I don't live in a home that is dripping in gold leaf and marble.

I live in a home that is filled with toys, dirty dishes, and peace.

I don't have the latest Chanel purse dangling gracefully from my arm for all to see.

I wear a baby on my hip and a three year old on my knee.

I don't get in my car and see a Cadillac symbol gleaming in the sun.

I get in my car and see bottles on the floor, wrappers in the console, and two car seats reflecting in the rear view mirror.

I don't pamper my face with the latest "mineral" makeup and "organic" face masks.

My face is pampered with butterfly kisses, mush spit back at me, and baby drool landing

conveinently in my mouth when it is opened at it widest.

Jake and I do not treat our selves to the latest broadway show or movie release.

We treat ourselves to nights at home on the couch with the best show of all- watching two kids bounce around the living room and wear themselves out until the crash in our arms.

I live in a world where war and terrorism are supreme.

I live in a bubble wear hugs and kisses are plentiful and dreaming never ceases.

I do not sit on sandy beaches far away in the carribean sun.

I sit in grassy parks close to home and close to my own bed.

I do not have people that follow me with cameras and beg for my autograph as I walk down the street.

I have a baby that lights up when he sees me after being away from him all day.

There is much in this world that I do not have and some would see as a shame.

There is much in this world that I do have that could never measure up to fame.

Do I pray to acquire all in this world that I am lacking? Never!

Do I pray for those who do not have what I do? Absolutely!

Please Stop

To my babies,

Please Stop! No more! I just can't take it.

Tylie, please stop getting taller. Stop learning new words. Quit getting yourself dressed.

Mason, please don't crawl any faster, climb any higher, sit any straighter.

Don't rush to grow up.

I am not in any hurry, why should you be?

I love to cuddle you, kiss you, hug you.

I love that you need me, I want you to need me.

I want you to run to me when you are hurt. I want you to cry for me when I leave.

You are my babies and I am your mommy.
It is my job to love you, care for you, be everything to you.

It is your job to be mine.

I have never wished for you to grow up. I have never prayed for the moment that you will be independent.

My heart aches each time I realize that you are changing. That you have ended one phase of life and are moving on the next.

So, do me a favor and stop. Stop growing up. Just stop everything. Stay how you are right now. You are perfect. I promise to revel each and every moment that you give me. And one day, when the time comes that I have to let go, I will look deep into your eyes and plead with you to

stop and then maybe you will understand how much I love you and how much I would pay to get just one of these moments back. But since I know that no matter how much I beg with you, time must go on and you will grow up. For now I will remember for myself, as you run around my

ankles each day, I will take a minute to stop.

