Spring Break 2011

This is going to be a long one, just a heads up.  I decided to pack up the car and the kids and drive out to California.  This was a very last minute decision.  We drove about 10 hours the first day (Denver to St George) and about 7 hours the next day.  Whenever we stay at a hotel the kids love to jump on the beds.

We made it just in time for my sister's 18th birthday.  On her birthday we went shopping at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.  I haven't been there in so long, when I was a kid I used to love going to the fish pond.  I can't believe after all these years it's still there.  It was fun to see my kids play in the same place my brother and I did when we were little.

Always on the top of my priority list is a Laguna Beach visit.  Sometimes I look around and can't believe I went to high school here!  It's such a beautiful place, it almost doesn't seem real.

On a walk around town we came across this car.  It's insane!  This car is covered in what looks like thousands of computer keys.  I can't even begin to imagine how many hours it took.  Crazy!

The bumper says, "HAVE A NICE DAY" 

This person must really like Homer Simpson.

We got together with close friends and family.  Of course that calls for a little Just Dance 2.

If you look closely, you can see that Harrison is wearing a Peter Pan costume.  He is going through a Peter Pan phase right now and wants to wear this outfit all the time.  You might see it again at Halloween.  I think we might be doing a Peter Pan theme with the kids.  Don't you think Lucy would make a cute Tinker Bell?!

Another walk down the beach, this time in Long Beach.  We went to collect shells and we got some good ones.  

Lily is so happy when she's at the beach.  It makes me so sad that we live so far.

When you're a teenager you can make jumping like this look really easy.

When you're 30+ it's a little harder!

Lily and I had such a blast doing handstands, cartwheels, and spinning around!

 Someone brought home this dead crab from the beach, boy did he stink!  That didn't stop the kids from wanting a picture with him.

I got to spend a little time with my cousin, Romi.  Lucy couldn't keep her little fingers off of Romi's blue eyelashes!

One night my aunt and I drove up to LA to visit Romi at a work function.  She works in fashion and television.  It was fun to see her in action.

It looks like my cousin isn't the only member of my family on TV.  My dad and his jeep were just filmed in a segment for a reality TV show about cars or something like that.  Anyway, Lily really enjoyed a trip around the block in grandpa's jeep.

I love getting to spend time with my half sisters!

I can't go home and not go to Disneyland.  My mom got to use her handicap pass again, which means that I'm so spoiled by never having to wait in any lines.  I don't know how I will ever be able to stand in line again.  Harrison has not been able to stop talking about Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio since we got home.  It's all I hear about!  The weather was perfect.  We stayed until midnight.  I can't begin to describe the joy it brought me to see my kids still wanting to go on rides well passed their bedtime.  Lily was big enough to go on Space Mountain.  I was so worried about her the whole time.  When the ride was over, she told me that it is her new favorite ride.  Definitely a girl after my own heart.

We ate at the character breakfast and this is a picture of Tigger taking us to our seat.

Minnie Mouse came around to see us and became completely taken with Harrison.  She spent a lot of time at our table when usually the characters come by and take a picture, spend maybe a minute or two, then move on to the next table.  Minnie grabbed Harrison by the hand and decided to go outside for a little walk with him.  My mom followed them out with her camera. This went on for about 15 minutes.

I sent Lily out to see what was taking so long and she ended up getting to join in Minnie's excursion.

Because Minnie took this little escapade with Harrison, she wasn't able to spend very much time with the other tables and skipped one table all together.  The people told a worker that Minnie had skipped them, so the worker went to find Minnie to bring her back.  When she came back she walked right passed this other table and made a bee line straight for Harrison.  Now it was starting to get a little awkward.

Minnie's second visit

My mom very gently shooed her off to the other table.  When she was finished with them (about 30 seconds) she came back for Harrison a third time.  I called Tag after this all happened and told him that Minnie Mouse confirmed it - We have the cutest little boy ever!  (I'm joking - kind of)

Minnie's third visit!

I'm scanning our phone calls just in case she tries to call him.

 Lily and Brynn got their faces painted, Harrison got a shark on his arm.

 Lily wore this dress when she was 10 months old to Disneyland.  It seemed only fitting to have Lucy wear it too.  She also got her very first Disney hat with her named on the back.

