Game On!

I feel like Brody has been breaking everything lately (and fibbing and tattling...) but breaking the Wii just hours after we got Guitar Hero was nearly the end of his short life.  He really wanted to watch the Grinch and instead of telling someone, he just crammed it into the already occupied opening on the Wii.  

So after getting very angry (us), perusing the web for a Wii repair blog (me), the purchase of a very odd screwdriver that still ended up being the wrong size (us), some very steady hands (him), and the tenacity to open the Wii case, remove the DVD drive and then just go crazy and open up the DVD drive with no instructions to guide us (all Josh baby!) my very talented husband found the tiny piece of plastic that was broken off and jamming the laser reader track.  Yay!  For a mere $7 in tiny screwdrivers, we are back in Guitar Hero business!

Twitter

I haven't gotten that big into twitter but this post makes me wish I knew people that were this funny.  I was actually crying at some of them.  Must be a blogger thing, or an office thing, as my hubby didn't think they were nearly as funny as I did!

More Music

Every year the boys seem choose new Christmas Music as their favorite.  Aside from all of the interesting carols Brody is making up about Spider Man and Bat Man, I've introduced them to a new album this year.  John Denver and The Muppets - Christmas Together.  It was one of my favorites as a kid.  Of course, I listened to it on vinyl.  

Brody has decided that "Hen Penny" is his favorite song (mine too)! It is really called "Christmas is Coming". Boone loves "The 12 Days of Christmas" Muppet style. The last three lines that he sings are my favorite and I am so afraid he is going to figure out what the actual lyrics are. 

Boone sings - "3 Frinchins, 2 Turtle Doves, and a Postrich in a Pear Tree..."

They are so excited to put out the Reindeer food they made at daycare (glitter and oatmeal) and that it will actually go on snow this year. Boone is also very concerned that our stockings be clearly labeled as he is sure Santa is bringing coal for his little brother. 

Now its time to start the sugar cookies. Drop cookies instead of shapes this year since we are getting a late start. 

We hope you all have a very very Merry Christmas!

TAG!!

I am tagging four of you to publish the 4th picture in the 4th file of your digital photo storage. This is a little hard to do on iPhoto since my event folders are alphabetical, not chronologically.

This one is of my hot husband's finger pointing toward the 7 Cedars Casino on a road trip to Sequim in 2002.  The purpose of this photo was expressly to make Mark jealous that he wasn't going gambling with us this trip!  They wouldn't have let him back in the door there anyway since he cleaned house there on his first trip (almost enough to buy a Jurassic Park III DVD at Costco)!

Your turn Jessica, Wendy, Elissa, Heather, and Mandy!

Edit:  Somehow that is five of you but, whatever!

Um... What did we do to deserve this?

This is actually from Sunday night but it isn't much better around here. It is 9 degrees out right now and I had to go buy some more long underwear for the boys as the one pair they have each isn't going to quite get us through the week.

Introducing the Ee Ee!

Maybe not the most appropriate kid song but they love to dance to it! Towards the end are Brody's version of Aunt Jessie's Donkey Kicks! Hope this kid doesn't become the next K. Fed!

A New Holiday Favorite

This Warm December is a perfect new addition to our Holiday music mix.  How could it not be since it is a Brushfire production, music by all of our favorites!  Of course, right now I am listening to Playa's Ball by Outkast.  That's good too, but its no Jack, Zack, Mark or G Love.  Hope you all check it out!  Can't wait for Vol. 2!

I know I am very behind on my Daily Decembers.  I have the pics taken, just not posted.  I'll catch up soon!

Daily December - Day 1

A new banner, new tunes, new colors and the first picture for my Daily December Album.  I actually made the album ahead of time this year so that I can just add the photos as the month goes on.  I'll post some pics of it later.  Here is Boone taking the first present off of the Advent Calendar that Gram (I mean the elves) brought over yesterday!

Updates!

I thought I'd better upload some pics of the kids before they start high school!

This one, just because he is so cute!

My guitar heroes!  I can't wait for Brody to buy our first mansion!  He would accept no help with this game, he kept saying "I'm doing it!"

The boys in their new hats, this one I like to call Mush Mouth!

Here is the little poser!

The Force is Strong with This One

Boone is watching the original Star Wars for the first time ever today!  He loves it!  But he has a million questions about everything. He is obsessed with good versus evil, so the majority of questions are related to that.  It has been entertaining to listen to Josh explain that not everything or everyone is good or bad; some are just opportunistic, like the bounty hunters.  

We don't have the first three movies on DVD (might be a good present for Boone if you are still looking Gram) so we are watching it on Tivo.  Josh is a little disgusted with the computer generated additions. Apparently he likes it old school!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am grateful for those of you who are sticking around to read my blog even though it has been neglected!  Wishing all of our friends and family who are far away a very blessed day!  (Maybe we should have a beachhouse Thanksgiving next year Watsons!)

Come Together...

Now I know why this made me cry.

I'll Miss My Favorite Show

Watching The Daily Show on Tivo. Just one day after the election and there is already NOTHING to make fun of. Wow!

