Warning- this post has scary pictures on it.

Elliot, Warren and I put sod in our backyard yesterday. Thanks a bunch guys! It makes me so happy to have a lawn. A little bit of lush green grass I can call my own makes me smile inside since I live in such a dusty desert. Now the challenge is to keep it green!

Unfortunately, I am not the only one enjoying the new lawn. Elliot ran into a tarantula in our backyard last night. A TARANTULA! Elliot killed it (my hero!) but it was very hard for me to go to sleep last night because I kept wondering if the tarantula he killed had a wife that was going to sneak into our house and kill me to avenge her husbands death.

To help me fall asleep, I told Elliot how scared I was of this horrible, hairy monster and looked to him for words of comfort. So he lovingly said, "Kristin, you shouldn't be scared of tarantulas. They aren't poisonous." Whew. Good news, but then he continued, "black widows are what you should be scared of. They're poisonous, faster and there's a lot more of them around here." Geeeez. He sure does know how to put all my fears at ease.
I still love my lawn though. All these scary spiders can't take that away from me.

Easter+California=fun and pictures galore

We had a really great time visiting Elliot's sister and her family for Easter. We had planned on being there only 4 days and ended up staying for 10! There was just way too much fun to be had. A big thank you to the Guerts for putting up with us that long. We went to SeaWorld, the beach, shopped, went to the zoo and relaxed! Here's Lindsey in her Easter dress.

The Fam-Damily

The Easter bunny brought Lindsey a stroller with some goodies in it!

Daddy is showing her some extreme stroller moves

Her first Easter egg

Who put Lindsey in charge of putting all the eggs back together?

Taking in the sights at SeaWorld. FYI- A penguin is the only bird I think is cute or nice.

Don't worry...we are just pretending to not have a good time

Here we are about to watch the Dolphin Show...it was my favorite.

Note Lindsey's apprehensive expression during the show. I don't think she knew what to think about sitting in the splash zone or the loud noises! She looks pretty cute though.
We went swimming a ton! Three cheers for heated pools!

Courtney and Lindsey bonded thru adversity since they were both teething

The Lindster and her Cousin Justin on a Ferris Wheel

Cousin Natalie took special care of Linds during our trip. So sweet!

What's better than two matching baby cousins?

Three! It is so fun to get these little girls together!

Born to be a beach babyNothing beats the taste of sand. Yummy.

Lindsey and Sarah looking way too serious

We left the Amber alone with the kids for a few minutes and look what happened. Geeez!

Lindsey's first dip in the ocean

She's not too sure about that cold water

Helping Daddy build a sandcastle

The finished product!

The End.

Nothing says Happy Birthday like getting a new car...too bad our car was stolen instead.

That's right, our faithful piece of junk Honda Accord was stolen on Elliot's birthday! So sad. We drove home for Cali Saturday night to find it missing. We called the police and whoever had stolen it had ditched it already and it had been toed. They stole the catalytic converter, the radio, Elliot's favorite sunglasses and some gum. Those filthy gypsies! It all ends OK tho. We got the car back and we were thinking about selling it anyways. So Elliot put it on craig's list and sold it about a couple of hours later. Farewell sweet Honda. We can't believe you lasted as long as you did and you served us well.

Poor Elliot really had a semi sweet birthday. The first half was full of California fun and good times! Thanks to the Geurts for letting us stay with them! We really had a great 10 days of fun with them! Here he is opening his presents. We went to the beach day the day before and Elliot got a really bad sunburn on his back. So he wasn't feeling too great on his birthday. That's why we drove home early, only to find the car gone. Better luck next year Love.

Elliot is gett'in OLD!

It's Elliot's 27th Birthday today! We are still in California but I just wanted to remind everyone how much I love this guy and I sure am glad he was born!

I am married to a Hamburglar...

We spent our Easter in California visiting Elliot's sister and her family! I am still in beautiful CA but Elliot had to fly home last night for work. Before he left, we had a delicious Easter ham and Elliot decided to sneak a gallon size zip lock bag of leftover ham onto the airplane. Anyways, to make a long story short, a large amount of ham in your carry on luggage is apparently a FAA red flag and Elliot was taken aside while he and all the contents of his bag were swabbed and searched for bomb residue. Good news though, Elliot and his ham were allowed to proceed to their flight home.

Thanks for visiting us Grandma!

My Mom came for the weekend to hang out with us in the AZ. It was great fun and way too short as always! Lindsey LOVES her Grandma and her Grandma loves her. When they're together I never can decide who is smiling the biggest!

We had my Mom take a family picture. What a wonderfully crazy group! It took quite a few chaotic tries to get everyone looking at the camera.

Ta da!Let me give you an idea of the thoughts and emotions that are running thru the minds of the above depicted. Shiloh has the best smile but it is probably a very nervous smile since my hand is around her neck. Thor has the cutest mug but really has no idea what's going on. I am thinking "Kristin, be the calm assertive leader" over and over because that is what the Dog Whisper says to do on his TV show. Lindsey is trying to figure out how to cause the most trouble. Elliot is just being a good sport. Harry is nothing but cooperative. Moo (who really hates the dogs) is probably going thru the most traumatizing moments of her life. Good times.