Day 3

On day three we....wait for it....went to the beach! We checked out Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach (btw, when I become a millionaire I want to live in Laguna Beach) but the boys were not impressed by the waves there so we went back to Newport. This time we went to the other side of the pier where the waves break much further out. Xander likes it better at that part of the beach because there are rocks to catch crabs. First up: Boogie boarding! At one point I lost track of Evan. I looked over and he was climbing the rocks with Max. I about had a heart attack! I ran over there and one lady remarked, "Is that your son? Because he's climbing skills are impressive!" I was too busy freaking out to even respond. Max was proud that he had caught a crab - and then I had to burst his bubble by reprimanding (that's a nice way of saying yelling) him for going over to the rocks without Ian or I.

The boys would play in the ocean and then bury each other in the sand to get warm.

Evan and Ian built sand castles.

On the third day Ian and Ben were out boogie boarding when Ian spotted a school of dolphins about 20 feet from where they were. He started to point them out to Ben and then noticed that Ben had taken off toward the shore. I guess Ben thought they were sharks and was out of there! Nice that he left his dad behind. The dolphins stayed for quite a while. Steve told us later that the dolphins like to play with the surfers at Newport - knocking them off their boards.


I love this picture of Xander.

Ian and Evan spent a lot of time building a massive sand castle. Many people came up to admire it. Evan loved the finished product!

After the beach we went back to the hotel to get ready to go Steve and Elise's for a BBQ. I ran to Corner Bakery and got some baked goods and we headed over. We hung out, ate, watched SYTYCD (while the kids told ghost stories downstairs) and had a blast! Some of my favorite parts of the trip were when we were hanging with Steve and Elise.

More SYTYCD and Thankfulness

Lisa sent me these pictures yesterday. They made me so happy.

Kent!


Even though I look like I have some disease in this picture I still LOVE that we are in front of the SYTYCD wall! Don't be jealous, but it was everything we hoped it would be and more. Ian didn't want to be in the picture and I'm sure he'll regret that for the rest of his life.

Ade = awesome.

Robert was pretty good but the faces he makes drive me IN-SANE. Not in a good way, either.

Sooo...in honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd post my thank-full list. Here are the things I'm especially thankful for this year:

1. My husband. I don't think he knew how high maintenance I was when he married me. But he loves me and he never lets me feel sorry for myself and he keeps me positive and he always makes me laugh. Plus he's an awesome dad to our children. Which makes him sexy too.

2. My kids. Nothing makes me happier than spending time with them. I am thankful Xander finished his science project (mostly). I'm thankful Ben loves math. I'm thankful Max finally lost his other front tooth. I'm thankful Evan gives me the best hugs. I'm so proud of each one of them.

3. My family. My mom. And dad. My super awesome sister Kim. And the rest of the gang. Especially those cute little nieces of mine.

4. My friends. I'm so lucky to have some super great people in my life (you know who you are). I'm specifically thankful for my friend Tiffany who has got me through some major rough spots this year, just by listening to me and giving me advice. She could have a second career as a psychologist.

5. My home. So glad we still have one :)

6. My neighbors - specifically my aunts and uncles.

7. My ward at church and the Bishop. Most of the women there feel like my sisters. And the bishop is awesome. Every time he talks I can feel his geniune love for me and the people in our ward. It sounds cheesy, but it's true.

8. That Ian and I both have jobs. And for the people I work with.

9. Baked goods. Cupcakes. Cookies. Pie. And Trifle (although I haven't had it yet, the way Tiffany described it, I'm pretty sure once I taste it I will be thankful for it - did you follow that?)

10. Music. When I'm super down and don't want to talk to anyone, listening to music and running get me through. It's the magic combination.

SYTYCD: A Magical Night

We had been waiting for this night since July. And just so you all know, I brought a perfectly good camera with me. And the battery was dead. A little part of my heart died when I discovered that. I'm not kidding. So I was stuck using my phone and couldn't take pictures of the stage because of the glare - didn't know until today that I could take the flash off my phone - bummer. Anyway...back to our magical night. We arrived around 6:30 and ate dinner at the same BBQ place that we ate at last year at So You Think You Can Dance. Why mess with a good thing? btw, I love pulled pork. Yes sir, I do.

After we made our way to the arena and down, down to our seats ON THE FLOOR! Super close on the floor. Like close enough to see facial expressions and see tears. That close.

Me and my better half. I love my husband. Not only because he's more obsessive about SYTYCD than me, but also because he makes me laugh so hard that sometimes my stomach hurts.

