Ever felt the need for a nasal irrigation? Feeling a little stuffy? Or just simply getting tired of blowing your nose? Are you ready for a new alternative? Try the “Neti Pot”! We did, and we LOVE it! It’s actually a hilarious sensation of an experience only to be shared with those you know and trust. In one nostril and out the other! It feels a bit like drowning…only just through your nose and not your lungs…you follow? Maybe not. Any way, try it! Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure!
Introducing the “Neti Pot”
San Francisco!
Sandy beaches, cool air, amazing food topped off with funky smells along the way, this family trip was truly memorable.
Some people say you get to know who you REALLY are by some climactic experience in your life. I would venture to say, a 12 hour drive with the family accomplishes the same feat. Fortunately we have amazing boys who travel VERY well, and great grandparents (not great as in old, but great as in wonderful) who are saints and help out more than you could ask for.
On Thursday we packed up with John and Joyce McKenzie (Jackie’s dad and mom) in their van/awesome traveling machine. Snacks were plentiful as Joyce is the snack packing pro. 
Fresh grapes, vegetables, drinks and candy graced us along the way. We stopped in Winnemucca, NV for the night where I gained my first real exposure to the slot machine phenomenon. You gotta get suspicious about these things when at the gas station, 3/4 of the space is taken up by slot machines. Either they make a barrel of money off of the unsuspecting, or they really want everyone who comes into their store to be millionaires.
Friday we arrived in Monterey, CA. This is where Jessica, Jackie’s sister, and her family live. We had a great time with them and made our plans for the rest of the trip. We spent the next day in San Francisco walking the streets and taking in the west coast feel. Jackie went on her mission to San Francisco so it was neat seeing her old areas.
While walking the coast we got to take a tour of an old submarine similar to the one Jackie’s dad was on in the Navy. You got the feel for the sub as it rocked on the water. Jessica sure appreciated it as she about puked her guts out. It was pretty intriguing, not that Jessica was getting sea sick, but the in depth tour John gave us. 
You could see memories flood back to his mind as he described each chamber in detail. The bathrooms and showers looked like torture chambers. The bathroom was so small you would have to be a Chinese acrobat to sit on the pot and reach the toilet paper at the same time. Since John is part Chinese, he wouldn’t have a problem… oh wait, that is part Cherokee Indian.
We spent the next few days driving around Northern California touring different beaches and sites. We went and saw the Pebble Beach golf course and swam on the beach below. I didn’t have a bathing suit with me, so I just went in with my jeans. It was my first time swimming in the pacific coast and it was great. I didn’t even get bit by a shark!
The rest of the trip was spent hanging out with Nate and Jessica and their kids, playing farkle and watching dumb and dumber (classic). The drive home seemed twice as long, but we finally made it. John ended up playing on my phone on the ride home and beating about every top score I had.
We had a great time, thanks Jessica and Nate and Mom and Dad! We will have a video of our trip up shortly. Here are a few more pics.
First touch of the Pacific ocean
As you can see, James loves playing in the sand... or not.
We love Great Uncle Noel
Uncle Noel…what to say? He is probably one of the greatest Uncles a kid could ever ask for. He is my mom’s brother. While I was growing up he and his brother, Lowell, would always play with us kids. They were the ones to pull out the basket ball and get a game started at grandma’s. Everything is more fun when they are around.
Uncle Noel is a great athlete. Even now in his late 60’s he goes running most days. One morning he wanted to see how far he could run and went 10 miles! He was gone so long that Aunt Carol drove all around town looking for him!
Josh loves when Uncle Noel visits. He wants to be with him and no one else! He even talks about him when He’s not around! One morning at Grandma’s Josh and I where looking at her books. She has a Noah’s Ark book with a little Noah and 2 Giraffe. Josh pulled out the Noah and said, “Look Mom, Uncle Noel!” Josh loves playing with Uncle Noel….and I bet Uncle Noel loves playing with Josh too!
Harses, Harses, Harses, Harses! (For those of you who love Sleepless in Seatle)
Thanks to Aunt Heather and Uncle Taylor we are pony-ing up at our house. We LOVE horses!
Joshua and his cousin William have become lead line specialists at local horse shows. Aunt Heather stocked us up with all kinds of cowboy gear, hat, boots, wranglers, white pearl snap shirt, and even socks with barnyard animals on them.
Cowboyed up and ready to go Josh and William rode Treasure around the arena. Uncle Taylor proudly lead Treasure around while Angela and I followed closely on both sides of the horse in case the boys slipped off. They had so much fun waving at their Daddy’s and Grandma and Grandpa.
Josh, William and Treasure (the horse), won 1st place. (Everyone got first place.) They received a blue ribbon and trophies with a horse on them. 
As soon as my Grandma Johnson learned about our little cowboys she decided she had to make them matching Chaps and Vests to complete the outfit! Thanks Grandma!
Finally, a blog!
Our “updated website” hasn’t been updated since November 6, 2007, right after James was born. It was either due to the fact of pure laziness or pure determination to do something else. I mean, you have to turn on the computer, type some stuff, and export the website.
With the new age of blogs, all you have to do is type and click one button. Now that’s my kind of website publishing.
What’s been up with us? Two wild rambunctiously awesome kids. Just like they say for every cigarette you smoke you lose 7 minutes off your life… add a kid in there and you are done for. They suck every last ounce of energy left in you. Wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t after 3 minutes in the morning. I once asked a guy who has 4 kids, “How do you do it?”, he said, “Numb your mind, its the only way.”
With that said, we couldn’t be happier. What in life is really worth its salt that wasn’t difficult? Well, I guess winning the lottery could be in there. But aside from winning the lottery, most good things in life take a good working for. No money on earth could ever buy Josh’s smile right here. Josh is the joy of our lives. He keeps us happy, energetic, and continually going grey. We love him so much.
James’er (as we like to call him) is a blast. Either laughing really hard or screaming really hard. He doesn’t do mediocre. That’s my boy, never settling for less. He has started crawling and putting everything in his mouth including soda can tops, coins, and stale unidentified food crumbs. Jackie says he gets it from me, but I really don’t see anything wrong with swishing those things around in my mouth.
Parenthood rocks. These guys are what makes life worth living for… and at times what makes death worth longing for. But all in all, I wouldn’t trade these boys for the world. Unless of course the world consisted of a baconator from Wendy’s. But even then, it would be a hard choice.
But really, look at these two pictures and tell me if you have ever seen happier kids! We love our boys!!
