Stranger in the Night

I awoke in the wee hours of Friday morning to Charlie's cry.  I went to check on him and he asked me to sleep with him, which I did.

Around 3:30 am, Bennett started crying.  I slept through it in Charlie's bed.  Tyler woke up, saw that I wasn't next to him, and assumed I was up with Bennett.  After a few minutes passed and Bennett was still crying, Tyler got up to see what was going on.

 

Gratuitous Photo

 He realized I was not with Bennett and he got confused.  He looked in the bathrooms.  He peeked in Charlie and Max's room and didn't see me; he checked the couch and I wasn't there.   At this point he thought I must have gotten sick and left for some sort of emergency medicine (note that I am a pretty hardcore person for this to be a possibility in his mind)--but he went outside and saw Goldfinger was still in the driveway.  

Once outside he reached the only rational conclusion:  I had been abducted.  He noticed the neighbor's motion sensor light was on, so he ran down the street calling my name, hoping that me and my abductor hadn't gotten far and I'd answer his call. He also happened to be barefoot and clothed only in his underwear.

 (I later tried to throw him a bone by suggesting he was delusional at this point but he swears he was wide awake, and though terrified, acted logically under the circumstances.)

When I didn't answer his scantily-clad cries, he came back inside yelling my name, trying to decide whether to call family or the cops.  I bolted awake to him yelling "ASHLEY!"  My first thought was that I had overslept and he was irritated at having to make the kids breakfast once again. I ran out of Charlie's room, realized it was the middle of the night, and Tyler explained everything:  "I thought you'd been abducted." 

I assured him that I was safe and sound (back in good ole' 1955) and we went back to sleep with nary a hug nor a handshake.

Smell Ya Later Habakkuk

Friday was our last day of seminary.  Traditionally in our seminary there is a big auction on the last day of class.  The kids earn tickets throughout the year for their attendance, etc. and then they get to use them to bid on things people donate--mostly giftcards.  So I worked like a dog last week soliciting and hunting down donations from people.  We ended up with over $700 worth of giftcards and movie passes, plus baked goods and a few other items.

 

 Not ours, but good depiction.

I almost felt like it was too much (divided amongst 10 kids), but they got out of bed every day just like I did, and they had to go straight to school while I usually went home and got back in my bed. So they deserved some swag. They were a great class and I will miss seeing them on a daily basis!

I hit Tyler's car on my way to seminary Friday morning--a sort of last hurrah.  Not his orange Ghia but an old BMW he's hoping to restore someday. Imagine this but old and in need of major work:

In my defense, it was 5:30 am and pitch black and his car was a little too close to the center of the driveway. Tyler discovered the mark the next day and was not satisfied with my explanation that "I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd notice."  I keep assuring him that it will buff right out, though I don't know what that means.

But back to me.  I slept in on Saturday and took an afternoon nap.  Then I slept in on Sunday and took another afternoon nap.  This morning Tyler woke me up at 9:15 saying, "Don't the kids have school?"  (We missed it.)  My friend who finished teaching seminary last May told me in August that he was JUST starting to feel healthy again.  I am looking forward to the recovery.

I am ready to put away the Old Testament and go back to my old friend the Book of Mormon.  It was cool to study the OT for a year.

It is a great foundation for other scripture and has some awesome stories.  But the last few months there was a LOT about Israel being destroyed and that was a downer.  The Book of Mormon gives me more consistent strength and spirituality so I'm happy to have more time for it.

I am also remembering what it is like to be liberated at night.  This week I have a nighttime hair appointment and a dinner with friends.  I'm staying up to watch the Bachelorette tonight and last night I read The Lincoln Lawyer til midnight.  So this is how the other half lives!

The Best Girls' Trip I Ever Slept Through

***My apologies to those who have already read Brooke's post on this. It's the same stuff, and I had to steal all her photos.***

I spent the weekend in Scottsdale on a girls' trip with my mom, Brooke, and my sister-in-laws Sarah and Katie.

