I Ain't Heavy Father ...

... I'm just PREGNANT!

That's right. We're crazy/smart/masochistic enough to do this again.

I'm still only like two hours along (okay, more like 9 weeks but it might as well be two hours) so I'm currently wandering aimlessly through Yuckville. Honestly, call me spoiled, call me ungrateful, call me whatever you feel like calling me (except fat because I'm a little sensitive about my already-expanding gut), but I'm not going to lie, I HATE BEING PREGNANT. I do. I'm sorry. I just really do.

So on that positive note, stick around until March and you might get to see pics of our new little one!

p.s. Double Jeopardy question, can anyone tell me the reference to my post title? Here's a clue, the original quote is, "He ain't heavy, Father, he's my brother." The first one to get it right gets ... a $500 gift card to Target!! Okay, not really, because you and I both know I don't have one of those "sponsored" blogs. I'm SO not that cool. But what you will get is ... title of "My Smartest Friend," or at least "Best Internet Searcher."

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

Ruby is the craziest little girl. She has become quite the yakker lately (although my family probably thinks that's a straight out lie because she clams up whenever they're around). At home, she is constantly yakking, trying out new words, repeating everything we say, singing, etc. Besides her yakking, she still has quite the affinity for adding crazy accessories to what otherwise would have been perfectly acceptable outfits.

Over the 4th of July (Yes, I realize I'm a little behind -- so sue me!), we were at the cabin in Idaho and Ruby became obsessed with one particular accessory. I think she insisted on wearing them every day.
Her pink cowboy boots

Outfit #1


Outfit #2 (on the 4th, her little patriotic jumper was suddenly sassed up a little by her pink boots)

Outfit #3

Outfit #4A (Yes, those are PJs. She looks so hot.)


Outfit #4B (Same PJ bottoms, coupled with her other favorite accessory -- pink, floppy sun hat. She sure does know how to make a statement.)
One other favorite accessory -- Henry's "fishing" hat (fyi, we don't know why exactly he calls it his fishing hat, he just declared it to be so one day)

I sort of feel bad for Ruby because apparently she's taking an interest in fashion. Unfortunately for her, her parents know nothing of fashion and therefore have not passed on any fashion-know-how genes.

This dilemma would be sort of akin to one of Brangelina's kids devoting him/herself to Dungeons and Dragons and all the dweebiness that it entails. Sorry kid, it's just not in your genes.

But maybe someday being completely fashion blind will be really hip. I hope so. Because then I'd never have to worry about my daughter and her "unique" style being made fun of.

Rollin' With My Homies

I hung out with a group of 12 girls through most of my high school career and we were C-R-A-Z-Y (right Mom? Although she probably shouldn't be the one to judge because I'd bet that if she were Mother Theresa's mom, she still probably would have found some reason to ground her. Like how about when Mother Theresa blew up a tv up the canyon and then lied about it or when she got caught BIG TIME sluffing Honors English three times in a row? Geez MT, those probably weren't the smartest things to do so maybe you deserve the grounding afterall). So anyway, a couple of weeks ago in Utah I got the RARE chance to hang out with six of those friends (some of whom I hadn't seen in YEARS!) and their kids.

Speaking of "that group," our group of friends was called The Freaks. Nice name, huh? Pretty sad that we actually embraced the name even though it was given to us as a gesture of insult. All I can say is we had a pretty good amount of self-esteem.

So we went to Harmony's new BEAUTIFUL house in Alpine and had a BBQ. The food was great (which I take no responsibility for at all since my assignment was a bag of chips and I failed to even work that out in the end -- hey! I'm a travellin' (wo)man!) and the company was even better!

Here's Henry getting to know Mandy and Tyler's darling little Olivia. I don't mean to brag but I think the boy's got skillz:
Skills? I should say! Look who we found a few hours later trying to elope in a Radio Flyer! Like I told Mandy, let the record show that I wholeheartedly support betrothing these two. How cute would their kids be?!?!

So here's the crew:

Me, Harmony, Nicole, Mandy (Parker), Mandy (Ivie), Jane, and Aime.

Between the seven of us, there were 14 kids so it was awesome. It was so much fun to see my friends as real, "grownup" women! I'm sorry that not everyone was there but we need to plan a reunion soon!

Thanks again ladies for a hilarious night!

Woh, Mexico, it sounds so simple, I just got to go.

Wait! Before you say anything let me explain my absence -- I've been out of town like crazy these days AND I maxed out the memory on my computer so I had no way of uploading pictures. My computer is from the Ice Age so it's no surprise that I managed to fill all 40 gigabytes of memory. (And don't even think about harassing me because your iPod has like 67 times more memory than my pathetic computer. Don't you think I know that already?) Moving on ...

VIVA MEXICO!!

A few weeks ago I went on a girls' cruise to Mexico with Scott's mom (Sharon), two sisters (Becca and Kate), his brother's wife (Nikell), one sister's friend (Ally), and a partridge in a pear tree. And boy was it fabulous!

