Cousins

Whenever my nephew is in town, I feel like it is important for my kids to spend time with him. At this point, he is Connor and Isla's only chance at having a relationship with a cousin. And given that I had such an amazing time with my cousins growing up (and still do today), I want my kids to have that as well.

With temperatures in the triple digits on the 4th of July and some time to spare before fireworks, I thought it would be fun for the kids to play in some water. Apparently the kiddy pool my parents had didn't last through the winter, so my dad improvised and pulled this into the front yard:

I'm told it is a "cowboy bathtub" that my parents currently use as backyard art. But after a quick rinse, it worked perfectly as a little pool for the kids. They had so much fun.

All three of the kids fought for control of the hose. And Isla seemed to have the most fun just climbing in and out of the tub. And whenever I got too hot, I just walked close enough to get spayed with the hose and was fine again. It was a good time had by all.

As for fireworks, Isla loved 'em. The girl is fearless. We definitely need to be careful about that. She even held sparklers on her own. Connor, on the other hand, wouldn't hold a sparkler and spent pretty much the entire time we were lighting fireworks in the car. He said the noise bothered him (which it's also the barking noise from dogs that bothers him). I must say, the people in my parents neighborhood get way more into 4th of July than my neighborhood and it was really fun. Everyone in their court was out doing fireworks together. So fun.

What Isla Wore {five}

I know this may sound weird, but I feel like it has taken me a while to find my footing in the crazy world of dressing a girl. There is just so much over the top froo-froo stuff and that is totally not me. I, in a sense, have had to find what I am comfortable with for Isla.

Besides the generous helping of hand-me-downs we get, I buy almost all of Isla's clothes second hand. You blink and kids have grown out of their clothes. It isn't worth it to me to throw tons of money at those clothes. Not to mention, one good butt scoot across the driveway and a pair of leggings are ruined.

Shirt: Gymboree (thrifted)

Shorts: Old navy (thrifted)

Sandals: Rainbow

As for my go-to items for Isla, I definitely prefer trapeze/flowy tops for her paired with shorts or leggings. She says it works for her ;) I also like throwing in a dress here or there, but it has to be one she can easily play in...and can easily be washed. I am so not a more than one outfit a day mom! 

I also would like to point out these amazingly adorable shoes we just got for Isla, baby Rainbows. If you grew up or went to college anywhere in any sort of beachy place in California, chances are you have or currently own a pair of Rainbows. They are comfortable and last practically forever. Generally I am cheap and don't buy my kids more than one pair of shoes a season (hey, at least that one pair of shoes is good quality!) but when I saw these I couldn't resist. Now Isla is all ready to hit the beach...or just be one of the cool kids in the central valley.

6 Pictures, 6 Things {Lawrence Hall of Science}

1. Ian and I were blown away by the views this place had of San Francisco. If you go there for no other reason go for this. 

2. One of the lower levels of this building was stuck in a 1960's time warp. It totally reminded me of the ghetto buildings I had most of my classes at in college. 

3. There was a room with small animals and every 15 minutes they got out a different animal for the  kids to touch. They got out a rabbit and after Connor, Isla and another toddler were done with it, they put it away because they said it had been "overstimulated"...I know the feeling mr. rabbit.

4. The kids weren't much into the science exhibits, but they sure had fun playing in the kid zone.

5. Though cute in the picture, that telescope did not work at all. 

6. There was a water feature that you could play with and change the flow of the water by damming up various water flows. I had fun playing with it. Connor had fun playing in the water...and pulling out my dams. 

26/53

We went to the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley yesterday to escape the heat of the valley. Ian and I were blown away with the view. And had my dad been there, he certainly wouldn't have allowed me to be on a tiny (like 5 feet by 5 feet) piece of concrete with both my kids when there was a drop off on three sides. But hey, I wanted a picture ;)

Connor and Isla have gotten to that point in their relationship that Isla wants to do everything Connor does and copies him. In the first picture they are both playing peek-a-poo. Though this is one of her favorite games, rarely does she actually manage to cover her eyes.

^^ That's the bay bridge in the background. Amazing right?! You can't see it in the pictures, but you could see the Golden Gate bridge as well.


This (past) week:

• I did a zumba class for the first time. Never in my whole life have I felt so uncoordinated...and rather humiliated. But I am going to try again, so we'll see if I improve. 

• Weeds are overtaking my backyard, but with temps in the triple digits all week, it is unlikely they will get taken care of this week. 

• When Connor wants to do something without Isla, he tells me to put her down for a nap. 

• Isla grabs her diaper and says "poo-poo" when she poops. The problem is she also does it when she doesn't poop, so you never really know! 

• Isla now knows what otter pops are. She stands at the freezer and cries "ot-pop, ot-pop". 

• Isla seems to enjoy climbing on the dining room table numerous times a day lately. It's her new party trick. 

• While in Berkeley, we waited in line over a half an hour for ice cream from Cream. Good thing it wasn't super hot out!

