Happy Birthday... Dad?!

My son is admittedly an addict. I've heard that in AA, there is a twelve step program and one of the first steps is admitting that you have a problem. Well- my son doesn't know any better, so I will say it for him. He is addicted to "Elmo's World" (and admittedly anything else that looks, sounds or smells like Elmo- and a word to the wise- the "Tickle Me Elmo" that was the huge seller this Christmas is quite possibly the most annoying toy on the face of the planet. Daily I consider throwing it outside to the neighbor dog and letting him bury it for me). We never miss the show- and thanks to the PBS programming available in our area- we never have to.

Yesterday, we took our customary places in our big old armchair with a snack in hand (string cheese for those that are interested), and we were ready for the next installment of the little red monster's show. We learned about birthdays and everything that went with them. Elmo showed us about parties and getting older and cakes. It was a thrill a minute. At the end of the program, Ty turned to me and asked me more about birthday cakes. He wanted to know if everyone got a birthday cake. Then he asked me if we could make Dad a birthday cake. I told him that it wasn't dad's birthday and was about to tell him no. But then I stopped. It's cold outside and frankly Ty and I are getting a little tired of each other and the daily routine. What better way to break the monotony than by making dad an "un-birthday" cake? It was like a scene from "Alice in Wonderland" or something- we were pulling out cookbooks and flour and aprons like it was going out of style.

I let Ty pick out the perfect birthday cake for his dad, and he chose a two layered white cake with chocolate frosting. Simple enough right? It was suprisingly fun. I am always in awe of what simple pleasures can be had from the dumbest of things. Ty is facinated when it comes to the kitchen and helping me. Yesterday though- I let him take the lead. He measured the flour all by himself- three cups- which he counted all by himself. He poured in the vanilla (maybe a little too much- but hey- it was a vanilla cake, really what could it hurt?) and added the eggs one at a time. And he helped me make the frosting- there was a lot of chocolate melting over the stove- so his help here was a little bit more limited since I didn't want the day to end with us running over to the hostpital with 3rd degree burns. It was such a fantastic smell... The smell of chocolate!!

Anyway, we assembled the cake and decorated all before dad got home. Needless to say, dad was little confused when Ty's greeting for him was "Happy Birthday." We explained our day though and dad was very excited to get his unbirthday cake for dessert.

It was a fun day- someone remind me later to not be so uptight and bake more cakes for no

reason.

A Matter of Opinion

Andy Rooney can be kind of a dork at times, but every once in a while he hits on something that sounds just about right. I can't tell you when this was broadcasted- but I like it.

I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Ent ertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens...Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE ?

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling; it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English! My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business. We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich I don't pity the poor I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say "NO!"

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals.I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of "Political Correctness." I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa ; so how can they be "African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe I am proud to be from America and nowhere else

Just for Grandpa

Okay- I apparently neglected to put up "the best one" in regards to pictures from our President's Day weekend adventure at Bear Lake. Grandpa emailed me and I figure I better rectify this before I get any more emails!! When we were at the cabin, Grandpa and Ty went for a ride on one of the snowmobiles and came across this HUGE snow cave that some kids had dug in the mountains of snow. Ty thought it was so much fun to crawl in and out of. Anyway Grandpa- this is for you!

Dad's Little "Helper"

In the massive manual of "Life", there should be a chapter called "Stuff they just don't tell you beforehand." For example, sewing is more ironing and pinning than actual stitching; toilet seat position will be the least of your marital worries; and oh, by the way, home ownership is really about home repair. The home that we bought in Montpelier is about 50 years old and is in really pretty good condition. When we bought it we felt that we were swimming in fiscal wisdom, good fortune and artistic liberation. Before the ink had a chance to dry, however, we discovered that the house offered incontestable proof that the universe has a sense of humor. Apparently the previous homeowners thought that silicone caulk was the best way to hold anything together. And I mean anything.

Okay- the reality is things aren't that bad. Shaun and I have had to have a sense of humor about the whole thing because all in all- we do love the house. Shaun just never thought his ability to fix most things would come in so handy. He's thinking about starting a plumbing business on the side since he's gotten so good at it! Yesterday though- he and Ty set to work installing an under the cabinet radio in the kitchen for me and fixing the threshold on the backdoor. Okay- really Ty just sat there with a tape measure and an apple while Shaun got down and dirty, while I did the incredibly tough job of supervising.

