Move over Beckham!

I went to San Diego to visit Janice, Scott, Ryan, and Evan last weekend from Friday 2/15-Monday 2/18. I flew down on Friday while Todd and Madison drove down to Ontario area then Todd and I met in Temecula on Saturday where I picked Madison up and took her back to SD with me. So, I had a little time with the boys sans Madison on Friday night and Saturday morning. The highlight was definitely Saturday morning when I went with them to their first "soccer" practice. Yes, you read it right. Soccer. Little Kickers they call it.

Actually, I was talking to Scott on the phone a couple of days before my trip and he asked if I would be there on Saturday morning and I said "yes". He was very happy because then I would get to see the boys first soccer game. Huh? Soccer? Aren't they a bit little for soccer? Didn't they just sort of learn to walk a few months ago? Ok, but I would have to see this one for myself.

Well, let me tell you...it was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Ryan and Evan in their Little Kickers uniforms running all around this soccer field. And Scott and Janice trying to corral them. It was quite a sight! It was really cute because Evan looked so much like a little mini-athlete with his shirt all tucked into his shorts and his lean little body. Ryan, on the other hand, was not into the tucked-in look. Within about 10 seconds of his shirt begin tucked in he managed to wriggle it out of his shorts. I don't think I ever actually saw him pull it out...I think he just must have twisted his body in just the right way so it would come untucked. Hmmm...much like the way he gets his shoes off by rubbing them on the foot rest on his stroller. I think there is a theme developing here.

So, my job was to take do video and take pictures...easier said than done. First of all, I was a bit far away. Second of all, there was this huge net in between myself and the boys. I understand the need for safety but come on!! I had to put the lense of my camera inside one of the little diamonds of the net so it would focus on the kids and not the net! Totally ridiculous when you are trying to find two toddlers amongst about a dozen or so other toddlers all wearing the same uniform!!! Somehow I managed to get a few decent shots thank goodness. I did end up inside the soccer arena because I couldn't stand missing out on all the fun!

Just check out some of the cuteness here. On a cuteness scale from 1-100...cuteness=infinity

Evan being cuddly and adorable as usual with shirt tucked in...notice Ryan's shirt...untucked.

Ryan doing his pre-practice stretches...notice the shirt...untucked again.

Ryan stomping his feet to "yellow light" and Evan off doing his own thing! What about Ryan's shirt? Well, you can see for yourself. And Evan? Tucked in.

The boys gearing up for another game of "green light, yellow light, red light". Ryan clearly looks like he is looking for his favorite auntie Shelley :) Just look at that face! And the shirts? Business as usual!

All in all, it was one of the cutest, most adorable things I have ever seen. I am so happy that I got to be there for it!!!

Follow the leader

Sometimes things just strike you funny and you have to document them. This was one of those moments. Madison was taking a bath and she was very busy working on this. She told me her toys were playing follow the leader...it was so cute!! She just loves to line things up. Hmm...I wonder where she gets that from?


Then she systematically had them jump back into the water one by one...

She was so proud of herself!!

Love is in the air

So, I meant to blog this about 2 weeks ago but like some of the other posts, I am a bit tardy. In any case, on Saturday Feb 9th my sweet husband and little girl kicked me out of the house from 9:30am-5:00pm so they could plan a Valentine's surprise for me :) I had no idea what they had planned but I just knew I was not to come back to the house until Todd said so. It was great! I went to the gym and worked out, then I went to coffee with my friend Luna, then I went shopping at Children's Place and got Madison a few new spring things. What a nice day to myself! Then I called Todd and asked if I could come home and he said "yes" Yay! I couldn't wait to see what they had been up to all day. So, I drove home and walked into the house to this....

and this.....

and this...

Wow!!! Was all I could say! The table was set all pretty for dinner, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table, there was an "I love you" balloon, there was a huge picture that Madison had made for me taped to the buffet, and on top of the buffet, there was a card from Todd, a card from Madison, a little present that Madison had picked out, and a bunch of yummy cookies from the Cookie Connection! My husband knows me all too well! I LOVE cookies!!!! Apparently, Madison had helped him pick out everything! They had been all over town getting stuff for that night! So, she was in the on the whole thing with him. That has to be the sweetest thing in the world :)

Not only did I have all of these wonderful things that they had done for me...but on top of that, Todd had cleaned the house! He vaccumed and cleaned everything! It was the most wonderful Valentine's surprise!! The best Valentine's ever!

