an amazing woman

I've been 'introduced' to some really amazing women through various blogs. Women who I'm sure I will never meet, but whom, through their writing have inspired and taught me. And I blog stalk them *grin*

On a slightly different note, I have a handful of really truly best girl friends. These women I have the privilege of knowing personally. They teach me and inspire me. We don't always keep in the best of touch, but when we get together or talk, it's like we haven't missed a beat.... I love blogs because I feel like we keep in touch a little better as we blog stalk each other...

Angie is one of these friends. She and I worked together at a dental office until until she had her first baby- and she's married to one of Nathans best friends. Not only do I love Angie for the great friend that she is, but I really look up to her- she is such a strong and driven woman. She has been dealt her fair share of trials, but she perseveres with a smile on her face while serving those around her. She recently posted about her little boy Brian who has a rare syndrome which required a surgery to remove 1/2 his brain just before his first birthday- he is an inspiring little boy who has overcome so much- in large part because of the dedication of his amazing mommy. Go ahead, grab some tissue, and blog stalk Angie for a minute- you'll be glad you did- it's a very touching story. And yes, I did ask permission before I linked to her blog *grin* I love you Angie!

Part 4 - Life's a beach

And I mean that. The Day after Disneyland was Nathan's birthday. For his birthday, he got a stomach flu! It really was the gift that kept on giving and giving... Really though, I have never seen my husband that sick. He yarfed from about midnight til noon and layed on the couch pretty much the entire day- usually he harfs and then is up and acting mostly normal... but not this time... Good times. Happy Birthday sweetie! The rest of us hung out at Jack and Jami's- it was nice to relax. Bryson was soooo excited to go swimming in their pool... until he got in the water- it was pretty stinking cold.

The next day (Wednesday) we ended up going to the beach in the afternoon- fortunately Nathan was feeling much better. Until he saw we had to pay 7 bucks just to park at the beach. How can people afford to live in California? Every time we turned around we had to pay through the nose just for parking!
Dallin was in heaven at the beach- dirt/sand AND water! What could be better?
Bryson was quite impressed with the waves and loved playing in them- mostly with Jack's boogie board because he could drag it behind him like a boat- he loves to drag stuff behind him- unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that... or any of our whole family at the beach. Dang. We went to a great Lebonese restaurant- yum! We felt a little closer to Nathan's parents while eating there *grin*

Thursday we we not really thinking and decided to pack up and drive the two hours down to San Diego to Sea World. It really was an amazing experience, but c'mon! How much can we possibly drive on one vacation? I think poor Eli still has a panic attack every time I put him in his carseat.
Here we are waiting for Shamu to start. Sheesh Bryson, would it kill you to look at the camera? Emma is in the front right- she is such a beautiful and sweet little girl- 9 months older than Bryson. It's amazing how much she's grown up since we'd seen her last in Kentucky a year and a half ago.
I love this picture- they were all checking out the Sea World map- I think Bryson thought he was just like Dora or Diego with their maps.

Have I mentioned this kid loves the dirt?

We closed out the day by going on the 'Journey to Atlantis' ride- I was a little worried that Bryson would be too scared, especially when I saw the terrified look on his face when he was plummeting down the first big drop... but when he came running out after wards, he couldn't wait to go on it again. So he did- and loved it again. I refrained from riding because I wasn't feeling all that great- just a little off- kinda heavy in my stomach... it got increasing worse as we drove the incredibly long drive back to LA- as soon as my feet hit the ground, I knew it was inevitable. My turn to bow before the porcelain throne. And so I did. again. and again. Apparently though, I'm a little tougher than Nathan because I was pretty much better by the morning- a little weak, but thankful I wasn't puking anymore. My stomach was still in knots though thinking about how this probably wasn't food poisoning- and dreading the ride home.... with potentially sick kids. Great.