(Nikell, Me, Becca, Kate, Ally, and Sharon)

Here are some of the highlights:

Parasailing in Cabo San Lucas.
We decided to go three at a time so I went with Becca and Sharon. How awesome is it that the guy on the boat asked us our weight and decided that the heavy one (ME!) had to be in the middle and there's my skinny mother-in-law and sister-in-law evening me out?


Eating, eating, and more eating! Our food was, for the most part, fabulous! I think I honestly gained five pounds on this trip (and worth every calorie if you ask me!).

Bunking with Nikell. It was so fun to spend some quality time with her as we only get to seem them a few times a year and our crazy children never really give us a chance to talk. So now we know each other's life stories because of our late night pillow talks. Well, realistically, it's more like she knows mine and I know some of hers (I talked more than she did -- shocker, right?). But I love her unexpected, dry humor -- she would have me cracking up in our room. I think most nights the crazy young moms were the last to go to sleep and subsequently, the last to get up in the morning. It was glorious!
Formal Nights (beautifully modeled above by Nikell and Becca). I love dressing up -- I mean, seriously! How often do we get to do that as moms? At home, my idea of dressing up is wearing a white shirt because you know THAT doesn't happen often!

Laying on the Beach. We had beautiful weather after parasailing so we took full advantage and had lunch on the beach and then spent the afternoon working on our skin cancer. It's the simple pleasures in life, really, that just get me excited. Like guesstimating how many times I can badly burn my face before being diagnosed with skin cancer. Ahhh ... feel those rays!

(our ship in the background)

Kate's Humor. Seriously, Kate is the craziest girl sometimes. After asking their room attendant, Percy, where he was from (she was unaware it was proudly displayed on his name tag), he replies, "India," and she gives him the "air gun" action and drawls out, "Excellent," and then walks away.

Gettin' my Groove On. I love cruising with the ladies because we went dancing. I didn't dance on our last cruise because Scott would never go and I just couldn't get into it (maybe it was because I was there with a former drill team member and two former cheerleaders who actually knew how to move their bodies in a non-Elaine fashion). Becca and Kate's styles are much like my own -- crazy and totally unrepentant of how we may look.

All the Love the Single Ladies got. Exhibit A:

This was about the most any of them got. Who knew Pinocchio could be such a good time?

La Noria. Our tour guide, Marco, took us out to this small, country town about 45 minutes outside of Mazatlan called La Noria. We got to see a few different shops and the way things traditional things like leather sandals, belts, saddles, and tortillas are made. It was really cool to see a "real" Mexican town. What I like most about this next picture is NOT the fancy new saddle but how Becca looks like she's about to attack Marco from behind. Don't worry, Marco, I got your back.
Speaking of...

Marco. He was definitely a highlight. He was the one who told us he's "kind of married," a "family man on a bad day," and also said he had some soda, water, and "pouquito beer" for us in the cooler, and most importantly, that he "checks ID ... most of the time." Wow, thanks for instilling a lot of trust in you.

Cute little guy. This darling little guy followed us all around La Noria giving us tiny little flowers. I wanted to think it was because we were so gorgeous he just couldn't help himself but we knew his real intent. So Becca threw him a bone and gave him a stick of gum. She's got such a big heart, that girl.
Phillip. Becca and Ally met this cute, dedicated Christian young man in the hot tub one night (like I said earlier, there was no funny business to be had by any of our super cute, available, boyfriend-seeking, single ladies ... now that I put it that way -- what was their problem?!?! Oh, was it that every guy their age was drunk every night up in the Viking Crown Lounge dirty dancing with all the drunk, skanky girls? Oh, that might explain a thing or two...)

Anyhoo, back to Phillip. He told the girls he was a singer so they convinced him to do karaoke (for his first time) and he blew us all away! The crowd was so into him! He sang Bryan Adams and honestly, I don't think I can ever listen to another Bryan Adams song the same way. My Bryan Adams' heart now belongs to 19 year-old Phillip from Turlock, CA.
Ally can be seen above sporting Phillip's friend's, lens-less glasses, to which she most "seriously" asked upon first seeing him in them, "Hey Mark, are those prescription?"

The Zip Line in Mazatlan.

Green tank top and white shorts: 45 dollars
Petzl Harness: 75 dollars
Petzl Helmet: 100 dollars

This picture of Ally: PRICELESS!

Kate, showin' us how it's done:
She's got style, she's got grace, she's a winner.
She's a Lady. Whoa whoa whoa, she's a Lady.
Sharon, demonstrating the lady-like way to zip line. Go girl!

Hey!?!? Why didn't anyone tell me Elton John was in our group?!?!
Buh-buh-buh-Becca and the jets!
Cobblestone Streets of Puerto Vallarta (or Puerto "Why-arta" as our Norwegian boat captain called it).


Puerto Vallarta 's "boardwalk" was filled with weird modern sculptures.
Watching the Mexican kids trying to catch the pigeons. They were so into it! One little boy finally caught one and all I can say is, I felt really sorry for that pigeon.

