Pretty much the best summer vacation we've ever had...

just in case you didn't catch that reference to ND in my title there...I wanted to offer a big shout out to my brother Jon and his wife Kirsten for letting my family of 6 crash at their pad all last week only 2 1/2 weeks after giving birth to their 2nd child. Not only did they offer us a place to stay, but they entertained us with guest passes to Magic Castle, tickets to "So You Think You Can Dance" and a pool that provided hours of entertainment. Thanks guys!
I also need to thank Doug for Dodger tickets, Sarah for fabric district, Meg for Legoland, Matt for his room and for gracing us with his presence, Diana for some mighty fine cooking, Jason for watching 7 kids so the girls could go out to breakfast, Staci for inventing "favorite things", Adam for being smart enough to attempt the CA Bar so that we had a good excuse to come to CA and to Dan for teaching my kids the fine art of Rockband and the finger jab? (Is that what I should call it?) and to everyone for a pretty darn memorable "worst kiss" conversation.
Seriously, anyone reading this probably thinks that I'm related to some pretty cool people...well, they're right!

Who needs pool toys when you have Jaykob?

Mary saved her money so she could have a fun shopping day at the American Girl Place...

Max is checking out the authenticity of the Lego family at Legoland.Four cuties in a row anticipating the excitment of Legoland... (L to R Clara, Josie, Tallulah, and Evan)Pretty darn cute family...Dan, Sarah, Josie and Tallulah and coming soon...baby girl#3!Adam and Madeline on the helicopter ride...pacifier will not come out...no matter what...Jon and Evan having too much fun on the airplane? ride...What a cutie!Olivia, Mary, Jaykob and Max all received their "driver's licenses" while attending Legoland "driving school"....they were pretty proud.A fun day at Legoland...no, that is not a baby in my belly. I just happen to be wearing an empire waist shirt...now I see that was a bad choice.In our excitement to get our fill of In -n- Out burgers while in sunny CA, we may have overdone it. After our third visit, we were okay if we never saw a hamburger again.Jaykob pushing Madeline at Wild Rivers in Irvine... Thank goodness for brothers with connections! Jason and I got to take Mary and Jaykob to the finale of SYTYCD at the Kodak theater...how cool is that? Well, let me tell you...it was SUPER cool! Watching Jeannine and Brandon burn up the dance floor in person in the famous theater frequented by the most famous of movie stars...we were lovin' it! The only down side is that we actually had to sit and listen to all of Mary and Nigel's comments instead of having the luxury of fast forwarding thru them (thanks to the modern convenience of DVRs).
a fabulous breakfast with my awesome sister-in laws...I'm so lucky. Staci, me , Sarah and Diana (Kirsten is missing in the picture).
Jaykob, Adam and Doug at the Dodgers game...it was Mormon night! Elder Ballard even threw in the first pitch! Staci, Doug, Conrad and Eric chatting with some friends they saw at the game.

Diana, Madeline and Adam in front of the outfield. Enjoying Zuma beach in Malibu...Welcome to the world Phillip Henry Heder!


Thanks again family for a great vacation! I wish it was still going on! We miss you all!

Summer so far...

has gone ridiculously fast. I always look forward to those lazy days of summer after a hectic school year and the lazy part never seems to kick in. Since school got out we have managed to get in berry picking, dance recital, science camp, company BBQ, two birthday parties for Max, a visit from Diana, basketball camp, a fun 4th of July, painting camp, YMCA camp, Safety Town, and a concert in the park. And it's only the middle of summer! This weekend we have our camping trip to look forward to and then we come back for dance camp, bike rodeo and off we go on our California trip and the list continues after that...sewing camp, golf camp, dance camp, Hood to Coast. Phew! I'm trying not to complain because the minute I let my kids have any idle time, they can start in on the whining, teasing and the "mom, I'm bored"s. But I will vow to take my kids to the pool and the park more than once this summer...overscheduled kids never have time to be creative, right?

A hot, fun 4th of July with 5k race, parade, friends, BBQ and fireworks ...

and festive patriotic cupcakes...

Happy 5th Birthday Max!

Two naughty cousins hiding out in grandma's pantry...

A beautiful day at the Oregon Coast during Madeline's visit...

Nothing's better than picking berries in Oregon in the summer...After Mary and Jaykob's dance recital...

