Our road down memory lane

We've had such a fun month visiting friends from the good ol' days. What are the good ol' days? Well, dental school of course. Who'd have thought it was really true when the graduates ahead of us would say, "enjoy it while you're there, 'cause once you're out, you'll miss it." Yeah right! Well, matter of fact, they were right. We all kept looking forward to getting done with school and out in the "real world" and why the heck did we do that? I mean we all lived next door, hung outside all day and let the kids play while catching up on life and getting a nice tan. Every now and then we'd head inside for a potty break or food, but the day was simple. We got free health insurance, food, power and dental care :). Who needs a job when you get all that?! We looked forward to the first pay check and ended up being poorer those first few months than we were in school. Ha! What a sick joke! Anyway... we got to catch up with 3 of our favorite families from PA. On our trip down to Vegas we stopped by and spent the night with the Gunns. Aria and Elizabeth were best friends and even looked a lot alike as little girls. We had a good time catching up with them and the girls loved having an official sleep over and even sleeping in the same room!


The next morning we drove the rest of the way to visit the Heidemans in Vegas. We love this family! They helped us out with so many different things. Fixing Brian's hair cut I gave him the first Sunday we were there. I forgot to put on the length guard and shaved a spot up the middle of the back of his head. Greg came to the rescue and said something I'll never forget... "don't you know you never let a pregnant woman cut your hair?!". We had many great nights with them talking, eating rootbeer floats and brownies, making bleaching trays and just hanging out. We had a night out on the town. We got to their home and quickly ate lunch and headed out to the Springs Preserve. It's this huge "park" and has all kinds of exhibits and then garden areas. It was fun to get out and let the kiddos run around too. Don't these two look so in love? :)







After that, we ran home and Alicia got 2 babysitters to watch all the kiddos so we could go downtown to catch a show. First we grabbed some dinner at this quick spot. It was delicious! I had the best butternut squash soup. After, we watched Le Reve, one of the Cirque shows. It was amazing and we had great seats. The show was so fun to watch. It's amazing what people can do with their bodies and how strong they were! After that, I talked all of them into riding the Big Shot on the top of the Stratosphere. I was telling them how fun it was and we just had to do it. Well, we got up there and strapped in and then I remembered how freakin' scary it was. I was like, "what the crap was I thinking?!". I then got the sick feeling in my stomach and was not looking forward to the shot up into the air. I heard the sound that prepped me for what was to happen. I screamed my head off. Greg and Brian were making little sounds before, but as soon as it shot off, they got all quiet. After that we got on the Extreme ride. FREAKY!!! The boys pansied out and Alicia and I got in the front row. Well, the only truly brave one was Alicia. She totally wanted the front row, and not only that, she held her hands up. Nuts! That's one tough cookie! After that we grabbed some ice cream to soothe our throats from all our screaming and yelling. Well, that and because it tastes good. It was such a fun night and great to be on a date with them.



We hung out on Sunday and got to visit with another couple,the Luths. It was fun to catch up with them and Alicia made a fabulous dinner. Yummy! Monday the guys went out on a business lunch and then later that afternoon, Brian and I took the kiddos to the park for a bit. It was beautiful weather. After, Alicia and I got to go on our date. We went to dinner at a Mexican restraunt, made a quick shopping stop and then went to see The Knowing. It was a pretty good movie. Made us think a little so that's always good. It was a nice night away. We got up the next morning and headed back. It was so great to be with them again. The kids had a blast playing the backyard and running around.



We made it back and 3 days later Brian and I took off to Colorado. My parents and sisters were kind enough to watch the kiddos (minus Isabelle) while we headed out there for a business venture and to visit with the Twiss family. Another great fam from our past. Brian was checking out Tyler's practice and the area. It was fun to be with Sarah and Tyler again. We had a good time playing some games, chatting and driving around checking out the area. We took a drive out to Evergreen. It was so picturesque. We ate at the One World Cafe and then headed across the street to a yummy pastry/bakery place. Everyone loved the doughnuts and had to buy more. There was a beautiful lake with the mountains behind it. Of course we had to stop and take some pictures. Brian and Tyler posed for a picture. Goofballs! We drove around to a bunch of areas and caught up with life. It's so nice to have friends we can relate to in so many ways. Dental school was great for so many different reasons, but especially for the wonderful friends we made!

Funny girls

On St. Patrick's Day, the kids woke up and looked in the toilet. Why you might ask? Because last year, a neighbor (you know who you are :)) had a leprechaun "tinkle" in the potty and it was green. So the kids were anxious to see if we were as "lucky".

