You Are Grounded, Mister!

You: "Where have you been?!"
Us: "Uh-oh."
You: "It's way past curfew!"
Us: "Um..."
You: "We have been up all MONTH waiting to hear from you! No blog posts, no messages... We were worried sick!"
Us: "Sorry."
You: "You'd better have one heckuva good explanation!"
Us: "Well--"
You: "--I don't want to hear it! We're so mad we could spit! Give us one good reason why we shouldn't throw you out on your ear."
Us: "Uuh--"
You: "--Not good enough! You are GROUNDED!"
Us: "Awwwww!" *kicks ground*



Okay, so it's been a month since our last blog update. Sorry about that.

We've been busy with Halloween, Thanksgiving and getting Jaime's new Molly's Clothing website up and running.

In the next few posts, we'll tell you all about it.

...

Can we be ungrounded now?

A Long Time Ago...

Bit of a "blast" from the past here...

Back in June of 2005, 6 year-old Cassie asked Jonathan if she could watch Star Wars.

Apparently, she'd found Jonathan's old VHS copy of the original Star Wars Trilogy (not the cheesy "Special Edition" re-release) and she decided she really wanted to see it.

So Jonathan popped the tape in and watched Star Wars with Cassie.

Aterward, Jonathan asked Cassie to talk about the movie. Here is 6 year-old Cassie's "review" of Star Wars, word for word.

(“Can you tell me what happened in Star Wars?”)

Uuuummmmmm. C3PO and R2dar2 went different ways. After they went different ways the little guys went and got ‘em, including R2dar2. They also got C3PO even though I didn’t see that part but I think it happened. But they shot R2dar2. They were going to sell C3PO too. They were going to sell both of them, but C3PO put his hands up and said "don’t shoot!" What are those little guys again? What are they called? (“Jawas”). Okay, they caught them - they’re the ones who shot R2dar2. And after that, little robots came and they did the red one, but just as they start going with the red one he says, "Stop, dad, maybe we should choose the blue one." So they put the red one back in place and started with the blue one, which was R2dar2.

Then they went with R2dar2 and found C3PO cause they, ummmmm, and they all tried to fit into the car. So he shows a movie of the girl and she does this (leans over) and it starts over and starts over and over. And so then he said, “I don’t like you,” cause R2dar2 wouldn’t finish the message.

And then there was this big, huge furry guy. Chewy. His name is Chewy. So I’ll tell you about Chewy. Chewy tries to stop the door because it’s a garbage can. Then the guy that owns him, he, like, kicked him into the hole. C3PO isn’t there.

(“Do you remember the Sand People?”)

Oh, they found the Sand People and one of the sand men, like, wait, before that they were riding on a kinda big moose. It’s like a cow with a long mustache and big horns on its head. And then the Sand People have points on their head somehow. Like, they had five spines on their head and kinda funny eyes like round and white and green inside. They can blend into the sand. Then he hurt him and this guy who tells him the force will be always be with you – the guy that disappeared – helped him up. And I remember the part where he kills him and he disappears. Magically. You can still hear his voice but you can’t see him. Somehow he’s invisible.

They go somewhere where all the robots are. They go somewhere where, like, then they go to this costume place where that furry guy is – Chewy – and the guy, what’s his name? (“Han Solo”). Han Solo, he has Chewy, he’s the owner of him. And he, like, shoots that guy and then he gets into a uniform – do you remember that part? Then he takes his hat off and he’s only in the uniform.

(“What happened?”)

He shoots the guy. The guy that, ummm, that has, like, things (puts her fingers on her head) and red eyes and kind of a funny mouth like this (pinches her mouth shut). The guy that has Chewy. He shoots the blue guy because he doesn’t like him. Pretend this is, like, the blue guy with the kinda funny mouth (puts up her hand) and pretend this is the guy that has Chewy (other hand) and he takes his gun out and shoots him and the guy goes like this on the table with his head (slowly drops her head).

(“Then what?”)

