hyper drive

i've often said that may is busier than december except there's no "christmas magic" to work as an anesthesia to help you get through it. some days are just down right insanity, there's no other word to describe it. insanity of good things, but insanity just the same. so just for fun, here's a few of the reasons i was a lame blogger in may:

teacher appreciation luncheon at the jr. high (which was actually fun with help from lauri, patsy and janae - thanks ladies!)

senior photos (here are a couple of my favorites)

allie's spring recital - first recital on pointe shoes and oh my gosh was she awesome! (even though this photo is less than awesome)

mother's day

wayne and eileen's mission call to africa

allie's "night of noteables"

ethan's date with allie at school for "bring a preschooler day"

"you're a good man, charlie brown" when we barely saw taylor for two full weeks

drove to idaho with grandma to decorate graves over memorial weekend

spencer loved DARE lagoon day with his buddies
a shopping, er, i mean, marketing field trip with allie

taylor's guitar recital (i forgot my camera)

tuesday cousin play groups

not to mention the things i actually blogged about already: wood floors, date with my dad, kris allen winning idol, anniversary get-away, spencer's orchestra recital, playing at the park, etc. at some point i really need to write out some of the details of a few of these events, but that's going to have to be later in a catch up post. for now, i'm exhausted just looking at this list. it's time for a sunday afternoon nap.

you are a TOY!

just incase you wondered what project rich is working on next... (sorry the video cuts off on the right, i can't figure out how to fix it).

disney finally announced that toy story 3 will be out in june 2010, which means i can finally blog about rich's next project, the TS3 wii game. this youtube video has also been the most requested by ethan in the last hour, i think we've watched it ten times so far, and counting. i still think that it's one of the most original and awesome stories of any movie i've ever seen. can't wait to see what buzz and woody do next.

doing something right

it's a well-known fact in my little family, that if we're driving in the car and i start screaming, it's probably because steve perry is on the radio. the kids just know. and what's funny is that they used to roll their eyes around and dismiss me as weird, fair enough. but now, they kind of get it, i know this because now when "don't stop believin'" (my favorite of favorites) comes on, we turn it up real loud and everyone in the car rocks out. it's no longer a one-mom rock concert going on.

so the other day, ethan and i were running errands at the mall. while we stopped for a minute to grab a quick bite from chick-fil-a (best nuggets ever), and ethan gets this real excited look in his eyes and looks at me with his eyebrows perked. then i realize, he hears steve perry playing over head and ethan starts jamming out, inlcuding singing along! he knows the words! ha ha ha. and then, in my moment of delighted surprise, i thought to myself, "i must be doing something right, because all my kids, even the three year old, knows a classic when he hears one".

alone at last!

thanks to a doting grandma and a best friend willing to double as a taxi driver, rich and i made it out of town for our anniversary on friday. we didn't go far, park city, and only for one night, but it was a fantastic 36 or so hours for sure. at lunch we realized we haven't been alone over night together since our cruise in 2004! what the? how does time get away from us like that? we concluded that we will definitely not be waiting five years to do it again.

things to remember-

(things i photographed, and things i did not)

*lunch at CPK even though rich hates that place. (thanks hon)

*gorgeous scenery everywhere, drive up and back, hotel room and view.

*the barn with the flag that i'm going to photograph some day.

*the teeny tiny movie theater.

*getting a little lost trying to find the teey tiny theater.

*dinner at baja cantina - our fave little restaurant in park city and mexican flags in our food.

*sleeping in until TEN with the air conditioning blasting. ahhh.

*getting caught in some serious rain while shopping the outlet stores. wow.

*seeing park city as a ghost town this time of year.

*holding hands the absolute whole time.

*discovering the most yummy breakfast place.

*who knew spinach in your eggs could be so fabulous?

*not getting even ONE spot on my white shirt all day. i had some close calls though.

*the gorgeous brighton jewelry rich gave me as a surprise.

*coming home to four happy to see us kids.

*finding out that they had mowed, trimmed and weeded while we were gone.

i love you babe, thanks for such a great weekend.

next time, we're staying for two nights.

double digits

i'm not entirely sure if rich really knew what he was getting himself into ten years ago today, but i am sure that i have felt real gratitude every single day since then, that he jumped into the proverbial frying pan with both feet. we really do have something to celebrate today.

ten years of not just making it work, but making it great.

ten thank yous to my ricardo mas...

1. thank you for helping me become a better person.

2. thank you for making me laugh, a lot.

3. thank you for being my safe place.

4. thank you for letting me be yours.

5. thank you for being an amzing father to our children.

6. thank you for having such a strong work ethic.

7. thank you for thinking it's important for me to be home with the children.

8. thank you for buying my wood floor before your tv.

9. thank you for telling me that i'm easy on the eyes.

10. thank you for stretching your comfort zone every day.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE,

I AM CA-RAZY ABOUT YOU.

euphoria evaporation

since the wood floor went in a few weeks ago, my love for this house has been rekindled. the other day on my way to bed i felt real JOY while walking in my bare feet down the wooden hallway. it represents such a big chunk of what i've wanted for this house for SO LONG, that i'm thrilled to have finally gotten it done. that's not being materialistic right? ok, it is, but whatever, i'm shallow like that. don't judge. i mean, we've just had so many unexpected issues/expenses with this house that sometimes i lose the vision (and the finances) of how great it's going to be. and it really will be great. so the wood floor enduced euphoria has been a nice welcomed change for me because it's helped me to see this home's potential once again which translates into motivation to pull out those dang paint clothes again and get a few more things done.

