Take those out of his mouth.*

Happy Halloween

Thanks for sending this Amber!

To a ten year-old, I'm huge.*

I had a pretty busy weekend.  Friday night - I stopped by the boys house and only Christian was home.  I was able to talk him in to going to the store with me to buy a puzzle - but that will actually be a separate blog post because it's the puzzle of all puzzles and deserves its own post.

Saturday morning we got up early and went hiking.  By 'we' I mean Chris, Nick, Ben, and me.  The boys were super tired because their friend had come over Friday before I left and they stayed up most of the night talking to him.  Ben almost didn't make it because he had to go up to campus and the plan had been to meet up with two of Chris' friends from DC - but they bailed and we were able to wait for Ben to finish up. 

When I first got back from Arizona, Nick asked if I was going to compare everything to Havasupai and the Grand Canyon (I guess I had been doing that a lot).  So when we started the hike and I looked up at the "falls" I was like, "I've screwed myself over, I should have never gone to Havasupai."  I mean - you remember the pictures of the falls there right?  So here are the falls at Crabtree.

I mean - pretty - but I remember it being a lot prettier....and bigger

We found a snake - well, Nick almost stepped on it - that counts as 'finding' right

The boys are trying to figure out what to do with the snake.  Should we pick it up with a stick and toss it further in the woods, warn others about it (oh yeah - they thought it was a copperhead for a while).  They just left it.

This is our sad face - why are we sad? Not sure

World's shortest hike

Ben showing us how he looks in a hat because he doesn't think he looks good in them.  I warned him I have a thing for guys in baseball hats.

We found this pay phone at the head of the trail.  Ben remembers how it works - I think Chris was checking for service first.

From there I had an important birthday party to get to - Olivia (who turned one yesterday).

She's got this cake under control

Then it was back to the boys to get ready for the Halloween dance at church.  We decided to go as rock, paper, scissors.

Christian made these scissors for Ben - VERY last minute.  He's so ready to be a dad.

I did Ben's make-up and I think it went straight to his head - look at him modeling

We were a big hit at the dance - bigger than I expected at least since we probably had the cheapest costumes.  But people liked our idea....and how we chased each other around most of the dance.  I danced more than I have at any dance and woke up on Sunday morning a little embarrassed to see people at church - as Kami has said about dancing, I woke up thinking, "What did I do last night?"  I can't wait until the Harvest Ball.

I don't know, something amazing I guess!*

Some of my favorite non-related people in the whole wide world are "the boys".



Nick, Christian, Ben and Chris at game night...playing a complicated math game. I love my little nerds.





Chris and Ben making up a new game out of an existing one - it's kind of like...a race.  See video.



Last Sunday, when I arrived, Ben said he felt like life turned into a sitcom whenever I came over to the house. He said it was like we were in the show "My Boys".  It made me laugh because I had been thinking the same thing.  I already call them "the boys" but trust me, in my heart, they are mine.  I had to tell Chris a few weeks ago that I love them all the same just for different reasons, I don't want any of them thinking I've picked favorites - I felt like a mother...

When I first started hanging out there I put in my application to be Lady of the House.  Chris had a lot of rules and he seemed to be adding more and more.  I finally told him to forget it, I would just get a boyfriend.  Finding and taking care of one had to be easier than taking care of them as a household.  I was told I couldn't date any of them (because the others would feel I had chosen a favorite) and I could never get married.  I was told I had to make them treats, clean the house, introduce them to my lady friends (to which I laughed - I don't have many of those).  And the list went on and on.  There were others vying for the same position too (at least Chris told me so) but I won out...I don't know when it happened, but recently they all keep saying, "Since you're the lady of the house...yadda, yadda."

We play games, put together puzzles, go hiking, watch "The Voice" and "Marchel the Shell" (on YouTube - check it out), we play Family Band (basically a jam session where Christian is the only one who actually knows how to play the instruments - but we're learning and he's patient), we talk each other into going to ward activities, Chris will come help me in my yard and Nick has offered to fix things in the house in exchange for treats.  I may be "the Lady of the House" and my job is to take care of them, but I feel like they take care of me to a much greater degree.

I don't know exactly what it is that endears me to them.  Maybe it's the fact that when I am over there, with all of them or any one of them individually, I forget everything that weighs me down.  Or even if we are having a serious conversation, I come out of it feeling better.  I feel my best around them.  I feel like I am the person I really am.  I dont' feel like I'm trying too hard to get them to like me, or that I have to change in anyway around them.  Talking to them isn't stressful or exhausting.  And they like me, they really like me* for reasons I can't understand but I won't question, and I won't turn away the compliments they give me.  If I ever decide to date again, the boys of the world are going to have a hard time meeting my new expectations.

