Disney 2010

We returned from a fabulous trip to Disneyland and now I am so ready for a vacation from my vacation! We had a great time, but it was definitely jam packed from the moment we woke up to the moment our heads hit the pillow! Here are some pictures from the trip:

Tim trying to be a funny guy and telling the kids to put their hands up during "It's a Small World." 

Noah finally meets Lightning McQueen!!

Two years ago, they both screamed in fear at the sight of Goofy. Oh, how things have changed! They went running to him!

Auntie Michelle was able to make the trip out with us! 

Up late to watch World of Color! Amazing show, but we were soooo tired after this!

We were so lucky to hang with the Scotts while we were down south! Little Mia was sleeping and didn't make it into the pic :(

Overall, we had such a great trip down there. So many great memories were created once again....we can't wait to go back!

One of THOSE days

Today was one of those days when you read about someone like Lindsay Lohan and everything she must endure while in jail...and you wonder to yourself, "Hmmm....that doesn't sound so bad. In fact, that kind of sounds like a vacation! You mean I'm going to be left alone for 23 hours a day to do things like sleep, read, write, and sleep some more? Sign me up!" Obviously, my perspective is way off and I am delusional, but that just sums up how horrible my day was...the fact that being locked up in JAIL sounded enticing.

Let's see, to sum up, Tim took us out to breakfast again. The kids were grumpy as hell and showed no mercy. They didn't want to share the crayons with each other (I blame Mimi's Cafe). Noah stole bacon off everyone's plate and stuffed two at a time in his mouth. He choked, naturally, and puked into my hand. The kids fought on the way home from breakfast and I ran a red light as I was trying to referee from the driver's seat (it was more of a yellowish-red light, but I told the kids it was red for more dramatic effect...don't judge, you'd do it too). I sent the kids to their respective rooms when we got home and told them they are not to come out until they find their happy place. Noah is screaming in his room as he is kicking his door/closet/wall and bawling to me, "MOMMY, PLEASE! I'M HAPPY NOW! OKAY?! I SAID....I...AM...HAPPY....NOW!"

The rest of the day consisted of me wearing a Foot Locker uniform as I tried to keep the kids from completely torturing each other. It didn't really work as we endured a punch in the stomach, a couple of thrown toys, and many many tears. Honestly, today was a rare day and I am thankful for that. Most days the kids are pretty decent and get along fairly well. They argue, like all kids, but today it was like they were actually trying to have me institutionalized.

The ONLY thing that made me feel better was when Tim came home and dealt with the kids for a while as I escaped to the bedroom...he came in shortly after and said, "Seriously, I don't know how you do it." Sometimes, just a little validation goes a long way....and at the end of today, that's all I needed to hear.

Mr. Noah

I have nothing to write....I just wanted to post this absolutely adorable picture of my little guy! Sigh....

Who needs Yosemite?

The kids and I gathered all the throw blankets in the house and got busy building a fort in the living room the other day. The kids had so much fun playing in it and pretending they were camping....they even attempted to sleep in it at night. Thankfully, without any pressure from me, they decided the hardwood floor wasn't too comfy and went upstairs to bed! Whew!

My living room is finally back to normal after a few days of this......I finally kicked them out and told them to go play OUTSIDE!!

Summer Collection 2010

Sophie demanded I post this picture of her on the blog so Grammy can see her cute new outfit.....I'm sooooo certain Grammy would NEVER coerce her to do so ;)

4th of July pics....a little late

As promised (albeit two weeks late), here are some pictures from the weekend of the 4th of July! Minus the traumatic trip to SF, we had a fantastic time! Here is Auntie Michelle hamming it up with the kiddies!

Mama and Papa made it out as well....here is Mama and Sophie hanging out in the backyard before we eat dinner!

Papa and the little guy

Auntie Jen came over to join in on the festivities.

Daddy and Sophie acting goofy....as usual.

Waiting for everything to start....hanging with tourists from all over the world in the busiest part of the city....big mistake!

Who Hates LeBron?

I want to rant so bad and a small part of me almost had the courage to do it on Facebook. Then I realized I didn't want idiots responding with their idiotic comments (because they will be, and I'm not talking to my blog readers....you guys ROCK). Some people will never understand sports and I can't fault them for this weakness difference.