Elizabeth: Mom, you gotta come see this. This is so crazy.
Caroline totally surprised: Mom, our toilet is green.
Me: No way. That's so gross.
Caroline runs to another toilet....
Caroline again, totally surprised: Mom, your toilet is yellow.
Me: No way, that's super gross.
( apparently there was little mellow yellow if you catch my drift)


On the way home the other night Elizabeth was trying to persuade us to get her a pet, but this is how the convo went:

Elizabeth: Mom, are you allergic to anything?
Me: No, I'm not.
Elizabeth: So can we get a dog then?
Me: No, I don't think so.
Brian: I'm allergic.
Elizabeth: To what?
Brian: Cats and dogs
Caroline: Can we get a fish?
Elizabeth: How about a bird?
Me: Heck no. No pets for me. I have 4 kids to take care of, don't need another one. Then we have to feed it (a dog) and walk it and find babysitters for it when we go out of town. But when you're older, if you still want one, you can get one.
Elizabeth: Not if my husband's allergic.

I thought it was so funny that she threw a husband into her "when you're older" picture.


Just 'cause I thought this was a funny pic.

Busy busy

I feel like we've been running all over the place lately. It's been fun feeling like there's actually things to be doing and getting outside! Loving the weather! Last week I took Caroline on a date. She was so excited. We went to Baskin Robbins and got some ice cream. She loves ice cream and I'm a pretty big fan too. It was so fun to just be the two of us. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up and she said a doctor. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked me. I thought about it and to my surprise said, " a Mom". I almost teared up. Guess it's not so bad after all. She kept giving me big hugs around my neck and telling me how much she loved me. That is one of the best things to hear from your kiddos!


It's been so nice getting outside. I love the weather and it helps me have more patience. We went to this awesome park that is a castle. It's almost too big and I can't always see Cooper, but it was a lot of fun. Here are a few pics from the excursion. The last one is the best. Elizabeth hurt Caroline, so she's crying, Cooper is just there for the picture and Elizabeth is throwing a little attitude because I told her it was time to go. She said, " I'm not going to smile unless you say we can stay 10 more minutes". Nice.




I caught this sweet moment. Wish they happened more, but glad they happen at all.




My sister Melanie has been going through a lot with the post-cancer surgeries on her hand. Poor thing had a baby a month ago and has had 3 surgeries since then. My Mom has been full time Mom to try and help her out. Things just keep going wrong, but hopefully this is her last surgery for a while. She has a long recouping road ahead of her, but she's tough, so she'll get there. Not easy!

We've been going to the gym faithfully for the last 2 weeks and I am actually loving it. Who'd have thought that I'd enjoy exercising? Not me. But I do. It totally de-stresses me, then I come home to dinner time and it's ruined of course, but for about 2 hours it's great! I can feel the difference and even though I've only lost 4 pounds, I can tell by the way my clothes fit that something is changing.

We're in the midst of deciding where life is going to take us. Brian is finishing up his job here in July, so we're in the middle of some major decisions. I thought once he started work, we were done. Guess I was wrong. We probably have at least 2 moves in the near future. Blah. Oh well. Isn't life adventurous!

8 months old

Well Isabelle is 8 months old now. She's got 4 teeth, crawling and trying to stand up. She's a sweet little girl and we love her. This is about the time we found out we were expecting her, when Cooper was 8 months old. Yikes! So far, no news. :)

Now I get it

The other night I was trying to calm Caroline down and I put her in bed to tell her a story. It went something like this....
Once upon a time in a far away land there was a princess named Caroline. She was a beautiful princess and had the most beautiful yellow dress. When it touched the sun it lit up like thousands of diamonds. If you were lucky and touched it with your finger at the right time, the diamonds would rub off on your finger and sparkle like the dress. One day she took a walk through a garden and met her prince. He was a very handsome prince with dark wavy hair and the deepest dimples in both cheeks.(The prince part was her request). Together they danced for hours until the sun went down. When it was time to go home, the prince bowed and bid her farewell. Caroline had such a wonderful time and looked forward to the time they would dance again.

"NO MOM!!! You forgot the kissing part."
"What?" I asked her. "You're too young to kiss."
"You have to have the kissing part."
"Why?"
"Because I like it."

... So the prince leaned down and kissed her on the cheek

"No Mom... on the lips."

"You're too young to kiss on the lips. Only on the cheek."


What the heck?!! No wonder so many of us women have these built up expectations of romance. It's embedded in our brains from the moment we watch our first Disney movie. Thanks Disney* for letting so many of us down. Not only us girls with prince-like expectations, but the poor guys who have to try and achieve PCS-Prince Charming Status. We should make before and afters... realistic before and afters where Cinderella and Prince Charming are up all night with kids, sleeping in different beds with different kids, cleaning up poop and throw up and too exhausted to even contemplate a romantic waltz or ride off on a horse into the sunset because the sunset is usually during an out of control tantrum or even worse... dinner time!
However, I did get my prince and my dance. :)
(See 2 posts down)

*(I know Disney didn't write the stories, but they made the movies we watch because for a girl, it's what we aspire to be right? The princess!)