They have a big, huge car with LEGOS inside of it and there are big poles in it. And you open the thing and you take the LEGOS out and you shoot. And there’s these white guys who have guns that shoot red. You know, the guns that make the red things. And those things that go “mm-mmm-mmm” every time they move. “mm-mmm-mmmm.” And you fight with them. They’re better than swords. What are they called? (Light sabers). And I remember the part where they use the light sabers to fight. C3PO won’t use the remote thingy. He accidentally turned it off. So he couldn’t hear them. And then the thing stops and they’re like, “We’re okay! Wooo! You’re okay?! Well, that’s good!”

And I remember the part where they shoot the white guys and they go like this (puts her hands up and falls backward) and they fall down.

(“What happens at the end?”)

At the end the girl, like, hugs him and the guy holds her up and turns her around. And then he puts her down and he won. Every guy got shot except for, ummmm, what’s his name again? (“Luke”). Except for Luke. Everyone died except for Luke. And then R2dar2 was going like this (rocks back and forth). And Chewy was there and C3PO. So, that’s it.

(“Anything else?”)

Do you want me to tell you about Darth Vader? Where he walks with the white guys? But before they can get to him he flies away to his station. It’s, like, SO big. Then he had to land back on his ship. He would go like this, “Hoooooo-hooooooooo-hooooooo”. He has teeth in the front, like dark teeth. And he talks without moving his mouth, like this (talks through her teeth) “We must get the ship!” I can’t talk like that. Darth Vader died at the end.

And that’s all I can remember.

The force is strong with this one.

Fired Up

As most of you probably know - unless you're living in a cave, and if you are, you have your own problems to worry about (cave plumbing?) - there have been some fires down here in Southern California the past few days.

We've received several calls from friends and family asking if we're okay. Thanks for checking in. Other than a lot of ash and smoky air, we're okay here in Murrieta so far.

The fires haven't gotten too close to our neck of the woods. The closest was a fire in Temecula about 15 miles away, and as far as I know that one was contained late last night. The winds seemed to die down today, so hopefully that helped stop the seemingly inexorable spread of these wildfires.

We just learned that all local schools will be closed tomorrow due to the bad air quality and the general uncertainty about the fire situation. They're using some of the schools as shelters for those who have been evacuated from other areas like Fallbrook.

We'll keep everybody posted if anything new develops.

Our prayers go out to the hard-working firefighters and to all those who have been so affected by this terrible situation.

Speaking of Crazy Hair...

Holy cow.

Jaime cut her hair.

Fun Fact:
And she looks gooood.

Here she is at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in L.A. earlier this week with her new 'do.

The last time Jaime's hair was this short ... she was born.

She donated the excised tresses to Locks of Love.








I like mom's new hair cut. She looks really cute. Now she and my friend Emma look like twins.








I like it very much because she looks prettier in it. When I first saw her I thought she was somebody else, then I saw her shirt and I noticed it was actually her.

Totally Crazy

Today is "Crazy Hair Day" at Tovashal Elementary School.

<---- Here are Cassie and Jillian's 'dos.

After the kids got their crazy hair-dos this morning, Jonathan drove them to school. But as the car neared the grounds, Cassie and Jillian noticed that NO ONE ELSE had crazy hair.

The conversation that followed transpired thusly:

Cassie: "I don't see anybody with crazy hair."
Jillian: "Are you SURE it's Crazy Hair Day, Cassie?"
Cassie: "My friend told me it was."
Jonathan: "You're friend?!"
(Jonathan quickly calls Jaime on his cell phone.)
Jonathan: "Hey, we're sitting in the car outside school and nobody has crazy hair."
Jaime: "What?"
Jonathan: "I'm telling you, there are kids everywhere, but they all have normal hair."
Jaime: "I'm sure there are other kids there with crazy hair, you just don't see them yet."
Jonathan: "I dunno. A kid just walked by with totally normal, respectable hair. Hey, maybe I could jump out and mess his hair up..."
Jaime: "Probably not a good idea."
Jillian: "Dad, I see a girl with pink hair!"
Jonathan: "Okay, apparently, there's a girl with pink hair."
Jillian: "And that kid has a mohawk. Let's go!"
Jonathan: "All right, maybe this is a false alarm. Bye."
(Jonathan hangs up)
Jonathan: "Okay, we've got kids with pink hair and a mohawk. You and your crazy hair are good to go. Unless that kid normally has a mohawk."

