Like Father, Like Son

A little known fact about Steve is that one of his favorite movies of all time is "The Wizard of Oz."  He's loved it ever since he was a child, and is especially fond of the Lollipop Guild kids.  Imagine, after 4 years of marriage, I find out that he can not only sing every song, but can also recite a good portion of the dialogue as well!  

Well, around Thanksgiving time "The Wizard of Oz" was showing on TV, and we caught it somewhere in the middle. Just like Steve, Riley became hooked.  He calls it "The Lizard of Doz."  When we visited Brandon and Laura in December, we came across the soundtrack at the Smithsonian, and it is now permanently in the CD player in my car.

Right before Christmas, TNT started showing the movie again, and this time we managed to catch it from the very beginning...so we snuggled up with our stuffed friends and some popcorn

Snoopy and Army Blanket....$25.00
DirecTV bill...$90.00
A new family tradition passed from Father to Son...Priceless.

We only made it as far as Dorothy's encounter with the Cowardly Lion before we all fell asleep, but hey, there's always next year!

The day after New Year's

Remember when New Year's day was the day that you pretty much cursed the party gods and perhaps wondered where you left your...car? How about some art work instead?

The tongue action helps to push the blue paint out the brush. As the paint came out, so did the tongue. Too much!
The artists at work!
We're all arted out!!

Happy 2008!

My, how times have changed! Of course we still had a New Year's Party. And it sure was a blast. But who knew that the happiest partiers at the house would be the three boys! Riley's buddies, Ty and Tanner came with their parents, Julie and Troy, and the three of them had a rootin' tootin' time!
First, we get the hats, then we test out all 30 of the party horns.
Then we blow our horns until we collapse in a giggly heap on the floor.
And then we crash and let the grown-ups party it up!
Hey, but don't get me wrong. We may be old, but we still know how to throw it down. Here's to Wii bowling for 7 hours and Guitar Hero at 3 a.m. Here's to Lindsay's messages to all her friends and Granny, "I loooooove yooooooou! You're my bestest friend!!" And eating our weight in olives and cocktail shrimp. Remember the time our new neighbor, Chris, disappeared? Good thing he only lives next door! And of course the midnight drunk-dial from Cory. I feel so priveleged to be on the drunk dial list... Monica, did we sufficiently scare your friends? At least Nick didn't make any offensive comments about Cherry Creek this time! Not to mention Charline's sleepover and BUTTER BRAIDS rule! Happy New Year, y'all!

Where would ya, why would ya?

Once upon a time, on a cold December evening, I met my friends, Charline and Justin, and we sat down for dinner at the local Black Eyed Pea. "Twas the season of giving, so presents were exchanged. Eagerly, I withdrew what was sure to be a treasure, for it was ensconced so carefully in tissue paper. As I spied the crafty offering my BFF had so lovingly chosen for me, I became speechless. For who, what genius would think to take an empty wine bottle, drill a hole into the side, and stuff it with Christmas lights tangled in raffia? What muse of the arts would then possess them to paint a giant sunflower on the side and hot glue (yes, the crafty patron saint) a fabric flower and raffia bow around the top? Once plugged in, the illuminated bottle becomes a beacon of kitchiness, an icon of knick-knackery. I was in love.
Then, that typically silent Justin King snorts, and the realization that this well-thought out offering was one of those, WHERE WOULD YA, WHY WOULD YA moments!!! It illuminated our meal that fine winter evening from its perch on the extra chair. My pot roast never tasted so good. My bottle now holds a place of honor in my downstairs bathroom, awaiting its next recipient. You could be the next lucky person upon whom it will be bestowed. Lucky you!

Working on Fine Motor Skills

When Riley informed Charline that plucking stickers off a sheet and adhering them to paper was "practicing fine motor," we just about lost it. What 2 year old says something like that!? Obviously one who not only has a teacher for a mom, but who listens to every conversation within earshot, even when he seems to be playing with play-dough with the other preschoolers.

Now he likes to tell us that when things aren't working out the way they should, it's because his "fine motor skills aren't working." I'm not kidding.

Fortunately, his fine motor skills were working pretty well a Jun Sushi on mom's birthday. Also known as "the place where we take our shoes off." The restaurant is one of our faves, right outside mom and dad's neighborhood. They have the tatami platform where you do actually take your shoes off, but thankfully the tables are set over holes in the floor so that you sit with your legs dangling under the table instead of cross-legged. This is Riley, eating rice with chopsticks, left-handed, of course!
First you scoop...
Then you eat!

Stax and Stax and Stax

What happens when Steve goes out of town for work, there's a big sale on Lay's Stax at King Soopers, and Missy and Charline get a six pack of Hornsby's Cider? Well, a whole lotta Stax eatin' gets done! Charline introduced us to the beauty that is Sweet Thai Chili, Salt and Vinegar, Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream and Onion, and Tomato Basil Stax. It was stax-tastic, I must say! Riley loved the spicy Thai Chili, but was not a fan of "the red ones." (ie. Tomato Basil)
We lined those bad boys up like shots and had at it.
My artistic representation of gluttony at its finest...

Snow crazies!

What could be more fun that making snow angels in the yard! We've gotten a bit of snow over the past couple of weeks, and it's been so cold that a lot of it is still around. Steve took the opportunity to teach Riley how to make snow angels a few days ago. Then it was tackle time!

My too cute man!

I haven't had much time to blog lately, although lots has been going on! The site's been slow for uploading, and I haven't got the patience! However, I LOVE this picture! It completely captures Riley's personality. What a ham!!! More to come soon, I hope to get some done over winter break!

Trading Orientally

So, when the grocery store checker at the Safeway store where I've shopped for the past NINE YEARS asked me what my "language" was (English), no, my "native language," (English, you ignorant hosebag), I had to laugh. And I began to think about stereotypes. Since there aren't a whole lot of Asians in these parts, and of course there's that dead horse thing again, my friends and I have obviously taken this joke to the extreme. I have no real explanation that would make sense, it just makes sense to us. It's always amusing to see the reaction of strangers (or parents at the Skate Party), when Charline or Jenn pipes up, "Would you speak English, you know I don't understand your NATIVE LANGUAGE!" To which I inevitably respond, "I'm Filipino, man!" I know, you really have to be there...

At my school, there are always catalogs in the lounge with teachery-type things, knick knacks, etc. So, when I'm not doing kung-fu, eating rice, or driving poorly to do someone's nails, I like to look at the Oriental Trading catalog because they have a lot of really high-quality bric-a-brac that probably don't have lead in them, right?:

But wait, shouldn't it really be this?:
Now that's offensive.

Kinda like that Asian-themed birthday party some of my cousins might remember the night after Keith and Holli's wedding! The girl in the hat is someone we don't know, but the other Asian folk are Peachie and Brian, my cuz'z! HA! Some guy decided he wanted an "Asian" birthday party, so they all dressed up. Felicia was beside herself!

Hee hee! By the way, that would be DRUNK Brian. ;)

Living the Good Life

Brad and Nicole treated a big group of us to a weekend getaway in Vail. The ladies spa'd and the guys played in the gym all day with the kids. The weather was gorgeous, and we found a great park nearby for the kiddos. It was a great break from the "same ol', same ol'!"

Swings!
Walking the rocks with Aunt Nic.
The park had really neat wrought iron fences
Going home through the Eisenhower tunnel!