4th Picture Tag/ Birthday Tribute

This is a picture of Gavin when he was 9 months old just playing on our bed. He was such a happy baby and gave smiles to everyone. He has such a fun personality. He just turned three on January 9th and I really cannot believe I have a 3 year old. Time flies! I'm not a new mom anymore. :( I love my sweet boy beyond words. He is a wonderful joy to be a mother to. Everyday he impressed me with what he knows and his wonder at everything he doesn't. I love his questions about EVERYTHING. He has to have explanations for why, how and what everything is. I can't get enough of him. He is so sweet to his little brother and such a great helper to me. I love my little guy. Happy Birthday Buddy!

This is a mix of being tagged and a birthday tribute. And I am tagging Melissa, Kim, Sara and Cristina. Can't wait to see yours!

1. go to your fourth picture file

2. add your fourth picture

3. explain it

4. tag four more people

My Friends the Reality Stars!

It is not often that I have to flip back and forth between 2 of the biggest reality shows on t.v. to see 2 of my very good friends star during primetime. I am talking about my friend Blaine Cotter who is on this seasons The Biggest Loser. I have know Blaine for a very long time. I think we "liked" eachother for 5 minutes my freshman and his sophmore year. That is where this photo comes in.

This is homecoming my freshman year.

I'm not sure his exact height, but he grew to be somewhere around 6'7. He is the one who later encouraged Lance to give me a call when I moved back into town after I lived in Orange County. So essentially he initiated the romance that started it all for me and Lance! He is married to the sweetest, most beautiful girl ever and we just adore them and their cute kids. Lance and I are really proud of him and the sacrifice that he and his family made so that he could be on the show. (His wife Jenny was 9 months pregnant and due during the taping)! Check out Jenny's link to their blog to read the latest. So far the show has been really inspiring. He has been such a great friend and motivator to the others on the show. He's such a great guy, supported by an amazing wife and a wonderful family! Go Blaine! We can't wait to see your results!

And then there is my friend Adam Lambert who auditioned for American Idol this season... We we will see how his audition goes tonight. I'm so excited! Adam is an amazing vocalist and actor. Not only was I priviledged to work with him in a few plays and musicals we were also great friends. In highschool his natural talent exceeded the talent of most our age. And he was an enviable favorite of both drama and choir directors. I have way too many pictures of us, but here are some of the select few. Now he has dark hair and looks a lot different and he will probably kill me for posting these. But my blog has such a small audience... Most of these were during his Junior year. He has been in the musical Wicked for that last year and a half in LA. Vote for Adam!!!!!!!!!!

McMansions that Make me Drool...

Hellooooo Lover...

This is my new dream home in Utah. Except I would teleport it to SO CAL and keep the Utah mortgage though. It's much prettier in real life. I don't have a wide angle lens and tried to make a panorama with the shots I had when I came home. Needless to say the picture is a little sketchy. It's built on a cliff of a mountain with an amazing view. A little scary though when you look from the back. It really would be too big though. I would never want to clean it and I would get lost. When you have too much space I think it is easy to lose those intimate relationships with your family. Quote that back to me when I'm trying to buy it.

Is this the White House?

Gorgeous. (in a singing voice)



This is a pretty estate with the copper accents.

I'm into these details...

My Winter Wonders

I have always lived in Southern CA for my life's winters. So here are a few little nuggets of surprise during my first entire REAL winter in Utah.

• If you step on chewed gum it won’t stick to your shoe... because it is frozen.
  

• Hand sanitizer gel does not freeze if left in below freezing temps in your car. ( I don’t suggest using it at this temperature though, unless you want frostbite).
  

• Parents start frequenting McDonalds indoor play center A LOT as a way to exhaust their children’s pent-up-indoors-energy. I have no idea what moms would do this... And yes I always buy something for the kids. A legitimate customer just using the play center. Uh, I mean…

• Allowing the car to properly warm up before you drive it, gives plenty of time for in-car make-up applications, which were previously frowned upon by the husband.
  

• I almost get to live a scene from a movie everyday! You know, in Home Alone when the bad guys slip down the icy basement stairs?
  

• The outside air feels inappropriately good when coming out of the gym after a work out. For about 30 seconds mind you.
  

• More time indoor with my kids…can never get enough.
  

• More time to read while simultaneously entertaining my kids of course.
  

• Getting to wear cute scarves and coats because I actually need to.

• No spiders anywhere!

• Beautiful geese and ducks around the neighborhood because their stream is frozen over.

• You could leave your restaraunt leftovers in your car all night and they would be colder than the refrigerator and still edible when you finally remember in the morning!

• The beauty and peace of a winter white wonderland;

• Until your rear wheel drive car with low profile tires (which cannot accommodate snow chains) attempts to drive on this white wonderland, but manages only to slip and slide.

• Building a snow man is not as easy as it looks on tv nor that fun.
  

• Chapstick left in the car does not melt (added by Lance)

I am really learning to appreciate the seasons. Well mainly spring, summer and fall. But if I didn't have winter I wouldn't appreciate the other ones that much. I really am a warm environment flower. My husband forgot to read my label before moving me here. The thing I MISS the most is being outside all the time and digging my fingers into the warm dirt, gardening, with the sun on my back. I can't wait until the snow melts and I can plant a garden. But for now maybe I need to get some sleds and just try to build another snowman, this time with gloves, silly.

Gavin's OCD

If you ever see Gavin looking like this,

Or like this,

It’s not because I think this is a good style for him, but because he is OCD in a Fonzie kind of way. A comb is in his hand at all times. Or it may be a My Little Pony brush (from Mickey D’s) depending on what he can find that day. :)

Gavin's little Cockroach

If in passing you here Gavin refer to his little brother, Jackson as "cockroach" don't be alarmed. Most people would deduce he is being heartless to his little brother calling him a gross, dirty little insect. You might be surprised to know that coming from Gavin it is a term of endearment... when you call yourself Walle. Because "cockroach" is Walle's lovable pet and best friend.

According to Gavin, he is "Walle", Jackson is "cockroach" (his best friend), I am "Eve" (his love), and daddy is somehow "M.O." (the cleaning freak?!?? that doesn't exactly match up).

I am thankful to Walle because when Gavin pretends to be a bot he cleans up really, really fast (he is a blur) all while making his bot noises, which are really cute.