Court with the Cam

Capturing the glamorous 
side of life

Work it... Work it...

Epic Fail + morning addition

Some days I question my sanity, ok MOST days I question my sanity... however every once in awhile there is a day that must be classified as
EPIC FAIL
...............
Sure I'll make 40 amazingly beautiful AND delicious cookies for our Young Womens meeting tonight (from a recipe I have never tried, but looks & tastes delicious in my mind)
Of course I'll make a "you are beautiful" sign to hang at the meeting (which I had planned on sewing {yes, out of fabric} but ended up being scrapbook paper on poster board...bleh)
and it's a early release day for school?
Well why wouldn't we invite
half the neighborhood over...
when the house is
unreasonably (and atypically) clean?
...............
So here I am
baking cookies, tweaking recipe, baking more cookies, tweaking recipe again, baking cookies, telling kids to get their paws off the cookies,
borrowing cream cheese from
Karen & Kristin, (seriously, thanks!)
breaking out in a cold sweat, tweaking recipe...
BREAKING
MY
BOSCH
(actually, just the beaters, but it still hurt)
...............
crying & cussing
(on the inside)

the cookies were finally made...
I thought,
"Hey! It's going to be ok."

until I took a stroll around my house and found
THIS
...............

And
THIS
...............

And actually, something like
THAT
in every room of my house

EPIC FAIL
by the way, Brooke, you're a gem and I heart you
...............
And, oh, did I mention that I rushed the cookies & sign over to the church at 8:05 with my 3 youngest, barefoot, half-naked, not-yet-fed children in tow (husband working late) for a meeting that started at 7:00 that I was supposed to be attending?
...........

**Morning After Addition... i woke up this morning with a realization
In my weary, dreary, beaten-down state last light, I failed to acknowledge the fact that the children (and me... there MAY have been some mid-cookie disaster dancing to some very catchy tunes) had a glorious day.
And... for the record, cleaning up the aftermath was nothing short of therapeutic. There's just something about picking up, sorting, distributing & re-organizing that gives me oooohhhhhhm.

The Tale of the Hair

Party, sleep, sleep, Party
so * happy * together

Mr. Sneaky Pants... the beginning

Christmas 2008
Mike & I had decided it was a
"no gifts" Christmas.
So I bought him a Swiss Army knife & a bowling shirt.
After all of the gifts had been opened
Mike handed me maracas, beads, sombrero...
AND a pinata.

Was I surprised?
Uh, yeah, you could say that.

Holy Frijoles!
I love you Mr. Sneaky Pants.

next year I'll get you a knife, bowling shirt AND new tie.

It Takes Two

What Would Nacho
*Be*
Without Esqueleto?

And Fred without Barney?

What would Napoleon
*Do*
without Pedro?

It would be like
Ernie without Bert...

I'm so glad I don't have to

*Be*
without you...
or
*Do*
this alone.

We Are A Dynamic Duo.
Happy To Have You Back!

Friday Freak, I Mean Flashback

1979 (ish) - 1983 (ish)

Ummmm...
can you say AWWWKWARD stage?

yes, those ARE in fact my initials on my glasses
"RP"
Rebecca Price

Hubba Hubba

Thank You For Being A Friend

I didn't think it was possible to look like
THIS
the last week of tax season

However,
when
THIS
shows up on your porch
* brooke had no idea that I had been on the hunt for a delicious peanut butter treat at Walgreens earlier that day (while waiting for Valerie's ear infection meds) and had come up empty handed.

and then
THIS
shows up on your porch
* i kid you not... Venetia made triple chocolate brownies & had them overnighted to me (across the country)... i may have been delirious, but i swear they were still warm when i opened the package.

which led to
THIS
happy moment.

I think
THIS
pretty much sums it up.

Thank You
for being a
Friend

Just a Flesh Wound... part II

I was doing dishes...
the mountain of dishes.
I think every glass/cup/sippy we owned was in the sink, patiently waiting to be washed.
As I tried to stuff in as many
glasses as I could,
one shattered.
Jon caught it on film.

Man, am I lucky...
it was just a flesh wound.

