not today... it's mother's day.

yesterday, we went to the wild animal park. nora charged a peacock... and it flapped right in front of her! it was cute!!

she was very excited about the elephant!

and letting the ducks eat out of her hand.

not quite a fan of the egg...

jamey enjoyed a ride from his dad!

nora checked out the map for us!

em and i enjoyed the view!

we found the spray grounds!

and the lion!

family photo!

sleepy boy!

jamey enjoyed the petting zoo...

pretty sure nora would have stayed there forever!!!

snuggling my boy!

reading with daddy!!

jamey trying to find a new hiding place!!!

it's mother's day. and i have the two best kids a mother could ask for! at sunday school this morning, our awesome teacher talked about mothers. he started out talking about ALL the things mothers do. clean the house, make it look nice, get in the little nooks and crannies. then, about cooking, having it all ready when the husband walks in the door. umm... i have a lot to live up to! i am in the "i don't care if there's a layer of dust, my kids are fed and have clean diapers, and we had fun today. might not even tell you what we ate, and dinner certainly isn't ready until daddy gets home and plays with the kids while mommy finishes it" stage.

i'm not an ocd person. i'm not crazy-clean. (ask anyone who's ever lived with me) i know that a clean house tells my husband i love him, so i try to do it! (even though it's so NOT my love language!!) my goal is to be a little more planned and organized. clean, organized, dinner ready, etc. working towards it. but, that initial type of mom is not me and probably won't be. i might never search every blessed corner. but, we will have ridden in the carriage and danced at the ball. and i will have enjoyed time on the couch with my husband or guest, but there might be dishes in the sink.

so... if you plan to come visit me in hawaii, know there will be dust bunnies and dirt in the corner. your sheets will be clean, and we will have fun!!

but... let's talk about my mom. she has slightly more ocd than me. her house ALWAYS looks incredible. even though us four kids tried our best to make the house a mess. food was ALWAYS cooked and good. and ready when my dad walked in. and, my dad wouldn't kiss anyone else but my mom first! she was pta president. she was in (and led) Bible studies. we had good news clubs at our house. she was (and IS) incredible. and yet, we played. and had fun. and i never felt like she picked cleaning or cooking over us. i felt so loved. and like her favorite!! (sorry dave, byss and stef...) like she would drive me 8 hours for a boy. or let me miss school for a day with her. or tickle scratch my back because i needed some love.

she was up EARLY. and up INCREDIBLY late. but, i never remember hearing her complain or talk about being tired. i have no idea how she does it. she'll be up at 1am doing laundry, and up super early to go to her trainer. she's pretty incredible! we are pretty lucky to have her. thanks mom, for being the best mom ever. i love you. i hope i grow up to be a mom just like you! i hope my kids love me as much as i love you!

speaking of love... nora told me tonight... "mommy, sometimes i love you and sometimes i don't love you". awesome! thanks so much.

however, she was all snuggy at dinner and kept kissing me and telling me "you are the best, mommy" and "i love you so much". and... "i kiss you on the nose. and the eyes".

a lesson learned... kind of!i

so, this morning the kids were having breakfast. nora had shared jamey's cheerios right off his tray. the kids were having fun and both getting fed, so it was great! then, i gave jamey his cup. he threw it on the ground. nora got down and started drinking out of it. i have been trying to keep the kids from "sharing" drinks, since we are sicky right now.

so, i tell nora to give the drink back to james. here's the convo that ensued!

n-"but i am sharing the drink, mommy."

m-"yes, i see that, but it's jamey's. yours is in your room."

n-"but mine is all gone."

m-"go get it and i will get you more"

n-"but i want to share jamey's"

m-"i said go get yours. jamey wants his and i asked you to obey!"

n-"but God likes it when we share"

oh man... what do you say to that??? after some discipline, james got his drink and nora got hers...

a tea party...

a tea party today... just getting her started early!!!

she was having too much fun!

coco did a photo shoot...

jamey trying to stand...

what stef calls a paris hilton pose!!

so, we are having a great time with coco and emmy! however, i have NO VOICE, WHATSOEVER!! at all. nora keeps telling me "you can talk youder mommy, jamey is awake!"

shampoo...

we went on a field trip today... to sea world. to see "shampoo". this is the view from the sea lion and otter show. i will miss this view. this san diego. sad face for me today!!

jamey just playing as we waited for "shampoo" to make his debut. actually, nora was quite scared by "shampoo". we think it might have been the music, but she didn't like it...

my dear, sweet cousin em is in town for a visit!! (she prompted the visit to sea world... sorry amy for the lack of post last night. i was catching up with em!) nora is SO EXCITED to have em here! nora was so not excited to do the climbing nets.

jamey just chilling...

nora and i got to ride in the elmo fishies!

she LOVED running through these fishies! however, the big jumpy thing- HATED. don't get it. that would seem like SO MUCH more fun!!

she LOVED getting to feed fish to the sea lions.

so NOT my daughter! she was quite proud of her fish!

i wish i could have caught her face as they took it. the sea lion kept looking for more fish. nora was sad to realize that we had no more. she told the sea lion he should go swim!!

talking to her new friend!!

a HUGE fan of these starfish. didn't quite get that they were real. and alive. and, she CHUCKED it back into the water. girl's got an arm!!

touching the starfish!

touching the bat rays. they felt funky!!!

watching the walrus swim by...

jamey and i!! (had to get him a shot in...)

watching the walrus with em...

here comes her friend!

cheese!!!

in the polar bear's house.

there was a sound machine that made polar bear noises. nora was so afraid that the polar bear was going to be mad that we were in his bedroom. she couldn't get out of there fast enough, until i told her that the polar bear said it was okay right now.

such a stinking fun day. so fun to have em here. so tired... and losing my voice. (from being sick...) and going to bed.

mostly a boy's photo shoot!!

i stinking love this picture!! this is nora, being ariel, with a fin and tail. because she has her feet together. she was so excited!!!

playing in the pool with her brother!

silly boy with cute faces!

oh daddy, you came to join me!!

mmm... betcha i can climb over!

all dressed now! (don't laugh at the funny "leggings". they help keep his little legs from getting scratched up! it's so sad to see his little legs all scratched up!)

sweet smile.

oh goodness (and we say goodness... because nora corrects EVERYONE if you say "gosh"!), he wants to walk so badly!!

snuggling with their coco.

SIX PM...

snuggling with daddy on nora's bed... outside!!

cheese!! (the mattress was outside to get rid of a stain...)

sweet, sleepy baby boy!

hiding at the airport, waiting to pick up mom-mom

two happy girls. one, cause she has her nora, two because she has new princess shoes!

loving on his mom-mom

nora lining up her new princess shoes. that's all she's wanted to do all week!

so last night, i went to bed at SIX PM!!! i think i actually fell asleep around 8. i got this weird flu (and NO, i am not preggers... thanks for asking!), sore throat, cold, etc. it felt SO GOOD to sleep! so, that's why there wasn't a post last night. sorry... i was tired! and took advantage of all the help here!!