My friend, Janna, from Colorado was also in town for Spring Break.  We met up with her and her kids and went on small world together.  

On our drive back into Laguna for a final beach day we came across a school of dolphins only feet from the shore.   I wish I had gotten a better picture of them. They were playing, splashing, and having a grand old time.

Aunt Annie riding the waves

Harrison waiting for his wave . . .

then getting pulled into it!

Good thing Nona was there to make it all better.

Lily and Harrison enjoying the day.  They loved playing in the water, getting sandy, and having fun with friends and family.  

While Lily and Harrison feel right at home on the beach, Lucy was a little apprehensive.  She wasn't that crazy about the feel of the sand beneath her toes :(  She can even be seen in a few pictures actually scowling at the sand and water.  I guess that means I'm just going to have to spend a lot more time at the beach so she can get used to it :)

I hate looking like a tourist in a town that I've lived in, but sometimes you just can't help it.  Do you need a hint as to what I'm talking about?  The answer is the pack-n-play on the beach.  It doesn't get more touristy than that.

Good friends 

I know that this post is really long, but it wouldn't be complete if I didn't introduce someone.  Meet Barbie.

This woman made a spot next to us about 10 minutes after we arrived.  We got to sit and watch her the entire day.  She was decked out in diamond dangling earrings and a sparkling tiara.  Sometimes she would take off her tiara and put on a top hat. There were even times she would put the tiara and the top hat and wear them together. After a few hours of watching her work on a sand dragon, I just had to know her story.  And it's quite a story.  Apparently, she is from New York and decided to drive across the country with only a middle school text book geography map as her guide.  She has a son that works in Laguna that she came to visit.  I even got to talk to him on the phone because she needed me to call him to tell him to bring her something to drink (she doesn't have a cell phone).  Anyway, she is quite the character and it made me happy just looking at her.  She doesn't care what people think and she doesn't care if people are judging her.  She was having the best time on the beach all alone making her sand dragon and decked out in her jewels, which she assured me she wears all the time.  I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with her.

Our last day was spent walking around the Queen Mary and some little shops in Long Beach.

We caravanned home with my friend Janna and her kids.  We made it all the way to Grand Junction in 13 1/2 hours.  I know this might sound crazy, but I found this road trip very relaxing.  The kids watched videos and played with their toys while I listened to audio books.  How often do I get to just sit and listen to a good book.  I would make that trip again in a heart beat!  We stayed over night in Grand Junction excited that we made it so far.  Grand Junction to Denver is only 4 hours.  We were almost home . . . almost.  As soon as we pulled into Vail, they closed Vail pass because of the snow storm we just got hit with.  We missed it by minutes.  However, it was becoming nearly impossible to see, so I guess it was a good thing.  I called my mom and told her what happened.  She was so awesome and booked us a room at the Holiday Inn just before they sold out.  We got to spend the next 7 hours watching movies in a hotel instead of out in the cold car.  It was killing me that I had traveled so far and had to stop only 1 hour and 45 minutes from home!  The roads reopened and we were still able to make it home on Sunday night.  

After 13 1/2 hours they are still smiling!

It was such a fun trip.  Because it was so last minute there were a lot of friends that I would have liked to have seen, but I didn't get around to calling.  Next time.  It was nice hanging out with my family and getting to relax a little.  It was the perfect Spring Break!  I guess not perfect because Tag wasn't with us.  He was traveling for work, which was the main reason I decided to make the trip.  This was the first trip I've made home that my heart ached to be able to raise kids near the beach.  They love it so much, I hated leaving.  If I didn't have an awesome husband to return home to, I might have just stayed forever :)

Hallelujah, it was in the 70's

I can't even begin to describe how happy warm weather makes me.  Who wants to stay inside when it's gorgeous outside.  The Funnys were in desperate need of some fresh air and sunshine.  We went to the park with some friends to take advantage of a perfect day.

Who knew eating a strawberry could be so serious . . .

so silly . . . 

and so lip-smacking good! 

Don't you just want to bite into one!

Earlier in the day, Lily had her St. Patrick's Day performance.  

As I was driving around today on streets that are apart of my everyday travels, I realized how incredibly beautiful the view is in my neighborhood.  I've realized this before, but sometimes I take it for granted. If you listen hard enough you can almost hear John Denver busting out a little Rocky Mountain High.

