ERIN & WILL

Summer Recap

2010-09-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Summer 2010 was busy but lots of fun. Here are some of the highlights:

Seaside, Oregon - 4th of July

got lost on the way down there and I think we cirlcled around the city of Raymond 3 times before we made it to Oregon, it was colder than we expected it to be, Reed and Mom accidentally saw my bare arse (thanks to Reed accidentally flipping up my skirt), lots of smores and sticky fingers, huddling in the tent that was intended to protect dad from the sun on the beach but instead protected us from the cold and rain, most amazing firework show any of us had seen

Antonella and Casey's Wedding

Stephanie came as my "date", amazing authentic Italian food by Antonella's uncle, beautiful day with a beautiful setting, absolutely stunning bride who looked like she was straight out of a magazine, an atmosphere full of love, "you did infact like it, so you put a ring on it", reunion of gym friends, 10 minutes before the wedding started Will peed his pants which explains his business on top and party on bottom atire. love.

Westport

Impromptu visit to Westport with our then neighbors and some of their friends, campfires, walking on the jetty, wind blowing on the beach resulting in sand in my hair for a week, mark burying the kids in the sand, dads surfing while I hung out with the kids on the beach, feeling a tug on my heart that I knew was different from anything I'd experienced before

Leavenworth, AKA "Splashfest"

Supposed to be hot and sunny floating down the river, in the 80's when we got in, thunder/lightning and in the 60's when we got out, man down - calls to the hospital, Grandma Ida cooked dinner for Steph and Sam and 25 of their friends, card games, laughter, friendship

Jen's Bachelorette Party

We used to play M.A.S.H together and predict who we were going to marry, now she is a police officer and getting married, theatre sports embarrasement for the bride to be, hanging out with several girls including 2 of the hottest (girl) cops I've ever seen

Liburdi Family Reunion

Quick right? but we already feel part of the family, softball, boys dressing up in camo and hiding in the bushes, lots of good food, amazing people

Trip to Cali to visit Rachel and Steve

LOTS of good food, laying by the pool, yummy coffees at brunch in the morning, lots of girl talk between me and Rachel, walking on the beach, lots of laughter, amazing friends

Georgetown Music Festival

2010-06-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend Will and I went to the Georgetown Music Festival. We met up with Antonella and Casey and some other friends there too. There was lots of music, art and other random stuff.

Some lady had her poor dogs dressed up. I felt bad for them but let Will pet them anyway. Will played a few carnival games that they had there. He won a couple normal things like a plastic bug and a little dinosaur that grows when you put it in water... and he always won a flask!?! Who gives a kid a flask! He asked what it was and I told him he could use it for juice. Uhhhh....
Casey and Will spotted a funky little spot that sold cookies, so we bought some cookies, each one about the size of Will's (very large) head.

I thought this little musical family was cute, but I hope they dont always dress like that.
We took a little rest and people watched. Can you tell from Caseys face that there was some interesting people watching? Also notice how his camera is pointed out, discreetly taking pictures of random people. lol.
Will had a great time and didn't even complain about having to walk around so much.
This is Maddie. Will has a big crush on her. She is Antonella's niece.

Ryan, Antonella's brother-in-law was preforming at the festival, which is the main reason why we went. His show was great, and we enjoyed being right up front by the stage.
Will loved it and totally danced and grooved to the music! I dont know if Will realized how cool it was since he just thinks of Ryan as Maddies dad.
Sorry the pictures are blurry, they are from my phone. Love this one though. Will's got his hands up to the music and Ryan is right above him.
We had a great time, and by the time I pulled out of the parking lot Will was already out. He was a great sport about the long day and had a blast.

Preschool Graduation

2010-06-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Preschool graduation didn't go quite like we hoped it would. All was wonderful... except for the weather. It was very, very rainy. The graduation was supposed to be an outside ceremony followed by a barbecue, but of course there were some last minute changes. For the ceremony we were still mostly outside. The kids were under a breeze way, but the parents were to be standing in the grass. Some canopies were set up to protect us from the rain but there wasn't enough room for everyone, so some of us were under umbrellas. It was cold and wet, but the kids didn't seem to mind. Will was so happy and proud and was constantly smiling. After the kids sang some songs and the diplomas were handed out we all headed for shelter inside the preschool where the kids played for a bit and we had some snacks. The teachers had made a great photo album as a gift for each of the kids. Each childs photo album had pictures of them from throughout the school year. Will will miss his friends over the summer break, but he'll be back to the same school next year.

Mariners game

2010-05-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Last friday I took some of my favorite guys to the Mariners game with our company tickets. Dad, Reed and I had a great time once we got to the game. Meeting up before the game was a little bit complicated. Reed was going to be coming from the University, and Dad would be coming from work. To make things even more interesting Reeds cell phone was dead so we wouldn't be able to call to meet up with each other. I talked to him on gchat earlier that day and told him to meet us at Dad's office and that I would pick them both up there. I gave him the bus route number and we decided on a time that we could all be there. Will and I drove into Seattle and we were supposed to meet Dad and Reed outside of the building that Dad works in and I would pull over and they would jump in. As I approached the intersection before the Dad's building I saw Reed crossing the street. I waved at him as he was looking directly at us. No reaction. I waved more and honked the horn. Still no reaction. I yelled "Reed, get in the car" while waving. Finally he seemed to notice who I was, but still wasn't getting in the car. "GET IN." Once he got in the car he told me. "I saw you waving, but I recognized the car before I recognized you. At first I just thought to my self 'I hope that crazy lady isn't waving at me!'" Ha! Thanks Reed! We then called Dad who met up with us moments later.

Will loved the game. He was yelling and cheering the whole time. "Big hit, big hit!" or "Strike out, strike out!" He must have been the Mariners lucky charm because they won 15 to 8!

Woodland Park Zoo

2010-05-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

The other day we went to the Woodland Park Zoo. We bought memberships, so I'm sure we will be there more often this year.

My favorite part of the day was when we went in a place that was full of birds. You could buy seeds on a stick for $1 and then the birds would come sit on you and eat off of the stick. When a bird first landed on Brynn she completely freaked out. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera ready. She did better with it once her daddy was holding her.

Will did great and loved having the birds sit on his hands to eat off of the stick.

The birds really liked Joel.
Will and I in the bird house
Joel and Brynn watching the penguins.
Will was so brave and got to pet a snake!
Brynn wanted to touch the snake like Will did, but this is as close as she got.

Mom's Day at Preschool

2010-05-26T15:48:00.001-07:00

The other Day I took the day off of work so that I could attend "Mom's Day at Preschool" Will was a lucky boy and had both me and grandma (my mom) there with him. All of the kids were so proud to have their mom's there. It was a fun morning.

I love being a mommy

2010-05-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

This morning while talking to a coworker of mine, who is also a single mom, we came to a few conclusions.

1. mothers day is a bit different for single moms. It's kinda biter sweet in a way. (not that we think it's all sweet for married mothers.)
2. even though we are in situations that are not ideal, we are so grateful to be mommies

My life isn't what I thought it would be. I didn't plan to be divorced. I didn't plan to have to work full time. I wish I was there with Will all day. I wish I could take him to school and pick him up afterward. I wish I could volunteer in his classroom. I wish I could stay home to spend time with him, more than a day or so per week. I wish we could spend more time at the park, or riding bikes, or going for walks, or doing puzzles, or just cuddling. But even with all those things that I wish were different, I still LOVE being a mommy.

I love Will so much and he knows it. Maybe is sounds weird, but I feel like he is one of my best friends. We laugh together, we cuddle, we give each other kisses, we tickle and chase each other. I adore him and he adores me. One of the great things about being a mother is that no matter what else happens in my life, no matter what goes wrong, or how bad a day is, no one can take away from me that fact that I am his mommy. And I think I'm a pretty good one at that.

Yesterday I went to church, because the kids were singing in sacrement meeting. Will usually loves to sing. He sings all the time. Songs that he's learned from school or church, or sometimes songs that he's made up himself. Well I'm not sure if he just didn't know the words or if he was just too excited, but yesterday at church when the kids got up to sing, he just stared at me and smiled the whole time. The only words he sang were the words, "I love you, I love you" but the rest of the words didn't seem to matter to him, he just wanted to stare at his mommy.

It's amazing how much a child can melt your heart. I love this little boy more than I ever knew was possible!

Cougar Mountain Zoo

2010-04-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday Joel and I met up again with our Kids at the Cougar Mountain Zoo. Its a very small, and not too busy zoo. I think the kids liked the animal statues more than the actual animals.

The Zoo sells cut up apples that you can feed to some of the animals. Unfortunately, neither child wanted to let the animals eat out of their hands.

"say 'Rawr!'"Bear hugs

Science Center

2010-04-28T11:21:00.001-07:00

On Saturday morning Joel and his daughter Brynn came over and we made breakfast together. The kids were very cute sitting on the counter together helping make the waffles and smoothies. Once we were finished with breakfast we all loaded in the car and headed for the Seattle Science Center.

The kids were so cute. They are both so smart. They did act a bit like siblings as they were fighting over buttons and toys. But in general they got along pretty well.

Touching animals in the tide pool
Isn't she adorable!?
Butterfly on my shoulder
Apparently the Butterflies like the smell of our clothes
Ready for blast off

Little Si

2010-04-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a perfect day for a hike. Dry but not too warm. So after picking up Will I called my mom to see if they'd like to come with us? They agreed that it would be a fun family activity.At about the half way point I didn't think they were loving this "fun family activity"
Mickayla was great and didn't complain at all (on the way up.)
And then we finally made it too the top.It was a good time. Hopefully we'll do it again soon.

Ice Cream Maker

2010-03-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

On Monday our new Ice Cream Maker arrived. Last night Will and I made our first batch. Since Ann and Keith are pros at the homemade ice cream thing we took Keith's suggestion and made Heath Bar Crunch.

Will sat anxiously and watched the ice cream thicken.
He also helped me break up the heath bars into mixable size.
The ice cream was delicious and we even brought some over to the neighbors so we could bribe them into being our friends.

Hmmm I wonder what kind will be next. I will definitely consult my buddies Ben and Jerry.

How to Train a Dragon 3D

2010-03-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I took Will and Mickayla to How to Train Your Dragon 3D. It was a cute movie, and well worth seeing.
I especially loved the "one size fits all" 3D glasses. They were huge on me, and monstrous on Will.
Will doesn't quite get the concept of being quiet since we are in a theater full of people. There were a few times that he yelled out things like "Mom, we're in the water" since the 3D glasses made it look as though the water was all around us.

Patio Garden

2010-03-18T14:19:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Will, Dan and I were on a mission to create a patio garden. We dont really know much of anything about gardening but thought, "how hard can it be?" I had done a little reading, but really we figured we'd figure it out as we went along.

