I Like My Earth Shaken - Not Stirred

I personally enjoy earthquakes.  I think out of all the natural disasters I much prefer the earthquake.  Its like mini roller coaster and the seat is your living room!

Now the death and destruction earthquakes are not cool.  Don’t hear me say that, but how often can you sit through another natural disaster and be done in 30 seconds and move on?

For me the fact that they come out of no where and last about a minute is why I prefer them.  I don’t like the stress and anticipation of the other natural disasters.

So here is my comparison on why I prefer an earthquake:

1. When is it coming?

Earthquake: You don’t have to wait in anticipation and wonder when it will actually hit.  You just go on about life until the earth starts shaking.

Others: All the “warnings” or “changes in weather” cause stress and anxiety.  You sit around for minutes to hours in anticipation on when and where it may hit.  No Thank You.

2. What to do when it’s happening?

Earthquake: hide under a table.  How easy is that?!

Others: Hide in a shelter for or crawl space under your house or board up your windows and wait for it to hit, if it hits. No Thank You.

3. What to do when it’s over?

Earthquake: Now I’m not talking about a huge one that will demolish an entire city here.  But just the usual 4.0-5.0 type earthquakes.  Maybe even a little bigger then that.  When it’s over you may need to put things back on the shelves at home, clean up a few broken items that were not secured properly (be prepared and this is not the case), maybe deal with a small crack in the paint on your wall, or go a few hours without a utility (electricity).

Others: Your house insides may be fine but everything else can be wrecked.  You may be missing a mail box or have a flash flood.  I honestly don’t know what else happens since we really only deal with earthquakes here in Cali, but the pictures look horrendous. No Thank You.

4. How often do they occur?

Earthquake: Well in the last 24 hours we have had 2 earthquakes over a 4.0 and several aftershocks which you mostly don’t ever feel.  Other then that we maybe have significant ones in awhile.  I mean over the last year alone I don’t think there have been more then 3 and then over the last few years maybe a few more.

Others: I don’t know how I can count this since I’m grouping them together, but I looked up a news story and counted on the 3+ tornadoes in an area and there were 9 confirmed in just a few days with 23 warnings.  Yuck! No Thank You.

My Infamous Family

As I typed this title I think I remember when I learned the word infamous.  I also think I remember its definition meaning something about being famous for something bad.  So if that is the case (because I’m too lazy to check) then please pretend I did not use that word.

Once somebody told me I should Google myself to see what’s out there.  So if I’m going to Google myself, then might as well do my whole family.  Apparently I have a rather creative family.

Justin Davis:

I’m married to a black singer/songwriter – not too far off actually.  He even has his own webpage. 

He also played football for various schools around the US.

Rachael Davis:

I’m a singer with my own webpage as well.  Are you jealous? I wonder if I’m any good…

Taylor Davis:

Taylor is all kinds of talented from sculpting to violin - the Violin page is pretty awesome looking.  She also has multiple fan pages.  For the heck of it you should by Taylor’s CD for only $9.99.

Jordan Davis:

Jordan also has her own website (surprised? I’m beginning not to be).  Jordan’s a poet or just reviews poetry or something.  I had a hard time figuring it out quickly and didn’t want to look too much into it.  Oh and Jordan is a dude.

Elijah Davis:

Poor Elijah with his unique name does not have a webpage, but apparently there is a prisoner named Elijah Davis you can write to…if that’s your sort of thing.  I think it’s a little creepy to randomly just write some dude in jail for who knows what, but you may feel free if so inclined.  At least he’s not scary looking.

So Sayith Tay and Jay #32

Tiffany Garnica - If you could create a new animal what would it look like and what would you call it?

Taylor:  A buffalo doing a dance move party. It would be called monkey dancing on the party.

Jordan: It would look like a new doggy just like Marley, but I want a pet.  I want a pet kitty it will be curly and fluffy.

Jennifer Baker - What is your favorite toy and do you remember who gave it to you?

Taylor: The hammer that daddy got because I like to bonk you on the head.  Uncle Buck and Aunt Jennifer. (we just opened a gift box from Buck and Jenn (Video to come later)

Jordan: My favorite to is lamby.  It was my special toy from grandma. And I said thank you and she said you're welcome and I take her to my house because I like lamby alive. And I make her all over again, and I make the dragon all over again.  Because its pink.  And the hippo... (yeah she kept going)

If you could be any age forever what age would you be?

Taylor: 79 points

Jordan: I will be 5 years old

Have you ever had a sleep over and if so what was your favorite part?

Taylor: Yeah, being up for a little bit.

Jordan: Um yeah I had a sleep over with grandma and I sleeped in her room.  That was fun fun fun.

Brittany M - what are clouds made of?

Taylor: Um dust and hot and they get all fluffy and cozy and smokey.

Jordan: Clouds are made of fluffy things.

whats more fun, disneyland or the circus?

