hello hello

hello all... did you miss me? I know, I didn't mention we were going out of town. We weren't sure we were actually leaving until the actual day due to some silly hotel issues, but last Wednesday we headed out to Monterey for a little getaway. It was very nice. A lot colder up there than we are used to but very pretty! We headed back home and Mom and Dad came to help me celebrate my birthday. Thank you! and Thanks to all for the messages:) here is a little slide show of the trip and stuff... Enjoy

Happy Birthday Day, Tina!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet sis! Love you. And as Zoey says, we wish we lived closer so we could just walk over and give you a party!! This will have to do:


Hope you have a wonderful day!! Love you

cake: pinkcakebox.com

Brother of the Week

Sometimes, you play so hard, you just crash right there, in the middle of it all...


And thus, your sister awards you, "Brother of the Week" and you both go around singing it the rest of the day.

Happy Birthday Bryan

Just wanted to wish Bryan a Happy Birthday. Hopefully the last birthday you will have to celebrate separated from family! We love you!

Arnold Voice Inherited

For those of you who haven't seen the movie CARS, there is a part in the movie where they are doing a news broadcast about the missing car, Lightning McQueen. All the characters are cars, of course, and when they interview the Governor of California, it is a Hummer with the voice of Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Whenever we watch the movie, Ross cracks up at the part and repeats it in his own "Arnold voice." Well, tonight the kids were playing on the computer and Ross and I were talking in the same room. I don't remember what we were talking about, all I know is that Ross said something in the Arnold voice, and then out of nowhere Zoey says (in her own Arnold voice), "Lightning McQueen must be found!" Which is what the Hummer character says in the movie. It was so hilarious. She put the connection of Ross's voice with the character on the movie and then has the humor to use it herself!! So we got a little video of all the Arnold's in the house. Yes, Ross still brings it out and apparently has passed it on to our children. I don't think our Governor knows that his impersonators come in such small sizes, Ross excluded of course.

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Summer Days

Started out with yummy waffles for breakfast:



and then the beach, the beach, the beach, we're going to the beach... (that is the song the kids sing)



Here is the NEW Beach Max, having fun:


Here is Ross and Max checking out the waves:



And here is the Man-Daid in action again. Ross showing how well it worked while running through sand and water...

To-may-to, To-mah-to

Overheard this morning:

Zoey, in a very older sibling voice: Max, we have a lot of work to do. We need to send out these letters. Pick a card and then an envelope. This, showing him an envelope, is an envelope. Can you say envelope?

Max: envelope

Zoey: Well, some people say, "ENN-velope", but I say, "AHHN-velope"

Again... I have no idea where this comes from.

IN-N-OUT Burger and the Beach

We were at the beach today and Zoey was giving us "food" from sand piles. Usually she makes cakes and cookies and pies, but today she asked Ross:
"How would you like your Double-double? Protein style or animal style?"

For those of you who don't know, that is in reference to an In-n-out burger, and the fact that Zoey listens and picks up on everything we say.

And fun news for Max today... he actually went into the water at the beach! He was afraid when we moved here last year and has taken a long time to get comfortable. Well, today, totally on his own terms, he went in and went crazy!! He had to make up for lost time. He ran for thirty minutes all along the surf back and forth, splashing around and having a great time!!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad
Love, Ross, Jill, Zoey and Max

Introducing...

THE MAN-DAID

When most of us would just use one of these...

Ross has to go and make his own... made out of duct tape, no less... and he even gave it a name... The "MAN-DAID".


yes, he is mine, and I love him. The least he could do is market it for all the other meatheads out there and make some money!!

Male Anatomy

There is a website out there that you can connect your blog to and it will give it a rating. No surprises, mine was given a "G". This story may bring me up a level though, according to the rating system, certain terms or words, including body parts, are flagged... Anyway, worth sharing...

The last couple of nights while giving Max a bath, we have been reviewing body parts.
He points to his eyes and says, "Two eyes."
He points to his nose and says, "One nose."
He points to his mouth, belly, two arms, etc.
and then he points "down there" and just looks and me and smiles and says, "One..." and waits. The first time, I wasn't sure if he knew what it was so I said, "One what?" He just repeats himself, with a big smile, "One..." and waits. So I, with my book knowledge of child rearing in mind, say very simply, "Penis." He says, "Penis". and we move on to other parts.

