Gray's First Bath?

Grandma Fae always gets to do the honors of giving each of my babies their first bath.  (Usually before the cord falls off delaying the cord falling off an extra week or two.)

 Hey look!  It's Gray's first bath!

Okay, maybe he's had a FEW in Japan over the last 7 months, but really...

this is the one that counts!

"I Need Something I Can Shake My Money Maker To!"*

In an effort to get Sam to quit screaming hysterically loudly protesting the injustice of his Cinderella-esque existence and start helping clean up the kitchen last night, I said,
"Sammy, whatever you do, do NOT shake your booty to this song while you wipe off the table."
I then proceeded to wash the dishes while shaking my money-maker to the beat of "It Must Be Love" by Madness.  (Playing loudly on the computer in the other room.)

Well, of course Mommy using the word "booty" snapped Sam right out of his funk and within moments three boys were dancing and booty shakin' around the kitchen with cleaning implements.

Doug just looked on with equal parts smug "I-told-you-they-got-their-lame-moves-from-you" dismay and amusement.

Hey, whatever works, right?

---

Need something to shake your booty to?  I really don't think this is the best collection, but it got us moving last night!
Here are the songs so far on a just started/still in the works/woefully incomplete "E's Favorites" playlist:

Tell Her This - Del Amitri - Twisted  (Needs to be moved to "E's Slow Jams/Mellow Mix")
Blackbird - Sarah McLachlan - I Am Sam Soundtrack
It Must Be Love - Madness - Divine Madness (Reminds me of Carlsbad)
We Close Our Eyes - Oingo Boingo - 20th Cntry Mstrs - The Mill. Coll.: The Best of O. B.
Your Smiling Face - James Taylor - The Best Of
Eres Tu - Mocedades - Tommy Boy Soundtrack  (Oh, how I love this song!  Reminds me of Anna, Wes Larson, and the drive from Provo to Springville.)
Just Like Heaven - The Cure - Galore (The Singles 1987-1997)
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure - Staring At The Sea: The Singles 1979-1985  (Reminds me of Ang)
To Be With You - Mr. Big ( P.B.)
Close To Me - The Cure - Staring At The Sea: The Singles 1979-1985  (Reminds me of driving to the airport with Kemp to pick up Tys.)
No Myth - Michael Penn - March  (Reminds me of the Thespian)
You Make My Dreams -  Hall and Oates  (Makes me giggle.)

Don't Killing Your Love is Killing Me - Erasure  (Hot Buns likes this one.)

One Thing - Finger Eleven

She Loves Me - Stephen Duffy - Some Kind of Wonderful Soundtrack

The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson 

Being Around - Lemonheads

*A favorite "Glee" quote.  Unfortunately I had to stop watching Glee due to too much S.E.X.ual content.  :(  Cryin' shame 'cause that show is hilarious.

Hmpfh!

It's all fine and good to say I'm going to blog every day for a month when the SUN is shining, but right now it's rainy and cold and all I want to do is get back in bed and sleep all day!  (Thus we see why California is a good choice for me mental health wise!)

When we got to Carlsbad/San Diego, we were greeted by MORE FAMILY and it was WONDERFUL!  My mom (Faezer) and her husband John drove in and Doug's parents flew in and brought his sister Beth to surprise us.  Then, the next day, Doug's sister Kris magically appeared at church to surprise us as well!  (All from Utah.) It was awesome!  Laura (my sister) was a champ to host all of us just a few short days before getting back surgery.  (See her angry rant to the neighborhood dog here.)  (Doug's fam stayed at the Carlsbad Ramada with us, but Laura did a lot of the entertaining at her house.)

Saturday night dinner out with all the grown-ups for some great Mexican food!  

What was the name of the place La?  (Oh Mexican food, how I've missed you.)  

BIL Jeff, My sister (La)ura, Target Sweater, & Doug

I paid the strolling mariachi band to play "Guadalajara".  Worth it to see Faezer's smile.

Delicious Sunday dinner made by gimpy Laura.

No, my sister Karie and brother Brandon in Utah did NOT come to surprise me nor did they call or e-mail or in any way acknowledge that I was in town from a foreign country.  

But I'm obviously not bitter.  Or passive-aggressive.  

Jenny, who lives in Romania, did e-mail however to say she wished she could be there!

Sunday evening stroll in beautiful Olivenhain

Doug with sisters Krissy and Beth and Mom and Dad

Yes, I know there is a big thread hanging onto my bum, but I'm in no mood to photoshop at the moment!  (Adorable sweater with hangy thread from Target, in case you're curious.)

