Wonder

When we were in California I took M to Disneyland for the first time. One of the things she wanted to do was to see the princesses. I was hoping we would just run into some of them but that was not the case. We decided to watch the parade in the evening and M was so excited to see the princesses in real life. She had this look of WONDER about her throughout the whole parade. I am so happy we stumbled on the parade because it was her favorite thing of the day. I am not a huge fan of crowded amusement parks (I think it runs in my family!) but I would do it over again a thousand times to see her face light up like it did! I love my little M.

My Brother is Cool!!

Just a shout out to my brother J...he is so fun. We were just able to spend time with my whole family (minus S and his family whom we missed) and had so much fun. I will try to catch up over the next several days. J was the photographer on the hike some of the fam went on. He is always good to have around and makes everyone around him happy. I wish we could live closer to him and his cute family. By the way, I asked him if I could put a picture of his eyebrows on my blog and this is the pose he gave me! He has vitiligo and woke up one morning to find one of his eyebrows had changed color. I think it looks pretty neat if I do say so myself. Thanks to all my brothers, sisters, parents, and every other family member who made our vacation fun. We love you and miss you!

Comming Home

We have been on vacation for almost three weeks now. It is so nice to be around family and friends. I am excited to go home and yet I feel an overwhelming sense of loss. Why can't I live next to everyone I love? Why can't it just be easier. I want M and B to know their cousins and be friends with them. I always wanted this for me and it never happened. When I met R and saw how much he was friends with his cousins I decided I wanted the same for my children. I just wish life was sometimes easier. I love our friends where we live but why can't we all be a little closer to each other?!

Happy

I was going through some pictures on my parents computer and found this from Christmas two years ago. I like this picture because I am missing R since he is in the mountains with the rest of the men (and S of course...shout out to you for considering sleeping on the ground vacation!!!) I also thought about how I was trying to hid behind R in the picture because I was so fat. I look back on this now and realize I am not fat at all. Why can't I just be happy with what I have!?

Colorado

Colorado is so beautiful!! There is so much to do in such a close proximity. I have gone for walks almost everyday and they have been fun. It is nice to have good conversation while walking but it also helps to have beautiful scenery to be a part of! Today we went to the Garden of the Gods which is breath taking. We went seven years ago when we lived here. I have always remembered how beautiful it was and was glad to go back and get some great pictures! (I'll post them in a few days) I won't be near the computer for a few days but will try to post a few pictures when I get to my new destination. Hope all my friends at home are doing well!

Vacation

So today is my last day to get ready for our vacation. I have been running errands for so many days now I feel sick of shopping. (yes, I did say I didn't feel like shopping, just give me a day or two!) I am excited to catch up with family and friends. I I will try to blog along the way but please excuse me if I'm not as diligent as I have been! Bon Voyage all.

Addicted

I think B is a true Elmo addict. When we walk by the toy sections in stores she screams out "melmo, melmo" thinking I will go find something with Elmo on it for her to play with while shopping. He stash of elmo toys includes:

-talking stuffed elmo doll

-elmo purse with all the fillings (phone, keys, lipstick, etc.)

-Elmo shirt which I have to hide when it is dirty because she would wear it everyday.

-Elmo books

-Elmo Birthday cakes

-Elmo vibrating chair ( I don't know who thought of putting a vibrator in a kids toy...not so smart!)

-Elmo underwear (even though B isn't yet potty trained)

-Elmo DVD's

-Elmo figurines

-Elmo backpack

-Elmo diapers

-Elmo aqua doodle

Elmo is the first t.v./movie character that B has recognized and asks for. I don't know if I started her addiction or just enable her. She is a cute little girl and I am sure there are worse addictions to have!

Stress!!

Stress. It's a word used a lot in my family, especially by the females. I seem to use the word a lot to since M will sometimes ask if I am stressed out! The latest thing causing me stress is our upcoming vacation. What is the point of vacation if it makes you stress? I guess the vacation won't be stressful...it's all the planning, getting ready, and anticipation that is stressful. Can I just say how much I hate flying across the country with children?! M is at the age where she does really well and I have no worries with her. B on the other hand is enough to keep me up at night with worry! She is such a cutie but she definitely has an opinion on everything and doesn't mind letting the whole world know! I bought her an elmo back pack to fill with new and exciting toys so hopefully that will keep her busy for awhile! Other than the airplane ride and all the laundry/packing left to do before our trip I am super excited to go and see family and friends. See ya soon!

Target

Can I just express how much I love Target...it might actually classify as an addiction. (I know it's wordless Wednesday but you all know I can't go wordless for long!) Last night I went and got a pedicure with a good friend and then went shopping at Target for two hours. Two hours you say! Yes, I had no children with me!! My dear husband took them so I could go run errands and get myself some new clothes before our upcoming trip! Let me count the ways/reasons I love Target.
1. Cute clothes, low prices!
2. The Dollar Spot!
3. The snack bar...when I do have the girls with me I pick them up a cookie to entertain them while shopping.
4. Cute scrapbook supplies. (The Northeast is seriously lacking in this area)
5. End of the aisle red tag sales...gotta love them.
6. Jewelry. My friend C got me liking jewelry and I really love having a variety of it that is not expensive.
7. Clearance...last night I got several pairs of boys sneakers for $3.74, two pair of women's sneakers for $6.24, and three watches for $3.74. (All to be donated to a charity in Haiti!)
8. Archer Farms and Choxie Products...yum
9. Great Furniture at reasonable prices. (Love the Global Bizarre...might have to look and wait for the sale, but persistence pays off)
10.Great kids clothing. The girls can always look fashionable without paying the price.

Thanks for letting me rave about one of my favorite stores. It took me awhile to discover the beauty of Target but now I look forward to my weekly trip(s) there. (Did I mention R doesn't look forward to the same trip!)

Wordless Wednesday

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

B likes to be outside but hates having the sun in her eyes. We try to make it as comfortable as possible for her!

Sunday Shoes #3 Show Stoppers

Well, I don't own these shoes but I think it would be nice to! Wouldn't they look super cute with a black dress or with jeans. Maybe someday. They are made by Kenneth Cole and I love his shoes! And wouldn't they look great with tan feet?!!! We all know how much I love tan feet!

Happy Birthday to me!! Yes it is the 13th and it is a Friday. I was born on a Friday the 13th and married on a Friday the 13th...nothing but luck here. I had a great day and will post more about it later. B sat on my lap while everyone sang happy birthday...I think she thought they were singing to her!

C, M, and K are so cute and helped make my birthday a special one. R did such a great job on presents...I'll let your know about those tomorrow. For now, I'm headed for bed.

Christmas in July!!

Thanks aunt A for the fun hats and scarves! We also love the books. Who doesn't love getting a fun package in the mail?!! (my smile is a bit off because my face is a bit numb...i just got back from the dentist, yuck!)

Wordless Wednesday

Learning to Swim!!

These Two books + Me = ...













THIS!!

For the past three days I haven't done much besides read! I love reading but when I do, my house work goes by the way side. I can't just read a chapter at a time when reading a good book, I have to know what happens next! These books by Kahled Hosseini are excellent reads. I thought the first book was a memoir up until I was two thirds of the way done with the book. He brought up feelings and emotions in me that not many authors are able to do. At one point during The Kite Runner I felt sick to my stomach because of what was happening to the boy in the book. I learned a lot about different perspectives and a different culture. I know it is just bits and pieces of the culture, but it is more than I knew a few days ago. Now I am left with five loads of clean clothes to fold, (at least they are clean) but I did read two great books! (Mom, if you're reading this, sorry about all the clean clothes everywhere! I know you would have them folded by now...but it is, after all, my least favorite chore!)

Excuses

Today when putting M down for a nap our conversation went a bit like this...

M-Mom, I don't want to take a nap

Me-We're all taking naps today. We stayed up way too late last night and had to get up early today.

M-But mom, remember why I can't take a nap?

Me- No M, why can't you take a nap?

M- Remember mom, my hair will get messy if I take a nap.

Me- No it won't, now go to sleep!

M hasn't had naps regularly for some time and really didn't feel she needed one today. I came up with the idea and I give her credit for coming up with a rather creative excuse to get out of sleeping!

Little Fish

Today was the first day of M's swim lessons! She is in the same class with her friend K. Her other friends, C, M, and N are also taking lessons, but are in different levels than she is in. It was so much fun watching the kids, even though it was pretty early in the a.m. (I guess early for us...9 a.m.) M and K were so cute holding hands while going with their teacher for the first time. It is so nice knowing your children have such good friends!



I don't think B was thrilled to be left out of the festivities but she is still a bit too young for the classes. Maybe next year B. This year you will have to be content to sit and play with J in you stroller. It's funny to watch them because both the little ones are so feisty. Neither of them will back down from each other. J will touch B's stroller and she will scream and hit him off, and then she will touch his stroller and he will do the same to her! I know B loves J and gets so excited to see him. I guess they just need their personal space, especially so early in the morning. Next year they will be able to join in the swimming fun!

Sunday Shoes #2 Red Hots

So these are my newest pair of red shoes (notice not my first, my fourth) I love red shoes and think they go with just about anything. These shoes are so comfortable and I can wear them for hours with no complaint. They kind of remind me of shoes my mom wore in the eighties, which I like. The shape also reminds me a bit of bowling shoes in a strange way. I love this latest installment in my collection of shoes. They are probably my favorite, at least for today.

Mice and Frogs and Deer! Oh My!

So in the past couple of days I have noticed a plethora of critters while I have been out driving. I have seen ground hogs, mice, frogs, fireflies, chipmunks, and deer. Within the past few weeks I've come close to hitting some of these little guys. Others have not been so lucky and have encountered an untimely death under the wheel of my van. (Sorry little chipmunk and froggy) When I ran over the chipmunk I let out a yelp that startled M. I had to pretend like I didn't hit the poor creature as to not traumatize her. I guess where I grew up in southern California there weren't as many little animals that ran out onto roads. I think you are more likely to see a high speed chase in socal than to see a deer grazing on the weeds along side the 405. I like all the nature surrounding me but I really don't like seeing all the dead carcasses along the roads. It is fascinating to know all those creatures are out there...but please, stay off the roads little animals!

