fear is NO factor: sadies 2010 for kaitlyn and her friends

{l to r: katie, ben, brooke, andrew, keairra, jake, bree, mckay}

katie & her buddies went to their sadie hawkins dance the other night and had such a good time--


their FEAR was FACTORED earlier in the day when they competed for prizes and the ultimate title of FEAR FACTOR CHAMPION.



each team displayed their logos proudly:

& then contestants were invited to participate in the beauty of.....




ketchup-drizzled m&m and "dirty diaper" dining:

worm/cricket gathering (only 30 bucks for 1000 worms--bargain!) in which russ upped the fear by throwing in my worst nightmare:

mustard-covered marshmallow drop & catch:

goldfish swallowing (bree swallowed TWO!):

and, my personal favorite, a happy meal shake:

in which THIS stud was the only finisher:

they took pictures before the dance:

and some couples showed quite a flare for the dramatic:

all in all, the girls were lovely:

and the boys meant BUSINESS:

the end.

FIRST place at the jdrf walk and we're DAMN PROUD!

i was informed that all of the awesomeness above snagged us FIRST PLACE in the "t-shirt" category at the jdrf walk we ruled in september--



but we might have to admit: was it ever even a question?


(we think not ;)



the only thing i wish we could have done was perform an awesome pseudo-rock-dream-sequence like this little clip that i have been in love with.


plus, how awesome is zach galifianakis?


SO:

thankful thursday

things i am thankful for this week:




kids that look cute in their halloween costumes:

friends who have an equally as evil sense of humor as i do & who will stop to take a photo of this:

(thanks, caylor)





& for the fact that chuck norris is STILL a big deal in the czech republic:

what's better than one halloween cat costume?

FELINE halloween costumes.

(no. he is NOT lying on the kitchen counter. it just LOOKS like it.)

note to reader: i am NOT the only person messed up enough to dress my catties:

cap'n dave's dolphin safari by the numbers: dad and mom go to dana point.

price for two adults to experience captain dave's dolphin safari: $110.00


threatening clouds in the sky the morning of: approx. 600,000

number of times i said, "this isn't going to be a re-creation of 'the perfect storm' today, is it?": at least 5


number of times i envisioned THIS happening the night before: countless

signs posted for the rbc's birthday at the dock: 1

self-portraits taken of us for our "kissing" portfolio: 1

(you're welcome, girls.)

people we saw throw up while on the ship: 3


number of times we threw up: 0


camera batteries dropped straight into the pacific ocean: 1


number of curse words uttered after dropping battery straight into pacific ocean: 5 (allegedly.)


number of dolphins spotted: 1 million (give or take a few hundred thousand)

different types of dolphins spotted: 3 (common, bottlenose, and risso's)



we got to stand at the bow of the boat (i resisted the urge to yell, "i'm flying, jack! i'm flying!!!") and watch the dolphins as they "drafted" off the boat--it was so cool:

dollar amount we spent while high-pressured into buying cap'n dave's "wild dolphins and whales of southern california" cd before we could exit the watercraft: $20




value of experience: PRICELESS.

chandler went to sleep with the bathtub on or Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

are you ready for even MORE fun with numbers?

alright, let's GO!


suppose that the father & mother of a family goes to the late movie.

let's also suppose that one of the children (but which one? we don't know--so far, it's NOBODY!) turns on the bathtub and leaves the water running.

then, let's say that children all go to bed with the water STILL running.

then, maybe, dad finds out that the house has flooded when he steps in 4 inches of water at approx. 1:30 A.M.



so, just how many fans would it take to dry out the wet, soggy mess?

if you answered "NINETEEN", then you are correct.

dreams do come true: colby and kristin's boo gets BOOBS

someone must have been in the "wish granting" business last night......

BOO! or BOOGERS! or BOOTS!

this is the festive halloween sign that our besties colby & kristin have displayed in their yard right now.




two nights ago a wise soul decided that the wordage could be improved by a few more letters:

when they came home last night, their secret vocab-lovers had worked their magic yet again:

we wonder what it will say next? (my wish is for "boobs". but i won't get my hopes up.)

october 23rd, 2010: a perfect moment in time.

have you ever had that perfect moment in time?

the one where you sit back, survey your surroundings, and wish for the moment to be frozen in time, forever, so that you can pull it out and re-visit it?



october 23rd, 2010 was a defining moment for russ & i--we had spent some time looking around the the ritz-carlton laguna niguel. (holy MOLY. everybody should try that once in their lives. it's how the other half lives--we were glad they weren't "on" to us--it's all about pretending to fit right in. so it's good they can't see the balance in our check book while walking through the entryway ;)


one of the attendants who parked our car suggested we go and watch the sunset out on the outdoor patio/lounge area, 180 blu:

the views were breathtaking--

we lamented the fact that our battery had dropped right through the bottom of our camera into the pacific ocean, cursed it a few times for good measure, then pulled out the cell phone to capture the moments:

what made the area so amazing (besides those trivial ocean views) was the fact that they had couches and fire-pits set out all around the deck.


my favorite part? that they would bring you a heated, soft cotton blanket to keep the chill away.


GENIUS:

when we looked to our right, we saw this:

when we looked to our left, we got to watch a traditional indian wedding--so cool!

we literally stayed, snuggled up on our lounge, for two hours enjoying the evening while an amazing guitarist played live. it was PURE HEAVEN:

we will forever look back on this evening as the night that all our stars aligned.

{sigh.}

thankful thursday

things i am thankful for this week:




**THIS cookie that i found on jennie's blog. it is sinful. which is the best kind of cookie as far as i'm concerned.

& thank you to megan for making them for rbc's birthday. they are his new favorite.






**the opportunity to purchase a totally cool new bike--

i look like a certified idiot while riding it. AND i protested much about having to wear the helmet. (safety first!) but i'm glad to finally get it.

{thank you to my angel benefactors for helping make it possible. i love you!}






**this view that i get to look at daily. it never gets old.







**pictures from costa rica that make me smile--








this is the squirrel that is currently living with/terrorizing my parents. i think he's adorable:

"her dress what has flowers."

mia doesn't read yet, but her job is to "read" her book to me at night after i've read it to her.

i'm always amazed at young children and their ability to remember details--i envy it. (perhaps it's because i SUCK at any memory game?)


anyway, i loved that we captured her unique style of speaking.

as her mother, i should really correct it..............but i think it's too cute.



plus, i figure her peers will shame her out if it if needed.