Happy "Mantastic" Birthday Nana!

My mom's birthday was yesterday, so we had a big party at the Mayan. What better way to celebrate than with the family, some great mexican food & some good-looking divers. What? Who stuck that last one in there? I would NEVER look at a half-naked, extremely buff man in a small loin cloth! Nope...never! :) Mike you are MUCH hotter & MUCH stronger than any of those puny men! Anyway, back to the dinner...

We had a blast! Although some of the kids were a little scared of the "thunder & lightning" and the king of the mayan divers--basically a guy wearing a freaky-looking mask & head piece with body paint all over him. There was also some psycho "catwoman" thing that kept walking past us with her little bongo drum. We tried to tell the kids that it was a "kitty kat", but I don't think they bought it. Too bad it wasn't the hot divers that kept walking past our table! Now that would have been some good entertainment! What? Where did that come from? Darn little devil on my shoulder! Anyway, back to dinner...

The only downside to the night was that it took about an hour-and-a-half to get our food! And, it wasn't like the place was packed or anything...there were empty tables all over the place. I guess, if you're trying to look at the bright side of things, it gave us more time to look at the half-naked men. What? Did I bring them up again? I'm so sorry! Back to dinner...

Once we finally got our food, it was DELICIOUS! I had the carne asada soft tacos & they were scrumptious...just like something else I know...okay, okay, by this point you probably know too...so I won't bring them up! Everybody seemed to enjoy their food, so I think dinner was a success. After dinner, the servers came over and sang some random birthday song to Nana. She was THRILLED about that! Let me tell ya! Maybe if you-know-who had sang it, she would have enjoyed it a little more. What girl wouldn't want a clan of loin cloth-clad ripped men singing to her? Come on? Maybe we should have put that on our customer service survey?!? Sorry! Moving on...

Anyway, it was a fun night! All 2 1/2 hours of it--even though only about 20 minutes of that time involved eating. It's a good thing this place had something pretty to look at! What? That time I was talking about the waterfalls! I promise! Happy Birthday Mom! We love you! (I love you too Mike! I promise!) :) --Lindsay

Top Ten Reasons Mike is an Awesome Dad (and Husband)!

10--He can fix just about anything with a little superglue and duct tape...sometimes, a piece of string is required too!

9--He can work out any knot with his AWESOME massages!

8--He's a wrestling maniac with the boys (unfortunately for the furniture in our house!)

7--He's great in the...kitchen (where was your mind going?) No really, he's a fabulous chef!

6--He says "I love you" to all of us at least 645 times a day!

5--He can mow the lawn, edge the grass, pull the weeds, wash the cars, fix the fence, work on his bug, clean the garage, & still have enough energy to hang out with us!

4--He's got a nice butt! Sorry, but he does!

3--He works 15-hour days, 3 days a week (when you combine work & school) and he still comes home with a smile on his face!

2--He let's me have my way about 90% of the time! (Thanks!)

1--He is probably the most loving, compassionate, caring, smartest person you will ever meet! He's the whole kit-and-kaboodle wrapped up in one very SMOKIN' HOT package!

We love you Mike! Happy Father's Day! --Lindsay, Connor & Aiden

A Chinese Kind of Night!

The night I'm referring to happened last Saturday. However, I haven't had a single second of extra time this past week to write about it. But, I have a few minutes right now, 24 to be exact, to tell you all about it...so here we go.

The night started with Mike's goodbye party from his job at Chang. Mike actually started his new job with ATK earlier that week, but that was the soonest date that everyone could get together. Where did we go? Jasmine of course! It wouldn't be a Chang party without a little sushi! It was a fun night! I was sad to say goodbye to people that have become like family to us...especially Richard (that's Mike's old boss). He came up and gave me a big hug and said (in his cute little Chinese accent), "Lindsay...this is not goodbye! We still family...we always be family!" He almost made me cry! Then he went on to say, "Lindsay...if Mike give them (meaning ATK) trouble...and they kick him out...he come back and work for me!" He's so funny! We just love him to death! Sorry there's no pictures! I left the camera in the car and didn't even think about it until we were pulling out of the parking lot!

