Hop-ScotchZi

I think Elliet has a little control problem.
Found this on another area of our pool decking. She is serious, eh?
And the twins, again, demonstrated what the requirements were. That top area of FIVE squares across was.... can you guess? I couldn't either. From left to right: left foot, right foot, left hand, right hand, HEAD. Yes. Head. Sadie did it, too. And did it without toppling right over into the pool. Then Luke did it his way (Elliet was at school). A foot on each end, then a finger from one hand, two from the other. Much easier.
Busyness a brewing. Went Thursday night to a live broadcast of "This American Life" with a friend of mine. It was so nice to get out. Then Friday Scott went to his Youth Conference so it was just the kids and I. We hit the park and swam, picked up dinner, rented a movie, ate popcorn. I even squeezed in a bit of my book. Saturday I paid for the relaxing night with the kids.... after a very windy soccer game for Luke, we stayed home the rest of the day cleaning up, organizing and I also did a lot of school costume fabrication including a full Gingerbread Man get up, two two-layered full length skirts, two aprons, two bonnets and two yarn wigs. It was almost more than I could take but luckily we have Lego Star Wars to release some creative brain pressure (evil grin).
Anyway, here goes a crazy week followed by another crazy week. Dance rehearsals and pictures along with many other dee-doos. Looks like Obi-Wan is going to have to wait a while. Hope you have a Happy Monday!

New Moon Soon Soon

I know. It's not that long off the heels of my '17 Again' post that I am publicizing, yet again, another young movie. What is becoming of me? Next it will be jelly bracelets (check), video games (uh-oh) and tootsie pops (soon). Until then, humor me because this is, like, so big I am so serious. Or... it's old news. Whatever, it's new to me. Did you get goosebumps?! I did! Can't wait. It's also proof that all you Jacob doubters misjudged. He has grown up well indeed.

And side note: Again, new to me- (so that should give me some credit that I am two months late...) while shopping for Easter candy I found a stray box of Twilight conversation hearts from Vday. Hilarious! I couldn't resist buying them for my friend. Sayings included Bite Me, Bedazzle, I Want You, Soul Mate, etc. to name a few... but thought this one was the best of all.
Summer is gonna be fuuuuuun.....!

*Do you see what happens when I try to post more often? It's disastrous.

Nonsensicalness

Yes. That is a real word.
And I am avoiding responsibility at the moment.
I think I have acquired a small cold or very annoying allergies. Either way, my head is in a little fog and it's a drag, man. It is sucking my daily motivation.

What I really should be doing is this:
Grocery shopping*
Some store returns
Returning books to the library
Making kids school costumes
Getting a pedicure -Usually this would be a nice thing, and it is once you are there, but I still put it off. That's an hour of sitting! But I have neglected my poor feet long enough and need to get going on my book club book anyway so... I shall go.
What I'm doing instead is this: Blogging about dumb stuff.



Item 1- Don't know why but have felt like wearing bright nail polish lately so I snagged these two colors last week. The orange/red one is my current favorite and it may or may not look a little like a manicure color from a Florida retirement community. I love it. Next, the pink to match the plastic flamingos in my yard. Would you like to join me for some Crystal light and sip it from my porch while we watch the young men mow the lawn?





Item 2- This game is addicting. We played it again last night. We did fit in a small session with Sadie's princess game. She can pick dresses and jewelry, use a wand to free butterflies and crap like that. So before bed Luke and I had another little fix of the Force. I really like it. I don't think they have allergies in Space.

Alrightalrightalright. Time to get going in my day. I am itching for some of those "oddles noddles" anyway...


*This is NOT my grocery list but found by someone in a shopping cart. One word. Yikes.

The Curse of Andrea Button

Let me esplain...
(Pre-esplain. My last post was so full that this did not fit. I promise this is barely it's-own-post-worthy and I am aware of my age and what this says about me. To that I say, pishposh!)
So Friday is a friends Birthday. A friend of said friend says we are going to dinner and a movie. She also tells me we are seeing this. I admit that, upon watching previews, I didn't think I would ever see it because A) I haven't seen any of the High School musical movies, B) Do not have daughters old enough to know who Zach E is (I hardly know who he is) and C) um.... it just sounds good to have three reasons but I don't have a third. So why not. Looks fun, I'll see it. Oh MAN- it was really fun. And I already felt silly sitting in a theater full of teenage girls. We looked like a row of cougars (or pumas or whatever the stupid slang is). There are some good laughs in it. I mean, sure- it's Disney and all but I was not disappointed by the wit and delivery of the humor. I suggest everyone see it at least once (Yes, even the dudes). Girls, I suggest you see it about 5 times. I don't need to say much more on this. I now have a borderline inappropriate crush on Z.E, esp. in that leather jacket and glasses, skinny jeans and the plaid shirts!??!! All men should wear some of that plaid this summer!
Scott is out of town on Friday night. Hm. What is a girl to do all alone? If you see me in the back of the theater watching this again.... it's, uh, not me. I, like, totally swear.

