Dinner

I lacked the energy and motivation tonight to come up with a well organized and thought-out meal.
and so this is what happened.
(oh, and I don't typically make dual dinners. the kids eat what we eat or at least a version of it. but exceptions are fun, too).
I finally made my way into the kitchen and decided to make my favorite Plutos salad for the third night in a row along with Trader's Joe's most scrumptious cornbread. because that's what sounded good. and for the kids: french toast with morning star breakfast patties and fresh strawberries.
and everyone was happy.
especially micah and I with our salad.
(this is supposed to read, "especially me and micah with our salad" or "micah and me..." isn't it? but I can't bring myself to write that).

in case you're interested, the salad includes:
fresh spinach leaves
mixed with hearts of romaine
sliced beats
garbanzo beans
Gorgonzola crumbles
raisins. lots of them.
persian-style cucumbers
strawberries
slivered almonds
tossed with a combination of
Balsamic/Gorgonzola vinegarette
YUM!
and all the ingredients can be found at Trader Joe's.
my favorite grocer.

Big Sur

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

but don't think you can get down to the beach--it's just to look at.
(and it's very clear that if you have to be rescued trying, you will be fined.
reminded me of my dad telling me as a child that if I rode my bike out of the circle of our cul-de-sac and got hit by a car, I'd get a spanking before going to the hospital).

Limekiln State Park

if you live in CA and have never been, you really should go!
Big Sur is SO beautiful.
but going when you're 32 weeks pregnant probably isn't the BEST time.
trying to sleep is pretty annoying with a pregnancy bladder but other than that,
it was FABULOUS!

The boys were in heaven and totally in their element.
we're glad we live so close and in the non-summer months, it's much easier to get reservations.
There is a beutiful creek flowing through the campground into the ocean
so you get to cross a lot of logs on the hike up to the waterfall
(my balance was also a little compromised--
there were no incidents but I felt a little wobbly with my extra weight up front)
having hannah with us was a dream.
that extra body and set of eyes was so much help with 5 kids!
THANK YOU HANNAH!
the adults even got Sat. night out once we returned from camping.
she will be missed!!
Micah testing his skills trying to get to the upper pool of the waterfall.
going up wasn't near as intimidating as the way back downThe Faithful Limekiln Campers
Our Family.I'll have to post some better pregnancy pictures soon.

Please remember that this is the work of

Team Scott and Shelli, who did all of this in 2 days--
we cannot take any credit for their skills
nor can we adequately express our gratitude for their care and kindness!
(and be advised that if you ask me to come over to help you decorate, you would be sorely disappointed with my ability--numerous friends have made such flattering requests but this talent my friends is not genetic)

The Master
The Blue Bathroom
(and I mean BLUE)

Charger Found!!

So here are some pictures of the house

(though it's very hard to capture the rooms in segments):

The guest room

The Living/Dining Rooms
a few more later...

"You're Grounded!"

an account by micah:

I learned tonight that it may still be too early to start "grounding" Jaden; or at least to use words like that without a more precise definition . . .

After receiving a plate of cookies from a neighbor a few days ago, Beckam and I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for all FOUR of our neighbors (that's right, there are only four neighbors on our cul-de-sac). While out delivering and visiting, Jaden and Beckam were slowly overcome with wildness. Nothing terrible, just not what we wanted our first impression to be.

For example, Jaden started playing the piano without asking first; He and Beckam were literally running crazy around another backyard; and Beckam began throwing fistfuls of little rocks from their gravel bed.

In re-telling it, it doesn't sound so bad, but it really was embarrassing. I suppose the impression they left must not have been too bad since both offered to watch the kids anytime and for them to come back to play whenever (or perhaps they were just being gracious).

So anyway, upon returning home I told them that their behavior was unacceptable and that if it happpened again they would be "grounded." I elaborated by explaining that the neighbor boy couldn't come over (which he has pretty much every day since we moved in), that he couldn't watch any movies or have any other privileges.

All of a sudden, he ran off to his bedroom, jumped under the covers (covering his head) crying great heaving sobs.

