Fortnight of Fun

So I had the best intentions of catching up with my missed post from last week. But then I got super excited about this illustration project I'm working on & was TOO BUSY WORKING to talk about my kids. Weird. But true. Hopefully in another week I'll be mailing my new proposal to my rep & soon after making millions. And then I can catch up with everything else I've been postponing. Like changing the sheets on the bed. Ugh.

But, besides paintings of kittens (Regular kittens, not zombie kittens. Just in case you were wondering...), we actually had some fun times over the past two weeks. My new fabulous friend J called one night and said, "Hey Apryl, have you heard of the band Phoenix?" And I said, "No!" And she said, "Want to come to a free concert with me? VIP?" And I said, "Definitely!" And then I went online & did some research. And HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS BAND BEFORE? They are awesome and I had so much fun at the concert. (Plus, they have ties with Daft Punk & the french band Air, both of which I am in love with. SO COOL, I know. Gretchen especially loves Daft Punk. She has special dance moves for their songs & everything.) Going to a concert was way better than watching videos of my favorite bands on youtube. Way better.

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Since it was SO COOL of J to invite me to the show, I've tried to do something nice to say, "Thank you." But J is too nice for me to repay. Every time I try to do something for her, she just GOES AND DOES SOMETHING NICER IN RETURN. I invite her for a playdate, she invites us over for a playdate and HOMEMADE LUNCH. I will never make it up to her.

Colby's BFF from back-in-the-day happened to be driving through Reno. We met him & his family downtown to eat. Photos by Ella.




My friend L. from MOPS invited us over for a playdate. They are awesome and win the award for "Most Kid Friendly House In Town". They have a downstairs playroom with a door and a window (that is a fabulous combination. Downstairs = don't have to drag lazy butts upstairs to check on kids. Door = don't have to hear them. Window = can peek in and make sure they're "making good choices".) They had two (2!!!!) of those motorized cars for the kids to ride in. And they have working radios, so they pumped up some mariachi music and cruised the backyard till the batteries ran out. But the fun didn't end there. Then the rabbits came out to play.

There was one sad little catch. Gretchen & Baby V got into blows over who got to drive the truck. And Gretchen left marks. It was sad. At first it was funny (watching 2 year olds fight is hilarious. You know, when you're not responsible for it.... But I AM responsible for it, so I had to break it up. And just as I started walking towards them, Gretchen used her last 10 seconds of Full Contact to scratch his sweet little face. Twice. Grrrrr!)



Hey, watch what I can do with this rabbit! Mom! Watch!



Sorry Baby V. We'll trim Gretchen's nails next time. Sorry. Sorry!!!

We had about 50 books due back at the library, so I took JUST ELLA. It was nice. She doesn't pull books off the shelf or run screaming. Usually. And Ella picked out a new DVD. Does this sound familiar? MEKKA MEKKA HI MEKKA HINEY HO!



Pee Wee's Playhouse was my favorite show when I was a kid. The girls are SO FASCINATED by it. And I forgot how brilliant that show was. Hilarious. And random. And Miss Yvonne was such a hussy. My word!

Gretchen kept her eyes glued to the screen until she found something she had to share. Then she would yell it at me.

Gretchen: MOM! MOM! MOM!
Me: What, honey?
Gretchen: IT'S BROKEN?
Me: It's broken?
Gretchen: YEAH!
(in reference to something in the show opening? The sign on the pine tree I think...)

Gretchen: MOM! MOM! MOM!
Me: What, honey?
Gretchen: ROBOTS! UhUhUhUhUhUh (that's a robot sound). ROBOTS!
Me: Yeah, Robots, honey.
(in reference to Conkey The Robot. Secret Word Dispenser. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)

And when we get our own house, we're going to put in a glitter wall, a magic screen, and some talking flower boxes. You're totally invited over to see it.

Gretchen has also decided she likes me to draw "Tough Tattoos" on her. The toughest thing she could think of last week was a "Scary Baby". She pulls up her sleeve & growls at us when she shows it off. And since it's church today, we're getting into the tub in about 5 seconds to wash "Scary Baby" away for another day.

And by next week we'll have Ella's Valentine ready. Here's our posed picture, ready to photoshop into something fabulous. WHAT WILL IT BE? Leave your guesses in the comment section...



HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

Yo Yo Momma

We were sitting in the car a few weeks ago & I heard an echo. Gretchen. Was singing along to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And while the Yeah Yeah Yeah's totally rock, it made me think, "Huh. Maybe I should be using this time in the car to broaden our cultural horizons." So I went to the library and got a copy of Yo Yo Ma's Appassionato. (I heard Mr. Ma in an interview on the Diane Rehm show. He was so interesting! Listening to him talk about music made me want to be a better person. Here's a link to the interview if you want to hear it.) Anyway, we've been listening to it all week in the car. Yesterday...

