My Man

Josh has been at girls camp for the past couple of days.

I missed him terribly.

And not just because things were crazy while he was gone.

(Why does that always happen?...I remember that when my dad was out of town while I was growing up my mom faced the same problem...maybe it is genetic?).

I just adore him.

He is my best friend, my biggest comfort, and my comic relief.

I can't imagine my life without him.

I'm glad he is home.

We Love Ellie From the Inside Out

(Ellie, looking adorable, post incident)

Tomorrow, the kids go back to school.
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So, tonight, Josh gave each of them a back-to-school priesthood blessing. This is something that we all look forward to every year.
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When it was my turn, Josh started the blessing. Elinor, who had been fussy all day, crawled over to me and wanted up on my lap. So, I picked her up. Josh was in the middle of the blessing when suddenly Ellie started throwing up all over me...over and over and over again. Somehow, Josh didn't hear what was going on. How often do you have the need to tap your husband's hands that are resting on your head and say, "Honey, I need you to stop because I need some help here." I was a sticky, gross mess. Yum!! Normally Josh does the puke clean up in our house (so that I don't add to the mess), I guess Ellie wanted to be sure I cleaned this one up because she covered me, but didn't get anything anywhere else. I couldn't help but burst out laughing, which got all the other kids laughing too.
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A couple of other kids have had this 24 hour bug, thankfully it seems to come and go very quickly. It had made for a pretty exciting weekend here at our house.
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So, we got Ellie all cleaned up, gave her a bath (which she loved) and put her in her jammies. She is a much happier little girl and seems to feel much better. I hope this bug has now worked it's way through everyone that is going to get it so we can move on happily, and puke free!
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Happy Back To School!

A New Do

This is my daughter, Aubrey.

She has never really had a haircut, only the occasional trim to get rid of split ends etc.Here is what her hair looked like last week (ok, it wasn't always this much of a mess, but it was loooooong).

She came to me a little while ago and told me she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. I thought that was a great idea, so last weekend, we made it happen.

We chopped off her blond tresses, took her in for a perm and

VOILA!!!Isn't she gorgious!!

The new, beautiful Aubrey!

What a fabulous girl, I'm so grateful we have her.

(Even if she can be a drama queen sometimes...she is more often wonderful!)

East Canyon Adventure 2010

This past week, our family has been camping.

I use the term "camping" very loosely.

We did stay in a folding tent trailer.

However, we had an air conditioning, a microwave, and an on site pool, mini-golf course, and tennis courts.

I really LOOOVE hiking, but I am not in love with sleeping on the ground, so this was pretty pleasant for me. We had a great week, especially the kids. It was a fabulous family adventure. We even saw (and drove through) a herd of giraffe.

(Ok, they were sheep, but Logan called them giraffes...he now thinks giraffes say "baaaaa"). Aubrey in our fabulous trailer with every fabulous feature and king sized beds (thanks Mom and Dad).
Bryce in a pilot's chair on our side trip to the Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum (it's free!! and the kids loved it).

Everyone was grumpy after the drive to the museum, but once we got inside things got lots better.

My monkeys with another big monkey at the zoo.

The kids on the mini golf course at East Canyon.

Aubrey even got a vacation from having her hair done...she was thrilled.

The spider's web we discovered on our car one morning. Sadly we had to drive away and the web was ruined, but it looked pretty awesome before that.

Logan golfing with his tiny little club...just his size.

The fam.

Playing at the park just across from our campsite.

4th of July

What a fun weekend!

I love this holiday.

I am proud of my country and love celebrating her birth.

(Ellie in her most patriotic duds)This weekend found us without any fireworks.

So we decided to make some of our own.

The kids and I spent a couple of hours cutting and taping and gluing and VOILA!! Instant, indoor firework display. Then we all took turns crouching behind the love seat in our living room while everyone counted down....5-4-3-2-1...and then we popped up and exploded in our own creative ways. We had a great time.

This is what it is all about.

A great holiday.

A great country.

And my favorite people on the planet.

It was a fabulous weekend.

Whistle While You Work

It has been a week full of projects at our house. We had the opportunity to replace our old dishwasher with a new one (one that doesn't sound like a diesel hanging out in the kitchen). We feel very blessed, but had to make some adjustments to our 40 year old kitchen to make it possible which included completely removing the counter top and rigging it to sit higher on the cabinets (not to mention repairing some issues with the cabinet...poor Josh).However, it all worked out beautifully and now we have a fabulous and EXTREMELY quiet new dishwasher and we feel awfully lucky and very grateful. Next, we needed a dresser and my parents very kindly donated an old one that they were going to get rid of. It was in pretty rough shape so we decided to refinish it.

The boys and I sanded it down. I love letting the kids get involved in projects. It was especially nice because this will become Logan's dresser and he was thrilled to help "make" it.

Josh and I took turns staining and varnishing and pretty soon it was all done. It was a lot less difficult than I expected and turned out a lot better than I expected, I am very pleased and Logan is very proud of his "new" dresser.

Then, finally, Ellie got high centered on a chair in the kitchen.

(Not really a project, I know, but it was pretty funny to watch).

Confessions of a Closet Hermit

I love being a mom.

From the time I was little, it was one of the only things that I wanted out of life.

I love to be around children, mine in particular (well, most of the time).

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On the other hand, I really struggle being around adults. I feel awkward and disjointed and I don't know how to talk to them. Things never seem to come out of my mouth the way they were put together in my head. I know I am a complete dork (and I am VERY ok with that, I have always been socially clumsy and have had lots of years to come to terms with that). I could very easily hole up in my house and live a hermit like life. I would be very happy in a sweet country home, miles from my next neighbor (however, Josh would shrivel up and die so we won't be doing that any time soon).

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I am in awe of people who are at ease in a group. My husband is like that. I love that in social settings I can kind of bask in his shadow and just enjoy his easy way with people (ok, except for the parts where he says things that embarrass me which happens pretty regularly...I am easily embarrassed though so that is my own issue).

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I do love people.

I want to be able to talk to them and help them see that I care about them.

Hopefully, my inept conversationalism doesn't block all of that. I am very grateful for written language because I am much more comfortable with that and have been saved on several occasions by it.

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My ineptitude in this department is bothersome, at the very least. But it does make me very very grateful for good friends, people who are patient with me and help me feel not quite so ridiculous.

So, thanks.

Thanks for taking me in and chuckling quietly instead of bursting in to uproarious laughter when I speak. I am grateful. It helps me keep my hermitness to a minimum.