Bull Crik

Had to get a shot of the spectators.
This time I forgot my suit (seriously), but next time I look forward to joining in the fun!


Who disturbs my slumberrr?

Bull Creek

Family Night Fun

We all went to the swimming
pool, and when we got home the
boys changed into their pj's. I
then realized everyone in the
family was wearing blue, and
none of the kids had shirts on.
I had to take some pictures.

That's right, baby. Just try to
suck it in!

Serious Helmet Head

Andrew loves to play by himself in the front yard. Today, when I went out front to check on him, I ran across this. What a nut! He had no idea I was taking pictures until he almost ran into me. Then he wanted to take a bow for the camera.

I asked him what he had been up to and he said, "Just hangin' out." So I asked him specifically what the bucket was for, and he shrugged and said maybe a helmet. I'm curious went through the minds of all the drivers going by.

Budding Wadsworth

Today as we were out and about Jacob looked at the tangle of intersecting freeways in front of us and contemplatively remarked,

"When I look at that highway with my poet's eyes, I see ramps and race cars."

Ahh... what they won't come up with...

My Little Chefs

It's Friday night and the boys wanted to cook their own dinner. Mike wasn't going to be home until late, so I let them have the kitchen to themselves. I'll let the pictures tell most of the story.





They were so meticulous with it all. They did everything except open the oven door and turn on the burner. Jacob even wiped down the counter and sinks when they were through washing dishes. Andrew was adorable. It took him about 10 minutes to fill the muffin cups, and I think almost as much made it into his mouth!


As they sat down to eat, I listened in on a couple of funny conversations.

A: (Said with so much enthusiasm I can't help but grin as I type it) Jacob! I'm so proud that I made these muffins all by myself! They taste great! VERY great! Are you proud that you made the eggs all by yourself?

J: Yes, Andrew.

A: Jacob! I have a plan! When we grow up we can be restaurant guys!

J: Yeah! I know, How about we plan it and then build it! You could pass out the menus to all the people, and then come back in the kitchen - and all the while you'll be on your skateboard - and you'll skate back in the kitchen and tell me what they want!

A: Yeah! And we can call it the french fry store!

J: No, there's like a million french fry stores...hmmm....

*some silence as they think*

A: Well, of course, we'll need a playground, of course.

J: Oh yes.

____________________

They munch some more and then:

A: Jacob, you did a wonderful job on the eggs.

J: Thank you!

*a little pause..

A: The eggs taste a little wierd.

J: I know. Kind of like crackers.

A: Yeah....but soft crackers. They're okay.

J: Your muffins are very soft.

A: I know. I love them! Mmm mmm!

Mon Miguel

(title rights belong to Lindsay)

I have been tagged, for better or worse, so here is all the information you ever wanted to know on Mike. (Actually, I know for a fact this is nowhere close to all the info you've ever wanted on my, shall we say enigmatic, husband. But it's all you're going to get.)

First, before we get into the questions, I want to let you know I have the best looking husband. Sorry. (Okay - all my boys are adorable.)


1. How long have you been together? Together - meaning an item - since July 1999; married in December of that same year. Let's just say once we started dating, we already knew where this was all going. Best friends for a few years before that.

2. How old is he? I don't know. 17? Age isn't an issue in our relationship.

3. Who eats more? Depends on what's being served. Generally he wins out, but I certainly can give him a run for his money - especially if it involves cold cereal or dessert. He wins for the most fruit consumed on a daily basis. I swear there have been days that he has consumed 3 apples, 3 bananas, and a grapefruit. Within an hour. This is not an exaggeration.

4. Who said "I love you" first? Mike did. It was on September 17, 1999. We had celebrated my birthday early. It was awesome. I think I said it right back.

5. Who is taller? Mike. He and I are very pleased about this. Even though he is 6 feet tall, he had a bit of a height complex being around the other men in my family, but yes, one time we were looking at a photograph that had been taken of the two of us and he said, "hey look! You only come up to my eyes!"

6. Who sings better? I think I do, but he has a good voice, and I enjoy singing with him. (In family night or at bedtime. Apologies to my family - no spontaneous bursting out in The Sound of Music in this kitchen.)

