31: sock delivery

The kids climb our back fence nearly every day to go play at the Peterson's house. I really do feel blessed that they have such great friends so close by, and it doesn't hurt that they have a huge backyard with all the bells and whistles. It keeps them occupied and entertained. Every once and awhile I look outside to see this {above picture}..days worth of socks thrown over the fence to their rightful owners. Is it any wonder we can never find socks in the morning or why we have so many single socks with no matches. It's infuriating, but it's the price I pay for a little bit of solitude and the knowledge that my kids are having a great time!

30: an early start

I had some extra time today and I thought I should be productive and get a start on the kids' valentines for their classmates. I found a few ideas on Pinterest and narrowed it down to 2.  This was a great use of the bags of unloved crayons that we have collected! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle..what better way to show the Earth love on this Valentine's Day! The school has a strict NO FOOD policy, so you have to be creative with other things kids might enjoy. A giant heart-shapped crayon...what's not to love?

29: jim's dinner or vomit..you tell me!

I find this picture repulsive, but not as repulsive as the fact that Jim really did eat this. Not only did he eat it, he enjoyed it! This "no carb" thing he's on is really working, but who can sustain such a thing when this is the type of meal you have to look forward to? It looks like a bowl of vomit with little dog poops on the side! 

28: skyler's scout overnighter

Skyler's boy scout troop headed out to Joshua Tree for a campout! I'm so grateful that the men leaders actually took some pictures! They did a little bouldering and at night, they took up a truck full of dead Christmas trees for a massive bonfire. I was told the flames got upwards to 30 ft. high! With our current windstorms, not sure if that was a good idea, but then again, it's scout camp..anything goes and the boys LOVED it!

27: 100 days of school

To celebrate 100 days of school, the 1st graders dressed up like 100 year olds.  Ryder is giving me his best grouchy grandpa pose. He wasn't fond of me drawing in some wrinkles, but I think it was necessary for the integrity of the outfit. His hair was made white with baby powder, but his red hair was hard to cover.  I was trying to channel in on the movie "UP". For a last minute costume, I think we nailed it!

26: here we go again..pinewood derby!

January for cub scouts = Pinewood Derby! I can honestly say that I have not a single ounce of influence over this activity.  It is all Jim, and he takes it quite serious. I will not divulge his secrets {I really don't understand them anyways}, but his background with physics doesn't hurt! We did, as we do every year..gave Jayden the pep talk that, "we can't always win" and "we need to have good sportsmanship if we don't win" and "if you don't win, at least you'll know one of your friends did and you should be happy for your friends."  I think it's the proper parental thing to do..but every year, Jim Jayden ends up winning every race.  It's a little embarrassing..especially when you have some little boys' cars that don't even cross the finish line. Each time Jayden's car comes in first, I see a little twinkle in Jim's eye and envy in the other dad's eyes. Jim's got a bit of a reputation now for his unbeatable cars.  First Skyler, now Jayden!  What's going to happen next year when Ryder is a cub scout and he will be in direct competition with his brother? How is Jim going to work that out? So glad it's not my problem to deal with!

Congratulations Jayden for your 1st place win..2 years running!

{if ever there was a kid who needed this confidence pick me up, it's our Jayden!..our middle child, who is constantly outdone by his big brother!}

25: my kind of mutual activity

Our activity for the night was eating yummy frozen yogurt! 

{only because the girls had a camp meeting the next night and Bishops storehouse on Saturday..we thought we'd lay low!}

24: getting our craft on

Our Relief Society put on a little crafting session this morning. I wasn't feeling particularly crafty this morning but I went. I made this cute garland out of paintchip samples. When I got home I couldn't figure out how to stop it from twisting around. I was seeing more of the back {which isn't so cute} than the front. I tried restringing it {on cuter string if I do say so myself}..it didn't work. Then, being in Pinewood Derby mode, I thought a weight might help. I looked around to find something heavy enough but small enough. I grabbed some red hot candies out of another display and viola..it worked!! That's called problem solving my friends!!

