This was so cool. Could you tell which fish were the piranhas? Gavin kept crawling under the rail and standing right next to their open tank. Luckily the guard that stands watch over their tank told him they weren't nice fishies and he stayed right next to us after that. There were also these 5 ft deep river fish found only in the Amazon. Very interesting.

Please, for all you eclectic world food lovers, NEVER try shark fin soup. They throw the sharks back into the sea, alive, after removing their fins! Horror!

They had a sting ray petting aquarium which Gavin and mummy LOVED!

I was obsessed with watching the jellyfish and could not get a decent photo because of my flash and the fingerprints on the glass. Jellyfish are unbelievable. They look ethereal. How can this crazy membrane be a living body of something? They are so beautiful!

Gavin & Jackson loved seeing Crush the sea turtle (from Nemo).

The aquarium was fabulous. We had such a great time!

For all the food lovers...

We went to a buffet. I know, gross. But it was so much fun. The Mandalay Buffet had such good food. I am very skeptical and wary of any buffet and probably have tried 2 or 3 in my life, so I was really amazed by the quality of everthing they offered. I'm a dork and I took pictures of the desserts, because frankly, I'm just not a baker and they were so pretty.

Lazy River

Our last day we checked out and then went and hung out at the pool for a bit. We loved the lazy river which had a swift current that actually whipped us around the corners! Jackson was a little shivery in this pool so I had to sit out with him. After a few hours at the pool we were ready to get our trek home started.

We had such a great time. Gavin even tells strangers about our vacation. He says he got to see real pirates and sharks! That reminds me: one of the funniest things was that everytime we got in the elevator with someone, Gavin would strike up a conversation by asking when their birthday was. After they told him, he would look at me to see if I was excited for their birthdays like I am for his. Of course I was! It was just really cute. Everyone loved it. Then he would continue to talk to them about everything he got to see and do that day. Maybe introduce them to his stuffed doggy, Tucker. You gotta love three year olds!

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.

My Little Reader

I love that Gavin has my passion for not being able to put a book down...

Only I hope that when he can actually read the words, he will stay awake all night engrossed in what he is reading like me. For now, falling asleep while looking at the pictures is just perfect.

Fun with Fall Leaves!

Lance raked leaves in front of the house and Gavin had a blast jumping in them and throwing them all over his brother and daddy. Lance even completely buried himself in an attempt to scare Jackson who came strolling by later, but Jack didn't even flinch!

Gavin, Literally

Gavin's absolute faaavorite things he would probably die without are his cars from Disney's Car movie. Everytime we go to Target he begs me for a new one. Rarely I give in, but of course the last few months I have not since he will be getting some for Christmas. Anyways, yesterday we were driving to Target and he said, "Mom, do you know what? I want to get Jesus a car for a present for his Christmas-birthday. I think he would really like it." This is my 2 year old (He's not 3 until January). Awww. Doesn't that warm your little heart? The reason he brought this up is because we have carried on my family's tradition of the Gifts for Jesus Box. Which is: when you see someone do something nice for someone else, you write it down and put it in a beautiful gift box that you open on Christmas morning (before other gifts are opened) and read. This is a gift that really helps children learn (and adults remember) what Christmas is about. It helps us all remember to be like Christ. I guess Gavin hasn't quite caught the concept, but the fact that he wanted to give him something he loves was enough for me.

Another cute/funny thing he said the other day was..."Mom, we have to be quiet at church because Jesus is sleeping."

I am always telling him to be quiet when we are in church because this is Jesus' house and we have to be reverent. I forgot that this is the age of taking things said, literally. I have to think a little bit more before I say things. This is such a fun age.