Loves

Today is Valentime's Day. I love that my kids call it that. Well, not so much love, as despise, but I'm trying to have a good attitude.

Don't worry, my bad attitude is back already. One paragraph was hard enough.

This day makes me think of all the things I love. So many things. Love is hard to contain.

I love my family first and foremost. All of them. I hope they love me back, because I'm nuts, and hard to love.

I love my job. I get to make people look and feel pretty, and that makes me feel pretty darn good about myself.

I love homeschooling. Never thought I'd be saying that!

I love crab legs. It's been too long since I last had them. It's time.

I love baths that are so hot it makes the sweat run into my eyes.

I love my electric blanket.

I love blogging and facebook and twitter.

I love having options at this point in my life. Instead of being stuck on the hamster wheel of corporate America, we have a lot of choices ahead of us, and we can pretty much choose whatever path we'd like.

I love looking back at a year ago, and two years ago, and seeing progress.

Valentime's day is supposed to be all about love. And right now, I'm pretty much feeling the love.

Twas Merry, As They Say

Christmas came. It was fun. Now it's over. Enjoy these grainy cell phone pics, because I totally forgot to charge my camera the night before. Yep, again, mother of the year right here.

All the girls showing off their matchy matchy jammies they get from Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve.


Gretta opened her first gift, promptly took the wrapping paper to the garbage, and sat down waiting for permission to open the rest of the gifts. It didn't take her long to get the hang of just ripping into them after that, though.


Maggie enjoying the the Easy Bake Oven she received. Oh joy. Plasticy tasting mini cookies and cakes that take teeny tiny parts to use.


Emma in the throes of gift unwrapping. She got a sewing machine, and she is actually pretty good at it!

So that was Christmas. I'm glad it's over. Now it's time to get the house in order and get on with things.

Merry Christmas Letter

Hello friends and family,

Instead of sending out Christmas cards this year, I've decided to write a letter detailing every minute detail of our mundane lives. That sounds like so much fun, right? Right. Here we go.

Beginning in January, we found ourselves back home in the Motherland, also known as Utah. Sean was beginning school at LDS Business College, and the girls were going to school with Grandma at Eastlake Elementary. We were living with Sean's parents, and plugging along with our new lives.

February met us with crazy cold and snow, unlike anything I've seen in Utah, and a lot more like what I was used to in Illinois. I got a little homesick for my life there, but I was also very glad to be back with family. School continued, and life was good. I also found out I was going to be an aunt again with Jill expecting her 5th baby! I was thrilled!

March was a welcome month, bringing the prospect of Spring, and warmer weather. Sean was wrapping up school, and hoping for a 4.0. The girls were off track, and thought that was pretty neat to have a long vacation from school.

April brought more changes, still. Sean was home from school, having just missed his 4.0 by this much. We moved into my Dad's old house, and I pulled Maggie out of school to begin homeschooling her. I also started a business doing hair again, and things were trying to get off the ground.

May was a great month to enjoy Spring weather. Emma was looking forward to Summer since Maggie was already enjoying some serious time off, and Gretta was enjoying having a friend around to play with. I was working here and there, and it was nice to be back behind the chair. We enjoyed a long weekend vacation with Meg and Josh to Lake Mead, which was a lot of fun. I could literally feel the winter melting off me while we were there.

June was the official beginning of Summer, and we started it off by getting annual passes to Lagoon. We had originally intended to buy passes to Six Flags again, but good thing we procrastinated, because those would have done us no good here in Utah. Lagoon was a great distraction for us throughout the summer, since Sean was going a little stir crazy being at home and not working or going to school, and I was only working a couple of days a week.

July was spent enjoying family and friends. Sean's brother and his family returned to Utah after living in Brazil for 2 years, and we loved having their kids around. My sister came up from Vegas and stayed with us several times, and we always love having her. We also found out that Meg was expecting, and I was thrilled to have a new niece or nephew coming to our family.

August was hot and long. My birthday came and went, and now I'm another year older, yet no wiser. Sean was looking forward to school beginning again, and I was working hard. I also ran 26 miles that month, and I was loving the running life.

