In Such A Pickle Today

So what are we to do when the house is clean, we only have 4 of us (Michael, Me, Tiff and Harper), we've got our lunches packed and a full tank in the car? Our discussion at breakfast this morning came up with these options:

• Beach - good option, maybe as the sun goes down since it's hot today
  
• Disneyland - too expensive and crowded
  
• Mountains - 400,000 people driving up the main street here in Yucaipa going up the hill to Big Bear means = no freakin way. Too many people.
  
• Stay Home and Watch Movies - We've been doing that for the last 2 months.

So what did we come up with? We're going to walk around this place as a substitute for the Disneyland fix, which to be honest...is almost as good as Disneyland today. There are so many people there this weekend we wouldn't ride anything anyway, just look at shops...so why not do it for free?:

Then after that, we're going to the beach to have a picnic dinner at sunset! What are you people doing this weekend?

Do Go In Room 1408!

I made the best homemade chicken and rice soup last night with veggies out of the garden last night! Jellisss??? Thought so.

Anyho, I went to see 1408 the other night with our Regal Cinemas gift cards and ok yep. So scary. Mike told me as we were watching the ads for jewelers and super hard trivia (Which "Friends" star also starred in a blockbuster hit about having a baby unexpectedly with Hollywood babe Salma Hayek?!? Um, really? that's all you got?) that he knows when a movie is scary for me when he sees me cover my ears. See, the music scares me, I can watch the most horrific of films on mute, but when the music kicks in...it's over for me, but I digress.

So the movie started, and about oh...7 minutes in? Yup, ears plugged, in fetal position, rocking and humming "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" all up in yo face. Not the scariest movie ever, but by far the most creepy and anxiety promoting film I've ever seen. Yipes!

So anyway, there was this man behind me and he was eating popcorn like he had rocks he was trying to turn into gravel with his molars, so I pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the larynx. That's how I roll.

Oh and Mandy and Tay came over the other day and we realized that when all 9 of the handsome boy cousins are in their teens, we're in so much trouble. All I know is that I'll be making and selling a swimsuit calendar with them posing with puppies to buy me a house, dats awww....

Popcorn Popping On The Apricot Tree Revisited

Our fruit trees are FULL of fruit, and yesterday, my baby was hanging on my legs crying as I loaded the last dish into the dishwasher. He was in desperate need of a nap which I should have abliged, but before I knew it I'd said the magic words "wanna go outside?" Our kitchen window looks over our backyard and it had been calling my name all day long. I scooped him up, grabbed a still wet pot from the clean dishes pile and went out to pick apricots. Harper thinks that apricots are the most awesome balls for throwing he's ever seen, and he also thinks they're delicious. If you want apricots, come and get them, we have 2 huge trees FULL of them.

Saturday Is A Special Day

So we're at a 1st birthday party for this boy on Saturday and before I go into details of said party let me explain a little bit about said "1 year old". His mother is mexican, his father is half black/half japanese, and the mother's family lives close to them. "What does this mean, Alli?" you may ask. 50234 mexicans, 3 black people, a handful of asians, 5 white people (me, tiff, kenzie, jonah and casey) and the best caterer on the earth. Let me expound.

The house was brand new and in Lake Elsinore, so cute! The parents, Terry and Raquel are about my age, and he basically looks like Tiger Woods and she's J-lo. Got that? Next, the few black people were a) mike (can you really consider Mike "black" though?) b) mikes' dad c) Terry's dad. Next, you have the asians, who are cute and who follow the babies around...there were lots of babies. Next, you have the mexican family who, in my opinion, need to come live with me. We had so much fun. The grandfather had made 3 pinatas, one elmo who accidentally had this expression on his face like "don't hit me in the face with that stick" and kind of scared the kids, a huge orange fish pinata and a big #1 pinata that was full of...get this Liza...LICK 'EM AID! You heard me. Lick em' aid. How splendid is that?

So then, halfway through this snack o rama, just as the clown was showing up (more on him later) these people came in and told us that the tacos were ready. Holy. Crap. These. Tacos were spectacular. Pork, chicken, beef, carne asada, holy goodness. All the fixins. Fresh tortillas in flour and corn. Ok so I ate 3. Sue me.

So as we're in the backyard and the kids are jumping in the humongus "air jumper castle" thing, a clown shows up. Now most of you who know me know that I hate clowns, they scare the bejebux out of me, but as he came around, tiff and mackenzie came over and were like "mom...nobody will talk to the clown". He was sitting alone with his balloon maker, and nobody would talk to him. He was about oh...22 in age, totally not scary looking except for his messy clown makeup which he apparenty did himself whilst driving down a very bumpy road. So what happened? My kids got not only their faces painted, but their arms, their legs, the back of their necks..etc...painted with spiderman and dinosaurs and you name it. They felt so bad for him. So then he leaves...and comes back with an Elmo costume on............commence mass hysteria.