For the Love of EVERYTHING- Make it STOP

I always loved winter- the snow was so beautiful and it made everything look so clean and white. Plus the skiing- it was just a great time of year. I loved it. Key word there- LOVED. I think I hate winter and I think I hate snow. And I'm beginning to hate Montpelier because all it does here is snow. I swear to you- it never stops. Ever. I suppose I should be grateful- it means we'll all have drinking water this summer and Bear Lake will be nice and full. Can't we just fast forward to that part? Maybe I'll just have to find somewhere else to move to next winter (I'm starting to sound like some 60 year old lady- you know one of those "snowbirds"). On the bright side- Ty likes to play out in it. A lot. Too bad it's deeper than he is tall. This means that when he wants to go and play out back- I have to put my snow clothes on too so that I can blaze a trail for him around the back yard. The last time we did this- the snow came up to my mid-thigh and sometimes up to my hip. That's pretty darn deep. This last picture is one of Ty trying to follow my tracks through the snow to get to his swingset (also covered in snow- but for some reason Ty likes to try and dig the swings out- I think he thinks that if he can get it unburied that he can use it. Good luck kid).

Out of the Mouth of Babes...

This is a picture of Ty when he was about 3 months old and obviously sound asleep. He was so little compared to what

he is now- it's crazy to look at these old pictures and to look at how much he has grown and developed. Yes this is a nostalgic post. It really hit me today that we are going to have another kid. A little late, I know- but all of a sudden we're this family. It's wierd. Anyway, Ty is such an imp lately and literally has diahrea of the mouth. There hasn't been a quiet day in our house for months. And that's okay, because for the most part- he keeps us laughing. Case in point:

Ty was having a much needed haircut a few weeks ago. His hair was shaggy long and had these wierd divots in it- so I thought I would just shave it all off and start from scratch. I pulled out the clippers and cut his hair. Ty doesn't mind because he thinks it tickles- so he just giggled all the way through his trim. Once I finished, I swept up his hair and put it all in the trash. Then I showed Ty the garbage and told him that all his hair was in there. He looked at the hair for a minute then took my hand and led me into the bathroom. He asked me to hold him up to the mirror, so I did, knowing that he just wanted to have a look at his hair. Ty looked in the mirror for a second then said "Put me down." So I did then followed him back into the kitchen where he pulled out the garbage and pointed to his hair, "Mama, put my hair back on now." Whoops. It was so funny though that he would put it all together.

Anyway, I'm hoping to stay more on track with the blogging thing and keep you up to date on what else the little chatterbox has to say. I'm finally starting to feel a little bit better now so hopefully it should happen!

President's Day Weekend

For the record- I am in protest. I am so sick of the snow and the cold. Al Gore can stick his global warming in his ear.

That said however- we had such a fun weekend this President's Day. We spent the weekend at my parents cabin in Bear Lake. It is now only a 45 minute drive for us to get there rather than a couple of hours like it used to be. We met my whole family there for the entire weekend- how fun is that? Saturday we (and by "we" I mean everyone else. Since I'm el prego, I got stay at home and get lunch ready. Woo hoo) went snowmobiling for several hours in the mountains behind the cabin. Then on Monday everyone went skiing at Beaver Mountain (again- I made lunch). Ty had such a gas- since he's the only grandkid/nephew, he is the center of attention everytime we go anywhere with my family and he just ate it up!

Ty also got to go sledding with grandpa, uncle Dave and aunt Nat. The roads up there are kind of steep so the ride is really fun. Ty went down with Dave and yelled back at him "This is fun!" It's probably a good thing that they never went down in a blaze of glory because I think all the "fun" would have gone out the window.

We all had fun though and we're looking forward to doing it again next year!

And the Winner Is....

I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. Picture me doing a victory dance on my kitchen table. I win. I made dinner today- and not only did Shaun think it was yummy- but so did Ty. In fact- the little stinker asked for thirds!!! I think this is the first dinner in a very long time that there were no tears at the dinner table. No bribes. No threats. No food flinging. Just happy munching noises. So in celebration of my much anticpated victory (I've been trying ever since Ty started on solid foods to find something that we could all happily eat together), I am going to share my secret with all of you, in hopes that you find a similar success with your own family (also- I am going to make a plea for any and all kid-friendly meals that we could also try- this was after all, only one meal, and while good- I am not eating it everyday).

