Cheese what? our week

So- seriously- we are going through the total cheeser pictures. He is CRACKING me up in some of these!


I feel like this one is a "Que the music and action" moment- with some fake perfect music playing in the background. We took a little trip to FIsland the other day- Craig was in London all week on business with his dad so we had some SERIOUS time to kill.



Koi ponds. Elliott has gotten all brave on me these days- he used to be so much more skeptical about things- he asked me- "mom, can I get in there with them and catch one?"




Craig had his birthday the day he left for London so we waited until he got home to open presents. This one? Elliott could pick a present out for dad- drum roll- it was a magnetic Marvel Superhero play set- humm. However, I picked out laser tag - which by the way- what genius thought that one up? I love it, so does Elliott. I have played a million rounds today. It got to the point where Craig or I would sit on the sofa and let E just get us there- he loved that one.
This cheesy grin is by far- my favorite of the CHEESE for this entry- he is killing me here- he was so stoked to have Craig open up this superhero gift. Man, superheros are going to do me in- pirates, superheros- what is next?




Hot days of summer! Woohoo! It has been so warm the last few days- love it! I know- why do Elliott and Craig have their wet suits on? E had to try his on and was in heaven- well not at first *see entry above*- but soon thought it was the best. The water in the pool is solar heated so it was warm today- really warm- but even warmer with a nice spring suit on. Craig wants him to get used to wearing a wet suit so when he needs one (for surfing time with dad) he will wear one. Good idea.




Elliott's hair has been- well rather- untamed as of late. We were going with the shaggy/surfer/could care less do- but he is such a sweatster, it gets all sweaty and then he gets a little stinky, and many other reasons. So........



Wala! We came up with a compromise. Good times.


















Kidding- we were tempted to leave it that way for church tomorrow- just to see what people would do- gotta love the "shock factor" sometimes. He loves his summer shave. I wanted to have it long enough for me to faux hawk it but that didn't take- next time.

Edward? Twilight Movie

I am too lazy to post the movie trailer but- I had to comment on Edward. Urgh. Not so stoked.

Maybe he will be like the women in the Jane Austin movies who at first seem unappealing but by the end of the movie you think they are beautiful and intriguing. What do you think?

Sunday's

I am asked often why I go post crazy on Sundays. It is the day that I email my little brother who is on a mission in Florida for our church Sunday's are my day to catch up the blog (which emails him all of my posts separately- every time I post) for him and for everyone. He wasn't getting the photos I would email very well so this seemed to work out perfectly- now he gets a ton of emails from us- just not the videos. Perfect. Poor guy, never gets paper mail though. Paper mail is way better I must admit. We don't use it enough anymore!

The things he says-

Today El came back from the bathroom with his hands and arms down each leg of his pants.

Craig- Elliott why are your hands down your pants?

They're cold, I'm warming them up.

Spiderman- the Justice League begins

We love the Justice League and anything that has to do with them. The constant scenarios that I am involved in are amazing- I honestly can't keep up them all. Elliott's mind is incredible and constantly creating a vision of "Spiderman and Batman running to the door but the Joker is behind them chasing them...." - yeah- these type of things.

We have a little aggression issue in our home- Elliott doesn't know how to handle his anger- so we bought him a punching bag thing. I explained that when he is angry it is totally okay to want to get the anger out- I gave him some ideas and then I gave him this and told him it was okay to hit it as hard as he wanted when he was mad. So we practiced a bit- then we wrestled and kicked poor Spidey. I imagine it will pop in the next few weeks, if not sooner.

Lastly- he was annoyed at me and I didn't know why- he then says "mom, I don't want to hit him when I am mad, I want to play with him too." He thought it was only for when he is mad- silly mom- we can't have a toy hanging around the house that we can't use unless we are mad can we?

Walking on Balboa

El chill'in with his buddies. When these guys are fed, napped and ready to go they are so fun together. Elliott has a bit of a tendency to take charge and try to be everyone's boss and often the bully- but other than that minor offense :-) he adores these guys.