Jillian is ready to go, but Cassie isn't. Cassie looks out at the playground full of normal-haired kids and hesitates. Then she looks at Jonathan with imploring eyes, and in that second, Jonathan's heart melts with empathy a thousand, million times.

Jonathan: "What do you want to do? You want to keep your crazy hair, or do you want to go home, we can fix it and you'll be a little late?"
Cassie: "Can I take my hair out? It'll just be a little poofy."

So she does. Cassie pulls out the plastic cups making her hair stick out and climbs out of the car to go to school. And then something weird happens...

Suddenly, every Crazy-Haired Kid in the world comes out of the woodwork. All over the playground, we see green hair, purple hair, hair with sparkles, hair sticking straight up... It's a sudden cornucopia of Crazy Hair.

Everyone has Crazy Hair . And they're all having a fun, crazy time.

Cassie sees this and visibly slumps. She just ruined her crazy hair-do. And she doesn't know how to fix it again. Neither does Jonathan (for Jonathan only knows how to do his own patented "Cool Hair").

Jonathan watches as a disappointed Cassie trudges into the playground of crazy kids with her no-longer-crazy-hair... and Jonathan's heart simply breaks. It's a shattering of sympathy that starts in his chest and tinkles down into his entire body, until every fiber of his makeup feels fractured and broken.

As a parent, you never want your child to be in pain. Physical, emotional... it doesn't matter. A parent wants their child's entire life to be bliss, for their every moment awake and asleep to be perfect, happy and trouble-free. The very thought of pain of any kind for your child is ... painful.

And here is Cassie, first excited about a fun day, then fearful that she'll be alone and ridiculed in her fun, then utterly devastated when she sees the fun after all, but it's too late to go back.

What's a parent to do?

Luckily, Jaime knows Crazy Hair (her hair used to be five inches high). Jonathan calls for reinforcements and Jaime rushes to school with brush and hairspray. She finds Cassie sitting sullenly with her totally normal, totally boring hair. Jaime works her magic, and in minutes, she has re-crazified Cassie's 'do.

And like that, all is well. Cassie grins and runs off to play with the Crazy-Haired kids.

Fun Fact:
If a child's sadness causes their parent's insides to shatter, a child's happiness is like organ Superglue.

What a morning.

Kids. They're enough to drive you crazy.

1st and 3rd

The other night, Jaime and Jonathan attended an event hosted by San Diego Style Weddings Magazine for their contributors to celebrate the release of their new issue.

The party was held at Bernard Gardens, a mansion with incredible grounds in Fairbanks Ranch.

Fun Fact:
One of Jaime's elyseREUBEN gowns was featured on the August 2007 cover of San Diego Style Weddings Magazine. Two more of Jaime's designs will be featured on two additional covers in the coming months.

The hundreds of guests at the party were invited to vote for their favorite magazine cover, and when all the votes were tallied, Jaime's cover won 1st place. Amazingly, her other magazine cover came in 3rd.

Of course Jaime was thrilled. Here is the 1st place magazine cover, featuring one of Jaime's designs. It will run in June/July of 2008.


And here's the 3rd place cover, again featuring one of Jaime's designs. It'll run on the December 2007 issue.


The event was a lot of fun, with some amazing food, live bands and even wedding cake to take home. We were joined by Jane and Lavon, as well as Jaime's assistant Marie and her boyfriend.

Jane and Lavon party like rock stars.


Marie cozies up to her new beau.


Thanks to everyone who has supported Jaime over the years.

A Little Bit More

Okay, we were holding out on you.

It's true. But only because Jaime's camera was holding out on us.

Somehow when we copied pictures of our trip to San Jose from the camera to our computer, we didn't get them all. So here are a few more. Aren't you lucky?

