cowboy boots + pavement + snow = disaterous

However, they worked just fine for this lil' dude.  Talk about coordination!

note to self: learn how to sew

As much as I would love this dream to become a reality, let's be honest...

I was scrolling through some random blogs and I came across Flattery.  I instantly fell in love.  Mostly because I want to be her!  First of all, she lives in Canada, (which I have always wanted to do).  Secondly, she is chic and petite.  And third, does anyone scream fashion designer more than her?  I don't think so!  I just can't get over how amazing she looks in every single picture.  Her clothes, her shoes, her accessories, her hair, her eyeliner, her fresh face...Breanne...you inspire me. I will shop at your etsy store :)

This is just a sample..there are lots more photos on her site.

Discovery: Tongue

Love this slobbery baby of mine!

long hair...such love

As of April 2004 I have had some sort of hair sweeping across my face.  Whether it be a short swoop, long swoop, full thick fringe or wispy fringe, I have had something covering my forehead.  Mostly because it's what's appropriate for a heart-shaped face.  Well, in the last 6 months or so, I have decided to grow out these bangs and just have some nice framing around my face.  So far it has been okay for a pompadour pony, 'dirty hair', or a top-knot chignon, but when I just want a nice sleek flat ironed style, it just looks awful!  I feel like I have done a lot to help blend it, but I also feel like if I anything else to it, I will have no hair around my face!  Part of me says, just do bangs!  But the other part says, try something new, it has been 7 1/2 years!  So, I will continue to let my hair grow longer, unless of course I feel the need to be spontaneous and cut it like Emma Watson :)

P.S.  I NEED Adele's luscious locks!!!  (As well as her soulful voice)

a few thoughts

Dear John-Paul...You never cease to fail me or my clients.  You are constantly doing wonders, not only with your color line, your fabulous products and your awesome brushes,  but with your marketing team as well.   I have such utter respect for this beautiful limited time Tarina Tarantino packaging (whom I must say is totally awesome!  Not only does she have pink hair,  she loves vintage Barbie and Alice in Wonderland, but she is also a friend of mermaids, the sea and Ms. Katy Perry)!

Cute kiddies on the way to school!  Wanting to send their dad (who is in Boston) a happy hello!

Loving my sweet baby boy Lucas :)  He will be 6 months old next week! 

gray hair, blemishes, and baby boys

Seems a bit ironic correct?  That's because it is!  As I was looking in the mirror at my drab of a natural hair color, ash brown, I thought to myself, man, I need a touch up!  And then as I was looking a little harder I was like, what in the!?  Referring to, of course, gray hair!  This is a horrible gene that I think my mother has passed along to me.  I just was so mortified as a began tweezing these gray hairs!  Fortunately, there were only four of them, and they were only 1/2 inch long.  It just makes me so sad to see that I am getting older....or am I? 

I have been blessed for about a year now without any type of skin problem, which I believe is partly due to extra hormones.  Well, while I was noticing these gray hairs, I also noticed two little whiteheads on the side of my nose, exactly where my sunglasses sit!  I just thought, could this be because I am using a horrible new face wash, or my sunglasses are really dirty?  Which, it could just be both.  But this is where I am confused.  I thought that zits disappeared once you turned 25? (Which is totally false, I think it's how your skin reacts to every day stresses.)  I also thought that gray hair didn't make it's way through the root until you were 30? ( Which I also know that is totally false, I just wanted to believe that I wouldn't start to get gray hair until 30!)  Oh well, I will just continue to follow my skin regime as well as color my hair because I am not now, nor will I ever be prepared to embrace the natural occurrences of life.

I also wanted to add this picture because I think it's the cutest!

Preston loving Lucas

Disneyland...it's self explanatory

First we make our way to the Teacups...

...of course!

Mark, Ryan, Shawn and I waiting in a dreadfully long line to see the Yettie (Matterhorn)

Does Payton looked scared on this wild train ride?

Jack, the Pumpkin King!