Yo Twinsies, It's Yer Birfday

So... Let's see...
Yesterday was April 20th. The twins Birthday is on April 8th. It was time for a-proper celebrations. I did consider throwing a party with friends but the Saturday before was so full of activities that it just couldn't be done. And kind of a bummer because it's the big 5. But I think Disneyland was a fun way to ring it in, right?
Anyway, we had family over for some cake and ice cream/gift exchanges last night. I was a bit swamped with my day and had committed myself to picking up a yummy ice cream cake to save some time. Guess what?! It's like eating money. I walked in there ready to buy and could NOT get myself to spend $30 on a teeny tiny ice cream cake. Ridiculous. Especially when the place is in the actual Albertons parking lot. So I dragged all the kids over there and had the twins pick what ice cream they wanted, what cake and what frosting (you can see who's choice won over the other- it's even pink cake. Poor guy, not that he cared a whit) and hurried home to bake, cool and frost it. Whew! We had such a fun time catching up with Amy and Scott's parents. We ended up talking until 9pm while the kids played outside. The weather was wonderful and I had opened all the doors. Amy gave the kids bubbles and the soapy supply was gone within a half hour. Then focus turned to hopscotch. You could hear Elliet outside teaching the twins how it worked and what the rules were. This morning, I found the following hopscotch designs on our pool deck with sidewalk chalk. You can see, Elliet was VERY clear about one specific rule. Oh, and the four squares all next to each other? Sadie showed me that move today. You land with both feet in the right two squares, and touch your hands in the left squares. It's a good ab twist work out. Try it sometime. and NO CHEATING.
Other than Disneyland tickets, I wanted to get the kids a little something more. I mean, hey, the got in for free, so that means I can still buy them a gift, right? So I let them each pick a new Wii game. Luke chose the Star Wars Lego game. Sadie a princess game. Needless to say, Luke and I busted out Star Wars first today. So funny because we didn't know what we were doing, and better yet, when I tell him to follow me down the space corridor, I have to/get to call him LUKE. Get it? Wah Wah.
My other splurge were these hand puppets. I couldn't make these for the price they are- and so well done! They have a stick perched in one hand so you can talk and animate at the same time. I must admit that the cop was my favorite but I didn't get him. I chose a king for Luke instead. And now I think I need to go back and buy the cop. He is just so funny-he has a cop-stache. The stories that form in my mind already make me giggle. Anyway, I didn't unveil these to the kids last night. I did it this morning... at the side of their bed. Did you ever wake up with a cheer leader waving at you and hip-hip hooraying your Tuesday!? Why ever not? :)

Easters

Easter was a little lax this year as we just returned from vacation and I didn't have the bandwidth to go all out. Sunday was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect. We had a wonderful meeting at church and it was good to really reflect on what the day is all about and what an amazing price was paid for us.
As for the festive fun, I was talking to friends during class and they had all kinds of cool plans, things they were going to make for dinner, bake, etc.... so I came up with an idea in my head. An idea that matched my motivation (translation: a 50% cool idea).
After church we had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard. I bought those eggs that are disguised to look like grass and rocks, you know? And they work! It was fun to try and find them. And included there is a picture of Luke showing you the hole in his bottom row of teeth. After the kids gathered, they devoured and I went to work on my 'idea'.
So I'm thinking earlier that day and I says to myself, I says.... maybe I'll make cupcakes (as I think through ingredients in my cupboard... check, check, check) and put coconut on top (um.. yeah, I think I have a half a bag deep in the back... check) with jelly bean eggs (left over from kids school treats- check) and some kind of a handle.... check.
My friend told me how to color coconut so I was good to go! I mean, hey- they may actually look cute.
I make the cupcakes (from scratch- this is what happens when you don't plan. Note to self: Food storage must have emergency cake mixes) and start on the frosting. Oops! What frosting! I barely have enough eggs, I don't have powdered sugar... erg! So I do some make-shift Butter cream like what I learned a few weeks ago in class. LUCKILY it worked but I didn't have enough to frost all the cupcakes (ghetto-magnifico). Now for the fun. I'll make the grass a soft, light yellow color. Here goes with the food coloring and POWZA. This is what I got. Radioactive, electric yellow easter grass. Oh I couldn't help laughing at myself. By now I was going to finish these dang things, especially because it doesn't really matter what they ended up looking like, right? I ditch a creative handle and use a pipe cleaner, squish in the beans and done.
Naturally, the kids wouldn't have cared if I put broccoli on top. They ate them up and it was a seasonal treat so a happy ending for all.
Now back to real life. Things are getting very busy for me and I don't think it will stop until September. I have some fun projects that I want to do but they keep getting pushed aside for designing Rich & Randi's wedding invites, making school play costumes (and there are a LOT), doctors appointments, Kindergarten registry hiccups, preparing for Ragnar, other design work for friends.... and Girl Next Door should be next month!
But I am grateful to be busy, grateful to help, grateful for my wonderful family, my amazing husband, my delightful children, grateful for good friends and to live in such a beautiful place, grateful for good health and safety, grateful for a home, and most of all, grateful for the gospel. The world can be so wonderful if we make it so. Now.... I've avoided responsibilities enough. Back to life I go!

