why i'm not the favorite

brian & levi skipping rocks at the tide pools

mommy: levi, stop throwing rocks! stop throwing rocks! stop throwing rocks! stop throwing rocks! stop throwing rocks!
daddy: dude, let me show you how this is done.

more weekend photos to follow. promise.

eight is great

last week in school, mia was asked to report on an america hero of her choice. i assumed she would pick her beloved dr. king, but another student had already called dibs on him. so she chose her other favorite civil rights leader, susan b. anthony, who "fought for women's rights!" in addition to being a scientist, a teacher, and an author when she grows up, mia would also like to "change all the unfair laws."

her eight year-old heart is brimming with so much compassion, emotion, and love that it has to suffer the occasional burst. and after a good cry-out, her permanent-toothy smile returns with a vengeance. i'm sad the toothless smile didn't hang around for longer. despite my pleads, these kids just keep on growing.

but i'm enjoying these longer-legged lovlies of mine. being able to do big kid stuff with them is fun. and we're lucky to still enjoy some of the little kid stuff too- mia's still president of our fan club. whenever she sees us after being away for any period of time (school, quick trip to the store, whatever) she still gets a running start before jumping on us with her overzealous hugs. my back doesn't like it, but my heart sure does!

this post is a few days early because we have big plans to celebrate the greatness of eight that don't include being anywhere near a computer. a very happy birthday to my big-hearted bug. i can't wait to celebrate with you!

(psst, tiff- do you remember that day? the day a 2 year-old mia insisted on eating her cereal with a gigantic serving spoon and wearing her jammie shirt atop on her head like a do-rag? and she squeezed herself into miley's walker and made english muffin pizzas for lunch? that was a good day. as good as any waterfall hike for sure.)

a girls weekend

after saying good-bye to the boys friday afternoon, the girls made a list of the things they wanted to do during their special weekend. much to my surprise, we were able to check each and every item off the list. it wasn't very relaxing, but it was very fun. mia & miley took turns texting brian updates throughout the weekend. stuff like "daddy i have flwrs on my tos" or "daddy im having do nuts for lnch." the weekend left me feeling very grateful for my girls.

#15

mio, manda, rina, the captain, the scientist, the conductor, sil

#15 was checked off the list with test-revivalist fervor. seven of us bounded up tahquitz canyon toward it's beautiful waterfall and away from january gloom. it was a morning full of pink bandannas, hiking beads, and friendship bracelets.

miley blazed the trail (of course/again) and asked that we all call her "captain." we did. mia educated us on magma's crucial roll in rock formation and told us that she should be a scientist when she grows up. we agreed. my girlfriends and i followed the captain enjoying photo ops, chatter, and the little personalities in front of us. spending time with adults who enjoy your children as much (if not more) than you do, is really something special.

the reward waiting for us atop the trail was the beautiful waterfall that my pictures do not do justice, there was a palm springs resort waiting for us at the trails end. the little lovelies swam while the larger lovelies lounged poolside with pina coladas, pizza, & red velvet birthday cake. we could have stayed like that forever had the setting desert sun not forced us from our lounge chairs. it's a pity the sun has to set on such glorious days.

happy birthday rina!
i hope you enjoyed it as mush as i did.

consumed by cookies (part 2)

so far, part 2 is going much smoother than part 1. knock on wood! this year we have two different girl scouts selling and three different ways you can give your support, if you feel so inclined...

1- buy cookies. by far the yummiest option. grandma gloria will be delivering girl scout cookies to the 801 the end of the month.

2- if you can't eat em, treat em! through our girls, you can buy cookies for deployed military service members. the cookies are put in care packages with letters of gratitude and shipped overseas. cool, eh?

3- you can directly support this years charity. we are a 50/50 troop- half our cookie profits go to charity, and the other half go to fun programming for the girls. this year, my brownies decided (on their own- they make my heart warm!) to help children being treated for cancer and their families. so the troop is donating some cookie proceeds to the local ronald mcdonald house through the walk for kids. you can donate directly to mia's walk here.

our swirly haired daisy, our lellow haired brownie, and their gray haired leader appreciate your love and support! with or without cookies.

four years of trouble

the weekend before his fourth birthday, trouble tackled a sort of rite of passage. he attended an all-boy race weekend with his dad. one day of independence for each year of life. it was just him, his dad, and five of his favorite adults. a weekend full of cinnamon rolls, dirt showers, and dragster tire ferris wheels. after three long days, he came home cuter than i remembered him and dirtier than i'd ever seen him. and then he turned four.

four years of trouble and he still hasn't figured out how to walk. always running, usually happy, and constantly cute. four years of "all boy" and i still haven't tired of spiderman chonies in the laundry or legos underfoot.

happy fourth birthday to my (not-so) baby boy!