Chistmas Is...

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Christmas Is...

I've Been Tagged

So I rarely reply to these tags but I like this one. Gives me a chance to spotlight my hubby. He deserves to be in the spotlight every now and then since I generally am always hogging it.

1. What is your Husbands full name?
Eric Lauritz Erickson. Dont Laugh, yes his parents love him.

2. How long have you been together as a couple?
We started dating 5 years ago in August. We will have ou 5th anniversary in March.

3. How long did you date?
2.5 months. WOW! That was fast.

4. How old is he? 35

5. Who eats more?
He is wierd that way. Sometimes he will be starving and totally gorge himself and then other times I am the one startving and he doesnt touch his food. He definitely has more self control than I.

6. Who said I love you first?
I can't really remember but I think it was me. Ya thats right because it was followed by a atunned look on his face and a "I think I love you, too." Hmmm that was convincing...

7. Who is taller?
Eric by a whole foot.

8. Who sings better?
We are both equally not Mo Tab material but we both equally enjoy singing in church and the shower.

9. Who is smarter?
Depends on what we are talking about. Politics, religion, and math? Him. Health, laundry and child-rearing? Me.

10. Who does the laundry?
I think I just answered that. I had to ban him from touching laundry, especially mine. He really tries but some things are just better left to the experts.

11. Who does the dishes?
We equally hate doing the dishes and have been know to let them pile up in the sink until they are ready to sprout legs and walk away themselves. I will generally be the one to give in and finally do them.

12. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
As we lay on the bed, he is on the right. He is my right hand man!

13. Who pays the bills?
I do. Love Quicken and online billpay. And he's the accountant.

14. Who mows the lawn?
He does. I have never mowed a lawn in my life. I am sure I could figure it out but I am glad he enjoys it. He takes care of the outside and I take care of the inside.

15. Who cooks dinner?
He really enjoys cooking and is good at it. I do fairly frequently but if I don't feel like it (like the whole 9 months of my pregnancy) he will gladly do it. Love him!

16. Who's more sensitive?
Those who know me understand that I am not easily brought to tears. I have my moments but I have a pretty tough skin. Thats not always a good thing. He also has his moments.

17. Who's more stubborn?
I think that he would say I am but he is definitely stubborn in his own quiet way.

18. Who's the first to admit when their wrong?
We're both good at that, once we get over our stubbornness. I'd say he admits it faster though, it's just that I'm right more;)

19. Who's parents do you see more?
Well, mine, unfortunately because both of his parents have passed.

20. Who proposed? Eric

21. Who drives when you are together?
90% of the time, him. Me if I am in a hurry or if its snowing (he scares me to my very soul when he drives in the snow).

22. Who has more friends?
Hmmm. Me? I just keep in touch with old friends better.

23. Who has more siblings?
Uh, me. 0ne versus 10 and counting. Yikes.

24. Where did you meet?
We found eachother on LDSSingles.com and first met on my front porch.

25. Where was your first kiss?
At my house on the couch while "watching" a movie.

26. What was the first thing you said to him?
He stared chatting with me on LDSSingles.com one evening. I cant remember everything that we said but we chatted for a couple hours until deciding to exchange numbers. The next day we talked for a while and we met a couple nights later. I was usually not so quick to give out my number or even my real name for that matter but I had a good feeling about this one.

27. Where was your first date?
He picked me up and took me to Carraba's in Orem. We sat there for a couple hours and our converation flowed so easily. We had a great time.

28. Where did you get engaged?
In the model home of the house that we were planning to buy. Yes, we looked into buying a house together before we were actually engaged. Our engagement was actually postponed slightly because my stepmom had passed away so i went out of town for a few days. So the night that we met at the model house to sign papers to have them hold our lot, he proposed to me in the living room. I know the people who live in that house now and they know that we have special memories in their living room.

29. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Our wedding night we went to Little America in Salt Lake City. It was very nice and romantic although the next morning we went to leave and found that our car had been vandalized in their supposedly secure parking garage. That morning we met our family at IHOP for breakfast (wierd). And then we headed to California to go on a cruise. Perfect Honeymoon!

30. If you could change anything about it what would it be?
Not much. it worked out pretty well other than the vandalism.

31. Who wears the pants in your marriage?
I would have to say that Eric lets me wear the pants happily. He knows I need that.