First stop was Home Depot. We bought some planter boxes, pebbles for the bottom, and gardening soil to fill it up. They didn't have that great of options as far as things to plant so we decided we needed to go to a nursery.

We searched on our phones for a nursery in Issaquah and found Squak Mountain Nursery. I think we spent the first 20 minutes just roaming around looking at everything and enjoying the warmth of the greenhouse. Then we finally asked someone for help. It was very apparent that we didn't know anything about gardening. We were told that most of the vegetables that we wanted to plant should not be planted until May.

We picked up some snap pea seeds and onion starts, which we were told we could plant now, but decided we'd have to come back in May for the rest of our veggies. We decided that we'd get enough flowers for a few planters. Will was the master mind behind which flowers were chosen. We aimed him towards the part shade (since our deck only gets sun the first half of the day) and let him loose.

We had fun planting all of the flowers the next morning. We are anxious to see sprouts come up from the few veggies we've planted so far, and also anxious to go get our other veggies in a month or 2.

(hopefully something will grow.... especially given the amount of money it cost to make this little patio garden.)

Laundry

2010-03-05T11:47:00.001-08:00

Last night on our way home I told Will that after dinner I needed him to help me with some chores. I told him he could pick what he wanted to help with. Of course he wanted to do the bath tub and the toilets, but he also said he was going to fold the laundry all by himself. I knew that he wouldn't be able to fold it just how I like it done, but since I hate folding laundry I decided I could be ok with that. I left him with the load of laundry and went to do other chores. Every minute or so he'd come running over to where I was and would say "I found your underpants!" while waving around a pair of underwear. I'd send him back to continue to fold. After a few of these underpants run-ins he told me that he was all done. I went to check how it went and this is what I found.
For now I think I'll have him stick with bath tubs and toilets.

Crazy Hair

2010-03-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Will insisted for quite a while that he wanted long hair like his cousin Jack. Unfortunately, Will does not have the soft silky hair like Jack has, so his long hair didn't look quite as nice. Finally about a week ago he told me that he was ready for short hair again, so I jumped on the opportunity and cut it moments later. Here he is after his haircut.We ran into a small problem this morning though. Today is crazy hair day at school and Will doesn't have much hair to make crazy. Last crazy hair day he looked like this.

So we made do and borrowed this old, clown type wig from my parents house. Doesn't he make it look good. So cute!

Fun with Dan

2010-02-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

Will really enjoyed the few days that he was with us while Dan was here. And I don't blame him because Dan had planned lots of fun activities. One of Will's favorites was his personal golf lesson by Dan, his very own golf pro. Dan even brought a special Will sized golf club.

I think we may have a future golfer on our hands.

Dan also brought a remote control helicopter for Will. We spent quite a while out in a grass field with Will flying the helicopter over our heads. Dan also brought a Wii for us to play. Will especially liked being able to decorate his own guitar hero guitar with the Aerosmith stickers. He loved the Wii sports resort games, and beat the socks off of both Dan and I in the jousting game.

We had lots of fun with Dan in town and can't wait for him to come back.

Super cleaner

2010-02-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

I think Will gets this from the Hodson side, but he has always enjoyed cleaning. He likes for things to be clean, therefore he enjoys getting them that way. I use this to my advantage. Scrubbing toilets and cleaning tubs are 2 of his favorites. I love it because he is so detail-oriented that I don't even have to clean them after he's done. He usually asks me "mom is it perfect?" and he wont stop cleaning until I confirm that it is in fact "perfect."

FHE lesson

2010-02-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

Last night Will taught the Family Home Evening lesson at my parents house. (FHE is a mormon tradition of family night, which usually includes some sort of church message/lesson, prayer, activity, song(except for in our family because we can't sing) and usually (always in our family) a dessert.) We let him teach it all by himself with no guidance. My mom gave him a book of pictures to help him get ideas. He showed us this picture and told us something close to the following story.

"And it came to pass (yes he really said that) that there was a boy and his brother. They had 2 cookies, one for the boy and one for his brother. When the boy got home he ate his cookie AND he ate his brothers cookie. Jesus told him that this was not nice and that we should love one another."

He also told us that the boy who ate the cookies is the one that Jesus has his arm around.

I've seen this picture many times, but never had heard this story. ;)

Valentines Crafts

2010-01-18T10:06:00.001-08:00

Although Valentines Day is about a month away, Will and I decided to start getting in the spirit by making some Valentines crafts.

I was very impressed by Will's loop and staple skills. He didn't want any help, and he did quite a long string all my himself.
"Hey mom, it looks like an N!"

We also painted some heart shaped picture holders.

"Mom, does it look beautiful?!"

I think maybe we got a bit carried away with the streamers. :)

(pre) New Years Eve

2010-01-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

A few days before New Years Eve my mom called me in the morning and told me that they had decided that we would be celebrating New Years Eve that evening since the kids could all do it together.

We hung out during the day getting pedicures and having fun together as a family. I took a break to run to target and when I came back there had been a transformation... as I walked up to the house I noticed that there were no lights on upstairs. I figured everyone had moved down stairs to watch a movie or something, but when I walked in I realized that they were upstairs, they had just turned off the lights for the dance party.

There were decorations everywhere, and my sisters, mom and the kids were all dancing. Will looked like a total ladies man. They even told me that Will had taught them the "booty dance." He showed me what it was, which consisted of holding balloons by his butt and shakin' it back and forth. I swear he did not learn this from me.

Mom gave all the kids noise makers and we counted down the new year (2 days and 4 hours early.) Will had to make the below face before blowing in order to get enough air to make the blower make a noise.

We then went outside with sparklers, which were a hit with everyone. It was nice to be able to celebrate new years early with {most} of my family.

My best buddy

2010-01-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

I had 2 weeks off for Christmas and New Years (some paid, some forced vacation.) The thing that I loved most of all was the free time that I had with my little man. His eyes lit up when I said, "I get to stay home with you EVERY DAY until you go to daddy's again" Dream come true, for both of us.

One of the mornings {since it was out of the question for us to sleep in} we went to Krispy Kremes for breakfast. Will loved the huge selection of donuts. After a bit of pondering he pointed to the one that he wanted.

gotta love the bed head

Lucky

2009-12-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

this post

http://lisabest.blogspot.com/2009/12/gulp.html

made me happy cry. I feel lucky. Lucky that my son is so incredibly loved.

Safety First

2009-12-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

When Decko rides in the car with me he typically sits on my shoulders so he can look out the window. The other day we were in the car and Decko went into the back of the car. I looked back to see what he was doing and this is what I saw.

Safety first!

Holiday fun weekend

2009-12-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

I tried to make this weekend fun and festive by doing come Christmas activities.

On Friday I invited Mickayla over to have a sleep over with Will and I. We made some Moose Munch and the kids started crunching up some candy canes for the peppermint bark that I made. They had fun minus fighting over the meat cleaver, which they were using as a hammer to break up the pieces.

Sometimes I think Will doesn't realize how much he loves Mickayla. They are so much like siblings. While we were baking he said, "Mom, why is Mickayla here?" I replied, "Because we're having a sleep over." "Why?" he asked. "Because it's fun!" "Well it's not fun for me Mom!" "Well, she's my sister and it's fun for me."

Later when the kids were asleep on my bed, and I was cuddled up with Decko on the couch, I had to remind my self. "This is fun for me!"

The next morning we got up and got all bundled up to meet Nella and her kids to go ice skating. At first I was trying to help Will skate. After accusations such as "You're pulling me too fast." "You are making me fall." I decided to take a break and told Will that he could skate again once he decided that he was going to have fun.

After a few minutes of sitting Will decided that he wanted to skate again. We talked about how it's ok to fall and that everyone falls but that you have to just laugh and keep going. I think it was easier for him to realize that when skating with Mickayla and Bailey. They held his hands and when one of them fell they all fell. They looked like they were having fun. I enjoyed some time watching while talking to Nella.
Later that night we went to my parents church party, where the kids got pictures with Santa's helper. (I'm not even gonna try to say that this guy is Santa, the beard is obviously fake!) The kids seemed to have fun and I again enjoyed time talking with Nella and Casey.

I think our favorite part of the night was when I borrowed this adorable baby from a family at the party. They recently adopted him from an orphanage, I believe in Cambodia (?? amy, correct me if I'm wrong.) He was the sweetest thing. Unfortunately we had to give him up when it was time for him to play baby Jesus in the Nativity.

Poor Decko

2009-12-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

Will and Decko have a love hate relationship. I think Will needs a bigger dog that would be able to protect himself more, but I'm glad that Decko is patient enough to put up with Will. I'm sure Decko is happy on the weeks that Will is with his dad.

My mom sent me an e-mail earlier today that said "Will wanted Decko to be festive. I walked in and found Decko sleeping with the head band on." and had this picture attached.

Poor Decko.

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been behind on my blogging. Here is a quick post for you.

Will and I went to pick out our tree yesterday. We walked around in the freezing cold for quite a while before we came to the conclusion on what tree we wanted.

Last night, Mom, Dad, Reed and Mickayla came over for dinner. Dad and Reed were kind enough to help me get the tree set up, and they helped Will put the star on top.

Here's what the tree looks like now, decorated almost completely by Will because he did not want us to help. Reed and Dad did help pick him up so he could place ornaments all over the tree.

Push Ups

2009-10-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

The other day my dad was trying to teach Will how to do push ups.

"see, like this" "ok, now you try"
Will looked more like he was praying to Allah, but we asked him to show us his muscles anyway. :)

"The Farm"

2009-10-20T15:44:00.001-07:00

All last week we had planned that we would go out to "the Farm" in Snohomish. Unfortunately the weather report was not cooperating. We decided we should go and hope for the best. And I'm glad that we did. Mom, Dad, Mickayla, Will and I drove out their and braved the rain. Really it didn't end up raining on us much. There were a few times that it rained, but we just went into one of the indoor activities until it stopped.

Hay maze

Kids play area

Duck races

Slides

Corn play area

Fishing

Pumpkin Patch

Some things we did that are not pictured. Hay jump, petting farm, holding baby kittens, hay ride, watched a pig show, ate yummy cinnamon rolls and drank apple cider

My unconventional friend

2009-10-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

I never thought I’d be so ok with sharing my child with another woman. I didn’t like the idea of someone else hugging him, or loving him, or any other mom-like duties. But my whole perspective of that has changed. I think that’s greatly in part to having that “woman” that I share my child with being so awesome.

I love hearing Lisa’s stories about things Will did. It makes it easier for me on the weeks he is with Brett. And I feel like she understands my stories about Will more than any of my other friends. We laugh and go on and on about the funny things that he does. I know she loves Will, and I also know she respects my role as his mother.

Aside from sharing my son with her, I also feel like Lisa is my friend. It’s funny, and odd, and sometimes just plain awkward, but I’m so grateful for it. We send each other links of fun or funny things we see on-line. We share dreams about what we want “when we grow up.” We chat about non-sense, fashion, our families, personal struggles, crafts… you name it. She’s bluntly honest, yet loving. She’s hilarious, but sincere. She’s my ex-husbands girlfriend, but my friend. She’s pretty freakin’ awesome.

