Fabulous... but worth it? Heck YES!

My dear friend Mary (aka Faux Sister) visited last weekend. I LOVE HER!! I laughed so hard I snorted on several occations, which is slightly mortifying. Mary is constantly trying to steal Nathan, he would fit in nicely in their family.. so she says. Mary is also unbelievably talented as a photographer. She did a photo shoot with the kids.
Check out this shot... I'm totally blowing this one up for our house.
And probably all of these too...


Today I got a CD of the pics she took, and they are UNBELIEVABLE and amazing. My kids were not very cooperative for her, but she just captured their personalities perfectly on film. I'm so grateful... but the question is.. just how grateful am I? Because on the CD was written "For payment: Please send me one four old boy". HA! She's funny. After looking at the pics... I've decided.. it was worth it. We will sure miss Nathan, but we have great pics to remember him by.

Been tagged.... 7 randoms

I've been tagged by my pal Carly.

Instructions: These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

My Seven...

1. I never had an official High School Graduation.

2. I sunk the log boat on Splash Mountain at Disneyland back in the early 90's, causing the ride to be shut down for the rest of the day. FYI... They have cameras all over the rides, and well... they don't like hi-jinks at Disneyland.

3. I babysat for a movie star's kids. They had this amazing old home, and I would wander around after the kids were asleep and pretend it was my house. My house now has a lot of the same architectural elements from that house.

4. Growing up being the baby of the family and the only girl.... has made me a bit spoiled. ;)

5. I do not bake well. I can cook, and can definitely BBQ, but baking just doesn't work for me.

6. I almost became a fashion designer instead of an accountant.

7. I've driven a Ferrari on several occasions, and ridden in an 18 wheeler.

As far as tagging, it will just have to wait!

Raise your glass to the Ya Ya's!!

Last weekend was our biannual girl's weekend. For the first time, held in Salt Lake... which meant I got to go on a plane just like an adult. Steph and I flew together which was awesome, even though she wouldn't hold my hand during take-off. Steph and I are the only ones left in California of the Ya Ya's. I was trying to think how our friendship began, and I think it was our Book Club that cemented our friendship. First book I think the book club read was Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. There is something very refreshing about being with people who know all your faults, your secrets, and your hopes, and they still love you anyway. I can not describe how much I miss having everyone local. This is potentially our last belly shot, as this may be the last of the petit Ya Ya's to be born. Weird that we were just starting our families, or in my case avoiding starting a family when we all met. And in keeping with tradition, we got a surprise at 1am with this lovely note and a fireworks show put on by Brooke's husband, who is lovingly teaching his sons to "scare mommy" at her girls weekends. This note cracked me up.... because it pretty much is an accurate representation of what takes place at Girl's weekend. Then on to Ross's Company Picnic. It's held at a Ranch, and the kids always have a blast. Here is Nathan with the petting zoo, and that Lamb kept "Yelling at me" according to Nathan.

This was a bouncehouse that had sprinklers and was like a very tricked out slip'n'slide.

And we fed the horses...

And went for Pony Rides. ....
This picture of AK pretty much just summed it all up. Chocolatey Snacks + Animals = FUN
If your wondering about AK's Micheal Jackson Glove, it's covering a bad burn. Poor girl... we've spent many hours at the burn clinic getting it healed up. She actually seems to enjoy wearing a glove, it's just another acessory to her.

And isn't this picture YUMMY! It's all stuff from my garden. My neighbor and I planted "companion gardens" this year. Check out the lone cucumber. If any of you want tomatos or bell peppers, please please come by. I'm fearing we are going to be drowning in them. Off to Girls Camp...

Summer... how do I love thee..

We spent the day with our pal Cindy and her cute family at the beach. It was a GORGEOUS day. We talked, laughed, and cursed... the only thing missing was a tall cold beverage. Cindy is awesome, and I wish she was my neighbor... Boo on all of you who live far away. Nathan is doing AWESOME at Swim Lessons. I am totally relieved. His teacher is awesome, and something this past month clicked, and now he WANTS to go underwater. This is Nathan at his Birthday dinner. We asked him to pick where he wanted to go. He said on his own, that he wanted to go to In-n-Out. *wipes away tears of joy* Ross and I are so proud of the good choices he makes... especially In-n-Out over McDonalds. Hooray!! He's not easily won over by marketing gimmicks of Happy Meal Toys... well unless it's Disney, or those blasted Power Rangers.
Case in point.. here he is wearing Nemo PJ's (a birthday gift from 2 years ago) and his Toy Story Doll. Check out those sheets... they were mine when I was young!!

