It's as though I can see into the future

 I have a hunch.

Today: I

Next week:

 Yes, I can feel the psychic powers brewing within.

A VERY important date!

This girl had a birthday.

7 years old.

Welcome to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party:

But first, Alice and the doormouse must figure out which way to go!

Watch out for the Queen of Hearts!  She's crazy.

Ah, here's the Mad Hatter! She's sure to entertain.

A Wonderland feast has been laid for your delight.

All sugar free and calorie free too!

(a Wonderland special)

Sandwiches dipped in rainbow juice and lollipops to make you grow.

Wait! Before you can eat, you must look the part you know!

Of course we went to the Mad Hatter's Hattery to make our own hats.

And now the tea party can begin!

Remember to mind your manners, or the Queen of Hearts just might make your head roll!

Gifts!

Alice was very particular and thankful.

I think she approves of this party!

You never know what will happen in Wonderland.

The wind might be blowing too hard to keep the candles lit.

It's a good thing Alice has a big enough imagination to pretend to blow out the candles.

Even Tweedle Dum enjoyed himself.

Highlight

Definitely one of the highlights of my stay in Utah has been the 2 days I spent with my

incredible,

beautiful,

spiritual,

fun,

talented,

"soul sister", Heidi

We met and only had a year together in Virginia before the Navy moved her family to North Carolina.

So, when we discovered we'd have time to see eachother in Utah we were elated!

We spent a night at a condo in Midway, played with the kids and watched The Rachel Zoe Project.

LOVED IT!

Then we spent a day shopping at Dear Lizzie...

and eating lunch at The Blue Lemon.

A few days later I met up with Heidi again at her sister's gorgeous wedding reception in SLC. 

How cute are these two?

It's been 2 1/2 years since we've seen each other, but the kids re-connected in nano-seconds.  

Such a sweet, sweet family whom I adore!

Thanks my dear friend for some great times!

The other half of our "soul sisters" will be here in July!

It's so nice to have these moments to look forward to.

(my inner child is jumping around and squeeling with delight: think Jesse when she meets Woody in Toy Story 2)

((whoa...too much Toy Story lately))

It's not that I don't have anything to blog about.

I do.

I just don't seem to have my muse around any more. Truely, I believe Scott is my muse.

I need to get my butt up and take some pictures.

But until that happens, here are a few random thoughts:

1. I can't get this pettiskirt out of my mind. I think I need one. But am still debating weather or not an overweight frumpy mom could pull it off:

2. Gracie's birthday is in a few weeks. 

I hadn't planned on doing a big party, but how can I not with my family here to help me?

An Alice in Wonderland tea party is my theme and I have visions of these combining together: 

**pretty girls, pretty and eclectic tea sets, laughing and friendship**

**bright colors & dress ups**

**plus the funky(ness) & quirky(ness) of Kerli's Tea Party music video**

3. I totally love feeding my son's obsession with boy(ish) things.

Cars.

Growling.

Dirt.

Woo-wee (Woody)

Buuuhhh (Buzz)

Speaking of Buzz, we buzzed his head. Oh, yes we did.

I now love him more.

Speaking of haicuts, I chopped Gracie's hair. Oh, yes I did.

Well, I actually didn't do the chopping, but I was in charge.

Pictures coming soon.

Catching up and freaking out.

Here are a few more pictures from our time with Scott.

Our trip to the Hogle Zoo was as successful as you could expect.

This pretty much sums up our experience:

This actually pretty much sums up my life.

Why must taking a family picture be such a challenge?

Moving on...

This counts as my children taking acting lessons for the summer:

This was Henry's only consolation as he attempted to jump into every animal exhibit.

A brass statue of an animal to climb on would have to suffice.

And to the "freaking out" part of my title.

Decisions.

Is it all in my head or am I constantly bombarded by all these crazy options for my life that make my head spin?

I'll just give you a quick rundown of what Scott and I are trying to sort through right now:

1. We were told that we will move away from AK in December of 2011 which means we'll have a good 18 months when we get back after deployment. So, should we buy a house???

**If we did buy a house the plan is to keep it and rent it out. Our realtor is also an awesome property manager. Being so close to both an Army and an Air Force base keeps the demand for rentals high...supposedly. If it all worked out perfectly it would be so smart.**

2. Should I stay in Utah, start Gracie in school here (for only 6 weeks) then transfer her back to school in AK? Or...should I just go back to AK without Scott in Aug. so Gracie doesn't get whip lash?

3. Should I torture my family by leaving my kids to visit Scott in Cuba for a week? It would be pricey...if we decide to buy a house is that the smartest financial decision?

Input...anybody?

Road trip finale

While in Phoenix we managed to spoil our kids in every way possible.

You can see their giddy happiness with the experience in the RainForest Cafe:

Seriously Gracie.

The veins in the neck popping out with the tongue squished through your tooth hole.

Really?

Anyway...

The place was a big hit with the kids. Even ornery old Henry.

He's showing his new found love of saying "Cheeeeeeese" whenever a camera is pointed his way.

Then we made our way over to check out the Mesa, AZ Temple.

It was simply breathtaking.

It seems as though Gracie's "posing" habits are rubbing off on Lydia.

And it seems as though I lied.

We have yet, another, complete family photo:

The rest of our trip was filled with lots of swimming, shopping at World Market (sigh), a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and playing at playgrounds.

We drove home in one day.

Blech.

All I can say is

thank heaven for protable DVD players.

The Grand Canyon in a day.

On our way to Phoenix we made an 8 hour pit stop to the Grand Canyon.

That was definitely enough for me.

I wouldn't mind going without kids and doing some hiking and what-not, but with 3 kids, 8 hours was more than enough time.

The construction on this tower kinda makes it lose it's raw, coolness. It is authentically ancient, though they are doing some "safety updates".

The kids really loved this tower. The stairs spiral all the way to the top.

By this point the kids were done with the whole "Grand Experience".  It took some promising of Cheetos to tweek any sort of smile out of them.

Behold: the only complete family picture of the entire road trip.

If you ask Lydia this sheep's name is "Anna AND Ashley...she has two names."

There were many demands that she have her own "Grand Canyon Portrait".

I told Scott that I am totally okay with us counting "Anna and Ashley" as child #4.

Road Trip

Last week the kids and I traveled with Scott down to Phoenix.

The only way were able to steal this time with him is because his boss sent him to a "class" down in Phoenix.

So, we made a road trip out of it.

A little of this:

And a little of this:

 is really all you need for a road trip.

Throw in a ton of fast food and you've got it covered!

Our first day we drove down to Lake Powell and stayed in a small town called Page, AZ.

We walked around the big dam at the lake.

Gracie got a lot of practice with her "posing skillz" this trip.

Check out this action:

This is Gracie portraying how "scary" it is to be on the bridge.

Good, right?

I didn't even have to teach her how to be wierd.

Coming up next: