Smorgasbord

I thought of "smorgasbord" for the title, then googled it to make sure I was spelling it right... interesting tid bit- it's a Swedish word meaning buffet! Ha, you learn something new every day, right?!

Well that little intro was probably an appropriate beginning for the randomness I'm about to post!

I have NOT done my little pumpkin face (yes, that's what I call him) any justice lately with pictures, so here we go.

I love this picture because he looks like a present, all wrapped up!

Ta Da!

He has become a baby pretzel and satisifies his sucking needs with his toes. Yum.

He's fairly content in the exersaucer, but I think sometimes he inadvertently hits something that makes a loud noise and it startles him, then he wants nothing to do with it. He's also become petrified of the vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, and blender. He goes hysterical when one gets turned on, gets his huge eyes goin' and pouts his lip. It's hysterical. I can picture it at any given time and it gives me the giggles.

We've had some chilly days, so we get all bundled up before our walks. He's graduated from staying perched on top of the stroller in his carrier, to actually getting to see what's going on during our walks. He loves it.

Right after his bath last week he rolled from his back to his front with no help! And he hasn't done it since. Tease.

The "lazy eye" torch has been passed on! Like father, like son :)

Ok, I know this is weird, but we were driving to a friend's house last weekend and I looked up to the sky and saw these crazy lookin' clouds! They looked just like cool whip, all stirred up. I pointed them out to Trav, who was also captivated, resulting in me having to call his attention to the red light we about ran :)

Upon arriving at said friend's house, Bron grabbed Collin and Lily and I saw a picture moment needing to be captured. As we called to the babies to get them both to look at the camera, I snapped three shots, all with Bron looking like this! Haha, I love it- it was like he was responding to everyone's whistles and calls, getting his animated face going while the kids couldn't care less :)

Other weekend activities included going to Olive Garden last Friday. The waitress was putting the drinks down when she spilled a water glass and it came rushing all over muwah! Lucky for me, I was wearing my white capris!

Not ten minutes later, Doug follows suit and spills Rach's lemonade all over the table and floor. Haha. I guess we needed some comic relief for the ridiculousness of the night. I think I've had it with Olive Garden. It's always SO busy and it's SO over priced, I'm surprised they didn't demand my son as payment for their mediocre pasta. It's actually the first time Rach has been since last October. We all arrived, ready to celebrate her birthday, when she opened up her cloth napkin and found a nasty surprise. Had to be some kind of sordid joke... but imagine a clump of only the LAST thing you want to see before eating food. Yeah. Nightmarish.

About two weeks ago, Rach and I went to a little park we had heard about that had a wading pool. It was really close and fairly secluded. Plus, it was beautiful! We had a little picnic courtesy of Subway....

And took a little dip. It was a bit chilly but not too bad. Right on the other side of the fence is a river. This place was quite a find and completely free! Unfortunately it hasn't been warm enough to go back, but we'll be frequenting in next summer for sure.

I told you this post was random!

Here are some treasures from our garden. We have squash, zucchini, cucumber, jalepeno, and tomatoes. We've had zuccini coming out of our ears!

I always thought mobiles were completely unnecessary, but turns out that babies are actually entertained by them! Go figure. The only problem is they are extremely over priced in my opinion. So I found a cheapo one from Wal Mart (Looney Tunes, ugh) and sewed some stars to hang from it instead.

And then today I made some pacifier holders. I lost the only one he had, and given that I'm a germ-a-phob, it was a heavy loss. Target charges $5 a piece for these things, but they are a fraction of the cost homemade! And after my curse word of a sewing machine finally cooperated, the project turned out ok.

I have to thank everyone for the well wishes for my back. Last week was a big bummer. I was incapacitated Sunday through Wednesday night with my back problems and Tuesday night started my cold. Sore throat, congestion, headache, and runny nose kept me down until Friday. A waste of a week! I hate being unproductive, so today I made up for wasted time. I exercised, did dishes, mopped the floor, cleaned the bedroom, vacuumed, cleaned out my diaper bag, did laundry, took Collin on a walk, went grocery shopping, made dinner, sewed the pacifier holders, and overhauled the den (see below). And of course took care of the babers. We have a spot where all mail and papers "to be filed" go. I HATE filing. I procrastinate until the pile is overflowing, then sit down, sort through it, make my piles and file them away. It all seems really unnecessary and yet has to be done. Hardly ever, if at all, do I go back to look at bank statements, credit card bills, Insurance memos, etc. And the "student loan" file only seems to be thickening by the minute. Sigh. I remember a time when it was FUN to get mail. If there was a letter in the mailbox with your name on it, it was something to get excited about. Now, I pull out bills and junk and wonder why all mail can't be wedding announcements and Dairy Queen coupons. Ah, well, the den is finally clutter free and I can relax until Jerry stops by tomorrow with the latest Bed, Bath and Beyond flyer and Direct Loan statement. :)

Bending over backwards....

