Blissful Irony?

Ironic: Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended; coincidental; improbable.

May I first just say how much FUN we had in California visiting Brandon's father and step mom?! It was a great week!!! That said, what are the odds that the first trip we took to the beach turned out to be overcast, windy and 60%, while our excursion to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom yesterday was a blistering and HUMID 100%+??? Yes, we are from Arizona.. but it is as dry as bone there - props to my brother and sister-in-law who live in Dallas and have the heat + humidity to deal with on a regular basis.. YIKES!!!

If you set aside the weather factor (when with combined with all the walking, caused some record breaking swelling for me), and the lack of sleep for the kids (resulting in the occasional frustrated outburst), it was truly a blast!:) We got up close and personal with a variety of animals, from tigers and lions to sharks and dolphins. Bailey rode the rides with Brandon and Grandma while Grandpa spoiled Hunter, and I looked longingly on past the "no pregnant women allowed" signs. There was even a sign restricting me from the splash pad and slide area! Is that discrimination at it's finest or what?! :)

Bailey enjoyed some rides more than others. Her facial expressions were priceless.. and a bit hard to capture on camera!:( Brandon and Grandma all too willingly braved the"big kid" rides.. in fact I've never seen Brandon quite so youthful!:) All in all, another wonderful day - the perfect way to end our "last vacation"!

All in one day...

We woke up this morning not knowing exactly how much we would be accomplishing in only so many daylight hours! We started out with our sights set on touring San Francisco... on our way we stopped to visit Grandpa at work on the highway (he's California Highway Patrol). The kids LOVED his police truck and uniform.:) We then took our picnic lunch which we had grabbed from Safeway, and decided to eat it at the beach. By pure luck we happened upon the most perfect spot in the state for a PERFECT afternoon! The weather was about 80 degrees, sunny with blue skies and a gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge.. the water wasn't too cold and there was only the slightest breeze! Both Bailey and Hunter enjoyed it this time.. it wasn't even painful getting wet!:)

After the beach, we made it to the city and toured the pier. We couldn't have asked for a more comfortable setting to our escapades.. it was wonderful! Bailey missed her nap but was SO excited by the seagulls, ships and sea lions that she didn't care in the slightest! We then headed to the Coast Guard base to visit Uncle Josh and Aunt Stephanie.. that was a treat for Brandon especially! I think he would have enlisted right then and there if I was a braver soul and could handle the stress of it!!! The day ended with a peaceful lakeside dinner after visiting Josh and Steph's new abode... does vacationing get any better than that?? What a day!!!:)

Beach Fun

We are currently enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather of Northern California, getting in our last vacation of the summer before preschool and Brandon's last semester starts!:) We took the kids to the beach on Monday and had a blast!!! The beaches in Northern Cali are FREEZING this time of year (I know... it's August right?!) and the whipping wind didn't help either! The combination of the two deterred Bailey from any real water interest, but not Hunter! The crazy kid made a beeline for the coast every chance he got!

Although we all had on fleece jackets, Bailey still managed to adopt her Aunt Stephanie's coat as well.. thanks again Steph! :) Hunter was all over the place - when he wasn't turning blue from the icy water, he was chasing the seagulls or climbing over driftwood.. you name it! It as one of those moments when you wish you could have a camera running the entire time. Weather and all, it was a GREAT day!:)

The New "Old Man"

I have been waiting ever so patiently for this day for what seems like FOREVER!!! Brandon has hit a milestone in his life... he is now, ofiicially, 30!!!:) Here are some pictures from the grand day, (8/22/2008):
Breakfast in bed was supposed to be a special treat just for daddy... the kids thought it would be more fun as a family event - I tried taking a picture with Hunter attacking Brandon's food too, but we had a mishap with the syrup.. oops ;)
Bailey was SO excited to opne presents that we ended up celebrating at 7am! Note the kids still in pajamas... Brandon on the other hand insisted on showering and combing his hair if I was going to attack him with the camera! (He even showered before his breakfast in bed picture... and you thought that was only a female trait?! lol).