ME: Ella, isn't this song so beautiful? What do you think it's about?
ELLA: Mom, what are you talking about?
ME: When you close your eyes, do pictures about the music come into your head?
ELLA: Yeah, I guess.
ME: What does this song make you think about?
ELLA: Food.
ME: Are you hungry?
ELLA: No. Well, yeah, kinda.

Besides broadening our cultural horizons through music, we've also tried a few new recipes. There's just no way our family will eat fish unless it's in "stick" form. But the homemade tootsie rolls were a semi hit. See the "special" one we made for Daddy? Awww, Daddy is so loved.

Smile for the camera sweetie!



No, that wasn't a smile! Try again!



So much better.

Gretchen has decided to start dressing herself. It's going moderately well...at least she has clothes on....


It's all about layering.





Though I blew off Ella's requests as long as possible, we FINALLY put her "Grow Your Own Pony" in water. (Nanna Joy gave it to us in the Super Awesome Pack Of Car Fun she put together for the girls. Thanks Nanna Joy!!!) It grew slowly over a week. And we watched it get creepier and creepier. At it's height of creepiniess, Auntie Amber suggested we put it in a specimen jar and save it for Halloween. It would have been awesome. But we decided to take it out because it was king of stinkey. (Creepy and stinkey. A magical combination.) Then we got to watch is shrink down, and the legs curl up, and the strange sponge-like-texture DOESN'T GO AWAY. Poor pet pony.


Grow Your Own Pony just wants to be loved. Anyone? Anyone?

That's what we've been up to! What about you?

Oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE TYLER!!!!!!!!

Huh, I guess we actually DID do something this week...

Hey guys! So when I first sat down to think about this week, I couldn't remember what we did. Our life seems to be Stuck-At-Home-Boring or Non-Stop-Party. We can't find a happy medium. When we're stuck at home (above), the girls think of crazy things to do, like the "Marble Game" (below). The "Marble Game" is pretty new (thank goodness).
The Rules:
-Dump out Uncle Tyler's stash of marbles that were found in the closet over Thanksgiving.
-Pick up handfuls and try to roll (but inevitable THROW) marbles around the room.
-Physically roll YOURSELF in the marbles. (How can that be comfortable?!?!?) Laugh hysterically.
-Complain as mom makes you pick them all up. Be sure to say, "But this will take for-EEEEEEBVER!!!" at least 30x.
-As soon as they're all picked up, forget about how horribly draining it was to put them away and immediately dump them out again.
-Repeat.


Ella has started spelling tests in Kindergarten. I had to document. Awwwww, learning is FUN!



After school on Friday, a few of Ella's classmates met at the alluring Chuck E. Cheeses. So lucky, I know. Ah, the frantic faces of small children trying to garner as many "tickets" as possible to cash in for...a jelly bracelet. They don't see the irony. Luckily Gretchen is still small enough that climbing on the jet-ski-game is almost as much fun as actually PLAYING the jet ski game. Fun was had by all. Even the parents.



And by far the cutest thing we've done for a long time? Ella's school had a Winter Formal last week. A WINTER FORMAL. For Kindergartners. Oh my gosh. It was amazing.



At first Ella was intimidated by the flashing lights and loud music (luckily M.J. was on heavy rotation). But pretty soon she was leading the conga line. Except she thought it was a "train line", so she kept pumping her arm & saying, "Choo CHOO!!!!!"



Yesterday Auntie Amber stopped by and said...
Amber: Hey, I'm going to go try on wedding dresses, want to come?
Me: Uh, you mean with the girls?
Amber: Sure, why not?
(Now imagine every crazy thing they could do at a formal wear shop. Yes, they did that.)

I gave Ella the camera so she'd stop crawling through racks of $2000 dresses. Amber decided NOT to get this one. So pretty though.



A MESSAGE TO WEDDING DRESS DESIGNERS:
Hey, we know you're really busy debating pearls vs. rhinestones, but could you PLEASE make some dresses that aren't strapless? Believe it or not, SOME PEOPLE WANT STRAPS. I know, weird. That'd be super great though. Thanks.



That about sums up our week. Gretchen didn't sneak out of her crib too much. Ella is smart. It's supposed to snow tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll hear all about it next week.

Loves.

