Chasing Bluebirds

camp fire pumpkin carving party

i rolled in late after a busy day of work and the party was in full swing, glad i have so many fun parents in my group!! happy halloween!

Camp Fire Halloween Carnival 2009

this year we hosted a haunted cupcake circle walk... i really love the fortune teller booths (maybe next year?) it was super fun fun fun! chris walked around with lizzie and some of her new camp fire members were there. this carnival is great because it is just groups hosting a table and some are really creative but all are inexpensive. it has a very retro feel which i love.





these costumes are recycled from the boys, wish i could find a picture of them (emily was a baby that year if i remember correctly) but they are buried deep in our photo box. unfortunately i have to work today (added a shift last minute) so i am thinking this is going to be a rough week. monday night is our pumpkin carving party for camp fire, now if the weather would just cool down it might actually feel like halloween around here!

whats up??

role models for a new group of camp fire kids
cabin time

chicken dancing and beer

an energized group of gals
each girl runs a meeting, emily was up this week showing her collection of rocks (true treasures that once belonged to her dad) the topic was "rocks and gems"
it's been a fun week. back to work tomorrow. see you soon!

busy week

camp fire drama meeting




something new this year, each girl is in charge of a single meeting and the first one up was katie... she chose drama and hit a home run for sure! the girls jumped right in and embraced the assignment and i LOVED it!! delegating is fun, fun, fun!
my new group's first meeting

and our first big rain storm
left a beautiful cloud above the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Hoping for more rain and a great new year of Camp Fire. Stay tuned for more of Lizzies new group.

1/2 baked idea

1/2 marathon
(not much picture taking while you are trying to get through a trek like this!) mostly walked but finished it all the same! now i need to replant my entire garden in a day, lots to do!

matts wedding

sooooo back to my brothers wedding. i have a teeny tiny family so weddings are rare for us. everyone played an important role, chris was best man, liz was a flower girl, cousin natalia the other flower girl and emily was the ring bearer. i cant tell you how over the moon excited the girls were to be a part of a real wedding. they had no idea what to expect and it was fun trying on dresses and getting ready months and months before. liz whispered to me several times during the wedding night that this was the best night of her life and the best wedding ever! i had many opportunities to become overwhelmed and tearful. chris was nervous as hell to do his "best man speech" but he scored big time, it was the best "best man" speech i had ever heard, he was so fantastic, so funny and charming. he still doesnt believe us when we tell him how great he did though! i wouldnt want to put too much of my brothers business out there for the whole world to see (especially without his permission) but lets just say he has had some rough years, he became an RN against some pretty good odds and i am sooooo very proud of him! more than a few people made me cry at his wedding with their kind words and genuine love for him, it was wonderful to see and hear. my baby brother! ok, more pictures already!










my parents, married 44 years!



these photos were taken at my grandpas house
thanks for a wonderful night matt and tawny! xoxo and many happy years for you both!

matts wedding

sooooo back to my brothers wedding. i have a teeny tiny family so weddings are rare for us. everyone played and important role, chris was best man, liz was a flower girl, cousin natalia the other flower girl and emily was the ring bearer. i cant tell you how over the moon excited the girls were to be a part of a real wedding. they had no idea what to expect and it was fun trying on dresses and getting ready months and months before. liz whispered to me several times during the wedding night that this was the best night of her life and the best wedding ever! i had many opportunities to become overwhelmed and tearful. chris was nervous as hell to do his "best man speech" but he scored big time, it was the best "best man" speech i had ever heard, he was so fantastic, so funny and charming. he still doesnt believe us when we tell him how great he did though! i wouldnt want to put too much of my brothers business out there for the whole world to see (especially without his permission) but lets just say he has had some rough years, he became an RN against some pretty good odds and i am sooooo very proud of him! more than a few people made me cry at his wedding with their kind words and genuine love for him, it was wonderful to see and hear. my baby brother! ok, more pictures already!










my parents, married 44 years!



these photos were taken at my grandpas house
thanks for a wonderful night matt and tawny! xoxo and many happy years for you both!

Good Neighbor Festival (sneak peek Matt's wedding)

I never knew who my local council member was (or even WHAT a local city council member was) until i got involved with saving the wetlands and let me tell you. we have a wonderful representative in our district, she gets some flack of course, but she is spot on for what we need in this neighborhood. she is all for saving ALL of the wetlands, she is pro solar power (she organized a solar power group that tours houses with solar power units) she is pro camp fire (my girls sent her letters and she invited us to start the "duck patrol" as part of the lakes, ponds and wetlands taskforce she created) and finally, she started a "good neighbor festival" that promotes local organizations to get together and have fun. we have come every year since it started and for the last two years i have hosted a table for the wetlands and camp fire.

i got a lot of camp fire alumni with those ceremonial gowns!

always clowning around

(i like these squishy photos from the phone!!) and then sunday was matts wedding... here is a peek and more to follow on that BIG event!

someone didnt get a nap...

more photos later! happy thursday!