Sunday, October 31, 2010

Notorious P.I.G. is in the house!

MUD MASH 2010!! What is it? Only the most incredible race I've ever participated in!
It was 6 miles of water, mud, climbing, ropes, mountains, a Bagpiper, and Vikings. It is the race I will kidnap my friends and force them to participate in because it is THAT much fun!

FIRST: you will need a costume. I went with the pig in mud.
SECOND: You will need to duct tape your shoes to your feet so the mud doesn't suck them off. Then you will need to spray them with PAM cooking spray so the mud doesn't stick.
Me with my Running Grrrls Lacy & Lisa.
Then the race begins. There are a total of 10 obstacles. These are just the ones Martin could get pictures of:
Obstacle 1: Water Walk: 60 yard wade through waist deep water
2. Tryolean Traverse: 100 foot long rope crawl over the lake
....which by the way is not the hard part, it's getting out of the lake that's the real challenge.
Obstacle 3 (not pictured): Swamp Stomp through the reeds, this time it's in shoulder deep water.
Obstacle 4 (not pictured): Climb a 5 foot wall
Obstacles 5 & 6 (not pictured): Over and under telephone poles in the mud. Don't worry, if you forget if you are suppose to go over ... or is it under ... that telephone pole they put spikes on the the poles ... and then painted them red to remind you of blood. Just a friendly reminder of which way to go.
Obstacle 7: Cargo Net Climb. If being 12 feet off the ground on a shaky wobbly net after running a mile isn't enough to get your heart going, the guy swinging his size 13 foot around the pole and into your face defineately will!
Obstacle 8: Climb a 12 foot tall wall. After the cargo net climb, this is a piece of cake!
And then there's the mountain! If you look real close, those things that look like ants coming down the mountain are actually people. There's an elevation gain of 568 feet where they put...
Obstacle #9: Hay Bales Hurdles - 3 foot hurdles on the steepest incline.
They do have a wonderful Bagpiper playing what sounds like your death march up and down the mountain.
Obstacle 10: Mud Pit- You must roll under the flags to get across the pit.

...and if you are doing the 10k, you get to do it ALL OVER AGAIN!
The good news is, the cargo net is not nearly as crowded the second time around.
At this point, even the cheering squad is tired.
And after the 2nd time throught the Mud Pit there are Viking Men blocking your way to the finish with horns on their heads and huge batons in their hands and they are NOT messing around. They are there to TAKE YOU DOWN!
After jumping on one guy's back, I escaped and made my way to the finish.
This little piggy is DONE!
Top Five Things Overheard At MUD MASH 2010:
5. Participan: "I Think I'm going to throw-up!" Volunteer: "Just don't do it near me, I have to stand here for the next couple of hours"
4. I'd hit on you but I'm running
3. Don't worry if you forget the right way to go, we put red spikes on it to help remind you.
2. Rule #2: Don't die! It would really screw things up for next year.
1. Dude, Sorry I hit you so hard. I just had all this adrenaline and you had that hat. (Participant to Viking)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Woody's Roundup



If there's anything that could get me blogging after a 4 month hiatus it would be Halloween! I love dressing up. There really doesn't need to be a holiday involved for me to do it but it does help get everyone else on board.

This has been the year of Toy Story. Everyone in the family loves the movies and I was the one rushing to see the first show on opening day when TS3 came out in the theaters. As designated by Nolan the characters are as follows:
Nolan = Woody

Gabby = Jessie (originally casted as the horse Bullseye but she grew out of her costume before she could wear it)

Martin = Buzz Lightyear

Michelle = The Prospector AKA: Stinky Pete (originally casted as Jessie but see above casting problem)
The first event on our list (of 4) was Boo At The Zoo in Santa Barbara where we got to try out our costumes for the first time. We have a flurry of Halloween parties/activities to go to so I'm hoping all the costumes hold up! I don't feel like I'm the craftiest person in the world but I seem to make an exception when costumes are involved. I'm really proud (and so is Nolan) of Martin's Buzz costume. I made it myself out of white sweats and fabric paint.

Monday, July 5, 2010

The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming! Oh Wait, He's Here.