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Thanks for being so awesome! You truly are a blessing in my life.

Mom's birthday

2009-10-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Mom's birthday. It was different having hardly anyone around, but we had a good time. I made mom roast and potatoes for dinner and raspberry pie for dessert. It was a nice little celebration.As is tradition in our family, the candles left lit represent babies to come. For mom these are grand-babies. She purposely left one candle for Candice and Scott's baby. (BTW: I didn't put 51 candles on there. I just put a group of 5 and then 1... close enough.)

Clown Car

2009-10-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

The other day Will and I were driving along when from the back seat he said

"Hey Mom! Look! A clown car!"

I looked over and saw this; a Smart Car.

They are pretty ridiculous looking, and I'm not sure I would feel safe in one on the freeway... but I am jealous that they can park in the parallel parking spots that no one else can park in. But all in all, I can't have one because my son will think I'm a clown. (not that I was considering getting one anyway.)

Corn Maze

2009-10-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Rudy and I took Will, Mickayla and Mickaylas friend Jamie to the Corn Maze in Redmond. When you start the corn maze they give you a "map" that makes absolutely no sense. You are supposed to go through the maze and find the questions which if answered correctly will lead you to a sign with a hole punch. There are 8 hole punches, and if you get all of them then you get a prize of a little, tiny pumpkin. This seemed like fun. We got the first 2 punches really easy, but then somehow to ended up at the number 8 sign. We were totally lost. After about a half hour of wandering around we decided it would be best to just start over from the beginning. We finally got back on track and eventually finished the maze. It actually was quite fun, when we weren't lost.

Doesn't the picture below look like a picture of band members?

Elementary School Carnival

2009-10-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

This last week we went to the elementary school Carnival. It felt weird to me that it was in the fall since it used to always be near the end of the school year. Nella and her kids came with us. Mickayla was with us to, but I dont know why I dont have pictures of her. Probably because she was little Miss Popular and kept running off with friends.

We had a great time. Here are some pictures of the fun.

Cuddle toy

2009-10-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I heard Mickayla and Will whispering about something so I knew they were up to some sort of trick. Soon after, Mickayla drug a huge bucket of stuffed animals into the room. I could tell by how she drug it that the bucket was heavier than it would be if it were only filled with stuffed animals. Sure enough, after taking off a few stuffed animals from the top this is what I found.

ha ha, what a snuggly, cuddly, little toy.

I'm so glad that Mickayla and Will have each other. They have a good time together.

Will is 4!

2009-09-28T09:25:00.001-07:00

I have come to the realization that every year on Will's birthday I will be amazed at how old he is. I cannot believe my baby is already 4 years old!

Yesterday, we celebrated his birthday with a few family and friends. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Casey Will trying to be like Casey
Batman shirt from Nella, Casey and the kids

The most adorable card that Bailey made for him. Super Will! (Will was really excited about this)

Will got so many presents that he dove into the wrapping paper afterwards.

Group picture!

I think Will liked us singing happy birthday to him. Look how happy he looks!

Wow! He's 4!

After everyone left Will was still playing with the fishing pole that grandma gave him. I think that was his favorite gift.

Meet Casey...

2009-09-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is Casey. The one in the middle. He is the boyfriend of my good friend Antonella. Good looking guy, right? Well often times Casey looks like this (below.) He's a bit crazy.

The other night I invited Antonella and Casey over for dinner. I explained to Will that Jackson, Antonella's son, wouldn't be coming to dinner because Jack was at his daddies house. Will was totally ok with that. He loves Jackson, but I think he has just as much fun with Casey, who is pretty much a big kid.

Casey is known for having a big mouth. Not in the talking too much way, but in the putting whole cookies or cupcakes or anything else in his mouth type of way. Here is Will trying to be like Casey.

Thanks for being so much fun Casey. Both the kids and the adults think you're great!

Will's crazy big toe

2009-09-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

While looking through my phone I found the following picture, which apparently Will took of his own foot. This picture made me laugh out loud for 2 reasons.

1. I love that he was walking around with my phone taking pictures of random things.

2. That toe is CRAZY!

His toe seriously makes shoe shopping difficult. He is a size 11 or sometimes even a 12, but mostly because his big toe adds at least a full shoe size! I wonder if he'll ever grow into his toe? or if he'll always have a crazy big toe?

Horse back riding in Napa

2009-09-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Also while we were in Napa we went horse back riding! So fun! (Great idea Ann!) I hadn't been on a horse since girls camp at Ensign Ranch when I was probably 14. I was a bit worried but all when well. Ann and I decided to wear helmets just in case. :)
Here is Ann on her horse Josie. Josie is the smallest of the horses, but also has the largest appetite. She was constantly on the look out for something that she could eat. And would wait until she felt Ann wasn't paying attention and then dive in for a tasty treat. Ann would pull on the reigns as hard as she could but Josie didn't seem to mind and just kept on eating.

This is my horse, Sport. Sport is Josie's boyfriend and therefore wanted to follow very closely behind Josie (despite her gas issues.) He would also even try to walk side by side with her. Sport was a relatively easy horse to ride expect one issue. Every time we would gallop he would shake his head violently side to side. That made it pretty interesting for me to stay on. I think maybe the bit was in his mouth wrong because he was constantly licking at it.

Keith (who was too cool for a helmet) was riding Jake. No not his brother Jake, or his friend Jake, but Jake the horse. Jake was a well behaved horse but had little patience for Sport and Josie's love games.

Riding was awesome and made me want to have a horse. Crazy huh?

Bouchon Bakery and French Laundry Restaurant

2009-09-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day morning Ann, Keith and I woke up somewhat early and drove out to Napa Valley. We stopped at the famous Bouchon Bakery for breakfast. It is run by Thomas Keller, the best pastry chef in the USA! We got a little carried away. All of this food is just for the 3 of us. I alone ordered 5 items. My favorites. Sandwich made of artisan tomatoes, Brie, toasted on the most delicious bread. And the TKO (Thomas Keller Oreo) Both were to die for!

I felt like we were in France. It was beautiful and delicious!!!

We then went down the road a few blocks to look around at the garden where they grow the fresh produce used at Bouchon Bakery and at Thomas Keller's 5 Star Restaurant French Laundry. After viewing the garden we went over to browse around building of the French Laundry Restaurant. It is a beautiful historic building. While walking around Bertram, who works at French Laundry invited us in for a personal tour! He was amazingly kind and took the time to take us through and show us how their kitchen works. We felt honored for him to take the time out of his day just to show us around.

This is a picture that he took of us in their main kitchen! You can even see the 5 stars on the wall of the kitchen. Simply amazing!

Sea Lions

2009-09-08T11:13:00.001-07:00

Also while in Santa Cruz we walked over to the pier where you can see Sea Lions (thanks Brett for the tip!) I couldn't believe how close you could get to them! They didn't seem to mind the people at all. So fun! I wish I could be lazy like them!

Boardwalk in Santa Cruz

2009-09-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

While visiting my sisters this last weekend in the Bay area we spent one day in Santa Cruz on the board walk. It was a lot of fun and felt like we were at a mini Disneyland. Our favorite ride was the Big Dipper roller coaster. Here are some of the pictures from the 2 times we went on the ride.

I especially love Keith's windblown look after going on the ride.

First day of preschool

2009-09-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today was Will's first day of Preschool! Wow, my baby is growing up! Here he is walking through Farrel McWhirter Park to the preschool building.

Once in the classroom there were lots of activities to choose from. He started coloring this cow. Blue is obviously a great color for a cow.

He wrote his name on the paper without any help. Man my kid is smart! :) Btw he was coloring in the lines until I told him that I was going to leave, then he did that scribble thing on the cows face. :)

He was a little bit clingy but once he realized all of the other mothers were leaving too, he was ok with me leaving. I'm excited for him to be in school and to learn and play and all that good stuff but I'm afraid this means he's not a baby anymore. However, no matter how old or big he gets he's still going to be my baby!

Preschool Family Picnic

2009-09-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday was the Preschool family picnic. Will is SOOOO excited for school.

Here he is trying out the saddle that was in the classroom. Isn't he adorable?! Gosh I love that kid!
He was also very excited that his seat at "circle time" is right next to the Guinea Pig. He kept saying "I get to keep it!" and I tried to help him understand that he just gets to see it and take care of it at school.

He loved all the animals. But he told us NOT to touch the pig "because pigs are the saddest ones!" Lisa got close and said she was going to touch the pig and Will grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the pig while saying "I so serious. Don't touch the pig!"

The kids got to go for a hay ride in a little trailer pulled by a tractor. They were all pretty excited about that.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the first day for him. He keeps telling me that he can't wait. I'm super excited for him because I just know he's going to love it. I'll update tomorrow with pictures of bringing him to his first day of school.

Erins Rambling Mind

2009-08-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

So lately I've noticed that the ramblings of my mind are trying to take over my blog. I feel like this is wrong, because after all my blog is LittleprinceWILLIAM.blogspot.com... therefore I feel like it should be more about my awesome child, and less about my crazy thoughts. However, the crazy thoughts are not going away... so I created a new blog for those thoughts. Please continue to read this blog, as I will blog about Will and my adventures. But if you feel so inclined, and I hope you do, please stop by my new blog and read my randomness, and LEAVE COMMENTS.

My new blog address is erinsramblingmind.blogspot.com Check it out.

Love you all!

Yuumii

2009-08-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

I just signed up for this free website, yuumii, that sends you weekly activities to do with you 1 to 5 year old. Sounds like a fun idea. I can always use fresh ideas of how to have fun with my little man. Unlike his daddy's girlfriend Lisa, I am not imaginative and go diving for imaginary turtles... so I can use any help to know how to get creative and have fun with my Will! :)

My new favorite quote!

2009-08-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

Molly Cahoon had this on facebook the other day and I just can't get over how much I love it!

Friends are like bras. They are close to your heart and are there to support you!

I think I'm going to frame this in my room with pictures of my best friends.

dreaming

2009-08-21T12:03:00.001-07:00

"Some day" when I'm a stay at home mom, I'll wear this pretty little apron

and drink something delicious out of this pretty little mug as I bake up some yummy treats.

Until then, I'll just sit at my desk and dream while I "window shop" online.

(anthropology.com)

He loves me!

2009-08-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

Usually my favorite part of the day is coming home from work. I love when I open the door and I hear "MOMMMMMMY!!" and my legs get tackled. It's nice to know I've been missed. But yesterday I came home and there was no such greeting. I went down stairs and saw will playing a game on the computer. "Hi Will!" no reaction, complete focus on his game. Disappointed I went to my room to set down my stuff. That's when I found this:

A "flower" that Will had picked for me. It totally made my day!