I love you California family! Wish I were there!

And We Finally Made It...

To Carlsbad and to MY MOMMY!!!

Another Day, Another (Two) Road Trip(s)

From Salinas we went straight to Paso Robles.  "Pahh-so" as the locals call it, (not Paw-so like you're supposed to say it en espanol) is just a little North of San Luis Obispo close to the central California coast.

The great part about this leg was that Grandpa Dale (aka Papa Disneyland) drove out from Clovis to meet us.  Right about the time Doug went in to his interview, Grandpa showed up with treats and DVD's to keep the boys from tearing the rental van apart.

We drove to a park in the center of town and that's when I fell in love.  Paso Robles is such a cute, quaint small town!  The downtown area has been restored and revitalized and is incredibly charming!

Let's just say you wouldn't need to hold a gun to my head to get me to live there.  I loved the area.  That evening, we went to a local steak house where Claudia, my dad's wife met us for dinner at a restaurant the boys loved because root beer floats came with every meal!

After dinner, we said goodbye to Grandpa and Claudia and got on the road again.  Doug said he wanted to wake up and not have to drive!

So we headed for THE PROMISED LAND:  Carlsbad.

to be continued...

Fairfield to Salinas

After a fun evening and delicious meal with Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins, (whom I have no pictures of for some reason!) a dip in their hot tub after the boys were all in bed and a good night's sleep, we got on the road again.  This time headed for Salinas, CA of Steinbeck fame.  Once again arriving just in time for Doug's pre-scheduled meeting, we dropped him off and went on our merry way...
to...
TARGET!!!
Yes, that's right.  I made my first visit to that fabulous store of my dreams.
First things first, lunch for the boys:  We stopped at the food court and got three hot dog kids meals.  Now, due to my new 'trying-to-be-slightly-healthier' status, I don't buy hotdogs anymore.  But the kids are still welcome to eat them when we're out or at a BBQ or friends house etc.
So they sat munching happily away while I ate a turkey sub.  Sometime mid hotdog, Max asked "Mom, what are hotdogs made of?"
"Well," I said "It's kinda gross.  They take all of the leftover meat stuff they don't use from the animals, like the guts and stuff, then they grind it all up, add a lot of salt, and turn it into a hotdog."
Max's response?  "Hmm!  Well, they sure do taste good!" continues eating
In the mean time, Sammy is turning sorta green and spits the rest of his out--practically throwing up-- complaining of a suddenly sick tummy.  It was pretty funny.  Can't say I'll be sorry if one kid stops liking hot dogs.   (They've never been my favorite thanks to my sixth grade teacher Mr. Wilkerson telling us a similar story in class.)

And then I proceeded to spend $450.  ($150 of which was later returned...for the record.)

It was bliss.

Doug is terrified to move back to the states.

I told him it would all be worth it when he saw me in my hot new clothes.

He was understandably skeptical.


(I should mention some of that $450 was Doug's biking stuff.)

After Doug's Salinas meeting, we managed to track down some MORE dental school friends.  Our former next-door-neighbors the R's.

Steve was two years behind Doug so they weren't in the same class, but Max and their oldest Samantha are the same age and played together pretty much every day for two years.  It was amazing to see the beautiful young lady Samantha has grown into, see cute "Benny-Boy" again, and meet TWO new brothers.  They lovingly offered to let us stay the night to prevent Doug falling asleep at the wheel on the way to our hotel, and we had a great time staying up late playing "Colosseum" and talking.

Thank you R's for opening your home to us at the last minute!  It was a great visit!

Hooray for Baby Gray

We interrupt this trip report to bring you...

The cutest seven-month-old you've ever seen!

Baby Gray is getting bigger (taller and skinnier) and cuter every day.  He's sitting up (barely) and trying his darndest to crawl.  (But mostly just rocks on all fours and then rolls where he needs to go--see video.)

He drools profusely like his brothers (Max and Gabe) before him, and tries to put everything in his mouth to bite with his two razor sharp new teeth.  (He's bitten Mommy once but I threatened to ween him so he hasn't done it again since.)

It is no longer safe to stick him on the couch for naps.  Today I left him sound asleep and came back in the room a few minutes later to find him MISSING!  He rolled off the couch onto the large cushion I put down "just in case" and from that cushion he somehow rolled around behind the recliner.  I found him on his tummy happily reaching for his binky just beyond his grasp.  It was quite amusing after I recovered from the moment of shock and terror at finding him gone without a peep!

