There are Reasons...

First off , to the two people who read my blog, I'm sorry I haven't posted in FOREVER. There are reasons.

#1: I cut my hair. Not just a little. A lot. It really freaked me out and first and I felt truely ugly. But, now I'm okay with it. Sort of....

#2: We spent Christmas at an awesome farmhouse on the Key Peninsula in northern Washington and there was NO internet. It was nice and relaxing for the first few days and then I starting wondering what was going on outside my little bubble of awesome-ness....

So enough excuses, lets get to the pictures, right?! Props to my brother Erik for the pictures, he does a great job with kids and making them smile with his fart noises. :) Love it. Evie and Erik's little girl Kali were BFF's on this trip. They are about 4 months apart in age and are so cute together. They would literally hide out in closets tells "secrets" and having girl time. It was cute, but scary at times because sometimes we couldn't find them, one time even involved them getting into some deep mud out in the field and Aunt Angela having to rescue Evie from being stuck out there. BUT good times. They are thick as theives now. :)

Pearls of Wisdom from the Pot

I stumbled into this conversation as I passed the bathroom. Ethan was on the pot and Evie was "washing her hands", aka playing with the water. Ethan was doling out the wisdom. It went something like this.

" Teenage boys say,'Random', 'Awkward', and 'Lamesville'

"Teenage girls say, 'Twilight', 'Edward', 'tea party' and 'Baby' (huh???)

"Mom's say, 'Clean your room!'

"Dad's say, 'You're not getting anything for Christmas!'

Etc. Etc. Etc.

It was really precious. (Insert eye roll here)

It's always nice to see what the kids pick up even when you tell them a million times a day that you love them and shower them with kisses and whatnot, but the things they pick up on are the negative. Its too bad really...

Just a Glimpse into Parenthood

I didn't want to give away all the details of this gem of a story with the title, so here goes. My mom's parents live in Salt Lake so we have been fortunate to get to know them better. You see, growing up in Alaska we didn't get to see much of our grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, anybody, really. And some of the only memories I have of my grandparents are limited to sharing them with my 9 siblings. Didn't leave much time for bonding or anything like that. SO, this has been good to live by them. I've been trying to visit them every two weeks.

Which brings me to yesterday. We stopped at their house for lunch before we went to clean the office. My grandma is always so sweet and leaves a little Dixie cup with a cookie and a carrot stick and usually some other little sweet and the kids LOVE it. On the menu were hot dogs/turkey noodle soup/pizza. I chose turkey noodle soup along with my grandparents and Bucky and the kids had hot dogs.

Ethan finished fairly quickly with his hot dog and wanted another one. Okay, I thought. Then after lunch we had our choice or ice cream cones/cookies/banana cream pie/ dream-y orange jell-o stuff. So the kids had an ice cream cone and Evie had a cookie half way through. I didn't think anything of it because they hardly ever get sweets at our house ( I'm not mean, just not that good of a baker).

So we say our goodbyes after a rousing game of Pig Sty ( a game the kids like to play with these miniature pigs that you toss and get points for) and get in the car to clean the office. While we are
there Ethan starts complaining that his stomach hurts. So he lays on the couch and moans. Yes, I have a moaner. :) We finish up the office and decide that we are going to go get massages from the massage school that we went to. But, we don't have anyone else to watch the kids in downtown Salt Lake EXCEPT my grandparents. I give them a call and they accept. See, they're great! But after we get done with our massages I go in to get the kids and Bucky's illegally parked out front. When I get there Ethan announces that he PUKED in grandma's bathroom.

What?! Uhhhh. "I am so sorry grandma!" She tells me it's okay because he's feeling so much better now. The kids spare no details as they tell me about how grandma had to scoop it out of the sink with a cup and the color and BLAH BLAH BLAH. They don't seem to mind the fact that it so so gross, because THEY ARE KIDS.

*Parents of young children: prepare yourself mentally for the time when this will happen. Don't be naive and think that it won't. IT WILL. It's just a matter of when.