I'm glad you're back mom

2009-08-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

My mom was gone all of last week. It was just Dad and I (and the dogs and miss kitty.) One night I got home and Dad was making dinner. He said he'd even put it on the "party plates" to make it special.

Bon Appetit!

possible new home

2009-08-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been looking into getting a condo. Unsure if that was a possibility right now but I decided it was worth a try to at least see where I am at.

Many of the condos in the area that I can afford are real fixer uppers, which I was not too thrilled about. Then on Friday my real estate agent sent me the below condo. I went and saw it right away and totally fell in love. There would be nothing that I would want to change about the interior of this place.

However, the process is difficult. It is a short sale, meaning that the owner is defaulting on their loan, so the offer has to be accepted by the bank, not just the person who lives in the condo. We submitted an offer on Friday night. The person defaulting on the loan accepted the offer, and it will now be sent to the bank. This is where the frustration comes in. The bank can take months to make their decision on whether or not to accept your offer. Those of you who know me well know that patients is not one of my strong points. So this is trying for me.

My real estate agent said that in a few days the bank should give us a time line of when they will get back to us. So I should know later this week. I'll keep you all updated.

I'm trying not to get too excited just in case they don't accept my offer, but seriously, look at this place! How could I not be excited about the possibility!?

It's in Issaquah in the Klahanie development. There are tons of parks, trails, pools and other community ammenities. It is the top (3rd) floor, end unit, so there shouldn't be much noise from neighbors. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 875 square feet but seems even bigger because of the high ceilings. I'm in love!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!! Yikes!

Seattle with my cousins

2009-08-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

3 of my cousins were in town all of last week, but I didn't get to spend much time with them because of work. So Friday night I decided I should spend some fun time with them and take them out to Seattle.

We started by going to a Mariners game. It was a fun atmosphere, but we were all a bit distracted. THIS is what we were distracted by. And let me say that this picture does not do the situation justice. I have NO idea how she got these pants on. They were so tight that it created a butt crack up her low back. Amazing amount of muffin top going on. She also had a tramp stamp on her low back, and was wearing a black bra with her white T. As if that weren't distracting enough, she was extremely drunk and often dancing around the stairway. But we were quite entertained. (BTW, we weren't the only ones who took a picture of her.)Have you ever had the chocolate covered strawberries at the Mariners games? They are divine!

After the game we headed over to go to the Theatre Sports improv comedy show. It was one of the best theatre sports I have been to. SO funny. This is us outside the theatre by the famous gum wall.

Mmmm gum wall!! (please note that my tongue is NOT actually touching the gum.)

After Theatre Sports we drove up to Dicks to get some late night burgers. I wanted to give the boys a true Seattle experience.

I think they had a great last night in town.

Blackberry pickin'

2009-08-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was talking to mom on the phone and she informed me that She, Darren and Ruth and their boys, and Will and Mickayla were going to go pick blackberries because Darren and Ruth wanted some to make jam. I told mom I would help ONLY if she promised to make black berry pie. She agreed. I headed down to where they were to meet up with them. I parked by mom's car and followed the whimpering until I found them. The prickly bushes were NOT NICE! At first I was cautious in my picking... but eventually I got into it. For some reason the big beautiful berries are always way in the back. (Mom took pictures of us deep in the bushes. Hopefully she will blog her pictures too, so keep an eye out for those.)

Devil bushes
I'm not sure the ratio of blood vs. berry juice

The pie made it all worth it (almost.) It looked even better before I ate half of it, but I forgot to take a picture until I had consumed half of my piece. Mmmmm!

Where am I?!?

2009-07-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

I like summer, but seriously?! this is too hot!

Flesh Wound

2009-07-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

The wedding went off without a hitch. Which was amazing! But I personally had one little accident during the wedding. One of the dinner options was chicken kabobs. They were my favorite. SO so delicious. Well apparently someone dropped their wooden kabob stick on the grass.... As I was walking over to watch the bride and groom cut the cake, I felt a jab in my foot. I looked down and there was a skewer sticking out of my foot between my big toe and second toe. It hurt but I didn't think it was horrible. I pulled it out, which is when I realized it was in my foot about an inch. As soon as I pulled it out it started bleeding. Jon Williams grabbed a bottled water to rinse it off. Sam carried me to the bathroom. And Pat helped me clean it out with soap and water. We also put some hand sanitizer on it since it's got some alcohol. But the party had just begun so I said, "Just put a band aid on it and I'll be fine." It really didn't hurt too bad. I couldn't wear my flip flops anymore because the strap hit right where the skewer went in, but I was fine going barefoot.

The next morning my foot started to get really swollen. I took some ibuprofen and iced it. But Steph's grandma's were not satisfied. They wanted me to go in and get it looked at. Since it was Sunday I had to go to the ER. They didn't do much. Just gave me a tetanus shot and told me to watch the swelling and to go back in if it didn't go down. I may have to go back. It's definitely still swollen. ha ha. Oh well. Better me than Steph.

PAR-TAY!

2009-07-20T10:48:00.001-07:00

The reception was amazing! Good food, good people, good dancin'. It was seriously perfect!

Here I am giving me toast to the bride and groom.

Pat and Me. Pat was my dancing partner for the weekend. He and I were tearin' it up. We're best at the 2-step. Isn't Katie cute! She's Steph's little sister.
Awe young love. Me and my 5th 6th 7th grade boyfriend. ha ha.

I love that Steph's dress is beautiful yet didn't stop her from having a good time. :)

I love them!!

Val caught the bouquet (very aggressively) Here is the picture of her and her future in-laws. :)

Jacob dancing with me, trying to show Pat up. It was fun Jacob, but I think Pat's got you beat. ;)

Naturally, there was a photo booth area at the reception. So much fun!

The bride eating her 10pm hot dog. What a great idea!

Awe, beautiful girls. I love you all!

ha ha I have no explanation for this. It looks like Sam is about to eat me. (Sam is Steph's younger, but much taller, brother)

Noah and I.

ha ha. The bride havin fun, Bavarian Style.

Leavenworth pride!

Saying good bye.

Yay! Congrats guys! I am SO happy for you!

Ceremony

2009-07-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

Steph and Trevs ceremony was absolutely gorgeous, but also super fun. Each of the grooms men walked a bridesmaid down the aisle, but as they let go of our hand they then greeted Trev with their own creative greeting. Pound it, high five, chest bump, head rub, curtsy.... But the boys weren't the only one that planned something unconventional. Steph and her girls had practiced a little something for her vows. Her vows were a list of promises that she was making to Trev. She paused after each few promises, and in unison we girls would say "Wah-oo" Kinda gospel choir sounding. It was awesome, and hard not to laugh as we were doing it.

Steph and her daddies.Making it official

Getting Ready

2009-07-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

The day of the wedding was surprisingly stress free. I think it helps that 1. Steph had been so prepared, 2. Very laid back bride and groom and families, 3. there was no worry of "should I be doing this" from steph. We just had a great time getting ready.

Gotta make sure the bride eats! :)I love this picture. Such a typical Steph shot. She loves her diet coke. :) Getting her in her dress.... oh gosh, it's really happening...

The pre-funk

2009-07-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night I drove up to be with the beautiful Bride. I'm SO glad I had the opportunity to be there with her for a few days before the wedding. Especially in such a beautiful place. Thursday, the few of us that were there early went floating down the river in the 100 plus degree weather. (Pictures from that to come at a later point, once the water cameras are developed.) It was a great way to enjoy ourselves before the wedding. We also got quite a bit done in prep for the wedding, but mostly we just enjoyed ourselves.

From the below picture you can probably see why they decided to get married out at Papa Jim and Grandma Ida's house. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!
The rehearsal dinner was great. I didn't realize that there would be toasts given at the rehearsal dinner. I had prepared my one for the wedding but ended up wingin' it for the rehearsal dinner. I pretty much cried the whole way through it. :) Lots of people said very touching things that evening. It was nice to spend time with the people that mean the most to Steph and Trev.

The guys of course formed a hack-e-sack circle after the rehearsal dinner was over. I swear they dont really grow up... they just get bigger. I love those boys!

4th of July weekend

2009-07-15T11:10:00.001-07:00

I meant to post these pictures earlier... but here they are now.

Over the 4th of July weekend we went camping down in Cannon Beach. We took the little drive down to the Tillamook factory to do the tour, get grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream. We also went up to Seaside for their 4th of July festivities. We had lot so of time to play on the beach as well. It was a great weekend and I'm glad Blake could come with us so we could have one last trip with him before he left to Portugal for 2 years.

My BFF

2009-07-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am leaving to head up to Leavenworth to be with this beautiful girl!

She is my best friend, and has been since 5th grade! I can't even say how much I love her. She's been there for me in times that no one else was. I think she knows me better than I know myself. She knows my flaws, and can remind me of them with out me getting mad at her, because I know she loves me regardless. She also knows my strengths, and she reminds me of those, which makes me stronger and lifts my spirits. She is extremely talented and artistic. She is loving and compassionate. She is fun, and makes me laugh. She is so many things that I strive to be.

And lucky her, she found a guy who is equally amazing. And they are getting MARRIED this Saturday!

No amount of waterproof mascara will save me from this one. I am gonna cry the whole way through it. Tears of joy! It's gonna be the party of a life time, and better than any movie.

I'm so happy for you Steph! I love you!

King of little Si

2009-07-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Blake, Camille, Will and I (accompanied by Decko and Fritz) hiked Little Si a few days ago. It was a good time and we made it through the hike with only one scraped knee.

Cake pan

2009-07-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

The other day Blake and I were making a cheesecake. I asked Blake to look for the cheesecake pan while I started breaking the graham crackers for the crust. This is what happened!

He also found this lovely pan. We were trying to figure out what it is used for. Blakes best guess: a cow bra.

Bridal party fun

2009-06-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

2 weekends ago Mom and I hosted a bridal shower party for Stephanie. This last weekend I also organized a Bachelorette Party weekend for Steph and her best friends. We stayed at Trev's parents place down in Seaside Oregon. We had a blast. Perfect girls get away.

Fathers Day - Duck, Duck, Goose

2009-06-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty good fathers day. After dad opened up gifts, and we had a delicious dinner, somehow Dad, Blake, Mickayla, Brook and Will decided to play a game of Duck, Duck, Goose. (Dad said he'd play as long as he was always a Duck. lol) They had a great time. Afterward we had ice cream and popcorn and watched Chicken Run. It was a good time, with our GREAT dad.

Skydiving

2009-06-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

For the last few years I've really wanted to try skydiving. I think it would be a thrill. I hate heights, but love thrills. I don't believe I've ever expressed this interest to Will. And I definitely have never had a long discussion with him about it... but apparently he thinks we're going skydiving together some day.

