And all this time we thought he didn't know how to dance...

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Merry Christmas!!

After about 4 failed attempts at a christmas card photo, we finally just snapped a shot at my parents house. Jack would freak out every time we tried to get him to pose for a picture. Don't you just want to kiss Ruby's little face?!

Scary news

We are reaching a point in our lives where we start to realize ( if we haven't been forced to already) that our parents are not the invincible people we have always believed them to be. My parents, in their desire to protect us, didn't share what has been going on for the past little while. My dad has had some chest pains, when he would cycle or exercise--that landed him in the ER last week and a trip to the cardiologist and into the hospital today to have a stint placed in the artery of his heart! Everything went really well with the surgery and he was looking very well in the hospital today when i went to visit him. We are so blessed to have modern medicine, where they can go through an artery in your leg and fix your heart--being awake the entire time.

The doctors say that 99% of his left artery was blocked and he was a heart attack waiting to happen. It is so scary to see these types of things threaten the life of someone you love so much. I will take this moment to say how thankful I am for my father who has always been there to support and love me in every single step of my life. You are so special to me--so take care of yourself so we will have many more years of memories! I love you papa...

coming out all ends...

I must really love Jack to put up with everything he has dished out this week. Of course we have become accustomed to the daily diaper changing (times 2 ,i might add) but i have had some serious tests of my love for my dear sweet son. He threw up in the middle of the night on Tuesday--which he was completely unaware of by the way. I went in to get him in the morning there was a horrible odor that permeated the entire upstairs. I seriously thought a mouse had died in the vent or something. he was all smiles and was completely unaware of what had happened. I have no idea how he could not have noticed--he was all nuzzled up to his blanket that was full of chunks of meat and pasta (the overshare was for you Katie :) His crib was a nightmare and his hair was covered in a think goo-like substance--arg. Wed. we were okay--Thursday I pick him up and suddenly feel a warm sensation on my leg--if figured his diaper leaked, bummer, but didn't realize at the time WHAT had leaked--even bigger bummer. The poor little guy had severe diarrhea-that was a fun diaper change. Time for a shower for both of us!

Then finally, i'm making dinner tonight, and Jack loves to help. He took his place on his chair next to me. I got busy cooking and i look over to find a cloud of powder raining down. turns out that he shoveled a man-size spoonful of flour into his mouth. He quickly spat it out (thus the cloud) and when he inhaled in, the flour was making him cough. He produces a large amount of drool, as most know, which was at this point was creating a dough of sorts in the back of his throat and was beginning to choke him. He was freaking out which in turn made me freak out, so I stick my finger in his mouth to dislodge what was choking him and he throws up the contents of stomach all over me, the counter, the floor etc (don't worry dinner group--it wasn't in the food) I think this is all the nastiness I can handle for one week.

For my family that doesn't get to see ruby

Happy 29th Steph!! I love you!!

Anyone who knows stephanie knows how much fun she is to be around. She is always so excited to hear anything you have to say and has an energy that is infectious. She is always the life of the party! Thank you so much for always being such a great friend to me when I have needed you the most. I have the best memories of our fun adventures being roomates, our travels together, and having "the time of our lives!" After all, we are two halves of the perfect woman!! I hope you know how much I love you and I can't wait for all the fun memories we will create in the future!

Ruby toots is 5 months!

She's weighing in at a wuaping 13lbs 2 oz. Such a little peanut! She has been such a joy and blessing to us! I can't believe how big she has gotten! She's eating rice cereal ( & is still terrible at it--unlike her brother was!) Most of it ends up on her face & spit out down her chest. Her smile always brightens my day. It is rare that she cries unless she's hungry or tired (again, unlike her brother :)

How do you get mad at a face like that?