'Lifes no fun without a good scare...' The Nightmare Before Christmas (aka The Haunted Mansion)

Huntington Beach..Pretty sure the water was 45 degrees!  Crazy Payton and Easton were in there for like 2 hours!

Pretty Little Lady Bug

Payton and Savannah ready for a Disney Halloween

The best word to describe this picture?  AWESOME!!!

FL: Winnie the Pooh (Savannah), Peter Pan (Easton), Captain Hook (Elliott), Piglet (Sadie), Lady Bug (Payton)
ML: Wendy (HIlary), Tinkerbell (Olivia), Snow White (Ka), Thing 1 (Whitney) Cat in the Hat (Weston) Thing 2 (Cooper), Eeyore (Abby), Jack Sparrow (me) Jack's accomplice (Shawn) Skeleton (Lucas)
BL: Smee (Bear), Grumpy (Mark), Bee (Jack), Tigger (Ryan)

Island in the Sun.  Even though it was 101 degrees, Lucas slept rhrough it all!

"Magic Morning"

Mickey was wearing a Zorro mask 

Cute girls waiting in line for Alice in Wonder

Goofy's Flight School...he takes you on a crash course of death!

Shawn?
du du...du du...du du du du du du du du...JAWS!

Yes, yes, I know...total picture overload, but it was the best way to describe everything.  All in all, it was a lot of fun! Being there during Halloween time made it that much more awesome!  

Perfectionist = Virgo

Before we go to the 'happiest place on earth' (aka Disneyland) I decided that i should do some updates.  We will start with  my birthday.  It fell on a Wednesday this year, which is the same night that Shawn has class, so another year has gone by where Shawn and I have not been together on the actual day of my birthday.  I wonder when this will end?  Well, it was a lovely day.  The weather was nice, I got a really pretty green eyeshadow and some nude lipstick from Payton, which I did end up wearing both that day!  I ended up going to work and getting a phone call around 2 saying, "Lucas is not eating!"  So of course, I leave to go feed him.  While I was driving there my car was acting up, and I thought, this is weird.  So as I turn the corner to go to Hilary's house, my car died.  I called Hilary and said, can you come jump me?  Well, she came to save me and we found out, it was not the battery.  So we went to her house for a couple of hours, Shawn came to get me and just as they were about to tow it, it started up.  We decided to leave it there and have Weston look at it.  He said he couldn't see what was wrong with it, but they did have to jump start it.  So then, they took it to their mechanic and he kept it for a couple of days, called us and said, "I can't figure out what the problem is, just don't lock your doors."  Well, I just figure a) it's a Jetta b) it's 12 years old c) it's been in an accident d) I have had the radiator replaced on it twice, why not just get a new car?  Well, that is our intention now.  It is drivable, but very temperamental.  Later that night my friend Leslie came to get me and take me to sushi, because of course, it is my favorite.  So it was not the best birthday I have ever had, but all I could do was laugh, because what else can you do?  I could have been angry about it, but it was my birthday, and I am just happy to be alive!

Cute Lucas and I getting ready for a cool night of Sushi.

We also had a pre-Disneyland party.  We made chains stating  we have so many days until we leave, and we had a pinata, it was full on party!  Mickey mouse pancakes that we could decorate.  Totally awesome.  We leave Sunday, and I don't think any of us can wait, and when I get back, there will be total picture overload!

28 days to go (from whatever this date was)

A lovely afternoon for a dip in the lake

Hilary and Bear (sister and brother-in-law) got a new boat and wanted to take it out for a run.  So of course, we are so in!  They asked everyone in our family to take an afternoon off work and head up to Pine View.  So, we packed up our car and drove.  It was beautiful!  Clear as can be, not crowded, perfect weather, however, for those water skiers/wake boarders, the water was a bit choppy.  The kids loved playing in the lake, building sand castles,  Lucas talked to the trees for an hour.  It was a perfect way to end the summer.

Shawn actually got some good air!

Easton and Sadie, so cute!  I think that Easton did not leave the boat one time.

Cute Lucas just loved his Abby...and the sand.