On our recent trip he got to meet all three sets of Grandparents, four aunts, two uncles and a boat load of cousins and friends.  Obviously, it goes without saying (although I'm saying it) that all who met him loved and adored him.

I'll leave you with the following:

Things most often said to or about Baby Gray:

"Is he always so happy/smiley/alert???"  
(Yes.  Yes, he is.)

"I hope my baby has as much personality!"  
(Yes.  Yes, you do.)

"He's SOOOO happy!!!"  
(Wouldn't you be with me as a mom?)

"He's so GOOD!"  
(Naturally.  All my offspring are perfect angels!)

"Were all your boys so smiley?"  
(But of course!)

"He looks EXACTLY like DOUG!"  
(truer words were never spoken.)

Love you Baby Gray!

Next Stop: Fairfield, CA

Seattle Tacoma Airport to Albany, OR = 4 hours

Albany, OR to Fairfield, CA for a 4:00 p.m. meeting = 8.5 hours of driving with very few breaks.

I think Gabey was just waking up in these two:

I should mention that Gray-Gray did an excellent job traveling considering he HATES his car seat.  Tender mercies!

Check out the body language on Sammy in this last one:

(Yes, Max did steal his airplane blanket.)

We barely made it to Doug's brother's house in time for Doug to throw his nice clothes on and head out the door for his first official meeting with a local dentist.  It went well and we had our first inkling of not being unemployed next year!  (whew!)

Now that I look back on it, I think we all deserve a cookie!  

Or a medal, but I'd rather have a cookie.

Albany, Oregon and the Browns

The last time we saw the Brown's, our families met up in Palmyra, New York for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.  That was August 2007.  It was great to be able to see them again.  As I mentioned, we were neighbors during Dental School and our husbands were classmates.  After graduation, they went to Michigan for an Ortho residency and we went to Rhode Island for Doug's Pediatric residency.  

Whenever we see them, it's like no time has passed at all.  We pick up right where we left off.  (Even if we both have more kids.)

One of the best parts of this particular visit was meeting their baby, "M-Madness".  Before Kim had kids she'd look at my high-energy, mischeivious, baby-gate climbing, child-lock-picking little Max with dismay and say "My kids will all be calm and well behaved pocket babies!"  And the first two pretty much are.  So it made me laugh when little M-Madness climbed onto the table to dance and kept trying to escape out the front door.  Evidently she's quite "spirited".  I love it.

I may have mocked Kim.  

A lot.

You go Little M!  Keep your parents on their toes!!!

Sam was happy to be reunited with his first Best Friend.  They played the Wii pretty much every waking moment we were there. Their middle child (not pictured) is super adorable and kept Gabey entertained.

Despite Dr. Brown's offer that Doug move into his building and start a new practice there, we eliminated Oregon as an option based on the weather.  

Yes.  I'm a big fat whiner and I like, no NEED, SUNSHINE.  Sue me!  

We'll definitely be back a lot to visit, though, if they'll have us.  Oregon is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Oh, and by-the-way, if you're in the area and need braces, I HIGHLY recommend 

Orthodontic Specialty Care in Albany or Lebanon.  Brett rocks, plus he studied a lot and got really good grades in Dental School.  I know.  I was there.

Thanks for putting us up Browns.  We love you guys!!!

Leg 1: Misawa Japan to Seattle America

Exactly two weeks ago it was Tuesday morning and we were in Japan.  Many hours later, it was still (or again) Tuesday morning and we were in Seattle.  We got from here to there by taking a "space-A hop".

This is a commercial flight, chartered by the military, to transport military personnel.  Any seats not used by those on special assignment or service members being relocated, are open to those who want to try to travel "space available".

The thing about "Space A" is that it is NOT a sure thing.  You don't know if you'll get on pretty much until you're on.  You just have to show up and hope for the best.  This is extremely hard to do when you're traveling with four small children.  But the price is right (practically free) so it's worth trying.

So two weeks ago we went to the terminal and waited and waited and waited.  We were thrilled and a little shocked when they called our names.  Then we waited some more.  (Two weeks previous to this our friends tried to get out but couldn't.  There is only one flight per week, so if you don't get on, you're out of luck until next week.)

Once on the plane, the flight took only eight hours and BAM --we were in America.  I might be tempted to complain, but it was a heckofalot shorter than our flight OUT here two years ago when we had to go through Tokyo.  And at least this time the movie system was working!