September brought our summer adventures to a close. We certainly made the most of it, though. I think we counted at least 20 visits to Lagoon. Those passes were worth every penny. The kids really got brave there toward the end of the season, going on upside-downy rides, and learning to wait in line without mom or dad there to help them. We were all nice and tan from our times at Lagoon-A-Beach, and tired from a lot of walking. I also became an Aunt again; Jill had her baby girl, named Elsie, and she is fat and yummy and it takes all my self control to not eat her.

October was a fun month for all of us. Sean was back in school and working hard, and I was working very hard, and thinking of making a change in my work situation. I was ready to grow the business more, and I needed more room. By the end of the month, I was officially moving into a new building, and renting a space all my own. I was thrilled. Unfortunately, during the month, I also had to have my appendix out, which really threw me for a loop. Trying to move things while recovering from surgery can be tricky. Luckily, I recovered just fine, and the move to the new place went off without a hitch.

November brought thoughts of Thanksgiving and other family adventures. One good thing we had happen was my Dad and Noma getting sealed in the temple. We were all there, and it was nice to see them so happy. We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Jill in Vegas, and it was a nice new tradition. We did major Black Friday shopping, and even though it was colder than normal, it was still warmer than Utah! Emma was in 6th grade and loving it, and Sean was in the throes of schoolwork, wrapping up the finishing touches for his business transfer degree. Maggie and I were doing homeschool, and she was thriving, just like I knew she would.

December brought the one year anniversary of Sean getting laid off, his 35th birthday, Christmas, and our anniversary. A busy month for sure. We didn't celebrate his lay-off day, of course, but we did celebrate his birthday with a nice dinner out, and a stay at Little America for the night. This is also known as our North Pole trip, since we wrap up our Christmas shopping at the same time. Sean finished up school, and although he could be done at LDSBC, he has chosen to stay one more semester to gain his accounting degree, rather than a transfer degree. I think he will fare better in the future with 2 solid degrees beneath him. Christmas is upon us, and I'm looking forward to being here this year to celebrate with our families. On December 3oth, we'll celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. My how time has flown!

I hope you aren't too terribly bored, I tried to keep it to the bare minimum. And let's face it, my life just isn't that exciting. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanks Was Given

We had Thanksgiving. It was so nice. I mean, nice in that we had to leave for Las Vegas earlier than expected to outrun the Blizzard Of 2010, and nice in that I had to find out on Facebook the day before we left that Sean's brother had smashed our van, and nice in that my poor pregnant sister had to stop in at the ER in Beaver of all places because her congestion was so bad she couldn't breathe. Yeah, that was nice.

But once we all got there, it wasn't nice. It was wonderful.

We had sort of promised my mom before she died that we would keep all the traditions going. Well, we have, for the most part, but as our family changes, it only makes sense that things change a little too. So we decided to have Thanksgiving at Jill's house, and we decided that every person would be in charge of something for the big dinner. Every person. Kids included. And we also decided to try new recipes and ideas. And it worked. Every kid and adult did something fun, even my dad contributed with a stop in to the Dutch Store before they came to Vegas, and he brought our favorite; Marzipan and windmill cookies.

As we spent the morning cooking and laughing and eating bits and pieces of tasty treats, we realized all at once that our family is amazing. We are so blessed. It isn't a mystery that I've had a hard time since my mom died, but looking around at all the kids playing together, us girls and Noma cooking our little hearts out, and it all happening like a well oiled machine made an distinct impression on my heart that family is absolutely the most important thing in the world. I honestly don't know what I would do without them.

I know my mom was thankful to see us all there together.

There are so many things to be thankful for at this time of year, but family is my number one, for sure. My mom taught us from a very young age that although we might not always like each other (especially as quarreling siblings), we would grow to love each other more than we ever imagined. And guess what? She was right.

Thanks be given for lessons learned.

Free To Speak

Happy 4th of July. Even though it's the 5th. But since today is the holiday from work, er, I mean school, I'm celebrating today.

So here's to freedom.

One of my favorite freedoms? Freedom of speech, of course! I love being able to say what I want, when I want, and to whom I want. That pretty much rocks.

