because i'm kind of a mess

if you know me, you know i love a good apron.
i mean really love a good apron.
mostly because i'm kind of a mess.
i'm not talking about emotionally either, because while that's probably true, that's a post for another day.
i mean i am a mess, in the kitchen especially.
i haven't learned the art of neat and tidy cooking.
but homemade goodness from the kitchen is usually worth it, so it's ok.
but not if it adds to my laundry pile.
and not if it requires me to change my clothes after every meal.
and not if i have to reach for the towel to dry my hands every ten seconds.
and so, i love a good apron.
and lucky for me, patsy has been sewing up a storm lately.

this photo doesn't even do it justice - it's so dang cute!
and i love the style, sort of old fashioned that doesn't tie around your neck.
and this morning, when i was making the kids' lunches,
i should've been wearing it.
because i wasn't.
and now my pajamas smell like tuna.
thanks patsy, i love you.

please pass the catch-up

it's late sunday evening, and i'm reveling in some quiet computer time - finally.
there have been about ten too many end-of-term projects going on at my house lately with three teenagers and their demanding school schedules. luckily, the end of term is coming soon. listen closely, and you may hear a collective deep breath on thursday when the school bell rings. we are all looking forward to a three day weekend.

i should be taking advantage of my turn on the computer, and the quiet house by taking care of some things on my "get it done" list. things like editing these loooong over due photos of my beautiful new niece.

or editing photos of this darling family whom i love.

or working on updated photos for grandma's apple tree.

but i can't.

because, my blog is nagging at me.

i have this dilemma .
i haven't been a consistent blogger since spring break, maybe even before that?
i don't want to try and catch up, because, that's a little too overwhelming, but i feel like for documenting purposes, i need to at least summarize what we've been up to in the last few months. so here goes.
starting with a summer recap.

i had mixed emotions all summer long.
i didn't want to spend the whole summer unpacking boxes and miss the time with my kids. especially because taylor will probably be working full time next summer saving money for school, because he will be a senior next year. what? that's a post for another day.
back to summer.

we spent a lot of time trying to cool off because the heat was such a bear!
sometimes cooling off involved the back yard hose,

or a local water park with friends or cousins, or friends that feel like cousins.

 or, eating as much frozen yogurt as humanely possible

 but some days the heat was so bad, all little ethan could handle was laying on the tramp with a squirt bottle to cool off.

 i learned how to tend roses this summer thanks to patsy, and allie enjoyed photographing them regularly!

of course we loved going to see toy story three!

and especially loved getting a copy of rich's game to play and play all summer long.

allie and taylor spent a week re-roofing, painting and cleaning up in a low-income area of salt lake with our church's youth group. i don't know why i don't have a photo of taylor, he looked just like a chimney sweep in mary poppins most days since he was tarring the roofs. a ton of hard and hot work, but they loved it!

i learned how to work the grill this summer thanks to my dad, and so we hosted several bbq get togethers which was so much fun! i love the easiness of bbq, everybody brings something, there's not a ton of preparation involved, eating outside, chating, our new little kids picnic table, love everything about it.

oh, and i got to hold and kiss the newest smith in the family, sweet little emmie cakes.
ethan is in love with her too. who isn't man? she's such a princess. and she smells so good.

and i guess these photos remind me that i also wore super bright red hair for a little bit of the summer.

 thanks to grandpa's nice ebay hook up - we also lagooned for a day with cousins.
this included, the green dragon which ethan LOVED (cole not so much), bumper cars, some more serious roller coaster riding by the older kids, me and grandpa, funnel cakes (of course), going up in the giant farris  wheel with grandpa, and allie winning at bingo at the ebay party!

 and we stayed until closing which meant that everyone slept like rocks that night.

 we celebrated our country's birthday, as well as our state's.

 and all the smith birthdays in august with the happiest little cupcakes we've ever made!

of course, we did a million things that we didn't take photos of - like unpacking boxes

furniture shopping 

trying to decorate the walls

lots and lots and lots of weed pulling - yuck

driving lessons

movie marathons
halo nights with friends and dad
girls' nights out
eclipse
reading and reading and reading
ethan finally got a hampster!!
and more...
i was sad for it to end.
especially since today, it was so cold, there was SNOW on the mountains. sheesh.

