Gonna Miss it.

I desperately want to go to this. However, since I don't live in Utah- it is a little tough for me. You will have to go for me. (if you live in Utah, that is) I have been following her blog ever since the plane crash first happened. She has grown in my heart and I wish I could be half the woman that Nie Nie is! My kids know her as the "woman in the plane crash" that I always talk about. My daughter asked if I know her personally. I wish I did. Sometimes I feel as though I do through her blog. She amazes me.

If you haven't already, start laughing and crying with Stephanie at the

Nie Nie Dialogs.

Carli-isms

Carls cracks me up sometimes. She gets words mixed up like kids do. Sometimes it takes everything I have not to crack a smile- let alone belt out a laugh at her choice of words. Here are a few since I can't remember all.


Cherrio= Churro (her favorite warm treat at Costco)

Hamster= Hamper "Mom- My hamster is too full to carry upstairs"

French= France She confuses the country with the lang. "When you are in French..."



And my new favorite:


As we were sitting at Bridger's soccer game tonight, (Bridge in soccer is a whole other post) I told Carli that we were going to Mc D's for dinner tonight. Carli asked me what was the healthiest thing at Mc Ds. We talked about it and then she told me the reason she asked. She said that at school they learned about eating behaviors and obtuse children. It took me a minute. "Wait... Do you mean obese???"

Obtuse= Obese

She covered it up by saying that she had angles on her brain- but I hope she never stops her Carli-isms!

Propaganda.....Yet Again.

Dear Friends and Family- It is that time of the year again. The kids have come home with their school fundraisers. Every year the kids get a booklet that asks us to fill out 7 names of friends and family and addresses and give it back to the school. In turn, ads for magazines are sent to our friends and family. Although I am not a big fan of fundraisers, (I think they're crap) I feel bad when the school promises an item to the kids that return their booklets. School is hard enough without kids feeling bad for not getting a (somewhat popular) item that every other kid in the school gets. So I am a sucker for turning in these dumb booklets. Every year I feel bad for sending them out. If you receive one, please don't feel that you have to buy anything from them. (unless you just really, really, really want a magazine- :) The kids really just want the prize for turning in the booklets. Thanks for being awesome friends and family. (Please enjoy these cyber- flowers-lol)

Anchor.

Can you fall in love with a song?

If you can, then I think I am in love with this one.

Nolan and I have a special relationship with it.

We get it stuck in our heads all day long.

We like the video too. (don't forget to push pause on my playlist to watch video)

Note to self: Next time I'm on a motorcycle, I will most definently wear butterfly wings- it just looks cooler that way.

I am (impatiently) waiting for my Mindy Gledhill cd to arrive in the mail.

Buzz and Woody

On wed, Jack and I had some to go shopping and get some things that the other kids needed to supplement their school wardrobe. While we were at Kohls, Jack spotted this Buzz outfit and pulled me across the store to check it out. He kept pointing and saying, "Buzz, Buzz!" When I saw it I immediately started laughing cuz it was so darling and I could see him doing all his Buzz moves while running around in it.

Upon further inspection, we realized that Woody also came with the set. He really wasn't as big on Woody as he is Buzz-(It's all about Buzz these days) but he seemed to be pleased holding both in the cart. They cost more than I would have liked to spend on Jammies for a boy that didn't really need any- but he has been treating them like costumes for 2 days. He wears Buzz for 10 mins and then Woody for 10 mins and then we have to help him back into Buzz! But really- who couldn't get a kick outta that face and those moves in that darling sleepwear?

Birthdays, School and Jack!

On sat, we finally celebrated Nolan's and Jack's birthdays. Nolan wanted a wii cake. I found an idea HERE to make a wii remote and am pleased with the way it turned out.

We had a low-key birthday. Even tho, my two oldest had already watched Despicable Me, Nolan wanted to see it again with his friends. We took 2 other boys to the theater with our family and laughed harder than I thought we would. Then we came back home for cake and ice cream.Then, school started on Monday. First it was Nolan off to Jr. High. He loved it the first day, hated the 2nd and was more at peace by the third. Only time will tell!Then Carli has a new bus-buddy as she went to fourth grade and Bridger started morning Kindergarten. They are both liking their classes so far. Monday night we went to a Chinese buffet (that our family likes)to celebrate the start of the school year. Carli eats 424 boiled shrimps and Nolan scarfs down just as many pot stickers. (Which look suspiciously like Costco's) But the fun part came when Jack's fortune cookie read, "Appearances are not what they seem" We though it was fitting for 'sweet' lil' Jack.

