Happy Birthday, Sweet Deebs

Six month-old DB
Six year-old DB.

Lucky for me, it's always a party after school at our house. Add cake and singing and you have an instant birthday!

DB loves his new mega-sized tether ball game. I asked Jake if they had tether ball at school. He said that no they didn't. Then he asked if I had it at my school when I was a kid. I told him that we did. He looked astonished and said, "Wow, tether ball has been around THAT long??!"

Blushing Bride...

I've often mentioned on this blog how much I appreciate and admire Wes' mom, Karla. She is an amazing woman and such an inspiration to me. Despite the challenges she has endured in her life, she has always been a source of optimism, good cheer, and generosity. She never complains (even when she has good reason to) and is consistently happy and fun to be around. After almost 20 years of single life, she found Jim and they tied the knot yesterday in a short ceremony at the home of Jim's daughter. We are so happy for them and wish them all the happiness that they both deserve.
Jim wisely makes his escape from Karla's bachelorette party. (You're welcome Karla, for choosing this picture as opposed to other's I could have selected!) Karla may be a grandma, but don't let her fool you. She knows how to have fun! She was a good sport for dealing with our incessant attempts to embarrass her.
Jake had a big hug for Grandpa Miller. He doesn't get down to Mesa too often, so it was a fun treat to get to see him and Wes' other Joseph City family.
The handsome bride and groom. Doesn't Karla look beautiful? I wish you could see her sassy red heels in this picture. I was so proud of her for not tripping on the winding, wooden staircase. I totally would have. Wes, Christy, Kacee, Karla, Ken, Jim, Cory, Ashley, DB, Sophie, and Jake. (See why I didn't name any of my kids a "K" sounding name?) Good luck taking on this motley crew, Jim. You are a brave man!

Karla's dad, Sara Mae, and all six of her siblings and spouses were able to attend.

Jim's four kids, Rod, Dan, Becky, and Amy, their spouses and Grandma join Karla and Jim. I won't lie. I was inundated with new names and faces and don't have them all sorted out yet. I do know that they are kind and gracious people, without exception and they couldn't have been more welcoming to our family. I look forward to getting to know them better in the future.

Jake and DB had all the fun they needed right here. I was just praying for no broken bones to spoil the festivities. My prayers were answered.
Sophie is pretty sure the world revolves around her and was dismayed to learn that she would not be the focus of this party. We let her wear the princess crown as a consolation prize. The good news for her is that there are tons adorable little Palmer grand kids for her to play with now.

Good Hair Day

Sophie has chronic bad hair days. Partly because her mom is a super lame hair stylist and she has some crazy curly hair that grows in a lot of different directions. We took the girls to Frespa today to address their hair issues. Last week Lani gave herself a haircut and the came out of the room and said, "Do you like my hair? I got it a Frespa!" Not exactly the publicity Daddy was seeking. So off to the spa to remedy her self- inflicted layers. The girls love Frespa mostly because it is the source of delicious "spicy brown water" from the soda fountain. Plus they got to get a real haircut complete with a blow dry and style.

Girl fight!
Sophie proudly poses with her freshly styled hair.

I'll miss Lani's helmet head. It was truly awesome.

"Now that you are in your 40s..."

So I went for a doctor visit the other day and in the course of conversation, if you can call it that when only one person is talking, seven dreadful words came out of the doctor's mouth. "Now that you are in your 40s...." Not that there is anything wrong with being in your 40s, except for the fact that I still have oh at least three Christmases, 39 weekends, over a thousand days, and around 3100 meals to eat before I am 40. I must have had a horrific scowl on my face because I'm pretty sure I saw not only embarrassment, but a little bit of fear in her eyes when I politely corrected her math calculations. Don't people know the rules. You never ever, ever, EVER, make reference to, elude to, hint about, or in this case state as assumed fact about one's age or pregnancy status. I mean seriously, unless you physically witness that baby emerging with your own vision corrected eyes, or have a certified birth certificate in your hands, you just don't assume.

So I don't think I am that sensitive, but it did get me to wondering if I look old for my age, or maybe it was my crotchety attitude that made her assume it had to be menopause induced. Then that got me to thinking about the different genetic cards that each person gets dealt. I often have wondered if it was something like picking out options on a new house. Yeah I'd like the I can eat everything I want and not gain weight gene please. Oh I'm sorry that is an expensive one. I can grant that, but in exchange I'm afraid you will also be getting the acne, five 0'clock shadow on your legs, and cross-eyed genes. I can see myself pondering for a moment then agreeing to the arrangement.

