The Kolbabas

Excuse the Absence.

2011-05-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

We didn't disappear off the face of the Earth or anything. Well, we sort of disappeared from Vegas for a good 4 of the last 8 weeks, but that's not why I haven't posted anything.

I can't download pictures anymore because it keeps telling me we ran out of room...so I finally asked Nate and he said he knows how to clear them out so I can download again.

It's too bad, too, because life has been really interesting the past two months. I just don't like posting things without corresponding pictures. So stay tuned. Nate will get to it sometime this summer :)

Oldies but Goodies

2011-03-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

I recently ordered a personalized calendar online, so I've been browsing through my pictures. It became apparent that with toddlers you can pretty much exchange the face in the picture for any other kid's face, from any decade, and it's all the same. In every recent picture, Grayden is doing something messy, naughty, or goofy. Which is understandable, since those are the three verbs that best describe him at the moment. Or I could substitute them all for one word: Funny.

I also found some pictures of him with Grandma and Grammy, so this is for them:

You may notice that many of them have to do with hats. He's a little obsessed with putting everything on his head. I don't have a picture of him with his BYU beanie, but that's because he wears it so often we don't think of it as interesting or cute anymore.

But I do think he is interesting AND cute.

Growth Spurt

2011-02-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

The entire pan of Campbells chicken noodle soup, two pieces of toast, half a baked potato dipped in A.1., and a few handfuls of grapes.

Lunch for my one-year-old. And he's asking for more.

The past week has been really interesting at mealtime. Grayden is eating everything we put in front of him, even if he hasn't liked it in the past. He has 2-3 bowls of cereal and a banana for breakfast, and then is crying for more food 1-2 hours later. He cries for more food after he's eaten a hot dog with bun, tomato slices, and apple wedges for lunch.....isn't this supposed to happen when he's a teenager, not now??

Family Pics

2011-02-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

WOW.

2011-02-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

Some of you may remember my super awesome story about9 hours of jury duty.

If not, maybe you remember my excitement when the ten dollar check came in the mail.

What I didn't know then, that I know now, is that when I entered that ten dollar's worth of income into Turbotax, it would lower my return by five dollars.

That's right, 50%. Gotta love it.

He has Calvin hair

2011-02-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

But still so cute.

Why I'm Not Smart Anymore

2011-01-31T14:32:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling like my I.Q. has dropped significantly in the last few years. I had to help my 13 year-old niece with her Algebra homework last week and I seriously wanted to cry I miss math so much. I miss being good at something. I miss feeling smart. I miss intelligent conversation. My most recent conversation went something like this:

Leaving the cousin's house for the airport:

Grayden: uh bye bye, uh Devon. Me: Yep, we said goodbye to Devon. G: Uh bye bye, uh Josh. Me: That's right, we said goodbye to Josh. G: Uh, yeah. Bye bye uh Lyssa? Me: Yes, Alyssa too. (Repeat for Brianna, Zach, Mckenna, and Cameron). G: Mommy? Me: Yes Grayden? G: Black. Me: You see something black? G: Yeah. Mommy? Uh pink. Me: You see something pink? G: Uh yeah. Mommy? Uh Red. Me: What do you see that's red? G: Uh flag. Me: You see a red flag? G: Uh yeah. More? More flag? Me: We can try and look for another flag. G: Uh please? Me: I don't see another flag, but I'll look for one. G: Uh car. Mommy, uh car. Brown. Me: You see a brown car? G: Uh yeah. Mommy? Uh airplane? Uh sky. Me: Yes, we're going on an airplane in the sky. G: Uh fly? Mommy, uh fly? Uh airplane? Me: That's right, it flies. We're going home to see Daddy. G: DAAAAAAAAAAD! DAAAAAAAADDDY! DAAAAAAAAD! Uh work? Me: Yes, Daddy's at work, but we're going to see him tonight. G: Mommy? Uh flag?

And it continues. I'll put you out of your misery. But that's a really good snapshot of the 45 minute drive. Don't get me wrong, it was hilarious. I love talking to him. It just doesn't take a whole lot of brain power, you know?

So, I'm trying to think of ways to use my brain. I haven't come up with any good ideas.....aaaaaand we're back to the whole I.Q. problem.

Super. Annoyed.

2011-01-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

Can someone who is more tech savvy than Nate and myself please tell me why our family picture is perfectly crystal clear as our desktop background, in Picasa, when printed out, and when shown in the blogger uploading window, but then is a blurry mess when I actually open my blog and see the header?

I'm too grumpy to spend any more time on it. I request help from anyone who reads this.

Thanks.

A Letter

2010-12-15T14:13:00.000-08:00

Dear random author of the New Mexico Bowl Game wikipedia page,

You know who you are.

I am going to the bowl game this Saturday. I wasn't quite sure in exactly what city the game is located, and I live in Las Vegas and lack a lot of clothing that is appropriate for cold weather. Unless you count the clothes my mom bought me 6 years ago the winter after I got home from my mission. Hoping that the temperature doesn't get too low at the game, I got onto trusty google and searched "New Mexico Bowl Game". To my surprise, one little bowl game has it's own wiki page! I have been instructed by wikipedia before, and usually find it's information informative. As I had hoped, in the first paragraph I learned the game is held in Albuquerque, where the winters are somewhat mild. Suddenly I wondered, is it so masterfully updated that it would contain the information about the 2010 bowl game? I scrolled down, and lo and behold, there was a sentence or two about this year's game:

The 2010 New Mexico Bowl included UTEP from Conference USA, the first time a team from outside the WAC or MWC had played in the game.

Nothing about BYU. Okay, I understand, if UTEP playing in the NM Bowl was a first timer, it deserves mentioning. But then I saw the chart.

Game results

Date Played	Winning Team		Losing Team		Notes
December 23, 2006	San Jose State	20	New Mexico	12	notes
December 22, 2007	New Mexico	23	Nevada	0	notes
December 20, 2008	Colorado State	40	Fresno State	35	notes
December 19, 2009	Wyoming	35	Fresno State	28 (2OT)	notes
December 18, 2010	UTEP	'	BYU	notes

Wait a gosh darn minute. Do you consider yourself some type of seer, Mr. Author? A super duper sports critic? You can't even use the excuse that you just put the teams in alphabetical order! Why, I ask, did you even have to list the teams as winning and losing at all? They haven't played yet. If you wanted to include the information about the competing teams, perhaps you could have added it after the special UTEP reference in the body of the paragraph.

Let me be clear, Wikiman. I went to BYU. My parents went to BYU. My husband played football for BYU. Every time my one year old sees the letter "Y" or a football helmet he yells "Go Cougars!". I'm a fan. And I don't appreciate you displaying your useless opinions to the entire world as if it were gospel.

I wanted BYU to win before, of course. But now that I've seen your stupid chart, I desperately want them to win, just to see those two team names FLIPPED.

Yours truly,

Mandy Kolbaba
Byu fan and Wikipedia boycotter

Evil Dr. Pork Chop

2010-11-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

Didn't get much sleep last night. Grayden, who normally sleeps like a dream, screamed at the top of his lungs from about 10 to 12. We took turns going in and calming him, but he always eventually went back to screaming. This isn't the first time this has happened, he sporadically has nights with fits of terrible screaming, maybe two or three a month.

I may be a crazy mom looking for silly excuses, but I think it's nightmares. But what could an 18 month old dream about that could be so scary??

Well, last night he told me the horrible thing that attacked him in his dreams. I went in his room and picked him up, sat down on the rocking chair in the dark and he rested his head on my shoulder and whimpered a little. After about a minute, he said, "Pig".

So, there ya go. Since the only movies he will watch are Signing Time, with no bad guys, and an occasional Toy Story, it must've been Hamm's diabolical alter ego that invaded his subconscious. Either that, or he has a small obsession with farm animals.

I wonder if Disney pays out damages for psychologically traumatized toddlers?

It's not too late....

2010-11-17T14:33:00.001-08:00

You are allowed to post about Halloween until Thanksgiving. Unwritten rule.

And honestly, did you want to miss out on this??

Poor Nate. For a big, buff guy, it's so difficult for him to look tough. :) But honestly, he was a legend at the Halloween party we attended. Young and old gawked and stared and commented nonstop. It was great. Grayden and I followed his theme and we made a great team.

And now, more pictures of Nate, because honestly I can't get over how funny he was.

Dig the hair. And then here are some of little comic wolverine (and his cousins):

Fun, fun times. Much candy eaten by all.

More food.

2010-11-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

I'm having so much fun, can you tell???

I paid $2.11 for this, but I got back $3.75 in catalina coupons (money off your next order) so I basically got paid $1.64 to buy this stuff. Best part? After freezing the pie and tortillas, nothing else is perishable! Fry's ROCKS.

Blag Time

2010-11-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Nate and I are so excited we feel like we're on drugs. We went grocery shopping today and got this:

I won't even go through the list of items we got, it's just a lot.

Total? $16.67!!

Savings: $388.50.

I look at that pile and even I don't know how it happened. I keep checking my receipt for mistakes. That's just ridiculous. I was a little embarrassed when the manager had to come out and approve my transaction, but it was also a great feeling. Yippee :)

Good Choices

2010-09-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

You've got to love it when you're innocently checking Fox news online and the front page breaking news has a picture of the very high chair you have in your kitchen, with a headline RECALL.

I hardly ever go to foxnews.com, so I thought this was a lucky coincidence. Fortunately, I guess my model was made after the current recalled models, because mine doesn't have the "dangerous pegs" that kids can fall on and need stitches. Then again, can't kids fall on almost anything and get stitches? Are they going come round out the edges of my counters and kitchen tables?

On an unrelated note, I am on the computer and randomly blogging because it's 8:30am and Grayden is still asleep. Love that. I can get so much done! Like couponing. Nate and Ihave used coupons on and off during our marriage, but this time I've gone all out. I've recently become so obsessed with it I can't fall asleep because I'm thinking about it and then I dream about it and then I get up early to do it, like this morning. Seriously, I've got issues. I scoff at so-called SALE prices and Nate just laughs at me. I've been spoiled, ruined, and I can't pay full price for the rest of my life.

I got a ten dollar check for my nine hours of jury summons nightmare time. You are all so jealous.

Nate and I watched the movie Wait Until Dark the other day. Shockingly good for having a cast of about 6 people and practically all done on one tiny set.

It's October now. That always means the year is over. I'll never understand how that happens so quickly.

Next month we go to Vegas to find a place to live. We still don't have it narrowed down to an area at all, how do you choose a place to live in an area you're not familiar with?

8:45. Still asleep. I'm going to go read. A book called The Other Queen, which I find pretty boring, but I have an illness that requires me to finish books and movies to the end, even if I hate them.

Genetic Wonders

2010-09-17T14:49:00.001-07:00

Notice the child in the picture above? He's mine. And Nate's. I sent some pictures of Grayden to my Mom and she just couldn't get over how blue his eyes are. That reminded me of a blog post I made while I was pregnant, entitled I's. I was gawking at my niece Madi's eyes, and stated it was almost impossible for my unborn child to have blue eyes like that. Behold.

The only thing you can say about our eyes other than brown is maybe calling them hazel, on a good day. The genes coming from my dad and Nate's mom must be super mutant genes, that's all I'm saying. And I'll never hear the end of it from my sister Chandra, who told me from the moment he was born that his eyes would stay blue and I denied it for almost a year. I don't anymore.

Jury Summons Equals BORING

2010-09-14T20:04:00.001-07:00

When I first arrived at the courthouse, I saw this:

Hundreds of people crowding the doors, but nobody was allowed in. I was supposed to arrive at 8:30 and it was 8:25, so I thought maybe something was up. Most people either had a cup of coffee or a cigarette. I finally got so sick of the smell I turned around to leave, and I saw this:

Four sheriff cars. I didn't think it was all that odd, it being a courthouse and all, but then these guys came out.....

Right, so something was definitely going on. We had all been waiting outside for about 30 minutes, and I was hopeful we would be excused from jury selection. No such luck. But this guy showed up:

I don't think he got any interesting footage. I guess the dogs didn't find anything, but I heard later it was the second bomb threat this month. That's nice. Especially nice, when after three dogs spent a total of 10 minutes in a 12-story building they considered it completely safe and drove us all into the building like cattle.

EIGHT HOURS LATER....... I left the courthouse as one of the rejected ones. Praise the day.

Now, what to do with the 44 cents per mile that they're going to pay me for the day...?

New Words

2010-09-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

Journaling. Deal with it. Some people scrapbook, I blog.

