Beautiful Day

Okay, so last Wednesday was Goober's 8th birthday!  I can't believe the kids is getting so big! We had a couple of small family parties for him over Memorial Day weekend since my sister Jo was in town and then on Monday Jer's sister was in town. It may not look like the kid got much celebrating, but he definitely got enough sugar for the birthday over the weekend! :D

Anywho, Wednesday was the first truly nice day we have had this spring yet so we joined friends for a picnic lunch at the park, which was fun despite the never ending windy wind o'Idaho.

After we got home from lunch Grandma S bought cupcakes from the Cocoa Bean for Goobers birthday (mmmmm they are SO GOOD! Better than that other place for sure. They look so good you doubt that they can possibly taste good... and then WHAM! A Miracle! Someone figured out how to make awesome looking, great tasting cupcakes!).

That evening we met up at another park with a couple of friends I hadn't seen in a VERY long time.

Ahren and Rachelle were some of my very best high school friends. We were almost always together, so not fair that they look just like they used to!!! :D It was great to see them though! And the kids had a blast playing too!

That picture is missing three of the kiddos ( four if you count Turbo who is hiding behind one of Ahren's girls in this picture lol) Missy made quick friends with Ahren's youngest daughter, and Ahren's 7 month old son isn't up for racing down hills quiiiiite yet ;)

 Here's one with all of us (Except Ahren's hubs who was taking the picture, thanks Aaron!) Sorry it's a little fuzzy, apparently I need to clean my camera's lens :P maybe they got one that wasn't fuzzified!?

Roomie Reunion

Okay, so about a week ago I went to my college Roomie Reunion.

We try to get together every 4 years or so, last time was in Park City and we rented a condo, it was a bit of a challenge because everyone was at such different stages in life.

This time was definitely easier, because while we all have very different lives, we all have grown up and matured to the point that we can have discussions about just about anything. Not feel left out if someone decides to have a one on one conversation with someone else, and even gotten to the point that all of us made sure we each got a chance to talk one on one with each other... therefore catching up on each others lives a lot better and a lot more intimately. And not only that, we all tried to be conscious of how each other might feel and tried our best not to make each other uncomfortable... though I'm sure that still happened a couple of times.

We stayed at an aunts vacation house in Heber... it was beautiful and was such a blessing. It helped to keep cost down so that 5 out of the 6 roommates could attend (we definitely missed the 6th... but living in the east definitely makes it harder to come out west... especially on short-ish notice). The house was immaculate and we tried our best to leave it spotless and tidy when we left for our own homes once again.

We stayed up late talking and playing games, and at one point freaking out because of a random "bump" in the night (and accidentally setting off the house alarm! But we got it shut off quickly enough).

 (And yes, we actually used the headlamp and the ski poles(?) to go downstairs and check the unfinished basement for shady creepy stalker type people...)

We each took care for providing a meal and only ate out once (though the little cafe had wonderful food!) and we went to a very quaint coffee shop that used to be a full service gas station back in the days... they even had the old 1950's gas pumps out front!  We sat and talked outside until I got a sunburn... IN OCTOBER!! It was fabulous! I regret having ever doubted I would have fun...

(me and my absent roomie... and yes I'm aware that I don't pout very attractively... and yes, the absentee roomie is rather short so my arm is intentionally kinda low... MISSED YOU!!!)

Next time I really hope that our missing roomie can make it. We missed her.

(There, that's a better picture of me!)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Okay, so this last week I went on a much needed vacation :)

Much needed as in "I'm going insane, and I'm not sure my sanity is going to hold much longer..." needed. This winter was HARD. I love my kids to death and I'm glad that I chose to be a stay at home mom, but sometimes I seriously consider looking for a job, if only to get a change of scenery and someone to give me a job evaluation!

So Jer and I planned to escape for a week and my fabulous parents took the kids for us, because they are the most fabulous grandparents (and parents) in the entire world! (did I mention they are fabulous? I was SO born into the right family! I always think this, but it's times like this that reinforce the feeling!)