Once in Seattle,  we rented a minivan and drove straight to Albany, Oregon for Doug's first visit with the esteemed and revered Dr. B. Brown.  (Who just happens to be our former two-doors-down UCSan Fran Dental School neighbor.)

...to be continued...

*Christina--we didn't call you while we were in Seattle because we didn't stay in Seattle long enough to even catch our breath!  We basically only stopped in places where Doug had interviews or meetings set up.  Which means we missed seeing and visiting lots of friends along the way. (Don't hate us San Franciscans!)  Hopefully we'll be able to see you next year when we're back for good!!!  :)

Aaaannnndddd...We're BACK!

And it's NaBloPoMo.  So I'm going to try to post every day this month.  Because hey...we've been gone a long time.  And I have a lot to talk about.  
(We'll see how it goes.)


But for starters, here's where we've been for the last two weeks:


From Misawa to Seattle to San Diego and back again.  Most of it driven in a mini-van.  


It was a looooong trip.
(Did I mention we brought all FOUR boys?)


WHY did we do this?  


To job hunt.


WHY do we need to job hunt?


Because next year we'll be getting out of the military.  
(Goodbye job security and free health care!!!)


WHY are we getting out of the military?


Because Faezer has leukemia (among other reasons) and we want to be closer to family.
[Sub question:  Why does Faezer have leukemia?  Probably as a result of the radiation she received as treatment for the breast cancer she had when I was a kid.]


So we traversed the west coast of the United States searching for jobs.


And we're pleased to say we have a few more options then we did 2.5 weeks ago.


So!

Any questions?  


Cause I have all month to answer them!

California Here We Came

I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to come out with it.

I'm in Carlsbad, CA.

Are you shocked?

I am too.

We didn't know we were really coming until we came.

Confused?

I am too.

(But that's normal.)

Needless to say, I have some stories to tell...but no time and no battery life now.

So just know this for now: the fact that we're all here, together, alive, and still sane...
is a certifiable miracle.

More later.

(from California.)

Breaking News: Biggest Baby Ever Blessed!

In the L.D.S. church, we don't baptize new babies.  We do, however, bless them.  Specifically, a worthy male member of the church holding the Melchizedek priesthood, usually the Baby-Daddy, will give the newborn a name (officially entered into church records) and a blessing.

Baby blessings generally occur in front of the congregation on the first Sunday of the month.  (The first Sunday of the month is also reserved for Fast and Testimony meeting.)  Most babies are blessed at around two or three months old.

(Top two photo's by Maxwell.)

Unfortunately, when Baby Gray was born, Doug's good friend Merrill was still deployed to Afghanistan.  Since our friends here are our family, we wanted to wait for him to be able to participate.  

But by the time Merrill came home, Doug's good friend Wes had been deployed to Korea.  So of course, we wanted to wait for him to be here to participate.

Which is why Baby Gray was just blessed this month at the ripe old age of six months.  (And he wasn't happy about it.  He cried all the way through the blessing.)  I'm surprised the men didn't drop the little tank!  Had we waited any longer, he could have hopped down and crawled away.

Now, these blessings can be audibly recorded, (we usually drop a tape recorder in Doug's suit pocket) but video recordings and photographs are generally (okay, always) frowned upon in the Chapel.

(These are some of the best men I know.)

But Doug's Catholic dental assistant didn't know that when she recorded the blessing on her i-Phone and took a bunch of pictures!  Which is why we're probably the only family you know with a video recording of their baby blessing!  :)  (Thanks May!  You rock!)  :)

Anyway, we were very happy to finally bless our sweet little Grayson, incredibly grateful to have Merrill and Wes back safely to participate, (with Doug's other wonderful friends; Mark, Rob, Ryan, and Dave), and thrilled that so many other friends and co-workers not of our faith, made the effort to be there to support us.  

(Yes, his name is still Grayson Brandon.  Doug didn't pull any last second switch-a-roos)

It means a lot--especially when we're so far from home and have no "real" family attending.  (I say "real" to differentiate--not diminish--their importance since, as I said, our friends here are our family.)

We love you Gray-Gray!  Glad you're finally "official"!

(By-the-way, the two blog posts linked above are two of my favorite posts ever!!!)

Japan and Disney: A Match Made in Heaven

(Alternate title – Europe and Disney:  A Match Made in Hell)

For the last two days, (I started this post a week ago) The Dub Clan and the Healthy Clan have been partying it up at the happiest, most exhausting place on earth.

That’s right:  The Dub’s did Disney!  

Disney Sea* and Tokyo Disneyland to be precise.