This week Grayden has been saying multiple new words every day.
He tried to say his own name, "Dayda"
He randomly switched yesterday from calling me Mama to calling me Mimi. We'll see how long that sticks.
HE said rainbow "aybo"
He said ice, a new favorite of his. But he can't/won't say eyes. Go figure.
"Ow" is also still a favorite, but he had never said it before the dreaded doctors appt.
He says cheese now, but it sounds a lot like Jesus which he's been saying for weeks. Whatev.
Peach is "sheesh". So cute.
He's started saying "bock bock" for every animal sound he doesn't know, like giraffe and zebra. But he's good on lion, fish, sheep, dog, horse, snake, monkey, duck, chicken (obviously), elephant, and cow. Cat and bird and frog he just signs instead.
He calls the book Hop on Pop "boppa bop". Close enough.
He stopped saying football. So sad since this would be the perfect week for that one. It was never very well pronounced anyway, but it was consistent. He just signs it now.
Corn dogs, his favorite food, he calls "kaka". Ironic.

Parenting is an enigma, in that it is a unique relationship where you can go from thinking no person ever loved their child as much as you, to being ready and willing to give that child to those other people who love their children. I'll never understand it.

Poor Bellagio

2010-09-02T14:01:00.001-07:00

Remember that little water show at the Bellagio? Where water moved around in time with swanky songs like "Big Spender"? Well, that's in the past. I just saw Disney's California Adventure's World of Color show and now the Bellagio is just a faded memory.

If you haven't seen it yet, let me try to help you picture it. You've seen the Bellagio, right? Well, make that space about 4 times bigger.....then add technicolor, lights, lasers, high definition, blu-ray, widescreen, surround sound, 3-D, and Disney. Maybe some pixie dust. Voila! Are you picturing it? Pretty sweet, right? I mean, Buzz and Zurg have an all-out battle that looks so real it makes you feel around for a weapon to protect yourself .....and they do this all with water.

I'm not saying it's in the same league as Fantasmic, a show too dear to my heart to ever have competition. But I was highly entertained.

Go.

Dilemma

2010-08-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

What to do? I'm right in the middle of Kane and Abel, a book club book that I'm quite enjoying, but Mockingjay came out yesterday and Nate bought it for me.....so many good books! I feel so confused :) If I could only find a babysitter so I could read uninterrupted for an entire day, I could probably get through them both. Any takers???

No?

Hm.

I guess I'm on my own, then. Two hours of nap time ahead of me, I have to decide quickly.

A Toddler's Malice

2010-08-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

Grayden had his doctor's appointment today, he is 16 months this week. He did really well, charmed the doctor and stayed about 70th percentile in height and 50th in weight. Then he had to get 4 shots. One in each leg and each arm. The nurse did it as quickly as she could, but as you can imagine, he was very unhappy about it. He cried a minute and then I offered him the fruit snacks I had brought for that exact purpose. It mostly worked and other than a few more whimpers and pointing to his biceps, he recovered.

As I walked out of the room, I saw the nurse there, and remembered that I didn't get the printout of the height and weight charts. I asked her if she would get them for me, and when she looked up and said she would, Grayden, who I was holding at the time, gave her a big scowl and said, "Ow". She laughed at that, but then quickly apologized to him, that she was just doing her job. She left to get the printout and we waited at the door of the room, talking fora few minutes to another aide who was in the hallway. Grayden was all smiles. When she brought it back, Grayden saw her and frowned and again said "Ow". He apparently holds a grudge. And never forgets a face.

I hope these qualities aren't long term.

Mommy's Little Helper

2010-08-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how tuned in Grayden is. Anytime I need a little assistance, he's right there helping out.

Driving the car:

Clipping coupons:

Mowing the lawn:

And assisting me with my bowling game:

(The movie was not sideways when I downloaded it)

I can only imagine what he'll "help" me with tomorrow!

Help.

2010-07-26T14:02:00.001-07:00

Today Grayden has....
ripped a page out of Nate's scriptures,
scattered formerly organized coupons all over the kitchen,
cut and bruised the area right between his eyes,
eaten bird poop,
splashed the bathroom into a flooded mess,
taken all the neatly folded clothes out of his drawers,
taken a bite out of a candle,
had three stinky diapers,
and that was all before lunchtime.

Bless me to get through this day.

28

2010-07-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 28th birthday. It's a big one, I know :) That was my favorite joke of the day, any time someone asked me how old I was or if I felt different I would say, 28, that's the most important birthday of your life! It's a joke, obviously, because what a pointless age! Is there anything interesting about 28 years of age? Hm. Nope. I say this in a happy, light-hearted manner, but I look forward to be 29. At least that is one year away from being 30, and that's exciting.

Wait, I take most of that back. There is one thing about this age that is interesting. This is the year of my 10 year high school reunion. And that realization had the opposite effect on me than I thought it would......I feel so young when I think that I only graduated from high school ten years ago. I'm such a baby! High school is where punk teenagers go, and I was there only 10 years ago? Young. That makes me feel ridiculously young.

Anyway, back to yesterday. I felt like the weather was a great present, because it was so overcast and about 30 degrees cooler than normal and barely drizzling, so after breakfast I took Grayden outside to play in the backyard, something we haven't been able to do for weeks and weeks, and I sat on a lawn chair and he ran around and it was so, so nice. Happy Birthday to me. Then the day went as normal, we had to sing the birthday song about 150 times because Nate hung up the birthday sign and Grayden knows exactly what it means and wanted to sing the song every time he saw it......so to try to get his mind off of that song I taught him how to play ring around the rosies and he liked it so much we had to do that 150 times. Back to the birthday song.

Nate invited some close family and friends over to the house for some fabulous red velvet cake and good conversation. It was a pleasant day.

NOW, onto the best part. If I'm going to blog, I like to have a picture, so I emailed Nate this morning and asked if he would send me the pictures he took while I blew out the candles. He took out his iphone when he brought the cake out last night, and honestly something like this went through my head:

"Oh, that's nice of him to take some pictures. Since we can't find our camera battery I didn't think there would be pictures, which I normally wouldn't care about, but since we had Grayden we only have pictures of him, so it will be nice to see what I looked like at this time, and not just Grayden."

Then the emails start to come from Nate. Ready for the pics? Be so excited, this is me turning 28! Remember, the most important birthday of your life.

Am I the only one who thinks that is hilarious??? Old habits die hard, I guess. And of course in the one picture of me I am making a goofy face at Grayden. Wow. We are so pitiful.

On a completely unrelated note, how long does a normal dishwasher usually run? We always start ours at night before bed, but we forgot last night and so Nate started it this morning...and it is still going......it's been 4.5 hours. That can't be good.

9 to 5

2010-07-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

9 years ago, I met this man:

5 years ago, I married this man:

Today I celebrate my wedding anniversary with these men:

And life is good. Really good. Look at them.....how could it not be?

I deserve a medal.

2010-07-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

With a big inscription that says, "Bad Mother Award".

Grayden has been sick on and off for two weeks. He's such a happy little guy that sometimes it's hard to tell how sick. He's had a fever coming and going, a rash on his face, some sadder than normal days, but they've all been interspersed with days that he seems to feel fine. Since our health insurance improves dramatically in August, and the kid didn't seem to be getting worse, we've been thinking the culprit is a dumb stubborn virus. Hm. Monday his fever went back up to 103 but then Tuesday he seemed fine.

This morning Grayden woke up crying, screaming, and didn't stop for one hour. He has at least four bruises on his head from throwing himself on the floor in huge fits. The best part? My car that I took in two weeks ago and paid a small fortune to fix the mediocre a/c apparently did not get fixed and officially had NO a/c starting Sunday, so we had to take it back into the stupid shop. (Never, ever, go to Tempe Honda. Ever.) So I have no car and a crazy baby who is in danger of giving himself brain damage. Nate had to come home from work and pick us up, take us to the doctor (finally) where we learn Grayden has strep throat.

Go ahead, say it. I brought this wonderful day upon myself. Yep.

**And I left out the part where Nate got a speeding ticket on the way to the doctor's office. Joy.

Happy Birthday Nate!

2010-07-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'd love a 30 year old man.

But I do.

Shocking

2010-06-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

I don't use a credit card very often. I don't have a good reason, the free flights and Disney dollars are great when I actually do use them, I just have my debit card in my front wallet pocket and it's become a habit to grab and swipe that one. Probably a good thing in the end. Other than big purchases that I know I'll just pay off the next month and get granddaddy size rewards, I'm a debit girl. Anyway, I've been using my Disney card recently because we are planning a trip to D-land in August and I want the bucks. It's nice to not have to pay for food on these trips.

I'm mentioning this because while paying bills I saw that I had a bill from my Disney credit card...a little unusual for us.... and for a moment I forgot I had been using it all month, for groceries and our trip to Vegas. I honestly wondered if someone had stolen my card.....not a great feeling. No worries, I quickly remembered and all is well. But as I opened the bill, I saw an interesting little grid. I hardly ever open my credit statements when they come, I remember what I bought and pay it off, no need to review it. But I am positive this is a relatively new graph they have added to their statements. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Do you know what I'm talking about? It tells you how long it will take to pay the entire balance if you only pay the minimum required payment. It's INSANE.

You may all know this. Surely we've all been warned about consumer debt, but this really did shock me. For a balance of $533.72 it would take me 8 YEARS to pay it off! And if I paid double the minimum balance (whoopee) it would take 3 years! That's a car loan, folks.

So, I paid the full amount, and then I gingerly placed the bill in my "paid" file and made a silent vow to only charge to a credit card what I know I can pay off the next month. Scary stuff.

Workin' at the Car Wash

2010-06-18T11:55:00.001-07:00

Just don't tell my sister he's washing a car in the Kenneth Cole outfit she gave him.

Mixed Signals.

2010-06-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

Nate had to buy Gray a new bib. We left his only one in Washington, then when we bought him a new one we left that one in Vegas. Very responsible of us, I know.

I like to buy him those plastic heavy duty ones that you wipe off and use over and over, so when Nate went to buy him his third bib, that's what he came home with...or so he thought. He actually bought one that is almost a shirt, it has arm holes so the bib covers the shoulders. Whatever, it fulfills it's purpose. Even better, I read the label and it says in big bold letters:

Machine Wash!! That means when it gets really nasty I can just throw it in the washer without having to spend precious minutes scrubbing the thing with steel wool. Or can I? On the back of that very same label, we have the Care Instructions:

I'm confused. Really confused. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but that seems like conflicting reports to me. To use "Machine wash" as a selling point and then instruct people to NOT machine wash? It says the same thing in Spanish, too, so it's not a typo.

Alas. Break out the steel wool.

Deprived

2010-06-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

If you haven't ever played Mall Madness, you are seriously missing out. Nate and I played that game together last night. Three times in a row. We thoroughly enjoyed it!

It was kind of a random Sunday. In addition to playing Mall Madness for the first time, we also made coconut milk together. We got two coconuts in our bountiful basket and turned them into yummy coconut milk for some future Thai recipes. So excited!

I took Grayden to the church meeting formerly known as a farewell for the guy who was my "husband" in the last show I was in. I realized how spoiled I am always having Nate next to me in church to help with Gray. Without him there, I was sweating when the meeting was over. On my mission there was a mother of four kids under the age of 6 whose husband was the bishop, and she had to deal with all of them by herself. I have a new respect for her.

Blogging may take a back seat for a bit. In the next 5 weeks we've got Father's Day, a cousin's wedding reception in Vegas, Nate's birthday, the Fourth, our fifth anniversary, and my birthday. Gotta love July. If I'm really on top of things, I'll blog about all of these events as they happen with excellent pictures to document.....it could happen.

Explanations:

2010-06-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

You deserve one.

First, the new title picture was changed to one that more closely represents our life. A picture of me and Nate alone and carefree, laughing on a hike up the mountain certainly doesn't apply quite as well as the little guy terrorizing the house. Much more appropriate.

And the next explanation is to let you all know why we aren't living in Vegas yet, since we were supposed to go in May....then June......then in 2 to 3 months.......and finally, the move is planned for November. Actually, there is not much of an explanation, the company just changed their plans. And ours, by default. I'm betting things will change again in a week or two. We'll keep all interested parties posted, but for now, we're staying in Phoenix for....a bit.

Party Heartily

2010-06-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

I never posted Grayden's birthday party pictures. I made two round cakes, one for the adults and one for the birthday boy. He also got Ramen for dinner, his favorite food. Those things plus a balloon and the (Anderson) traditional Happy Birthday sign and box of cereal concluded the festivities.

Most of the pictures show him with one or both hands in the air, because Nate kept trying to teach him to put up one finger when asked how old he is. Also, you can mock me about the number of pictures, but I didn't take them. My sister and her husband were visiting from China and they took them. I may or may not have threatened them with their lives to get a good one, but you can't prove that.

I think it'll be a good year for him.

Adding to the List

2010-05-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Mostly for journaling purposes. Ye be warned.

