Strike A Pose

Here are the rest of the Easter pics. I have NEVER been able to get Tia to wear a hat for an extended amount of time (unless it is a baseball hat and even then it doesn't last that long), but she did not want to take this hat off! I don't know what came over them last weekend, but Caelleb & Tia were loving having their picture taken. Win-Win!

Bryndyn told them to give me two thumbs up in this next picture:

Driving With Miss Chatterbox

McAlister's has become our after-church-lunch ritual. We even went there last Sunday (Easter) but they were closed. As we were in route after church today Tia was her usual chatty self. She was very concerned that the restaurant might not be open. Our conversation went something like this. . .

Tia: "We goin' McAlister's?"

Me: "Yep"

Tia: "Them open?"

Me: "Uh huh"

Tia: "They not open last time"

Me: "They were closed for Easter."

Tia: "Why?"

Me: "Probably so that the people that work there could celebrate what Jesus did for us."

Tia: "Jesus closed McAlister's????"

Uhhhh... I guess that's one way of looking at it!


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I read Green Eggs & Ham to Tia last night. She got really into the book and was trying to read aong with me the whole time. So, to change the subject (from above) I said, "Tia, do you like green eggs and ham?" She stopped chatting and went completely silent." A waited for a few seconds and them prompted her again, "Is Sam-I-Am trying to get you to try green eggs and ham?" Complete silence (and she is NEVER quiet in the van unless she is sleeping). . . I was kind of disappointed because I thought she would remember the story. After about a minute of silence she exclaims, "IN A BOAT? WITH A MOUSE? SAM-I-AM! ANYWHERE! IN A BOX? WITH A FOX? ANYWHERE!" Cutest thing.

the Extent of my Creativity

I'm not sure what my deal is with black & white pictures, but I just love them. Here are a few from this past weekend. . .

More Than I Bargained For

I had a list growing up. I probably started this list somewhere around the 8th or 9th grade. You know the one. The qualities-I-want-in-the-man-I'm-going-to-marry list. Come on, I KNOW I'm not alone. I bet you had a list too (well, at least the females out there)! Here were the basic qualifications my future husband had to meet:

1. He had to be a Christian

2. He had to be athletic

3. Of course, he had to be cute

4. He had to like kids

Yep, this pretty much sums up what I thought I wanted in a husband. In retrospect, the list is pretty comical & extremely naive. Not that the characteristics listed above aren't good. But my gosh, did I really think a cute, athletic, Christian who liked kids would be enough in a husband?

Cute is such a relative term. Athletic... okay I think I just wanted someone who enjoyed and played sports as much as I did because I couldn't imagine my life without sports. Christian? According to this site, 83% of Americans identified themselves as "Christian" at the time I made my list. Likes kids? I guess that is a good start, to "like" your children.

But there you have it, the list I presented to God. Thankfully, He intervened and did "...immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. . ." (Eph. 3:20).

Christian. Athletic. Cute. Likes kids. Yes, Bryndyn is all of these things. More importantly, he is a man with a true relationship with God; striving to be Christ-like with an unwavering faith. He is exceptionally selfless and deeply content. He is an extremely hard worker. He is steadfast and unwavering in his commitment & devotion to our family. He is completely reliable. He is honest. He is trustworthy. He is down-to-earth & fun to be around. He is humble. He is an amazing father. He loves me unconditionally. He is my best friend. He is so much more than I can put into words.

I don't know what I did to deserve Bryndyn. And I don't know if I tell him enough how much I appreciate him. God knew exactly what I needed in a spouse, long before my 15-yr.-old-mind could possibly imagine what the future held. I am so grateful!

Happy Birthday Bryndyn! I love you!

These eggs didn't stand a chance!

Both kids had a great time decorating easter eggs this year...
This next picture cracks me up, such concentration!

Just Us Four

Family vacations for us typically revolve around visiting, well, family. It's rare that just me, Bryn and the kids take a vacation by ourselves. When a friend & co-worker of Bryn's offered us their time-share in Branson for two nights we were EXCITED! This was our first trip to Branson and we really enjoyed our time there. Granted, we didn't leave the condo much because everything there was FREE (indoor swimming, park, put-put golf)! We checked in Thursday evening. After scoping out the place I think the kids were mostly impressed with the master bedroom. Tia came out of it saying, "Mommy, your room has a POOL in it!" (in reference to a big jacuzzi tub). Friday day we pretty much just chilled at the condo & took advantage of all the ammenities.

