At least you get to see pictures...

So we decided not to do Christmas cards this year. We are trying to save money and our schedule is crazy right now (3 jobs between us) so I feel stressed about the lack of time to make something cute and creative. All excuses and bah humbugs aside, I figured if I just posted some cute pictures of the kids, I would be forgiven. There are lots! (Sorry about the white sections- I think blogger wanted only a certain sized pic...) Thanks, Aunt Shenny, for taking these adorable pics. Even if Ava wouldn't smile, her chubby cheeks are enough to make anyone happy!

Tag- I'm it!

I haven't even been tagged to do this survey thingy, but I'm going to pretend I have for posterity's sake. (Thanks for the idea, Kristal and Crystal!) My kids might like to know this stuff someday! (:

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. I was at EAC, and we just barely moved out of the retirement home and into the dorms. (Long story, which I will tell you if you ask.) I had a devil-worshipping roommate, Bev, who used to chant in our room until she fainted.
2. Lifeguarding with Alison at the EAC pool.
3. Hanging out with a boy who I am SOOO glad I did not get back with after his mission. (I went to see him after he came home and called Roland two hours after I got there saying the flame was officially OUT... Thanks for your patience, Ro!)
4. Hanging out at Gila Hank's cafe... A LOT!
5. Going to Mt. Graham or the hot springs with my great friends or hanging with my great roomies (after I switched rooms from Devil Bev).

5 things on my To-Do list today:
1. CLEAN! And organize Ava's room.
2. Write a book with Mason. (He dictates, I write and Ro illustrates when he gets home.)
3. Pull out the Christmas decor and sort through it.
4.



5. Call some sisters and friends.

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Veggies and dip.
2. Rolled tacos (is this a snack or am I just a piggy?)
3. Pears and apples.
4. Chips and Ro's salsa.
5. Twinkies and chocolate milk. (Yep, I'm just a piggy... Thanks, Holtzinger!)

5 songs I know the lyrics to:
1. Anything Frank Sinatra.
2. Anything Van Morrison.
3. "The way I am" by Ingrid Michaelson.
4. "Killing Me Softly", my favorite karaoke song.
5. Anything Wiggles or Disney.

5 things I will never wear again:
1. Scrunchies.
2. Two colors of scrunched up socks. (Anything with the word "scrunch" in it is prohibited.)
3. Jeans with an ankle zipper.
4. Brightly colored Doc Marten high-top boots. Oh but how I loved my vast selection- green, red, navy blue, boring brown leather... thanks to a brother in law from England.





5. A perm in my hair.

5 of my favorite toys:
1. Ava's dollies.
2. Board games with Mase.
3. Mario Party with Roland.
4. My computer.
5. Any new toys that get my kids excited.

I tag: Alison, Jamie, Lindsey R., Tia, and Renelle... so what, I can tag people even if no one tags me! I don't have cooties, I swear! (:

Road trip heaven!

When we first got married, we often woke up on Saturday mornings and decided to go on a last-minute road trip. We did a modified version of that get-up-and-go thing yesterday, and after about an hour of getting little people dressed and getting their things gathered, we took off. They had no idea of the fun day that was in store for them! Days like this are why you decide to have kids in the first place. So you can see life through their little eyes and get excited about the simple things again.


First we stopped at that mysterious watch tower that is in the mountains on the way to San Diego. I remember stopping there with my Dad when I was a kid. Mase was excited to climb all the stairs and look through the telescope at the top.


Then we explored the animal carvings in the rock area outside. The kids loved it!


Mase and Ro climbed to the very top, even without their climbing shoes on. (Who am I kidding? We don't own climbing shoes!)


Mase and Ava rode on lizards and buffalo and snakes...


We drove them by where we got married six years ago. They both thought they were there at the wedding. (:


After a little window shopping and some sushi for lunch (Mase says "Shoe-see") we went to Belmont Park at Mission Beach. Mase was bummed he couldn't ride the big roller coaster, so we went on the Tilt-A-Whirl. He laughed hysterically the whole time.


Aves was nervous about us on that crazy ride and was happy to have me back.


We finally made it down to the beach right at sundown. It was so beautiful.


Our camera ran out of batteries at this point (good thing or else this post would be EVEN LONGER), but they had a blast running around and digging in the sand.

They both kept expressing their joy: Mase kept saying, "This is AWESOME!" and "This is the best day EVER!" and Ava kept saying, "Yay!" and just cracking up. Usually when we are walking around she says, "Hold you!" but she was mad if we picked her up because she was having so much fun exploring.
Ro thought I was silly when he looked at me and I was all teary. How could I help it when I look at these guys experiencing such a fun time together? Days like these erase all of the hard times and struggles and just make everything okay. WAY better than okay... perfect!

Tis the season, right?

I am fully aware that most people think it's too early to start celebrating Christmas, so I felt the need to explain my new blog decor. In the past few years in my family, we have celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving... see, there are nine of us (plus spouses and kids) and we never can seem to coordinate when people are coming for Christmas or going to their in-laws. This year EVERYONE is able to come at Thanksgiving, so we have to start getting ourselves psyched up right after Halloween or it never feels Christmas-y enough. So if you don't like it, SCROOGE YOU! (:

Practice What You Preach

We were home this morning, without a car, and I thought it would be a fun activity to make chocolate pudding with the kids. So after our product was done, I put a little whipped cream on it and served it to them. Mase took two bites and said he was finished. I said, "Don't you like your pudding?" His reply was, "I'm not into it. I'm into vegetables. Mom, don't you want to grow big like Uncle Jon?" And then he looked at Ava and her chocolate covered face and said, "Aves, you should eat an apple" and proceeded to go get her one out of the fridge. Guess I better think about what I am teaching them next time I give into my chocolate cravings at 10 in the morning...

Better late than never?

After planning their Halloween costumes for weeks now, I was dumb and did not take the time to get any really good pictures... Of course I have been planning to get them back into their costumes without giving them any sticky candy, but that never happened either. So here is what we got, but the costumes were actually cuter than they appear! I made Ava's dalmation costume and Mase was a firefighter, and they made a great pair. They are at such exciting ages, and it was cute to hear Ava say, "Tick o Teat!" And I guess I have this fun time to look back on next time my 3-year-old says to me, "Mom, stop messing up my LIFE!" like he did this morning. (: