Boise or Bust!

Well, here it is. My wonderful fun filled Boise experience. If you don't know how I made it to Boise, click here. To see Lindsay's version of the story, click here. This might be another super long detail filled story. If it is, sorry. Update: It is a super long and WAY too many details filled story. I did make a Top 5 List for Boise. I wrote down all of the fun/funny things I didn't want to forget. I don't know if I will share details on all 5, but here is the list whether you like it or not.

Boise Top 5
1. The note I wrote Tanner the night before I left.
2. Dalan and his squirt bottle.
3. Allie? Who is Allie?
4. The Dressing Room.
5. Making dumb faces with the face masks.

Cohlee and I flew out of St. George. We had a 3 hour layover in LA. I was nervous about flying and having that long of a layover with the little babers. She was SO GOOD! I am thinking it was all easy breezy due to the fact that I am used to having 4 crazy kids, so having only one, it was a cake walk. On both flights, we sat next to very nice people. I hate when you get stuck next to someone who is smelly or someone who has a little baby girl that won't stop grabbing the magazine you are trying to read ;) So we arrive to Boise and get our luggage. I had arranged to have a car service pick us up. I think it was called Lindsay's Limo/Black Tahoe Service or something like that. The driver had texted me and said that she would be waiting at a gas station down the road and to let her know when we landed so she could be waiting right outside the luggage claim door. I followed her instructions perfectly. Well, I am expecting to walk outside and have my ride there waiting for me. Nope! Can you believe I had to wait a whole 59 seconds! Then on top of that, the vehicle was black (which I had requested) but it had BLACK RIMS! I had never ridden in a car that had black rims before. We turned on the local Rap station, cranked up the volume, turned on the hydrolics and headed on our way.

Once we got to Lindsay's house, the craziness began. Like my kids, Dalan loves to play with a squirt bottle outside. I guess he had used up all of the water and needed a refill cuz the next thing I know, I look outside and see Dalans pants around his ankles and his squirt bottle is um...refilled. As you can see from the pictures, he was trying to get that lid screwed back on as quickly as he could so he could start "marking his territory".

I played with these two little rugrats a lot! It was so much fun. It was like I was their new toy named "Hey Tina".

Macie is the sweetest little girl. She is so mellow and content. When she did have her "Macie moments", all you had to do was say something to distract her like, "Macie, do you want a snack?", and she would stop and quietly nod her head and she was happy girl again. My kids have "moments" about 10 times a day. I think I saw Macie have one 2 times. She is an angel. Back in the day B.I. (before Idaho), when Macie was 2 months old, I started watching her a few days a week during the day while Lindsay worked. I am such a good friend, I know. So Macie and I are tight!

Dalan is like the Energizer Bunny! This kid never stops! Lindsay has hardwood floors. I got to wake up to the LOUD stomping "pitter patter" of Dalan's feet on the hardwood floors going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...you get the idea. Like Lindsay says, "He is just a go'er and a do'er and the wheels are always turning in his head." The first day I was there, the kids were eating their lunch on the bar. It was pretty high and I kept telling Dalan to sit down. Lindsay informs me then that he stands when he eats. Later that night when we were giving all three kids a bath, Dalan was standing up in the bath. After a few times of telling him to sit down I realized this kid LITERALLY never sits! Now I understand what Lindsay is saying. The great thing about Dalan is that considering how much energy he has, he is such a good boy! My kids are constantly yelling at each other (no offense to my kids, love you!) and throwing tantrums. Dalan isn't like that at all. He is just a busy boy. I hope for Lindsays sake, Dalan will start to watch cartoons soon. It will be life changing for her. Even when the TV is on in the car, Dalan is looking out the window. It was so fun to get to know this little guy and see him in action!

He keeps going, and going and going.....

