On a trip to Disneyland...

Get ready, folks! It's Disneyland overload and then Christmas pics are still to come. So, I have a lot of catching up to do....

I may have to change the format from the slide shows and list the pictures individually....I eventually intend on making one of those blog books out of this whole deal so consider this scrapbooking for me, documenting the happenings of my family, you know....anyway, has anyone made one before or do you know if the slideshow pictures would show up when it goes into book form?

Before a trip to Disneyland.....

you do a little holiday decorating...

you let your kiddos play in the snow at Grandma's house....and think about what a bad idea it was to go shopping that day, thank your lucky stars that you made it to a safe haven, and plan to stay the night there because, even though your car has 4 wheel drive, you are too scared to drive in the unfamiliar white stuff that is smothering the roads...
(not to mention that the neighbor had to drive the car up the driveway because you couldn't, while being gracious enough not to make you feel dumb about it, but laughing on the inside because he is from Colorado)


you wake up (in your own bed thanks to good ol' Dad for driving you and your kiddos home, and another neighbor for following in his big truck to take your Dad back home- very neighborly street my parents live on, huh?) and marvel at a view that you have never seen in almost 20 years of living here...

you wish your daddy a 'happy birthday'...

some cousins arrive, so you do a holiday craft at Grandma's house...

you smile and proudly display you craft! You also drop it in transit to your house, cry out in torment when your sister rips a candy off, and have it glued back together twice in one night....

There are lots of things to do to prepare for a trip to Disneyland. The most important thing is to remind your parents how excited you are by asking if we are going to Disneyland everytime you get in the car prior to the actual trip to Disneyland...

What we've been up to....

Eating lots of pomanders! Seriously, my diet consisted solely of these goodies one day this week.
So worth it!
For the uninformed, these are goodies my family must have every year. They are basically melted chocolate chips, crushed vanilla wafers, crushed almonds, and almond extract all rolled up and topped with festive red & green colored sugar.
If you love almond flavoring, you will love this treat!

going into sugar comas.....mmmm.....powdered donut...

wearing festive dresses to church....

getting a random bouquet of flowers 'just because'....if you know my husband, you know what a shocker this one is...
Maybe there is one teeny, tiny, romantic bone is his body after all.

wearing festive dresses with jeans to get more wear out of them...there are only four Sundays in December, I have to get in all the holiday wear while I can....

hiding under the swing eating Nemo chapstick....

and last, but not least.....perpetuating the bad stereotype of women drivers...by running into grumpy old men with my car....just another day in the life!

Okay, it was really just a 'nudge' and he was fine.
Some advice: Don't stand in the panel where the back window and side window meet behind my car while I am backing out of a tiny Discount Tire parking lot, so you can watch your mini cooper in the bay and smoke your cigar. I might not see you and your Willie Nelson white hippie hair and think it is safe to back out......also, possibly invest in a hearing aid.

Lesson learned: the back end of my car is a hazardous zone and should be avoided by all long haired hippies!

I may choose to lose this moment in history so be warned that this portion of the post may disappear.

Merry Christ-moose!!

hahaha! I know, I'm so 'pun-ny'......get it?
Anyway, I had to post something a little Christmas-y so I could justify my holiday background. This is one of my favorite decorations. A lady I used to work with made them and I am so glad I got one when I did, if I still knew her I would have her make me some more, I love it!

I am thankful for....

my little turkeys

and my smokin' hot hubby

(ps-how cute is Laila's pea coat?! Adorable!)


Happy Thanksgiving!

the Twilight mania continued....

A big group of girls went to see Twilight last night for Tiffany's birthday. Here she is, like Glenda the good witch, passing out handfuls of JOY in the form of Twilight tickets.

Then, I spotted even more friends down the line! We strangely end up at the same movie theater at the same time, to see the same movie lately! What can I say? They have great taste!

Chatting it up while waiting in line.

Here is Kelli's fierce face! Pretty intense, huh?

Only bloggers would take pictures of all the picture taking going on!

Here is Sarah doing a little brain exercise before the movie. We needed to be sharp so we wouldn't miss a moment of Jasper's screen time!

Taking a pause for a photo op during the post movie gab fest.

