RJ and Logan and the Last Chance Pool Picnic - August 2, 2013

So excited to get in!

August has just started, and so a title of "Last Chance Pool Picnic" might seem a little odd, especially since it's still going to be pool weather through September and maybe into October.  However, we have not yet had a chance to go to the big fun pool at the Livermore Recreation Center, and our good friend was starting full day Kindergarten on August 5 (RJ doesn't start until August 14), so August 2 was literally our last chance to go to the pool with our co-op friends.  In a normal summer, we would have frequented the pool, probably going at least a handful of times, but we just didn't coordinate it this year.  

RJ and Ashlan LOVED posing for underwater pictures together!

And even when we do go, I usually don't photo-document it, but THIS year, we just got our new camera, which is waterproof to 33ft, so I took a TON of pictures!

Logan also frequented the slide!  

Picnicking with Lisa, Austin, & Zach

We didn't just go to the pool, we made a whole day of it.  We arrived for tot time (its a calmer time where they have the pool open for kids under 5.  Yes I realize that RJ is 6, but they seem to overlook that as long as you have a bone fide toddler with you.).  Then when tot time was over, we potluck picnicked on the grounds and then decided that we should go BACK to the pool when they opened for the public swim at 1, where they have all the fun sprayers on for the big kids.

Big Kids Picnic (also testing out how good the zoom was on the new camera)

Little Kids Picnic

Zach controlling the sprayers

There was lots of sunscreen reapplication, but both boys still came home with rosy cheeks and I had an all out sunburn (which is now peeling - eww), thanks to the fact that I completely missed a big section in the middle of my back.  It was worth it though!  

Austin jumping in!  (Logan and Austin took turns for a while!)

Happy Zach

RJ Swimming Underwater

Ashlan Swimming Underwater

Logan landing from the slide.

Sisterly Love

Logan, loving the zero depth pool, where he could touch the bottom with his hands!

More pictures can be found here.

From the days of yore...

Some of you may remember a certain sitcom character who had a distaste for all things Pottery Barn because they lacked a unique story. Well, we searched the Internet, stopped in antique stores, flea markets but could never find a table like the one from the days of yore. You can't even buy them at Pottery Barn anymore. After two years of checking a craiglist search rss feed, we finally got not one but two matches in the same week. The drawers are fantastic places to hide treasures for RJ to find AND it's the perfect height for him to stack blocks on (which he can get to by opening one of the drawers). And since we didn't buy new, I get the satisfaction of saying that we were being green(er) by saving the table from taking up space in the landfill.



In December we bought a new couch that is a pretty good match with the new coffee table. We still have to get a rug to match, but retiring the 20 year old couch that *I* grew up with was an accomplishment. The couch is not at all a green choice, it's blue and a la-z-boy and super comfy. After searching around for information, these couches were recommended as being pretty toddler indestructible and stain resistant.

It's nice to finally feel like a "real" adult by owning stuff that we picked out ourselves because we wanted it, not because it was the better stuff from the mishmosh of hand-me-downs!

On being MIA

You probably all know why we've been MIA for awhile as you should've gotten our change of address email. Moving in mid-September when in Academia is always always always a bad idea, but we really didn't have much of a choice because we bought a house and due to a series of incompetent actions (or rather a lack thereof) on the part of our real estate agent in addition to the fact that buying real estate is a frustratingly SLOOOOOW process, our house was just sitting vacant taunting us while my summer off dwindled away to nothing. Anyway, we're going to try and catch up on the blog and publish some of the posts that we started and just didn't finish due to live. We're not even remotely close to being "all moved in", but I still think that you all need to be updated before I have pictures hanging on the wall and my students get their papers graded! So stay tuned...we'll be back before you know it!

What do Journey and Hammer have in common....

Well, only time will tell if we made a colossal blunder or are market geniuses. On 08/08/08 we reached an agreement to buy RJ a house. We have an estimated close date for the first week of September.

Tracy,CA



The house is located in Tracy,CA -- the nearest neighboring town to where we are now. Our commutes will be nearly the same, but it does put us closer to the commuter train that goes to San Jose, the grocery stores, and everything else really.

Pro: 56th safest city in the country
Con: 2,560 miles from our closest relative

Perry vs. Hammer.

I can't decide who would make a better neighbor. Steve Perry, lead vocal for Journey or MC Hammer. Tough call.

