A Picture Perfect Nightmare

Your driver's license picture isn't likely to be the best photo of your life, but does it have to be your worst???

It finally came in the mail....the long awaited "renewed" drivers license. I couldn't help but compare the old one with the new. Somehow the five years (and three kids) later version of myself is a hard one to swallow. The tired eyes, frazzled hair, and shiny face left me asking myself, "do I really look like this?"

I know this sounds very vain and shallow. I'll admit it. But can't the DMV have pitty on us haggard moms with young kids and just let us send in our own picture of ourself? ANY picture would have been better than what they took.

While on the DMV website to check out my "options," I found that they actually give you pointers on "how to take a good driver's license picture." A little late for that now.

I think that this woman had the right idea while at the DMV. I'll remember this one for next time.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

This holiday weekend has been an adventure-filled one for us with...birthday parties, horseback riding, emergency room visits (poor Jonah got stitches on his chin), biking with friends, playing in the American River, pie eating, Bar-B-Q assembling, fillet mignon grilling (thank you Andrew), and...oh yes...the fireworks!

For Father's Day this year the boys and I made "cake bites" for Rob. I found this yummy recipe online and decided to try it out. A friend of mine and her girls then joined us in dipping the cake bites in melted chocolate and putting them on sticks. The kids loved dipping them (all the while sampling the chocolate) and then decorating them with sprinkles. The end result turned out cute and DELICIOUS.

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to Coos Bay Oregon to visit Rob's Aunt Jo and to spend some time with his mom Susan. It was nice to get out of hot Sacramento and see the beautiful Oregon coast. The boys loved visiting with Grandma Sue and playing at Jo's house right on the water. We even got to see the Umpqua River Lighthouse and climb to the top. It was a fun and memorable trip.

Can I just say how much I love cherry season! Today we bought a few bags of cherries from a local farmer in Auburn and have been devouring them like crazy.

KEEPING AHEAD OF ENTROPY

I remember hearing the term entropy in a science class once, and for some reason it's definition comes to my mind whenever I clean my house. Entropy is a universal law that states: disorder creates more disorder.

In other words, messes seem to have a way of creating more messes, which then have a snowball effect. For example, have you ever left out an open jar of peanut butter only to find that somehow it gets smeared all over the kitchen floor, tracked into the carpet and couches, only to end up caked on your favorite jacket you left out on the armchair last night. You look back and think, wow, if only I had put the peanut butter away.

Keeping ahead of the mess is a constant battle for me with three little boys....and today I lost.

I probably should have a little more pride and dignity and not reveal today's defeat, but my kids have stripped me of that long ago.

OUR TRIP TO FLORIDA

One of our favorite adventures in Florida was visiting Gator Park in the Everglades. They had numerous exhibits on reptiles, alligators and any other animal you might find in the everglades. The boys loved watching a live demonstration on alligator wrestling and were even able to touch and hold baby alligators (jaws bound, of course). The best part of it all was the air boat ride wich was driven by our crazy guide who kept telling us to "watch out for 'em croickies," as he zoomed at high speeds through the mangroves. We got to see thousand year old cypress trees, iguanas, alligators, snakes, turtles...the list goes on. I loved every minute of it!










Marco Island was beautiful and relaxing. We spent about three days doing nothing but playing at the pool and going to the beach (my kind of vacation). The boys were amazed when they spotted a little turtle scooting along on the beach.







Clearwater, Tampa was a fun place walk on the boardwalk, play on the beach, and visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. My favorite part was taking a boat out to Caladesi Island, which we had heard was one of the prettiest secluded beaches in Florida. It was beautiful and the shells we found on it's white sands were amazing.







We spent a few days in Orlando and decided to take the boys to Disney's Animal Kingdom. They loved seeing all the exotic animals and especially loved the safarri ride, wich let you see every African animal you could imagine in it's (somewhat) natural habitat. It was amazing and far exceeded my expectations. Of course we had to end the hot humid day with a lemon freeze, which the boys devoured in seconds. It was a great day.