Thursday, November 10, 2011

Clever Girls!

Watch this ridiculous ad...then watch Huntsman's daughters hilarious parody of it.  
These babes have brains and a sense of humor!!! Just watched them on Sean Hannity's show and I have to say, I am definitely a fan of Jon 2012 Girls!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Cancun Aye, Aye, Aye!

Two weeks ago we snuck out of town and ran off to Mexico with our good friends the Poulsens.  Cancun actually.  We did some pretty cool things while we were there. So cool that they'll need blog posts of their own.  They're coming, but first I'll just set the stage and show you where we were.  RIU Palace was home for the week.  It looked like a big European building on the outside and even more so, inside the lobby.

We spent lots of time here in this lobby kinda camped out because it was the only place in the entire hotel that you could get internet service.  And since our phones wouldn't work, it was the only way we could stay in touch with the outside world, you know, the one where our kids and jobs were...

Our room was situated on the front part of the hotel so the entire wall opposite the doors to our rooms looked out over this bay at the rest of Cancun.  

I never did get used to the humidity or the smell that settles in after prolonged exposure to the moisture that was in the hotel, but our room was pretty nice and quite spacious. We had large entry way a big bathroom and closet, the area where our bed was and then down a few steps to a sitting area.  

My favorite thing though was our view from the balcony.  The beautiful pool and grounds on the back side of the hotel were nothing to complain about. 

 The view of the ocean and the lights of Isla Mujeres were incredible, but the sunsets here were an amazing sight to witness!

Here is one from our little beach just in front on the hotel pools.

The clouds made the colors seem even more intense.  

But they also meant rain, and we got plenty of it that week! Luckily we didn't have to change our plans too much because of it.  Who says you can't have fun at the beach in the rain?

While most of the week was pretty overcast, the weather was warm and we did spend some time with our toes in the sand.


And in the gorgeous ocean
But there were lots of other things to keep us entertained too.  Like the people watching, that we sometimes took to the next level, people copying.  We saw countless vacationers posing out on these rocks right in front of our beach.  They put on their swimsuits, their sexiest faces, and left their shame and towels on their chairs.  Jeremy and Jeff decided to have their own photo shoot right along side one of the many we saw.

Then Jeremy captured him showing off some of the more popular poses...yes, draped in seaweed!
And when we tired of the people watching we did some playing of our own!
We rented jet ski's and zipped all over the ocean in them.  We had so much fun jumping the waves and caught some serious air! Talk about a huge adrenaline rush!
One day Jeff and Jeremy actually did a little scuba diving right off the coast near our hotel.
Talli tried out the equipment in the hotel pool with the dive master, but decided she was going to need a little more time before giving scuba a shot in the ocean!
So we decided to order some fruity drinks with umbrellas in them and sent the guys off to play with the fish.  By the end of the week we even saw some sunshine, but to see what we did when we weren't lounging around by the water, you'll have to wait for the next post! Aye, aye, aye!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Happy Birthday Nan!

Nan is just plain cool.   She is sassy and sarcastic. She tells it like it is.  She is quick to laugh and has a smile that starts in her eyes and lights up a room.  Nan can fit in anywhere and is a magnet for kids of all ages.  She is an incredible mom and a loyal friend.  Nan will roll with the punches and is game for just about anything.  She can do last minute and is the best co pilot on a road trip.  She is smart and fun.  She is patient and compassionate. Nan is beautiful inside and out.   I am just lucky enough to call her family.

And this year I got to spend her birthday with her. I like birthdays. I don't think they have to be spent doing anything fabulous, but certainly something enjoyable.  A deal maker or breaker in my book though, is who you spend your day with.  You have to be surrounded by the people you love and ones who you know love you right back! The rest is just icing on the cake!
Not all of Nan's peeps could be together this year, but we gathered as best we could and just enjoyed some time together.  Carter and Julia came up from Santa Barbara, and my mom and Tara and our families spent the afternoon at the kids elementary school.  
Drew was thrilled to have everyone there to watch his football game!
And Brynne was just thrilled to see Nan in Clovis!  She ran out and just plopped right into her lap!  I love watching the two of them together, it makes my heart smile.

These make my heart smile too...
After the game we endured the 100* heat for a while longer at the school carnival.  Brynne was determined to win a treat at the cake walk.  It took at least 6 times of standing in line before her number was finally called, but she would not be deterred!
It was totally worth baking on the concrete for an extra 15 minutes just to see her sweet face light up when she finally won!
That night we left the kiddos at home and had a fabulous birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
And really how can your birthday be anything but grand when you finish the night off with a dessert like this?!

Happiest of Birthday wishes to one of my very dearest.  Love you Nancy Allen!!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Magic Mountain

Miss B was full of passengers making the most of the 3 hour drive to Magic Mountain when we hit a bit of a detour
One of the tires blew out, kinda like an explosion, and nothing like I have ever seen!
We stopped in pretty much the middle of nowhere at a podunk operation that miraculously carried just the kind of tire required to get us back on the road!
We found a local Home Depot and Nan and Kristie and I had a little fun, with flashbacks of our Oregon road trip back in July
Eventually we were back on the road again and everyone was all smiles


It was mid day before we arrived at the crowded park and the lines were long, but we were ready to get the fun started!
We had fun hanging out and chatting while we waited
Kristie and Jeff debated the roll of aspartame in Jeff's diet, and finally resorted to just strangling the guy
The weather couldn't have been better for us! And while the lines were long we had such a good time just hanging out together.
 Just after dinner when the park was dark, they let out all the creepers for Fright Night. They wandered sections of the park scaring the tar out of us, but for some reason Julia was always the easiest target!  She screamed, yelped, and grabbed whoever was near however she could and it was hysterical!
We waited in lines snuggled up a little closer,
took in a few more rides
and then crashed as soon as Miss B hit the road!