... actually, make that frontwards!

Yesterday my back went out. It's been about two years since this has happened. I think it's Heavenly Father's way of reminding me what will happen in my old age if I don't heed my Grandmother's advice and stand up straight. (Growing up, she used to come up behind me and pull my shoulder's back and tell me to stand straight and proud. She said she understood that I hunched over because my chest was coming in -what chest was that, Grandma?! She must have been confusing me with normal teenage girls)

Anyway, the first time I remember my back going haywire was when I was a senior in high school. It started aching and suddenly I was in so much pain I couldn't stand up. I was laying on my bed in a panic because I had a paper to write, due the next day, and no way to get to the computer room. So I had my sister wheel in the office chair and I shimmied onto it and had her push me down the hall to the den. Hey, it worked.

From there on out, it would fail me 2-3 times a year. I went to a spine specialist and had an MRI done, all so that he could tell me he didn't really see a problem, but it could be a degenerative disc. No cure. Hmm, didn't sound right to me, but maybe it was the expert's obvious lack of confidence in his diagnosis that had me wondering.

I've been in a couple car accidents, one pretty major and have wondered if this problem could be traced back to that.... Guess I'll never know.

The last time it went out, it was near the end of my first year teaching. I was way too busy and it takes way too long to set up lesson plans for a substitute, so I toughed it out and kept teaching, bent over, mind you. The kids were good natured about it and didn't make fun of me, to my knowlege at least. During recess, specials, and lunch, I would spread out some big, laminated sheets of art on the ground and lay there until it was time to hobble to the playground and pick up my kiddos. Come to think of it, they may have actually enjoyed finally having me at eye level.

Well time marched on and it would randomly cross my mind that my back hadn't gone out. Maybe I'm cured! Not to be.

Pain medicine doesn't really help. Myropractors don't really help. Time does, but who wants to wait for that!

I have a really hard time staying still when my page long "to-do" list eyes me from my horizontal position on the couch. Trav only had school til noon today, so he enforced the "rest treatment", but tomorrow I am free to tackle that list, albeit, painfully. (It was nice, however, to relax and catch up on the phone with one of my best friends from college that I shared an apartment with. I also got to talk to my brother that's living in Switzerland, whom I haven't spoken with in many many months!)

I remember years ago, being in this predicament and needing to go to Target. My little sis needed to go too, but was wary of accompanying me and taking part in all the confused stares of strangers. I assured her that I would stay behind a shopping cart, so it might look like I was just resting on it, instead of walking all bent over so that it appeared I was perpetually on the look out for spare change. She hesitantly agreed.

So as I try to get back to normal life tomorrow I'll play the shopping cart trick to my advantage, but what I'd really like is a sturdy walker or cane. If anyone has one they're willing to share, just let me know. :) Otherwise, I'll brave the stares and leave it to sweet "time" to get my back to "standing straight and proud" stature.

B is for BaBy Boy!

Last Saturday I threw a baby shower for my good friend Rachel!

She is pregnant with their first baby and due the beginning of September.

These sorts of events are good for me because I get to practice fun ideas I steal from other people :) The invitation, baby shower banner, watermelon, and cup cakes were all ideas stolen from much more creative people than myself- so I can not take credit!

To be honest, I was shocked the baby carriage turned out. Next up- ice sculptures!:)

Thanks to everyone that helped bring the yummy treats!

Here's Camille and the mommy to be !

More of the guests...

We played two fun games. The first one, I asked Rachel questions about herself as a baby (got the answers from her mom) and for every question she got wrong, she had to chew a piece of Bubble Gum. Sad I didn't get a picture!

Then, for the next one, I would say the name of an item, and the first person to find it in their purse/diaper bag got a little prize! Well, the first item I called out happened to be (stop reading if you are under 18) birth control of any kind! I got some confused looks, a bit of scrambling, then Denyse pulled this out!

Haha! Poor girl was so embarrassed and I still made her pose for a picture. Love it! She probably wouldn't have been so willing to to participate if she knew the prizes were only an assortment of chocolate bars! I hope she forgives me for posting this pic. Way to get the party started Denyse!

Well, Rach got some great gifts and we strung up the clothes "clothes line style" for everyone to see.

Isn't she beautiful! Love this girl!

Can't wait to meet sweet baby Luke or Gavin!