So back to my fun filled Boise experience...Lindsay has a way fun group of friends. Her friend Shelley planned out all of these fun play dates throughout the summer. We are not talking about just meeting at the park and letting the kids play. These are major expeditions. Well, luckily I got to experience one of these outings. We went to the Nampa Fire Station. Shelley's brother is the Captain guy there. We got the total VIP treatment. They even loaded the kids up on the firetrucks and took them on a ride around the block. They also had a fireman pole. They asked if anyone wanted to slide down it. Normally, I would be way to embarrassed/cool to do it. Weird if you know me, I know. For some reason as I get older I am getting a little more reserved. Basically what I am saying is if I were in St. George, I wouldn't have done it. But I was in Boise and decided to get a little crazy. There was 2 other crazy girls that were going to try it out with me. By then, the rest of the group was downstairs waiting for us to slide down the pole. I got to be the lucky one to go first. I was nervous because I didn't know how fast I would slide down it. So this cute young firefighter is showing me different ways to hold onto the pole. Before I had a chance to stop myself, I say "Oh, I know my way around the pole." I thought I was being funny, but I wish I would have kept that thought in my head. I laughed, he laughed, the two other girls laughed, but I am sure they were all thinking to themselves, "Koo-Koo, Koo-Koo!" Ya, looking at the picture, I do kind of look crazy.

One of the nights, Lindsays husband Dave, was nice enough to come home from work early and watch the kids. I wanted to take Cohlee so we wouldn't have to stress about her. We went and ate at a place called Barbacoa's. It was good.

Then we decided to hit this little cafe called (Cafe le Paris) in downtown Boise that Lindsay has ranted and raved about since the moment she first discovered it. She has told me in complete detail about this Ooey, Goey, literally lick your plate clean chocolate molten cake dessert. I was excited. So we park the car in this parking garage across the street from the cafe. We throw Cohlee in the stroller and head towards this heavenly place....only to find that during the week they close at 3! I guess that on the weekends they close at 11 pm. I was bummed to say the least. Maybe next time.

So we decide to walk around downtown Boise. There are a lot of resturaunts and shops. We thought about trying one of the restaurants out for dessert, but we knew it would end up being a disappointment so we settled on Cold Stone Creamery. On our little walk around town, we decided to take a walk down this dark scary alley. I think I saw a sign on it saying something about it being called Graffiti Alley. I think they let graffiti artists have at it as long as there is nothing inappropriate. So we took some pictures. Gotta love self timer.

Here we are being all crazy going down a dark scary alley. A prego chick and a chick with a stroller.

Another thing that we did that was way fun was go shopping! Boise had an awesome mall! Lindsay got us a babysitter for all of the kids. Shelly met us for lunch at Cheesecake factory. We stuffed our faces and shopped! What more could a girl ask for? This is where the dressing room incident happened. Its a great story that I hope I remember for years to come.

On my last night there, we were getting everything ready for the long drive the next morning and just chilling. We were planning on hitting the road by 8:30 am. We decided to do face masks. How fun! We had fun making silly faces. I know it sounds so lame now, but it was fun. We had a contest who could do the funniest face. For some reason, Lindsay's face looked the same in all the pictures. She looks kind of mad. We laughed that night so hard. I am sure Dave was thinking we were a little koo-koo.

The next morning, we made it out the door by 9. I am thinking that we are doing great! Mrs. Planner girl Lindsay just can't believe we are 30 minutes behind schedule. That first half of the trip went by so fast. Lindsay is the best mom ever. She packs a "Mary Poppins Bag" for her long road trips. She buys fun little things for her kids and if they are really good in the car, every few hours she pulls out a surprise. The first half of the trip, Lindsay pulled out a cute little make up bag for Mace. She was so excited. Dalan got a little matchbox car. He wasn't so excited about it.

So we made it half way and stopped for lunch in Layton. My SIL Melissa lives close by so we planned on meeting her at Carls Jr. and letting the kids play. Much to Lindsay's delight, there was a Jimmy Johns right next to it! If you have ever moved away, you know how much you crave your favorite St. George restaurants. She wanted to make sure she hit Jimmy Johns, Cafe Rio, and Pasta Factory. Jimmy Johns, check. To be honest, I think she had all her restaurants checked off her list by dinner the next day. She doesn't mess around! So we are at Carls Jr., and Dalan has disappeared inside the play place. When he finally comes out, he had pretty toes. I guess Macie decided to give all the kids pedicures in the play place with her new make up bag.

