McComb Family

I am loving this vacation thing!! It's fantastic!! We've been keeping very busy with lots of fun things! The smoke is getting better, which is a good thing. Here is the sun a few days ago looking very orange. Yuck!!

Today was probably the clearest day we've had yet, which was really lucky because Briana had a birthday party to go to at a little lake. The kids (all 40+ of them!) had a great time. They spent hours in the water.

There was also a pinata....here's Adam taking a whack at it.
And I kinda spaced when it was Briana's turn and didn't get any pictures of her swinging at it, which was a shame because she is the one who ended up breaking it!!! Candy went flying and the kids quickly followed.
Adam fell asleep literally a minute or two after we left the party -- the sun and playing knocked him out! They had a great time!!

This week we also saw a movie at the theater, went to a water park, scrapbooked, met with the landscape designer, had a sleepover, went to my parents', and so on and so forth. It's so nice to have time to do these fun things! We'll see what this next week has in store for us!!

Posted in: on Sunday, June 29, 2008 at at 6:22 PM 1 comments  

The poll has closed and the results are in......summer wins!! Fifty percent of the voters chose summer as their favorite season. Although I'd imagine today is not a typical summer day that they were thinking about. Besides the two small fires we saw that started because of the lightning, hundreds of fires were started around the state. Most were small, but there are several large ones still burning and the entire valley is blanketed with a thick layer of smoke. They don't anticipate strong enough winds to drive it out of here before next week - ugh!! It's almost "foggy" with a strong smoke odor and an eerie orangish glow. Very weird. But, that's summer here in California I guess. Fall came in second with 33% of the votes, and spring and winter brought up the rear with only 8% of the votes each. I was shocked!!! Spring is absolutely my favorite season of the year -- the days get longer, it's not too hot or too cold, everything is green, flowers are blooming -- I love it! So thanks to the 12 of you who took part in my little poll! We'll see what pops up next time! : )

Also, need to give a quick shout-out to my dear friend Stacie -- congrats on the engagement!! I'm thrilled for the two of you! : )

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at at 2:58 PM 1 comments  

Man I feel old. The video speaks for itself.....

Posted in: on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at at 8:50 PM 2 comments  

Today is the first full day of summer, and boy, has it been a wild day of weather. It got up to 105 degrees by about noon. Then the clouds rolled in, rain fell, and thunder started booming. There are 2 fires burning up the hill that the lightning started. Weird!! Not normal west coast weather that's for sure!! We'll see what the rest of summer brings! : )

Last night was our first softball game. It's great to get out there and get some exercise (I'm using muscles I forgot I had!) and hang out with friends. Our team is so bad our name is That Team, as in "Oh....you're playing That Team." It's lucky we're all out there just to have fun, because we got creamed last night!!! I'd be surprised if some of the people on their team are even half our age. I guess they won it all last year. So, it's better to get beaten by a team like that than somebody else who sucks too! : ) We'll see how the rest of the games go though-- 1 down, 9 more to go!!!

Posted in: on at at 6:06 PM 0 comments  

I'm so excited.....I hired a landscape designer today!!! We have no idea what to do and our first attempt was a miserable failure. We bought two of this and two of that and planted one on each side of the entry stairs. What a mishmash! We've given up on watering or tending to them because it's just so ugly!

We also don't know where to stop. When you live on a lot, obviously the fence or property line is the border, but with 5 acres there is no way we are landscaping the whole thing!! Needless to say, we need direction. That's where our designer comes in!!!

I went outside and started whacking things down, but I thought I better stop and get some "before" shots first. So, here is the front. Bret used the tractor and took care of one side already!! : )

This is the center of the driveway which should be a main feature -- not so right now. We need to find the right plants though, because oaks are particular about the plants growing under them.

Again, another beautiful feature that needs a little sprucing up!!

The reason our driveway is where it is, is because of this rock outcropping. Bret really likes it and hopefully she'll find a way to highlight it a little more. I know she already has plans to use some of the rocks from it in other areas.

