Short and Sweet

OK, OK

2009-01-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

So this is easy enough....(Kendra probably knew that and had me in mind:)

99 Things Tag

(Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band -if you count junior high
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain-it depends on what qualifies as a mountain - no 14ers:)
9. Held a praying mantis - if so, purley by accident! Gross!
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing- never left the bay
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelingG

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - a very small thing for high school students
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London - I hear the changing is boring, never stuck around
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake -been to it, and on a boat, but never do i want to be in it!)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (I'm going to count a hornet)

Life as I know it...

2008-11-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

I have much to blog about, and think about, and clean up, and prepare, and pray for, but most of all be grateful for....and that is all I want to say.

I am grateful for my life, and everyone in it. I am blessed and I am happy.

I put foam curlers in my daughters hair tonight for the first time and we both loved it. She is precious. I adore her.

My little guy has more personality than his little body can handle, energy and exuberance that is more than I can handle much of the time, and a heart that is as big as the moon. I adore him too.

My husband is as handsome as they come, smart as they get, and we all adore him...and we know he feels the same about us.

What more could I ask for? Like I said...blessed.

Fun

2008-10-21T08:01:00.001-07:00

44 seconds

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Catalyst

2008-10-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

OK, OK, so I've been tagged, (and reprimanded) and it is actually just the kind of post I needed to get me going again. You know that point when you have so many pictures that need to be uploaded, and blogged about, that you just don't even know where to start...and you feel completely overwhelmed so you don't want to do anything with it at all? Well, that is where I have been for months now, so thank you Kendra for helping me to start with a post that doesn't involve any pictures at all. I can do this. Hopefully it is a catalyst for change.

So here I go...

7 things I can do:

1. Floral arrangements
2. Hand Draft (yes, like with lead, a T-square, and a triangle...not that I will probably ever do this again in my life)
3. Drive on the left side of the road and not wreck!
4. Work all day long and feel as if I have gotten nothing done.
5. Make a perfect MINNIE mouse pancake
6. Find good travel and hotel deals on the Internet
7. Give my husband a decent haircut

7 things I can't do:

1. Give my son a decent haircut (at least until I have resorted to just buzzing it all off with the shortest length we have on the buzzers, because I have hacked to to pieces by this point)
2. Make a decent lasagna 8 out of 10 times (maybe one day)
3. Get everything I want to do done
4. Drink Alka-seltzer
5. Sneeze quietly
6. Eat a popcorn flavored JellyBelly without gagging
7. Get organized

7 things that attracted my to my husband:

1. His confidence
2. His charisma
3. His intelligence
4. His good family
5. His sensitive and spiritual side
6. His good looks
7. He could sing:)

7 things I say most often:

1. Hey, be nice!
2. You're silly.
3. Yea, you did it!
4. What's up?
5. yes
6. no
7. What did you do?

7 celebrity admirations:

1. I don't really care much about them, so I don't really have any, but my shallow observations include:
2. James Mardsen?? - he is always a good guy and never really gets the girl-too bad
3. Harrison Ford looks good for being as old as he is
4. Johnny Depp is talented
5. I wonder if Orlando Bloom is really as cool as Legolas or William Turner in real life, and note that he has a thing for very successful trilogies.
6. The Barefoot Contessa is really thoughtful and has a sweet relationship with her hubby.
7. All the characters on THE OFFICE are terrifically wonderful at their job, love it.

7 favorite foods:

1. My grandmother's caramels
2. Italian chicken
3. Taco salad
4. Tri Tip
5. Mashed potatoes
6. Cream of Wheat
7. There are really to many to name

7 people I tag:

1. Cayly
2. Joellen
3. Kim
4. Christina
5. Marcee
6. Let's face it, most everyone has probably given up reading my blog, so if your one who IS reading this, you can be number six and seven:)

No, I'm not dead

2008-08-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

Shocking, I know! I am alive and posting something new. I just wanted to make sure there weren't any wierdos watching my blog you know...I figured they would eventually loose interest...um, right...

No really, I actually did start several posts over this summer, and then could just never get around to adding the pictures, etc.... and then the list of things to blog about became too overwhelming and I just gave up completely.

I have never been that great at record keeping, and obviously I still have a lot to work on. But heres to a fresh start...again!

I love the fall and it seems like the perfect time to reorganize my life and get back some routine.

Happy Birthday!

2008-05-22T10:03:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to give a quick shout out and wish all our Birthday Buddies a great day (Or hope you just had a great day)! Happy Birthday Charlotte, Dad C., Ryan, Kendra, (of course myself:), Grant, Cory, Susan, and Mom M.! We love you all! (if there is anyone else who is having a Birthday and I am unaware of the date, Happy Birthday to you too! And, let me know so I can add you to our monthly list!

Reader Beware - It's an Epistle

2008-05-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Well, about my trip to England.... there are probably only a few of you that want to read all about it, but since I was horrible about doing any sort of journal while away, I want to record about it here for myself. So here goes, please bear with me....

For starters, we had a GREAT time!! It had been almost exactly seven years to the day that I last went to the UK, and it was so neat to go back. It was something I had always wanted to do and I am so grateful for the opportunity to do it.

As you might of guessed, there was a lot of this:

this:

and this:

but so totally worth it!