Week in Review

Since I have returned to work, I will admit I have not been able to maintain my blog addiction. I can feel myself going through withdrawls. So I will have to commit to a minimum of one visit/entry per week. Sort of a "week in review" thing. That way this becomes more of journal for not only anyone who may be blog stalking me but also myself (since I am terrible at actually keeping a journal). So here goes:
Last week marked the thirteenth week since Camerons arrival AND my return to work. Bummer. My first day back was rough. Overwhelming because I felt to out of the loop and sad because my babys are both at daycare. We have a wonderful daycare lady which I am so grateful for. That makes it much easier to deal with. Well I am finally feeling back in the loop and not so worried about how things would work out. I am a worry wart.

Last Thursday we had Erics Company Party. It was at the Wells Fargo Building downtown which was very nice but as parties go, we ate, chatted for a minute or two and dashed out before the real partying began (had to get home to the babysitter). We also went to see the Kurt Bestor Concert on Saturday night. Another babysitter, another freezing night downtown. We ate at this little Italian place called Cafe Molise which was the type of place that you dont take kids to and you dont wear jeans to. So the server was telling us the specials for the night and she mentioned this salmon dish that sounded REALLY good. I looked over the menu and saw that, as these sort of places go, the average price per plate was about $18. Not TGIFridays but not the end of the world either so I figured the salmon was about that (I didnt ask, thought that would be tacky). So I ordered the salmon, and it was really good. Tiny but very good. Nice meal overall. So we get the bill...AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The salmon was $30. What the $%!@&#? I could not believe it. I am a self admittedly cheap person. Generally I do not splurge unless totally necessary. I wont even let my husband buy me flowers and most anything I have that is brand name came from eBay. So the $69 bill was painful. Thats a gas bill or 5 cans of formula or 3 months worth of diapers. Whew!! Had to get that off my chest.

Luckily, Kurt Bestor, as always was wonderful. We have made this a holday tradition and I love it because it really helps get my into the holiday mood. Thats been hard to find this year. If you have not heard of him, check him out HERE. You will fall in love with his music.

This week we went to my newly married brothers little apartment and had a little family get together with them. They invisted us to their neighbors house for an actual train ride around their property. These people actually have a train track built into their property with a mini train that people can ride on. Every holiday they dress up the path to fit the season and Christmas, you can guess, it was the POLAR EXPRESS. It was soooo fun and the kids loved it. We actually made one stop at the "North Pole" (Someones house) and went inside Santas workshop and saw Santa. They had the inside of this palce all decked out to actually look like a workshop. It was so cool. And sure enough, Santa was there sitting on his big chair waiting for the little ones. My neice Abby, Paige, and Braiden were elated to see the big jolly man. They all took their turns with him and then we continues our train ride. That was a fun time. It was very cold but very fun.

We also had my company party this week. It was at Hidden Valley Country Club and was pretty nice. They actually did somthing that you rarely see happen at company functions and they prayed before serving the food (only in Utah). Also the CEO had asked 6 people to get up and talk about what the holidays meant to them. It was like testimony meeting but it was so nice to actually have a Holiday Party be about the holidays and not about next years goal for the company. I love the company I work for. They are very family oriented and assure that our lives are about our families and not our dedication to the company. I am really lucky to be part of it.

Thursday we enjoyed a quiet night at home and Friday, my sister offered to babysit so Eric and I went to see a movie, which we rarely do anymore. We saw I am Legend with Will Smith. All I have to say is: Yikes! Frieky! I wont spoil it for you but it was intense and unexpected. Pretty good. So thats it in nutshell. Only 10 more days till Christmas. Yeah....better get the shopping done!

I Love this!

A Mommys letter to SANTA

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!!

Last week we had the first real big snow of the season. Since then we have had even more but its always interesting to see how the world seems to change and everyones attitudes seem to change with the weather, including my own. Last week also marked my first week back to work after having Cameron so I have had to adjust and it has been a little hard to get into the spirit of the season.

It never fails that the first day that it really snows, there are hundreds of accidents and people driving like they have never seen snow before. Probably many of them havent but for the most part, safe snow driving skils are not something that should be forgotten in a matter of a year. Nevertheless, you always see cars sliding all over the roads and stuck in snow banks.