Grandpa Jess and Grannie Annie

The Monday after we got back from our trip we had the privilege of hosting my grandparents for a day! They had been out east for a week, revisting some church history sites and stopped in to see us on their last day.

I LOVE this picture. Both look so happy. We were actually pretty close to naming Collin after his two grandpas, Jesse James, but ended up going with Collin. Maybe another one of our sons will have the honor. :)

They wanted to see where Travis went to school, so he took us all on a tour of the campus and Squire Hall, where his labs and classes take place. This is the front of the School of Dental Medicine. This buffalo cracks me up, scrubs and braces, haha. In case you don't know me very well, I think animals and inanimate objects acting like humans is HILARIOUS! Don't even get me started on those Swiffer commercials. :)

Then we drove to downtown's Buffalo waterfront where they have some old Navy ships on display. We're lucky we actually made it there though. Twice we took a wrong turn right where you enter the harbor and ended up on a bridge with no exists for a couple of miles so we could turn around! So a note of warning, when you take that final left turn into the harbor and there are 3 choices, go with the one farthest away so you don't end up on that blasted bridge! :)

My grandpa served in the Navy for almost two years during WWII. It was interesting to hear him talk about that experience and to hear him point out different aspects of the ship and explain how they worked. I wish everyone could get to know my grandpa. He's truly the nicest guy ever. He's always thinking of other people before himself and is the best example of "going green". Only, he's been doing it his whole life, not just when it got trendy. :)

It wasn't for very long, but I'm so glad they could come visit and see a bit of our life in Buffalo! They got a taste of Wegman's subs and Duff's wings so they pretty much experienced the best food we have to offer out here! I truly feel blessed to have them as grandparents. You don't get any better than Grandpa Jess and Grannie Annie!

First Week of School

Well, technically Aug. 11 was the first day of school, but it was just a week of orientation stuff. Classes began on the 17th. HOWEVER, as Trav walked out the door on the 11th, my "photo radar" went off and I had to chase him down in the car for his First Day of School pic. He gave me a sour look for the first pic until I glared at him and I got this smile. At least Doug is pumped. :)

Last Friday the school threw their family luncheon after the first years had their white coat ceremony. Rachel is protesting a photo since she's 9 months prego and not feeling very photogenic I guess. I suppose Doug is supporting her in that endeavor. :)

I had to take a pic of sweet Lily interacting with Collin at the lunch. Interacting meaning "poking". Collin loved the attention though. He's usually the lone male in a group full of girl babies. What a stud :)

Saturday *daytime* I threw Rachel a baby shower, but that will have it's own blog post :) And that night I cajoled the Shaws and Reihesses into going to the Shakespear Festival. It's a free outdoor play that is put on in Delaware Park over the summer. It was the last weekend, so we just HAD to go. It was Julius Caesar and we were quite lost throughout it to be honest. And we forgot our wine glasses and cheese with crackers, so we didn't exactly fit the stereotypical crowd that was there. No matter. We had fun eating chocolate and throwing the rolled up wrappers at each other. We felt we needed to balance the sophisticatedness of the show with some immatureness :)

VaCa- Take 2- CaLiFoRNiA!

Every summer, my family vacations in Oceanside, California, and this year we finally were able to join them! As you can see, Collin was a bit apprehensive about the 7 hour car drive (usually it's 6, but pulling a trailer coupled with my mom's begging slowed my dad's normal 80mph driving to around 70mph :) Luckily he did great and we cruised into Oceanside around 5pm Saturday night.

The next day was Sunday, FAST Sunday, mind you and we were good little Mormons and headed off to church. My dad had to leave after Sacrament mtg, though so he could go pick up Jefferson from the airport. (He was at Lake Powell all week with his friends and got back after we had left) WELL, church ends, and there is no Dad or Jefferson. Because of heightened security at the airport and bad traffic, we got to spend a whole extra, blessed hour chillin' in the foyer. Lane was acting like he had had Red Bull for breakfast, running around and shrieking with delight.

My mom was catching the fever and getting worked up right along with him.

She also busted out the video camera to document.... well nothing really. We chastised her for doing so (it has to be against church policy, right?) But when I couldn't beat her, I joined her and started snapping pics!

Well at one point, Lane started rolling around on the floor. My mom loves to make the comment whenever babies or children are acting un-adult-like, "What if we all...... fill in the blank with whatever the baby is doing......" Marcie acts mortified at the thought and my mom sees a chance to embarrass her children, yet again. We didn't really think she'd do it.... we should have known better. I think Casey's face is classic.

She only laid on the ground for a moment and somehow I missed that moment, but you can see Casey running away now.