Fortunately we got home without else anyone yarfing- overall, the kids did great- Eli was mostly okay if I was sitting next to him, and Bryson and Dallin proved my theory correct that they would in fact rot in front of the tv if I would let them watch it all day. They were zoned out down to Cali and back- pretty much four days of driving- so long as the DVD player was running... Robots, Cars and Thomas and the Magic Railroad (pretty much the worst movie ever made) were favorites... As a result of the movie-a-thon, they've barely been allowed to watch any tv since we've been home... I think they watched enough to last til they're ten or so.

Part 3 - The happiest place on earth

I love Disneyland. Before this trip, I'd only been twice before, once when I was 6 and again when I was 12. You know how things you enjoyed as a child are really fun and exciting again because you have kids? Well, Disneyland is one of those things... the anticipation of just bringing my kids was exciting.

We went with Jack and Jami and their kiddos (whom we stayed with in LA- thanks guys!)- they were our official tour guides and helped us with the fast passes and parent swap passes and such- LOVE the fast passes!

The classic Disneyland picture...

We didn't really see very many characters when we were there- not counting the parades, of course. As soon as Dallin saw Buzz, he went rigid and just stood there in shock and awe- fortunately daddy stood in line to meet him so we could stand off to the side at the front and get used to the idea of actually approaching this creature and posing for a picture. By the time it was our turn, Dallin was okay standing by Buzz, but as you can see from the picture, he still wasn't all that sure. As we left, he just stared and stared saying, "bye Buzz, bye-bye Buzz" as if in a trance.
I have a picture on Autopia with my mom when I was six years old... I remember thinking I was SO big to get to drive a car- as did Bryson and Dallin...
Our favorite ride by far- the Buzz Lightyear ride... I know- I'm not supposed to take pictures, but it was too cute to see Dallin-
Bryson was pretty impressed by this ride- he still says it was his favorite...
We were pretty bummed that Lightening McQueen isn't on display anymore- well I was at least- fortunately I hadn't told Byson and Dallin about him beforehand- they were pretty excited just to see all the stuff from Radiator Springs. They did get to see McQueen and Mater in the Pixar parade- Bryson about wet his pants I think.

All in all, it was a fantastic day. We had TWO rides break down on us! The first was the Pinocchio ride (what a weird movie)... the ride came to a stop 3/4ths of the way through and we were guided out by an (overly cautious) employee. I wanted to take pictures or something, but she wouldn't let me *grin* The other ride we got stuck on was Splash Mountain... It was the end of the day, Jami took Emma (5) and I took Bryson and 1/2 way up the very last hill before the big drop, the ride came to a screeching halt.... just off to the left was Brier Rabbit all tied up, with only the shadow of the foxes sharp teeth moving as he said "I'm gonna skin ya..." to which Brier Rabbit screamed, "You can do anything you want, but pleeeease don't throw me in the brier patch" and then the fox said, "then I'll roast ya...' over and over and over and over and Bryson and Emma just kinda sat there wide eyed for oh, about THIRTY minutes. It was crazy! Finally they at least shut off the audio and animation- and after a bit longer, we had to walk off the ride- it was kinda neat getting to see the inner workings of the ride I guess.
Bryson was thoroughly pooped at the end of the day. Fortunately we brought jammies for them to change in to when it got cold so we wouldn't have to deal with getting overly stimulated and exhausted kids in their pj's when we got home.
The only casualties of the day. Note to self: don't walk behind Bryson while wearing flip flops. You'd think I would have learned my lesson the first time. OUCH! And yes, I know my toes look awful- gimme a break, it was October- not exactly peak toe-bearing weather.

Part 2 - Those Beach Boys are full of it

What's all this I hear about the 'warm California sun?' As we were going through the Sierra-Nevada's near Mt. Shasta, it was snowing.... Bryson yelled, "Snow? I didn't know we'd get to play in the snow here too!!" Ummm, no. Sorry. We drove and drove and drove some more- the kids did so well- Bryson and Dallin barely made a peep except when they needed a snack or the video was over.

