Girls' Night Out!

Amber, me, Hanne, Michelle (Chante had already left)

The other night, I got to go out for a GNO (aka Girls’ Night Out) to Disneyland! I was so happy to be out of my home past 6:30 at night, spend time with my girlfriends and have adult conversations. As an added bonus, I scored a handicapped pass for my foot, so we didn’t have to wait nearly as long to get onto rides! Besides one coaster being closed, things were going quite well…that is…until we went on Space Mountain (a roller coaster in the dark). It went something like this: hahahaha, whooooaaaa, weeeeeeee!!!!! Ha, ha, ha, ahhhhhh, weeeeee…*CLICK-FLASH*…… Oh, no. That can’t be good.

As we exited the attraction, my picture proved worse than my worst expectations; before me appeared, not a double-chin so much as a single blob of flesh-colored jello hanging from the tip of my chin to my clavicle. I barely glanced at the other girls’ pictures before I was quite literally yanking them by the arm to get them outta there and away from those pictures! Just in time, apparently, as I later learned that Chante was mid-process of memorializing the entire horrid experience for the world to see via Facebook, blog, myspacetwitterpinterest, er, whatever viral domain she saw as fit. I wanted to look like I was having a great, wonderful time, not like I was spending time in an anti-gravity machine. We all had a good laugh and I brushed it off as a fluke, but I didn’t ignore what my future behavior should be as to prevent that from occurring again; Okay, okay, smile, smile, smile. Smile the entire ride. Smile.

Later, while on Star Tours, a star command officer announces that a “prisoner is on board” and up flashes yup, you guessed it, this girl! Exciting, huh? I’m NEVER chosen in an audience, so I felt pretty stoked, Proud even. And, because of my previous experience, I knew that smiling since the moment I stepped INTO the “starship” would prove beneficial at THIS VERY MOMENT. This was my time to shine. A split second before seeing my face (I started from the bottom of the picture …up), I heard my friends saying, “Kelly, that’s you! That’s your picture!” My heart beat faster! What? Me?! It’s ME!? I relished in my milliseconds of pure joy… …Until I looked up from recognizing the outfit I was donning to discover the ugliest, most despicable, almost witch-like face in the exact spot where my face normally is. Oh, no, that can’t be good.

Then I got to thinking…”I wonder if that’s what I always look like?” Surely not. Right? Not so. It turns out, that’s EXACTLY what I look like. Enjoy a few of my crap-is-that-really-how-large-my-chin-is? photos:

This one is the WORST (above)!! I've deleted sooo many double-chin photos that look like this.

Welp, Curren, now you know who you inherited your chin from:

Ranch Livin'

This is how a 2-year-old delicately indicates the burden of bearing bearded kisses (say that fast 5x's in a row); loves the kisses, hates the burn.

One of the most fun places to be: Morrison Ranch with Granny and Poppy.

Grant is NOT looking at wildflowers.

The weather was lovely.

Snoozin' on the Rhino.

Another snoozer! It must have something to do with the purr of the engine....

Go girl! You look faaaahhhhhbbbuuulouuuuuusss!

Morgan and Kavella (and baby Lilly)!

Our 4-wheel rides were the best because the weather was PERFECT! We'd find snow at the top of the mountains, but it was a balmy 70 something degrees out! It was so fun having Ricky, Morgan and Grant with us, too.

Oopsie!

Kavella is so animated! These used to be sunglasses until the lenses popped out, so now she just wears them as spectacles. Isn't she sooooo cute? I could just snuggle her all day. Speaking of cute, look at Curren in his bath towel that Melody made for him....delicious.

It's all fun-n-games until Daddy spills you out onto the corner of the t.v....Do you see that strap around her chest? Yeah, that was supposed to keep her securely situated throughout the suitcase ride, but I suppose she unhooked it at some point, which is why she came flying out when Dustin tried to stop short. Oopsie! Time for an ice pack...

Here we are in Huntington Beach at the...um,....well, I don't remember the name of the area, but it's a protected flatland of water and weeds that attracts birds. A lot of people go there to take pictures of the wildlife, but we went to see the stingrays! It was a lovely day. After the wetlands, we had a picnic lunch up in Seal Beach.

Stingray. Do you see it?

Look at that perfectly shaped head! I know you'd like to kiss his lips and chin right now, huh?

Curren's Blessing

Is that just the sweetest, most wonderful picture you've ever seen, or what? To make it more precious, I have to tell you that Curren is wearing the exact shoes that Dustin wore as a baby. Delicious.
When we blessed Kavella, I remember feeling overwhelmed--what if she spits up in her dress? what if she has a blowout? what if she's crying the entire time? is everyone going to make it to church on time? where will we have the subsequent brunch? what will everyone bring? what dress will actually fit ME? did we get a good picture? Ridiculous.
When we blessed Curren, I said, "forget all that jazz--let's just do it on a weekday." And, that's precisely what we did. It was awesome! Thanks goes out to Darci for letting us gather in her house! All the ladies brought a dessert and it was easy-breezy. Curren was a gentleman the entire night! I love him so much and am thankful he is my baby boy! My love for my children is stronger than anything else; they melt my heart and make it swell with joy, all at the same time. Perfect.

I have never felt so complete!

This is the whole clan! We all decided to do a "funny" face in the next picture, but I guess Dan and LesLey (center of the photo) missed the "memo!" Ha, ha, it would have been funnier the other way around--Dan and LesLey making funny faces while the rest of us were just smiling! Doh! Oh, and look at LesLey trying to pull a polygamy move on Dustin in the picture above--it looks like she's with my man! Oh, no you di-in't, girl!

Maddie calls Curren "naughty," but in a good way!

Three generations of Morrison boys! They are so handsome!

I wonder if Granny is disappointed that Curren isn't an EXACT replica of her, like Kavella is. Well, you can't win 'em all! Look how tan Eloise's arm is next to Curren; he's milky white!

Happy "34th" Dust!

Happy 34th Birthday, Dustin! Your kids and wife love you the most! We are so thankful to have you as the patriarch of our family. You're the best daddy/husband in the whole world.

Best friends. Best.

Dustin looks good in blue!

Just so I remember, Curren didn't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time for the first 5 months of his life. It was brutal. He does not nap well and will not go back to sleep once he wakes up. But, look how peaceful he is when he is asleep! Oh, and don't try to kiss his luscious lips while he sleeps, even if you try doing it as softly as possible, because he WILL wake up...and smile at you. What a doll.

I let Kavella put her sweatshirt on all by herself for our walk; didn't she do just a great job! Ha, ha! I love you, Kavella!

Aunt Stacy came to visit us! We love when she comes over, even though we never actually DO anything when she's here; sorry we're so boring these days!

Kavella and Curren having a little morning-cartoon session.

Soooooo cute!!