the month of Marvelous Melody! end of April to end of May 2010.

We have great families. REALLY great families.

To prove it, let me tell you a story about Marvelous Melody.

(yes, melody, I stole this off of your facebook profile. sorry, but I love it!)

Aaron, as some of you are aware, had his last huge board examination at the end of April. It is a big deal. As a student, you are responsible for finding patients with the precise "cases" you need to solve while the examiners are looking over your shoulder. Because of this, you want to find the perfect patient with the ideal case. It takes a while to find. Once you find your golden patient, you hold on to them and bribe them if necessary. If your patient is a no-show on the day of the exam, you fail. It's crazy.

I just wanted to give a little background of the importance of a good patient.

Fast forward to two weeks before the exam. We get a call from Aaron's parents saying that Melody (Aaron's little sister) might be a prime candidate for his test (they are as anxious as we are to find good patients). We are able to get her x-rays from Utah and she is golden! Perfect cases for his test. So, we arrange for her to catch a flight to come down and get the red tape cleared before the exam.

She agreed. That weekend was Matilda's birthday weekend (april 24th). Melody came bearing gifts.

A new dress from Grandma and Grandpa that she LOVES!

and what 2 year old doesn't love FINGER PAINTING?! It was that cool Color Wonder kind! Nice!

Melody was SO great to have such a great attitude about flying down (by herself!) and playing with Tillie. Matilda ADORES Melody!!

Oh, did I mention that she had to miss 2 nights of the high school spring play that she was in. She was the STUDENT DIRECTOR, so she had a ton of responsibility in making it all run smoothly---and she had to miss 2 nights of the play! Oh my! Is that a big deal or what?! I was dying when I found out she had to train another girl to fill in for her... tons of extra work, I'm sure.
Is this girl amazing or what?!
I know. I know!

So, she stayed for the weekend. Flew back late Monday night and had to go to school the next morning (remember how much it stinks to do make-up work in high school?). She goes back to school Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and then leaves that night to come BACK to Texas. Aaron's exam was taking place Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Not only was she the PERFECT patient who exhibited lots of PATIENCE (pun totally intended) with Aaron, but she had such a positive attitude about it all! Sitting ALL day in a dental chair? NOT FUN.

On Sunday, she helped wrestle the kiddos with me while Aaron was taking the second part of the exam, and she was a LIFE SAVER! She took Matilda to Nursery (which is a trick to escape) and then she kept Cal happy while I did Singing Time for the primary.

What did she miss this weekend at home? Oh, only the CAST PARTY!?! The best and most fun part after the performances. The big celebration---she had to miss! That is a HUGE deal, people. I felt SO sad about it! But again, she was so sweet about it all and "just happy to help" as she'd say.

Amazing, that girl.

I don't know why I don't have more pictures of her visits, probably b/c we were racing from one thing to the next. But, we sure love that Melody and are so grateful she was the perfect patient and the bestest sister!!

Oh, did I mention that she flew down AGAIN with her parents and brother to be apart of Aaron's graduation 2.5 weeks later? hA! We loved it! THANK YOU, MELODY!

tillie had a birthday. she's now 2 years old.

So, I must say, I'm a little pathetic that these are the only pictures I got of the birthday girl. What kind of mom am I? No pictures where she's looking at the camera? And, I went to all the effort of setting up this little photo op. Oh man. Next year, next year...

We debated if we should do anything for her birthday this year. I mean, she is only 2 and doesn't have a stellar memory at this point. Should we do anything besides take her out to eat and present her with her amazing kitchen that her mom assembled all by herself?


We decided to throw together (last minute, literally), a little backyard bbq. As Aaron and I were discussing what Tillie likes best, we thought that the thing she loves most is to play OUTSIDE! So, alas. An outside party. Easy. Cheesy. Emailed the invites. Love technology.


Enjoy the random pictures.
I had to go to the paper store a few days prior to her birthday, so I thought, "Ahh, the perfect excuse to purchase a pack of adhesive paper to make stickers..." So alas, I now have the ability to make round stickers with my awesome paper and new ritzy circle paper punch.
Honestly, this little punch thing is AmAZiNg, b/c you can actually SEE what it is you are punching out! And, it doesn't require strong muscles to cut out sticker after sticker. Click here to see product video. I love it. So much.
So, thank you, Matilda, for having a birthday so I could get MYSELF a gift.

(note to self: never eat left over "mud cups" with gummy candy in it the DAY AFTER! It was SO gross. The gummies plumped up and were rancid! beware. stomach ache central. gag.)



SIDE STORY to explain why our friend is straddling our plastic chair with his wife's hand to support in case he were to take a tumble---

Unfortunately, we learned the day prior to the party that our backyard neighbor had a LADDER up next to our fence. Uhhhhh, why would there be a ladder next to our fence? My mind, of course, is thinking of the worst case scenario. Could we have SPIES? Did the ladder just HAPPEN to be there?

Well, as we told the tale to our friend, he decided to take matters into his own hands and REACH over the fence, grab the ladder, and chuck it. We first thought about him lifting it over to our side... but then decided that would be stealing. We are not criminals. So, he decided to chuck the ladder and the plan would be to check back in a few days. If it was still down, we probably had nothing to worry about. If it was put back up, then we should call the police! just kidding... but kind of not just kidding.

Anyway, I'm happy to report, the ladder is still down on the ground. WHEW! Close call. Still a little weird, though.


SECOND SIDE STORY:

What are these kids looking at?