23: my new gym..for a month

Thanks to Spreebird {formally Screamin' Hot Deals}, I bought a month pass for $10! The best part about it, is that it's seriously 5 minutes from my house. The classes are great and I don't have to reserve a month in advance and pay a dollar per class like at 24 Hour! 

22: jims in survey

I don't often get a picture of the day from Jim's work{this sign is posted on the front doors to his building}..today was the day! We got the call early this morning that the surveyors were there! Seriously, on a Sunday! They like to catch you off guard. It's an annual thing, but it's always a surprise when they show up. Apparently, this survey is unlike anyone Jim has ever had and the surveyors are making everyone crazy and on edge! Sounds like tons of fun!

21: what an inspiration!

Here is my good friend Jennifer..she is awesome! She has been training so hard to run this 1/2 marathon. It was in Temecula, through the wineries. When we {Chantal, Jenniffer, and myself} heard that her family couldn't make it to cheer her on, we knew we had to be there! If she can run in this freezing rain, we could pull ourselves out of our warm beds and wait for her to finish! She had no idea we were coming. When we saw her turn the corner, we rolled out a banner for her to run through. She didn't even recognize us at first. She was so grateful that we were there for her! It's amazing to see friends accomplish things off their bucket lists'. It kinda makes me sick though how great she looked after running 13.1 miles..accomplishment is a good look for her!

Interesting fact: looking at her workout app, she burned over 1400 calories during this run! I'm sure I picked them up for her in the donuts I ate this a.m. 

20: my work is never done!

No..I did not take a job as the elementary school custodian. I taught Meet the Masters today {REMBRANDT} in both Ryder and Jayden's class. When I got into the art room I was disgusted at how dirty it was. I'm really not that anal, but it was gross and very distracting! Food all over the floor, wrappers everywhere, broken crayons, papers, and just trash. I couldn't believe it could get this bad and I'm not one to just sit around, so I found Mr. Ben {the maintenance supervisor aka: custodian} and asked him for a vacuum. He brought me this super power, backpack gizmo. It was AWESOME! It sucked up everything and I could move around the entire classroom with ease. I couldn't help thinking how great this would be for stairs! 

19: word clubs

Ryder's first grade words..he's now on his last list..rocket words!

18: soapbox derby winners!

Tonight at mutual, the Young Men put together our activity. They built soapbox derby cars for all the classes {we finished them off by attaching a few screws and bolts} then it was off to the parking lot for races. It was hilarious watching the youth try to figure out how to steer and control their cars..but in the end, there could only be 1 winner! After several trial races, it was time for the finale! After 3 strenuous laps, complete with pit stops and driver changes, the Laurels came out VICTORIOUS! We smoked the rest of the groups. We've got not only beauty but brains and brawn! I couldn't be more proud of my girls!!

17: back in the saddle again

Ready or not {I'm leaning towards NOT}, here I go! It's time to start training again for the Ragnar. I've taken a few months off running and now I have to start completely over! Why do I do this to myself. It's hard! I did a 5 1/2 mile run with Jim on Saturday and my legs killed for 2 days afterwards..probably not wise to start off from where I left off! Today, I took a more realistic run. I am loving the free app:  Endomondo.  It does everything. It tells you your distance, time, calories burned, and also has a GPS..it even comes on and tells you every time you've hit a mile and the time it took you to run that mile. It's just a little too honest! I swear I thought I was running faster than this! It does get me excited to run, in the hopes that I beat my previous time. It's great for my competitive nature.

16: another day off school

It feels like my children are never in school. Way too many holidays. We made the most of it and went to Knotts. We thought the rain would distract people from coming, it didn't. It's weird..there were hardly any lines in the morning, then long lines by around 1 then by about 4, we were back to no lines. 

