Picnic in the Park

When our realtor told us every home was within walking distance to a park, I thought she was joking.

Totally believe her now.

 This is one of our favorites.

After our picnic {check another one off the Grandma list}, the kiddos played hard.

Grandma telling the story of the Seven Gold Geese.

Reading in the sunshine.

Alexander took this pic of Courtney.  Love it!  It reminds us of when she was little.

Wouldn't it be fun to have family photos here?

Tales of Caution Cupcakes

Tea Party:  Check.

Browsing for Halloween Costumes:  Check.

Going to the Beach:  Check.

 Next on the kids' list {of things to do with Grandma} was to make cupcakes.

Courtney loves to listen to stories.  Grandma is telling about how her hair {back when it was long} got caught and rolled up in the egg beaters.  My Mom was traumatized, but her sister laughed and laughed as they tried to untangle her hair from the beaters.

After the story, Courtney didn't mind having her hair pulled back in a pony.

Recuperating

To have an operation less than a mile away from the beach seemed cruel.

To recuperate while lounging in a beach chair seemed like poetic justice.

The last time my Mom saw the ocean was back when we lived in Maine.  Poor soul! 

We remedied this drought throughout her visit.

 The kids and Grandma went shell searching by the jetty.  Finding the "unicorn" shells is like hitting the jackpot.

 Alexander sucks in his top lip when he's really concentrating about something.  He must be formulating a plan...

Courtney spent most of her time climbing the rocks.  When she made it to the top, shells in hand, she said, Look Mom, take a picture!

My Mom said she feels 10 years younger after a gorgeous day here!

The ocean always soothes my spirit.

Sir Fix-a-Lot

Alexander noticed this table was a little wobbly.

He disappeared to the garage, found a tool, came back and fixed the table.

What an awesome kid!

Tea Party

My Mom {now recovered, thank goodness!} asked the kids to make a list of what they'd like to do during her visit.

 First on Courtney's list:  A tea party!  She hurriedly washed her play dishes for the event.

 Xanderman even got in on the action.

After a trip to Corner Bakery {mmmm} we rented the new Alice in Wonderland

{completely appropriate for a tea party}

 and the kids indulged.

So.  Much.  Sugar.

Halloween's got nothing on Grandma.

Dearest Mother of Mine

My sweet Momma flew in the day after my brother's wedding to help me after my surgery.  Bless her heart! 

The day after her arrival, she insisted I stay in bed all day while she took the kids to lunch and out shopping.

After a few hours, I called Alexander to see how they were doing.

Ummmmm, not so good.

I knew something was up, but my Mom wouldn't let Alexander tell me.

Finally, my Mom got on the phone.

Natalie, I'm laying on the floor in the grocery store and am so sick, I can't get up.

I am going to call a policeman to drive the kids and I home.

I think it would be a great experience for the kids to know that policemen can help us.

Come again?

I told her NOT to call a policeman, but that I'd call Darren and he'd be there in a few minutes.

I call Darren.

No answer.

I text Darren.

No answer.

Again.  And again.  And again.

No Darren.

The Momma instinct in me had to go rescue my littles, even if I had to WALK to the store.

I got out of bed and donned some comfy clothes and a jacket.

{Being bra-less from the incisions, I couldn't let the girls roam free, thus the jacket.}

Did I mention it was unbelievably HOT that day?  Like 113 unbelievably hot.

So I walked to the store and rescued my migraine-sick Mother and precious children.

I'm sure I was a sight, all hunched over, holding my side, sweating in a jacket on my trek to the store.

No police escort necessary.

Mom is fine.

Me?  Still recovering. :) 

Missionary Memories

Tonight for FHE Darren brought down his journal & backpack from Spain.  It was filled with mementos from his mission. 

The kiddos reverently handled these treasured items--Spanish money, flags, notes, pictures, books--and drank it all in like little sponges.

Loved hearing the testimony and thoughts of a new missionary.  Thanks, babe, for setting such a good example & sharing your love of the gospel.

1st Place!

Yea, Suffolk Construction!
In the video, Darren is the guy in the red Angels hat.
Darren has been asked {by the Angels} to design a huge {5-6 times bigger} canstruction display of their stadium.
To be displayed at Angels Stadium!

I know!
He's brilliant.  We're so proud.

Not Stoned Anymore

I'm sure you're all glad to hear I've sobered up.
Totally kidding...these are the pain pills talking.
I had my gallbladder removed Tuesday.
No more gallstones.
Hooray.
No lifting for 6-8 weeks.
Not hooray.
Slowly shuffling around in my pjs like an old lady.
How cute is that?

DARE!

 Remember this?  Takes me waaay back.  Alexander has really enjoyed this program.

Officer D'Alena made the program so entertaining for the kids. 

{Alexander, giving his pledge at graduation}

Child 1:  I want to stay drug free so I can get a full ride scholarship to Harvard.

Child 2:  I want to stay off drugs so I can accomplish my dream of being a biochemist.

Alexander:  Why take drugs when I can go to Disneyland instead?!?

