Yet another misc post

Which do you prefer? The peaceful, handsome, gentle Ben...

...or the mischievous, happy, squishy-faced Ben?

Lazy Sunday afternoons just chillin' on the Lovesac.


We cut the boys hair. Noah just got a trim around the ears and back since I'm trying to grow his out, but Ben got the buzz. He's thrilled to be having it cut in this picture.

We had the most splendid afternoon on Tuesday. A Japanese woman whom I met at the music class in Fallbrook invited us over to her home to pick some fruit. She has a little boy Isabella's age and her hubby is a retired Marine. Anyway, she was so hospitable and gracious. If this is what all the Japanese are like then I will never want to leave Japan! She had tangerine, grapefruit, lemon and avocado trees. The kids thought it was so cool to just pick and eat. There was a super winding road up to her house that the kids thought was just like a roller coaster. After we left Noah said that was the "bestest time ever." Here is a picture of one of each kind of fruit we picked.

I had my wonderful sister-in-law Jane cut and color my hair today (she lives in San Diego). Here is a before shot....

...and here is the after shot. Yeah, it's brown now and about 4 inches shorter. Can you tell I was itching for a dramatic change? I really like it and it seems like there are a million different ways I can do it. My hair never stays the same way for long. Rob's glad I did something that he isn't necessarily excited about because now he can shave his head (which I can't stand). Although, he says he does like my new look.


While I was taking the pics of my hair the kids decided to have some fun with Photo booth too. Here is a pic of Noah pretending to cry and Issy consoling him.

Pushups, Billy and the Mechanized Museum

Rob came back from a run this week and was doing pushups. Isabella decided to join him.

Here's the Billy update. Alright, he's an Okay dog. Not a great one because he pooped twice in my bedroom. If he did that I'm wondering where he's peed and I haven't caught it yet. Oh well. However, he doesn't bark and likes to play with the kids. He also eats anything smaller than a quarter that he finds on the floor. He you see him getting spun around in chair with the kids. He'll be begging for Amy and Scott when this weekend is done.










Yesterday we went to the Mechanized Museum.  This is right by our house and we always pass by it, but we had never been.  There are all these old jeeps and tanks and big, heavy metal guns.  We had fun crawling all over the giant guns and vehicles.

Billy

We have a new member of our family...until Tuesday.  Billy is Amy and Scott's(Rob's sister and her fiancee) chiuwawa that we are dog-watching while they are in Idaho for the weekend.  The kids are loving it and Billy is warming up to the idea of the little people following him around.  He's actually not a half bad dog.  Let me tell you, he's spoiled, though.  He has two little "beds" that he can sleep/hang out in.  One is just a regular doggie bed and the other is a heated one!  It's like a little tent surrounded with a blanket that gets plugged in.  Truly a Newport Beach dog.  We love having  him.

Fun in Fallbrook

There is a really fun place in Fallbrook called the Michael Coate Early Education Center.  It's run through the Fallbrook school district so like Listos it has some good funding.  Every day they have a singing time in the morning followed by playground time.  Every song they do (which goes for 1 hour and 15 minutes) has actions, props or some sort of cool thing to go with it.  They always do the same songs so the kids get to know them.  The have the classes in English or Spanish and it's obvious that there are lots of people in the English class to learn English.  The instructors have tons of enthusiasm and the kids really enjoy the songs they are learning.  Afterwards, they love to get the wiggles out from just focusing for so long at the playground outside.  There are bikes and a big open space for the kids to ride around on.  I like the playground and giant sand pit.  The kids always have such a good time here and I wonder why more people don't take advantage of it.  I decided to take some pics today to share with you all.  Enjoy!

Children's Dental Health month

Rob had a fun day yesterday going to the local elementary school as part of Children's Dental Health month.  The whole dental department went and it sounds like they had a super fun time.  Rob ran into lots of kids from the neighborhood and church and they were all astounded to see him there. Rob told me a story trying to tell the kids that he (a dentist) wasn't scary, he said "I'm not scary, I may be ugly but I'm not scary." a little boy in the front row raised his hand and said " You ain't ugly". The guys in tan are the dentists and the gals in black are the assistants.  

Brownie thieves

The other day we were outside playing at "our" playground and I was talking to another mom.  All of a sudden, I noticed the kids had wandered back inside and I excused myself to go see what they were up to.  I walked in to them attacking the brownies that they had just helped me make for the valentine's dance at church.  I don't think they look too guilty do they?