7. Who does the laundry? I do. He does sometimes, and does not have shrinking or bleeding issues. Wow. It doesn't really sound like I'm talking about the laundry. Whatever. He can be trusted to hang up the right shirts, and put things away in the right places.

8. Who pays the bills? I do. His job is to bring home the bacon. And cook it. (:

9. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Who cares? He does now, but I used to. I think we have switched a few times throughout our marriage depending on how often I was getting up at night, and the way our rooms have been set up.

10. Who mows the lawn? Guillermo.

11. Who cooks dinner? If I had it my way and he had it his way - Mike. He does it often. Especially during this last pregnancy. He is an EXCELLENT cook. You can say that with a bit of a French accent. Or Italian. Or Spanish. He cooks all cuisines. All fresh. Prefers ingredients straight out of the garden. He is great with the presentation, too. No chocolate ice cream in a plastic cereal bowl around here. It comes in a glass ice cream dish, with homemade whipped cream swirled, a strawberry and a mint leaf on the side, and perhaps a bit of shaved chocolate. It's fun, and it's my salvation. I love to eat and dread cooking. Part of this is because I chop slowly and end up spending half my time breaking up fights. But I will cut myself some slack. I have cooked dinner most nights, for the majority of the time we have been married.

12. Who drives? He does.

13. What does he like to do? Oh goodness. Where to start? I'll try to be brief. He loves music - just caught part of the South by Southwest music festival, he LOVES to read non-fiction and theoretical stuff, we spend a lot of time talking, he would work out for hours every day if he could, he likes volleyball, bike-riding, swimming, and is quite talented at drawing and painting. He also has a knack for making up great rhymes and songs for the boys. He likes to cook, eat, and come up with hilarious sayings for bumper stickers and t-shirts. eg: mugshot of Mel Gibson with the words "Goys gone wild" underneath.

14. Who is more stubborn? I think he takes the cake on that one, but I definitely have stubbornness as well.

15. Who kissed who first? He kissed me. Kind of a surprise. I turned around to look up at him and say something and he kissed me right on my opened mouth. Later on when we were talking about that experience, he expressed that he thought I was an aggressive kisser - what with it starting out with an open mouth and all.

16. Who proposed to who? He asked me, on bended knee, with a ring. In front of Abravanel Hall. I had NO IDEA it was coming. Surprise! I was so excited!

17. Who has more friends? I do. I need friends like fishies need water.

18. Who is more sensitive? That's a toss up. Neither of us are extremely sensitive, but Mike just said it would probably lean more toward me. Probably so.

19. Who has more siblings? Here we go. Seven kids in my family. Six kids in his, plus one half-brother and 6 steps.

20. Who wears the pants? Can we both have a leg? I think we end up splitting it fairly evenly. Mike, I'm sure, would say he does, but I struggle to keep my share of the power. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder, and I am pleased with the amount I'm getting.

*perhaps I should change that last answer. He just attempted to go through and edit this post before it went to press. Hand Slap! You back off or you're gonna get sumfin'.

Good Mom/Bad Mom

You may look at this picture of Andy's m&m's and crackers breakfast and gasp in horror. I would rather look at things in a positive light.

Here is a list of my justifications. I mean, uhhh, good things we can gather from this picture...

1. A well balanced breakfast of antioxidants and whole grains
2. His pajamas are clean - his mom must be industrious
3. His face is clean - someone must have given him a bath recently
4. He is learning his letters "Look Mom, a T with a top hat!"
5. He is obviously able to take care of himself by getting breakfast while his mom sets a wonderful example of the importance of exercise. (I was in the other room doing pilates.)
6. His smile indicates he is happy

well, well, well (or as Andrew would say, wew, wew, wew..), things aren't so bad as they seem.

Compsilators and Laughter

Imagine, if you will, Andy Roo wearing his green Robin Hood tunic, a new pair of flashy cowboy boots with big white stars on them, and a silver breastplate. This is what he chose to wear on our family walk this evening. You know how kids sometimes throw together funny combinations and it seems to work? This combo was not working. Every time I looked at him I wanted to shake my head. So anyway, while on our walk, the King of Secret Vocabulary informed us that we had better watch out because he had a Compsilator in his pocket and it was filled with poison! He then waved his stick - I mean, laser - at us and ran on ahead. I always wonder if the "special words" are a lack of understanding of the words we use, or a creative mind at work. I guess it could be both...he doesn't remember the word, but he doesn't let that get in the way. Who knows. He does make me laugh, though.