Happy 4th of July! The kids sit on the doorstep for the annual 4th of July pic. AK's outfit is compliments of Brooke. When she gave it to AK two years ago, I don't think she expected that it would finally fit on AK's 2 years later. But AK is growing at her own pace. Look at that head of curly hair AK's got.... I have had the worst case hair envy of every toddler I met since November, I am sure people thought I was psycho staring at their kids hair all the time. But that envy is going away because she has adorable locks! And it's far curlier! The dogs and kids could not coordinate a good shot with all of them. So with my mad Photoshop skills, I've taken the best dog and kid pics and separated them. Notice Skoopi is giving the "I'm neglected, and the girl thinks I'm her horse... save me please" eyes, and Sandy is just looking pissed as usual with her "I used to be the da-bomb at this house... if you don't believe me check out the woman of the house's scrapbook pages about me. I have a freaking baby book... even the kids don't have that" look. Can you believe Sandy is almost 11?
Then our birthday celebration with Nathan on Saturday. We made his birthday a 3 day event. We made cupcakes with Superman paper tins. Notice Nathan has obviously sampled the frosting.
Nathan paused for about 2 seconds to let me take a pic of his presents. I CAN NOT believe we bought him a Power Ranger set. It goes against every moral fiber I have, but he really really really wanted it. Thank goodness the Power Rangers started to break in the first hour they were played with. Also... because several Disney Execs read this blog, the Woody Doll has been a favorite. Way to go. Seriously, when are you going to start forking over this stuff for free with all the advertising I give you guys.... (ahem.. cough cough... we still need Woody's horse.. cough cough)
And then a new haircut for me. The lady swears my forehead isn't too large for the side swept bangs a la Katie Holmes. I think she was just hoping for a big tip... or maybe she's just jealous of my ginormous brain.

And now you are Four!

Dear Nathan,

And today you are Four. It was Four years ago, that we sat in a hospital waiting room with your birthgrandfather and waited your arrival. The doctor updated us at about 5pm and said you should arrive between 6 and 9pm. You had to do things your way and arrived at 9:01pm. The doctor brought out your perfect footprints. You were born into unique circumstances and loved by a whole team of people. We saw your birthmom first and then walked into a room where a nurse handed you over to dad. He started to unwrap your blanket and wanted to count your fingers and toes. Your dad was totally hogging you!! Today, we pause and give thanks to your birthmom. Your dad eloquently stated that "she is one of our favorite women on the planet" because she placed you into our family. We spent a short time with her over a few months, but we feel like we've known her forever.

In four years, you have come a LONG way!! You are in one word... EXUBERANT! You take life by the horns, and you do things your way. You have been a challenge as you are stubborn and aggressive, just like your mom and dad. However my sweet boy, you are also a JOY. We have the best time together, and you are a riot to play with.

Nathan, there are many successes and challenges ahead of you in life, but you will do just fine, because already at 4, you are wise and know what you want out of life. You are a born leader. We have bets that you will be President of the USA, an Actor, or run a Fortune 500 company. Your dad and I have big hopes and dreams for you. (shh... dad hopes it involves basketball and the Lakers... ) and we are here for you to help make those dreams happen.

We love you Booboo.

Mummy & Daddy

Slip'n'Slide Skills

First a plug for Nathan's Preschool's Summer Program... aka Sports Camp. Nathan LOVED it. I awoke at 5am to see Nathan sitting on my bed completely dressed and holding out the sunscreen. "Mom, time to go to Sports Camp!" If any of you locals are looking for something fun and affordable for your 3-5 year olds... this is it.

Then an actual conversation that we had:

N: Ooo look at the one with the Shark mouth. Get that one.

W: *looking at the steep $40 price tag* Uh, I don't know... Let's get the Beginner Slip'n'Slide.

N: Can we get the Shark one later?

W: Maybe, it depends on how good you get at your Slip'n'Slide skills. If you're really good at it, we can upgrade.

N: I'm gonna practice a lot, and become a Professional at the Slippery Slide.

(where on earth did he learn to use the term Professional?)

And here is Nathan, who surprisingly, was a natural at the Slip'n'Slide.

And then... we know we are awful mean parents, but some things you gotta push your children to try... just once... (also, notice Ross's perfect form as he catapults Amanda down the Slip'n'Slide)She'll forgive us one day... like maybe when she and Nathan when the gold medal for Pairs Slip'n'Slide at the Summer Olympics 2018.

Eventually, she did forgive us. Here she is trying to teach Skoopi to talk on the phone. Which incidentally, while all the Slip'n'Slide action was going on... Ross was over in the garden poking around. He kept telling me, "it's nothing". Turns out he was chasing a mouse. I DO NOT DO MICE. Turns out it was a mouse family. Skoopi, seen below is apparently an avid hunter, because she caught several of them and brought them to Sandy, who then guarded them. Currently, I have the dogs on lockdown. Hearing them come through the doggie door and not knowing what may or may not be in there mouth is just way too much for my control freak personality.