Caught in the Act

This is a boy who was caught in the act! Luckily, he was caught by Grandma who was tickled more by his mischievous deed then anything else. I really can't blame him though, Peppermint Patties are one of my all time favorites too :) For just a tad bit of history, Andrew tries to pull this little chair in front of Grandma's pantry and help himself. He had never gotten away with it, until this day.

A Cousin ... A Best Friend!

Oh how my boys LOVE their cousins!! They are truly their best friends! Growing up I wasn't as fortunate as my boys are to have cousins around to play with and really get to know. But not my boys, they really lucked out. Not only are their cousins fun to be with, but they are some of the best role models around. They truly look up to and admire each one of them.

A Friendly Competition

Fundraising, fundraising, fundraising ... can I just say I'm not a fan of fundraising! I desperately hate asking people for money, in fact I cringe every time I even hear the word. Well Austin has almost reached the age of Cub Scouts and I am so excited for him. He is fortunate enough to enter the Scouting program right before their week long day camp. To help with the cost of day camp the Scouts put together a dessert silent auction last night and Austin was invited to participate.

I really didn't know what to make for the auction. I wanted people to feel that the dessert they were buying was worth the money they spent on it, so I decided to make a Turtle Cheesecake and an Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Both which were pretty to look at.Spencer on the other hand laughed at me and said why don't you just make a cake from the box? My pride got the better of me and I told him no, I needed to make something better than that. He just laughed again and told me that he was going to make his own cakes from the box. I totally underestimated his ability to pull it off so I went ahead (my pride getting the better of me again) and made a little bet with him. I told him that I just knew I'd earn more money with my two desserts than he would with his and if I was right he would have to give me a really nice back rub. The bet was on.

Well needless to say, Spencer won. Like I said earlier I totally underestimated him! He is such a creative and talented person and totally pulled off two completely cool cakes. One was a lemon cake decorated with gummy butterflies. The other a chocolate cake that he tactfully mangled and frosted then strategically placed gummy army men as if they were in a battle against each other. It was really cool! So in the end I lost the bet by $4. The good news is we helped raise a lot of money for the Cub Scouts and it was actually a really enjoyable fundraiser ... and I am humble enough to admit defeat.

10 Year Anniversary Getaway

Reaching 10 years of happy marriage is definitely a call for a celebration! Or, in our case, a fiesta ... an 8 day long fiesta in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was heaven! The Resort: Oh my goodness the resort! It was breathtaking. Our Junior suite was 435 sq. ft. with a full ocean view and private balcony. One of my favorite things about the room, other than the view, was the shampoo and lotion bottles they brought me each day; Bath & Body Works, coconut lime verbena. It was fabulous.

The resort itself sat right on the beach and offered 5 different swimming pools throughout the complex to swim in. All of the pools were what they call Aqua bars. They were all fully equipped to serve food and beverages. When we arrived Spencer and I were given a $300 credit for food and beverages at our resort for attending a timeshare presentation. That 90 minutes of our time turned our stay into an all-inclusive gift. You can't beat that! The restaurants ranged from fancy to 5 diamond fancy so needless to say, we ate good! Here is a link to our resort: http://www.pueblobonitosunsetbeach.com/

Another fabulous perk to this resort is that they have sister resorts all over Cabo and every hour a shuttle bus will transport you from one resort to the other free of charge. You are then welcome to utilize their beachfront, pool and amenities.

The Beach: It really doesn't get a whole lot better than relaxing in 88 degree weather in April; shopping from the comfort of your own lounge chair; or sipping 'virgin' pina coladas while watching the waves crash against the beach. And when you feel the need to jump into the pool or ocean to cool off it's all within reach of each other. That was life everyday, and I miss it already! We did do some fun activities like renting wave runners and paddle boards. Both Spencer and I got 40 minute massages on the beach for $20 each, and we took a ride in a glass bottom boat over to the the famous "Lands End" rock formation. Another treat each day was finding "the Mango Lady" as Spencer calls her. For $5 she peels fresh mangos and serves them with chili sauce. Believe it or not, they are good. We also got peeled cucumbers doused in lime juice and a touch of salt.

Cabo Wabo: The most well known night club in Cabo is a cantina called Cabo Wabo owned by former Van Halen musician Sammy Hagar. Each night a house band performs and it's just a really fun place to be. So Thursday night we decided to go there. After our taxi driver dropped us off we walked up to the entrance, showed our ID's and walked right on in. We were there for about 15 minutes and then the crowd started chanting and going crazy. Spencer turned to the waitress and asked who's performing and she said, "Sammy's here". What!?? For real? How could we be so lucky! Not only was Sammy performing but his latest band called Chickenfoot was with him, minus their drummer. Chickenfoot's band members include, former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar & Michael Anthony and one of the best rock guitarists, Joe Satriani. It was awesome! After the concert I then turned to the bouncer by the door and asked him how often Sammy performs here at the club and he said 3 times a year. We are still in awe at how we were able to just walk right in, 15 minutes before it started, with not even a cover charge to enter. What an experience to say the least!

