Summer Read-a-thon

Well, the kids and I finished our first book of the summer, James and the Giant Peach. It was definitely a good kid read. It had silly parts that they couldn't stop giggling about, and just a lot of wonder and imagination. Now we are on to Alice in Wonderland!


I guess I should talk about Inkheart too, which I finished last week.

It was so hard for me to stick with this book. I didn't get to the phase where I couldn't put it down until about 2/3 the way through. Even then it wasn't as riveting as, say, Harry Potter or Twilight. But it did get suspenseful toward the end, and so far the second book, Inkspell, is much better. I think the movie Inkheart was better than the book, just like Eragon.
Three of my favorite actors were in it - Brendan Fraser (currently in my #1 spot), Paul Betany, and Helen Miren.




I think I am starting to sound like Andy Rooney again!

Happy Firthday!

Yes, it says 'Firthdays', and no, for all you avid Austen fans out there, it has nothing to do with Colin Firth. This year my birthday fell on Father's Day. So, we decided to celebrate my birthday on Saturday instead. Sean got up with the kids so I could sleep in. We went to Costco to pick up my cake,

and Sean got me some white roses, even though I gave him the 'please-don't-buy-them-we-can't-afford-it' look.
We took the kids to see the Disney/Pixar movie "UP!" which was really cute.

Then we went to Red Robin for dinner.

After dinner we came back and a few friends came over to help demolish the Costco cake.



So, Sunday was Sean's turn - even though I still felt like it was my day, since everyone was calling me to say happy birthday. We had breakfast burritos and enjoyed being lazy all day since there was no church again. For dinner we had pot roast w/carrots & potatoes, onion gravy, & rolls. And then, for dessert....of course - cake. My friend Sarah came over and we watched two movies that we knew by heart as teenagers - Hot Shots,

and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

It was awesome. We had both forgotten all the classic one-liners. ("Operation Sleepy Weasel is underway.....Milly Vanilly Chilly Willy", "BECAUSE.....Unlike other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent!")

Last week the girls were begging for curlers to be put in their hair, and here was the result. It's a lot harder now that their hair is so short!


Also last week we got the chance to go to a horse ranch-type place and the kids got to ride horses!

It was fun to see Spencer up there by himself, not scared or anything. When the owner asked him if he was a cowboy, he said "No, I am not."

The Summer Holidays

I guess I am still in my blogging funk. I'm doing this post more for the sake of my record-keeping than for anyone to read, so you might be bored!

The kids are officially out of school, and it's starting to wear on all of us. Scarry. We have started reading James and the Giant Peach for 20 minutes every day when Spencer goes down for his nap, and then I tell the girls to do quiet time. So far this has ended up as a nap every day, since they both whine about quiet time so much that I get irritated and make them nap. Emma more than Kenna. She is used to having structure every day, and I don't think she's handling life in the box so well. Yesterday Sean snapped this one of us all napping.


We went to the Kelly Clarkson concert yesterday - it was phenomenal! I should say SHE was phenomenal - everything else kind of sucked. We got there right at 6:30 when the show was starting (we left home 2 hours before, and it was in Orem), and she didn't actually come on until after 8:00. She played for an hour and then jumped in her van and got whisked away to wherever superstars go. But her voice is amazing, and she is even better live than on CD. I was amazed by the number of young girls there, though I don't suppose I should've been. It made me feel old - but there WERE a couple more middle-aged women jamming out too.


Spencer's latest catch phrase is "I had it first!" even when he didn't. They learn so fast. I think I will take the kids to the aquatic center to get some of their energy out later on - otherwise I'm going to die!

Newport Coast

I know, GASP, a new post. What can I say - I have been going through a blogging funk lately. I guess it's just laziness. Anyway, last week we went to the beach for a week with Sean's parents and his sister and her husband.

We made the whole drive on Friday the 22nd. On Saturday we went to IN-n-OUT and then headed to Newport Coast. We took the kids swimming as soon as we got there to get their wiggles out. Sunday we went to Sacrament meeting across from the Newport Temple and then walked around the temple grounds after and took some pictures.


After naps and lunch we took the kids down to the tide pools and took more pictures. The girls collected shells and Spencer was terrified of the water!




Monday was Memorial Day, so we drove to Laguna Beach and stayed for about three hours. it was very crowded, but the kids had a blast. The girls made sand castles, which Spencer vindictively demolished. They also played in the water. I forgot to put sunscreen on their little legs, and the girls both got burned. It's funny - Kenna's has already turned to a nice brown tan, and Emma's still looks burned. Sorry honey, you got my skin!




On Tuesday we did Disneyland. Spencer got excited the moment we came into the Pinnochio parking lot and started kicking and flailing his arms. It was a long day, full of lines and waiting, but it was fun. I had bought the kids Disney notebooks at the dollar store before we left, and Disney t-shirts at Walmart. I fancy I saved us a good chunk of money that way. So, we bought the kids each a toy from Disneyland. Spencer picked a stuffed Buzz Lightyear, Emma wanted a stuffed fairy from Pixie Hollow, and Kenna got a small snow globe that supposedly plays the music to It's a Small World, but I didn't realize the batteries were dead when I bought it, and I haven't been able to find the odd batteries anywhere else either. Mackenna was crying or whining most the day about something or other, and of course Spencer was nap-deprived so he wasn't a basket of raspberries either. Emma was really good except when she wailed and cried all through Space Mountain. It scared her really bad. I found myself wondering about halfway through the day why on earth we go to the trouble and expense of taking our kids places like this. Here is the answer:


For the fleeting moments when their little faces are lit with joy. And, for the memories. Kids have an amazing knack for remembering the high points and forgetting the negative. I need to be more like that! I am going to do a separate slideshow of Disneyland - there are just too many pictures to put into this post.

Wednesday morning everyone was so tired that the kids actually slept in until 7:30 California time, which is like sleeping in until 8:30 here. One morning Kenna even slept until we woke her up around 9:00. It was a blooming miracle. I wish I knew how to duplicate it at home - maybe a pitch-black room? Maybe I'll invest in some of those hotel drapes - the really thick ones. Wednesday we kind of took it easy. Sean and I ditched the kids with Sean's parents and went to see Terminator Salvation. It was good, but I have to say I was more impressed with the guy who played the Terminator than Christian Bale, who played John Connor. Maybe it's knowing about his true violent nature - kind of puts a dampener on his hero roles.

Thursday was Sea World. Spencer had somewhat of a hard time sitting through all the shows, but he loved all the ocean life. It was a much more relaxing day than Disneyland, and we got a ton of cool pictures. I think I'll do a separate slideshow for that too.

Friday the boys went golfing and we took the kids window shopping to Balboa Island. I was shocked when the sales lady at the first shop we went to rebuked Emma for touching a dress. I could not believe it. I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she is told to leave a store on Rodeo Drive. Anyway, after lunch the guys came back for brat patrol and the girls went shopping. That night we packed up our stuff and then Saturday morning we checked out. We were going to break up the drive back home, but we decided to stay another night and make the whole trip on Sunday. The kids watched Horton Hears a Who three times in a row, had lunch and took a short nap, watched Kung Fu Panda twice, Finding Nemo once, and then were told to look out the windows for the rest of the time.

We're finally home, and it seemed like the minute we pulled into our driveway my allergies started flaring up again. Either I am a lousy housekeeper and really need to dust madly, or there is something in this state I'm allergic to. Hopefully I will get up the energy to post some more soon.