 

 Brooke chose the destination because she wanted to roast by a pool.  My mom was very wary of the heat and suggested San Diego several times before the trip.  But Scottsdale ended up being perfect!  It wasn't too hot at all!  I ended up wanting jeans and a sweatshirt at night, especially with the AC and all.

 

We raved about the weather all weekend. Brooke kept congratulating herself on her choice and pointing out that SOMEONE had been a "naysayer" about Scottsdale. 

 

We got a hotel on priceline and it was sufficient for our needs.  It had a nice pool area where we hung out talking Friday afternoon.  

Brooke looked extra cute the whole time.   

She's single now so she has to bring her A-game.  Speaking of, my favorite part of the trip was our dinner Friday night.  We went to a place called Bandera where the food was divine and our bartender (we were too hungry to wait for a real table) looked like a young John Edwards. 

 

 Brooke and I realized he was single at the same time and made eye contact and couldn't stop giggling the rest of the dinner every time he came over.  I hoped he would ask Brooke out but realized that the four married chicks around her going to town on a rotisserie bird were probably man-repellant.  Bygones.

We got back to our room late and Sarah broke out a puz!  I was stoked! 

 

We rocked that thing! 

The next morning I woke up sometime around 11:00 am when the others were coming back from the gym.  I hadn't even heard the four of them get dressed or leave.  Judge if you will, but I was coming off four hours of sleep the night before and a late night with a puzzle.

Two of my best friends from high school, Kelly and Lisa, live in Arizona, and they were kind enough to drive over to Scottsdale to meet me for lunch.  

 

 We talked and laughed like we had never missed a beat--so fun!

We also got to go out to eat with my Aunt Ruth and cousins Amy and Heidi who live in Arizona. We laughed our guts out and then unknowingly took our photo in front of a Corona sign.

We went and saw the Zac Efron movie "The Lucky One."  It's as bad as you'd expect--and that's coming from a Nicholas Sparks fan! 

 

 But the real low point of the trip was going to Last Chance--the supposedly really cheap place where Nordstrom sells things it can't sell at the Rack. It was basically an overpriced thrift store.  Total let down!

 

After another late night of the puz and Brooke trying to put her cold feet on me (we shared a bed), I woke to an empty room once again.  I was putting on my swimmer to go join the others at the pool when they came back to the room--turns out I'd slept til noon.  It was GLORIOUS!  My only complaint was that the weekend went way too fast--that tends to happen when you sleep away 50% of it. 

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

I had a tough week a little while ago and one day this showed up on my porch:

My friend Laura sent me a Box of Sunshine--all fun yellow stuff! I thought it was so cute. Laura has a gift for these sorts of things. The best part is I keep using all this stuff--the candles, the dishtowel, the soap, the lotion, the yellow nailpolish--

--and every time I see any of it, it reminds me of her thoughtfulness and makes me happy. Which is on a daily basis. I figure you could use this idea and adapt it for any occasion--someone's favorite color, school colors, pink or blue for a new baby (but stuff for the mom--babies get everything!). I really have fantastic friends, and the older I get the more I realize how much they mean to me and how lucky I am to have them.

If I Didn't Have You as a Sister, I'd Choose You as a Friend

Growing up, Brooke and I totally made fun of that phrase.

For some reason it was always in conjunction with making fun of a perfectly prim lady in our neighborhood. Like, "For Christmas I'm going to get Betty Nelson* (*name has been changed) to cross-stitch you a pillow that says "If I didn't have you as a sister, I'd choose you as a friend." We also used to think it was a riot to go into fast food establishments and pretend to be deaf. We've always been classy.

Enjoying my trough of soup at CPK.
I love to appall my foodie friend Kaari with our love of fine chain restaurants.

Brooke came to visit last weekend, and we pursued the finer things without ever playing deaf. The last time Brooke came, I planned every minute of our trip--every time we came home I was barking at Brooke to get her shoes back on because we had to leave in five minutes. This time I erred on the other side. I didn't make us reservations for massages (we wanted to get a couples massage, because it was cheaper than two singles and we are obnoxious).