Lisa (Will's dad's girl friend) told me the following story:

At dinner last night Will said "So, me and my mommy are gonna jump out of a plane...Yep, just put on a parachute and jump right out" I said, "I wanna do that some day" and he said, "just ask your mom, she'll go with you." I was like, "ummm... I don't think my mom would want to do that" and he said "Really?, why not? You need to go with your parents Lisa" He talked about it forever. SO much detail. He said, "Maybe my daddy will go with you" and Bretts like "no way, too scary" and Will said, "oh dad, you only go fast until the parachute comes, then you go weally slow"

So I guess Will knows what a parachute is (news to me) and I guess we're going together some day (also news to me.) But I like it. :)

What I've learned

2009-06-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

It's now been over a year since I bought my motorcycle. And I am still glad I have it. Here are some of my thoughts about riding...

- People automatically think that you are tough if you have a motorcycle

- I often wonder if

1. People can tell that I'm a girl

2. If they do realize that I'm a girl, do they wonder if I like girls rather than boys???

- By owning a motorcycle you are automatically entered into an unspoken club of riders. It's like you have an unspoken understanding of each other.

- By being in this unspoken club you are expected to do the rider wave to passing by riders. This wave is fun at first. It makes you feel cool. But when on a long ride, on a nice day, when a million riders are out, you get sick of waving.

- For the most part you wave to all riders, cruisers and sport bikes alike. But there is the occasional cruiser rider who will not return your wave because they do not feel like you are in the same club.

- Mopeds and scooters are not part of the club.

- Things are more beautiful when riding, as opposed to just driving in the car. Which may be why riders love going on rural roads (and the fact that there are less idiot drivers out there.)

- You also smell things that you would not smell if you were in your car. Before owning my bike I never knew that you could smell the bread cooking at the Safeway factory when driving on 520 just before the 520 405 interchange. But I've also experiences much stronger smells of cows when riding out to Monroe.

- You become much more aware of everything around you. Bumps and holes in the road, and what type of drivers are near by.

- You avoid Asian drivers. Elderly drivers. And phone texting drivers.

- You hate construction more than ever before. Grooved pavement, bumps and abrupt lane edges are not rider friendly.

- Gravel and grates are also enemies.

- Riding is a great stress reliever. It's an escape from the world. I love it!

Birthday Weekend in review

2009-06-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Weekend Highlights

Friday:

- Recieved just because flowers from a girl who visits our office about one a month (she didn't even know it was my bday soon)

- Went to Gold Class Cinemas with Dustin's parents - ushered to our super soft reclining seats, blankie and pillow provided, button for ordering food and drinks, chocolate martini

Saturday:

- Dress fitting with the soon to be bride! BEAUTIFUL!

- Shopped at Rhinestone Rosies on Queen Ann. Super cool store, and bought this.

- Made yummy snacks

- Steph made a yummy drink

- Being silly with my BFF in my new way cool shirt she bought me

- hung out with friends: hammock time, croquet, fire pit, and more food and drink

- Karaoke bar

Sunday:

- crazy thing of the year: new tragus piercing (don't worry mom, it's the last one I'll get.)

- Will came home and was SO excited that it was Mommys bday and that he had a gift for me and that we were going to sing happy birthday

- opening up gifts

- delicious bday dinner - So full that I had to put on pants, which Ann and Keith informed me are "fat pants"

- ice cream cake, hours later because we were so full!

- playing Wii with Blake, Dustin and Will

Oh and on a different note, and sorry to everyone else that I'm not giving your gifts as much attention, but Blake and Dad gave me the greatest gift. About 2 months or so ago I got Will a new bed. It's a loft bed, which once put together was WAY too tall and he couldn't sit up on his bed without hitting his head on the ceiling. Which means he's been sleeping with me in my bed for the last while, which means I dont get any sleep. But as my bday gift Blake and Dad took the bed apart and got it all fixed. My child sleeping in his own bed, for the whole night, what a wonderful gift!!!

In an effort to be more bold

2009-05-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

I have vowed to myself that I will buy no more black or white, or anything blah for a while. I have enough blah and I need to add more color... this is something that is difficult for me.

Today Dustin and I were shopping and I told him about my no blah vow to myself. While we were in Sephora (poor guy has no sisters and I think at first he was a bit overwhelmed by such a girly store) I decided that I needed to pick out a new nail polish color. I said, "I think Steph would be proud of me if I did pink" I picked up one and said I liked it. Dustin liked it because that name of it was "Arm Candy" However we both ended up deciding that it was a bit too neon. So I went with a slightly different, but still very bright pink, that was more fittingly named "It's all about me." :)

Sunshine and a waterballoon toss

2009-05-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

I'm lovin' the sunshine!!

This afternoon Blake, Mickayla, Dustin and I went out and had a nice game of waterballon toss while we enjoyed the sunshine.

Olympic Game Farm

2009-05-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Memorial Day, we decided to take advantage of the day off work and go out to Olympic Game park in Sequim. Dustin, Jesse, Will and I make the trek out there. It took us about 3.5 hours and 2 Ferry rides to get there.

It was the most insane experience. You drive through the park and the animals come right up to your car (or kinda into your car) and you feed them bread. I don't know if that it's all that healthy for them to get that much bread, but that was the only food allowed.

The animals had NO fear of us. Although it took us a bit to not have fear of them. :)

The bears seemed really friendly. But I was still glad they were on the other side of an electric fence. They would wave to us and were really good at catching the bread out of the air. We'd throw it like a frisbee and they'd catch it with their mouth.

Will thought it was all pretty cool.

The Buffalo were the most intimidating. Maybe because just their snout took up the whole window. And they had the most awful breath ever!

This shows you how huge the buffalo were. They were nice though. It's not like they were going to push over any of the cars. Apparently they just really like bread. ha ha.

There was also a petting farm there.

Will loved this chicken. I've never seen a bird so ok with people touching it. It didn't even twitch when we'd touch it. Will was practically hugging it at one point.

We had an awesome time at the game park. Unfortunately though the ride home was not so awesome. We went back to get on the first of 2 ferries and there was a 2 hour wait, and they told us there was already a 5 hour wait for the next ferry we'd need. So we decided it'd be faster to drive all the way around. UGH! Will watched a movie (luckily I had brought a little DVD player for him.) And Jesse and I played the alphabet game. We also stopped at A&W for root beer floats. It was a long day, but the park was awesome!

Sailing with Strangers

2009-05-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I decided that my life was boring and that I needed to expand my horizons and get out and do more. In my quest to find adventure I went on the "activities" page of Craigslist.com. I saw a lot of interesting activity invites that I was not not actually interested in participating in. But there was one that sounded appealing. A guy who was a member of the Shilshole Marina sailing club who was looking for people who were interested in going sailing. My brother-in-law has been a member of various sailing clubs for years so I was familiar with the idea. This guy, Todd, mentioned that it took a few people to sail the size of boats that he takes out and so he was looking for a list of people who he could contact when he had a sailing trip coming up. I e-mailed him my info and told him to add me to the list. The first few trips that he had didn't fit my schedule so I didn't go. But I decided to go along on a sailing day this last Saturday. There were 4 of us on the boat, and none of us knew eachother. At first I felt like "what in the world am I doing here?!" but once we got comfortable with eachother and started talking a bit more it was a good time. Here are some pictures of the things we saw.
I was jealous of these Sea Lions. Not only is it completely acceptable for them to be fat, but they get to lay around in the sun all day. Sounds good to me!

We circled around them a few times. We really were this close to them. No zoom used! Cool huh? After this second picture they started barking at us... maybe we were blocking their sun. :)

This picture is of Bill, Krista and I. The sailing tagalongs.

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water!

Sad face

2009-05-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

The other night Will was not happy that it was bedtime. He kept making a funny face and I asked him "what's the face for?" he said, "I'm sad" I told him it didn't look like a sad face and that he should look in the mirror. He practiced in the mirror for a while and then tried again.

Here's what it looked like

Are you convinced? .... I'm not

Happy Birthday Blake

2009-05-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Monday was Blake's 19th birthday!

He loved the watch that Ann, LaDawn and I gave him. You can almost here him say "ooooh"

He also loved the photo album that Candice put together for him to take with him on his mission.

Mom and Dad spoiled him with all sorts of gifts and a delicious dinner (which Blake helped to prepare by cooking some yummy burgers.)

Mom made the most delicious cream pie but forgot to get candles. So we got creative in order to put 19 candles on his pie. We found a number 5 candle, and 13 normal candles but were still 1 candle short. So we put a tea light candle on as well. :)

Picking up Blake

2009-04-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here is our weekend in Review.

Knowing that I had a long drive ahead of me on Thursday I started out my day like a true Seattle-ite

I drove, and drove and drove. And the scenery never seemed to change. It really wasn't as bad as I thought driving all day by myself.

The following day I helped Blake clean his apartment. I think we cleaned it better than it had ever been cleaned before, because I found this behind the microwave.
And apparently this, which I named "The Animal" was what they used to clean. Which I'm pretty sure did not help clean.
We took a break from our cleaning and ate lunch at the Malt Shoppe. True Utah style, fry sauce included. That night we decided to go bowling. We ended up going with 2 random guys that we didn't know (long story) but we had a blast. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of our new friends. After bowling we played cranium, and found that hardly any of us are good at the Humdingers.

The next day we went to Lagoon for a bit before we had to leave to head up to Idaho. We met up with Camille's family and all went together. The weather was kinda cold, but it was ok because there were NO lines. We went right from one line to another and got our fill of roller coasters. (except I only got a picture of us on the sky ride.)
After Blake and Camille said their goodbyes Blake and I headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Idaho. When we got there we visited with Grandpa for a bit then walked down to Thane and Laura's to visit with them and their kids. Uncle Larry was there and walked down with us.
The next morning we woke up early to head back home. Before we left mom got Grandma up and brought her up to have her breakfast. Grandma stared at me for quite a while. And she pointed like she recognized me (she isn't able to talk or really communicate at all anymore.) It was precious. She probably just thought I looked like someone else, since I haven't been there in about 8 years. But it was still a cool experience.

You wouldn't have guessed that it was mid April when you saw the weather conditions that we drove through in Idaho. It slowed us down a bit but once we got through the first 2 hours or so it was clear sailing.

We saw some interesting things.

And then ..........finally.......... we were back home!

My mini me

2009-04-15T16:04:00.001-07:00

Will is a thrill seeker just like me. He likes to do things a little more daring than most. Going to Disneyland was tons of fun. But I knew going into it that Will would be disappointed that he didn't get to go on the "big kid" rides. "I'm big!" he said. And unfortunately, even though I knew he'd do great on the rides, the mean Disneyland workers wouldn't let him on. So we took him on the rides that he was allowed on. And he loved any that had a bit of thrill to them. All through the Matterhorn, and on the Spaceship ride, and any other thrilling ride, he'd put his hands in the air and yell "wheeeew!"