the paper bib

sometimes you just have to...

sport the paper bib
embrace the old bay seasoning stuck in every little crack of your manicured finger nails
pop hush puppies even though you know they're just deep fried globs of corn meal
laugh at the seemingly misplaced sausage in your basket of seafood
eat your whole dinner with your fingers, including the red potatoes
fight to get every last little morsel of crab meat out of those darn legs

why? because life shouldn't always be neat and tidy.
hence, the bib.
thank you joe's crab shack, and my cute mom for choosing it.

inside my head today

i've been behind on this blog since spring break
ok, maybe way before then
do i try to catch up at this point?
a fantastic spring break
dance recital
school play
choir and orchestra concerts
PROM
lacrosse
end of school
photo shoots
a new house!
and more
just the number of photos involved is overwhelming.

we are moved in - sort of
feeling humbled by how many people helped us
we are loved
every day i unpack boxes
but don't make a lot of progress
how is that?
loving this rambler house
but missing the old house's storage capacity
allie counted twelve closets in that house, not including bedrooms
this house, has TWO including the pantry
what the?
where do i put the broom?
thinking vertically lately for storage solutions
"oh look, a tiny space right up there! is it too small for a shelf?"
my computer is not set up yet
mostly because i don't know where to put it
all of my photos are on it, so i need to figure that out soon
the living room seemed like a good choice
but there would be computer cables showing
does that seem tacky?
but i like lap-topping at the kitchen table, or sofa, or bedroom

i'm shocked that it's summer already
but glad it's here
not excited to squeeze into a swimming suit soon
but we love to swim so i guess i just need to suck in
(if only that really worked)
loving that our backyard is right off the kitchen now
ethan plays outside a ton more than before
which means he will have more freckles this year
even though i lather him with sunscreen constantly
excited about buying a fire pit for roasting marshmallows
the pouring rain squashed our plans of testing it out tonight

the kids and i saw DAVID COOK in salt lake today
you know, my cookie who i love?
and i turned into a nervous nellie
and i didn't want to bug him
or make him feel like a zoo animal
so i didn't take his photo
or get his autograph
or tell him that i think he's amazing
or that we voted and screamed when he won
or that i call him cookie
i was afraid i would sound like an idiot
"oh my gosh, we like, totally voted for you!"
he was shorter in person than i thought he would be
but still very handsome
how did i blow this chance to meet him?
can i really call myself his number one fan now?
disappointed in myself
what is appropriate celebrity sighting behavior anyway?

how do you feel about computer cords in the living room?

fresh air

poor april, she's been making that crazy face on my blog for two plus weeks now. it's time for a change.

it's been a long couple of weeks, for starters, i tended my two nieces and nephew for nine days while their mom and dad were in hawaii on vacation. we had a lot of fun being a family of nine for that time, but i was so tired at the end of each day, that blogging took a back seat in my life. we're back to being a family of six again but i feel overwhelmed at the task of "catching up". i decided to just take it one little random thing at a time. so here goes...

i finally bought something i've been coveting now for two years, i've been thinking about since i first saw it. but it's a frivolous purchase and i could never really justify it. well, since all of our money is going towards fixing up and beautifying this house of ours lately, i decided it could really fall into that category. right? beautifying the deck? it's totally justified.

isn't it lovely? i know! i don't even have to sit in it to feel the love, i just peek out the window and there it is all inviting and sweet. i have a weakness for rocking chairs.

the best part of this house is the awesome view (although this day was over cast and gloomy and you can't see the mountains), but most days, it's really the perfect spot to relax and unwind. (by the way, that thing in the sky is the bottom of our bird feeder, not a UFO)

so a new rocking chair is not really a home improvement project per say, but it does feel like an improvement to my day to sit outside for a little while and enjoy the fresh air. i highly recommend it.

six for sunday

everything in my life feels so random right now, that a six for sunday misceallany post seems appropriate...

one. while april was organizing my pantry the other day (her specialty), i checked the mail and found this flyer...

