i love my friends' kids

we have always known that mike is quite a cinematographer, but we had no idea he'd be putting warren miller on alert!

skiing with mike and rhys

and i'm so glad i don't have teenagers, yet...

the ghosts of Christmases past

the other day, the boys and i put up our Christmas tree...

i'm not sure if i've always been too preoccupied with making sure the bubble-wrap gets put back in the right Hallmark box, or whatever it is that i seem to stress over. because i don't think i've ever noticed that the boys were remembering the ornaments like they did this weekend.

some times i wish i was one of those gals who has it all together (as if!). you know, the ones who have inspiring halloween/fall/thanksgiving front porches, and whom probably have festively decorated their whole home with glamorously themed items... including their Christmas tree(s). there is something so beautiful about those trees, they seem so grown-up and elegant. and i want one!

but on the other hand, there are the decorated trees with reindeer made from fun-foam and traced little fingers. or the Christmas trees, interestingly, also made from tiny hands traced
on fun-foam. there are ornaments from school, that remind us of favorite teachers. we have ornaments from places we've been (like our new disneyland ornament) and trips we've taken, ornaments from when i was little, boxes and boxes of goodies from my mom and dad when they liquidated, and the ornaments we've started buying to build the boys' collection for when they have their very own trees. when the rubbermaid tubs were opened this year, it's a treasure trove of memories... and not just for me anymore.

it made me smile to listen to the boys talk about when they made the sparkly snowman in 1st grade, or that mrs. taylor gave them the snowflake last year. and they both commented on the hot wheel flaming hot rod ornaments they both got from their nana and papa when we lived in colorado--that was a long time ago!

and, this was also the year, when the boys took a good look at the ornament my mom gave dave and me for our first Christmas... as i am unpacking the boxes, i heard:

ryan: oh, look, here's santa and mrs. claus... and they are in the... uh, {giggle} jacks look at this...
jacks: {snort}
ryan: {giggle}
jacks: {furtive glance, snort}
ryan: mom...
me: yeah...
ryan: {giggle} did you know--
jacks: they are NAKED!
me: yeah, i know... nana gave it to me
both of them: {wide-eyed and belly laughs} NANA!


especially good memories this year!

miss ya, babe!

tj 4 cf

whenever a new restaurant opens in the big city,

people flock like lemmings over a cliff.

two years ago when the olive garden opened, you'd think something really great was happening! you couldn't get near the place for months! i mean, months and months! it opened in december, and still in march for jackson's birthday we had to wait for an hour (and them some!) because that's where he wanted to go...

for a pizza?!

however, when it's something i like, i.e., taco john's right by my house, i was just another blur of fur over the cliff for my potato oles... and here comes the beauty:

when we were paying and the cashier asked us if we wanted to donate a dollar for cystic fibrosis research... so, of course, i start crying because that's what i do when my crusty, grumpy heart is pierced.

so if you're in the mood for something fast and "west-mex", give taco john's a visit, and donate to the CF foundation... thanks!

check it out!

a new blog...

all about me and the books i read!

piranhathon

it's that time again!

saturday is one of our fundraisers for our swimteam... and it's the hardest for jackson and ryan because they earn money for each length they swim across the pool.

now before you get your checkbook out to sponsor them ... remember, they swam hard last year: ryan, 70 lengths and jackson, 60 lengths .

if you're interested in helping out the boys with this, please let me know (email me) before saturday, and you will then be a proud reciepent of the 2008 speedo picture!! not something you'd want to miss out on : )

we thank you for your support!

i caught you!

you are a blurker...

i might not know who you are exactly, but i know you are lurking around our blog and aren't leaving us comments.

it's so easy to overcome your blurker-ness. next time you read our blog, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the post and click on comments. you can tell us what you think--nice things, tho, because we're all very tender-hearted at the hentzen house--of our blog, our little life, or that i use dashes and ellipses too often... thanks!

a skeleton and a... um...

... a caped jaundiced kid? an oopmahloompah? i don't know exactly...but he liked it, and that's all that matters... right?!

(but he still has a orange tinge to his face... after many washings!)

and jacks went old school with a skeleton.

so after i made the costumes all last week --and then seeing this face-- it occured to me that the costumes are just a vehicle for the candy... with a costume, you get free candy; without, you get nothing.

unless you're this momma, who (even without a costume) gets all of the snickers!