~A Day of Firsts~

Today was a day of Firsts in our house...

 

The first one was that we actually got to turn off our A/C today and open up the house.

It is the first time we've been able to do that in over a month!!!

Today hit about 90 degrees. 

It was muggy, Florida-like weather...

And we even got some showers!

Not like the Central Valley weather we normally get!

 

Its okay though.

We went swimming this afternoon and it even got a bit chilly and we had to retreat to our spa!

In the pool marked a another First for us.

 

Mr. Zachary jumped off the retaining wall that has two sheer descents coming from them.

Let me tell you.

This jump is a good 2 feet down.

I'd put him up on the wall, he'd do his little counting of "one, two, three" (of course he doesn't say one, two, three... but he does make noises that resemble the words) and then he'd jump to me.

No me holding his hands...

Just him going.

Let me tell you.

This boy is too damn brave when it comes to swimming.

He has no fear...

Of course which in turn gives me and the rest of my family gray hairs when it comes to him being near the pool!!

We just make sure there is some one with him at all times... that way, we can all enjoy ourselves in the pool... including Zachary.

 

Another First for today was that my husband was actually off of work ALL DAY LONG!!

That's right folks...

Today was one of the first Saturday's Derek has been off in gosh, I don't know how long!

It is nice to have him home...

 

And finally.

The last first.

 

Today, was my First day on Jenny Craig.

Yes, people.

I went and signed up with the likes of the famous Kirstie Alley and joined Jenny Craig.

So far, it is okay.

The food is surprisingly good and I hope to loose all the weight that I need/want to.

I'll let you guys know how its going later in the week...

I have my first weigh in/meeting on Friday morning!

 

Okay, enough firsts for today.

I've gotta go make my family dinner and then heat up my chicken fetticini Alfredo and steam some broccoli!

 

Have a great weekend Friends.
~Jenn~

~The Boy~

I wanted to share some pictures of the boy from today.

My daddy... his grandpa... took him today to get his second hair cut!

According to my dad, he did really well...

And as you will see, he looks mighty cute!!

Ain't he cute!

One Side...

And the other...

L.O.V.E. this Smile...

Getting frustrated with me now... Okay, Son, I'm done :)

 

And I couldn't post this entry...

With out sharing a picture of our resident Green Eyed Monster...

Just love how she has to pose for each and every picture!!

 

Okay, hope you enjoy these :)

Now, I'm really off to cool off....

~Pickle Jenn~

~When Did I Move to the Desert!~

I'd like to know when I moved to the desert...

Yesterday it hit 113 degrees here where I live.

 

Unbearable, I tell ya.

 

Today?

 

108.

 

I'm off to swim...

Thank goodness for the pool!!

 

Hope you all stay cool.

~Jenn

~Yup, its Summer~

Summer has officially hit the Central Valley here in California... along with the rest of the country.

Today, it is supposed to be anywhere from 109-112 degrees outside... depending on what weather forecast you are looking at.

Personally, its all about the same after you go over 105!!

 

We've been spending a lot of time in the pool lately.

Its the only way to have fun and stay cool in this heat.

Shoot, I tried doing some shopping yesterday at the mall... I came out hotter than I was going in.  Horrible, I tell you.

Thank goodness we went straight over to my parents house... where we ended up spending about an hour and a half in the pool after the kids naps....

here are some pics....

The kiddos on the water fall at my parents house... Rowan had gotten up there with her grandpa to jump off... and of course, mr. z had to be just like his big sister and get up there...

And of course, I had to take a picture :)

Miss Rowan being a dare-devil.

This little girl has gone from being scared of taking of her floaties a few weeks ago... to learning how to dive in the last few days.  Its amazing at how well she is picking up swimming.

She is even diving down a bit in the water to get those water rings that have weights in them... She gets so proud of herself... its too cute!  Her newest thing is seeing how long she can hold her breath under the water... the longest so far has been about 12 seconds!  Pretty good for a 4 1/2 year old, huh?

what a ham!!

Of course, Mr. Zman is loving the water too.

He just doesn't quite understand that he doesn't know how to swim.  You literally have to stand right next to him because he has been known to try and go and swim.

