A dirty post.

Last weekend we braved the 100 degree weather and ran the Dirty Dash. Have you heard of it? I'm sure if you live on the west coast you have--it's like the Spartan or Tough Mudder but for those that don't really want to run, but would rather just have the benefits of getting dirty. Totally logical, I know. It was my first time and now that I've checked it off of my bucket list I find that the term "run" should be used very loosely when characterizing this race. Actually I don't even know if you would call it a race. It's not timed  or anything (which they seem to point out A LOT) and there are stops along the way to drink beer (if your into that sort of thing) and then there's the occasional obstacle that bares repeating because it's just that fun and did I mention the mud. There's lots of it.  I learned a thing or two about mud which essentially boils down to the fact that all mud is not created equal. 

Case in point...There's the watered down stuff that seems to be on the lines of hot chocolate and in our case actual warm water making it seemingly like hot chocolate in a don't-let-it-get-in-your-mouth kind of way. Then there was the more sedimentary type of mud that was pliable, yet still feasible to run through except for the occasional back flip when ones so-called feet decided to meet the sky. And finally the gumbo. gum-bo. Each time our feet hit this gum-like substance they would slowly be sucked in resulting in a full-blown force of nature to pull them out. I'm sure it was a spectacle of sorts for those watching everyone run through it. I imagine it was like that kid in grade school that never changed his gears and was always pedaling fast, but was moving slower than time? I'm sure you all had a kid like that in your school, right? Bless his heart. Anyway, we were kind of like that--trudging and grasping to find the nearest dry land.

And did I mention the sand in all my unmentionable places? On a completely unrelated-yet-kind-of related line when I watched The Bachelorette this past week I couldn't help but laugh when Chris and Des were making out on the beach because if her "sand experience" was anything like mine I'm sure she had a real surprise waiting for her when she finally got into the shower later that night...

And let's just leave it at that. mmmkay?

A traumatizing life experience at the fair

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the county fair? There's just something to be said about an endless supply of food drenched in fat and then deep fried to perfection that gets my arteries pumping. Funnel cakes, deep fat-fried Twinkies, donut holes, caramel apples--you name it I've probably consumed more than what is physically appropriate for a girl of my age. I guess I make up for not being able to ride "the rides" by feeding my gourd to the brim. 

I still remember the first time I got sick at the fair. When I was six-years-old I remember riding the Gravitron for the first time. The whole time I cried, not out of fear, but rather because I knew I was going to throw up. As soon as I stumbled out of the man made death trap everything came up, then I proceeded to lay down on the grass right in front of the line without a care in the world that other fair-goers were stumbling over my limp, green, cold sweat-covered body. It was 1991, obviously, people weren't too concerned about a child laying lifeless on the ground at the fair (can you imagine what that would be like today)? HA! So much for traumatizing childhood experiences... 

Needless to say I still didn't learn my lesson, for years I kept going on rides with the same results: ride/puke ride/puke--same story/different year. And guess what, I'm sure I would still be doing it now if it weren't for the kids and someone having to be a parent. Didn't you know John's twelve-year-old self makes an appearance whenever we're near a theme park or fair, which usually leads to me getting the short straw in the long run. And I guess that's okay because the thought of even stepping on the Ferris Wheel makes me nauseous so you can only imagine what I would be like on the Zipper? My thoughts exactly. 

But we did it, another fair under our belts, another gargantuan turkey leg consumed, and a enough mullet-wearing clad men to last us a year! Now onto losing the eleven pounds I gained in a matter of 5 hours...oy vey.

An afternoon on the tarmac

My kids suffered a severe case of the jitters when we took them to the air show on Saturday.  Brecken practically peed himself with excitement and if you knew me well or have at least read this blog for awhile you know that it doesn't make much for me to pee my pants, so unfortunately that gene was carried down to my poor kid (thank goodness he's not a girl?....) 

Anyway, the air show. For our little town of 1,000 people they put on quite the show. I'll give credit to my string bean broham (aka brother-in-law) he led the charge on putting the whole thing together. And it turned out ah-mazing! Seriously, I'm like a broken record when I say this but we're like a traveling circus wherever we go. Between my family, John's brother's family, Kam, Kelty, and Kambrie's husbands family we were like our own Mormon Mafia on the tarmac. Now trying repeating that sentence in one breathe. 

