i am not obsessed

I just wanted to make a little post about my irrational liking of Twilight. I don't even think the books were that well written, so why do I practically cry when they are over? What is it about those books that make them so addictive? I have watched all the previews on youtube for the movie I vowed to not watch. I have read forums of people's predictions for the next book. (There are some pretty good ideas out there, Stephanie Meyers doesn't really need much imagination, all she has to do is go out on those forums for ideas.) I knew that my non-obsession had reached a low when I clicked on a link for a release party for the book and actually considered going. If you guys have been wondering why my hair is getting so long, it is really because I am planning to go as Bella to the release party. Just kidding. Up until this point I have refused to own one of the books, but I may be heading over to Walmart early on August 2 for my copy of Breaking Dawn, but only because that is my book club's book for August. Really.



(This picture is from a t-shirt you can acutally order online. It reads "Volterra Walking Tours: We guarantee an unforgettable experience!"
It gave me a laugh.)

photos with extra cheese

I needed to take some new pictures for Scott's office since his are about two years old and people are starting to ask him if he loves his kids. :) I tried to get the girls to ham it up so I could catch some real smiles. Not a problem for these two.

happy meals

I had a friend majoring in culinary arts once that told me it's really not about what you cook, it's all in the presentation. If that is the case, this is my version of gourmet cooking. Cali and Kimi get a kick out of it at least.

dear old dad

This is a post to say Happy Father's day to Dad. (I've been waiting for the right moment to use this picture for years.) Thanks for teaching me how to be smart, to care about what's really important, for all the star trek marathons (how many other families have running jokes about gaseous anomalies), for all the family vacations, for giving us a haven to live in, for working so hard so we could have Mom at home, and for teaching me how to laugh at life. Thank you for being the best dad we could ever hope for!

i want my "mommy"

Cali informed me this afternoon that she wants to call me "mom" now instead of "mommy." I have wondered when this change would come about, but I didn't know it would come with a formal announcement. She knows just how to tug my heartstrings. Why do they keep growing up?

when the family gets together

Here are a few of my pictures from our reunion.

Thanks to everyone for coming to our neck of the woods!


Who couldn't love this face?

the ice cream man cometh

This is something funny that happened that reminded me to just do fun things and enjoy simple things more. It was Saturday morning a week-and-a-half ago, and I was going for a walk with the kids. Cali was pushing Ian in one stroller and I was pushing Kimi in another. just as we had rounded the corner so that we were halfway around the block from our house we heard the cheap synthesized music being piped into the air and saw the ice cream truck coming our way. Cali just looked up at me with her imploring eyes and I tried to tell her something about having ice cream at home and that I didn't have any money with me. She said "I'll go get my money!" and took off running back towards our house leaving me with two strollers. I knew there wasn't going to be enough in her piggy bank, but she had taken off before I could explain that. ( I think ice cream men are like extortionists these days, preying on our nostalgia.)
I tried to maneuver both strollers down the sidewalk after her as the ice cream truck crept down the road slowly gaining on us. I am sure I was an interesting sight to follow. I had made it to the house just around the corner from us when Cali came booking it back around the corner holding her piggy bank in front her with all the coins crashing around as she ran. Lucky for me our neighbor was outside and I asked him to watch the kids while I flagged down the ice cream man who converged on us just as Cali reached me. I told the ice cream man to wait while I got my money and left the kids so I could go get their college savings. (just kidding)
So anyways, Cali and Kimi got ice cream from the ice cream man much to their delight. Ian got a mini ice cream cone from home, but lucky for me he doesn't know the difference yet. In the end everyone was sticky and happy, especially Kimi who discovered her ice cream girl had bubble gum eyeballs. What a delicacy.

Swing, Swing, Swing

A recent trip to the park

Inhale Deeply

I just wanted to make a post about one of my favorite things in the world. My lilacs started blooming, and I want to stand next to them inhaling the smell all day. I know lots of things smell good, but this smell fills me up with flashes of good memories and feelings. I would capture and post the smell if I could, but the picture will have to do!

backpacker

Ian loves to go for a ride in the backpack. When he saw it out this morning he got so excited, tipped it over, and tried to figure out how to climb in.

global warming?

I know this is not even worth commenting on anymore, but I keep getting surprised every time it happens again. It was 80 degrees on Monday and it is snowing again today. I guess I am not going to pack away the winter clothes this year, I am just going to leave all of the clothes out because who knows what the weather will be.

Mud Pies

Ian grabbed a fistful of mud to eat before I could stop him while we were out watering flowers. I guess he wanted to demonstrate the best way to eat mud for the picture too. Ian thought it was a great game to try not to let me take his picture. This is the best one I could get of his messy face.

Curb Appeal

I am trying to decide on a new color for the front door. I wish I could paint my door some shade of red, but I just don't think it would jive well (or at all) with the other colors. What do you guys think of it being a shade of sage green or gray? There is one color that is called cement that is a greenish-gray I like. It has been orange and then forest green in the past. Yuck! (We sanded part of it and found those colors.) I just would like some kind of accent color to get away from brown and beige blah.

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

The house across the street has been for sale for a few months and yesterday the sign disappeared so we knew that new neighbors were coming. Kind of gave me a sense of forboding, but I hoped for the best. The first sign of them appeared in the evening. Two giant motorcycles parked in the carport. "That's not necessarily bad," I told myself. "You've known good people who had motorcycles." Well this morning there are some cars there, and for lack of a better word, one is "pimped out." Oh boy. I know I still don't know anything about them but my hopes for a nice family to move in have kind of been dashed. Oh well, this may add some excitement to our lives if nothing else. :)

Why don't they just fry them up now, and serve them with chips!??

Cali went in to the doctor's for her pre-kindergarten check up this morning. She asked last night if I would drop her off at school after the doctor's. She wants to go to school NOW. The doctor's office was showing "Finding Nemo" in the waiting room. This is the first time that I almost cried at the part where Marlin takes Nemo to his first day of school.