Now, I’m going to assume you’ve all been to Disneyland and Disney World more times than you can count because you were raised by a Disney fanatic father sometimes known as "Papa Disneyland".  (What, that’s just me?)  So I’m not going to spend a lot of time going over the basics.  I just want to mention a few differences I noticed in the Japanese version of Disney.  Two actually.  Merchandise and food.

(Yes, they're sitting on the shrubbery.)

1.     Merchandise:  Of course, both places have the requisite million stores with all the usual stuff PLUS...;
     An extremely large (LARGE) selection of cell phone dangle thingys, walls covered in various towels and washcloths,  (Japan loves a good washcloth)

 cool Mickey rice bowls and sushi plates (wish I could've purchased a whole set) and Mickey Mouse sushi magnets.

Oh, and Duffy the Disney Bear.  A completely random stuffed animal created solely to exploit the Japanese love of plush toys.  (Plush toys that come with multiple accessories and outfits and in every shape and size…as Duffy does.  Though I can’t for the life of me figure out why Mickey/Minnie/WinnieTP don’t fit this bill.)

2.  Food:  Not as much ethnic variety.  A LOT of fish (fish casserole, fish burgers, seafood pizza), pressed mystery meat patties, and curry in the restaurants.  Then we have the concessions:  The big thing is popcorn for your 1500 yen** souvenir bucket.  Caramel, Salted, Curry, Milk Tea, Honey, Soy Sauce and Black Pepper.  (Caramel, Honey, and Curry were the only one’s we sampled.  Refilling your bucket cost 500 yen.)

Churros are hard to come by, but can be found in the Cinnamon or Honey-Lemon variety  (strangely yummy).  Mickey shaped frozen treats come in the form of a pale and weakly flavored ice cream sandwich or an orange or apple flavored popsicle.  Westernland (not Frontier) also sold tiny (very popular) turkey legs.

 Less familiar were the doughy meat pies and rice/seafood treats.  (We didn't try these)

The first night at Disney Sea we had Italian(ish) and last night (at Disneyland) we had Savory Crepes filled with “Chicken Salad”.  (The Healthy kids loved ‘em.  My boys couldn’t believe they were expected to eat a Crepe filled with something other than Nutella and Bananas.  (We did get some dessert crepes as well which my boys loved and the Healthy kids thought were too mushy and gross.)

      
Anyway, Disney was fabulous.  We managed to get in enough kiddie and big kid rides to keep everyone happy.  And we took full advantage of the "Parent Switch" so everyone could go on the rides but only one half of us had to wait in line while the other half waited with the babies.  (Em and Gray)

It was a great trip and we're glad we got to share it with the Healthy's!  They're great friends to put up with us!

More later!  Maybe!

*Disney Sea is actually a park totally unique to Japan.  It has a handful of fun rides (big and small), lots of great shows, and a whole "underwater" kiddie area called King Triton's Lagoon (or something) that the kids loved (and was great because it was all indoors and Tuesday was very rainy.).  It was super cool and a lot less crowded than Disneyland.  Highly recommend!

**100 yen = approx. $1.20
1500 yen= approx. $18.00

Airing Our Dirty Laundry Part 2

So my neighbor called and said "You'd better take that post down before everyone in the states wakes up and reads it.  I don't think Doug is gonna like it."  (She thought it was highly amusing, for the record.)  So I deleted my last post.  Unfortunately, that doesn't take the post out of the "Google Reader" of my 143 followers so a few people are wondering why they can't leave a comment.
(Let this be a cautionary tale for any of you who want to blog about your fight with your husband but might regret it later.)

So let's just do it this way, shall we?  (Because I HATE the thought of missing out on comments!)

How do you handle laundry at your house?
Do you do it all yourself (if you happen to be the SAHMom or Dad)?
Does your spouse help?
How many days does it take?  One, three, or seven each week?  (And how many grubby little children do you have?)

You may now comment to your little heart's content. (Is "heart's" apostrophized or not?  I always screw up plural/possessive punctuation!)

And now I need to go finish folding the laundry.

...But I Turn Into A Pumpkin Around 2200...

Doug:  "Blah blah blah Air Force Ball blah blah..."

Me:  "Huh?  What?  We're going to the Ball?  No one asked ME!  Where's my engraved invitation?"

A few days later:

Well, in that case...

"YES!!!  I'll go to the Ball with you!!!"

 A few of our BFF's:

 My friend Masami in her BEAUTIFUL kimono!  Gorgeous!

The new base commander and his wife:  Good people!

A good time was had by all.  I'm glad I said yes!