then I realized that it was my hair that was making my head hot

Gabe: "Look Jaren! My mom is taking our picture!!! Isn't she a hottie!?! Woot!"
Jaren: "She's alright. My mom's hotter."

Jaren: "Dude, what just happened? Why is it so cold in here all of the sudden?"

Gabe: "I dunno, but I feel like I need to take a bath..."

*dedicated to Diane

Brain Overload

Six years ago, Doug was working on finishing his undergraduate degree at BYU and planning on entering Dental School. Somehow, he got it into his pretty little head that it would be a good idea to join the Armed Forces to help pay for school.

I was opposed to the idea. I mean, it's a little terrifying having to turn your life over to strangers who basically own you and determine where you live for a set number of years. (One reason I never served a church mission! But at least the church uses Divine Inspiration to make these decisions!)

Anyway, one of the arguments that helped win me over was the "we'll get to travel and maybe even live in a foreign country!" one.

Well, that was a low blow.

'Cause see, I've always wanted to live in a foreign country--or at least travel extensively in one--and this seemed like the only way. My dream was to go to England, but anywhere in Europe would be a dream come true.

So Doug applied for an Air Force scholarship and won a spot. They would pay for three years of Dental school in exchange for three years of him Dental-ing on an Air Force Base.
When he decided to specialize, they deferred his repayment for two years.

So here we are with one year left of his residency. That means one more year before he begins his three year repayment.

Until recently, the location we'd be spending our three year repayment was up in the air.

Well, not any longer.

And I'm still processing it.

And probably will be for the next twelve months.

So if you want to know more you'll have to Click HERE.

'Cause I'm still pretending we're going to England.

Sammy's First Day of Preschool!

A few of my favorite Sammy quotes:

"But Mom! But why?" *my answer* "But NOOO!"

"Mom, we have a pwob-wum."

*dramatic sniffs* "I hab bad coughies! cough, cough!" *sniff sniff*

"I NOT ANGEL! I ShhAMMY BOY!!!"

Brrr.

Firstly;

This afternoon my toes got cold...during the DAY!

Then, tonight I smelled cold in the air mingled with wood smoke and earthiness.

This tells me two things:

One, it's Fall.

Two, I ain't in Carlsbad anymore.

____________

In other news...

our dryer broke. RIGHT before our trip just when I was trying to do all the laundry and get everyone packed.

So Doug found one on Craigslist and bought it today for $75. He dragged the old one out and the "new" one in. Only to find the "new" one has a three prong plug where our "old" one (which is actually much newer) has a four prong plug. So now we're home with lots of laundry to do and still no dryer. (Do you know how hard it is to find places to lay out 5,000 tiny boy socks and pairs of underware?)

_____________

And furthermore...

Doug and I got the first season of "Alias" on DVD from the library. What I want to know is, how come Sydney Bristow looks hot with hair every different style and color imaginable, and I can't even find one look that's passing?!? (Unless my friend Ginger is doing my hair and make-up...then I look S-E-X-Y!)

It's her lips, isn't it?

Food Update and Max Gets a Stitch

By staying in a hotel and having to eat out twice a day, we've easily managed to knock a few more eating establishments off the "must hit" list: (Yes, many are fast-foodish and/or chains, but we don't do much fine dining these days with the little terrors. Having your toddler run screaming through a nice restaurant tends to ruin the ambiance.)

In-N-Out: Doug got a 3x3 "animal style". I always stick to a plain old hamburger with no tomatoes or onions...and then try to scrape off all the tiny pickle bits from the special sauce with a french fry.

I'm not a big fan of In-N-Out shakes (though they're better than some) so after getting our burgers the other day, I made Doug drive across the street to Jack-in-the-Box for a "real ice cream Berry-licious shake". Ummmmmmmm! Totally worth it!