The kiddos were running around like crazy in the backyard. All was well. Then, suddenly I heard a high pitch screaching/squeaking sound. "What could that be? What is that sound?" I thought to myself. Then I realized it some sort of animal in pain.
AGGHHHH!!!!! NIGHTMARE of my life!
I am not an animal person. Especially if RODENTS aka PESTS are involved.
I freaked.
Then screamed to Aaron.
Grabbed Tille.
Left the other kids in my dust, and ran towards the house.

Nice hostess.
Leave the others to fend for themselves. I'm protecting my own, apparently. Which is good that I didn't leave Tillie behind. That says SOMEthing. :)

Well, upon further investigation, this is what they found.


Take a closer peek.

Yes, a brood of bunnies? A den of rabbits? I don't know what the term is!?! But yes, they are wild rabbits. Why did they decide to make their home in our backyard? To this day, I'll never know. It's not like the mother rabbit asked permission, that's for sure. SIGH. Anyway, it was crazy. It was scary. But, all was okay in the end. Makes for an interesting party, that's for sure.

LET'S GO BACK TO THE FUN PARTY at hand.

same age, these little boys. so cute.

brothers.

some of the kiddos we could wrangle up. this was POST mud pie. Who's mom couldn't wipe off her mouth? uhhhh....? (sitting in silence).
oops. my bad.

last shot with more of the kiddos.

It's pretty much impossible to get a group of young children to all pose at once. This is something I learned that day. Oh well. Look at how happy Matilda was, though.

I'd say it was a success.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Matilda Mae. We love you.

operation catch up... APRIL 10th & 12th 2010--fashion forward family

In efforts to facilitate blogging on a more regular basis again (vacation is fun, but only for so long), I am going to rewind to April (yes, you read right) and post the small tidbit-happenings that went on.

And, we're off...

*Since we knew our husbands would be finishing up dental school in a matter of weeks, we decided to get together for one last "4th year wives hangout session". It was great, like it always has been over the four years. We all commiserate, celebrate, and have a good time all around. This last time was no exception.

I had my camera and here's a shot we took as we were all heading out. By the way, yes, my carrot cake was total heaven. Agreed? Agreed.


Unfortunately, I look like a sleepy boy in this shot, but everyone else looks good. That's what we call TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM. Girls, you can thank me later. We miss all y'all.

*The next day, I had to run errands and Aaron was in charge of getting Matilda ready for the day. Here's what I came home to find. Great style, as always. 'Nuff said.


*While we're talking about our family's awesome style... (me as a sleepy boy, tillie's hawaiian ensemble...) let's chat about a fashion faux pas I did with Calvin. It all started months ago when I was digging through someone's Goodwill pile or was it a garage sale? Who knows. Anyway, I pulled out this little polo shirt for my future son. How lucky for him. So, when it fit, we HAD to do a photo shoot.
Oh my.

Poor baby. Poor Tillie too.

Ahhh, I love it.
Apparently, Cal did too.


He's missing a few key pieces... a camera with a strap around his neck, a fanny pack, dopey hat, and, of course, sandals with his socks. If only I could go back in time... oh well.

is that face great, or what?

There you have it. We are definitely a FASHION FORWARD FAMILY.
amen.

the split screen.

Okay, Aaron is tired of me having these tabs open on the internet. I haven't wanted to turn off the computer for a few days, b/c I finally sifted through so many images to find these gems---so, until I blogged about them, I couldn't close up shop.


We watched the movie, "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" the other day. It was great. We laughed over a large portion of the movie. And, of course, Matilda gave it two thumbs up. It held her attention the entire time. That's pretty impressive.

Anyway, I couldn't help but reel over the fact that BABY Brent looks SO much like the lead singer in Rascal Flatts. Did you know his name? Oh, I know it now, after some extensive research online. Some people research important things like... I don't know, how to save the universe. I, on the other hand, research look-alikes. Anyway, the lead singer? His name is Gary Levox. Here is what he looks like:



Okay, am I right? or am I right?
(baby brent is on the right, leaning on the TV).



Maybe you don't think the resemblance is uncanny, like I do. But, once you watch the movie, you'll TOTALLY agree. Like Mr. Mac says, "I guarantee it."


While we're on the topic of resemblances... let's talk about the two children I've been blessed with. Can you guess Which Witch is Which? (no, they aren't witches at all---they are the complete opposite---but since I used to love that book, I thought I'd spice up my paragraph).

Both of these photos are taken from their first videos from the hospital just hours after their births. So, who is who? I, of course, know. But do you?

Honestly, they look MORE and MORE alike every day. It's amazing, really. But, it kind of makes sense. You know? Same mom. Same dad. duh. :)


Aaron looks a LITTLE bit like his family. Here are a few taken with his little brother, Adam, and little sister, Melody. These were at SeaWorld. I told them a word and they had to put that word into a pose IMMEDIATELY. You'll see what I mean.

First word: confused
thrilled

upset tummy

angry/frustrated

betrayed
(this one is BY FAR the best. Melody decided to hold up a bazooka in that split second. Her response to betrayal? Getting EVEN! hA! I love that girl.)

Okay, thanks for humoring me. Yes, they look alike. Families tend to have similar looks, no?

Apparently, Aaron and and I look a whole lot alike too.


awkward silence.



Let me explain... Remember how our little neighbor from Puerto Rico thought Aaron and I were BROTHER and SISTER?! Oh sheesh. Whatever. Sick. We're not. thanks, though.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm stalling and I don't want to go through all of the picture archives from the last few months.

So, for now, there you go.