This girl is so awesome. And she is totally her mother's daughter. Which makes her super awesome.

*I had a picture of Tiffany to post here, but since I value our friendship, I didn't post it. Even though she looked hot in it.

Lisa and Julie came too. Btw, Julie's hair is magical. She can flip it and people give her what she wants. I've seen it.

The show was everything I wanted it to be and more. Seriously. So many of the dances gave me the chills. And since it was the last night of the tour and Lauren & Ade's hometown, the dancers were in high form. Ade and Allison switched outfits for the bollywood number. Lauren lifted Kent (instead of the other way around) during the disco number. All the girls wore mustaches during that number. Jose and Dominic stuffed their pants for their hip hop number. And Dominic was freakin' hilarious. He totally stole the show.

We decided after intermission to give each worthy dance a standing ovation. We are such nerds, but it was so much fun. And we totally made eye contact with the dancers. Ian swears he had a "moment" with Kathryn.

My favorite dances included: Fix You, the best friend's dance, the Mad World dance and the prom dance. I also loved the dance with Russell, Dominic and Jose. Mostly because of Dominic. I would've loved the Alice in Wonderland dance but they put Lauren in instead of Allison. It was still good though.

A picture of the stage at the end. I wanted to remember how close we were. Because it was the last night of the tour, the director put a montage together and we got to watch it with the dancers. This is the dancers leaving after.

Ok, so after we were waiting in line to get t-shirts when a woman approached Julie (it's the hair) and gave her 2 backstage passes. Of course she took Lisa backstage with her so the rest of us waited in a room by one of the exits. There were also a whole bunch of teenagers there with shirts that said something like, "I loved Lauren before America". Whatever. Anyway, when the security guard asked them why they were loitering they said they were waiting for Betsy Frodman (Lauren's mom) to give them backstage passes.

A couples minutes later in comes Betsy with a bag full of backstage wrist bands. She starts handing them out. I beg Ian to get some for us. But he won't. Then we see super creepy guy ask Betsy and she gives him two. I guess Ian figured at this point, why not? So he went over and had a conversation with Betsy while me, Tiffany and Tayler tried to pretend we didn't know him (I know I told him to do it but it was still embarrassing!). So....thanks to Ian we got to go backstage to meet the dancers! WOOOOHOOO!!!!!

We quickly made contact with Lisa and Julie and then waited. In the meantime Julie used her hair to get us some posters from Betsy (I feel like it's ok to be on a first name basis with her because she did give us the passes). A while later, the dancers came up!! I first saw Dominic and Ade and right then I felt like my evening was complete.

Dominic was rad. I asked him if he was still in Quest Crew and he said "no" but hoped to be in it again some day. WE LOVE YOU DOMINIC!

Then we met Ade. We had to wait because he was hugging his mom and family. But it was worth it. I told him he was my favorite dancer - which is mostly true. If you haven't seen him dance, I'm sorry. He is amazing.

Ian was a little obsessed with Kathryn. He's pretty upset that this picture is blurry. Hey! I was using my phone! She was gorgeous and super nice. I could've stayed and chatted with her all night.

We tried to get to Kent but a whole bunch of old ladies were surrounding him. Poor kid. He was so awesome. Oh! and I loved the Kent/Allison relationship dance. LOVED IT!

Here is Allison and Ian. We have loved Allison from the beginning when she danced with Ivan to "Why". And remember when she left and Travis was crying and she danced around him. I'd pay good money to see Allison and Travis dance together. We told her we loved her.

I also met Billy but he was snotty. So whatever. The other girls got a picture with Courtney and Lisa told her, "I've loved you since Courtney and Gev!". All the dancers were there, but the only ones I really wanted to meet were Dominic, Ade, Allison and Kathryn. And I did. :)

It was one of the best nights of my life. I'm not even kidding. I was with some of my favorite people in the world meeting some of my favorite dancers in the world.

It was perfect.

P.S. My apologies to Trina because I didn't get a chance to ask Lauren or Kent if they were really dating. If I had to guess, I'd say no.

Weekend Happenings

Holy cow, where has this week gone? It seems like every week flies by. Anyway, last Friday Step Up 3 came out. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie for a LONG time. Mostly because it has quite a few SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) dancers in it. Friday night Tiffany, Tayler and I went to dinner at Sauce (one of my favorite restaurants) and then on to the movie. Tayler wore her leg warmers and Twitch glasses in honor of the occasion. In case you didn't know...Tayler is awesome. We had a blast. And now we want to learn how to hip hop dance.