Last night Brianna, age four, woke up twice telling me her ear hurts. I finally gave her some junior motrin, but she ended up sleeping next to me....(with the kicking, passing gas, talking, and laughing all in her sleep, I can't say I slept much)....she mentioned it again this morning about an hour after she woke up. I checked it with an otoscope and her sore ear is dark red. Fab! So, the four-year-old has an ear infection and, to top it off, Grayden is cutting a tooth. He cut his bottom two teeth over Christmas in Chicago, three of his top four during a February trip to Utah, and now in Washington he is getting two more on the bottom. What is it with this kid and teething while traveling?

Grayden has done other crazy things here, like weaning himself off a bottle. He weaned himself off breastfeeding months ago, and had no problem switching from formula to milk in April, but before we got here he loved having his one daily bottle of milk before bedtime, and it was a great way to get him to drink milk since he prefers water in his sippy cup. Ever since we got here, he takes a swig or two from his bottle, but then is done with it. I wouldn't mind, only now I have to think of creative ways to get some milk in him. Also, he has not crawled at all since we got here. At all! When we left Phoenix if he fell while walking and he was close enough to where he wanted to be, he crawled the rest of the way. I think it's because he saw the little kids walking, and he's decided he's one of them (that might explain the sudden anti-bottle attitude), because crawling ceased to happen the day we flew in and he hasn't gone back. It's led to many bumps on the head.

My sister Chandra left me about 40 frozen Dream Dinners. They are nice if you're in a bind, but I like cooking and I honestly haven't loved the taste of them. I can't make anything too exotic because these kids are super picky, but they liked my homemade spagetti sauce and they'll eat most things if put over rice.

I found Hostess raspberry filled powdered donuts at the Walmart here! They don't have them in Phoenix! When I can't stomach a Dream Dinner, it's a good alternative. Feel free to place bets on how much weight I'll gain in this two and a half weeks.

Josh, age 10, got Grayden out of bed this morning (I don't know why he suddenly felt the need, I've gotten him every other morning) and gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. Peanut Butter. Awesome. Because that specific allergy and many others run in Nate's family, I've been told by the doctor to wait until he's 18 months or two years to give him peanut butter. So now I have to watch for allergies....he had two bad diapers in a row right after eating, I hope that doesn't mean anything. Apparently the first time doesn't really matter as much, but the second time can be worse so I'm a little nervous....I wouldn't even know how to get to a hospital around here. When I got here I did buy a peanut free almond butter and told the kids it's because Gray can't have peanuts yet, but who can expect a ten-year-old to remember much of anything.

And lastly, Chandra is choreographing the local "Joseph" production and apparently told the director I could help out if he needed me since I dance and have done that show twice.....which he misunderstood as "Mandy can come to rehearsal three times a week and teach the dances." So, when I'm not watching 7 kids here at home, I'm teaching 20 teenagers how to dance 60s style, calypso style, and partner square dancing!

There you have it, a day in the life. It makes me laugh to know that many mothers of multiple children are reading this thinking, yeah, so what? I agree, as long as I make it through the next week with no broken bones, I'll be happy.

On The Fourth Day In Washington

2010-05-16T20:15:00.001-07:00

So far we've had throwing up, missing car keys, snotty noses, bed wetting, broken glassware, skinned knees, hacking coughs, forehead gooseggs, 8 loads of laundry.....

And a partridge in a pear tree.

Thank heaven I'm not truly a single mother of seven children.

My sister and her hubby are celebrating their 20th anniversary on a Mediterranean cruise, and I am caring for 6 of their 7 kids. For two weeks. So far it's been quite eventful. At this rate we'll have broken bones for sure. Besides that, however, they have been very good to play with Gray and that makes him happy, and they are so funny I laugh a lot.

Here are a few goodies from today:

"You have to be naughty when you play kung fu---because of the hitting"

"Pork chops are grody if the pig rolled in the mud" (said out of the blue, no pork chops present)

"I accidentally drew two dresses on you, so one of them can be a cape"

"Give me back that toy, it's not a part of your future, it's a part of my future"

Right now they are as loud as elephants in the room above me, but they are supposed to be sleeping. That's one thing I was most worried about, all the noise with Grayden sleeping. At home when Nate leaves for work at 5:30, he just has to walk past Grayden's room and it wakes him up. By some miracle, he sleeps through all of this racket....I'm talking seriously loud noise, jumping off top bunks, pretending to be rocket ships running up the stairs right in front of his room, yelling at each other to be quiet. Just the decibel level of the four-year-old girl's helium voice is enough to wake me up every morning, and he sleeps through it. What a blessing.

Alright, time to go bust some heads. Good evening to you all.

Scientific Progress Goes "Walk"

2010-05-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Nate can catch pretty much anything on his special new iPhone. Now that Grayden has decided he's a walker (and it took him a long time from his first steps), we should have all sorts of really boring home videos to post. Blame the technology, folks.

Ode to a One Year Old

2010-04-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

This post is about Grayden. Not because he's my first and only child so that's what all my posts are about, but because today is his first birthday. Also, he is playing so nicely by himself right now that I actually have the time to type.

I know it's been said, but here goes: one whole year? It's unbelievable. Tonight I am going to make him a cake and let him blow out a candle and unwrap a new book, and he'll have no idea what's going on. But what I'll be thinking while he eats his cake is that the next time we celebrate his birthday he'll be two, and if it goes by even half as fast as his first year then he's practically two already!

Grayden is a very good kid. He's happy and social and loves to learn, he soaks up everything we tell him. His best words are banana and hi and Dada, and mama when he wants more food, but he also copies so many sounds of words we say I think he'll be adding to that list soon. He signs the words "all done" and "more", and he throws his hands up in the air when you say touchdown. He is in the stage between walking and crawling, where he'll walk until he falls and then crawl the rest of the way. He has about the same amount of hair he had one year ago. He has six teeth when I last counted a couple months ago. He just learned to go downstairs, a good thing since we have 17 in our house. He will sit and look at books and babble to himself, but he loves when we read to him even more. Balls are his favorite toys, any type of ball, and he loves to lift them high above his head and then throw them to you. He loves blowing bubbles in the water at bath time, sleeps at least 12 hours at night and two naps during the day, which makes his mother very happy. He'll do almost anything if I bribe him with going outside, he's an outdoors man. He unfortunately has absolutely zero interest in watching television. He thinks most noises are music and he dances and bobs his head to anything from the prelude music at church to the ice cream truck to a cell phone ring to the beeping of the microwave. He thinks he is the most adorable thing on the planet, and mostly, we agree.

April 2009:

April 2010:

Nate feels the need to give Grayden a mohawk when he puts sunscreen on him. Every time.

Happy Birthday, Little Dude.

April pictures say 1000 words

2010-04-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

But I may add a few, just for fun.

First shiner.

Lots of driving.

Road trip at midnight.
(Does this look like a child who is awake five hours past bedtime? DOES IT?)

Muscle man

Huge, huge, trouble.

Also, we're moving to Las Vegas in May. Nate's new company is sending him to manage the work they're doing on this:

http://www.thesmithcenter.com/

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Today is Bananas

2010-03-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

It's official. I always said that I wouldn't count any word as Grayden's first word until he said it on demand, three days in a row. Even Dada, which he says frequently, doesn't really count. But the past few days all I have to do is hold up that yellow fruit and he says NANA or NANANA (while grinning and kicking his feet and waving his hands). I can't say I'm surprised that it was food that motivated him.

Still in Utah

2010-02-25T10:08:00.000-08:00

And we're having a great time. Seeing lots of friends and family, eating far too much, and going to sporting events such as last night's BYU basketball game.

It was like Grayden had died and gone to heaven.

I've since decided that the short attention span we all think babies have is a crock. My nine-month-old sat for over half an hour barely moving, watching the players warm up and the cheerleaders cheer and the loudspeaker boom and the crowd yell. He barely blinked. The only time he looked away was to hold his hand out for some popcorn, and as soon as a small piece was safely in his hand his eyes went straight back to the court before it even got to his mouth. I wish I had a video, it was laugh-out-loud funny.

Once the first half hour was over, he spent the next 2.5 hours in total bliss, looking around, clapping his hands, stomping his feet, watching the game, flirting with the people behind us, and mooching every last bit of food he could get his hands on. Popcorn, pizza, red vines, snow cones. He really had the time of his life. You never would have guessed it was two hours after his bedtime when we finally left the game, he was still in such high spirits. Possibly a sugar high, but still.

And we also won. So it was a good night all around.

Ticketless...times four.

2010-02-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

I've never gotten a speeding ticket. That doesn't make me special, I'm sure there are many people in the world who can claim the same thing. However......I have now been pulled over while speeding FOUR times and have never been given a ticket. Without crying. What is my secret??

Honestly, no clue. But since it keeps happening I want to document my experiences. Maybe y'all will learn something you can apply in those stomach-sickening siren-induced moments.

The first time I got pulled over was right by the Provo temple. The officer told me he had been following me since the marriott center. Um, okay, I totally didn't see him behind me until I turned at the MTC to drive up the south side of the temple. Anyway, he said it "looked like I had been going too fast, and a pedestrian (not in a crosswalk, mind you) had been about to cross the street in front of my car and I didn't stop for him. Did I miss the part in driver's ed where you are supposed to throw on your breaks in the middle of the road for some punk student who is sauntering across the road into oncoming traffic? The truth is, I hadn't seen anyone even trying to cross the street, and I told him so with my most innocent look on my face. He asked me how fast I was going. I said 35, even though I really had no idea.....what did he expect me to say? "I was flying, man! Must've been going 55!" I'm no dummy. So then he stuck his head into my car through the open window.....yep, you heard me correctly....and said, "Are you listening to loud music?" I had turned the radio down a little when he pulled me over, not to be sneaky but I figured it was nice manners since he was going to talk to me, so it was at a nice quiet level. I said "no". He said,"Well, um, okay then, just be careful driving through campus. OK! Later! That was my first escape.

The second time was also on campus, driving under the bridge walkways towards the Wilk. I actually had to pull into that little drop-off drive thru area and the cop pulled up behind me. He asked me if I knew the speed limit. I said it was 35, and I had been going 39. He said the limit was 30. Oops. I honestly had thought it was 35. I told him so. He asked if I was a student.....and here's the part I'm ashamed of. I said I used to be, but I wasn't currently because I was leaving for my mission soon. True? Yes. But pulling the mission card is still shameful, especially when I knew he wouldn't give me a ticket if I mentioned that. And I was right. He smiled and asked me where I was going and what language, etc. Shame, Shame. He wished me luck and reminded me the speed limit was 30, and I was off. Number two.

The third time was driving from Phoenix to Utah. I was alone, but it was after I got married, and I can't remember why Nate wasn't with me. I was getting close to my destination, and I was getting antsy. So, yes, I was probably going ten over. I was driving my Altima, that only had plates on the back because in AZ that's okay. I guess it's against the law in Utah, though, because I got pulled over about 30 minutes south of Springville and when the cop came to my window he said he had pulled me over because when he saw me coming I didn't have plates on the front of my car......here's where I wanted to say, "And when you got behind me and saw that I did have plates and they are AZ plates and I am therefore breaking no law you still decided to stop me? Bored much?" But instead I laughed kindly and said, oh, I didn't know that law was different in Utah. Bat, bat. He told me I looked like I had been going pretty fast, what was my speed? AGAIN, officers of the law, I appreciate what you do for society, but seriously, if you don't use your little blow dryer speed checker and can't prove someone's speed, chances are we are not going to deliver up any self-incriminating information! Now, here's where I was kind of lucky....my Altima had a digital speedometer that reset itself every so often, and when he asked me what my speed had been it hadn't reset itself yet so it said 81. I pointed to it. :) He said, 81? Why the big hurry? I smiled and with a guily little laugh told him I had been driving almost ten hours and was almost home. He smiled back and said it's not worth getting in an accident and never getting home, to which I gave an understanding side-smile and nod and agreed I should go slower. Mandy, 3. Cops, 0.

And finally, I was pulled over most recently on Monday while driving to Utah, just a few miles before reaching St. George. My parents were in the car behind us because we were going to be meeting for lunch. Even at age 27, it's no fun getting pulled over right in front of Mom and Dad. The officer said I was going 84 in a 75. Then he asked if I had been aware of my speed. I replied with a resigned look on my face (I was positive I was getting a ticket), "Yeah, I was aware, I wasn't really trying to go super fast, but......(trailing off)" Then when he got my license he asked if that was still my address. Well, it's not, and it hasn't been in almost four years, and I was so nervous I mumbled something like," Uh, we still live in Phoenix, but um, not there, eh, we don't live there anymore, but, uh, cause we moved, and I just......(trailing off again). He said he was going back to "run my information". He was gone for a long time. Nate was enjoying mocking me and saying now I can't gloat that I've never gotten a ticket. (He has gotten several). But, when the officer came back he gave me my paperwork and said, "There is a lot of traffic on the road today, be really careful and watch your speed, there's lots of cars on the road." I said we would...but then, because I was still nervous and shocked I kept talking! "We were just following my parents to St. George." He replied, "Well, they weren't going 84." And I laughed nervously and tried to joke.."they totally were! (Then I caught myself and gained some composure. Shut up, Mandy.) No, I understand completely, we'll slow it down." And he was gone. I give the credit for that one to Nate's BYU hat, maybe the guy was a cougar fan, because I had totally lost my cool.