When I went in to talk to him, he managed to get out: "You said you'd ground me. You're not supposed to ground people unless they do really, really bad things like stealing." He wondered if being grounded meant that he would never ever be able to play with Daniel again for his whole life. He was sure if he were to be grounded it would kill him because he wouldn't be able to drink water and you die without drinking water.

I reassured him that being grounded doesn't mean you can't eat and drink, only that you lose fun privileges like watching movies or playing with friends.

His response: It would be impossible to drink water or eat if Iwas buried in the ground.----OHH, my poor little man! How could he possibly imagine that we would literally GROUND him as a means of disciplining!?

He had a preconceived notion of what grounding was, despite my best efforts to further elaborate on what "grounding" really is (kind of like a time-out that lasts all day). Then I even told him that he needn't worry about it because he wouldn't be grounded until he was older and that his good decisions would prevent him from getting grounded anyway.

He seemed okay and so I finished putting them to bed.

Shortly, I heard the sobs again so I went back in. He was STILL crying about the threat of being grounded. He said, "If I do it just one more time I'll be grounded - I don't even get any chances?" After discussing it a little more he asked:
"So do people that do really bad things like stealing get grounded and put in the ground?"

So the point is, be careful using terms that may have literal connotations to a five-year-old.

We Are Alive

And Well!!

Sadly, in the last month between extended vacations to Bakersfield and the move, we can't find our camera charger, hopefully it's just temporarily misplaced but I have no pictures to post as a result. But after a month, an update is in order pictures or not!

First and foremost, Micah finished the BAR!! We'll know November 16 (Jaden's birthday), if he passed, although Adam claims to have already received a call from the Bar Assoc. to say a congratulations is in order.

We are now not only living in our new place but after only 9 short days are feeling quite settled thanks to the 15 members of my family that so kindly came to help us. We are loving the space and were able to pack 13 people in here overnight--the other two weren't so brave.

My mom and 14 year old nephew, Shawn were such troopers--they came two days before we moved to help us and stayed with us for 3 days after. They didn't stop working until their heads hit the pillow each night. My dad and Sandy were also so kind to come the day we moved in to deliver some new furniture we needed to fill our living room and were also a great help. Scott, Shelli and all 4 kids plus Grandma Doris as a bonus surprise, also came to deliver yet more stuff--washer/dryer, refrigerator (since the house came with one, I now have TWO, one in the garage. VERY exciting!), dressers, etc. I'm a very lucky girl, Scott and Shell wasted no time getting the decor in place, which included at least 5 trips to various stores for new stuff.
YOU will have to come visit to experience the coziness for yourself. I'm severely lacking in the creative/decorating dept. and my sister is truly gifted and also extremely thoughtful.kind.generous and I'm so grateful for Team Scott and Shelli in my life!!!
They relieve so much stress and make things beautiful. Even down to how she situated the furniture--ways I would have never even considered. sad but true.

About the house, we have three bedrooms, 2 baths and a good size living room along with a two car garage--washer and dryer inside and a huge (unlandscaped. who cares.) backyard. Micah is only 2 miles from his office, we're 5 min. from the beach AND only three blocks from Jaden's school--what more could a girl ask for?! We're HAPPY!

Jaden has already started school. Originally we weren't supposed to move until Aug. 6 but when we came to find our housing and found the school he would be attending, we realized they have year round school here and it started Aug. 6! So we up'd our move date to the 2nd--exactly one week after Micah finished the Bar. It's been crazy busy to say the least but with all the help we've had, it's been amazingly smooth and low-stress. Jaden is happy at his new school even though it's all day kindergarten, 8-2, which makes me so grateful that he had last year to prepare! He's starting off this year in a good place. He was excited about hot lunch for the first 3 days until he realized that cafeteria food wasn't all that delicious, except maybe Pizza Wednesdays!

The fam. left last Sunday and on Wed. we were able to welcome our first visitors, The Kearns, BYU-Hawaii friends from Utah. We enjoyed a fabulous visit with them and have spent the last three days showing off this beautiful new area we get to call home. I'm even really enjoying the weather!! I thought I'd freeze but it's proving to be a pregnant girls dream starting out around 60 degrees in the morning and reaching the low 70's by afternoon some days. Luckily, we live in the sunbelt so we get the most sunshine in the area!