And all the others are pretty awesome, too.

So take some time today and say whatever the heck you want, just because you can.

And then remember our other freedoms, and the fact that they are priceless.

It Needs To Be Said

It is February! February! That means long, dark, pain in my butt ugly January is over!

This also means a couple of other things.

It's time to take the Christmas stuff down. You know who you are, you Christmas dwellers. I've seen it quite a bit this year, trees still glistening in windows, lights still up on houses, wreaths and bows adorning windows. It's over. Move on. Christmas will be here again, I promise, but you need to MOVE.ON!

It's Groundhog day today, and that movie was filmed near our old home in Chicago. You probably already know that the groundhog did indeed see his shadow. Bum-mer. 6 more weeks of freaking winter. Dang. Although, I have to say, winter here in Utah is like a bazillion times better than winter in Chicago. I don't miss having to wear a knee length coat, gloves, hat, scarf and boots. And that's just to go get the mail. I don't miss having to salt the driveway 3 times a day so we can actually make it into the garage. I enjoy having 40's and even 30's, and thinking that a sweater is just fine to wear while out and about. Ahh.

I bought potatoes today. Potatoes get me so excited! Do you know that in Chicago, I once scored on a 10 lb bag of taters for $5? I was thrilled! Well, today I bought 30 lbs of taters for, wait for it, wait for it, $5. Seriously, how can that not be exciting? So I carried my 30 lbs of taters to the car, and brought them home and threw some in to bake for au gratins tonight. Yummy!

And speaking of that 30 lbs, I've lost over that much weight now, and it really put it into perspective to me when I was having a hard time carrying those bags of potatoes to the car. That's what I have been carrying around for the last, we'll just say few, years. Crazy!

So that's it for today. Did I mention it's groundhog day?

Did I mention it's groundhog day?

Merry Merry

Here's the obligatory Christmas morning post. I know you'll all just skip the witty commentary for the pictures, so have at it.





We had Michelle and her kids here the night we set up the tree. They loved the dog, and had I known we'd be moving in a week after this picture was taken, I would have gladly wrapped up that dog and sent her home with them.


Um, okay. He does like the Bears, can you tell? And bears like trees, so I guess this is acceptable behavior.


Hope yours was as Merry as ours.

Twas the night before the night before Christmas

My kids are currently watching the Battle of the Nutcrackers on Ovation TV.

I've never even heard of Ovation TV until tonight.

When I saw the Bolshoi Ballet Nutcracker was on, I turned it on just to show the kids how beautiful the ballet is. Now they're hooked. They're on their third version, currently with the Royal Ballet's version. It is a beautiful, if a little creepy, story, regardless of which ballet is performing it.

I'm just glad I can rest easy tonight knowing my kids have had some sort of culture, other than listening to dad order from Taco Bell in Spanish.

Christmas Spirit

Well, today has been a good day. I realize I've been MIA the last few days, but there has been a lot going on .

I'll recap.

Sean had surgery yesterday, and for those of you that follow me on Facebook, you understand when I tell you all is back to normal. Wink, wink. His hernia is hereby fixed, and he is in good spirits, and moving around like a regular person.

We have started finalizing our move to Utah. Luckily, most of our stuff was in boxes. Unluckily, most of the stuff in boxes needs to be reorganized as store/do not store stuff. A totally different way of packing. But Sean has had lots of free time on his hands, so he made a very decent dent in that situation.

Gretta had her 3 year check up. She's 30 pounds, and smart as a whip. In fact, the doctor said she's so smart, she's too smart for diapers. Gretta took this to heart, and when she woke up the next morning, she refused to put on a diaper, because she's "too mart, mom". So she's potty trained. Seriously, like 1 day, and it was done. Who knew?