The trip started out a little rocky with flight delays, missing the connecting flight, the possibility of coming in 10 hours late, (mind you we were supposed to meet my mother-in-law there, thus her having to wait for us for an extra 10 hours!! And THIS was the best option compared to an entire DAY late!) not to mention the Denver to London direct flight, changed to a Denver to Chicago, to Washington Dulles, to London flight = NOT FUN!!!

However, while we were looking depressed and unsure of what to do at the payphone by the baggage claim, we received an answer to silent prayers and the nicest baggage claim girl in the whole world, (seriously) informed us that she thought we could still make our flight in Denver if we caught a Frontier flight that was about to board, (don't ask me why this wasn't an option at the ticket counter...I should have been more forceful) and she quickly re booked us and we RAN to the gate, made it, and then RAN to our next flight and to our relief and joy, we made it again!!! We were SOOOOOO happy, and when Jan saw us waiting for her in London, instead of her waiting for us, she was SOOOOO happy as well.

Our bags were not so fortunate though, and we were finally reunited a mere TWO days later!! Not to worry though, we could all fit into Jan's clothes:) That is not to say that United will not be receiving a strongly worded letter about the matter though.

Once we arrived in London, our first couple of days were to be spent in the countryside, which necessitated us renting a car, and I was the lucky one elected to drive:) As I was the only one even the least bit (and I do mean just a least bit) familiar with driving on the wrong side of the road, I didn't mind and I was confident we could do it, but not entirely stress free about the matter until we had successfully handed the keys back over to the rental car company . I am happy to report that we did so without incident, and it is one more thing I can add to my list of "things I didn't know I could do". It was actually a team effort and I must give credit to Jan and Cayly - never before have I actually wanted a "backseat driver"- but it was a big help to have all of us paying attention to the road. Jan also did most of the shifting (which was on my left hand side) so I could focus on the road and that was a big plus. The whole way of driving may be a bit nerve wracking with the tiny streets, tons of cars, and very few street lights, but I must agree that it promotes a much more defensive driving style and I actually felt a lot safer with the other drivers on the road than I do often times here in America.... But onto the fun stuff.

We successfully found our countryside B&B for the first night just outside of Bath. The home, hostess, and view were all fantastic and it was a great experience. We walked up the lane to an old English pub for dinner that night and ate by fireside. It was quite, quaint, and over 300 years old!

The next morning we awoke to an amazing breakfast of croissants, yogurt (which is much better than in America I must say), cereal, juice, tea, fruit, and THEN a full English breakfast!! It was fantastic and by far the best "English breakfast" I have ever had - and I have had several. (For those of you who are wondering, that usually consists of eggs, bacon (but its more like a slice of ham), mushrooms, cooked tomatoes, sausages, and toast, or sometimes they have beans too.) We didn't want to hurt her feelings when there was no way we could eat it all, so we ran up and got a plastic bag and hid 3 huge sausages in it to throw away later. If she really thought that we ate it all, she probably thought we were pigs...I don't know what the better thing to do was. She was probably having a good laugh while she let us go to town on the first course and then brought out the "English" portion. Oh well, we were smarter the next morning and just asked for a few of the options.

After breakfast we set off for Bath and strolled through town, popped into the Jane Austen museum, and then toured the Roman Baths. We were fortunate (we thought) to get to watch Becoming Jane on the plane ride over, so it was fun to go right to the countryside where she lived and based many of her novels. We enjoyed many of our own countryside walks while there:)

After Bath, we headed for Lacock Abbey which boasts the Fox Talbot museum (inventor of photography) and the window which he chose as his very first subject to be immortalized on film. It has had a fascinating history including playing host to hundreds of children during the war as a makeshift school and more recently as movie set of several films including Harry Potter. I guess that is about as close as any of us will ever get to Hogwarts, (with its magical protective charms and all:). We navigated our way through several more small villages and found our way to our next nights lodging which was also hundreds of years old. It was actually an old mill even mentioned in the Doomsday book. It had a delightful little pond and our host had a lot of character. It was a "jolly" time, as she might have said. We enjoyed another pub meal of fish and chips and reunited with our luggage late that night.

On Thursday morning, we were able to go to Stourhead gardens and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After our 2 1/2 mile walk around the grounds, we then climbed 200 and something steps up King Alfred's tower! It was a beautiful view and totally worth the climb.

Our next and last stop on the countryside tour was Stonehenge where we were especially lucky to also get to see a wedding taking place, a very different wedding, but a wedding none the less. I don't know if they were druids or what, but it was strange. It may have been the guy in the black cloak with the antlers, or the hopping hand in hand over a very old looking broom, or the leaning on the stones in the main circle (like they were gaining some special power from them or something), but it felt a little funny. Anyway, we couldn't stay long as we needed to return the car, but it was good to see all the same.

We had an awful time trying to return the car, (note to self: signage around Heathrow Airport - not good, and I should listen to the navigator better) but after an hour of driving around (after having been just blocks away from our destination), we finally made it. We were then off to central London and Wicked that night.

We arrived to our hotel, and although we initially had some reservations, we were pleasantly surprised with it and had a great stay. We settled in and headed to Wicked. Awesome. That is all I can say. If you ever get the opportunity to see it, don't miss it.