Oh yeah, I am still pregnant. I have to keep reminding myself--the third one is a little different. I'm only 8 weeks away and hope to find a doctor this coming week. I'm feeling very good (except a nasty cold or something that's been hanging on for almost a month now) and looking forward to getting things ready for the arrival of this little guy since I've done nothing so far. I had such a lovely baby shower before I left that's made me more anxious to get things in order.

All right. I think that sums it up. Please send camera charger vibes our way so you don't have to suffer through so much writing in the future and can just enjoy a picture journal.

just a few of the reasons I'm SO sad to leave this place

all our fabulous friends who are ready for an adventure at a moments notice:

like taking us to Six Flags Marine World (see pictures here) or setting up a Lemonade stand with us

or coming to our house for a spur-of-the-moment toy sale Jaden decided to host.
(instead of me hauling them all off to the freebie bin in the laundry room. he made $90!--which did include the sale of the Power Wheels Jeep for $50--I know it's a steal of a deal but the two front tires were completely cracked down the middle from so much lovin'! AND it went to a good home)
or meeting us at the gymnastics studio for open-gym, or at Central Park for a double decker bus ride, or the REC pool for a swim, or a picnic at the park, you know what I'm talking about?!

We'll miss the millions of these adorable little hatch-lings that grace the grounds of Solano Park every year, despite the terrible messes they leave in our breezeway:

Have I mentioned the playground before? Yeah, well I'm really going to miss it. Look what fun we have:

and just the town itself. the culture. the cleanliness, family-friendliness, the big, old, beautiful trees that canapoy the streets, the convenient and safe biking/walking accessibility to downtown from where we live, the great community activities that are constantly happening and the time and energy that's put into making spaces beautiful
this is just a little space in a corner next to a small shopping area 2 min. from my front door (which includes Ben and Jerry's, Borders, Jamba Juice, The Gap and Bath&Body) that they've created recently for us to enjoy. totally kid-friendly, beautiful and peaceful!
there are spots like this all over town that you just might stumble upon as your strolling along.
(sigh)

so why are we leaving in the next few days for 3 weeks before our BIG move?
To give my beloved husband some uninterrupted, guilt-free, quality, hard-core study time before THE BAR because we really want him to pass the 1st time so he doesn't have to suffer through this again.
(tangent):
actually, he's not suffering at all. he ENJOYS it?! YES!
and is looking forward to the exam. weird, I know.
I've realized recently that he's the KING of positive. enjoys studying? never criticizes. not even really bad movies, he just appreciates the entertainment. he never hates anything (nor does he commit to favorites. I guess he wouldn't want to insult the others. whatever it might be: movie, drink, dessert, etc.). I suppose you could say we're exact opposites in this regard.
I think I have a LOVE/HATE opinion about everything.
micah teaches me a lot about myself and I'm slowly improving from his example. don't worry, I've already admitted it to him.

we'll have a lot of work ahead of us when we return with a week and a half to pack and get out of here.
during my three weeks in bakersfield, my mom and I will be treking to monterey to find someplace for us to live and we'll be spending time with family and getting caught up with friends we don't usually get to see because of short trips so you might not hear from me for awhile.
but you might.

So Much to Say

But this is all for now:

Jaden had a wonderful week at Tennis Camp last week.
(and I, too)
It was M-F, 9-12--the perfect way to start the day.
He loved it and he's got skills.
So anyway, everyday at the end, they got two pieces of candy and an otter pop but on the last day they got TWO otter pops.
Beckam and I arrived just as J was standing in line for his otter pops and he was so excited that he was able to get TWO--one for himself and one for his brother. As he was telling me all the different color combinations he could get, another little boy maybe a year older, came up behind him and overheard him saying he could get, "o-gin and o-gin or o-gin and purple...."

He's just always called orange "o-gin" (pronounced O and gin like the drink) and I've always thought it was so cute and although we do correct him and he can say "orange" he usually still says "o-gin."

So this kid, who happened to be the coaches son, says, "O-gin! O-gin! What kind of colors is O-gin?! It's ORR-ANGE, ORR-ANGE."

