By the time these things hit the market, I was too BIG for them.


I would have LOVED this as a kid.
We have Auntie Shelli to THANK!
She is the one responsible for this madness.

Last year, Jaden REALLY wanted the Jeep.
This year, at first it was a Quad until he saw the
John Deere Gator
and Beckam could have the Jeep.

There was no way in my practical brain,
I could let him get ANOTHER one.
So I explained to him that these vehicles cost
a lot of money and that he's SO lucky to even have his Jeep.
His solution:
"We can sell the Jeep and use the money we get to buy The Gator."
I had to give him some credit for that one.

He talked about it non-stop and when his
Fairy Godmother asked him what he wanted,
he told her!
I told her it wasn't reasonable.
She told me she wanted to get him what he wanted
and since that's what it was, she was going to get it.

We do live in the ideal location right now for these machines.
The boys really do LOVE them!

Yes, I absolutely considered selling the Jeep but truly for what we could get for it, I'd rather just let Beckam enjoy it for the remainder of our time here.
The Jeep has been well-loved and it shows!
Jaden once tried to pull an enormous Oak tree out with it.
He attached the chain that was around the tree to the PLASTIC KC lights--The TREE Won! The roll bar snapped.

The last thing Beckam said before his nap,
"I want to drive the Gator."
The first thing Beckam said when he woke up,
"I want to drive the Gator."
The last thing Beckam said before he went to bed,
"I want to drive the Gator."
You get the picture.

This kid really has AMAZING driving skills. He's not even 2 yet!

And he likes to go, "FAST!"
I try putting it in slow gear and he asks,
"Go FAST?" as he reaches down for the shifter.
Why not, he can do it.

Jaden is such a GOOD sport about letting Beckam drive, too!

Dear Santa,
Zorro
cazone
cowboy gun. (1st revision)

This is the extent of Jaden's
Christmas Wish List.
Seems pretty manageable, right Santa?
"Zorro" was previously referred to as "a Phantom Cowboy costume," apparently from a Scooby-Doo book he has. But "the Phantom's" ensemble looks much like Zorro's so after a brief discussion, he changed it to Zorro, as in the costume.
(He's not requesting that the actual character come join our family, though he'd probably really like that).
Cazone is well just a made-up word.
So Santa, it looks like you've pretty much got it made!!
Although, after inquiring if Santa just brings one gift that you really, really want, he led me to the bike section at WalMart and had a mighty fine racing bike picked out so this list may be revised in the near future. We'll keep you posted.

I find it so interesting that
Jaden just isn't much into toys.
He LOVES his playmobil pirate treasure chest, his legos, his bike, the Gator (stay tuned for that post), swords and all manner of weaponry--Nerf guns, bow and arrow, dagger... (though he's NOT violent with them, he just likes to carry them IN his pants in the unlikely event that he might need to take on some bad guys).

(I suppose, too that the recent birthday might be a good explanation for such a short list)
What are on your kids Wish Lists this year?

Hey Florida (Dan, Sarah and Savannah), Here We Come!!

Micah made it to Nationals
in the American Bar Association
Negotiation Competition!
He competed in November
in San Diego, placing 2nd
against 24 teams and was notified today
that he's going to Nationals in February to compete again!
Way to Go Micah!!!
It will be held in Miami, which is so lucky because we've been trying to think of a good excuse to go visit Dan, Sarah and Savannah!

*Babysitting job goes to the highest bidder--
you may start the bidding now.

Clever Cute Boys

Beckam Scott

1. So I was in our home "library" (as my dad likes to refer to the bathroom) with the door locked enjoying my privacy (which I do OCCASIONALY-when Micah is home) as I was getting ready for the day. It's like an automatic response--as soon as that door shuts, no matter what he's doing or where he is, Beckam must open it and if it's locked, he must yell, "Open it. I want to come in!" and pound on it incessantly. This was one such day and the next thing I know, the door unlocks and opens with Beckam standing in the doorway and the car keys dangling from the knob.
2. I hand Beckam a granola bar, his response--"I don't want that monkey bar!" (monkey bar, granola bar, whatever)
3. When he says anyone in our family's name, it's followed by, "boy." So we have: Daddy Boy or Micah Boy, Jaden Boy, he calls himself Beckam Boy and yes, I'm Mommy Boy.
   
4. "Beckam, did you have fun with Papa John?" "Pop Pop cute," in a small little voice with eyes squinted. When you ask him about people he likes, he always says they're cute with the voice and the eyes.
   

Jaden McKay Maika'i
I go into the boys room Friday morning and tell them good morning. Jaden says, "Mom, can I tell you something?" "Yes, what do you want to tell me?" "Last night, Hannah gave me the rest of the macaronni and cheese and I said, 'I love you.'"
Hannah is our standing Thursday night babysitter that we LOVE!
She's 12
she's adorable,
she's sweet,
she cooks,
she has 3 brothers so she knows about boys,
she has an AWESOME family
and obviously the boys LOVE her, too!
Micah's trying to negotiate a deal with her parents for her to move to Monterey with us.
She will be coming with us when we move to help and hang out for awhile.

We had TWO very delicious Thanksgiving feasts in ONE day!
What could be better than that?
Leftovers the next day!

...until this happened:

This is my sister armed and ready for the FIRST dirty job she faces this night

It was all fun and games until it happened to me, too!
5 people in ONE house hit at BOTH ends with something NASTY.

The bright side:

NO EXTRA LBS. FOR ME THIS THANKSGIVING!

(Too often, I get the flu at Thanksgiving. But each year, I remain optimistic.
I begged family not to curse me this year by reminding me of it--no such luck.)

In other news:
From this
to THIS
(the Stainless set from Costco)
THANK YOU
Dad and Sandy,
we're enjoying them already!
We'll bring a lid to wrap and put under the tree.

Birthday Highlights

Birthday Eve:
Micah's decorating job

side note:
Beckam sleeps in his own big-boy bed...
unless he falls off onto Jaden's bed down below
(surprisingly the transition has been perfect--even naps!)

In the morning, we heard the boys awake just as Jaden was making his way into our room with his NEW playmobil submarine from Papa John and Ma-Maw that he and his little accomplice had already opened. Then it was to the bathtub...
It dives under the water and has a motor so it can cruise along the bottom

We got Jaden a volcano eruption kit,
though it appears it doubles as a hat, also.
Beckam came up with this all on his own and drove around in his little car wearing it for at least half an hour.

I know I was busy with birthday preparations, too
but here is the baker busy at work:
Oh, how I'll miss his student schedule!!
Any guesses on what it is?
The finished product!
a non-hydrogenated nuclear submarine
with fish and other sea creatures swimming around below.
How I love THIS man, who baked his son's birthday cake
ALL from scratch.

THE FESTIVITIES
A bowling party at the MU complete with pizza, cake, ice cream
and chocolate milk or root beer.
There was even a special guest appearance from Papa John, which made Jaden's day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY little Honey Bear
(he told me he likes it when I call him that)
I LOVE YOU because you're:

• a GREAT Big brother
• clever and smart
• tough as nails
• my little monkey--coordinated and energetic
  
• so thoughtful and kind
• a good problem-solver and communicator
• protective
  
• a GREAT friend
  

"Hi, Mimi!"

I wanted to see if this outfit would fit Beckam. After he was dressed he said, "mirror."
He only took his eyes off himself to look at the camera when I told him to say, "Hi Mimi."


I can see a resemblance of me as a toddler here.

Macaroni and Tomato

MOM and AUNTIE, you'll be proud:

This was the meal requested by MICAH yesterday--there's no doubt, he's part of our family!
This meal was a staple in my family growing up:
elbow macaroni and tomato juice with cottage cheese on top
It's Jaden's favorite.
While he usually sits down for dinner and begins listing off everything he doesn't want to eat (though he's getting better after being excused from the table for it) , tonight I think he thanked me for dinner at least three times and before he even finished half his bowl was asking if he could have more, which he did and more after that.

