the short way out

have you ever had someone ask you a question, and you knew the answer, but you didn't want to talk about it, so you instead you gave the short-- end of conversation answer? i do this more than i like to admit. it is kinda like when i tell people i am allergic to something rather than just saying i don't like it (mayo and nuts). when you say you are allergic, end of discussion- that's it- nothing you can do. when you say you don't like it, well that starts a why followed by a but have you had and then into come on just try.

well a couple weeks ago someone asked me if i was multi-cultural. well yeah-duh. but i just said no. but then i felt bad. but it got me thinking. who is not multi-cultural in one way or another?maybe the hermit that doesn't interact with anyone is single-cultural. but i cant think of anyone who isn't somehow at least a couple cultures.

what can we learn from this? 1) I am multi-cultural, 2) i lie when i don't want to talk about it 3) after i lie i feel bad 4) i am allergic to mayo and nuts.

Which way de go?

Jens has taken a liking to wiping her head with her sticky gooby icky fingers when she eats. Tonight she dropped the cantelope on top of her head while rubbing it through her hair. She couldnt figure out where it went. Nice. :)

ahhhhhhhhhh nice

Not that it is all about who you know, but i am super glad Mark knows Jared who is married to Amber who works at the Four Seasons who can get comped rooms in AZ. Yep. AWESOME. and to put the cherry on top, A'mooh and Grandpa took the kiddos. Yes, true, and it was soooo quiet. And I ate like 5 meals without interupption- or having to feed anyone else (Mark was being a big boy- hahaha). And wait, all of this with my Mark. I was beginning to forget what it was like to have an adult conversation with Mark for an extended period of time.

The only kinda crappy part was it took an hour to get back accross the dam- but i did get this great picture when i decided to get out and walk it :)

Happy Birthday to Sam

Today is Sammy's Birthday. I think he is 24. That is so weird. He is so sweet. I am glad he survived his older siblings :)

I love this picture. Sam thought everyone was making a silly face.

MJ on the Stoopy bus

ok, so it looks like the last video didnt work- here is the second try:

what an awesome week

we went to so. cal last week and it was awesome. we started at knotts berry farm- berry fun. and this is by far the best video of maissie:

then we went and visited Clark at Camp Able (a beach camp for children with disabilities)

Clark took us sailing. We had so much fun (Thanks to Carlos for the picture)

Then we went to the ZOO. I just love the zoo. You may think we went to the zoo for the kids, but really, it was for me.

Maissie was really into Zebras- but unfortunately due to remodeling, this is the only zebra we saw.

We picked up Arthur on they way home, and finished out the week at the ranch. One of the highlights was Maissie (and Jayna) on "Bandit." The other horse they were letting the little kids ride was "pretty baby" a horse that I used to ride when i was a kid. The funny thing is i now realize the irony of the name. She is a short, stubby and now very old mustang.

But the best was Mark on the slip n slide

Happy Birthday America

As promised, here is MJ at her bike parade.

We almost missed the "parade" for 2 reasons #1- they didn't really announce that it was starting, and #2 it was over in about 30 seconds.

We didn't last long at the parade either-

It was HOT!

So what do you do when it is hot? go to the pool.

And what better way to end the day then to have a super BBQ- and some crazy fireworks.

busy day

i should have know it would be a crazy day when it started out with Phishy catching a bird at the park while my mom and i were on our walk. And then there was Angus who was splashing in the puddles like an excited little kid.

i come home, and Jens decides to crawl- enough said.

Maissie miraculously sleeps in until 9:30- if only it were the same for me.

then we go to swimming lessons- always adventurous. (more pictures on Mon.)

had lunch- PBnJ, then had to have a bath because lunch was so messy.

Went to the library. while i was trying to check out, Maissie kept sneaking away and getting more and more books- UGH! i seriously thought the librarian might say- that might be enough.

We dropped off Jens with Sam. when i left she was crying- but i figured Sam had it under control.

We picked up mark, and headed to Kung Fu Panda- because when it is like 10,000 degrees out side, you go to the movies. Maissie thought it was tooo loud, and watched the movie covering her ears.

We had to stop at the store on the way home, and of course the closest store was wal-mart. i pretty much hate that store- but i will save that for another day.

Dinner at the parents house- because watching Jens wasn't enough. Fed Dino the turtle- he was hungry.

At home we had to decorate MJs bike for the 4th of July parade at the church. here is the work in progress.

Nice huh?

It has happened

Well it has been a long time coming, but this morning Jens finally decided to crawl.

Ode to Lis

Can you name some who you have been friends with the longest? I can. And some day I will be as cool as her :). (Really, I just wanted to put up this picture :))