Some people will always laugh at sports fans and find it annoying, never really feeling the need to paint their face two different colors or wear a jersey and refuse to wash it for 6 months because it brings good luck. They will never have obsessive rituals like vacuuming twenty minutes before game time convincing themselves that it will help their team play well that day. They will probably never go to church and throw in an extra prayer for their favorite player to have a good game day (or the time I prayed for myself to get out of a hideous slump). People who do not understand simply make fun of it, even though they secretly wish they could have half the passion for something the way sports fans do.

Like everything else, we seek to find connections with others. Having that common denominator with another person creates a bond that always stays true. I know my fellow Buckeyes will not wake up tomorrow and tell me they've had a change of heart and are now jumping on another bandwagon (the immediate 48 hours after a devastating loss doesn't count, where we are all seething and ready to disown our beloved school....I digress).

In addition, we sports fans tend to call out players like we know them (before we did know them, that is). We call them by first name, last name, nickname....sometimes prefaced with a curse word if we are pissed at their performance. Some show their loyalty by wearing their jersey with pride. Sports fans KNOW their players inside and out; they know their strengths and weaknesses, statistics, and records. We remember where we were, who we were with, what we were feeling the time our team made an amazing comeback or threw away the big game.

So when a beloved, home grown athlete goes on national television for a "Cleveland, Go F-Yourself" special, I feel their pain. I'm not one of these types of fans because I have not experienced enough pain or loss, but I got a good glimpse of it last night and today when reading articles. I get what it did to these people.....and I remember coming across this picture when I was reading about it all over the internet today:

 picture taken by

**Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal, via Associated Press**

I mean, The LeBron James Grandmothers Fan Club? Who does that other than crazy super sports fans who LOVE their team and its respective players? Sports fans know the definition of loyal, that's all I gotta say. I came across a lot of people who explained just how this felt and I'm not about to try and re-invent the wheel, so I thought I'd just post a few thoughts from other sports fans that I read on ESPN. Here's my attempt to help non-sports fans (or non Ohioans) understand the overall feeling from last night's classless event (funny how many of these comments are from non Ohioans, many who just sympathize as sports fans in general):

• I think this is the first time in history one man managed to destroy an entire city by himself. 
• To the people that lived through the The Shot, The Drive and The Fumble. None of our players would have done that to us. LeBron, get the hell out of our town.
• Nobody could be so cruel as to go on national television and sucker punch his loyal fan base of seven years, right? My second thought? That's exactly what a self-absorbed, ill-advised 25-year-old kid without any real perspective would do. 
• I'm 25 years old. I'm about to re-enlist for another tour overseas with the Army. I have an idea of what matters and what doesn't. But this still hurts. Nothing stings worse than when one of your own rips your heart out. Not like this ...
  Maybe I should do what's best for me and get out of the Army. Unfortunately, loyalty is driving me to do one more tour.
  LeBron knows nothing of that word.
• Closest example to what LeBron did with Cleveland: Instead of proposing to your girlfriend, dumping your wife on the Jumbotron. At the Super Bowl.
• Michael Jordan would have wanted to kick Dwyane Wade's butt every spring, not play with him. This should be mentioned every day for the rest of LeBron's career. It's also the kryptonite for any "Some day we'll remember LeBron James as the best basketball player ever" argument. We will not. Jordan and Russell were the greatest players of all time. Neither of them would have made the choice that LeBron did. That should tell you something.
• It makes Tiger's fall from grace look like a DUI.
• So I'm watching LeBron treat Cleveland like my daughter treats her diaper, and I hear Jackson and Van Gundy talking about how horrible the Cleveland fans are for burning his jersey and how "this is how you handle yourself" as though they're watching something I'm not. I like both of their analysis usually, but they've never spent a month's salary on games, never put in 80 hours waiting tables, taking out trash or even been stuck in an office with the escape of sports as a way to get through it. So they wouldn't understand that many fans don't care about "witnessing" LeBron whatever the heck that is, as if Cleveland fans should be grateful they got to see him dunk a bunch of times and choke in the playoffs (written by a Boston fan). 
• I've figured out the moral of the story: Stay in school.
  Wade: 3 years at Marquette
  Bosh: 1 year at Georgia Tech
  The kid from Akron: no college
  The most educated guy convinced his dumber friends to come play on his team for less money.
  