And I am officially half way through my photo challenge! Woo, hoo! Now if only I could come up with some creative photos...

Our Wedding Cake

10 years later. I have to admit, one of the reasons I have forgotten about our wedding cake for so long is because, well, it wasn't taking up space in our freezer. Up until last year, it had been in my parent's freezer. And had they not had to replace their refrigerator, it probably would still be there.

I didn't even know how it was wrapped, as my mom did it (per our cake lady's instructions) after we left for our honeymoon. So this pink blob has always been a mystery. In fact, up until a couple days ago, I didn't realize it was frozen with the real flowers from our wedding on it.

I thought I would show you how the cake was wrapped, because it survived 10 years in a freezer amazingly well. I feel like I am doing this backwards, but just think of it like you are unwrapping a package with me....

The cake was wrapped in three of these pink bags. I'm not positive, but I am guessing the cake lady left them just for this purpose because they were the perfect size.

Inside the bags, the cake was merely wrapped in foil. 

Unwrapping the foil was pretty exciting. It was one of the moments of truth (the other being when we actually tasted the cake). I unwrapped the cake straight out of the freezer and was shocked to find it had NO frostbite or ice on it anywhere. The poor flowers didn't fare so well, but given that they had been frozen for 10 years, it is actually amazing how good they look. In fact, as the cake defrosted, the flowers actually smelled good. 

I actually snuck a taste of the frosting once the cake was defrosted, so knew that at least tasted fine with no weird consistency or anything. But I was shocked to find the cake tasted totally fine. It tasted a little on the dry side, like day old cake...but certainly not like 10 year old cake. I'm still super impressed with how well the cake fared. 

I have to admit, it was fun watching my kids eat a piece of my wedding cake. I mean, we are talking about MY KIDS eating MY WEDDING CAKE! Little people that weren't in existence when we were married. Little people that have become so much a part of our story getting to enjoy something from our beginning, from our wedding. That was pretty neat. 

So if anyone out there is considering keeping some cake for an amazingly long about of time and still want it to be edible, its totally doable.  And now that I think about it, I totally should have saved half the cake for our 20 year anniversary...do you think it would be ok if I dug it out of the trash (that it has been in overnight) and refroze it?

10 Years

10 years of living life with my partner in crime. We certainly have managed to pack a lot into the past 10 years of life. It's been an amazing adventure and there is no one I would rather spend it with than Ian. Sometimes I am shocked by how lucky I got considering we "chose" each other when we were just teenagers...it's almost as if God had something to do with that ;) 

I feel so amazingly blessed to be living life with someone who allows me to indulge in my Taco Bell cravings, unloads the clean dishes in the dishwasher (because he knows I hate that part), doesn't baulk at my lack of love for the mornings, loves coffee as much as I do, doesn't judge me for how often I take my car through the carwash (hey, it's unlimited!), puts the paper on the porch so the sprinklers don't soak it and fills my car with gas without me even knowing it. This man allows me to be who I am (quirks and all) and accepts and loves me just like that. 

I really don't think I tell him enough, but he is a blessing and and an amazing part of my life. I am looking forward to the next 10 years (and more after that) and all the adventure it holds for us...like Connor becoming a teenager (eek!). 

I love you Ian Grimbleby and am proud to be your wife. 

Awkward/Awesome {thirteen}

I had such an amazingly awkward thing happen the other day, that it spurred me to do another round of awkward/awesome. So maybe you should be thanking the dude in my first happening for this entertainment today.  

Awkward: A dude flirting with me when he totally saw me just standing with my hubby and kid. 

Awkward x2 (or really a zillion): He ended our conversation saying, "Next time you wear your owl and I'll wear my lizard."

  ** I should note that most of the conversation was regarding my owl necklace which I now kind of never want to wear again. 

Awesome: Boys pee standing up and can pee anywhere. 

Awkward: Even standing BEHIND my peeing boy, he still managed to get pee spray all over my feet. 

Awkward: That moment when you see your UPS driver while you are out driving and wave at him, only then realizing he has no clue who you are. 

Awesome: A nice old man talking to my kids. 

Awkward: Connor refused to talk to the guy and Isla buried her head and wouldn't even look at the poor man...and he kept trying, with the same results. 

Awesome: Free (relatively speaking) breakfast at the hotel we were staying at. 

Awkward: Me taking the kids by myself to said breakfast. Holding a tray of food while pushing a stroller and trying to keep a toddler from running away is not fun on any level. And not one single soul in the crowded restaurant offered to help. One lady even told me I was moving too slow.  

Awesome: The king size bed at the hotel. I so want one now. 

Awesome: Tomorrow is mine and Ian's 10 year anniversary. I know, right?! We are like a legit old married couple. 

Awkward: I plan on us eating the original top to our wedding cake from 10 years ago. I realize this was supposed to happen at 1 year, but things happen. I bet it is going to taste amazing. 

Awesome: Good tasting 10 year old cake or not, we are headed out for a night of celebrating tomorrow night and I am super excited. 

How about you, anything awkward or awesome happen lately?