I've been getting many responses, both on and off the blog, regarding my post on Ikea, Disneyland, etc. I realize that my issue really is being forced in with the masses. I'm not a group person. I hate group exercise, group movie premiers, etc. If you add heat into the equation and standing for long periods of time, I absolutely hate it. I'm purposely going to go back to Ikea on, let's say a Tuesday afternoon about 1p.m. and see how I like it. I'm going to wait until school is in, and then go to Disneyland. I bet I love it.

Well, Brett's mom pointed out that I was sounding like a grumpy old man, and she was right! What is wrong with me? I'm only 40. I shouldn't be so grumpy about stuff like that yet. Why can't I lighten up a little and enjoy stuff, even if it is doing things that are physically taxing? So today, I purposely picked something to do that I innately did NOT want to do. I have my two little ones alone for three days.

*Warning: Jealousy may ensue at this part*

My older three kids are at a beach house with a new friend's family and 2 other teens from our ward. This beach house is right on the beach complete with hot tub and tons of bunk beds, etc. I wanted them to help me paint and organize this week, but how can I say no to a beach house? Did I mention it is right on the beach? So I talked to Ali today and asked what they have been up to. She said, "Well...we surfed, played hide and seek, sat in the hot tub, oh! and we slept on the beach last night mom. It was so awesome. We just all snuggled up and brought little mattresses out and slept on the beach. It was kind of like sleeping on top of the houseboat at Lake Powell only better." I thought, what in the heck am I doing up here cleaning?!

ANYWAY...back to my exciting story. So, I had the two little ones. I told Sydney that she could do whatever she wanted, but I was not going to entertain her today as I had a lot to do. Well, after two hours of quietness on her part (meaning she was probably watching episode after episode of Cake Boss), I decided to change plans and do something I wouldn't want to simply because a little child would enjoy it.

I CHOSE ........... THE L.A. ZOO.

I know, right? I was mumbling to myself as we stood in the long line at the front, wondering what in the world I was thinking. As I paid the $23 entry, I was wondering what was I thinking. As I walked uphill the whole scantily-filled and under construction zoo, I wondered what was I thinking.

Then something magical happened.

KATE SAW A GORILLA UP CLOSE.

Her eyes were as big as saucers. The gorilla was staring her down. We saw the little gorilla sliding around, trying to play with its mom. The mom was having none of it. She probably had told him earlier that he could do whatever he wanted, but that she was not going to entertain him, because she had a lot to do.

It was so magical. Suddenly, I felt like I was in one of those Mastercard commercials = Priceless. I was in a really good mood after that and even decided to buy Sydney a cotton candy. You know I am happy when I do that. Sydney was now extremely happy, because she only gets cotton candy maybe once a year, and even then I am usually talking the whole eating time about how it is just made of sugar...yuck...so bad for you.... This time, I just smiled and let her enjoy it.

It was great. Afterwards, we even stopped at the paint store, the dry cleaners for Brett, and finally a new bakery to try out a fudge brownie for me. When we made it home, we were exhausted, but I was happy.

I know that my posts are sometimes so random. I watched this video this morning and it reaffirmed how grateful I am to be a mother. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father trusts women in this sacred work. I am grateful for Spencer and the role he plays in our family. He has been such a blessing to us and his younger sisters, filling our home with stories, laughter, and example. He leaves in two weeks for college. If I stop blogging at this time, please call me and see if I am all right :) I am grateful to Maddie for her independence and ability to do just about anything. I am grateful for the peaceful way that she lives her life and the faith with which she faces challenges. I am grateful for Ali for the way she loves home and quality time. I am grateful for her passion and flair. I am grateful that of the 3 days the kids have been gone, she has called me every day to check in and share their fun with me. This move has been the hardest for her, and I am grateful that she is trying. I am grateful for Sydney and the way she is with me all of the time. She is my partner in raising Kate and takes her role very seriously. I am grateful that she is service minded and has a sense of humor. I am grateful for Kate who has refocused me at a time full of uncertainty and change. She has given me a warm little body to hold, rock, and kiss and has been the instrument to teach my other kids more about love.

This work is sacred. Leave it to Elder Holland to give the following message so powerfully.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYLKVgwztY

BABY KATE TURNS 1

Just before the cake eating began, all stripped down. She doesn't even know what is in store for her moments away...

It took forever for me to shave all of that chocolate into curls. jk jk

Hmm, what do I do with this?

Ok. Got it.
What?
Thank you Kate for the most wonderful year.

Thoughts on a Sunday Night after Dishes And Personal Progress Are Done

You know how sometimes you buy that great trail mix from*cough* Costco, that has real m&ms, which none of the other trail mixes do, and find that someone pilfered the m&ms, leaving you with nothing but nuts? You know how it's kind of fun to write run-on sentences sometimes? Anyway, you know how when that happens, it can be so frustrating to reach your hand in and not find one m&m?