"Petal"stal

How cool is this cake stand?!
Sneaked a peek of it featured in the latest Real Simple. You can snag one here. After me, of course.

Spring Break

We had fun this year returning to Newport for another get away. I won't bore you with a play-by-play, but it was definitely filled with a lot of activity. Our friends from St. Louis, Brandon & Jackie Hill + their kids joined us and we had a great time. The kids are similar in age and get along great together. The forecast predicted 50/50 weather but it didn't rain a drop on us the entire time. Nice!
Here are some fun things we did:
*Scott found an awesome park just minutes from where we stayed while on a bike ride. Each trip we discover a little more and this park is a keeper. Great, big trees and a river where Luke happily tortured the ducks, chasing them around to death and monkey bars Elliet approves of.
*Chilling at Griffith Park, picnic and a ride on the retro Carousel, built back in the 30's! (we were supposed to go to the zoo but the line out the door frightened us away like a big, diseased snake)
*Legoland (and dinner with the Allens in Carlsbad. A plus!)
*Bike rides/Running along the beach.... grasping a life preserver, Hasselhoff by my side....
(more like panting with my tongue out at 15mph because I am training for this)
*Disneyland on the twins Birthday! It was 'supposed' to rain that day which, I think, scared away much of the Spring Break crowd. Lines were short, the kids loved wearing their special buttons and we hit CA Adventure for the first time. And rode CA Screamin' for the first time. And learned what my lunch tasted like coming back up for the first time (Not really. I loved it).
*Luke lost his FIRST TOOTH!
*Lounging by the pool, having long talks with Jackie, going to the beach...okay, okay... so I got to relax a little....

It was a fun, whirlwind of a trip. We really enjoyed catching up with the Hills. They are great friends. Thanks for joining us, guys! We returned with a day to get some quick groceries and semi-plan Easter. Some people think that Valentines Day is commercialized? Holy cow! Talk about all the fuss that the Easter bunny hands out. Ours is a simple guy. At least this year he was. :) More on that coming next.
Happy Spring!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Today is the twins Birthday. We have had a very fun day and as a result I am wiped out, so more to come on the events. Until then...
Happy Birthday Luke & Sadie!
I love love love you.

***And also Happy Birthday to MiMi!***
(They share their Birthday with Scott's Mom, Mary Jane)

I 'Propose'.... Some Fun

Um. Yeah. It's been a while. So let's just jump in with the latest!(At least, the latest up to 10 days ago since I still haven't the time to catch up to now)
DISCLAIMER: Mostly contains family/possibly boring stuff to peeps other than fam, so continue at your own risk. Do not read while operating heavy machinery or other such dangerousness....