We only peed on the side of the road one time. Macie said she had to pee so bad and couldn't wait the 7 miles we had until the next rest stop. So we pull over at a ranch exit onto the side of the road. Macie doesn't have Dalans "I can pee anywhere, anytime skills". So she had some major stage fright and couldn't do it. Dalan had to go so he had no problems. Of course Lindsay had to pee, so she showed Macie how it was done also. The next thing I know, I am mooning the mountains and peeing on the side of the road. I think we were there for a good 30 minutes before we gave up on Macie. So we get back into the car and once we are about to exit to the rest stop, Macie informs us that she no longer needs to pee. Sweet!

At one point of our long road trip, I pulled out my handy dandy notebook that had my top 5 list in it. I was reading down the list and #3 said Allie. I sat there for quite awhile in silence trying to figure out who the heck Allie was. Am I that forgetful? Finally I tell Lindsay I don't know what this means, who is Allie? After about 10 seconds of deep thought, Lindsay yells out Alley! Ha Ha! Maybe I should learn how to spell. Good times, Good times. I drove the last half of the way and it didn't go by as fast as the first half. 13.5 hours later we pulled into good ol' St. George.

It really was such a great time. Thanks Lindsay and Dave for letting me take over your house. Is it OK if I come for a visit and bring all of my kids when Lindsay has her baby? Thanks!

Bigger is Always Better!

That is my new gardening motto. Bigger is Always Better. I know that the bigger they are, they don't taste as good, but I don't care! I like to see how big I can get them! This one is the record holder for now. I needed Cade to hold it so you can tell how huge it is. I told him to give it loves (I don't know why I told him that)!

Cohlee's luvs headbands

The time has come, that my baby girl won't keep her headbands on. Her hair has grown a lot lately, so I have been doing pigtails most of the time. Well, I guess too much time has passed with her not wearing a headband. I put one on her the other day, and she kept pulling it off :( She is funny cuz she will leave it alone for long enough for me to think that she is going to leave it on, then once we leave the house, it's off!

What are you doing with that hand sister?

Don't even think about it!

Cohlee!......NO, dont't do it!

Do you think you are funny or something?
Good girl for letting go of the headband!
Yes, you are so pretty!I thought we went over this already!

Stop!!!!Before it's too late!

Too Late!

OOOOH! You are a naughty girl!

11 months old

How is it possible? Last year at this time, I had not yet met my daughter. Is it weird that even though I have had her for 11 months, as I type the word daughter, I still can't believe I have one? Will it ever sink in? Sometimes I will be thinking of how happy I am that I have her and then I think, Holy Crap! I HAVE A DAUGHTER! I have seriously loved every minute of the last 11 months! Even when I have 4 kids screaming and crying all at once (It happens way too often), I just have to take a deep breath, and say to myself, at least one of them is a pretty princess :) The sad thing is, it's true. If I am having a bad day, my babers makes it better. I love having a baby. It makes me sad sometimes to think that she is the last baby I will have. But if I made my "How many kids to have" decision based on how much I love my babies, I would never stop. I don't think it could have worked out any better than by ending with a girl! Girls RULE!

Cohlee is a VERY fast crawler. She walks all along the furniture. She loves to play with her brothers. She loves to get into the bath. This girl loves to eat. If it is something she hasn't tried before, she will take a bite, spit it out, look at it, then put it back into her mouth. Kind of weird, but I am just glad she isn't a picky eater. When I do her hair, I put her inside my bathroom sink. She likes to turn on the water when she is in the sink! So I have to get a towel to cover the handles so she doesn't think about it. Lindsay gave me a good idea to keep her busy and not grabbing everything in sight on my bathroom counter. Give her an unused toothbrush to chew on.

Billy or Bob, or Billy Bob

Weston came to me a couple days ago and said that there was two frogs stuck in his window well. He asked if I could help him get them out, that way they could be our new pets. Ya, um...we don't do pets. I didn't say that to him, I just thought it. Then I get the best idea! It went something like this:

Mom: Why don't we keep them in the window well. It is the perfect cage for them.
Weston: How will they get food?
Mom: Frogs eat bugs, right?
Weston: Ya
Mom: There is a lot of bugs in the window well.
Weston: What about water to drink?
Mom: Um...{trying to think of something quick}
Weston: Mom, are you going to answer me?
Mom: {Light Bulb} The sprinklers will turn on everyday and spray into the window well!

