If you could get rid of one job or responsibility, what would it be? I'd love to never clean another toilet. Especially any toilet used by boys. Mopping floors would be a close second. On the other hand, a clean house makes me happy. So while cleaning and mopping four bathrooms and a kitchen today was a pain, I will enjoy the clean house for the next ten minutes until the boys get home and the cycle starts over.

Shell's Spaghetti

I now have photos for more recipes than I have time to type up, and frankly, I don't need to reference this recipe to make it, but it needs to be in my book just because it's my very favorite meal, and unless you count cereal, the one I've prepared most often. Mmmmmm...

Happy Earth Day

I must confess that I did NOT take a shorter shower today to cut down on my water use (and I don't have any plans to change this habit). However, I came up with the brilliant idea of planting a tree with the scouts today. I guess that as the three burly men with the forklift were loading it into the suburban I should have realized that the two nine-year-olds and I would not be able to get it out, let alone into the ground. Luckily Cara married a stud, who pretty much single-handedly planted the tree while I told the scouts to watch and learn. Rob, we're so grateful that we've named our first-born Robert. And thanks for the extra rock-moving muscle, Dad. I have the best family.

Our Trip: The OCD Version

9 days, 1613 miles, 4 kids, 1 suburban, 3 theme parks, 8 loads of laundry, 336 photos. I know, it sounds like the makings for a modern version of The Inferno. But it wasn't. We had a great trip. The fact that we were able to break up the long drive with an overnight stay in St. George really helped (thanks Ralph & Judy!), and it's hard to imagine a Disney trip without having a 1:1 kid/adult ratio (thanks Mom & Dad!!). The kids all travelled well, giving us hope for a church history road trip someday. We had to stop at Borders on our way home, because I underestimated the number of books the boys would go through. The parks were relatively uncrowded, even though last week was spring break in Utah County (we did see a lot of BYU apparel). It was between about 65 and 90 degrees our whole trip, and when we heard that it was snowing back home, we were on the verge of looking at real estate. 

Some of the highlights were:

• seeing Ainsley light up during the parades
• watching the boys swim, fully clothed, in the ocean
• reading several books and relaxing
• Joey's excitement at being tall enough to ride all the adult rides
• getting soaked on Splash Mountain & Grizzly Rapids but still being warm because it was 90 degrees
• finding cool souvenirs at the magic shop
• Jamba Juice for breakfast everyday
• Rob driving the whole way there and back, and posing for a few photos without complaining

Oh, and if you're wondering what I forgot...it was clearly a subconscious plot on my part—I forgot the laundry hamper, detergent and dryer sheets. I did laundry on Thursday, our "off" day, so we could just pack five changes of clothes instead of ten. I picked up a couple of fold-up hampers in St. George and detergent in San Diego, so it was no big deal. The hotel had four washing machines and six dryers, so I was able to do all the laundry in just a couple of hours, watching the kids swim in the pool while the loads ran. If we are ever really wealthy, my laundry room will have at least two washers and dryers!

In spite of my obsessive-compulsiveness, two figures were deliberately excluded from the tallies: one is the number of calories consumed on this trip, and the other is the total dollars spent. I think it's safe to say the calories number would be higher, but the dollars spent could be scary too. On the bright side, we saved $299 by going before October 17th, when we'll have to pay for Ainsley's ticket and the adult price for Robbie's. And although the Master Card campaign is so cliche, this vacation really was priceless.

What am I forgetting?

We are packed and ready to go to sunny California. But I have a history of forgeting to pack something. In the past I have forgotten underwear, my camera, socks, contact solution, my cell phone charger and a jacket, to name a few. It must be that very-early-onset Alzheimers. Well, whatever it is, it's too late, we are leaving. Melissa has graciously agreed to come over and clean the toilets in the event that we don't make it back, so there is nothing left to do but have fun.

Happy Birthday Judy!

So I saw Judy today, and talked to her on the phone, and completely forgot to wish her happy birthday! Since Ainsley is now 2 1/2, I'm not sure I can use the post-partum, sleep-deprived mommy brain excuse anymore. It must be early onset Alzheimer's.
Sorry Judy! Hope you had a great birthday. I know that Joey sure enjoyed having a birthday date with you.

Tagged

Rachel tagged me a few days ago, but I've been busy trying to put together a spontaneous (for me, anyway) week-long vacation to Disneyland (more about this soon). Since then Melissa tagged Rob, and I loved his hilarious, time-saving approach of using the metric alphabet (the decibet) to respond. So while I realize the comic genius factor doesn't apply here, since I didn't come up with this idea, I was at least smart enough to marry a genius, therefore, what's his is mine.

A-attached or single:
In case you haven't read the sidebar, I'm the lucky wife of the most wonderful (and sexy) husband ever!
B-best friend:
He also goes by photoscrooge.
C-cake or pie:
Pie, if it's fresh strawberry pie, and cake, if it's Brownie Cake.
D-day of choice:
Vacation days.
EF-essential items:
Books, toilet paper, lip balm, running shoes.
GHI-Indulgences:
Comfy shoes, jeans that fit, reading time.
J-January or July:
JULY!
K-kids:
I have four—one of each kind, as Rob likes to say.
LMNO-life would be incomplete without:
Family, friends & Italian food.
P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z-phobia or fears:
Spiders, rodents and apparently showing up for a final exam even though I never attended class, judging from my only recurring nightmare (okay, maybe lack of preparation would be the Freudian interpretation).

Brownie Cake

I'm not much of a cake fan, but love brownies, so it's no surprise that my favorite cake ever is called Brownie Cake. Thanks to Judy for introducing me to this recipe, and for giving me the Junior League cookbook as a wedding shower gift. My cookbook practically opens to this page (or the breakfast casserole page) since it's got splatters and smudges to prove that we love it.

Crepes

Crepes for breakfast has become a general conference Sunday morning tradition. Mmmm...

Where is the pause button?!

Every once in a while we hit a milestone that makes me realize how fast life is going. Ellie hasn't started kindergarten yet, but I took her to registration yesterday, and felt a combination of sadness, relief and excitement that she'll be going this fall. Hopefully she'll stop sucking her thumb before then. :)