Unwanted Guest

Unwanted Guest,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Returning home with the kids, guess what I found at our front door? Yup, this bad boy was stretched in front of the threshold. Luckily, I hadn't let the kids out of the car. Even luckier, Chris was home so I called him over to take care of the problem.

Now, when I think "take care of the problem", I mean safely remove the snake -- even if that means resorting to violence. Evidently, "take care of the problem" to Chris means cuddle up with the reptile.

Obviously, this is not a poisonous snake, nontheless handling it with one's bare hands doesn't come to mind.

Just so you know, momma's little man, Parker, watched from the safety of the car. Smart boy.

Parker's POV

Give the boy a camera and this is what you get.

Not too bad if I do say so myself.

Let's see, you've got me with my coffee...classic. Piper lounging around -- what do you expect from a baby. Chris on the couch with his laptop...natural habitat. Snoozing Frankie. And the mystery pic...the inside of a bowl.

And here's the master photographer himself...GOTCHA!

Love At First Bite

Piper had her first bites of ''real food'' today and she loved it. Even better, my Mom got to partake in the experience. Being the pro, she even got through it without getting any rice cereal on herself. Nice!

Piper's 1st Trip to the Magic Kingdom

This was Piper's first trip to Disneyland. This was also my mom's first trip to Disneyland in about 30 years! Who knows when she'll be back so we had to make the most of the trip. That means fried chicken at the Plaza Inn, a ride on Dumbo with Parker, and a trip on the Astroblasters with Piper.

A first time for all of us, we checked out the Jedi Training Academy. Parker did his darnedest to get it but, in the end, he was just a tad too young. Sorry little dude. Maybe you'll make it on our next trip. In the meantime, a couple light sabres (one for Parker and one for Chris) should make everyone feel better.

Good Morning!

Good Morning!,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Piper doesn't know the meaning of sleeping in. At least not on the weekend.

Saturday morning at the Trillos

That's my girl

That's my girl,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Like Daddy, like daughter.

Chris texted this to me today.

Yup. Unruly hair is the Trillo trademark.

Piper seems to be sporting a bit of a mohawk this morning. Then again, maybe she's channeling an 80's Pat Benatar.

I can only imagine what the real do looked like.

The Taj Mah Sheds

The Taj Mah Sheds,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Believe it or not the sheds are progressing. Our junk may very well be moving in by the end of summer.

Hate to say it...

...but I told you so.

Not you specifically, though.

Maybe about a year ago, Thommy and I were heading to my place when we say these guys trying to drive up this hill. Now this hill is steep. Really steep. But you can imagine the dumb asses who were daring each other to do it, can't you?

Thommy and I had to pull over and watch the stupidity. We felt that any moment something terrible was going to happen.

Well, I guess we were wrong. Things didn't go wrong in moments...rather in months. The car overturned near the base of the mountain after rolling downhill 500+ feet, leaving a trail of glass and debris down the mountain.

Yup...YARD SALE!

Believe it or not, the occupants walked away with scratches and bruises.

That's right...the gene pool lives to continue on.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

My Mother's Day gift? A day off from the kids. So Chris took them to Tehachapi to visit his mom and...bonus...GRANDPA!

Fascinated

Facinated,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

I love that Piper's becoming more and more fascinated with the world around her. If she can grasp it in her hand, she will take in the object -- examining it and trying to decipher it's meaning...for her...whatever that could be.

Birthday Train

Birthday Train,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Parker attended a classmate's birthday party which took place at Travel Town, which is basically a park filled with old trains. AWESOME! Parker and his friends spend the day playing in and around various trains, eating tons of food, and riding on a train that circles the park. As you can probably guess, he had a great time. No doubt, we'll be back again.

Around the Table

Piper joined the family at the table for breakfast this morning. I'm sure the waffles were pretty weird for her but then what isn't in her world? What I think she liked the most, though, was just taking part in a family activity.

Of course, Daddy needed some one-on-one time with his little girl. Yeah, she has him wrapped around her little fingers.

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Here's Parker talking to a grasshopper and showing him the world he made for Earth Day.

Home Invasion

Home Invasion,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Cover your eyes if you decide to zoom in on this picture because it's creepy.

Imagine sitting on the carpet folding laundry as you watch TV when this 4-inch centipede crawls by.

HOLY CRAP!

I would have squashed it with the Flip 'N' Fold but I didn't want centipede guts all over the Flip 'N' Fold. (Yeah, I have one. Don't laugh. It makes beautifully folded t-shirts.) So instead, I screamed. Parker screamed. The centipede ran REALLY FAST under our large couch. Then Parker, Piper, and I jump onto the small couch and waited for Chris to come home and save us.

Luckily, he had already wrapped for the night and was on his way home so we didn't have long to wait.

Once he arrived, he moved the couch and trapped the multi-legged invader. Evidence for the Orkin guy.

(You're not still laughing about the Flip 'N' Fold, are you? You just jealous.)

Bling Bling

Bling Bling,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Yeah, my baby like to accessorize!

No worries. All's well. Remember Piper's last check-up where the doc said she detected a murmur? Well today we saw a pediatric cardiologist and he said she just has "an innocent murmur", which is nothing to worry about. Basically, she's got a bunch of loud pipes in her circulatory system.

All right. Good to know.

Cake Top Sundae

Cake Top Sundae,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

What do you do with trimmed cake tops?

Make mini cake sundaes, of course!

You start with a layer a cake. Top that with a hunk of buttercream. (YUM!) Add another layer of cake. Followed by a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Can forget the chocolate syrup and then whipped cream. Looks like I did forget one thing...the cherry on top!

Geronimo!

Geronimo!,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

So, with all the strings, this turned out to be a tad harder than originally envisioned. However, Parker still enjoyed playing with the parachute guy. We just need a taller ledge from which to toss him. Or, we need a little more insight into the necessary launching technique.

Easter

It was Piper's first Easter and she loved it almost as much as Parker, who did pretty well at the Easter Egg Hunt...with a little help from Grandpa.