Just Another Day in Paradise

We had a 3 day weekend, which was made more fun by the presence of Marian's very best friend, Adrian. He got to spend all day with us on Monday, and Marian was delighted. We had a good time and took some pictures. I deeply mourn the lack of my lovely good camera, and must make do with the not-so-good one. Thus, I bring you..... ho-hum pictures of life this past weekend!

Delaney loves to have her picture taken. And she loves to take pictures of lots of random items around the house. Thank goodness for the delete button! Here is one of the pictures I did not delete.

Rylee thinks she is so clever these days. She has learned to take off her diaper. Unfotunately, she does it any time she is not wearing pants. Occasionally this leads to puddles on the floor, or nakey table dancing. It usually leads to her running and giggling like a maniac till I can grab her an get her diapered and dressed fully.

Well, there are so few pictures of me, I thought I should include this delightful shot, courtesy of Delaney on a photo spree!

Marian and Rylee were so cute, feeding each other marshmallows. I love it when they get along nicely!

We made and decorated mini-cakes on Monday. This is what Marian and Adrian did to theirs. Don't they look delicious?! I did discover that vanilla almond milk does a nice job in creating dairy-free frosting. It was yummy.

Callie was so excited, she couldn't hold still enough for a picture, and I took 3! She had a cute cake.

Later, we went to the park. Can I tell you how gorgeous the weather was?! It was fabulous. (And then it poured all day today and got cold. Sigh.)

We went to this park once, 2 years ago, so the kids were thrilled with it. Much fun was had by all. Except for my allergies. Flonase helps a lot, but not enough!

Delaney is Queen of the Playground!

Callie is so pleased she could climb on top of the monkey bars. They had a good time at the park. It was a fun day, but boy was I tired!

Tonight, I almost couldn't find Delaney in the mess of blankets and pillows on her bed. Such a funny girl!

Getting to Know You

Welcome to the new 2011 edition of getting to know your family and friends.

1. What color are your socks right now?

White, and they are Marin's. I ran out of socks and stole hers.

2. What are you listening to right now?

The Soup

3. What was the last thing you ate?

Brownies! Yummy brownies.

4. Can you drive a stick shift?

That's my preference, but minivans don't come with a stick shift.

5. Last person you spoke to on the phone?

My parents, on Skype. My fabulous neighbor Charity, on the phone.

6. Do you like the person who sent this to you?

Yes- I admit, this came as an email, but I don't like forwarding stuff like this. I don't mind sharing though. And I've taken out all the email and forwarding questions.

7. How old are you today?

Sadly, the kids asked me this question this week and I honestly had to do the math! Yikes! I'm old enough to forget how old I am. 36 today though.

8. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV

Does the show "Wipeout" count? If not that, I like to watch Equestrian Eventing or Show Jumping. But ask me when was the last time that was actually on?! No, I'm not a sports fan.

9. What is your favorite drink

Water. Lots and lots of water.

10. Have you ever dyed your hair?

Not yet, but I am going way too gray way too early.

11. Favorite food?

Sadly cliche, but that would be chocolate!

12. What is the last movie you watched?

Movie Night with the kids was tonight and we had a rowdy viewing of "The Last Airbender."

13. Favorite day of the year?

Christmas, although I think Jessica's choice of "the first day of school" may be a close second!

14. How do you vent?

I cry, call all my friends and my sisters and my mom, and I cry to Dan. Sometimes I blog.

15. What was your favorite toy as a child?

Toys? Hmmm..... We liked to play with Little People, but I think our pets were my favorite "toys." Poor guinea pigs, poor beagle!

16. What is your favorite season?

I like Fall because the temperature is nice, and there isn't as much rain as Spring. And the changing color of leaves and wind make me want to kick up my heels.

17. Cherries or Blueberries?

Are they fresh? Both if they are. If they come from a can, I like cherries on cheesecake and in Chocolate Cherry Cake. Blueberries are only good fresh or in smoothies.

18. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?

Always!

19. Living situation?

Fabulous! And soon to be changing. We'll be moving this summer and who knows what it will be like then! At least I'll still have the most important stuff: my sweetie pie and our 5 ankle-biters!

20. When was the last time you cried?

Yikes. I should have planned this better. I will be honest and admit I watched Howie Mandell's new show "Mobbed" last night and it did make me shed a tear. Hey, after 5 kids, the hormones are still whacked out and it doesn't take much to make me cry these days! And with Dan out of town, I can be as weepy as I want.

21. What is on the floor of your closet right now?

Some things should not be asked. I'll take a guess and say shoes, clothes, lots of dust, and who knows what else.

22. What did you do last night?

Last night was the Relief Society Birthday Celebration and I had a good time, hanging out with the great ladies in my ward.

23. What are you most afraid of?

Screwing up my kids, not doing the best I can, dying in a fire, people thinking I'm stupid or inadequate, being embarrassed.... Oh, I could go on.

24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?

Five Guys little cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes and grilled onions. Insert drool.....

25. Favorite dog breed?

German Shepherds are my favorite, but I like anything other than Cocker Spaniels.

26. Favorite day of the week?

Saturday because Dan lets me sleep in, AND I can get a nap if I want one!