Alexander's class with the Dare-mobile.

Under

Life is good.
Gallstones and pancreatitis are not.
Glad to finally know what's been kicking my tail off and on for the last year.
If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to drinking my dinner through a straw.

Our 1st Corn Roast

Corn Roast at the Lagoon is an annual tradition here in our ward.

We didn't quite know what to expect.Live music, s'mores, kids playing, warm water to splash in, great company, and delish, roasted corn!

This is how they do it:

Cut the top inch off your corn

Boil it {husk and all} for 12 minutes over an open flame

Peel your husk down, leaving the stalk and husk for a handle

Dip in melted buddah

Sprinkle desired toppings {sea salt, Parmesan cheese, chili powder, etc.}

SO good.

Messy, but GOOD.

Lovely lagoon, beautiful evening.

After the sun went down, we stayed close to the fires & chatted with friends.

This is the only time we saw Xanderman.

He was too busy playing with the guys to hang out with his parents.

The Izus did a fantastic job putting it all together!

Easiest Headband. Ever.

The upside to having the kids be able to wear "real" clothes to school instead of uniforms is that I get to make new hair accessories for Courtney. {or me!}

Three Little Words

Lunch is ready.

What? I stared at Darren in disbelief.

I'm not sick.

It's not Mother's Day OR my Birthday. He made lunch.

I love it!

PB&J, carrots, crackers & pretzels, all on a paper towel.

It's a good day!

CANstruction @ South Coast Plaza

Can-struction is an event where organizations build artwork out of canned goods, then donate the food to charity.

We were excited that Darren's company asked him to engineer & design their structure.

Darren and his team worked through the night and finished around 4 a.m. Saturday.

Ta da!

Their theme was "Step up to the plate and strike out hunger," so they recreated Angels Stadium.

You can vote for the people's choice award here.

The kids and I came to check it out. It is amazing!

People were stopping, gawking, and taking pictures.

Pictures just don't do it justice.

They used over 6,000 cans to build it. That's a lot of donated food!

The walls of the stadium say STRIKE OUT HUNGER.
{The skylight above makes the lighting a little wonky}

Here are some of the other entries.
Seriously cool event, right?!?

While walking around the mall, we came upon this. I thought, It's the Happy Hands Club!

We stopped to watch and by the time it ended, I was in tears.
These people with hearing impairments were signing to I'm Proud to Be an American with such enthusiasm, it was truly moving.

Later in the day, we saw performers from the Maple Conservatory of Ballet {Courtney's new dance school}. So impressive!

K, this could be a post of its own.

I had no idea we were so close to the largest shopping mall in OC.

Completely blown away. It has the traditional stores, plus lots of high end, fabulous stores.

A shopaholic's dream!

I have fallen in love with Paper-Source and H&M!

The Three Wolf Moon

Some of our heartiest laughs last year were induced by the Three Wolf Moon shirt reviews on Amazon.

You can find them here.

and check out the sweet videos here and here

Darren couldn't believe it when he received this in the mail from his sister Cami. His own Three Wolf Moon shirt!

{He even had to strike a redneck pose for this pic}

Sweet.

Happy Birthday to My Man!

We had a busy day. The boys got home from their campout, went to a CAN-struction pre-build {more on that later}, took a nap, dinner @ In-N-Out, then finished up the night at California Adventure.We love you, Darren! You are so amazing. You have the skills of Macgyver, the reflexes of a puma, and the brilliance of a rocket scientist--you could be your own Old Spice commercial!
{I always mean to do a fabulous fondant cake for every birthday, but I always chicken out!} Xander was nice enough to lend me one of his Hot Wheels--perfect, since it looks like Darren's Jeep.
Rip that paper, baby! XOXO's:)

1st Boy Scout Campout

Bug spray, hiking boots, first aid kit, flint & steel, pocket knife, compass.

That's what we thought you bring on a rough outdoor excursion in the wilderness. Apparently not in Orange County.

The list changes to wetsuit, surfboard, swim trunks, beach towel, sunscreen.

Early morning--hot chocolate in a water bottle.

Xander had a wonderful time.

Fantasyland

As I sit here and edit pictures, I hear a faint boom-boom-boom sound.

When the house is quiet, we notice it every night around 9:40 pm.

Finally figured it out.

It's the Disneyland fireworks finale.

Makes me smile. The kiddos have had a week and a half of early release days, so its been nice to have a little extension of summer.
It was hot this afternoon! Not AZ hot, but plenty warm.
Miss Courtney lost her front tooth last night!

Xanderman tried his hardest to pull the sword out of the stone--no luck.

These pics were taken from the Casey Jr. train {sorry for the blur}.

Darren still thinks it's cool that he drives past the Matterhorn on his way to work some days.

The kids fell in love with the miniature Storyland.
My fave...

King Arthur's carousel.

These guys were fun! We just thought they were part of the janitorial staff, then they started rockin' out on their garbage cans.

The big man! The kiddos are the perfect age to enjoy this.