In a world where so many people want everything for free and so few people want to give things away for free, it's nice to have a place like Jason's Deli.  With the purchase of one adult meal you get 3 kids meals for free (on Wednesdays).  They also give away free ice cream everyday!  We go often.  The best part is we see so many of our friends there!

More and more Lucy reminds me of Lily when she was a baby.  Lily was so busy and never really stopped to cuddle or sit very long.  Harrison loved to be held when sleeping.  The other day she actually fell asleep when I was holding her, I had to get a picture of it.  I didn't want to put her in her crib because it's so rare that I get to hold her when she's out.  The picture is a little blury.

Don't get me wrong, she LOVES being held.  She just won't actually sleep in my arms very often.  As sad as that makes me, I have to thank my lucky stars that I have 3 kids that are all such good sleepers!

On another note, look how big she is!  I can't believe how much she's growing!

The Itsy Bitsy Neon Spider

- Outings for 600, Alex.
- Tag and Tracy taking their kids to Chuck E. Cheese's on a Friday night.
- What is Non compos mentis?
- That is correct!

Even though we might be crazy, the kids had a blast.  After pizza, soda, and games we put all our tickets together to see what prizes we could cash in on.  Harrison spotted a bright green plastic spider.  It was love at first sight.  When we got home the kids were exhausted and went straight to bed.  Harrison insisted on sleeping with his new buddy.  I didn't see the harm in it until Harrison started crying from his room that he couldn't find the spider.  It kept falling behind the bed.  The only solution seemed to be to make Mr. Spider his own bed out of toilet paper.  A thrilled Harrison soon fell fast asleep, and I couldn't resist a picture.

The Shop Around The Corner

In 1998 we fell in love with Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) as the endearing shop owner in You've Got Mail.  People wanted to dress like her and hairstylists everywhere were getting requests for that same cute cut that Meg so sweetly wears.  For me, it wasn't just Meg's hair or clothes I fell in love with.  It was The Shop Around The Corner.  I used to daydream about owning a shop just like the enchanting one in the movie.  As I got older my hopes and dreams for my future changed.  When Tag and I bought our house, I soon discovered a bookstore just a hop, skip, and a jump from our doorstep.  Although, it wasn't individually owned (it is a chain), there has always been a very small, quaint feel to it.  Yes, it was a Borders.  While most might view Borders as the big, bad Fox Books, it became my own little shop around the corner.  I have spent endless hours thumbing the pages of new books, sitting with my kids on the big, comfy armchairs that practically swallow them up, sipping hot chocolate on a snowy day, reading, laughing, and thumbing through pages a little more.  We've visited the bookstore on a regular basis since we moved here 3 years ago.  My kids jump for joy when I ask them to put their shoes on so we can go the bookstore.  Even though we don't always buy anything, we enjoy being surrounded by walls and walls of books.  You can almost smell the possibilities, the fantasies, the imagination in a bookstore.  It isn't new news that Borders bookstores are going out of business.  I've had a broken heart about it for some time now.  On one of my last visits there, I stood at the cash register almost in tears with the woman who used to read stories to my children and knows them by name.  It reminded me of a scene in the movie when Kathleen hands a customer a box of tissues as they share a sad moment over the closing of The Shop Around The Corner.  I'm not ready to accept Barnes and Noble as our neighborhood bookstore.  It's huge.  It's cold.  I get lost.  The employees there have never seen my children before and certainly don't know their names (cue Cheers theme song).  We are so sad to see our bookstore leaving.  At times I have pictured myself chained to the front doors in protest.  Yeah, I realize that sounds a little crazy.  In all seriousness though, we are going to miss our favorite hang out!

Lucy's New Trick

Lucy is in the very beginning stages of cruising.  She wants to pull herself up onto everything.  Unfortunately, she's started to figure out the stairs too.  Some parents might think of that as such a great thing.  I don't.  If you've ever been to our house, you know how steep our stairs are.  I've been very grateful for two incredibly cautious kids.  Lucy doesn't seem to be following in their footsteps.  I'm a nervous wreck now.  Anyway, this video is of her just starting to figure out how to push and walk at the same time.  I find myself holding my breath whenever she's playing with this.  I would record this again so I could post a video that doesn't make me seem so nervous, but when I'm video taping her I can't hold onto the cart to make sure it doesn't come out from under her - which makes me totally nervous!  This was my one shot at getting her on video, so it will have to do :)  Have I said yet that this makes me totally nervous? Well, it does.