So back to the aging issue, I blame the fact that I never much had use for sun glasses or sun screen for that matter. I just figured they were an money making scheme. And then you know being cross-eyed ain't no picnic. It causes a lot of squinting which sucks on two fronts: people think you don't like them when really you just trying to get your eyes to focus and it leaves big creases in between your eye brows. I'M NOT ANGRY, JUST CROSS EYED!!!

So I'm not going down with out a fight. I had microdermabrasion last weekend in the hopes that technology had advanced to the point of being able to sand blast a decade or so off my face. Hair color, teeth whitening, 5am work outs are to follow.

In my 40s. Why don't you shove that chart where the sun don't shine lady and no it is not menopause that is making me agitated!! But like I said, I'm not the sensitive type, so it's cool.

The Circle of Life

So as part of the reptile exchange program we have enlisted in, we acquired four "water dogs". I didn't know what they were either so look at the handy dandy photo above. (Shield your children's eyes if you must, because it's possible there was some funny stuff going on with the two in the upper right.) Anyway, I have learned that water dogs eventually, given the right circumstances, emerge as salamanders. So imagine our excitement when sure enough one of them shed his gills and made his way out of the water. It was fascinating for my kids to watch, especially DB. They cheered the little guy on and would check on him several times a day.

Unfortunately, when we returned home from church Sunday our new little salamander had given up the ghost. He was upside down, dried out, and pale. Dylan tried to turn him over, but it didn't take long for him to realize that he was dead. He came to me with his lip quivering and said, "Mom, I think the salamander died."

Jake went to go fish him out of the tank. Don't feel too sad for them because the kids' spirits were quickly buoyed by the excitement of getting to flush him down the toilet. It was a very brief period of mourning and Grandpa Jim has graciously replenished our water dog supply, so all is well.

My boys hate haircuts and would never get them if it were up to them. Well it isn't up to them and since Grandma Karla's wedding is on Saturday, I wanted them looking sharp not shaggy. It took some bribery in the form of frozen yogurt, but I got them to reluctantly comply. I have to admit that their longer hair looked kind of cute, so I just wanted a "trim". Well folks if you want a trim go to the salon, because at Sports Clips you are getting the clippers. Poor Deebs got scalped but please if you see him, tell him how much you LOVE his haircut...
especially the tail.

School's Cool

So we made it past the first week jitters. I always hold my breath to see if they will wake up happy and willing to go to school after the first day. They were. Milan switched schools this year, so it is always pretty awesome to have your fourth grader cousin to watch your back.

Jake, Milan, and Dylan are all smiles waiting for the bus on the first day.

The rest of the bus stop gang.
Sophie has bedhead like no other, but it doesn't stop her from seeing her boys off and meeting up with Lani. Sophie said to me at least five times the first day, "It's just me and you, Mom." She likes that but had a giant hug for the boys when they got off the bus. I apparently wear thin quite quickly.

Not so much as a backwards glance.

Adios, Summer Vacation.

We squeezed a few more days of fun out of Summer Vacation 2009 this week. Here is a sampling of the week's activities:The Peter Piper redemption counter bandits strike again. These must-have accessories for fall were a mere 200 tickets- each.
I won't lie. We watched an obscene amount of TV this summer. (Not obscene material I might clarify though, unless you think SpongeBob is the devil himself. I'm just saying, some people do.) Sadly, my boys know all the words to the all the intros of every show on Nickelodeon. I never claimed to be mother of the year.
But, we also did some construction work. DB attempts to build a tower taller than himself. Truly and engineering marvel if you ask me. I'd live in a house he built.
Dylan checks out his new work space at "meet the teacher" night. The boys aren't so sure about going back to school, but I am convinced that it will be a great year for them. There are "teach to live" teachers and then there are the "live to teach" teachers. Both boys have the latter and I could not be more excited for this year to begin. Jake's classroom has a piano, a reading playhouse and loft, and a huge chinchilla cage. Seriously, I don't think I could take him to the most expensive private school in town and get a better teacher and learning environment.
Jake and Dylan check out an awesome bug collection that "Grandpa Jim" brought by. (You better get back in town Grandpa Paul and start serving up that ice cream. You have some stiff competition lately!)