From the sushi party, we went to the Sandy Amphitheatre to see a Chinese Acrobats show with my family. These acrobats were OUT OF CONTROL! I never knew that a human backbone could bend in about 7 different directions and that 12 glass goblets could be balanced on top of one's forehead while climbing up two ladders that are balanced on a see saw! It was all pretty incredible!
I was a bit concerned though...Aiden (remember...he's my wild child) was a little too into the whole thing! I could almost see the wheels turning in his little 21-month-old head as he thought, "Hum...I wonder how I can do that at home!" Anyway, it was a fun night! How could it not be when sushi & acrobats are involved!?! --Lindsay

It's All in the 'Fro!

Per my dad's request, I am writing a post about why my children have such different hairstyles. Well, personally, I think your hair says a lot about your personality. A lot of the time (not all the time...but a lot) you can just look at someones hair for a split second, and tell what their personality is generally like. The same is true for my kids.

Connor is my half-and-half kid. Half the time he's very logical and methodical. He likes things to be in order. He can spend hours in his room by himself, setting up toy dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, & sabortooth tigers in a row to make a "museum". To compliment this part of his personality, we keep his hair pretty short in the back and on the sides. The other half of Connor is a wild daredevil. I have never seen a four-year-old that loves crazy things like roller coasters & water slides so much. To compliment this side of him, we keep the top of his hair a little longer and spike it...sometimes just in the front, other times all over, & sometimes (if I can tell it's going to be one of those days) a faux-hawk. That's why Connor's hair is the way it is.

Now, here's Aiden. Can you guess what his personality is like by looking at his outrageous hair? Yep...he's my wild child! How, I don't know, because he was the sweetest baby on the planet...then he turned 1 and it all changed! Aiden's hair is the coolest...and yet most annoying...hair on this earth because it's semi-curly. I can do it straight in the morning, but by afternoon, a few curls are peeking through. So, we only have one option...curly. We spray it down every morning, put a little gel in it and voila...it's a "white man fro". It's okay though, because it matches his little personality perfectly! I tried to cut it short last December, but it just didn't work for him...it needs to be a little longer & a little more wild to compliment his untamed persona! This kid is literally OUT OF CONTROL! He is the only 21-month-old I know that goes down big slides head first, tries to ride his big brother's scooter & bike, & enjoys doing "assisted back flips". And, he doesn't slow down either, this kid is like the energizer bunny...he goes full speed ALL DAY LONG! He will literally be the death of me someday...I'm sure of it. I should also mention that, despite his wild side, he is quite the tender heart too. He's always willing to come and cuddle(for a few minutes) & he give hugs & kisses when someone is sad. Plus, when he knows he's done something bad...he puts HIMSELF in timeout! It rocks! Maybe the natural curl represents his soft side, I don't know!

And THAT (in a nutshell) is why my children have such different hairstyles! --Lindsay

The Love Scale of a Four-Year-Old

I was pleasantly surprised last night when Connor came to me and said, "Mom, I like you!"

I said, "I like you too...in fact, I love you...lots!"

Connor paused for a second then he said, "Well, I only love you a little bit...I love Nana a lot!" (All of the sudden I wasn't so "pleasantly surprised" anymore!)

"Oh yeah?" I replied.

"Yeah," he said. "I love Nana the most!"

Later that night, when I was putting him to bed, Connor asked for a drink. I joked, "I don't know...I only get drinks for boys that love me a lot...and you said that you only loved me a little bit."

"Well," he replied (thinking more about quenching his thirst then anything else--I'm sure), "I do love you a lot. I love you this much (counting on his fingers). One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine... ten! See Mom, that's a lot!"

"Okay..." I said, "I'll go get you a drink."

When I returned with the drink, Connor continued, "Mom...I love you a lot...remember I love you as much as ten?!? But, I still love Nana just a little bit more."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, "How much do you love Nana?"

Connor paused to think for a second. "Hummm...37!"

Why do I even try? There's no way I'll ever be able to compete against Nana! --Lindsay