It snowed pretty good today. The good kind of snow where it's not too cold outside, and the kids want to go out and play. We went to the local sledding hill, after buying an extra sled for $30! I'm sooooo tempted to return it now that we're done with it. Would that be dishonest? Yeah, I thought so too. So we sledded, and the kids had a blast. Then we went to Liz's house, and met the elusive husband. He works evening shifts, and so none of us have ever met him. We started doubting his existence at all. But I'll bear witness, he does exist, and he's very nice. We approve, Liz. ;)

Christmas is knocking at the door, and I can't believe it! I hope we're ready. I think we are, but you know how the doubt starts seeping in when it gets down the wire? Yeah, I'm at that stage. I plan on starting wrapping tonight, so we'll see if I'm in full blown crazy mom mode tomorrow, or if I can just sit back and relax.

I've been pondering a lot on the things I'll miss about Illinois. There are so many things, that I think I'll have to do a bunch of separate posts just for them individually. I'm sure that will be so boring for most of you, but I need to write it down so I don't forget this time we've spent here. It dawned on us the other day that we'll most likely be driving back to Utah 2 years to the day from when we left. It's like we had a little mission out here. I think that warrants a homecoming party, don't you?

So that's all for now. I'll be writing more this week as Christmas nears, and my anxiety peaks at code red.

Thanksgiving Daily

Okay, here goes nothing. This is tough to get through because I get so emotional, but I can do it, I promise.

The person I'm most thankful for today is..


dun dun dun..

My siblings.

Troy. He's the cool kid at school, you know the one, everyone knows he's a babe, and he's too cool to notice. He has the most friends, but he's humble, and likes everyone. That's my bro. He is also my mom's favorite. She even said so. And we all know it's true, but we don't mind, because he's our favorite too. Troy is a rock when it comes to life. He knows the right things to say, and he knows when to do the right things for people. He puts up with a lot in his day to day business (wink wink), and he deals with it pretty well. I love that he's so spiritual, and he's not afraid to talk about his feelings, but he can still be crazy and wild and down to earth. There may even be a cuss word slip out now and then, which I can totally appreciate. I love you, man.

Kelli. Teeeccchnically, she's not really my sister, but the heart says otherwise. When I think of my sisters, Kelli is one of them. I'm pretty sure the Lord knew what he was doing when she and Troy found each other. We need her in our family. She is wonderful, and sassy, and opinionated, and I love it! She does not like to be wrong, and will argue her point endlessly until she gets it across. Tenacity is not one of my strong points, so I can really admire her for that! She laughs with us, cries with us, and knows the silly quirks that make us all into one big family. Love you, Kel!

Jill. She is the former cruise director of the family. I only say former because Meg has recently promoted to Speaker of the House. A much more appropriate title for Jill. She is never at a loss for words. She is friends with everyone, and she can talk to anyone about anything! She is also very spiritual, and sassy, too, so she has a great mix of things to love. She is a rock when it comes to getting things done. Up at dawn, and going all day, she works tirelessly for her family. Throw in her morning bike rides, runs, swims, triathlons, and shopping, and it's no wonder she has the cute little body of a Nineteen year old. You go girl!

Meg. I have a very soft spot for my Mimi. My little sis, the one I used to practice up-do's on, and the one that I used to fight with incessantly. She has grown up to become a beautiful woman, and there are so many things I admire about her. She is strong beyond belief. She has dealt with a lot over the past 18 months, and she had to do a lot of it on her own. She can fix pretty much anything. She's like MacGyver that way. She has the best taste of anyone I know. She can be a leader without being bossy. But she's also soft and vulnerable, and a wonderful confidante. Even though we're 5 years apart, I feel like she is the age I am, so we understand each other perfectly. Miss you, Mimi!

My siblings have been there for me this last year in ways I never knew siblings could be. My love for each of them has deepened immensely, especially after seeing them, and myself, at the lowest possible point in life. As life takes us down our individual paths, I know that the one constant I have in my life is my family. The Lord put me in my family because he knew I needed to be surrounded by these smart, wonderful, spiritual people that would be willing to hold my hand and show me the way through life, because I'm a little slow and I don't quite get it on my own sometimes. I love you guys. I couldn't live without you. I miss you so much!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Daily

Today I'm thankful for my parents. I don't mean I'm only thankful for them today, I'm thankful for them every day, but I'm paying tribute to them today. Does that make more sense? Okay, here goes.