Yesterday was the Fourth of July and we celebrated it with the usual array of firecrackers, BBQ & beer. The neighborhood block party was a blast. All the kids had a blast jumping in the bounce house, eating way too many American flag decorated cupcakes and launching their own safe & sane firecrackers. Even little Gabrielle was in awe of the firecrakers, clapping her hands, laughing and pointing every time they went off. When all the festivities had died down and I was getting Nolan ready for bed I realized that I had not explained to Nolan what the 4th of July is truly all about. So after I explained it to him he went into a full fledged meltdown ... and I quote, " Noooooooooo! I want England to be in charge of America! I want England to be in charge of the world!" Sweetheart, they tried ... they really tried. He was inconsolible and literally cried himself to sleep. My poor little Englishman.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

How do babies get out of there?!

Well Mom, I don't know whether to blame you or thank you. A few hours ago Nolan got out of bed to ask me, "HOW does the baby get out of the Mommy's body?" Seriously, the kid is barely 3! It just hit him in the middle of the night to ask? So, I asked him if he had asked Daddy (since Daddy was in charge of bed time tonight) and he said, "Daddy said to ask you"! (Way to pass the buck Martin!)

Great! So I confirmed what he was asking me and sure enough he tells me, "Baby grows in Mommy's body. How does baby get out of Mommy's body?" I was completly honest with him, "through the vagina" I answered him. He cracked up laughing and gave me a look like ... seriously ... how does the baby really come out? I thought quickly, "You remember how Grandma showed you that book about how the bladder works?" I reminded him that everyone's body has a bladder where the urine stays until it is ready to go through a special path that takes it out of the body through the penis or vagina. Then I explained that women have a womb that is located above the bladder and the baby grows there until it is ready to take the special path out of the body and through the vagina through a hole just below where the potty comes out.

That seemed to make a lot of sense to him and he seemed to be okay absorbing all of that so I continued to explain how some women have C-Sections to help the baby out. To which he responded, "Why don't those other women just get cuts?" That boy is more Martin than I know how to handle!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Gabrielle - Our Sweet Baby Girl - Turns 1


Dear Sweet Gabrielle,

Happy birthday, your first of many! I am filled with so much excitement and anticipation as I see you stand up and walk ... well, maybe it's more like stumble ... out of the days of baby-ness and down the halls of toddler-hood. You are my little firecracker. You are loud and proud. You are sensitive and loving. You are fickle and self-assured. You are playful and sneaky. You tease me with your hugs and kisses, your eyes and your smile. I love every bit of you. We are still discovering you and all your ways, you are my little enigma. Keep me guessing sweet girl. I don't think I'll ever need to "figure you out", I love you in all your ways.





















Monday, March 29, 2010

Happy Birthday Nolan






My little hula monkeys

Wow, my little guy is three years old today. I'm cringing and smiling all at the same time. He is showing such independence and intelligence all while he asserts himself with a careful balance of tantrums and sweetness. We have had some whirlwind fun over the last few days leading up to today. On Saturday we had a joint birthday for Gabby and Nolan with our amazing neighbors. Today Nolan celebrated at the beach with his cousins and then after nap we are taking off to Doc Burnstiens for ice cream and Grandma's house for presents and family movie night.
Nolan's 3rd year Birthday Wishes...
His birthday guests: Cousins
His birthday dinner request: MEAT!
His birthday dessert: Ice Cream at Doc Burnsteins
His birthday present requests:
*Fillmore (from the movie: Cars)
*An orange soccer ball
*Orange crocs
"That's what me want, mommy. It really important to me

Pics of the Hula Monkey Party for Gigi & Nolan


Michelle, Gabrielle and Jennifer


Nolan's 1st time playing Pin the Tail. Let's just say that after he pinned the tail on the monkey, Mrs. Monkey was a very happy simian. Location. Location. Location.

Obstacle course mania

Friday, March 26, 2010

From The Mouths of Babes

Once again Nolan is about to celebrate a birthday, his 3rd, and I am so sad to see this chapter close. He is a cyclone of sweetness and emotion. Some days are amazing and other days ... well, not so amazing. These are the comments he's made over the last couple of days:

Nolan: "I'm not Nolan anymore"
Mommy: "You're not?" "Who are you then?"
Nolan: "I'm a Man." "I'm a man because I think" "I've got thinks in my head everyday, everyday, everyday."

Nolan: crying "You hurt me!"
Mommy: bewildered "I hurt you?" "How did I hurt you?"
Nolan: sobbing "You hurt me in my brain" "You try to be silly and you not be silly"
I'm still bewildered on this one. I was picking up stuff around the house when he threw that one at me.

Nolan: "I sit next to baby Gabby. I love her. She's special to me."
"Mommy, I want another sister like Gabby."
pointing his finger at me "You work on growing that okay!?"
No comment

My FAVORITE!!!!
Nolan: "Thank you for being my mommy"