A little while later Weston yells from downstairs: Mom! I thought of names for the frogs! Do you want to hear them?
Mom: Heck ya, I do!
Weston: Billy and Bob Palmer
Mom: Sweet!

The next morning, the "older" frog {I guess Weston can tell the age of frogs} jumped out of the window well and went back to his family. I don't know if it was Billy or Bob. I say we call the one left, Billy Bob.

Billy Bob Palmer

Sick, whose dirty windows are those.
It must be the camera lens I was using. Yes, that's it.

Seriously, ignore the dirty windows...

How to Talk to Moms

I bought this book for Weston at Target last night. It is a cute book written by a ten year old boy named Alec Greven. He also wrote How to Talk to Dads and How to Talk to Girls. I guess he has been on The Ellen Degeneres show, so you know it has to be a winner, right?

Click on the book and you can look through it.

This is what it says on the back cover:

Sometimes your mom seems like
the most wonderful woman in the
world. Sometimes you think she
is mean and wants to ruin your life.
Really, it is both.

No matter how well you know your mom,
chances are she's got a few tricks up her sleeve.
Alec Greven may only be ten, but he will set you
straight when it comes to figuring out the most
important woman in your life.

Weston read the whole book right away. How did I get my seven year old to read it? I told him it will help him to understand me better and teach him how to talk to me, so he can get what he wants from me. Basically I told him it will teach him how to manipulate me. Its not exactly the truth, but hey, it got him to read it! He said he really liked the book (except for the fact that it is pink)! So far this morning, he has been an angel.

Park Days

We have been walking down to the park a lot lately. When Chris gets off work, we load the kids up in the stroller and head down to the park. It hasn't been too hot lately, so we want to enjoy it while we can. When we go, it's so much fun to watch them play. I want to remember these fun family walks down to the park. I love my family! I love having my kids little. I love that they still depend on me for so much. I love that they forgive and forget when I am "crazy, mean mommy". Sometimes, I wish that I could freeze time. I wish that I could record every little detail of watching my kids grow up in my mind. I hate how easy it is to forget the little things.

Every time we get to the park, Tanner and Cade take a short cut and run through the grass to the play area. We laugh every time because one of them usually biffs it. They don't get hurt or anything. They jump right back up and keep running. They have got their mom's coordination.

Tanner and Cade climbing the jungle gym

The double T...Tanner Tantrum.
He has, what we like to call, a STRONG PERSONALITY.

Cohlee likes to eat wood chips (we don't let her)

Happy girl in swing

Dad showing Cohlee how her squeaky shoes work

My top 5 people in the world

My Summer Vacation

I know that it is really cliche to say this, but this is a warning: this is a really long story, I am not the best story teller, I like to give the dumb details that I think are exciting, but I know its not to every one else. Feel free to scroll down to the bottom. I will never know! There are pictures on the bottom. Really exciting! If you are going to read my long story, don't read the rest of this paragraph. If you want the short story, here it is.................................................................no turning back now......I was supposed to go on a trip to Cabo, had to cancel the night before, didn't have to pay the cancellation fee because of Swine Flu, ended up going to see my bff in Boise.

So this week definitely turned out differently than I expected it would! For the last two years, we have been invited to stay at our friends house in Cabo. See our past trips here and here. We were supposed to have a fun filled week in Cabo with friends that we had to cancel last minute (literally)! Everything just fell apart at the last minute, and we couldn't leave our kids. That's all I am going to say about that. So I called Orbitz to cancel our tickets. I also was wanting to find out how much the cancellation fee would be and how we would go about redeeming our credit when we were ready to use it. Orbitz said that we would not have to pay the fees until we were ready to redeem our credit, and that we would be charged $30 by Orbitz and $150 by United. $180! That is for each ticket! So we each had a $350 credit that we couldn't use until we paid $180. Lame. She did say that if we didn't use all of our credit, we could use the left over towards our $150 airline fee, but not the $30 Orbitz fee. I was kind of bummed that not only were we missing out on a super fun trip, it was going to cost us even more in the long run! So I canceled our Cabo tickets. Boo hoo! During the same phone conversation with Orbitz, I started the process of scheduling a flight for Chris for the end of this month to go to Texas. I figured I might as well do it then while I had the person on the phone. Of course the Texas ticket cost more than the Cabo ticket (why?) so I had to give the lady my credit card information to pay the extra amount and for the $180 in cancellation fees. The ticket hadn't yet officially been processed yet and Chris comes into the room and says "Change of plans"! O my heck! I had just wasted 30 minutes trying to book this flight and now I am having to cancel it right before it is processed. I am just glad he caught me before it was a done deal. So I tell the lady, never mind, and she refunds me the all of the money.