(this has got to be one of my all-time favorite pics of Caelleb, to-date)

That evening we took the kids to dinner at a hibachi grill. Caelleb had been to one before but Tia hadn't. The fire on the grill both terrified and mezmerized her all at the same time. After a great dinner we drove around Branson for awhile just taking it all in. We ended up at The Landing, pretty much by chance, but it turned out to be a great place to spend the evening. There was a water/light show which the kids (Caelleb, especially) loved!

(this is a much smaller water fountain than the one in the water/lights show)

There was marble slab ice cream involved. And the evening was topped off by some pretty cool balloons. You need the side angle view to get the full effect of this hat that the balloon man made Caelleb.Tia requested "Ariel," not bad...
Saturday we took our time checking out of the condo. Bryn and Caelleb played another round of put-put golf while Tia and I played on the playground. Before heading out of town we stopped for a round of go karts and then headed home. Branson is sort of like a family-friendly Vegas without the gambling (if that makes any sense).
I can't wrap up this post with out mentioning this restaurant. We stopped in Ozark (just 20 miles or so north of Branson) to eat dinner at the home of the throwed rolls that we had heard so much about. Oh man, serious gluttony. We liked it so much that we stopped there again on the way home, for lunch. I can't even do this place justice by writing about it. You just have to be there. . . delicious rolls being literally thrown around the restaurant. . . free refills on EVERYTHING--not just drinks--you can have as many servings of whatever you order as you want. We just laughed at that. There was no way we could do any second servings after all of the extra "pass arounds" that they walk around distributing, on TOP of your regular order. Crazy amounts of food and all delicious, for a relatively cheap price! If you do plan on going there give yourself plenty of time, there is always a wait to get in, but soooooo worth it!

the Anti-Vacation

While Caelleb and I were off galavanting in So Cal, Bryndyn was doing the opposite, WORKING HARD! While we were gone he painted BOTH kids bedrooms, switched the beds around, cleaned out all the toys (which are now in the bonus room waiting to be sorted through) and managed to get all Caelleb's new bedding and accessories into his new "camping" room! Seriously, I don't know how Bryn does it. He told me he was going to get all of that done and I doubted him. My bad! Isn't Caelleb's new tent/bed soooo cool?

Even better (my husband is a Saint), dinner was waiting for us in the crockpot when we got home. OK, this might not seem like such a big deal, but it was HUGE. Caelleb and I had left my parents house at 4:45am, yes AM people, to catch a 6:40am flight out of LAX. Upon arriving in Kansas City we had to wait two hours for a shuttle back to our house (Bryn had driven us to the airport but was at work when we flew home). Then the shuttle ride was about 3 hours. So, by the time we got home it was pushing 5pm. We had been up since the crack of dawn and hadn't had much to eat all day. There was NO WAY I was cooking but even the thought of going out to eat wasn't my idea of fun after a long day. For Bryn, on the other hand, Mondays are crazy. He goes straight from work to his own PhD class, to bowling w/the guys. He typically leaves the house on Mondays at around 6:30am and doesn't get home till 10pm. So, he got up extra early and made us taco soup, KNOWING he wouldn't be home to enjoy it with us. He had the table set for us and everything. Soooooooooo thoughtful! Thanks Bryn, for being the best husband in the entire world!!!!

Gosh, there is still so much renovating to do around our house. Maybe I should plan another trip to Cali! :)

1st Gig

The last night I was in Simi I got to see a couple old friends who I hadn't seen in quite a while. They both went to my rival high school but we were all in the same church youth group. One of them brought his 19 month old son. My friend offered to pay Caelleb to "babysit" his toddler. In actuality, we were keeping a close eye on both of them from the next room over. But Caelleb liked the idea of having a job! In the end, Caelleb made $2 and the adults got a couple extra minutes of talk time (maybe).
The next morning while sitting on the airplane I was asking Caelleb about the trip. He mentioned his "babysitting" gig. I pointed out to him that he had his first job! He thought about it for a second and said, "yea, that kid wore me out!" I laughed out loud because I'm positive he got that phrase from overhearing ME talk about HIMSELF! :)