While my heart is breaking for my little boy, Jaden is just standing there looking at the kid. This boy then proceeds to push his way in front of Jaden and tells him to get behind him.
THE LITTLE BULLY.
I couldn't take it. I calmly (so I thought) walk over to the little punk and tell him that Jaden's been waiting in line and that he needed to get behind him. I then quickly added that it was also OK if people talked differently than he did to which he sarcastically replied, "yeah, yeah--yeah it is."
And that was the end. That was last Friday.

Now fast forward to today as we're driving along in the car when out of the clear blue the following conversation ensues:
Mom remember when that boy was saying orange to me and you said something to him. I don't want you to say things to kids like that. It was really annoying. Why was it annoying Jaden? I don't know. I didn't like it. It just really freaks me out. Really? Okay, well I just thought he was being kind of rude by talking to you that way and then trying to get in front of you. Mom, you were being rude. I mean, he was being more rude, but you were being rude, too. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Thank You for telling me. So you don't want me to say things to other kids and you'll just deal with it yourself?
Yes. Okay.

And then later, while recapping this story to Micah, Jaden asks how would I have known if he had told the little boy that he could always get in front of him in line?

Okay son, point taken--you can take care of yourself and you don't need your mommy to defend you. That was my goal anyway, I just didn't know it would happen at 5!
Another lesson learned.

Happy Father's Day

Why We Love OUR Daddy:
He's so nice to me, he let's me do things that you (his mother) don't, he gives me lots of HUGS and LOVE and he talks to me.
Since Beckam isn't as good at expressing his feelings, although he did contribute #4, I'd just like to add that Beckam adores his dad. Everyday on our way back home from being out, Beckam says, "Let's go see if Daddy's home," and often, he'll go to his bedroom window and yell, "Daaaaaaadyyyyyyy." Or if we're out at the playground he'll come ask me when his daddy will be back. When his dad returns home (from anywhere), he never forgets to ask, "How was school today?"

Why We LOVE our Grandpa's:
"They are FUN to play with. They come to every single thing--they really never miss anything, even my birthday party.

Papa John always let's us play with his train and I like to ride scooters with him.

I really liked when Papa Dave gave us a helicopter and we've been flying it ever since.

I ever wonder if Papa Hack caught 4 fish or if he ever caught a fish that weighs 100 lbs. I ever wonder if he caught a rainbow trout fish. I ever wonder if you made a mistake of catching a scuba diver. I wonder if I can go fishing with Papa Hack, maybe tomorrow and I'll come to Bakersfield."

And Poppy, well Jaden says he liked it when he cut his hair but I don't actually think he ever has. But I like Poppy because he's always made me feel special--just like his very own!!

We are so LUCKY to have so many men to celebrate this Father's Day!!

Today, they each enjoyed goodies from Harry and David, including Moose Munch and Strawberry Scones--
delicious!!

At church today in one of the talks that was being given, it was said that
Fathers set the example that we are supposed to follow--even though they are imperfect beings. I liked that.
And it can be applied to mother's as well.
Perfection is not necessary just trying our very best!

I am grateful for my dad and the GREAT Father he has always been to me!

Who's Up For A CHALLENGE?

Then visit my sister's (in law) blog:
Hey Maughans

It's her latest 100 Day Challenge--
(you know, after fulfilling her commitment to work on that book she's been wanting to write.
My husband's family are disgustingly motivated people.
I'm better at delegating.)
To get 100 people to do a
100 Day Challenge of their choice.
Are you in?
I'm still deciding.
There's so many things to choose from!

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU
for all the THOUGHTFUL and KIND
things you said.

It was such a nice way to celebrate my birthday--
to know what AMAZING people I have in my life!
You are so SPECIAL to me.

(now if I can just live up to it all)
These are the beautiful flowers I woke up to,
along with my favorite veggie delight bagel sandwich from Posh Bagel.
The next thing I discovered was the Birthday Blog.
My day was made within the first hour of the morning!
Than Jaden made me birthday soup--
but warned against eating it because of the air freshener it contained.

Next I got a phone call from a friend inviting me to lunch.
So I enjoyed a very lovely afternoon with two GREAT girlfriends!!
(and was the proud recipient of one their beautiful handmade necklaces
AND another's personally crafted handmade earrings
--see picture below--
How LUCKY am I to have such nice and talented friends?!)