Bigger.

Bridger just lost his first tooth a couple of days ago. It's because he is 6 now and bigger. That's what he tells me all the time. I can't decide if I like the idea of my sweet baby with grown up teeth. The one next to it is loose too. As long as I get sweet little boy kisses and hugs when his adult teeth have all come in, then I guess I don't mind him gettin' bigger!

Today.

Today I have Yukon potatoes growing out of my ears.

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Today I realize that I need to live in an amusement park and not a house.

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Today I realize my house is too much like an amusement park, complete with screaming kids.

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Today I can't hide anything well enough from Jack. Especially the frozen cookie dough.

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Today I will never take for granted the taste of a fresh, seasoned tomato from the garden.

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Today I now know for sure that Jack is enemies with my milk glass collection.

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Today I wonder when I will be able to take a shower.

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Today I am wondering how many ways and how many nights we can have potatoes for dinner.

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Today I am glad that I have only four kids.

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Today I am wondering how I can send my first baby boy to Jr. High next week.

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Today I want the house to be self cleaning.

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Today I wish I could to make 2322 cafts and still have a clean house when I'm done.

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Today I want Jack the Stripper to be done refinishing my cabinent so I can start organinzing our games.

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Today I want to gobble down 3 bottles of Coke, 12 creme-filled cupcakes, and 6 bags of cheap candy and not have my scale notice anything different.

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Today I wish Jack still took naps.

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Today I am wishing summer would never end.
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Today I want next week when school starts to come faster.

Holy Yummy Food, Batman!

The other night, we made THESE. Oh man! The kids weren't big on the bananas in them, they just went for the wontons with nutella. (Fried chocolate- who wouldn't love that) We ate them with icecream and carmel sauce. The kids like powered sugar on them- I loved carmel drizzled on mine! I seriously couldn't make them fast enough!

Oh! We love you, Jack!

Jack be nimble

Jack be quick

Jack will ALWAYS

Get away with it!

Cuz the baby of the family ALWAYS does.

Especially if it is his birthday.

We don't stand a chance today.

Happy Birthday #3 Little Guy!
We LOVE You!

(Yes I had my 2 boys 1 day apart)

(Okay- You caught me- 1 Day and 8 years apart)

He Just Won't Listen!

(Yes, Those are overalls, Don't Judge me-lol)

Before he was born, I said, "Okay baby....you can come out now" He was born 4 days after he was due. He just won't listen.

As a Newborn, when I said, "Okay son, it says in this book, that I am supposed to feed you, burb you and lay you down to sleep." He fell asleep nursing only to wake up and then projectile vomit all over me. (Yeah that is one of the kiddos favs) He just won't listen! When he was one, he got into E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. After we asked him to stop, I think it actually got worse. He Just won't listen.

Eating breakfast in the dark, before the sun rose.

When he was two, I told him to sleep because mommy was tired from being pregnant with his sister and needed to sleep in. He always got up at 5:30 a.m. He just won't listen.
When he was three, he drove us crazy with vacuums. "I told him to stop climbing on our vacuum, it is not a ride" He broke it so many times, we had to buy an extended warranty for it. He just won't listen.

When he was four, I let him play outside with his sister and told him "not to do anything naughty" he taught his sister how to throw green tomatoes over our fence into our neighbors backyard at their dogs. (They weren't happy) He just won't listen.

When he was five, I told him that he was too young to start Kindergarten a couple of weeks after his birthday. He became so smart that we couldn't wait another year. He just won't listen.


When he was six, I told him to try to make it IN the toilet like we taught you (not on the sides and the floor) He just won't listen


When he was seven, I told him I was glad he liked tornadoes, but didn't like the idea of replaying Curious George's movie clip of a tornado in a slowglobe 351 times in one sitting.He just won't listen.When he was eight, we constantly reminded him that even though he didn't like the smell, he would be fine sitting next to his sister when chewing gum. He still hasn't gotten over that one. He just won't listen.