since someone was at my house helping me clean, we both found it pretty comical. even better, was that it took about ten shots for april to re-create the face of the horrified woman on the flyer.

two. with all of the projects and spring cleaning going on at my house this week, i decided to finally take down the christmas cards/photos from the front door.

i usually leave them up until at least easter because all those smiling faces make me so happy.

after it was done, the space seemed so naked. 

what can i do to my front door to make it a happier space?

three. i figured out how to throw out ethan's pre-school projects guilt free! we hang it up on the fridge for a while, ooo and ahhhh over it to several people, take a photo of him with it, and then toss it! (sneakily of course, not infront of him) it's so freeing!

of course, i have saved a handful of things, but seriously, i wish i would've done this way back when taylor started bringing home the art work twelve or so years ago. he's only fifteen now, is it too late to have him pose with a few of his kindergarten projects?

four. my family came over for dinner tonight and for no real good reason other than taste bud delight, i whipped up these chocolate forest cherry cupcakes. yum.

i piped a little "nest" of frosting to house the tablespoon of cherry pie filling that went on top. it was the best part, next time i'm going to use a little more than i did tonight. i'm definitely going to make them again, they were as yummy as they were pretty. even rich liked them, and that's saying a lot.  i know i've said it before, but the wendy paul cupcake book, is so great!

five. this weekend i spent a chunk of time immaculately cleaning my office. it's so satisfying to get everything organized and dust-free, but so disheartening to know that it's such a high-traffic area that it will only stay this way for less than a day. 

so here's proof that it does get cleaned occasionally.

six. last week, i woke up way too early, somewhere in the five o'clock hour to take spencer to early morning wrestling practice. i found a certain teenager in her bathroom curling each and every inch of her very long, very straight hair with the triple barrel she got for her birthday.

apparently, this process takes hours and required her to get up long before the sun to get it done in time to catch the bus. and while very cute, especially with the flower, it just reinforced to me, the fact that i am so not a girlie girl.
i much prefer sleep over vanity.

i need a cookie

what in the world has happened to ameican idol? where have all the good singers gone? i am hoping that it was "first night" nerves because there wasn't really anyone either night that knocked my socks off. most of them were TERRIBLE, not like just ok, but genuinely awful. i do have some high hopes for a select few, like andrew garcia, crytal bowersox (thank goodness they made her brush her teeth!), didi benami, casey james, lee dewyze and lilly scott, but even they weren't as good as i thought they could be. i've been cheering for tyler grady because i think he's adorable and i love his style. i think they will get past their nerves and pull out some great performances. let's hope so anyway. another week like this one, and i just might have to do something productive with my time instead of watch tv.

but maybe the problem is me. 
maybe my standard has been set too high.
maybe what i really need...

is a cookie.

floods

dear grandma,
i really love the buzz and woody, and cars pjs you made for me when i was two.

they get softer every time my mom washes them.  i don't think i'm going to let her wash them any more though, because every time i put them on, more and more of my ankles show. she must be doing something wrong.

i know i'm four now, but i can't figure out why they keep shrinking. 
luckily, my mom bought me a pair of slippers that i wear all the time, and they help disguise the shortness of my pjs a little bit.

but the boys keep asking me if i'm waiting for a flood. why would i wear pjs to a flood?

if you make me a new pair, i promise never to let my mom wash them, then they will fit forever.
love,
ethan
*note - after reading a few of the comments, i thought i would add, in NO WAY was this post meant to be a hint to grandma to make new pjs. in fact, we have several new pair of homemade versions thanks to help from ann. i just wanted a clever way to document his undying love for these pjs that he refuses to give up. 

caution: exploding pants ahead

if i'm not careful this week, my jeans might explode right off my body.

it's true, and all because of this:

oh. my. goodness.

have you tried this stuff?

if you haven't, it's at costco, by the guac and dips.

if you go, treat yourself to a fancier box of crackers to eat it with. fancy crackers make all the difference.

but don't say i didn't warn you.

oh my gosh, here it comes....

mmmmm.sigh.

heaven on a cracker.

oh, and do yourself a favor, and just skip reading the nutrition facts.

