A Post Only A Grandma Could Love

Sorry folks. This is a post for the grandmas. No witty anecdotes or funny stories here. So unless you're directly related to us, this will be really boring.

For the rest of you--Mikey took & passed another belt test yesterday. Yeah!!!

Happy Mardi Gras

(P.S. That's my homemade king cake. Not nearly as delicious as the real thing, but it'll do in a pinch.)

I Hate Poo Bugs

Yesterday, we went to the zoo with the kids. We hit up the bug house, which we've never done before. It was really cool. They even had one super huge spider in an open display with no glass (because it supposedly never leaves its web). Apparently that was a terrible idea. Natty woke up three times last night between 1am & 3am, crying because she thought there was a dung beetle in her bed. Seriously. We saw tarantulas and king cobras and vampire bats, but Natty had nightmares about the dung beetle. A bug whose most horrifying characteristic is that it eats poo. Which is terrible, don't get me wrong, but not exactly the thing nightmares are made of. And while I'll be the first to admit that my house isn't as clean as I'd like it to be, I don't think there is enough animal feces scattered around Natty's room to support a host of poo eaters. Anyway, so today I'm walking around looking like a cast member from Night of the Living Dead, and Natty is totally afraid of Doodie bugs. Awesome. Aren't we just your modern day Cleavers?

Best Birthday EVER

I turned 29 today. That means this is my last year in my twenties. Then I will hit my thirties. *GASP* I don't feel nearly mature or put together enough to be in my thirties. That sounds so very adult. Despite my reluctance to grow one year closer to thirty, this was seriously my best birthday ever. First, Chad paid for me & a friend to go get pedicures. So, my sister-in-law (Angela) and I went yesterday. It was heavenly. I got to sit in one of those magical massage chairs and the lady used some sort of mystical hot rocks to massage my feet. It felt soooooooo good. And my toes are a delightful pink now. Much prettier than before!

Today, Chad took me to Woodland Park Zoo, which is my favorite place in the world. I love watching the animals. The gorillas are my very favorite & today I got to watch a brand new baby gorilla run around and play right in front of the glass. It was so stinking adorable. We also watched a zoo keeper feed/train the red pandas & a (very brave) zoo keeper move & wash a set of humongous snakes. I loved it. My dream is to go back to school once the kids are all grown and get whatever degree I need to feed animals at the zoo. That would be the best. Also, while we were at the zoo, Chad said I could get a pet turtle. Yay! Look out Pet Co, here I come!For dinner, Chad took me to a brand new restaurant in the international district of Seattle. It was a New Orleans style cafe specializing in crawfish boils. It was super authentic. They brought out a steaming pail of crawfish, corn, sausage & potatoes and dumped it straight on the table. No plates, no forks--just a roll of paper towels and optional bibs. Yummy! It was my first crawfish boil experience. They boil the crawfish whole & then you snap their heads off and peel the tails. The truly brave suck the delicous boil "goo" from the heads. I passed on the head goo, but loved the crawfish tails. And it was pretty fun playing with the whole crawfish before we ate them. Being at the restaurant helped ease the pain of missing Mardi Gras a little too. For dessert, we skipped the traditional cake and opted for delicious frozen yogurt & a fresh custard filled cream puff.

Then, when I got home I found all sorts of treats on my doorstep. There was lotion (in my favorite Bath & Body works flavor) from Christa and an army of the cutest penguin cupcakes ever made from Jessica & Shelly. What a perfect day. Thank you to everyone!!! Maybe being 29 isn't so bad after all...

Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras is a week from today & I am sooooo sad that we won't be there for it! Chad served 9 months of his mission in New Orleans and the rest in surrounding areas. He's taken me back three times. I love it there. It is my second favorite place in the world (right behind Seattle, of course). Seattle and New Orleans actually have a lot in common. They are both green & lush, they are both full of music and art and culture, and they both breed really friendly, passionate people.

Anyway, Mardi Gras gets a totally bad rap. The world thinks it is an opportunity to get drunk and naked. Not even! There is one little street where all that crappy stuff happens & the only people that go there are tourists. New Orleans natives know that Mardi Gras is a family event. The parades are soooo fun! There are tons of really cool floats, people in costumes, great music, and Flambeaux guys. Everyone in the neighborhood comes out to celebrate & the floats throw cute trinkets to the kids. Last time we were there the kids got little footballs, stuffed animals, cups, and of course, beads. Lots and lots of bead necklaces. Not exactly the Mardi Gras you see on tv, right? Seriously though, if New Orleans was really all sin city, do you think Disneyland would have a whole corner of the park dedicated to it? I don't think so. There's no Vegas-land in the park.

Long story short, I miss New Orleans and am throwing a mini fit that I can't be there this year. If you need me next Tuesday, you can find me curled up on my couch eating homemade king cake, covered in piles of plastic beads, listening to Professor Longhair and throwing things at my kids. (like they do from the floats. Not like a child abuser).

It Must Be Primary...

Yesterday, during Mikey's nighttime prayer, he prayed for the "widows and the poor." Please try to tell me that isn't the cutest thing you've ever heard. He is such a sweetheart!

Happy Trails to You...

Historically, the Perkins family has not been very, well, outdoorsy. Having spent a good portion of our lives in Southern California, we associate being outside with relentless heat, stinging sunburns, dust everywhere, prickly brush, angry insects and unquenchable thirst. Since we hate all those things, we assumed that we hated being outside. We sought shelter everywhere we went. Things like camping & hiking were automatically crossed off the list of things we could ever enjoy.

Then we moved to Washington. Sweet, beautiful Washington. And we realized that being outdoors didn't have to be absolutely miserable. Unfortunately, we still associated being outside with wanting to die. In an attempt to overcome our fear of nature, we set a goal to go on three family hikes over the next 90 days.

Yesterday was our first hike. We went out to Issaquah and climbed the Chirico Trail (thanks Eric, for the tip!). Chirico Trail is actually part of a paragliding school. The trail is something like 1.5 miles long and winds up a mountain to two different launches for the gliders. The path isn't paved, but is so incredibly well maintained that it might as well be. This was our first hike, so we didn't make it all the way up to the launches, but we did hike for an hour up & an hour back down. We were so proud of our kids. They walked that whole way all by themselves with no complaining. Not too shabby for a bunch of city kids!

Anyway, the hike was beautiful. And it was cool, crisp & delightful outside. Instead of dust, there was light mud. Even a patch of snow up towards the top. Also, no bugs. Not a single one. We wore coats to stay warm instead of sunscreen to keep our epidermis from going up in flames. There were no unquenchable thirsts, no thorns stuck in our socks, no cries for sweet, merciful death to come rescue us from our hike. It was actually, pleasurable. I think it's safe to say that we Perkins have been reformed. We are well on our way to tree-hugger-status. Go figure!

Silly Bella!

Okay, can I vent for a minute? I just finished reading the second book in the Twilight series & Bella is driving me nuts!!! Seriously. I finished the book yesterday before dinner and I've been fussing over it since then. I even made Chad listen to me rant about it. Now, I've only just finished New Moon, so maybe the next two books explain why Bella is such an idiot. As far as I know Bella turns into an unicorn in the next novel and moves into a cabin next door to Puff the Magic Dragon. If that's the case, please just laugh at my ignorance. Please don't tell me what happens next. I am frustrated with Bella, but I have to admit I'm hooked on the series. I ordered the next book on Amazon yesterday and had them ship it 2 day mail so that I can have it by tomorrow. Pathetic, right? Along the same vein, if you haven't read the first two books yet & plan on doing so, don't read any further in this blog. I will ruin it for you.

Now on to the source of all my frustration: Why is Bella such a dork? She should totally ditch the bloodsucker and date Jacob. Maybe I'm reading the books too much as an english student & not enough as a hopeless romantic, but it just seems that there are five million reasons why Jacob is the right choice. And here are just a few:
1.) Edward is hard and cold to the touch. She constantly describes him as stone. Jacob is warm & welcoming. I realize they can't control their temperatures, but it seems to be symbolic of their personalities.
2.) Edward constantly tells Bella that he's no good for her. When she's with Edward she doesn't get along with her family or friends. Jacob, on the contrary, is good for her. He helps Bella snap out of her massive depression. She gets along better with friends and family when he's with her.
3.) Edward is all drama. Jacob is just happy & fun. He makes her feel happy and peaceful.
4.) Edward can't figure out what Bella is thinking even though it's supposedly one of his supernatural powers. Jacob can read her like an open book without the benefit of any vampire mojo.
5.) Edward is like five zillion years older than her. Seriously. When I was in the singles' ward, pre-missionary dudes were so young & immature. And so I'm supposed to believe that this guy who has had several lifetimes to grow & mature has the hots for a high school kid. Give me a break. That doesn't sound like a creepy old man to anyone else? At least Jacob and Bella were born in the same century.