We get in the car and there is horrible traffic on the way home. They have the freeway down to one lane of traffic. We are stopped when Ethan announces that he has to puke again. I give him a double lined bag and he makes it into the bag the first time but misses with the second heave. Dude. I'm dry heaving in the front and rolling down the window trying to get the smell out and we are stuck in traffic. Luckily we were right next to the exit that we used to live on. I called my old neighbor Julie and luckily she was home! We cleaned up and were on our way. This time we were prepared because we got one of those gigantic re-fillable drink cups and an old towel. Julie: you are a saint! He puked one more time on the way home and went right to bed.

This morning he is fine. But, it begs the question... When is your little angel going to blow chunks all over your car? :) Have a good day!

Who Was Right?

Well, Shannon was right. It was a raccoon! I couldn't think of what on earth it was!

Evie continued with her clues and said,"And it has sharp teeth. Remember when this animal got into our trash."

I was feeling a little dense.

"A goat!"

" Mom, those don't climb trees!"

"Alright I give up."

Schooled by a four year old. Face.

Riddle Me This...

So in our car sometimes we play this game called "What animal am I thinking of?". It's a nail biter let me just tell you. Bucky and I try to stump each other sometimes because we get tired of the horse/cow/dog answers, so we do newt/vampire bat/ emu ect. ect. But this morning Evie had me, she asked, "What is black, grey, and white; climbs trees and eats marshmallows."

Uhhhhhh.

Panda?

No.

Koala??

No.

MOUSE????

No.

Evie, is this a real animal?

Yes!

Anyone? I was stumped...Guess away and I'll post later what it is. It's a good one.

A Surprise Visit from Santa

We got a surprise visit from Santa tonight, as you can tell, the kids were just a LITTLE excited.

Did you happen to catch...

Did anyone happen to catch Oprah yesterday? I'm normally not one to watch the TV billionaire, but yesterday's show was life changing. Really. The premise of the show was about how many woman are raped/enslaved into brothels/die from pregnancy related health issues every year. A woman dies from pregnancy and labor every minute—the equivalent of five jumbo jets of women dying every day. It was astounding to me. Not just as a mother, but as a woman!More woman have died from pregnancy/rape complications than men have died in all the wars in our century.

I guess it hit me hard because I was stressing about what I was going to buy for Christmas for everyone and then I see these woman who have NOTHING. And not just nothing, but being raped, stolen from their homes to be used in brothels, and being outcast from their communities because they've been raped. It just doesn't register to me that that mindset is prevalent in other parts of the world.

The thing that gives me comfort is that there is something you can do. Something I can do. I can donate minute amounts of money for education, micro loans, and birthing kits. Things that we in this country take for granted and bitch about on a daily basis ( my kids' school isn't great, Our health care system sucks, I'm broke, etc. etc. etc.). But we do live in such a prosperous country. And it really is a land of opportunity, even if it is a $7 an hour job, it's something. Check out this short video to get the point of the passion.

Thanksgiving in Elko, NV

We spent the holiday in Elko. If you've never been, you have to go. It's pretty and pretty awesome. I guess what adds to the awesome-ness is Bucky's Aunt Shanna. She and her husband John are just cool and laid back. Bucky's parents brought Bucky's grandma "Nani", Bucky's Uncle Kent and his wife and daughter came, as well as Shanna's son Paul.The kids had a blast playing on the golf course that they live on. No one was around because it was closed for the season, which was good because we were not very good at hitting balls. There was a lot of goose poop though. The weather was perfect, I think around 60, and I was able to get some decent shots. Bucky's awesome daughter, Alyssa, came with us and I think she had a good time. ( It's hard to tell with teenagers) We liked having her around anyway... :) Love you Lyss.

Wacky Times at the Cash's

Well, in case you were wondering, I am doing loads better. And to top it off tonight, was not my halibut chowder, BUT Evie and Ethan deciding that they were going to make these strange and slightly scary (but cute because they're my kids) jumpsuits out of plastic bags. Ev started it and when Ethan saw how much attention she was getting then he decided to get in on the action too.
He literally said, "I hate it when Evie gets all the attention, I never get all the attention!" Yikes.

But it doesn't stop there, Bucky decided that the kids were getting more attention than he was, so he couldn't resist. Really, these kids don't stand a chance of being cool or normal. I guess I'm okay with that.

