Today Drew found a snake in our neighborhood on the street. So he picked it up and brought it home! This is soooo Drew! He isn't afraid of anything!
He wrapped it around Luke's neck. It started strangling him! Psyche!!! Not really...
After everyone had a turn to hold it, Drew let it down to slither in our yard for a while. The kids could see he had just eaten something because he had a big lump in his body and was really slow and lethargic.
He was a really pretty snake, if there could ever really be a pretty one, and the kids all got a kick out of it for a while. Then we let it go on the hill on the other side of our fence. Luke asked if we could keep it and I told him we had enough pets! Ha! Ha!
We went to the river house for Memorial Weekend! We are in the Water Wheel Trailer Park. There used to be a Water Wheel the Indians used at the river here years ago, hence the name. One day an 80 year old Indian came into the park and talked to Jeff about it. He had grown up here as a boy and wanted to see it again. It is about 20 minutes outside of Blythe, Ca.
Blythe is a funny little town. Here is the Courtesy Coffee Shop that has been for sale since we started coming here three years ago. They make the BEST pancakes ever! We all order them!
This funny little restaurant is called, "Steaks and Cakes". We went there once and Drew wanted a steak, but they were all out of steaks and didn't have any cakes! We always laugh when we pass by it now!
This is the Horny Toad Saloon! Funny place all decorated up! There's not a lot here in Blythe. I think that's why we like it here. Very simple.
Heidi gets wet at the river and turns all ringlets! You can hardly see which part of her is what!
The kids love to play Apples To Apples.
Parker, Arizona is about 40 minutes from our place. We like to drive into this little town also and eat at Crossroads Cafe. They have the BEST Chili Cheese Fries and Biscuits and Gravy ever! Real down home cookin'.
Our family chowing down! The mural on the wall behind is of Parker and the Colorado River.
Do your kids fight over feet placement in the car??? This is Drew and Holly on a typical drive, kicking and pushing for their spot in the car!
We love to go into the Jerky Store in Parker. This building looks just like a caboose. The train station is right across the street! Very cute!
Holly likes to shoot cans with the BB gun!
There was a beehive on a tree by the beach in our park. They had it marked off.
This was Drew's last time to the river before leaving for his mission! He won't be back for 2 years!
Here we are coming back to our place after eating at Crossroads! Dancing in the car!
Shera chose a Japanese Restaurant called, Shabu Shabu (Swish Swish) for dinner tonight for her 9th Birthday Dinner. You get to cook your own meat, noodles and vegetables in a pot in front of you. The owner is "Hot Mama". She did a trick with a soda can. It was pretty funny!
We sang "Happy Birthday" to Shera and they put a candle in a Mochi Ball for her! We love them!
Shera got a cute cupcake balloon!
She got webkinz, littlest pet shop toys, earrings and a battery powered motorcycle!
Shera started blowing out her candles at home and then stopped in the middle of it! What in the world??? She changed her mind for her wish! LOL Finally, we got to eat the Texas Sheet Cake!
A month ago, Holly was in a mock DUI accident. The city of Mission Viejo and MVHS put together a documentary on how important it is to not drink and drive. Holly is in the red dress. This was filmed at MVHS and at Mission Hospital.
For Family Night this week our family went to Disneyland! We call it "The Big D". That is a leftover code word from when the kids were little. Of course, now that Luke is older and spells words out loud for his pass time, they all know what it means!
Luke and Shera went on Tarzan's Tree House while Holly and Noel got leather bracelets personalized.
We went on Jeff's favorite ride, The Haunted Mansion. We always talk about wanting to visit New Orleans when we are here! Someday!
Luke and Shera got their own seats for the Thunder Mountain ride. I turned around and got some funny pics of them!
We had about 10 minutes before the park closed so we all booked it to Indiana Jones and just barely made it! There was only one group let in line after us and then it closed! We were almost to the ride when it broke down! We waited for about an hour total, but finally got on! Next time you go, ask them to show you the Eeyore Parking Sign in the movie room while in line! The ride was built where the eeyore parking used to be. There is also a hidden Mickey on the wall in the same room too!
NO EARTHQUAKES!!! After the 4.7 earthquake, the kids went crazy running around screaming! They were so excited and yet so nervous! Luke slept with the girls on their floor that night! The next morning I noticed this sign on the back door! I think Luke really meant it! :)
She went with one of her best friends, Austin De Soto.
She matched her nail polish with her dress and beautiful corsage. She did a french tip nail with a glittered silver line under the tip.
Austin washed and waxed his shiny red car just for the dance! It looked real spiffy!