27. How many states have you lived in?

CA, UT, CO, AZ, NJ, ID, VA, NC, AR... I think I got 'em all.

28. Diamonds or pearls?

Either one works for me, but I admit to being just fine with fake. Who really needs the real thing if no one can tell the difference without a magnifying glass?

29. What is your favorite flower?

Gerber daisies

30. Favorite color?

Blue. But I like anything bold!

12 years of marriage

My new time waster is watching episodes of "21 Jumpstreet" on Netflix. The only excuse I have for this behavior is my depraved childhood. We didn't get to watch tv and all my friends raved about the show. Yes, I'm so dating myself. Still, I never watched it and when I saw it was on Netflix, I had to. Yikes! Were shows really that terrible 25 years ago?!! This really just leads into the comment that Samuel L Jackson was on an episode today. This has no bearing on anything that matters. It is a trivial thing that amused me, and I am sad that Dan is not here to mention it to. No one else cares. Heck, Dan wouldn't even care, but he would indulge me and pretend to be interested.

He and Joshua have been gone less than 24 hours and I already miss them. Dan is my best friend; the one I talk to about everything. I already want to talk to him about the dining room table. One of the legs partly broke today. It still stands and functions, but will it survive another move? Should we think about replacing it? And how do you find a sturdy, affordable table that seats 8? Is it worth investing in something new now? We could probably buy 2 cheaper tables that seat 4 each, but do we want to? What are we willing to spend? I can talk to myself about it, but it works much better when I have Dan's feedback.

I'd also tell him about walking the kids home from school. Why on earth does it wait till I'm leaving the house to rain? By then its about too late to drive, and I had 6 kids to pick up today and they would not have all fit into the van with Rylee and Delaney and me anyway. So we had to walk. It rained and then it hailed and the kids had a blast. It actually was fun, since I had the foresight to grab some umbrellas and rain slickers. So they stayed mostly dry and had a good time.

If Dan were home, I'd show off the 5 loads of laundry I got folded, and I'd brag about the walk I went on with my neighbor this morning. But he's not here, so I have to swallow it. Don't get me wrong, I am okay without him, and I am perfectly able to manage on my own. I just miss the little things, like telling him the dumb stuff that interests me each day. We usually talk on the phone once a day when he's at work. Just a short call to touch base and say hello. We don't usually have big things to talk about. For the next 3 weeks, if he calls or emails we will talk about important things, not those little things. I will ask if he made sure to take a picture of Joshua that has the entire Leaning Tower of Pisa in it and if Joshua has taken pictures of Dan. He will tell me about their adventures and it will be a wonderful conversation. But I won't mention the table, or Samuel L Jackson, or walking home from school.

So, my friends, if I call you to tell you that I swept the floor or that I was watching reruns of "Say Yes to the Dress," you will know why!

My Sunday

I was super excited yesterday because Rylee was finally 18 months! Yay! I could not wait for her to go to Nursery. She was incredibly busy and active during Sacrament Meeting. She was all over the place and needed to go out twice- once due to bonking her head, once due to her noisy behavior. she even got away from me once and Dan had to dash to keep her off the stand. Oops.

This was Rylee in the Mother's Lounge. She thought this rocker was soooo fun.

She even tried it backwards!

I was quite relieved to hand her off to Nursery after that. I got to sit through most of Sunday School before they brought her to me. She had a runny nose and was being kicked out for the day. Sigh. There went any possibility of me getting anything meaningful out of the rest of church.

Here is Rylee, frolicking in the foyer and being so silly. She ran all over the place, spilling a trail of cheerios that she went back to eat, and she laughed and giggled and had a ball. Me, not so much.

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Marian was very excited to go to church yesterday.

Can you guess why?

She got her ears pierced on Saturday and couldn't wait to show them off!

Isn't she lovely?!

Fun Foto Friday

It has been a lot more crazy week than I anticipated. So for today, you just get pictures. Fun pictures of the kids, who make me laugh!

Marian had a birthday and this is her best friend Adrian. They are so funny together. I was cracking up listening to their conversation. Anytime you need a laugh, just hang out with the two of them!

Callie makes me laugh with her bossiness and grand plans. She will make a wonderful teacher someday. And she loves to write me sweet notes. She will color a picture and write "Mommy I love you" on it. She is such a treasure!

This picture was a surprise. I did not take it and do not know how it got on my camera. I think it may be a self portrait by Joshua. He is a great kid. He is so excited to go to Europe with Dan that he can hardly stand it.

Delaney is so fun to have at home. She makes me laugh with her silly antics. I love that she's wearing her mittens.

And here is Rylee, wearing her jammy top, no shoes, and lots of dirt. She has been scooping up muddy water in her bowl and putting it into the little shopping cart. And she has been having a marvelous time doing it.

Yes, more Rylee. She discovered that she can climb up onto the window and open the shutters. She thinks she is hot stuff now!

My lovely ladies are playing doctor! Rylee had her 18 mos check up today. (Sorry Kera, I was waaay off on her weight!) She weighs 22 pounds and is in the 26th percentile and is 32.8 inches long, which I think was 76th percentile. The girls were having a blast playing, and Rylee loved saying "ahhhh."