CAMPING-All fun and games until you become "that guy".

Last night, we had our third annual camping trip with Jean and her family. We camped at Leo Carrillo which is right across the street from the beach. It was a beautiful day and we were all charmed by the amazing starfish that we found in the tide pools.
Dinner was great, thanks to my dutch oven potato cooking husband, and we enjoyed sitting around the campfire. And then it became time to retire for the night and MY CHILD SCREAMED his lungs out at 10:30 pm because he didn't want to put his pajamas on. Mind you, there are many other campers VERY NEAR to us. I was mortified to be "that guy with the screaming kid". Once he was finally subdued, it was Julia's turn for the spotlight. She woke up crying 3 or 4 times in the night and so I became the all-night all you can eat buffet. Not much sleep happened on my side of the air mattress.
So tonight I am grateful that my children are asleep in their own room, that I get to sleep in my own bed and most importantly, that I don't have to be "that guy". Until next year that is.
p.s. Mike informed me before this trip that he thinks we should go camping 4 times a year. hmmmmmm...what do you think?

Who are those water aliens?

Tiffany, Nikki, and I participated in the Malibu Aquathon yesterday morning and it turned out to be a very fun experience. Several months ago I was online looking for upcoming races and saw this one. I had never done an "aquathon" (swim and run) before and decided that it would be a fun adventure. Of course I didn't want to do it alone so I cajoled the above friends into doing it with me. I felt like an alien wearing a swim cap, goggles, and a wet suit. I had never ever swam in a race before, let alone a race in the ocean so I knew I was in for an entertaining experience. We swam a half mile in the ocean and then came out, changed, and ran a 5K. I can't wait to do it again next year. The day was beautiful and what better place to spend it than at the beach. I didn't even pee my pants when I was running. And I even won a pair of socks in the raffle afterwards.

But wait, there's more. After the race we went to the UCLA vs. BYU game and had a great time. As an alumna of both universities I knew that I would be happy regardless of who won. Turns out the Bruins came out on top. I dressed Julia in UCLA gear and Blake in BYU gear. Julia celebrated by blowing out her entire outfit at the end of the game.

But let me make a confession. After going to numerous football games I must say that I still don't really have a clue as to what is going on. Watching a football game is like listening to a random foreign language. Kind of fascinating for a few minutes until the ADD sets in.

Happiest place on earth-or Hottest place on earth????

Yesterday I ran the Disneyland 1/2 marathon with my friends Rachelle and Julie. I was very excited to participate in an event which started and finished at the "Happiest place on earth". The course was very flat so I assumed I would do well. What I was not expecting was that it would be 80 degrees when we started at 6am. (and that was just before the sun was rising) By the time I finished it was easily 90+ . It got up to 109 in the afternoon. It's NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS HOT IN THIS PART OF CALIFORNIA.
I was also not expecting to pee my pants around mile 8. I should have more pride than to admit this but what the heck, I wet my pants and there was nothing I could do about it. Although I have heard about this happening to runners, this has never happened to me and I was so mortified. It wasn't that I just didn't want to stop to use a porta potty, NOPE, all of the sudden I felt my bladder start releasing. That was fun.
Yeah, no personal record for me. And I was so hot when I finished that I forgot to have Mike take a picture. It wouldn't have been pretty anyway.

Who wants to be these guys right now?

Weird news this week. Let's see, a senator who was arrested AND PLEAD GUILTY to disorderly conduct in a bathroom stall now saying he is innocent, and Owen Wilson, a COMEDIAN, attempting to kill himself. And people want to be famous?
Your thoughts please......

Please no teddybears........

I DREAD getting professional pictures taken of my children. It always ends up being a painful experience. Case in point- Friday's appt. at JCPenney. We got there on time only to discover that the elevator leading to the correct floor was not working. The saleslady suggested that I could take the escalator (hmmmmm a double jogging stroller with 2 under 2 and an escalator, I don't think so). I had to go on a 10 minute excursion to reach my destination. I had already told them on the phone that I would not be bringing nor needing "props". As a rule I think props distract from the cuteness of babies. But of course, they didn't listen. After 10 minutes of dancing around the photographer (and being exposed to her back side every time she moved) trying to make Julia smile I was ready for the session to be over. But wait, how about some props? When I said "No thanks" she told me she was going to use a cute little teddy bear because her manager was coming in that day and apparently managers want to see pictures with props. Hence another 10 minutes was spent trying to make poor little JuJu smile for pictures with a mangy teddy bear that I wasn't going to purchase ANYWAY. Then I waited for half an hour for the pictures to upload before being shown all sorts of cheesy teddy bear pictures superimposed with words like "love" on them. Once again, I do not like my pictures to have ANYTHING in them besides my children. Of course the lady also tried to sell me the great package deals ranging from $59-159. I left spending $13 like I always do after choosing 2 poses that IMAGINE THAT did NOT contain teddy bears. But don't worry, when I go back to pick up my pictures they always print out a few more poses to try to sell me ...just in case I decide I really do want that teddy bear one.

Our Trip

Last week we went to Monticello (pop 1,800, alt. 7,000 ft-that made for fun runs) for a family reunion with Mike's family. We did some fun things, some scary things, went to the county fair and rodeo, and spent a lot of quality time with his family. The above picture is one of the most scary things I've ever done. Repelling down a 180 ft rock. I thought I was going to wet my pants when I stepped over the edge of that monster.

I was extremely fascinated by the above quilt at the County Fair. The lady took all of her scraps over the years and made them into these cool flowers. I wish I had "skills" like that.

Oh the animals we saw at the fair. Mike got to reminisce about his days raising sheep for the county fair. Blake got to know his cousins on Mike's side. Good times for them. That picture was taken at Mesa Verde, CO Native American Indian dwellings ruins....does that make sense.
Grandpa and JuJu at Grandpa's new "ranch house" that he and Grandma built. I love that man. I'm so glad he's my grandpa-in-law.

Happy Birthday to our family

Today is our anniversary. 4 years!! I decided to start a new tradition. I made a cake to celebrate our family's birthday and each year we will add one more candle to the cake. I think it will be a fun way for our children to participate in celebrating this day.
Before I got married I often heard people say that they grew to love their spouses more with each passing year. I have to say that that is so true. I married the most wonderful man in the world and I love him more and more everyday. Sometimes I am amazed and overwhelmed by just how much he knows and loves me. He seems to be able to read my every thought. He makes me laugh, cherishes me AND he changes diapers, wipes snotty noses, and loves his children. Does it get any better than this?