How much does it take to find 2 lost children?

Monster #1 and #2




1 calm mother 1 frantic mother (guess which one was me) 1 random jogger 1 family of three 3 garbage men 3 police officers in 3 separate cars (although they assured us there were MANY more on the way) 1 neighbor that assured us she would tell the police officers that we were "good moms" 2 laps around the neighborhood (thankfully the jogging mom is in great shape) 2 calls to 911 (one to call for help, the other to cancel help)

Mind you it took less than 5 minutes for those little buggers to slink like snakes under the fence, run down the alley, hide in a house currently under construction and completely ignore the fact that someone was frantically calling their names.

In Summary:

Total people involved in the escapade: 15 (including the rascals, but not including a worried husband at work)

Total time lost: approximately 10 minutes

Total number of times the little darlings have played in the backyard unsupervised without a problem: At least 100 times

Total number of years I lost: About 75.. at least.

Total time for the adults to recover: 5 days and counting

I know, I joke, but really it wasn't all that funny. Thankfully, at least my little conspirator, knows he scared me. He repeatedly has said over the past couple of days..."crying", ''scared" , "big truck" with at least a slight look of concern.

**post edit** I should clarify that the police didn't actually help us look for the kids. We found them before they got to the house. But when we called the 911 operator back to say we found them, she said they were already enroute so she couldn't call them off. She said they would have to see the kids to verify they were okay. However, the garbage men were in fact the ones that found the monsters.

Our own little Knufflebunny

Lulu had a scare.

We went with friends to the arboretum last week and she took her bear bear along. We laughed, we played, we ran, we jumped, and we even threw a few pumpkins.

We left a little early to get her ready for the first of her two Halloween parties.

It wasn't until hours later that we realized- where was bear?

We looked in the car, the bag, the stroller, everywhere it might have been.

She SWORE she gave it to someone, but couldn't recall exactly which someone.


A frantic phone call to friends generated this response:
"No she didn't give it to me. But, when we were walking in Hayden (her daughter) said 'mom look, Lulu has a bear just like that one.'" I got the exact location and prayed it would be there the next day.

Lulu cried herself to sleep. Snuggling a paper cut out of the bear bear she made me days before.

We arose early the next day- armed with donuts, a promise we would "look everywhere we went yesterday" and a heartfelt prayer.

"No we haven't had anything turned in." said the lady at the information booth.

So we started to walk to the exact location bear was spotted the day before. I watched as she ran with high expectations, only to see her shoulders slump in defeat. Bear wasn't perched atop the pumpkin. It broke my heart to see her deflated with sadness.

But.. wait what was that? A small something sitting behind the pumpkins on the ground. Could it be? Could we be so lucky? Why yes, yes we could. Kissed with morning dew sat a much beloved bear.

Note to self- keep better track of bear.

Note to other parents- sure it is darling when your kid gets attached to some special little something and because it warms your heart so, you cultivate the love of this little object. But remember there might come a day when that little something gets lost and unless you had the foresight to purchase the EXACT SAME something you will have many lonely and sad moments. It's cute and all, but could, quite possibly, be the death of you.

Halloween

We had a pretty uneventful Halloween. Of all of us, Lulu had the most festive holiday season.

Halloween Parties
Lulu 2
The rest of us a big fat ZERO
(I guess we at least had the ward Trunk or Treat)


We put her dance recital outfit to good use and dressed her up as a fairy. This is her and her friend Olive dressed for one of their many Halloween Parties.

Ted doing the cowboy thing. He wore his costume for about a second. Although he did keep his awesome plaid pearl button and cowboy boots on.

Adam in his awesome Dickies. People would ask Adam what he was dressed up as and he would say "well what do you think?" They would then respond "I think you are a ..." and Adam would say- you're right. By the end of the night he was a sewer worker (he was wearing his wellies), a garbage man, and a ton of other things.

Shocker- I went as a witch, but I have no pictures.

The Dotted Line Designs

Dotted Line Designs

I just added a link to my sidebar for a little company my girlfriend started. They are the cutest Christmas card designs. She gives you a ton of different options and you can either print them at home or she will print them for you.

I promise it is worth a look so check it out.

Ted

While I was in Seattle my fabulous bil came to babysit my kids. Seriously- everyone should have an Uncle Jake... I mean SERIOUSLY.

While I was away I got an email containing this video. (Sorry I cannot post it directly to this site. I don't have the actual file so I can only direct you to the website he uploaded the video on)

DO look at it. I promise it is worth a gander. You can see Ted in all his glory walking his sister to school.

DON'T assume it is similar to the same video you have seen a million times by other bloggers.

A Giant Surprise

My dad called me several months ago. He was waiting in line to buy tickets for the play Wicked for my mother's birthday. He had a little proposition. He would buy me a ticket to see the play, along with my mother and three sisters, if I would fly in and surprise her for her 60th birthday. Of course I agreed. After all, it is her 60th birthday. All five daughters were on board, now we just had to keep it quiet. As amazing as this sounds, albeit with a few near misses, we were able to keep it under wraps. On Wednesday night we all flew in about the same time and surprised her.

My parents showed us around their town. We went to the beach, did a little shopping, ate lots of seafood, perused the wares at Pike's Market and went to see Wicked. It was a nice weekend and I'm so glad we were able to surprise my mom.

Beach

Wicked

All dressed up for the play

Driving onto the ferry (my dad is a bit of a crazy driver so I commandeered the car. It was better for everyone involved. Especially the sisters that experience motion sickness.)

Deception Pass

Collecting rocks

Deception Pass- where the rivers and the ocean meet**correction

Did you Hear?

** pillows available at Little Bean Shop

even President Obama thinks Kayne West is a big giant jerk.