When will I learn?

Okay, I know I've probably reached some sort of posting limit for one week.  However, this story just needed to be shared.

We have some friends who live in Japan and had a baby about a week ago.  This is the conversation I had with Tag.


Tag:  Kevin and Lindsey had their baby.
Tracy:  Great!  What did they name her?
Tag:  Botchi.
Tracy:  What?  Are you being serious?
Tag:  Yes.  It must be Japanese or something.
Tracy:  Seriously Tag, they named their baby Botchi???
Tag:  Yeah.

Tonight I went onto their blog to see pictures of their new baby girl Botchi, which led to this conversation:

Tracy:  Tag!  Kevin and Lindsey named their baby Pressley!
Tag: That's a nice name.
Tracy:  You told me they named her Botchi!!!
Tag:  Yeah, I made that up.

GOOD GRIEF!  The sad thing is I went for days believing this lie.  When will I ever learn? I continue to be hoodwinked by my own  husband.  I hope this story clearly illustrates why you can't trust Tag.  I love him.  I just can't trust him and neither should you.  Conversations like this take place on a regular basis in our home.  He always keeps me on my toes.  Never a dull moment.

It's about time!

I have been really bad about posting videos of Lucy.  Here are a few to get me caught up.
The first video I tried getting her to say "Dada", but no such luck.  It's so cute when she's says it.  However, I do get her to wave which made it worth posting.


This next one is of her crawling.  Sorry Nona and Grammy that it took so long to get this posted.


Last, Lucy in the bathtub.  Don't worry you can't see her cute little baby bum.

Lucy and Ben wanting to go out to play.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

My mother-in-law, Marilyn, sent the kids a very fun package with these cool hats to celebrate the big day.  I had a tough time getting a picture of all the funnys smiling at once.  We've enjoyed reading some of our favorite Dr. Seuss classics and now I'm being summoned to the kitchen because apparently we need to bake the good ol' Dr. Seuss a birthday cake.  I wonder if they know he's dead.  Anyway, I'm off to the kitchen!

There she goes!

I've posted a lot today, so keep reading to see what else we've been up to!

Are you 20 Second tough?

I'm copying my sister-in-law by posting about this, but after starting the program I feel like this a must blog about type of thing.  I've tried so many different exercise programs and this one is by far the best.  I'm still at the beginning, but I can already feel muscles in my body that I didn't even know I had.  Spencer, the instructor, constantly reminds you that intensity is the key.  It sure is.  He makes funny little comments like, "Are you 20 second tough?!"  He definitely makes you laugh.  Even though he can be a tad bit cheesy, it's fun to do and I feel such a difference. If you don't believe me, you try doing burpees for 20 seconds as fast as you can and tell me how you feel.  To learn more about it go here.

Look who turned 9 months!

I can't believe little Lucy Claire is already a whopping 9 months old. She is getting so big and changing everyday.  She discovered she can wave and loves waving "Hi" to her daddy.  She's on my heels wherever I go.  She's and excellent eater and a great sleeper.  She loves to smile and play with her big brother and big sister.  For this little munchkin, life is good!

Baby Shower

I love Baby Showers!  It's even more fun when you get to host one for a very good friend!  One of my closest friends, Susan, is having her 3rd baby.  She has two sweet little boys and the third is a girl, Yippee!!   We had to celebrate in style to welcome her baby girl into the world.  I completely forgot to take pictures when I had everything set up.  I remembered after the food was almost gone and the place didn't look as cute as it did when guests were arriving.  Thanks to some other good friends who helped me plan and set up.  We played the ultrasound game and had a baby sculpting contest out of play dough.  It was such a blast!  And thanks to Susan for being a great friend all these years and letting me host a baby shower!

I am someone who is highly motivated by food, I love food.  I decided to go with a brunch theme, mostly because my friend Liz makes the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had.  I knew if I did a brunch, then I could ask Liz to bring her tasty treat :)

Fondue dipping station, the cinnamon rolls, and a waffle making station

Poppy seed muffins, quiche, bree cheese and apricot jam baked, and cupcakes

See what I mean about loving food??