So, that's it. My dad is a retired police officer and always taught me that if you are kind and apologetic you have better chances. His advice seems to work. Here's to number five, whenever that may be.

I surrender.

2010-02-10T11:59:00.001-08:00

I totally give up on trying to make my blog cute. Surely there's a blog award for the world's ugliest blog?

I don't often think about how computer illiterate I am. Thank you, blog, for reminding me. So, until I get the strenth to try it again, it's a froofy-pink-and-salmon-colored-cork-board-valentine-nightmare at the Kolbaba blogspot.

Maybe I'll give it a go around the next big holiday.

UPDATE: After a loving and supportive pep talk by my husband, and a (ahem) mostly loving and supportive comment from a .....friend.......I'm being forced to spend some more time on this wretched thing. For those of you who missed the chance to see the horror before it was (hopefully) fixed, thank your lucky stars.

February so far.

2010-02-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

It's the second of February, so with that as the title of this post, nobody can be expecting much. I just have some funny pictures of my kid to share.

HAPPY VAMPIRE BABY

SAD VAMPIRE BABY

Dirty baby. We let him loose outside and he had the time of his life. I won't even tell you the things he tried to put in his mouth........

Let's hope the following picture is no indication. That is my son's grubby hand, and stuck to it is a bird feather. Yum!

Also, my sister-in-law gave me some soynut butter, so I can give Gray PB and J sandwiches without the actual PB. (Allergies run in Nate's family). It's wonderful to be able to make him a meal so quickly.

Update

2010-01-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I guess I could post the recipe. Duh. It's nice to have good friends to point out when you're an idiot.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
2 ounces semisweet chocolate (or 1/3 cup chocolate chips)
1 cup sugar (2/3 cup & 1/3 cup, added separately)
3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup brown sugar
11/2 cups hot water
Whipped cream or ice cream

Instructions

Coat the inside of a 2 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. (Note: the cake's cooking time and final appearance will vary depending on your crock's size.)
Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water and mix well.
Whisk in the 2/3 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, vanilla extract, salt, milk, and egg yolk. Add the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Pour the batter into the slow cooker and spread it evenly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, cocoa, and hot water until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour the mixture over the batter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the crock pot.
Even when done, the cake will be very moist and floating on a layer of molten chocolate, but you'll know it's ready when nearly all of the cake is set and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pot. (As you check, try not to let the condensed steam from the lid drip onto the cake.)
When it's done, turn off the power and remove the lid. Let it cool for 25 minutes, then serve it in bowls topped with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

I think it would be great with raspberries and whipped cream :)
HERE'S THE MYSTERY. It isn't very clear on when to add the brown sugar, so I added mine when it says "remaining sugar" and dissolved it in the water with the granulated sugar. If you feel the need to add it to the cake batter instead, please let me know how it works out for you. I'm curious. I also used a 6 quart crock pot and it needed at least 1.5 hours, maybe two to be sure. It needs to look very done on the top. Enjoy!

2010-01-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

I promise I'm trying to average more than one post per month. Yesterday, I made a chocolate cake from scratch. In a CROCK POT. Has anyone tried this? It's a little piece of decadence. It's similar to those lava cakes, only you don't have to make them separately. I found the recipe online and mine turned out to be pretty close to the picture they showed, so I was proud. Keeping in mind I just have a crappy little camera and I'm not a professional photographer, compare the following:

Not bad, right? Well, it was yummy and only took about 1.5-2 hours to cook. The prep time was simple as well. I usually hate chocolate desserts from scratch because to me they taste like cocoa and aren't sweet enough. But, this one I'm adding to my collection.

Twenty Ten

2010-01-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

I seriously can't wait to see what this year has in store for us. We haven't had a dull year yet, why should our fifth year together be any different? Bring it on, I say.

December was so full of fun times, and it was also a very big month for Grayden. New teeth, waving hi, scooting and crawling, learning new sign language and consonant sounds, (a favorite trick of his was to make the "f" sound every time we showed him the fish tank. He got great reactions for that one), pulling himself up and walking along furniture, and enjoying his first sledding experience. I have so many pictures from that month it deserves about five different posts. But, as my blogging history suggests, that's not my style. I would much rather post one giant conglomeration of pics with as few words as possible. You know you only want to see pictures anyway.

First thing in December, we decorated the tree. Grayden helped a little, but mostly wondered why I kept taking pictures and stared at the Christmas lights. This first picture is my favorite, I think he looks like he belongs in Who-ville.

This picture is Nate's favorite because he says Grayden's square jaw makes him look like one of those Lego action figures.

He loved playing tug of war with Daddy and the lights. Daddy won.

Next on the agenda was Disneyland. I was finally able to go with Nate to Carlsbad for the week and we stopped by D-land for the evening.

Twinners!

On Dumbo he went right for the controls. It was a bumpy ride.

Loved the Carousel. I think he looks a lot like his cousin Trent in this picture.

We loved the Carousel so much we petted the horses for a little bit.

Ok, here goes. Please don't report me to Child Protective Services, okay? I realized the error of my ways after it was too late. We thought this would be such a cute picture. Little King Grayden pulling on Arthur's sword, probably the most well-known photo op in Disneyland. One of us hid behind him to hold him up there safely and the other took the picture:

Cute, right? Well, what we didn't consider was the fact that babies of this age always seem to do the same thing with stuff put into their hands.......oh yes, make no mistake. The following is my son's mouth on the dirtiest, most touched surface in the state, probably in the country. I shudder.

The people who were watching thought it was a riot, I think I saw a couple get out their own cameras. Anyway, that was Disneyland. Gray hasn't come down with any rare and horrible disease yet. We'll keep you posted.

Finally, we spent Christmas in Chicago with Nate's family. Other than the sleepless nights of teething babies, we all had a great time.

The Boys.

The Girls. (Yep, that was the best pic we got.)

My boys. Grayden sported that funky smile all night, I think he could sense the excitement.

Grayden learned he could stand up with his back propped up against the couch and not hold on. He was so thrilled he stayed like that for a long time. I took about 30 pictures. I won't bore you with all of them. Here he's waving hi.

Looking around.

Wondering why he's getting such a big reaction from the room.

Our little Phoenix boy getting ready for the snow. At first he was okay...

Then he wasn't okay.

As soon as we got outside, however, he recovered immediately and loved every minute of it. Can you tell we tied off the feet of his snowsuit with rubber bands? He looks like an amputee.

We didn't send him sledding by himself, this was just for the pictures.

This was after Nate took him down the "hill", which is the two flights of stairs leading down from the deck to the backyard that the boys tried to pack with snow.

They are so handsome! That picture is my favorite, I think it belongs on a magazine cover.

Happy New Year to everyone :)

2009-11-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

Wow, November is already over. How does that happen? Christmas will be here in no time, and then the new year. Insane.

I don't have anything fun or specific to blog about, I just couldn't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted anything. We've had lots of family in town, multiple illnesses, tons of traveling, and the end of 7 Brides. So. So. Sad.

So, I guess we'll catch up family who live far away, and those of you I don't see anymore because we moved, or those of you who don't have facebook. Like my mom.

Grayden is seven months now. Crazy! He's happy and fun and started pulling himself up whenever possible.....he is still not a huge fan of being on his stomach, so he's only scooted a couple times. Mostly he rolls to what he wants. He's had a horrible ear infection this weekend which has made him sad.

Nate goes out of town every week for work. Poor guy has to suffer on the beach in Carlsbad Monday through Friday. When he comes home, he watches Gray and I go do the show. Those of you who know Nate may be shocked to hear this......he didn't even go to his friend's house to watch the BYU - Utah game because Grayden was sick and he wanted to take care of him at home. That's love, folks. We're grateful Nate has a good job in this rough economy and now that the show is over I'll go to Cali with him sometimes so we can be together.

The show is over. Closing night was Saturday. I keep trying to console myself with thoughts of free weekends and less driving and more time for other things.....but it's not working at all. The hard thing about this hobby is how abruptly it can end. You know those things you love? Now imagine if you woke up one day and you were told this was the last day you could sew, or scrapbook, or play the piano.....for months, maybe years. It's so heartbreaking. And that only applies to the performances, then add on all the amazing people you met and grew to love, and saw 3 to 5 days a week, and now you can't see them like that anymore. It's just awful. I'll miss it more than I can express.

And since I'm already crying, here are some happy memories of those people I love and miss terribly.

Belated Halloween

2009-11-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

I realize that according to the radio, Target, and the mall, it's Christmastime in the city. If your tree is up already, I'm sorry to remind you of that distantly past holiday we call Halloween. However, I just got these pictures off of Nate's camera, and as most first-time mothers often do, I feel I must catalog the events of "baby's first Halloween". Here's what we did that week:

Grayden and I went to California with Nate for a few days, he's been traveling a lot for work. Since we had to be home in three days, there was a lot to do. First, we carved a pumpkin for Family Home Evening. (We were neither home, nor was it evening, but we're a family so it counts). Grayden's job was to help scoop out the seeds:

Hold the top for Dad while he carved for 60 seconds:

And then to pose with the finished product:

Then, do we ever go to California without dropping by D-land? (answer: no, we do not)

First, we put on the Mickey Crocs. Thanks Jame!

Then we attempted to warm up a very cold baby. Phoenix has spoiled this child.

At dinnertime, with what was Grayden so fascinated?

The ducks. He could not tear his eyes away from them.

And finally, we went on the ferris wheel. I always forget I'm afraid of ferris wheels until I get on one. I'll take the highest, fastest roller coaster in the world over the ferris wheel.

For Halloween, Gray wore the costume Aunt Melissa gave him last year before he was born. I've been surprised at the number of people that can't tell what he is. Seriously? He's a brown leather oval with white stripes around each end and white stitching up the middle. I can't think of anything else that falls under that description.

He's a football, people, a FOOTBALL! Sheesh.

Ok, now you can turn the radio back on and rock around the Christmas tree all you want.

Absence.

2009-10-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

Why I've ditched my husband, baby, and all other responsibilities. If you're in the area and are looking for a fun date night, come see the show!

Sadly, yes, I'm the pink bride.

P.W.

2009-10-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

We're packing.

We've been packing slowly for a couple weeks. I strongly dislike moving. Mostly because of all the packing. We're getting down to the wire, though, but there are still random things all over the house that I'm avoiding. I walk past it, consider it for a second, and then move on and plan on dealing with that one thing later.

You know that scene on PeeWee's Big Adventure? Or is it only my family that quotes that movie incessantly? When the pet store is on fire and he's getting all the animals out, but he keeps passing by the snakes and then moving on to another animal, postponing the inevitable. That's me. Something is too breakable, or too heavy, or too oddly shaped to fit in a box, etc. So, I glance at something and then quickly look away, like if I can't see it, it can't see me.

The trouble is, sooner or later, I'm going to have to move those dumb things. And I keep having to really brainstorm to find other things to do instead of pack the random items. I'm running out of ways to procrastinate.

Hence, the random post. But now it's over. Now what am I gonna do?

High Quality Genes

2009-10-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Nope, that's not a misspelling, I'm not talking about denim in today's post. Actually, I'm not doing most of the talking in this post, I'm copying an email from my mother. I am sharing this with you for a couple reasons. One, I love my family and I think they are the funniest people on the planet. Two, if you didn't already know that my parents are the funniest people on the planet, you will now. Enjoy.