Look how cool this is. We had reached the no m&m point by the time we arrived at my mom's house after our 12-hour drive. We must have mentioned it as she was putting the trail mix in the freezer. (Don't ask. Everything goes in the freezer.)

The next day, mom had done this. Christmas!!

You know how sometimes a girl just wants to create something girly? You know how it either needs to involve fabric, paint, ribbon or paper? Well, when Jane comes, we are making these babies for the girls' rooms. They each need a couple I think.

We are also watching Anne of Green Gables from start to finish I decided. We should also go to that donut place which has the huge donut in front of it that is used in a lot of movies, most recently in 2012 where it came off and was rolling down the street as cars were being swallowed up and homes were being ripped apart.

You know how when you have a dog, that dog usually picks his favorite family member? You know how sometimes you have to take a dog on a 12-hour car ride, because you don't want to leave him for 2 weeks in a kennel with strangers? This was Rudy and how close he wanted to be to Brett the entire trip when not forced in the back.

Many times, both Rudy and Kate are staring at Brett like this at the same time. He wants to know why I don't closely and longingly gaze at him like this. No, those aren't his glasses. Those are one of the girls.. Oh what the heck, I'm going to go try staring at Brett like this and see what he does. I'll report back. e

LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIPS

1. IKEA

I'm going to just get this out. I don't like going to IKEA. Not at all. I know I'm supposed to like it and I know it's cheap, indie, and earth friendly, but I hate it. A- I don't like going anywhere that has a cattle-in-a-feed lot feel. I don't like that you HAVE to go the direction through the store that they force you to. I don't like the hordes of people (cattle) who are traveling in that same direction with me. I want a mom-and-pop shop where I know the owner and I buy a little piece from him or her every so often.

Today we decided that we needed to venture to IKEA. In Burbank. We had the kids with us and said, "Come on guys. Let's go to Ikea and get a bookcase or two." It sounded semi harmless at the time...(this picture was taken at the front of the store, before the process began. Actually, it was when it started to dawn on me that I was not going to like this and would need to blog about it later.)Things turned bad when we entered the feed lot, I mean store. Suddenly, everything was so impersonal and wrong. I even decided that I don't live in Europe!! As much as I love Europe, why does everything have to be in Swedish?! Malm....Senille....Engar....Boslo... Can't you just say it's a white bookshelf? And I don't want to go find it myself. I really don't. I want a nice worker guy helping me and loading it in my car. I don't want to have to stand outside in the heat with my 3 shopping carts while Brett waits in a two-block line of cars just to get into the loading area.

By the time we escaped, we had two dressers, 3 bookshelves, an under-the-bed rolling storage thingamabob, a light, some storage thingees, and two candy bars grabbed by me at the cash register. (Of course, they were to share.) Good thing I had those or I would have hurt someone.

2-DISNEYLAND

Dear Disneyland: I know that you labeled yourself "the happiest place on earth" as if we can't decide for ourselves where the happiest place on earth is. For me, it's my home, followed by the temple, followed by a friend or family member's home, followed by a concert or live music performance. You can't just tell me that it's Mickey's house. I'm all right with you, and have enjoyed myself from time to time if a-the weather is mellow... b-it is not crowded... and c-there is no baby involved. You give me a hot day, or swarms of people and lines, or a sweaty little one needing a diaper change, and not only are you NOT the happiest place on earth, you are a very uncool, bordering on miserable place.

There. I admitted it. I'm not a huge Disney fan. I feel a lot better. Darcy, I'm sorry! Laura, I'm sorry! Heidi, I'm sorry! Laurie, I'm sorry! Mark and Peggy Rinehart, I'm sorry! Forgive me! I'd rather go to a park. Or a cruise. Or weed my garden. BUT, let me say that I will be taking Sydney soon, because she doesn't understand why we live here and haven't been yet. I will do my motherly duty and provide the "Disney Experience" for my kids. But let me say, that I will do it on my terms. I'll only go with Kate if her best friend, Brett, is with me. And I'll only go if it's a day when others are in school. And I'll only go if the weather isn't too hot.

3-COSTCO

Costco, I don't need super large quantities of ANYTHING! You sucker me into buying way more than I can store, or can eat every time, especially now when I have no storage. I don't even want to see large packages of anything, let alone walk out of your establishment hundreds of dollars later wondering what the heck just happened.

I can handle you, even appreciate you for big events like Lake Powell, a church party, cheap gas, or even when buying big electronics like a TV. I also like getting pictures developed there, but only because it is right by the door. I like you then, but on a day-to-day basis, you mostly just make me tired. Make me go to Costco on a Saturday, and I'm in a bad mood the rest of the day.