When the mail came, there were even more birthday wishes with LOTS of LOVE!
I can't forget ALL the phone calls throughout the day,
though a lot were missed due to a temporarily misplaced cell phone.

The mystery man showed up just in time to take me out for a delicious Tai dinner.
Of course my birthday wouldn't be complete without an
ice cream cake from BR--
And so it was!
complete. and perfect.

This was a belated birthday cake made by the hands of my two sweet little boys.
Prepared in the sandbox, at the little tykes bakery and around the tree.
Photo courtesy of Jaden.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLLY (Cheryl)

Why I love Cheryl . . .

I love how serious she takes parenting. She is such a consistent and attentive parent. She takes time every day to play with the kids on a truly meaningful level. She is concerned for their development, health and good manners. She makes sure they have healthy, positive activities to do everyday (all day). She is a great parent and I can't imagine how the boys' energy would manifest if it weren't so deftly channeled.

I love how much she enjoys being outside. She is not a homebody; true to the namesake of her blog she is always in PERPETUAL MOTION. Really always on the go - and yet our house is always in tip-top shape. I don't know how she does it. When I am with the kids it takes all of my energy just to make sure we are getting to the right places at the right times and all remaining relatively safe from harm. Forget about having time to be cleaning things up as I go! And yet somehow, without fail, she gets it all done and more.

I love that she is my wife! I couldn't ask for better . . . in every way.

I love that she enjoys eating good food. Her only regret (as far as I know) from this birthday is that she couldn't go to Country Rose Tea Room with her Mom and Sisters for lunch. As you probably know, Cheryl loves eating at her favorite places. Her trips back to B-Town often include scheduling her days around getting her favorite fills in. This goes with trips back to SLO, Reno, Provo and pretty much anywhere else that she has a favorite place to eat.

I love how passionate she is. If Cheryl likes something, you know it. She is a natural born salesperson - but not in a pushy way. Well, not if you realize that she has a strong opinion and when she finds a good thing "everyone has to try it."

I love that she doesn't gossip about others. She is very accepting and truly a great friend.

I love how authentic she is. Don't waste your time trying to look for hidden meanings or underlying interests. If Cheryl sits down with you and visits until 1 am, asking you question after question - it is because she is just interested in you. But here's the thing, she is interested in everybody. She loves finding out about people and as she learns about them, she invariably learns things from them. I wish I had her social savvyness.

I love how Cheryl . . . (see comments)

Lesson #2

I love the experience that goes along with having a 2nd child.
with the 1st, he started showing interest in potty-training early. like around 18 mo.
being the eager first time mom that I was, I got excited about the prospects of having a child potty-trained so early. well, that process was finally completed when he was oh, 2 1/2.

what I learned was that what they say is true.
they do it when they're ready no matter how anxious you are.

so this time around, I decided to do things differently.
when this one started to show interest in the potty, great!
I let him explore when we were at home.
use that potty if you want, figure out what it's all about and when you're done, we'll just put that diaper right back on.
I wasn't going to start encouraging it until he was approaching the magic age of 2 1/2.
so last month that's exactly what I did.
we began "talking" about it, spending a little more time naked, and then a few weeks ago, as he started being more pro-active so did I.

and guess what?

without jinxing myself, I'd like to report that he's got it!!
we've had very few accidents. like maybe one in the last 5 days. it's been such a smooth experience this time around. not that last time was bad but it was just long and a bit frustrating as time drug on.

I also know that we might not be out of the woods just yet but so far so good.
and I'm happy that my plan seems to be working.

Lesson #1

So people always tell me that as long as we channel Jaden's energy in a positive way, everything will be just fine.
(Papa Dave has said long ago, that he'll either be a genius or a criminal--if I write it small enough, hopefully Jaden's ears will NEVER hear that statement).
I know that sounds like a great idea but I always wonder what exactly that means and if I'll really know how to do it through all the stages of his life.
Yesterday, I had my first real lesson in understanding how NOT to channel his energy.

