark and Peyton catching rain drops on the only day it rained. I guess the desert drought followed us across the pacific.



Just a few weeks ago I went to Princeton, NJ for a Merrill Lynch training session. It was a really good time and Princeton is a beautiful city. Everyone has so much land and the houses are all made out of brick and have basements. There aren't any fences around your propertly line which was weird at first but then I remembered we didn't have that in Tehachapi either.