Ahoy, A Teaser!

Me Hearties, I took this picture on The Pirates of the Caribean ride in Disneyland this past weekend as further inspiration for this:

Harper's 1st Birthday Party: Pirate-style. It's mostly family and I know next year and every year after it will probably be all about princesses, pink, and all-things girl. And maybe not, but for now we're excited for this theme, blog post and pictures to come...

Disneyland

Hi. We're back and boy did we have FUN! It was quite the experience! Like all epic tales there was drama, tears, extreme bliss, and memories that last a lifetime. And so the story goes...
Once upon a time, in a far away land Queen B made reservations for a three-day park pass to Disneyland, had flights booked, and generally was on top of all things-planning. It was ironic since she was so prepared with written notes, tickets, and packing that our flight out of town was cancelled with no re-booking schedule in sight. Apparently Alaska Airlines had a total system failure and their flight plans were unavailable. These are the exact times when I am more than grateful for a take-charge mate. King B wielded his fancy ipad and booked us on another airline rescuing Queen B from a never-ending customer service line. After many tears that we would indeed be missing a whole day in the Magical Kingdom, she was brought back to life by Princess Pea; whom I must say had an amazing attitude through the whole ordeal. While we were on our second flight (almost 10 hours after we were originally supposed to take off), Princess Pea said to us, "I'm lucky to go to Disneyland, Mom." This time tears of thankfulness for a wonderful little girl who had the attitude I should have had. One of the best lessons I have learned in my life. I love her. The delay of our scheduled plans allowed for two important things that might not have been possible if not for the system meltdown.
First, we got to see my brother Chase and go to dinner with him! He just finished busy season and was in Anaheim for the Arizona NCAA game...Pea was excited to see her Hunka Uncka (a name which my MIL Carolyn gave him...).
Here we are:


Secondly, Papa Steve was allowed to recover from a terrible cold and be back to normal by the time we actually got to go in the Park. A huge blessing for him!
After finally getting there, Pearson was over the moon happy. I loved watching her little face every time she saw something new and yet familiar. Her smile was ear-to-ear the majority of the time. We had no meltdowns and amazingly she got to do almost everything she wanted to AND some things she didn't know she wanted, but LOVED. Here's the short list:
Small World (3 times)!
The Princess Lunch at Ariel's Grotto (where she was introduced to all the princesses in person...a treat in itself!)
Tea Cups
Alice in Wonderland
Nemo's underwater submarine
Storybook Lane
The Carousel
Peter Pan's Flight
Tarzan's Tree House
Gadget's Go Coaster
Jungle Cruise
Roger Rabbit's Ride
Walks through Mickey and Mini's houses in Toon Town
Sleeping Beauty's Castle
Flying Dumbo Ride
Aladdin's Theater Show (which was amazing)
2 minutes of a Bug's Life (which she HATED and I don't blame her)
Main street fireworks, ice cream, and shops.
Meeting Mickey, Mini, Goofy, Donald, Tinkerbell, and Chip!
There were so many pictures, but here are some of my favorites (OF NOTE: Pea smacked her nose on a table the day before this trip...which explains the ouchie...)


















Princess Pea was cashed OUT by about 7 pm the first full day so she went back to the hotel and King B and Queen B stayed behind to go on our own Disneyland date. First we went to the tribute showing of of Captain EO...
then on to:
Space Mountain
The Matterhorn
Big Thunder
The Haunted Mansion
and
Indiana Jones.
By the time we arrived back to the hotel we had spent 13 hours inside the park! We were exhausted, but...
Lord and Lady B (Grandma Carolyn & Papa Steve), King and Queen B, and the delightful Princess Pearson packed in as many memories as is humanly possible during our short, but sweet stay. As a child, Disneyland always seemed like pure magic, which it is, but as an adult I was struck by all the detail. It's perfectly crafted for imagination and we loved every single second there.
Two of my favorite memories are when Pea asked for a "pop with fur on it" which turned out to be cotton candy. She hated it. And when Pea threw two pennies into Small World and wished that she would turn into a tiger and that she could come back to Disneyland someday. It was the CUTEST. THING. EVER.
We love you Pearson and YES we WILL go back. This time we'll bring Babe H, but since she could not be here this time: we brought her back a T-shirt.