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues

I'm goin' for all that i can get
Kickin at the top cause I'm too legit to quit...sing!

Oh, yeah, we were talking about a house



Vital Statistics

2378 sq ft
4 bedrooms
2.5 bathrooms
hard wood floors
stainless steel kitchenaid appliances
around the corner from the park
elementary school district regarded as best in town

Deal or No Deal?

We got the house for 95% of asking price with the seller paying for closing costs, points, and home warranty. We also get that little tax credit from Uncle Sam.

We will be paying about 16% less than what the house sold for when it was originally built in 2003. That is about 53% off the peak price paid for another smaller house on the same street back in 2006.

We should also be able to rent it out at market rate and have a modest positive cash flow should we choose to move to a different neighborhood and not be able to sell.

So for now, we're just waiting to close.

Onesie up...

A few weekends ago we went to one of the central valley's finest towns -- Modesto, CA. Some of Modesto's claims to fame include worst air quality in the country, highest car theft per capita, home of Scott Peterson, and birth place of George Lucas.

To learn more about our destination we popped American Graffiti in the dvd player. This early Lucas treat was set in Modesto and even makes reference to Turlock High (as in Turlock, 14 miles south of Modesto where Cheryl works).


Anyway, we went to Modesto for "California's Largest Garage Sale". The sale had been advertised on the radio for weeks. Since RJ started busting out of his clothes, we decided it was time to expand his wardrobe. Modesto was a bust, and the "largest" claim was clearly overblown.

This is one of those things that seems obvious, but babies will outgrow their clothes before wearing them out. That makes yard sales an easy way to pick up otherwise expensive clothes for as little as a quarter per item. I set up a little RSS feed to search craigslist for any garage sales in the surrounding towns that have baby items. We spent the past few weekends stopping at these garage sales and did rather well--especially once we started targeting better neighborhoods than Modesto.

For example, this weekend we spent $40 on all the stuff pictured. We got a big Madagascar Alex play mat to fit with our nursery theme. We picked up 9 barely used Gap Kids socks -- our favorite brand. We picked up a jean jacket, an arizona fleece jacket, 2 button down gap kids shirts, a bunch of nighties, a brand new winter bunting with the tag still on it ($28 retail), a brand new pair of converse shoes never worn ($24 retail), a pair of sandals that were worn maybe once, and a bunch more.

Last weekend we were in Tracy and Livermore where for $30 we picked up a bunch of bibs, hats, a few pair of jeans, a few nighties with their tags still on, overalls, blue hoodie (the San Francisco essential), nighties, etc.

Not only can you find clothes, you can also find lead-free toys. A quick run through the dishwasher or sink with soapy water makes them play worthy. In fact, at one yard sale in Livermore after taking a look at RJ and his charming smile the woman just told us to take whatever he wanted. Can't complain about free toys.

California Hippie Mom

I definitely fit right in here in the bay area. My lease on the CR-V was nearing its end and I wouldn't be able to keep it under mileage this semester since my commute is so far. So, yesterday Lance, RJ, and I went to our local Honda dealer to see what kind of deal I could get on a Civic. I liked Lance's Civic and it would be better on gas than the CR-V, it's a really good little car known to last, and we can afford to buy one and still save up more for a house. So, the only sticking point was color - since I refuse to get an ugly non-color like black, white, gray, silver, or that beige metallic that is mysteriously popular these days. Whatever happened to nice bright car colors?

I wanted a red one, but they didn't have one, and we walked around the whole lot, new and pre-owned to find some semblance of a color. There was a denim blue one, but it wasn't the right trim. And then, while perusing the certified pre-owned lot, I saw the cute little 2006 opal blue hybrid that only had about 3000 miles on it. I wasn't planning on buying a hybrid, since they are considerably more expensive and the tax write-off and gas savings aren't usually worth the extra money. But, the environmental hippie in me basically started drooling - so we went to run the numbers, just to see. Shortly after starting this process, RJ decided that he had enough of car shopping and he was hungry. So, the hippie mom in me kicked in and I breastfed him right there while making the deal. We actually got a pretty good deal. I cleared out my CR-V right there and drove my happy hippie-mobile right off the lot, same day!

RJ even had his turn at the wheel!



Lance and I now have His and Hers Civics, which makes our garage really cute.