Cooper's Bday

Cooper's bday was on Monday and he turned 2 years old. So crazy. We had a fun little "party" with the grandparents and cousin Will. Cooper is so into "swords". Swords meaning anything you can use as a sword. A pencil, a medicine syringe, a knife, a wooden spoon, wrapping paper roll, if it's long enough, it's good enough. So for his bday I wanted to find him a sword to play with. For Christmas we got him this cool "laser" sword but he ended up still using my wooden spoons. I think it was a little too heavy and a little too big. So I bought him a package of wooden spoons so he'd quit using mine. Well I saved the sword for last. It's a nerf sword so it's perfect- light weight and soft for when he smacks someone. I gave it to him on accident before the two "big" presents. Well as soon as he opened that sword he was done. Wee Mama tried to get him to open another one and he kept yelling no and hitting it. He was done! He even ran and hid under our chest to get away from us. He didn't care about the basketball stand or new bike (until later). It was seriously love at first sight. He didn't put it down that whole rest of the night. He even slept with it that night. It kept him in his bed though, so whatever works! For his bday cake I did a Noah's Ark theme. The Ark was supposed to be cake, but with all that cake left over, I'd never make it, so I used the toy ark. They loved it. Except Will, he was a little freaked out by the pig. Fun times.

Oh boy.... here we go

Last night Elizabeth grabbed me and Brian and wanted us to give each other a hug and a kiss. Then she'd wrap her arms around our legs and say "auditu, auditu". We have no idea what that means and I don't think she does either. She started saying that about 4 years ago when we'd hug or kiss and every now and then she'll say it. Anyway. Last night she's like, "wait wait wait, don't kiss. Mom, come with me." She said I had to be a princess for Daddy and she was going to make me one. She went into my closet and picked out a dress and my boots and then did my hair (which was taking it out of the pony and brushing it. Yikes!) and then put on my make-up. It was so funny watching her do my make up. She'd say the stuff I'd say to her when I dress her up like, "oh that looks really good. Beautiful." It was funny. Then she hid me in the closet and told me I had to wait for Brian to come find me. Then she said we still couldn't kiss because she had to make Brian my prince. After all was done, we had to dance and THEN we could kiss. I asked her why we had to dance first and she said "that's the way it's supposed to happen." A little too much Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast etc. Too funny. It was dinner time and I was tempted to just tell her no so I could make dinner, but I'm glad I let her do it. It was fun and especially fun to watch her be the creator of this picture she had in her mind. I wish I did that more often. Need to say no less and yes more. After getting us all dolled up, she went and put on her own make up and proceeded to try and convince us to pierce her ears and let her wear make up. She said if we didn't she's put it on and sneak out. Great. This morning she ran into my bathroom and put on her lipstick and said, " I have to look cute for my boys." I told her she can't wear makeup until she's 12. "How about 11 or 10, or 9?" A constant effort to get it her way. Funny girl.

A story...

So I thought I'd throw out a little comic relief. I went to the doctor's office to make sure everything was okay with Cooper because he's been so fussy lately. He had been playing with this toy bench at the office and was pretty much to the doctor's room so I nudged it with my foot to push it back. This lady was totally glaring at me and I was like " well, I guess I could have bent down and pushed it". See, I was holding Isabelle in her car seat and so I just pushed it with my foot. Well, I let it go ad had the appointment with the doctor. Then I came out and this lady was still there talking to some guy. I heard her say " that's the one who...." and I couldn't hear the rest of what she said, but that guy and another guy there were totally looking at me. I was like, "seriously. Was it that big of a deal?". So I came home totally bugged (Cooper was fine by the way) and I was just going to let it go 'cause I wouldn't ever see that person again and it was just petty, but I had to tell Brian to see if I was in the wrong. I told the story to him and then all the sudden he freaked out, " you totally have a hickey on your neck. That's why she was looking at you." No lie. I had a hickey on my neck. I had my hair pulled back, so there it was loud and proud on my neck. No hiding it. I guess there is a downside to letting your baby suck on your neck. :) I had no idea she left behind a mark. Let that be a lesson to ya! :) I mean seriously, who's going to believe that is was my baby. I could have been hit by a paint ball, burned by a curling iron, hit by a toy, slipped a landed on a marble, but no one's going to think that. There going to go right to the dirty. It was an innocent ticklin' by the baby, but no one will believe that!

The side mullet

So when Isabelle was born she has some really long hair in the back. My sisters and Mom kept making fun of it and saying I should cut it. I told them as soon as they quit talking about it I might. I went to get my teeth cleaned the other day and some of the ladies working in Bri's office helped with holding Isabelle. Two days later we had Brian's co-dentist and his wife over to play games the other day and he told us the girls were making fun of Isabelle saying she had a side mullet. So I cut it. I think she was pretty either way.

Happy Valentine's Day

The first thing out of Brian's mouth this morning:
"People who get married on Valentine's Day are lucky.... they only have to celebrate one romantic holiday a year." Nice Bri. Happy Valentine's Day to you too! :)