Stay tuned for part II of the exciting three part trilogy....

Easter Weekend

2008-04-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Although it is VERY belated, I wanted to post pics from our fun Easter weekend. I had spent the week in CO with my little sister and she had returned with us for Easter weekend. On Saturday we were able to go to an Easter Festival at a local Farm. We had tons of fun and will definitely go again. We enjoyed pony rides, balloon animals, face painting, wagon rides, participated in and Easter Egg Hunt, and even met the Easter Bunny! It was a little chilly (so we will come more prepared next time) but still had a great day. The Easter eggs were filled with candy, gift certificates for bowling, and some had slips to get prizes at the prize table. We were lucky enough to find one of those and although I expected something small - perhaps even a cheap stuffed animal - we totally scored when we walked away with a Radio Flyer Inch Worm rider!! The kids think it's great, (although we are still learning how to ride it) and we were very impressed with the quality of the festival overall.

Husband of the Year

2008-04-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yes I know, my blog has seen another drought. It isn't that I don't want to write, I just seems that I am continually finding myself taking on new projects or finding new distractions. You may be asking yourself, "Don't we all? We can still find a minute to write about it..." and you would be right. I have no excuses.

When I am involved in one thing or another, besides usually creating an added mess of some sort, I tend to let everything else fall by the way side until the particular project is accomplished. It is just the way I work. It isn't that I CAN'T do other things, I am just not that interested in doing them until my mind can focus on them. Of course, there are things that have to be done, but if it doesn't have to be done, it probably won't be. Any of my former roommates could attest to this fact. When I would have a project due for school (and there were a lot) I would be spread out all over the place, (markers and paper everywhere) and would sometimes be up all night trying to get it done. Then I would rush out the door with a promise that I would clean it all up as soon as I got back. I usually did, (after a nap) and actually felt it was a little cathartic. This is typical of my life still. I get involved in something, make a mess doing it, and then relieve the stress of doing it all by cleaning it up when the project is done and deadlines are met.

So... my house is a mess, we have had food to eat, (but not really anything that resembles a real meal), and it is definitely time to do laundry again (except for the sheets-Alli's potty training and Jakie's mischief have necessitated those chores to be done)...But, I have a wonderful husband, who among other things, has given me reason to once again drop out of the blogosphere. He is sending me to London!!!

My sister-in-law and mother-in-law have been planning a trip to England this spring. They have never been and had been wanting me to go along since I had been. As it truly is one of my favorite places in the entire world (albeit I haven't been to much of the world yet), I would have loved to join them, but we had decided that it really wasn't in the budget this year. I was totally fine with that. I was helping Ryan's mom a little as she was trying to put it together, and then on one of those nights where she called with another question, Ryan blew us away when he suggested to her that he wanted me to go too!! I was in CO babysitting at the time and as soon as he hung up with his mom, he called and proposed the idea to me. I was shocked and SOOO excited!! He had been thinking he would surprise me for a while. He is always so thoughtful and has a way of sweeping me off my feet time and time again. Well, of course no sooner had I hung up with Ryan then I received the call from his Mom, obviously excited. Her first words were: "Have you talked to Ryan yet?" I bet she was just as happy with him as her son as I was. (You raised good boys Mom C.!) I really wish Ryan could come too, but I guess that budget bust will have to wait. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband that works so hard to provide for our needs and even some of our wants:). Thank you so much sweetie!

Anyway, the point is that I have been very preoccupied trying to plan my vacation. I think we have it mostly done though, just the looking forward to it part left. That along with the many other activities and obligations of the past weeks have kept me distracted. (Posts related to these other activities to follow soon).

So here's to the hubs! I. love. him.

P. S. He also scored big in my book this week when he surprised me again by bidding on and winning two more Serve-a-snack hostess sets for me on Ebay! They will match the set I have of my grandmothers and give me service for 12! I can't wait to have my sisters for lunch! He is the greatest!

So much to say...

2008-02-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

So, life has been busy lately. We have had a whirlwind few months! So I am going to spare you ALL the details (because there are a lot) and proceed with a TOP 10 of Happenings (but more in chronological order than order of importance):

1. We moved! Still getting settled, but happy to be here.

2. Became landlords again. But first had to replace laundry room floor in said unit after we discovered a valve had been leaking for almost a week following the removal of our washing machine, necessitating a complete removal of floor and sub floor.

3. Prepared for the Holidays, and had a "pre" Christmas Morning before we flew to CA for 2 weeks.

4. Enjoyed Christmas with Ryan's family and attended the baby blessing of little Madelyn.

5. Upon returning from our trip, jumped right back in the saddle with my little sister's wedding and another trip to Colorado. I acted as florist and co-wedding planner, and even got the opportunity to littleraly chase down the FedEx man! It wouldn't be a wedding without some stress though right?

6. Celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with an overnighter and dinner at a wonderful spanish restuarant!