I should have know better. Whenever it's quiet for even a second, I know he's up to something. I couldn't find him initially (hiding is his new thing) then I opened the pantry to hear "mmm" he had opened the drawer, got his little spoon and got into the nesquick in the pantry and was shoveling it into his mouth! Little buster is a quick one!

night out on the harley

being married, your horizon's get brodened all the time. Growing up on the coast, no one i knew every owned a motorcycle or dirt bike. But apparently "inland" they are all about them. Brian's dad owns a harley as well as a few of Brian's buddies--so they planned a date night where we we go for a nice ride and end up at Louise's for dinner. I'm all excited with my helmet& leather jacket & hop on the back. The helmet, by the way, belonged to brian's dad and was enormous and so i'm pretty sure my brains would be splattered on the road if we had actually gotten in to an accident! Sounds exciting until you saw the size of my seat. After about 2 minutes my undercarriage started to kill! I thought for sure after a few minutes i'd adjust and be fine. An hour later i am nearly in tears and have to stand at every red light. I didn't want to ruin the night by complaining, how could i be such a woose and it not be bothering any of the other girls. Then I took notice of their nice WIDE and cooshy seats that EACH of them had. WHAT!? apparently there is a different seat that Brian & his dad could have put on but Brian said "oh she has a small butt, she'll be fine!" though i was thankful for the complement--such a boy to think that! Needless to say, i hitched a ride back most the way with some friends that met up w/us in a car!

Thanksgiving (finally!)

I've been so busy lately, so no time to post, but we had a fabulous Thanksgiving up in Glendora w/ Brian's family. My parents came too. It's so nice to be able to merge holidays and not have to choose. We went up in the morning for the annual Turkey Bowl--Brian get's to relive the glory days and I get entertained by seeing the man actually run (it only happens a couple times a year :) To his defense, he actually had a very impressive sack of the QB. He made us proud, but he was spent after that! We hung out at the house and finished cooking for 25--totally fun night though we missed Mikey and Rachel (in UT) and my sisters! (in ID) Brian was all excited to deep fry his very own turkey, which turned out delicious! (don't worry we had a back up just in case)!

Our little Halvey is all grown up!!

Beautiful day, and even more beautiful couple! Finally he has taken the plunge. Take a deep breath & relax. He has been stressing over this day for so so long. No wonder he has no hair! He publicly expressed his love for his new bride. It was very sweet but i was afraid he was going to break out a rendition of "endless love." We love you guys!
Nice work on the get-away car
boys! I won't even begin to explain what Bear is holding--oh no! Those who were there will not soon forget!

Happy birthday "VINCE"!!

Brian turned the big "3-1" on Nov. 9th (also my sister's bday-kiss kiss Heather)! Surprise! He got a disneyland pass from his parents--so we acted like kids without our kids. We went to Disneyland and hung out w/some of his high school friends and Mikey & Rachel. I guess Mikey and rachel didn't realize they were on the "Tower of TERROR" not it's a small world--geeze. With his newly aquired "maturity" he decided to take on a new look and embrace his going-baldness. He gained inspiration from his pals Manning and Halvey. He got "Halo 3" & "Call of Duty 4" yippee I'm sure all the boys will be over shortly--My favorite is when he plays until 1am in his underwear (are we sure he turned 31)?

Miracles never cease...Jack graduated!!

So jack deserves a follow-up post. After Jack's first "gymastics" class. I was sure we would never go back. Many will remember the
take down moves &
the "mounting" that occured the first go-around. I am happy to report that each week he got better & better.








This is his last class and not only did he not pull any of the girls hair, he actually did what his teacher asked (in an almost-2yr old way) & sat on the mat! Take note of the balance & technical jumping skills he has. We're proud!

Sometimes it's kind of annoying to be "tagged", but these are kind of funny. I tag: Nora, Nicki, Katie, Lisa, and Lynnley!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
freckles touareg

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
malted crunch macaroon

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
D-Lom

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Blue Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Marie Torrance

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Lom-Da

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Brown Diet Coke

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Fred Maurie

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
princess peanut butter cup

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
kay ray

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Jones Jersey

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Winter Lilly

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
strawberry pajamasy

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Oatmeal walnut

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Traveling Thunderstorm Tour

Little Miss Toots is 4 months!

We've been crazy busy lately, so I've been slacking on the updates. SO she actually was 4 months on the 25th of Oct. but adorable none the less. I can't believe how big she has gotten so fast!

Halloween in Ladera

finally updating the blog...our annual party was transported to Mikey and Rachel's new pad in Ladera Ranch. It was so fun to see Jack actually enjoy halloween (somewhat) hated the lion head LOVED the candy! I tried and tried to think of a costume for jack to beat last year, but how do you beat nacho libre? I for sure did not have the time this year to make all of the costumes but Brian stepped up in true boyscout form and lashed a cage for our little lions. He gets so into stuff like that--he spent hours with his bamboo and YouTube! It turned out sweet. The costumes were all out this year--Nora & Rachel busted out the sewing machines & did a fabulous job. Jeff & steph's costume was awesome (plus it was "green"--nice use of recyclable materials)! I think it was inspired by Bear's transformer blog. Ruby wasn't getting enough attention--so she decided to have the biggest blowout I've ever seen. Up the back, up the front, the sides--everywhere! We had to throw her in the bath. I was shocked at how well my kids did--they were able to hang until 10pm. Anyone who knows jack, knows he usually melts @ 7. It might have been the fumes from the dry ice that he was inhaling. For 2 days afterwards he would knock on the doors of our house and wait for them to open and someone give him candy. I love love halloween!

Freakishly long tounge

Few have seen it--but all who have are amazed. And this isn't even full extension...

10th Annual "frightening hallows eve"

Such a fun night to get you in the mood for halloween! We carved pumpkins and ate yummy food. In loo of the football game, this year we had a crossing bar challenge. it's sad how hard it is compared to when you're a kid--i thought the skin on my hands was going to rip off! Jack had a great time going on wagon rides w/ his buddy Cole.

Kennedy Meadows

This is my first blog so go easy on me. The boys and I had the opportunity to go to Kennedy Meadows for some serious motorcycle riding and eating. So dad and I drove up together and I have to admit he is pretty good at finding places. He had been deer hunting 20 years ago with some of his friends at Kennedy Meadows and, to my amazement, he drove right to it. Boy I sure wish I could do that. So we finally got there about 10:30 at night, then proceeded to drive around until 1:30 in the morning then finally gave up trying to find the rest of the group and went to sleep in the truck. I forgot how bad sleeping in the front seat of a truck is. Next day we went to breakfast at some little hole in the wall and almost got bit by two dogs on the way. The trip was a lot of fun we got to do some riding and ate a lot. The Jackson's let us stay in their new trailer it was awesome! Had a great time. Wish Mikey could have made it, looking forward to next year.

How did I become a thirty-something??

I had a great 32nd birthday! We had a fun girls lunch @ corner bakery. We were quite a spectacle, 5 babies, strollers, and a huge mess (courtesy of Jack and Zoe)! The kiddies were surprisingly good, allowing us girls to get caught up on the latest and for Nora, Lynnley, and I to compare bald spots! Thats right, not only do you give birth to your little darling, but you continue to sacrifice your body months later. This might be a little surprise to those of you who haven't had babies yet. Don't worry, it comes back (& you have to come up w/ a creative hairstyle to incorporate the regrowth). Whoa--didn't mean to get off on a tangent--Back to the Bday--Brian and I dropped the kids off at his bro's house and we got to enjoy a night out @ p.f. changs and actually have a conversation and we both sat down and ate dinner at the same time!! Brian gave me a Disneyland pass, so excited!

Jack's metro?

So Brian is going to be really mad but i think it's super funny. Jack absolutely loves putting on lipgloss? Who am I to deny him full,shiny, kissable lips? Plus it keeps him from freaking out during diaper changes!!