Mickey Mouse and my dad

What do Mickey Mouse and my dad have in common? They were both born in 1928 and my dad turns 80 today. Happy birthday, Dad. I hope you have a fabulous day!

Taxes

Wahooooo!!!!! My taxes are e-filed. Hurray!!!!!!

Valentine's Day

I know most of you had a wonderful day full of love and cards, candy and flowers. Not me. I did have the love part, but none of the traditional valentine's kind. My day was kind of a downer (to no fault of Rob's). Ben has had an ear infection for the last two weeks and since he has tubes that means his ear is a constant drain. Well, on Wednesday it started bleeding and I had to take him in to the doctor yesterday. The kids were running amuck and being soooo loud in the doctors office. The doc, who was wonderful with the kids, turns to me and says, "I never know whether to blame the parents or the kids". Thanks, buddy. The kids were just on one. The climate of how my day runs is determined by Noah. If he wants to be nice, then all the kids are nice. If he decides to instigate, then the day is a shambled mess. Any advice? So, one nice thing was that the boys somewhat let me have down time while Isabella slept. I popped in a movie and they were relatively quiet. I had to pick up Ben's prescriptions at the hospital after her nap and that means more sitting in a quiet place with sick people all around. They were okay in my book, but people around me were sure having a fun time laughing at us. I always catch attention when I go out with all of them. Rob came home from his CE course in San Diego after that for some much needed R & R for me. He is so productive. He got the kids to clean up the tornado that swept through the living room and then we all had a nice dinner together. He had an important home teaching appointment last night so he was off and I had to deal with getting Ben to take his first dose of amoxicillian all by myself. He was so tired and cranky, but I did it. As soon as the kids were down, Rob came home, finished a table presentation that he had to do while I read The Kite Runner. Our romantic evening was topped off while we folded this gigantic pile of laundry together while watching Survivor.

There were actually two more loads than this. We then fell asleep reading together in bed. Ah, romance. It was my fault as much as Rob's for not planning a smashing evening. To my credit, though, we did just have a great birthday last month and we are going dancing on Saturday night at a ward valentine's party. Sometimes feeling loved is being comfortable just being yourself. Oh, and Rob got up at 6am to do the enormous pile of dishes this morning. That's the best valentines day present I could ask for. I love you babe!

Wii Champion

We have found Ben's next talent. He's a professional Wii bowler. Rob's brother, Justin, let us borrow his Wii until Amy's wedding in March. Sooooo nice. Anyway, it's been fun to play a round of Wii bowling before bedtime. At first Ben couldn't figure out how to work the remote, but was insistent upon "doing it all by myself". Well, he has figured it out indeed. The last time we played he bowled a 209. Rob was the 157 and Noah was the 77. We were so proud. Although, I do have to put a plug in for myself. I bowled 203 right after this. However, no one has been able to beat Ben's 209. Way to go kid!

Books

So, I just finished reading all the recommend books that people have given me and I need a new read. What do I like you ask? Well, I am relatively new to the enjoyable, hobby reading world so I'm still fine tuning my likes/dislikes. Here are the books I have read lately and what I thought of them.
A Kite Runner is the book I finished last night and, like A Thousand Splendid Suns, it was haunting. I loved both books, but I think I need something a bit lighter next time. If you haven't read these, you must. They take place in Afghanistan over the last 40 years and it is astounding to hear about the atrocities that are happening there. It has also helped me understand the war and why it is so important to stop the Taliban.


I do love John Grisham and all his courtroom tales. There really isn't a Grisham book I don't like. I know I haven't read them all so I can get my fix again sometime. Maybe it's the wanna-be lawyer in me. I've wanted to go to law school for a long time. Anyhow, something like The Rainmaker are the type of books I really like.

Then there are the Stephanie Meyer series of Eclipse, New Moon and Twilight. This is a huge rave, especially in the LDS community and every girl seems to be in love with Edward. Not me. I thought the series was okay and I'm sure I'll read the next one scheduled to come out in August '08, but it was a bit too fairy tale/unrealistic for me. The lawyer in me wants truth and facts, mixed in with a bit of fiction. This series is too far fetched for me. I know I have offended some Bella/Edward/Jacob lovers out there, but that's my opinion and this is my blog. So if you can recommend something UNLIKE this then I am all ears.



So, has anyone read a good book lately that they want to share? I love getting into something that I just can't put down and that I would rather read than sleep for. Suggestions?