Dead Buick And Home Ec

Yesterday was somewhat of a stressful day. We had already made an appointment for the van to go get checked out by our mechanic... But on the way to work in the morning the car (Buick) started dying... It had been acting kind of funny and not wanting to keep a full charge on the battery, making Colin think the alternator was going bad. Well, on the way to work everything started to shut down... The blinkers stopped working, the lights were going dim and it was acting as if it was going to die. He turned around to come home and made it back, as the car died, right in front of our house never to run again... It has went to Buick heaven...Or maybe the other way (?)... Who knows? We had it towed to United Car Care where Jim (Our faithful mechanic) could tell us what was going on with both vehicles... We left both vehicles with him. He later called to tell us the sad news about the death of the Buick. He said it was time to move on, it would cost more to fix it than it was worth... He also let us know that the van was soon to follow... It is strolling down death row. He will fix it enough to get us around town for awhile but it has had it's last big trip. As dreary as this may sound, we have been truly blessed with good vehicles for several years without much major work to be done... It's just a bummer it had to happen all at once. I won't miss the Buick but I will miss the Van... We have had some great times with that Big Red Bus. So, now we are in the car/van shopping mode. It will be awhile before we decide on one... Unless a miracle jumps out and bites us on the nose. We want to buy the RIGHT one. We had a good prayer with the kids and believe that God will direct us to the perfect van for us. We will get a minivan to replace the Buick. I am thankful for little car repairs in our past and an honest mechanic.


SO.... Since we were stranded at home today... (Colin had to drive Grandma Bunny's van to work)... We made the best of it and had a MAJOR Home Ec Day. Tommy forgot his school books in the van so no one else wanted to do their school. So we started off with making pretzels...

Finished product... They were delicious!

Next time we will add jalapenos.

Next we decided to try candied apples...

Megan was our only casualty... I told them to be

extremely careful because this candies stuff

was a lot hotter than the caramel we made a couple

weeks ago... Unfortunately Megan found that out

first hand... She also burned herself when we did

the carameled apples too.

Finished product...

Looks may deceive you...

These apples were a flop! I didn't have a candy

thermometer so the candy didn't get to the right

temp... They didn't harden correctly and it stuck

to your teeth... I mean it REALLY stuck to your

teeth... It could pull a filling right out. We soaked

the apples to get the candy off and we will make

cinnamon apples out of them instead... I'm just

waiting for the recipe from Grandma Bunny.

Next... We finally made some Chili Colorado...

I brought a huge bag of chiles home from Hatch when we were there in April. I even brought chiles home to my mechanic and he's already made this dish... Well, we did it today. It's HOT! I guess I should have NOT put ALL the seeds in the pot... (?) It's good!

That's our Home Ec day... Oh and we did cleaning too :-)

It's been a productive day!

New Cd

Samples of our new Cd

"He Watches Over Me"

can be heard

on our web site...

Check it out.

http:www.theshulerfamilyband.com

Chrystal Cathedral And The Beach

Thursday 9-10-09

Grandma had to go see the Chrystal Cathedral.

It has been over six years since she's been there.

This is the smaller chapel... You'll see the inside

of this one in a little while...

This is the Cathedral...

You've probably seen these same shots on TV...

Only it was probably full of people.

Huge pipe organ

Outside in the courtyard...

The kids took turns riding in the wheelchair

when Grandma wanted to walk...

People were probably quite confused when they

saw a different kid in the wheelchair.

Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus.

I thought there might be an elevator to take you to

the top of this structure... I was wrong.

I think there is a prayer room at the bottom.

The Shepherd rejoicing after bringing

home the lost sheep that was now found...

Cathedral Cemetery...

There were three levels to this cemetery...

Grandma wanted to find her brother-in-law's

grave site. Wilbert Eichenberger worked side

by side with Dr. Schuller for many years.

So we searched until we found it. After we found it

we stood there for about 10 seconds and then she

said, "Ok, let's go". She is not a lingerer...

The small chapel... The kids sang a song...

Now they can say that they sang at the

Chrystal Cathedral.

After were done at the Chrystal Cathedral we headed

to New Port Beach...

This was Tommy's first time to the Ocean.

They all had a blast!

Standing on the Pier.

We had a fantastic time at the beach. The water was cold,

but it didn't stop the fun. The kids played in the water and

collected sea weed... We ate corn dogs, nachos and

french fries.... And played in the water again.

What a great day!

Ronald Reagan Library Museum

Wednesday 9-9-09 we went to The Ronald Reagan

Library Museum. Very interesting!

This is Colin and Gerri standing in front of the first

section of the Berlin wall to come down...

This is outside the Cafe... It overlooks a beautiful valley.
On a clear day you can see the Ocean... Because of the fires...
It was NOT a clear day.

A picture of Ronald Reagan...
Made out of 10,000 jelly beans.

Sara and George Washington...

The protective BIG brother.

Reagan Cafe... Good food.

Reagan's Memorial

Air Force One

This was just before entering Air Force One...

We were not allowed to take pictures inside...

You'll have to take my word for it... SO COOL!

Marine One

It was a very long day and everyone was tired.

Monday and Tuesday

Monday night "I Buy" game...

Tommy decided he was done with

the game and watched TV...
Tuesday morning, in the Lobby...


Everyone reading something...

Trying to fill the time...

Until 9:30am... Then we headed to

Knott's Berry Farm.

First ride... The Sidewinder.

Once you go over the first hill

the pods are released to spin as

you're going on the coaster track...

Here we are with Snoopy. He really liked

Grandma and kept kissing her on the head.

A first time for the kids on the

Ferris Wheel...

Sara didn't like it... See her painted

on smile?

Big Foot Rapids...

The Swings...

Of course we had to eat at Mrs. Knott's

Famous Fried Chicken...

YUM!

It was a full day and the kids had a blast!

We rode rides, (all except Colin and Grandma)

got wet, ate good food and had great

fun... Then there was the drive back to the

motel... Driving on CA Interstates are scarier

than any amusement park ride...