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)

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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

Dancing Queen

I swear the girl has rhythm that I only get after having a few....

Seussical The Musical

There are those moments, as a parent, that I step back and think.... "I'm doing okay. I am a good mom." Last Sunday did not start out as one of those moments.

I really got Nolan pumped up to see Suessical The Musical. Our first introduction to a musical was the Nipomo High School production of Beauty and The Beast and he was enthralled. Since then we've been itching to find another affordable and appropriate show .... not an easy feat for someone who is not yet 3 years old. Then we see a poster for Seussical The Musical. It could not have been any more perfect. The kid dressed up as The Cat In The Hat for Halloween for pete's sake!

So Nolan is all decked out in his Halloween Costume .. hat, whiskers and all! He is ready to see this show. Every 10 minutes or so he says to me, "Mommy, I am so excited." We drive to San Luis Obispo and stand in a very long line and when we get to the ticket counter the dreaded words come, "I'm sorry, we're all sold out." Not only were they sold out but they were oversold so we couldn't even cling to the hope that someone wouldn't show up for their will call tickets.

So I begin to explain to my little cat in the hat that we are not going to be able to go to the show. The mouth quiver begins, the head goes bag and then the wail comes out full throttle. I felt like such an ass standing in front of that huge line of people picking up their reserved tickets. Who get's their kid that excited for a show, dresses them up and then doesn't have tickets reserved!?
He looked so pitiful standing there with tears streaming down his face, smearing his whiskers. So pitiful, in fact, that an amazingly wonderful woman came up to us and gave her one of her tickets. She offered to sit her son on her lap so she would only need one ticket and we could do the same. Amazing stranger lady saved the day! It was an amazing show, as you can see from the smile on his face.


Gertrude, the one feathered bird, and Nolan



Nolan and the Momma Kangaroo (from Horton Hears A Who)




The Two Cat In the Hats and Horton the Elephant.

Bye Bye Boo Boo?

Heidi and kids at Boo Boo Records



Today we all headed over to Boo Boo Records for music time on the rumor that it would be our last. After 13 years Boo Boo Records announced that they were stopping their music program. I felt that guilty twinge in my heart for every CD I had bought on Amazon and cursed myself for not supporting local business. It was heartbreaking news for us since Nolan has been going since he was 9 months old and now Gabby has embraced the Boo Boo experience with gusto.

We headed into San Luis for our last "Baby Beluga" and a promise to buy the kids the Boo Boo Records T-shirts I had been eyeballing for months. We could see the droves of kids and parents flocking to Boo Boo's. Hidie announced that thanks to a huge mommy response the store is looking into ways to keep it going in some shape or form. We have our fingers crossed, but just in case ... I took pictures.




Gabby already trying to join the kids on stage.


Nolan driving his "Fire Truck" to Ivan Ultz

Way To Go Idaho!

So we spent this last week visiting my sister, her husband and all the kids in Idaho. How it the world I got labeled as the hyperactive kid in my family is beyond me! We never stopped, it was food and entertainment 24-7. Nolan's bed time was usually somewhere around 11 p.m for 9 days straight. Jennifer had so many fun things planned for us we took her up on all of it!

After a 14 hour drive to Idaho, we jumped in the car the next morning and drove 2 hours to McCall to go play in the snow. The boys were sledding down bumpy hills at rocket speeds and when I tried to follow I just ended up face planting in the snow. Some little girls showed us a much safer way to enjoy the snow called "Penguin's".

Hannah, Nolan & Martin doing the Penguin. Nolan was yelling, "I'm winning".

Later that night we ended up in the E.R. with Gabby. She was feverish and sounding like a weird squeaky toy with every breath. They diagnosed her with croup and gave her a steriod and Nebulizer treatment. Martin had to hold a mask over her little face while she struggled and cried while I held down her arms and legs. It was the worst feeling ever! What a way to spend her first Valentine's Day. So we hunkered down for a couple of days and celebrated my birthday at the house (that one will get it's own post)


The boys taught Nolan how to do his D.J. This is a pic of him doing his, "Weeka Weeka, Brains in my Head, Brains in my Head, B-B-B-B Brains in my Head". Oh the things he learned from his cousins.

The food ... The food... I swear we all gained massive amounts of weight. My sister, the foodie, I don't even know how to express to you her obsession. Oh, I know. On my birthday we went to Idaho's best breakfast spot, Goldie's. After Jen ordered a special no longer on the menu the waiter casually said he'd see if they could still make it. Wrong answer. By the time the waiter left the table with our order he said, "Okay, I will explain to the cheif that there is a women upstairs about to strap a bomb to her chest if she doesn't get her Currito." Jennifer was satisfied ... and she got her Currito.

All the kids at a restaurant that I can't remeber the name except that it ended with "Trailer Park Cuisine". Very fun.

Nolan had his first bowling experience and loved it.

Nolan really wanted to bowl with an orange ball and Riley to the rescue ... found one!

On our last day in town we drove out to Bogus Basin and went tubing. Unfortunately we found out after we arrived that a church had reserved the whole tubing hill until 6p.m. Jennifer sweet talked her way into buying 3 tickets off of them which we proceeded to share between 6 of us. After a couple of sleep deprived mega meltdowns, Nolan pulled it together and had a blast. On our last run down we decided to get daring and have the guys spin us down the hill. Bad idea. Nolan fell out a third of the way down. With Martin and I helplessly watching from the bottom, Nolan was put in a new tube and launched down the hill all by himself. He was all smiles when he got to us. Whew!

Then it was Nolan's turn to get sick ... on the 17 hour drive back home. You know it's bad when your 2 year old says "No" to : chocolate, gummy bears, juice and lollipops. "I don't want any food, I just want to get out of the car now!" he screamed at hour 14.

Girls vs Boys

Now I'm not making any judgements about Girls vs Boys, it's just a little observation ....

Gabby 10months playing on Winston

Nolan 1 year playing on Winston.....