Before driving back to Murrieta two weeks ago, we visited friends Heather and Sergio and their kids Alex and Lucas. In case you wondered who those people are, wonder no further!

Here Cassie, Jillian, Alex and Lucas get cheesy.


(No idea why Jillian is giving us the thumbs down there. Probably because of something YOU did.)

Take special note of Lucas and his blue guitar. He's very proud of that guitar. Doesn't go anywhere without it And he can really rock out. We're talking the legs-spread, hips-waggling, windmill-strumming kind of "rock out." Future heart breaker, right there.

During the drive home, the setting sun became a problem for Cassie and Jillian because it was shining in their eyes and making it hard to sleep.

Here is their ingenious solution.


Yes, they are wearing Quillows on their heads.

Fun Fact:
A "Quillow" is a quilt that folds into a pillow.

These special Quillows were hand-made by Grandma Stephens for Cassie and Jillian when they were babies. Cassie and Jillian sleep with them every night and never leave on a trip without them.

Cassie's Quillow is pink and Jillian's is purple - their favorite colors. Here's a better look at the pillow designs.



As for Jaime, she had sunglasses to block the sun. Jonathan had neither sunglass nor Quillow, but he had no trouble sleeping anyway. Lucky it was a long, straight drive.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

On September 29th, Jonathan’s sister Katie got married to Ranjan in Monterey, California. Of course we weren’t going to miss that, so the Stephens Family once again piled into the car and left town for a wedding. And once again, our dog Friday was left all alone.

He wasn't happy.


On Thursday September 27, Jonathan, Jaime, Cassie and Jill headed to San Jose. We got on the road late because we spent 2 hours trying to get the kid’s little TV/DVD combo player to work. Actually, Jonathan spent 1 hour and 55 minutes of failure, then Jaime took over and had it working in 5 minutes. Annoyed, Jonathan decided to give Jaime the silent treatment for showing him up. Jaime responded to the silence by taking a nice, relaxing nap.

Fun Fact:
To get to San Jose from Murrieta, take Highway 15 North to 210 West to Highway 5 North. Drive about 3-hours up the 5 and then take Highway 152 West to 101 North to 85 North into San Jose. The distance is approximately 415 miles and driving time is about 6 1/2 hours.

We arrived in San Jose around midnight and stayed with Dave, Michele and Ashley, who were kind enough to provide us with our own rooms and access to their Hi-Definition TV (the better for Jonathan to play Halo3 on). Cassie and Jill had a great time playing with Cousin Ashley, who enjoys throwing her little plastic balls up into the air.

Next afternoon, we went to Grandma’s to catch up with Dan and his family, who had arrived from Utah the night before. Cassie and Jill loved seeing Grandma, Uncles Dan and Ben and Cousins Josh, Shayne, Micah and Maddy again. Micah apparently messed up his leg recently in a mini-bike accident, so he was hobbling around in a huge Velcro foot cast.

That night, while Jaime stayed at Dave’s to work on Katie’s wedding dress, the rest of the clan went to downtown San Jose to see Ben perform ComedySportz in the old Camera 3 Theatre. We got lost, but did finally find the place just in time for the show. Ben was the “Designated Jokester” for the night, so he played for both the red and blue teams, which meant that he was guaranteed to be on the winning team no matter what.

Rumination:
Doesn’t that also mean he’s guaranteed to be the loser too?

Fun Fact:
ComedySportz is an award-winning interactive comedy show where two teams of "act-letes" compete for audience laughs and points while improvising scenes, games and musicals based on audience suggestions.

A referee calls fouls and keeps the match moving at a blistering pace. The audience is always a part of the interactive show, voting for the winners and sometimes even winding up on stage.

It's clean, fast and fun for all audiences. San Jose's longest-running show, ComedySportz has been named Editor's Choice by The Wave Magazine and Best Local Theatre by The Metro's Best of the Silicon Valley.

On Saturday, September 29, we drove to the beach north of Monterey for Katie’s wedding and met up with Joe, Jen and Cousin Reese. The cousins had fun running around the condo, but they really wanted to be on the beach. Especially Ashley.