The Food: Coconut Shrimp, Fillet Mignon, Shrimp Pad Thai, Skirt Steak Nachos, Seafood Enchiladas, Shrimp Tacos, Chicken Tamales, Coconut Cake, Key Lime Pie, and lots of 'virgin' Pina Coladas are just a few of the wonderful, calorie rich foods that I ate, and boy were they good! Oh, and I can't forget to mention the homemade guacamole and Caesar salads too. So good! Even right now I could still go for some good Mexican food.

The entire trip was amazing. I am sad to see it end but very excited to see my sweet little boys again, all of which did fabulous while we were away. I am grateful to have such a wonderful husband! Spencer is a man who spoils me rotten, loves me despite my flaws, and a man I just dearly love. Thank you Spencer for being the wonderful man you are! Cheers to another 10 years!

I added a slideshow but it drives me nuts how grainy the pictures look :(

A Reality All Too Real

It's not very often when you wish a doctor of medicine to be wrong in his diagnosis. But that is exactly what I was wishing for when it came to my Mom and her health. After undergoing a biopsy for enlarged lymph nodes, good news came back saying she was negative for Lymphoma Cancer. Unfortunately, her doctor didn't seem to agree with the results, calling it a "False Negative". He said in his experience it's not uncommon to find false negatives and he was convinced she did in fact have Lymphoma. I know cancer is real and effects a lot of people but it has never hit this close to home. Shortly afterwords my Mom underwent surgery where they removed 2 lymph nodes under her arm and did an extensive biopsy on them both. The final result ... NO CANCER!! I can hardly express the relief that this news brought. During her recovery I was able to spend the weekend at her house. I am so grateful to Spencer for supporting me and bending over backwards making it possible for me to be with her.

Family Hike

Spring weather in the north west can be a little too depressing sometimes if you ask me! But every now and then Mother Nature will bless us with a nice, dry day and when that happens you best take advantage of it. Such a day came a few weeks ago. After a short deliberation of figuring out what we wanted to do we packed a picnic lunch, drove to Multnomah Falls, and hiked to the top. You really can't beat the beauty of this hike. The Gorge is such a beautiful sight to see, especially on a nice, clear day. I find it refreshing when granted these nice breaks in the weather. All it takes is one beautiful day to remind me of why I live (and love) the NW.

Something to look forward to...

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
10 year wedding anniversary

I Often Wonder??

I often wonder why I have a playroom full of toys!? Some days it feels like toys are for the boys to just pull out and scatter around the play room with very little time, if any at all, actually spent playing with them. And I keep asking myself why it is that I spend a good deal of money on a toy when a single roll of tape and paper will hold their attention much longer?? I wonder if I would regret donating more than half of these toys? I wonder if I am the only Mother who feels this way?

Weekend Visit at my Mom's

Last Friday after work my family and I headed up to my Mom's house for a weekend visit. We spent part of the day on Saturday shopping at Ross. I love that store! Spencer was a great sport and took control of the boys so my Mom and I could have the time needed to sort through all of the racks. Dinner was at Applebee's. After we got home and put the kids to bed we watched the movie, Everyman's War. The movie was filmed partly in my hometown and Spencer got to be an extra in it, so it was fun to see. It was actually a really good historical movie.

Church was at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning and when we got home Bill made us an awesome breakfast. French toast, eggs, bacon, the whole works. We spent the afternoon talking, resting and enjoying each others company. Before we left, Bill made us his famous tacos and Austin couldn't get enough of them. He ate 5. After dinner we made our trek back home. It was a great visit.

My Goal for 2010

Last year I chose a single word to summarize what my resolution would be for the entire year. I loved doing this. I think choosing one main goal is so much more realistic then having a long list of resolutions. So in keeping with this tradition I have chosen a new word that I would like to focus my attention on this year. My word is ... Discipline.

A few months ago I started thinking a lot about what my goals are and then I realized something that I had been lacking, the discipline to make them happen. That is when the word discipline really stuck in my mind. I honestly tried to find a different word to convey the same message, but I can't. It's too perfect.

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.
- Jim Rohn
So there it is. Discipline is what I need and what I want! This is my new years resolution.