Psycho???

How do YOU define psycho? I think true psychoness is when you do psycho things and you don't know it. But when you do psycho things and you do know it, then it's just, well, I'm not sure what to call that. Which brings me to...me.

If you have been hanging around me at all lately, just politely skip this post because you've got to be sooooo sick of this topic by now. Rachel M- please don't read this because I fear you will no longer be my friend.

I have a mild obsession with puppies at the moment. And when I get obsessed about something, I GET OBSESSED. It's really quite unhealthy. But the good thing about my obsessions is that they are usually short-lived. Like photoshop for example. I was totally obsessed with photoshop when I first got it. I spent an insane amount of time on the computer learning it and when I wasn't using it, I was thinking about it, talking about it, and even dreaming about it non-stop. That lasted about 2-3 weeks and then I moved on to a new obsession.

I'm just gonna come out with my story and let everyone know just how psycho I am.

The problem with this puppy obsession is that I love to look and play with puppies until I own one and then I hate it. I know this from first-hand experience since we have gotten 3 puppies. Yes, 3. The first one was before we had kids and was outdoors and didn't cause too much trouble but then she died at 8 months (it wasn't me, I swear). Our second one I fell in love with at the petstore and after about 6 weeks I grew to detest him and we sold him to someone else which ended devastating my husband, hence not the best time in our lives. We got our third one (cocker spaniel) because our neighbors got one and it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen and I thought it could be the greatest dog ever so we got one and after about a month, I officially hated it so it currently resides outdoors again where it doesn't cause me too much trouble. Now I'm back to wanting another puppy even though I know I'll hate it. What is wrong with me? It's like the two halves of my brain aren't speaking the same language and so they just ignore each other.

Here are more details so you can get the big picture. My husband LOVES animals. I could bring home a squirrel and he'd love it till the day it died. I, on the other hand, am pretty indifferent to animals. I do, however, really want a dog that is indoors and a part of the family that we all love. The problem with that is the dog has to be nearly perfect for me to love it. Here's my criteria. No shedding, drooling, barking, biting, chewing, or stinking. I want it to be really cute, smart, easy to train, little and cuddly, but not too lazy. And I'd like it if it never pooped or peed either.* So I'm thinking we'll just keep trying out dogs till we find the right one. Easy, no? But this doesn't fly with the husband. He gets too attached. The kids- maybe a little, but they get over it. Cameron won't get rid of our current dog (which, by-the-way is starting to show signs of being a pretty decent dog. She's still pretty hyper and jumps up on people, but I think she's getting better), but I continue to find myself really wanting that perfect dog that is indoor with us. At least I think I do. I figure it's like dating. With each puppy, I'm learning better what it is that I want. After 3 attempts, now I think I have a pretty good idea of our perfect dog.

So, if I let Cameron keep our current dog, then should I be allowed to try for another one? Does anyone feel like this isn't completely psycho of me? And try to forget that I have a three-month-old baby also. That, in itself, makes me look pretty loony for wanting a puppy. I know my family all thinks I'm insane, but there's got to be someone out there that understands me. I know I'm being psycho, so does that make me less psycho? Anyone?

*Of course I know that puppies, by nature, chew and nip and are hyper, etc. I'm learning that it doesn't last forever and that you just have to get through that part...And I've considered getting a full grown dog that is already trained and such, but it's the puppies I love, for about two minutes anyway.

Bring your kids to work day

We survived our first "bring your kids to work day" as a family of 5. I've been itchin' to get out and Cameron had a long layover in Arcata California so I packed up the kids and off we went. Even though Cameron would be piloting our flight, I was on my own. Just try to visualize 3 children, one adult, one stroller, 3 carseats, one diaper bag, and 3 backpacks trekkin' through the airport. And then try to picture a tired and grumpy Kara who wants to be carried, a very hungry Ty who wants to be fed, and a crazy mom who doesn't have time to wait in the blasted long security line in terminal two so makes her way to the international terminal where there's usually no line while divulging the secret to a lady and her daughter in a wheelchair, only to find that the international terminal is closed, then having to make her way to terminal one where she should have gone in the first place, while trying to find the mom and daughter to let them know that the international terminal is closed so they aren't cursing her name. Crazy you say? More like insane. Needless to say, we got many stares and many comments, but it ended up being really fun and worth the trip.

You should know that there are many pictures to follow...

Ty's first airplane ride. The kids actually did great. I was a little nervous for the plane. I knew Kara might struggle a bit but was hoping Colby would be my little helper and Ty would sleep the whole time. Here was Colby...

And here was Ty...

This is Cameron and the kids greeting the passengers as they exit the plane.

When we got to Arcata (a small town on the coast of Northern California), we rented a car and started driving up the coast. After about 5 minutes of driving we decided we were hungry so we stopped and ate at this tiny little coastal town and walked down to the beach.

After that, we made our way to the Redwood National Forest. It was beautiful. We hiked around a bit looking at all the amazing Redwood trees.

What is $59.99 per pound and something I actually bought?

Salmon Jerky.

They had signs for it everywhere so we decided we'd better try it to make our little getaway as authentic as possible. It wasn't bad. Not real good, but not bad either. And since it weighs nothing, I only had to spend 2 bucks for a little taste.

The skeleton cave. Colby swears there were skeletons inside.

Colby kept climbing up all these huge, death trap rocks. It was freakin' me out.

The kids LOVED the beach. Even with cold water and cold, gray sand, it's always a hit.

I think I got my "getaway with 3 kids" feel and won't expose myself to all that insanity again for awhile. But I am glad we did it and I love that we have the opportunity to do things like that because of Cameron's job. Thanks for inviting us Cam!

*Karla- thanks for the post title that I totally copied!

Jealous?

Guess what lullaby put me to sleep last night.

That's right. David Archuletta's, "goin' away, uh-ay, uh-ay, uh-ay, ya-a-uh." You know the tune. And lucky for me, I woke up singing it too. It even made it to the shower. And then I wanted to shoot myself in the foot.

Thanks to some friends, we got to go to the Salt Lake Real, I mean Real Salt Lake (sorry Dave) soccer game last night where David Archuletta sang the National Anthem and did a mini concert after the game. Though I'm not a huge fan (mostly of his awkwardness- he does have a nice voice and you gotta admit that that tune I tried singing to you above is kinda catchy), it was a really fun night. Because we have "connections," we even got to go down on the field and see our own Utah superstar up close and personal. They even let Ty down on the field with me and later that night, I'm pretty sure I heard a faint, "goin' away..." coming from his lips.

Thanks Dave- we had blast and we're so lucky to have a friend who can get us into cool stuff.

*****

We also made our way to the air show yesterday.

There were loads of people so we parked pretty far away on the side of the road and trekked it a few miles to the base with 4 kids in tow.

Who knew our double stroller could turn into a quadruple stroller? It probably doesn't work now but at least we were spared from whiny kids the whole way.

And the man who pushed them all- with such a great attitude...






There are few things that get me giddy. Airplanes flying in formation and freestyle motorcross. And a really good buffet. And crazy weather. So I guess there's a lot of things that get me giddy but I do love me a good flying formation.