Double Oink Oink

Good morning everyone! As you can tell from the time, it is now roughly 6:35am. Those who know me, might be thinking, "What the heck is SHE doing up?" Well, the answer is simple. The swine flu. I finally gave up on sleep because my Tylenol had worn off and it felt like I had swallowed a thousand teeny tiny shards of glass. I know, it should have given me pleasant dreams, but it didn't. I gave in and just got up; waiting for the next round on Ibuprofen to kick in.

As I lay here on the couch, I wonder how I could be so naive to think that I didn't need the H1N1 vaccine. Hindsight I suppose. This nasty flu has finally passed through Ethan, and is about half way through Ev and is now wreaking havoc on me. If you call me, don't be alarmed, I have not been strangled by a man who is holding me hostage, that's my voice. Really. I asked Bucky if he wanted to make out, but he politely declined. Just sharing the love, right?!

This week we had a swine flu fiesta because my old friend Seth and his girlfriend were in town. Seth is one of my oldest and best friends and I'm glad to see that he has a super cool girlfriend. ANYWHO, they both said they didn't care if we had the swine flu, they weren't scared. At this point I hadn't gotten it yet and thought I was invincible. :) Ha. We found a luau pig decoration and I made Cafe Rio style food. It was really fun, until the end of the night when I realized I hadn't taken pictures of anything. Doh! So I snapped one real quick at the end.

This Thursday was the much anticipated New Moon premiere. Thanks to my good friend Kelly she was able to get us into the show before anyone else! So we sat front and center. It was awesome! Much better than the first. Here's Missy and I in happier days (pre swine flu). I never noticed, but Missy and I have the same eye color. Huh. Cool. If you like your eye color I suppose... Have a good week everyone and get a flu shot!!!

Oink Oink

In other news, Ethan has H1N1. We're hoping it doesn't get into his lungs and he gets pneumonia. He had pneumonia last winter and it is not fun. It's been REALLY fun having him home all this week but he and Ev can't stop pestering each other. Like every second of the day. But on the upside I subscribe to the Pinching Your Pennies emails and I was able to get 2 pairs of glasses with the lens' for about $50. If you buy glasses you'll know that's a screaming deal. And I just ordered all our Christmas cards for FREE. Here's the link. The promo code is freebies4mom-1109. Check it out.

Role Reversal...

Well, this having a dog is going just okay. Before we got the dog, Bucky and the kids were all about making promises about helping out. Yeah, Bucky's dad was right, it all usually ends up on one person. That person is me. I know, WAH WAH WAH. But, dude, c'mon. Yesterday Evie (4 1/2) had 3 accidents, Ethan was sick and I'm supposed to train the dog not to jump up on the BAR and scavenge for food. She also has taken up barking ALL the time when she goes outside. We have neighbors who have 3 big dogs and I don't know if she's just trying to protect or what, but it's getting annoying. Any advice?

In good news, Shelley's only have two accidents in the house EVER and they were solid poops. That's better than my daughter who's nearly five and can't seem to make it to the bathroom. What up???

A Day in the Life of Us...

Evie was a little mad that she didn't have a picture on the blog of she and Shelley. That's
a bit of pure joy right there. She and Ethan both love her so much that they get mad if she
follows me around the house. We spent the morning hanging out and then I decided to get
ambitious and bag all the leaves that I raked the other day. As you can tell by the pictures, it sucked. I used the entire package of 18 bags.

Ev took this picture of E while he was doing his homework, I thought it turned out really well.

And this last one was a picture I found in E's school folder. Notice, the bit in the corner, "Not a planit." Yeah, that's Plooto. How funny is that?!

World-Shelley, Shelley-World

How could you not love these pictures??? Shelley is a Sheltie. The people said mini sheltie but the guy at Petco thought she looked like a regular sheltie. Either way, she's a great dog. Although I never thought I was a pet lover, I think that I could be. It's hard to say, but she's already wormed herself into our lives (in a good way, not literally like she has worms.)

She doesn't really bark and she seems smart. Which are two of the things that I hate most about dogs, when they bark and when they seem dumb. Brutal, I know, but I didn't grow up around pets. Fish and a sad parakeet, that's it. That' s all the training I had.