i was ok with those evil numbers printed on the back, but it might ruin it for some of the more health consious readers out there.
hence, the exploding jeans.

i heart ree

for years now, i have been following pioneer woman on her hillarious journey of "high heels to tractor wheels" on her very well done blog. this woman completely amazes me, i am always in awe of how much she can do, and that she does it all so well.

her photos are stunning and she knows exactly the right kind of tweaking with photoshop to make them that much better. she lives on a cattle ranch, she home-schools her beautiful children, she is in love with her handsome cowboy husband, oh AND she can cook. like nobody's business. but all of this goodness isn't what i love the most about her. it's her ability to tell a story and make me feel like i'm a part of her little life out there in the country, like we've been friends for as long as i've been reading. her stories usually send me laughing, sometimes crying, sometimes a little bit of both. she's just so REAL, such a down home cookin', kind of a woman, and i love her! i love ree drummond!

ok, so we've established that i'm a fan, maybe a little too much, but seriously, everyone i know who reads her feels the same way i do. so imagine how excited i was to hear that she was publishing a cook book! yay!

of course i pre-ordered it on amazon, several actually, and i couldn't wait to see it, i knew she would have written and photographed everything in it herself and it would be amazing. and it is by the way.

so imagine how over the top excited i was to find out that salt lake city was on her book tour!!!!

of course we planned a big girl's night out, got there way early because we knew there would be a million people there (even if the tiny little book store had NO IDEA - which they didn't). and it was worth all the waiting and standing in line, and evening buying another expensive copy from the tiny little book store because mine hadn't arrived in the mail from amazon yet. (guess what arrived the very  next day?) all of it, totally worth it, she was wonderful! 

it was great to hear her speak, the question and answer session was a lot of fun - i could tell right away that everyone else in the room loved her as much as me.(we are in the fourth row back on the leftish - you can see patsy waving).

she also brought her sister in law missy who i was thrilled to meet, she's beautiful!

after the Q&A, we waited in another long line that wound through the tiny but delightful bookstore - though not as long for us since we were there super early and got tickets to the signing - woohoo!

but that line was worth it too, because she signed my book for me and chatted for a minute, and chuckled when i told her that she "saved thanksgiving gravy at my house".

i really wanted her to know this. i explained about having my SIL hold the laptop for me by the stove top while i scrolled down to each photo with one hand, whisk in the other, following along to make sure i was doing it just right. then she had a good laugh,  she said, "oh the gravy is so important, i'm so glad i could help!"

i wish i could have come up with something memorable to tell her, like how amazing i think she is.  i just didn't know what to say without sounding like a psycho - kind of like i am now i'm sure. i heart ree.

mom and dad are cool - really

friday nights are usually crazy at our house with three teenagers coming and going with their friends. last friday night, it ended up that everyone was going instead of coming and ethan found himself with just lame old mom and dad to hang out with. what's a four year old to do?

he wasn't so sad when he found out dad was taking us for ice cream.

and agreed to sitting at the tiny kids' table no less!

(thank goodness the chair i sat in didn't break and thus my self esteem remained in tact).

so over all,

the seating could've been more comfortable,

but the ice cream was really good,

and the company, was even better.

i love how ethan is holding our faces in this photo.

mom and dad aren't so bad after all.

swooning

so here's my ten (ok eleven) cents about new moon.

1. i liked kristen stewart better in this movie than in the first.

2. jasper is still totally lame. and why do they make him wear that horrific wig?

3. i could have used a lot more of this in the film...

4. i'm not a fan of the new vampire contacts, edward's real eye color is much more handsome.

5. taylor lautner is so yummy in this movie, for a few minutes i almost switched teams. there, i said it.

6. but i'm still team edward, because, let's face it,  he looks like he was carved out of cream cheese.

7. i thought the wolves looked ridiculously fake. i mean, c'mon.

8. i thought the wolves in their man forms were ridiculously good looking.

9. there was still not enough of the cullen family on screen - this was a complaint of mine from the first movie too. they are one of my favorite parts of the books and they're practically non-existant in the first two movies.

10. the scenes with victoria were very cool. i officially want her hair.

11. over all, i thought it was better than the first one, and really well done.

loved it.