Last Thursday night Kristen and Wendy came to our hotel for a swimming party and we ordered Claim Jumper for dinner. (Doug picked it up for us and delivered it pool-side.) I ordered my old favorite the "Stuffed Baked Idaho". It's a baked potato with grilled chicken, steamed veggies, and Alfredo sauce. VERY yummy. (Also very easy to make for dinner at home...which I frequently do.) Then of COURSE Wendy, Kristin and I split the I'Declaire. Approximately one pound and one trillion calories of pure dessert heaven!

Over the weekend I got a little break from eating out when I and the boys went north to spend a few days with our awesome dental school friends, Ginger, Lee, Ani and Maggie. (Doug was at his Peds conference Fri, Sat, and Sun.) (There was one meal from Del Taco. )

Gin is an awesome cook and Sunday night made her delicious and famous Chicken Curry! For dessert, Devil's Food Cake with cream cheese frosting and ice cream.

Yesterday on the way home from Gin's, I got to stop for a visit with my cousin Wonderful Photographer Wendy. She graciously took us to lunch at another old favorite--Souplantation: all-you-can-eat buffet bliss for young and old alike! Doug was doing an office visit so had to settle for El Pollo Loco for his lunch.

Then it was back to Carlsbad for the last 2 days of our trip. We checked back in to the same hotel and went straight to the pool. Five minutes later, Doug was leaving the pool to take Max to urgent care. Max bonked his chin on the hot tub railing and split it open. We didn't know anything had happened until I saw blood dripping down his face and looked for the source.
Although I told Doug just to fix the wound with super glue but he refused and took him to a "real" Doctor who gave him one stitch. (He was frustrated that he didn't have the supplies to do it himself.) Max was very very brave and didn't cry until the Doctor told him he could not go back in the pool for one week. To comfort him, Doug bought him some Tofuti Cuties (non-dairy ice cream sandwiches) and some water proof band aids. And then let him get back in the pool.

On his way home, he surprised me with Pick-up Stix. Love those Cream Cheese Wanton's and Original Chicken. For dessert, we had some yummy chocolate mousse cake and a little of this:
My sister-in-law Laura just happened to be in town camping at the beach with her friend Hilary. And where Mrs. Dub goes, Miss Dub goes. Namely, Eden. The neice we had not previously met. I'd like to say she and Gabe did some serious bonding, but she was a little aloof what with him drooling all over the place and not being able to crawl.

That brings us up to right now. We will soon be on our way to my very favorite eating establishment of all time. Pipes. A little all-breakfast cafe that caters to surfers located a block from the beach in Cardiff. They have the BEST French Toast, fresh squeezed OJ, breakfast potatoes, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and omelets around. We visit every time we're here. I can't wait! HOORAY FOR FOOD!

P.S. We're now home! Pipes was great. All three boys did awesome on the flight. SWA is fabulous. It's sorta good to be home.

I miss California already!!!

We're HERE!

Let me start by covering the most important aspects of our San Diego trip thus far:

We've eaten chicken shishkebabs at Armenian Cafe, had a yummy picnic at the beach, gotten a Peanut Butter/Hot Fudge/Banana Shake and onion rings from Ruby's, and celebrated my mom's engagement with $1 Rubio's Fish Taco's. Picking up on a theme? I'll give you a subtle hint: It's food. Many of my favorite San Diego activities revolve around food. And we have many more favorite food places left to visit. But believe it or not, when we're not eating, we're still having fun. Here's some proof:

Tonight's sunset. Photo by Doug

Finally, we get to see the sun setting where it should...over the ocean.

Cousins: Max, Dania, Ashlin, Gabe, Kirra, Makaila, Sam

My sister Laura specializes in girls, I specialize in boys.

Max and Dani are two months apart and a LOT alike.

Sam likes to get dirty
Friends Sam and Maggie are exactly 1 year and 1 day apart.

Ani and Max met and fell in love in San Francisco.

Our great dental school friends the Akins hung out at the beach with us on Monday. The boys love our hotel. It has a pool and free breakfast. Both older boys are getting gnarly tans. (Notice I didn't say "wicked"? That's 'cause we're on the west coast.) Did I mention I'm happy to be here?