And they lived happily ever after...
The End.

Anticipation

We are getting excited for...

Disneyland! Note the Sleeping Beauty dress she's been wearing ALL day. We leave Saturday morning and Babe H will be staying behind with Grandma Polly. Next time she'll join us!
I'll be posting with pictures and stories upon our return...

Project Gratitude

These are my besties from high school.

I was one of the lucky ones who managed to have friends who were not only authentic, but decent people apart from our friendship. All of us have started a blog and contribute to it every week. I moonlight on it once in a while and it's such a positive message. To be grateful for even the littlest of things and then write those things down.
Check it out! Love you girls...
oh and Manz might be miffed at the fact that all her pictures on this blog are funny so here's a good one of you beautiful friend!

Rolling in The Deep

I am in LOVE with Adele right now so I'll just give her this title post as a nod to her amazing voice, but really what we're really talking about today is competition. I.e. the crossfit games which Ty has been training for and which as I saw this afternoon are no joke.
My baby did good. So good that afterward I thought he was dying because he could not get up after finishing...
10 minutes
As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) of:
15 Full Snatches (ground to over-head) of 75 pounds
And
30 Double Unders.
Ty got 6 rounds plus 10 double unders! Our cousin Blake competed too (pictured below...he got the exact same). I'll keep posting on Ty's stats each week for 6 weeks and see where we're at.
So far, so good!




Pea took these last two pictures! I just love that...

Man's Best Friend?

Pea has been saying she wants a dog, a girl one. Below is what she's resorted to. Even creating an entire fake birthday party where she receives this as a gift. Oh my!
We think she's JUST about ready...

Or maybe not...

Smart Muffin

Love her...

Facebook Fast

I'm back.
Literally and figuratively.
This week I did a facebook, texting, and blogging fast in order to clear a space for God in my hectic head. In some manner of speaking it was the change itself that created a pace of life which was softer, quieter, and more focused.
Weirdly the texting was hardest, because I'm not a chain-texter. However it's apparently a large part of my scheduling. Who knew?
To discover that I did not really miss fb and blogging that much was a blessing and still; I genuinely like and look forward to the connection I have made through these small bits of technology. I also missed the writing. A lot. I'd love to report to you that I heard God clearly through the lack of noise because so many times He speaks in a whisper. But more than hear Him, I think I realized that my kids like more of my attention and I truly like to hear myself think. The greater lesson for me was to clear time and space for what He advocates most: relationship. And surprisingly not only with my girls, with God, but with myself.
Not the outcome I expected and not to bury the irony in philosophy speak, but I have been unintentionally drowning out my own voice. Realizing it is fairly easy to do so.
The less you hear yourself, the more you begin to see yourself as one of the unwashed masses. And this is not something I ever want. Certainly it's not how Christ sees me; He sees me as how he made me: human, but unique.
It's a definite possibility I will do this again, almost a certainty. But for now I'm back.
Literally and figuratively.

Tiger Blood

Pea has tiger blood. She's always claimed to be a tiger. When she was younger she would "roar" at us all the time. Hilarious. Saturday afternoon we went to see some ACTUAL tigers at one of our favorite hot spots The Cougar Mountain Zoo. Pea loves this place! This time we took Babe H. Some of our favorite moments?
-Meeting a pink Toucan name Molu (who apparently has a facebook page).
-Hearing the Lemurs "talk" (if was SO LOUD! They have to communicate over miles so you can understand why, but my goodness it was ear splitting...)
-Seeing a white and golden tiger play together.
-Feeding the Lamas & deer.
Low lights?
-The Emus. They were creepy.
-When the Lemur jumped at the girls and Harper instantly started crying. She was petrified. And pea just laughed.
-When Harper ate one of the apples meant for the Lama.
Here are some favorite shots from our adventure!