Dad. My dad is the hardest worker I know. My entire childhood he worked day and night to provide for us. Whether it was working out of town, or stacking wood in the lean-to, or stirring paint in the shop, he was always working. This usually meant that we were working along side him, too. Sometimes he would take us to work with him, those were the best times! I got to go to Montana with him once to do work on a hospital there. I remember I got a chocolate milk, and he and I talked a lot about towns we passed through. One town in particular was Monida. It took me about 45 minutes to figure out it was a town on the border of Montana and Idaho, but he never gave me the answer, he just kept throwing me hints. I was probably like 8 or 9, and obviously not the brightest, but I figured it out eventually. The best were the times he let us pick up rivets with a magnet after he installed lockers at a school. Being alone in those huge hallways was a little creepy, but it was so liberating to have the whole place to ourselves. And those magnets were awesome, and to see how many rivets you could load up before you had to empty it was always a treat.

Dad taught me a lot about working hard. Those lessons have stuck with me. He has taught me that others come first, whether it's serving in Church, to neighbors, or to my kids. Sharing the blessings we have with those who are lacking is a top priority. So thanks, dad. I love you.

My mom. How can I express the thanks I have for my mom? I know so many of you never knew her, except from this blog and her cancer blog, but grew to love her just the same. There are just so many lessons she taught me that I'm still figuring out. But lately, the lesson that has been resonating in my life the most is to let my kids make their own mistakes. I was never a bad kid, per se, but I was mischievous. I was naughty. So many times I made my mom sick with worry, I'm sure, but she never tried to force me to act a certain way. She let me carve out my own way, and then she was there to comfort me when it blew up in my face. She never said "I told you so", she only said "I love you". So mom, thanks for loving me unconditionally.

My mom also taught me to love others despite their choices. My mom had so many friends. She had friends from high school that were still her besties. She had friends from elementary school that she still met up with on a regular basis. She had friends from friends from friends. She knew every one, and every one that knew her loved her. Because she loved them, without judgment. Now, don't go thinking she didn't have strong opinions about people, because she totally did, but she kept them to herself for the most part. That is one trait I need to work on, for sure. So thanks, Mom, for teaching me to love others.

Stay tuned tomorrow for an extra special tribute to the person (people?) for whom I'm most thankful. It will be good, I promise.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Daily

This week, I'll be posting things I'm thankful for. Cause you know, it's almost Thanksgiving, and that is my most favoritest holiday of all time.

Oh, and this post is wrought with made up words, so just bear with me.

So I guess I better start with something easy.

I'm thankful for my family. But I'm not going to cop out and leave it at something as simple as that. I have a lot of family to be thankful for. So I'll start with all the "extra" family I have.

How could I forget my in-laws? I love them! My mother-in-law is the sweetest, kindest, givingest person I know. I call her mom, because there is no other word to describe our relationship. My father-in-law, he's pretty cool, too. In his overalls-wearing sort of way. He will drop everything and help anyone out, just because he can.

How could I forget my Aunts? Julie is a clone of my mom. The way she writes her emails, the way she wears her watches for each season, her enormous holiday sweater collection; I could close my eyes and hear my mom's voice, too. It's such a comfort to know that Julie carries on through life like my mom wishes she could have. And Suz. Suz is a rock. She is dealing with her own family cancer crisis, and despite being as busy as I know she is, she takes the time to send out email updates to the prodigal niece. She is a planner, and a doer, and a take-charger. I sincerely doubt much gets past her without a stern look over. And all the other aunts and uncles that are so wonderful! I love having a great extended family. There is something comforting knowing so many people are behind you.

One thing my mom taught us is that where you come from is as important as where you're headed. These wonderful people have shaped me in ways they will never know. The memories of Christmas parties, Memorial Day parties, 4th of July parties, and parties for who knows how many weddings, babies, farewells and homecomings. Each one of those times we were all together I learned more about the past, and it has helped me plan and embrace my future.

So thank you, family. I wouldn't be me without all of you! Don't worry, that's not passing blame, it's a compliment.

Happy Thanksgiving Week.