But Bucky (aka Bleeding Heart as he will now be known as) and the kids (Said Spawn of Bleeding Heart 1 and 2) have wanted a pet for like 2 years, and I kept putting them off saying, " Oh sorry guys we live in this apartment that doesn't allow pets." Slyly grinning when they turned around. Perfect excuse, right? Well, we no longer live in an apartment and they wouldn't let me forget it.

So, after a long rant, we have a dog. A nice dog. A dog that I'm not afraid of. I got bit by our neighbors dog when I was babysitting one time. It was really tramatic at the time and I guess I never really recovered. Until now. I don't know. She's pretty sweet. In a totally tubular way. Even now, she's laying on my foot under the table. How cute is that?

D-O-G

We got a dog. Will post pictures soon. Gulp.

The Most Non-Spooky Halloween Ever...

The title says it all! We were not spooky and that's okay with me. We patrolled our old neighborhood and caught up with old friends, it was great. My friend Christy was awesome and had a stopoff for soup and rolls and some hand-dipped chocolate treats. They were stellar and then just down the road was my friend Kelly's Spook Alley. It was super fun. Sorry, that my post is lacking in details AND humor, but this daylight savings hour is kicking my booty. The weather, for once, was excellent. I was used to having to put a snowsuit under my costume growing up in AK, but it was just gorgeous here! Here are the pictures from aforementioned festivities...

Evie had her preschool Halloween party the day before Halloween and some of the costumes were cracking me up, like the bumblebee for instance. The big one. I felt so bad, we walked around Ogden High School and the teachers handed out candy that we brought in. So all the kids were getting sweaty and tired in their costumes because we were walking up and down stairs, but this bumblebee girl kept saying, "I'm hot, this is heavy." And you know what her mom said? " Quit being such a woosey. Suck it up. You are being such a baby." Now there's a good parent, no sympathy or anything for the girl that is wearing a 100 lb. costume. Gotta love the ghetto-ness of it all.

A Preview...

So, I had this big elaborate idea for Halloween this year, complete with all things breakfast. Bucky - Bacon, Anna-Fried Egg, Ev-Carton of milk, and Ethan- Toast. I was excited and prepared. But then word came back from a certain young man that he would rather be a football player.

Dang. I really love Halloween and love to do my ideas. Most of the time I center the ideas around something that the kids want to be. But not this year, it was all me. So, I sat the kids down and had a heart to heart with them about what THEY wanted to be. Evie decided she wanted to be a mouse and Ethan wanted to borrow a costume from one of his cousins (Storm Trooper). OK. So Evie and I worked on her costume today. I love the glittery foam sheets, they make the ears look cool.

Ammendment to What The Freak?!

I have to express the fact that I am not mad about people asking me that question! I found it funny that I could go 4 years without people asking me about having more kids and then in the last month it seemed like a flood of interest! That's all. I love ya'll and appreciate the interest, but it's apparently a touchy subject. It just happens to coincide with my PMS this month too. Not a good combination!

What the Freak?!

I realize that I've used this title already on a previous post, but I'll use it again in subsequent entries when I feel the need. OK here's my, "WHAT THE FREAK!" of the week.

Four times in the last month random friends of mine have asked me if I'm going to have any more kids.

I don't know why this bothers me, only that WHAT BUSINESS IS MY RE PRODUCTIVITY OF YOURS? (Said in an exasperated almost whiny voice, not a pissed way) That's all. Truth is I may or may not at times think I would like to have more kids. But when I have to go into a lengthy discussion about health insurance or my miscarriage then by the end of it I'm annoyed. Why do I feel like that single question pushes me into thinking that if I don't have 3 or more children I'm not fulfilling my role of motherhood. It's like we aren't a real family until then! I swear. C'mon people.

So, please if you're going to ask someone that question STOP and think about the reason why you're asking that question. Does it matter? Do you like to see miserable pregnant women? There really are better questions to ask, don't you think? Can I get an amen?

Hitting the Beaten Path

This weekend we decided to get out and find a trail in Ogden that we could do with the kids. It was fun, we hiked Indian trail. It runs along the Ogden River and was used when the river was high. The kids did great and there's not going to be too many days left of them!