Okay. I apologize for this before I even start. I feel like a tattle tale. But last night, after 41 years of marriage, I do believe that something happened that I need to share. I am so startled and disbelieving about the whole thing that all I can do is go to the women I am closest to and ...........share. I was sitting in my bedroom with the TV on last night trying to watch House and Dancing With the Stars at the same time, not an easy task to begin with. All of a sudden out of the laundry room comes the most horrendous noise that you have ever heard in your whole life. I thought the washing machine (actually Melissa's washing machine) had blown up and was spewing parts all over the room. I jumped up and ran into the kitchen where Jim was doing Soduku on the computer. "What is that?" I asked with fear in my voice looking toward the laundry room afraid of what I would see. "I'm washing my GOLF BALLS. It's okay." "You're washing what?" I asked dubious to say the least. "My golf balls. It's okay. I've done it before."
Not to my knowledge.
Rather than risk an end to an otherwise long and long suffering marriage I stormed back into the bedroom and shut the door. A few minutes later the machine starts it's spin cycle.......with golf balls in it. Go ahead. Use your imagination. A washing machine in the spin cycle with golf balls:(
I got up and walked into the kitchen......"Jim, I don't think golf balls need to go through an entire cycle. Just take them out!" "No," he says, "I wash them with bleach and soap and they need to rinse."
"Jim, you can fill a bucket with water, bleach and soap let them soak and get the same results. You don't have to put them in the washing machine."
"Yes, you do. It doesn't work the same."
I hate to admit it, but at this point I was speechless. What more could I say? The man was convinced that what he was doing was perfectly normal and I was over reacting to the whole thing. I returned to House and Donny Osmond.
I sat in the room for a while until the blood was no longer pulsating in my temples. I tried to laugh. (I can today, not last night.) After a while I decided I had too much invested to let golf balls in the washing machine ruin my day, marriage, life, etc. So I went in the kitchen, gave my husband a big hug, and told him I have no idea how his genes work. They say women are an enigma.
Thanks for letting me unload. You notice I only sent this to my daughters and Sharlene. I was worried that maybe the gene slipped over to the sons and their wives would find this perfectly normal behavior. Sharlene would not let this happen in her house.
I love you all,
Mom

Seriously, you gotta love my Dad. Unless of course you are married to him, then you have to love my dad. (Sorry, Mom).

3 Weeks?

2009-09-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I read a friend's blog and it has a link to my blog on the sidebar with a little caption that says "three weeks" I am sure it is wrong and just hasn't refreshed itself to my most recent post.....but then without fail I check my own blog and alas, it's true. I promise I feel like I blog twice a week.

So, here's an update on the splits story. Yes, I am doing the show, and yes, I am loving 90% of it. It's my hobby, it makes me happy, and even Nate, who came to watch a little of rehearsal and do the baby swap, says I am totally in my element there. (He said this in the same breath as answering my question about how bored he looked by saying, "I just choose to have fun different ways". I guess learning 2 counts of 8 and then doing it over and over, and then from the beginning of the dance and then over again would be a little mundane for him. It's totally my idea of a good time, though, and I don't think he fully understands how I enjoy it, but he's supportive anyway). There is about four times as much dancing in this show than any of the other times I've done it, so my sad little post-pregnancy body is having to catch up quickly. To put it in the words of my friend Shelley, "I feel like the freaking Tin Man." 27 has never felt so old.

To add insult to injury, the director noticed recently that with the insane amounts of dancing in this show (including clogging and ballet......right) it just may not be ready by opening night. The solution? Starting rehearsal an hour earlier every day. Yes, that's 6pm to 10pm. With an hour drive to get there and an hour to get home, that is six hours a day I'm dedicating to this performance. GO AHEAD, call me crazy. I completely agree with you. What kind of person spends 30 hours a week killing themselves without getting paid? It's insane I tell you! Why does it have to be so fun???

To answer your question before you ask, I have not been able to do the splits since that fateful audition. I'm hoping in the next three weeks I can master it, but if not, who cares! We're wearing long skirts the whole time, none of you will be able to see my legs! HA!

Did I mention Nate and I are moving next week? It's only two miles east, but that doesn't change the fact that we have to box up all our stuff and get a truck and haul everything those two miles and then unpack, all while I am gone all night and Nate is gone all day. Perhaps we should loan our five-month-old out to someone, we would get so much more done!

Speaking of.....

He's hilarious.

Raise your hand if you can.......

2009-09-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

The girls in my family have an inside joke about auditions and performances. I don’t think I even know how it started, but the rule is, if you are asked whether or not you can do something, anything, the answer is yes. Who here can juggle? (raise hand). Back handsprings? Yup. Can you do a triple pirouette? Yes I can. You get the idea.

Well, last Monday I auditioned for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. (This would be my third time doing this show). The Hale Center Theatre is the only one in the valley that doesn’t perform on Sundays, so even though it is an hour away in traffic, I decided to give it a shot. I got there 10 minutes early and the lobby was full of people and it looked like everyone knew each other, most in dance clothes and stretching out. I was suddenly really glad I wore my stretchy capris.

Anyway, they split us up into 4 groups of 20 and I was in the first group to learn the dance. Then we split up in smaller groups to dance for the director, blah blah blah, moving on. As we sat there after the last small group had danced, the director started asking the girls one by one if they could do the splits. I started to giggle to myself. I was finally going to get the chance to raise my hand and claim I can do something I really can’t! “Raise your hand if you can juggle.” “Who here can do a triple pirouette?” Me! Me! Inside I was thinking I couldn’t do the splits right now if someone held me at gun point, but of course I’m saying I can…until after asking the first 4 girls he says, “I guess I should be having you do these.” Crud! Knot in stomach forms. ….There is no stinking way, I just had a baby! Not to mention I lost all flexibility years ago. He told us we would be doing the splits before the singing portion of the audition.

At this point the 60 other people in the lobby hadn’t done anything yet, so we left the stage and waited while they all learned the dance. During that hour plus, I watched all these other girls stretch out for the splits…..and most of them were real dancers. I did a couple token stretches here and there, pretending like I couldn’t touch my toes because I wasn’t really trying, not because I wasn’t capable, which I wasn’t. When we finally went back in to sing, the choreographer said we would all do the “jump splits” first, then sing our songs. I was about sixth on the list, so I had very little time to think of how to get out of it. (By the way, jump splits are not a toe touch, it means to jump up and then fall into the splits). As a last vain attempt, when my name was called I stood up and said in a joking tone, “I had a baby three months ago, doesn’t that qualify me for a get out of jail free card?” The director and the choreographer both smiled and gave a chuckle…and then the room went quiet and everyone was staring at me. I stared back and waited a second…..

Isn’t anyone going to stop me?

No. So, I shrugged and knowing full well that I would hurt myself jumped up and went down into the splits….all….. the… way …down! Adrenaline is a beautiful thing. I was so shocked I kind of stared at my legs for second, then stood up and tried to act natural. I haven’t done the splits since 2002. It was an audition miracle!

Wednesday callbacks did not have the same magic. After we all did the dance he went around asking if anyone could do special leaps or tricks. The guys did some tumbling, but none of the girls were doing anything, and I DO NOT know what possessed me, but I raised my hand and said I could do a side switch leap. ….probably the most difficult leap I ever did in my dancing days. Why, why did I say that? SO he asked me to do it and I gave it my best shot, the leap was pretty darn good but I landed on my butt. Yes, right on my rear. ( honestly a common way to fall when learning to do that leap, but still). The choreographer said, well, the mechanics are there! Awesome.

Then he split the girls into three groups of seven to read parts and I read the part of Dorkas…..when it got to the part that Millie tells us she’s getting married and we’re supposed to “ad lib” I tried to think of what a hussy would say to that. So I said, “Lucky!” But it came out sounding just like Napoleon Dynamite says it and the director doubled over and laughed out loud for a long time.

As it would turn out, they must have been looking for someone who would try to weasel out of the splits, gracefully fall flat on her butt, and do a good Napoleon Dynamite impersonation, because by some miracle they cast me anyway.

If you’re looking for me, I’ll be at rehearsal.

Wanna See Something Gross?

2009-08-10T08:54:00.001-07:00

I love that question.

Of course the answer is no, thank you. Who in their right mind says "Yes, please!" to that question? Except maybe a 12 year-old boy. (Or any age boy, but we're straying from the point).

The best part about that question is that no matter the answer, they always show you the gross thing anyway:

See? Told ya. Didn't you wake up this morning and think today I want to see clumps of Mandy's hair? No? Hm. Sorry about that.

Ladies, (I assume most people who see this blog are female.....although after that picture it's probably the gentlemen who didn't immediately close the browser window in disgust) this is after one shower. ONE. This has been going on for weeks and weeks. And that's not even the worst picture I could've taken! When will the insanity end?

I know I'm not alone in this, many women lose hair after pregnancy. My sisters lose their hair after they have babies. Actually, twice I have made the unfortunate faux pas of asking, "What happened to that section of hair right in the front of your hairline that is sticking straight up and is only an inch long?" And they remind me kindly that it's growing back from when it fell out after having a baby. And now it's my turn.

Boy, is it my turn.

If you leave a comment, please give me a clue as to when I can expect this wonderful aftershock of pregnancy to end. Thanks.

All Hail Ad Match

2009-08-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

Maybe WalMart doesn't have the greatest produce of all time, but it's average and I can handle that.....especially at these prices!!

I paid less than $12 for all of this:
That's 30 peaches, 13 pears, 8 tomatoes, 1 bunch of celery, and about 500 (6 lbs) of blueberries.

Cobbler, anyone?

*A special shout-out to Ranch Market, for advertising their peaches at 33 cents a pound so Walmart had to match their price.

Like Father Like Son

2009-08-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

They say that the newborn walking reflex disappears by 6 weeks......but Grayden's is still going strong. Apparently Nate was walking at 8 months old, so I guess Nate really is the father.

He would do this all day if I had the energy.

The Cape!

2009-07-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hooray for summer vacations. Cape Cod was a fabulous break from the everyday. We beached, sunned, and ate lots of fried seafood. Three cheers for Arnold's lobster shack. The following is about a million pictures of the events that transpired while in Massachusetts, basically in three categories. Beaching, kiting, eating.

This is the inside of the cape, and in the morning the tide is WAY out and you can walk forever picking up shells and squishing your toes in sand.

When Grayden spits up, which is about 87 times a day, sometimes he smears it on his face before I can get to it. Or, he sneezes and it gets everywhere.

This was the first time we put his toes in the sand. He enjoyed it, so we got nice and messy.

He liked his sunglasses because he didn't have to squint when he wore them, but they were too big so the strap had to go around his hat......kinda looks like a pilot.

One of many amazing sunsets:

Okay, Nate's dad Scott has a slight kite obsession. Here we are flying a 16 meter kiteboarding kite that has a ONE THOUSAND pound lift......so we tied it to an anchor.

Nate flying the kite:

Nate (and Ian) helping Mandy fly the kite so I didn't take off:

This was how my first attempt ended....this kite was SO strong.

This is my second attempt....you see how my husband who was supposed to be helping me is cowering in fear. Once that kite starts whipping around out of control it could take your head off, so it's best he was on the ground....I, on the other hand, now know what it's like to do a belly flop on sand. Yipee!

Nate and Grayden's footprints. We were waxing artistic :)

Famous Arnold's! Gray's overalls had a lobster on the front, but you can't see it in the picture.

One restaurant gave out tattoos for the kids......and yes, we did it. (And for my family, isn't that a classic "where's the salad bar" look?)

There is not enough room on the internet to describe the Kolbaba family's love of ice cream....suffice it to say we ate it a few times a day in Cape Cod, and this turned out to be one of our favorite places:

Mandy herself gave me a balloon because we share the same name :) And LOOK! This must be where McDonald's got the idea.......I wonder if I could collect royalties on that?*

*Joke. I'm not that dumb.

And the rest of these pictures are just cute pictures of Gray for his grandparents. In this first one we were trying to get a pouty look. Success!

Let's Serenade Nate

2009-07-03T09:52:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you.....

This month is such a special one it's birthday time for yooooou......

Estas soooon las mananiiiiitas que cantaaaaaba el Rey Daviiiiiid......

You've had a birthday shout hooray.....

This is your birthday song, it isn't very long.......

Cumpleanos feliz, cumpleanos feliz..........

So many ways to sing Happy Birthday to my hubby. Although he's ancient now, I still love him a lot. Drop him a line and tell him he's wonderful today.

Dear Diary

2009-06-26T10:38:00.001-07:00

Disclaimer: What follows is a purely selfish journaling post for my benefit. Lots of pictures, quick explanations, like a travel log. However, if you are interested, this pretty much wraps up our month of June 2009.

After the blessing, my sister Amy and her husband Eric came to visit us all the way from China. We entertained each other for four days, and loved every minute.

Then we all met up in Disneyland with my parents and my sister Chandra. Disneyland is always wonderful, but this trip was super special for a number of reasons.

It was Grayden's first time, at six weeks old, (which still doesn't beat Chandra taking her two week old). Thanks to Jamie for the shirt she gave him at my baby shower. Here we are in the Grand Californian, getting ready for the day.
Gray got the customary mouse ears:

Then for brunch we went to Club 33, an exclusive club for members with a restaurant above the Blue Bayou. In front of the elusive door:
The tiny elevator up to the restaurant:
The big round table where we sat:
They gave Gray a "1st time" pin:
And last but certainly not least, the toilets that look like wicker chairs. Good times!
We also saw the first night of the new and improved Fantasmic show in the VIP seating area. They provide you with treat boxes and serve you drinks.