"Taught to the tune of the Hickory Stick"

I have been slacking majorly only due to the fact that my life has been so super busy!  I will start off with Payton starting Challenger Kindergarten.  She now wears a cute little uniform, has an awesome Paul Frank backpack, eats her lunch with the big kids, does homework, and even has a boyfriend (his name is Ethan)! This girl is growing up so fast, I can't even believe it!  I feel like it was just yesterday I was meeting her for the first time, she taking me on a walk in the snow, searching for bugs.  But no, she is one of the big kids now, and she is just going to get bigger.  One day, she will tower over me...she already fits into my shoes! (Maybe a little exaggeration?)  But the point is, she is growing up super fast.  I just hope she stays a kid as long as she possibly can because once it's gone, you can never get it back.  Unless of course, you go to Disneyland...which yes, we are doing in about 3 weeks!

While Payton has been enjoying her time at school, Lucas has been having some tricks up his sleeve.

From standing

To teething

To just being plain cute

This baby is changing every moment of every day.  I took him to his 4 month appointment the other day and he is 15 lbs and 26 inches long... 67% for weight and 92% for height!  I can't get enough of him.  I am so happy that we have him in our lives.  He is exactly the cherry on top of our delicious banana split :)

       

my 'gap' baby

Pretty sure Lucas was born to be a baby model for Gap....I mean seriously...who can resist that face!?

My latest obsession

mmmmmmmmm

One last hoorah

We decided to take one last trip, really the only trip we took this summer!  Payton, Lucas and I drove down to St. George to meet my family.  They go every single year to Zion and to see the plays at Tuachan.  This year, they were supposed to go in June, but it was postponed due to my grandma breaking her arm (it's all better now).

So in the previous post, I mentioned the missing keys, and how we were driving off with Shawn's parents car when he found the keys!  So we reversed to the driveway, repacked our car, met my cousin Greg and his wife Cassidy at the gas station and got some snacks.  Then our journey began.  Payton was entertained by an old portable dvd player, which was excellent for me because it sure is a long boring drive.  We stopped for lunch, and tried to feed Lucas with his bottle (which he absolutely hates!), and kept on our journey.  I must say, I had the best travelers ever!  These kids are so good!  Lucas cried for maybe 10 minutes the whole car ride!

Our first stop was of course, the pool...Payton is a fish for sure!

Cool underwater camera (courtesy of Cassidy)

The next morning we woke up and traveled to Zion.  As I was putting the kids in the car, I asked my mom to go into my room and get the portable dvd player since it was a long drive from our hotel to ZNP.    So she comes out with this black bag and I was like, "mom, why are you bringing the breast pump?"  It was awesome!  She thought it was the case for the dvd player.

Once we got to Zion, we decided what trail we were going to do first, and well, the only one we did.  It's definitely different when you have kids.  They don't want to go on a 13 mile hike in Cable Canyon, or climb the chains up Angles Landing, or get swept away in the high water at The Narrows right?  We went on a hike called the Emerald Pools. This hike consists of 3 pools, a lower, a middle, and an upper.  We only made it to the lower pool, but it sure was beautiful.  No one complained, except I think Lucas got hot and a little dehydrated.  People were oohing and awing over him, one Italian lady even said how 'bello' he was!

I know every parent thinks their kids are the cutest, but I am pretty sure we have the cutest kids around!

We made it in one piece!

The following day we decided that we were going to Sand Hollow.  It's like a recreational park with a reservoir and sand dunes.  It was so nice!  The sand was red (hence why Payton calls it,"'the red sand lake"), the water was beautiful!  And the best part, no one was there!  I can only imagine on weekends and probably the first part of the summer, it is packed!  It's pretty new, so maybe no one really knows about it?

"Red Sand Lake"

Later that evening we went miniature golfing with Greg and Cassidy.  Payton had never been and loved it.  She hit it in one hole in like 2 shots and she says to us, " I was thoroughly pleased with that shot!"  We all started laughing!  Sometimes I can't believe the words that come out of her mouth.  Awesome!

It was a short trip, but we all had an excellent time!  I told Payton that we will come again when she is 6.... she really wants to go the day after her birthday ;)