Other Uses for Paper Towels - who knew?

I know, I know... it's been a while. Mostly my excuse is our photos from March to May were lost and it has taken this long to get them back. So, I thought this moment best captures what we have been up to in these past months: cleaning up after Mr. Magoo. This happened one evening when Shawn and I were upstairs with Stinkerbell for only about 10 minutes. Mr. Magoo was making roads for his cars with a paper towel roll. Mostly he was pleased with himself. His "city" covered about 3 rooms. The best part, really, is how Jake sat there completely oblivious to his surroundings: he was busy playing Mario Cart Wii.

In the future, I will try to update more... and keep a better eye on my children.

Man, was Mr. Magoo TICKED!

We took Mr. Magoo to get his FIRST haircut and he was not happy! He had 2-3 inches taken off - beautiful blond curls that weren't looking as beautiful without summer humidity to keep them tight. Fortunately for me after bath time, there are enough curls left to love. So he whined the whole time - he even got a loli-pop BEFORE they started cutting but he just sat there and whimpered. When he was all finished, he put a big smile on and said "that not so bad." (The padres were tired by then and the camera put away, so no smiles to show.) Pretty much each day since, he has asked if he can get his hair cut again. And then go to Disneyland.

He had the same reaction with Santa Claus.

Mr. Magoo turns the big 3!!!

Mr. Magoo turned three this week! Wow! And, just like the other 2 monkeys, I can't imagine we ever survived before he was born. Now, he is our ball-loving sports star. On Friday, we played baseball (a daily event that last about 6 hours) and he threw up (not vomitted, but just threw-in-the-air-up... sometimes one must distinguish when discussing a toddler) a ball with his left hand and swung a bat with his right hand and hit the ball into the other room. That is what happens when mom and dad are tired of pitching.


His birthday was great! We took him to Toys R Us, where he picked out a new bat and ball (of course). As a family that evening, we went to Ruby's because they have a train that goes around. (Well, normally it goes around but it was taking a nap. But he didn't get discouraged and sad and shy...yet.) Then the waitresses brought him a sundae and started to sing to him and he just put his head down and wouldn't look up. What a kid. After they left he announced he was happy and dug into his hot fudge like any smart boy should.


Then, his evening was topped off with friends joining us for his choo-choo cake he had been asking for. We made it after school and had a great time sharing it.


We adore him because he is fun, happy, clever, energetic, coordinated, humorous, loving, and that much closer to being potty-trained. Right???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Gotta love a night out with a chopper dude!???

It wasn't a night with Vince, the slap-chop guy. (As exciting as that sounds.) But it was a night out with a different chopper dude. Fortunately, he didn't slap anything. I went with my friend, Becky, and the Smiths, and we headed last Friday night to good ol' QVC! You know, the tv-sales show! And Paul Sr., from the tv/cable show "Orange County Choppers" came out on one of his custom bikes and we all cheered and screamed like we were 16 again. Then he flexed his biceps and we all screamed some more! He did a little Q&A before and after the show, but in the meantime, it was an hour of watching him sell t-shirts, hats, his book, and some other, well, really ugly apparel. (No offense.) But, it was a great night out. Too bad he didn't let us all take pics with him, but maybe next time. Why didn't Shawn go you ask??? Well, Becky got tickets for her husband and his parents, but, they were in Utah for a funeral that weekend. So, I was in the "right time at the right place" and she asked me to go! (Poor Shawn stayed home with the kids.) The best part about it? I can scratch "a night out with a chopper dude" from my "things to do before I die" list. And I learned that the QVC studio audience can order right from their chairs. Operators are - literally - standing by. (NO - I didn't order anything!)

Is that really my little guy up there?

Can you believe my little guy who is pretending to be not so little? He went to a birthday party and this is how he and a handful of schoolmates passed the afternoon. Rock on man!

Pay it Forward Post.

Our wonderful friends (The Treanors) in California have offered us the opportunity for a "pay it forward post". After talking about it, we decided to offer you (our loyal readers) three choices of a service that we will perform. The service we do will be chosen by you, so vote in your comments on this post. Your choices are: 1. We will take some baked goods to the local firehouse. 2. We will work for 2hrs at the local food bank. 3. We will have a family home evening where we write letters to soldiers serving in the military. (These are options our family with little ones can do.) You, YES YOU, will have the ultimate say in which one of these activities we will do. Leave your comments and let us know. As part of this post we would also like to challenge you to "pay it forward" by coming up with a post idea of your own. Have fun "paying it forward!"

Random is...

Are your days filled with random things like mine? If I were to put my days into writing form I would get a big F from my 8th Grade English teacher because no paragraphs would be organized, and certainly there would be no topic sentence. Then I questioned, "If minds can survive being random, could places?" And the answer is, "apparently so." We have been to that place. It's a little scary, a little surprising. It has a name: Kansas.

Last summer, when we moved "out east," we passed through Kansas. Though Kansas may be known as "the sunflower state" it could also be known as "the random state." You are welcomed into the state by, what else?, a giant Van Gogh painting (replica) of "Sunflowers." It's 32' X 24'. Makes sense to some? Was a little random for me. But a kick in the pants nonetheless. Our kids couldn't figure out why we were getting out of the car for that. Later that day we visited an old fort, "Fort Hays" that is literally in the middle of nowhere. It was a nice little break, but hotter than he...ck and we were all pretty miserable. Again... random. The 18-wheeler up on poles telling you to exit and get an under carriage wash? I suppose that may look inviting to some but a little random, and a little uncomfortable, to me... again.

But we learned that randomness isn't a bad thing. We loved our drive through this great land and realized that at every freeway exit there is something that may be a little random. So if anything, Random is Variety. And, as Martha would say, it's a good thing. It makes the journey more worthwhile, that is for sure.

I can't imagine one day sticking with only one topic. How boring. (No offense, middle school English teachers.)