Well, I remember Mel Gibson accurately, and he didn't say that.*

I have 16 days until the half marathon.

Sadly - I feel certain that I am not going to survive this one.

I don't know why I signed up to run another half marathon.  There are people who wear shirts to these races that say, "This seemed like a good idea six months ago".  I feel like I should get a shirt that says, "This NEVER seemed like a good idea."

I don't even know why I run, to be honest with you.  I guess it's the feeling I have when I am done - it certainly isn't the feeling before or during.  And I find running more enjoyable than a workout video or going to a gym. 

Well - I know why I run races and that's for the food, shirts, and the stickers (and in this case the medals and bibs as well).  I just hope that on November 10th, when a Kenyan running the marathon crosses the finish line before me, I remember that I run for the medal and the food, the shirt on my back, the bib on my chest and the sticker on my car.

Now to take back what is rightfully mine, but is more rightfully my Dad's. *

I was looking through my drafts and relaized that I hadn't posted this - I can't even finish a ten day challenge? Goodness.

One Picture...



Just kidding!!  This isn't even my hand - my hands don't look nearly this nice! 

People tell you to put up one picture and how are you supposed to decide on one picture out of a life time of photos? The only pictures that people really want to see are ultrasounds, wedding photos and engagement rings (in reverse order I hope).

All else fails - we'll know who actually reads and who just looks at the photos by the "congratulations!!!!" I get.

Happy Belated April Fool's Day....don't hate me.

I don't like this cat, he reads minds.*

We all know how I feel about squirrels right?

I have documentation:

The History

Santa and Squirrels

Last week, Jesse sent me a link to this story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4489792.stm.  He knows I hate squirrels (as ALSO mentioned in the blog - the Grand Canyon post).  It's about a gang of Russian squirrels who take down a stray dog...

A Russian Squirrel

I. Was. Horrified!  I've been telling EVERYONE about it.  And I can't tell if people are joining me in this fear of squirrels or if they are mocking me.  A lady at work asked how long it would take American squirrels to catch wind of this and start attacking here - I explained their intricate communication system and how it could spread quickly.  Then the other lady at work started talking about how easily a Russian squirrel could get on a cargo boat and come to America.

Horrifying!

If you love someone, set him free. If you have to stalk him, he probably wasn't yours in the first place.*

In September my friend, Zach, wrote on my wall, "D, we have to go hiking so I can propose and you can say 'no'!"  To which I of course replied, "Sounds like a plan!"  (and yes - for my college friends, he called me 'D' and I never even told him about my college nickname).  From there we got to work planning a hike.  I recruited the boy's house (which was kind of cheating because they had already been talking about going on a hike) and Zach recruited people from his neck of the woods.  We had a good sized group - until the week of and people started bailing out.  Ben (Benny when he's participating in physical activities and Brother Ben when he's in a suit and tie) and I were the only ones from Richmond.  It was funny because later, Ben and I were talking and we both were worried the other one would bail out (after Ben's roommates had already bailed) and have to drive all alone.  So - good news - neither of us bailed on the other!

We drove to Mt. Pleasant which is about two and half hours away near Lexington, VA.  We met up with Zach and Lauren (the only two who didn't bail from the western area of VA.  It. Was. Freezing.  I'll admit, I didn't dress in layers like I should have.  I figured a t-shirt and hoodie would be fine because I would warm up.  I warmed up - I don't think my fingers or nose ever did.

I had my new camelbak and Zach let me borrow his hat...which...made me look ridiculous. 

We had tried Mt. Pleasant before and ended up doing some kind of super lame field hike before we found the right trail and then I had to leave so I never got to go to the top.  We got the right trail this time and blazed up the mountain - everything seems a little easier ever since Arizona - but still hard enough that I'm not just jaunting up the trail.

That green patch is the super lame field

We got to the top pretty quickly, and that gave us time to explore.

Where's Waldo

He's really happy because he fit through the hole

and play chess

glamor shots

and get proposed to

Get proposed to and say 'no' - check

Get in a fight...

 or two

And of course (apparently) time to Party Rock.



...busy day.

Just so you know - we are pretending to hold 'the gnome' which usually accompanies us on hikes but Zach left him in the other car...

Where's Waldo - seriously, Ben's clothes made him blend a lot.

And afterwards we stopped for a fancy lunch/dinner at Hardee's.  Yum-o. 

Another successful hiking trip - and the first one where we went to get something to eat afterwards...yum-o.