Because I'm Cheap Like That

So I just ordered my Christmas cards. Yes, I did. I'm so on top of things. I am not a lover of Christmas, but I do enjoy sending out and receiving cards, so I do it each year. Usually I use Sam's Club's photo center to create and print my cards for a pretty decent price. No complaints. Not the best, fanciest, or trendiest cards, but they're cute, and they get the job done, only to get thrown away a couple of weeks later.

But this year, thanks to miss Lacey Fay, I found a great new thing. It's a way to get free Christmas cards. Yes, free. As in no tax, shipping, nothing. So free, in fact, that you don't even have to enter a credit card. Totally, absolutely, undeniably free. You should try it. Click here for the link to the site with the promo code. It's so easy, I did it in 10 minutes, including signing up! And I'm an idiot at 8:00 in the morning.

Solutions For Christmas

I'm ordering our Christmas cards today.

I'm in denial that Christmas is as close as it is. I'm not ready. I mean, I'm never ready, but this year I'm really.not.ready.

I think we should move January to come between November and December. That way we get more shopping time in for Christmas, and we can just skip the dreary monotony that January represents.

See? Win-win.

Problem solved. You're welcome.

Fun For Friday

No picture today, sorry.

But I do have a story.

My friend Heidi, whom I love and adore, for she does all the things I only think about doing, has a post on her blog that reminded me of a great experience I had growing up. I actually started commenting on her blog, but then I realized I should just post it here. So here you go.

And to my sibs, please, fill in the gaps, for I'm sure my memory fails me.

When I was younger, say 12 or 13, my dad got this harebrained idea to raise live turkeys for Thanksgiving. The ultimate goal was to raise them to adulthood, then give the live turkeys away to the neighbors as gag gifts. Mean, I know, but my dad has that sort of personality.

So my dad and my brother fashioned the turkeys a little house out of metal, and we made them a cage that sat positioned between the shed and my dad's shop. It was a little swath of land, about 4 feet wide by 7 or 8 feet long. A cozy place to grow, if you're a turkey.

As I recall, we started out with maybe 10 or 11 turkeys. They were cute little chicks. (Is that what baby turkeys are called?) But then they started to grow. They grew fast, and they grew ugly. Turkeys are so weird looking. They get all matted and covered in poop, and their tiny heads are oddly out of proportion to their burgeoning busts. After the first few weeks, they quit being our cute pets, and became annoying stink bombs covered in feces.

Then the rain storms came. This was back in the day when it actually rained in Utah, and we didn't have the perpetual drought like we do now. Or maybe it was because I was a kid, and we only remember what we want to remember. Anyway, the rain came down. Not to worry, for the turkey's had their little piece of shelter in which to hide from the rains. We thought it no trouble. We had been out to dinner, Su Casa, if I remember correctly, and when we returned home, we had to do our duty and check on the turkeys.

The turkeys were dead. All but 1. There was no blood, no guts, no buckshot, nothing to lead us in the direction of their death. Until it started raining a little harder as we stood there. Then we realized the turkey house was near the down spout of the rain gutter. Now, a normal brained animal would think to run uphill, away from the water. The turkeys, however, stood their ground, and merely looked up at the torrent that poured down upon them. They looked up so intently, that they drown in the rain.

Yes, people, they died because the couldn't look away from the rain. They drown in the rain.

There was one lone remaining turkey, and it lived until Thanksgiving. We then boxed it up, put a bow on it, and gave it to the neighbor. Certainly this wasn't as funny as if the entire neighborhood had ended up with live turkey's on their doorsteps, but one was all we had to work with.

I forget who the recipient of the turkey was, so if it was a reader, please let me know. I owe you an apology, at the least.

So this year, when you're cooking up your big turkey feast, think about how many other turkey's had to die in the rain so your one could be saved.

Stupid bird brained turkeys.

Happy Friday!

Weenies of Hallow

Here you go. The required Halloween pictures.


Emma was a ghost. Maggie was a witch. Gretta was a princess. They were all freezing and ornery.


Aaaand the group shot. Noel and Gary totally had their yard decorated like crazy people. Gretta had to plug her ears to walk up to the front door because of the scary music playing. There was even a fog machine. Sort of puts my one little Halloween decoration to shame. But the yard makes for a great backdrop for the pictures. Good job, guys!

