kansas

We drove two days to Kansas and I must say, the kids did remarkably well in the car! I was even able to read a good portion of my book. But that was mostly due to aunt K and her amazing abilities to help my kids laugh. She was awesome!

And let me tell you, it felt so good to be with the L-family again. It brought back all sorts of tender memories of living so close to them in OH. Oh how I miss those days ...

We enjoyed a little music/art in the park activity one morning.

Another morning we took the kidlets on a cute little train ride. I love J-boy's face in the back. What a character!

My sister K got her wisdom teeth pulled while there (it's nice having a dentist in the family!) - so here's looking at you, chipmunk cheeks!! 

These two women are phenomenal. Oh I hope to be like them someday.

After the train ride we had a nice stroll over and under an old unused bridge. 

Does J-boy go anywhere without some kind of weapon? Talk about being prepared! 

K-lady in training to be just like her momma. 

Baby-A and Grandpa B. I love the look of adoration in her eyes. 

Love, love, love being with these good people.

Not the most flattering picture of me personally - but we've got almost the whole bunch in the this picture! We visited their small city zoo, and it was so beautiful!! 

And I can't believe how big all these kids are grown since the last time we were all at the Columbus, OH Zoo together. Oh the memories!

Grandpa B helped my sister design and build a darling little bench swing for their backyard, and it was a huge hit! 

Other fun included collecting eggs from their chickens, dance parties in the kitchen (lovin' on One Direction!), playing at their pool a lot, making delicious artisan bread, seeing the movie Brave in the theaters, and celebrating my brother-in-law's birthday. It was wonderful! 

I love getting extended time together as family. When it feels like the goodness of everyday life together, instead of just a temporary get together. Being so far apart from one another makes it tricky to feel like we are apart of our every day lives, and sometimes we're not. But I love how our family can flip that switch immediately and be in full swing together the moment we see one another. It's interesting to me that this was my first time being in my sister's house - but it felt just like home to me. And I can say that for everyone on both sides of our family. We sure are blessed to love and be loved by such amazing people. 

july beginnings

My parents are nuts about road trips - but I love it. Since my siblings and I are spread out over the country, my parents will load up the car, and travel to us all. Not an easy feat, I assure you. They've done this trip twice now, and it is literally coast-to-coast. This year it went like this: started in UT, drove to Chicago, onto New Jersey, down to us in North Carolina, across over to Kansas, back to UT, up to WA, back to UT. CRAZY! But my parents love it, and I love them for it. 

They only had two days with us, but the kids and I were lucky enough to drive with them back to KS and UT - so we got to be with them for probably longer than they would like! And my fantastic younger sister flew out to join them here and drive with us, so we were doubly blessed by visitors. 

The two days here in NC flew by fast, but we had fun! Played at the pool, grocery trip runs, trip to the mall, celebrating Lady-LE's second birthday, and talking/laughing a lot.

We packed for a three week vacation, said goodbye to Ry, and hit the road on Lady-LE's technical birthday. Onto Kansas!

megs

{editor's note: we have had a lot of adventures this past month. I'm working on posts for them all, just need a little bit more time. This particular reunion occurred smack dab in the middle of our summer hoopla. Enjoy!}

Meet Megan. We go way back. To third grade. That means we've been friends for 19 years. And since she recently moved to Idaho (much to her dismay), we got to see one another at my little brother's wedding! It has been SIX years since we've seen each other. We've both had two kids in the mean time - meaning four little ones that have a lot of catching up to do if they're going to be best friends like their mommas! So, in honor of being able to see this sweet girl, I'm listing the top 19 memories I have of her - in honor of each year of our friendship. Here is your big blog debut, Megan. :) Cue cheesiness:

My 9th birthday party. 

1. Being 9 years old and promising each other we would be companions on a mission someday. As if we had control over that! 

2. Elementary school sleepovers where she tried to teach me her baton twirling routines, and the proper etiquette of a princess. Definitely paid off in the end! (and I searched high and low for the pictures of us dressing up in your recital costumes and they are no where to be found! Sad day)

3. Doing the Puyallup Fair together, and seeing Kenny Loggins in concert. I kept those sand-filled bottles and waxed hands for years. ha!!

4. She is the kind of gal who is good at writing thank you notes, and she gave one to me in elementary school (maybe 6th grade?). It was an early indication that this was one friend I would have forever. "Be a strong moron" (she meant to say Mormon). I was so happy digging through my old favorite letters to find this!