At around noon, Katie and Ranjan exchanged vows right on the beach, with Dan officiating. This was the first wedding we’ve ever attended in bare feet!



After the wedding, Ranjan’s family provided a wonderful meal. We hung out for a few hours, eating, chatting and taking pictures.


Here, Cousin Josh eats ... something.


Look over here and smile! No, over HERE!


Uncle Joe has picture posing down. Except for the smiling part.




We left on Sunday morning to drive back to Murrieta, but stopped first to have breakfast with friends Heather and Sergio and see their kids Alex and Lucas. Everyone had a good time and it was fun catching up.





“I liked going to San Jose for Katie’s wedding, except for sitting in the car for five hours. Or was it six hours? I don’t know. I liked that the wedding was on the beach. It was a little cold, but I survived – it’s not like I was freezing. It was interesting that we were REAL flower girls for the first time (Cassie, Jill and Cousin Maddy got to spread flower petals before Bride Katie). That’s how long a wedding should take – it was only like 15 minutes, instead of waiting around doing nothing for an hour. I liked Katie’s husband and seeing all the cousins again.”






“We went to Aunt Katie’s wedding on the beach. It was really fun. I ran in the water and got my dress a bit wet. I saw my cousins Maddie, Shane, Micah, Josh, Reese and Ashley, I got to play with them during the wedding. We stayed with Ashley, Dave and Michele at their house. Katie looked beautiful in her dress. I also got to see Alex and Lucas.”

Fashionably On Time

After Kasey’s wedding, two receptions in two different states and then Julie’s wedding in Utah – all within the last month – you’d think the Stephens family would be all wedding’d out. But noooooo, it seems we are gluttons for punishment.

On September 23rd, Jaime’s elyseREUBEN gown designs were featured in a bridal fashion show hosted by Wein’s Family Cellars Winery in Temecula, California. Jaime did her designer thing and Cassie and Jill modeled Flower Girl dresses on the runway. Jonathan didn’t want to be there and complained a lot (you could say he put the “whine” in winery, yuk yuk).

Fun Fact:
elyseREUBEN was founded in 1995 by designer Jaime Stephens, the company name is a combination of hers and her husband’s middle names. elyseREUBEN began as a referral-based custom bridal business in Northern California with an emphasis on affordable, modest fashions. The company quickly developed a loyal client-base, and over the years Jaime has hosted bridal showcases and participated in non-profit runway shows promoting her unique style of elegance and sophistication.

Since relocating to Southern California in 2003, Jaime has expanded her label, creating Jaime Elyse Couture for high-end bridal fashion and Molly’s Clothing for casual wear. Last month, an elyseREUBEN gown was featured on the cover of San Diego Style Weddings Magazine. Look for more elyseREUBEN covers in the coming months, including the January 2008 issue.

In addition to Cassie and Jill strutting their stuff, Jaime’s long-time models Dominique and Britney were there in fine form.







The venue was beautiful and the show was a lot of fun. Our thanks to everyone who helped make it a success.


“I got to be in a fashion show and I got to get paid, and that made it more funner. I used my $25 to buy a monkey necklace and Lawrence, the guy who was hosting the show, gave me a starfish necklace. He gave Jillian a $25 gift certificate for books. Anyway, I walked out and did poses. At first I had to wear the cream dress, then I had to wear the polka-dot. Then in the second one we had a new model. Her name was Majesty. She wore one of my dresses and one of Jillian’s dresses. It was hard getting changed while the wind was blowing the curtains. Did you know that the thing we were using to get changed in fell over? Good thing it was after the last show!”








"I was in a fashion model show with Cassie. It was a lot of fun. I bought a dolphin with my $25. I modeled a blue Easter dress, a plain white dress and a red and white dress.”

High on the Mountain Top

On Thursday September 20, Jaime boarded a plane for Utah to attend her niece Julie’s wedding and arrived just in time for the bridal shower. Jaime’s sister Heather made some fabulous cheesecakes, which everyone thought came from The Cheesecake Factory. Julie loves the color pink, so pink was the theme for the party.