memories- both wanted and unwanted

I feel like I have been on vacation for the last month and have had it with hotel beds and suitcases. Anybody that has kids knows that it is more work to take vacation than it is to just stay home. Yet, we yearn for those memories and to see our kids smile, so we continue to torture ourselves and strive to make kids think we are the best. This was me a few days ago as I battled with the decision to head out to Bear Lake for a quick overnight trip. My aunt had invited us to come and stay at her condo and I had originally agreed to go. That was before I knew about the California dream that was coming my way. I had got Tylie all psyched out to play with her cousins and she could not wait. Jake had to stay back for work so I was going to drive up with my mom so she could help me with the kids. At the last minute my mom bailed out on me on account of enrichment night at church. Nice excuse mom! I almost would have preferred to hear that you were washing your hair. When I found out that she wasn't going, I thought twice about taking the trip. Was I strong enough to drive 2 1/2 hours with two little kids all by myself. I decided to chance it because I couldn't stand the thought of missing those Kodak moments with tylie and the cousins and Tylie was so excited, I just couldn't let her down. The trip there was a dream. Both kids slept for most of the way and when they weren't sleeping, Tylie was watching a movie and Mason was babbling on to himself as some sort of ambiance for the drive. We had blast swimming, playing cards, eating good food, and catching up with some of my favorite family. The time came to drive home and I thought it would be the nice calm drive that I experienced on the way up. Hahahaha..... I am sure that you know where this is headed. Straight down the tube! Yup, we didn't spiral down, we just jumped right through the middle to the deep pit below. I had not been on the road for more than 5 minutes when Tylie started asking for juice boxes and treats. I tried to limit these as much as possible but I gave in on a few just to get here to rest and watch her movie. I forgot to feed Mason before we left so right after I got Tylie calmed down, Mason started in on his whining because it had been more that 5 minutes since he had ate and the kid thinks that he is going to waste away if he misses a meal. Let's be honest... he could probably benefit from missing more than a few meals. I hit Logan Canyon hoping that I could concentrate on the curves ahead, but no. Tylie starts to freak out that the rocks are going to fall on our car and "smoosh" us. Really Ty??? Just go to sleep. I was getting frustrated because it was getting dark and rain was threatening. I had my struggles but eventually hit Salt Lake and felt that it was all down hill from there. I did not see Mount Everest on the horizon. As we passed Salt Lake, Tylie started to complain that her neck hurt, her knee hurt, her stomach hurt, and her arm hurt. Direct translation: "I am tired of my chair mom and if I whine enough maybe you will let me get out." Sigh. I calmly tried to explain to her that she needed to stay in her chair and we were almost home. The complaining continued. "Ok, Ty. Sorry. I know you are tired.... We are almost there.... I know your tummy hurts...... Just a little longer. Then I got the comment that turns every mother's blood ice cold. "Mom, I am going to throw up." As the sweat raced down my forehead, I frantically dumped out my treat bag to hand to her. TOO LATE!!! I had a fountain in my backseat and she was going for distance. I was helpless. My baby was sick in the back seat and I was stuck on a freeway going 75 mph with and exit in 3 miles. I finally got to a gas station only to find that I was in the middle of a torrential down pour. I yanked her car seat out and set it in the parking lot, hoping that while the rain was drowning me, maybe it would wash away some of Tylie's gift to me. And there you have it. Me, standing in the pouring rain with a million wet wipes, Tylie standing butt naked in my car bawling her eyes out, a smell that would make a skunks eyes water, and Mason laughing at us through the whole thing. I wanted to cry, so all I did was laugh. These were not the kind of memories that I had in mind for my little trip. I wrapped Tylie in a blanket, stuffed everything into the bag that was supposed to catch all this mess in the first place, and headed out of the parking lot. Just as I was entering the freeway, I heard a little voice from the back seat. "Mom, I need to go potty." Sigh. At least we all made it home alive.

Jodie- we had a blast. We will have to do it again, and this time I will stay a lot longer!

Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a prince....

and his wife.....

They made up a family with their two adorable children. They lived a happy, simple life. They loved their home but they missed their "fairy tale land." Fairy tale land was a place far away on the west coast. They had lived there years ago while the prince was still in school. They would often talk about how much they missed the warm sun, the palm trees, and the spray of the ocean.

One day, the prince's wife came home to a surprise!

The prince had planned a special vacation back to fairy tale land,just the two of them, and they were leaving the next day! This wonderful prince had worked out all the details from plane tickets to park tickets. He had arranged babysitters for the wee ones and no stone was left unturned. He simply instructed his wife to get a good rest because they had to be at the airport at 6:00AM. His wife was stunned. How had she fallen into such a prince that would be so considerate to know exactly what she would love.

The next morning the prince and his wife dropped off the kids and were whisked away to the airport. They arrived in their sunny fairytale land and began an adventure that they had been dreaming of for 2 years.

They went to Santa Monica Pier and took a romantic ride on the famous "Spidei Engagement" ferris wheel. (If you do not know who "Speidi" is please do not investigate or you will realize how truly lame this prince's wife really is!)

They watched the boats sail across the ocean from the pier as the spray that they remembered so well, hit their faces.

They played arcade games that made them feel like kids again. But, alas, not all fairy tales can be perfect. Unfortunately, this prince kept losing to his wife until he finally gave up and headed out for the next great adventure.

They went shopping at all the local shops....

and strolled through a beautiful roman garden and museum (Getty Villa, Malibu).

They went to visit their old stomping grounds that they loved so much. They walked through the farmer's market as they had so many years before. They smelled the fruit and ate the giant strawberries and oranges grown in nearby orchards.

They went to all of their favorite restaurants and partook of the local delicacies that you can not find at home.

The prince's wife was in heaven. She had craved "animal style" for so long and it felt as if she had found an oasis to her ever-dry thirst for "In-N-Out!"

They went to Six Flags (with no kids!) and went on roller coasters until their adult sized headaches could not take it anymore. They ran from line to line hoping that the next ride would make their stomach drop out worse than the one before.

They ended their trip on a beach where everything had all began. The prince had proposed on the beach just 5 short years ago. They took a walk down memory lane and counted all their blessings that they had received in such a short time.

