Kids being kids

P.S. Have you realized yet that Ryan has been posing for the camera and his "posing face" is just too cute!! It is practically the only face he can make for the camera. It cracks me up.

A short getaway

So I have no pictures at all to share or prove as evidence but this weekend me and my best friend Amber drove to California to visit our other best friend Natalie. Natalie along with her husband Matt and three adorable children recently moved to a place called Temecula.

It was a short weekend trip which was sort of nice cause it meant no extra planning for a sitter (Jake is home on the weekend), I only had to take one bag and shorter trips mean less expenses.

I was able to be with Natalie and Amber for an ENTIRE weekend which means hours upon hours of chatting and catching up...especially for me and Amber on the way there and back.

As much as I love and adore my little ones it was a nice stress free weekend. I had no worries and stresses that come with children and traveling with children.

It was wonderful to see Natalie's new home and life in Cali. I am so happy for the opportunity her and Matt had to move there. Temecula is really beautiful city.

Also nice to get away from the everyday life of taking care of my kids, the heat of Arizona, taking care of other kids, maintaining a house and everything that comes with it.

I also loved coming back. Experiencing the happiness and joy that comes from a weekend away. So excited come home to people I love and know how much I love and enjoy Jake and my little boys.

It is silly cause it was just a short simple, relaxing, hanging out weekend but a lot of good came from it and since I had no pictures from the trip I wanted to post something about it.

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This picture of course wasn't from the trip but it is the most recent pictures of "my girls". My best friends, these women who have always been there for me no matter how crazy my life or their life is - you know those friends you can tell anything to and that you can laugh hysterically with at 3:30 in the morning till your cheeks hurt. Yes, these are the amazing women who I was able to spend an entire weekend with. I am not one of those people who have a ton of friends. I have always had a few close friends. But what is great is that I don't have to worry about gossiping, backbiting, fights, arguments or anything petty. We are lifelong, eternal friends and these women are a place of solace and refuge in life. They are great and wonderful and I am so blessed to have them in my life.

Kids cost money

Not that it is news to anyone that children cost money

Lately Jake and I have realized that our wonderful children seem to cost more money than others (or I am just a bad mother to not have my eye on them every five seconds).

So far to date:

Brody has flushed an ipod down the toilet (at 2 yrs old) = $100

Brody flushed the lid of a Vaseline lid down the toilet costing us a new toilet = $180

Ryan ruined our home theater system = $300

Total = $580

So I believe Jake and I will be encouraging our boys to get after school jobs as soon as they are 16 years old so they can start paying us back for the stuff they broke/flushed!!

There was this phrase Jake and his siblings grew up hearing from Cliff, "you kids just destroy, destroy, destroy"...boy was he right!!!!!

Dirt + Water = Fun

Even from afar I could tell he was bottomless and having a fun ol' time just playing in the mud...naked bum and all!! Proof that children are a handful but sometimes you just sit back and laugh at their mischievous ways cause what can you do...other than take some pictures :)

Parents never let your guard down!

Brody has been allowed to be in his Mom and Dad's bedroom. He is adorable sitting on the bed watching his Rainbow Fish movie that he sings along with. For a child that doesn't really talk I just had to allow this cause of how great and cute it was (plus we only had it on VHS and the only working VCR was in our room).

One of the times Brody was in our room and our guard was down cause I stupidly thought, "Ryan is the trouble-maker"....right? WRONG

Brody is a bit older and MOSTLY doesn't mess with things or break things but...

From our detective work this is how it went down:

Brody got bored with his movie

Brody went into our bathroom

Brody got the lid of the Vaseline container

Brody flushed the lid down the toilet

Later

The toilet kept clogging and no amount of plunging help fix the problem

Much later

We have a new toilet in our bathroom

New rule

Brody is not allowed to hang out in our room

A DVD was purchased of Rainbow Fish so that our VCR in our bedroom didn't have to be used

**Brody this amount we spent to purchase this toilet will be deducted from your future allowance!!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all women. I feel that Mother's Day, in many ways, is a celebration of women and the roles they play in the lives who surround them.

Good thing they are cute!

My boys have been frustrating this week so I am posting pictures that remind me they are cute and adorable.