And finally, here is the view as you drive in. Leaves a little to be desired!!! Can't wait to see how it turns out!!!

I'll keep you posted as the project progresses. Should be fun!!!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at at 5:55 PM 2 comments  

Since Adam had his own VoiceThread, we thought Briana should have one too! She picked out the picture and made up what she wanted to say. You can tell by the picture that the kids aren't spoiled at all!!! ; ) For those of you who are not so techno-savvy, you can record your own comment for her at the end of the message or if you don't have a microphone you can just type a response. (Those of you who are techno-savvy have probably already figured it out!!) I did a text one for Adam's, but he didn't get any others! Come on guys -- you can do it!! The kids would love to hear your comments! You should just be able to hit the back arrow, and push either record or text depending on which you want to do! Easy, easy!! : )

Posted in: on at at 4:14 PM 2 comments  

To my amazement, this is my 100th post!!! To celebrate that milestone, I thought I better change it up a bit! I've changed the template, and as we roll into summer here, I thought it would be fun to find out what season is everybody's favorite! So, I've included a poll this week that I hope everyone will take part in. It's fun and easy! Can't wait to see the results at the end of the week!!

My summer vacation started off with a bang but this past week has been pretty mellow. It's been great to get things done around the house that never seem to get done otherwise. I've also been working on fun little projects that I normally don't have time for. Yea!! I love this time of year. Now we'll see how long it takes for me to wish the kids were back in school! : ) He he!!

Let me know what you're up to! Can't wait to hear from everyone!

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at at 1:01 PM 1 comments  

The brown chair has become the "picture spot". Unfortunately, it gets more and more difficult to get a good picture of them. Shouldn't they sit still more as they get older?!? Oh well, we'll keep torturing them by setting them up for this picture each time they get together!! : ) Here are Adam, Briana, and Devin in 2005 and again in 2008. My, how things change!

Posted in: on Thursday, June 12, 2008 at at 9:53 AM 2 comments  

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at at 8:25 PM 4 comments  

Friday I quickly went from being in "end of the school year" mode to "summertime/party" mode. We got out of school at 1:15 and had a staff luncheon/end of the year party/baby shower at 1:30. My aunt and uncle were expected to arrive at my house from Portland around noon, and I told them I'd try to be home by 3:00. I got home right on time and they pulled in the driveway literally a minute or two later. Talk about good timing!!! We chatted for a few minutes and then headed off to Austin's graduation party. I can't believe our "little" nephew is out of high school. And my little guy hasn't even started school yet....we've got a long road ahead of us!! Anyways, we headed back home and went out to dinner. We had a great visit, and then the next day the real party started........MY DAD'S SURPRISE 60TH!!!! I guess my mom did a great job of organizing it and keeping it a secret, but he started figuring things out Saturday morning. Rather than whisk him off somewhere, she decided to leave him home and he got to welcome all his guests as they arrived. Many people came from all over the country, so it was a very special day. Here's a group shot of most of the party-goers with the official "Partied with the Kissingers" t-shirt.

My mom went all out....she had it catered so that she would be able to enjoy herself as well. Great idea!! There were two people preparing and serving food and one guy bartending down in the cabana. Also, Devin requested a bounce house, so of course, Devin got a bounce house. He even shared with the other kids!!

The pool was a smashing success (even though it wasn't quite up to my temperature!). It didn't even matter if you had a bathing suit or not. No......not that type of swimming, but you might notice some people are fully dressed! : )

And of course, you can't have the pool without the cabana. That was a busy spot all day long (busier for some people than others, but we won't mention any names - he he!!!).

Then we had cake (one for my dad and one for my aunt, who actually share a birthday - she might want me at this time to mention that she's the younger sister!). The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but notice the gleam in the eyes of a certain little boy!!!!

Finally, here are just a few shots of the many people who came to help my dad celebrate his special day. It was really great day!!!! Thanks to all who helped make it so memorable!

Posted in: on Sunday, June 08, 2008 at at 4:22 PM 5 comments