It IS good stuff!

To Stick or Not to Stick

That is the question.

I'm in desperate need of new pots and pans. A friend of mine is so good about keeping us abreast of great deals on Amazon and she posted this one again. I haven't made the purchase because I can't decide if I should go for the non-stick or stainless steel (yes, of course they're more expensive--story of my life, which is why I haven't just ordered them by now). I know the non-stick are so convenient but I have a bit of a concern about the health issues related to the Teflon. Any of you have any input or opinions on the matter? PLEASE. I've done some research and it seems that if you replace the non-stick before it starts to wear off, you're okay but I'm not so good about doing that. I HAVE to decide and get rid of my current hodge podge of worn non-stick cookware that's probably poisoning our family daily.

Beckam picking up a small red flame-shaped leaf:
"Fire, hot, leaf burn me."

Vehicular Saga

When it happened a month ago, I didn't think it was really blog worthy but now it IS!! Read on and on and on....

Over a month ago actually, we went over to the Dyer's for Sunday dinner. They live about 20 min. away. After a very lovely dinner (which I made myself tonight--Thanks Carrie), we headed for home.

We drove out of their neighborhood and down the road about a mile, putting us on a road between a new uninhabited housing development and a wall surrounding their neighborhood. Just as we approached the stop sign, the Daewoo died. Our kids were tired. It was dark. I wanted to get home. So I picked up the cell phone and called our trusty Roadside Assistance (which is the best investment we've ever made. I keep thinking they're going to tell us we've used it all up but they just keep coming to our rescue for a meesley $5/month or something ridiculous. USAA is the best auto insurance on the planet I'm sure. They write us a check at the end of every year to reimburse us if the company made more than they expected and our rates are cheaper than any I've ever seen!). We also called Jeromy to come pick up me and the kids to take us home while Micah waited for the tow truck. True to form, things got more complicated for us from there.

I'd left Micah with our house key so we had to go through the process of having an RA retrieve our key from the office and let us in. I got the boys ready for bed and thought it was so sweet of Jaden to remember to pray that the tow truck driver got our car and that daddy would come home safely. Later, I found out how timely that prayer was and how helpful it might have been.

Shortly after the kids and I left, Micah got out of the car to go for a little walk to check out the new developments. He was about 30 yards behind the car, up a little dirt hill along the road, when a black SUV passed him, pulled up directly behind the Daewoo and turned it's lights off. He started back towards the car, when he got a sinking feeling in his stomach as he noticed that the car had no license plates and nobody was getting out. Instead he stopped and waited. He waited for what ended up being 45 min. There was no where for him to run safely and why he didn't just call the police, I don't know but he did call and talk to his family who were visiting his brother Dan in Florida. When the tow truck finally arrived, the SUV flipped on its lights and sped away!?! What was it doing?!!!!

The Daewoo still remains in the shop. The timing belt broke and bent the pistons or something so the engine had to be taken out and fixed (or something MAJOR like that) but we figured having it repaired was cheaper than buying a new car or at least we could sell it and get "something" out of it.

So, last weekend we made a trip to Bakersfield for Darron's 3oth Suprise Birthday Party. The quad he received from his awesome wife had nothing to do with us going either. But we had to rent a car get there. I'm thinking now that we should have known renting a car from a place called "Dollar" wasn't the best idea. Five miles down the road, we realize the tank is empty when they marked "Full" on the contract. They agreed to reimburse us for that. However, when we called them again on Sun. to tell them our tire was flat, they told us we didn't purchase that coverage so we'd have to take care of it (we'd put air in it already on Fri). This ended up being an all day affair. We finally resorted to fix-a-flat, borrowing Scott's air compressor for the drive home "just in case," taking the 99 "just in case," and not exceeding 65 mph. We made it home...at 3 O'Clock in the morning!! No complications just lots of little stops to check on it. (It really doesn't seem like "Dollar" inspects or maintains their cars very well. My bro-in-law rented one from them the previous week in which the tires had not been well-maintained either).