The other day Lisa (Brett's girlfriend) told me the following about Will. It made me get teary eyed. I love that my son wants to me like me.

Will is constantly telling me all about wanting to get a motorcycle and ride alongside his mommy. I tell him I am super scared of them and that he and you must be brave to want to do that and he says "Ya, I am brave like my mommy, we are really brave." :)

There are only 2 types of Riders

2009-04-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

There are only 2 types of motorcycle riders:

Those who have crashed,

And those who will

It was a beautiful day and I had just picked up my bike from being worked on and getting maintenance after sitting all winter. One of my good guy friends invited me to meet him to go for a ride. He lives out in Carnation on Tolt Hill Rd. It was a gorgeous day and as I rode out there I definitely saw more bikes than cars.

3 motorcycle guys that had been riding in front of me somehow saw (or maybe just heard) my crash. They turned around and came to check on me. It was very kind of them, but I really didn't feel the need for all of the attention. I told them all that I was just embarrassed. But they assured me that I was in good company as they had all laid their bikes down at some point.

Extent of the damage: (which is not bad at all!)

Bike:
-Really, really scratched and cracked fairing (side of the bike)
-Blinker popped off
-Bent shifter

Me:
-Big toe that is either jammed or broken
-Scraped up knee
-Hole in my favorite flat shoe jeans
-Road rash (small cuts and bruises) on upper leg and hip (not shown)

After assessing all the damage I decided that the thing that I am most upset about is the hole in the knee of my Sevens jeans. I feel very lucky though, as I know the damage to both my bike and myself could have been much, much worse. I'm glad I was wearing my jacket, gloves and helmet because all of those areas would have been pretty torn up otherwise. My helmet took a lot of the fall and sliding on the gravel... better my helmet than my face. :)

After my little crash Kurt said, "well now what are we gonna do today?" But within about 45 minutes he had straightened out my shifter, and put back on my blinker. I cleaned out the little cuts on my knee and applied neosporin, and then we were back on our bikes. I was definitely a lot more cautious on the gravel as I pulled out of his driveway, but other than that it was a fun and beautiful ride. I'm not going to let a little crash slow me down. Lesson learned, and now I continue on my way. :)

(soon to be) best friend in law

2009-04-03T10:20:00.001-07:00

As you all know and have read, Steph is my best friend. What you may not know is that her fiance, my soon to be best friend in law, Trevor, is the coolest guy ever. I seriously could not ask for a better guy to marry my best friend.

He puts up with Steph and I and our craziness.

He lets me tag along and be the 3rd wheel all the time.

He's hilarious and makes me laugh.

He is one of the most understanding people that I have EVER met.

He's been there for me through the hardest times in my life.

He never judges me, even when I'm dumb.

He is really, really good to Steph and loves her like a man should love the woman of his life.

He's a very balanced person.

He's extremely creative and musical.

He's super fun to be around.

He's very selfless and giving and aware of others feelings.

... and many more wonderful things.

Happy Birthday Trev!

You're AWESOME!

California Vacation

2009-04-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Day 1
We woke up around 4am to get ready to head to the airport for our 6am flight. We arrived into LAX around 8:40. After meeting up with Aunt Cathy and Maddie we headed to the car rental place where I picked up the "Mommy Mobile." (Can you believe that I actually drove around a minivan for 5 days?!) We headed for Disneyland. And about 15 u-turns, and 1 hour later, we were finally there. We were all very excited. We separated for the first few hours and Will and I walked around and did the kid rides while Mom and Cathy took the girls on the rides that Will wasn't tall enough for. Later we met up to go on some rides together before we staked out a spot for the parade. The girls wanted to go on the "it's a small world" ride. I stopped to ask one of the Disneyland workers if there was a Fast pass for the ride. He informed me that there wasn't, but said he'd take us through the quick line. He stayed and chatted with us while we waited in the short line. Cathy said she liked traveling with me. I said, "I didn't even wink at him." But we enjoyed only waiting for 5 minutes for the ride, as opposed to about an hour. That night we watched the parade, went on a few more rides, and then watched the Fantasmic show, and a bit of the fireworks as we walked to the car. By the time I got into bed at after 11pm I was exhausted.

Day 2
On day 2 I had the pleasure of having my friend Rachel meet up with us. I was SO happy to see her as she is such and awesome person, and I haven't seen her in over 2 years. It made the lines so much more bearable having a friend to chat and catch up with. She and I took will around Disneyland on all the rides he wanted to go on. Then we met up with Mom, Cathy and the girls at California adventure. Between going on rides with Will, Mom and Cathy were kind enough to watch him so Rachel and I could go on some of the height restriction rides. My favorite was Tower of Terror. We also loved the California Screamin'. After we all had our fill of rides, we went to dinner back at the hotel restaurant. It was a wonderful day!

Day 3
In the morning we all piled back into the car and took the somewhat long drive down to San Diego to go to Sea World. Everyone except mom and I napped while we drove. We arrived just as the park opened. We had a lot of fun watching the dolphin show, the amazing pets show, and the Shamu show. We saw all sorts of animals in the exhibits, which Will loved because he loves animals. The kids even got to feed the Seals! (I was attacked by a seagull as I was carrying the fish that I had bought for Will to feed the seal. Yikes! Stupid bird.) Will and I also went and pet a Clydesdale horse, while Mom and Cathy took Mickayla and Maddie to go on the Journey to Atlantis ride. That night when we got back to the hotel we went and soaked our sore muscles in the hot tub. (Isn't it sad that we were sore, just from walking around Disneyland and Sea World?)

Day 4
We had planned this day to be our relaxation/beach day. It was relaxing, but it wasn't quite the day on the beach that I had hoped for. It was pretty chilly. I sat (fully clothed) on the beach with Cathy and Mom, while the girls played in the water (I don't know how they could stand the cold) and Will built a sand castle and chased Seagulls. After about 2 hours Cathy and I couldn't stand the cold anymore so we all decided to go back to the hotel and warm up in the hot tub. We then cleaned up and headed out to go to our Medieval Times dinner. My friend Rachel and her husband Steve met us there. We had a great time! Will watched the show intently and then afterwards had a sword fight with Steve.

Day 5
We woke up earlier this morning in order to get to Disneyland early and fit in as much Disney time before we had to head to the airport. We started at Disneyland and then worked our way over to California Adventure. Going on all of our favorite rides again. We also ran into quite a few characters to take pictures with, and did a little bit of shopping for souvenirs to bring home. We then headed toward the airport.

It was a very fulfilling, fun, exhausting vacation. I think we all had a blast, but are happy to be back home.

Until next time....

2009-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Things I miss about living on my own:

-Having my own place in general

-My furniture. Mostly my big 4 post bed, and my couch

-Inviting friends over

-Having quiet time when I want it quiet

-Coming home late and not being worried about waking anyone up

-Having a kitchen that is mine that I can cook in all the time (mom - I know I can cook in your kitchen when I want to, but it's still different)

Things that are great about living with my parents:

-Saving money so that I can look forward to owning my own place

-Having built in babysitters and not having to get Will ready to go to Grandma's house every morning. We just wake up and we're there

-Having a yard for Will to play in. That is safe (minus this little thing) so I don't have to watch him while he plays

-Having Mickayla around so that will gets a little bit of a taste of what it would be like to have a sibling, so he doesn't grow up not knowing how to share

-Being surrounded by people that I love. Having someone to come home to and tell stories to.

-Hearing "bye, love you, have a good day" when I leave for work

-Knowing that Will is in a place that he loves when I leave for work (although he still asks me every morning to not go to work)

-And this! (below) As I get ready for work my mom brings me my breakfast. And then when I go upstairs to leave for work my lunch is sitting by the door waiting for me. And when I get home dinner is usually almost ready.

Awe, the good life! My mommy loves me! :)

Can you tell what I do for a living?

2009-03-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

Our Disneyland trip is in 3 days (and counting.) I realize this is just a vacation, but I like to be prepared. So I made a note book with the information that I think that I will want easily available.

Flight info: for Mom, Mickayla, Will and my flight. As well as for Aunt Cathy and Maddies flight, just in case they call in a panic.

Car reservation: So we dont run into the off chance of getting to the reservation counter, just to have them say that they don't have record of our reservation.

Hotel reservation: same as car reservation

Show times: This includes park hours for each day for Disneyland, California Adventure and Sea World. Along with the times of any parades or shows.

Driving directions: Even though we have addresses for all of the places that we are going, and I have a GPS on my phone. I thought I'd print out directions (to and from, everywhere we are going while in CA,) just so they are easily accessible.

Then in the back there is a clip that holds all of our tickets, which have been prepaid and printed out so we dont have to stand in line. (Disneyland, Seaworld, parking at Sea World, Medieval Times)

And you dont even want to know how many other lists I've made. And I'm sure I'll make many more in the next 2.5 days. :)

Ikea and Bribery

2009-03-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Mickayla and Will came with me to Ikea. I told them that they needed to show me that they could get along, as practice for Disneyland. They did a great job. Once they got tired of walking they both decided to get in the cart so that I could push them around. People kept commenting about how cute and well behaved they were all cuddled up in the cart. And I got a great work out by pushing a super heavy cart around the store. (By the way, that is not a large rat that Mickayla is holding. That is Decko. Ikea allows pets in the store, so he got the pleasure of accompanying us. He was a good dog and just sat in the cart quietly. )

Because the kids were so well behaved I bought them each a $1.25 cent frozen yogurt cone. Here is a pic of Will eating his cone in the car. I tried to minimize the mess by making a bib typed thing out of napkins.

On another note:

Mom had the great idea of bribing the kids with Disneyland money. Well ok, she has them do jobs for her around the house and they get money to spend at Disneyland, but I use the same idea as bribery to get Will to do what I want him to do. I figure I'm gonna end up spending the money anyway, so I might as well get something out of it. Mostly I've been bribing him to finish his dinner or sleep in his bed through the night. "Will, if you eat all of your chicken nuggets then I'll give you $1 dollar for Disneyland."

Well he's caught on to this idea but not really in the way I had anticipated. On Saturday he was down stairs watching a movie. I walked in the room and he said to me, "Mom, if you go get me chocolate milk, I'll give you $5!" I laughed and then went and got him chocolate milk.

Yoga Pretzels

2009-03-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Lately Will has randomly decided to do some weird poses and stretches. I asked him if he was doing Yoga, to which he replied, "What's yoga." I tried to explain in 3 year old terms so he'd understand, then he confirmed, "Yep, I'm doing Yoda!"

So yesterday we went and bought these Yoga Pretzel cards. Last night Will and I tried some of the yoga poses out. Although I have to admit, I thought it would go over better. Will doesn't really get my instructions. But we still had fun.

(I really need to charge my camera... my phone camera is just not cutting it.)

