the other woman

blog, meet the other woman. you know, the one brian's always running off with. if i could run the length of a football field in 2.5 seconds, maybe he'd love me too.

remember that awesome group of guys that gave me a kitchen- they are the crew of 'april's dream'. a car built with a lot of love that 'grandpa' jim and 'grandma' tish race in memory of their daughter april (who loved racing as much as her daddy). its been a while since i've been able to accompany brian to a race- i almost forgot how much heart goes into this hobby. levi was on cloud nine helping daddy fix the car.

mia said her favorite part of the weekend was watching grandpa jim win the race. jim didn't actually win this weekend, but she probably got that impression from all the screaming and clapping i was doing as a ranger full of my favorite people drove to the end of the track after each successful pass.

the monkeys love the races. races mean a hotel stay and unlimited access to juice boxes, snacks, and dirt. it means a lot to brian for his family to be a part of his love affair. he was a proud papa when a devastated miley lamented over not being able to race her dragster this weekend. after the final pass had been made there was family time left for swimming, dinning, and soaking wet log-ridding.

to everything turn, turn, turn

miley's school shares a large piece of property with this great park. after fetching her from class we usually head to the playground for some sand between the toes. the kids explode out the double doors and race hair-in-the-wind across the grass field. this is one of my favorite scenes.

in the thick of tantrums, defiance, and bickering i catch myself yearning for an easier time. in my frustrated mind older children = an easier time (i realize this is a huge misconception). its scenes like this that slap the silly right out of me. that remind me that the uninhibited running, laughter, and play of early childhood is fleeting. that make me wish for the power to stop time.

today i walked slowly behind them with tears in my eyes- attempting to drink them in while mourning the inevitable passing of this young season.

we celebrated (timmy no looky!)

we celebrated our anniversary on the back of a couple of uncle timmy's bikes (uncle timmy- brian's big hearted/kind/generous/funny/handsome boss). we spent the day making our leisure way up the mountain behind our house- stopping in scenic spots along the way. what i'm about to recount should be no surprise since skiing in big bear through brian repeatedly on his ass and sunset kayaking in san diego sent us both swimming with the fishies.

we stopped next to a rock hill. a tempting rock hill. brian climbed it successfully once. with some encouragement from his camera toting companion, he tried it again. not so successful. he gave the powerful bike too much gas- sending it skyward. the bike and its rider rolled down the rocky hill. brian came to a halt with his arms in the air- braced for the bike to come after him.

luckily, the bike never got to brian and he was back on his feet before i had a chance to panic. he limped away with a broken helmet and a badly bruised leg. we were laughing as soon as we knew the fancy/new/expensive/boss-owning bike was okay.

the looming clouds with their threat of rain kept other riders away. we had the mountain virtually to ourselves. it was beautiful. it was peaceful. we took our time, we relaxed, and just enjoyed being together.

a huge thanks to mom and uncle timmy for the much needed breath of fresh air!

(the red bike that i rode and loved is for sale. its a great deal. let me know if your interested.)

eight years

4/14/2001

its a cliche, its overused, its lame, but its true. my wedding day was truly the happiest day of my life- meaning i was uncontrollably happy all day.

we sped away from our reception in the nova, leaving behind nothing but burnt rubber and coughing guests (the boy loves to make a grand exit). we headed south to our hotel. once inside we ordered food, relaxed, and happily reflected. only one thing bothered me- what was wrong with my face. i couldn't figure out what was making my face hurt. brian laughed. he knew the culprit. he knew that i'd been smiling so big, for so long, that it hurt.

happy anniversary to the boy with the grand exits- whose still making me smile.

easter traditions

holiday traditions always bring back childhood memories: matching frilly dresses and rainbow colored eggsalad sandwiches.

brian and i got a bit carried away with the dyeing of the eggs this year. painters tape and an exacto knife allowed us to make some custom creations. the eggs pictured above are brian's handiwork. most of the easter traditions of our childhood were passed on, but there was one stopped in its tracks by an adamant six year old.

while shopping for matching easter dresses last week, mia informed me that she didn't want to where the same dress as her little sister. my heart immediately went to my older sister who hated the matchy matchy of our childhood outfits. so this year my girls hunted for eggs in adorable non-matching dresses already hanging in their closet. tiff- mia and my bank account thank you.

happy easter!

katrice & john 1991

happy hunting from my favorite easter picture ever!

ammo for the middle monkey

2/2009

a few months ago a virus sunk its teeth into family members big and small. miley missed a week of school. she was well enough to return the following monday, but i was still under the weather. she dressed herself and i threw some of her mane haphazardly into a rubber band. we arrived at school a bit early (go me! not the norm.) to observe all the fancy things the other children were wearing- dresses, paton-leather shoes, and utah sized hairbows.

i couldn't believe it- i'd forgotten about her first picture day! you really shouldn't do things like that to a middle child. the pictures came back this week. i was sooooo excited when i saw this shot. some smart photographer zoomed in close to crop out the disheveled outfit and focus on that face. a smile that not even that nasty lake/tree backdrop could diminish.

oh, miss miley- i like you.

more fun than a barrel of monkeys

chirsta and i spent the day together yesterday! we went to ikea (yeah). met up with chelz for lunch at her in-laws restaurant where i devoured the yummiest sandwich ever. seriously. all before wrapping the day back at home with some fake mustache party prep (for seventy unsuspecting rehearsal dinner guests). it was fun. seriously.

felt + scissors + double sided tape= ice breaker & silly picture maker.

santa claus is coming to town

and shes bringing my favorite chubby elf with her.

crazy g-ma & auntie tweece should be leaving the timeshare in vegas any minute, landing on our doorstep in three short hours (which means i should be cleaning instead of blogging). while they're here grandma will be able to take in a dance convention and i'll be able to chip away at my 'when moms in town' list. my eyes will get examined, my eyebrows threaded, and my toes painted by someone other than myself.

grandma doesn't mind my escapades- she practically pushes me out the door. its not that she doesn't enjoy my company (i hope), but she understands what its like to mother a gaggle of kiddos with a husband that's gone too much. something i'd never hoped we'd have in common.

there will still be plenty of together time for trips to the street fair, family walks, and games of uno. the toilets are clean and everyone's excited- we're ready for our crazy grandma.