Nice View at Universal Studios

In August, Mom turned 35.

Well here it is! The moment everyone has been waiting for......my 35th birthday present revealed to the public! I have wanted one for years. Literally like 28 years. Our neighbors in Iowa had a super cool tree house. I don't know if this compares, but I like it! And more importantly so do the kids. My only complaint? I actually had to help paint it!

Tanin built and designed it himself complete with a balcony and bridge out into the pine tree. Yes, those are some of my kids in the tree!

Apparently the drawbridge I asked for won't be constructed until next summer. For now there is a make shift bridge over the raging river (aka irrigation ditch), which doesn't have water again until April or May.

California!

This year, Christmas came early. We took advantage of some super cheap airfare and went to California. Everyone carried their own clothes in a backpack to avoid bag checking charges and we packed sandwiches and water bottles each day to avoid high priced park lunches. Note to self... if you only pack a few clothes and must do laundry in a hotel laundromat, check kids pants pockets for crayons...... We would have looked cleaner had we just worn our dirty clothes. There are red, yellow, blue and green crayon on an entire load of laundry.




In true Buhler (aka Griswald) style, we arrive at Disneyland only to see that it is CLOSED!


Thankfully, we discover we are just too early. Disneyland won't open for two more hours.

Ready for 3D!




On the way to Sea World, the signs here said "watch out for rattlesnakes!

The scariest thing at Disney was not a ride but Mom's face during the Tower of Terror. Everyone but Meredith eventually took a turn. Max and Walker went twice! In case your not familiar, in this picture we are dropping a couple hundred feet in a free fall.

May the Force be with you!

Disneyland has Jedi training. After the proper amount of light saber swiping, Clone Troopers, Darth Vader and Darth Mal appear and they want to battle the new trainees. Max battled Darth Vader and Walker battled Darth Mal. I taped Maxwell's battle, then totally missed Walker'sbattle. I hope he never asks to see it.

We Love These Guys!

Jaws

Tanin and Meredith are almost devoured by the Great White Shark leaping out of the water!


Maddie and Walker teach him a thing or two.
Maybe not!!

Walker Meets Clyde

At Sea World, Walker is chosen to meet a Sea Lion.

Halloweenies

Wow! Aren't my special Halloween photo effects spectacular? The kids almost look as if they are vaporizing before your very eyes! Ok, in all honesty, I think that the darkness and street light somehow screwed up all the pictures I took last night. From left to right, Max as Darth Vader, our friend Carson as a ninja, Weston as a see thru Transformer named Bumble Bee and Walker as a scary guy with blinkin red eyes.

Meredith the puppy snuggles up to Red Eye Walker as Weston the Transformer disappears into the night.

Momma vampire and Puppy give each other a much needed pep talk to start the trick or treating.

Weston loses his first tooth.

Weston lost his first tooth shortly after school started this year. Since Weston got a picture taken of his teeth, Max wanted a picture of his teeth too. If Max is having his picture taken then Meredith wants her picture taken also....

Walker, would you like to show us your teeth?

Summer Fun & Friends

This summer we were lucky enough to fit in a few great camping trips with our friends. Luckily my kids have no qualms about being covered in dirt and various levels of stickiness.

More Summer Fun Pictures

Cystic Fibrosis Walk

Walker's 8th birthday is a huge gross out success! There was the nose pinata complete with hanging confetti snot...

a cat litter cake...
digging worms out of mud without using you hands...

and GREAT friends!

Super Cowboy Max turns 4

After much research, we come to the conclusion that there are no Superman/Cowboy themed birthday materials.







So...we take the original Super Cowboy and have him placed on the cake in the form of an edible image! YUM!

Carson models the super hero cape he made at Max's party!

Danger!

While no one was injured in the traditional party festivity of pinata bashing, I did find a very informative website dedicated to it's demise. At downwithpinatas.com, I learned that pinata bashing is a gateway to violence! As a repeat offender of pinatas, I feel compelled to share these statistics taken from the site...

Statistics
Since 1992 the Humane Society and the Department of Fish and Game have documented 480,000 incidents of pinata related violence against animals.
Most pinata related attacks occur within 48 hours of a child attending a pinata party.
The average age of a perpetrator who engages in pinata related violence: 8.
Over 75% of violent offenders in the California prison system have actively participated in the bashing of a pinata.
An estimated 60,000 adults will be attacked by their children with a bat or stick following a pinata party this year.
Despite clear links between violent behavior and pinatas, California public schools continue to include pinatas in grade school festivities.
You are 10 times more likely to be the victim of pinata related violence than a terrorist attack.
Legislation to ban pinatas has been proposed in 32 states. So far none have passed because legislators dismiss the risk.


Max gives us a glimps of "the goods".








Max has his buddies Colton (left) and Caiden (right) sleep over on birthday night. As you can see, there were lots of laughs!
Mother and her little lamb are exhausted after a long day of birthday partying.