Taylor: Disneyland

Jordan: Disneyland

who is the prettiest disney princess?

Taylor: Cinderella

Jordan: Um its the blue one and the pink one is the prettiest too and beast is not good, but belle is not good either because she's really not good.  And Rapunzel is good, she's really good and Tinkerbell is good when she turns into a princess and little mermaid is the best when she has the pirate boy.

what is more fun, the swings or the slide?

Taylor: Swings

Jordan: The swings.

how far away is the moon, the sun?

Taylor: Really far away in the sky.

Jordan: Um far far far as it all.

where is canada?

Taylor: Um in the middle of the earth I think.

Jordan:  Canada is the new park.

what would you buy if you were the richest person in the world?

Taylor: A cave and you have to blow it up with air and the doors blowed up and it opens and closed.

Jordan: I would buy a pony that has a pink castle.

Praise the Lord for AAA

I have what I think is a really fun blog to post that is written and ready, but it can come up anytime so instead you get the scoop in this crazy weekend (yet again).

I never finished the details on our last crazy packed weekend, but really the only significant piece left was that everyone that was watching our kids got together to bring them home and eat some burgers.  Thank you to everyone that helped with the kids!

So things started off for me on Friday when I drove up to Montclair to meet up with some high school friends for dinner.  I stopped by my parents house to get some things from them and when my dad found out who I was meeting he decided he should come along too.  I’ve always been close to my daddy so my friends all knew him too.

The special group of people I met up with were my dear, loud, crazy, and fun drama friends.  I spent many hours with this group of people crowded in the green room, memorizing lines, shouting through the theater, and whatever else came up.  Some of my fondest memories of high school took place in our theater with these people.  I love you guys.  I forgot my camera so I stole these from my old drama teacher Kelly (so weird to call her by her first name now).

This is Nick (Dooty) singing for me

Kelly (My teacher and her handsome boys)

MoHi Players Club (well a small sampling of)

Saturday morning started of with super cleaning for me.  My house was in desperate need of scrubbing.  Since I spend my Saturday mornings now (my cleaning time) at gymnastics/dance with the girls I’ve neglected some things.  The girls decided they wanted to help me clean so I gave them the less important, but very annoying tasks like cleaning the base boards and walls.  They loved it.  I’m glad I didn’t have to do it.

We headed to Target to let Taylor pick her “toy” for losing her tooth.  Sorry, no tooth fairy in our house.  She picked this bubble kit which is pretty awesome actually.  We headed home for naps and lunch and after lunch took a family trip to the pool.  This is a rare occurrence in our house even though our complex has a pool.  Because I hate being cold, and the pool is always cold.   The girls were excited that I actually came this time.  We had fun and headed back for dinner and opened up Taylor’s bubble kit.

Jordan learning to swim without a deathgrip on Justin

Taylor swimming on her own.

Elijah shivering outside the pool just like mommy.

On Sunday after church we went to the beach.  It was really nice weather and the kids had a blast! Elijah (like his mother) does not like being cold so once foot in the water was all he needed to decide he did not like the water.  Truthfully, he was most excited about the sand.  So excited that when we got the beach he stopped at the first plot of sand he saw and started digging with his shovel (like the sand by the street – not even on the beach yet). 

Sand - his favorite part

Justin being a good daddy and teaching Taylor how to build a moat

Jordan got cold and joined us shivering folks in the sand

The best part (sarcasm…FYI) was when we got to the car and realized our keys were locked in along with our cell phones.  Nothing like being stranded with 3 little kids and no phone.  Luckily there was a really nice security guard at a disposal place nearby that let me make a phone call – and since I did not have my wallet I did not know AAA’s number and was lucky to find out that the security guard did so he had the number on the back of his guard.  Woot!

AAA got there in about 30 minutes and we were on our way home.  Times like this make me grateful that I seemingly waste money every year on AAA membership.  Totally worth it in my opinion.  We ended our night with a movie which the kids (even with out a nap) managed to stay awake for.  Justin and I were not so lucky.  I fell asleep for about 30 minutes of the movie, Justin for about 3 hours.  We needed the nap much more then the kids apparently.

I love time with my family…even if that means I have 4 loads of clean laundry sitting on my dresser right now waiting to be folded…

10 Things That Bother Me

Today I felt like informing you all of things that bother me.  Some are meaningless, some are meaningful.  If you are an offender its ok, I probably still love you.