5. Getting caught skipping by my mother in the McDonald's parking lot

6. She was constantly able to be friends with every single group in high school. She recognized good in everyone, and was always surrounded by friends. She inspired me to try to do the same. 

7. Girls Camp 5th year: "We prayed about it, and you lost." (Megs, do you remember the song we all sang “we like girls camp and we cannot lie!” full of songs that we changed the words to? I would kill to hear that again, and watch you and Kaela sing it!)

8. "Princess lessons" during 6th period AP Lit senior year of high school. She will claim to this day that it is because of her that I won the Lakefair Princess scholarship. 

(she actually claims to have been the reason for two of her best friends wearing crowns. This was when Susan won prom queen, and Megan promptly stole the princess crown. The rightful payment for her valuable instruction, of course.)

9. Crying together while watching Charly, and laughing so hard while watching Singles Ward. 

This photo's out of order - freshman year maybe?

10. Betting one another $30 for perfect attendance in seminary for 30 days. I lost, of course. (did I ever pay you?)

11. Watching Top Gun together with Susan and fighting over who was Maverick and who was Goose. I tried to join the argument and said that I wanted to be "moose" instead, and the name stuck. 

Megs, I have no memory of this photo. What on earth were we doing?

12. She was a rock of high moral standards in school. And many a times kept me in line, helping me to be a better person.

13. Driving backwards through the high school parking lot with our chairs reclined all the way down, hoping to not get caught skipping by the school's principal. 

14. She and my brother have a special bond because she shared practically half of her huge candy necklace with him the night of graduation. It's the little things that tie us together.

15. She is bold and blunt. She was never afraid of calling people out if they were doing something wrong, and I remember feeling the need to earn her respect. She would lay it out straight, and expect a lot out of you. And she would always remind me of my potential.

16. Senior year of high school - probably the best time together. 

17. Visiting one another freshman and sophomore year of college. 

18. Being apart of her wedding

19. Her being there for my wedding (and saving a place for Susan)

20. And one more for good measure: ALWAYS making me laugh. To this day. Every time I talk to her. 

Trying to take a group photo with four little ones. Yeah right! 

I am grateful that our friendship continues to grow, and we continue to add memories to the mix. We grew up as kids together, and we continue to grow as women together. Love you Megs!! 

the not-so rose-colored moments

I am grateful that photographs have the tendency to exaggerate the happiness in daily happenings.

For example:
A cute art project idea was sure to be full of bliss and merriment for the kids and I.  

We talked about colors, bubbles, stirring, blowing, splashing, etc. 

And with added dish soap we even got clean in the process.

But in all reality? It was WAY more frustrating than the pictures let on. We had chaos, lots of crying, countless failed attempts, changing methods trying to figure out how to get results, bubbles coming out of LE's mouth after drinking through the straws instead of blowing out, kids fighting, glasses spilling, messes to clean, running in and out of the house countless times trying to compensate for not being fully prepared, painfully hot and humid weather, and overall frustration at not achieving those good feelings that come from spending time together.

But after looking at the photos? Looks fairly decent and somewhat redeeming. I love that about pictures. They help life look a little rose-colored in retrospect by holding a moment still. They help us capture the good in life, even when you don't see it in the moment. 

lady-le turns two

Lady-LE (or Ellie, Elle, Babygirl, or Mrs.) 

TWO YEARS OLD!!

Current Stats: 

Weight: 25 lbs. 5oz. - 30th percentile

Height: 35 in. - 80th percentile

Her life these days: (with photos of the past year interspersed) 
Her vocabulary is out of this world. The amount that she talks constantly amazes me, and she loves to learn new words. She uses complete sentences a lot now.

She can count up to 20 and identify all the letters in the alphabet when asked (although singing the song is still tricky).

When she gets mad, embarrassed, bossy, or shy, she will pucker her lips together as she talks. She talks in a lower voice when she's mad, and with the lips it's just hilarious. But my favorite time is when she's playing coy with us and trying not to smile, she'll try puckering her lips and it's just a faint indication that she's trying hard to be serious. It is darling!

When she gets in trouble (as in, I've counted to three before she obeyed me), she immediately flips a switch in her tone and voice and looks at me with the sweetest face and talks to me as if nothing happened. She's trying to play games with me and it does not work!

Swimming is really fun! She's more into than L-man at this age, and I think it's completely due to watching her older brother. She loves to kick her feet, and she loves to pretend to float on her back. But  she still freaks out if water touches her face.