In other news: As I was out running errands this morning, Andy and Amelia were having fun as usual with each other. Andrew getting right in her face and making loud goobery noises, and Amelia kicking her feet and opening her mouth wide in delight. At one point I am assuming she had had enough. She started fussing and Andrew started consoling:

"Laaa-deee, don't be sa-ad!"

Continued fussing.

(this time giggling all the way through his words) "Laaa-deee, it's okay. You don't need to cry!"

Amelia stops fussing for a moment.

"Mom! At first I just told her she was okay, and then I put my laughter on and told her she was okay and she LIKED IT!! I should put my laughter on EVERY TIME!"

He can be such a goofy kid. And he loves his "Busta Bear." (don't ask. it's one of his many nicknames for her.) And she loves him.

In fact, tonight at dinner we had such a sweet conversation. Mike was asking the kids what they would want in a house. Andrew requested a tree house, and Jake requested "a nice room by himself." Then he decided someone would need to keep Amelia company so he would share a room with her, and Andrew could have his own room. But Andrew wanted to be with her and Jake. He stretched out his arms (he was seated at the table between Jake and Amelia) to each of them and said he loved them both. They both talked about how good it was to be together and how they didn't want anyone to be lonely, and all three had big blue eyes and smiles. It was so adorable and heartwarming to watch and listen to.

Oh brother, I am tearing up as I type this. I love my kids and I am so glad that they love each other. Amelia watches the boys like they are her heroes. She puts up with being wrapped like a burrito and rolled across the carpet, forced leg lifts, and disgustingly slobbery kisses x 20 all over her head, all with a smile and shining eyes. What a joy my children can be.

Hot Dawg!

Jacob and I were just in the kitchen getting breakfast. He was huddled on the carpet with his legs tucked up in his pajama shirt and telling me how cold he was. I said, "Oh really? I am so hot right now."

Jacob responded with, "That's exactly what I would say. I climbed into bed next to you and when I touched you, you felt like a hot hot dog on a barbeque!"

Which reminded me of a hilarious comment Mike made the other day. As I was doing make-the-jeans-fit lunges, I mentioned something about these jeans maybe being a bit too tight still. He said, "Tight jeans aren't so bad. It's sausage casings you want to avoid."

I laughed about that for the next two days. What a perfect description. (Unfortunately, I believe the set I had on were borderline casings, and yet I did not remove them.....)

So if you run into me and have the urge to put mustard on my buns.... I'll understand.

Sailor Man

Oh, my sweet Doogey Doons. I love, love, LOVE him! I was sitting here sending off some emails, and he was continuously grunting. I finally bothered to look up and check out what he was up to. He was building a ship.

It would take him about 30 full seconds to laboriously drag each pillow across the room (all of 20 feet) and hoist it up on the couch. If I had been assessing the situation from afar, I would've been convinced that each of those fluffy things weighed 10 pounds. After setting each "block," "sail," or "steering wheel" in place, he would dust off his hands and mutter something about how strong sailors were and make lots of worn out sounds on the way to get the next pillow.

Then finally a salute and a "Goodbye, Mommy! I'm sailing to Utah!"

Carrot Breath

Here she is in all her glory. She's loving her new menu.

Spring Break - Second Edition

Almost every day during Spring Break the kids had multiple playdates. Friends over here in the morning, and then off at someone else's house in the afternoon. They stayed busy and I had regular breaks. Lots of trampoline jumping, pools, and baseball.

This moment was caught one afternoon in our backyard. They all have a makeshift weapon from the toy box out back. Jake asked, "Mom, what would you think if you saw these fierce guys in your backyard?!" (or you could use Andrew's name for bad guys - "don't believe in God-ers.") Andy Roo is at that age where he is really trying to nail down what is right and what is wrong and how he's going to get to heaven...and he has some extremely sweet and profound things come out, as well as some pretty crazy ideas. Daily I hear things like; "That boy at the school just spit his gum on the sidewalk. I guess HE doesn't believe in God," or a man pulls up in a truck to pick up his daughter at the school and Dooners says resignedly, "Well, HE must be a kidnapper. I guess he won't be going to heaven." What a goose.