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=1495&r=1495,633,1086,799

The Boiling Point of Brain

I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person. I graduated from high school and I will be graduating from college in May. However, at this point in time, I find myself stumped. How many times can you repeat the same phrase before you go mental? Let me set the stage: It is 7:30 at night. Ty has had his bath and brushed his teeth. It is now time to put ALL the toys away that he felt he needed to drag out today. "Ty, please put your books on the shelf." It sounds like a fairly simple request. He has done it every night for the last several months. But I find myself repeating the question over and over and over again. So- I pose my question to you: What is the boiling point of brain? Maybe it's just the day. I talked to Erica earlier today and she tried to sell me her two girls. It just just be January. Or toddlers. Hmmm.

Anyway, I have an update on the crazy weather we've been having up here. It was 16 degrees today and snowed most of the day. The last big storm we had was during the weekend and it dumped enough to all but cover our swingset in the backyard. I think there are swings back there...

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Okay Erica- this post is for you- down in hot humid Houston. It snowed for three days straight this last week and covered us all. This picture doesn't really do it justice since when I took it- the snow was falling really hard and really fast. But that just doesn't come across in the picture unless you look really closely at the fence. Anyway, I'm just wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, happy New Year!!!

Gingerbread House

Okay so the pregnancy sickness has been rearing its ugly head the last few weeks. It's not only morning sickness, but afternoon, evening and Tuesdays. I was never sick with Ty so this has been a totally new experience for me (and I also want to say here that it's not fair either. How in the world are you supposed to spend the day laying on the bathroom floor when your two year old wants to go out and play in the snow?), and not a fun one at that. So this Christmas season, I have been attempting to cut a few corners to make things a little bit easier on myself, but still have the fun stuff around for Ty. I love to cook and bake, and Ty is my best little helper. I had all these grand plans to make a gingerbread house from scratch- but new baby is having none of it. So we actually found a pre-made kit at Costco that you just glue together and stick the candy on. I figured you couldn't cut the corners much better than that- so we bought it. It turned out to be one of the best ten dollar bills we have spent this season. It kept Ty and I occupied for the better part of two hours. Yeah that's right... two hours. I should keep an eye out in January for a gingerbread snowman kit, and in February a gingerbread heart kit... You get the idea here. Anyway- it was a ton of fun for both of us.

The Christmas Tree

For those of you who know me well know how very much I love Christmas and every thing associated with it. And the one of the best things about having kids is that they are excited about Christmas too. I put up the Christmas tree a few weeks ago (okay truthfully I would have put it up the week before Thanksgiving if I thought Shaun would let me get away with it) and got all of the decorations laid out on the couch so that Ty and I could figure out where we were going to put what. My phone rang and I went to go answer it and came back a few minutes later to Ty decorating the himself. He had carefully unwrapped the red balls and was placing them on the tree so daintily- I had to question if he was actually the rambunctious little boy that had been running around the house an hour ago. He was just so excited to be helping Mama with something as important as a Christmas tree.

Deja Vu?

Okay. I'm so having a deja vu moment here. About three years ago I went to the doctor and he told me that I was pregnant, I would be having a baby at the end of July and that we conceived somewhere around Halloween. This last Wednesday- I went to the doctor, he told me I was pregnant, that I would be having a baby at the end of July and that we conceived somewhere around Halloween. How crazy is that?! Unbelievable to me. So- if Shaun is spending the month of October with you guys next year- you'll know why. Anyway- we're way excited and we're attempting to get Ty there too. I don't think he really understands though. But he is cute- we'll ask him what his special secret is- and he'll lean over and whisper "baby." I know we're only like a minute pregnant- but we're excited and wanted to share the news!

Also- for any of you bargain hunters out there- I just got some coupons in the mail and thought maybe with Christmas coming and whatnot that the codes would be helpful to you too!

I got one from Gymb oree that is 20% off good until December 24. Coupon code: 420102480803
And then I also got one for Macys (also 20% off) that is good until December 3. Coupon Code: MACYSFF

You Might Be a Mom If...

Jeff Foxworthy made his millions off of his bit on "You might be a Redneck", which got me to thinking that while I may not make anything off of this next blog- the truth of it will appeal to moms everywhere. It's a work in progress (and yes, sadly it is inspired by actual events) and feel free to add to it!

You might be a mom if...

1. You fill out your bank deposit slip in crayon because it's the only writing utensil in your purse.

2. When you pull out your wallet to pay for your groceries- a week old french fry falls out.

3. You haven't showered since Tuesday.

PS- the picture has nothing to do with the post. It's just cute. It's Ty and his cousin at the Rodeo this summer.

And the lotion gets moved to the TOP drawer...