I think that, in many ways, can be compared to how we tend to forget, in a matter of months, what the Christmas season is all about and the feelings of togetherness and appreciation for eachother that it brings. I am always reminded over the holidays how grateful i am for a great family, a wonderful husband, beautiful, healthy kids, a nice, warm, house to keep my kids safe in, a good stable job, and of course the gospel and the guidance that it gives us.

There couldnt be a more appropriate time to be grateful for all those things, I just wish that I

was better about remembering them during the not so festive times of the year when its harder to remember our blessings. So we broke out the Christmas tree, artificial one, of course, and spent an evening dolling up the house in true holiday fashion.

I love the snow, even though I am a California girl at heart and will always miss the beach and the sun . Utah has been so good to me, I have to remind myself that the BEST times of my life have been here.

When I went outside to take the picture of our house covered with snow I took one step onto the walk and landed, boom, right on my rear end. I have the bruise to prove it. Paige wanted me to also take a picture of HER house in the snow.


Braiden and Paige wasted no time in breaking out the winter apparel and going sledding down our drive way. They love getting all bundled up even though its really not that cold. I mean this it utah. Not Minnesota. Its a good thing they did becuase within 2 days the snow was melted away. Paige looks so cute with her giant pink snow boots. They crack me up.

Look at this handsome dude. This is Braidens 3rd grade school pic. He has a great smile, don't he?

Thanksgiving Madness

This year, Thanksgiving was at my house. We had an early lunch feast and ate ourselves silly. Thats what people so on Thanksgiving,right? This is the turkey that died so that we could celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanks Turkey. Gobble Gobble.

The boys came out from Cali to join us for Turkey Day. Ben, Eric, Johnny, Paul.

Ready, set, eat!!!

My mom and her "friend". Ya right.

The fam on Thanksgiving. Thats SaraJane in the mirror. Mad picture taking skills, right there. Haha.

Look what Paige got into...

Paige is all girl, thats for sure. She also knows exactly where mommy keeps all her makeup! Dont grow up too fast baby.

Late but great Halloween pics

Like a good little blogging mommy I realized I needed to post the pics from Halloween of my chillins. This year was especially fun since Paige is now sorta understanding all the wierd holiday traditions that we parents subject our children to ie, costumes and trickortreating, santa, gorging on Thanksgiving, you get what I mean. It was also a little weird because this year it was actually really nice weather for Halloween. I cant remember a Halloween in Utah that I wasnt freezing my booty off while trying to participate in outdoor activities. So I actually took them out instead of making my husband go without me.

Braiden is apparently getting too old to dress up as the cartoon or movie characters that we usually do. Last year he was Yoda. This year he told me he wanted to be something "gross and bloody". This coming from my child who almost passed out when he accidentally witnessed the bloody scene at the end of Greys Anatomy last week. (You know you watch that show) So anyway, with the help of his stepmom he created this "Run over skater" costume. Pretty creative, I thought, and he liked it. I told him thats the closest he will ever come to having real tattoos so he should enjoy it while it lasts.

Paige was a lady bug and a very cute one at that. She wanted to wear that costume all week and I let her since I paid 25 bucks for it. She may as well wear it as long as possible. She was a little timid at the Trick or Treating thing but after a couple houses and seeing all the other kids on the street, she got the hang of it. She was so sweet and could not believe that people were just GIVING her all these "treats". We hit our entire street and she wanted to just keep going.

Cameron (our little punkin) hung at home with dad and handed out candy. Later my sister Bonnie came over with her 2 little "ghouls". Hehe. Abby is a fairy who had just finished a very blue sucker and Baylee was a lobster. We had a rough time getting them to all cooperate for this pic but you get the idea.

Isnt is amazing how quickly candy just disappears when mom isnt looking? Hmmm. Thats ok cause little do they know that mom was making it disappear even faster. Haha.

"FULLY INVESTED"

Today, for the very first time, I had the pleasure of attending the BYU/ UTAH game that is a much awaited Thanksgiving week event for football fans in Utah. Eric won season tickets at his work party (thanks ExtraSpace) but unfortunately we havent attended many of the games since Cameron was born the day after the first home game. I personally did not attend either school but I guess just because I lived in Provo for a long time and my husband is a die-hard Cougar fan, I rute for Blue by default. I am proud of it though. Braiden has also been learning the ways of a Cougar fan fom his dad and what it means to be a good sportsman. For instance to not yell "the Utes suck" while walking through a crowded store and spotting someone wearing red. Yes, that has happened. Luckily the guy was really cool. So today Braiden also got a strong taste of diehard fandom and witnessed the ever-amazing phenomenon they call "RIVALRY".
Eric and I bought matching beanies for the occasion so that we would fit in with the crowd. We were a little late so we literally had to climb over some mildly annoyed people while I prayed that nothing happened on the field to create any sudden movement in the stands so we didnt go flying. Finally we made it to our seats, glad that we had already made our bathroom visits because there was no way were getting out unless it was a life/death emergency.

