And All We Have to Show For It Is...

A few weeks back we went to Yucca Valley to hang out with the folks for the weekend. Mom (previous blog nay-sayer and now blog devotee) said when we spent time with the Peacocks we always seemed to do more things, as evidenced by pictures and write up on the blog (click here for instance). Being competitive (hey, I don't get it from strangers!) she vowed to have more blog worthy activities when we came to visit. We:

• Had a wonderful dinner with my brother and family--all 11 around the dining room table! I don't think anything makes Mom happier than a fully decked out table surrounded by family.
• Went to the movies and dinner (Cheesecake Factory, yum!) in Palm Desert. We saw "Knowing" and group consensus was that it was very strange. The previews for coming movies, however, were memorable for being truly horrifying.
• Mandatory grandson hiking.
• Introduced Mom to Twilight and watched the movie cuz it's so fun to see the boys squirm and protest. She wasn't getting the whole teenage vampire love story so I've sent her the books. I think a "Team Edward" t-shirt will have to follow, although she'll probably be more of a Jacob fan.
• Oh, and, the obligatory destroying of Justin's shoe by the puppy.

All that and the only proof we have that we were even there is this lone picture from my Dad's i-phone:

Sorry Mom!

Note to self: remove camera from duffle bag next time...

Sporty Girls

Valencia 2nd Ward Young Women took 2nd place...

(Woot woot!)

It was the cute jerseys that made all the difference, I'm sure!

White Knuckle Moments

The results are in. The two most stressful times of motherhood are:

1. Potty Training

2. Teaching a Teenager to Drive

Close third is grocery shopping with two or more kids aged 6 and under.

P.S. Tyler got his permit last week.

Who Knew That Would be a Marketable Skill?

Justin has been looking for a job for several months. He finishes school at 12:30 every day. After years of having an overly regimented schedule, he suddenly has an abundance of time on his hands. I will say he has definitely gotten his money's worth out of his gym membership. So, when I saw the following ad for Magic Mountain, I immediately thought of him:

Entertainment: Characters Job Duties will include performing as a character meeting, greeting, and entertaining our park guests with great enthusiasm and high animation. Interested applicants must fit JUSTICE LEAGUE Character body type and must be able to work in crowds, heat, and cold for 30-minute intervals, and be able to perform specific choreographed movements during parades.

What do you think, perfect, huh?

Mr. Tux

Yesterday was prom.

Justin and his date, Ashley Kramer

Justin does love his formal wear. Browse through his looks over the years:

April, 2009: Prom

grey tux, black shirt and corner square, red vest and tie, black vans, red flowers

January, 2009: Winter Formal

black tux, white shirt and corner square, plum vest and tie, black vans, white flowers (not shown)

May, 2008: Prom

cream tux, shirt and shoes, bronze vest and tie, yellow flowers

May 2008: LDS Prom

I call this the emo look...

black suit (gasp!), shirt, tie and shoes, red flowers

February, 2009: Winter Formal

black & white pinstriped tux, white shirt, vest and tie, white vans, pink flowers

February, 2007: Winter Formal

Black on black pinstriped tux, black shirt and shoes, silver vest and tie, red flowers

I have learned alot about men's formalwear through Justin. In this regard, it is not necessarily cheaper to be the mother of sons. In fact, it is Jeff's pet peeve: "When I was in high school, I never..." He swears he's going to bribe Tyler to purchase a tux to his first dance and then he will rent or buy the vest/ties to change the look. Of course, you know I'll let you know how far he gets with that one.

When selecting formal wear, it is important to match what the girl is wearing...

Of course, vest, tie and flower selection is important. But, it's those little details that really distinguish the snappy dresser...note the shoes and even shoelaces. It is especially great to be a guy since they have learned to wear color coordinated Vans (canvas tennis shoes) and certainly don't have to suffer for their fashion (as opposed to the girls who usually can't stand to wear their gorgeous shoes much past when the pictures are taken).

Two of my favorite ensembles of the night! At far left: Justin Wells in a white tux, pink vest and tie, white framed sunglasses, white vans with pink details AND the finishing touch: a Dodger hat painted white with pink underbill and pink "LA". Then, Tim in the middle. Tim is wearing a cream tux with an orange vest and teal tie, accessorized with purple vans. You should have seen how perfectly he matched the dress his date was wearing!

It was a good run for Justin. I guess he'll have to wait until... (gasp!)... to order his next tux!

None Were With Him

This was an amazing talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Jeff and I were sincerely affected. It was also a rare treat to share this little gem of our faith with my parents who watched the Sunday morning session of conference with us. This is a great synopsis with visuals that bring the point even closer to home.

I Swear This One's Not My Fault!

Is there anything worse than opening the washing machine to transfer wet clothes to the dryer and seeing an ipod (or phone) sitting amidst the wet clothes?

(OK, there are A LOT of worse things, but that one is annoyingly bad)

On a positive note, I did find my car keys & clicker that have been missing for a week BEFORE they were washed.

Buffoons and Imbeciles

Scene:

We (all 5) are driving in the Suburban from Newport Beach to Valencia (about 1 1/2 hour trip) and it's about 8:30pm so it's dark. Tyler is in the way back doing homework and Justin and Bryce are in the 2nd seat, sleeping. Jeff and I are discussing the fact that he has a business trip that overlaps with a trip I'd been planning to take to Utah. We are wondering whether Justin can handle home & brothers during that time. At this point, we hear a deep groan from the back seat.

Bryce:

Don't leave me with those buffoons! Please! Really, they're imbeciles!!

Should I feel disheartened that he feels that way about his brothers or proud because he can insult them so articulately?

Life of Tyler

Here was Tyler's day yesterday:

6:00 am get up

6:40 am leave for seminary, school, etc.

12:15 pm picked up by mom to attend chiropracter appointment to treat torn hamstring

1:35 pm squeeze in a little Taco Bell before returning to school

3:15 pm it's Wednesday, so he's home early from football and he starts homework

4:45 pm eats an early dinner because...

5:30 pm meets at church to go to a Clippers game with the Young Men and even gets to stand in the tunnel and low five the players (tee hee, they can't "high five" because, obviously, the players are like a gazillion feet taller than them)

7:00 pm the Young Women from church decorate his room for April Fool's day--TP, yarn, balloons everywhere. They're not very secretive, they leave their photo as his screen saver on his computer

10:15 pm home again and back to the homework including re-painting the mask he made in 6th grade (remember Bryce?) to meet the requirements of a current English assignment

2:00 am lights are still on, mom checks in: "No, I'm fine, I'm fine..."

2:45 am lights are still on, dad checks in: "No, I'm fine, I'm fine..."

6:00 am finally asleep! But now it's time to wake up again:( Reprieve from dad--ok to miss seminary

7:00 am mom wakes him up, he sleepwalks downstairs but he's forgotten to take a shower, so up he goes again to start over.

Whew! I'm exhausted just watching him! You might think that maybe he shouldn't have gone to the Clippers game with so much homework? But, you know, he just always finds a way to get it all done and always does it extremely well.