I love my kid. Sometimes I want to tape him to the wall- but sometimes (even when he's in trouble) I just can't help but laugh at him. I know that the picture is the wrong way- but tilt your head because I don't have time to fix it. Anyway- he found his lotion and wanted to put it on his cheeks because they were dry. Why then it ended up in his hair is still a mystery to me. Ahhh two year olds.

E L M O

Obsess much? Yes. Elmo is a favorite at our house. Ty can't get enough of the little red annoyance- I think he'd have Sesame Street videos on all day if I'd let him. Be that as it may- Shaun and I decided to indulge our little monster, and let him make a day of it. Ty was a little wary of this red furry thing, but once we got it on him- there was no going back.

Anyway- we had a lot of fun on Halloween. Ty and I made special Halloween sugar cookies which he got to decorate (if you saw the little slide show from the previous blog- you'll see it all over his face- what good is frosting if you can't get a little messy?) and share with his dad at lunch. After lunch we went over to Shaun's school for the Halloween parade. Ty loved every minute of it- he kept pointing out all the "Halloween witches" (witches scare him- so we had to make a big deal out of the fact that since these were "Halloween witches"- they weren't scary) and the ghosts. It was really a lot of fun.

We did go trick or treating- but only to a sum total of three houses. Ty was just so excited to be out running around with all the other kids- that he didn't really get what we were doing. He would run from house to house with his little pumpkin bucket just a swinging away (he kept losing his candy). He was a little unsure of actually going up to the doorstep and saying "Trick or Treat"- and it usually came out in a rush, sounding more like "Teet," but I think he must have gotten his point across, because all the old ladies gave him candy and told him he was cute. He just beamed.

It was a lot of fun- I love holidays (much to Shaun's disappointment), and Halloween just kicks off one of my favorite few months of the year!!

Eeek! There's a monster in my house!

New Friends

We have a new friend in our neighborhood. Her name is "Spook". She's this cute little black dog that lives (technically) next door. But she's always over at our house. She loves Ty because he "shares" his snacks with her and likes to throw balls for her. She is at our door by 8 o'clock every morning and sticks around until bedtime. We spend a lot of time outside (probably because it is so easy now. When we lived in Boise it was this whole ordeal where we had to get the bag and the keys and the phone... it was a pain), and Spook is always with us. We can't even go for walks without her tagging along behind us. She has taken to the protector role on our outings- any time another dog even thinks about getting close to Ty- she is the first one to jump in between the new dog and Ty. We love having her around!

The Cozy Coupe

Okay- so Ty hasn't handled the move very well. He is tired, cranky and honestly more than a little bit of a pill. We're all adjusting though right? I have tried to keep Ty busy so that his spontaneous tears are kind of kept at bay. In an effort to help hold back the torrential alligator tears, my mom bought Ty a new car that he can ride around in outside in the yard. This was the original plan, but Ty loved riding around the house so much, that we have actually ended up keeping it inside. Ty likes to have his afternoon snack in it while he watches Elmo. It's kind of dopey- but definitely cute, and I thought you would all enjoy the picture!

Before and After Photos

Okay... so I've had some requests for before and after photos of the house. Eventually we'll get all of our furniture in the right place and pictures on the wall- and then everything will seem like home again. Right now- our only hangup is that we need to do some paint touchups- but do you know how hard it is to pull out a roller and paint with a two year old? That's like death to my leather couches!! So anyway- pictures are on the backburner until then. But... let's get started with the official tour of the house before we painted (I'll upload the after pictures in the next post)! First... let's look at Shaun and my bedroom. When we bought the house it was a dark, dark chocolate brown with a teal trim. Which actually could have been cute- but the room is kind of small- and it just seemed soooo closed in with all four walls dark. Maybe if it had been an accent wall or something- but it just made me feel like I was in the stomach of a whale or something. Just call me Jonah. She had even painted the hall the same dark brown- it was just sooo dark!!

Then came Ty's room- which in all reality looked like a hot dog bun or something. It was yellow and red. I think she was originally going for like a "Curious George" theme- but again- it really made the room seem small. I guess if I really like red or something I could have left it- but the previous owner had let her little boys dip their hands in yellow paint and press it against the wall. I didn't really want lasting impressions of kids I didn't know. It's kind of a cute idea though.... maybe we'll do something like that in the basement or something.

