Look Ma, No Brakes!

Ok, so the title is flippant--the situation kinda wasn't. My brakes have been making a squealing noise for a couple weeks now. My dad told me I need to get new ones. I asked Kurt where to go and he said he would do it for me--being a nice big brother, right?--and it would be way cheaper. So I took it to his shop today with the boys, because I am watching them for the day. Kurt put my new brake pads on and all was well. Until I went to back out of the shop. Pretty much I had no brakes and was speeding backwards toward a pickup and a fence and I don't know all what because I stopped looking. Kurt was yelling for me to pump the brakes and I was pumping like crazy with no effect. I'm sure my face looked pretty hilarious--wide-eyed, mouth open, kinda like a fish. And finally, right before we crashed into the back of a pickup we were stopped by an obliging trailer hitch that took one for the team and stopped my car by jamming itself between the door and the back tire. We jolted to a stop. Kurt and Mick and whoever else were there were laughing hilariously. I was not laughing--I was too much in shock. However, there is no damage to either the nice trailer or my car, so that is cool. And I will forever ask what the possibility is that my brakes won't work for the first little while. They are working quite well now, thank you for asking. I think it was funny...or at least I will tomorrow maybe.

Dance Party

Ok, so there weren't much pictures in the way of actually dancing, but if you look behind Kameron and me you'll see Kaelan busting a somersault move on my bed. We were dancing to Big and Chunky, of Madagascar 2 fame. The boys dig that song. I dig Moto Moto, so all is well.

We needed to commemorate our dance party, but lack of photographers meant that I had to take the pictures myself--and the boys aren't real good at actually taking a picture of someone yet. We'll work on that.

This doesn't have anything to do with the dance party, but I thought I'd tell everyone the good news: Brandt and Ashlie are having a baby! I will be an auntie for the 3rd time. Very exciting.

Terminator

I can remember watching the first Terminator movies in grade school. It is extremely interesting to me when stories I grew up with come full circle now that I'm an adult. Take for instance the Star Wars franchise, or Die Hard. Heck, I would be thrilled if they would finally make the sequels to Willow. And hey, George Lucas, how about a Labyrinth 2? Ok? Ok. That being said, I really enjoyed this last Terminator movie. It did leave a lot of questions unanswered, like how in the heck did they manage to send people back in time? Curiouser and curiouser. But in any event, I liked it. Peace.

The First Step Is Admitting It

I recently went shoe shopping with my mom, Kat, and the boys. The object was to get Kaelan and Kameron some new summer sandals and some running shoes for Kaelan. We stopped off at a place with the biggest selection of Chacos I have ever seen!! Of course the bait was right...I had to go back. I tried on a pair and yes, you guessed it. They now reside in my closet or on my feet. My 3rd pair of Chacos...I have an addiction.

I can't help but justify my love of Chacos. Not only are they very stylish, they are the most comfortable sandal I have ever worn. My feet feel great while wearing them.

And hey, at least these were the cheapest pair yet. Ok, money is not an object when it comes to my Chacos. And now that I have 3 pairs, I can rotate them! So welcome, Chaco #3. I am sure you'll be very happy.

And the Hunt Begins...

My camp list--something that fills me with dread every summer and I don't know why. I am suuuuuper-excited about going to camp this summer. I can't wait to see everyone again and to just jump right into that Bryn Mawr lovin' that wraps everyone up all summer long. However...to get there, I need to go shopping for the camp necessities, and I dread that.

I also dread packing, but that is because I am crap at it.

I have fulfilled 3/4 of my uniform list, however--yeah Soffe shorts on sale! I just need a few pairs of navy and a few pairs of white with some structure to wear with that Awful Polo we have to wear for visiting day. And yes, the Awful Polo is in capital letters--trust me, if you'd seen a picture of me in it, you'd know why. It is invariably 2 sizes too big and makes me look sloppy if I don't have anything to tuck it in to. Hence the structed navy and white shorts. I hate walking up to parents and giving them the 'Hi! I'm the responsible adult taking care of your children all summer, but don't I look like a slob' vibe.

Ah man. On with the hunt.

