Mario saved the princess!!!

Six Weird Things

I have been tagged by two great people. Thanks Tina and Alison- you probably know most of my weird things, but let's fill the public in on my little secrets. (:




1. I have had a fear of clowns since I was a kid. I used to think it was unique, but now I think they've actually created a phobia name for it... there I found it- Coulrophobia. My friends in school thought this was so funny they sent a clown to my house for one of my birthdays. Nice. And created a book called "Nat's book of clowns" (Thanks Tia- I found it the other day!), not to mention all of the teasing my older brothers enjoyed involving the painted villains. I don't know if it started with Poltergeist or It or some scary guy at the circus... but really, does that face above really look harmless to you?
I just don't get why someone would LIKE a clown. Not cool.

2. I cannot STAND cell phones that are not flip phones. I always feel like I am not actually talking into the speaker when I borrow someone else's phone. Then I end up talking way too loudly, like I do at work when the oldies can't hear me.

3. I hate juice. It tastes all wrong to me. I also don't like most smoothies. The tart and sour tastes really don't agree with me. The only juice I like is fresh-squeezed OJ... that my dad makes.

4. I have an overwhelming fear of breath. Yes, I said "breath", as in used up air. Even if it's good breath, I don't like it near me. This fear is behavior-altering and sometimes feels like it could take over my life. Close-talkers beware: I will avoid you at ALL costs.

5. I love the smell of pipe smoke. Some college professor years ago used to smoke a pipe and I followed him around (at a safe distance, mind you) just so I could smell it.

6. I have three different costumes for Halloween this year. That's right- ME, not my kids. They get one each. (: Okay, I will admit that one is a costume I am making for a family talent show in two weeks, but it counts because it is around Halloween. I love to dress up.

Oh, this list could go on... But I will leave it at that and tag Renelle, Tia, Linz, and Crystal.

We DID actually come back...

Okay, so we've been back for two weeks and I still haven't posted pics from our trip. Fun times were had by all! Cousin time has always been special to us- I love watching the kids play together ALL day and sleep together at night. So sweet to make those kinds of memories. Here are some photos of what we did:

The "Daddies" went to a USC football game. Here they are watching another football game on TV before actually GOING to the game...



That left me and my sister to lounge around all day and watch the kids play. We didn't even get most of them out of their PJ's until dinnertime. Did they care that we didn't leave the house? No- not with all of those cousins to play with!



We even let them wear costumes at the dinner table...




Here are a few photos just for grandma:







We went to the Getty Museum the next day and enjoyed the perfect weather and beautiful gardens.





I just noticed this "protective and WAY too intense boyfriend" pic of Mase... That kid is so funny!



The kids were all pretending to be statues right here...



They even had this beautiful fake bed area for kids to read books. I could not get Ava out of there!



We topped off our fun trip with a little Disneyland on the way home. Can't wait for the next road trip!

Car fun

One of my favorite things about living back in AZ is the close proximity of fun places to go and people to see. We built our early relationship in a car (no, not like you are thinking!) when I had car troubles and Ro would pick me up at 6:30 every morning to take me to work. Our car trips almost always included the Mamas and the Papas, good conversation, and a big Diet Coke. (Wait, it was still Dr. Pepper back then- remember, we didn't have kids yet, so I had no need to give up my sugary bliss). My mom said she knew that we had a future together when I bought a brand new car and yet we STILL rode to work together. (: I, however, had no idea that we would be happily married someday.
After we got married, we enjoyed nothing more than a spur of the moment weekend trip to San Diego or Vegas or... basically anywhere that involved a road trip. Now our car experience is a little different. They still include the necessities of our earlier times, but now we just have to include a few more things... snacks, kids' music, bathroom stops, the essential Mickey Mouses (I guess in our case it would be "mickey mice"), etc. The road trips now are a little more work but ALSO more fun! (:

This trip will include meeting a beautiful new niece, going to a USC football game (for Ro and my sister's husband), letting six cousins enjoy LOTS of playtime, having sister bonding time, and maybe hitting Disneyland for a few hours on Monday. (annual passes rock!)
I don't know what I am thinking, sitting here reminiscing instead of packing up our car. Here we come, LA!