wheels

I debated titling this post 'survivor' but decided to go with the obvious and talk about the less obvious. First of all happy Friday to everyone and TGIF to one and all! At least here in southern California it was a glorious week spring weather-wise - even verging on too hot - and a very busy week to say the least otherwise!

Being forced to clean his room under great duress, the Mouse closed himself in his private quarters for a very lengthly period of time, and as he was 'cleaning', he took out his old bin of Hot Wheels. Or, it should be stated, the bin of surviving Hot Wheels. I gotta tell ya... those Hot Wheels bring back a ton of memories.

Over the years, my 3 boys have been through literally thousands of Hot Wheels cars. Including the sacred few John happened to save from when he was a boy. I believe they have set the record for everything that could be done with and to a Hot Wheels car. Set up an elaborate network of tracks encompassing two floors of the house - duct taped to every surface. Organized neighborhood races/trading events. Whipped each other with the old orange plastic track. Set up tables and sold their cars on street corners. Tied cars to the cat's tail. Organized every car by color, or category, or by fastest to what a joke. Played Criss-Cross-Crash for hours. And hours. And hours. Oh, the batteries we went through! Decorated all the VW Bugs with Sharpies. Okay - that was me. Smashed them to smithereens with hammers. Doused them with gasoline and set them on fire. After the latter two activities, we put the survivors in the bin and moved on to less juvenile hall prone hobbies.

But I must say, the only reason I put up with all their Hot Wheels shenanigans for so many years - and even encouraged it - was because I am the biggest Hot Wheels lover of them all. It's true. I absolutely LOVE them. A super cool, smooth and fast, shiny new car for 99 cents? How can you not love that? Biggest bang for your buck. And Hot Wheels came out with new models all the time - as well as reissuing my favorite classic models from time to time too. Although I must confess I was slightly horrified when they came out with that toilet model. 

I miss Hot Wheels. I really do. It's one of the things I miss most about my kids growing up and not playing with anymore. I don't miss stepping on them or finding them in the washing machine, but I miss everything else about them. Especially my kids laughter as they played with them.  

I was always a fan of the Bug models of course :)

A few surviving drag racers still looking pretty scary

I think this may be the one and only "old time" survivor

the heavy duty 4-WD trucks - the Mouse said his favorite was always the big truck with the flames :)

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!

Halloween

A report on the Walker Family Halloween :) First off, above is an *adorable* chocolate bar with a handmade wrapper that my friend Rochelle made. You may recognize Rochelle's name because she's had her cute things make their way onto my blog several times in the past!
Matthew's junior high was allowed to dress up, so of course he layered himself in just about every piece of official army issue gear he owns! Which happens to be quite a lot!
I used to have mixed feelings about Matthew's strong penchant toward the armed forces. And that's putting it mildly. And putting it in words I can use on a family-friendly site. How a peace-loving, tie dyed, anti-war mother such as I, gave birth to a son who eats, sleeps and breathes military, and thinks nothing of fighting in the infantry on the front lines... I have absolutely no clue whatsoever.
But as you can see, Matthew is anything but cavalier about it. He takes it very seriously. Where I thought perhaps it would fade over the years, his interest in all things military has only increased. You have to have respect for that kind of dedication. And of course any mother would be proud her child wants to serve their country. So it still frightens me - a lot - but I have laid off. Matthew is who he is - and I love the person he is.

There's the smile that lights up my world :)

And how nice of him to demonstrate his camouflage skills.

Ah, here we have Davy and his girlfriend Val - who made the best Wonder Woman EVER! Plus... check out her AWESOME boots! YEAH! And Davy is Nick 13, the lead singer for the Band Tiger Army. I know. It's okay if you don't get it. But he did look spot on amazing.

Are they just too cute or WHAT!

OH! And how *adorable* is this photo!

Liammmmmmm!!! Liam came to join them in his totally brilliant costume - that he made himself - portraying Brandon Flowers from the Killers (more commonly known as B-Flo) as the Spaceman. Liam, you totally rock!!!
So first they went to trick-or-treat in Beverly Hills, which they said was a lot of fun.
And then they went to Hollywood to experience all the Halloween... festivities? oddities? freaks? fun? Yeah, I think some of all of that... and everything in between. The boys said Val got a lot of attention as Wonder Woman. Hmmm... YA THINK???