There's No Place Like Home

After living out of state for almost 9 years, Simi Valley is still home. But so is Columbia. Sometimes I feel sort of stuck between two worlds. Lately, I find myself yearning to be back in Southern California. That desire could very well be linked to the fact that we have had a LOOOONG winter. I don't think it's actually the state of California that I miss (although I do love the weather & the beach), mostly I just miss living close to extended family. My sister and her family are a 10 hour drive away, which helps, but still, 10 hours. . . Caelleb also loves being with family. Growing up, I loved going to my grandparents house (who lived 10 minutes away from us). I remember back then thinking that someday my children would also love coming to the Blazej home. I guess at that point in my life I couldn't really picture myself as a mother, let alone my parents as grandparents. I haven't been inside my grandmother's house (now my uncle's home) since she passed away in April of 2003 (wow, hard to believe its been almost 5 years!). Caelleb hasn't even been with us for that long, so he's obviously never been there either. But what my grandmother's house meant to me, my parents house (my house growing up), means to Caelleb. He actually sleeps in my old room which is now the office. He is so incredibly content there! Usually when we are out there we have all kinds of plans (the beach, disneyland, baseball games, etc.). So, I guess I just figured what kid wouldn't love doing all those things. But this past trip, we pretty much did nothing. I mean we got out of the house about once a day. My dad took Caelleb to the batting cages & the driving range. We watched my 11 yr. old cousins (who, I might add were born right after Bryn and I started dating, time flies) play soccer. Uncle B & Aunt Kara took him to the park the day of my mom's surgery. We tried out a church on Sunday morning that I had never been to; a church that took children's worship to a whole new level! But overall the five days we were there were incredibly low key. It was too chilly for him to swim in my parents pool, although he did try for about 10 minutes. Mostly we were just lounging around. He played w/his new transformer (thanks Uncle B & Aunt Kara) & a train set that my mom had. He learned how to play Uno & War and pretty much wanted to play cards non-stop with anyone he could convince to join him. He went to town on Papa T's cooking. Pretty much just hung out with family & had a blast doing it. When we were at the airport he said, "why can't we just stay here forever?" I said, "what about Daddy & Tia," to which he responded, "they can come too." If only life were that simple. . . Don't get me wrong, I really do love Columbia. We have wonderful friends here and it is a great place to raise a family. But Simi Valley, and more importantly, the people who live there, will always have a very special place in my heart!

Oz or Bust!

Be Popular.

Defy Gravity.

Meet Mr. Wonderful.

Dance Through Life.

Most importantly, if you haven't already, GO SEE WICKED!

Caelleb & I recently took a trip to So Cal. We flew in on the morning of Wed., 3/12. My mom was having minor surgery the following day. So, what do you do the night before surgery? Go see a musical, of course! :) My mom had been wanting to see Wicked for awhile. I had heard great reviews. Once we had our airline tickets purchased, my mom bought theater tickets for me, her & my sister-in-law, Kara. I had been listening to the audio CD (which my mom sent for my birthday--did I mention I turned 34 about a month ago? Yea, tried to just slip right past that one, but I digress. . .) We started the evening at the Hollywood & Highland Center, dining at a CPK (I had a pizza w/avocado on it--I LOVE California!). From a balcony right outside the restaurant you could see the "Hollywood" sign, which is barely visible in this first picture but I cropped and zoomed the second picture below. . . We then took a cab (I had NEVER taken a taxi in CA before) over to the Pantages Theater. Let me just add here that the theater itself was amazing!The theater had a major restoration done in October of 2000, in preparation of the Lion King opening. Here's what one review had to say, "...the Pantages invested almost $10 million in a massive facelift of the landmark theatre, restoring it to its original glory. The Pantages was always something to behold, but its dazzling, ornate interior, gleaming with new gold leaf is now simply spectacular. It's almost worth the price of tickets to a show just to see the theatre itself."

Wicked did not disappoint! Here's a synopsis directly from the Wicked website: "Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One - born with emerald green skin - is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years."

I LOVED it! Pretty sure it is my new favorite musical, even topping The Lion King on my list! I'm looking forward to seeing it again in May in Kansas City!

Thanks Mom, for a wonderful evening!

Back in the stirrups again. . .