These kids at the party went totally nuts. I'm talking screaming, and jumping and crying like they were at a Justin Timberlake concert where he'd just dedicated the entire concert and his life to them specifically over the jumbotron. Crazy A screaming children were every where. Don't get me wrong, Harper had a little "moment" with Elmo himself, snuggling and stroking his face, but when there are literally 45 kids all over you and it's 93 degrees out with 55% humidity and you're wearing a fuzzy red Elmo suit...you'd think the young man inside would have been crazy or suicidal or something right? Nope. He was in heaven. I think he may have been a little "slow" if you catch my drift, which makes him all the more special. Wow.

Oh and the cake? Huge. Out of control. 2 full sheet cakes. That's 8-9x13's. EIGHT. And they were 3 layers stuffed with banana and strawberries. Oh and the gift table? Insane.

So as Mike and I and the kids were driving back home that night, after 8 hours of party, I looked back and noticed all, count 'em...all FIVE of them were smiling and full and discussing the most outrageous party they'd ever been to. It was cute...til Mike said something that almost made my head fall off:

"So my mom told everyone there tonight that we're having Harper's party on the 14th of July...(long pause)...at our house...(longer pause)...and they all said they're coming"

then I died.

the end!

Happy Father's Day!

All of you that know my dad know that he's an incredible man. I remember growing up and just wishing he'd come home so I could hear stories about how his day went, or who he saw at school or work, or what he learned. I remember thinking he was the most handsome man on the earth and wondering how John Travolta got the part in Grease when it absolutely should have been my dad. I remember the first space shuttle launch, waking up in the early early hours to his excited voice as he told us about what exactly was about to happen.
I remember when Princess Diana and Charles got married, he explained that this was a REAL princess...not like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty but a real live princess who was REAL royalty. I thought that everything my dad said was magical and brilliant and amazing, and I still to this very day, think the same thing about him.


If I could take any people with me on vacation, it would be my family. My dad and mom started something incredible, and without them, I wouldn't have the sisters I adore, the brother I can't get enough of and the brothers/sister in law that perfectly fit with the rest of us. I wouldn't have memories of the condo and eating otter pops while watching Wimbledon on green shag carpet, climbing to the Narrows in Zion every 3rd of July, watching the fireworks over the park by the temple grounds in St. George, "anybody want a burrito?", making spaghetti in the Gowan house, thinking aliens were going to kidnap "all the little children" aka Eliza and I when we lived in Irvine, watching lightning over the desert in Las Vegas in the Renault, him flipping his pinkie over my tiny hand when when we'd hold hands, the way he'd squeeze my hand 3 times as we walked and how I knew that meant "I love you"...I'd always answer back with 4 gentle grips..."I love you, too".



He's the best grandpa a kid could have and I have never seen a group of kids like mine who adore a man as much as they love Grandpa John.



Dad is something earned, and my dad has earned enough credit to father a million. He's supportive when it's right, he's loving when it's hard to love me, and I will never know another man as Father on this earth. I love you, Dad.

Thank The Goodness For The DVR

There's a show called Pirate Master on CBS, and if you haven't yet watched, you're not too late to tune in...there have only been 3 episodes and all you missed were introductions that they regularly re-do during the show, and 2 people getting kicked off for lame reasons. Imagine Survivor and Big Brother on a pirate ship with blood and skulls and real gold coins they get to keep, and real debauchery and the list goes on and on. Oh it's good, just trust me here. A real "Summer Slowdown" kinda show, now that all of the faves are on season break. Tune in...and for me pirate name? See below the deck and try one for your own!!! Argh!!!!

PS! -

Dude, this guy won "Captain" last week and for some reason, even though I loves him so, he adopted this annoying/hilarious british accent the second they put the captain hat on him. Everyone on board is all "whaa???" and laughing behind his back. So so sweet. The end.

My pirate name is:

Mad Bess Cash

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Oh You Crazy Memes!

So Tori tagged me (and Eliza!) today on her blog, so I'm going to post mine here and then tag a few more of you!


4 jobs I have held:
1. Little Caesars Pizza (pizzapizza!)
2. Washington Mutual
3. Sizzler (mmmmcheesey toast!)
4. Asst. Manager for Topkapi (sister company for Claire's...I was piercing tiny baby ears on the bottom level of the Crossroads Plaza in SLC...so sad!)

