Too Hot for Disney?...Perhaps

We've been having a heat wave here in California...just in time for fall. Also just in time for fall is Jack Skellington's arrival at the Haunted Mansion. See, they decorate the Haunted Mansion in "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme from September through Christmas and it's kind of our thing. You probably knew that, right? We have been promising Collin we'd get there, and soon and last weekend was our first free Saturday. It was also well over 100 degrees. Ick. So, we made the trip just for the morning. Ahh, the beauty of season passes. You get to see just the thing you want and then hightail it out of there before you melt.

You also get to come home, review your photos and see that you were seated next to a psychopath on the carousel and never knew it.

We met Gracie, Kari and Ben there and it was a pretty fun time. Apparently Ben is going through a "hug" phase and no one can complain about that. How awesome is it to be hugged by a baby boy? Collin's getting him some of that. Ben, however, looks a little suspicious of Collin's methodology.

Since we were with Gracie, we did the faeries and Ben apparently likes them too because, as mentioned, he gets to hug them. How cute is that? My question is this...is it a good job or a sucky job to have to hug a bunch of other people's kids all day? They are cute and all but have you seen how dirty and gross some kids are? I mean sure, Ben is cute. Collin is cute but there's some pretty scuzzy looking kids out there. And they all want to hug you. Just a thought. Can you tell how hot it is?

It was so hot this week that Bryon and I slept on the air mattress in the living room. We have a portable a/c unit in there and I refused to sleep upstairs where it was just too darn hot. Collin thought the whole thing looked too adventurous to resist snuggling up in it when he came downstairs in the morning. A bed! In the living room! Amazing!

C-Diddy

I'm convinced that our friends the Roaches have some super genes because they have the most gorgeous children I've ever seen (besides my own of course). Ignore Paige's closed eyes here; she's using "The Force" because she's unarmed in this light saber battle and she's got no other weapon.

They came over the other day (ahem week) to play and I'm pretty impressed at her ability to fend off two boys with no weapon of her own. She's going to grow up and break some serious hearts. We continue to warn her mother that she had better be prepared for boys to knock down her door and Jen always says, "I hope that child gets my hips to ward some of them off." Ha. Beautiful child.

Anyway, my point is, look at my charmer. He is such a player!

Hands above the blanket, buddy.

Oksana...He is Not

C-man started gymnastics. I have been racking my brain for an "activity" to enroll him in outside of school that would be good for the child that would fit his, let's just call it, exuberance.

When I thought of gymnastics it seemed a good fit. Collin plus jumping, plus swinging, plus tumbling around on squishy stuff seemed ideal. And I was right. He loves it.

I love the outfit. I mistakenly assumed that my boy would need the smallest size shirt. He did not. The "snug" fit shirt is a bit too snug but it definitely doesn't go back over his head when he does flips and it causes his teacher to call him "big boy," in what I can only assume is an endearing way.

Collin rubs his belly and says, "I like my big fat belly," and then laughs like a bowl full of jelly. It's kind of cute. The irony is that his shorts are twenty sizes too big and he looks ridiculous.

The class is one of the best investments we've made for him in a long time. He loves it. Last week, he spent the entire time falling off the balance beams on purpose, as he said, "because falling is more fun."


What will we ever do with that boy?

A Promise....

So, Collin started gymnastics...TWO weeks ago...

He started school...THREE weeks ago....

He had an EPIC and I do mean EPIC light saber battle with Paige and Austin, TWO weeks ago...

We have been to Disneyland to see Jack Skellington's arrival for the Halloween and Christmas season...

We've been without water for a number of days and have some pictures of that...

Among other things...(all of these things exist in typical adorable photographic evidence that you, poor family are being deprived of because I'm too busy).

I just wanted to let you know that I'm on it. I promise. I'll get to it. In the five minutes between homework, I have been choosing either to eat, or pee. Only one or the other. Some days I'm hungry. Some days, I dance around a lot.

This weekend promises to be the crux of it until a few weeks from now when it all rains again with another flood of projects. But, I will update. I swear. I swear.

I have two papers and a project all at the same time. Still, the parents are all coming to celebrate Bryon's promotion. Hip, hip horray for Daddy. So, you will see more belated pictures of that, I'm sure. I'm just excited to wear my new dress.

So, promise more to come soon! Just a reminder that we are still alive.

By the way, did you know that I hate philosophy? I think that anyone who makes a living out of thinking is a butthead.

Super Special Secret Surprise Day

Have you heard of "Walking With the Dinosaurs?" If you haven't and if it comes to your town, buy tickets. It was the coolest thing we've seen in a long time. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth the money. We didn't tell Collin what we were doing until we got inside and he was thrilled when he saw dinosaurs on posters inside. The look on his face alone was worth the price of the ticket.

Despite making Collin smile for a picture, he did love it.

It's hard to get good pictures to show you because The Staples Center doesn't let you bring in a zoom lens and there's no flash allowed during the show, but the dinosaurs move and walk and roar and are life-sized and they sort of fight. It's pretty cool.

Collin wasn't in love with the t-rex, as she was extremely loud. He jumped a few times when she roared but overall he still thought she was impressive.

The brachiosaurs (I'm too lazy to look up how to spell that) grazed the ceiling, they were so tall. Take your kids if it comes to your town! It was so worth the ticket price!!

And I love silly pictures of Collin refusing to pose for Daddy.

Learn Something New Every Day

So, Collin and I were waiting at the playground at Friendship Park the other day....

And waiting....

And waiting....

And waiting....

