Telling jokes at my expense

It's known by many that I have a small defect when it comes to giving directions. Let it be stated that I DO know the difference between left and right... But for some reason when I have to say them out loud my brain almost always says the opposite of what I really want to say. I like to think of it as a miswiring of some sort, Connor likes to laugh.

Well tonight as we were driving around town, the boys were in the backseat and Nick was trying to tell Nolan where a certain landmark was outside his window. He accidentally said left instead of right and Nolan immediately piped up..."Ha! You just pulled a mom!"

I'm pretty sure the car next to us could hear the uproarious laughter emanating from our vehicle. I'm so glad I can be the butt of jokes for our family. I'm sure as my boys get older there will be many more opportunities for them to take advantage of my constant source of comedic material.

Scarring my children is not on my agenda...

But in preparation for the upcoming Halloween holiday we decided to have a family movie night a few nights back. We decided to amp of the excitement and watch a scary movie together. Over the past year, Nick and Nolan have been exposed to some scary flicks by way of slumber parties and a certain uncle that likes to watch scary movies. They survived and seemed unscathed by these spooky showings, so how bad could it be to show them yet another?

Bad.

Let me just say, I'm feeling like a loser of a mom.

We watched one of my faves, The Sixth Sense. I remembered it as a suspenseful movie with a few scary scenes. But mostly I remember the awesome twist in the story line. I loved it!

Nick and Nolan beg to differ. They were petrified through pretty much the entire thing. They glommed onto me for the entire 90 minutes. They were still scared an hour later, even after watching an episode of Phineas and Ferb to help soothe their fears.

Bedtime rolled around and they seemed apprehensive. We tucked them in, said goodnight, and told them countless times that they have absolutely nothing to be afraid of in their home.

Not two minutes later, there was a crash in Nick's room followed by a blood curdling scream! His bow (that he had just hung up on the wall before hopping into bed) fell off the wall and onto his feet. He was pale and shaking and seemed to think it was the work of some frightening ghost.

Being the sweet and caring mother that I am... I broke into a fit of laughter. I couldn't help it. Connor showed up to chuckle as well. Aren't we awful people? After seeing Nick was not pleased with his parents, I told him that one day you will look back on this and laugh too. He was still not happy with me. We all decided that Nick and Nolan should sleep together in the same room that night.

I think last night was the first night since the movie that they have slept in separate rooms.

I am a terrible mom. I guess we'll have to save "Jaws" for a different year. :)

2010 Eastside Family Getaway!

Last weekend we were the lucky guests of my friend Karen and her fantastic family.

I believe this was our third annual Autumn trip to their place on the East side of the state.

And again, the fun never ceased.

Karen and I have been friends for over 32 years and as we get older and thank my lucky stars that our paths crossed way back when. She is a delight and makes me laugh like no other can. Our families took advantage of the glorious sunny day and set off to hike Badger Mountain. It was fun once we got to the top and saw the amazing views of their city down below. We laughed on the way up how it sounded like so much fun to scale a mountain, but came to the conclusion that exhausted muscles, whiny kids, and sweaty clothes really isn't all that much fun. In all seriousness, we really did have fun!

I shouldn't have complained at all because Brad hiked with a 30 lb kid on his back most of the way...

Connor, Karen, Hannah, Sienna, and Nick... resting on boulder bench.

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I forgot to mention that the main reason for going on a family hike was to off balance the amount of calories we were to consume that weekend. Besides being a gracious hostess, Karen is a knock out cook!

Let's see... Friday night we met them at Miner's, a drive-in diner famous for their amazing burgers and fries. The fry sauce was an added bonus!

Back at their homestead she served up a mean mud pie for dessert...

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Saturday evening we ate the most delicious chicken kabobs ever. (I need that marinade recipe Karen!) Potato salad with bacon...umm.hello. And homemade bread sticks. We were basically in a food coma at this point when Karen brought out the yummy frosted pumpkin bars.

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Next thing I knew she was busy in the kitchen making homemade cinnamon rolls in preparation for our breakfast the next day. See what I mean about being a knock out in the kitchen?

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Another highlight of the weekend was when

we all went for an evening walk after stuffing ourselves silly. The guys threw a football amongst themselves, the boys perfected their skateboarding skills, the girls rode their bikes, and Karen and I chatted while pushing Austin along in his stroller.

What I love about spending the time with these guys, watching our families getting along perfectly. The hubbys like each other and the kids play so well together, it makes for a good time for everyone.

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Thanks for yet another fun trip you guys! We love each and every one of you!