California Dreamin'

I'm reminded of a funny birthday card I read a few years ago. On the front it had four cartoon best friends, young & pretty, in grass skirts & coconut tops dancing the hula on a tropical island. It said "Here on the island, we have only one rule..." You open the card and suddenly the perky young women are "middle aged" slightly hunched over, wrinkly, weathered women struggling to hula and it said "never let your coconuts hang lower than your skirt!"

Oh to look the way I did before I had 2 kids in 2 years, worrying that my board shorts aren't long enough to hide the stretch marks on my "upper thigh"--you know what I'm talking about! And for you ladies without children yet (i.e. my 2 younger more beautiful sisters with no stretch marks in crazy places, wider hips, things sagging that shouldn't be sagging etc!) live it up while you can!

Scott surprised me with a weekend trip to Huntington Beach, CA for my birthday (which is what brought on the wishful thinking). But saggy coconuts aside, we had an absolute blast. Scott has a friend who works at the Hyatt and she set us up with an awesome room, a birthday treat bucket delivered when we arrived, free dinner with her at the hotel restaurant--Katie R. you are the best! Saturday we got up and headed to the beach for a day of sun, eating sand (Ryan), being terrified of the water (Jason), body surfing (Scott), and lounging/eating/shopping (me of course). I can easily see why people love it in Southern California! We even went to a little place called "Downtown Disney" - just a free, outside Disney themed shopping area with music, restaurants, street vendors etc. Sunday morning was a leisurely breakfast while Scott got the insider's tour of the Hyatt with Katie.

We can't wait to go back--hopefully do the Disney & Sea World thing once the kids are a little older and if my family will comply--rope them into babysitting while Scott and I take off for a weekend get away of our own sometime. Yes, yes, the drive back was depressing as the landscape got browner and drier and we got hotter. Again, I shake my head knowing that I live in Las Vegas! So for now, I'll just dream of California & grass skirts that aren't 3 sizes larger than when I was in college!


Us in front of the hotel


Dad & boys...


Mom & boys at the Huntington Beach Pier


Jason trying to climb into the police car and Scott dragging him away while the policemen laugh in the background


Jason running from the waves--I think he gets this from me!


Ryan trying to walk in wet sand


Exhausted boys, finally sleeping!

Good Enough To Eat!

I had a friend call this weekend wanting me to make a few desserts for her son's birthday on Sunday. Here's what I came up with...

Death By Chocolate cake!



This is Berries n' Cream...my personal favorite because who doesn't love straight whipping cream, blueberries, raspberries and cake?



And last was just a simple cake for the kids to dig into...

E.T. PHONE HOME

I find myself thinking in terms of movies. The very first post I ever wrote on this blog was based on our lovable friend rat from Charlotte's Web. Well yesterday I suddenly became my very own version of E.T. (which I can't stand by the way, but it fits so I'll use it).

One of our best friends just had their first baby on Tuesday night! She came after 10 hours of not so progressive labor, the Dr. saying "I don't think this is going to work so it is C-Section time" a 'literally' shaky reaction to the anesthesia and finally after arriving at the hospital at 8 am, baby Kate was born around 7:30 pm. They called me Wednesday afternoon to see if I could come sit with mom and baby while hubby went to pick up the mother-in-law at the airport. Of course I was thrilled and couldn't wait to see them! I pulled into the parking lot, walked through the hospital doors and that is when it happened. My uterus started glowing. I was hit with an overwhelming sense of dejavou as I heard the sounds, smelled the smells and witnessed the sights that I had been a part of giving birth to Ryan just 10 short months ago. I found myself not even reading signs but simply following my glowing uterus down the hallway, up the elevator, through the locked doors and finally walking through my friend's doorway. I stood there, looking at her in that familiar blue/grey hospital gown, sitting on that stiff lumpy bed with the starchy faded knit blanket thrown haphazardly over her legs. And I got goose bumps. It was like every molecule in my body tingled and shivered at the same time, every cell dug down deep in the recesses of time and memory and my uterus glowed brighter. I was E.T. right at the spot when they all thought he was dead lying in his scientific coffin and suddenly his boy notices the flowers looking brighter, standing a little straighter and it happens--E.T.'s belly shines a bright lustrous yellow and they all know there is hope!

But the best part, there lay baby Kate, all bundled like a little burrito, tiny as can be (6lbs 11 oz) with beautiful skin and a small button nose. And call it a women's intuition, call it perfect, experience derived empathy, call it the spirit but in those few moments I knew a little piece of what my mom felt when she walked in my hospital room the first time and saw me sitting there in that same familiar gown, same terrible bed, same blessed little baby sleeping next to me. How her body must have tingled and how excited she must have been and I hope I have at least one little girl so that 30 years down the road I can go through this again with my own "baby" and her "baby". Maybe I'll even save this and read it to her--or worse yet, make her watch E.T. while we sit up late at night in the hospital and she can tell me all about everything. There is nothing like labor, delivery and POST EVERYTHING to help you bond with other women, especially your mom!

So ladies--cheers to all of you and your glowing uteruses(uteri)?. Just take a minute to visit a friend with a newborn and you'll know exactly what I mean!

Jenkins Reunion 2008

We just got back from our family reunion at Bear Lake. We rented a couple cabins and stayed there for a few days over 4th of July weekend. It was great to spend time with family, especially those that we don't get to see that often! Every single member of our family was there--except those serving missions and my brother who's in Bolivia for the summer. It was great having little kids running all over the place and seeing my cousin's brand new baby girl. Jason & Ryan couldn't have been happier.
The minute we pulled in Thursday night Jas jumped out of the car and wrapped his arms around "cotty"--Scotty--and pretty much was his shadow the whole weekend. Scotty and Aunt Mimi "missy" were fabulous. I've never had so much free time in my life. On each day we would eat meals together, have a family devotional, and great activities. Friday some went and hiked caves in the area, went to the park with our kids, took much needed naps, watched fireworks from the decks on our cabins overlooking Bear Lake and then did what we do best play cards and eat peanuts & m&ms! Saturday we woke up and headed to the park for our version of the Olympic Games--three legged races, who can eat saltine crackers fastest, crab walk races etc. There were Gold, Silver, & Bronze medals as well as the one I received for last place that said "you are special"! I felt special. Later the guys went golfing and the ladies had a baby shower for 2 of my cousins and afterward we all headed down for an afternoon on the beach.

Jason is totally a pappa's boy. My dad is deffinately one of his favorite people! Each morning when Jas would wake up he would look for three people, pappa, cotty and mimi! Kids have a way of making you feel sooo special!

This is my dad and Ryan on the deck of our cabin Friday night. We had the best view of the lake. And can I say, the weather there was amazing--low 90's during the day and high 40's at night. We were in heaven. Winding our way down from Logan to Bear Lake was awesome, seeing the trees, rivers, green fields etc--we've missed seeing that kind of landscape!

This is Aunt Mimi and Ryan on the beach

And our little family at the lake.

Ryan and Jason couldn't get enough of crawling, digging, even eating the sand.

Jason was content sitting in the little waterpools on the beach where the water warmed during the day. He played with his shovel and pale for hours.

It was hard saying goodbye Sunday morning but we are already planning our next reunion and can't wait to see each other again. I love being around my family, especially when we have the opportunity to have reunions. It reminds me that no matter where I live, how much money we earn, whether we drive brand new cars or our kids go to the best schools, my family is what matters most of all!