Our seats were on the South end of the stadium so we sat in the shade which had its pros and cons. Pro: no squinting into the sun or getting sunburnt. Con: It was a less than comfortable 30 something degrees and slightly windy. We had to huddle to keep warm. Trust me, that was not a problem since people are squished like sardines onto those bleachers. You are likely to get pretty friendly with your neighbor.

I looked out across the sea of ant size specks of Blue and white and a few red here and there. Good thing I didnt wear my hot pink coat. The game was pretty intense but my fascination stayed mostly with listening to the ranting and yelling of fans behind me and to the side of me. I never get why they think that the refs or the players on the field can actually hear them. Pretty entertaining actually. There were no touchdowns by either team until the second half of the game. Utes first. At which point I witnessed my husbands cougar testimony waver. He hung his head is sadness and shame until BYU brought it back with a TD with 40 something seconds left in the game which took winning score to 17/10. See scoreboard photo. It was so cool when the game ended to see hundred or maybe thousands of people "rush the field". People were just pouring off the stands on to the field to gather around their team. This win earned them the Mountain West Championship and it was the second year in a row to beat the Utes at such a close game so the celebration was pretty massive.

So we had a good day. On the bus ride back to our car I sat next to a girl who was wearing a Utah sweatshirt and I overheard her on the phone asking her husband if he was going to be okay, apparently he was pretty shaken by the Utes loss. I know my husband is a happy man today. My biggest question is this: Will there be football in heaven and if so who will God rute for? Hmmm.

Erickson Elves!!

Click here to Watch the Erickson Elves! Merry Christmas!!

A daring adventure...

Ok so this is kinda lame but I thought hey, what the heck. Its Thanksgiving morning and I just finished preparing my attempt at a Turkey in preparation for the many people coming to my house in 4 hours and here I sit at my computer searching for ads and trying to decide if its worth it to even leave my house tomorrow, so appropriately called "Black Friday". Thus far I havent found a deal thats worth risking my life for (I am remembering the lady that got trampled at WalMart last year. I wonder if it was worth it to her). I actually know a girl that makes it a tradition with her mom and sisters to go out at 4 in the morning "just for the fun of it". She doesnt even care if she buys anything. "Its all for the thrill." She says. Hmmmm. You have to wonder. So, anyway, I came across this little time-waster. My journey to the Target 2day sale. You play this game on the Target Ad Website. You can win a $25 gift card. I will do anything for a buck. Ok, almost anything. I thought it was kind cute, kinda lame, you know. Whatever. Ha. Happy Thanksgiving and good luck Black Friday.

Sappy Mom Stuff

A good friend of mine sent this to me and described that it came to her at a perfect moment when she was a milimeter away from running away and never coming back. I know I have had those days although I can easily say that I am blessed with awesome children. Sometimes the responsibilities of life, motherhood, being a wife, an employee, a sister, a daughter, etc can be overwhelming and tiresome but after reading this I realized that life is way too short and if I did not have those responsibilities that I belly-ache about, what would I be doing? Probably longing for them.

Sometimes I am not sure what I am really more worried about in the whole parenting game- messing it up, or missing it when its over...



"All My Babies Are Gone Now"
By Anna Quindlen , Newsweek columnist and author

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow, but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education--all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations -- what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on childdevelopment, in which he describes three different sorts of infants:average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fatlittle legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was hedevelopmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last yearhe went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling. Believe me, mistakes weremade. They have all been enshrined in the "Remember-When-Mom-Did" Hall of Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language -- mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleep-over. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?"(She insisted I include that here.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!!