Sorry, I couldn't resist using that title. We're back at the whole infertility treatment thing. . . sort of. Yesterday was CD4 so I went in for a resting scan to get the ball rolling. Typically, if the ultra sound is clear then I would have been prescribed clomid and scheduled another ultra sound in about a week or so to monitor the progress of follicles. Unfortunately, my life (including IF) is anything BUT typical. The cyst that was there back in November is STILL there. I have a follow-up apt. on April 10th to meet with my RE (reproductive endocrinologist) and discuss options. Pretty sure there are only two: a) wait another month to see if cyst is still there or b) have the cyst surgically removed. Maybe my Dr. will have a magic "c" option... probably not. I'll keep you posted.

Constantly Missing

Is it possible to miss someone who is sitting right next to you? Have you ever said goodbye to someone and immediately started missing her before she was even out of your sight?

miss /mɪs/ –verb (used with object)
1.to feel, suffer or regret the absence or loss of

My household is all too familiar with the above definition. All of our extended family is out of state so we are pretty much in a constant state of missing (or feeling the absence of) family members.

But yesterday Caelleb reminded me that there is a whole other side of this verb. He and I had just said goodbye to Tia after having her for a long weekend. She wasn't even out of our sight yet as we watched Bryndyn walk her up to her mother's front door. Caelleb let out a long sigh and whispered, "I miss Tia." I started to say something lighthearted like, "she just left us" or "we'll see her soon," but realized I'd only be fooling myself. In truth, Caelleb had just verbalized exactly how I felt at that moment.

I know I don't write much, anymore, about the new role we play in Tia's life. I guess part of me feels like people don't want to hear about that heartache anymore, or that everyone assumes because we have Tia on most weekends that all is well in that regard. It's true, the transitions back and forth have gotten much easier. Tia no longer cries when she leaves our house (though she does whine & argue about not wanting to leave). We've managed to develop a positive relationship with her mother. Definite progress. But for Bryndyn, Caelleb & I weekends just aren't enough. She is part of us and when she is absent our family is incomplete, we miss her, terribly. And sometimes that missing starts before she is even gone. . .

Happy Easter!

I took a BAZILLION pics today but until I get them all downloaded, here is a teaser. . .Wishing everyone a wonderful Easter!

An Offer I Refused

Guitar lessons are over. They were pretty much a bust. Between travel, the flu & winter conditions I only made it to 3 of the 6 lessons. Even the 3 lessons I attended, I didn't get much out of. But i'm not giving up. I did learn enough to sort of teach myself as I go. I'll keep you posted on that. But I forgot to share a funny story from the night of my very first lesson. Caelleb and I were in the van headed home after work/school. I was telling him about my upcoming lessons and he asked me what guitar I was going to use. I informed him that daddy was going to let me use his guitar (sidenote: this is a BIG deal because Bryndyn's guitar used to be his father's guitar). I said something like, "isn't that nice of daddy to share his guitar with me?" and Caelleb responded, "you can use MINE!" I politely declined, to which he was a little disappointed. We bought this guitar for Caelleb in La Bufadora, Mexico--that should about sum up why his offer made me chuckle. . .

nice facial expression. . . I think this is his rockstar face. :)

Let me give you a little more perspective on why Caelleb's guitar could NOT work for me. . .

Calling in the Reinforcements

A Gift From Thailand

Uncle Kevin went on an adventure to Thailand and brought home gifts for Caelleb & Tia. I'll get a pic up of Caelleb's frog at some point, but here is what Tia got. She was not happy with me when her request to bring it to church on a rainy Sunday was denied. :)

Thanks Uncle Kevin!

A Nice Break from Winter

Currently, it is 25 degrees outside. But over the weekend we got a little spring-teaser, I think we got up into the 70's! It was great to get the kids playing outside. On Sunday afternoon we took the whole family (including our dog) to the dog park and then Caelleb & Tia played on the playground. I am soooooo ready for this winter to be over. . . You might notice Caelleb's ripped pants. Seriously, the child's dresser drawer is FILLED w/pants but I think all but about 3 of them have rips in them. It is so frustrating. I mean, I know he's a BOY & he plays hard, but my goodness. And we're not talking little holes in the knees that I could patch up if I knew how to sew. . . Add to that the fact that he is going through a growth spurt--shopping is inevitably in my very near future. Here are some playground pics: Caelleb went across the monkey bars by himself for the first time--he was excited!
This is my 6th Missouri winter. I've acclimated, I guess. It's currently 52 degrees in the city I grew up in, with highs expected in the 70's all week. . . I can't lie--I SOOOO miss those days of one season (pretty much ) year around!