Oh, and for those of you who have never played "Ticket to Ride".. you're missing out!!! It's like "Risk" without the hurt ego's in the end!:) *for those of you who don't know.. Brandon and I had to ban "Risk" from our marriage for the first year.. we were SO competetive that there were occassional tears and even a broken chair once! lol :)
Bailey and Brandon like to watch "The March of the Penguins" together.. she found this penguin puzzle with "a daddy penguin, and a Bailey penguin" and insisted he had to have it!
And of course our little line backer had to give dad a football movie!:)
And here is my first class attempt in keeping the old man young.. :) I don't think I've seen much of him since...

WOW!!! 30 and still as handsome as the day we met.. maybe even more so!:) Happy birthday Brandon - I love you!!!:)

AND a website?!

First blogging, and now this! I created my very 1st website today while my kids were napping... SO fun!:) I've had a lot of people ask about Little Tykes Preschool's website, and now I FINALLY have one to share! It's a work in progress, so don't be too critical, but I was too excited to not pass it on!:) Here you go... http://www.littletykespreschool.com/ If nothing else, pretend to be AMAZED!!!:) (I may just have to shed a tear or two otherwise...:))

"At-Home Pictures"

Here's Bailey two seconds before her heaving sighs on the floor crusade.. this is her "Mommy you've betrayed me, if you REALLY love me, you won't make me do this" face. And then there's Hunter, happy that he cried loud enough that I gave in and gave him fruit snacks I was using as "be happy, look at me and say CHEESE" bait! Sadly, these are the best of them... :P

Have you ever bathed your children JUST for pictures? Combed their hair and put their cutest outfits on them, in hopes to get that one "perfect" shot? Well... that was my goal this afternoon. Now that Hunter is the big O-N-E I wanted a great shot of him "all growed up"! I don't know anyone who enjoys paying money for a stress filled day at the Wal Mart picture studio, so my nothing-special-camera and I went to work setting up bed sheets in the main room to bring the "studio" home.

Those of you who have previously attempted this ill fitted fate are already smiling... For those of you who have not yet had the privilege, let me enlighten you! Imagine: holding a camera with one hand, shaking candy in the other, whistling, singing or making strange noises just to get your kids to make eye contact with you, all the while pushing them back on their rear ends with one foot when they try to run away crying, and kicking your dog out of the shot with the other... sounds tempting doesn't it?? So, what have I learned from this experience you may be thinking? Well, I have learned that the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" is more true for those who saw the "behind the scenes" of taking it... ahh, memories! With that, you may not see another picture post from me in a while... I quit!

Multi-Tasking??

So, Brandon thinks I have A.A.A.D.D. "Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder". This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table, Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of soda I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the soda aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The soda is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the soda, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water. I put the soda on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day, the car isn't washed. The bills aren't paid. There is a warm can of soda sitting on the counter. The flowers don't have enough water. There is still only 1 check in my check book. I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired!

hmmm... and to think I thought I was multi-tasking! Thanks for the diagnosis honey, it's good to know I'm not the only one! All this and kids! Well, until they find a cure it looks like you have a LOT of work to do!:) I LOVE YOU!!!

Vampire Withdrawl

At approximately 10:30pm last night, I finished "Breaking Dawn" the fourth and final book in the Twilight series. I must say, it is a bitter sweet to have this overly obsessed era in my life come to an end. As my children are now fast asleep, I am heart broken to realize I have NOTHING MORE TO READ!!! :( You know you have it bad when all you think about is "fictional" Edward when there are SO many other things you could be accomplishing! lol:) (I must however note, that in my dreams, when I am Bella, Brandon is also Edward.. so I don't feel guilty in the slightest!) :)

Truthfully though, to those of you who share my feelings - finish the book.. WE NEED TO TALK! And for you unfortunate souls who have not yet filled your mind with these, the GREATEST books of all time, I urge you to DO SO NOW!!!:) I don't recomend books very often, especially ones revolving around vampires and such, but my heart has been overly softened. I hardly read for pleasure.. and I have NEVER finished a 700+ page book in 48 hours... until now!

On a positive note... Brandon is glad to have his wife back. :) That is until the Twilight movie is released this December!!! :)

Hunter's 1st Birthday!!!

WOW! Where do I start?! What a day... we had "Hunter" (aka: Bailey) open two presents this morning in order to subdue the excitement for his birthday which I swear has lasted over a month now!:) Nothing wrong with that though right?? ;) I think Bailey enjoyed his birthday more than he did.. well, the toys anyways.. I think he enjoyed his cake enough all by himself! :)