Caveman

When this cute boy woke up from his nap the other day with his shirt all askew, Dryden took one look at him and said, "Why does Kaden's shirt look like a caveman shirt?"

A valid question, my love.

Kaden seems to be wondering the same thing.

Laura and Spencer and Me Make 3

 After the kids' fall break, Laura braved the heat and came back to Arizona with us for a few days. It was spectacular. The highlight of her trip was a few hours of shopping {by ourselves!} followed by dinner and dessert with none other than Michael Walker. Because we are slackers and didn't take any pictures of said activities, we'll skip to the second-best part of the trip, which was going to the zoo with Mr. Spencer.

I'm not gonna lie; it was hot and uncomfortable that day (you know, like "Fall" in Phoenix tends to be), but it was still a lot of fun. For the two hours we lasted, anyway. My favorite part of the day may have been when Spence said, referring to some really loud construction noise near the elephants, "That sound is annoying...it's making my ears MAD!!"

Finding the turtles on the bridge

Laura knows how to trick Spencer into 

being in a picture he doesn't want to be in.

Pretending to be in line for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland

Hey, look! Sometimes the animals do something other than apathetically

standing around and ruing the day they were brought to the zoo.

{That's apathetically, not alphabetically. I think they purposely
don't put the animals in alphabetical order so the zebras don't feel bad.}

They call this the "Endangered Species Carousel."

Reminds me of how carousel rides for my 

children are an ever-dwindling phenomenon.

{Good thing Laura was there to save the day and pay for Spencer's ride.}

Coolest Lego seahorses I ever did see.

Sandwiches in the shade with my favorite almost-twin.

(photo credit: Spencer)

Laura, please come back soon when you are tired of the snow and our decent winter weather has kicked in. I started missing you the moment you drove away!

More Reasons to Love Him

Because, when it's time for a bike ride and you happen to own a shirt featuring Dusty Crophopper (or "Pophopper," as some 3-year-olds may call him) to match your Dusty Crophopper bike, clearly the choice is to wear the matching shirt.

Not to mention the fancy plaid hat to match your plaid shorts.

He's pretty easy to love, this one.


P.S. When I was telling him goodnight last night, Spence told me, "Mommy, you're cute, you're just so cute." I'm telling you: easy. to. love.

This is Me

Hi. I'm Katie and I run this show. (Or at least I like to pretend that I do.)

Here are some little known facts about me for your reading pleasure. 

If you didn't come here to read, move along, sir, move along. 

(Yeah, you know who you are.)

#1 In my head I am a neat freak. In my life, my execution suffers a little bit.

#2 I don't like to go to bed with dirty feet. If I don't shower before I go to bed (even for a nap), I wash my feet in the tub first.

#3 My hair is pretty curly though I have always preferred it straight. Sadly, I never met a flat iron until after I'd had my first child.

#4 The closest I come to wearing makeup is cherry Chapstick and clear mascara.

#5 Vacuuming used to be my favorite household chore because my kids wouldn't interrupt me while I was doing it; they didn't like the sound and wouldn't get close. Now they don't care and it is no longer a zen experience for me.

#6 I keep hearing that my greatest competition is myself. This worries me a little bit because neither of us is very motivated.

#7 I can almost always remember the side of the page that I read something on.

#8 I have a mnemonic device to help me remember which shelves in my medicine cabinet hold my glasses and toothpaste. (Toothpaste top, bifocals bottom.)

#9 I would rather take two trips to put two things away than carry them both together and have to put one thing down in order to put the other thing away.

#10 I skip flossing maybe 3 times a year.

#11 I like to know exactly how many hours I have been awake before I go to bed.

#12 I love having Christmas decorations up but absolutely hate decorating for Christmas.

#13 I used to think I was laid back. Then I had kids.

#14 I can't walk through a room (or a hallway, or a bathroom) without doing a visual scan and making a mental note of everything that needs to be put away. (See #1: neat freak, and #13: then I had kids.)

#15 I enjoy taking pictures of myself taking pictures of myself, 

That's me, in a nutshell...wishing I had more time to blog about random things instead of feeling the pressure of needing to document every funny thing my kids say, every birthday ever celebrated, every mess ever made, everything we've ever done as a family, and every place I've ever been.

A Short Veggietale (Sorry Kids, Not That Kind)

Once upon a time there was a bell pepper who insisted he was a pumpkin. While he had the perfect shape of a miniature pumpkin, no one could deny that he had the color, size, smell, and texture of a bell pepper.

No matter what I said to convince him, he continued to insist that he was a pumpkin.

Just when I was about to give up hope of ever proving his wrongness, I came up with a plan:

I chopped him up and covered him with ranch dressing and ate him in my salad.

Now he doesn't think he's a pumpkin anymore.

The End.

My Buddy and Me

I wish I had the words to describe just how enamored I am with my son.

He is the perfect age and cuteness. Still small enough to be held, carried (barely) and cuddled, but big enough to have a conversation with. And boy enough that 90% of his problems can be solved with snacks, chocolate milk, or a viewing of Cars. If he can't find me in the house, he calls out, "I want you, Mommy!" He smooches me in line at Costco, covers me with blankets on the couch, tells Craig not to use my keys, and constantly amuses me with his growing ability to express himself. ("That wasn't my fault.")

I just really, really love him.

Not every day is an adventure, but there is always something fun to do with him and a million reasons to enjoy him.

This is how we watch Cars. All day. Every day.

Bouts to get mad that I just took his picture.

Taking an extremely flattering photo of me.

Availing himself of the chocolate milk powder whilst Mommy takes a nap

 Taking matters onto his own hands when Mommy doesn't

know exactly what "I want a Spiderman face" means

Being the cutest thing ever

All is Well

I invite you to experience the wonders of this beautiful punkin' with her jack o' lantern smile, and this beautiful pumpkin which will soon bear a jack o' lantern smile, and contemplate all that is right with the world.

Sometimes a little reason to smile is just enough to help us push through the day.