Since January, once a week the kindergarten classes have had singing time (and before that it was gymnastics, which was never a problem) in preparation for a performance that would be held yesterday.
Well, the last few weeks, singing time has been quite challenging for Jaden. He's had to sit out several times for being silly, disturbing kids around him and just not being cooperative.
We've talked and talked about what NICE singing behavior looks like to no avail and last week he was officially kicked out of the performance!
BUT he had one last chance to earn it back and that was under the condition that he was on his VERY best behavior for the last rehearsal on Tues. before the Wed. performance. Can you guess what the outcome was.....?
Well, he was NOT very well-behaved AND his teacher decided that he would still participate for the sheer fact that she thought he was TRYING to get out of it.
And he had to sign a contract indicating that he would be on his best behavior specifying exactly what his best behavior would look like.
The consequence for him breaking the contract would be a meeting with Mrs. Davis, the principal.
Did I mention that he's had play time, movie nights with friends and play dates taken away all because of this (along with a few other in-class issues). His SILLYNESS is what's getting him into trouble and then he doesn't take the warnings seriously.
He truly does not seem to make the connection between his behavior and the natural consequences that result even when he's forewarned.

Okay, so now you see what we've been dealing with and how frustrating it's been. Well yesterday was the performance.
It was just the kindergarten classes and they sang 5 songs, including the Hawaiian rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (in Hawaiian) and Sing A Song.
About half way through the show, I started laughing so hard I could hardly contain myself-- because it was at this point that I saw for myself what was going on and finally realized that THIS activity was just sheer TORTURE for my little boy. He WAS trying his VERY best but by the end he was a dissheveled mess--his hair was a wreck, his shirt was all stretched out and I was surprised his shorts stayed on from all the pulling and tugging he did on them. Only for a few songs did he get both the hand motions and the words going at the same time, otherwise it was one or the other but he was ADORABLE and did GREAT!

It was only a week ago that his teacher was finally convinced that he did in fact know the words to the songs. I'd been telling her that he knew them all because he sings them for me but she had no idea until one day when the music teacher asked a question and Jaden belted out the lyrics. She said all the teachers were astonished.

I noticed that during the show his eyes were constantly scanning the crowd. I thought he just kept losing sight of me because each time we made eye contact he'd give me a huge smile. But when he got home and was reporting on his performance to his dad he said this, "I was trying my VERY best...and she didn't even come." When Micah asked who didn't come, he replied, "Mrs. Davis--she wasn't even there." (the principal)

When I talked to his teacher afterward, she again told me that he just did not want to be there. It was nice to be able to tell her that that wasn't the case at all. He DID want to be there. He wanted me to see his performance but it's just HARD for him--standing still or at least in the same place for half an hour is just NOT easy or fun and it's certainly NOT a positive way to channel his energy.
I know now that signing him up for that summer musical workshop at the Art Center is probably not the best idea. The tennis camp that HE wants to do would probably be the better choice. at least for now.
and I am OK with that.

What is sad is when people like Jaden's T-ball coach say things like,
"This trophy goes to the player who never paid attention." the end.
Yeah, he may have some trouble staying focused in the outfield but his batting was awesome and improved tremendously over the season.
I mean look at this form:
And at least he moves during each play, which is preferable in baseball.

Of course I know positive ways to channel his energy or I'd never survive--letting him loose outside--to climb to the tippy top of trees, giving him a rope and allowing him to build rope swings or traps, taking him to the swimming pool, riding his bike at top speed around "the circle," digging in the dirt for treasures or constructing the contraption on the board game Mouse Trap all by himself his first try--his focus and ability are far superior to mine even with the instructions in hand. it's astounding. budding engineer?
And I'll continue to take it as a compliment if you ever tell me that Jaden finds things at your house to "play" with that your kids have never even thought twice about!