Random things

2009-03-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

People keep posting these "random things" on facebook and stuff. Maybe it's dumb, I dont know. But when I read other peoples I found them interesting, so I decided to try it myself. Here you go. {Steph - you probably already know all of these things, and you probably know even more random things about me than I do. :)}

1. I think I might have a slight case of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder.) I say slightly because first of all, I don’t think I would be diagnosed as this because I don’t do anything that really interferes with my daily activities. But just enough to be a bit odd. For example, the other assistants in the office make fun of me, because this is how it looks when I stock the work refrigerator. Everything needs to be facing the same direction. {oh my goodness! I just realized that the 7ups in this picture are not straight. You have no idea how much that bothers me.}

2. I am an executive assistant to the Vice President of an aerospace company. Sounds cool, but it’s not that cool. At least not as cool as my sister’s job of being EA to the CEO of Google. Really I just do a lot of travel arranging and answering phones and e-mails…. And other than that I have a lot of time to blog stock people and shop online.

3. I went to school to be a massage therapist. Every guy I have dated has really enjoyed this fact about me. But usually I only give someone a massage if I think I can get one in return. And when anyone else asks for a massage I remind them, “I dropped out.” I only went for 1 term. And although I learned a ton (there is a lot more to it than simply a “back rub”) I decided that I liked it as a hobby {if you can call it that} but didn’t want it as an occupation.

4. I don’t really like children. Yes, I know, this sounds horrible. And don’t worry; I of course love my own son. And I even love my friend’s kids, and kids that I’m related to. But in general I don’t seek out children. Oh, and I HATE it when kids try to tickle you. It hurts! Ugh.

5. Apparently I’m a flirt, or for some reason guys just like to ask me out. From my current job I’ve gone on dates with the FedEx guy, the mail man (he was only a sub for 2 days), and the heating and air-conditioning guy. I don’t intend for them to ask me out. And I don’t mean to be flirting. But they always come back and ask me out. :/

6. My biggest fear in life is that I will never marry again. Sure there are lots of guys to date, and some of them would even marry me. But I want to be sure that I find someone who is my best friend, that I can truly say I want to spend the rest of my life with. Because I NEVER want to go through a divorce again.

7. I really do think my dog is cute. People say all the time that he is ugly, or that he looks like a rat. Ok, I get the he looks like a rat thing, but I really don’t think he’s ugly. He was cuter as a puppy, but I still think he’s cute. Maybe it’s just because of my emotional connection to him. But I love my dog… huge ears and all.

8. I have a really hard time buying clothes that have color. You know the store White House Black Market ? I love that store, and I wish it was my closet. I love black and white (mostly black.) I have to consciously tell myself that I have to buy things with color. And then consciously tell myself that I need to wear color, because other wise I wear black and white every day.

9. I am currently living with my parents, trying to save up money for a down payment on a condo. Although I obviously wish I was living in my own place, I actually really love living with my parents. I think my relationship with my parents has really improved over the time since I’ve moved back in. I feel like my parents are not only my parents but also my friends. (And I also love that my mom spoils me and makes me breakfast and lunch every day.)

10. I can’t stand the feeling of a news paper. I hate how the news print comes off on your fingers. It’s like nails on a chalk board to me. I hate this feeling so much that when the mail comes at work and I’m bringing it around to people I make sure that I don’t actually have to touch the news paper. I strategically place the normal mail on the outside so that I can grip the newspaper without actually touching it.

11. I have a bad habit of finishing people’s sentences. It’s completely rude. And I realize that. I don’t mean to be rude, and it’s not that I think what I’m saying is better than what they are saying. It’s more like at the time I am trying to show that I am listening, or that I understand what they are saying, by finishing the sentence. UGH! Why do I do that? It’s so dumb. I’m sorry everyone… I’m trying to work on it.

12. I put a clean pair of socks on every night before I go to bed. I don’t like that the bottom of the bed is cold, so I put the socks on to keep my feet warm until the bed warms up. And then right before I fall asleep (or sometimes in my sleep) I take my socks off. But then in the morning I can’t wear those socks, not because they are dirty, because I only wore them in bed for a few minutes, but because they are stretched out and I want my socks to have that tight feeling of clean socks.

13. I love steak. Just thinking about it makes me want steak. Mmm, and I like it medium, sometimes medium-rare if I am feeling daring (or if I want to impress my date.) But the crazy thing about this… I used to hate red meat. I thought it was super gross. Keith – my now brother in law, once took me to Daniels. I don’t remember why we were there. But I was having chicken (which I would NEVER do now! Chicken, at a steak place!) and he told me that I should just try a piece of his filet mignon. It took some convincing, but eventually I tried a bite. From then on I’ve been hooked. But guess what? Keith is now a vegetarian! Weird, right?

14. I have really wrinkly palms. They look like an old persons hands. They have always looked that way. I remember having a conversation about them with a friend back in Jr. High.

15. I think I have a sugar addiction. I love sugar. I’m not huge on candy really… more like baked goods. And as my coworkers and my best friend like to tease me about, I like my coffee about 1/4th coffee creamer. And the thought of drinking coffee black makes me want to gag.

16. I have a motorcycle. A Kawasaki Ninja 250. I love it. I bought it for myself for my birthday last year. I wish I had more opportunity to ride it, but the weather around here doesn’t get along with my “fair weather rider” status.

17. It bothers me if the toilet paper roll is on backwards. “What way is forwards?” you ask. It should roll over the top to that the loose toilet paper falls in front. I don’t know why this is the right way, it just is. And I am not above changing it if I notice that it’s on the wrong way while I am using the restroom at someone else’s house. I figure that it’s not that they wanted it the other way, they just didn’t know there was a right way.

18. I love law/crime shows. CSI, Criminal Minds, Forensic files…. I think that they have change the way that I view things, and my brother in law has the same problem. As an example, here is a text conversation that Keith and I had the other day: Me: “I just saw part of a garbage bag sticking out of someone’s truck. First thought?” Keith: “It’s a body!” “I bet they could get a partial print off that bag...” Me: “That was totally my first thought too!” Sad, huh?

19. I don’t have a middle name. And I don’t really like either of my other names. My parents didn’t give any of their girls middle names, with the idea that we would keep our maiden name as our middle name when we are married (which I did while I was married.) I don’t like my first name because I think it’s too simple and doesn’t sound feminine. You can say it with out moving your mouth. Go ahead and try. Erin. See! Lame! And my last name, people can never understand it, and I get sick of spelling a name that they should be able to figure out.

20. I get more headaches than anyone that I know (other than my mom maybe.) I almost always have some degree of headache. Usually Tylenol can get me through. But if they get bad then I {with the help of my drug supplier mother} break out the heavy stuff. And if you ask Steph, she can spot a migraine coming before I even tell her that my head is killing me. How? Because I’ll drink Coca Cola (note: the real stuff, not diet), and I never drink soda unless my head hurts.

21. I’m almost never thirsty. I have to make myself drink anything. Right now it’s a little after 3pm, and I have had less than a 4th of the 16oz water bottle that is on my desk. I just don’t feel thirsty. Ok…. I’m gonna make myself chug this bottle of water before I continue…..blah, that was painful.

22. I can watch movies or tv shows that I’ve seen before and not remember the ending. Sad, right. But it’s also wonderful. Because I am surprised all over again. Usually you’d be disappointed when a show is a re-run, I still am a little bit, but not too much because I can watch it again and still be entertained.

23. I memorize things more easily if they are put to song. I’m not active in church anymore, but I still remember all of my Articles of Faith, because I memorized them in song form. Oh, and in second grade good ol’ Mr. Johnson taught us how to spell because with a little song, and I still remember it that way, “B-E-C-A-U-S-E, I can spell because you see.”

24. I’m left handed. I guess. I eat left handed and I write left handed. But I do every thing else right handed. I play all sports right handed. The old man that delivers our pay role checks every-other week likes to remind me, as I’m signing for the delivery, that being left handed is a sign that you are evil. Really?! Who says that? Plus shouldn’t he be nice because if I were evil then wouldn’t he want to be nice to me?

25. My best friend and I are complete opposites. (which, I think is why we get along so well.) She loves girly movies - I’d rather not go to them. I love to wear dangly earrings – she doesn’t even know if her ear piercings are open because it’s been so long since she wore earrings. She loves pink – I hate it. She loves diet coke – I refuse to drink diet anything. ….. but although we are completely different we both think the other person is great! Which is why we’ve been BFF’s since 5th grade.

Gee - Wizz

2009-02-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

As you all know Stephanie is my BFF. She makes me laugh all of the time. And I just love the dumb conversations that we have. Here is a snipit from our online conversation just a bit ago:

......
Stephanie: lol oh geese
me: lol
do you know that's how you spell geese like the bird?
it makes me laugh every time you say that because you mean oh jeese
I dont know how to spell jeese
hmmm
Stephanie: lol
honk
me: lol
I'm gonna say "oh honk" from now on
Stephanie: lol
me: I asked Amanda how to spell it and she said geese
and I told her that's like a bird
then she said jeese
but that's kinda like Jesse, the name
so I dont know
Stephanie: exactly
i think its geeez
me: I can't find it when I google it either
usually it'll be like "did you mean.."
Stephanie: with 3 e's
me: AH!
yeah, that looks right
and with a z
maybe geeze?
lol
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geeze
Stephanie: oooooh that sounds good
me: short for Gee wizz
lol
Stephanie: k im gunna do geeze
lol
me: LOL
wow
......

2009-02-24T09:33:00.001-08:00

This morning I went to preschool registration. For some reason the City of Redmond handles their registration by doing a lotto drawing. All of the parents who want their kids in preschool show up, they draw a number, and based upon that number you get to register your child in the class you want. The class I wanted Will in had 7 openings. There were at least 40 parents there. I never do well in lottery type situations, so I full heartily expected to draw # 40. There was an odd tension in the room. We are all there for our children, a noble cause.... yet there was a sense of competition.... after all we were all hoping to draw a better number than everyone else. The guy came around with the number bag and a hoped for the best. I pulled out my number and couldn't believe it. #6! Will was for sure in the class that I wanted him in! I had a little celebration in my mind, but played it cool so I wouldn't be tackled by other parents who wanted my number. I soon after signed him up, paid the registration fee and left with the feeling of glares upon me.

Maybe I'll buy a lotto ticket tonight. Just to test this luck of mine. :)

Day 2

2009-02-19T16:55:00.001-08:00

My thoughts

first: he hasn't caught on

second: does he think that putting the oldest dish on top will disguise the fact that there are more dishes?

third: he can't even rinse them out or throw away the plastic spoons that he used?!

fourth: He's not going to be in the office tomorrow but I WILL leave them their until Monday!

yuck!

