Happy Birthday EL!!!!

My dear friend El's birthday is today and she turned 32. If I had a million dollars I would...

....fly up to Canada so I could take her out for the day.

...I would take her out to a movie and buy her favorite popcorn and m&m's so she could put the candy in the popcorn so she could have "little surprises" throughout the popcorn. (She really likes that)...AND I wouldn't even talk and ask her questions while she watched...even if I was confused.

....then I would try and find her favorite color blue flowers and fill her apartment with them.

....then I would take her for lunch to White Spot because that was our favorite place to go together growing up...

....then I would take her to Stanley Park and we would try the tandem bike again and I would PROMISE not to take too many breaks and make her petal for both of us.

...Then I would take her home to have Kraft macaroni and Cheese because she only has this with me...no other time.... which would be delicious...

...and we would have birthday cake with candles. I would try and make it first but then have to have Matt re-make another one which would be delicious.

....finally I would take her to a hockey game and not even bring reading material and act very entertained by it....even if I wasn't...and didn't know where the puck was 99% of the time.

That is what I would do if I had a million dollars....but I don't....so I just want her to know that I love her to pieces and hope she has a wonderful million dollar day. Happy Birthday El, my forever friend.

Cell Phone

Logan inherited Grandpa's old blackberry. We were able to charge it up and he has been carrying it around playing games ever since. Tonight this is what happened...

"mommy?"
"ya?"
"I just called someone?"
"You did? Who?"
"I donno...some lady was on the phone who I didn't know so I hung up."
"Who did you call?"
"I'll show you" (he quickly punches at the phone and shoved it to my ear...)

It rang and I waited for the lady to come and say,"were sorry we are unable to connect..."
It then said...

"911 what is your emergency?"

I quickly explained and apoligized to the lady telling her I thought he wouldn't be able to call 911 on an old cell phone! FYI you can off any cell phone even phones without service from Canada. She was very nice and thanked me for calling back...I think I saved a trip for the police to come out for a little visit. That would now make all three kids have called 911 sometime (with police visits) it would only seem fit for Logan now too.

Been There...Done That

This is long...more for my entertainment and reflection. The ones in blue I have done.

Gone on a blind date
Skipped school
Watched someone die
Been to Canada (grew up there)
Been to Mexico
Been to Florida
Been to Hawaii
Been on a plane
Been on a helicopter
Been lost
Gone to Washington, DC
Cried yourself to sleep
Played cops and robbers
Recently colored with crayons
Sang karaoke
Paid for a meal with coins only
Been in Jail
Been Arrested
Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
Made prank phone calls
Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
Laughed until you pee
Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
Caught a snowflake on your tongue
Danced in the rain naked
Written a letter to Santa Claus
Been kissed under the mistletoe
Watched the sunrise with someone
Been deep sea fishing
Driven across the United States
Been in a hot air balloon
Been sky diving
Gone snowmobiling
Lived in more than one country
Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
Seen a falling star and made a wish
Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
Seen the Statue of Liberty
Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
Been on a cruise
Traveled by train
Traveled by motorcycle
Been horse back riding
Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
Been to Disneyland
Been to Disney World
Been in a rain forest
Seen whales in the ocean
Been to Niagara Falls
Ridden on an elephant
Swam with dolphins
Been to the Olympics (SOON! Vancouver 2010)
Walked on the Great Wall of China
Been spinnaker flying (huh?)
Been water-skiing (never made it up though)
Been snow-skiing
Seen a President live (seen Princess Diana live)
Seen a Pope live (seen 2 prophets live, Pres Hinkley had dinner at our home)
Gone Bungee Jumping
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
Had your picture taken w/ a Movie Star-
Lived in a Foreign Country (I am foreign)
Had your heart broken
Seen 'The Wall' memorial in D.C.
Been on the opposite side of the country
Swam in the Pacific Ocean
Swam in the Atlantic Ocean
Swam in the Gulf of Mexico
Seen Mt. Rainer
Been skinny dipping outdoors (in the day too!)
Lived one of your dreams
Eaten just cookies for dinner
Been on TV (almost)
Stole traffic signs (don't ask, it wasn't a major one)
Been in a car accident
Broken bones
Loved until it hurt
Been pictured in a magazine (my business had been in a magazine?)
Started your own blog
Slept under the stars without a tent
Played in a band (sang in a band at a pizza joint)
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo (a few)
Watched a lightning storm at sea (does a lake count?)
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning (subway tuna sandwhich '96)
Grown your own vegetables (Matt did...I watched)
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept overnight on a train
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when your not ill
Held a lamb
Run a Marathon or Triathlon
Ridden a gondola in Switzerland
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagra Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Seen Amish country
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo’s David
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Gone whale watching
Donated blood, platelets or plasma (tried 3 times though)
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi concentration camp
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Been on a speeding motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book
Visited the Vatican
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Read the entire Bible
Visited the White House
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Had chickenpox
Saved someone’s life (tried...panicked and called Matt...he did)
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Lost a loved one
Had a baby
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Held a gun
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone (better late than never)
Been stung by a bee
One cavity or less

Growl...growl...

I am hungry....Matt and I are trying to slim down a little. Sigh. This means eating less and exercising more. Unfortunately there is no other way....Wouldn't that be cool that the more you ate that smaller you got? We made the kids a yummy meal of spaghetti and cheesy scalloped potatoes and we had just a salad...that is just lame. We are both sitting here moaning and starving. We are pathetic. Matt just walked around the kitchen and settled on some water...losing weight sucks...100 pounds or 10 pounds...going without is never much fun.