90% of the times I give her a PB&J sandwich she will immediately take apart the two pieces of bread and eat only the jam side. I try to sneak peanut butter under the jam in a really thin layer, but if she catches on then she'll lick the jam off and say she's done. Other times she will eat the entire sandwich without a hitch. Really just depends on how hungry she is.

Waking up in the morning always means being happy. Waking up after nap always means being grumpy. Always. Depending on what our activities are after naptime, it has taken her up to 45 minutes to get out of the "funk" she is in after waking up. Sometimes there are easy fixes to it, but other times she's really stubborn and committed to being grumpy.

She is a professional at egging L-man on in rough-housing or chasing games, and then will turn into the "victim" faster than I can anticipate.

Her knees are constantly red and roughed up. She falls all the time, trying to keep up with L-man. She's getting faster, but trips a ton.

Burp cloths, two babies, one stuffed monkey, and her blanket ALL need to be in her bed when it's time to sleep. We'll have to cut back for our vacation, but no matter where we are burp cloths are by far still her comfort item (and luckily we have about eight of them, and she'll go for any of them which is fantastic!).

She knows the words to quite a few songs, but will only sing them by herself. Or if it's a new song, then she'll wait to hear what you say, and then repeat it. She'll constantly be a phrase or sentence behind, but singing her heart out.

Her attention span for reading books is remarkable. She loves to sit and read the same level of books (as in, length and details) as I read to L-man. She still loves the shorter ones, and will read books with you for as long as you can.

Cuddling only happens if I have one of her burp cloths on my shoulder. Then she'll rest her head on it, curl her knees up under her body, and fold her arms under her so her body is practically a little ball.

Hugs, kisses, and noses. In that order.

Whenever I sit down at the computer, she climbs up the chair and stand on the back portion (I typically sit on the edge). Then she will precariously wrap her right leg around my left side and say "sit on lap mommy!" over and over again until I help get her weight distribution right and she is nice and comfy on my lap. Never fails.

There are only two volumes to her voice. Her talking is crazy soft. She is either screaming and everyone can hear her, or she is quietly talking in such a faint voice no one can hear unless you are right next to her. Practically none of our home videos pick up on her talking voice, so it just looks like she's moving her mouth. :)

Recently she has developed the screaming "Cheese!" face whenever she sees the camera. It lasts for just a second of two; but if you catch it, it's priceless.

A few other favorite things:
Toys: babies, strollers, mom's shoes, sunglasses, anything resembling lotion
Activities/Games: laughing at big brother, walking to neighbor's house, swimming, running, puzzles,
Books: The Little Engine That Could; Brown Bear, Brown Bear; I Love You Stinky Face, The Yellow School Bus,
Food: any and all kinds of fruit, carrots, rice, green beans, chicken nuggets, toast with jam, turkey slices, cheese sticks, yogurt, "snacks" which means fruit snacks
Songs: Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam, Popcorn Popping, I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home, I Am a Child Of God, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da, Teach Me to Walk in the Light of His Love

"Cheese" face

We love you, sweet girl! Thanks for sharing the best year yet with us. Can't wait for more!

memory photos

It's been almost a month since our camera broke.

As in lens completely malfunctioned, camera won't even turn on, and it'll cost almost half the price of the camera in order to fix it. Granted, it's a point and shoot - but it was a nice point and shoot. We do have a low-quality back-up that I can use if I need it; but it's more frustrating than helpful so I don't.

I realize it sounds silly to a lot of people (heck, it sounds silly to me), but I struggled with my identity at first. I take my camera everywhere with me, and although I'm FAR from a professional, I truly love to take photos and try to capture emotion through them (my sole purpose in taking them). With such little children, photos are really important to me. Plus, I have the worst memory known to man, and I literally depend on pictures to help remember what happened yesterday!

Solely for memory sake, here are some "photos" that I don't have, but I want to remember:

-Lady-LE's tiny freckles on her cheeks, all six of them.

-L-man stopping every passerby we see to tell them something - anything - from his day, week, month, life in general. This boy loves to talk to people, and if he senses any reciprocation in conversation then he will continue until the sun goes down. Seriously.