The last weekend in March we took a quick trip to Utah for a two important reasons, and I will list them in appropriate order. The most important was a gift for my Grandmother. During our visit home over the holidays, Scott learned that my Grandmother (which, btw, is the title of her preference. She didn't want to be called 'Grandma' so we grew up calling her that) is a Utah Jazz fan. She is a pretty interesting woman as it is, but this new fact got him excited and they discussed going to a game. The Jazz were playing the Suns in SLC on Saturday, the 28th, so he got tickets for the two of them to go. It was a date... as well as ALL the other dudes: My Dad, both brothers, Cody (bro-in-law) and his brother, Todd. They made a big night of it complete with hot dogs, overtime and everything. And the Jazz won so it was a great night.
The other reason was a Birthday gift I planned for my Mom. Her bday is in Feb but this couldn't be redeemed until we planned a visit. So during our time there, I scheduled a long time friend of our family, Todd Stilson, to come give us a private art lesson at our house (more on this below). So those two things beckoned us to the frigid North. And hey, if you're going to go with a plan, then why stop at two things? So tuck into your chair with a snack, bucko, cuz' here's what we did....(Oh, first thing was get my hair done by Shep when I rolled in on Thursday- always a great excuse to catch up/hang out (and I went blondER to see if I like)).
Friday Jess set up a fun cooking class with Chef Jaxon (you must say it with your arms all a-fancy) who teaches private lessons from her home in Park City. We learned some bad things like how to make real butter cream frosting. It was a dark day. That is heavenly when it hits your tongue. I could skinny dip in the stuff. BAD! And THEN we used it (not the batch I skinny-dipped in, gross) to frost a three layer chocolate cake, layered with chocolate ganache, raspberry preserves and yes-the butter cream. THEN we learned all about Fondant! Say it properly now: FondAHNT. We colored it, rolled it out and covered the cake. Those are my skillful hands shaping it around the cake. So masterful, right? Jess was hosting a baby shower in a couple of days so we donated our poor class cake to her. But it turned out rather swimmingly. We even made little baby blocks, played with beading and letters, etc. It's fascinating stuff, this fondAHNT... and the twins need Bday cakes here soon.... :) We had a gay old time giggling and learning interesting tricks of the trade.
Now, take special note: in the final picture with Randi, she is modeling a little sparkly something on her left hand. Hmmm.... what could that be?! Could it be... a RING?! Yes indeed. Rich proposed to Randi the night before so it is official! Rich and Randi (now nicknamed R&R) will be... how you say.... getting married in mid-June. Hooray! We are so happy for them!
Next: Rockets. A friend and neighbor brought over these paper rockets and air compressor launcher for the kids to play with. They got up there pretty high, too. Can you see one in the sky? That little speck a little to the...Yeah, neither could I. It's actually pathetic how I even took that photo of the sky, thinking I would actually GET a picture of it way up there. I included that photo to simply reveal how lame that decision was. Luke was getting a little too trigger happy; loading and launching really fast just to make Elliet run and retrieve beyond her capacity. Cruel. A nifty toy though- I was surprised it entertained for so long.
And now Drawing. I originally wanted to do a class with my Mom on oil painting, but Todd said we had to start with the basics: Drawing. And he's right (insert me rolling my impatient eyes). So we lay out the supplies, he comes over and we three (Jess joined us) are started on the basics. The first half was fascinating stuff but then we had to actually pick up the pencil and start on the most mundane of all lessons: drawing a sphere (more rolling my eyes). This got quite a laugh between my Mom and I later because any art class, seventh grade and up has you do this effective exercise. But man it gets old when you don't improve on your drawings... and here we are thinking we could avoid that hurdle but you can't escape the sphere, people! It will be in the shadows always! The lowlight, the reflective light... ALL shadows! There is NO escape. Ah yes, but great times. Plus, Todd is just so cool and funny, it was great of him to come over.
The rest of the weekend was filled with little things: decorating easter eggs with Nana (mine was the rainbow- c'mon, I had to do SOMETHING after drawing a ball for an hour and a half) and that night when all the boys were at the game my Mom, Jess and I watched 'Australia'. Um: side note here.... great film. I really, really liked it. I won't even begin the Hugh Jackman subject because something that magnificent deserves it's own discussion but the movie was just a great, classic story. What is it with Australia lately? It's so beautiful there, good music keeps coming from there, I just freaking need to GO there.
And then.... the wonderful fun-filled weekend had to come to an end. The only thing I don't miss is the weather. Look at that! It is practically April and it was snowing when we left. See that photo? It was in the low 30's. When we arrived in Vegas, it had jumped 50 degrees. Ahhh home.... but only for a few days. It was nice to get up there and see my family and now with a wedding coming, we'll be seeing them a lot more in the coming months. Woot woot!

That's Some Nice Trash

I am a woman familiar with manias. This blog is just a small representation of the many fleeting interests that consume my head.
And I have a new one. A smelly one. A drrrrty one.
COMPOST!
Doesn't that sound SO fun, kids?! Banana peels are your friend!
I am discovering that this is the magic key to growing a successful garden. Which also means that my poor current garden attempt will be well on it's way before I can use my first compost batch.... ah well.
I started to save all my organic kitchen scraps and they added up pretty fast so I had to hurry yesterday and go buy a big trash bin, drill the top half of it with holes and toss in my smelly ook. Now I'm looking for the 'brown' part to the recipe- the leaves, twigs, etc. that need to be mixed in. It's like the sock puppets all over again, how I would look at socks in a different way. Well I found yesterday that any yard workers with piles of weeds and clippings would start my mind plotting... and I would think to myself, "Would they think it strange if I pulled up right now and threw that big bag of leaves in my car..? Puedo tener yo esta basura, Amigos? Maybe if I waited until they were a little further up the street they won't see me THROWTHEBODYINTHEBACKOFTHECAR". (At least that's what it feels like so I chicken out)
If any of you local pals do some yard work soon, call me. I will happily take some of your yard yuck away. Until then, I'm off to Starbucks to get some coffee grinds. Mmmm, can't you just smell the fruity flavors that will be floating around my garden? You're "green" with envy, I know it.