{this is Skyler, Brody, and Ryder on Boomerang..they are in the last 2 cars} 

15: lost dog

Late afternoon on Saturday Skyler found this dog. It had a collar but no name tag. It was love at first sight. He even named her: SADIE. I told him that he needed to take her out into the neighborhood to see if anyone was looking for her. He attached a rope and took her for a walk with no luck. It was getting dark so we decided she would stay the nigh in the backyard. Skyler went next door and borrowed some dog food. The boys were instantly attached and told me that "the law is, if the owner doesn't claim her in 2 weeks, we get to keep her." I'm not sure I've ever heard that law before..nice try boys. I told them that after church we would take her to the vet to see if she had a microchip installed. I tried to explain to the boys that the owners were probably heart broken about losing such a pretty dog. Their response, "No..if they loved her so much they wouldn't have let her out!" Their viewpoint was quite one sided. They begged us to let her sleep inside because it was so cold, but we stood our ground! First thing in the morning, they ran downstairs to see her and play with her. During church, Jim had to run home and get something. He saw a very distraught woman, crying and posting a flyer on the mailbox. He pulled over to see if everything was alright..he's a good guy..fighting back tears, she informed him that they had lost their dog, a dog that had been in their family for years. Jim immediately informed her that the boys had found the dog and we had her in our backyard. She was so relieved and overjoyed. They went to go get her. Jim told her that the boys had named her Sadie and she was flabbergasted! Her actual name was in fact, Sadie! It was as if it was meant to be. The boys were in tears when we told them, but later that afternoon, the women came back to our house and gave each boy $10 and a huge bag of candy for taking such good care of Sadie! The $ helped ease their broken hearts, but their yearning for a dog has only intensified from this experience!!

14: jim's cheat day

Jim decided to start the new year off with a new outlook on the way he eats. We have a close friend who has lost a lot of weight by following what he calls, "the 4 hour diet". Basically, this entails cutting out carbohydrates: bread, rice, pasta, fruit..you get the point..all the good stuff for 6 days of the week. The thing that sold Jim on this was CHEAT DAY! One day a week you get a cheat day where you can eat anything! It sounds contradictory to me, but it's working and he's never felt better. It's kinda funny, because come cheat day, everyone keeps asking him what he's going to eat. It's like they're just as excited for him as he is. Jim hasn't really embraced the cheat day to it's full extent. He feels a little guilty. He loves how he feel and wonders why he'd want to mess around with it. By week 2, cheat day came a little easier to him and we binged on yummy THAI food, oh yeah, and a raspberry filled donut! 

13: project life 2011

I'm finally getting around to making my Project Life Book for 2011 {this is the title page..I also printed up 275 pictures to put in the pages..I was up to date the first couple of months}. Yes..I have this blog which is exactly what I put in the book, but it's not as tangible or easy to just flip through. It's a bit redundant, especially copying all the journaling by hand, but it's worth it when I see my family looking through the pages. I think this year I'm going to do it digitally in a photo book. It's nice to change things up! 

12: softlips

This is everyday! In my entire life, I have never gone through a whole tube of lip balm! I either lose it, it melts, it breaks, I wash it in the washing maching, or falls in sand..whatever the case may be, I have never used a tube from start to finish..until today!! Winter is very dry around here so I live with this "lipper" (as I commonly called it in when I lived in Hawaii) by my side at all times. It felt so satisfying to get to the end, where even digging my fingernail deep down wasn't producing enough! This feat may never happen again, so I'm relishing it today!

11: actually using what i've pinned

I've been wasting spending so much time on Pinterest lately..partly because I was sick in bed. I justified my missing church by dedicating my Pinterest session to all things church related. I came across this cute Book of Mormon cover idea and thought it would be perfect for our girls, seeing as we just gave them new Books of Mormon's for our reading challenge {to read the entire Book of Mormon before girls camp..6 months}. They were pretty easy and quick and I love how each girl created a little something different! Thank you Pinterest!! My addiction to you is not wasted!

10: mother hubbards cupboards

Our pantry was absolutely bare! With the kids home on vacation we have been doing a lot of eating out and with being sick, I was in no shape for battling the market. Today was my day! Kids started back at school {after a long 3 week and 1 day vacation} and I headed out with my recyclable bags in tow {using my bags is my new years resolution..potd to follow} and loaded my trunk! Doesn't look like much, but those bags can be stuffed! This is a grocery store trip and Costco trip!