A Pimple

Jess and I were driving home from the store today and this was our conversation...

"Mom?"
"Ya?"
" I really don't want a pimple?"
"You don't want a pimple?"
"Ya...because they are really bad..."
"Oh? They are that bad are they?" (thinking of the 3 currently on my face)
"Oh yes they are! They kill people. So I don't ever want a pimple."
"They kill people?" " Where did you hear that?"
"I just know."
"Huh."
"Powder would never kill anyone"

silence...and then I realized....

"Jess? Do you mean a pitbull?"
"Ya, a pitbull."

I am sick AGAIN

Okay I must be a walking petri dish....I catch everything. I have been sick for weeks! First a nasty cold, followed with a nasty flu and now another cold. I can't breathe out of my nose....sniff squeak.....After having so many I am going to change my ways. Lying in bed more than most allows me time to reflect what I am doing wrong. I have always been good at washing my hands and disinfecting surfaces. But very bad at taking vitamins, eating veggies and fruits and I touch my face a lot. So I think I start there...sniff....

Sleeping at Grandma's

Grandma and Grandpa's house is better than Disneyland for the kids. They are in heaven....goodies galore, cool cereal, cartoons and computer games a plenty, cozy beds, a park next door accompanied by Grandpa, cousins to play with, of course they don't want to come home...neither do I!

Most of the time we try to have the cousins sleepover. This time we just thought to put them in the same room. They loved that, and told us to keep out... they were talking. They woke up to Grandma attack tickling them and then she made pancakes and bacon followed by some strange chocolate chip milkshake that the kids all helped her make...it was really gross. (you must have to be a kid or Grandma to appreciate it) It's the good life at Grandma's and Grandpa's...

Arbutus Club Canada

Look at our dive team.

They can do front flips, cannon balls, and they all are expert belly floppers.
Hunter, Emily and Logan

I grew up swimming at the Arbutus club. I have many wonderful memories playing on the large foam matts, walking in flippers, diving for rings and then at the hanging out forever in the warm showers. We have been bringing the kids here since they were babies. It seems the older they get the longer we stay. We were able to have the pools to ourselves. The pool is fun when the kids are babies, but they are WAY fun when they are kids...Matt and I had fun attacking their foam "ships" and making them fall overboard.

After a couple hours of swimming bliss Jessica and Emily walk hand and hand back to Grandma's...life is good.

V-Day in Canada

Valentines was in Canada this year. For the last 3 years Daddy has made his red chocolate cake. He couldn't miss. He cooked up some yummy ribs for everyone and then we all had a scrumptious cake! YUM...it is cakes like these that keep my body from being "hottie"...right now it has more of a "mommie" look...

Our Valentines tradition for the kids is for them to wake up to Candy grams above their beds. Since we weren't home I hid them all around Grandma's house and they had to hunt for them. They LOVE giant chocolate bars. So do I...sigh...

Matt is the love of my life and I couldn't imagine life without him. He and I are so blessed to have found each other. I love you sweetie, thank you for the wonderful life we have had so far together. I am excited for many more to come...especially your cooking to come.... hee hee

Science World Canada

We headed up to Canada for the long weekend. My mom heard there was a special lego exhibit at Science World. Lego? Were in....my boys are lego crazy! I remember going to Science World when I was a kid, but I forgot how fun it is! We kept saying, "That is sooo cool!" and it was always things we had never seen before...well, we probably did in school but it was definitely not as fun. Grandma, Grandpa and Shauna came with us. Science World is for all ages...as you can see.

We saw a very fun show about air. The host was hilarious! He needed volunteers during his show and wouldn't you know it...he picked Hunter and Jessica! Logan was content to be a spectator. Jessica was asked to pretend Marshmellow Man was her daddy. And she was going to send daddy into space. We watched what happened when air was pushed into daddy and when it is taken away. He tried to resuscitate daddy back to life. I am sorry...he didn't make it.

Hunter's experiment went wrong and he got soaked... he loved it.

The lego exhibit was AMAZING! Hunter was able to talk to the "lego master" who built most of the exhibit. He told him to start keeping a portfolio of all the work he has made. After talking to him and we were walking away he says to me, "Mom, I am going to be a Lego Master when I grow up." So that pushes orthodontist out...he liked the hours.

(I felt like the popperatsy when I took this picture, he thought more on the lines of stalker...)

So we stopped for lunch and while I was getting the ketchup a man stood next to me doing the same. All of a sudden someone came up to him and asked him to sign something. I glanced over and thought, "that's weird". Maybe something shady was going down. I sat back down and my mom says that guys looks so familiar. Then Shauna and mom realized it was one of the Sadine twins from the Vancouver Canucks. Me?... he just looked like a guy who needed ketchup. Anyway, I thought we need an autograph! (even if he wasn't famous to me, he would be to my hockey fan nephew and my friend El!) When I was asking the guy for his autograph, because I didn't know of his fame I also was unaware his twin was sitting next to him and didn't ask him for his autograph...I hope I didn't make him feel bad.

I caught Jess and Shauna having a little moment together. Shauna has a special bond with all her nieces and nephews. The kids just love hanging out with their auntie Shauna. She is so good to them.