welcome home, daddy!

we play

we fight

we clean

we bathe

we make messes

we create

we destroy

we eat

we say "hi" over the phone

we have accidents

we laugh

we cry

we nap

BUT....

nothing is really complete until 5:45 pm when we see dad drive up the street honking and we run up the driveway next to his car to greet him.

Welcome home, Daddy!

This is when our day begins.

a mellow soul

I love these pictures of lucy. To me, they really illustrate the kind of gal she is. 

mellow. 

easy going. 

content to be alone. 

observant.

peaceful.

(with an occasional growl here and there)

Thanks Ryan S. for capturing these moments!

These were all taken while 5 other wild kids ran free. Lucy just sat in the wheat and watched.

What do HOUSEGUESTS and FISH have in common?

They both STINK after 3 days!

Oh, but contraire mon frair....

not these houseguests. Our houseguests were more like a fine wine or a delicate cheese. They just got better with time (a month, to be exact)!

In fact, I already miss them so much!

Now, you housewives might understand this. The days of a mom with youngins can sometimes be long and lonesome. I usually pepper my days with a phone call here or there...OK...let's be honest...my phone battery is usually dead by the end of the day because a girl needs some adult conversation every now and again to keep her ticking? Am I right?

My brother, his wife and their little 18 month-old cutie, Carter, came to stay with us while my brother did a short podiatry internship in Orange County. I got to spend the days with my sister-in-law, Mindy, who I am now further convinced is one of the nicest, most laid-back people I have ever met. It was a joy to have a 24/7 friend around! I can usually only fenagle my other friends to hang out with me in small 20 minute increments, but I had this one trapped!

It was so fun and I already miss them. Plus, she did dishes...a LOT of them!

Thanks so much guys for not being stinky guests!

Here are a few trip highlights:

Photo Shoot #1

Click to see more pictures over here....

Photo Shoot #2

Disneyland

My parents came down one weekend too.  We loved sharing the Disneyland experience with them.  My dad wasn't expecting to love it as much as he did.  I'll bet the next time he goes, he'll be wearing a pin trading lapel.  mark my words....

Beach

zonked

Jack's first surf with Dad!  My mom teared up!

dat be fun?

Daily plea:

Hey mom.

I got an idea.

Yets go swing on the twee!

(or pway at da pawk)

(OR swim at da pool)

Dat be fun?

yes son.  dat will be weally fun!

missing in action

No, I'm not dead. I did not fall off the face of the earth.

I've just had a really fun, busy month.

It all started with a weekend away. No kids, no hubby....just me, a box of see's candy, a good supply of reading material, a plane flight to Utah and a great group of girls.

For years I had been trying to figure out how to be part of the Jibson sisterhood. Refer to this. My chances of marrying into the family were shot years ago.

Exibit A - me with a Jibson man.

I've thought of sneaking into luggage bags just so I could go HERE with them. But once again...amazon women are not known for their agility and flexibility.

So, I just invited myself on their next getaway and it worked. We had a great 4 days together doing a lot of THIS and some of THIS.

Some of the highlights of my trip included:

*Seeing old friends. Especially one of my besties of all time! We named Lucy's middle name after her because she's just about the most caring, funny, Christlike, creative and loyal person I know. And everytime I'm with her, she doesn't disappoint. And did I mention that her 3 year old can do a mean 3-point turnaround in an SUV? Thanks Jayner!

Plus these girls! We had enough college memories to chat for hours that proved to be a mean form of torture for the outsiders along for the ride. It is so good to know that after marriages, kids and living in different states for years, that we can still pick up right where we left off! How bout a reunion ladies with the original 6?

* Eating at Cafe Rio - twice in one day!

* Staying up late having girl talk! Turns out I get a little delirious after 1 am and start throwing out some seriously creepy compliments. Sheena...I really do love the way your lips glide over your teeth in a SOOOooo non-lesbian way. I promise.

* Singing beautiful songs with huge masses of women. Come to find out, I can't control my emotions in this situation.

* Getting the "nerdy chills" walking up to BYU campus with masses of jumper-clad middle-aged women with lots of Bumpit hairdos.

* Staying in Sheena's adorable house and waking up every morning to my new favorite - Bumble and Brown Strawberry yogurt butter spread. Oh yum!

* Having Kasey point out my glowing mustache numerous times, then introducing me to the worlds coolest invention. Is it still considered shaving if I'm using this? no hard feelings kasey...

* Eating, eating and more eating!

and finally...

Coming home to a great family and some awesome HOUSEGUESTS!

I'll tell you more about them tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day

Perhaps you can relate to this, this or this.

Kisses to all my momma friends and to my own magnificent momma!

for carrie.

sneak a peek
(click here)

Easter Pix & New Trix

Easter Pix

New Trix

Easter Pix

New Trix

Easter Pix

New Trix

Easter Pix

happy easter

stuff yourselves with candy, chocolate and eggs

THEN

stuff yourself with these spiritually uplifting words.

sick of this, for sure.

