Mullen Family Genes

Turns out my offspring are adept at destroying electronics - particularly phones.

We discovered Marielle's power as an infant, when Aunt Julia let M.e. play with her phone. The phone went straight into our baby's mouth, was covered in slobber and never worked again.

One offshoot of this experience was a new found admiration for my father-in-law. In an effort to forestall the expectation that he would replace the wanton* destruction of expensive electronics, he came up with the following list of, what I consider, innovative attempts to restore this dead phone to life:

1. Let it sit for a while.
2. Blow dry it.
3. Put it in the truck outside at noon. (It gets hot in there.)
   
4. Bake it. In the oven.

Eventually, Julia did get a new phone, but my kids also got an algorithm they'll have to follow if they want me to replace their broken toys.

*Lest you think Julia was our victim, or that we should have offered to replace her cellphone, we warned her of the toxic effects of Marielle's drool.

Jenna's turn came just a few days ago. She picked a bigger phone that wouldn't fit in her mouth easily, and apparently didn't care for having to generate all that saliva, so she just threw it in the toilet. It's just as dead and was a lot less work.

Do you think this ability qualifies us to form the Incredi-Mullens? Or for those of you that have read the Alcratraz series, maybe we should name the next state penitentiary after my daughters.

Feels Like Easter All Over Again

Anytime my girls get to wear matching dresses, I feel the need to document such cuteness for future generations. Today was no exception. In fact, with all the sunshine, pink, and ruffles, it felt like a celebration. I pulled out the camera after church and what started as a few snapshots on the lawn turned into a full fledged photo shoot, complete with whole family shot.

Jenna is 1!

One year ago, Jenna joined our family. You'll recall we didn't find out if we were having a boy or a girl, but MK became convinced she was housing a boy. I still laugh when I remember her confusion when I told her "It's a girl." She quickly latched to the idea (and baby Jenna) and now the prophecies around our house have shifted to an "all-girl" family: Marielle insists our having a boy is just "silly" and MK is happy to reinforce. MK's even bent on having 4 girls at once next go-around, though I'm (80%) certain she's joking.

Here's some pics from our traditional letter-shaped pancake birthday breakfast in a makeshift tent:

Sisters.
Thanks, Shula for the matching jam-jams.

Mom and daughter.
Both are training for their first game of Ultimate.

Dad and daughters.
Jenna has gotten very into books over the last few weeks. We laugh when she "reads" them herself because she usually growls, which I guess she learned from her Mom.

And here's a few facts about our birthday girl:

Likes
"the mall" - what MK & I call Marielle's bed, which Jenna hangs out on and bounces squealing in delight the whole time
the bath - she's tried to climb in several times, but is yet to be successful
outside - like Kim Minson, she bolts at the sight of an open door
stairs
pat-a-cake
muffins
Doritos - who knew?
climbing on the computer chair
head shaking
YouTube videos
being back-scratched to sleep

Dislikes
seeing Mom leave the room
having to sign "more" or "milk" to get her food
head bows
unsweetened oatmeal - Dad's mistake
artificial nap
the end of the ice cream!!

Latest Accomplishments
walking!
responding with 1 upright finger when asked "How old are you?"
signing "more" and "milk" (see above)

I do work, now.

Once when I was at lunch with some ladies, I asked my friend Liz if she thought she would ever go back to work. She replied, "I do work. Now." Oh, right. She is an accomplished artist who paints on commission and gives art lessons out of her home. To make my faux pas even worse, I was one of her students! Just so you will never make the same mistake with me one day when we are having lunch, here's some evidence that I do work, now.

Aren't they cute? These little students are so great. Each one is making remarkable progress and I love getting to know them individually. Yes, my three-hour-a-week job is a pretty swell gig!

Toto, We're Not in Houston Anymore

On Friday night we had the pleasure of hanging out with our neighbors and several friends from our ward. While talking of summer plans one of our friends causally mentioned, "Well we are due in August, so that's nice..." Ryan and I simultaneously had fire alarms ringing in our heads "NINE MONTHS PREGNANT IN AUGUST? THAT'S NICE?!?" Then the realization slowly washed over us, "oh, August in Santa Barbara doesn't mean you have to physically move your bed directly under the ceiling fan or you might die in your sleep." So though we still miss Houston, and miss our friends terribly even still, we are so happy to not be dreading summer this year! Here's to open screen doors, ocean breezes, and dinner on the patio this summer.


Note one: a post mentioning ceiling fans really demands a link to this little gem.
Note two: picture posted not actually our backyard.