This is where all the rich people who live around Twin Falls go to swim. Nick's cousin bought a membership to this country club and I invited myself and my boys to come along a few times. Its awesome. I like to pretend that I belong there, with all the other "real" doctor's wives. Xavier and Cole love the sandy beach and paddle boats but they never put much effort into eating the lunch I so lovingly packed for them. But the hot sun sucks all the energy right out of them and I am almost always guaranteed a 3 hour nap after swimming there. I want to be rich bad.

A no post

Summer has been so busy, crazy, stressful, fun, wonderful, and sooo short. You know how we bought an old 60's style ranch house to fix up? Well thats what we did all summer (I swear we like doing that stuff). Nick worked like a champion and I gave my orders and approvals. Don't you love before and after pictures? Me too! and I had tons to share. But somehow we have lost all of our photos from like the last 5 years. Steps are being taken to retrieve them, don't fret. Until then enjoy this lone photo of Xavier (and his cousin) that somehow got attached to my desktop. It could be the one and only from summer 2010.

Ode to Cleveland

Oh Cleveland. Maybe it is ranked as the #4 most miserable city in the US by Forbes magazine but I love it. How bad can a city be when I can count at least 3 H&M stores within 20 minutes of my brother's apartment. The scenery is so green and lush, it reminds me of my days in Oregon. And the houses! The houses are off the charts charming. Old city charm. If only I had taken better pictures...

Here is a little recap of my travels to this fine city:

My first visit was when I worked on the corporate board at REAL DEALS on HOME DECOR, my brother and sister-in-law's new franchise. They held their first convention in Seville, OH just hours away from where Brett and Eryn were living in Cleveland. It was a brief but fantastic visit. Here we are at a Mexican restaurant in downtown before heading out to an Indians game.

Visit #2. Nick and I took our little Xavier, who was 5 months, on his first vacation to Cleveland. Complete with an Indians game, Rock and Roll hall of fame, and a trip to Niagara Falls. Great vaca.

This is a picture from my third visit to Cleveland, during Brett's dental boards when I was given the task of lending my mad dental hygiene/assisting skills. He took me to a restaurant that was featured on the food network and is famous for its Rueben sandwiches. Can you believe the size of that sandwich? Brett was suffering from extreme stress and lack of sleep. Nothing that a huge pile of pastrami can't fix.

The final stay. Nothing can be better than watching a fabulous brother emerge confident and victorious from a long and tenacious battle with Dental School. He will be a wonderful Dentist (I should know I have worked with all sorts). And the best part? Free dental work for the rest of my life. Thanks Bro.

And thank you Cleveland.

How to Train Your Children (to make it through the movie)

We decided it was high time we share with our boys one of our OLD favorite pastimes... going to the movies! We thought, "hey they watch movies 9-10 times everyday at home, surely they are ready to make it through this one." Here's what we did:

1. watched the previews at least 8 times on youtube with the boys

2. got them super-psyched by talking about how awesome dragons are and by making dragon noises all morning

3. talked about all the popcorn, pop, and candy we were going to eat at the movies

4. arrived on time to our movie so we could purchase all our goodies

5. refilled our GIANT tub of popcorn about 20 minutes into the movie

6. ran out of jelly beans about an hour into the movie

7. finally took Cole to run around in the hallway just after the jelly beans ran out

8. ultimately left the movie about 15 minutes early when Xavier wanted to start running around with Cole. I pretty much guessed the ending anyways.

What we learned:

1. arrive late next time to avoid wasting precious "attention time" on previews

2. buy the biggest tub of popcorn for FREE refills (I have never heard of this before)

3. bring, I mean buy, a full bag of candy next time

4. wait another year before attempting this again. It felt like a super-stressful way to drop $30 in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

What shall we tackle for fun next? Any suggestions?

Xavier's Birthday

The handsome, delightful, and most charming Mr. Xavier turned two years old this weekend. Two years ago Nick and I shared the sweetest Valentines Day ever when we were blessed to bring him home from the hospital and into our lives forever. How lucky we are! Happy Birthday Xavy.

New Moon, Movie Stars, and ME!

I took a trip to LA to see the red carpet premiere of New Moon with one of my bestest friends, Rachy B. We got some fabulous pictures due to a streak of good luck. No, we did not sleep in the streets of LA for three nights, but we did end up with a better spot than some of the people who did. We met two adorable 17 year olds from LA, who frequent premiere parties, and taught us the ins-and-outs of the red carpet event. They shared their favorite spot with us and let us tag along for most of the night. It was unbelievable! Here are some pics.

I'll start with my favorite. Here is Nikki Reed (Rosalie). She is absolutely gorgeous in real life. My friend found this picture off a website and sent it to me. I love it.

Kellen Lutz- Emmett. Thats one of our friends, Jerreny, with her arms around him. She had met him earlier that day at another event for a radio station. She knew everything famous.

The big three; Kristen, Robert, and Taylor. So close, yet so far away.

Elizabeth Reasoner - Esme. Of course she is waving at us.

Jamie Kennedy-from the Jamie Kennedy Experiment. We used to love that show. He came with Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Billy Burke- Charlie Swan.

Peter Facinelli (Dr. Cullen) and his real-life wife Jennie Garth. They were so cute on the red carpet together.

Gil Birmingham- Billy Black

Mark Salling- Noah "Puck" on Glee

Justin Chon- Eric

Cameron Bright- Alec

Michael Sheen - Aro

Dakota Fanning- Jane

Kiowa Gordon- Embry Call

Chaske Spencer-Sam

Alex Meraz- Paul

It was an awesome event with tons of excitement, thousands of CR-AZY insane fans, and beautiful movie starts. Not bad for a Monday night.

Happy Fall Y'all

Here is an exciting round-up of happenings in the Kelsey household this fall.

• My 30th Birthday. I usually love my Birthdays but this one was just awful. You can tell by the picture above that nobody looks great, nobody feels great. I got this gigantic Costco carrott cake that nobody around me would eat because they were all on a diet. Plus it didn't even taste that good. Bummer of a day. Glad its over.

• Coley's 1st birthday, what a special day! He finally got to be the center of attention on this very special occasion. Complete with chocolate cake and lots of presents for Xavier to play with. Just to let you know, he is possibly the sweetest baby ever.

• Halloween was fun (sort-of). Xavier was a Cowboy and Coley was his Horsee. Never did get the picture I was hoping for of them looking off into the Idaho sunset together. This is as good as it gets. I have loved looking at all the Halloween pictures that so many of you have posted on your blogs. Thanks for the entertainment and inspiration. I am committing myself to becoming a better photographer this year. Stay tuned and Happy Fall Y'all!! (said in authentic Idaho accent)