9: nacho

How can you not love this face? I can't believe I am smitten with a bearded dragon! I'm definitely the mother to 3 boys!

8: sick

I didn't get out of bed today! 

7: jerry seinfeld..hilarious!

I woke up Saturday morning SICK! Didn't feel good at all. Of course it was the day that we had tickets to go see Jerry Seinfeld in San Diego. Fortunately for me, comedians don't go on till so late {9:30} so I got to stay in bed till around 6! I managed to pull myself together. We even had time to stop at Panera for some warm soup! The show was absolutely hilarious. Just like the t.v. show..it was an entire 1 1/2 hours of laughing at the most simplest things..it's just that Jerry has a way of making the most normal and simple things, extraordinarily funny! Totally worth getting out of bed for!

6: knott's berry farm

I hadn't been to Knott's Berry Farm since my 12th birthday {when our home teacher, Tom Gibson, took me, my friend Lisa, and my entire family}. With Ryder now reaching the magical height of 49" we decided it was time to try it out! The boys were not disappointed! It wasn't terribly crowded and we got on every ride with very little wait time. I just realized that I'm not a young buck anymore..I don't think my head can take the constant exposure to all the jostling and turning! We ended up getting season passes, so I see a lot of Knott's in our future!

5: it's out! {plus christmas take down}

FINALLY!!! It literally just fell out while he was playing with his legos! 

 The great Christmas take-down! The boys' response, "Our house looks so plain now!" They're right..it does look pretty plain!

4: beach in january..i love so. california!!

A glorious, 80 degree beach day in January!! This is why I love living in Southern California!! There had to be at least 12-15  families from our stake at our normal spot in Oceanside! 

And there's Ryder..with the tooth that is just agonizingly just hanging there!! I just want to pull it!

3: christmas card books

I always save my Christmas cards! For years, I added the pictures at the end of each years' scrapbook. For the past 3 years they have just been in a box...until today! Saw this idea HERE and knew it was what I needed to do! If you want the template yourself, it's free on their blog! 

2: the 123rd tournament of roses parade

Highlights of the Rose Parade..so glad Tella came and joined us! It wouldn't be the same without you!

It is tradition that I go and stake our spot 2 days before the actual parade. It's tedious, but necessary. This year I was rewarded greatly for my service. Just as I had arrived at our spot {Saturday, Dec. 30th @ 10:30 a.m.} a nice elderly gentleman came up to me and asked me if I could use his grandstand seats! Having never seen the beginning of the parade, I jumped at the chance! These tickets are $90 a piece and I would never pay that to sit, sardine style, in the bleachers. The day of the parade, right before the start, Jim and I made our way to the seats. We felt so special, bypassing security and grabbing free donuts and hot cocoa and such. Little did we know that we were literally in the best seats in the place. In fact, during the opening number, the performers popped up 2 row ahead of us and started singing. We had to of made it on t.v. somewhere..the cameras were all over us! It was exciting, but the parade started and we wanted to get back to our family and friends. Those around us didn't quite understand why we'd leave 5 minutes into it. Little did they know, we actually had better seats somewhere else!

 At the end of the parade, the OCCUPY demonstrators were free to march. There were all walks of people, marching for some cause or another. I even saw a Hawaii Sovereignty protester..seriously, still? I don't think the above protester realized that he was at the beginning of a 5.5 mile walk! I had to laugh at his sign..in correlation to his size, yes, he is the 99%, literally!

{was that mean spirited..i'm sorry, but come on..I couldn't resist!}

1: happy new year

The gangs all here!! 

It's New Years Day but the parades not till tomorrow. We had several families join us this year for our Rose Parade tradition..most of them even camped out!

The Garrisons, Tenneys, Warrens, Hunters, Theresa, and the Baughs came out in the morning. It was an unseasonably warm day which lead to a warmer than usual night {it was still cold, just not as cold}. I'm loving that our group grows a little bigger ever year!
{the essentials: propane heaters, books, games, food, and friends!}