7. Alli turned 3!

8. Jacob can now crawl up AND down the stairs all by himself, so my life just got much easier!

9. We had a terriffic "Valentime's Day" (as Alli calls it)! Ryan made me breakfast in bed with a vase of flowers and then I made a romantic candelit dinner that night. We gave Alli a teddy bear that she now adores. When I gave it to her, I brought her into our bedroom and had her stand outside my closet door and close her eyes while I retieved the gift from inside the closet. She was so excited! The next morning she brought me in and made me stand outside the closet and close MY eyes while she got me my "Valentime". Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything suitable (which I figured). I did however find several shoes strewn on the floor later, as if they had been a consideration. It was so darling.! Alli is so sweet and loving. She loves to be affectionate and cuddly lately.
She surprises me often with her compliments and thoughtful gestures, like the other day when she told me I was " a good cooker". The best part is that I know she really means them, which goes a long way when you are feeling guilty about just making Mac n' cheese for dinner, but too tired to do anything else. Anyway....

10. We unpacked and hung on the wall at least two pictures that hadn't been touched since I packed them for THE LAST MOVE, over a year ago! Hooray!!

Thank you Eve (& Grandma) for these!!! What would we do without all of your thoughtful gestures, time, and love for our family!? We certainly wouldn't be nearly as stylish at next years football game! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Any Resemblance??

2007-12-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have a million tasks to do, but I had to take a blog break and record this.

I was just putting A. to bed, reading stories like usual. Tonight she chose to read some Sesame Street book where they basically do an entire show in one book. It is really one of my least favorites - it gets pretty wordy... Anyway, when it was time to play "Journey to Ernie", A. began to go through and point to each animal in turn and say, "Tiger Ernie, Turtle Ernie, etc." but when she go to the Water Buffalo (or Yak, or something), she very matter of factly stated, "Mama Ernie..." WHAT???? Do I really look like that Water Buffalo?!

I'm still chuckling... but really, she said it like it was fact, not even a hesitation like she just didn't know what it really was... those silly kids.

Running Away With My Thoughts!

2007-11-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, so does anyone know if it is possible to switch the order of entries on your blog? I know it probably is, but I haven't figured it out yet...among other things. Anyway, I started an entry about Halloween, but didn't get all the pictures put on until after I had published the pumpkin patch one, and moving, which have now been up for a few days. I go to try and finally publish Halloween, and it appears before the other two and I don't know how to fix it, and most people will miss it now. So anyway, any helpful hints on this would be great, but for those of you that have been asking, scroll down a few posts to see the kids in their Halloween costumes.

Also, the above was probably one of my favorite moments that day! Can you say Casa Bonita?!

Family Fun

2007-11-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we decided to take a trip to the pumpkin patch for family night. It was a first for all of us I believe, and we had a GREAT time! We went to this perfect little farm, with a BIG red barn where they served delicious ice cream and apple cider donuts.

First we went on the hayride to "the patch" though, (which A. especially enjoyed) and selected two very cute kid sized pumpkins...maybe even considered gourds...

....but anyway, they were all the kids could hold by themselves and thus they were "perfect"!

The weather was perfectly crisp, the view was beautiful, and the company unbeatable. I was reminded once more why I love the Fall. We will definitely be back and have most likely started a tradition!

We're Moving, AGAIN!

2007-11-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right, we are moving the beginning of December. I swore last year that I would never move at Christmas time again, and yet here we are! We surprised even ourselves a couple of weeks ago when we decided to buy another home! We haven't even been here a year, and find ourselves making the jump again, I don't know what got into us. Well...that's not true, I do know,... it's called 1000 more square feet! It is actually another town home, but much bigger, nicer, and we will finally have a GARAGE!!!! (I don't know if I'm more excited or Ryan, but both of us for the same reason-finally a place to put all his tools!) Although I detest moving, I am actually hopeful that this time will be better than the last, considering I don't have a newborn, we aren't having to sell this house at the same time, and partly because I still have a couple of boxes all ready to go still from the last time! ( I did get most everything unpacked, but I never did get everything hung on the walls...now I don't feel so bad!)

Halloween Happenings

2007-11-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

We spent Halloween at my parents house this year and also got to enjoy the festivities with my sister and her kids. I didn't dress up this year, (since Ryan wasn't with us, I didn't feel the need to go with a big theme), but the kids looked great and had a great time.

First my little sister Katie threw a Halloween party for the kids and then we went "Trunk or Treating". It was a lot of fun and I decided at least while the kids are little, it is the way to go for me...a small scale, manageable experience for all.

And while I am talking about the Halloween party Katie threw, I wanted to make a note so I always remember what a great aunt Katie is. She is always willing to do anything for her nieces and nephews and she DOES! (Well, unless they need her to kill a bug:) But really, she is always playing with and planning things for them to do and she loves to babysit them and just be with them. We are all really lucky to have her and want her to know that we love her.

Anyway, here are the kids in all their glory!