Thursday night we had some friends over to camp out in the backyard. What fun! Mike built a fire with the boys on the back patio and they roasted marshmallows. We made our own personal pizzas for dinner and Mike and I tried to keep a handle on the potty humor. BOYS!! What they won't come up with. My word.

That afternoon we had received the book, "The Dangerous Book For Boys" from a good friend and the boys were stoked! That night as I crawled into the tent to read a story before they all fell asleep, I was surprised to see Jacob already reading. They were all huddled around the "dangerous" book and Jake was holding a flashlight and reading about the Revolutionary War. He quickly looked up at me and then threw the book under his pillow. I took it with me when I left the tent and later he informed that I had ruined he and his friend's plan of waking up in the middle of the night and reading it.

Anyway - they were all asleep by 10:30 and slept until 8 a.m. I slept inside on the couch, expecting them to trickle in through the night, but didn't see anyone until they were inside excitedly reminding me that they were ready for the "rainbow cereal" we had bought for the sleepover. (Trix - without the bunny on the box. My poor kids; I always say, "Do you want me to spend an extra 2 bucks for a picture on a box that we're going to throw away, or do you want to get the other cereal and save the money for something cool? Works every time.)

Here are a few more pictures. (Gotta love Jake's mallow 'stache.)

The whole week was so much fun. All I thought of was playing with the boys and Amelia. I got right in with them with everything (even Lovey Dumpkins got her own Lego's to play with/chew on...not the small pieces!) and had a wonderful time. There were lots of hugs and head rubs and giggles.

Spring Break - First Edition

This past week was our Spring Break. I decided to go with the flow and see where the boys' desires carried us. I kissed household cares goodbye and we made some good memories and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

On Monday it rained all day so we played Legos. I was as into it as the boys were. We excitedly dug through all the boxes that were passed on to us, and found some good stuff. Here are some pictures of a neighborhood we were working on. **the pueblo at the top is mine. I was so delighted to find the little man I found to put out front. He made me laugh. So perfect.**

Andrew's had a Keep Out sign that he loved. He named his car lump-suh-tee. He does this sort of thing often. Eg. "Mom, you call this a sidewalk, but I call it a kunkser, okay?" Sure, Andrew. "Bye Mom! I'm going to go play out on the kunkser!"

Jacob's had a blue fountain in the front and a garage on the side. I could not believe how addictive Legos are. Sign me up for Legos Anonymous.

Jake also decided to work on another project that afternoon. He walked up to me and announced in a definitive tone, "I've decided that it's time I made another army book... of all things army." He then went to get his supplies and I didn't see him again until he needed help binding it. Here he is with a few of his pictures.

He was a little sick this day. You might be able to tell that his eyes are a bit swollen. He went over to the neighbor lady's house to thank her for some treats she had sent over, and when she answered the door she exclaimed, "Jacob, are you feeling okay?" He told her he really wasn't, and she responded, "I could tell right when I saw you. You're missing the sparkle in your eyes."
She calls him her little magpie because he is always chatting and emphatic about it all.

Our little trooper was only under the weather for a day and luckily all the rest of us were fine.

Cinnamon and Andrew

sitting in a tree....

This morning Andrew bounces over to me while I am in the kitchen making his breakfast.

A: Mom, guess what my favorite 3 spices are!

Me: Umm, cinnamon?

A: YES! (all yes's from here on out are accompanied by hands reached toward the sky and jumping up and down) Guess again!

Me: (i seriously can't think of another spice he knows of, so I throw out...) pepper and salt?

A: YES! Ooops, I mean NO! Try guessing again!

Me: Why don't you tell me!

A: Cinnamon and Spice Oatmeal, Cinnamon Toast, and Cinnamon on my applesauce!

ME: Those are your favorite spices?

A: YES! Guess which one is my favorite character of the cinnamon's!

Me: Cinnamon Toast?

A: YES! Can I have some please, Mommy Puppy?