  I'm sorry, Cleveland and the rest of the state of Ohio. Nobody deserves that....especially the best damn sports fans in the world....

In a nutshell....

I don't know what my deal is, but I have found a way to streamline my story-telling. I have reduced my writing to bullets and highlights and tidbits and, well, crap. I promise I will get back to writing stories a little more in depth...but for now, please enjoy the entertainment for the past week or so. It's a doozy.

• Driving through the beautiful Sierras while Tim and I were on our trip, I was enjoying the fresh air with the windows rolled down....only to have a bee fly in (ass up, apparently) and sting me right on the neck. Any footage of my reaction has been burned and disposed of properly. Tim tried to be sympathetic but didn't know how to handle the freak in the truck. This is the second time I have been stung...the first time was in college during softball practice. A freaking bee was waiting for me in my batting glove....I go to slide it on and...yup...screamed like a little girl. Coach had no sympathy for me either. I think Natalie did....but that's about it.
• We had a scare last week and thought Sophie had meningitis. Everyone was on high alert for a good three hours before we found out she did not have it. Longest. Wait. Ever. So thankful she is okay....literally skipped out of the hospital that evening.
• Decided to hit San Francisco for the fireworks this year. Impressed to find out we are in the top 10 in the nation for fireworks displays on the 4th of July. Let's see how it went....drove around in circles and spent $30 for a parking space; froze our butts off because summer in SF means 50 degrees on a foggy night; spent a Target's trip worth of money on 5 corndogs (Tim HATES corndogs, by the way, which I didn't know); ended up seeing what half a firework looks like because the fog was so thick; walked back to the car with thousands of people and a group of jerks setting off serious M-80s in the crowd; Tim had to call 911 because one of the M-80s hurt someone near us (person is okay, we think).....yeah, not happening again.
• Lice is trying to invade our neighborhood kids and has made its way to two of Sophie's close friends....seriously, I'm already scratching, twitching, not to mention paranoid and ready to price out hazmat suits.
• Noah has been sick the past two days after getting the same virus Sophie had. Why do my kids get sick in the summer? Are they afraid of slowing down and relaxing? Too much pool time, Sophie and Noah? Allergic to Vitamin D? Come on! We're supposed to be having FUN!
• Tim decided to sleep in today and take us out to breakfast before heading into work. Instead, he woke us up at the butt crack of dawn, dragged us out of bed, and was frustrated that we did not wake up HAPPY like he does. He doesn't understand that HE is the weird one. So much for sleeping in, Tim!

I am hoping for a dull week next week....pictures from the 4th to follow soon! 

Lake Tahoe 2010

On the second day, we enjoyed Lake Tahoe and hiked down to a hidden little cove. It was absolutely beautiful and so quiet. We definitely loved the scenery on the way down, but just so you have an idea of the hike we made, take a look at the picture above. Yes, you are seeing an accurate picture of exactly how far away we were from the actual lake. Let's just say I am feeling the consequences of the hike today!

Ok, we're getting closer....mind you hiking DOWN is awesome. I can take in the views, take some awesome pictures....I can even breathe normally. But just enjoy the picture....does it get any bluer?

Finally! We made it down and can enjoy its beauty up close.

Check out my view. 

Tim climbing the rocks and enjoying the view before he dives in.

Yosemite

Tim and I enjoyed a small getaway trip and decided to take in the beauty of mother nature. We drove through Yosemite and then up through Tahoe, soaking in all its beauty and fresh air. I brought my camera along and thought I was Ansel Adams. Truly, there is no bad picture when you have views like this to enjoy. Above is a picture of Yosemite, with Half Dome in the distance.

One of the many beautiful alpine lakes in Yosemite.

Here we are at one of the highest peaks.

We had to drive through this part....it was absolutely insane. I was leaning over the whole time (as if that helps any) like a scaredy cat.