For once, we were on time to meet Kari and Gracie and Ben. See, I'm usually the late one, or at least the one that's on time and not early.

So, we waited and waited and waited. In fact, I was actually early. Meanwhile, I took some pictures. Like this adorable one.

Finally, I called Kari, fearing she was hit by a car, abducted by aliens or just decided she didn't like me anymore and didn't want to be my friend and couldn't bear to tell me. No answer. Aliens.

So we waited.....

Finally, she called and said she was at the playground. Where were we. Uh, at the playground. Then, she had the audacity to claim that this was impossible because she didn't see us.

So, did you know that there are TWO playgrounds at Friendship Park!

The playground Kari was at is so much better than the playground we were at. And that is why I'm glad to have friends. And I'm glad to have friends that don't get abducted by aliens or get hit by cars.

Oh, and Collin is glad to have friends too. He's going to miss little Miss Gracie who starts kindergarten today. Big girl grew up today!!

My Friday Night Was Cooler Than Yours

Living in California has its perks: the ocean, the weather, the all-around awesomeness. Let's face it, I never, ever complain about living here and I pretty much want to smack those who do in the forehead and shake them around a little and then say, "You want to go back home to where?! OHIO?! NEBRASKA!? Are you mad, man!? Mad!? You are in California!?" Anyway, I like it here.

On Friday, Kelly Spear found this cool event to go to that we initially thought was just some cool fashion show involving Antropologie, one of our favorite stores. It turned out to be a major event involving all of Rodeo Drive, called Fashion Night Out. Umm, can you say super cool fun?

When you live somewhere cool like California, you simply have to take advantage of going to something like this and pretending you belong at a fashion show, right? So, we got all dressed up and laughed at the fact that we totally don't feel comfortable with ourselves when we look "trendy" because we never feel like we pull it off. Then we walked around a store where our names were on a list to get in. A list!!

They had people walking around with trays of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse burgers, Ahi Tuna on toast, and some sort of chicken skewer things. Oh, did I mention the champagne? We even got goodie bags, and they weren't paper! Nor, did they include any sort of noisemaker or children's toy. They were denim tote bags that had stuff worth keeping in them! We got a t-shirt and nail polish and a wallet! For free! I want to hang out in Beverly Hills all the time and pretend I belong there. Quoth Rivers Cuomo: Beverly Hills, that's where I wanna be.

Then, there was the fashion show.

Look! An old, model. And a short one. And a fat one. Well, fat-ish. Apparently, they liked to put all their "bad" qualities in one gal.

In front of us at the Anthropologie Fashion show was this lady. I'm not sure where she got her hat, but I am sure that when I'm old, I want to be just like her. She's the best. I also want Bryon to be just like her man, not giving a damn that his woman is wack-a-doodle and holding her purse. If truth be told, Kelly and I may have strategically positioned ourselves just so we could take a picture of this crazy lady in such a way that it looked like we were taking pictures of the fashion show.

The rest of Rodeo Drive was sort of like free bar-hopping. All the stores were giving out free drinks, from mixed cocktails to champagne, and not the cheap crappy stuff, good stuff. It was amazing.

Jen, Coach had an artist hand-painting tote bags to order right on the spot as a one-night-only gig and they were spectacular. The shocking part was the spoiled little fifteen-year-old rich girls in line to get one. I was imagining these expensive bags strewn on their floor next to their Prada bags, meanwhile I can't afford one but would've really liked to. Stupid girls.

You could ride the Ferris Wheel that they set up outside Tiffany and Co. for one night only with a proof of purchase for free. Kelly and I skipped it, as we dubbed it the Ferris Wheel of Death because it went about twenty times as fast as a typical Ferris wheel and it looked a little sketchy.

Of course, what you really want to know is did we see famous people? Why, of course! This my friends, is Larry King. I spotted him with my famous-people radar. Then, I chickened out in my chasing him for a picture and this is the back of his head because I didn't want to push people to get the front of his head. Just take my word for it, that's him. Had he been someone more exciting, someone better looking, or someone I cared about slightly more than an old crusty dude, maybe I would've been braver.

This is Kelly Osborne. Isn't this a better picture? By the way, she is beautiful and she looks fantastic.
Apparently, this gal is famous too and her "handler" told us her name. Darn it if I remember who she is. Sorry skinny chick, guess you aren't famous enough for me.

This gal is apparently famous as well. Maybe she's famous for having legs that are smaller than my forearm. Yes, my forearm. That is small. I think she might die. We were maybe four feet away from her and the only words I could make out her saying were, "I'm small....Lindsay Lohan." She, by the way, is not beautiful in person, and does not look fantastic.
This guy was right behind us and I was terrified. Kelly thinks he might be the interior decorator on the Anna Nicole Smith show. I've seen about ten minutes of that show and even if he isn't, he should be infamous.

This guy, well I don't know what to say other than he's got some strange ideas about jackets. Dreamy. I like that not only is it a lovely print, it is shiny too. You just don't find something like that off the rack, it has got to be a jacket of his own special design. He is workin' it people. Workin' it.

And look! Darth Vader! Too bad Collin wasn't there. Maybe the Dark Side of Rodeo Drive is being caught wearing knock-offs, or like Kelly and I, actually wearing cheap clothes and posing like you belong. It's vintage! It's vintage!

Did you know Mercedes makes a Delorian? The model in the white, if you held your finger up and did the whole squint thing, she actually disappeared. It was really weird.

But, I'm pretty sure one of the weirdest things I saw all night was this. What was this supposed to be exactly? I don't get the "art" statement.