Saturday afternoon we headed out to Mattas (by Bass Pro Shop) for lunch with Ian's family. Ian's brother Sean has a mustache in honor of National Mustache month.

I told him he looks a little creepy, but he didn't seem to mind.
After lunch we headed over to Bass Pro Shop. You can't tell but John, Meg, Sean & Xander are in front of the aquarium.

Evan has a love/hate relationship with all of the animals there. He wants to see them but they freak him out a little.

After Mattas we headed over to Jared & Tricia's for Molly's first birthday. Holy cow, I can't believe she's one!

Have you seen a cuter baby? I just want to eat her cheeks and thighs.

Ready for cake!

At first Molly wanted to eat the table instead of her cake.

But then big sister Emmy showed her what to do.

Kim and I were chatting on the couch and dad came over and sat between us. I love my dad. He's one of my favorite people in the world.

Molly got lots of loot.

Evan had fun playing with some girl toys.

The weekend flew by, but it's always fun to spend time with the people I love the most. We had a blast!

SYTYCD - LIVE!

Last night Ian and I went with these characters to see the Season 5 So You Think You Can Dance Tour. Woohooo!!!!

It did not disappoint. I was able to bring in my little Nikon Coolpix.

Jason and Jeanine dancing to "If it Kills Me" (I got the chills)

Also, how many dresses do you think she's went through during the course of the tour?


Kupono and Kayla dancing Mia Michael's Addiction dance. Holy cow they did a good job.

Jeanette & Brandon dancing Wade Robson's Jewel Thief dance. One of my all time SYTYCD favorites. I love all the quirky movements.

One of the group numbers. I wish they would've danced the Mia Michael's "Higher Ground" dance. Does anyone remember how technically hard and awesome that dance was?



Ade & Jeanette dancing the Love, Sex & Magic dance. I love Ade. I thought he should've won.

Jeanine & Philip. What can I say about Philip? He's gumby. His solo was OFF THE HOOK! He got a standing ovation.

My favorite dance of the evening was the Ade & Melissa dance that Tyse created about a woman diagnosed with breast cancer. The dance was so real and so moving. Ian and I gave them a standing ovation.

I love going out with Ian. Even though he's recovering from the flu, he was in top form - cracking jokes and making everyone laugh. We had so much fun!

I am a bad mom

Here's a pretty picture of Greenspeak since I don't have the energy to take a picture with this post.

The kids went back to school on Monday and guess what? I didn't take one single picture. I suck. I also cried like a baby when I dropped Max off. What's wrong with me? I'm just so attached to that child. Acutally, I'm attached to all of my children (they just don't know it). I snuck past both Ben and Xander's classes to take a peek. One of the aides in the hall told me I could go in Xander's class and I thought about it, but I didn't want him to be embarrassed his first day. Maybe tomorrow.

Max did great on his first full day of school. He loves his teacher (so do I). Ben is super excited for school this year too. It's a pleasant change. He loves, LOVES his teacher. I have to admit she is one of our favorites at the school. Xander had her too. As a sixth grader, Xander rules the school. He knows all the kids in his class and likes his teacher. I think it's going to be a great year.

In other news...the other night we had a BBQ at Jason and Tiffany's and watched SYTYCD (suprised??). It was the 100th episode and they had past contestants perform favorite dances. When Ramalama came on (one of my all time favorite dances btw) and all the dancers were dressed like zombies with torn clothes and red rimmed eyes, Evan quickly hid his face and said, "oh, crap...look at their eyes!" Is it bad that I forgot to scold him for his language because I was laughing so hard?





btw, I really like that band - Roisin Murphy. Wade choreographs to them a lot. I think I might buy a few of their songs off I-tunes. And also, I was so happy my boyfriend Wade performed the dance with them. AWESOME.

Ice Cream

There's a little shop in Greer that serves delicious ice-cream.

We always stop on our way to the river. Because don't you know...

ice cream makes the world a better place.

Evan, Max and I tried to go get ice-cream yesterday while the older boys and Ian were fishing but it was closed. That's o.k., it was 61 degrees and raining. So it might have been too cold anyway.

In other news:

Meg had her baby! 8 lbs and it's a girl! Wooohooo!

In SYTYCD news:

-Dude, I about had a heart attack when Melissa and Ade were in the bottom 2. Those two are my favorites!

-How awesome was the Travis number? We only watched it 5,687 times. And the Nap and Tab ones was equally great. That Ade has some serious funk.

-Topher did a new Hot Tamale Train post on Facebook. Check it out - it's hilarious.