CHIPS (for real this time)

Somehow in the past week, Babe H has managed to chip her front tooth with out us even knowing until yesterday. I was changing her diaper and bam. What's this? A CHIPPED tooth? WHAT?
How did this go undetected, Nancy Drew? I thought you were goddess of all domestic mysteries. I must be loosing my touch. We made an emergency trip to the pediatric dentist this morning and he said it's from some kind of trauma. He filed it down and we have a follow-up appointment in three months. Please God let it NOT turn black in this time period.
Sufficed to say, here she is in all her glory.

Somehow I think it's befitting to her. Oh, and btw, she will have this chipped tooth until it falls out.
Awesome.

The Week of Random

This is offically the week of random.
I was in the shower thinking all these things and decided to blog them instead. Guess we'll find out if that was a positive choice or not...

Is it wrong that our 3 1/2 year old knows the words to Portlandia's, The Dream of the 90's is Alive in Portland? If I grew up anywhere else; I'd say yes.

Remember my confessed bad habit? Two weeks ago, I walked into Mr. B's and my shared bathroom. There was a trash can on the counter right next to my sink. Apparently, passive aggressive behavior is not limited to women.
I suppose in some ways that's refreshing.

Are you watching the public meltdown of Charlie Sheen?
TIGER BLOOD.
Normally, during breakfast I have the Today Show on in the mornings, but this morning when I had to explain to Pea that some people's BRAINS are sick (rather than the proverbial, "My tummy hurts, Momi!") I thought it best to turn the Bi-Winner off.
One word.
WOW.

In other news, I LOVE Luther Vandross. OK, I said it. I LOVE him, I really do. Especially, Here and Now. Mmmm.
Secretly, I listen to C89.5 on Sundays because it's all Gospel until 2 pm. That is no joke; it's the God-honest truth. That's why I LOVE American Idol!
This Bell household has been watching AI. And while Mr. B mostly laughs at and generally berates all contestants; I faint with amazement at this Jacob Lusk guy. You know, Spa Concierge in Compton, CA. That has to be a tough gig.

Oh and Harper chipped her front tooth. ALREADY. No idea how or when and ugh...currently figuring out the next step to that one!

Another Random Tuesday Thoughts

Hello! I have been MIA from writing recently and frankly it's time to end the silent treatment.
And so...
As I type I am enjoying a delicious moment of silence and some chai tea; the powder kind. Don't get me started on the vast difference between this and the liquid version. It's a divide so deep and wide that cannot be crossed.
My house is a complete disaster. I am currently blaming it on the fact that I was out of town last weekend. Laundry, crumbs ground into the fibers of the carpet, and a mess in the playroom that is unprecedented. I think at this moment I'd rather blog.
These past two weeks I have been making the same dim-witted mistakes in raising a baby as I did the first go-round. Example? Using my bath tub as make-shift play pen whilst doing my make-up. Of course, Harper would find the lever of the tub and soak herself RIGHT before we need to go somewhere. How many times did it take me to realize this with Pea. Count 'em: three times. History repeating itself has swayed me towards the conviction that having a another child does not make you an expert, it simply gives you that much more practice. Here's hoping practice makes perfect;)
Lately, everyone we know is having a baby or had one in the past month. The majority boys, except for my sweet niece Molly. I am already scouting husbands for Babe H. I think she's pledged to three boys already. side note: we need to do something with her hair or that might become a problem...
Pearson is one smart cookie. I told her that last week and she said, "No. I'm one smart MUFFIN, Momi." Perfect example of why she's so so fantastic. Currently her favorite thing to say to Tyler is, "No jokes, Dad." We still don't know what the really means, but she seems to be clear on its intended warning.
Ty is participating in the crossfit games starting this month. They are TNT (dynamite) and slightly obsessed over at our gym. He has been training for a while and I'll post with results from his qualifying rounds.
I really, and I mean REALLY need to read my bible right now. I am feeling depleted spiritually and sort of distracted by the smallest things like Alice in Wonderland as she's free falling towards a land of her imagination only to be accidentally saved by her blooming skirt. No thank you, I'd rather live in the knowledge of purposeful and true salvation. Mostly I'm writing this down as an accountability measure. Please feel free to ask me if I have been when you see me or text me to "hit the good book." I'd truly appreciate it.
Yours in the rabbit hole,