We stayed with one of Nathan's best friends Joel and his wife Trisha on Friday night... we got in late, and it was pretty darn cold that next morning- Nathan and I had seen a sign that said Sequoia National Park was only 29 miles ahead as we turned off for Joel and Trisha's house, so we decided we'd all go up for the day and have a picnic before driving the rest of the way to LA. Apparently it was supposed to be better to go the long way around to get to the park... further in distance, but shorter in time because the '29 miles ahead' route was full of switchbacks. So back into the car we piled. The way we went ended up not being shorter in time, but the route was beautiful- if not a little scary as we drove sharp winding roads up the side of the mountain- I got a little anxious a few times as I peered out my passenger side window at the sheer drop a few feet away. After a few hours of driving very curvy roads, Bryson said he didn't feel so good so we stopped for lunch and quickly learned there would be no chance for having a picnic- it was so stinking cold! Ya, I know we were at like 5000+ feet, but it was shocking just how cold it was- at least our lunch was fantastic- thanks Trisha for the yummy sandwiches. **Man, I'm hungry. I digress. Oh yes, the trees.** The trees were amazing! We saw the oldest and largest living organism in the world- Behold, the General Sherman:
This picture really doesn't do justice to the massiveness of the tree. And no, we didn't have another boy somewhere along the way- that's Joel & Trisha's cute little boy- he and Bryson had so much fun playing together- and he ended up in pretty much every picture we have *grin*
This is a branch that fell off the General Sherman- it's bigger around than most trees! Can you tell how stinking cold it was? Brrrrr.

Oh look, a rock to stand on! Bryson and Dallin thought this was so great- I think they were mostly just enjoying being out of the car.

This picture starts to actually show how ginormous these trees are- and this one was quite a bit smaller than the General- unfortunately you can't get close enough to the General for a good picture.
Joel, Austin, Nathan and Bryson in front of a toppled sequoia- We actually learned quite a bit about sequoia's from reading the National Park map we got as we entered the park... for instance, sequoia's are protected from forest fires, bugs and fungus by their thick bark, which can be up to 31 inches thick!- the major cause of death is from toppling because of their shallow root system, as was the case with this tree it is estimated to be 2500 years old! I could go on, but I'll spare you...

So we decided to go the switchbacky way out of the park since it was much more in the direction of LA where we were staying for the rest of our trip- we passed by a couple of black bears- one of which was maybe 10 feet from our car. It was neat- the boys were mildly amused.
Turns out going the way out that we did was far worse than the way we went in- it was switchback after switchback after switchback... I was so sick- we stopped several times just to make sure the kids weren't getting sick- the last thing I needed was a bunch of puking kids on our very long road trip... Having GPS in our car was almost worse- cause I could see every turn coming up- I had to take a picture...Note the '1/2 mile' scale in the bottom right corner.... It must have taken us an hour and a half to go maybe 10 miles.

So we drove and drove and drove some more- why exactly we chose to 'spend time' with Joel and Trisha by loading up in separate cars and drive more than we already had to, I'm not sure. Bottom line: if you're going to Sequoia, don't make that miserable drive for just a few hours.... stay for a few days and really enjoy the park. And don't go in the middle of October when it's freezing.

And then we drove and drove and drove some MORE. Finally we got in to LA... and about half an hour from where we were staying, Dallin started to cough, then gag and proceeded to throw up all over himself. Fabulous. Not one of my favorite parts about driving.

To be continued...