In Their Natural State

So, we're kind of having a problem. Gretchen can crawl out of her crib. And I'll be sitting, enjoying "Kid Free Time", thinking everything is wonderful and my baby is sleeping soundly. But actually Gretchen will be covering herself with diaper cream. Or talking to the birds out the window. Or screaming, "AIRPLANE! Mom. AIRPLANE!" Which is when I will discover this:



We're going to have to think of a solution. Barbed wire is out. Other suggestions?

Don't ask Ella for help, she's really busy.



We do have some good news. We went to a party last night with LOTS of kids, LOTS of noise and LOTS of toys to fight over. And Gretchen didn't injure ANYONE! She played happily and was kind to all. Dare we even hope that her reign of terror is coming to an end? I'm afraid to even dream it, lest my hopes be dashed. Again. Maybe it was just the Terrible Ones? Maybe? Oh please let all the time-outs and, "We're gentle with our hands..." talks and be working.

Packed Away For Another Year

Favorite Non-Family Related Activity Whilst In California:
Ella had recently voiced her desire to visit a "real museum". (Possibly because she loves the book "Olivia", and on rainy days, Olivia goes to the museum to look at Jackson Pollock and Degas paintings. Then she gets in trouble for recreating a Jackson Pollock at home. Time out.) And really, is there a cooler museum than the Getty? We went. It was wonderful. We stayed for about 4 hours, saw MAYBE 1/3 of their collection, and loved it. They had these cool "Art Detective" cards at the front desk for kids. They had a portion of a painting, a room number, and the kids had to find which piece of art it came from. Ella was definitely into it.

Me: (after looking at the Irises painting by Van Gogh) Ella, do you realize you're seeing some of the most famous artwork in the whole world? We are so lucky!
Ella: Yes mom. Because you've already told me that three times.
Me: What's been your favorite part so far?
Ella: The tram ride. It was like the tram at Disneyland. It was fun.

But really, she liked the museum too. Granted, the tram is pretty impressive.

Gretchen liked the naked statues. She kept pointing at them and saying, "Nurse?" Then laughing because she knew she was hi-larious.

After that outing, the rest of the trip was All Family All The Time. Good thing we all like each other. Christmas morning we went to Poppa Randy's house to open stockings. We coordinated with Santa to leave our stuff there. He's so nice, that Santa...




This picture of the girls with Grandpa Conrad just cracks me up. Ella is such a good poser.


Helicopter toy!


When we grow up, we want a hot tub and a pool. Dear Uncle Aaron & Aunt B, we may just move in... Hope that's cool with you.


Gretchen was so mad when we made her get out of the hot tub. (I was worried about leaving her in for too long, the water was so hot. She was literally steaming when I sat her on the edge of the hot tub. Steam rolling off her. She was not happy to be out of the water. She wanted to cook.)


Mom thought this was a goofy picture, but I think she looks cute. Plus, I love that gray wall in Aaron & B's kitchen.


New basketball hoop! Merry freakin' Christmas!


Gretchen & her adorable 2nd cousin. Awwww.



Then we got back to Reno. And for New Years we partied at TWO PEOPLE'S houses. I actually didn't go to bed until 2. I know, it was like I was back in college. Crazy. Then the next day we drove to Truckee to go sledding. Here's Ella & her BFF all decked out:


Then my camera died. But pretend I got a picture of Gretchen so excited about sledding that she couldn't wait for a sled. She just threw herself down the hill and slid on her belly. Multiple times.

We dog-sat Cooper, Auntie Amber's dog. And now we were grateful for our cat. Our cat doesn't tear up the garbage and eat things (things that I will not mention, that's how gross it they were. Ugh. Baby, stop kissing the dog!!)


Yesterday we went on a Family Adventure. We got Vietnamese for lunch downtown. Ella really wanted a coconut. Till she tried it. I got to finish it. Yay me!



Gretchen really wanted rice.


And to throw herself off the bridge over the Truckee River downtown. See my hand holding her back?



Now Christmas is all packed up for another year. Tomorrow Ella starts kindergarten again. We had a great time being with both our extended family and just the four of us this holiday.

Guess I'll got to bed so I can wake up at the crack of dawn & be a responsible adult. Or at least pretend.

xo

That Wedding I've Been Talking About

Hello Dear Family & Friends-

We made it back from our trip to California where my sister got hitched.

Hey look, we took the girls to Olvera street and met up with family for lunch. We pretended we were in Mexico & looked at all the lovely stalls and told the girls they couldn't buy anything because we couldn't fit ONE MORE THING in the car.



Hey look! We walked through Union Station. Ella got all artistic on us and shot lots of cool pictures. Again. And now I'm making you look at them. Again.


She posed her puppy for this shot.


Bet you didn't think it could get any cuter. IT JUST DID.


