This is crazy fun!!

My sweet friend Shannon came over with her daughter Molly. It was so fun and I was able to talk Shannon into doing her version of the Lion King for the camera. For those of you who already know Shannon, you will not be surprised by this. For the rest of you, if you're not just a little bit uncomfortable by this then I would have to wonder why. I had to do some old school editing to get it on the blog, but I think the spirit of the song was able to be salvaged. I suggest that you push pause on the music and take a listen.

So, without further ado...

The Lion King



That's good stuff. Miranda if you happen to read this I think you should tell your little bro' he's been officially challenged!! Shannon, I love the look in your eyes! Such heart, such resolve to get the message out (whatever that message may be)! The more I watch it the harder I laugh.

We also did some goofing off with the photo booth. As you can see the kids love this and some of their pictures turned out hilarious (with a little scary mixed in).

A motley crew for sure!

Welcome Cutie!!

Ok, it may seem like we have attachment issues, but really if you've read any previous blog entries you will understand that we just have, "we want it easier" issues. Anyway, Happy ended up getting sick and we decided that it would be more "loving" to send him back to the store so he could get the proper care. And...we left with a gerbil. Her name is Cutie. She's much much easier to clean up after and really really spunky. I hope she doesn't get too used to us!!




We also had another lost tooth! This time Simon accidentally swallowed it, oops! He's relieved and excited to find out that the tooth fairy will still come. We had a long talk about how the tooth would someday resurface (whether we see it or not). Addy was horrified that Simon swallowed his tooth and actually started crying, but immediately laughed when she found out how the tooth would show up again someday.



Simon's losing teeth and Addy's got a full head of hair! She loves to pretend that she has long hair and if I let her, she would wear this everywhere!!! Man, she's awesome!!!

Holding onto Summer

We had an awesome summer! It's hard to say goodbye. Our theme song for this trip was, "Soak up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow and we did exactly that. In fact, my skin is still peeling and we've been back several weeks now. Here are some pictures. Thanks Miranda!

Simon learning to boogie board,

Sometimes I just have to force him





here's why,


Addy learned that people pee in the ocean (my apologies for those who didn't know this or might be offended that you're seeing pictures of a four year old who may or may not be peeing)







And of course Miranda, we love her and consider her a gift to our family.




It was definitely a trip to remember. After a couple long days playing hard at the beach we went to this restaurant on Coronado and afterwards saw fireworks on the bay. It was such a neat way to end the day.
Here's Miranda and Addy playing in the sand, some of which is still on my laundry room floor.





And of course, no vacation blog would be complete without a funny Miranda video, it may be short, but it's funny!!

happy shrimp= a lot of work=unhappy people

why haven't I figured out that owning a pet, of any size or position in life, is going to be A LOT of work, oh, and money!! Today we cleaned out happy shrimps aquarium and well, it's over now but here are a few quotes from the event. We also (afterwards, of course) tried to capture images for you of how we looked before and after.


Before and during the cleaning:



Quotes:

Me, "We are taking this turtle back today if you (Simon) don't get in here and help me!"
Me, "Stop flinging the water vacuum around like that you're getting turtle crap everywhere!"
Me, "Why do we have to have a turtle?" this one imagine a really whinny voice...
Me, "Simon, this is your responsibility and you need to learn how to take care of Happy, he's yours!"

Simon, "I'm going to get salmonella! I need to go and take a shower right now!"
Simon, "I want to take him back and get a lizard."
Simon, "His tank is clean enough!"

By the way, during all this Addy is in the background saying, "Look at me! I can almost touch the ceiling when I stand on this chair! Mom, where do you want me to put this light bulb? Mom, come look how I rearranged my room!"

After:

Me, I really don't have words, at this point I'm just thinking...how much money did I spend on this thing? And, how long do I have to stick with it so that Si learns to be responsible?

Simon, "Isn't he so cute? Look how he loves his tank!" "I love Happy!"

We have managed to find our smiles again though! Another successful cleaning!! We get to do it all over again next week!

long lost footage

These videos were found in the archives. I have posted them for your viewing pleasure! (not sure how to turn them, sorry about that)

happy shrimp and yummy monkey

A lot has been going on in our household lately. We have two new members of our family. I am proud to announce that "happy shrimp" arrived, Mon. August 4th and "yummy monkey" (I'm not sure how this name came about), arrived Tues. August 5th.







We are so happy to include them in our family and our home is now their home.

Well, ok, we also have two more newbies around here. And in order to protect their safety, no names shall be given. However, I have included a picture of them.



Lastly, a tooth went missing and Simon survived the 1st day of second grade! Addy is excited to start preschool too!

do my little turn on "the catwalk"

Just east of the AZ border, right inside NM there is a hiking trail I won't soon forget.

It's called, "the catwalk".

I have never stood underneath a waterfall or explored hidden places in ice cold water to find one of the most spectacular waterfalls I've ever seen, until "the catwalk". And as if that wasn't enough I can now honestly say that, "Creedence, I have indeed, seen the rain coming down on a sunny day", literally. A picture wouldn't have done it justice. But, here's one of the first waterfalls on the hike,

I went with some women who won't soon be forgotten either. They are adventurous and lovely and hard to keep up with. I really need to get in better shape! I wish I had pictures of the food to show you, not everyone enjoys reading about food, so, I'll keep it short. It was fantastic!!! Salad with a balsamic awesomeness, salmon and rice spinach salad with a mango dressing, steel cut oats with fresh berries, fresh cut meats from a local italian market and biscotti that was oh my gosh, but it's hard NOT to talk about!!!