Partay!

This year we eschewed the traditional McDaniel Boy Birthday Bash in favor of a special outing while in San Diego.
So, we bought them a special behind-the-scenes tour of Sea World.  

A few highlights:

Walrus BUTT!!!!

Dolphin that we were about to pet.
If you've never heard an actual dolphin talk, I suggest go forth to Sea World.
It might be the cutest sound ever.
EVER!

Very cool.  

Very cool, again.
[for the record, we all got to touch and feed - but it's hard to take a picture of yourself doing it...]

Feeding the eels. 

Slightly less sure about this particular feeding. 

All in all, I was told it was a very successful birthday party.

I was going to make the pictures pretty, but let's face it. I have kids and consider making it to the shower every day an accomplishment, so I'm going to post as they are.

Yeah.  That title pretty much sums it up.

Now, onto vacation pics.  Because I know you want to see them.

Leavin' on a jet plane... 

View from our deck. the first evening in the condo.
Bliss. 

Even Holdeezy dressed up for the occasion. 

Seeing them in tuxedos made me cry.  

Handsome, handsome and handsome.
Also, those badges?  They say "Official Ring Security".
Cutest. Thing. Ever. 

Baby, first on the floor.

McDaniel women.
We be awesome.
(Me, MIL, SIL, New SIL, Gramma Jane, CousinIL)

Kenny cuts a rug. 

B-rox doin' a little breaking. 

We. Are. Sexy.
Also, somehow, beaverlicous even at weddings. 

This kid and his condors.  Seriously. 

Safari park lion, thinking we look tasty. 

Safari park tram.  I swear, we were having fun. 

"Mom, take a picture of my teeth!"

"Mom, I get to ride a bird of prey.  The kids at school will think this is SO cool!"

Ok.  We'll end here.  This was many pictures.

Bucking the trend. Except for today.

November 15th is a big day for Hubband and I.  We'll be celebrating 8 years of togetherness.

I'm not usually on the gravy train of "30 days of Thankfulness" because I'm truly working on being thankful for what I have ALL YEAR LONG.  Not just in one month because of a day allocated for too much eating happens to reside in said month.

However, this is my facebook status today.

Sarah McDaniel

isn't going to do the whole "30 days of thankfulness". However, today she is thankful. For her husband. Who, despite thinking cleaning the bathroom equates to swishing out the toilet bowl and who ISN'T her dream partner for the Amazing Race, is a great husband and an even better dad. The last (11 days shy of) 8 years have flown by, mostly because he's smart and charming and funny. And doesn't beat me when I buy too many shoes.

This guy.
Who, last night, woke up and walked downstairs with me to keep me company while I ordered a dress
that absolutely HAD to happen last night.
Because he knows a) I'm scared of being alone in the dark [light switch what?] 
and b) because he knows my insomnia would act up even more if I waited until morning to order said dress.
This guy.
Who, this past weekend, despite freezing temperatures - took his children and I on a Halloween fun run.
And wore a silly hat.
This guy.
Who despite cold, heat, and monstrous hills - has cheered me on and supported me with my running habit.
Because he knows it makes me happy, and no other reason.
[well, maybe he likes the benefits of my hot bod - but that reasoning takes away from the mushiness of the post.] 
This guy.
8 Years.
Here's to 57 more.
Because I am thankful.
And lucky.

Also, since I'll be on vacation and hopefully pretty absent from facespace/the blogosphere, Happy anniversary to two other favorite people.  Big one and Bob.  Had November 15th not happened, I'd be short a bestest.  November 15th is a big deal in my book.  It literally changed my life.  

"I'm not just a bird, I'm a vulture".

Oh yes, friends, family, and other followers - it's Halloween.

Tonight is actually their third time in costume.  When you put that many hours into making a costume, you kind of want to wear it more than the hour trick-or-treating allows.  


However, this is the "official" unveiling of the coolest costumes in the history of the world of the turkey vulture, manta ray, and the second time we have a chicken in our midst.

"Vulture Swoop"

"Manta ray glide"

"I'm a freakin' chicken, yo!  It's hilarious!"

Oi.  I love these guys.  