On Friday, everyone went to the hotel to take family pictures.




Then they had a barbeque to get to know Julie’s husband Christian and his family. Following that, Jaime and her family helped Julie with the last-minute details for her wedding (we’ve learned the hard way that it’s not a "wedding" unless you stay up half the night cramming to get things done).

The next morning, Jaime and her family drove up to the ceremony location. Julie chose a venue in a canyon, which offered a beautiful panoramic view. After Julie and Christian exchanged vows and sealed them with a kiss, it started to sprinkle a little. But luckily the rain held out until the reception was over.

Fun Fact:
Julie and Christian are Trekkers, so the topper for their wedding cake was a pair of Star Trek figurines.

Julie looked beautiful in her Maggie Sottero dress and Christian was very handsome.

Afterward, Jaime flew back home, commenting that it's always great to see family, but after traveling for so many weeks, it’s good to be home again.








"I didn't get to go. I had to stay home with Dad."









"Me too. It was boring."

The Grande Ol' Canyon

Following our visit with the Lewis family in Chino Valley, Arizona, the plan was to do nothing but to try and keep our sanity while driving back home on the intensely boring highway known as Route 40.

FYI, Route 40 is a stretch of desert road that is, by all accounts, totally, mind-numbingly boring. In fact, the level of pure, intense, unadulterated boring that is Route 40 cannot be properly described using existing language.

It drove us a little insane...


On the morning of September 16th as we packed up to head home, we realized that we were only two hours from the Grand Canyon. Sure, it was two hours in the opposite direction, but we’re talking THE Grand Canyon. The GRAND one. We’d be remiss if we didn’t take advantage of the fact that we were so close. So we set off, and soon enough arrived at the gates of the Grand Canyon...

Fun Fact:
It costs $25 smackers to see the Grand Canyon in person.

Jonathan joked, “$25 is pretty steep, but then so’s the Grand Canyon!” No one laughed.

Rumination:
The price to enter the Grand Canyon was raised to $25 in May, 2006. With inflation sure to extend into the future, is it fair to say that there will come a time when it will cost a grand to enter the Grand Canyon?

After the kindly Park Ranger handed over our entrance ticket, Jonathan asked, “Would you like a kiss?” The Ranger looked up abruptly, only to see that Jonathan was holding up a big bag of Hershey’s Kisses. The kindly Park Ranger kindly declined, claiming he was watching his figure.

For some reason, we forgot our camera. How can you go to the Grand Canyon without a camera? It’s probably against the law, so we paid some astronomical price for a disposable camera with 24 exposures. Digital cameras have made us forget how precious (and expensive) a small, finite roll of film can be. So enjoy the following pictures, because they cost like a buck a piece.

In this one, Cassie finds something interesting to point at.


We walked along the South Rim and did our best not to disrupt the “tourists” native to the area. Jaime was exceedingly protective of Cassie and Jillian along the cliffs. She wouldn’t turn her back on them for a second.


Jonathan seemed to get vertigo and was suddenly leery near the edge. This is a guy who once sat on the cliff of Halfdome in Yosemite with his legs hanging over the side. Somehow between then and now, he became a big softie. We’re talking a strawberry parfait kind of softie – one of those girlie parfaits that offer Park Rangers kisses and is suddenly afraid of standing near cliffs.

Fun Fact:
The Grand Canyon is 277 river miles long and an average of 10 miles wide. One of the endangered species is a fish called the Razorback Sucker. Just a thought, but maybe the Razorback Sucker wouldn’t be endangered if it didn’t suck razors.

There’s a Steven Wright joke that goes: “Some people are afraid of heights. Not me, I’m afraid of widths.” The great thing about the Grand Canyon is that it’s both high and wide. It’s a two-for-one.


$25 well spent.







“I’ve never been there before and the Grand Canyon was huge. It was very cool to be in a big place I’ve never been in before. We should’ve brought [our dog] Friday. Me and Mom had the same shirt on.”








“The Grand Canyon was really fun. I got to see lots of mountains and take pictures with a disposable camera. The mountains were green, yellow and red.”