Is it just me or does this look like a fake backdrop? Green screen anyone?

He's Made for the Stage

As many of you know Ethan started at a new school last week. It has been a great experience for him. The kids are a little better behaved and the school actually encourages the parents to log at least 30 hours of volunteer work in or out of the classroom. His teacher is a super cute and nice lady who I believe is younger than me. And I'm only 28!

The first day of school E's teacher sent home a note saying that this Friday they would be performing a poem that they had made up in front of the class and parents. I had to laugh because in her note she implied that this might be hard for Ethan to do, to memorize a short poem and read in front of an audience. For all of you who know Ethan, you know that he is quite fearless when it comes to an audience, frighteningly so, for me anyway. :) Here's the video and he decided to add little something to the end.

The Boy's Getting Bigger

Careful What You Wish For...

Ever since we moved up to Ogden the thought of Ethan going to that space portal of a school really didn't sit well with me. So we looked and looked and applied and applied for 2 months straight before school started. We did not get in to any of these schools. Buck and I decided to throw ourselves into helping in any way we could at Dee. Two weeks ago we had a meeting to try and get a PTA started there.

Which brings me to this Monday. My sister-in-law Molly told me about a charter school that had openings. The school is about a 20 minute drive and requires uniforms. Sounds good right, but on my drive there I got lost. Not terribly lost, but pretty lost. I thought, is this a sign? Was Ethan not supposed to go to this school? And then I remembered that I get HORRIBLY lost no matter where I go. Really. Always lost. I finally made it and it seemed as great as I always thought it would be. I met Ethan's teacher and her name is Mrs. Furse. So Ethan will be starting first grade with Mrs. Furse. How funny. She already solicited me to do an art project with the class next Thursday. Anyone have ideas? It needs to be able to hang on the bulletin board and be for Halloween. HELP! I'll post pics on Monday of him in his school uniform because I can't wait. So cute.

The Orton's

Back before we had kids (a million years ago) we lived in a little trailer in Moscow. This is where we met the Orton's. They also lived in a trailer just across the way. I think Buck and I could safely say it was one of our favorite times of our marriage. There's something about having small babies and sharing those experiences with another family at that same stage in your life.

Brent and Tanya are such loving, GOOFY, run with the punches kind of people. We were sad to see them go after Brent graduated from the University of Idaho. They moved to Caldwell Idaho and it's been hard to see them since. We love getting together with them whenever we can. So last night when Tanya called to see if they could stay the night at our house we were stoked. They got over here kind of late, 11pm. But not too late for us or them. We used to stay up with them until 1 or 2 in the morning because we were watching Blackbeard's Ghost or fixing a roof that Bucky had fallen through the night before. That really happened. And this night was no different. We stayed up until 2 talking and laughing and then a little bit after that because their little guy Paul woke up.

Needless to say we were REALLY tired in the morning, so the pictures are a little scary...

Ode to Kelly

Has this ever happened to you? You live somewhere and say you've lived there for 2 years and a couple of months before you move you find a really cool person? It's tragic. Really sad. That's how my friend Kelly is. I'm writing this without her knowledge and she's probably thinking, "Dude this chick is crazy." Then she'll stop returning my calls and stop talking to me cold turkey. Probably not. She doesn't scare easily. :)

She is creative and smart. Sometimes I think that I'll stop hanging out with her because she just oozes creativity out of every fiber of her being and it makes me just a smidgen jealous. Ya'll should check out her Etsy site. Every time I look at it it makes me think of different members of my family and friends. Christmas is coming up! Beth I have you, so find something you like!

The Party....

Well, my party last night was to say the least, fantastic. Not only did it push me to do things decorating wise that I'd never done before, but wanted to, but it was also fun to just hang out with friends and family.

Here is something that maybe everyone as done, but I've never done before. It's simple, you cover a artists canvas with fabric using a staple gun. I found this HUGE canvas at DI ( Deseret Industries Thrift Store) for $8. Here it is. An old woman that walked past me said, "What a lovely picture!" And she was serious. I guess it's lovely in it's own way... Do you like the finished product? I'm hanging it above my dresser.