So off we went to the LA area and stayed with an absolutely awesome Navy family whom were absolutely awesome. Did I mention they are awesome? Ya, they're awesome! (As Erika would say, they are "Moi Bueno!")

I've known Erika since forever... as in the 2nd grade, forever... and we disagree on many things but still get along really well and I totally give the guy she married a BIG thumbs up! And hey! Let's not forget those kidlets (whom she is raising really well! In fact, I came home and informed my kids that we will be working on manners now... we will see how that goes..) and their spunky personalities, so cute!

  The weather was gorgeous (unlike here at home... which I'm glad I missed. A tornado warning? really?) and it was so nice to be away. We did lots of fun stuff, everything from playing SingStar at a friends house, going to a BBQ and going to Medievil Times, The Getty and Disneyland. The week was full enough to be entertaining, but not so full that we didn't get a chance to relax. It was perfect! And if I go into all of it now this post will be very, very, very long!

  And now that I'm home, I'm totally grinding gears to get back into the swing of things! Glad I got a break, cause this week is gunna be busy and my children are already testing me to make sure the rules still apply!

  Thanks SO MUCH for letting us stay! We may have to come crash the party again sometime ;)

Sigh

So, okay... Jer and I have planned a trip to go to the LA area for a while now. Well, actually since about November when I was on the verge of just calling everything quits. I needed a break, or at least a shimmer of hope that a break was coming!

So we decided to head out to LA this summer and stay with a good friend and her husband while we got a break from the kidlets. We thought that while we were there we could be sure to try and get into a filming of the Craig Ferguson show (Otherwise known as The Late Late Show). I love Craig Ferguson, I think he is absolutely hilarious!!! Best late night TV there is! However, at the moment I'm a little disenchanted with little Craig- i-pooh... you see, he decided not to film the week we are going to be in town!

Now, I wouldn't have much of an issue with this if they put up their calender a little earlier... however, they seem to be under the impression that people don't plan their trips any more than three weeks out. WTH?!?

So here's a tip for the scheduling people over at "On Camera Audiences"... get on the ball and plan a little people! PS...you suck. I love Craig, but now officially loath you.

The End.

When Good Friends Come to Town

Goober says he found a friend at school today.... I hope that friend will last as long as this one has for me :)

The is Erika, I've known her for like... a billion years... or in other words, since 2nd grade. While we spent the 2nd and 3rd grades in the same school, after that we had completely different paths though somehow managed to stay friends. And boy has that been a godsend! It's so nice when you know you have a friend that likes you for YOU, not for your friends or your clothes or your social status. In high school when my friends were being a bit challenged I would always pick up the phone and call Erika... and we would talk for hours.

In college we were roommates for a fantastic summer semester before we once again split schools. And ever since we have been Email and IM buddies because long distance phone bills can be a real booger, especially when one of you lives in Italy for a few years. :)

Well, she has been spending a little time in town due to her husband being in training and her house in TX being up for sale... so today she stopped by for a visit!

It's always so nice to talk to someone you know won't think your a nutcase or "one of THOSE parents". I think she and her girls stayed for about three hours, but man, it felt more like 20 minutes! Time flies when you enjoy the company! The kids enjoyed playing with each other, the babies took naps, and we "adults" tried to avoid any major kid mishaps.

I'm so glad she was able to come by....even if she did break her toe to avoid going walking with me! j/k

Networking

So, this may sound weird, but I was really kinda worried that my class wouldn't have a class reunion. nerdy I know, but i want to knwo what happened to everyone! This year is supposed to be our 10 year reunion. The girl that was our class historian went AWOL a while ago. I swear nobody I know has heard about her since WWI ... er Graduation.
Anywho, one of my friends emailed me to tell me that... yes we were going to have a reunion.


And that it wouldn't be the class historian who was doing it. Guess I REALLY should start trying to get in shape... this is as good of an excuse as any. Yay, she found out by going on Facebook. So, I signed up. Man, everyone and their dog is on that thing. And unlike Myspace I dont have to worry about figuring out how to program a stupid custom background :) Hooray, one less thing to use as a tool to procrastinate cleaning.