On October 27th we had the great opportunity, or should I say we took the daring chance, to take all three kids on a trip to California. I have a riddle for you: What to you get when you cross an impatient 8 year old, a restless 2 year old, a tired 6 week old all packed into a 5 seater 4Runner? You will probably be able to draw your own conclusion on that one. I think a good answer would be: 2 parents with ulcers and mid-vacation remorse. All I can say is thank goodness for the electronic babysitter: the portable DVD player. (By the way, the first DVD player broke by Fillmore so you can bet that we used some emergency funds to replace it in St George. The trip was way too long to not have it.) We stopped at my grandparents house in St George which i affectionately call the Lundberg Hotel. They always "leave the lights on for us" and are happy to let us use their facilities and borrow a bowl of cereal. The kids love it there. I am so lucky to still have my granparents with me and I am so lucky that my kids can have a little taste of what Grandmas house was like for me as a child.

Next stop...dads house in southern california. This one called the Watson hotel. The Watson Hotel is crowded nowadays but nonetheless available and comfortable. We say "the more, the merrier". And boy is my family ever merry. Final Destination: Disneyland!!! We were all very excited to see the "Disneyland left" sign on higway 57 in Anaheim. Eric and I have taken the kids there 4 times now and will keep on doing it over and over. We both love it and have fond memories of visiting as kids with our families since we are both native Californians. This time of year Disneyland was all decked out for Halloween as you can see in these pics. Paige learned without a doubt what candy corn is and calls pumpkins "punkin patch". "Look at the punkin patch mommy!"

First Stop: Bugs Life Land where Paige could actually ride all the rides. She had a great time on this one where the lady bug spins around and around. Ick. Notice I am not on this ride. Happy to stay off and watch from the sidelines. But boy did they ever enjoy it. There is something awesome about hearing your kids shreik with excitement while being spun around endlessly. Luckily there were no barfing incidents. Whew!

Braiden, being an old pro at the Disneyland thing, was happy to show Paige the ropes. Paige was not too fond of the Jungle Cruise. The animals were just a little too close for comfort for her. Cameron liked this one though. He slept right through the entire ride. (surprise, surprise). We made our way to all the faves: Indiana Jones, The Haunted House, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Toon Town, and The Finding Nemo Adventure (very fun, by the way). Sadly, Small World and Alice in Wonderland rides were closed.

The first day we were there, we watched the fireworks show from behind the Sleeping Beauty Castle where they had closed off all the areas surrounding the Peter Pan ride and Snow White ride for danger of falling ashes. We waited right there and when the show was over and they opened the area we walked right on to Peter Pan and then Snow White. That was awesome considering the Peter Pan seems to always have a 45 minute wait.

In Toon Town we went to Mickeys House and waited to get pictures with Mickey. This was especially exciting for Paige since she is a die-hard fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She can name all the Disney Characters. Thats pretty good for a 2 year old. When she saw Mickey, she was in awe. He bent down and kissed her on the head and that was the best moment of her life thus far. She walked out saying "Kissy on the head" and holding her hand on her head. If you ask her even now she will tell you "Micky kissy on the head". She is so cute.

We watched the Parade of Dreams on the second night and Braiden and Paige got some awesome seats. It pays to have a huge stroller and a scary face. Heh! They watched the parade intently and yelled for all their favorite characters to come say hello to them. They had some close encounters with Goofey, the blue fairy, Peter Pan and others.

At the end of the second night, we were all very tired and ready to go but sad, nonetheless to leave the happiest place on earth. The trip home was a ling drive filled with bribery and empty threats but we made it home and everyone was still alive and well. To answer my riddle from the beginning: You get a memorable family vacation that will hopefully be smiled upon years from now at some family reunion.

Cute Christmas fun Website for All

I found a really cute website called Northpole.com. There are all kinds of fun things to do on it like create a personalized storybook or send a letter to santa plus tons of great Christmas recipes. Check it out here.

Yeah for stinky animals...

A couple weeks ago I took the kids to the zoo as I had been promising them for weeks that I would do it when I felt up to it. Well, I decided that I will never really feel up to it so I just sucked it up (after a night of only 3 hours sleep, thank you Cameron) and took them with a big smile on my face. Well, to my surprise, we had a great time. The kids were in awe and amazement at all the stinky animals as if this wasnt the 5th time they had been which I love to see. They are so fun. Braiden helped me push our monstrous double stroller all over the hills of Hogle Zoo.

Paige especially loved the monkeys and Braiden loved the big fake elephant that squirts water (because he loved pushing his sister in front of the water in true big brother form). They have this great little park where they can climb all over big animal statues.