Give me a local market where I know the friendly workers, it's by my house, and I come away under $60 most of the time. Nice.

4-OUTLET MALLS

I know. I should love outlet malls, right? After all, who wants to pay full price? The problem for me is that outlet malls are a waste of time. By the time you shop for things you don't really need in store after store, you end up spending MORE MONEY. Most outlets aren't even cheaper than the sale racks at the store. Most outlet malls aren't necessarily close to home either. By the time you spend gas to drive to the plethora of stores that you never normally shop at and spend 3 hours aimlessly looking, I come away exhausted with perhaps a shirt or two.

The only time this doesn't apply is when on a girls' trip and I have no children or place I need to be instead. Only then is it enjoyable. I don't mind if I don't buy anything. It's just fun to be on a girls' trip.

***side note. Ali just came and asked me if I would put on Carole King. Wow. That made me happy. I just listened to So Far Away. That doesn't make me sad at all. Not one bit.***

***side note. I really like this town we live in.***

Well, I'm going to go help Brett put together the boslo and senille and malm units we purchased today. That's our Sat. night date night.

Oh, and all I can say about the fancy party in downtown last night is....WE ARE NOT IN UTAH ANYMORE. :)

Well, we are all finally home. Home in California. After 15 great days in Utah, I flew home, to the Burbank airport today. (If anyone flies here, that is the closest most awesome small airport. Always check there. Sometimes it isn't more expensive.)

Spencie picked us up. He had a fun week with Brett going to a Dodgers Game and the temple. I know he probably also ate out a lot since I wasn't here.

Kate only had one blowout on the plane, forcing her pants to be washed in the airport sink and bundled up in my diaper bag. Other than that, the air travel with two little ones, a stroller, car seat, car seat base, camera bag, bulging diaper bag, roll on, and purse went fine.

When I got home, it felt good. The girls arrived from girls' camp shortly afterwards, where they had been kayaking in the ocean near Santa Barbara and living at a Christian camp filled with tarantulas for the week. I couldn't believe it. There was one in Maddie's cabin, one on the window of the building while they were doing skits, some on the pathways.... I'm so sicked out. I would have died. No way could I have slept. This picture is taken from Ali's camera. She was right there. SCARY!!

Maddie spent the whole time making bracelets and that string thing in her hair. Should I have her make me one?

I am supposed to go to a fancy party in downtown L.A. with Brett tonight for the opening of TurboFire, a new workout series by Beachbody and Chaleane Johnson. I'm sure I'll look the buffest of all of them, but I don't want them to feel self conscious or intimidated around me. What should I do?

Poor Kate is sick. She has a fever and is pretty whiny. I love her. I love rubbing her fuzzy head and her temporarily soft, but hot back.

I came home determined to repaint the girls' rooms in the 2nd house this week. Why not? The gray-green just doesn't fit out there. There isn't enough light. I'm going to do a happier, lighter green with turqoise and white accents in pillows, etc. I think it will look cheerier. My goal is to get it all done before Jane comes. This week will be a busy one.

I love my old neighbor Jim. He knows all of our names, even Rudy's. He was talking to me through our wall of bushes and it reminded me of Home Improvement where you can only see the partial face of the neighbor when they talk. It was just like that.

I can't wait to see Brett. He rescued me from two states away last night when I locked my key in the car in Utah after Emilee's reception. As always, all I have to do is call him and he hooked me up with AAA and within 1/2 hour, I was on my way. Speaking of Emilee's wedding, it was wonderful. I was glad I stayed in Utah to be a part of it.

I am so thankful to my mom for giving us such a great place to stay; quiet for naps, food constantly coming, laundry always going, and babysitting daily so I could float around to visit and get stuff done. My favorite: frozen chocolate chip cookies to nibble on when I got home after a long day. I did 3 puzzles while I was there.

More on my Utah trip later...

Well, time to go buy food, unload the car, figure out dinner, shower, and love on my kids. Thanks for a great trip UTAH!!

Terrorist Alert:

Did you know that now, due to new face-scanning technology, you are no longer allowed to smile in a passport picture? You must be serious faced, so that the scanner can search the database for you and decide if you are a terrorist or not. So when my brother was taking these pictures for us, it was painful not to smile. Well, Spencer kind of enjoyed it, but for the rest of us..painful. As you can tell, Ali and I couldn't do it fully. He said a tiny smirk would probably be ok. After all, terrorists probably smirk, because they know they are so darn sneaky. Brett, of course, already has his passport and uses it to fly all over the lucky place after place, but now WE must go. Must travel!!! Where should we go? And how cute is Kate's? She looks tough in that strawberry getup.

*note to government: Although I used the word 'terrorist', there is no need to red flag my blog.