However, the only place we could get massages last minute was with a lady who does massages in her home. We made appointments at the risk of getting murdered. We didn't. Still, paying a woman to rub you down in her home feels a little bizarre.

Brooke put up with a lot during her trip. She rode in the back of Goldfinger:


She had to share a room with Bennett, who wakes up in the wee hours.

Bennett put Brooke's phone out of commission by soaking it in the bathroom sink.

He has an obsession with this place.

Brooke even went to Gilroy Gardens with my boys (when she was kid-free!) and went on all the spinny rides that make me sick:

She admitted to me that yes, Benny's denim jacket is indeed out of style.

I got a couple babysitters so we could go sight-seeing. By sight-seeing I mean we hit a mammoth TJMaxx/Home Goods. We dug though Nordstrom Rack:

Yes, I have gained ten pounds. Thanks for noticing. My weight yo-yos in the fine tradition of Warner men.

We hit my beloved Valley Fair mall, where we stumbled upon an event at Pottery Barn where they had a dessert bar.

We didn't buy anything, but we hovered over the food like it was a Costco sample station--may have been my favorite 15 minutes of the weekend!

We journeyed up to Stanford Shopping Center, where Brooke accidentally stole a pair of pants from GapKids:

Taking them back.

And she spent a really, really long time shopping in Gymboree.

I love to shop, but don't have the capacity for it that my mom and Brooke do. I kept taking pictures of Brooke in Gymboree, which was totally obnoxious.

One perk Brooke found is that California McDonald's still offer the Shamrock shake, which disappeared in Utah weeks ago.

Brooke gave me those earrings she is wearing, as well as another pair.

We got to go see The Hunger Games. We let Tyler come along, which guaranteed we would get to the theater early enough to get good seats.

The man has an obsession.

We did a class at my gym, and Brooke smoked me with how strong she is. I was seriously impressed. She has always been feistier and funnier and more stylish than me, now I add stronger to that list. (I am still more book-smart; messier is a toss-up.)

We got to go out to eat with Brooke's California Fan Club--friends of mine who read her blog:


This meal was Kaari approved!

Brooke looks good in batwings. I can't wear them.

Now we are paying our dues in real life before our next girls' trip with my mom and sisters-in-law--which is in three weeks! Brookie, Fate Made us Sisters; Love made us Friends. Come back soon!

I Won't Lie

I was going to do a post about my Half-Baked, Good Enough Easter.

I was going to tell you that I took the kids to get pictures (still had credit from the giftcard Tyler's boss gave us!) and that I got a darling one of Charlie:


And one of Bennett that is soooo him:


But no good ones of Max. That kid cannot muster a decent face for a photo these days. And he has a bad haircut. I didn't buy any of his pictures. Two out of three ain't bad.

I was going to tell you how I made nice Easter baskets for Charlie and Max but got NOTHING for Bennett, so we just had to give him some old stuff from around the house.

A wise woman once said, "Two out of three ain't bad."

I was going to tell you how my mom dyed eggs with the kids a couple weeks ago, and how that was all the egg-dying I needed this year.


I was going to be self-deprecating and coy. I was going to attempt layered jello eggs, and then show you the carnage and we'd all laugh at my half-baked Easter. But then, this happened:


They turned out perfectly! I blew my own mind! I mean look at these things:


There is nothing half-baked or good enough about those puppies. They're spectacular! I won't lie, I'm pretty proud of myself my eggs. I nailed Easter!!!

I've Been Busy

When my parents were here, they bought the boys some jigsaw puzzles. This may shock you--but there is a nerd inside of me (well-hidden, I know!) that loves a good puzzle. Word, number, and especially jigsaw. I finally bit the bullet and bought "me and the boys" a 550-piecer.

It was half-finished when I went to bed last night. I warned Tyler that I would be very mad if he got up in the night and finished it. He didn't. "We" finished it today. What a thrill! But also bittersweet to end the journey.