Grant and Aubrye

2007-10-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, a month and a half later I am finally posting a brief recap of Grant's wedding! It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun. Both the reception in CA and in UT turned out beautiful. I did the flowers for the UT reception and was happy with how they all came together, but disappointed that I didn't think to get more shots of them (or anything else that night), except for the cake topper shown above. As is also evident from the shots above, the Bride and Groom were both radiant and our little Jake was quite a charmer as well. Alli looked so cute in her "princess dress" and would have loved to have worn it for a week straight! She is such a girly girl, I love it! She and her little cousins all matched and all looked adorable! Anyway, the fact that she was wearing a nice dress didn't seem to hinder her exuberance for playing in all things water though. We had to watch her closely at both the luncheon and reception to keep her from going swimming fully clad! (It was pretty hot though, I admit!) Anyway, as I do have to make this brief, I will share just one more highlight. And THAT was watching the kids all dance out on the dance floor. My nephew Derrick was especially fun to watch as he displayed his many break dancing moves. He was then reported to have told his other Grandma not in attendance, (and pretty matter of factly I might add), "I was the life of the party!" And then, even though there was not a dance or dance floor at the second reception, he still "got down" out on the lawn to just the "mood music" that was playing. It was so cute! We hope that Grant and Aubrye enjoyed their day as much as we did and we are so excited to have Aubrye in the family! We can't wait to get to know her better and are so happy for them! Congrats once again you guys! We love you!

Super Star Mom

2007-09-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

Or anything but. Today was one of those days I just should have stayed in bed, not that everything has gone wrong, but just ONE TERRIFYINGLY AWFUL thing. Chalk one MORE up for me on the "not so super mom" tally. Alli fell out of the shopping cart today, and yes, she is fine, but she sure doesn't look like it. I am refusing to take pictures because I don't constantly want to be reminded in the future. But I am recording it, just as my mom did for me when I fell out myself when I was a baby. (I broke my collar bone, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.)

I was walking into Kmart from the parking lot and was just about to remind Alli to sit down (as she was standing up in the back side of the cart) and we hit a lip where the asphalt meets the cement. The next thing I know I am watching her FLIP in slow motion over the edge and land on her face...THEN she flipped again! I was SURE she had broken her neck and I was actually witnessing her death. I was terrified! She of course started crying and actually got up, as she was holding her mouth that was filling with blood. Well, I was relieved that she wasn't paralyzed, but now quite certain that she had knocked every one of her teeth out. It didn't take long to determine that her teeth were still in place and that the source of the blood was just a gash in the underside of the upper lip, but at this point the gigantic bruise on her forehead emerged and her eye started to swell. I of course checked her eyes for sign of a concussion, but all seemed well. I comforted her and she calmed a little while a few nice onlookers came to help. One nice mom told me her daughter did this just last week and was fine, but it didn't seem to help much at the moment.

I called the doctor for instructions and several minutes later, with a box of Backyardigans Band-Aids and a cow stuffed animal in hand, we are home. I know everything will be fine now, but I can't help but think how much more of this I can handle. I guess I have always know that things just happen when you raise kids, but maybe I was hoping that somehow all of mine would grow up unscathed? Fat chance. So far Alli has severely burned her hand once, and pretty badly another time. I have gotten locked out of the car with her still inside, ultimately necessitating the breaking of a window to get her out. And now this, not to mention the many less memorable bumps and bruises along the way. And she is only 2 1/2!

I just really don't do well with these "I can't believe this is happening" moments. I do really watch my children pretty well, or so I thought, but I guess I really WOULD have to be Supermom to save them from ever getting hurt.

So.Darn.Cute.

2007-09-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

These make me happy. Maybe I have just been jealous of Alli's PURE JOY over the rain, each and every time it happens, or it could be the fact that they are So. Darn. Cute. But my heart is all aflutter over the thought of JOY-ning Alli in PURE fun playing in the rain together. Ooooohhhh.....problem....It also makes me happy to make my husband happy, and nothing makes him happy like keeping money in the bank! What to do, what to do....

If any of you are thinking, "I know exactly what to do!", then you might be interested to know I found these on Target.com and they have probably at least 30 different designs! Maybe they will make you happy as well!

Lazy Days of Summer????

2007-09-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, Yes, I know.....no one needs to say anything. My summer days have been anything but lazy, whose ever are? But obviously when it comes to my blogging, the term couldn't be any more fitting. I do hope to be a little more on top of it the coming months though, as I also hope to have a little more structure return to the household.

That being said, we returned a week ago from a great family vacation for my brother's wedding and just had their last reception last night. I feel like I have been doing wedding stuff all month, but it all turned out great. We are excited to have Aubrye in the family. Congrats you guys, we love you! I will post a summer and wedding picture recap shortly, but also really quickly want to give a shout out and congratulate Toby and Jeanne on the birth of their little girl yesterday! I am so glad she came early!! We love you too!

Yet ANOTHER month in Review!

2007-07-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, somehow another month has flown by and I never even finished reviewing the last! I wish I could say that I didn't even have one spare second to sit and blog with all the craziness in my life, but the truth is that I did. Upon further investigation though you would find that although I did eventually encounter moments of personal time this month, I most often found myself filling those moments just trying to recover from the rest of my life.

Last summer, after what I felt was a particularly unproductive summer (particularly in the "memories" dept.), I made a commitment to myself that this year would be different. I'm not pregnant, I don't have a newborn, and I really don't have any good excuses. Each day I see my children grow and change. It is so exciting to see all the new things they learn, but I am also reminded how quickly the time goes and that I should enjoy it while I can. I don't want to look back and realize that I missed it because I let "life" get in the way. With that being said, I wanted to make more memories for myself and my family a priority this summer, and I have happily been able to do so.