As my CA boys were having fun here, my college boy Daniel was up in Utah playing the role of Severus Snape (of Harry Potter fame) in a large cast of Hogwarts characters HERE!

I hope everyone had a terrific Halloween! My dogs took off with my burrito and massacred it. I'm still traumatized.

seriously gross food fun

I mean COME ON! Are these spaghetti dogs revolting and adorable at the same time or WHAT! I know many of my readers have young kids, and perhaps it's the boy mom in me... but the second I saw these, I knew I had to share them! What kid could possibly resist!

This fun activity comes via plumpudding - a very creative blog catering especially to the young and young at heart. Loads of fun ideas almost daily - be sure to check it out! You'll want to go there anyway, because you will find more specific details, plus some great reader comments & suggestions regarding these ugly/cute spaghetti dogs!

retro works of food art :)

Best Buddies Ever

Okay I can't stand it..... are they just too cute or WHAT. This is my oldest son, the Red Power Ranger, and my niece, California Surfer Chick. They are both 22 years old. They are only 6 weeks apart. They are best buds. I absolutely *adore* them. And I've had them on my mind a lot because they are spending Thanksgiving at Surfer Chick's home. I'm sad the Red Ranger could not make it home for Thanksgiving... sniff... but I am so happy they could spend time together at California Surfer Chick's house. Especially because I know my sister-in-law (Sister-In-Crime) will be making a traditional Thanksgiving feast. And if you remember correctly, I am still trying to get over the trauma of a recent high school anatomy assignment and will not be cooking any type of fowl in the future. We are having pizza.
Just LOOK at how cute they are! They should have been born twins - they are attached at the hip even though they are going to different universities. They are two peas in a pod. They have so much fun together. They look out for each other. They dispense advice to each other. They shop together. They laugh and cry together. They expel heinous amounts of gas together. 
It has been so much fun - no, it has been a true JOY - to watch these two grow up. Here they are at the Cheesecake Factory. This was the time when California Surfer Chick ordered "the Chipotle Burger - but please hold the chipotle". We love to remind her of that :)
Here they are "helping" with Thanksgiving last year. I think they were burning something.
Here they are "doing the dishes" after our Thanksgiving feast. It's true: the Red Power Ranger has a great butt. 
This photo was taken when they saw each other again after being apart for nearly three years. So cute!
And needless to say, these two have many adventures together. I am thankful for them both. They are not only awesome kids, they are awesome people. I love them with all my heart. And wish for them many, many more adventures together :)

XOXOXO

Happy Monday!

I'm starting out our week with these lovely flowers. A professional I'm not, but I absolutely love taking pictures, and flowers are my favorite subject. I could photograph flowers all day. Flowers have it all. They are colorful, and cheerful. They come in a vast array of mind-boggling variety. They smell amazing. And each and every flower is a little miracle in and of itself. LOVE. FLOWERS.

Well, call me crazy but Monday is my favorite day of the week. I enjoy Fridays like everyone else, because of course I look forward to the weekend. Unless it's one of those "have to" weekends filled with obligations. Those stink. But as much as I like Fridays, I'm still partial to Monday. Just think about it. With the weekend at an end, you've just completed an overdose of family togetherness and hours of church and social activities. You've kept track of your kid's nonstop comings and goings at all hours of the day and night, and grilled cheeseburgers for them and all their friends. You've grocery shopped and successfully navigated Lowes. You've refereed boys pummeling each other and shooting each other with air soft guns. You've endured every obnoxious sound imaginable from video games and guitars. You even enjoyed some rousing games of Uno until all the cards started flying. Sure, you've worked on a few projects and you've written a few e-mails, but it's taken you the entire weekend because you've been interrupted 40 million times. By Monday morning, you are so ready to kiss your beloved family goodbye, lock the door, read your scriptures, pick up the aftermath of the weekend, get your bowl of Ruffles and your glass of diet Coke, and enjoy seven hours of peace! LOVE. MONDAY.