Man, we were high class this trip! You would have thought we were celebrities:

While we were in California, we stopped in on my brother's commencement. For his Ph.D. in electrical engineering. (Ok, so it was the reason we went to Cali in the first place). It was a somber day of sincere introspection for him:

The next week my parent came into town again for my nephew Talon's baptism (followed by a rocking BBQ and pool party. I think my brother Ryan cooked a whole cow....and a pig.....and a few chickens) :
Next, my friend Shelley came into town and we had a day to hang out together, but I don't have any pictures of that yet. Shocking. But it was super fun to spend a day with her, I'm glad she came.

And, interspersed throughout June, we have been crazy first parents taking pictures of our new smiley boy. Or should I say goofy grinning boy. He kinda has an awkward smile:

As a side note, Nate and I woke up one morning to a grunting baby, and when I went to get him saw this. I made Nate run and get the camera. I gave birth to seal. But now when I say we're going to give him to the circus, we know he's got his act all planned out. He'll be a star.

Blessings

2009-06-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

Nate blessed Grayden on Sunday. The entire Kolbaba clan was able to come, and my parents and brother's family. It's so nice to spend a weekend with family.

Love these guys.

25%

2009-05-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

This little boy is in the 25th percentile at one month. I gave birth to a runt. Who would've guessed?

That's me. I think there are some similarities. Mostly the chubbiness.

He gets this from YOUR side of the family....

2009-05-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

My kid doesn't love to lie flat on his back when he's awake. Who likes to stare at the ceiling anyway? So, sometimes I prop him up on the Boppy (thanks Carrie!) so he can look around. As I was folding some laundry, I look over and see this:

So I grabbed the camera. The little smile was just luck, he smiles a lot in his sleep. But the pose is beyond me. I'm glad he's too young to tell me what he wants to be when he grows up, I don't think I could handle him saying "male model".

He's also gained nearly a pound. Notice the double chin.

Grayden has arrived!!!

2009-05-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

As always we are a little behind in our blogging. But this is a big one. Grayden James has come into our lives and has completely taken it over. It was not by force of course, but by pure adorableness. (See picture below)

He was born April 27th at 6:19 pm. He was 6 lbs 14 oz and 19.5". Now because this is our first there is great debate on which family he looks like most. When I first saw him, he looked very similar to a few nephews on Mandy's side. But if you scroll down to the post called "Little Drama King" and see the picture of baby Nate, you will see a great resemblance. I think it is a mirror image.

Both myself and Mandy are enamored with him. He is a good eater and sleeper. We could not have asked for a better son. He is also very strong. At three days old, he rolled over. We were doing some tummy time and like most babies, Grayden does not like it. Well, he got very upset and said that is it and rolled over.

As you can see we have jumped into video blogging with both feet. We are no longer chained down by the shackles of just pictures.

It looks like we are still learning how to use the video camera. So here are some more pictures.

Kick.....me

2009-04-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Nope, the title does not refer to my unborn (but not for long!) child.

You know the phrase "on a kick"? Such as, "I'm on a cereal kick", or a rollerblading kick, or a purple nail polish kick, or a peanut butter kick, etc. It usually refers to a kind of temporary passion or fetish a person may have, for no particular reason other than a random heightened interest in one thing for an extended period of time.

Some kicks are good. Actually, it's nice when these turn into permanent kicks, or "habits" as we like to call them at that point. In this category you would find kicks such as journal writing, exercise, eating certain healthy foods, service or volunteer work, and countless hobby kicks that turn into real talents.

When it comes to kicks in the food category, pregnant women can get away with murder because it's referred to as a "craving". So, if an expectant mother wanted to eat a Snickers bar with every meal, you wouldn't call it an unhealthy kick, it's a silly craving that will pass....(if you are wise, you wouldn't say anything at all about it).

Well, folks, I am on a kick. A bad, evil kick. The title of my kick is: Scones.

Now, other than things like illegal substance abuse, I can't think of a more unhealthy kick. Why must my current fetish be deep fried in oil and then smothered in butter or honey or jam or powdered sugar? The grease alone is going to kill me. What's worse, this kick takes serious effort, since I use frozen rolls dough that has to defrost for about four hours. This is no instant gratification kick. But am I willing to put in the time? Oh, yes. Mine is also a dangerous kick. I won't post a picture of the hot oil blister I have on my finger, but this kick has wounded me. You would think that would slow it down a little, but I haven't noticed that effect yet.

So, who do I blame for this current kick? Oh, pick one:

1. My mother. Every once in a while when we were kids (and sometimes even now as adults when we get together) my mom would get up early to start the dough defrosting so when we were all up and ready to eat she could make these scones for us. So, I obviously associate scones with a loving act by my mom. Also, she's the one who taught me how to make them. It's her fault! (Besides, isn't it customary to blame the mother)?

2. My husband. He really likes them, too. So technically I'm just being a selfless wife making my husband happy. I will not go into further detail about how he eats one or two and I eat.....more. And about all those times I make them while he's not even home.......hm. Let's move on.

3. The kid. He can't defend himself, so let's blame the little guy. It's a craving! I have no control over it! I'm pregnant!! He's the one who likes the greasy, buttery goodness!

Phew. I feel much better. This blogging thing is pretty therapeutic.

Worth Sharing

2009-04-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

If you have seven minutes, watch this. It might make you happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-KiGva9dV4

(You actually only need four minutes...seriously, watch it.)

Security Codes and Malfunctioning Neurons

2009-04-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Surely I'm not the only one that has noticed the change google made for typing in the "code" to leave a comment on a blog. Nobody else has mentioned it to me, but a few weeks ago I swear they started making those security codes much easier to type, by making them have the same structure as an actual word, albeit a made-up one. Am I imagining this?

You used to have to type things like jprylki......svziuyc......mqrstuyp.......To be honest it took me forever and I usually did it old school style with my one pointer finger. And now it's always something pronounceable like strogey..............harxle..........prazner........which is far easier to type in the more sophisticated way. Somebody please tell me I am not making this up.

I need some reassurance about my brain function. The other day at dinner there was an emtpy bowl and an empty cup on the table, one for milk to drink and the other for salsa. As you can see, when I picked up the milk carton my mind deceived me and I poured the milk in the wrong dish.

Maybe my subconscious wants a pet cat? Not likely.

No Ketchup!!

2009-03-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

We had a Chicago Dog night with the Doziers. For those who haven't studied up on hot dog history, the chicago dog is very specific and those from the Windy City are very proud of it. Not only are the ingredients strangely precise, but there are also rules about how to cut the vegetables and there is even an ORDER you have to put them all on the bun....the poppyseed bun. But no ketchup! It's "taboo" to put ketchup on a chicago dog. Here's a picture of one:

I don't think I can remember all the ingredients, but they all went together very well and you sprinkle celery salt on the top......a stroke of genius, I say. We fudged on the peppers, those are not "sport peppers" like you're supposed to have, but it was delicious anyway.....I just hope no chicago dog police see this blog.

Pregnant ladies preparing their dawgs. I'm wearing an apron because I got tired of my stomach getting dirty every time I cook.

I think Nate was the only one who could fit the thing in his mouth. They were huge, but SO SO good!

Little Drama King

2009-03-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is Nate. Mandy sent this email to the family after her most recent ultrasound, and I thought it was funny so I'm posting it.

After multiple failed attempts and much prodding, the kid (name debate continues) finally let us see a little more than the back of his head.....but only on his terms.

Behold.

1. In picture one, his face is scrunched up with irritation and he's raising a menacing fist

2. In picture two (right after we took picture one) he opened his fist and held his open hand palm-out right in front of the camera, covering his face entirely. What are we, the paparazzi? "No pictures, please!" Stinkin' little prima donna.

3. In picture three, after moving his hand, he is smiling, no doubt he thought his picture two pose was a hilarious joke on us. He thinks he's so funny. He gets that from me.

4. And in picture four, he finally, (albeit grudgingly, see those pouting lips?) turns towards the camera.

The ultrasound technician said we're going to have our hands full with this one. Right after she asked if she could print out copies of these pictures for herself, since they look like a cartoon reel.

I realize he looks like a claymation alien, but any thoughts on who he resembles?

Well this might help resolve the debate. This picture was sent by my mom when she saw the ultrasound. It was taken shortly after I was born. The other is kid flipped.

Observant, again.

2009-02-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

Once again, I mentioned something in passing and my husband jumped at the chance to solve the problem. The culprit this time? How much I want to change the background template of this blog. It bugs me, but never enough to do anything about it. As I was reading a friend's blog I mentioned to Nate how cute the template was and how boring ours is.......next thing I know, I look on our own blog to find this......okay, so it looks exactly the same as before except for a thin, strange brown design on the sides, and there's a weird transparent link right over the title of the first post, but that doesn't matter. It's like Valentine's day every day being married to this sweet guy.

Put 'er there!

2009-02-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

*I just needed something to post to get rid of that ticker......seriously.

Jokes

2009-02-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

I have no desire to have a constant update of my pregnancy on my blog. It's selfish of me, really, and kind of a mental game I play with myself, but I don't want to be told EXACTLY how far along I am or how many days I have left. I like to lie to myself a little. For example, the day after I hit a certain number of weeks, I tell myself I am already at the following week's progress. Also, I prefer to think, at six months, that it means there are three months left, instead of the actual four, (a worldwide fallacy with which I am willing to play along). Tomorrow I want to be able to say, Mandy, you are about 28 weeks along, when in fact I will only be 27 weeks and one day. And that darn little blue ticker will be brutally honest every single day! Nope, I won't have it. I like my mind games. I NEED my mind games.

So, I boycott the ticker. Why, then, did I put one up on this post? Because today while I was looking at a friend's ticker I clicked on it, and came to find that instead of developmental progress you could have the ticker tell little jokes about pregnancy. (If it didn't also have the "days left" part, I might have caved and put a permanent one on my blog). Also, I just happened to find today's joke super funny, because so many people look at you with doe eyes and ask how you're feeling when they probably don't really want to know. And if they do want to know, it's most likely because they already DO know, and they either want to gloat or commiserate.

Please don't get me wrong, I fully support this social habit. I'm sure I've been known to give the doe eyes myself, because it's a comforting feeling when a friend says their hips feel like they just might split in two, or anything else that makes me think, "Me, too!"

Anyway, this post wasn't supposed to be this long, but I feel I should mention that even though I do count down the days, and yes, my hips hurt, I'm actually enjoying this time. Somehow even getting kicked in the ribs isn't so bad when you're pregnant, and that's always nice.

I's

2009-01-27T15:17:00.000-08:00

Huge, aren't they? This is my niece Madi, but it's kinda hard to see her behind those huge peepers. Sadly, it's nearly genetically impossible for my kid to get these eyes. Maybe he'll get some other great features, like Nate's hair.

I am a cow.

2009-01-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

Or at least my husband thinks I am. He packs a lunch for me to take to work everyday (because he loves me) but today I was a little shocked when I got to work and looked in my bag.

He packed me leftover casserole from yesterday's dinner, an apple, and a ziploc bag of Fritos. Sounds like a perfect lunch, right?

Well, he also packed me a package of uncooked Top Ramen, a big bag of caramel Hershey Kisses, a bag of unpopped microwave popcorn, and a movie-sized box of Crunch candy.

What does this guy think I do for eight hours? I called him and asked if he was joking, because that's something he would do, and said he was about the Ramen.....meaning the rest was all for me! That dude makes me laugh. And, I may set a pregnancy weight gain record.

ARRRRRR!

2009-01-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

The Anderson family biennial murder mystery New Year's Eve extravaganza was a grand success. (I'll post about Christmas later). Everyone came in costume and character for a night of pillaging, looting, drinking, and swashbuckling good times.

Melissa and I were the governor's daughters, my dad's the governor, my mom is Thumbless Jacky, (I tell you that so you don't think she's making gang signs for the camera), Amy's hubby is the Commodore, Chandra was the galley wench, Nate was a "merchant sailor" and my love interest :) Everyone else was a crazy pirate name I can't remember. (Notice I am behind someone and holding my dress up to hide my bulging belly. I was a pretty inappropriate governor's daughter, I looked more like a pregnant prom queen from the 80's.)

Look at how well my sister made it look like a pirate meal! We had ribs and wings and all things meaty, nuts and grapes and ham and bean soup in tavern-y bowls, pirate plates, root and apple "beers" and cranberry "ale". She rocks.

Here she is serving everyone drinks in FULL character as a galley wench. I think she even got a little fiesty at someone and threw their bread at them.......

This is my brother who just got his doctorate in electrical engineering.......but this is his true self. And his wife Brita, also pregnant and due just a couple days after I am.

My mom's pirate pose is eerily similar to her rapper's pose that she made at the last murder mystery party two years ago.....that year was superhero year and she was decked out in baggy clothes and chains, but making this exact same pose. She's a riot.