To say the least it was a great weekend. More to report on for sure but it really turned out to be so fun while also completely exhausting. As all fun should be, right? And let me just apologize for the randomness of my posts lately. This summer, well it's been great, I'm not pregnant and I have babies that can actually walk and move and play in the sun for hours on end so that's what we've been doing--playing, and playing, and playing. And eating Otterpops by the box full....

Love you. 

A wee bitty vacation

A cool thing happened last week while we were on vacation. With the kids' schedule upended and no distinct place to call "home" John and I both participated in this fun game called "kids-stay-up-all-night-and-no-sleep". Have you heard of it? It really is the bestest of the best if I do say so myself. All joking aside vacationing with kids is hard work! You parents that do it regularly should be given a trophy. Heck, maybe a monument! Between the festivities of the Fourth and back-to-back vacations we got a little worked over by our babes. We love them dearly, but holy cow this Momma would have paid a bundle for a nanny on Day Three of our fiasco.

Anyway, John had a conference in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho for a few days and the kids and I tagged along. Have you been there before? It really is gorgeous. It's nestled in the prettiest Northern Idaho valley with rolling mountains full of thick timber that seem to engulf that prettiest crystal blue lake you'll ever see. Our resort aimed to please as well, sprawling floating docks with sandy beaches lining the shore and a golf course with its own floating green. I tried to take pictures, needless to say, between my bags of "necessities," two toddlers, and a stroller I was my own traveling circus, which didn't leave a whole lot of space for picture taking.

Somewhere along the circus shuffle I lost my camera battery which forced us into the nearest Nikon shop  to find a new one. $78 dollars later I left feeling defeated by something the size of a Tic Tac box. I justified the whole ordeal with the fact that a price can't be put on capturing memories. Or so that's what I will say to John when he sees the credit card bill ;)

'Merica, we love you!

Everyone has to write a obligatory Fourth of July post, right? I mean it's only fitting to inundate the blog world with pictures of food, families in matching red/white/ n' blue, and grown boys letting their inner 12-year-old selves out for a day to have a legitimate excuse to play with fire. Anyway, my post is only a week late because who can write about all the festivities the day following? I needed to let it marinade a little, take in the fact that my my baby does not enjoy fireworks and the sound of even the faintest one sends her into a fit of convulsions. It made for a picture-less and dramatic ending to our Independence Celebration. 

I don't know what your Fourth was like but ours was an all-American affair full of parades, BBQs, slip n' slides (it deserves a post of its own), homemade firework launchers, and of course turkey. It's only fitting in our family that turkey should be consumed whenever possible. Turkey is like the awkward step-brother of the Eagle. Maybe...?

||Our only attempt at a family photo. With, of course, a photo bomb by our nephew||

||We spent the morning at the local fireman's pancake breakfast|| It may be the best $7 dollars you'll ever spend|| And in the wake of the poor tragedy in Arizona it felt so nice to show respect to those men and women who put their lives on the line||

||And there are still ten cousins missing from this picture...||

||I told you. Boys will be boys||

We hope you all had a safe and happy Fourth of July. We are so truly grateful for this beautiful country we live in and for the sacrifices so many have made so we can raise our children in a place we call home.

The mundane.

We've taken this whole stay-in-pajamas-all-day-long-mantra a little too seriously. Honestly, our new found laziness has been a bit of a relief. Lots of cartoons and late morning breakfast dates in bed have become commonplace around here. These kids of ours haven't seemed to mind though, pajamas-wearing until two in the afternoon (noted in the picture above) and plenty of Popsicles for breakfast (I know, Mom of the Year right here) have turned them into the world's happiest campers.

The absence of Internet perusing and hours spent typing away opened my day to lots of little projects that have always been idly waiting on the back burner. You know, like mating all the socks and finally throwing away the unfortunate mismatched ones that have been lingering around our laundry room for the past year. Then I got a little energetic one day and tackled the garage, took up mowing the lawn by myself, and even "tried" to plant a few succulents (no green thumb here). On a happier note, and to the excitement of John I even busted out a few new recipes that had been lingering on my Pinterest boards. I've been a list-makin', task-checking fool as of lately.

Seriously, I wish I had more exciting news, but we really were the epitome of mundane. But we're back and ready to try this whole succulent-business again. I hear they're hearty little suckers, but they defeated me.

suggestions?