I FOUND MY CAMERA!

.... it disappeared, like, over a month ago. And, back in the year 5 B.C. (Before Children), I wouldn't have cared so much. But it has been very irritating to see my kids doing cute things or having good hair days or passing milestones and not being able to capture it forever.

Malia and I even prayed about it. I was hoping that maybe the precious pleas of a yet-to-be-accountable 4-year-old might help out a little.... nuthin' doin'. (Just for the record - I have never in my life been successful at finding something after praying about it... not saying it doesn't happen. Just not to me).

Then, yesterday, Cecily and I were playing in her room (Malia was at pre-school) when CC pointed to an item she could see at the very bottom of her toy box... which, of course, was the item she just had to have at that moment. So, as I'm rummaging through some large, obnoxious, battery-operated monstrosities so as to get to the itty-bitty car at the base of her toys, I hear Cecily behind me, say, "Mommy! Eeeeeeeee!" (which is what she says when she attempts a smile).

I turn around and there it is. In her hands. My camera! Only heaven knows where exactly it was and why only she could find it! (Trust me - knowing her affinity for my small technical gadgets, I had more than scoured her entire room/drawers/boxes/diaper genie for that thing) and yet all of the sudden, it's in her hands from who-knows-where?!

Whatever. Don't ask questions, right? Just be grateful I don't have to now plunk down $150+ in change I don't have for a new one, right?

But what exactly does this mean? Well - it now means that you have the choice to stop reading here or continue on to view some of the (thought-to-be) long-lost photos of my adorable babies... as well as anticipate the arrival of more to come now that (thank you!) I have had my precious camera reunited with me.

Enjoy.

I don't know what it is, but I love, love, LOVE taking pictures of my babies when they're sleeping. Especially when their awake selves are becoming more and more independent and defiant. Look how pretty she is. :)

We took our first 2010 trip to play at the beach on a whim (thus, why neither of the girls are prepared with swimsuits) and Cecily decided she was terrified of the feeling of the sand (which is interesting because she loves the sandbox and plays in dirt whenever I give her an inch). Seriously. She hated it. She would cling to me like I was dangling her over a skyscraper balcony. It was sad/funny.

Malia, on the other hand, was loving it. How do you like the LLCoolJ look? I had to promise her about 500 times that we would come back with her swimsuit on another day. Trust me, if you have a 4-year-old, you know that 500 is not an exaggeration.

And.... pose. I don't even have to ask her. This beach is called "Mother's Beach" and it's a little place in Long Beach near the marina. There are no waves and it's awesome in making a trip to the beach more relaxed (no waves/undertow).

Cecily was much more at peace sitting on the blanket next to Mommy, drinking her milk and eating her "bah-pos" (apples).

I just love how CC crosses her feet like such a little lady when she's sitting. She does it in the carseat, too.

Modeling her new ladybug swimsuit at the pool.

Also modeling her new swimsuit... sort of.

Cecily was a little wary about it at first, but Malia was SO cute about helping her realize it was fun. She pulled her around in this little kiddie pool for 20+ minutes as CC said, "Wheeeeeeeee!" I love watching these moments. (I have a video... but it's far too long).

The goggles obviously denote the presence of a serious swimmer. She's going to make it to the Olympics one day (that and become a star ballerina, a doctor, a teacher, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a Relief Society President and, of course, a mommy).

Cecily woke up from her nap one afternoon a little sweaty which produced some more curl than usual. I took a picture because I was still miffed about my decision to cut Malia's hair the day or 2 before that. (Yes - I cut Lili's hair. And yes, I did it thinking that it would lighten the load and that her curls would bounce up with more spring once given less weight. And yes, people warned me about their kids and cutting off curls, blah, blah, blah. And yes, I thought my kid would be the exception due to her age and overall exceptional... i.... ty. And yes, while her hair retained a little of the curl, the sausage ringlets I loved so dearly are pretty much gone. And yes, I was/am totally bummed).

And now - some videos. Mostly so Grandma will stop watching this one a million times.

Gameshow Lady

Ok, so, once upon a time I wanted to go to the Orange County Fair, but my husband hates fairs, so I stumbled across an advertisement that they were holding open casting calls for game shows at the afore-mentioned fair, so I convinced him we could do that and also, conveniently, do fun fair things and so we went and they made us take some trivia test and tell them about our lives and then they called me and even though there's lots more to the story, I'll just say I ended up being in the "mob" of a game show called "1 vs. 100" and I won some money and it was fun.