Disneyland

so before all the graduation festivities, we made a trip down to celebrate the oldest grandchild in our family,
demi's,
sweet 16!

she got a 1967 Mustang that I don't have a single picture of.
but she was surprised.

then I talked my mom and BOTH sisters into going down to Disneyland with us.
you see I was very strategic about my trip.
we had to go before beckam turned 3 while he was still FREE, which meant before Jan.
but also before the baby, which meant before Oct.
and before the schools let out for summer, before it got too stinkin HOT and before I was too stinkin pregnant to enjoy it,
which meant we had to go in May and since I had already traveled 3/4 of the way there...it was PERFECT!
And they were all game.
It was an AWESOME day. The kids were perfect and had so much fun.
Everyone but Beckam and I could go on all the rides this year. Jaden's favorite: "Water" Mountain (aka Splash Mountain) and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Beckam was such a good sport and waited so patiently for the big kids to get off the rides we couldn't go on. He napped when he was tired and since Mimi was with us, ate every time he thought about being hungry.
I've had so much fun hanging out with my mom lately.
she's such a great sport and so much fun!
jaden LOVED being with all of these cousins. I did get chosen to ride ONE ride with him but only because he HAD to go with an adult.

spending the day with my sisters was such a treat!

this is the ONE I got chosen to ride on with him:disneyland is even better than when I was a kid. it's so streamlined now. the longest wait we had was 30 min. and we only did that 4 times, which is a lot these days but the crowd wasn't big enough for the fast track pass lines to be open.it was so sweet to see beckam's reaction when he saw Micky and Minnie in the parade.
the picture doesn't even capture how mesmerized he was and how magical the scene was.
this is the tired crowd after a long day.

Disneyland is so magical but I've come to realize that it may only be that way for those of us that experienced the magic as kids. it's even better to watch your kids enjoy it.
everyone was so tolerant of my anal-retentive nature in managing and organizing our day.
and we made it onto to everything we wanted.
I always want to buy the 2-day pass for disneyland but after a full day of it, I'm always glad I don't have to go back again the next day.
we returned home from that trip on a Tues. and then family started arriving on thurs. for the graduation celebration and stayed until sunday. interestingly, while laying in his bed sunday night, jaden told his dad he never wanted to go back to disneyland again "because it's so freaky." he changed his mind on monday. it was such a surprise because he never acted the least bit scared or apprehensive the whole day we were there and never said anything about a ride being scary. apparently, the two he really didn't like were indiana jones and the haunted house. of course, "pirates" always causes those mixed emotions--doesn't it?
love it/hate it kind of relationship.

P.S.
I love you disneyland and jaden and I have talked about coming once more this summer, just the two of us to check out your newest attractions opening this summer: the new nemo submarine ride, tom sawyer's island as a pirates lair, tarzan's tree house and to do the jedi training, which we didn't make it to. jaden's confident that he'd take on darth vader and darth mal. so maybe we'll see you again soon. just maybe.

Happy Birthdays

Did you know TODAY is a very special day?! Today, the 24th Day of May are the birth days of two of my most VERY favorite people in the world! One was born in the year 1924 and the other in 1978.

I present them to you now:
The amazing Micah K. Nilsson
and the Lovely Doris J. Smith

Then three years ago in the year 2004, another little soul entered this world on this very same day--my niece Britney. There is NO doubt that today is reserved for extremely special individuals!

here HE is at a young 28--a year ago today

does he look any older?
(Jaden says, "Who is that guy?")

he's requested the same cake this year--
a DIVINE-modified-box-cake recipe
(involving both sour cream and chocolate pudding)
courtesy of Terri Maughan!

wishing you ALL a very happy and special
birthday!

Thoughts on the Esquire

It's emotional for me to even allow my thoughts to contemplate the last three years and the magnitude of what's been accomplished.

Completing law school has something to do with it but this man's ability to remain the most devoted, dedicated, attentive, helpful, understanding, sympathetic, loving, caring, spectacular, amazing, honest, responsible husband and father in the process is really what it's all about!
I honestly and truly have NO idea how he does it. It seems impossible that someone could excel in every area of their life like Micah does--but he does it...over and over and over. His family is always his first priority and his wife most especially. It is the greatest gift any wife/mother could ask for!
The one thing I can think of that was sacrificed was being in the top 10% of his class. If you know Micah, you know that is a HUGE sacrifice (although he wasn't very far behind,11-15%). But I know if you ask him, he'd say it was well worth it.
I am so overwhelmed with appreciation and gratitude for this man that I married and who my children have the privilege to call daddy! He really is my HERO.
Thank You Micah for making what, in the beginning, seemed like such a hurdle--an experience I'll look back on with many fond memories and happiness! You are an AMAZING man!
I LOVE you!