Decorations are always a fun part of the party

We made cake pops to hand out as the party favor.  It was hard exercising restraint by not eating them all myself.  I love a good cake pop - especially when they are pink and green.

Congratulations Susan!  We can't wait to meet your sweet baby girl in about a month!!!!

Meet the Funnys

When I was a child, my brother and I used to fight over the funny pages.   To us they were the funny pages, but they might be better known as the comics from the newspaper.  I don't know where the term funny pages derived from, but it stuck with us.   The newspaper would arrive on the doorstep and we would race to get it.  Sometimes Jesse would even hide the comics from me if he got to them first.
The other day while I was doing the dishes I was thinking about the funny pages.  I often try to go to a happy place when doing the dishes.  I truly detest that chore and daydreaming seems to help pass the time.  It got me thinking about the simple joys that occur during childhood.  I started to reflect about the things that make me happy now, and I came to realize that I still have the funny pages, just in a different form.  I don't think there is anything funnier than little kids.  Not just my little kids, but I think in general most children are pretty knee slapping hilarious.  I have been brought to tears countless times because of the silly things my darling little offspring do.  The things they say and do can be so side splitting funny. If I were artistically talented like my brother-in-law Tom, or my sister-in-law Season, I would develop a comic strip around my three little funnys!

Meet The Funnys!

Funny 1, Funny 2, & Funny 3

Well, what makes them so funny?  Let's take Funny 2 for example.  Just watching him try to shove as much cotton candy in his mouth as possible gave me a pretty good laugh.

I'm still trying to decide if his hair is really funny or just really shabby.  Either way, he's in desperate need of a haircut.

This morning when I asked the Funnys to get dressed, Funny 1 thought she would help her brother do his hair.  Then she gave him a mirror and had him practice his fishy face.  Pure comedy.

Gotta love little kids!

I just wanted to add this picture from the zoo yesterday.  Funny 1 wore her leopard print jacket just so she could match a real leopard.  It was the highlight of her trip getting to take a picture next to one. 

I feel like the leopard is sizing me up for his next meal.  Creepy.

You know you're getting older when . . .

So, last night Tag and I went to a church Valentine's Dance/ Game Night.  Several things happened that I'd like to share.

We went to dinner and my burrito was a little on the spicy side.  Up all night long with a stomach ache.  What am I 70??

While playing 'The Price is Right', Tag was holding up his hands trying to give me a clue as to how much I should say the very cute apron was worth.  He held up 5 fingers, so I told myself, "Okay, the first number is a 5."  Then, he held up 4 fingers, "Okay, the second number must be a 4."  Wait, the price can't be $54! With a very confused expression on my face I stood on the stage mouthing the words "fifty four?" to him.  He just continued to hold up 5 fingers, put the hand down, then put up 4 fingers.  Suffice it to say I lost, later learning he meant $9.
Have I completely lost my sense of how much something costs? - Yes, I believe that to be an old person quality :) (the apron was $20 something - I would have lost anyway)

Out on the dance floor the very popular tradition of starting a circle for one person to showcase their fabulous dancing abilities formed, while the less talented people stand on the sidelines clapping and trying to keep in rhythm with the music.  A guy entered the circle doing robot/ breakdancing types moves and the first thought that came to my mind was that he still must be in his early 20s.  Sad.

A middle aged, balding man successfully attempted to do the worm across the dance floor.  My thought when I say this happening was - Ohhhhh, he's going to feel that tomorrow!

When they pulled out a bar to limbo, my heart started to race.  I LOVE to limbo.  Once upon a time this was my specialty.  At the end it was between me and a very tall man who impressively made it that far.  As I was going under the bar for the last time, the thought raced through my head that I really hoped we had ice packs ready in the freezer at home.  10 years ago that thought would have never entered my mind.

I had a fantastic time, but also realized that our air guitar and footloose dance moves don't look as cool as they once did - many years ago.  I know I'm still young, but it's a different kind of young now.  I am in fact getting older and with that comes a different phase of life.  So what if I have to say a quick prayer now that I don't throw my back out while trying to limbo.  It's all good.  I had fun and I guess that's all that matters.  At least I have a cool husband to grow old with!