Mmmmm...

I made N.Y. Cheesecake today. Emi's b-day is this Monday and she had requested cheesecake for her b-day cake this year. Usually David picks cheesecake for his b-day, but he didn't this year so this will be our first cheesecake for the year. This cheesecake is one of the few things that I make that is really good. If I were to ever have my own cookbook, this will definitely be one that would make it. They say cheesecakes taste better 48 hrs. after being baked, the cheese taste just gets stronger after aging so I always make it 2 days before we plan to eat it. But that means every time I open the fridge, I'll see it but can't eat it. Good thing we will be gone most of the weekend. Can't wait till Monday...it's going to be soooooo good.

End of Soccer Season

Soccer season ended for Sage today. He had a good season and got a lot better this year. He even started kicking with his left foot towards the end. He used to have to reposition himself each time so he could kick with his right foot...

Goofing around on the sidelines...

Abby had a rubberband around her wrist and David was snapping her...

Emi and Abby wrestling...

Go Sage Go

A rare moment...David halfway smiling for the camera...

The awards ceremony following the game...everyone got a 1st place trophy. At this age, they play for fun, everybody wins. Little do they know life doesn't work that way...

Next month, basketball season. Emi and Sage will be playing on the same team. Should be fun...

North Fork

The kids didn't have school today, Veteran's Day holiday, Teru was over so we went to the North Fork. We headed up the trail, looking for a cave we found the last time we were there. There were so many fallen leaves, we lost sight of the trail and ended up randomly heading up. We didn't find it, but we still had fun.

There was some sap along a rock. They were like, "Maple syrup!", so they pretended like they were licking it...

We found a big rock where we decided to play some pinecone baseball. Good thing Sage brought his bat...

What a pretty place to play around...

Look at Sage...pretending like he's a real pitcher...

The fallen leaves were really pretty. Really felt like fall. It's nice to be able to experience the different seasons.

Poor Truck!

The other day when I was driving David's truck at night around 55MPH, the hood all of a sudden unlatched itself and came up in front of me. It made this loud thunk, which scared the kids, but luckily I remained calm and pulled over to the side of the road, tied it down and drove home. I was a bit shaken up, but was really glad the windshield didn't break. The force had bent the hood back along the contour of the truck. Teru had just happen to stop by later that night, so in the morning David and Teru had quite a project on their hands...

Since the hood was up, they checked to see if everything else was OK. It's hard to see in the picture, but inside the air filter compartment were a couple dead mice. Looks like they were making a nest. David was wondering why his car smelled funny...

David tried jumping on the hood, but no luck...

The truck getting a brutal beating...

Several hours later...back to its old self again!

David has mentioned that every time we work on the car, it gets mad and something strange like this happens. We had just gotten the truck some new shocks, and cleaned its filters. But I'm sure if the car gets mad this time, it's probably because its not too happy it was beaten!

Once a Year Foods

Certain times of the year makes me want to eat certain foods. Halloween time is caramel apples. Although its a couple weeks late, I finally got around to making them. The kids each picked their sprinkle of choice, I then drizzed some melted chocolate on them. Not at pretty as I wanted it to come out, but I'm sure it'll still be tasty!

Do the Earth and Your Pocket Some Good

Have a computer lying around that no longer works, but have been too lazy to do anything about it? Well, now is a good time to recycle it. Costco has a trade-in program where they will pay you for your useless computer. They will even pay for shipping so you can mail it to them. We had a couple computers, the PC was only worth $8, but our laptop was $64! They'll send you a Costco gift card once they receive and approve everything. You don't have to be a member to participate. Check out what you can get and help out the environment at the same time:

http://www.greensight.com/CostcoTrades/Common/equiptypes.aspx?SiteXfrMsg=1

Homemade Tortillas

Well...sort of. I used a mix, but it felt like I was making it from scatch. Came out a little thick, but still tasted good. Turns out making it really from scratch is just as simple, so next time I'll try that.

Gymnastics

Abby started her gymnastics class. She is naturally flexible, so gymnastics or yoga would be a perfect sport for her. Her best friend is in her class too, and she really is enjoying it. She has never wanted to play organized sports, so I'm glad something athletic came along for her to do.

More Dehydrator Experiments

More dried stuff...

Dried tangerine peel for some tangerine tea... in the past I've added it to my roasted green tea, for that added fruity taste. Quite nice.

Dried onions and red bell peppers. I didn't know that paprika was just dried and ground red bells. So I made my own. They say spices should be used up within a year, but you never know how long it's been sitting on the shelf at the store...

Ground them up for some fresh onion powder. The onion smell was nice and strong, unlike the packaged stuff.

Pumpkin seeds tossed in some oil and dry ranch dip mix. Yum. A nice change from the usual salty kind.

Happy Halloween & Sage's B-day

Starting the day off with his favorite breakfast foods, waffles and hashbrowns.

Some "Finger Foods" I made for the school party. String cheese and bell peppers.

Abby with her best friend Anissa.

This year, Abby was Miss Idyllwild, Sage was Darth Vader, and Emi was a bike rider.

Emi all decked out in Adams Ave. gear. What are you supposed to be? A sponsored athlete (just like Daddy.)

Our friends Todd & Jadon

Don't know these guys, but thought the Darth Maul costume was too cool not to take a picture.

Sage's b-day cake this year was an ice cream cake, chocolate cake w/ vanilla ice cream. The kids choose their cakes/desserts each year, he changed his mind from caramel apples to cake right before his day.

We got him an Ichiro jersey, and some autographed cards by Ichiro and Dan Marino. He was a happy camper.

Happy 8th birthday buddy!