The kids all scored loads of candy, with a noticeable absence of Snickers this year. What is that all about? No Snickers on Halloween? My mom would have been so disappointed. And so am I.

After doing our door to door duty, we met up at Cottrell's for a party. It was so fun, and the kids had a blast. The food was delicious, of course, and despite a little end of night drama, it all came out okay, I think. It's good to have good friends.

Festive? Why Yes!

I had a weekend.

I mean a good weekend.

I slept in. I golfed. I birdied. We BBQed. I fell over backwards in a lawn chair and bruised some ribs. (What? Like you're surprised at my gracefulness? Do you not know me at all?)

I attended a parade at 9:00 AM, a softball game at 2:00 PM, and fireworks at 8:00 PM.

The fireworks were Lame-O. But we sat in the McDonald's parking lot and let the kids run around like chickens with no heads, and that was pretty fun.


Here's Sugar Daddy putting the "ass" in classy. Yes, that is a can of Dewski at his feet while he pitches at the softball game. Yes, he's also wearing flip-flops. Yes, he played the entire game that way. No, I don't think his team won. I don't think any team won. It wasn't that kind of game.

Today we had church (Yes, I went) and friends over for dinner. Cheese stuffed meatloaf. A joy had by all. I saw my first lightening bug, and discovered there isn't anywhere we know of in Lake County to purchase dry ice.

These are the things we talk about over dinner.

The holiday was awesome. Most summer days have been, so far. It's a nice reprieve from last summer when things were a little more stressful. I'll have a post about that tomorrow.

How was your holiday?

Before I Forget

This was also a bittersweet Memorial Day. Normally I spend the afternoon at the cemetery for the Veterans tribute, and then meet up for lunch at Julie's house. I wasn't there last year, and it didn't really faze me.

This year I would have had a better reason to visit. Here are some shots of the headstone that I totally jacked from my sisters blog. Thanks, Jill.

The headstone is granite, and it was carved in Belgium. My mom would be pissed that it's so big. Not her style at all. But that temple engraving is so gorgeous, she would forget all about the size issue.


I love how it says "Pokey". She would get such a laugh over that. I wish I could hear her laugh just one more time. And her smile was always so sincere. She deserves the beauty of this headstone, and so much more.

I miss you, mom. I love you.

Mom's Day Recap

I have to admit, I was dreading Mother's Day. I had these horrible feelings conjured up, and I was certain they would take over and drown me in sorrow.

I was wrong.

I had a great day. A little sadness, of course, but nothing like I had anticipated. Luckily, part of the reason for that is living outside of Utah, the Mother's Day church service wasn't a sappy song and dance meant just to make mom's cry. It was just any other Sunday. Youth speaker, check. Primary kids singing "Mother I Love You", check. Stake Young Womens President speaking on Relief Society, check.

Even Relief Society itself held a lesson not related to Mother's Day. "Facing Persecution with Fatih". Totally unrelated, see?

I was glad. I needed a break from the sorrow I had dreaded so much. I did leave during Sacrament meeting because I got something in my eye, (really! I did!) and as I was coming back out of the restroom, I was greeted by good friends making sure I was okay. Of course, it looked like I had been crying due to the watering eye situation, but I was fine. What good friends I have. Thanks, girls.

I was also treated to a mani/pedi/eyebrow wax for my day, and took the older girls along with me, as well. We had a great time, and their nails look beautiful! I bought myself a new pair of shoes, and 2 bouquet's of flowers, and called it good.

We had a bbq with some friends yesterday, and as always, we talked too much, stayed too late, and had too much fun. But that is what friends are for, I suppose.

So I survived my first motherless mother's day. I'm sure there will be more sad times to come, but I can do it. Also, thanks for the cards and letters. I have such an awesome support system, I know I can get through anything!

Gettin' My Green On

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Today I'm getting my green on by making a delish dinner of corned beef and cabbage. Hopefully all will turn out well.

So go get some green on, or don't be surprised when a stranger pinches you on the tushie.