I'm pretty sure this is my favorite shot she's ever taken. HOW CUTE IS THIS? Seriously.


Nice color & texture.


Remember how my sister Autumn was going to get married? Yeah, we've been excited about that. NOW SHE'S MARRIED! Yay! We met her Friday afternoon to set up for the reception. The light was pretty, so I made Colby take a picture.


Here's what Ella thinks of the Family Statue. (Also, I'm pretty sure that statue-baby was originally nursing & then got censored...)


Sure, we'll help you set up for your reception. Oh wait. We need to tie sashes around 180 chairs and hang lights? Uh, sorry, we're busy... (Thank heavens for portable DVD players.) Do Autumn's eyes look slightly glazed over? Yup. 100 more paper lanterns to assemble, 153 more sashes to tie....


Quit with the picture taking and start with the sash tying!!!


Another of Ella's photography studies, which may or may not have been digitally enhanced in photoshop because I am a nerd.


The morning of the wedding we met Autumn at her friend's apartment (where we might have accidentally stolen a curling iron), and we got The Bride ready. Adrianne made Autumn's hair real hair pretty. Then she asked, "Do you think it's ok if I wear fishnet stockings inside the temple?" Mom said it was ok. MOM SAID IT WAS OK!!! hee hee!


Then they got married and had a lovely reception. Awwwww. In the temple, the helper-ladies were overheard saying, "Wow, she's so low key!" Yup. Once we finally got everything set up, it was a low key and super awesome wedding. (I didn't take ANY PICTURES because Christiana, the Wedding Photographer Extraordinaire is so awesome, I knew I wouldn't need to. I actually stole this picture from Christy. Thanks Christy!)


Ok, I took ONE picture. Of Gretchen loving her cousin. Smooshie!


WEDDING HIGHLIGHTS
-In honor of their marriage, Autumn presented Drew with a replica of the medal that Princess Leia gave her boyz after they defeated the Death Star. She even had a case for it engraved. True love.
-Our super amazing music teacher came & played her Hammered Dulcimer. She is amazing. Did I mention how amazing Patty is? Amazing.
-Autumn's folk band played rousing hits such as the tune from "Legend of Zelda", the theme song from the ORIGINAL Super Mario Brother's game (which is now stuck in my head. Lovely.), the Ewok song (Zub Zub!!!), and more.
-Autumn was gifted with a replica Ton Ton head. It will soon be made into a bear-skin-esque throw rug. You know, to keep her warm on cold winter nights on the planet Hoth.

-I didn't mention the Video Game Themed cookies yet, did I? Tetris shapes have never tasted so good.
-I'm sure there's more awesomeness I'm forgetting. This list is not all inclusive. There was too much to remember. Every turn held new surprises.

Then Gretchen turned two. And Nanna Joy made her a cake. And hung a banner. And was generally "on the ball". Guess who forgot to even GIVE Gretchen her birthday present. (Present, as in ONE. And I still forgot to give it to her. Oh well, one more for Christmas. Get used to getting screwed over on your birthday, poor Christmas Baby...)

"Please don't screw me over! Give me presents! I'm cute!"





We're very grateful for Gretchen. She is silly and sweet. You always know where you stand with her (because if she's mad at you, YOU KNOW.) She's learning that "we are gentle with our hands" and makes better choices every day. She gives nice big hugs and pats your back. She is good at dancing, making silly faces, and singing. She tells funny jokes that we can't understand because she only knows a handful of words. She likes to go "Bye Bye" (even if Mom doesn't always like taking her bye bye...) She loves monkeys and Yo Gabba Gabba and candy. And candy. And candy. We love Gretchen!

(There's a book called "Hands Are Not For Hitting". She got it from Grandma for Christmas. Thanks Grandma!)

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah!!!

LOVES!

Hi Y'all

Dear Friends & Family-

This is what we've been up to....

Posing (hey kid, clean your room!)...


Decorating the tree...


Snow days (Gretchen insisted on wearing the Goofy Hat)...


Snow Angels with Dad...


Sledding down the street!!!!


And Ella got a hold of the camera again. Pensive Self Portrait...


Stunning depiction of Grandpa (I'm pretty sure he just finished shoveling the walk)...


Super flattering picture of me...


And Dad (who thinks he got all A's last semester. GO COLBY!!!)...


And me again. Even more flattering this time (we were playing "house" while Gretchen was napping, and she put me to bed, and I may or may not have actually FALLEN ASLEEP. Hence her finding the camera & being all photographic with it...)


Her ceiling & lanterns...


And her bear.


Ok, I'm finally done talking now. We hope you've had a wonderful week.

xo