Conference

Our buddies ,the Jensen's, came over for a tasty breakfast of German pancakes (or puff puff pancakes, as steph calls them). They are so good, but of course they have to be--have you seen how much butter is in that recipe--umm delish! I was shocked, but Jack actually allowed us to watch both sessions! (of course he was napping during the 2nd :) I managed to stay awake through 89% of conference and I was very glad. I was really impressed by all the talks. My fav had to be claudio with the "kiss kiss & hug, hug" in a spanish accent. We were dying! Can you believe how much they emphasized the family and the roles we play as parents? It really made me look at my own family and made me want to be a better mother and teacher to my children. We are so blessed to have direct revelation from prophets to help us get through the trials of life and the specific things we need to be happy!
Afterwards, Jeff and Brian graciously volunteered to watch the kids (& play XBOX) so Steph and I could go visit Amber Simm & her new baby in the hospital. It was a win-win because we didn't want to sit & watch them play. BTW amber's baby is adorable! Congrats!

Our Camping Experiment

We'd been wanting to go camping but we weren't sure if it was possible with 2 kiddies under 2. So, Friday night Michael & Rachel, Steph & Jeff and us went for a quick camping trip locally. We thought it wise to go close in case we needed to bail out of our experiment. It was a lot of fun but chilly! We bundled up the kiddies w/ 3 layers of clothes! Jack had a blast exploring nature and making "soup" in the dutch oven. The main ingredients consisted of leaves & rocks with a touch of dirt for seasoning. We had a great night making catalina chicken and peach cobbler in the dutch ovens and you can't forget my favorite--smores! Jeff & Brian were inspired by "survior man" and spent hours trying to light a fire with their stick, wood plank and bow. Got close a few times, but not sure they should camp w/out matches any time soon! It got pretty cold, so we had to rotisserie our selves to keep warm evenly. That's the worst part of a campfire--burning on one side, freezing on the other. We just hung out and talked by the fire but NO SCARY STORIES for steph! So much fun, that it until we went to bed...jack is not ready to sleep in a tent. He woke up about 10 times screaming and he slept everywhere except his "spot" I swear I got about 1-2 hrs of sleep. He was lieing on me and forcing me to stay in the most uncomfortable positions for fear of waking him up. My favorite was when Jack pee'd through all his clothes and even his sweatshirt so we had to make a run to the car in the middle of the night to change him because he was freezing. It was probably because we kept giving him bottles each time he woke up! Ruby was a champ, although feeding her in the middle of the night in a sleeping bag & 3 layers was quite a feat! Each time we'd wake up we thought "it has to be morning now!" I was a seamingly endless night. I just felt so bad for the Jensens in the tent next to us. They must really love us to be put through that torture! But sure enough daylight came and we had a tasty breakfast dutch oven casserole and some DELICIOUS hot choc (thanks mikey)! We came home and all 4 of us took a serious nap to recoupe!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Streusel Cake

He's a recipe I got from my sister and I made it at Jody Moore's baby shower tonight. It was very tasty and a lot of people said they wanted the recipe, so here it is:

Pumpkin Gingerbread Streusel Cake

Streusel
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2 tablespoons cold butter

Cake
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice **see note below
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Topping
1 cup caramel ice cream topping, heated

1. Heat oven to 350°F Combine all streusel ingredients except butter in small bowl; cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining cake ingredients. Beat until well mixed.
3. Pour cake batter into greased 13x9-inch baking pan.
Sprinkle evenly with streusel. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Serve cake warm or cool with caramel topping.

Skin flapping in the wind

I know that we've already told a few of you about this experience, but everyone has to hear this...So Brian and I were on a leasurely drive the other day, when the funniest thing came riding up beside us. Picture this..a Harley motorcycle with those high handle bars. Riding it was a woman with patton leather, thigh high, spike healed, WHITE leather boots a black triangle top leather bikini, black leather holdster around her waist, with a midevil daggar of sorts inside it. long wirery hair flowing from beneath her pink spike helmet. Oh wait did I forget to mention that the woman was about 68 years old!?! We were not even trying to hide the fact that we were staring. We couldn't take the chance of missing a single detail of this. Could she be serious? Then the light turned green, she picked up speed, and then began the flapping of skin. This woman wasn't fat (thank goodness) but her excess skin, fluttered in the wind, not only from the obvious places like under the arms, but EVERYWHERE--her legs, back, stomach etc. I don't care what anyone says...I love living in California!!