Like I said- cramming some fun stuff in while people come to visit us- we took a walk on the island, rode the ferry to the peninsula and then walked down to the pier for some lunch. I try REALLY hard not to take for granted the beauty that surrounds me here- we are sooooo lucky to live in such an awesome place. Hence- the last picture- (compliments of Elliott) I just love that we are all sitting up on top of the restaurant enjoying lunch and this is the view that we have- incredible. Seriously- so lucky!

Sea World

E was totally into waving at Shamu- it just cracks me up how kids are so sure that animals and other things can see and hear them- so confident it this they are- such an endearing quality they have.







Craig's sister and her family are in town so- as usual- we always try to cram in some exciting things to wear out all the kids. We went to Sea World and enjoyed the Shamu show a ton- touched a dolphin (watched the other kids feed them), watched the dolphin show, hung with the sharks and enjoyed the cave at the polar bear den area. Long day- but fun- and always more fun when cousins are in town.

Happy Mother's Day Grandma Lee!!!

We wanted to make a little video for you Grandma- but what you ended up with isn't quite what I had in mind (snotty nose, coughing, etc.)- oh well, the randomness of a 3 year old. He had to sit on my lap and he needed to "be in your sweatshirt"- he was cold. Anyway- we love you and miss you and can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Pleasantville, Perfectland Florida

Craig and I were able to go to Watercolor/Seaside, Florida this last week for a work trip with his company. It was crazy and insanely perfect- it was almost creepy how perfect these little towns were. Seaside is where they filmed the movie "The Truman Show" so you can imagine how it looks. Seriously- just like in the movie- creepily perfect- poor Truman. We popped it in while we were there to just see if it was the same- it was- sad movie though. Pleasantville rang a bell with us all too. There really was a town not far from there called Niceville. Humm.

Anyway- more beautiful and amazing than creepy of course- these pictures don't do it justice. They had these perfect little sand trails everywhere that led to all the different places, beaches, boathouse, crochet yards, etc. So pretty and so beautiful.




Our hotel was awesome- we could just take these bikes whenever we wanted and tour the little towns. The idea when they built Seaside was that they would build tiny roads so that everyone there would park their cars and either walk or bike where they wanted to go.





This is one of the little locations just to take you down to the beach or to sit at and stay out of the sun for awhile.





The view from the plantation house below.



This is Eden State Beach- I loved this garden- I wish I would have taken my good camera- these pictures just don't show how beautiful it was! This was a plantation type house where a logging guy lived and then some lady bought it YEARS later and refurbished it- then sold it to the state.







They tour guy (yes we had a little town tour) told us that of all the residents in Seaside only 40 of them were permanent- seriously- everything else was owned and rented out/vacation homes.
This picture above is the kind of home that most of the resident type people lived in- as there were many artists- their little studio's were downstairs and they lived upstairs. Below are the vacation/rental homes- wouldn't you feel so guilty owning these and only coming for vacation?






My guy and I at the last dinner the night before we left- they were taking partner shots for the company's web site- so the wives got to get a little dressed up too.

We had a GREAT time and would recommend it to anyone- it was a long way to go from California- but well worth it -so enjoyable and beautiful.

Lastly- we were only 100 miles from my little brother on his mission in Alabama- thought about a quick trip but didn't have the time. It was really fun to be in his area and meet a few of his old companions and take them to lunch. I hope that he gets a chance to get down there- maybe his last transfer- it would be a nice ending to a good mission.

Last but not least....

Seriously??? Can I ask seriously? What is wrong with you Democrats? Can you please just end this all- I hate the news- I am so sick of Hilary and Obama- just end already.

Does anyone remember the old Seinfeld episode when they all go to see the English Patient and they are bored to tears? They are saying- "Just die already...." Seriously??? Just be done and get a move on Democrats- send her packing. Just die already.