Unfortunately, as all good things must, their trip had come to an end. With a sigh, they packed their bags and promised to come again soon. They headed back home to reunite with their children whom they had missed terribly. And they lived happily ever after...

Mullet Fest

On Saturday I was able to attend one of my most favorite events of the summer. It is the event that I lovingly call my "mullet fest" and get a giggle out of it every time I go. Most people refer to it as a "car derby" but to me it is all the same. Have you ever been to a car derby? It provides one of a kind entertainment that you could not dream up if you tried. I brought my camera hoping to catch some of the action shots and I was not disappointed. I started the evening off counting mullets which quickly turned into counting "drunk mullets". Watching a drunk mullet can only be compared to watching a rodeo clown take one up the rear from a bull. You feel so bad for them but you pray that it won't stop because it is so hysterical. I love watching the drunk idiots slur their speech and the watching the nasty women hang on every word they say as if they have just announced that Walmart has marked their fishnet pantyhose 75% off. Those women are CRAZY!!! They spend all this time carefully selecting the tightest spaghetti strap they can squeeze into and then they make sure that their shorts are just short enough so that you can not only hear the coins jingle in their pockets, but you can see it in their pockets hanging out the bottom. I find myself so afraid that they are going to swallow that gum they are popping in their mouth and then one of the buttons on their tight little shirt is going to pop off and become a flying deadly object! All in all though- I love the crash of the cars, the fires in the engines, the dirt flying out over the audience, and the way the speed across the arena to slam another car into the guard rail. I love munchin' on the $4 dollar cotton candy and justifying to myself that it was worth the money for the sugary treat because it is summertime- and this is what I do in the summertime. I watch drivers destroy their cars on purpose after spending months of preparation working on them. It sounds crazy but I do something very similar in December. I spend months preparing for some fat man to come to my house and drop gifts off. When all the gifts are opened I feel cheated that my months of preparation was ripped apart in a matter of a few hours. At least at the derby they get money if their car last the longest. So- to all you derby drivers out there (brady!)- Keep It Up! I love it! I have already began the tradition with Tylie and hopefully you will make your kids think that it is a good idea to drive in the derbys since I have convinced Tylie that it is a good idea to watch them!

We had so much fun! Candice, we wish you could have been there!

Hmmmm??? I am not sure if she likes it.

We went on a little rock climbing adventure before we went to the derby. We had to try out Steve's new truck!

Steve's new baby!

Kelsey's injured baby

Happy drivers after the tire is all fixed

Drunk Typing

At midnight last night I decided it was a good idea to load all my pictures from our Vegas trip onto the blog. Jake wasn't home yet so it is a rare time that I have to myself. I had been watching TV for awhile but I started to feel like a useless blob that was going to seep into the cracks of the couch and never be seen again so I got up, looked around, and sat back down. "What does one do at midnight with nobody around?" I blog. I loaded all the pictures that I wanted and then set in to type something quick about our little trip and the wonderful memories that were made. That is when the "drunk typing" began. I have been a victim of "drunk typing" before and have learned my lesson to stop while I am ahead. Drunk typing is when you are so tired that the screen in front of you keeps going blurry and the keys on the keyboard keep jumping around and you just can't seem to grab the right ones. You think that you are doing ok but you never realize how bad it was until the hangover comes the next morning and you read the disaster that you created the night before. My sentences look something like this- " We has ablaaaaaaaaaaast in lA Vegas and are so hassy for britttnay and rikc dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. (sleeping on the keyboard.)
I started this embarassing behavior and after about 2 sentences of not being to put together a simple phrase, I threw my little disclaimer on the bottom of the pics and shut off the computer. The morning after is here and I am so glad that I did not embarass myself any further. After all, I put a picture of myself in a swimming suit on here from Vegas and a girl can only take so much embarassment in one day.

Mason was wonderful for the long car ride!

Tylie wasn't!

"I'm flying, mom!"

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings twice while we were there. Jake and I finally agree on a restaurant that we are emphatic about.

My little shopper.

Aunt Heather is the only one that can consistently goo at Mason and he will light up. He absolutely loves her!

Moving out!

Tylie would have lived in the pool if I let her but, alas, there was work to do and she was starting to put raisins to shame so we grudgingly left the pool and promised to come visit another time.

Disclaimer:We went to Las Vegas last weekend to help them move. I really want to put quirky little captions under each picture but it is midnight, my eyes keep shutting without my permission, and I can't form a coherent sentence so I will so it later. Sorry to those of you who see it like this.