Wes and I escaped from our darling offspring for a few hours on Sunday. We were invited by Kristen and Rob to attend Sean Hannity's Freedom Concert. Rob won the tickets on a radio call in contest, so since they were free and it was more like a fireside complete with Christian music, I didn't feel too bad about ditching our kids for a Sunday concert. Plus I miss Kristen and Rob. I forgot how much fun they are to hang out with. For the first couple years of our marriage, they were our standing Friday night date. Those were some fun times playing co-ed softball together.

The concert was better than I expected. Wes dug the Charlie Daniels Band. He's got enough red neck in him to appreciate that style music. He was joined by Lee Greenwood (my favorite), Michael W. Smith, and Billie Ray Cyrus. It is fair to say that this type of show is a departure of the concerts Wes usually attends, but he did pretty well. That is until Michael W. Smith began a sing along to Amazing Grace and then belted out "Friends are Friends Forever.." He couldn't take it anymore and excused himself for an extended potty break. He returned in time for Billie though, thank heavens. It is not everyday that you get to see Hannah Montana's dad up close and personal. The kids were disinterested in our account of our night until we told him about that part. They got all wide eyed and asked if Miley was there too. Yeah my sons like Hannah Montana and are not afraid to say it. Rob was the big winner of the night scoring a picture with Ollie North.

I'm purposely not going to address the political aspects of this concert as I plan to devote another post to that. I'm thinking the title will be "The Constitution is Soooo Last Century." Watch for it.

Pool Closed Already?

This picture has nothing whatsoever to do with this post, other than the fact that swimming is mentioned.

So the traveling is all done and that has been a little depressing, especially in this heat. The only thing to look forward to now for them is school starting, (unless you count getting nine warts burned off in DB's case.) I'm trying to spin the school thing in a positive light, but they aren't buying it. Jake's main grievance is that he needs to eat every 45 minutes, and waiting four hours for lunch might kill him. Dylan says that it is too hot outside at school, and he is right. Plus the poor boy has what must be the world's smallest bladder and spends a good portion of his work time trying to flag down a teacher for a potty pass. It's legit too. I should know - he got that from me.

So I have a serious bone to pick with the City of Mesa Parks and Rec Department. What are you doing closing the pool a full two weeks before school starts? It's 116 degrees outside! What am I supposed to do with my kids all day???!! We have lived at Shepherd Pool this summer. Jake is a high dive expert by now and Dylan owns the slide. Sophie knows all female pool-goers from the age of 2-4 and has a built in play group in the zero entry part of the pool. Family members have generously offered up thier pools, but it just isn't the same for the kids.

Since we have been forced by the Parks and Rec jerks to fill our days with alternate activities, we have rediscovered the Mesa Museum of Natural History or the "Dinosaur Museum" as my kids know it. (Seriously, change the name already, which would you be more excited about visiting if you were a kid?) It is a ton of fun. We used to go all the time when the boys were little and they had just as much fun today. I even paid the annual membership fee at the end of the day.

Sophie is back in swim lessons with Lani. I'm not sure if it is making a difference in her water safety, but she is sure having fun. It's funny how little kids try to explain things. She woke up at 5:00 am this morning yelling for me. I ran into her room and to find her drowsy but agitated. I asked what was wrong and she said, "The pictures in my eyes are gone. Make them come back."

Apparently a good dream had been interrupted. I hate it when that happens.

Love Is In the AIr...

I've returned from my blogging hiatus and figured I better get on the board for the month of August. My camera is broken, so without pictures distracting you, there is so much more pressure to post something somewhat interesting. Thankfully, I have some exciting news that should compensate nicely.

First an official congratulations to Karla (my awesome mom-in-law) and Jim (fabulous spouse to be) as they have chosen August 22 to be their wedding day! We could not be more happy for them both. Jim has already won over the kids (mostly with small reptiles, but partly his charm too) and we are so excited that they are going to tie the knot. You couldn't find two nicer people and we wish them all the happiness they deserve! (Please don't hate me for posting this, Karla. I promise nobody reads my blog, especially if this is still a secret:)

And that's not all. We also received the piece of mail that we have long anticipated this week: Kacee and Ken's wedding invitation! It will be a busy couple months of wedding bliss for the Whittaker Family.

Catch the flame, Hatch boys! No pressure.