Part 1 - California Dreamin'

My hiatus from blogging hasn't all been laziness. We took a trip to sunny California for a CE course for Nathan and took the family along. We told Bryson about our plans a little too early, and as a result, we were peppered with questions about the details for weeks. Before school on the Thursday we were to leave, I told Bryson that after school, we'd pack his bags. As soon as we got home after school, Bryson disappeared inside. I was busy getting ready when I heard Bryson struggling out in the garage. I went out to find Bryson trying to heft a suitcase as big as him (literally- it was as big as him- he crawled inside and had daddy zip it up and take him for a ride the night before- kinda makes me panic-ey just thinking about it). He informed me when I asked him what he was doing that he was loading the car! He'd packed his suitcase and was ready to go! After a little discussion, we brought the suitcase back upstairs to check what he'd packed.... this was his underwear/sock/pajama drawer...
He'd packed every single pair of underwear and socks and 1/2 a pair of jammies into his suitcase... for some reason, he didn't think it necessary to pack more than 1/2 a pair...
I was just finishing up with something- I don't really remember what, but I told Bryson that as soon as I was done, I'd help him to pack... afterall, he needed pants and shirts and shoes.... So when I finished whatever I was doing, once again, I found Bryson trying to put his suitcases (this time he'd packed two, into the back of the van. This time, he'd managed to pack a few pair of pajamas, 2 shirts for him and 2 shirts for Dallin. And his 'Cars' slippers. Only the necessities.
We finally got on the road (yes, we drove to California) and boy was Bryson excited. Mostly because we'd borrowed a Leapster (kinda like a gameboy) from Bryson's cousin Karlie- it had been sitting on top of the fridge for 2 days with the promise that once we were on the road, he could play with it. So we were maybe 30 minutes down the road, when Bryson puts the Leapster down and asks, "how much longer until we get to California?" Priceless. After a good laugh by Nathan and I, I tell Bryson that we were going to drive all the rest of the day until bedtime, then stop and sleep in a hotel and then drive all day the next day until bedtime and then we'd be in California... silence from the backseat. I look back and Bryson's head is cocked to one side with a big smile on his face- he looks at me and says, "nooooooo, you're teasing!" I wish I were little buddy, I wish I were.

Everytime we stopped for gas, Bryson jumped out and washed the windows for us- suuuuch a big helper. Kind of.
To be continued...

Fun

We got a new swing set... new to us, but it's used. Hence us being able to justify buying it... it's a year old and we got a screaming deal since the previous owners were moving out of the country and had to sell. Sweet.
How many guys does it take to install a swing set you may ask? Actually, the guys had to lift the entire tower portion over the fence of the people we bought it from, and again over our fence into the backyard... Understandably, Nathan didn't want to take the entire thing apart.

Nevermind the ever lacking grass... I know what all you mom's are thinking... DANGEROUS! I really had no intention of actually having it put together until we put in the grass in the spring, but since the tower part wasn't taken apart, and I KNEW I wouldn't be able to keep Bryson off it, may as well put the rest of it together, right?? No surprisingly, our first accident already happened... in Dallin's very first contact with the entire structure, he went to swing on his belly and was a little off centered and top heavy, so he face planted right over the other side of the swing. Ouch- especially since it was on a hard rocky ground. I can't wait to have grass.

So when Dallin nosedived off the swing, I put Eli down to console my screaming 2 year old... and turned around to this:
A mouthful of dirt and rocks in his mouth sure makes for a happy boy!
Dallin quickly got over it and was quite excited to swing... but (to my relief) seems a little reserved about climbing up into the tower...
Bryson has already deemed the tower part his "Rescue Center"... Thanks Diego.
Eli loved watching the kids play and swing.... and he loved sneaking in a bite of dirt here and there. You can actually see his bottom teeth really well in this picture.... at least you can if you zoom in...

tub time

We put all three boys in the tub together for the first time tonight. Well, sorta. Eli had his own tub within the tub.They all had so much fun- Eli especially. And it was a lot easier for me too. Mmmmm, I love me some clean kids!

To avoid confusion

Bryson made a sign and glued it (with a washable glue stick) to the door of Nathan's car. He explained that it was so that everyone would know that this was Nathan's car.Here's the sign:
He first wrote the 'NAT' and since he'd ran out of room, added the 'HAN' right above it...

