Pumpkin Carving Contest

I think everything sounds more fun if you add "contest" to the end. Shower contest. Cheeto eating contest. Find mom's keys contest. Am I right?

Anyway, we carved pumpkins awhile ago. Here is the proof.

Word Cloud

This is my "word cloud".
Thanks Kim.
I typed in my blog address and wordle created this cloud of words that I have used in my writings. Totally fun - right?!
You can make one, too. Go to www.wordle.net

Nothing kicks a "funk" like. . . .

This was Eli & Blake's first shot a the "Happiest Place on Earth". It was a success. Much fun was had by all.

I decided we needed to take a mini-vacation in a warmer climate, so a week later we loaded up the car and headed to find Mickey and friends. We drove to Vegas on Friday and then finished the trek on Saturday. Armed with ponchos, jackets, fruit snacks, juice boxes, two very excited boys - scratch that three very excited boys, and a new camera that is teeny enough to fit in my jeans front pocket (even when the jeans holding the pocket were overly tight). We stayed at a great hotel that was a quick 5 minute walk from Disneyland. Eli's favorite ride was Splash Mountain and Blakey's was Pirates. They both thought the Nemo Submarine was great. . . I thought it was a horrible death trap. Eli was not a fan of Space Mountain. "Mom, that blast off one is very scary!" Ben and I both loved the new Toy Story Ride in California Adventure - super fun. I was especially taken by the ginormous corn dogs via the Corn Dog Castle. They were seriously delish, even Ben enjoyed one. The weather was fabulous. It only rained on Monday (our last day there). Saturday and Sunday were beautiful enough to have me looking at southern California real estate. I mean really mid-sixties in February - come on. We even swam in the hotel pool. Well, I sat in the hot tub while the boys swam. We drove back to Vegas on Monday and met up with these good friends and went to the dinner show at the Excalibur. It's called the Tournament of Kings and our kids were fascinated with all the horses and jousting. Good times. We came home Tuesday and my heart was lighter than it has been for some time. Thanks Benji, for dropping everything and taking us on a fun get-a-way. We are already planning our next trip there in November!

getting ready to walk in the gates

standing in line for pirates - our first ride

a bug's world was a hit

we lost one very sleepy two-year old for a little while

blakey - still sleeping
eli - getting ready for a bug's life

very excited

he woke up

the pixar parade in california adventure was awesome

blakey loves his ipod, especially in long lines

no one wanted to ride with me on autopia (or on any other rides, really)
apparantly dad is way cooler - shocking

that scares me a little

blakey got a new tigger

eli with brother bear

getting ready for toy story

blake had many fun moments in this hidden closet of mirrors

this is as close as he would get

this is what three days in disneyland will do to you

the big brown blob is eli snoozing

jaxson, eli & ryleigh watching the tournament of kings

the king of france - at least in vegas

Mario and Luigi would be proud.

This is how Mario Kart was meant to be played.

Friday Night

This is how we spent our Friday night.

Eli was showing off his tricks.

Blake can do anything Eli can do - or so he thinks.

This one had me laughing so hard I think I peed a little.

What's your name? "I'm ME!"

The boys decided they wanted to sleep in the same bed. Never been done, so why not. 45 minutes later I found this -



They were squished between the wall and the rocking chair. They had created their own bed - 5 stuffed animals, 4 blankets, 1 pillow.

They had a fun night.