BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament

On a whim, we decided to take the boys and head to Palm Springs for a little sun and tennis. I wasn't sure if the boys would overdose on tennis as it was the only planned entertainment the whole time. Turns out they found plenty of ways to keep busy.I worried about taking them (Christian) out of school for 3 days so close to the end of the term. If the truth were known-they did have a lot of catching up to do and that was hard-BUT I would definitely do it again. The boys said it was one of their favorite trips ever. Getting away and having a breather was a necessity. For all of us.

Check out the cute little ball boys/girls in yellow on the court. The first match we saw we had amazing seats close to the court. Instead of being focused on the great tennis being played, we found ourselves mesmerized with the "ball kids." My son was cracking me up the whole time. Mostly when I shouldn't have. He was very vocal about how uncoordinated and awkward the ball kids were. Rude-I know. But funny.

Poor guy didn't have a chance against Rafa.
This was this cute girl's first tournament. She was 17 and amazing. We will definitely be seeing more of her.


Trying to cover the front and the back from serious sun and heat.

The Parker Palm Springs

We stayed at the most random, retro hotel while we were in Palm Springs. It was a bit of a surprise. Unbeknownst to us, it has gotten quite a bit of publicity and is famous in certain circles. Apparently, we have not spent a lot of time in those circles. It was a fabulous hotel-especially if you have an appreciation for the color orange, and shag, and men in salmon colored pants, and clay tennis courts, and secret garden mazes and little lemonade stands.

Christian in the lobby...
When we first arrived and were checking in, I felt a tug on my sleeve. I looked to see Gabe-wide eyed-pointing at the sign above the fake fireplace. No words could come out of his proper little mouth.

Behind Gabe is the cute, little pool area where I spent a very short amount of time (while the boys golfed) before I overheated.

Those clubs are the only reason that I get to check my bag. Without them, I would be pouring all of my liquids into 2 oz. containers and placing them inside of a ziplock bag.

More lobby decor

There was no straight path to anything. Lots of intimate, landscaped pathways that led you in a million circles. It took me the whole trip to figure out how to get to our room.

This is how I started every day. With the snow here today it feels like a very distant memory. But a lovely memory none the less.

This is where we would end the day. Jordan and I are not used to sleeping in a double bed. It was not a smooth transition. And the boys were not used to sleeping in such close quarters with "shake-the-walls-snoring" by their dad. It was good to come home and get some sleep.

How to photograph toddlers and teenagers

A couple of days ago I read this darling post about how a cute mom (who is already a genius behind the camera) goes about photographing her toddler. It included tips like..take the picture/check the lighting/close the curtains/shift the toddler slightly to take advantage of better lighting/change camera settings....

They were great ideas. Ideas I wanted to try. But the next time I got the camera out to take a photo of my teenager's very creative "European Rock Climber" outfit he picked out for a youth activity this was the process:

1. Go to get camera. Overhear your two boys say, "oh crap, here comes the camera."

2. Try to stand in front of teenager as he proceeds to walk toward the door. Fumble quickly to get the lens cap off.

3. Try to look at last camera settings but realize that with every second I waste teenager is getting closer to the exit-so commit to using whatever the last camera settings were.

4. Beg teenager to stop moving. Snap a quick photo. Look and realize that half of him is cropped out of the photo.

5. Back up quickly (watch out for the kitchen table). Ask teenager to back up (I have a fixed lens on the camera). Teenager sighs/grunts/and tells you to hurry.

6. So you hurry and snap one last photo (that makes two) as the door shuts behind him.

7. Love and cherish every poor quality, crazy faced photo you get.

Fun-due Party

Who knew that fondue could be so fun? And so tasty? And so filling? And so much work? Apparently Rebecca and Kelly did as they were the masterminds and hostesses behind the whole idea.

Here we have Margit and Kelly giving a demo shot on how it's done:
There were also amazing appetizers and salads and drinks and, and, and.... Vern and Bill sample the goods.
Bowls of chicken and steak and veggies adorned the table. Ready to be cooked in hot chicken broth. The dipping sauces were my favorite. I love to dip. I am a dip.

It was Howard and Karalyn's 25th wedding anniversary. Lucky us..they chose to celebrate it at the fun-due party. But then again, Howard and Karalyn are not ones to ever miss out on a party. Which is good for us, because they are kinda the life of the party.

For dessert, Kelly made molten chocolate cakes. The smell alone was enough to send you to chocolate heaven. And right as I was about to partake....Gabe called and said, "Where are you?! You said you would be here to pick me up an hour ago!" Which was true. But I was waiting for chocolate cake. Repentant, I promised to be right there. And so I left...with a very unfulfilled chocolate craving.

L to R: Jana, Rebecca, Kelly, Margit. As I edited pictures I began to notice a theme. In almost every photo, Kelly is talking and everyone else is paying rapt attention to whatever she is saying. No surprise here. I do the same thing. She is the whole package: intelligent, witty, entertaining, confident. And I love that she makes our visiting teaching appointments every single month.

This picture is my favorite. I snapped it on my way out the door. All the guys, sitting and talking. They were all aware I was taking a photo but it was only Sean who stopped chatting, looked straight at the camera and smiled.
You may have noticed that it was a couples party. And I went alone. Tiffanie sang, "All the Single Ladies" to me as I walked in. Story of my life. But Jordan did achieve diamond medallion status on Delta this year. Couldn't be prouder.