SO, although I also want to have a gourmet meal on the table every night for dinner, and I would like a clean house daily, today is not that day or that night. But what I do have is a happy family and many smiles to share and remember. My hope is that I will EVENTUALLY be able to have my house clean as well though!

In Review, we were able to spend time with my family as we attended my Uncle Richard's wedding, we played in the rain, played at the pool, played with more cousins as we saw more of Ryan's family, celebrated Father's Day with a camping trip and a new pontoon boat, and went fishing a few more times as well! Alli absolutely loves her pink "polefish" and even caught a little Bluegill! And at this time of year, I am reminded how especially grateful I am to live here in this great, beautiful, and free land that affords us so many opportunities. We are truly blessed and happy.

Month in Review, Installment I

2007-06-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Well, as promised, I am finally here to post a recap of our most recent happenings.

We jump started the month with our first "family of four" vacation with a trip to California to visit the family. We hadn't been back in over a year and we were chompin' at the bit to go. As luck would have it, we had just obtained our minivan, so we were able to make the trip with much more room and comfort. So, in a mostly picture review,

Celebrated 3, make that 4 birthdays!

After much trial, much error, and even more laughter, we enjoyed THIS Birthday Cake.

(I am well aware of the remarkable resemblance to the cake that the 3 fairies made for Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty:)

As we were just finishing opening presents on R.'s Dad's Birthday, we received the call that our newest niece had made her grand entrance into the world just in time to share the day with her Grandpa!

Had a healthy dose of fun!

Fishing

Golfing, Shopping,

Hiking

Relaxing

and

Staying Up Too Late!

We also had the opportunity to celebrate Mother's Day with R.'s Mom this year. My sister-in-law and I thought it would be fun to throw a Tea Party for all the girls, (her daughters, her Mom, my daughter, and my Mother-in-law). We made invitations to invite our Moms' and the little girls painted frames to give to their Grandmas' with a picture commemorating the event. We all wore dress ups, and the little girls especially enjoyed the "chit-chat" as we practiced our most proper manners, using phrases like "My dear, would you be so kind as to..." and the like. It was really fun and I was reminded that I should do things like this more often. So to finish our California recap, here are some final pics of our

Mother's Day Tea

And as it seems to have taken me much longer than I though it would to cover this portion, I have to go, but I will be posting a second installment soon!

My Husband

2007-06-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been over a month since my last post! I am well aware and here to finally remedy the situation! I will post shortly in as condensed a version as possible as to our going ons here in the Crawford home this past month, but first, I wanted to directly address my sweet, wonderful, adoring husband with this one.

On May 13th, it was R.'s birthday. On May 14th, it was mine. Yes, I am less than 24 hours younger than my husband. When I think about this seemingly insignificant piece of trivia, I also always think of the early days of our courtship and the fact that I probably asked him TEN times when his birthday was (as we were just becoming friends) before I remembered, even though every time he told me he also added, "It is the day before yours, don't you remember that?" And then, I always think of how he used to tell me that we were just so madly in love in heaven, I couldn't wait any longer to get down here too once he left. Who's to say he's wrong?!

I am constantly amazed by him, in so many different ways, and have many moments where I find myself amazed at my own good fortune, not only that he loves me, but that he loves me like he does. When we were dating, one of my favorite songs was, I Can Love You Like That (the country version preferred). It was actually one of my favorites way before we were dating, possibly because I was 18 and hopelessly romantic, (as all 18 yearolds are), or it may have had something to do with the line in the song referring to "how you felt when Romeo kissed Juliet". Lets just say that my girlfriends and I had something for Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio.... whatever the case, when I started dating Ryan, I really thought I had stumbled upon Prince Charming. Charming may even be an understatement. He was confident, witty, handsome, sweet, sensitive, smart, and even had a Heritage Gold meal card! (I think that was the name, whatever it was, he had scholarships and was living the high life, and if I was special enough, I could join him!) (wink:)

Speaking of winks, he was really good at that too. The winks may not come as often these days, but when they do, they still make me feel all funny inside. He has always had the perfect embrace, held my hand in the just the right way, at the right times, and continues to be there when I need it most. These days, R. not longer has to worry about impressing me, as he has other bigger issues on his plate, like bringing home the bacon and providing for our future. Luckily though, he still finds time to "shoot me a memo" every now and then and remind me of why I married him, like the pearl earrings he gave me for Mother's Day this year. Even with all his responsibilities in life (which only seem to increase as the years go by), he still amazes me by his ability to come home and roll around on the floor with our kids and act like it is the best time he has had in years. He is an amazing father and I honestly don't think I could ask for more.

Although I may have once jokingly told him that I wanted "to be loved like that", he has somehow managed to be step up to the plate. I love him, and in honor of his 27th birthday, here are 27 things about him.