If you hold him under his belly, he'll actually kick.  He's even learned to keep his mouth closed most of the time too.  And like I said earlier, he loves to copy his sister... so of course he is jumping off the edge of the pool- with our help, that is.

You count... One, Two, Three! and there he goes... holding onto your hands and kinda flops into the pool.

Zachary does have another talent that is oh-so-adorable.

If you tell him, "Show me your smile"... this is what you get... its not a great picture, but you'll get the point :)

Show Me Your Smile Zachary...

I crack up every time he does it... its hilarious!!

Of course, if you are paying that much attention to the boy... the green eyed monster pops out in the girl... so this is what you get from her...

She has to be one of the cutest things... but I guess I'm kinda partial, huh :)

 

Well, I think that ends my summer time entry for today...

I have to go prepare myself to clean some house... I have to get that done and the kids down for an early nap today.

My grandma is up this weekend to celebrate her 89th birthday... and we are going over to my parents for more swimming and a "party" later this afternoon!

Have a fab Saturday...

~A Hello, An Update and PICTURES!!~

Hi guys.

I can't believe its been over a week since my last entry.

 

I guess time got away from me...

 

Nothing new has been going on in the Pickle Jar.

We've been trying to beat the heat... (by Tuesday its supposed to be 108!!) and we have been trying to spend a bunch of time together as a family.

 

Derek has been working a lot of over time... so that means I'm home with the kids more alone than normal and that also means, when he does have a day off, we are spending it together... doing the "family" thing :)

 

We've been swimming a lot lately.

Mostly at my parents house... although we finally got into our pool yesterday for the first time...

Rowan is excelling with her swimming.  Building up her courage every time she is in the water.  She has mastered swimming across the shallow end at my parents house and has also learned that she can go under water and grab rings.

Yesterday, while in our spa (she prefers to swim in there- although we did use the pool!) Rowan learned that she could hold her breath under water for 10 seconds!!  Mighty big girl she is.

 

Hmm, what else.

Oh yes.

Mr. Zachary is doing very well.

Such a cutie pie he is.

Sweet too :)

 

My mom and Rowan have this obsession going on right now with Pirates and they've taught Zachary to say "Arrrgghh".  Its mighty cute.

They are working on "Yo-Ho-Ho-Ho-A Pirates Life for Me"... he does the ho part...

Speaking of Pirates...

Derek and I were going to take Rowan to see the movie on Wednesday, but unfortunately, on the way to my moms (he was meeting me there because she was going to watch the boy for us!) Rowan decided she was going to get sick...

 

Thankfully, Derek stopped in time on the side of the road, so she didn't get sick in the car.

But she stayed sick for the rest of the night :(

No movie for us.

We are planning on going next week.

 

I've decided to share some pictures with you all today too!  These were taken on July 4th... Of course, they need no explanation... its just Rowan being silly!

Goodness, I guess that is what you'd call a pout??

What a weirdo :) I wonder where she gets that??? Derek??!!??

Oh wait... Nope, she would get that from me!!! LMAO... I can't believe that I'm posting this picture... hahaha...Oh well, it just shows that I'm a "real" person!

Here is a better picture of me and my baby girl...

I swear... Sometimes, I think she looks so much like me... then other times, well, not so much.  And in this picture, I don't even know...

 

As you can tell, I've also posted some pictures through AOL "You've Got Pictures".  Hope you don't mind :)

But I've gotta run now...

Kids to get in bed and what not..

Have a great weekend Friends.

~Pickle Jenn~

~Is it Bed Time Yet~

I swear.

The lack of sleep that I had to deal with last weekend is still kicking my booty!

 

I'm ready for bed right now...

Its only 745pm!!

 

Heck, last night...

I was asleep at 920pm...

I was out like a light...

Not even joking.

 

I guess it might take a few days to get all the rest that I need, huh?

 

Anyways.

 

I wanted to stop in and do a bit of a chit-chat.

Well, while its a tid-bit quiet in my house.

 

No, surprisingly not, the children are not asleep.

They are watching "Thats So Raven" on Tv.

Well, Rowan is...

Zachary is getting into things he shouldn't be.

 

Its okay though.

He isn't hurting anything.