Wendy's striped tights and pageant shoes from the 80s make her a winner in my book.....and below, her husband Cory with dreadlocks and a parrot on his shoulder made me laugh all night. How did every single one of my siblings find spouses that are willing to be as nutty as we are?

Nate's sailor outfit is so great, those are women's pants he found at a thrift store and a child's size sailor hat. He's a goofball, and I love him. Next to my dad, the governor.

And for memories' sake, Nate was the murderer, he killed Cory the pirate because Nate used to be a pirate and wanted his treasure, that and he needed to bring a pirate to justice in order to win my hand in marriage :) Too bad I dumped him after he commit the crime.

Have a Fabulous Christmas!

2008-12-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

We are leaving today for Utah, with a quick 48-hour stop in Vegas to see the BYU game. Go cougs! We will be gone until the new year, so everyone be safe and don't drink and drive. I look forward to the cheery posts I will see when we return. I'll try and take pictures of our annual New Year's Eve family murder mystery costume party so I can share the joy with you all......we go all out, it's great fun.

It's a boy!

2008-12-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

Why did they give this girl a license?

2008-11-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

I eat a bowl of cereal on my way to work. I started this tradition 6 months ago when I realized that it was too early for me to eat at home before I left, but 30 minutes later by the time I got to work I was starving. I realize there are safer ways to drive, but that’s not the focus of my story. Last week on my way to work I had a bowl of rice crispies in my hand as I started the car and began to pull forward, coasting a little on my empty street. Then I remember that Nate had driven my car last and the seat was too far back, so I leaned down, lifted the handle with my empty left hand and tried to gently scoot forward. The seat, however, didn’t move at all, it was stuck somehow. SO, I was almost to the point on my little street where I have to turn onto an even littler street, so I went to put my foot on the brake so I could slide the seat forward safely before I turned.
Then, simultaneously, my foot was hovering over the brake as my seat suddenly decided it was time to move forward, which made my foot hit the brake, which sudden stop in movement made my seat throw itself all the way forward like a rocket, which made my foot slam the brake pedal all the way down and the car come to a lurching halt and I was thrown against the steering wheel and I nearly crashed my head through the windshield and my rice crispies went flying. Not the bowl, no, I was still clinging to the empty bowl when I came to and realized what had just happened. Grateful I was alive, I moved the seat back again and surveyed the damage. I couldn’t have gotten the inside of my car to be that covered with milk and rice crispies if I had made serious effort. It was as if a rice crispy bomb had gone off. Apparently, rice crispies multiply in the bowl like grape nuts. It was on the roof of the car, the windshield top to bottom, covered the instrument panel, the steering wheel, the entire floor area, the passenger seat, the passenger floor, the middle console, in my hair, on my face, from my neck to my feet I was speckled and soaking wet. After a few seconds of stunned silence (and considering the possibility of just going to work like that, that explains my state of mind) I turned the car around (and drove past the two houses I had driven by previously) to get to my house. I sloshed in my shoes as I walked into my house and standing there on the tile decided all I could do was yell Naaaaaaaaate! He ran downstairs immediately yelling “What happened, is everything okay?” until he saw me, and saw the hundreds of cereal bits stuck to every part of me. Then he got this really compassionate look on his face and said, “Oh, did you throw up?” Well, of course that made me laugh to tears, but finally I told him no, that I needed him to help me clean my car because I spilled. He went outside and immediately came back in saying, “WHAT did you do??” Honestly, folks, it was SO bad, and we didn’t even get a picture. He had to bring out the shop vac!! So, that’s my story, my wonderful husband mopped up my car while I went upstairs and took a shower because I had milk in every crevice.

And in case you’re wondering if I learned my lesson, the answer is yes....... when I eat cereal in the car I always make sure I move the seat first :)

For Amy, My Home Fry

2008-11-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry it took me so long, dude.

8 Favorite TV shows:
1. 8? I hate most TV shows
2. The Office
3. Wheel of Fortune
4. Everybody Loves Raymond
5. Monk
6. Trivia shows
7. College football
8. That’s about it.

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Went to work

2. Talked to my mom on the phone for 45 minutes

3. Drank hot chocolate sitting by a fire in our backyard

4. Had family home evening

5. Read some conference talks

6. Ate leftovers for dinner

7. Crochet (yes, I’m an old lady)

8. Had some great conversation with Nate

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Holidays

2. Taking showers

3. All meals

4. Seeing Nate after work

5. Making new recipes

6. Spending time with family

7. Nate shaving his face

8. Sleeping in on Saturdays

8 Restaurants:

1. Manuel’s

2. Maggiano’s!

3. Papa Johns :)

4. Outback

5. Wienerschnitzel

6. PF Changs

7. Tepanyaki

8. In n Out

8 Things on my wish list:

1. My dumb citrus tree to make some fruit already

2. The ability to play the piano

3. My degree finally

4. A sewing table

5. Health and safety for my family and friends

6. No headaches and perfect vision

7. A housekeeper (although Nate does a great job :)

8. To pay off student loans…..a wish in progress

And my 4th picture in my 4th album is this:

Sadly, my fourth album was the sample pictures, so it's not very entertaining. But pretty! It reminds me that I'm grateful we have family in Utah and Chicago, so even though we never see snow here at home, we are blessed to see it every Christmas.

Santa Fe! Are you there?

2008-10-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

(A song from the movie "Newsies"). Before Christian donned the black mask.

ANYWAY..........I find it ironic that when my life is the busiest, I have the least amount of time to blog, and then when I do actually blog I feel like it's boring because the reason why I am blogging is that life has slowed down and I have nothing to share. Hence, the following post:

I have a couple more pictures of Santa Fe. You really wouldn't guess that we were only there for one day. And please, to my fans who commented on my apparel in the "hiking" pictures, re-read the story about how we were just supposed to take the tram that day but because of bad weather they shut it down and so we took a spontaneous hike in the rain. I obviously would have dressed differently if the initial plan had been a hike.......duh. Also the reason why Jessica was wearing heels, as pictured.

VERY VERY WET. Nate's jeans are not really that dark and my jacket is not two-toned.

Even with all my apathy towards animals, (and that doesn't make me a bad person) I truly love riding horses. I got to ride all the time while I lived in Jackson Hole, I miss that.

Not sure why Nate's picture looks smaller than the rest, but isn't he adorable?

So that's the end of that trip. Maybe in a month or two I'll post about D-land, the Grand Canyon, or other good times we've had recently. But mostly I stay busy with the Young Women, (including a sleepover/sewing party this evening), and work, and spending time with Nate. Today I will try and get around to decorating for Halloween. It's one of the two holidays I decorate for and I haven't started. Soooo behind. This weekend my parents are coming to town and my nephew is getting ordained and Nate's work is having a "cocktail party". And that is an entirely different story.

PS. Wasn't General Conference fabulous?

The News

2008-09-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

I need help. I'm serious.

CAUTION: Those who avoid reading the news because it is too depressing, you may want to stop reading here.

When things are slow at work sometimes I look at the news online. I boycott cnn.com off and on because they are SO biased politically, but I haven't found a better new site yet, so I went there today. I'm sure some of you will have already heard about one or all of the following, but here's what I saw in the news today:

1) A bombing at the US Embassy in Yemen, multiple attackers, mostly suicide bombers. I think I can understand the idea of dying for a cause, but if your cause is to kill other people? I'm lost.

2) In Nevada, a supposed serial rapist/murderer is on the loose, who leaves the underwear of it's previous victim at the site of his current crime.

3) In Phoenix, a 14-year-old left her living healthy baby in a garbage can. I know this is not the first time we've heard a story like this, but it still shocks me every time. The baby was found by the principal, luckily.

4) Thousands of babies are sick in China because of tainted baby formula. A few have died. The men who say they're responsible say they did it to cover losses of a previous rejection of their business.

Not to mention the devastation that natural disasters are spreading.

I think I can stop there, you get the idea. The news just stinks, I really hate it. But do I just try to be ignorant of goings on in the world? Do I read but try not to internalize anything? How do I feel informed without having to read story after devastating story? And the topics I mentioned are just from ONE DAY. I need advice.

So, I require comment from my readers. Both of you. I want to be an informed citizen of this country, but sometimes the news just makes me sad. (Now that I think about it, there was a really good conference talk about this subject a while ago. I'll read that, too.) So tell me what to do. I'm up for suggestions.

Bad Blogger

2008-09-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

I don't even count this post as getting back into the blogging side of life, because it's going to be pretty pitiful. To be brief, Nate and I went out of town FIVE times in the past eight weeks. I just got some pictures from one of those trips, a whirlwind 24 hours we spent with Nate's family in Santa Fe, so I'm posting them......well, because, I have nothing else to say.

When we found out the mountain tram was closed for bad weather, we decided to go on a "hike" (scaling a mountain full of cactus) with Nate's brother Ian and his wife Jessica. (Fabulous people, we love them). It only took an hour or two, but it was pouring down rain almost the whole time, which made it adventurous. Jessica was wearing heels!! Ian had his very expensive camera and tried futilely to keep it dry. My hair was so soaked it was dripping water and hairspray into my eyes so I couldn't see a thing. All in all, we had a GREAT time.

I See London.....

2008-08-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

My sister whose first three children were crazy little boys thought she would never have her girl. Well, at last, she did. You can tell by the bow.......this little girl will be showered with all things girly. And that's the way it should be. :) Welcome to the fam, little London Leigh. You'll learn to love the chaos. Embrace it.

Fields of Gold Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-08-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Fields of Gold Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Stinking Heat.

2008-07-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

I miss my backyard. Sometimes I look out the back door like a kid on a rainy day and yearn for the time to come when we can go outside again.......alas, it will be October before the weather shapes up. Not that I'm not grateful....we had a BEAUTIFUL month of May and we have a couple get-out-of-the-heat trips planned during the worst of it. But I really miss my backyard! Our grass is at its greenest during the hottest months (does that make sense to anyone?) and our "shade" tree is getting so big and shady. Our BBQ and fire pit are just sitting there on the patio, collecting dust and lots of sun, and yet we stay inside with the AC. Sigh.

So, I post a tribute to the time we spend in our backyard in the normally gorgeous weather we have here in Phoenix. Then I'm going swimming.

This is Nate's sister, her hubby and four kids, and Nate's brother. Notice the kid in the orange, Cameron, as far from the fire as he could get. He was terrified. Then yesterday we were at their house and Cameron asked if we could do the fire again. Kids have 2-second memories. Anway, in this picture we are making s'mores, a common occurence at the Kolbaba household. (S'mores ingredients are in our food storage supply. Only the necessities, right?)

I joined my first giveaway!

2008-07-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Which is funny cause I don't have any kids, but everyone I know is pregnant so these could be great shower gifts.

Ice Cream Social Frock Giveaway!!!!
Roosters-N-Rickrack Pinafore GIVEAWAY!!!!

Gimme a J!!!......Gimme a U!!!!.........

2008-07-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Is this year really halfway over? July is a great month to be thinking about what I've done for the first half of the year, and what I plan to do for the second half. It's like a mini-new-year for me! I don't ponder on that too long, though, because July is a marathon month. All important dates are in July. Nate's birthday is the 3rd, mine is the 22nd, our anniversary is the 19th and my favorite holiday of the year is on the 4th. There are at the very least 5 other family birthdays in July as well. Gladly we don't live in Utah or we would have to celebrate the 24th, too! It is an exciting, expensive, whirlwind kind of month. We hardly notice that it's 117 degrees outside and that gas is $4.10 a gallon. :) Will that stop us from driving to the Grand Canyon tomorrow? No! Because July is the month to never hold still, to celebrate daily, to go see the sights!

I guess mid-year resolutions will have to wait until August.

The Proof

2008-06-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

I just realized I don't have an "after" picture of what my hair looks like now, and since I broke our digital camera while I was at girl's camp, (oops) I guess that will have to wait. But, Nate took these with his Blackberry before and during the haircut, and they document the event pretty well.

Now that I see the picture, I could have almost had shoulder-length hair even after the 12 inches were gone. I suppose I really seized the day going chin-length, and layering the back of my hair to near extinction.

Lovin' Those Locks

2008-06-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have never been the kind of person who freaks out at every haircut. My hair is not my security blanket like it is for some people. It grows back. Always. It's one of those few things you can actually count on.

So, the first time I heard about Locks of Love while I was in high school, I made a goal to one day donate my hair. Heck, little kids who are losing their hair to cancer need my hair more than I do, right? Well, I have been thinking a lot about that goal lately for two reasons. One, there is a lovely woman in my ward who is battling cancer, and two, it seemed like the perfect time because my hair was probably the longest it had ever been. So.........I did it. Over twelve inches, gone in five seconds.

It is wonderful.

Top ten reasons I love my short hair:

1. I don't recognize myself in the mirror. Not in a bad way, in a I-have-to-glance-back-in-abrupt-confusion-to-make-sure-it's-really-me way.