IF

[IF]
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Quoted in a letter to Barack Obama from Jamie Lee Curtis and so very apropos.  

Congratulations America!

You've made the right choice!

The Worst Thing About Election Day 2008...

is that Tim Russert won't be here to give the play by play.  Although I love Tom Brokaw, it just won't be the same!

Halloween Re-Cap!

We spent the evening in the Bland's neighborhood.  Huge score for the boys!  We didn't even go too far as the little girls were tuckered out pretty quickly.  Between the two boys, they probably have about ten full size candy bars, that should make Josh happy at lunch for a couple of weeks!  Betsy made cheese fondue for dinner and we had chocolate fondue to celebrate the completion of trick or treating.  And a way to get some more food in the Daddy's tummies as they chose to  tour the neighborhood with rum and cokes.  I decided that pound cake is WAY better for the fondue than the angel food I've had in the past.  Yum!

Here is our "Dirt Bike Rider".  He is so stoked that Boone's old riding gear fits him now!

A little Spidey love!

One of many poses all night long.  Boone is very insistent that he was not "bad" Spiderman.  He is trying not to become bad.  We decided the word "conflicted" was a better word to describe Dark Suited Spiderman.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween and one that was as warm as our was if you were toting kiddos around!

I Voted!

Well, we both did but I wasn't privy to Josh's ballot.  I took lots of pictures as we went through the process this year because I want to be able to tell the story for the boys.  I want them to know how very important this election is for us now and for their future!  So with hope for change and some prayers for victory, I'll get this off in the mail!

This Kid...

is FIVE!  Of course in this picture he looks about seven but really

I cannot believe my baby is FIVE!  We are so very lucky to get to guide 

this guy through his life.  Boone is such a great big brother & teaches us new things everyday.

Happy Birthday Buddy!  We love you!

A Saturday Walk...

in the canyon with Papa.  The blackberries were a treat that my little mancubs found on the way.

If the Candidates were Trains...

This was too cute, thanks Jess!

Holy Cow, err Pumpkin!

Check out what we saw on the way home from day care today!  This baby was huge and loaded on a palate.  I took this with my iPhone while we were driving (super safe, I know) so that explains the weird tilt.  I am pretty sure that truck wasn't really leaning that far over.  

Badger Mountain

I actually made it up the short but very steep North Trail on Badger Mountain yesterday.  One of my coworkers convinced me to go with her and I am so glad I did.  It was really a challenge since I am so out of shape.  I wouldn't let myself look at the view on the way up, savoring for my reward on the way down.  There was a full moon coming up at dusk, it was just gorgeous.  I cannot believe how much the Tri-Cities is growing and man, you can really tell when you are up that high!  I wasn't smart enough to bring my camera, not that I would have been able to carry it, so I borrowed this image.  This will have to be my plan for Spring Training if I am going to hike the long trail at Mottet this summer!  

Tom Cruise as The Emperor!

Tom Cruise is as creepy as a scary clown!

Is this their attempt to go "green"?

These new pampers are kind of gross and still environmentally unfriendly!

You Know You've Got to...

Baby Lauren

She is getting big, not really big so much as older. She still seems so tiny to me! Her big cousin absolutely adores her.

Supers!

Even though the two Stevenson boys are older than both of mine, they pair off and are two peas in two pods. Kobe and Boone in the outfits that they both happened to be wearing when they came to play on Friday night! Hilarious!

Should She Bow Out?

As much as it pains me, I agree with this letter to Gov. Palin. Plus, I am assuming/hoping that if she stays in the race, it must mean we are in for a party change this fall!

It is Just Tuesday, Nothing Special...

I am really not sure how this is possible!  I am pretty sure that I don't use too many big words!

Band Wagon Reader

I did it!  I finally jumped on the Stephanie Meyer bandwagon and I am so glad I did.  I picked up the first two books at Costco yesterday. Last night after everyone went to bed, I made it 130 pages in and am LOVING it!  Not sure if its the subject, the description of the scenery (since I love the Olympic Peninsula so), or what.

I do love all books that have an element of new tense romance to them (not cheesy Harlequin types though, there has to be a significant plot too).  One of the greatest feelings has to be the uncertainty and electricity leading up to a first kiss.  Considering I started dating my husband when I was just 16, I haven't experienced that too often.  But I love to read about it! 

The weather here is perfect for reading too this weekend - Windy and overcast.  This summer I had a really hard time reading anything.  Not sure if it was the sun or the topics of the books I had around.  But this book and this weather make for an irresistible temptation for me!  Good thing we have free hockey tickets tonight or I might never leave the recliner.

Not Sure Why This Made Me Cry...

But it so did! This was done by Amy Krouse Rosenthal who wrote one of my favorite grown up books, "An Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life"

I really can't recommend it enough; but only if you have a certain sense of humor. She also has written some really cute kids books that we like too, like "Little Pea".

This event is great and I am really excited to see the end product! (I have no idea what is going on with the formatting, blogger is in a weird place tonight)

I Just Can't Help Myself...

Those of you who know what I do for a living know that I just can't let this one go...