A picture with my other Edward loving friends!
It was so much fun to get to have a weekend out with friends and take a break from reality for a few hours.
Hello! Who doesn't want to spend a little time in fantasy land with the likes of Edward (and the steal-the-show-hot Jasper)?
The baseball scene was one of my favorite parts. One thing I didn't like was how some of the cheesy lines are okay when you are reading in private, but when they were vocalized were almost embarrassing to watch!
If you have already seen it, what was your level of interest before hand and what did you think after seeing the movie?

You are now entering...

the Twilight zone

Here are some photos of the Twilight movie from last night....well, actually this morning...early, very, very early.

We met up and got seats at around 10 p.m.

We had some time to kill until 12:01 am came along.


While it is not out of the ordinary for my purse to be full of treats and snacks when I go to the movies (or anywhere, really), I hadn't considered what to do with my time while waiting for the movie to start.
(This is my first midnight release movie people, I will not be caught unprepared next time.)
Thankfully, my friend, Sarah, brought some games to share. I am so proud!

This was my first attempt at trying a Sudoku puzzle.
They are pretty fun!

All finished! With a little help and a minute to spare before they started running previews.
Then, it was all giggles and shushes and time for the show!

Quiet down in front! Does it look like I'm joking?

I promise I wasn't really that angry.
I was giddy that I got to have a night without the kids. They were only sleeping, so that made one easy babysitting job for Daddy.


Eager to prolong the euphoria and gush about the movie and how surprisingly hot Jasper looked in his baseball tee, in true H-town fashion, Sarah and I took a trip down memory lane and ate greasy $2 breakfast at the Rainbow Club. We tried the El-Do first, but the cafe was closed!
(For those of you who don't know- these were popular late night/early morning hang outs for many local high school kids.)

I had such a good time, I think I'll do it again!
And thanks to a friends upcoming birthday, I get to.
Tonight!

This post's for you.....

my Medford, OR cousins

The flying squirrel park? Is that really what we called it? This is seriously the best park ever!
They just don't make them like they used to.
Can anyone tell who the kiddos are?

Wish I could be there with everyone this week for Heather's wedding.

Congratulations!
Here's to the good old days!

AND

Tiffany
check it out......the BC Hemenway Park.....I don't know if that's how you spell it, but it will always be the "billy goat park" to my family. This picture is from like 15 years ago!Looks a little barren doesn't it?

(Please excuse the font craziness, I was having difficulties.)

Friday Night Fun

On Friday night we went to the District so that we could try this place called the Crazy Pita for Nathan. (Not to be confused with the Mad Greek from my vacation post! Crazy Pita= GOOD Mad Greek= BAD) A friend told me about it who has some of the same allergies as Nathan. It is not my typical choice of food, but it was pretty good. I was surprised at my own non-pickyness and my willingness to try something out of the ordinary. Nathan had a skewer of chicken, pita triangles, and some french fries, and he ate it all up! He loved the pita bread, ate all but one chunk of chicken and dipped everything in his french fry ketchup. It filled him up and we had no allergy scares, so add that to the short list of places Nathan can actually eat a meal at when we go out to eat.
FYI- their french fries are REALLY good!

Anyway, the rest of the pics are the kiddos running around the District.

This is Nathan jumping!

It's fun to be one

So, this is a little overdue, but here are some pictures of Laila's big day from the beginning of the month.

A little party at the park with some family and cousins.
She was not even interested in her cupcake, she wanted to go play!

Checking out the new goodies!

To make you smile...

This was a lunchtime conversation I had with Nathan. It occurred sometime after I had given him a cup with no lid and the inevitable happened.

Me: Nathan, I told you not to spill! (like that works)

Nathan: No you didn't!

Me: Are you serious?

Nathan: No, I'm not serious! I'm a little boy!

I saw the blogging moment in the situation and had Nathan proudly remind me why I keep his funny butt around! He loves me, you see! What a spill prone sweetheart!

Trick or Treat.......

Here are the kiddos in their 'bones' jammas. It was the only time this month that they were both clean at the same time, so I insisted on a matchy jammas night for Halloween Eve....

Playing with cousins while waiting to trunk or treat.......

Despite what his Daddy thinks about the costume, everyone else LOVED it!
He got so many compliments on this costume.
And finally my dream had been realized! I got to have the peacock costume that I had wanted for 2 years!!