4 movies I can watch over and over:
1. Clue!
2. A Mighty Wind
3. I "listen" to a lot of movies in my house and car while my kids watch them over and over again. Does that count? (ditto Tori)
4. Nacho/Napoleon

4 places I have lived:
1. Puyallup Washington
2. Irvine California
3. Las Vegas Nevada
4. Yucaipa California (orange/apricot/peach/palm trees covering everything!)

4 Categories of TV programming I enjoy:
1. Get ready, I am a dork, I'll just call it "Educational" (ie. How It's Made, Look Around You, Mythbusters)
2. Good reality shows like: The Real Deal, Flip That House, The Property Ladder, Little People Big World, Top Chef, Top Design
3. Fun Reality shows like: AI, On The Lot, Project Runway, The Biggest Loser, Hell's Kitchen
4. Drama-fun!: House, Lost, Heroes, Grey's, Mickey Mouse Club House, The Backyardigans (so so dramatic, all that dancing!)
5. Ghost Hunters gets it's own category since we love it so. Oh, and Dog the Bounty Hunter is always awesome to watch, bruddah.

4 Places I have been on Holiday/Vacation:
1. Frisneyland!
2. San Diego
3. Seattle
4. Avondale! (it's been too long!)

4 of my Favorite Dishes:
1. French Onion soup with fresh grated GOOD parmesan
2. Salmon on a cedar plank
3. Scallops with mango/peach/pineapple salsa (I may have that tonight, I have to use these dang peaches before they rot!)
4. Halibut with garlic mashed.

4 websites I visit (almost) daily:
1. Check up on the blogs.
2. Lately, LDS.org watching the last conference talks that I slept through (shh, I was sick!)
3. My bank
4. Flickr

4 places I would rather be right now:
1. In the bath reading.
2. Snuggled in my bed with a good book and my husband.
3. Chomping on the Crunch Ice from AM/PM
4. Newport beach on a blanket taking pictures

Now I get to pick 4 other blogger buddies to do this meme: (click em' to put the pressure on em')
1. LYDIA!
2. Stacey (Eaton)
3. Tiffany (Parrish!) (even though she's out of town for a while...whoops!)
4. EmDab!

4th Of July

So what's up people? I know E and C are coming down to my mom and dad's house, and Ash is too, but I was hoping for a St. George remix. Let's plan something really quick. Kj, talk your mom and dad into going golfing in the 119 degree weather so we can eat 25256234 popcicles and play Clue at a condo.

I Want To Visit You People!

So we've been talking about visiting Utah soon, but then the $$$ stopped and the plans changed. I want to see Kjersten's big ol' Pope-Villa, Eric and Ryan's flips, Ashley's happy and single face, Eliza so we can go get slurpees and sing fun songs, Lydia's silly sense of humor...need I go on? Tres sigh. Oh...and I want to go to Lagoon. I want to go there so bad you have no idea. I almost like it as much as I like Disneyland, and for the same reasons...memories of childhood. For example, when we were little, we went there with our cousin Goldie and she and I went on this hammer upside-down ride and she'd just eaten hot dogs, and on the 3rd or 4th ride in a row, she puked in the air, which in turn was tumbled all over our hair and clothes and faces as we spun upside down with vomit for what seemed like 35 minutes. I also went there with Darin Hadley and Eric Driscoll and a few other friends one time too, and in the line for the Colossus, Darin kissed me and Eric saw and was jealous but uh hello, sorry Eric, you were my boyfriend when we were 6-10 but me and Darin had the thing from 10-15. Oh and Darin gave me real gold jewelery and a big A bottle of Obsession one year for Christmas. I gave him Drakkar and he loved it but now that makes me laugh just thinking about it. Oh and then Darin held my hand on the Terroride. I freakin love that ride for some weird reason.

Anyway, thought I'd reminisce for ya there. Peace ooooutt!


(click on the pics over there

<----- to see them large!)

Alli Balli Bo Balli

• There are 138,942 people in the U.S. with the first name Allison.
  
• Statistically the 421st most popular first name. - Dude, my birthday is 4/21. 421st most popular and my birthday is 4/21. Weird...
  
• More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Allison are female - So there are Male Allisons? Double Weird.

There are apparently 10 Allison Easleys in the US. Triple weird!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 10 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

PARDON OUR DUST!

We're playing around, and simultaneously hosting 8 children between the ages of 8-16 PLUS our own 5 in our house right now for Movie Night.

I need sleep.

More Pics From Sunday At Mandy And Tay's and One of Kenzie's New Hair

HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY To My Favorite Brother Taylor!!!

Mike and the kids and I went to San Diego yesterday for Tay and Derek's birthdays. We took pics, played and ate lasagne and cake and chatted and you tubed and had the best time! Check out some of these pics I took of Taylor, the super model! For more pics of all the kids, go to my flickr photoblog HERE!