Then, Todd told me to go upstairs to our bedroom and read or whatever I wanted to do because he and Madison were going to make me dinner :) This just made my heart swell...I didn't think my heart could swell up anymore than it already had but it did. So, I went upstairs and read a book in bed while they cooked for me.

Then it was time for dinner. They made Margherita pizza for an appetizer, and spaghetti with turkey sausage and garlic bread for dinner. Then there was the dessert...mmmm....Claim Jumper Dutch cruch apple crisp and Hagen-Daaz Vanilla Bean ice cream. Like I said...Todd knows me best. I LOVE apple crisp and vanilla bean ice cream. It's my favorite dessert!

What a magnificent Valentine's celebration it was. It was so special and so exciting not to know what was going on. Todd is really good at surprising me...which is hard to do because I always want to know what's going on! I'm so proud of him and Madison for making that day so special for me.

Shelley, the herpetologist?

I'll bet you didn't know that I was an amateur herpetologist? Well, let me just tell you that I have loved frogs, lizards, and snakes since I was a little kid. I spent a summer in Ames at Grammie Abby's house catching baby frogs in her basement and garter snakes in her yard. And when I went camping as a kid I spent much of my time looking for and catching lizards! Actually, I spent a lot of time chasing after them and not catching that many but that's beside the point. I also used to have chameleons when I was a kid. I went through quite a few of them because they kept dying on me. I think I played with them too much and probably frightened them to death...literally. Apparently, they are not the kind of reptile to have if you want to handle your reptile as they are easily "stressed" but I did not know that at the time, obviously. In any case, imagine my excitement when I was walking down the hallway at Dad's house the other day and I ran into this little guy?

He was sooo cute! Naturally, being the lizard expert I was, I picked him up and went to find Madison to show her. We pet him and talked about how his skin felt and how we had to be very gentle with him. Then we talked about the fact that we should take him outside and let him go someplace where he would be safe and comfortable so we went into the yard to let him go. Madison got to hold him for a very brief moment then he scurried across her hand on the way to the ground. It was a really cool experience! Maybe more for me than for Madison...and certainly more for us than for the poor lizard.

So, being the science-geek I am, I told my co-workers about the lizard catch and release party and I described what the lizard looked like to Sheryl. I told her it looked pretty much like a small alligator. Well, she said, it was probably an alligator lizard. Duh. Of course, right? I made a mental note to myself to look up the alligator lizard but forgot to.

Well, before I started this blog entry, I Googled "alligator lizard" and low and behold...I found our little guy. Yes, he was indeed a California alligator lizard (see image from Google below).

Then I read the not-so-fine print... "Alligator lizards can give a nasty bite when caught, so don't try to catch them." Huh. Good thing I caught him and let my 2-year old daughter hold him!!! Nice one, Shelley. So much for being a herp-geek. NOT!! I guess I will stick to just being a science-geek. That seems to work out best for me.

True Norwegian?

I guess I'm not a true Norwegian since I don't like Kumla. I mean, what's not to like about it, right? What's not to like about finely shredded potato mixed with flour and cooked in hamhocks? (Borrrring). What's not to like about something that looks like this?

Gross with a capital "G"!! I'm sure Grammie Abby is the best at making it so no offense to her at all. But Kumla is just not right! What were they thinking...the Norwegians? Grammie said they had to keep inventing new ways to make potatoes. Hmmm....potato recipe number 899...let's see, what haven't we tried yet? Ah...I know. Let's try shredding the potatoes, mixing them with flour, and boiling them in hamhocks? Yes. that's it! :)

Well, Grammie Abby came to visit this past month and we had such a wonderful time with her! We talked and laughed and ate and watched movies and played cards and all that fun stuff! The highlight of the trip, however, was not the Kumla for me...it was losing 6 or so games of Hand and Foot to her. That was much more fun than eating Kumla! Ha! But, Madison did not think so. She, on the other hand, loved the Kumla! I guess she is a true Norwegian.
That-a-girl!!