The rental had to be returned by 8pm on Mon. We pick up Jaden from school with hopes of returning by 5:30 in time for Micah's class and head to the Dyer's house where we'd parked our working car (a 1990 Toyota Corolla) after we picked up the rental. I'm driving the rental and Micah's following in the Corolla. We drive out of the Dyer's neighborhood and drive down that same road I mentioned previously, approaching that same stop sign I also mentioned previously. I stop and then notice Micah waving at me from behind. At this point you could just cut and paste the previous story from "as we were approaching the stop sign..." including the part where "the car speeds off."

Yes folks, at the same intersection, at the same stop sign, the Corolla, too...died. Luckily, this time we had another car with us because we did not have the cell phone. We return to the Dyer's and call...dun dun dundun...Roadside Assistance!! Micah goes back to wait for the tow truck. No sooner had he pulled up behind the Corolla, than a red truck this time, pulls up directly behind him and sits. No one gets out. Micah was the speeding car in this story. He came back to the Dyer's and returned just as the tow truck was pulling up. The truck was gone!

OK--WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!!

We kept the rental to get us home. The Corolla was fixed today. We are now rental car free!!

I threatened not to leave the Dyer's house until Micah bought us a new car but alas ONE is fixed once again and according to him is "driving better than it's driven in years." After this, I honestly don't know what it will take for us to get something newer (not NEW, that will probably never happen).

Trick-Or-Treat

Foreword:
This blog is dedicated to my Grandma. We are very Best Friends!
She is 83. My dad prints off each entry and delivers it to her that very day.
She keeps them in a 3-ring binder and calls me everyday to talk about it.
So if you're sick of seeing so many pictures of us--my apologies--they're
for Grandma's viewing pleasure. Of course, all our family lives in distant lands
and appreciates the regular updates. Grandma Kip is now in South Africa.
My mom is currently in Seattle where she and my aunt have been for the last month +.
They are identical twins. My aunt has multiple myeloma. Three weeks ago my mom
donated her stem cells to my aunt. Auntie has begun the process of engrafting,
indicating that her body is producing new blood cells, which is good news,
however, she was recently admitted to ICU because of some complications.
We miss them and hope that they'll be returning sooner than later,
healthy and well! Love you Mom!!

Solano Park Halloween Party
featuring the
UC Davis Marching Band-Uh

THIS is why we love them so!
They are SO entertaining

Look at this handsome cowboy!
and his horse:

This is how we traveled tonight:

Beckam thought we could use some help with

this load so he got out and started pushing

What a Month-O-Fun!
We lived it up!
Now we're tired.

Until next year...

Jack-O-Lantern

"Aargh, Happy Halloween Matey"
Lately, it's been nearly impossible to get a decent picture of both boys in the same picture.
This was the best of what we had to choose from.

Here are only SOME of the others:

Happy Halloween

2006
Giddy-up Cowboys

(notice we even have our horse-Jaden's idea)

HALLOWEENS OF OLD
(My apologies for the poor quality of some of these photos--scanner isn't cooperating)

2005
The Bat Family

2004

Jaden's sick on Halloween
(He would've been a Lion and thankfully I'd ditched the
pregnant Dorothy and Tin Man or Scare Crow plan)

2003

Dino Jaden, Captain John Smith, my niece the leopard and Grandma Witch
(Micah got out of this one)

2002
The Rubble Family

Barney and Bam Bam

Barney, Betty and Bam Bam

2001
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

16 days before Jaden's birth
(At 37 wks., I felt much like Tweedle Dum
so we went with it--5 min. before the party!)