It's never a Cash Bash until they get out the instruments. :) Buck on Banjo, D on guitar and Nick on mandolin. It was fun. I got to use my collection of old canning jars with tealights to set the ambiance. I don't know what it is about candles, but it just makes everything seem so magical! Anyway, I too was busy having fun to take pictures. Sorry!

This is Evie's first day of preschool. I'm not sure why she's making this face, she does it all the time though. She's a bit hard to handle. :)

Something I Just Don't Like To Do...

I have good intentions, I really do, but somehow I don't plan ahead. I feel a little stifled if I plan ahead. Like if I have something planned then I feel like it's taking up all of my day and leaves no room to fly by the seat of my pants. Does that make sense?

Which brings me to my current situation. We are having a house warming party on Friday, Sept 25th. Everyone is invited! I even bought these cute little cards to mail to people, but I couldn't find addresses and blah blah blah. It's from 7-whenever you want to leave. I WILL have food. So come. I want ya'll to see the house!

Our address is 1910 VanBuren Ave. Ogden, UT

Take the 21st Street Exit and stay on through downtown
Ogden. Take a Left (North) on VanBuren and go 2 blocks.
Our house is on the east side of the street.

Do you Think it's a Disease?

Sometimes I wonder if I've got a disease. A good deal shopping disease. It was ingrained into me at a young age. My mother is quite possibly the most frugal woman I know. She rarely eats out, she never buys something unless it's on sale, and she is an avid yard sale shopper. You might think to yourself..."Well what's so bad about those things?" Well, the bad thing is that sometimes I buy things because they're such a good deal, not because I need them, but more I feel I HAVE to have them.

Which brings me to two days ago. There is a store here called DownEast Home. They get out of stock clothing and Pottery Barn furniture, bedding and expensive Nordstrom jeans and stuff. It's like a beautiful shiny heaven to me. If I won the lottery I would go there. So, once or twice a year they have a tent sale. I've never been (truth be told I wouldn't trust myself in there. ) but this sale I thought, "I can handle this." I'll just make a list.

Ha. Really it's laughable. On my list were curtains, for pretty much every room. When we moved into this house there were no blinds, curtains, anything. So, I've been tacking up random pieces of fabric in an attempt to walk around in some sort of privacy. I'd had enough.

I had heard that these sales can get kind of crazy. I realized it was true when I walk in and they hand me a black BIG garbage bag. OK. This must be good I tell myself. I tell Evie, stay under the table and play with your little dog toy because Mommy's going to look. Hey I didn't know if she would get trampled!

Well, an hour later and after many failed attempts of Evie to JUST WALK OUT BECAUSE SHE WAS SO HOT, we left. I was proud of myself. I only spend $33. None of it was curtains though. They didn't have any, BUT they did have super cute monogrammed items. Here is my itemized list.

8 carpet squares 2/$5 - $20

2 Monogrammed Pillow Cases $1 each
1 Full sized Flat sheet $5
1 small decorative pillowcase $3

1 Silver clock $3

The bedding I got is for Alyssa's room/guest room downstairs, so it's not a useless purchase. The useless purchase was the next day when I went back and found these shams for $1. I loved the look of them, but truth be told I have no where to use them (YET). Hey it's better than drinking soda, right? At least it's tangible?! I don't know, this is a long rant. Sorry about that. I guess I'm just wanting to know if other woman have this same issue or is it just me?

I Feel the Earth Move...

Backhoe's should be considered one of the many wonders of the world.

Our new next door neighbors are awesome.

These are the things I know for sure.

What are the chances that we move next door to people who know how to do everything and aren't afraid to try? Slim I tell you. Gary (next door neighbor husband) is in charge of the grounds for the school district in Ogden. SO...he knows all about using a Bobcat and landscaping and using diesel fuel as a weed killer. Yeah, we take MOST of his advice but we had to draw the line at the diesel. So, long story even longer, I ask Gary how much it is to rent a Backhoe. He responds, "Ahh I know the people down at the rental place so I'll just get one. No joke 10 minutes later, there's a Kubota all ready to tear crap apart.