Cute Dolls

Just some recent pictures of my cute little dollies!

ELMO

Elmo has been a big hit with B lately. (She calls him Melmo) When we went to target for the third time last week I bought M some new under roos and B picked some out as well. I figured I wasn't going to push potty training but thought she could start getting used to seeing underwear for her. B picked out Elmo underwear, of course. She has since started wearing them over her diaper! I thought it was a one time thing, but it has turned into a regular occurrence. She insists on putting her Elmo underwear on over her diaper each time I change it. At times she even carries around multiple pairs of Elmo undies just to play with them! She wants to be such a big girl but mommy isn't quite ready to let her move on to Barbie's and Polly Pockets. I'm glad B is still my little Elmo girl!

M and B love getting in our computer chair and spinning! I remember as a child I also liked to do this. Who am I kidding, some days I still sit in the computer chair and take a spin. I can't quite handle the amount of spinning I used to, but I still have fun!

Moths

For the past several weeks I have been waking up to discover tons of moths on the front door and back screen door. Several of them are a pretty light yellow color with eggplant purple edges on their wings. Others are pure white and blend in with the ceiling on our porch. The other day there was a really dark navy moth on our front door that almost disappeared into the blackness of our door. Who knew there were so many different kinds of moths and that a moth could be so pretty. Makes me think that I should be so accepting of people. People look so different but if we look, we can find beauty in almost anyone.

GOOD MORNING!

Happy Fourth of July!!

In celebration of the fourth of July we went and had a picnic with our ward. M brought her friend that lives next door and there was fun had by all. They had games and yummy food. It was only 67 degrees today and cloudy but that was nice for the picnic. It has been raining since so I don't think we will see any firework action tonight, except on tv. M and her friends did pretty well in the ballon game. They tied ballons to their feet and tried to pop other peoples ballons. The three little girls just ran around trying not to get their ballons popped, not worrying about doing the popping!

B really liked trying to eat cheetos with a fork. Not the easiest way to go about it but she was proud of herself when she made it work.

We had deli style sandwiches and lots of yummy salads and desserts.

M is funny

My sweet, almost five year old always has the cutest things to say or cute expressions. Here are a few samplings from today:

1. We went to our local theme park with some friends today. M rode a ride (kind of like Dumbo at D-land) and B also wanted to ride. The attendee said she was too little, which she objected to! She had ridden the ride before so the whole time M was flying in the air B cried, loudly, right behind the attendant guy. (Of course I wouldn't move B...I wanted the guy to feel bad!) When the ride was done the attendant said B could ride the ride if M went with her. B was really excited but I think M was ready to move on. M was a good sport and sat next to B on the ride. Before the ride started the attendant put his thumb up to make sure everyone was ready to start the ride. He held it up for an unusually long time and M kind of looked annoyed. She finally gave the guy a thumbs up with a bit of an annoyed look, as if to say, "hello, we're ready, what are you waiting for!" My friend and I just burst out laughing. She is such a funny little girl!

2. M had been talking about riding a bus ride at the theme park all day. Towards the end of the day we headed over to ride the bus. M got on the bus with her three little friends and I sat with B a couple rows ahead of the others. As we were waiting to go a man said to the attendant, "Excuse me, my daughter just got sick" I didn't know if he meant she was scared or something else. I looked back and saw M looking disgusted. Her eyes were wide and her hand were covering her nose and mouth. I looked at the little girl directly behind M and it was clear she had vomited! I didn't know how much though. I thought it might have been just a bit because no one said to get off the bus. We sat there for awhile until I started getting whiffs of the vomit and decided to exit the kids off the bus. M later said, "Mom, I don't know why that little girl would come to the park if she was going to throw up." O, the innocence of children. I explained to her that we don't always know when we will get sick, but she still thought the little girl shouldn't have come!

3. When we got home M was planning her Birthday party. Yes, it is over a month away but heaven forbid we are not prepared. She was listing off friends she would like to attend the big event. I said, "what about me, I'm your friend, can I come." She replied without hesitation "You're not my friend, you're my mom!" I thought it was pretty funny. I guess I can't be both!

1...2....3...GO!!!

M and B have always liked playing this little game! They stand at one end of our house and say "one, two, three, GO!" and then they run to the other side of the house, only to turn around and do it again! Sometimes when daddy is home he sits on the floor and catches them as they go by. This includes tickling and being thrown in the air so the girls really love it. B doesn't say all the words perfectly but she makes the number sounds pretty well and says go perfectly. Go was one of her first words! I love my cute little dollies!

Va Va Voom Shoe Post #1

So, these are my latest addition to my shoe collection. I saw them while running into the Nine West Outlet and had to have them! They are really shiny in person and fun to wear! I wore them to church today with a black and white outfit. (I guess the black and blue could bring up memories of bruises, but any color combination found in nature works!) I like my new shoes but after four hours in them I felt like I had run a marathon. (At least what I think it feels like to run a marathon since I have not actually run one!)