Priceless.

controverisal

There are a lot of very one sided controversial pieces of propaganda out there. And I think that the following video on youtube is one of them. That being said, it is still very educational and sums up the current financial situation we are all in right now fairly well. Not that I'm the biggest President Bush fan, but I always kinda feel bad for the way all the blame gets dumped on him... ummm, I thought that this was the USA and that the president really couldn't do much without the congress acting-- and our congress for most all of his 8 years has been a democratic majority.

Do yourself a favor before you watch the video...

1. Mute the music. It just adds to the 'propaganda' feeling.

2. Hover your mouse pointer over the pause button- the video goes pretty fast, and it's all reading- it helps to be able to pause to read things.

3. The very end (when the screen turn blue) is total propganda and in my opinion kinda discredits the rest of the video. The beginning says to watch til the end, but I think the end almost ruins it- My whole point in passing along this video is to show that this financial mess is not just the presidents fault. I hate politics and the finger pointing and all that. Ugh.

Oh, and for clarification ('cause Nathan and I were both confused at first...) a 'subprime' loan is a loan given to borrowers who are riskier, ie: lower income etc.

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/TheMouthPeace

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Home Sweet Home

Emily and I got back home late last night, and boy am I glad to be home. The trip was good-productive- progress was made in Emily's case, and we even squeezed in a little fun in downtown Seattle, but I missed Nathan and Bryson and Dallin so much...

Wednesday night when I was talking to the boys at bedtime, Daddy put Dallin on the phone- telephone conversations at this point with Dal are a little one sided and pretty much consist of him repeating whatever the person on the other end of the phone says...

Our conversation went as follows:

Mommy: Hi Dallin!

Dallin: Eye Ma-Mee (hi mommy)

Mommy: How are you doing?

Dallin: oo-in (doing)

Mommy: Did you go to Mimi's today?

Dallin: Mimi's ah-ay (Mimi's today)

Mommy: I miss you Dallin

Dallin: iss ow aa-in (miss you Dallin)

Mommy: I love you Dallin (and here's where it gets absolutely priceless)

Dallin: I of ow too ma-mee (I love you too mommy)

It really caught me completely off guard that he would respond that way and made me being away just that much harder- As difficult as it was being away though, it really was good for me because it gave me a little break to really make me realize just how much I cherish my kids and the stages they're in right now.

Bryson and Dallin were both in bed when I got home last night, and when they got up this morning, they both headed downstairs... after a few minutes, Bryson saw something of mine and I heard him say, "Look Dal, Mommy's home!"- he came running upstairs and jumped in bed with me and cuddled for a few minutes- Dallin was more excited to see Eli I think, because he just kept running into Eli's room looking for him- but the little stinker was in bed with me- once Dallin realized that, he crawled on my bed and he and Bryson took turns mauling Eli.

It's good to be home.

Mista Willa-bee

So Emily and I just finished watching the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice. Six hours long, and to be honest, there were many parts where I had no clue whatsoever they were talking about, but I love love loved it. I think I'll read the book.

It reminded me of a hilarious snl bit that poked fun at Jane Austen-esc movies- It had us laughing pretty good... if you've ever seen an Austen movie or read the book (and have any sense of humor whatsoever), watch this- be patient, it's worth the wait.

Here's me standing up for what I believe in

I'm really not a fan of politics. I think I've said that on my blog before. That being said, this is a really important election, and I see and hear so many people who have really surprised me with their choice of candidate. It doesn't change what I really think about them, just surprised me and left me wondering what their motives are for choosing their particular candidate- but since I generally avoid confrontation at all costs and political discussions can quickly turn confrontational, I generally don't ask.

My dad recently emailed me this youtube video- click the link and watch it. It expresses my sentiments nearly perfectly- and I'm not Catholic! I'm certainly very worried about the economy- how could we not be after four years of dental school loans, a mortgage and business loan? We'd like to pay those off someday. But my anxieties over our financial situation will never trump matters of far greater eternal consequence.