Let's see... We also have a third bedroom upstairs that we aren't really sure what we're going to do with yet. I think it will be a guest room for now- and then once we get to that point- it will become a nursery (no grandma Jacki- we are not announcing anything yet :) ). It was pink though and it just had to go too. It would have made a very pretty princess room- but in reality... who are we going to give that to? Shaun? Maybe he could hang up all his Michael Jordan memorabilia in it... Maybe not. Maybe we could get the paint color for Erica and her little girls- it would fit better.

The kitchen is probably my favorite room in the house (though this could be because we haven't had to do anything with it yet). It's not really a before- but I love it so much- I thought I would upload a picture anyway!

And now for something completely different...

Okay... This is it! Our new house! As most of you know- we have been living in Montpelier for a few weeks now and are just getting settled into our new casa. We looked and looked for the two months that we were living in Garden City for a place to move to... and it was a joke!! The homes up here are really old and run down for the most part. When we started our little house hunt we ran into some of the scariest things! One house even had a headstone in it's front yard. Yeah... you read that right- a headstone. Another one smelled like cat pee and another looked like it was going to fall in on itself. The other homes that weren't dumps were way out of our price range. We were starting to think that we were going to end up living in the cabin forever. But then... our realtor found us this little gem! The people that owned it had bought it and done a ton of renovations to it. I found a picture of it in its original state- and I almost didn't recognize it.

Anyway- while the family had done a lot to it- thier choice in paint left a lot to be desired. So we had a painting party to cover up the yellow in the living room, the brown in the hall and master bedroom, the red and yellow in Ty's room and the pink in the extra upstairs bedroom. I guess it just goes to show that one man's castle is another man's nightmare.

Things are now pretty well put together- and now we've just been trying to get pictures hung and furniture in the right place. I'll upload some more pictures as we take them. But now you are all up to date!! Yay!!

Fall Leaves

I love the fall. The crisp air. Harvest. And the beautiful leaves. Ty and I went for a nature walk when we were living at the cabin- and I just couldn't help but take a picture of my baby boy with the autumn leaves behind him. Ty loved going on these little nature walks. We took one every day (because really- what else were we going to do- there was no internet, no TV, no laundry facilities at the cabin), and it was really nice to just let Ty take his time and pick up all the sticks and rocks that he wanted to. I let him take a bucket along with us- so that he had a place to put all of his treasures. I kind of miss the walks now- just because the scenery was so pretty. We still take walks every morning- but now I'm pointing out things like geese and

Cabin Fever

Okay- so we spent about two months in my family's cabin at Bear Lake. I can't just skip over that part since I have some cute pictures of our adventures in isolation. For those of you that haven't been to the cabin- it's located just above Garden City in Logan Canyon. It has a beautiful view of the lake and is covered in trees and chuck full of critters. Grandma and Grandpa were up for a visit one week and Grandpa found a little garden snake for Ty to play with. Ty thought it was great- when someone else had it or when it was in a box. But the second that wriggly little thing got close- Ty backed up so fast!

Since we spent so much time here, I decided to give Ty a very special job (he was having a hard time adjusting to the move- so in all actuality I was just trying to give him something to take his mind off the fact that we weren't ever going back to the home he knew). His job every day was to lay out food for the neighborhood deer herd. This deer herd has about six deer in it- full of mama's and babies (with the occasional buck) and they weren't shy about coming right up to the cabin when it was dinner time. I could never believe how close they let us get to them! This picture is just right off the back deck and I was literally feet from them. It was crazy!

MIA? No way!!

Hi everyone (okay- the word "everyone" might be a little strong since there are like three people that read this)! I know we've kind of been gone for a while- but all for good reason! Shaun got a job a few days after we got back from California and it has been a whirlwind ever since. Shaun interviewed for a position as a PE/Health teacher for the elementary school in Montpelier, Idaho and they offered him the job on the spot. Problem was- school started in a week and a half so it was "go time" for us when we made it back to Boise. We had everything packed in two days and then we were off.

We have been staying at my parents cabin in Garden City (Bear Lake) which is about 45 minutes from Montpelier- but it has been great! Finding a rental in Montpelier is like finding a parking place at the mall during December. They are almost non-existant and the ones that you do find have been totally trashed. We looked for a while- but decided it was time to call in the big guns... we called a realtor and a mortgage company... and we close on the most beautiful little house in a week!! Yay! (I can't find my cord to hook up the camera so you don't get any pictures unless you visit this link... http://www.bearlakerealty.com/residential.php?state=Idaho&city=Montpelier&home_id=552) We are so excited and things have been going really well. The people here are incredible and so nice. Everywhere we turn there are people calling us and making sure that we don't need anything. We even had one lady send us home with a carton full of farm fresh eggs. I haven't used them yet- they still have chicken poop on them and that's almost too fresh for me.