My Boys

I woke up this weekend feeling a little bit under the weather--yet another cold strikes again! I feel tired and just generally without energy. And to top it all off, I was babysitting Kaelan and Kameron. I felt pretty crummy until this moment:

I turned around to find the boys cuddling and when I grabbed my camera Kami gave me one of his huge grins. It made me feel much better.

Pirate Treasure!

Kaelan and I were investigating a huge tree in the front yard--it is the kind that has branches that drape to the ground like a big skirt and hide what's going on underneath. And what did we find?? A PIRATE MAP!!!! Complete with enormous red 'X' to the treasure! Of course we loaded Kameron in the stroller and jumped on the trail. With the help of a trusty Pirate compass to show us the way, of course.We had to go over the Bridge of Death--which apparently used to have water flowing there when pirates frequented the area, but alas no more--and then to the Beanstalk, which lucky for us was still standing in our front yard. Then it took us on a round-about walk through dangerous places (or so we devised, considering the map had pictures of skulls in this area) and finally behind the schoolbus. Wasn't it lucky the schoolbus was used as a marker by these pirates? The treasure contained the best pirate treasure EVER! A bubble sword that makes bubbles as big as Kameron's head, tons of pirate gold, a few necklaces, a sweet orange squirt gun, and the best thing of all in Kaelan's eyes--a brand new Monster Truck, War Wizard! Pirates are pretty awesome, aren't they?

I Would Run Off With Spock

First of all, let me just say that I am not a die-hard Trekkie. That being said, I was down with the idea of a prequel coming out to Star Trek. I've grown up on the Star Trek movies--we watched the original television show, the remade television show, and all the movies, both with Captain Kirk and Picard. I didn't differentiate between any of them--they were all good.

The new one, though, was pretty fantastic. Let me list the reasons! First of all, they managed to make Spock sexy. Who knew that could be done? Of course James Tiberius Kirk was sexy, that's a given. And Karl Urban as Bones??? Be still my heart. Enough with the fact that most of the male leads were totally hot--although can I just say it's such a bummer they grow up to look like their counterparts?? Leonard Nemoy is not sexy, and neither is William Shatner. Anyway, I really enjoyed the fact that they kept the basic costumes, and I completely dug all the shots of 'rural' Iowa with the futuristic, space-tech thing going on at the same time. And a big shout out to the guy they found to play George Kirk who really resembled his son.

I also really enjoyed the fact that they didn't tow my car while I was at the movies today.

Certified Fitter

I just recently went to Denver for a course in Mastectomy fitting--as we do that at Precision Prosthetics. Anyway, it was a super-cool course and I learned so much. They brought in 3 models who had a breast removed and we were able to practice fitting a bra on them and picking out which breast prosthesis would work the best. I learned so many new techniques. Now to get Kamil to let us order things...

And I am officially a Certified Fitter, as they call it.

Look At My Proboscus!

Kaelan got on too! I have never been more surprised. Of course Kameron was down--he started getting excited the second we got near the elephants. He can't really talk yet, but he was really making noises and pointing. The only thing he didn't like about the experience was the strange circus man who took him away from me to lift him onto the elephant. He wasn't into that at all. All in all it was a good experience--and I'm glad I did it, even though it was horrendously overpriced.

Circus Circus

I would put the circus theme in here, but I doubt the way it goes in my head sounds the same to anyone else. Yes, the circus is coming!!! I have long waited for this moment--not because it would be awesome to share this with my two little nephews. Not because I know they will love seeing clowns and people on the trapeze or walking the tight rope. Nope, my reasoning is purely selfish.

I will finally get to ride an elephant!!! Because, as Kaelan put it, Kameron is my ticket. Yes, folks, it is true. I have stooped to using a 1-year old to get my dream of riding an elephant. Now, granted, it won't be the same thing as actually being in Africa and riding an elephant all by my lonesome, but if the only way to ride one is to have half a dozen little kids on there, I'm good with it. Kaelan will probably chicken out at the last minute and not get on, as he does that. Kameron, however, will ride absolutely ANYTHING fearlessly. He's my little adrenaline junkie.

Therefore, I too will get to ride an elephant.

Diabolical, isn't it?