The next night, we are in the tub again and we start the routine from the beginning...
He points to his eyes and says, "Two eyes."
He points to his nose and says, "One nose."
He points to his mouth, belly, two arms, etc.
and then he points "down there" and just looks and me and smiles and says, "One..." and waits.
So I don't make a big deal about it, just say "penis" and move on. But he knows this is so funny for some reason, and just giggling to himself at this little game he has going on.

Third night, same story... I guess he just realizes that something covered up all the time must be funny, or maybe it is just a funny word, I don't know. At least Zoey wasn't in the room at the time, she would just be cracking up and running around talking about Max and his penis. And I tried to just be normal and technical like I was talking about a nose... but it didn't work. Oh well, I guess it happens to all parents of boys.

Sand Dune Hill

just a quick note... we have a Sand Dune Hill near us, and for those of you who don't know, it is way bigger than you can imagine. It is probably 100 feet high. I will have to take a photo sometime. We went today and Zoey went up FOUR times and Max went up One time. And they both ran down. I was so impressed with their determination.

Like Father Like Daughter

As Zoey gets older we see more and more how much like Ross she is. Both in looks and temperament and abilities. Lately I have been asking her to make her bed in the morning. She does a pretty good job by herself, but yesterday, we had clean sheets put on and the bed was made better than usual, so as we were going to bed last night and I was pulling Max's comforter down and getting him settled, she announces, "I am just going to sleep on top of mine, so that way it doesn't get messed up and I have to make it all over again!"

I just had to laugh... Ross told me he did the exact same thing while at the Academy, to make his morning bed-making that much faster. When I relayed the comment to Ross, he said, "Great minds..."

Play Dates...

I've noticed something lately as I have been trying to schedule playdates for Zoey. On a side note, it's a little ridiculous how many phone calls it takes to get two four year olds to play together, but I guess that is how it is today. We actually live in a family friendly neighborhood for the most part, but a lot of kids are older and I think due to rising house prices, the neighborhood is changing a little bit. Not many young families are able to buy a house, so the number of young children is getting smaller. This is not just my keen neighborhood watch eye making observations, we live near the school and the janitor fills us in on all kinds of tidbits, i.e. school enrollment is down and continues that way for our particular school. So we can't just meet up with friends in the park to play. That was definitely a plus of living on an Air Force Base, lots of kids, and because everyone is in a similar situation, you kind of instantly bond and realize one of you may be moving soon, so let's just get down to business and play. Anyways, bringing a playdate into the house made me realize in some ways we are asking kids to do something that we would never do ourselves... We have children come over who aren't on the comfort level of being family or even great friends and yet we tell our kids to share, share, share. Well, of course, we say that. We want our kids to be kind and to share and learn how to be good friends in that sense, and in many ways, Zoey is very good at that. She will share her toys, or yummy snacks very willingly, unless it appears the other child (or usually their younger sibling) just comes in and starts going through everything. Now I am pretty laid back and realize they are just discovering new toys and have no problem with them going through all the stuff, but Max and Zoey don't like it very much. And why would they? Someone is seriously invading their turf. At first I was upset that they weren't good "sharers", but then I realized that they both really are a lot of times. We see it often and reinforce it daily, but sometimes, we are forcing them into an uncomfortable situation. Other kids totally invading their space and often in a careless, and haphazard manner that they are not used to has to be a little alarming for them. And then I thought... You know what, I would never go to your house and walk right in opening all of your cupboards, trying out the food, and looking through your CD's and opening them up and just start playing them. It would be really weird and uncomfortable. I mean, I am talking about the public stuff too, not your underwear drawer... so why would we think it is okay with our kids? (I will admit that when I went to my sister's house I went into her big walk-in closet, off the bathroom where I had just showered, and tried on some shoes... but she is my sister, and she has a gadzillion shoes, and I am a girl, and I have been trying on her shoes since I was eight years old)

I guess we just naturally grow out of that stage. Zoey and her friends, the 4/5 year olds, I see, are realizing that you just don't go rummaging through stuff without asking or being shown things, so I guess at some point things change... this was mostly an observation of a younger girl sibling going through Max's stuff)

Just a thought, I mean, if you are coming over and your a friend or family, by all means help yourself out to the food in my fridge or books on my shelf... I may even share my shoes:) Acquaintances, however, please proceed with caution.