When he was nine, we told him that he was going to cubscout camp just like he did the year before. He fought us even though he always has fun and learns a lot. He just won't listen.

When he was ten, his grandparents told him to slow down when driving the four-wheeler and he smashed into their shed. (What? too soon to be comical?-lol) He just won't listen.



Today, he is eleven, I have been telling him for 11 years to do one (little) thing for me.














I beg all the time

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"Please Don't grow up"

He just won't listen.

Happy Birthday, Baby! You are turning into quite the young man!

P.S.- I used to sing you this song when you were a baby. The words were true and still are!

The Adventures of Juan and Terrrrrrra (Part Cuatro)

Zip-lining in Puerto Vallarta

We decided to sign-up for zip-lining before we ever left home. We looked at all the excursion packages of things to do during our time in Mexico and decided to try Zip-lining. Jon and I read and talked about all the excursions together and when we got the this one he said, "Well, you probably won't do that."

You see, I am terribly afraid of heights. My sweet Jonny knows this as does anyone who is close to me. Heights freak me out. I read the description of the activity and declared,

"Wait a minute, I can do that."

Jon snickered just a little bit before he realized that I was serious. We signed up and as it grew closer, I was really quite excited.

It was first thing in the morning when we arrived in Puerto Vallarta. So we boarded a boat that took us to a little business and waited at least 30 minutes for a truck to pick us all up.

Pic taken of Jon while we were waiting for truck- I was really taking a pic of the little brick structure to the side of him-hee hee)

Then on a rather bumpy dirt road, we drove for close to an hour with about 13 other people in the back of a covered truck. I felt a little bit like a member of the Mexican Military.-(lol) The more we drove, the greener it got until we were in the depths of a jungle. Then, we geared up for the big event described HERE.

Sorry, we couldn't take any pics during our Tarzan- like, jungle moves, cuz cameras weren't allowed, but we did buy 1 pics of each of us from the photographer there that "sweetly" charged us $15 a picture. The guides helping all of us on the adventure were so fun and had a great sense of humor, but were so serious and cautious when they needed to be. It was one of the guides that asked Jon if he could call him Juan. (Wait, why didn't I think of that???)

It was the neatest experience and I was fine. The first couple of times I went I was more concerned about when I should start breaking and the speed that I was going, that the height (even though I was surprised at how far up we were) was never really an issue for me. It was also a lot of work. The zip-lining was the easy part. The rope ladder and rope bridges were a little more physical- but I enjoyed every minute of it. (Except the bugs that bit me like 30 times on both legs where my capris didn't cover. I didn't enjoy them-Note to self: next time doing anything in the jungles of Mexico, bring bug spray!) It was a wet and rainy day. We only felt a few drops in the bottom of the jungle when it really started to rain. We had so much tree and plant cover that we really didn't feel much wetness. But after lunch, back on the ship, we went out to explore the city and it was raining quite hard for awhile. It was so humid that I was actually glad for the cool(er) rain.

Unfortunately, I got to take one picture during our shopping trip before my camera battery died.
This concludes the adventures of Juan and Terrrrra. Tune in next year to see where where this crazy couple goes next!
Adios Amigos!

The Adventures of Juan and Terrrrrrra (Part Tres)

Mazatlan

I loved it here, but there is a story as to why we had a relaxing time with a beach mostly to ourselves. When we got off the ship, we had to take a taxi to the beach. There was a beach that us cruise ship passengers could use that was privately owned by a hotel. We had every intention of going to that beach. After we got off the ship, we were approached by all kinds of people that were trying to sell us rides to wherever we wanted to go.We stopped at one man that said he would take us where we wanted for $10. But he worked for a hotel on the complete opposite end of where we were and told us that he was pushing tours to this hotel. They wanted people to see it and take a tour. Jon decided that we could do that. We had to sign papers saying we were going to take the tour. I wasn't getting it. I thought, "well maybe this is how they do things here." ""Maybe to take a cab ride, we have to sign up." Right after we signed the papers, the guy explained it better. We were to attend a time share presentation at this hotel in exchange for lunch and access to the hotel pools and private beach.

I was pretty dang mad. I sure didn't want to waste my time with a 90 minute time share presentation when we only had like 8 hours to explore Mazatlan and there were so many options of things to do.

