love you more...

It was our 9th Anniversary on Feb 25th. We had a great great time. Wade took the day off. I got my hair did. We went shopping. We ate taco bell and listened to Adorable in the parking lot. We did some more shopping. To end the night we went to a rock show. I made him a techno-cozy for his ipod shuffle. He is an amazing person and I love him very much.

Poncho

Now that it is spring and warm I finished Ella's winter poncho. Hmmmm. She can still wear it in the cool mornings and at the beach. It's a good thing I made it bigger so she can wear it next year too. It made me so happy that she couldn't wait to try it on and wear it to school.

V for Victory

There are camping families and there are non-camping families. Well, we are not the camping sort. It' s not that I dislike camping its just something we don't make a priority in our lives. But then whenever we do go (which is usually when someone invites us) I am glad. For president's day weekend our dear friend Chris and his three kids invited us to go for one night. We took what little camping gear we had...three summer weight sleeping bags and the good ol Coleman cooler. This is the extent of our "gear." Chris was so kind as it supply us with the rest.

I really forget how easy it is to get out of the city here. We only ended up driving about 90 min to the Castaic Lake area. It felt as if we had instantly left the grime of the city behind us. The air was amazingly cool and fresh and it really felt like we were escaping it all. As we drove we sang Country Roads over and over again (per Ella's request). Then we proceeded to sing all John Denver's greatest hits along with a few James Taylor tunes circa 1977 era.

We drove right to our spot in the canyon campsite. It was a nice little spot, perfect for children and perfect for me. I've always really liked desert camping but camping near forests always gets to me. I have never slept soundly in the woods. I usually have morbid thoughts running through my head as I lie in my tent. I convince myself that either a bear will attack my tent or a Ted Bundy will come and kill us all.


Upon arrival the men did their manly job of pitching tent and the kids ran directly to the stream. It was beautiful. It was late afternoon and the sun was still keeping us warm.


The fire turned our kids into wild barbarian children. Ella had gotten one shoe soaked in the stream and we didn't have extra shoes. She hopped around on one foot most of the night as her shoe cooked by the fire.



Camping with kids is an interesting thing. Since there were 5 kids it seems as if there was always one kid either demanding something or one kid crying about something. One thing that is on the parents side is that you can trick the kids into thinking it is later then it really is. We ate dogs and smores and put the kids to bed early. Now the party begins. Actually no, we talked and snacked and then hit the sack early ourselves.


Let's just say the night was, well one of those nights where I would say..."Wade, what time is it?." He would reply...1am." Shortly after I would say..."Wade, what time is it now?" He would reply.."1:35am..." and so on. It was freezing. The kids had peed out of their pull ups and the night just kept getting colder. I would doze off for a few and then be woken by a child climbing on top of me or a gust of cold air coming from the corners of the blanket. At one point I looked over at Wade and he had put on all his extra clothing from his suitcase and he couldn't find his hat so he was wearing my wide brimmed audrey hepburn style hat. When morning finally came there was frost on our tent, the blankets were damp with pee and dew and the kids were grumpy as can be. Even with all of this I felt strangely refreshed. We had come out on top. Perhaps I could look at it that way because I I knew my car was right there and I could put the keys in the ignition, turn the heat on and drive back to the conveniences and smog of the city. I don't know, but Ella summed it up when the first thing that came out of her mouth in the morning was the V-for Victory song.

Happy Valentines Day

I have started to collect Valentines both old and new. You can find alot of great ones on ebay or at flea markets...Some of them just give you a down right weird feeling in your gut. Here are some of the creepily cute ones that just rub you the wrong way. I highly recommend clicking on each image to see it in its full glory...


I am frightened by this man boy. Where is his neck?


Cherub babies who strangle one another

Anatomically strange children...


I call this one Karen O.


This one has a Richard Simmons feel to it.