Never EVER take "no" for an answer...

One of the things I learned at some point in my adult life is that if somebody tells you "no," there's somebody above them who will tell you "yes," if you persevere enough...So, I've made a practice of doing that when I feel so inclined. You all remember the broken basketball hoop? Well, the driver denied breaking it. So, Rick called the supervisor who said he'd look into it. When he didn't respond quickly enough, I set an appointment to meet me at our house to see the damage. He said that from the way it was bent (the steel pole was completely bent at a 90 degree angle), something had to have hit it from about 8 feet in the air. But, he also said since there was no evidence on the trash can of being scraped or anything and the driver denied it, there wasn't much he could say about it...except that it's agains code to have a basketball hoop on your sidewalk. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. So, I filed a claim with the city. And, they offered us a settlement! They're paying us $116 for a replacement hoop. Meanwhile, thanks to matty, I found a hoop on freecycle and we already have one. Nonetheless, it feels like a victory to me. Then, my nursing application. I noticed there was one class that I didn't have an exact match for...Sociology 1A. Since I graduated in Social work with a minor in psychology, I figured something had to qualify. So, I went and stood in line for 2 1/2 HOURS at the counseling office, only for some jerk of a counselor to tell me he wouldn't look at my transcripts and he couldn't help me if I didn't have an exact match. That brought out the "Screw you" part of my personality, so I contacted the Dean directly. I made an appointment, brought in all my transcripts, pleaded my case and won! Which means, I will officially be sitting on the wait list instead of taking a stupid sociology class! Little victories make me very happy...So, if there's an irritation in your life, remember, someone above the peon will tell you yes. There are reasonable people out there...you just have to look for them.

My favorite word...

Do you have a favorite word? Something you like to say that makes you feel really good? You know, a word that when it comes out of your mouth just really expresses how you feel? I do. It's HELL. It is a great word. It describes so many different situations and is appropriate at so many different times. Maybe it's because it's the word I lovingly used to describe the State of Utah when I no longer had to live there. (Sorry my lovely Utah friends...) Maybe it's because it's found in the scriptures. Maybe it's because my Mormon friends look at me kind of surprised when I feel like saying it. I don't know. What I do know is, I like the word. When I hear it on the radio or in a song or something, I feel down right giddy...I know. I have problems. But, at least now you know...I love to say the word HELL. In fact, even as I typed that, a smile came to my face...I rarely ever say it, but I sure do like the word.

Lookie what we have here...

They caught the freak shows that broke into our house and Rick actually gets to come face to face with one of the guys...as a witness, not as an attorney, of course. Good thing they subpoena'd him, not me. I have a few choice words for him...which brings me to my next post. See above.

Hungry Hungry Hippo

On Friday morning at work, I was in the kitchen around noon heating up some lunch. A girl walked in (who I think is a new secretary) and said....(wait for it).....

"Wow. You must eat all day."

Yes. She really did say that. Granted, I had eaten a burrito around 9:30 and then a nectarine around 10:45. So what! I was hungry. I replied, "Yep." Then there was awkward silence, so I said, "I'm nursing a baby, so I think I'm allowed to eat as often as I'm hungry." I thought maybe she would laugh.

She didn't. More awkward.

So, nursing mothers (or soon-to-be) - here is to eating so much that people call us pigs.

Happy birthday Jake!!!

Here is Jake, last week with our cute little niece Allegra. Jake is such a good big brother. He really takes his role as a big brother seriously. Every day last year, he went to Carter's classroom door to get him and make sure he got on the bus. Second graders are allowed to walk alone to their buses, but Jake wanted to make sure he got there okay. They even played together during recess and lunch. Jake always takes good care of Malia too. He's the only one of the kids Malia will let carry him around. This has been a great year for Jake. He started a new school, which was terrifying for him. Thankfully, he's been blessed with great friends who included him from day one. He got baptized last September. He also started cub scouts. For several years before his birthday, he kept saying he didn't want to go to scouts, but we encouraged him to at least go once and see what it was like and he's loved it since. He is responsible and smart. He got straight A's for the first time at the end of this year. We are so proud of him. And let's not forget his natural talent for any sport. He is so fun to watch on a team because he gets so into it! I can't wait til he plays for his school next year!

Jake invited three friends to go bowling with him. Rick took them to Fresno State to bowl and when they got back, I surprised him with this cool cake!

Then, I gave each of the kids a ball of pizza dough and let them roll it out and put whatever toppings they wanted on it. It was funny to see some of them piling the toppings on and others just put a little here and there. I love this picture becasue it shows the personalities of my girls...Malia is sitting on the table in between Jake and Jacob. She adores Jacob C. She kept talking to him all the way through lunch and he humored her and acted interested. He's such a nice kid. And then there's Bella who also likes to be the center of attention. She was right there in the thick of everything the whole time.

The theme of Jake's gifts this year was Sports (surprise, surprise). Rick got Jake some golf clubs and a golf bag and all the accessories (tees, wiffle golf balls, real golf balls, a towel, etc.) He also got a tennis racket and tennis balls and Papa hooked him up with a tackle box. He is set for when the weather cools off enough to set foot outside again.

Rick and I went out for the evening and left our kids with a great babysitter. We left the remnants of the cake and some cupcakes on the counter. When we got back, the frosting had been eaten off all the cupcakes. I'm not even mad. You see, I know that it's genetic and THEY CAN'T HELP IT. Try as they might, frosting calls their names and they must eat it. Forget about the cake part...useless calories.

It was a great birthday. We're glad Jake is part of our family!

Visit to Valencia

Of course, most of our time was spent around the pool. We invited friends over to hang out with us and spent the day watching the kids swim in the pool while we sat in the shade and chatted. Courtney was the hit of the party. All the little girls wanted their towels around hers. She was literally the center of attention.

One day, Nana took us to El Capitan theater in Holywood to see Wall-E. Although Wall-E was an extremely mediocre movie (in my opinion), I loved the atmosphere and so did the kids. They started with a fun stage show featuring all kinds of Disney Characters. Malia's favorite was Jasmine and Ariel (of course). I loved Mr. Incredible and Sully and Mike from Monsters, Inc. Carter's favorite part was the picture I posted. It was a guy who played all kinds of Disney tunes ALL FROM MEMORY!!!! Carter was extremely concerned about the guy moving out of the way so he could see the movie. He was stoked when the organ actually went beneath the floor with the guy playing on it. You should have seen his eyes. They were like saucers!!!!

This is the cast of Disney characters that came out for the finale. It was so fun! Outside the theater, there were so many other characters...Spiderman, Captain jack Sparrow, Marilyn Monroe, Barney, Tigger, you name it, they were there. What a great place to spend the afternoon.
The rest of our visit was consumed by more swimming, lots of food, visiting etc. etc. While we were there, Courtney cut Bella and malia's hair and then Courtney taught me how to weave my own. I did it and it looks good! It was a great visit. The kids missed Rick, but they sure enjoyed staying up late and eating all the junk that I won't let them have. Good news...we'll be heading back down that way not this week but next to do southern California tourist style. Should be fun!

Bella's fabulous new hair

Check out Bella's fabulous new haircut! Courtney is down here with us in Valencia. Bella wanted her haircut so Courtney obliged. Doesn't it look fabulous. More pictures to come...