 

I'm really glad today is my Friday though.

I get to have my hair done tomorrow...

and possibly sneak in a nap with my kiddos in the afternoon.

 

I also have to do some shopping at Target.

Gotta get two different birthday presents.

One for my friends son who turned 1 today and is celebrating his birthday on Saturday.

The other for my niece who is turning 3 next weekend.

 

Might as well get both presents at once, right?

 

::oops, gotta take Mr. Zman to the potty... he's "telling" me that he has to go pee::

 

So, yeah...

My weekend is going to be pretty quiet.

Except for the birthday party on Saturday.

Its going to be so much fun though.

Slip~n~Slide.

Water balloons.

Water guns.

And did I mention, Food?

 

Yeah, it will be a good time!!

 

Well.

I need to go and get the boy a bottle.

 

I hope each and everyone of you has a great night.

Enjoy your Friday.

And your Weekend!

 

Hugs to all.
~Jenn~

~Santa Barbara~

::me in Santa Barbara::

         

So, Santa Barbara was such a great trip...

The time driving down there was worth the fun...

Mind you, I did miss my babies and my hubby so much... but it was nice to get away.  It makes you realize what you've got when you haven't been around it in a few days :)

 

We left Friday morning around 1130am and we reached Santa Barbara at 430pm... we made pretty good time, especially with 3 potty breaks ;)

 

When we got to Santa Barbara, our friend Jen was still working... so we headed to her apartment where her sister (who was visiting also) and boyfriend were. We decided since that I'd never been to SB before, that we should take a walk down to the beach.

No problem there... it was a mere 10mins away.  The thing is, it was the hottest its been there in a long time.  95 degrees!!  It doesn't get that hot in SB... they kept telling us we brought the heat with us- and in the end, I was actually believing it ;)

      
(the walk to the beach)

(the coast line... so beautiful)
      
(One of a few oil rigs out in the middle of the ocean... no, I don't know the lady... and the pic is on ZOOM big time!)

 

That night, we went to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) and let me tell you, it was so yummy.  I've only eaten there once before and now I am really wishing we had one around here....

After dinner, we went and saw "The Devil Wears Prada"... It was so good.  It followed the book pretty well, but there were a few changes- all good though!

(Us outside the movie theater- Jen, Amy and Me!)

 

That night, we didn't do too much more.  Went to a house party- now I know why I didn't go to college... lol.  Then came back to their apartment building and sat in the spa for a bit.

Let me tell you, when we finally went to sleep... my head hit the pillow and I was OUT!

(guess its been a while for me, huh?)

 

The next day, we went to a very late lunch of sushi... It was yummy... different then what I've had before... but still yummy!
      
(speaking of sushi, I'm freakin' addicted... had some tonight!)

After lunch, we went to Jen's place of work... I will not post any pics of that, because I don't want her to get in trouble... but I can tell you its one of the biggest Resorts in Santa Barbara and is a favorite of Oprah and other famous stars.

We spent about an hour there, just looking around and taking tons of pictures... :)

 

Later, the tired butts we were... we went back to the apartment and took naps!!  Crazy huh?  But we needed it to make up for the night before and to prepare for that night...

 

Saturday night, we went to this restaurant called Chads... it was some yummy food and some really good drinks!  I guess they are famous for their martini's... I didn't have one.  I'm a beer kinda girl... but Amy and Jen did.
 
(Amy and Jen showing off their drinks... )

After dinner we did some bar hopping and ended up at a place called The Study Hall.  I am not really a bar person... I don't take people being rude or being too stupid (ie Dumb Drunks!).  I especially don't take the rude little snoby witches (please replace the W with a B for it to make more sense!).

I did have a pretty good time though... It was a long night, but I didn't mind.  I guess its good for your soul every once in a while, lol.

(Me, Amy and Jen...)

Overall, even with the lack of sleep and me missing my babies, I had a great time...

It is something I will have to do again next year... if they stay in SB.  But if they don't, we'll have to travel where ever their little hearts take them (they like to travel!).

 

SO, I hope you like the condensed version of my trip... and the pics.  Believe me, there were plenty more... but I just didn't feel like resizing them all :)

Have a great evening,
~Jenn~