1. Hitted and Hurted are NOT words – I have horrible grammar and spelling, but this still bothers me
2. Gabby Douglas hair criticism.  Seriously people… she just won an Olympic gold medal for flipping around all crazy like in the air and you are upset that her hair was not representing the black community well.  SHE WON A FREAKIN MEDAL IN THE OLYMPICS – if that’s not affirmation enough then you will probably never be happy.
3. Sylvester Stallone and Drew Berrymore – easily two of the most annoying people on the planet
4. Being called a bigot and hypocrite because I hate sin but love people.  When your kid lies to you are you a hypocrite when you tell them you love them?  No you frown on the bad behavior and hopefully do something to fix it, but still love them.
5. A wet face…please keep all moisture away from my face unless I am in the shower or pool. Thank you.
6. The song Sante Fe from the Newsies… Such a great movie, such a horrible song – mostly the dancing is horrible.
7. Being cold.  I am most always cold and I dislike this very much.  I even had a heating pad at work to keep on my lap to stay warm…it died.  Now I’m cold even more.
8. The color pink.  Why is it so horribly ugly? I may never know.
9. Barney – I hate that stupid purple dinosaur.  My kids even know that when they see Barney on Netflix they say “We can’t watch that because mommy doesn’t like it” – darn right.
10. Chubby kids in strollers.  I’d like to emphasis KID here.  If you are pushing your 5 year old that weighs 150 pounds around in stroller…don’t wonder why they weigh 150 pounds.

An extra one just for the heck of it

11. Trash on my stairs.  Excuse me plethora of kids running around my apartment complex if you are going to make MY stairs your place to hang out stop leaving your candy wrappers, soda cans, half eaten food, and toys on them please.  AND when I’m walking up to my stairs with arms full of groceries do not continue to sit there and block my way while you stare at me.

Happy Friday friends! I have some fun stuff going on tonight so be prepared in the near future for a blog of memories and probably some embarrassing video footage.

Saturday’s Shindigs

So I am now continuing the crazyness that was this last weekend.  I may be over my slump, but most likely am not.  But we can pretend.

So Saturday morning we got up early and the girls and I headed to gymnastic/dance practice.  This “season” Jordan stayed in gymnastics and Taylor opted to try something new which ended up being a ballet/tap combo class.  She is having a lot of fun, but she likes tap much more then ballet.

Unfortunately, you do not get pictures of the ballet/tap since the teacher doesn’t allow parents in the room since it distracts them.  But here are a couple of Jordan…and she’s only wearing a skirt because her leotard is a tad too small and rides up her little hiney. If you want to see some horribly awkward displays of gymnastic and dance let me know… the girls have a recital on August 18^th and I can give you the details if you ask.

During class Justin took Elijah over to Aunt Tracy and Uncle Kenny’s house so that when we got home the girls and Justin and I headed to Pomona/Montclair to drop off the girls.  One at my Grandma and Grandpa’s house (MeMa and PoPo) and one at my parent’s house (Grandma and PaPa).  We then headed to Riverside for the baby shower (meet the baby) for new little man named Austin.  This event I did not get pictures of.  Shame on me.

After the shower we headed back to the Webster’s house to hang out for awhile and eat some AMAZING food…you have no idea how amazing.  We then made the drive down to Long Beach to watch Jeff and Christina renew their vows after 10 years of marriage (as the sun was setting).  Beautiful and sweet.

Since the night was still young (well young based on my standards from before I had kids now…now I’m great if I’m in bed by like 10) we headed to Westminster to see an art show called Catalyst Strikes Back. Click the link for real…awesome Star Wars art and some of it is by Justin’s best friend growing up Chris Kawagiwa…click that link too, because Chris is awesome too.

We headed home and honestly I can’t remember what we did when we got home.  I’d like to say we slept since we had a chance to do that without kids all night, but we probably ended up watching tv or something.

The Business of Mulling

Today I sit mulling over information.  I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “mulling” before and not entirely sure I used it correctly.  I may not do it again, its an odd word.

I had a brief conversation last night with one of the most awesome human beings in the world (aka Kim Newmyer) about the difference between doing something you may love versus what is good for the family or yourself.

For example, Justin and I had conversations early on in our marriage that we did not like the idea of him working nights and weekends while I worked during the day or visa versa. Is having extra money in our pockets worth not seeing each other?  Is having our own house worth missing out on family dinners and Saturday trips to the beach or zoo?  We decided it was not.  And have lived our lives accordingly.

What if things changed a little.  What if he was able to work a job he loved making just enough money to put the kids into preschool, but not make us any extra money.  I have to also note we are not one of the parents that are against preschool.  I think kids do fine in preschool and we have no hesitation on putting them in one (if we could afford it) with the caveat that when they were not in school they would the quality time and attention they deserve from us as well.

So we left off with the theoretical story of Justin having a job he adores, where he thrives and learns.  He does it but every penny earned is going to pay for the kid’s schooling.  So our family is no better off for him working, but he is happy (which as part of our family is important).  What if he then gets an opportunity to take a job he wouldn’t mind (but may not love), but get a significant pay increase?

Is it wrong to want to stay where he loves his work (selfish) over the chance to provide more financially to the family?

This is all theoretical of course – he safely (maybe not always sanely) sits at home watching our 3 bundles of joy (chaos) right now.