Their group met at the high school and everyone boarded a bus. It took them to balboa and there they got on Kristen Des Combes family's yacht.
They had a wonderful dinner and took lots of photos. They went to Long Beach and disembarked to the Aquarium. They all danced the night away and then took the bus back to the school and then went to the after party.
The Aquarium was open for the students to enjoy also. Holly said it was such a fun night! Hooray for Junior Proms! Do you remember yours???
Shera had her birthday party on Friday at our home and invited a few of her best girlfriends from church and school to come. The theme was a puppy pajama party! All the girls wore their pajamas and brought their favorite stuffed puppy dog with them!
When they came in they each got a "Pups Rock" bracelet and they picked a webkinz puppy to take home later.
They made puppy ears by cutting felt patterns and stapling them onto a headband. Then they picked their favorite ribbon color for the bows! They turned out so cute!
We tried to find a kitty pinata, but we couldn't. So we got a puppy pinata instead. The kids went two times through the line. The third time we let them hit it twice without a blindfold. The pinata was decapitated and lost all its limbs, then finally it got killed by Luke!
Then everybody went to the backyard and roasted "Hot Dogs" in the firepit. They had chips and sodas outside. It was a nice warm afternoon, so they played on the trampoline for a while too!
Next, the girls came in and Shera opened her gifts. She had some fun puppy themed gifts as well! Here is a blanket our friends, Annie and Carly, made for her! Green is her favorite color and she loved the puppy paw prints! Shera immediately wrapped it around her body and held onto that blanket all night long!
We had a puppy cake and cupcakes too! Then they all went down to the theater in the basement and watched "Hotel For Dogs". It was a really cute movie, but it does make you cry. Shera came up with her eyes red and swollen. Shera loved her puppy pajama party! It was a really fun theme for her 9th birthday!
Drew went to the temple for the first time today and received his endowment. We had a 3:00pm session at the Newport Beach Temple.
Here we are in front of the temple when we left that afternoon.
Drew decided to have Jeff, me and himself go together.
Here he is looking at the angel Moroni. It was a wonderful day and Drew loved the temple. And this was a payback day for Jeff and me, to see our son so excited to go to the temple and to serve a full time mission!
I had such a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday. These are the days I will truly treasure up in my mind's memory box! I had breakfast in bed that Jeff and the kids made with eggs, sausage, hash browns and apple juice! After church, I got a wonderful salad made by the kids and Jeff and then I was given so many beautiful gifts of homemade cards, little books and even a new hand mixer I was in desperate need of.
Holly snapped this photo and I love how Luke is looking up at me - he really loves me!
We had a nice dinner later that evening with my mother and brother, Dean, and his family. Here is Andrea, Drew, Michele, Blake, and Drago.
Shera came to me before dinner was even served and said she had a tummy ache. I asked her what she'd eaten already. "I ate 4 pieces of bread and 7 Shirley Temples." I didn't realize that there was a Shirley Temple refill pitcher! Oh, boy! Needless to say, she hardly ate any dinner!
Here's my big brother, Dean, my mom and me together.
My mom got me and my sister-in-law, Deanne, these beautiful Baccarat Chrystal butterflies! We get them every year from her and now have quite a nice collection started. I keep them in my bedroom on the shelves of my secretary so I see them everyday. They are all in different colors and I think they are just lovely! Thanks mom and I love you!
It was Luke's 7th birthday today and we celebrated at Chuck E Cheese! It was a lot of fun - until a fight broke out between four grown men!!! It was unbelievable see them punching and yelling! The cops came after some of them had already left. Jeff made sure our kids were okay and away from it. After that it was pretty uneventful - oh, except when the fire department and ambulance came to take a woman from that same group to the hospital. She was having heart problems after the incident! What a way for adults to act at a restaurant for children. Those men got an earful from the other adults around. Everyone was pretty shaken up! Who'd have thought???
Luke, Shera and Noel played lots of games at Chuck E Cheese.
They won almost 1,400 tickets!
Three pizzas should suffice our family of seven. One for Jeff, one for Drew and one for the other five of us! Ha! Ha!
Mmm Mmm good!
Here we are with Holly infamously peeling off the cheese on her pizza!
Luke was surrounded by all his gifts here, peeking his face through from the booth on the other side.
Luke has been wanting this Mario Brothers Party DS game for so long. He kept on playing Noel's!
Luke wanted to have a white birthday cake with pink frosting and silver dragees (balls) this year. And he got just what he asked for!
This was a "Purple Week" at Luke and Shera's school to help raise money for cancer research. The kids traded money for purple ribbons to tie around Santa Margarita for cancer awareness.