Hot days

It has been so hot the last two days! Today like low 90's. Seriously??? It is not even May yet. I can't really complain because it has been so fun- the pool got up to almost 80 yesterday so it was such a fun day. Elliott is TOTALLY cracking me up in these photos- he was so serious about getting everyone with these water guns- which were awesome by the way- thank you Wynn's.
We are totally loving the fun and can't wait for many more days like this one!


And of course- beautiful Kenyon. She is such a little photo girl- she takes such pretty pictures. At one point- I was sitting there watching everyone and she yells- "I just love pools" as she throws herself off the side into the pool. It was so funny.

A bike for the Edogs

Elliott is such a big guy- physically. He has had a little tricycle and a scootch so we thought we were doing great- until.... we went to the bike shop to pick up a scootch part and found that Elliott was quite ready for a bike. He hopped on one and just took off all over the store. I think it took both of us by surprise. Up until now- physical feats for E have been slow to come- so we thought that the bike would be awhile. We thought in September for his birthday.

Anyway- Craig's parents neighborhood had a HUGE garage sale so we took some of the old outdoor toys and gear to sell. E made like 40$. Then he and Craig found a bike that E loved and we were in business. Well- after the training wheels. He is awesome on this thing. He is so proud of himself and so excited to just have us "watch me- watch this". It is soooooo stinking fun to watch all these little milestones. I must admit- I was a little teary. Seriously- he is so big and so grown up. I still want to get him a new bike for his birthday- there is just something about a brand new red bike right?

Sweet crawling Collin

I couldn't resist not posting these- this is my cute nephew Collin. He is such a good natured little guy. He has more to watch in his little life (his brother and sister and cousins) than anyone I know. I think he will be quite occupied for the rest of his life- just watching the mayhem.

He is just starting to crawl- trying to keep up with Nate (his brother) I think. Such a stud.

Tis the season

I LOVE this time of year! Beach days start again (still chillly- kids don't seem to mind) and everything seems somewhat new again. This picture, however, is one of the new amazings that we have had recently. Last summer it was like pulling teeth to get Elliott to enjoy the beach and sand. Strange thing- we went to the beach a few weeks ago and instead of having to give the whole "beach talk" to get him onto the sand- he just takes off. Sweet- it was awesome. I am looking forward to our beach days this summer- I now have a kid that likes the beach- FINALLY.






Craig had some tickets to an Angel's game so the 3 of us went. I was stoked to get caught up with a few people (shamelessly- via text- for those of you who don't know me- I am not a big sports fan) I must say that we had a great time. Elliott was totally into watching the game and seeing all the different things play out- it really made a difference- me and my boys. Some things just get better with time.




The all time best part of Friday night baseball games are the fireworks. It is such a cool show with music. I am a total sucker for fireworks- we all had a great time and now I might be looking forward to the next game.

Happy 3rd Birthday Maddelyn!

Happy Birthday Miss Madde! We love you and miss you! Elliott wishes you were here to play with him! We can't wait until October!

Happy Birthday Auntie Jen!

Happy 32 Birthday Auntie Jen! We love you and hope you have a PERFECT day! We miss you!

The things he says-

Elliott had eaten some pasta for dinner and I was joking about how much garlic was in it and how stinky his breath would be- later that evening we walked by some sort of sewer vent or something and we were talking about how it smelt bad- E says-

That must be my stinky breath.

Helicoptor

This is our helicopter. It has taken me to many a land- candy island, licorice forest, skull island, and a few I can't remember. El turns the ceiling fan on (his rotor) and uses the stick and we are off to distant lands. It is either this or a pirate ship of sorts. Imagination...

The things we are doing (for Joshua)

Josh- this one is for you- the duke board- still working and still being used- just waiting for your arrival.

El pushes this beast up the slopes in the driveway and then rolls down on his belly- good times.

