8.31.2008

happy labor day.

i hope you all have a fantastic labor day.
and here's to hoping that you don't have to labor.
i will be spending the day (and a couple more) with these cute babies (and their parents).


aren't you jealous?
good...you should be. (hee-hee.)
again, have a happy day!

8.29.2008

i have a confession.

i swore to myself that i was never going to read the twilight books. there are several reasons why, but here are my top three. for starters, they are books about teenagers--not usually a deterrent, but i'm selective about the teen books i choose to read.

secondly, they are about vampires and werewolves. i'm so not into anything about vampires at all. i mean at all, at all. this alone was reason enough to not read these books.

but the biggest reason i was never going to read them is because everyone else was reading them. the hype of it all was so cheesy. people choosing edward over jacob and all that jazz. i mean, they are fictional characters in young adult novels. i just thought it was too much. (btw...team jacob all the way, probably due to my aversion to all things vampire.)

but then something horrible happened and i got suckered into reading the books. and something even more horrible happened...i really, really liked them. seriously. and to be honest, i'm a little embarrassed to be admitting this to the blogosphere. but there it is, i have been reading the twilight books and i like them.

i only have breaking dawn left to read...and then i can be done with them forever and ever.

well, until the movies come out.

man, i hate that sometimes i am such a follower.

8.27.2008

so, here's the dealio.

i know i have been a blogging slacker lately, but it's not my fault. i don't have the internet anymore at my house. i mean, we still have the internet, but since i don't have a wireless card, i can't access the internet. and i'm completely oblivious as to what i need to do to get my computer internet ready. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...well, pretty much, i am begging for someone to tell me what to do. please. thanks.

in the meantime, i have had lots of time to do some digital scrapbooking. you should check out my newest creations over on my other blog.

8.15.2008

insight.

i love the sound of: road trip music.

i love the sight of: new places and faces.

i love the taste of: sushi.

i love the smell of: mountain valley air.

i love the feel of: cold aloe vera on a sunburn.

8.14.2008

goin' back to cali...for the first time.

so, this last weekend i was fortunate enough to be able to road trip to northern cali with my friend, sara. our main purpose was for a friend's wedding, but we did a little extra while we were there. and we had a blast.

i love road trips, especially to places i've never been. we drove out on thursday and drove straight to liz's house in burlingame. she was so super sweet and let us invade her life and crash at her house.

i tried to get a picture of sara sleeping, but she woke up right before i took the picture.
and yes, i was driving.
it's okay, i take pictures while i drive all the time.

it wasn't a bad drive.
some parts were prettier than others, but all in all, a pretty decent drive.

friday, we got up and went to sushi. we had to hit up a local sushi joint because who goes to cali and doesn't have sushi? right? right. (these pictures aren't the best because they were taken with my phone...but they work.)

how can you not love sushi...especially when it comes from joy sushi.

i mean, look how freaking good it looks.

and look how much sara enjoyed it.

and this is what it looked like when we were done.

after the delicious sushi, we went to target. target seems to be a vay-cay standard for me. that's what happens when you live where there is no target. after target, we headed back to the house and got ready for the rehearsal dinner.

we kind of felt stupid going to the dinner because we weren't actually part of the wedding and we really didn't know anyone that was going to be there besides the groom and three other friends. it turned out to be a delicious meal and a good time. we had a fun time getting to know jason's family, as well as maggie and her family. after the dinner, we headed to maggie's house to hang out. i didn't get any pictures that day, so i will only have memories.

the next day (saturday), we went to a delicious deli and had fabulous sandwiches. then we headed back to the house and got ready for the wedding and headed out. we got stuck in traffic between burlingame and lafayette. it wasn't too bad, but it made me grateful that i don't have to deal with that kind of traffic on a regular basis.

sara and i sitting in traffic in the car.

this is sara, helping alex with his flower and matt.

this is maggie and jason.
it was such a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony.
i couldn't be happier for the two of them.

this is one of my favorite pictures.
maggie and jason look like they are exhausted.
and i love that the maid of honor (owen) and the best man (matt) have kind of fake smiles.
this was during one of the [random] toasts, which is why i think it's pretty funny.

this was during their first dance.
i love, love this picture.
i think they are the most stinking cute couple ever.

and here we all are: sara, me, maggie and jason.

after the wedding, we went back to liz's and crashed. sunday morning (liz, sara and i) headed into downtown burlingame and had brunch at a fantastic crepe place. there was a little fair thing going on in burlingame, so we wandered for a minute and then headed back home.

sunday afternoon we (liz, sara and i) headed north to visit some friends of mine. we had a fantastic time spending time together, getting to know each other better and playing with the very adorable and funny and fun kids.

eli, me, noah and naomi.
aren't they to-die-for adorable?
yeah, they are...and they are seriously so funny and fun.

monday morning, we got up and headed into the city to be tourists. we rode the trolley and hit up chinatown. we didn't do too much, but we got a feel for it all. we also ate at a restaurant in chinatown and it's official, i'm not a fan of authentic chinese food. i like american-chinese food, though.

sara and i in chinatown.

a lovely picture of chinatown.

my foot and the sidewalk in chinatown.

liz and i.
we were waiting for the trolley, which is an obvious photo op.

sara and i hanging off the trolley.

we decided to break-up the drive home, so we left monday afternoon and drove to reno, nevada. we stayed at the lovely circus-circus in downtown reno. it wasn't the nicest place, but we had fun. minus the disgusting sushi we so stupidly tried. note to self: no sushi at casinos in reno.