VP nominee didn’t buckle baby

In a front-page article profiling vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin (Sept. 7, 2008, "Palin's Family Has Always Held a Place in Her Politics,") The Washington Post reported an incident in which Gov. Palin rode in a motor vehicle, holding her infant son, Trig, in her arms instead of properly restraining him in a car seat "for a short distance." When the incident was criticized by Gov. Palin’s public safety commissioner, The Post reports that she "dismissed the complaint as petty." Safe Kids USA has submitted a letter to the editor of The Post in response to this article and will let you know if and when it gets published. If you would like to read the response, go to the Resources tab on the Intranet, click on Communications, and look under Latest News.

Back to Life...Back to Reality

Back to a weeks worth of work to be done - Yuck!  I am actually so glad to be done with that last post about vacation because I felt like I couldn't write about anything else until it was done. 

Things like the fact that the popularity of this woman (the subject, not the authors), who could possibly be the downfall of our country, is keeping me up at night.  (Nice run on, huh!)

Or the fact that Jon Stewart completely kicks ass and as Bexy says, "is the smart woman's Brad Pitt".

Prock Family Vacation Day 7

Wake up, ride bikes, pack up and go home to see the doggies we missed so much!

Prock Family Vacation Day 6

Day six was Josh's choice- The Museum of Flight!  He was so excited to take the boys and soak in all of the aviation goodness.  Dream, Discover, Soar!

Josh did say that we needed to come back again - translation "We need to come back without kids and spend all day so that I can read every little plaque and poster in this whole building and then go on a bi-plane ride after".

Here are all of my boys in the play area learning about yokes and rudders and yaw and whatever else those terms were.

Next we went to the PDZA!  This was a first for us.  We had heard in the past that it wasn't that great but apparently they've been working hard on it.  It was beautiful with a variety of things to see and it was small enough that we weren't sick of it before we made it through.

Yes, this little lady is laying on her back.  She was a ham!  But got very unhappy when she couldn't go back to the back area after they closed it off with a plexiglass wall.  Poor girl!

Checking out the Wildebeast!

After the zoo and aquarium we went to South Center and had dinner at The Rainforest Cafe.  The boys loved the atmosphere until the gorillas started going crazy.  Boone was sure "the one with scary eyes" was watching him eat his mini burgers.  Then back to the RV for one last round of our new favorite books, Skippyjon Jones.  It was awhile before Brody wanted to go to "fweep" even though he'd only had a 20 minute nap.  

Prock Family Vacation Day 5

The least planned and scheduled of our days!  Spent the morning at the waterfront and had lunch at Anthony's (the outside walk up window).  Boone ate some of a fish taco and Brody enjoyed his "chicken" as long as we loaded it in ketchup and didn't call it fish.

Went to Bellevue Square for more shopping and temper tantrums!  I ate a treat at this yummy place called Red Mango.  I highly recommend it.  I topped mine with Ghirardelli dark chocolate mini chips and raspberries and its supposed to be a bit healthy. Hard to go wrong with that!  

Prock Family Vacation Days 3 and 4

We decided to spend an extra day in Sequim rather than just take a single day at a beach, especially since we'd had that fun afternoon at the Spit.  Since Wendy planned to work that day, Josh and I took the boys and headed to Port Angeles to play.  Not much playing to do since everywhere we went to explore was closed.  Bought some great books at a small book store and spent some time playing at a park too.  Oh, and Burgers at the 101 Diner!  Sorry we didn't wait for you Joe!  A yummy dinner of take our thai food from Sawadee (a close second to Papaya Thai in Portland, we are lacking for good thai food in the Tri-Cities). We stuck around long enough the next day to get a few pics of Abby before she left for her first day of Kindergarten!  How is it possible?

We headed to Kent to drop the RV at the Kent KOA and off the the Space Needle we went.  This was Boone's one request (that and a new pair of Sketchers) of our trip before we left on it!

Brody trying to push over the sculpture!

A challenging self portrait on the windy, swaying deck while trying to hold the kids up!  We took the monorail for a ride and did a bit of shopping.  Needless to say, with these two, it didn't last long but I did get a trip in to Sephora for new Philosophy products!  

Back at the KOA for dinner and some fun in the little campground park.  The boys (and their parents) really liked these giant board games.  Boone was disappointed to learn that his mom was a clueless chess player and even more disappointed when we wouldn't let him take off with the pieces while Josh was trying to teach me!

Prock Family Vacation - Day 2

The kids had a blast playing with the animals and riding their bikes all over but Josh couldn't hold out much longer for his coveted Sunny Farms Sandwich. We all got sandwiches to go and headed down to the Dungeness Spit for a picnic on the beach. It was really nice weather and the kids did pretty well!

Joe on his eagle perch!

We ended the day with more great food and a chance to meet some friends at a BBQ at Joe and Wendy's. Wendy and I had fun cooking and we both picked up some new recipes. It was so nice to meet the people who are such an important part of their lives now. And if they are chosen by Joe and Wendy as special folks to them, it goes without saying that they were great people! Looking forward to a Lake Roosevelt trip with Anna and Bill next summer!