My dad rocks.

My dad is 72 years old. When I called him today he picks up and says "Kimmy I'm gonna have to call you back because I'm playing second base"

Yes, my dad is on the softball team of his Del Webb community.

I love it!

Welcome Lucas Joseph!

Darren's sister just had her adorable baby boy, Lucas. We have excitedly been awaiting this addition to the family and are thrilled. The family is home now and doing well :)

Congratulations Amy and Michael! Welcome Baby Lucas!

Anyone ELSE know what a herpetologist does?

Darren and I were at a marriage seminar with Gary Smalley this last weekend. During one of the sessions he was talking about snakes. He was saying that people that don't believe snakes are good or interesting are afraid of them, but those people that study them and enjoy them aren't. During his talk he asked out "what are those guys called? the ones that work with snakes?" and some guy busts out with "herpetologist!"

I wondered in that first second - who in the heck knows that kind of information? And in the next second I realized - hey, that guy's voice was right next to me.... wait a minute... that was my husband!

Somehow, Darren knows everything. I have to admit it, finally. I mean, c'mon, the guy knows herpetologist.

And now all of us do as well :)

**as a side note, Darren discovered the exact discipline of studying only snakes is actually called Ophiology. Herpetologists study reptiles and amphibians. But we already knew that.

Firetruck!

Yesterday we went to the Farmer's Market in Livermore. They had a lot of safety booths out and the Livermore/Pleasanton fire department was there with one of their trucks. The firefighters were so nice to Noah and gave us lots of badge stickers :) When one of them asked Noah if he wanted to sit in the cab, I could hardly believe it! If you know Noah, he LOVES to sit in cars and pretend that he is driving. He climbed into that tall truck and immediately said "bye bye mama, close door!"

They said they would see him back in 18 years :)

The Safeway Super Shopper

Today was a fun day for Noah :) He and daddy went to the grocery store to pick up a few things, and daddy brought Noah's red shopping cart that he got last Christmas from Auntie Helen. He was a pro! Darren just put the groceries in Noah's cart and steered him where to go!

What you don't see is Daddy wearing an almost identical outfit. Yes, they got a lot of fun attention :) I told Darren if he wasn't my husband and I was shopping and saw him I would wish my husband was as cute and fun as him!

A $200 blessing!

Darren and I have talked about getting a Learning Tower kitchen platform so Noah can "help" us cook and can "help" Jenny bake COOKIES (anyone see an ulterior motive on my end to get one?). They cost about $200 with shipping and we've put it off since we didn't really know if Noah would even use it.

Well, the other day I saw one sitting outside of a neighbor's house. I had never met the family, but my friend Danaly and I called the mom the "cute, hip mom" because she's trendy and cute :) As I walked by the house with Noah, hip mom pulled into her driveway and her son came up and introduced himself (he's 4 with a 2.5 year old sister). Well, it just so happens that Nicole (hip mom) has the tower outside her front door because they aren't using it anymore and she hasn't decided where to put it.

"If you want it you can have it" she says.

And we did - so here's Noah making cookies in it for the first time - it worked perfect.

"Mom, just bring me some more dough and nobody will get hurt"

First cold of the season

I had no idea that Noah was already at the age where he would lay on the couch with his blanket and pillow... He's extra snuggly and very sweet :)

One more reason to love Target...

Even though I have broken my addiction to this store (for the most part) I still have to blog this tidbit of savings that I am celebrating...

We are having a friend/interior designer help us with some renovations as we prepare for our new arrival in December. In addition to that, I have asked him to design a beautiful master bedroom for us. When we moved into this house two months before Noah was born, all we did was hang curtains.... not quite the sanctuary I envision. Anyway, he sent us his plans for the room, bedding, headboard, furniture, lamps, etc. and it is exactly what I want - BUT - almost all of the pieces he picked out are from Restoration Hardware.

Restoration Hardware = $$$$$

I didn't really plan on a $7,000 bedroom... One of the items he picked out is this beautiful crystal lamp. In person, it truly is stunning. In person, it is also $230 on sale.

(not including the shade - and did I mention we need two?)


So, I paid a visit to my local Target store and found this lamp, no it's not crystal... it's lucite. But it looks so similar I could hardly believe it. This picture was taken with my camera phone but you get the idea. This lamp? $39.

Yep, that's a savings of almost $400 :) Yay me!

Happy 50 years mom and dad!

Saturday we had the great privilege of celebrating my mom and dad's FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY. Wow. Because they were originally married by a Justice of the Peace, we wanted to give them a real wedding... and it was amazing! Dad looked so incredibly handsome and mom looked beautiful. Surrounded by 115 of their closest friends and family, I think this may have topped their original ceremony :) All of us kids worked hard to make it a success and were so pleased that we pulled it off. Here are some pics from the night

(Photography by Cathy Breslow)

The bride enters on the arm of my older brother, Greg. Doesn't she look happy??

I love that the photographer caught the "groom's face" as he watches her approach


Vows

Get a room!

My brother opened up the reception and made everyone laugh - and the laughter continued through the night as friends shared their stories on the open mic.

Mom got some new bling for 50 years

Jennifer and Jill made this amazing cake - and it was delicious!

A legacy and family I am blessed to be a part of

The opposite of goodbye

The logic of a toddler amazes me. I love to watch the wheels turn in Noah's head as he figures things out. For example, he knows that we don't go outside without shoes - so, he has taken me to put my shoes on, then his - and THEN he asks me to take him out.

One of my favorite things he has figured out is that hello is the opposite of goodbye. However, what gets me even more is the context in which he uses it. If Darren is going to put Noah down for bed, but he reeeaaallllyyy wants mommy to do it, he will push out his quivering bottom lip, work up his best sad voice and say "hello mama... hello mama..." If grandma and grandpa are over and he doesn't want them to go home he will say "hello nana.... hello grandpa" (or Bernie as he's taken to calling my dad these days). You get the picture. If Noah doesn't want to say goodbye, then his logic tells him that if he just says hello, then maybe you won't have to leave him. It is one of the many endearing traits that makes Noah... well, Noah.

We love it.