Bare with me, I am not the best at telling stories. So this might feel like it drags on, but if you are that bored, stop reading!

Anyways, I wake up Saturday morning and call United airlines directly. I was stressed that maybe Orbitz didn't follow through all the way and cancel the original Cabo tickets and the flight I had been booking for Chris. So I am on the phone with the nicest lady ever. . I was so happy because I could actually understand her. I don't mean to sound offensive, but I am the worst at understanding people when they have a thick accent. She said that everything looked as it should. I asked her if, when I go to redeem our credit, I can call United directly and not have to pay the $30 Orbitz fee and just the $150 airline fee. She says something about the Swine Flu window. The Swine Flu Window? She says that because of recent events, United Airlines is waving the cancellation fee on canceled flights going to Mexico during a certain period of time. I didn't understand what she meant by recent events. Had something happened the night before that I wasn't aware of? My friends were on their way to Cabo still! I suddenly got a little panicky. I obviously knew about the big Swine Flu scare that had been going on a month ago but had it suddenly flared up? She assured me that everything was fine. I guess that when the scare was happening, the airline said that all flights that were canceled by travelers until June 10th (I think), the fee would be waved! So basically the night before, I was about to "pay" $180 for nothing! Orbitz is lame!

OK...so for all good things that seem too good to be true....this too, has a catch. Apparently if you want the fee waved, you have to use your flight credit within the next month. You would think they would make it so when you use your credits, you have to go to your original destination. NOPE. We each have a $350 credit to go wherever we want! Hello, I have 4 kids. Where in the heck am I going to go? Chris and I knew we wouldn't be able to pull of a vacation with the two of us. If we could, we would have been in Cabo right then. I knew Chris was needing to go to Texas in the next few weeks, so at least he would be able to use his credit. I figured that it is what it is and that I would just end up using my ticket later in the year and just have to pay the fee. That's fine. At least we both didn't have to pay it!

Are you lost yet? If not keep reading.

Lindsay is my very best friend who is currently residing in Boise, Idaho. We have been friends since the 6th grade. To see more of Lindsay, click here or here. Lindsay left me for Boise 3 years ago. I have said a little prayer everyday since then, that she will come back to me. Visiting isn't good enough. I need more. She has been able to make it back here a couple times a year to visit. She was even planning on driving down with her kids in the next couple weeks for a little summer vacay before she has her third kid in August. It is always bittersweet when Lindsay comes. You see, I have to share her. Her mom and brother Robbie are still here in St. George. Lindsay's in-laws also live in Vegas. So every time she comes down, it is hectic for her because she has to visit so many people that love her and want to see her. She usually spends a few days staying at her moms and then drives down to Vegas for a few days. In the last 3 years, I have not won the bestest friend award because I haven't made it up to Boise to visit. There are many reasons, but 4 main ones. Driving with 4 kids for a million hours to a place that I have never been to before isn't the most appealing sounding. Don't get me wrong, I have dreams about showing up on Lindsay's doorstep, kids in tow, and all of us yelling SURPRISE! Don't get too excited because my dream didn't exactly come true. My hope was that maybe once she has the baby, I could sneak up to Boise for a couple days and leave my boys here with Chris.

So onto the best part of the story...

I am talking to Lindsay on the phone. We talk 14 times a day everyday. So when we originally cancelled our Cabo trip, of course I called her crying. She was fully aware of every detail because she is the one that holds the title of my favorite shoulder to cry on. So I was really excited to tell her that I saved myself $180. Lindsay is my coupon clipping, check book registering (to the penny) friend. Lindsay's excitement for my money saving didn't disappoint! So I get off the phone feeling quite happy that I didn't let $180 go down the drain. Then I start thinking......wouldn't it be great if I could use my ticket to fly to see my BFF! Yeah right. It would never happen so I put it out of my mind and went on with my day.