Creatures

Seriously- (I say "seriously" a lot)- but Seriously- could there be a cooler book? We look at this book every single day- we talk about these "creatures" over our breakfast and lunch (the 2 meals where we can have a toy or book with us) and try to sneak it in at dinner. It has pictures of things eating things, spitting things, rolling poop into balls, - you name it- it's probably in here. It's pretty great. I love boy stuff.

Today we went through the whole 199 page book talking about various things within the pages. It was CRAZY!!! Then when Craig got home E had to go over the many adventures inside the book.

Elliott was making up stories (wild imagination) about the different- snakes, lizards, frogs, jellyfish, you name it.... It went a little bit like this- each story a sentence or two- then on to the next.

Once upon a time there was a really ugly lizard....I saw him and he was really ugly.

Once upon a time, when I was scuba diving.....I saw this deep sea vampire squid....

Well dad, one day when I was scuba diving I saw one of those.

SERIOUSLY- It is hilarious.

Man's Best Friend

Let me start by saying- yes, I am crazy. My little one is a pet lover- a pet LOVER. So when asked if we could dog sit a little chihuahua for a week my first response was "No way, I don't want another little kid right now." Then I thought about what a week with little Billy would mean to Elliott - Craig and I decided it would be a great idea.

I had no idea that this week of all weeks would be the week I would get some sort of crazy sore throat that hurt when I spoke and holy hell was I needed to speak and yell a little bit too. Ouch.

Elliott was so into this dog- so into this dog that his ears were incapable of working. Craig and I couldn't believe how this was- it was crazy. I haven't had to repeat myself so much in Elliott's whole life as I have had to this week. I also feel like I have raised my stinking voice more this last week than I have EVER!!! AHHHHH!!! Elliott just couldn't listen- we would be sitting there trying to tell him that Billy's neck- you know- isn't for putting our hands around- then saying it again- then AGAIN LOUDER so that we were heard. It was crazy! Elliott was in love with Billy- so in love that poor Billy spent some serious time inside of his metal gate for his own safety. Seriously- what 3 year old understands all of the ins and outs of dog do's and don'ts?

Billy is an excellent dog- seriously such a good dog and so PATIENT with Elliott. More patient than I would expect a little dog to be- however- I don't want a dog- at least not right now.

LET ME REMINISCE-

Bear with me- I have only pet sat 2 times. This time and one other- (Brooke you will probably remember this...). We pet sat this cute little baby dachshund named Ruby for 1 a week or so a few years ago- before Elliott. I was still doing weddings at the time and had a big one that weekend we had her.

Craig and I were crazy busy loading all of the flowers into the cars- Craig was backing up his pickup and I was too busy thinking about what all still needed to be loaded- which was still quite a bit and I was starting to wonder if we were going to be able to get them all into the cars.

Anyway- while backing up poor dear Ruby got ran over- right over her belly and back. Oh man! I panicked- I thought we had just killed this brand new dog.

We had to be at a wedding right then- I am sobbing holding Ruby as Craig runs to our tenants house to see where we could take her (she is a total pet girl)- she (Amy- I still owe you for this...) takes Ruby right to her vet and we head off to do the wedding.

I sobbed the whole day- Poor Craig was sad too- we were sure that we had done some serious damage to this little thing.

Anyway- finished the wedding and headed home to find out what was up with Ruby. TOTAL MIRACLE- I really couldn't have handled it if we had killed this dog- there was way too much going on in my life at the time to have this too. She was totally okay- a pinched nerve in her back and she was FINE. I saw that truck go right over her- it should have killled the little 3 pound dog.

I think I might just be done with pet sitting. One day E will have a dog. I have no doubt in my mind- man's best friend right?

Jonah and Samuel- together

El has really been into scripture stories lately- especially since my mom (thanks mom!) has given him the paperback Book of Mormon stories. Anyway- we were laughing at how well he tells some of his stories- especially when he mixes them up. I am really glad he likes these stories- he makes it really fun to tell them to him- we always have to act them out or repeat the story for days afterward.

Sorry- the video is a little long- but well told.