Fall TV

Just a shout out to fall! I'm so glad to wear jeans and layers and even more stoked that all my shows have started up again. LOVED the office premiere--and can you get better TV than The Bachelor? The first episode was filled with even more awkward moments than any other season. That show is genius and by far one of my favorite guilty pleasures. "Heroes "is as crazy as ever--who killed Hiro's dad and where's Syler (sp?)? OOh, can't wait....and last but definitely not least"America's next top model"--fierce! I love to watch how much Tyra is in love with herself! Anyone know when "Lost" starts up again?

Toddler Gymnastics

I'm still trying to decide if this is was a good idea or not, but I enrolled jack in his first little toddler gymnastics class. If you can picture it, about 20 munchkins ranging in age from 18 month to 3yrs, jumping, climbing, rolling, sliding, laughing, crying and screaming all in a room about 20ft by 20ft. The first week was a bit stressful. Of course you want your child to be the most coordinated & talented kid in the class, listening intently to his teacher, playing nicely with the other children. Jack was pretty much none of those things. He started out all cute, giving each of his classmates a huge that turned in to him tackling them to the ground. As the class progressed, he became more and more hyper and worked up. Way to much stimulus. At one point, all the kids were underneath a parachute, and jack decides to lie down on top of this cute little girl. It didn't look too good, so of course, I rip him off of her. Then he proceeds to mount her again. As I tried to pry him off of her for the 2nd time, he had a death grip on her golden locks. Arg! Looking to the postive, he was really good on the balance beam. Dare I go back for a 2nd helping??

LA county fair

Friday night Mikey, Rachel, Marie and Brian's dad and us headed up to Pomona for the LA county fair. We didn't make it to the OC fair this summer so, I was so glad we were able to go. I didn't think I was going to make it. Ruby screamed her face off the entire drive up in traffic! An hour and a half straight, no exaggeration. After we got there she was fine--the little stinker! SO sad, but we forgot our cameras! Jack had his first encounter at the petting zoo. He was feeding the goats and those nasty beasts were jumping up on him and knocking him over! Then they jumped up on Ruby as I was holding her so i started to kick them away when they got too close. Of course we ate way too much--the delicacies included: GIANT turkey legs, corn on the cob, funnel cakes and ice cream. Jack even stayed up until 10 o'clock. Anyone who knows Jack, know that's a feat. The kid has to sleep by 7 or else he's melts (we only had a couple meltdowns)! Good times....

Ruby & Jack's first professional photo shoot

After many requests from grandma, we got some professinal pics of the kids taken. They turned out cute & Jack looks like a little boy!

Sandy Buns

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?? Jack's entering a new phase... remember swimming in the ocean and sitting in the sand and finishing the day with a pound of sand in your crotch? it's been fun taking jack to the beach this summer and actually get to swim and build sand castles.

2nd Annual River Trip

The 2nd annual river trip occured this last weekend. It's crazy--last year we only had 1 baby (jack was 2 months) and this year we 4! Fertile year. The Lombardis, Jensens, Kochs, Duncans and even the Reiwerts (from CO) made it back for another year of good times. Unfortunately the Weeks weren't able to make it! The highlights from this year's trip include Bear breaking through the center of the raft while floating the river, skeet shooting, wakeboarding, and airchairing (new this year). The air chair was surprisingly difficult but way fun. It was so crazy how high you got and how sweet the wipeouts were. Too bad the best wipeout went to Brian but it wasn't captured on film, but will live forever in our memories. "Jamion" won the competition but I represented the ladies in 2nd place! It was definitely different with all the babies, but we took turns babysitting and I think everyone had a good time. A special thanks to Jeffe for getting "chocolate rain" stuck in my head the whole weekend and the ENTIRE drive home! Can't wait for next year!


2nd Annual River Trip