Full Moon

Sam refused to put his pants on after a trip to the potty. I pick my battles. And my photo ops.

Winter Spring Break

For Chad's break in March, we decided to get away as a family. Since the coast is nearby, we opted for a couple days in Seaside, OR. It has lots to do in case of increment weather, which turned out to be "smart thinking Yelnats" on our part . . .

Chad and Sam on the bumper cars. He begged and begged to do them again on day two. We had to wait in the freezing cold for 15 minutes before they opened. We were first in line, then Sam freaked out and decided he did not want to do bumper cars afterall.

Mommy and Sam on the carousel. You can't see it in the picture, but Sam chose the stationary ostrich to ride. Hey, whatever floats your boat, bud.

Outside the Seaside Aquarium (which use to be a saltwater bath house at the turn of the century. They had a whole pool of seals that would perform for fish guts. It was quite a show. They would all vye for your attention--some rocking like rocking horses, some clapping, others splashing you. It was great fun. Reminded me of the time my brother bought some skittles when we were kids and we begged him for some until finally he threw them all around the room commanding the three younger siblings (myself included) to "Dive! Dive!" for them. Good fun.It stopped snowing for 20 minutes, so we decided to take a surrey ride. Our fingers were frozen, but Sam had a blast. Noelle was in her carseat in the back row. Don't worry, she was in good and tight and I sat back there and held on for good measure. I just moved to the front for the picture.

In the hot tub. We stayed at a place with an indoor pool and hot tub. The pool was fairly warm. I even took a dip, but because it was literally snowing outside, we stayed in the hot tub most of the time. In case you're wondering, Noelle was with us the entire time, just sleeping in a carseat off camera. She slept the entire trip which was probably a good thing. I'd stay in that warm carseat bunting too if they made one big enough.

We stopped for pizza before heading home. Sam found this horse ride and did it until we ran out of quarters (which was three times)

Here's proof of the snow. It snowed on the way there, it snowed all during the trip and we almost didn't make it home the snow was so bad. Ahh, Spring.

Nothing Up My Sleeves

I am a great magician. I can hide things where no one will suspect and may never find them. "Where is this hiding spot?" You ask. My nose, of course. I can put all sorts of objects in there. Shove them way in. Make it look like I ate all my dinner. Here is an orange peel I had hidden in there for hours and my nose ran like a faucet. But mom never suspected. Today I tried a piece of peanut butter sandwich. It may still be lodged deep inside. Tomorrow I might try fish sticks.

Boo Hoo Zoo

This is our trip to the zoo. What's that you say? But isn't that just a fish tank . . . indoors? Very perceptive. When the first sunny day this year presented itself, we jumped at the chance to get outside. I carefully packed and dressed everyone for a fun day at the zoo (not an easy task as many of you know) only to drive around the parking lot for over 30 minutes (and all three overflow parking lots) and get skunked out of a space. Finally, we opted for OMSI and lunch at Mickey D's. Once again, the day was saved thanks to french fries and chocolate milkshakes.

Official Business

If Papa is in his office, that's where Sam wants to be too. They both work hard: Sam making messes and Papa trying to navigate the messes to things that are OK to mess. I guess he finally decided that if he couldn't beat him, he'd join him. Hence, tape everywhere.

Say "Uncle"

My brother and his wife came to vist from CA last weekend. It was their first time seeing Noelle. My brother's not the most comfortable holding newbie babies, but Noelle is so fantastically easy-going that he looked like an old pro after a while.

My Buddy

Proof that Sam likes being a big brother--sometimes.

It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock-n-roll

Noelle's tongue is quite long. Here she's honing her skills to be a future member of Kiss.

I wanna know where da goed at?

This is very near and dear to Chad's heart since he served his mission only a state away. Ahhh, what wonderful memories. Alabama, producing some of the finest and brightest minds in America.

I'm a Pretty Pretty Princess

You Are Jasmine!

Independent and adventurous. You don't want much; just to break out of the guilded cage society has put you in and experience life to the fullest. Following orders isn't really one of your strong points, and you would rather live a life of poverty than being forced into something that you hate.

Which Disney Princess Are You?