All in all, the day was a hit with the kiddies and I felt like a super mom. Hip, hip, hooray...

More pics as promised

As I promised, here are the pics from my trip to visit Tamara in Washington. She took Cameron and I on our first ferry ride from Bremerton to Downtown Seattle which is a very cool way to commute if you have the time. It was pretty cold and very windy but beautiful nonetheless. We spent the other days walking the mall and scouring WalMart for the perfect diaper bag. We did about all we could while toting two little newborns. Never thought I would have to feed my child in a WalMart parking lot or mall lounge area. Tamara is a very cute mommy. You can tell she is a first timer because she is so very "by-the-book" still. She even had a few things to teach me. I guess my parenting skills have gotten a little rusty. Haha. Gotta love her and that little Marissa is a sweety. That hair is amazing. Tamara can barely keep it under control. Mike says she looks like Sonic Hedgehog in the morning. Wow! Her daddy better keep the baseball bat handy.

Tamara's beautiful house and the Seattle City Skyline.

Check out the link to the right for the Halloween Hangman game. I thought that was pretty cute. Be careful, its addictive.

Its beautiful here in Seattle...

I am posting this BLOG from the beautiful rural city of Gig Harbor, WA where my best friend lives just outside of Seattle. Since I am on maternity leave, Cameron and I decided to take a little jaunt up here to visit Tamara and her new baby Marissa. We have had a great time just visiting and hanging out. The weather is of course, you guessed it, very wet and very windy. I even decided to forgo my Diet Coke today because I did NOT want to get out of the car at the gas station. You know its serous when I will give up the DC. Lets just say I now know what "sheets" of rain actually look like. This is a pic of Cameron and Marissa that we had taken the other day. They are very cute. Tamara and I are determined to set them upso we can be in-laws. More pics to come later after I get home.

A day out with the kiddies...

My little sister Bonnie had her second baby, Baylee Grace, on July 28th so she and are both currently on maternity leave from our jobs so we try to get together to hang out and keep eachother sane. The other day we thought we were going to be ambiscious and take all the kids to the zoo (her 2 and my 3). Well we got as far as the Wendys down the street from my house before we decided that we must be insane. Considering that she and I are still in the sleep deprivation stage of postpartum recovery and we cant even all fit in the same car anymore, there was no need to torture ourselves by trying to drag an 8 year old, a 3 year old, a 2 year old (both napless, mind you) and 2 newborns to the stinkiest place on earth. So we decided on the park right down the street from my house as an alternative and boy was that ever a better idea. The kids had a great time and we got to rest, chat, hang out and enjoy our afternoon without losing our minds or killing our children. Also I had fun with my new camera. What cute kids we have.

A Proud Mommy Moment...

Little Paige surprised me the other day when she came to me wearing nothing but her "pull-ups" and said she needed to go peepee. This being the umpteenth time she had done this, I didnt take her all too seriously but nonetheless, I went with her to the potty and sure enough, to my utter awe and amazement, she got this look of ultimate concentration on her face and, then it came... she went peepee. I was so proud of her I literally got tears in my eyes. We went running out to where Daddy was and announced her accomplishment and guess what... Daddy got tears in his eyes too. ha! i called me mom to tell her all about it and she laughed and said she lived for the day that her daughters would get excited about peepee in the potty! What can I say? Good job Paigey!!

Super Soccer Star!!

Last year Braiden tried out for Sparta United Soccer Club. He returned this year and has been doing an awesome job in learning the game and improving his technical skills. He especially likes to play goalie and is very good. You should see him dive for that ball. There is a certain amount of pride in a mothers heart when you can hear other parents whispering about how good that goalie is. Yup...thats my kid!!

Although, he is awesome at soccer, Braiden really wants to play football next year. This of course makes me nervous but we shall see...

Super Siblings

Since Cameron has been home we have been quickly reminded what its like to have a newborn around. The lack of sleep was yet another thing that somehow I forgot about over the last 2 years. Braiden and Paige are super helpers and totally proud siblings. Braiden is the "poopchecker" as he says and will happily notify me of the need for a diaper change (for Cameron or Paige). He also is a great pair of quick feet and will run for a diaper of a burp cloth at a moments notice. Cameron has now been to a few of Braidens soccer games and getting first hand demonstrations of how the game is played.