All Partied Out . . . .

Well February came and went. We celebrated all 5 of our B-days within 4 weeks (starting Jan. 19th and ending Feb. 18th). That was a whole lot of cake!! So here it goes:

Porter celebrated his 2nd B-day on Jan. 19th. We took him to McD's for lunch. Not sure where the pics of that went. Then that night we had his cake. He has been a huge fan of Harry Potter for a long time. I think one of his first words was Harry. He LOVES to watch the movies. So, I thought that would be fitting for his cake. Ashley brought Bryton and Brylee over to have cake with us. The kids all opened presents together, played, and had a lot of fun.




Two weeks later (Feb. 2nd) came Dustin's B-day. Big old 33!! What an old man. He got to go out to eat at Red Lobster (his once a year sea-food delight). Yes, we went with him and all ordered anything that was not sea food. No pics - sorry!! Then we came home and had cake!!


Three days later (Feb. 5th) was Mason's 4th Birthday. He had a blast. He opened presents first thing in the morning. Charly got to help a lot because a couple of the gifts were for both of them. Once again, we went to "happy meal" for lunch (Mason's request) and let the boys play. Poor Charly, missed out - she was at school. That night we went to Pirate Island Pizza - our first time there. It was really cute and the kids had a blast playing games and such. Then we went home and had cake!! Anytime I asked Mason what kind of a cake he wanted, it was always, 'Wolverine' - so he got it.

A short twelve days later, Charly was up. Her 7th B-day was on Feb. 17th. She was so excited to take her B-day treat to class to share. She drew a really cute picture of herself for her B-day and wrote a story about it at school. That night she really wanted to go out to dinner. She got to pick, and what a surprise, she picked Pirate Island Pizza. Then we went home and had cake!! When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she kept saying a pirate ship. So I added her favorite princess, Ariel. However, I got SO sick the day before her B-day and I had a very difficult time having energy and motivation to do her cake as I wanted. It was not finished, and did not have all the effort put into it that I wanted. But she was thrilled with what was there, so that's all that counts right. If I hadn't been so sick, there would have been water, a beach, the boat would have been finished, maybe a pirate or two, and that Ariel, oh Ariel - what more can I say? Oh well, she loved it anyway.

And at last, my cake making was over. I wrapped up all the B-day celebrations when I turned "30" on Feb. 18th. I had to study all day long, Dustin was at work, Charly was at school and my boys were, well, boys!! We went out to dinner that night - my favorite, Don Pedros - so yummy! Brian (my brother) came and brought Bryton and Brylee (his kids). It was great to go out together and visit for a while. Then we came home and had cake!!! :) :)

So now it's March and it's time to start working off all that cake!! I love my family. I'm glad we get to celebrate our Birthdays basically all in one big shot! And yes, that was a real gun that was given to Charly and Mason. It's a 410 that you can change out the barrel to a 22. I probably said all of that wrong, but for those who understand guns - you know what I'm sayin'. It is locked up and stowed away. But it sure is fun to shoot!!
And while all this B-day partyin' was going on D and I happened to fit in a project. About a year ago we built a corner computer desk and put it in our room. Well, I got so darn sick of kids being in there all the time, making messes, etc, etc. And it was squishy in our room. SOOOO, I had this bright idea to add on top of it and build an entertainment center for our TV that had outgrown our old entertainment center. It's in our living room now, and made room in our living room and bedroom. Quite nice. The part that is stained in this picture is what the desk originally looked like, it has all been stained to match. For some reason I don't have a completed pic of the whole thing, stained and in the house. I took one, just not sure what I did with it. Anyway, here it is and might I add, I have one talented hubby:




These are flowers I got on V-day along w/ a huge balloon and a big bag full of gifts!! Very thoughtful of D!! Okay, now we're kind of caught up.

California 10/09

Well, we took the kiddo's to Cali last month. It was a quick trip, but lots of fun. The day we got there we went to Mickey's Trick or Treat Party at California Adventure. They reopen the park for four hours in the evening for those who have bought tickets. It was fun, and not too crowded so we got to ride all the rides that we wanted to and the kids got to trick or treat in their costumes. The following day we spent the entire day at Disneyland - it was HOT, and turned into a ponytail day fast. Of course, we still had a blast. The following day we headed to San Diego and took the kids to the San Diego Zoo. Again - it was HOT. I had a lovely allergy attack the entire day - but I was a trooper for the kids. We swung by the beach after the zoo for a quick peek. That night we went to see the San Diego Temple - holy crasnotch, it is BEAUTIFUL. We were driving down the freeway (it was dark) and you come around this bend, and there it is just glowing against the dark sky. Got me a bit choked up. The next morning we hit the beach again, let the kids splash a bit, and then headed home. As I said, quick trip, but still fun. Here's LOTS of pics, and a few things I learned.
































Don't waste time primping in the morning for a day at Disneyland.

Mason doesn't like the Tower of Terror.

Charly isn't sure if she likes the Tower of Terror.

One hot dog in Disneyland still costs $15.00.

Porter does not like Mickey Mouse.

Porter likes Minnie Mouse.

The freeway system in LA is insane.

The drivers in LA are insane. And there are way too many of them.

The freeway system in San Diego is insane. How do people find their way around this place?

Apparently nobody in San Diego has kids because nobody in the WALMART had any patience for ours. After Mason did one quick run around a center isle display I thought for sure Dustin and the 75 year old German woman were going to duke it out!! However, there were just a few not so friendly words passed between the two of them.

The San Diego Temple is absolutely stunning in person (or building) - you get the point.

San Diego is a very foggy city.