Friday Flashback

January 2007
Following Tony's birth, my poor war-torn body was covered with bruises.
2-year-old Valerie was very concerned & decided something MUST be done to soothe
"mommies owies".
When she discovered I had fallen asleep on the couch with Tony, she sprang into action.
I awoke from my nap to discover that nearly every inch of my exposed skin had been tenderly bandaged with her beloved Princess Bandaids, which she had received for Christmas.
An entire box.
Mike had the foresight to take a picture of Valerie's handiwork.

And just how did I not wake up while nurse Valerie was busy at work?!
THAT is what I call OTM.
(One Tired Mama... or is that Mummy?)

And, just so you know...
I Love This Girl!!!
(but I think you already knew that)

Switcheroo

This fun fest all began with some
Pajama Drama,
which i would love to say,
"save for your mama",
but wait,
i AM the mama.
Hmpf.
Valerie wanting to wear
Courtney PJ's.
Courtney NOT wanting Valerie to wear her PJ's.
weeping.
wailing.
near fist-fight.
(well, not really)
So as any good? mom would do,
I offered to let Courtney wear my PJ's
(bottoms)
if she let Valerie wear her PJ's.
The ole' Switcheroo
worked like magic
and even led to some disco fever.

PJ Party

Snapshots of Heaven

For a mother, is there anything more heavenly than your 5 children being together and ENJOYING it?

Or snuggling in the sunshine
in your PJ's...

Or realizing your baby has fallen asleep
as you gently swing him
under the blue skies.

Oh yes, heaven on earth.

Back To Life... Back To Reality

This is how I feel the Monday after a glorious Spring Break vacation with my Little Peeps.

* 5:15 am comes waaaaay too early
* children gone... off to school
* husband working 18+ hours today
* suitcases to unpack
* stinky dog to bathe
(not gonna happen tonight)
* still fuming about my speeding ticket

All I Want To Do Is:
a) crawl under the covers
b) pretend I'm still on vacation
c) crawl under the covers & pretend I'm still on vacation
BINGO.
Back To Life
Back To Reality

Cuckoo * Cuckoo

Sometimes
when the
days are
tough,

I just need to do
this...

or this...

or this...

Thanks, I needed that.
i miss you Mike.

Group Date Night

This is what happens when 8 friends take their sons (who are all friends) out on an octuple date.
You KNOW it's gonna be fun!!!

(Chase, McKay & Rustin)
Some enjoyed dinner.
All enjoyed
Thoroughly Modern Millie
complete with cute little chicks that the boys know.
(it was fun to watch the girls on stage when they realized there was a front row full of cute boys... there were many glances, winks & waves. needless to say, the boys were... well, smitten as a whole)
And to top off the evening, dessert.
Delightful!

(Conner, Rustin, Chase, Mr. Green Shirt, Addison, Courtney, Andy, Brooke,
McKay, Sam, Girl From Play Who Repeatedly Glanced, Toree & Treven)
We collectively give you 2 thumbs up Toree, Courtney & Brooke!

(Addison, Conner, Courtney, Rustin, Toree, McKay & Treven)
The End.
to a beautiful evening.

What The.... ????

Imagine the thoughts running through our minds when Molly & I were taking a leisurely
drive through Scottsdale
(beautiful Scottsdale of all places)
and pulled up next to
THIS CAR.
First disbelief...
Then Shock...
Then Denial...
and when reality set in
HORROR.
And just in case the first visual was not enough,
here is a close up.

What kind of bird WAS this?

Friday Flashback

1987

Really.... who needs pants when you've got your best gal, a phone, corn nuts & 8 hours of free time.

As Molly & I were looking through old photos, we realized that there was a common theme in many of our photos.
No pants.
Don't ask why because we couldn't tell you.

Good Times!

Call me Suzie... Homemaker.

As I dropped McKay off for lacrosse, Alec, one of his teammates asked me if I could make the boys brownies & bring them for an after-practice treat.
I told him I would think about it, fully intending on making brownies.
Well, I completely forgot all about it until 5 minutes before it was time to pick McKay up.
Time to break out the Little Debbie snack cakes.
(i think the apron adds a nice touch)

As McKay walked over to the team, the boys swarmed him, snatching up my delicious "brownies" and even knocking a few to the ground (which were then eaten).

Sure makes you feel good when your hard work in the kitchen is so well received.

and props to Molly for snapping this shot of the boys cheering in anticipation of their delicious treat.