You wanna know what the worst thing in the world is?

Losing your sense of taste!

I know...initially I thought this nasally, congested, bronchial sickness would be my big breakthrough. As long as I couldn't taste, then I should have no problem surviving off the stuff of supermodels - lettuce, celery, and spring water. This should be just what I need to catapult myself closer to that not-so-new-New Year's weight loss resolution. So I thought...

Then Troy came home to care for me on Friday evening with my favorite mix of See's Candy. I excitedly grabbed one out of the box to taste, and nothing....nada....couldn't taste a blasted flavor of the delicious chocolate. So, I tried again. (I'm not a quitter) NOTHING! Then I tried about 3 more times before finally admitting to myself that my tastebuds were SHOT!

It's a sad realization, folks.

On the one hand, I wanted to keep trying because in my memory bank of food flavors I KNEW what that chocolate was supposed to taste like and I desperately wanted some. On the other hand, I couldn't keep eating in vain and wasting my calories on flavorless food.

Again this morning I returned home from the grocery store with some homemade chili sauce aka the stuff dreams are made of.


Then I got a hankering for one of my favorite snacks. This chili sauce poured over the top of cream cheese and spread on crackers. Oh....it is so delicious. But, as soon as I popped that first cracker into my mouth I was so frustrated. Once again...NOTHING.

So, please tastebuds....please come back to me. We've had a love/hate relationship in the past, but I am realizing now it's definitely more LOVE than hate.

Technical Difficulties

Is anyone having trouble seeing my pictures? Are they cut off on your computer. They look great on mine, then Troy goes to work and discovers that on his computer they are all skeewampus!

lucky find? you decide.

together....

we went in search of some new ladybugs for the collection.

...in the process, we found much, much more than we bargained for!

Talk about bad dreams! We are all going to have them!

my mess is sicker than yours....

Sunday evening I harvested about 17 dirty diapers from our upstairs alone. Just in time for garbage day.

It was starting to smell like a barnyard.

Last month I cleaned out my car and uncovered a fossilized partially eaten cheeseburger and a ziplock bag of grapes that had chemically transformed into a white foamy substance.

Sick, you say.

Yesterday I re-ran a load of laundry doused in baking soda and vinegar in efforts to counteract the mildew that had been multiplying the fabric threads for 2 days.

Oh mercy.

Our junk "corner" made a move 6 months ago to the junk "drawer" and now we've made a new home for it in the junk "cabinet" because it seems to keep growing and growing and growing.

I bet there are unpaid bills hiding in there? Or maybe our Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes check?

Now, REWIND 2 1/2 years to a tidier time:

I distinctly remember being fat with child, having just finished off my final days as an educator, and basking in my last two months of freedom before baby #1 made his grand entrance. Most of my days were spent shuffling around the house tidying up a room or corner here and there. I took pride in a clean house. I enjoyed organizing a space until it visually dazzled me! I was a clean person. Maybe even a neat freak, to some(that might be going overboard).

Then, I would call a friend. One who was in the midst of a life with kids. And after hearing about my day of cleaning she would say something like,

"Oh, you just wait til you have kids!"

Well, you know what my reaction was, right?

Oh sure. That won't be me. A clean house will always be a priority. And on and on...

Well, dangit. She was right.

It is hard with kids. It seems like where one mess is cleaned another mess is made.

So what I want to know is....

Is anyone else feeling this way?

What is your worst cleaning problem?

What is the grossest thing in your house?

Can you "one up" the petrified cheeseburger?

And PS.... if you have a "merry maid" then please come clean!

and PPS....I hope this is not the visual picture you have of my house:

sweet dreams

What do you do when it's Saturday night at 7:00 pm, the kids are dressed in pajamas ready for bed, and you remember that you ran out of milk after the morning bottles?

a.) Run to the store for milk, where in the 20 minutes it will take you to get there and back, the children will be grumpy and unmanageable?

b.) Call the neighbors to borrow some milk - the same neighbors you call for EVERYTHING (butter, milk, eggs, flour) AND the same neighbors that had to stop by your house the week before because the door was left wide open because a certain mom was too frazzled getting the kids into the car that they forgot to close up the house?

OR

c.) Make your kids' wildest dreams come true and whip them up some creamy, sweet hot chocolate with water and Nestle powder?



YEP. You guessed it. We are the best parents EVER!

This reminds me of my favorite comedy skit by the legendary Bill Cosby.

wild about wildflowers

a lot of frolicking going on around here...

I am suffering from a photo styling identity crisis.  I love all these styles of editing.  I usually tend to go with light, bright & happy colors, but I am also really digging those top three...A LOT!