2. I am forced to get over my neck insecurities. Whenever I wore my hair up I always worried people were staring at my neck.......odd, I realize that. I no longer have my hair to cover my neck, ears, sides of my face, forehead, you get the idea. I will learn to be comfortable with my own neck!

3. When I brush my teeth, my hair doesn't fall from behind my shoulders into the sink, indubitably at the exact same time I spit, ending up in wet, toothpaste-foamy hair. No more!

4. Five words. One Hundred And Twenty Degrees. This is Phoenix, people.

5. It still goes behind my ears, and in two little pig tails, barely. SO easy to deal with. I never realized what a burden my hair was becoming.

6. Our year's supply of shampoo and conditioner is now a three year's supply of shampoo and conditioner. Sweet.

7. It is so light and airy, I feel like I'll never get a headache again. (This, unfortunately, has already been proved false, but it still FEELS like I won't).

8. I feel liberated. When she cut that 12 inch ponytail off, she may as well have been removing a backpack full of rocks from off my shoulders and paying all my bills while letting me take a four hour nap. It was so exciting.

9. Nate loves it. And honestly, his opinion matters most.

10. When I do feel a twinge of regret, and I'll admit, I've had one or two, it's been a great experience to think about my hair being a blessing to a child. In the end, my "sacrifice" really wasn't one at all. I feel a little silly that I ever thought of it that way.

To those of you considering losing the tresses, I say go for it.

Wedding Superstar!

2008-06-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

The photographer who took the pictures at my wedding has a website with multiple "example" photos from weddings he has done. And, for the past three years, he has had FOUR pictures from my wedding as his examples! It makes us feel so famous! So, while they aren't all necessarily my favorite pictures from that blessed day, because they are the ones he has up I wanted to share them. The first three are from my bridals at Thanksgiving Point. You can tell by the third picture that I got a little goofy that day. The one of the boys is right before the reception, I think. I love that photo, I wish you could see their faces more close-up.

That was such a good day. I can't believe it's three years next month! What I want for my anniversary is to relive that day exactly as it was on July 19, 2005. That's not too much to ask, is it Mom?

Anything that flies.

2008-06-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't always been afraid of birds. I trace it back to my mission, where the families we taught that had birds didn't keep them in cages, and they zoomed around our heads as we attempted to teach with the Spirit. I also remember an Elder on my mission who was afraid of lady bugs and butterflies, and when I asked him if he was serious his companion piped in, naming all the things this Elder feared, laughing to tears, "He's afraid of everything that flies." Well now I am, too.

We went to the Wildlife Zoo with Nate's family (HUGE animal people, and me, NOT an animal person) and I was actually enjoying myself. Shocking, I know. So then they decide to go into the birdcage and feed the birds some apples. I stayed outside, happily watching with a bird-proof cage in between myself and any danger. Then, when they gave the two-minute warning before time was up, I had a strange impulse to go in. Why? No clue. Fear of future regret, perhaps. This was my chance. So I went in, Nate shoved an apple into my hand, and a bird landed on it and started to nibble.

I think I blacked out for a minute, but I'm pretty sure the only reason we have a picture of this is because I kept screaming to my mother-in-law, "I want proof!" And here it is.

Has anyone seen my glass slipper?

2008-06-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

I can't think of many things I have in common with Cinderella, she is so sweet and I am so not, but I like the quote this result comes with. (Anyone who knows me, feel free to laugh at the "soft-spoken" part). However, patience is something I have really been working on, especially when things go wrong, so it was nice to be reminded that dreams come true! :)

I found this quiz on a friend's blog, if you want to take it.......

http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354

#1 Husband

2008-05-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

This post, initially, was going to focus solely on the progress of our little squarefoot garden in the backyard. Nate took some pictures, emailed them to me, and I told him I would post them. However, as I went through my usual getting ready rituals this morning, I kept noticing things, things that are not out of the ordinary at my house, things that I often look over in a rush, things that make me wonder in awe about my husband.

First, I went into the bathroom and saw written on the mirror "Toothpaste Date" with a dry-erase marker. A day or two ago, in passing, I mentioned that I would like to keep track of how long it takes us to go through a tube of toothpaste, so we know how many tubes we need for our home storage. Nate, knowing I would forget, as I always do, wrote a sweet little reminder note. This was not the first time he's done this.

Then, as I'm brushing my teeth, I notice how nice and clean my sink and faucets are. Why are they so sparkling? Because Saturday morning we were in the bathroom and I said with quiet laugh, "Geez, our sinks get dusty so quickly." Later that day I left for a baby shower. When I got back, my husband had cleaned the bathroom, including windexing the mirrors.

When I'm clean and ready, I make my way downstairs, like I do every morning, and get my lunch out of the fridge. My lunch that Nate (who wakes up at 4:30 am every day) has lovingly prepared for me, sandwich, applesauce, string cheese, granola bars, and he throws in pop tarts that I can take to work and make for breakfast, if I don't have time at home (which I usually don't). He does this for me every single day.

As I turn to leave the kitchen, I glance out the sliding glass door into the backyard, where I see that our garden, his garden I should say, has been freshly watered that morning, like every other morning. The garden is flourishing, Nate has cared for it well, and yesterday we picked and ate a very delicious zucchini.

The first few sprouts, almost two months ago....

Nate picked his first zucchini! That giant bushy/shrubbery type picture frame is our garden.

So, there you go. I posted about the garden. But mostly, I just think my husband is wonderful Sometimes I wonder why he puts up with me. He is the most observant, thoughtful, unselfish man I have ever met. Kindness is just his habit, and I think he deserves a round of applause.

One Hour Photo

2008-05-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Nate and I were going through some unpacked boxes. Yes, there are still boxes to unpack, don't judge me, we only moved two months ago. I don't remember what we were looking for, but what we FOUND was way better. Three rolls of film! Old school, ghetto, kodak film. So.....we went and got them developed because neither of us could remember where they came from. Are you on the edge of your seats? It was our honeymoon camera! What is ever funnier than that is that fact that there are about 5 pictures of our honeymoon and the rest of that film had pictures from our first Christmas. Obviously, we weren't big into photography our first year of marriage. So, three years later, we share our honeymoon pics with you.

Our own memories and these pictures are all we have to document that week. I find that pretty funny.

Cruise Pics Part II

2008-05-13T14:34:00.001-07:00

More pictures of us!

Formal Night! There were two. If you look back in older blog posts, you'll notice I'm wearing the same formal.....thanks to Beth V. for lending me her prom dress for the second formal night :)

OK THIS WAS PRETTY COOL. If you look below, you'll see many photos, mostly small and black and white. These are the pictures they took of us as we got on the ship the first day, every person who got on the cruise. There were hundreds! See? In the very center of the picture? It's me and Nate, superstars!! They made the picture of the two of us in color, and HUGE. It was probably 11 by 15 inches.
Melissa was breaking the rules taking pictures of the pictures, so she had to do it quick, (we didn't want to pay the $40 to buy it, but we had to document the stardom!!). Anyway, this guy thought she was taking pictures of him. This picture is classic!
Nate and Brad, very serious about giant chess.

Yes, I am the same size as my mother who had nine children and my 6-month pregnant sister. Sigh.
They had an American Idol type event that lasted for three nights, and Mel won the whole stinking thing. Hooray!

Cruise Pictures!

2008-04-27T17:42:00.000-07:00

We got back last Saturday from our Mexican Riviera cruise on the Holland America cruise line. It was fabulous! My parents and my sister Melissa and her husband Brad were with us, and we all really enjoyed the vacation and each other's company. I had some first time experiences on this trip, like seeing a bullfight (quite gruesome) and going four wheeling. Here are a few pictures, for the whole trip, you can click on the picasa link. Also, we're going to add more as soon as we get the pictures from Mel and Brad and my parents, so stay tuned.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mandykolbaba/HollandAmericaCruiseApril2008

We promised our friend Colin Moses that we would go to PiPi's while we were in Puerto Vallarta. The pina coladas were incredible! The guacamole was superb! The taxi driver that took us there was a jerk!
This is the bullfight. Sorry if blood makes you queasy, but it was really surprising how gory it was. There were four matadores and four dead bulls when we left. Very interesting cultural experience. Some of these dudes were super theatrical!
That is the first matador. That is the bull's ear in his hand, he cuts it off after it dies and then walks around showing everyone. We thought this guy looked like our friend Cosme, so we took lots of pictures.
Ok, this is Brad holding a cup in his shorts. Why? Because the four of us volunteered to play the pool games on the ship during the activity time. We did the transfer the orange down the line with your neck game, the runwith a pool noodle between you legs game, a game with a hula hoop, a belly-flop competition, (six month pregnant Melissa opted out of that one) and a swimming race. The favorite game was when the boys had to hold this cup in their shorts while the other team members got a rag and had to squeeze ice cold water into the cup, the first team to fill the cup won. We won :)
This was the largest shrimp we had seen. Pictures don't do it justice. The food was great the whole time.
What we looked like before four wheeling.
My hilarious parents. These pictures are even better than the scooter pictures from the Disney Cruise. (In front of the "Hell" mural with my dad making his best scowling face).
The most humiliating pose I made while Nate had the camera out. Worth documenting. What was I thinking?
Nate revving up to speed through the water. We got soaked. Hence the swimsuit attire.
This is my mother finishing up the largest margarita I've ever seen. We told her to make her best drunk face, maybe people won't know it was virgin, and therefore just a sugar high.
This was one of the many days we won the "daily trivia competition." We won an umbrella, a luggage tag, and a key chain. Go Anderson family champions!!!
This event was in Mazatlan, called Salsa and Salsa. First they taught us to make 7 kinds of salsa then they taught us how to salsa dance! Nate was the star of the show, of course, entertaining all the participants with his grooving hips. This was super fun!

My Altima's gone!

2008-03-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Nate and I sold our Altima. It was pretty ridiculous for the two of us to have three cars, even though it was only for a few weeks. We got our asking price for it, so that was nice, but we loved this car and we were sad to see it go. This is our memorial:

You were a good car, but we look forward to life without a car payment. So long!

We're Home!!!

2008-03-09T16:40:00.001-07:00

It's amazing how even unpacking isn't a chore when you are this happy about where you are putting your stuff.

The Secret's Out

2008-03-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

It's official, we are moving back to Phoenix! I know you'll all miss the Barstow stories, but we are thrilled to be going back to our house, and being near friends and family again. I don't have any fun new pictures, but in view of the fact that this post's feature is moving back, I will reminisce.

And the real reason we are going home: Double sinks!!

The title of this post is: "Things that keep Nate and Mandy entertained"

2008-02-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

Since our first visit to this town, we have developed a special place in our hearts for this place. Not because we had ever been inside, because we hadn't. I guess it was for the sheer fact that in one small store they sold coffee, donuts, and chinese food. A great combination! The first time we drove by it we both laughed and repeated "coffee donuts chinese food" over and over, and it stuck. So, a couple nights ago I said aloud, mostly to myself, "I would really love a donut right now." Then Nate, because he is the greatest man in the world, decided that it would be a great time to go to our favorite place, the place we had never before entered. The Chinese food smelled wonderful! The donuts were yummy! We are adding the Donut Star Chinese Food restaurant/bakery to our list of places people must go when they pass through Barstow.

What it means when you're asked, "Have you seen the sights?" in Barstow, CA

2008-02-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we made it to the biggest event in town! A Civil War reenactment at the Calico ghost town. (It was apparent, after the show, that Barstow sided with the Confederates. We knew there was something else wrong here). Keeping in mind we forgot our camera, and that these pics were taken with our phones, please enjoy the following visual agenda:

To view these pictures in all their full size glory, visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/mandykolbaba/CalicoTrip

Lots of cannon bombs and smoke, but the only soldiers falling down were Union soldiers.......

Notice Nate is showing off his "sheriff's belt buckle" which he wore specifically for this event.

When we first saw Lincoln, who, in real life looked quite realistic, he was buying some bbq corn on the cob......Nate said, "Look, there's Lincoln, buying some corn with a five dollar bill that has his face on it."

February 16th, 17th & 18th 2008 (Presidents Day Weekend)

Imagine yourself under martial law in a town occupied by the Confederate army. Suddenly a cannon blasts, smoke fills the air, and a hundred Union soldiers come rushing in. Before you can turn to run, a battle is raging before your very eyes.

Authentic Encampments
See what life was like for soldiers on both sides. Open pit cooking, canvas tents, no frills here!

Weekend Activities to include
Drills, Troop inspections, Cannon Demonstrations, Period Fashion Shows, Battles Morning & Afternoon, Gettysburg Address.

2008-02-22T15:33:00.001-08:00

What's Your True Color?

Nathan's Result: Black

Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you.