there was nowhere to go but everywhere...

we followed mark around to a couple places a few weeks back. first, he had a golf tournament in st. george that he plays in with his dad most years. we got to spend a weekend with his parents and a friend golfing, shopping and chatting. a good time. the next week, we followed him down to L.A. for work. the boys had a day off school (give me one and i'll gladly take 3.) and we have hard time saying no to an ocean.  so, off we went. 

st. george-ous...

{nice walks with grandma.}

{mr. bean marathons with grandpa.}

{the orange peel, twice a day.}

{the best- avocado, coconut, almond bubble tea. i am slightly addicted.}

old. l.a....

 {i braved the freeways with the boys while mark worked. it wasn't as bad as i had anticipated. i was given some great advice, though, by a good friend who lives there, "signaling is a sign of weakness." i took that advice and ran with it.;)}

 {shopping @ the grove and farmer's market.}

 {we picked the place with the longest line (a crepe place) to eat at, assuming it must be one of the better ones. hard to compete with my mama's crepes though.=)}

{santa monica pier with daddy.}

{angie needs this.;)}

 {the boys wanted it.}

 {i was in southern girl heaven at this little joint. they had the best grilled corn you've ever tasted.}

 {we ate at bottega louie's a few times since it was so close to our hotel. it was really good, and they have an extensive dessert selection. never a bad thing in my book.}

 {"...i was only going to taste it."=)}

 {this seemed to be a constant outside of our hotel. downtown crazies.}

 {those lips.<3}

 {we stopped by the little aquarium so mad could get his shark fix. he loves them.}

{tired, travelin' babies.}

a bug life.

mad found this not so little bug outside the other day. the poor, little fella had already gone to the other side, but we thought it was cool how intact his body still was. so, we have been studying him and saving him in a safe spot until it's madden's turn for show and tell.  i love being a mom of little boys and this sort of thing just comes with the territory; it's like wrestling, fort building, video games, sports, etc.  thankfully, i have a bit of a tomboy side and enjoy most of those things myself.  i was quite a bug girl when i was younger, not the killing kind of bug girl, but i was an extremely sensitive child and had a very soft spot for bugs, animals, and all sorts of creatures {and every other thing that once lived, but that's a whole other story.} we would come out to utah every other summer to stay with my cousins and i would bawl my eyes out when they put salt on the slugs and try to rescue them.  i would also throw bread to the fish so they wouldn't bite while my dad was fishing {it was not too appreciated.} and cry and cry when one was caught {he was sweet and would put them back sometimes.}. when i was around eight and nine years old, i had a bug cemetery for the bugs and frogs that would drown in our pool.  everyday before i swam, i would scoop out the unlucky victims and bury the larger sized ones in our rose garden {there was much imaginative play that went on in that rose garden.  a magical place.}.  i would then hand make tombstones out of rocks and tinfoil and give them all names that were carefully carved onto the foil wrapped rock with a toothpick.  it turned out to be quite a tedious job and became a bit overwhelming, considering it was florida and there are many bugs. therefore, it was pretty short lived, but not for lack of caring about the poor things and their unfortunate demise. {i was quite a strange child.}  i suppose what i have yet to get used to about having boys is their need to destroy.  i cringe when they stomp ants and, to this day, the spiders found in our home will be rescued safely in a cup and placed outside to, most likely, freeze to death. =/

forever & always

happy anniversary to the wonderful man i call my husband. 
i love who you are and i love who i am with you.  
...




Create a playlist at MixPod.com


because it wouldn't be the same without a mixed tape. i have been making them since the beginning of {our} time...

i love you so.

title: howl'oween

characters: 

werewolf- madden

swampfire- max

big, bad wolf- mommy

little, red riding hood- daddy

storyline:  school parades. parties. late, late nights. zero hours spent at home. major sugar rushes. time spent with friends. having so much fun you forget to take pictures. crazy, busy 4 days. going to sleep at 8 p.m. for the next 3 days to recover. too many pumpkin reese's cups. trick or treating for almost 3 hours. "best halloween ever" (so says max=))

 {our boys after their school parade.}

 {somehow i ended up being the room mom again for max's class (no one else stepped up.).  the mod podge jack-o-lanterns ended up being so darling.}

 {swampfire and paper swampfire. i love it.}

 {jack-o-lantern chocolate pies for breakfast...yes, breakfast.}

 {my girlfriend, deann, made her boys' costumes. they turned out wonderful. makin' her mama proud.;)}

 {the trickin' and treatin' gang--my boys, deann and ben's kiddos and their neighbor friends, who give me hope for the ages yet to come (super sweet, darling boys.)}

 {miss rowan girl.<3}

 {....and her love.}

 {everything that a big, bad wolf could want.;)}

 {the wolf-es--how mad used to say wolf.=)}

 {wrong kind of trickin', dee.;)}

 {and into the night it lasted....}

i loooovvvee this song by mother mother. listen, you'll love too. it's lovely and halloween-y.