My (birthday) boy

Have I ever mentioned what a holy terror this child was as an infant? How the term "incessant crying" was invented just for him? How on the 100th visit to the pediatrician (there just has to be something wrong with him) the nurse slipped me a paper with the child abuse hotline number on it (in case I ever got to the breaking point). I never felt the need to use the number (as bad as I felt for myself I felt even worse for him) but man oh man did I ever come close to that breaking point. I had a 4 year old and a 2 year old and a husband that was traveling for weeks at a time and a baby that never stopped crying. I tried so hard to fake feeling "put together" but I could barely brush my teeth or wipe the snot from my two year old's nose or deal with yet another one of my four year old's pre-pre-school meltdowns ( I want pony tails. NO! I didn't want ponytails!) And you know what the worse part was? All the others moms around me were the real deal. THEY were put together. And they weren't even faking it. I'm sure of it. I wanted to be a good mom. And as terrible and prideful as it sounds, I wanted other people to think I was a good mom. But the terrible truth was I didn't have a clue what I was doing and I knew that other people knew it. There were some very, very dark days. So what did I do you might ask? Did I seek help, or advice or communicate my insecurities and my need for relief? No. That would require humility. And admitting my very worst fear-that I was weak. That I needed help. So I muddled through. On my own. Sometimes clinging to the edge of sanity with my bare, bloody fingertips. It was hard. I wouldn't recommend it. (Going it on your own-not motherhood). But eventually there was light once again. At around 18 months, that little boy of mine finally decided that if being on earth was his lot, he was going to make the most of it. And he has. Almost overnight, Christian went from crying non-stop to talking non-stop. He viewed the world in such a unique way that he had me laughing constantly. (I was sure I would never forget all the funny things he said. How I wish-oh how I wish- I had written them down!) He wanted to know everything about everything. Sometimes his curiosity was down right exhausting. But he was a joy. A non-stop on-the-go chattering joy. Little by little I gained some of my confidence back.

And then he became a teenager.

17 to be exact. As of yesterday. Some things have remained the same. He still has a unique way of looking at the world. He is still curious (but now it's about cars and girls). He still makes me laugh. But the non-stop chattering? I wish.

There have been other changes as well. In me. As in..

Here is my confession for all the world to see:

I don't have a clue what I'm doing.

I don't know how to raise a teenager.

I need all the help I can get.

Does anyone have any advice?

Like how to get your teenage son to do a normal smile for the camera?

17 years has given him more than enough time to steal my heart.

He is on the threshold of becoming an amazing man.

I have no intention of attempting to parent him alone.

I hate that this is blurry because, strangely, I love this shot.

I call it "Portrait of 2 Teenage Boys."

After dinner at Cheescake Factory (Christian's pick) we came back home to the birthday cake I made that everyone was too full to eat except me.

And then-for a special birthday treat-Jordan helped Christian work on his bridge for his Honors Physics class. Interestingly, Christian finally went to bed around 11 and Jordan didn't come up until about 1 a.m.

This morning, as Christian left for early morning seminary, there was a post-it note with $10 attached on the door handle. The note was from his dad. It read:

"Use this money and buy a new bridge kit."

Happy Birthday, Bud.

Girls just wanna have...fast food.

Much as I love my handsome boys, I was so very excited when the holiday weekend gave me a chance to be with my girl. And as luck would have it, she upped the odds and brought her roommate, Stephanie, to join the fun.

I loved watching these two interact with each other. Both are very easy going, quick witted and at times-opionated.

But they kept their opinions to themselves when they had to wait for me to peruse the sale section at Anthropologie. (They have no idea how much longer I could have been)

Hailee's first request after getting home..? Country burrito at Molca Salsa. (We had to send this picture to Brittney and Jordan in London who were sending us pictures of their adventures and trying to make us jealous. For Brittney, at least, this place would cause major homesickness pangs). Do you see my bag of marinated carrots on the counter? Eater beware. Have your drink at the ready.

Jordan got home Monday. First place he wanted to go...? Five Guys Burgers and Fries. He made the mistake of ordering regular-not cajun-fries. The masses converged on him and- scared for his life-he had to humble himself and go back to the counter and correct his mistake. I think it gave Stephanie a little insight into how seriously the Radmans take their fast food.

I am a Sports Fan

Are you laughing about that title? Especially after I admitted that I didn't even know who was playing in the Superbowl? Well I am. A sports fan, that is. I love watching sports. I cheer. I cheer loud. And I even get a little melancholy when my team doesn't win or my favorite player has an "off" game. Of course, my favorite teams, sports and players consist of people I love. Right now my favorite sport to watch is any that this boy is participating in. Last Saturday he went straight from his basketball game to a soccer workout to a doubles tennis match. Wore me right out.

I think this picture is kinda funny. Look at Gabe's foot. (I'm still working on good sportsmanship)

Then I just thought all of Gabe's different facial expressions were funny.

This is the form Gabe uses every time he shoots. Which is a lot. Sometimes it works for him-sometimes not.

This is the face he uses when he plays guitar. (That's his good friend Nick behind him)

This is the determined face.

Gabe has 3 coaches. The 3 older brothers of his friend and teammate Nick. The brothers are 23,21, and 16. Sometimes I go just to watch them. I LOVE the way they interact with each other and the team. Plus, they are hilarious is a very quiet, understated way.

(By the way..Gabe's friend John, behind him, is really 2 1/2 heads taller than Gabe. I can see his height has some definite advantages)

Superstar