The kids picked the trees in front of the Albertson's parking lot to tie the ribbons.
They also wrapped these 4 trees like candy canes in the meridian!
The school wore purple on Friday to show their support for cancer research. They were so happy to help people with cancer.
The other exciting thing about Cinco de Mayo is that it was Jeff's and my very first date 24 years ago on May 5, 1985! He brought me flowers and boy were they gorgeous! Our first date was so much fun. He picked me up and took me to the Lake Forest Clubhouse where we played tennis and then went swimming. He taught me to dive that day too. Then he took me to Ruby's Diner on the Mission Viejo Lake. We both had Milk Shakes and the Bleu's Burger. Mine was a garden style and his was beef. Then we went back to my place and he kissed me for the very first time! I wasn't expecting it and so I didn't kiss him back, I was so in shock! But then I sure did the second time!
We celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style last Tuesday. We made Tara's Chicken Enchiladas, La Fonda Salad, Guacamole and bought tortilla chips from Celinda's! I got some cute "Fiesta" plates with lime green napkins to accent and some fun table toppers too! It was all very festive!
I enjoyed my meal very much and I even dressed for the occasion! I wore my dress from Tiajuana with tourquoise jewelry!
I made Flan for dessert. It is one of our family's faves! The family did the cutest thing to show their appreciation for the dinner. Jeff led the kids in a cheer that went like this, "Hip Hip Ole! Hip Hip Ole! Hip Hip Ole!"
Here's the Flan recipe:
Caramel Custard Flan
1 ¼ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 can (14 ½ oz) evaporated milk, undiluted
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350’.
Spread ½ cup sugar evenly over bottom of an 8 inch round baking dish. Heat in oven 30-35 minutes, or until sugar is melted to a golden brown syrup.
Remove from oven; let cool 10 minutes or until hardened.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat eggs well. Add ¾ cups sugar, evaporated milk, 1 ½ cups water, and vanilla. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Pour into prepared baking dish. Place in shallow pan; pour hot water to 1 inch level around dish. Bake 1 hour, or until silver knife inserted in center of custard comes out clean. Cool; then refrigerate until well chilled.
To serve: Run small spatula around edge of dish to loosen. Invert onto shallow serving dish. Whipped cream is optional!
We are trying to go to all of Drew's favorite places before he leaves on his mission in July. One of them was King's Fish House by the Laguna Hills Mall.
As you can see, Holly LOVED her lobster!
Drew and Jeff were joking around the whole evening and giving one liners from different movies!
Believe it or not, Luke loves Clam Chowder and Sushi, especially California Rolls! I love kids with a sense of adventure! P.S. He also loves Escargot!
We had way to much bread and shirley temples too! They make the best of both here!
I know this is so weird, but Holly loves to do this stuff. She draws on her friends all the time. And she's actually quite talented! Anyway, this was something she did to herself this day at school with a pen. I was shocked when I saw it when we met for sushi for lunch. We meet for lunch every Monday. It is "our time" and we both always look forward to it.
If you look closely, you will see hearts, flowers, butterflies, and lady bugs.
We celebrated Drew's coming home from BYU and Holly winning the ASB Performing Arts Commissioner next year when she's a senior. Noel and I picked up an Edible Arrangements for dessert and had it with warm melted chocolate.
These fruit baskets are so fun! The kids love them for a special occasion.
Noel won Castille Elementary Student of the Year from the Kiwanis Club. She's here with Peter Vidmar - 2x Olympic Gold & 1x Olympic Silver Medal winner.
Church History Tour Easter Break
Palmyra - Joseph Smith's home where he grew up!
We went to Niagara Falls too!
The Angel Game!
We got on the big screen!
The Starr Mantra This Week!
Be yourself. No one can ever tell you you're doing it wrong.
The Starr Clan
In front of the Hawaiian LDS Tabernacle
About Us!
The Starr Family
We Are A Happy Family! Drew is 19 - working and college. Holly is 17 - 12th. Noel is 13 - 8th. Shera is 9 - 4th. Luke is 7 - 2nd.
Today Drew found a snake in our neighborhood on the street. So he picked it up and brought it home! This is soooo Drew!
He wrapped it around Luke's neck. It started strangling him! Psyche!!! Not really...
After everyone had a turn to hold it, Drew let it down to slither in our yard for a while. The kids could see he had just eaten something because he had a big lump in his body and was really slow and lethargic.
He was a really pretty snake, if there could ever really be a pretty one, and the kids all got a kick out of it for a while. Then we let it go on the hill on the other side of our fence. Luke asked if we could keep it and I told him we had enough pets! Ha! Ha!