And while I'm on my soap box anyway, can I just point out that Bella wouldn't have had any of this drama if she'd just been living the church's dating standards? She is way too young to be in such a serious relationship. And talking marriage? Uh uh. She is so not ready for that. If she were living the dating standards, her and Edward would just be friends. Which means she wouldn't have been hanging out at the Cullen's house often enough to incite Laurant & Victoria. Which means the treaty wouldn't have ever been broken & Jacob wouldn't have been transformed in a werewolf. I'm just saying, she could've saved everyone a lot of trouble if she had kept things on a more friendly level. She would've made it through high school in one piece, grown up, married Mike, had a half dozen kids and wondered why she ever had a crush on a solemn emo kid like Edward.

Whew. I feel so much better now. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Go team Jacob!!!

The Ramblings of a Mad Woman

No, not me. Natty. She has said some of the cutest things in the world over the last week or so. Some examples:

When we got to Disneyland, she looked around with wide eyes and whispered: "Everything is so magical.."

Later that night, in the car, she turned to me and said, "Mom, you were my first love."

Today I asked her to leave Mikey alone so that he could do his worksheet. She responded with, "I just can't. He's just the best brother in the whole world."

Oh, what I wouldn't give to keep her this age forever!!!

Sunny California (NOT!!!)

Well, if you know anything about us Perkins, you know that we love Seattle weather. I mean love. Like happily ever after, prince charming kind of love. So, when we planned our trip to California to visit Disneyland & meet our brand new nephew, we were excited, but hesitant. Sure it would be fun, but it would be California. Sunny, warm, 80 degree California.

Or so we thought! It rained so, so, so hard the whole time we were there! Which would ruin a Disneyland trip for your average joe, but it only made it better for us! The lines were non-existent. Seriously. The wait for Indian Jones was 10 minutes! We walked right on. It was so fun.

I don't get why people idolize California weather so much though. It would be freezing, then hot, then freezing again. No consistency at all. And there was no warning when it came to rainfall. It would be beautiful blue skies and then BOOM--torrential rainfall. Huge, painful bullets of rain. Nothing like the mist that graces our beautiful Seattle skies. I just don't get the appeal.

But, back to our trip. We got to play with the Davies at Disneyland on Thursday & with the Perkins at Disneyland on Friday. Then on Saturday we got to meet Luke, our perfect little nephew. He is the most adorable baby boy I've ever seen (Mikey being the only exception). And so fun to hold.

I'd love to post some pictures, but we only have two that we were able to snap before the rain made dragging our camera around completely impossible. Note the ever attractive rain ponchos. Oh yah. I looked way hot in mine. Nothing says tourist like a trash bag with a head hole and "Disneyland" printed across the back. Sexy stuff.



Also, Mikey lost a tooth. It is so cute. The hole gives him a little bit of a lisp and it is so lovable. What a great kid!

January Adventures

January was such a fun month for us Perkinses. I've done a terrible job documenting it though, so here's a very brief overview of all our merry making.

For New Year's Eve we decided to have a Lord of the Rings themed bash, complete with elvin robes and cool staffs. That was about as far as we carried the theme though. Dressed as hobbits and elves, we noshed on homemade buffalo wings, watched a bunch of episodes of Heroes and played uncountable rounds of guitar hero. Authentic, no, but very fun!


Later in the month, we took the kids to a rock 'n roll show at the Vera Project in Seattle. It is a super cool place right underneath the Space Needle. We saw Casper Baby Pants (Caspar Babypants is also known as Chris Ballew, lead singer of the rock and roll band The Presidents of the United States of America. ) His kid brand of music was so adorable and endearing. You can check it out at http://babypantsmusic.com/ . The Not Its! played as well. Both Mikey & Natty couldn't contain themselves once the Not Its! began playing. They were both up shaking their tushies like mad men (that's supposing that mad men shake their bottoms quite vigorously). It was a blast. Nothing is more enjoyable than watching a pit of three year olds bounce around to super cute music.

Then, our crowning January adventure--a trip to a real, live Renaissance Faire. Wow. That's all I can say. Just, wow. There were tons of people totally dressed up in real, honest-t0-goodness chain mail and armor. Oh, and they were bashing each other with crazy faux swords in some sort of contest to win the "crown." Also, there were fire breathing chicks (which all the guys around me described as "hot." Ha, ha. Very funny, medieval dudes. You are both clever and well dressed...) It was so incredibly awesome. Mikey even got to wear his Lord of the Rings cloak from earlier in the month!
Needless to say, January was a blast. Now we'll have to come up with some serious fun if we want to keep February from being a huge let down!