Happy Halloween, everyone.  We hope you had a safe and fun one!

Tough. That's me.

When I get more photos, of what I'm sure will be AWESOME facial expressions, of myself I'll post a little more about yesterday.

It was fun.

It sucked.

Then it sucked some more.

Then, they electrocuted me.

But, truly, I did have fun.  Which is weird.
If you need to know why it's weird - look at this picture:

Source

That would be a dumpster full of ice... and just enough water to be able to submerge bodies. Yes.  It's necessary to dunk your head.

I'll post a better recap later.

More bullets!

Jumping right in... 


*We rented a beach side condo for our trip to San Diego and it looks FABTASTIC.  I'm stoked.  However, because it's not a hotel, they don't keep things like play yards or travel cribs on hand.  In order to rent one, you have to go through a third party company.  That third party company wanted $100 freakin' dollars to rent us a crib for the week we'll be in sunny California.
Uhm. No.

I happened to remember some articles/reviews/advertisements on pop-up style travel beds.  I got to Googling.
And found this:

For $55 I not only have a small, foldable, suitcase-totable, travel crib - I also have a shelter for play at the beach, and shade at summer soccer games.  I'd call this a win.
It just arrived today.  It's seriously cool.  I'll give a review after we've used it a bit.

*Pinterest is on the verge of making me fat.
Recipes I've made in the last few weeks:

Kenny and I made these this afternoon. Holy Batman.
Make these if you like air.

Also mondo delicous.  Hubband said the texture was a little off
from actual burger, (duh), but that he liked them.
I thought they were fantastic, but I'm crazy like that.

Beer mac 'n' cheese.  Meh, good - but not I MUST EAT IT ALL good.
The addition of beer makes it runny  - but gives decent flavor.
Try if you need something new in your life. 

SO good.  Perfect fall nightcap.
Really.  

And finally, these:

I made a batch of these for dinner.
They were loved by all.
Also, I made some substitutions to make them a teensy bit healthier:
instead of regular flour - whole wheat flour
instead regular pepperoni - turkey pepperoni
instead of regular sausage - turkey sausage
instead of whole milk - 2%
instead of whole mozzarella - skim
and I skipped the parmesan.  I felt that was just overkill.
So, the next day - I made a triple batch to throw in the boys' lunch boxes that week.
*Awesome mom award* Right here. 

And, now, it's time to go pick up the other kid...

Bullets!

I have to leave in about 20 minutes to pick up the Kenny, but we'll see what we can eek out bullet point style!

*I finished the boys' Halloween costumes.  I cannot wait to reveal the finished products to the world.  I'm not going to lie, they're freaking awesome.  A mark of a good costume, in my opinion, is that people can tell what it is.  You can totally tell they're a turkey vulture and a manta ray.  {pats self on back}

*Less than a week until the Tough Mudder.  I'll be perfectly honest - I'm nervous.  You see, the boys thought it would be cool to see their mom jump over fire.  Their mom thought it would be cool to run a race that was a little different than your normal half-marathon.
THEN I realized that one of the last obstacles is "Electroshock Therapy".  Yes.  They're going to electrocute me.  Hubband and the boys intend to camp out there.  Hopefully they get good pictures!

*This past weekend went by in a blur.  Four soccer games and two photo shoots.  I was flabbergasted when I realized that it was Sunday evening.  So... I turned Monday into a "mental health day".  Everybody stayed home and drank tea, ate vitamin C, and I cleaned.  We all feel a little more refreshed.

AND!

One of my photo-shoots netted me a pair of shoes.

Hubband said he'd give me five dollars if I could get this shot:

Which, obviously, I did. 

But what he really meant by five dollars was "you haven't bought a pair of shoes in about seven months.  It's way past due".

So, now I have a new shiny pair of TOMS on their way to me.   (Kenny has this pair coming and B-rox has this pair coming.)  Perfect vacation to San Diego shoes, I think.

*I went shopping today, sans all coupons.  (Waaaay tired, waaaay busy, and shopping on no coffee...)  I wish I hadn't... 


*I have other things I want to say - but I have to go wake Holdeezy up.  So, consider this a to be continued.