1. He can fix anything, and does fix everything!
2. He "gets" things, like APR and the economy.
3. He is witty.
4. He is intelligent.
5. He is ambitious.
6. He can sing.
7. He loves to fish.
8. He loves to sit and think, (perhaps that is why he loves to fish...)
9. He is an incredible teacher, i.e. teaching me to golf!
10. He is patient, especially with his children.
11. He has quiet strength and capacity.
12. He likes Salt and Vinegar potato chips.
13. He loves his family, his brothers and sisters are his best friends.
14. He thinks if I would let him go on Survivor, he could win, and I really think he could.
15. He is a San Francisco Giants fan.
16. He is missing 1/2 of his pinkie finger, thus teaching Alli to say "I love you" in sign language incorrectly, (she only uses her thumb and pointer finger).
17. He once wrote me from his mission sitting from a spot in Northern Spain and said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. He said we would sit there together one day, and I believe him.
18. He loves his Mom, He loves his Dad.
19. He likes all of his socks to look the same so that he doesn't have to worry about matching up pairs, thus
20. He is always thinking of how to make things more efficient.
21. He likes to golf, and says he likes to golf with me, and even though he is much better, I think he really means it.
22. He has probably a hundred different great business ideas that could make millions, but the thing is, that at least half of them probably could!
23. When he starts reading a book, it is hard for him to get anything else done until he has finished it-thus it is good he is usually too busy to sit and start many new books.
24. His children adore him.
25. He is an eagle scout.
26. He shares all his toys with me.
27. I LOVE HIM!

Fun In The Sun

2007-04-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Spring is here, AGAIN, and hopefully it will stick around for a while this time!

We were very pleasantly surprised last month when spring seemed to arrive right on schedule, a welcome respite from our winter duldroms. That joy and sunshine were short lived however, and the cold and spring fever once more enveloped us. We even received several more inches of snow! I was absolutely thrilled then, when we found out the warm weather was going to return this week and gladly made plans to head to the park with a friend and her kids. We met at a park I had never been to before, but quickly decided it was one of my new favorites and will be returning frequently. The kids had a great time playing and we had a great time chatting, so great that we forgot all about the time and ended up staying for near 3 hours! Here are some pics of the fun!

So proud of herself for her short climb, she said "I did it!" over and over!

The kids were more interested in the rocks than the tulips.

We finished the day off splashing in the rain puddle, collected in the fountain, that will hopefully be filled on purpose soon!

Just To Name a Few

2007-04-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it is definitely time for a new post and I actually do have something to share as luck would have it! We have reached several milestones in our home this past week, all of which reminding me of the many blessings I have in my life.

First of all, our little guy has started crawling, sitting up on his own, and then pulling himself up on furniture! We are now officially at the "stand in the crib and cry" stage. Luckily he doesn't have his teeth yet, so the crib is still unscathed. They just grow up too darn fast! It seems I may not have much say over it though. I am so grateful for beautiful, happy, and healthy children. Especially after the last few weeks of sickness at our house.

That brings me to my second milestone, Jake had his first ear infection, and in fact it was the very first ear infection I have had to deal with as a mom period! Alli has never had one, or at least that I was aware of. The poor guy hates talking medicine (or letting me put ANYTHING in his mouth for that matter) and so it has been a challenge. But I think we are on the mend.

In other news, we are now a minivan family!! I wasn't expecting it quite this soon, but I am actually way more excited about it than I ever thought I would be. It is a '06 Dodge Grand Caravan. It needs a little body work, as we got it from a salvage auction, but as anyone who knows us knows, we like them that way. Hopefully we will have it looking good as new in a few weeks, but plan on taking it on a trip to California first anyway. I am looking forward to the extra room for the drive.

And last but not least, I have finally mastered a skill a I have been trying to acquire for some time now! I made my first successful lasagna last night!!! It was glorious, it looked and tasted every bit as good as any I have ever eaten! A far cry from my past dried out, but soggy, slices of tastelessness. It is amazing what the right recipe, and VERY specific step by step instructions will do for you. It comes from "The New Best Recipe" Cookbook, by Cooks Illustrated. Because it is from America's Test Kitchens, it has about three pages describing in detail how to get the perfect lasagna, and exactly what not to do as well. I really love this cookbook, but just as everything is really good, it can also take a really long time to make anything because every instruction is very specific. Anyway, if anyone is looking for help in kitchen, I highly recommend this cookbook! Sometimes I read it just for leisure!

Well, that about does it for today!

It's Potty Time!

2007-04-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm in love! Well, if you could really be in love with a potty, this is just about as close as you come. I just had to share what I consider to be a great find. The time has finally arrived for our family to prepare for potty training. Although I haven't made the big push, and don't intend to force it until she is ready, I thought it was time for Al to get acquainted with "the big girl world". I was really hesitant to buy a potty. I really hate the way they look, the thought of cleaning them, and the space they take up in the bathroom. I was hoping to get away with just an attached seat on the real thing, but as Alli seems to be terrified of it as of yet, I broke down. Luckily though, I stumbled upon this! It not only looks much better than the typical potty, it also functions as a stool and bathtub side bench, sturdy up to 300 lbs! My favorite feature so far though is the side storage bins, perfect for wipes, diapers, or whatever, and it even has a built in holder for toilet paper! I am thrilled with my new purchase and just wanted to share!

Funny Girl

2007-03-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here is Alli playing around. Everyone says she is a mini Ryan, what do you think?!