So I am psychic. Really, I am. Sometimes I will think about someone that I haven't thought about for years, and the next day, I will run into them. If that isn't psychic powers, then I don't know what is! Kidding, I'm not REALLY psychic. But on this day, I think I was a little! Lindsay called me back within 5 minutes of putting my "Using my credit to visit Idaho" thought out of my head. She says, what if....you use your credit and come up to Boise? I said, I don't know anyone in Boise....Ha Ha! Funny! I told her the chances were slim. I said I would mention it to Chris, but don't count on it. After I got off the phone with her I starting thinking.....maybe, if she could make her trip down to St. George sooner than later, I could fly to Boise for a couple days, and then we can drive down to St. George togetha! Chris would only have the boys for a few days...It just might work! Good idea Christina!

A little while later, Chris calls me. He asked if I was still bummed about Cabo. Yes. Then I nonchalantly say, I could always go to Boise for a couple days and you can stay home with the kids, that would make me feel so much better......{insert pouty face}. The words that came out of my husbands mouth were shocking....."If you promise it will only be a couple of days, I am OK with that. What? Am I hallucinating? Are you sure? I made those reservations so fast, he didn't have time to change his mind! So there you have it! Cohlee and I flew to Boise. The best part is that it was so last minute! I think if we would have known this trip was coming up, we would have been going crazy with anticipation. I finally got to see where the Grantham family calls home! It really was so crazy to see her house. It is funny how you picture stuff in your head and how it is so different when you see it in real life! We had so.much.fun! Lindsay is a planner, so we packed so many fun memories into a couple days. Not to mention the 13.5 hours (yes, 13.5) we spent in the car on our fabulous road trip! So it was definitely no Cabo, but hanging out with the Grantham Fam was a blast. Instead of sipping the yummiest {virgin} pina coladas on the beach while getting a tan, I got to go to the Meridian Idaho fire station and slide down the fireman pole! I have pictures to prove it.

So we should totally be professional models, right?
We were thinking the same thing!

I uploaded some pictures onto Lindsay's computer at her house. I didn't realize it would take the pictures off of my camera until I got home. I don't want to post my Idaho pics until I have them all. That is also when I will let you know all of the fun and exciting things that we did in Boise, Idaho! Maybe I will post one picture... I know that this story isn't really that cool to most of you, but it is to me and this is MY blog! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

I do want to tell the Wades thanks so much for inviting us again this year to Cabo. Thank you for being so understanding of us having to cancel. I am excited to see all of the pictures and hear all of the stories! Since I thought I would be posting pictures of me getting a tan in Cabo, I am still going to do that. Lets just pretend that these are new pictures from this years Cabo trip and that I am still that skinny!

Sheena and I striking a pose. I love this girl! She is so much fun! It is so much fun to just let loose and be a goofball. We have had some good laughs!

Chris, Me, CJ and Sheena Wade. These are our great friends that have invited us the last 3 years to Cabo. CJ's dad has a house that is absolutely amazing. Thanks again you guys, hope we are still friends.....call us;)

Just to give you a tiny bit of an idea how amazing the house is, this is the view from the pool patio. This house is on the very edge of the cliff and the views are amazing.

We took a boat ride around Lovers Beach (where the Arch is)
We were able to see the house from there. Its the one with
all of the arched windows.

The scooters were so much fun! I had never ridden on one until this trip. It was a lot of fun! One of the days we decided to go to a beach that was "down the road" . So a few of us jump on scooters, and the rest of the gang gets into the suburban. 20 miles later down the main Cabo highway going 65 mph, we made it. Chris was in the suburban. He said he was having a panic attack the whole time watching me drive the scooter down the highway. I was a little nervous too. They drive a little crazy in Mexico! We all made it back in one piece.

Not so skinny. When we went last year, I was 6 months pregnant. I know, what am I thinking putting a picture of me not only fat and pregnant, but IN A BATHING SUIT!!! I am thinking the same thing as I am typing this. But for some reason, at this moment, I don't care. I bought her this cute little dress that is still hanging in her closet, never been worn. If I would have thought about it, it would have been a great idea to have a picture of her on here wearing it. But I didn't think about it until now.