and as much fun as i had in cali and on the road trip, it was nice to drive into the valley. i don't know what it is, but i love this place that i live. it may be small, but i think it is beautiful and i love it.

home sweet home.

the desert vay-cay: days four, five and six.

to be really honest, days four, five and six kind of all run together. i know that there was plenty of time spent just hanging out in the air conditioning. we played a lot. we spent time in the multitude of pools. there was a special "girls lunch" with my sisters, my mom and i. there were some trips to target and several trips to in-n-out. oh, and kristen and i went and saw mamma mia and we l-o-v-e-d it. and then there were the plethora of pictures. here are some from the last three days. and a video. enjoy.

malcolm, showing me the color the candy made his mouth.

four of my babies, eating dinner.

my baby jake.
he's not a big fan of the camera, but he didn't fight this picture.

kaylie and her cheesiest face.

even the grown-ups played hard.
my brother-in-laws, brennan and dave.

me and my three youngest babies: lucie, lillie and logan.

me and my sisters. julie, me, kristen and laurie.

the kids are enjoying some down time with mario kart on the wii.

so much fun for them...after they get done fighting over who is going to be player one and what characters they can be and what team they can be on.

even jake enjoyed watching them play.
or whatever it was he was doing.

this is how i felt about having to leave two days before everyone else.

this video is of adam and jesse, being boys. it's pretty funny.


yep, so that was my desert vay-cay. nothing like spending quality time with family, even if it had to be in the middle of the desert at the end of july. sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

8.13.2008

fun with candy.

there are many, many reasons that i love being an aunt, but the very best reason is that i can make my babies do things and then laugh at them. but then i do really nice things for them, so no need to get down on me.

one of the days we were in arizona, malcolm and kristen and i were just hanging out and i had some candy. at first, i was giving malcolm tootsie pop drops. when he was finished eating the candy, he would run to the mirror to see what color his mouth was and then he would come and show me. and as fun as that was, i needed a good laugh, so i gave him one of the zots i had.

malcolm kept showing me his candy and i just kept waiting for the fizzing action to start.



and don't worry, when the fizzing action started, i had camera in hand. and you can tell i thought it was hilarious because i couldn't stop laughing. and he finished the whole candy...and then asked for more. he said he wanted another zot, but then changed his mind. so i gave him a pop drop. see, i'm not mean.


ps. malcolm's mom is the person that introduced me to zots. i figured it was only fair for me to introduce them to malcolm. when kristen was in high school, she had to take me and my little sisters with her to a rehearsal for a play at the high school. she took us to 7-eleven and we got zots and probably slurpees, but i only remember the zots. we sat in the auditorium and ate zots and watched the rehearsal. it's one of the more vivid memories i have of my childhood.

8.06.2008

just so you know.

i'm headed for cali in the morning with my friend, sara. our dear friend is getting married and we just couldn't miss the event. i'll finish posting about the desert vay-cay when i return...plus i'll hit ya up with the cali road trip. have a good weekend!

8.05.2008

the desert vay-cay: day three.

day three of the vay-cay was sunday. we all went to my sister's ward. i find it interesting to go to other people's wards. it was good times, though. malcolm hung out with me during church and was eating my gum like it was candy. he would chew on it for a little bit and then ask for another piece because he kept swallowing them. and because i am an awesome aunt, i said yes every time. after church, we headed to laurie's and hung out and ate food and then hung out more and then made more food and ate more food. can't really go wrong with that kind of day, can ya? anyway, i took lots of pictures, so here they are.

this is malcolm on the way to church.
those in-car dvd players are a sanity saver.

lillie zonked out on the way.

and it looks like her dad did, too.

jesse in the back, enjoying his shows.
the best is that malcolm and jesse don't even watch the same thing.

this is me and lillie.
maybe you recognize the dress.
it was mine when i was two.
had to get a picture.

for some reason, my little jake doesn't like when i pull the camera out.
he runs the other way, and even tries to hide behind sofas.

i tried coaxing him into letting me take a picture of his face, but he just wasn't having it.

then he said if i would take a picture like this, he would let me take a normal picture.

and he did.
isn't he adorable?
i think he is.
and he is such an individual, it's hilarious.
and his mom is sooooo patient.

jesse adores adam and follows him around, wanting to do what he does.
adam is really into the lego bionicles and so is jesse.
they would have "battles" with the bionicles.

here is a video of adam and jesse with the bionicles.



adam is a bit like cousin jake.
or maybe jake is a bit like cousin adam.
either way, when the camera comes out adam pretends it's not there.

or he pulls faces...

...like this one...

...and this.

or he tries to hide from the camera...

...using different hiding methods...

...like these.

and sometimes he even plays dead.
(btw--when you were little and pretended to be dead, did you stick your tongue out, too?
why is it that kids think that dead people stick their tongues out?
just a random question for the day.)

anyway...he's a goof.

malcolm has no aversion to the camera.

he just doesn't like the flash.

here is lucie-goo-goo.
that's what i nicknamed her.
she's adorable.

and here is little lillie.

here's is my cute mom.
thanks for smiling normal, mom.

i think this picture is awesome.
not sure why, but i love it.

and don't forget about slobber tank.
right before we left, logan was getting his bath.

i definitely couldn't pass up the photo op.

holy cheeks, huh?

how can you not want to squish him?

so that was day three. just a casual, chill sunday. and don't worry, there is more to come.