Making a long story short. We took the tour of the whole place and the man that gave it was a retired American who didn't usually give the presentations. He couldn't have been nicer, even tho I bit his head off a few times (yeah- still mad I had to listen to the whole presentation). We told him we weren't interested in it after he gave us the whole price spiel. And he was so nice to us even then.

We now had access to enjoy the beach. We also had free drinks to enjoy. (Yeah- not drinkers- but we had all the virgin pina colodas that we wanted- even tho we had to explain what virgin meant in a drink because it is pretty unheard of that anyone would come to Mexico and not drink the hard stuff.-lol)

We hung out and swam in the ocean which was so beautiful and we couldn't believe that the water was the same temp as the air. Super nice and warm. I got tons and tons of sand up my swimsuit and could remember the last time I did that. I felt like I was a kid again. Then we relaxed together, sipping on our pina coloda. Aaaahhhh!

Then we had a free lunch too. And the resort had 7 pools to swim in depending on your mood. We decided if we wanted to go to the shopping district we didn't have time for the pools, but I still dipped myself in one right before we left. If I ever went back, I would certainly spend my time there. But I don't even remember the name of the resort, so I would have to do research-lol.

We go a crazy cab ride in this crazed golf cart on steroids thing to the shopping district and spent some time there buying souvenirs before returning to the ship. I took this picture as we were speeding through town, close to the ocean. The view was lovely.

This was our view of Mazatlan form the ship. That little boat help push the ship out of the cove we were in.

Once we got back on, we were talking to a few people there and asked them how they like the city. The groups of different people that we talked to said that they hated it. That the beach they went to was super crowded and vendors hounded you to buy things. Wow! That was not out experience. We really liked it. And we owe it all to the hotel that we can't remember the name of!-lol

Coming up: Part 4

Puerto Vallarta

The Adventures of Juan and Terrrrrrrrra (Roll your r's)

Cabo San Lucus

or as I like to call it...............Cabo Wabo

(like the sign in this picture below. I think it was a restaurant)

Wanna hear a joke?:

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Why are pirates so mean?

I don't know why, they just Aaarrrghh!

(Said with one eye closed while making a deep Arrrrr"- pirate sound)

Except for the gold ones. This (real) guy was really quite nice.

We stopped for lunch and I talked Jonny into ordering this stone bowl of Cactus strips and shrimp. It looked crazy but it was actually pretty dang good. You eat it like fajitas, putting it in tortillas.
I loved these outside markets that sold dried puffer fish (look at the size of that thing) and dried shark mouths.

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Okay! Here is my Crazy -Cabo story: There was this lady walking around with this Iguana. She kept putting it on us and telling us to take a picture (in her broken English) I couldn't figure out the gimmick. People loved to try to sell things to tourists (we weren't hard to spot) and would hound us to buy anything. Jon posed with it but I wasn't sure I wanted it on me.

She finally just plopped it on my shoulder. And when I went to walk away, plopped it on my head and told us to take another picture.

At the same time a man came up to me on my left and tried to sell me a silver bracelet. I didn't say 'no' right away cuz there was a giant lizard on me and I was more concerned about that.

My lack of 'no's' told him that I might want that bracelet so before I knew what was going on, he slapped it on my wrist. I felt like I was bombarded and by this time wanted to catch up to my Jonny who had sprinted off to help move us along. I had to tell them both, "off, please"

I started walking away to catch up to Jon when the Iguana lady approached me and said something I wasn't getting about pictures and $2. I kept telling her no thank-you and when I almost caught up to my husband it hit me. (Slap hand to forehead.) Aaahh! The gimmick. She wanted $2 to pose with the iguana) Did I just rip her off? Was I obligated? This city was getting confusing. The Day of the Dead was a big thing there. There were skeletons everywhere. We found our way to an inside mall ( awww! air conditioning) and saw this unique lady that I just had to pose with.

This was our first port. It was dry like the dessert and the beaches were hard to get to. (Had to rent a boat) We didn't get a chance to go to one.

Out of all 3 ports, Cabo Wabo was my least favorite. I think that if we had got out of the tourist-y part of town, it woulda been a better experience. But having little time to explore the city was the trade-off for traveling on a cruise ship. (where you can eat 24 hrs a day btw)-lol

Coming up next: Part 3

Mazatlan