Uncle Jeril

I have a bazillion St. George photos - but I am still editing them - so I'll just post these.  While in St. George the kids had the pleasant surprise of spending the afternoon with their great-uncle Jeril.  They have spent time with him before, but usually they are off playing with other cousins when he is around, so this time they REALLY got to know him.  Bless his heart, he put up with (and seemed to enjoy) every single thing they did. You would have thought they were his own grandkids by the way he snuggled with them, read to them, told jokes with them and held their hands as they crossed the street.

Upon arrival he asked the kids for help unloading his stuff, and the three older ones jumped at the chance.  Jude carried in one shoe and newspapers, Maddie rolled in a suitcase, and Ella carried in his pillow - except she totally forgot the "carry" part of it and ended up dragging his pillow all the way from the car - up two flights of outdoor stairs - and across the concrete.  By the time the pillow made its way inside it was completely black.   I was MORTIFIED - but sweet Jeril just thanked her for the help, and ASKED HER IF SHE WANTED TO HELP AGAIN!!  She just beamed with pride while I stripped off the pillowcase and threw it in the wash.

Here he is telling the kids the story of Little Red Riding Hood.  Maddie is whispering to him that maybe they should change the end of the story so Red and the Big Bad Wolf fall in love and get married and have babies.

Please note the stain on Jeril's shirt. He would not want you to miss it.

Thanks, Jeril for enjoying my kids.  It meant the world to them.  They also say thanks for dinner and balloons and suckers - and can't wait to see you again!

BDEM:  Pool time!  Claire hated it - but we all sure had fun!  

Water:  30 oz - I'll get back into it tomorrow when I get back to working out.

T-MINUS 4 DAYS UNTIL BLOG-FOR-A-YEAR IS COMPLETE!!

My Father In Law Says Hi

Honestly.

As he walked out of the room he said, "Goodnight - tell everybody hi from your father-in-law."

I think that was an awfully nice thing of him to say, because truthfully - he doesn't know most of you, and if he had any idea what kind of hoodlums followed this blog I think he would be quite upset with me.

That being said, Rob and I have had such a fun trip with his parents.  We have never traveled with them before - being just us and them - and it's been great to watch them interact with the kids and to spend so much time sitting around playing cards.

I love cards, by the way.  I'm always that person who is up for the next game...so all these hands of Shanghai have been a real weekend treat.

Tomorrow afternoon we will return to the real world and life will get busy as it always does, but I'm glad I've had this weekend to remember his parents by.  I'll just tuck it away into a sweet spot in my mind that I can return to some day many many years from now when I tell my grandkids about how playing cards with Rob's parents was such a fun time for us.

BDEM:  I beat everyone at Shanghai...TWICE!

Water:  30 oz

The Worst. The Absolute Worst.

Of course I am referring to Claire's ear infection.  Well, I WAS referring to Claire's ear infection...until Maddie got pink eye.

PINK EYE.  On the list of things I really hate, I do believe that pink eye is one step above Hell.  I'm pretty sure I hate Hell, but don't have much to go off of at this point.  Anyone with personal info on that, please let me know if it's better or worse than pink eye.

For some reason, as I've mentioned in the past, if I even catch a glimpse of pink eye,  I'll have it.  And, if you've never experienced it, just know that IT. IS. GROSS.

What's NOT gross?

The view from our condo.  It's so pretty here...in a desert kind of way!

BDEM:  It was just a nice relaxing kind of day, and then we got to see some of Rob's family at his cousin's wedding.

Water:  30 oz

I'm down to the wire on this blog-a-day thing, and I almost forgot. Can you imagine the guilt I would feel if I made it for this long, then missed a post less than a week before my time was done? I'm still phone blogging, so it's just going to be a short and sweet check in to say that St. George is awesome. I honestly love it here and often wish I had some reason to live here permanently. We ate at an insanely good Mexican dive called Irmitas. It's not as divey as it once was, but it's still close enough that you know by appearance only, it is going to be authentic. Next time you're here, stop by and grab a Torta. It is life changing for lovers of Mexican cuisine. So, yeah. St. George. Wish you were here! BDEM: Watching the kids get re acquainted with their great uncle. We had so much fun with him today! Water: Does swallowed pool water count? Okay, then maybe 20 oz or so. But I'm feeling my bad choices now.

The Movie

I'm phone blogging. That's my disclaimer. We decided to take a spur of the moment-throw-some-clothes-in-a-bag-and-go trip to St. George. The weather is gorgeous, the pools are cool, but the internet is crappy. So, here's my quick version of last night's brilliant move. The Avengers was just about to start when a couple entered the otherwise empty theatre carrying a sleeping, swaddled infant. I was bugged because in this MASSIVE and EMPTY theatre, they chose the row directly in front of us. Come on, people! The movie started and the mother set the baby down on her lap, and began unwrapping all of the blankets. This is where my super annoyed mood turned into complete and utter submission to their awesomness. Instead of a swaddled baby, this couple has snuck in an entire meal from Cafe Rio wrapped in baby blankets. She even carried the food tenderly in the crook of her left arm. Absolute geniuses. When I was in college my friend Ben and I would see matinees several times a week, and we would always bring my backpack full of McDONALD'S. (Honestly, Droid?? You can't spell Thabks right, but McDONALD'S has its own proper capitalization? Give me a break!!) Anyway, we would bring McDONALD'S in, and Ben would always wait until they were taking our tickets to make some comment about how I didn't need a backpack in a movie theatre. "Geez, Melissa, you didn't have to walk all tye way feom the library with so many books...I could have picked you up!" All those years I could have been faking a baby...and nobody would have even questioned my motives. BDEM: I love our family condo down here. Just being here makes me so happy. Water: 40

Skipping

Here's a really great shot of Rob and I on our first anniversary.  We spent it in Disney World with my family. 

I'm just popping in to say that today was an amazing anniversary.  Rob is always SO great about making sure that I have the most perfect holidays - and today was no exception.  I'll share our date tomorrow....along with quite possibly one of the most brilliant things I have ever seen done tomorrow.  It will put my old buddy, Ben to shame.

For tonight - Rob, you are my best friend and the most wonderful father any child could ask for.  I have so much to learn from you and appreciate the fact that you not only put up with me, but do a pretty good job acting like you may even enjoy me!  Thank you for nine wonderful years.  I love you very, very much.

BDEM:  AVENGERS!!  

Water:  I plead anniversary on this one.  Maybe 40.

May 23, 2003

You know you have been married for a long time when your marriage predates the usage of digital photography!

Happy 9th Anniversary {tomorrow} to my one and only love!   

BDEM:  Had a great time hiking with the Young Women from my church.  They are hilarious, and I couldn't love them more!  

Water:  60 oz