And here he is acting like he doesn't belong to this family. Haha, actually we were all acting that way by now!

And here is the lone stranger just sitting, acting like he's not paying any attention to our fairly disfunctional family, but I saw him steal glances whenever he thought we weren't looking.

FINALLY, after an hour of waiting, here comes father and son. Apparently he got pulled over because Jefferson wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Guess how much the ticket was. Just a measly $300. Way to go Jeffers!

Sunday night we like to walk along the beach and take pictures in the sunset. My parents had their 27 year anniversary the next day. They're still in love and best friends after knowing each other over 30 years. I feel so blessed to have parents who are not only still married, but HAPPILY married. (And if you're wondering why my dad has a panda on his shirt, please don't confuse him with some environmentalist-I don't know if there's anyone farther from it- it's just a skate brand called Enjoi.

Lane LOVED the water. So much so that he soaked his clothes and Shelley let him run amoke in his birthday suit.

Thanks to the beauty of photoshop, we were able to make this pic PG :)

So basically we were just beach bums all week except for Wednesday. I finished reading Joy Luck Club and started in on Confessions of a Shopaholic whilst trying to tan my embarrassingly white skin. My two sisters put me to shame.

Collin sported a new rash guard which he wore under the shade, far from the water. Just a bit too cold for him! A well spent five dollars.

Monday night we walked to the harbor while the sun was going down.

The first of many family pics.

We ate dinner at Harbor Fish and Chips. Yum!

Topped off with some icecream.And back at the condo we discovered what a GREAT job the spray sunscreen did on Trav's back! I was in an artistic kind of mood when I put it on him that morning.

Tuesday brought more beach bumness... We played a bunch of paddle ball and Trav and I finished off the week with the best score of 600 without dropping the ball. Woo.Hoo!

This is the view from the condo my family stayed in. We shared a condo with Shelley, Casey, and Lane and had a great view too.

Tuesday night we watched some Jim Gaffagen, then some people conked out.

Man, I can't wait until my kid can entertain himself while I sleep in!

Wednesday morning we ate breakfast at a yummy restaurant called Marys. With fresh squeezed oj and homemade pancakes in our stomachs we were ready to party hardy at Sea World!

We passed an accident on our way there that was being taken care of by the Geriatric Patrol :)

Every year our family gets their picture taken in this exact same spot.

Trav wanted it made clear that he wasn't trying to be a gangster, he was trying to shade Collin's face with his hat :)

Lots of walkin'!

While everyone went on the Atlantis ride, Collin and I took a break under some shade.

And savored a frosted lemonade and churro!

Poor guy got sunburned right around his eyes. Didn't think to put sunscreen so close to his eyes!

My mom watched Collin so we could ride Shipwreck Reef Rapids. It's one of those big circular tube rides that seats 9 people. Needless to say we got soaked!

And by the end of the day, pregnant Shelley had had enough and lost her senses. She protested any more walking by laying on the ground. Lane's is wondering what happened to his normally sanitary mother.

At the beginning of the day, one of the workers commented on how cute our matching outfits were. Sigh. I got dressed first! His rebuttle was that he planned his outfit way in advance. That's just girly :)

Mom and Craig at the Shamu Rocks show. Totally fits their personalities.

Thursday morning brought more beach bumness.... haha.

As Trav likes to say, CRACK KILLS!!

Can I get a little respect please?

It must have been "show your stuff" day at the beach, because then we spotted Father and Son Speedos.

Collin decided if you can't beat em, Join Em!

We got in some games of wiffle ball.

Then we spent the evening playing Village Idiot and the "Lying Game".

This is the reaction I got when I told them to act like they were having fun.

Friday morning we shopped til we dropped at The Closet. I. Luv. Shopping. Pure Bliss.

I didn't want our last day at the beach to end. We ate pizza while watching the sun set.

My mom got Collin a little souvenir. How did she know?! :)

Saturday morning we miraculously packed up by 10am, drove into San Diego and ate lunch at the best BBQ place ever. You know it's good when I'm eating a pulled pork sandwich. We were in hog heaven. Then my parents dropped us off at the San Diego airport at noon and we begun or cross country trip home, arriving at 11pm.

We had such a great time! Thank you mom and dad for providing such a fun time for all of us. We love our big, crazy, happy family!

For a parting laugh, you have to watch this video. If you don't know what "Kidsongs" are, they are DVD's of kids singing songs based on the theme of the particular show. Like, "A Day at the Farm" is all animal songs. We all grew up watching them. They are incredibly cheesy. And yet, my uber cool, teenaged brother broke down all pride when his FAVORITE song came on. He just had to join in :)