The happiest place on earth!

in the words of avery, We had so much fun going on ...
"Pirates of the Bean"
"Tower of Tara"
and
"The Unihorn"
and his all time favorite...
"the TP room"





We got home at 11 last night, I woke up today and thought "That must have been a dream"

Happy Birthday Chase!

It was Chase's 7th birthday!! oh my god . these kids are growing up so fast!

Check out the cute birthday crown juniper made for him. =) and he loved it so much.

i love chase. he has the biggest heart ever. i just cant help but squeeze him when i see him.

Instead of having a bday party, he wanted to take juniper and avery to the academy of sciences =)

i remember going to this place when i was a kid. my grandma lived right around the corner, and we would all go to stowe lake, i would chase and catch pidgeons , and my mom would get mad at me and tell me I was going to get some weird disease.! lol. I remember the cherry blossom trees and bloom, tea at the japanese gardens, and the albino alligator! He is still there! My mom remembers him from when she was little too!

the place looks really different! its incredible. I cant wait to take my mom there! =)

Pictures Here

*

nite nite

my favorite time of day.. babies all settled down for silly stories and cuddles.

bella hops under the covers with avery, and kitten curls up on junie. its too cute.

the room is quiet and dark. i told everyone to give me 5

only a mom&wife knows what its like to go days at a time without having a single moment to yourself. and i mean. literally.

not a single moment.

i dont know how we made it 3 years in a trailer the size of my kitchen.

because even with all this square footage, i cant even take a piss without someone noticing .

i wish there was a little magical room of requirement in my house. just to slip away for a moment.

no wonder my husband smokes. thats like a whole FIVE minutes of peace. bastard.

i think im going to start making gloriously fancy meals that take a really really long time, and have a "no children or husband allowed in the kitchen" rule. yes. i like that.

I was always a totally weird kid who liked to hang out in the fields all by myself or edit home videos for hours. my mom used to worry about me.

and i actually liked being grounded to my room because that meant everyone was going to leave me alone.

My brother just recently told my mom he is surprised i ended up having kids cause i liked doing my own thing.

but, its so easy to give up so much when you love something so much.

my entire self revolves around my family. the sacrifice of time and selflessness is easy.

but.. every once in a while.. im like.. ok people. i just need a minute. for me. so shhhhhhhh!!!! go away!

and the funny thing is, now, i dont even know what to do with myself if i have a minute. here i am blogging.

here is a picture daniel took of me on my 30th at the ahwahnee. im trying to look really cool in my new very first ever anthropologie dress. booya! . ok . times up.

leavin on a jet plane... dont know when ill be back again.. ooohhhh

larvae

my salamander larvae are in a crucial state of survival .

air bubbles going, plants in the water for oxygen, miniature newborn brine shrimp for them to eat (meerly invible) overnight delivery. (next time im attempting to hatch mine own). constant water changes with distilled treated water. (yes.. pleasanton tap water is toxic!! fyi tara!!)

A few people have brought to my attention that its wrong to take these guys out of the wild, however, i must note , this is not a natural pond, and it will dry up before they reach maturity and loose their lungs (takes forever. no wonder they are going extinct!). And, most of them will die anyways.. eaten by mosquito fish, birds, turtles etc...

poor little guys! they are just not meant for this crazy world. sometimes i feel the same way .

I seriosly had the best birthday ever.
It was so perfect . The snow flakes coming down . I love looking staight up into the sky watching the huge flakes float down. .the giant sheer cliffs around us were breathtaking covered in snow.
The falls coming down And flowing betwen snow covered rocks . Deer.
Hopping on the shuttle in the snow all dressed up ... So fun!
The ahwahnee dining room is truly breathtaking & they treated us so good . At first we had the whole dining room to ourselves it was crazy!
We ordered bottles of wine at dinner! I've never done that before! I got some bomb pasta & Brandon got filet mimon($50!!!!) I didn't know a meal could cost that much! He said it was hella good.
And they gave me a weird delisoiuos dessert & sang .
I was surrounded by so much love from my beautiful friends and fam. (thank u for flying out Jen jen & Daniel) I wouldnt have felt complete without u there)
And omg!!! The kids were soooo good! Juniper and Aden danced to the piano with huge smiles on their faces the whole night. It was so darling. Avery watched the piano guy and they sang together . & we all danced a little in the chandeleir lit room.
And Daniel had the piano guy play happy birthdy for me :)
And thanks for the cocktail Anna! :) hehe. And we all played video games and music and danced into the wee hours of the night . I'm sooooo blessed to b so priveledged to experience things like this & to have such amazing people in my life. Thank u for bein there . I love u guys so much .And thank u to my hubby for making everything perfect & for being the most loving and incredible man on the planet .It was really a day out of a dream. I will never forget my big three oh!
Now if only we could get snowed in .....

dirty thirty

Jumpin Juniper!