Anyway- like I said- at the moment we are living in a log cabin and have no internet access- so this is my first chance to give a shout out to you all. Hope it doesn't go so long next time!

Six Flags

We beached it for so long that Shaun was starting to dig sand out of placed we didn't even know he had. For those of you who haven't been around Shaun on the beach... let me clarify... HE HATES IT!!! He can think of nothing more mindnumbingly dull than sitting on the beach for a couple of days- so to make Shaun happy (sort of- he doesn't really like rides either, but I think he had reached a point of mutiny when it came to the beach)- we took a day off and went to Six Flags Magic Mountain on Thursday. It was really a lot of fun. They have a little place set up just for kids (I think they called it Toddler Land or something along those lines) and Ty went nuts! He thought it was so cool that he could ride his own horse on the Carousel and that he got to steer his own car on the "Race Track". I guess Magic Mountain has their claim to the Warner Brothers characters because Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig were seen running around the place. Ty wasn't quite sure he thought they were very cool- but found the strength within to give Daffy Duck a high five and "bones".

Back on Track!

Hey everyone! I'm back... I took a few days off from the blogging world for a few things (Harry Potter and homework being numbers 1 and 2) this last week, but now I'm ready to tell you all about the rest of our trip (mainly because I have nothing else to blog about right now). Let's see... we left off after Ty's birthday- I guess that just leaves the whole reason we went to California... THE BEACH!! Ty thought the "Big Water" was pretty cool- he chased the waves and dug for sand crabs (but went running the other direction once he actually caught the sand crab). Then he "helped" grandpa make a sandcastle- though in reality he just ended up putting a butt print on the top of it. But really- what do you expect? He's two!! We also made Ty go out on the boogie board, but I'm not convinced that he really thought it was a whole lot of fun. We even got a little video of Ty playing around, but I'm not sure if I know how to post that. I'll work on it and I guess we'll see!

Happy Birthday Ty!!

Tyler celebrated a birthday while we were on vacation... he's now two years old (and acting every day of it) and he got to spend his birthday at a baseball game! The LA Dodgers were playing the NY Mets the weekend we got to California, so Shaun and I took Ty to the game. Ty was so excited! He jumped up and down on his chair and pointed down at the field yelling "Ball! Ball!" And everytime someone hit the ball- he would turn to one of us, with his mouth in the shape of an "O" and say "Whoa!" He's a little bit of a sports nut- can't imagine where he gets that from... everything he wears has to have a ball somewhere on it, otherwise it's like hog-tying a moth to get him to wear something different. Anyway- he sure had fun. He loved the hot dog and the ice cream.

After the game, we went down the the tidepools at Corona Del Mar and watched the waves. Then we crawled around on the rocks looking for different signs of sea-life. Ty took one look at a crab and wanted to run in the other direction. I think there was something about the scuttling they did that he didn't like. He loved watching the little hermit crabs though- as long as nothing got too close. The sunset that night over the ocean was just beautiful and we couldn't help but take a few pictures while we were there! Later that night, we put some candles on a cake and had him make a wish. Ty is the biggest ham and loves to be the center of attention- so a birthday party just for him was right up his alley. I can't believe that he's two already- these last couple of years have really flown by!

Sunny California!!

Hey everybody! I know that all of you are avid readers of our blog and have been eagerly anticipating a post that just hasn't come. It is not just because I am lazy, but rather- I have been on a much needed vacation!! But we're home now and it's back to sanity. For those of you still in the dark- Shaun, Ty and I spent a week in Southern California with my family playing on the beach. I have pictures, and I think it's going to either be a long blog, or a long list of blogs since I can't make my pictures all cute like Janae can (you'll have to tell me your secret later Janae!).

Hmmmm. Where to start... We actually flew in to San Diego and then drove up to Santa Ana to meet the rest of my family (mom, dad, dave, nat, miss and miss' fiance mark). We decided to head up to the Colesseum (so not spelling that right) to watch the LA Galazy take on Chelsea (soccer for you laymen out there). It was the first game that David Beckham was playing in so it was a pretty big deal. I got to take a few pictures of him coming onto the field- it was so great! It's been fun having Nat around (Dave's wife) since she is a senior on the BYU's (boo! hiss!) soccer team- she gets the rest of us excited about the game again!