Daddy's Candy

2007-03-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

So I was putting Jacob to bed last night when in barges my little girl. I quickly tried to give her the "shhhhh" signal, but she didn't seem to care, and blurted out, "Daddy's candy!" as she held out a bag of sunflower seeds to me. I had to smile, even though of course, Jacob's eyes popped right open. As I stared at her, I thought for a brief moment she was eating something, but thought for sure not the seeds. Then without hesitation she reached in and grabbed several seeds and shoved them in her mouth, like this was a common practice, and stood there chomping and cracking away. No doubt she learned this from her dad, only the next thing I knew, she swallowed them all whole! I quickly decided that she isn't quite ready for "Daddy's candy" and had to take them away until she can learn to spit out the shells. I was actually shocked that she even liked the taste and didn't spit them out right away, but I guess her looks aren't the only thing she takes after her Dad in!

Mineral Makeup

2007-03-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

So, it is time to clean out my makeup bag! It is actually time for a "makeup makeover"-I really need to get new everything! Now, I am not a huge makeup girl, I like it to look "naturally beautiful" and I need to be able to do it fast or it just isn't worth my time. (Also, I don't like stuff that irritates my skin, but most people feel that way.)

Now, since I seem to have the opportunity to start from scratch here, I thought I would evaluate the market and see if there is a better option for my lifestyle and skin than I currently have. I haven't looked a ton, but I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the Mineral Makeup buzz...? From what I have read, it seems like it might be more my thing, especially with the whole foundation thing being replaced with one easy powder. Anyway, I am just looking for opinions, so if you have any on the subject, please send them my way!

Success!

2007-03-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well, after a few weeks of "almost", our little guy has finally made it up on his hands and knees! It is so much fun to see him hit each new milestone, but I must admit that I am not ready for him to start crawling just yet!

The Innocence of a Child

2007-03-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

I have had a slew of thoughts and feelings that I wanted to record lately, so this may seem a bit scattered, but here is an attempt to record them all the same.

Yesterday, as luck would have it, I had an experience that caused me to reflect on these and new thoughts as well. My daughter has recently entered into the "imitate everything you do" stage in life. It has actually been pretty exciting for us as parents to see her pick up on so many new things every day, but the more it seems to happen, the more aware I become of the example I am setting. Am I truly who I want to be? Am I teaching her the proper things to love and value? I know this is just the beginning of a great journey on this road... I hope that I can get my map leading us both where we want to be in the end. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mom and to be given stewardship over such precious gifts as these beautiful children.

With that being said, my daughter had been cooking up a storm of blocks all day. She of course kept offering us taste tests, but she kept them stewing in her little red pot all afternoon. It was about 6:00 when I had finished baking our meal for the evening. I turned off the oven and began to prepare to set the table, when she toddles over with pot in hand, and opened the oven! She was just about to stick her pot of blocks inside when I quickly caught her from doing so. I was shocked! She had never even come close to being interested in the oven in the past. As I grabbed her arm and firmly told her that this she wasn't allowed to use the real oven yet, she looked at me with the saddest eyes, as if to say, "what did I do?" It broke my heart! I quickly told her that the oven was hot and dangerous and that she was just to little to use it yet, but that of course, did little to avail her tears.

As my husband and I consoled her, I realized that she was incapable of knowing that the oven was hot, or even what that would mean (even though she has burned herself a few times already on other things!). She was completely innocent. I was immediately grateful for her sweet spirit, but I also thought of how I protected her from injury only because I had been right there. What if I had not? My thoughts then fell to the Lord and how He must often see his children walking into danger and want so badly to grab us and hold us back, but he must let us make our own choices. It is probably also true that often we are not so innocent in our decisions to walk into danger.

Coming full circle here, I have had experiences these past few months that have caused me to reflect on my choices, what they are, the impact they have on others, and what I want to do with them. The week before Thanksgiving some friends of ours were in a horrific car accident. Both the husband and the wife were critically injured, the husband wasn't expected to make it through the night. The couple was young. It was a difficult thing to accept for me, I had just spoken with them a few hours prior at church. The biggest thing that hit me however, was that these people were so good, kind, and "with it". He was our Elders Quorum President and there couldn't have been anyone better for the job. I immediately thought of the song lyric "Only the good die young,..." Luckily, I am glad to report that miracles took place, and they are both returning to normal life just a short time later, even though our friend should by all accounts, have been a vegetable. The experience quickly called me to think however, about the shortness of this life, and if I am prepared to cross to the other side. I hope and pray that I will be given sufficient time to perfect my oh so imperfect self, as I feel it will take years, but if my time is tomorrow, what decisions did I make today that will help me be better prepared for tomorrow? What decisions did I make today that will influence my children and my husband for good? What example was I for my daughter to imitate, and did I spare my Heavenly Father the heartbreak I experienced with the oven incident, by choosing the right and safe road over the danger, even though it may look like fun?

I hope to improve daily, with hopefully yet one more day still to come.

Who Knew?

2007-03-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

Blogging...Humm....I never really thought I would be doing this, but it seems I have caught the bug. As I have never been very good at keeping in touch with people as I ought to, or at keeping a journal as of late, I have decided that this might be my best attempt at both.

Although I was introduced to the blogging world a few weeks ago, I must admit, I have had my hesitations about this. However, after getting a feel for the whole idea, I think it might actually be a good fit for me and my family. (I have briefly attempted other personal websites/photosites in the past without much success with the idea.)

So, here I go!