-Summer swim lessons: four days a week, outside. It is glorious. L-man is getting more comfortable in the water, and loves to show off his new skills (floating with a lifejacket is his favorite. does that qualify as a skill? either way, he will want to show you). We've overlapped with friends and their swim lessons, and have been able to play almost every day with them. Lessons are followed by lots of playtime, lunch, more playtime, showers, and back home for a nap/quiet time. I was really young when my family did the summer pool thing every day, so this is the first time that it's been apart of my routine. And I love it. The smell of chlorine and spray sunblock, and the look of little ones wrapped up in a towel sitting on vinyl chair, eating a pb&j with prune-y fingers. And sweet little Lady-LE who cannot tan to safe her life. Still as white as her bum, and I slather the sunscreen everyday hoping to not burn that porcelain skin of hers.

-Running. I signed up for a Ragnar race with some friends in my ward and I am so excited! It's nice to have something holding me accountable for my training, and I am getting better at regular work-outs. Although there is still a LOT of ground to cover before I'm ready for the race. Whew, I'm a wimp.

-L-man asking me every.single.time if his handhold is correct when he's getting ready to bat off his new baseball tee. Lady-LE loves to throw the ball and run after it herself, and I will field L-man's hits and throw it back to him. Good backyard fun!

-My small victory garden. I grew something = victory! Basil, cilantro, rosemary, a little bit of lettuce, one zucchini plant that produced the largest zucchini I've ever held (thicker and longer than my forearm - no joke), green bell peppers, strawberry plants that I have yet to yield any berries before little critters pick 'em first, and a watermelon plant per request of L-man that we'll see if anything comes of it. The failure crops? Carrots, snap peas, oregano, a dozen other zucchini plants,  and a red bell pepper plant. So maybe a 50% return rate? While it would be considered a failing grade percentage, I consider it a victory because I have eaten something that I grew from the ground! Yay!

-Little half-eaten green tomatoes on our deck. Curtesy of squirrels and chipmunks. I have three good sized tomato plants back there, and haven't gotten ONE tomato out of them. I have tried some cayenne pepper around them, and I think it helped a little. But I have a couple other methods up my sleeve if I catch any more being stolen. I want my tomatoes!

-Eating picnic lunches on our beach towels when the tables at the pool get crowded for lunch. The kids like it better this way. I love how Lady-LE will cross her ankles, push her sunglasses on top of her head like I do, and munch on an apple.

-Cereal for dinner. More than once. R's schedule in June was really brutal, and we hardly saw one another it seemed. There was literally a four day stretch where we only saw one another while sleeping, but we both like to talk in our sleep - so maybe we had some good conversations?

-Phone calls, internet searching, news watching: trying to keep tabs on the Colorado Springs fire and the safety of our family and other loved ones. Got really scary, and close to one family, but no harm done and they are all safe. We are so grateful, and continue to pray for all those whose lives are forever changed by this fire.

-Playing outside in our little kiddie pools until almost 8 at night, and still sweating. These 100+ temperatures are insane. "I'm baking like a toasted cheeser!"

-Lady-LE's new obsession with toes. Painting them, tickling them, playing 'this little piggy'.

-Listening to and watching L-man play and coach Lady-LE at whatever their new mission is. He's very convincing, and will persuade her to do just about anything if he does so in an excited voice. {she will stand her ground like none other if he uses an angry voice!} The other day he said, "Lady-LE! Let's go on a hunt! Let's look for something sweet, and who makes us breakfast." He walked into our bedroom where I was getting ready, and said, "Lady-LE! Look, we found her! It's our mom!"

-Revamping my recipe system.

-Sitting on the floor in JoAnns Fabric Store for an hour laying out and organizing silk flowers for my brother's upcoming wedding. The kids were crazy, and yet we made it out of there alive - even with my horrible decision making skills. Still a lot more stores to visit, but we've started to selection process and I'm excited!


The month of June really was simple, unstructured for the most part, and fun. We are on the hunt for figuring out the camera issue, because while I do enjoy "living in the moment" more without focusing on the camera's functionality, I sorely miss documenting those moments for tomorrow's enjoyment as well. The month of July will be BUSY, and I want some way to capture these upcoming memories.

our little home

It has been one year exactly since we moved into this little home of ours. 

I practically hit the breaks while driving today when I realized it. 

Hard to believe that we are one year into residency, with only two more ahead of us.

I feel like this past year has been a "getting your feet wet" (rather "sink or swim") kind of experience for us. Many ups and downs, but overall we are keeping our head above the water.

We have made some really great memories here already, and I'm excited to think of the future ones we'll have. I don't think there could have been a better place for us to be during this growing stage in our lives. 

We love our sweet, little home.