And finally, our waiters! We loved our waiters! Mekjimo was from India and Francisco was from Chile and we wanted to bring them home. (I definitely miss Mekjimo, particularly this week because Scott's out of town and I feel like all I do is make and clean up meals for my kids. I never realize what a big help Scott is until he's gone! But I digress...) Oh Francisco, where are you to bring me Diet Coke after Diet Coke, followed by the best sourdough rolls I've ever had? Your English wasn't great but I feel like we really had something there ... was it just me? or was it just the sourdough rolls?


Well, thank you ladies for such a wonderful trip! We had so much fun and I look forward to making this a yearly event ... right ladies?!?!

This One Goes Out to the One I Love - Part IV (Seriously? Another b-day? Yes, actually)

Get your party hats out again 'cuz here we go.

Today is my older sister's Liz's birthday. I don't know if she's passed the age when you stop telling people how old you are but she's a confident woman so I don't think she'll mind.

Yay Liz! You've made it to 34!

Here are just a few things that I love about my older sister:

She is a caretaker!! She is one of those people that sees when people are in need and will go WAY out of her way to take care of them and their family. Adrienne reminded me of the time Liz, my parents, and I went down to So. California for Adrienne's little boy, Ezra's, baby blessing. Liz was just so stoked to be somewhere without her 5 (at the time) children that she just hit the ground running. She made all the food, got up early to make her famous homemade French bread, cleaned the house, and spent all of her down time reading books to Adrienne's little girl. Seriously, she probably did more than my mom, Adrienne, and I combined! And on top of that, she was sick the entire time, started coughing up blood and later found out she had a bad case of bronchitis! She is a workhorse!

So it probably comes as NO surprise that as a natural caretaker, Liz has SIX children -- four girls and two boys -- and they are all two years apart! They are: Taylor (10), Christian (8), Brooke (6), Paige (4), Ellie (2), and Cameron (3 months--who is so chubby that my brother Spencer calls him the Happy Sumo! Ha ha!). My parents had seven kids but I am still baffled by women who are capable of keeping their sanity while successfully running a home and raising good kids.

Which brings me to my next point, Liz is an INCREDIBLE mother. I know all moms have their faults but besides threatening her kids with ridiculous threats like, "So help me Brooke if you don't stop that you're going to get sit outside in your carseat for two weeks!" she really seems almost perfect. I feel terrible that my siblings and I used to giver her a crap when she was first to have children and now?!? We're all just wishing we could be as patient, tender, nurturing, PATIENT, and loving as she is to her children. Her six kids are so lucky to have her as their mother. So lucky in fact that I think it's unfair how lucky they are so I'm going to send my kids to her house so they can get in all that free luck.

She has adorable, good-natured children. Here's Brooke in all her princess glory.


She is a crazy good cook / baker. She seriously can bake like nobody's business. Before my grandma Hazel passed away, Liz made it a point to spend quality time with her and learn some of her baking secrets. Even while pregnant and now a busy mom of six, it's routine at her house to always have homemade wheat bread, fresh, homemade meals, the craziest, sweetest desserts you've ever had. In fact, "homemade" is such a huge part of their lives that she made her little Paige a sandwich on white, Granny Bread (which to me, is quite a treat), and Paige looked at it and said, "Mom! You know I don't eat white bread!"


Liz is a crier. She is one of the most tender-hearted people I know. If I ever need someone to really feel my pain, I call her. She would be the first to cry with me and offer support like no one else could.

She is an iron woman. After about six weeks of having her sixth child, she was out pounding the pavement in the early hours. She runs about three times a week (at least three miles every time) and then does Tae Bo on her off days. Excuse me? Where are all the excuses? Here were mine: "Oh, I just had a baby six months ago, I better not overexert myself, I'm still recuperating." "Uh, yeah, I'm still nursing my 11 month old and I'm afraid running on a regular basis will affect my milk supply so I better not." Not Liz. She is out there at 6:30 a.m. running her little heart out.

Speaking of running, she is a bit on the Speedy Gonzales side. After having finally dusted off my running shoes and gotten into a somewhat regular running routine, I still don't think I could beat my 34 year-old, mother of six, sister in a running race. She played full-back on her high school soccer team and I still remember her haulin' her B-U-N-S (as she calls them) back to defend the goal. She was also quite the screamer at those games. Kay, the mom, didn't like the yelling so much but we were proud of our speedy sister.

She has beautiful blue eyes and passed them on to her kids. This is a straight-out-of-the camera shot of Ellie, her second to youngest.

Liz is a trooper. She hardly bats an eye at the idea of packing up all her kids up and going camping -- even when the weather might be bad. I seriously don't know anyone like her. She believes in really helping her kids experience life and the daunting task of packing, driving, quarrel-stopping, and camping hardly seems to phase her.

Liz, Adrienne and I talk about you all the time. Now that we're both moms, we're in even more awe about how patient and loving you are. Parenthood is not easy, we know that, but you make it seem truly manageable and fun. I look up to you and respect you as the perfect older sister, who has set such an incredible example for me to ATTEMPT to follow. Thank you for being my best friend.

I love you!

Happy Birthday!