Maya Needs a Home...

Does anybody want a cute Mini Schnauzer that barks too much but is really sweet? Do you know anyone who might want her? She's my other baby and I need to find the PERFECT home for her. Let me know...

"Like an Orange on a Toothpick!" (said with a Scottish brogue...)

(Name the movie that quote is from...)

Water Water Everywhere...

(Do you see how DETERMINED Em was NOT to smile?! --Click on it. You gotta see that face closer!)

A couple of weeks ago I drowned my poor iPhone in Diet Coke...PAUSE FOR STORY....I was at target with my kids and I had gotten a 32oz. Diet Coke (like I always do) and I had put it in my somewhat large purse (like I always do) so that it would not tip over in the cart. We walked to the back of the store and there I was in the toy aisle with my kids when I looked down to see everything in my purse literally floating in a sea of Diet Coke and ice! I don't know how it happened! My heart sunk when I realized that my phone was completely submerged. I dried it off as best I could and left it turned off like I had been told you should do when a phone gets wet. I even came home and buried it in a bowl of rice to help draw out the liquid. Around 24 hours later I took it out and turned it on. At first the screen was dim but looked normal. Within a few minutes though the "White Screen of Death " descended and it was all down hill from there. I could still receive calls and the screen buttons still worked, I just couldn't see them. I tried everything! I got on YouTube and looked up videos on what to do with the "White Screen of Death" (do you hear a really deep echoing voice everytime you read that? Good!) but nothing worked. I tried restoring it on the computer. Nothing. Finally I admitted to myself that I would have to take it to the Apple Store downtown. Here's the problem--my insurance plan on it does NOT cover liquid damage--Egads!!! So...! Since I had to go downtown anyway, why not drag my sis and her boys with us and make a day of it with the kids and the fountain?

It was supposed to be a nice, sunny day but actually turned out to be overcast and a little windy, but the kids had fun anyway...even if they did get cold walking around wet afterwards. Amber was kind enough to watch my kiddos while I went into the Apple Store to see what I could do about my poor phone....PAUSE AGAIN FOR MORE STORY...So on my way in I though to myself, "Hmmm...Maybe I should drop it now so that I can honestly say 'Oh! I dropped it!'" when they asked me what happened. Don't worry, honesty won out and I didn't do that! I just hoped they wouldn't ask. I got in there and a nice Apple Employee took my phone and informed me that usually they could just replace the screen and top third of the phone and it would probably fix the "White Screen of Death Death Death " (You heard the echo that time didn't you?) He said if that didn't work they could just replace the phone for me. HE DIDN'T ASK WHAT HAPPENED!!! So I let him take it and do his thing and sure enough he came back to me and said they would have to replace it. "I tried changing out the parts and it didn't work so something else must have happened in there," He said. You bet something else happened but I'm not telling you what! I thought. So there you have it! My phone was replaced for free and I didn't have to lie to avoid the $299 replacement charge I technically should have had to pay! When I was done I went out to see how things were at the fountain and the kids were having fun.

Well, except for Em anyway. Apparently she got out there and freaked out  the first time the water hit her. So she was in a "mood" and tried really hard not to smile or look at me much but I got some cute pics of her anyway.

It's funny what you'll do to get cute pics of your kids. At one point I looked over at my sister and just had to laugh at the positions that we will get into to get just the right shot at just the right angle.

After the fountain we went to lunch and then got ice cream cones ( I highly recommend the Pina Colada smoothie at Orange Julius...Yum! Just don't think about the calories!). It was a fun day!

Swingin' Into Summer...

A couple of weeks ago we decided to get a swingset for the kids. We've had a trampoline for a while but I felt like I needed something else to entertain Em during the day when we are at home and she LOVES to swing so it was only natural to add one to the backyard. Of course, we have been talking about getting a real swingset for years. When the older two were small we had one of those Kmart specials with the little slide and swings and stuff and back then it worked just fine, but it quickly wore out and the kids quickly out grew it and it went the way of all old rusted out swingsets...to the dump. This time we wanted something a little more sturdy and higher quality so that the big kids could swing also and it would last for years. Matt's grandparents have a really tall metal swing in their backyard and he grew up swinging on that and has always wanted one similar for our family. I never had a swingset growing up so I wasn't picky, I just wanted something to entertain the kids and last a while. Well, we decided that being able to swing really high is the best part of a swing set so we settled on a swingset that is 10 ft. tall with just swings on it, no slide or any fancy shmancy steering wheels or monkey bars. Matt brought it home and laid out all the parts and got to work. Can I just say that I am so thankful that it's usually the man that puts things like that together?

The kids had fun helping him (Madison helped the most and was so proud of her herself!) and when it was all done all the hard work paid off with a swing fest! Thomas was at a friend's house so he wasn't there for the big reveal but they've all gotten plenty of time in on those swings. A week or so later we added a plastic PlaySkool slide set for Em and we were set!

I have to say now that we have a trampoline, a swingset, and slides we hardly even need to go to the park anymore...we've got one in our own backyard!

Roasting 'Shmallows...

Another one of our favorite things to do as a family is backyard campfires. Matt and I used to go up into the mountains when we were dating and roast hot dogs and 'shmallows over a fire all the time. Now we do it with the kids in the backyard and it's so fun to pass on a tradition that we started 13 years ago. That's also when marshmallows became known as 'shmallows. Matt and I were up in the canyon roasting hot dogs and marshmallows when he turned to me and joked, "Honey, the marshmallows are coming between us." I looked down and he was trying to scoot his camp chair closer to me but the marshmallow bag was in his way. I looked back at him and said, "Darn 'shmallows!" and a new word was born...

It's funny how just cooking hot dogs over a fire, instead of on the stove or in the microwave, makes them taste so much better! There's something magical to kids about getting to cook their own dinner over an open flame all by themselves. It's also a nice break from the routine. It kind of feels like we are on vacation for an hour or two. My kids beg for a campfire almost every weekend once it gets warm enough. They always help Matt round up wood and newspaper to get the flame started then they go get the "forkers" as T calls the roasting sticks, and the camp chairs and we are in business.

Now that we are back into toddlerhood again it's a little tricky finding a good time to have a fire sometimes. Emilia is scared of the fire, which is good because she stays away from it, but bad because she also fusses during the whole thing so I usually have to come inside with her which makes me grumpy or we sometimes wait until she goes to bed.

Sometimes we just do a quick hot dog/'shmallow roast and other times we do a full out dinner with corn on the cob and chips and watermelon etc. Whatever we do it's always delish!

Just another family tradition that I hope they always remember...