First he ripped down the fence that was inbetween our back yards and then proceeded to make 2 levels out of our back yard. We're putting in a retaining wall because supposedly there was some flooding in the back yard due to the slope of it. He pulled out a HUGE stump and just basically rocked it.

BUT THEN (insert dum dum dum music) as he was finishing up pulling the rest of the fence out a pipe puncured the back tire. Sh&%! I didn't say it but I knew everyone was thinking that as we heard the familiar PSSSSHHHHH. Dude. So, the back yard is mostly level but we have to smooth it out just a bit and we have to sell a kidney to pay for the back tire. A perfect Saturday.

The Anti-Climactic Birthday of the Century

Ethan is now officially 7.

Last year for his party we had a BIG one, so this year I wanted to have a family party. This means something different to my husband. He thinks...hmmm...extended family and cousins and the whole shabang. I meant just US. But as we talked about it more, I realized that when we had a family party growing up, that there were a lot of siblings around so it SEEMED like a big party. I had never thought about that. So, in my efforts to try and throw together some sort of surprise party, I fell flat on my face. It was sad! I guess most people don't go by the seat of their pants very well. BUT...he did get some new Legos and a sweet hoodie from Grandma Massey. It was not the worst day of his life let me tell you. But, next year look for an invitation to the biggest party this side of O-Town (which I will prepare for months in advance)!

It Rhymes With Mellow

I've always been fond of mustard. Really, I love the flavor. But, never, I repeat never have I ever thought about wearing the color or using it in my decorating. BUT, lately I've been loving most every shade of yellow. I love to wear a mustard color, I like to decorate with a sunny yellow, and I really love a yellow eyeshadow. Maybe I'm maturing in my color palette with old age and all that! Anyone else know what I'm talking about?

Best and Worst of August 31st 2009

Since we now live about 30 miles from the life that I knew down in North Salt Lake it's exciting for me to take a trip down and visit friends and family. You know, savoring what you took for granted before and all that jazz. :D So, yesterday we drove down for my mother-in-laws birthday party but we left fairly early so that I could visit my friend and old upstairs neighbor, Julie.

We got there and the kids were having a good time playing with Ava, then we decided to go to Carl's Jr. and get some dinner. Great. Good times. We eat and the kids are playing on the playland, Julie and I are yackin' AND THEN....Evie looks at me through the mesh net and says, "OH NO!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" (That's me) "Stop. Stop peeing. Stop peeing right now."

Nope. She couldn't. She peed more than any kid has the bladder room for. It's like she hadn't peed in days.

I looked over at Julie with this devastated look on my face, no doubt, and then we start laughing because it's SO EMBARRASSING! I had to get a mop and climb in that stupid playland and clean up the mess. The WORST part though, ladies and gentlemen, is that I couldn't get the pee that was all over the net that she was standing on. So, if I were you I wouldn't go in the Carl's Jr. on 500S. Bountiful anytime soon. Sorry about that. I told the manager in case you were wondering and they have a company that cleans their playgound. But still. Sorry. I can't figure out how to control her bladder.

Help Anyone?

The best thing about yesterday was catching up with Julie and having a birthday party for Jo. And also I haven't mentioned this before but we get this awesome breeze, no wind, every morning and night that comes out of the canyon, so after a 90 degree day the wind cools you down. Then in the morning it wakes you up. It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood!

Much Anticipated House Photos....

So, I have gotten requests to post pics of the new house. Well alrighty, but no judgments because I haven't got everything packed away yet! I just finished pillowcases and a yellow throw for my bed yesterday (thank you Molly!). But other than that, there is not an entire room that's done yet. Against my better judgment, here goes.

One small bathroom for now, hoping to put in another soon!

I am in love with this black and white print for pillowcases!

This is the front room, it's nice and quaint with a bar for the kids

or in this case for me to write my posts!

This is the family room downstairs and the place we watch TV.
Kinda boring right now, but wait I will make it awesome!



By far the scariest room in the house, this is on the other
side of the wall of the family room. This is where Bucky wants to
build his music room and I want a bathroom. And there is also
going to be a closet for the laundry. Labor Day weekend we will
be sheet rocking if anyone wants to come help!!!