San Diego--30th Birthday!

I have SO much that I would like to share on here, including:

-my 30th birthday celebrations/reflections

-our amazing trip to San Diego

-the most fabulous girls weekend ever!

-And some more that I keep forgetting...

But, I'll start with just a bit of our San Diego trip. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday than with my little family and my parents in San Diego. It was absolutely perfect. I really wanted to be with my parents on a momentous birthday...they DID give me a life in the first place!

Some hilights! *Beach time*Exploring that great city*Touring the Midway*Yummy food & fantastic restaurants* Lighthouse* Sea World*Awesome family time*Seeing the scene of my parent's other life;)*JETS galore...up close and personal!!*

These are just a few of the many pictures we took on our trip.... go see the whole album here.

adults only

I've not really been present here on the blog...and not at my house either. I stepped out for a little while.

You know how it is...the never ending cycle of feeding, cleaning, changing, calming, disciplining, teaching....sleep and do it all over again thing? And of course you know the.... who am I anymore and what the he** am I doing here, this is more than I bargained for feelings? Yup. Been there. So it was time to step off the cycle for a bit and take a vacation!!

Joel's parents took all of their kids and their spouses on a five day vacation to Bend, OR...sans children! They rented us a house in Sun River for all . We had so much fun being just us again. Not being responsible for anything was a good feeling...and so was sleeping in until 11:) Biking, kayaking, horseback riding, pedicures, oh my! So fun. And so fun to remember what it was like to play without kids...and how we have so much fun as a family. Joel and his sister, Lyndzie, even had a dance-off. And Randalls do not mess around...it was pants-off dance-off...use your imagination. Holy Moly. A little taste of what we experienced...and the pictures don't even come close to capturing what really happened!

Vacation in AZ
*sun*family*love*grandparents*activity*food*
*bliss*

another adventure

Remember this trip? And this trip in '06? Well, it is time for our annual "camping" trip with our friends from across the mountains. And this time, we're doing something a little bit different but we'll still be together--which is the idea:) We're looking forward to maybe spending more time talking and less time chasing after kiddos. Hmmm...I'm not sure if that is possible, but I'm sure we'll have fun! Be back with pictures soon! I guess I better get that camera battery charged...

first in 6 months!

We recently returned home after another wonderful vacation with family--this time to Glacier National Park with my side of the family. Now, a few of us are sick. Can't tell you how many episodes of Backyardigans we've had on today:) I secretly love that show....but after today, that may change! I didn't even feel a bit guilty about excessive TV today. My super outdoorsy boy rejected the idea of walking to the park. Now, that is SICK!

I'll put together a little slide show of our trip later....after I swipe a few from other family members:) But I love this picture of Kelsey and me after our "strenuous" hike! It is the first one of the two of us taken in six months! Yes, we were reunited with our little sis and we couldn't be happier!

lake pictures

Feeling pretty lazy so I don't feel like making my own slideshow:) But here is the album Dan put together for us! Enjoy!

so much to say, so little time

Our vacation to Colorado was beyond good. Way beyond! I really couldn't have asked for anything more. We spent the majority of our time up in the mountains at Beaver Creek in a beautiful condo. What did we do? A whole lot of nothing...watched movies, read books, ate a lot of food, played with our boys, went on some mini hikes, and took numerous naps. We did all the things we want to do to relax at home, but we never seem to make enough time....basically we had good, old-fashioned family time and we came back so refreshed. Perfect!

Oh, and our time spent with Jenn and her family was even better than I expected! Her family is beautiful and sweet and really...she's a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of girl. So genuine...so lovely...so fun! When I'm around her, I feel filled up and blessed! I would hang out with her everyday if I could. If only....:)

We were also able to meet up with Sarah and her family! Like Sarah said, it was way too brief....but so wonderful to meet her! I feel like they have something in the water in Colorado--she's another one who is so genuine and has such a good, good heart. Oh, how I wish we lived closer...

I really feel like I could write volumes about how this vacation was so excellent on every level, but I have sick boy on my hands and can't spend much time here on my 'puter. I put together a little slide show, but I have to admit that I was a little bit of a slacker when it came to pictures. I guess my camera was on vacation too! Jenn and Sarah have some that are much better. Enjoy!

a fall vacation...

It seems as though vacation always seems to come just in the nick of time. Just when we feel as though the days are too long and the nights too short...when work becomes too much....when we grow tired of the daily grind ....VACATION! Woo Hoo!!

I've been a bit absent from my normal blogging routine already this week, but now I'm going to be really absent! Maybe my mind has just been preparing for next week and checked out early. I tend to do that. We get to go on our first vacation as a family of four:) We'll be hanging out at a condo for a week in a state I've never visited. AND we'll get to spend time with Jenn and her family! How cool is that? I am beyond excited! I can't wait! Not super-excited about the flight with the two kiddos...but I'm sure that it will go better than I've imagined!

And so...see you all later! I'll be back sooner than later with some great pictures, I hope!