And then another time, the same casting directors contacted my husband and also called me but didn't leave a message and then told him they were having callbacks for a new game show and when he mentioned they had called me as well, they said, "Sure! Bring her along, too," even though we aren't sure they meant to call me and we took some kind of test where David brilliantly aced it and I did "meh" but they found my personality so engaging (translation: annoying) that they cast me to play "20Q" and somehow I did pretty awesome and beat out 14 people in the audience to be the last one standing, and even though I ultimately didn't win ALL of the money, I still won some and had fun and got to meet Cat Deeley, who I love, and so it was totally worth it.


And then there was this other time where I randomly got a phone call from a casting director of some new show because the other casting director from the previous two shows had mentioned liking me from previous encounters (or had my obnoxious personality etched on his memory for life) and so they were looking for people to play a fake game on a non-airing pilot to pitch to NBC producers in anticipation of it getting picked up and so I went to that callback yesterday, and am hoping to hear from them because that would be fun... and I like money.

But, the reason I shared all of this info., (in run-on sentence form, I might add) is because I learned something about myself yesterday at the lastly mentioned callback, as I was small-talking with other potential contestants intermittently throughout the evening...

I've become this guy:

Dear LOST

*warning: MAJOR spoilers for anyone who has not yet seen tonight's episode)

Ok. So here's the deal, my friend.

Our relationship started out a little shaky, I admit. You were introduced to me about three weeks before your 2nd season began. My first child was up nights with colic, and some friends lent us their DVDs of the 1st season to help us pass the time. We watched you with captions because we couldn't hear anything over our baby's screams. (Ok, except this sound which always seemed to overpower her wails).

The 2nd season was everything we hoped it would be. We relished in the stupor we were left in every week. And to be morbidly honest? I was ok with you killing Shannon.

In fact, rather than make this too long-winded, I'm just going to get to the point. After tonight's episode, I went to Lostpedia to get a look at your body count. You've killed a lot of people, LOST. No, I'm not blaming "the Island." I'm blaming you, dumb show. I'm now going to refer to some of the more notable sacrifices:

Boone - killing him bugged me a little at first. Been over it for a few years, now, though.
Arnzt - have to admit, the loss was more than worth it for Hurley's great line.
Shannon - yeah, ok. I was sad for Sayid. But the chic (and the actress) bugged me. Good riddance.
Ana Lucia - a major surprise. I was a little bummed. But the actress's personal life kept interfering with my feelings for the character. (she redeemed herself in "Avatar").
Libby - I started to get mad, here. I mean - c'mon. Throw Hurley a frikkin' bone, here, people!
Nikki & Paulo - thank HEAVENS you killed them. Wish you'd tortured them even more. Au revoir!
Mr. Eko - Cool guy. Shame to lose him. I may have shed a little tear.
Charlie - Lame. LAME! SO lame! I cried pretty hardcore at the sacrifice of the hobbit. Took me a season or 2 to forgive you, LOST.
Michael - Meh.
Charlotte - I know I should've been sad, but I was getting used to the bodies at this point... and her nostrils bugged me, anyway.
Faraday - Darn it. The only guy who confused me more than the story itself. He was cool. Darn it.
Locke - Threw me off... but at the same time, I appreciated the twist. It's one of the things I love about you; why I forgive you even after some major mistakes. Plus, I was relieved to still see Terry O'Quinn, possessed or not. He's a great actor.
Juliet - yeah. Ok. This pissed me off. Still kind of am, to be honest.
Sayid - What?! WHAT?!! WHAT?!!!!!!! I don't care WHAT evil was "taking him over." I LOVED him! You hear me, LOST?! He RULED!

Now.... here's the thing. I've mourned a few of these, anticipated some, even cheered at a few (and I didn't even mention any "bad guys").

But, LOST? I may have to break up with you now. You would think I could hold onto this relationship for 2 1/2 more weeks until the series finale. But you have performed the great betrayal. There have been a few close calls for 2 specific people here & there, and I've breathed a sigh of relief to see them survive and, last week, finally come back together (although, I admit, I thought for sure those pylons were gonna' do them in). But they didn't. And, LOST? After all we've been through? I was proud of you.

Until tonight...

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU KILLED JIN & SUN!!!!!
I HATE YOU SO HARD RIGHT NOW!
IT'S OVER BETWEEN US!

(...until next Tuesday, that is).

Excited.

Tomorrow we are having an out-of-the-ordinary Stake Conference. We had Stake Conference just a couple of months ago. But tomorrow is a special conference for our little Stake because we are going to hear someone significant speak. He will be at the pulpit, not more than 50 feet away from me and my husband and my children (that is, if we can get ready quickly enough in the morning for decent seats...).

I'm excited.

In less than 12 hours, I will be sitting in the presence of an apostle of the Lord.

Expect to hear about it. :)