Hello Friends and Family! Juniper is jump roping to raise money for the

American Heart Association!

Please check out her personal page here..

I know times are hard for everyone, but even the smallest donations all add

up and make a difference! Thank you!

=) Lori

*and thank you to everyone who has already donated. our goal was $100,

Such a great example of generosity and charity for our kids!

random

i have to upload my recent pics. in the meantime.. heres a cute collage of june and clo.
Jeni comes to town tomorrow!!!! i am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
our kids are mad at us ! "not fair! you get to see your best friend and we cant!"
we will be getting the kids together this summer though for sure.

chinese new year

i want to go to take the kids to see the new years parade in SF this year .

Sf friends.. does the route go by your house? lets party!

love, me

NY new years 09

Happy new years everyone!!!!!

PICTURE LINK

one week!!!

my jen jen will be here in one week! aaaah yayyyy

had a lovely day at juniper's school.
field trip in the morning to see a cool play,
then lunch with her, then garden committee..
we tore that garden UP!
its so nice out.
now off to the park to soak in the sunshine.
=)

yesterday was awesome. coffee with friends, gymnastics, ahhh.. i wish i could be a professional housewife for a living.

we still have our xmas tree up. LOL!
weve been spending our evenings cooking, drinking wine, and playing video games instead.

my laundry pile is out of control and the house is a disaster! whatever! .. my garden looks awesome! one thing at a time. just cant wait until those bulbs start popping up. OH! and brandon put in a new porch light. looks rad!! go honey muffin!
=)

allergies

speaking of crazy technology.. this place is nuts.
Im going in on friday to check it out. ..
Need to get these allergies under control yo!

holy crap

i can order pizza online. ya. seriously. for reals.
play mario brothers with my whole family (4 players at the same time!!!?) RAD! with, might i add, the same wonderful mario bro soundtrack from my youth.
AND>>this is the best one..
The ATM at my bank now takes checks and cash without an envelope or adding anything up (bonus for me. i hate math).
for reals.. you just put all your stuff in the slot, and they scan it instantly, show it to you , and then viola! you press the Ok button and youre on your way. no pen ( i never have a pen). no envelope .
its a-ma-za-zing

anybody?? anybody appreciating this crazy technology with me?
and... jeep is going to make a hybrid. RAD. but, only in 2 wheel drive. NOT RAD.

This is the car i want..

Why hello there lover....

it will be mine. oh yes. it will be mine.

ny new years

resolutions

ah the glorious months ahead. down time in both the golf and photography industry.
aka.. vacation time for us.
and, i can imagine this is where we start getting into trouble taking juniper out of school.
Just last year my friend said i better be carefull if she misses too much school I can get in trouble.
After all.. kindergarten is the new first grade!
thank god i have a straight A student. Or straight 3's as they call it now... otherwise maybe i would worry a little.
but.. hey! this is life man. and that the children must be educated on too.
Disneyland here we come!!! my mother in law surprised us Xmas morning with a trip to disneyland in January.
WHAT!?? omg. i cant wait. both the kids are tall enough to do most rides. and they are the perfect age. They cannot wait to meet mickey !!!!
My jen jen comes home for a visit soon, and we are headed to yosemite for my big 30!! ive longed to see the valley floor in winter , so this is my gift to myself. the gift of nature. priceless. and of course the best gift off all from my jen jen. being here.
Then.. in feb we will embark on a week (yes, a week) trip to the cabin. We have never stayed there that long. maybe we wont come back.
te he.

and then...comes spring and summer.. and now.. for my resolution of 2010.
spring awaits , and i do love my job.
I need to grow up and have better time management. i can do it !!
and.. i want to hire pammy's little sister here and there this summer as my "mommy helper". So.. i can stay at home and work on the computer and make phone calls while she plays with the kids.
She practiced the other night by getting them ready for bed. LOL! it was kinda funny. avery knows how to work it. hes such a little stinker.

anyhow.. im ready to take this year by the reins. as I settle down to attempt and look at my biz numbers for taxes, I realize we definitely cant stay here unless i do this. and we cant live the way we do unless i keep doing this. and it really is such a blessing of a job. i just need to learn how to juggle better and stay up later and get up earlier to work...so i can be a mom during the day. (the most important job of all) .

oh, and i really really really need a new car. like. now. so.. show me the money baby.

Happy birthday Tate!

1997 new years

midnight on january 1st a crazy girl kissed a shy boy.

little did i know, from that moment on, my life would change forever..and take me on a crazy wild path that, in the end, led us to eachother forever.

i love him so much.