2009-02-18T16:52:00.000-08:00

This picture is of a Tupperware that is in the sink in our kitchen at work. I saw it there this morning and like usual thought "Can't people load their own dishes?!" I usually clean up the dishes that are in the sink, but I decided this time was going to be different. I know who this Tupperware belongs to, and he is constantly leaving his dishes in the sink for someone else to load. Well Amanda and I have put down our feet (foot?) and have decided we're going to see how long it takes for him to catch on. It is currently 4:59. One full work day that it has been sitting in the sink. We'll see how long it stays there.

Ugh! Who does that? I mean what adult does that? yuck! Also, you can't tell from the picture, but the fork that is in the Tupperware is a serving fork.... really?!.. did he really eat with a serving fork?! ugh!

Please give your opinion!!

2009-02-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

Last night, my Mom and I had a debate about what color my sweater is. I wont tell you which opinion each of us had, as to not sway your opinion... but please help us settle this debate.

What color do you think this sweater is?

(Please make up your mind before you go to comment so that your answer is not swayed by anyone elses opinion.)

Sorry the picture is blurry. For some reason it is either really small, or really blurry, but for the purpose of this post it doens't matter if it is blurry.

Soundtrack of my life

2009-02-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

This one is for you Brent...

My Bro-in-law Brent "tagged me" to do this little song survey. So here ya go:

Rules:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For the first question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button TWICE
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...just type it in!
7. NO CHEATING!!!

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?

1. Opening Credits:
"With my own 2 hands" Jack Johnson

2. Waking Up:
"Warning Sign" Coldplay

3. First Day at School:
"No such thing" John Mayer

4. Falling in Love:
"The way I am" Ingrid Michaelson

5. Losing Virginity:
"I'll do anything" Jason Mraz

6. Fight Song:
“Fast car” Tracy Chapman

7. Breaking Up:
“Rodeo Clowns” Jack Johnson

8. Prom:
“Breakdown” White people/Jack Johnson

9. Life:
“grey street” Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds (This is sad, my life is a ‘grey street’L )

10. Mental Breakdown:
“Roll if you fall” Barefoot Truth

11. Driving
“Crash into Me” Dave Mathews (YIKES!)

12. Flashback:
“My stupid mouth” John Mayer (ha ha, so true!!)

13. Getting Back Together:
“Everything’ll be alright” Joshua Radin

14. Wedding:
“Waiting in Vain” Bob Marley

15. Birth of Child:
“Where we gonna go from here” Mat Kearney

16. Final Battle:
“The Zephyr Song” Red Hot Chili Pepers

17. Death Scene:
“Trouble” Cold Play

18. Funeral Song:
“Digging a Ditch” Dave Matthews (LOL how perfect!)

Back

2009-02-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

This is a scanned copy of the print out that the chiropractor gave me of the thermal scan that they did of my back. (sorry it's not really clear)

White: Normal

Green: Problem starting

Blue: Problem

Red: Bad Problem

Black: REALLY bad problem

Yikes!

Do not try this at home...

2009-02-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

I did not have a good weekend. I felt like an old person. Let me tell you why:

On Friday afternoon at work I needed to reach a latch at the top of a really high door. So I grabbed the closest chair, which happen to have wheels on it. And since I was on a hard wood floor that was really not a good idea. And I realized that, but thought, "oh well what's the worse that could happen?" Well the chair started to turn so I grabbed on to the door, then the chair rolled right out from under my feet. The rest is a blur, but from my injuries I have kinda gathered what might have happened... I hit my head and my forearm on the metal door frame. (read: huge bump on my head, possible concussion, bone bruise on forearm.) Then when I hit the floor I landed on my right hip, hitting my knees and ankle, and arm again. (read: bone bruise on hip, normal bruises on knees and ankle, and royally messed up my back) then I fell backward from there and hit the back of my head. I laid there for a while and couldn't move and almost passed out. My coworkers wanted to call and ambulance but I refused. Because seriously, I'm not 80, how lame would it be to have an ambulance come just because I fell off a chair?! So I sat there for a while, and then drove home. My back was killing me the whole way home, and within a few hours my whole back and neck were crazy tight and sore.

..... so yeah, my weekend consisted of laying in bed like an old person. I have a chiropractic appointment at 4:15 this afternoon. :)

blind man

2009-02-06T09:32:00.001-08:00

The other day I saw another interesting thing as I was driving home from work...

There is a blind man that lives in Redmond that I often see walking around with his seeing eye dog. However, this time was a bit different. I saw them walking on the trail that runs along the slough (the little stream thing.) Which made me wonder:

Does he tell his dog, "I want to go for a walk along the slough" and the dog brings him there? or does the dog decide what they do for the day and the man is just along for the ride (or walk rather)?

Similarly, when the dog takes him to the grocery store, does he tell the dog that he needs milk and the dog brings him to the milk section? How does it work?!

question for all of you...

2009-02-05T09:41:00.000-08:00

As I was driving home I saw a sign on a new construction building that said "for rent" and had a phone number. The building was in Bellevue right off of 405 and had very large windows. And as I drove this was my train of thought,

I wonder if that is for residential or business?
Those are big windows.
If that is for residential then people could see you in your apartment from the road.
What if you were naked?!

and here is where my real question comes:

If you were naked in your own home and people could see you, could you be charged with indecent exposure?

I have an idea!

2009-02-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Last night Will and I were making cupcakes to bring to one of my friends at work for her birthday. As with most kids, Will's favorite part of making any sweets is when he gets to lick the beaters. We made 2 different types of cupcakes, so as I was busy taking the first batch out of the oven Will was licking the beaters from the second batch. I wasn't paying much attention to him until he said the following:

"Hey Mom! I have an idea!"

(half paying attention) "What Will?"

"When it's all gone, you just dip it back in the bowl!" (said with much excitement and a sound of accomplishment in his voice.)

Just then I looked over as he dipped the beater back into the bowl of batter, not knowing if this was the first time he'd done this, or if he just now decided to share his great idea with me.

I told him that we shouldn't do that because we don't want to share our germs. (He was not impressed.) I then proceeded to scoop the batter into the cupcake cups. ... And as I write this my coworkers are eating the cupcakes. :)

Question: do germs bake out when you cook the cupcakes?

Popcorn

2009-02-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

Here is the text from an e-mail I just got from my mom:

"William went up stairs and I heard him banging around in the kitchen. I figured he was getting a snack. He came back down with a bag of popcorn. He handed it to me and said "I popped you popcorn. I thought you would like it." I was baffled. I said, how did you know how to pop popcorn? He said "I just pushed the green button." The popcorn was popped perfect. What a smart kid you have!"

2008 in review

2009-01-22T08:46:00.000-08:00

I saw this little survey thing on my friend Noelle's blog and thought it was kinda fun....

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Traveled by myself to Hawaii

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't really make new years resolutions. But my goal to save up money for a condo... I did save, but could have saved more.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

I can't think of anyone. I'd like for someone close to be to give birth, because I want to hold a little baby... :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?

People that I know, but no one close to me. Which is actually amazing since I've experienced a lot of death in my life time.

5. What countries did you visit?

none... Well Hawaii is part of the US but I swear it's a different world!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

More money in savings.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

The day I flew to Hawaii by myself - because it was so freeing, the day before Trev proposed - lying to Steph to get her to not expect the proposal

8. What was your biggest personal achievement of the year?

Being more comfortable with being by myself

9. What was your biggest failure?

I dunno...

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

nope, pretty healthy year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My motorcycle for sure! I love my bike!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Trev's proposal to Steph! Love, love, love them!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

what's with the negative questions... I don't know, I try not to hold on to these thoughts.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Good question. :)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Hawaii, my motorcycle, Steph and Trev getting engaged, my trips to San Fran to visit sisters (and brother in laws)

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

Any Jack Johnson song

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier, fatter (just a little bit), richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

express gratitude to people that I love

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Cry

20. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Fell in love with the idea of being happy regardless of things outside my control

21. What was your favorite TV program?

Criminal minds

22. What was the best book you read?

The 4 agreements and/or The Mastery of Love

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Jack Johnson - my happy music

24. What did you want and get?

A motorcycle

25. What did you want and not get?

To win mega millions :)

26. What was your favorite film of this year?

The Holiday - I don't think it's from this year, but I had never seen it before this year - great chick flick.

27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 23- Bought my Motorcycle / Las Margaritas / Casino / watched a friends pro fight / theatre sports - all with great friends

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Winning mega millions :)

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

a mix of H&M, Forever 21 and White House Black Market

30. What kept you sane?

Stephanie - BFF

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-22T22:12:00.000-08:00

We've had lots of fun in the snow. It doesn't seem like it could possibly be Redmond. We've made some serious fashion statements (my favorite being my full body suit that used to be grandpas. I swear that is just puff and my butt doesn't actually fill that.)

And we've had lots of adventures.

Ward Christmas Party

2008-12-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

We went to the ward Christmas party last Friday night. Will was especially excited to see Santa. I told Will he needed to wait for his Daddy to get to the party before we saw Santa since his Dad wanted to take pictures too. We decided to wait in the long line while waiting for Brett. While in line Will said to me, "Mom, I just want to see him." I told him that he could go peak around the people but that he needed to wait his turn to sit on his lap. Will didn't quite understand and ran right up to Santa, inches away from his knees... while another child was on his lap. I had to run up and grab him and apologize to the other kids. :) Once it was Wills turn he was so excited that he couldn't even talk. Santa was asking him questions, but Will just smiled and didn't really say anything. It was pretty cute.

Snowflake Lane & the Botanical Gardens

2008-12-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

Last week Mom and I took Mickayla and Will to the "Snowflake Lane" presentation out side of Bel-Square. They loved dancing with the drummers and meeting rudolph. They also thought the snow was pretty cool.

After we were done at Snowflake Lane, we headed over to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. The lights were amazing.

Will's first kiss

2008-11-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went over to our Friends, Joy and Damon's house, to play the fun game. Joy and Damon have 2 little girls who are the cutest thing ever. Bailey who is 4 and Mia who is about 18 months.

Will and Bailey were playing downstairs while the adults were playing the game upstairs. I said to Joy, "The kids have been quite for a while... That can't be good." So she sent Damon downstairs to check on them.

Damon quietly went down the stairs and heard nothing. The kids had a little tent that they had been playing with, and he could see that they were in the tent. He said, "Hey! What are you guys doing?" They both came crawling out of the tent and were both wiping their mouths. Damon said again, "What were you guys doing?" Bailey said, "Talking." Damon, "Talking about what?" Bailey, "About the zoo." Will chimed in, "Yeah, talking about the Zoo!" Damon, "I've been down here for a little while and I didn't here any talking."

Damon came up and told the rest of us what was going on. A little while later Will came upstairs. I whispered in his ear, "Did you kiss Bailey?" He got a huge smile on his face and replied "Yeah!" as he shook his head. We all laughed.

We all thought it was funny... except for Damon. I guess he is already protective of his beautiful little girls.

Will and I had a little talk about how for now he should only kiss Mommy. But I must admit, he picked a pretty cute girl for his first kiss. ;)