Happy Camper

Some might call me high needs, up-tight, control freak, prissy. I can't function without a shower in the morning. I eat the same exact things for breakfast and lunch...every day. I drink filtered water and good coffee. I hate rodents and filthiness. I'm afraid of many animals, especially bats at night. I bathe my babies everyday because I like them to smell good. I really, really like the microwave and refrigerator...convenience at my fingertips. I don't like to be too cold...or too hot. I LOVE a clean bathroom. Oh, and so many more. You get the picture...

So why in the heck do I like camping? If I have all of these lovely things at home, why do I spend days and days packing up and preparing to go sleep outdoors for four nights? Camping is such a weird thing. And, of all people, I should not like it...but I LOVE CAMPING! For some odd reason, when I'm out camping it doesn't matter much if my feet are black with dirt or I drink sludge in place of coffee. I actually like cooking on a gas stove and if I close my eyes in the campground shower, I'm even okay in there! Something about choosing to live an altered life for a few days makes many of the things I'm usually concerned about acceptable and actually enjoyable. Hmmm....makes me think a little about how my attitude and choices affect how I experience life in so many other areas. Anyway, I love so many things about camping, but mostly I love that we choose to slow down and enjoy the simplicity of life together. I think that is what is so special about the experience--strip away convenience and you get a more organic environment for developing relationships with family and friends.

We recently spent four nights camping with our good friends from our old home, Phil and Aleah (and their four giggling monkeys). It doesn't seem possible that it has been an entire year since we've seen them. I think that is when you know you have good friends...when you can pick up right where you left off. No awkwardness, no formalities. Just easy and fun. And it was relaxing...as relaxing as it can get with six young children! Thanks Phil and Aleah--we look forward to many more years with you on our annual camping trip!

Oh, and thank you also for the extra pictures of the trip...filled in my gaps in my slide show!

ready or not...

Look what Parker decided to put on this morning! He is really into taking on and off his clothes and I guess he got a bit confused today --we don't have water near us and his feet definitely aren't the size of his Daddy's!

Or maybe, just maybe... he's just brilliant and he's getting ready for our next trip. Yep, we're heading off on another summer trip this weekend, this time camping with our friends. I'm not sure I really thought about the fact that I'd be unpacking from our lake trip and packing for our camping trip at the same time. We had so much fun last year and I think this time it is going to be even better! Looks like Parker is all set to go...can't wait!

vacation withdrawl...

We're back home from our wonderful week at the lake with our family! I'm officially coming off of my sugar high from eating way too many cookies. Right when I walked in the door I started frantically looking for my chocolate and quickly realized that I'm not on vacation anymore! If I ate like that all of the time....oh my:) And I don't even want to know how many Dorrito's Parker ate over the course of the week. We shall see what they do to his digestive system very soon! Seriously though, it was such a nice week with family. We were able to relax a bit while our family graciously watched our boys so often! Sometimes it was a bit crazy with all 25+ of us there, but it really was a fantastic year. Oh, and it was HOT! Nothing like a good swim in chilly water to fix that!

I'm not here...

Because we're here...

Probably doing some of this...

and maybe some of that...

and yes, that too...

And laughing, swimming, singing, and eating too much with those we love!

But maybe this year's pictures will include some of Mama and Griffin too:)

See you all soon!

our little trip...

Just returned home from a fun trip away with my mom, sister, and my two boys. We had a lot of fun--not relaxing, but a lot of FUN! Seriously, is it ever relaxing when you're in charge of a two year old and a three month old?

We went to a nearby resort town on a big lake. Isn't it wonderful to go to a hotel and make a mess and not have to be the one to clean it up? I love that...guess that part was relaxing. Oh, and really, I didn't trash the hotel room...I just wasn't tidy:) And guess what? Hotels have cable TV! In addition to watching our fair-share of TV, we also went on some walks, saw boats, went swimming, ate a bunch...and listened to Parker chatter away about it all.

In my pictures, it appears as though my mom, Griffin, and I were not really present! I have tons of pictures of Kelsey and Parker, though! I had to add the little sepia-toned picture in, even though it wasn't take on our trip...just to make it fair:)

Many thanks to Mooma & Auntie Kels! You two helped me so much with the boys and we had so much fun!

We're back!

We're back from our cruise in the Bahamas and reunited with Parker! Of course, we had an amazing time together and everything went so smooth--including leaving Parker and his time with Gramma. I may reflect more later about some of our experiences, but for now I will give a quick rundown of some of the things we did:

slept in, read a few books including this one, went to lovely meals, sunbathed at the pool, worked out in the exercise facility, toured around Nassau, saw a couple productions in the theater on board, experienced a pool party with a buffet, drinks, dancing, ice carving, etc., snorkeled in Coco Kay, burnt our skin a bit on the amazing beach, met fun people at meals and on excursions, (Joel) went rock climbing, toured around Key West, went to the aquarium, went on another snorkeling excursion... this time 7 miles off the coast of Key West over a reef...and missed Parker just a little bit:)

Here are some of our pictures from our time together. If you look really close, you may see a few pictures of this growing girth-- lucky you!