Yummy blueberries at Aunt Jeannie's house...

Happy Birthday, Doug!

Happy Birthday to my thoughtful, charming and handsome brother!

From a strictly obedient bikini wearing terror of a younger sibling to a hard working father of three...the years have been good to you my dear! I love you and hope you have a wonderful day!

The hunt

I look so forward to Wednesday nights in the summer when, after my kids have gone to bed, I can sit down on my couch, which is situated right next to the AC, watch a new episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" and pull out my pint of Haggen Daz. The question is, which flavor do I pick? Last summer my flavor of choice was Carmelized pear and toasted pecan, but this summer I have seemed to grow weary of the frozen pear chunks. I discovered Creme Brulee at Albertsons a few months ago and fell in love, but anytime I tried to find it anywhere else I was out of luck. I did find creme brulee by Ben & Jerry's, but even though the crystalized sugar swirl was oh so delightful, the flavor was no contest for the Haggen Daz version. I did discover that Safeway carries it every now and then, but after all of that searching I'm not sure I want to settle for something that contains no chocolate. After all, if I'm going to add an extra half hour to my workout everyday just to counteract my ice cream consumption, there better be chocolate! So now the hunt begins...must find perfect balance of smoothness, chocolate, crunch and heavenly bliss.

Happy Father's Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhqRMP9meMc

I did it!

Can I just take a minute to toot my own horn? Tacky, I know, but sometimes you just can't help yourself. So here it goes...I ran my first official half marathon! It felt great and I can't wait to do another one (I'm kind of kidding about that). Anyway...

Here are my homies, rootin' me on...
Good friends, Gabe and Amy who fought and conquered as well...way to go girls!

Playing catch up

Where have I been the last two months? Apparently not at my computer. Actually, I have been at my computer for more mundane reasons, like bill pay, counting calories, checking my email. And it is for those reasons that my daily alloted computer time seems to run out before I get to the fun stuff, like blogging. But, summer is upon us, which means kids are out of school, which means I will be fervently searching for more short, peaceful like retreats on a daily basis as a means to escape the chaos, which means I will be locking myself in my computer room a lot more often, which means I will probably be blogging a little bit more from here on out.
But as far as playing catch up goes, here is a list of highlights from the last two months...

1. Easter
A pleasant morning of Easter basket finding and a yummy breakfast before church and a lovely dinner after church with family joining us...

Easter morning baskets full of surprises...

2. Been doing a little running...oh wait is that a 4th place ribbon I'm holding?

Why, yes it is. Some friends and I participated in a 10 mile run back in April and believe it or not I took 4th in my age bracket. Okay, so maybe it's not that unbelievable since there were only 5 people in my age group. Laugh you may, but I still ran 10 miles.

3. I had a great Mother's Day weekend. It started with a fun evening out with my children, Mary & Jaykob. We visited a traveling Titanic museum and ate sushi.

The next day I headed to the coast with some girlfriends for some good shopping, good food and good laughs. I must thank my parents, my in laws and my husband for making that weekend possible. When you think about it, it takes a lot of preparations just so the mom can get away for one night...kind of makes me feel important...a great feeling to have on mother's day weekend.

4. We had a fabulous stake conference in which one of the 12 Apostles, M. Russell Ballard, came and spoke with us. As wonderful as it was to listen to this incredible man, it was a relief to get out of that very hot and stuffy stake center on that 90 degree day. With the spirit of this meeting in our minds and in our hearts, we decided to continue our worship at one of Heavenly Father's most wonderful creations...the beach!

5. Memorial Day weekend means camping, right? Well in Oregon it might mean the campground that you reserved several months earlier might have 4 ft of snow come Memorial Day weekend! So what to do? Cross your fingers that this other campground that your friends found will be halfway decent since it was the only one available at such short notice.

Well crossing the fingers worked because the campground was perfect and so was the weather! We had a great time hanging with friends, going for a boat ride, eating yummy food and going on a fabulous bike ride with Grandma & Grandpa Heder. Jaykob did end the weekend with a horrible case of empitigo (spelling?) which kept him home from school for a week, but other than that, we had a splendid time.

6. In addition to a little camping, a little running and a little beach hopping, I also read a great book called "The Red Scarf Girl" by Ji-Li Jiang. I highly reccommend it.