so tonight, when rich came to bed and informed me that we have another LEAK -this time, in the dining room ceiling, i found out what it's like to have euphoria physically drain out the tips of my toes and be replaced with anxiety and dread. in an instant i pictured myself sprinting to the front yard, frantically digging a small hole and slamming a "for sale" sign down into as fast as i could.it happened that quickly. maybe this seems like an over-reaction, ok, it IS an over-reaction, but can you blame me? i'm so done with the dang leaky pipes. we REALLY thought that the leaky pipe issues were behind us. shouldn't it be that if you write a ginormous check to fix a problem that it can be considered resolved, as in, you no longer have to worry about it? is this some kind of humbling exercise because i felt joy over the wood floors and so therefore could be considered shallow and materialistic?

so tomorrow a guy will come and cut a big hole in the ceiling and deliver some kind of at least $1,000 diagnosis. but for now, i've decided that the word LEAK is my new cuss. i'm thinking of incorporating into my daily speaking, as in, "no LEAKing tv until your LEAKing homework is done!" or, "i don't know what to LEAKing fix for dinner", or "where in the LEAK are my LEAKing car keys?" what do you think? this could be huge, like the next mormon swear or something. if it starts to catch on, remember, you heard it here first.

finesse

he made it look so easy...

he even landed on his feet.

if i had tried this growing up, i would've landed on my face.

luckily, i've always known this about myself, which is why i've never flipped off of a swing in mid-flight. it never even occurred to me that this is was an option, because, i'm aware of my limitations.

it requires a certain level of finesse that i simply don't have.

and boys, just seem to be natural born dare-devils.

in fact, i think they might even be part cat.

can you do this?

are your boys dare-devils?

should i be nervous about his up-coming teenager years?

yesssssssss!

WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!i WISH i would've video taped all the screaming that took place at our house tonight after ryan seacrest announced our idol season 8 fave's name - KRIS ALLEN! i really had HOPED that kris would win, i really think he's fantastic, but sort of expected seacrest to say adam's name instead. there has just be so much hype surrounding him, i knew kris was sort of the underdog. so, i was definitely among the screamers at my house tonight, and after kris sang his song, we followed tradition and promptly headed to dairy queen for some celebrating! we met lauri's family there too since lauri is an even bigger kris fan than me, (she loves him like i love cookie), we decided they should be in on the tradition.

and while i have really missed seeing my cookie on the show this year, (i'm not sure i'll ever love another idol like i love my cookie),

it was still a fun season with lots of really good contestants to cheer for. the whole night, ethan kept saying, "i'm just so surprised!"

ya, me too buddy, surprised, but THRILLED!

thumbs up kris allen!

congratulations on your awesome win.

you totally deserve it!

you can thank me for my 350 votes last night with a personal serenade.

call me.

date with my dad

the spring weather was gorgeous.

the fresh cut fries were heavenly.

the burger was one of the best i've ever had - truely.

the conversation was enjoyable. (although i'm sure i rambled too much.)

the company was fantastic. he didn't laugh when i pulled out the camera to photograph my "best burger" ever. in fact, he tipped the cup of fries for me, so i could get it just right.

we left wondering why we haven't done this before, (my dad works from home), and promising to do it again soon. dad, ethan and i at five guys burgers.

great day!

thanks dad. i love you.

it's the little things

there is still a little bit of touch up work to be done, but over all we have pretty much recovered from all the reconstruction around here. may is crazy enough with all the kids' activities, end of year school projects and yard work that need to be done, so why not add a major home improvement project to the mix? however crazy things got, it was TOTALLY worth it! i am in love with my cherry wood floor. it's so gor-geous and i'm still pinching myself that we did finally get it. some how i missed photographing the dining room, but here's a little looksee at what we did: kitchen/living room entry way our long long hallway

getting rid of all the old disgusting tile and carpet has been so invigorating! i love that i can now clean the entire main floor in about an hour because there is NO GROUT to scrub. yee ha! and when i wash it, it's actually clean, which was a feeling that was missing whenever i scrubbed the old stuff. we also got yummy new carpet in the two rooms on the whole main floor that don't have wood - the visiting teaching room and the office (pictured at the end of the long long hall). i love that new carpet smell. deep satisfying sigh. i also love that it took ethan about ten seconds to realize that the hallways is now a speedway for his matchbox cars. now i just need to finish the cupboard doors. it's always something.

oh, and one more fabulous thing i almost forgot. we finally replaced the hideous brass hanging lights from above the island with small spotlight style lights that i love.

they make the kitchen feel twice as open now and taylor loves that he no longer bumps his head on them while making a sandwhich. it's the little things.

two-fer-one celebration

friday we headed to apey's for some seriously yummy mexican food prepared by her and lauren (apey's sister who we love) to celebrate cinco de mayo. they are both fabulous cooks and i'm tellin' ya, the food was over-the-top yummy. the spread was incredible, every little last detail right down to several different kinds of salsa to authentic spanish rice and beef - these girls went all out. even after i was full i found it difficult to tell myself to "PUT. THE NACHO. DOWN." but how could i? could YOU resist a nacho like this? no way man. it's not within my will power limits.

we were also there to celebrate apey's birthday so lauren brought cupcakes from a new place in salt lake - SO CUPCAKE - i love their name almost as much as i loved their cupcakes.aren't they GORGEOUS? the whole night ethan kept asking poor lauren, "can i have a tup-tate please?" see, even the three year old knew they were something special. we cut them all up so everyone could sample them all, the mini raspberry lemonade ended up being my favorite, but that's no surprise since i'm a complete SUCKER for lemon. yum. these people know how to do frosting. seriously good lemon frosting. thick and fabulous.

so happy birthday apes - you know we love you right? but just incase you were wondering, I LOVE YOU. so glad to have you as a sister.

and just for apey's reading entertainment i put at least three typo-s in this post for her to find and correct for me. :) love you apes.

100 list revisited

i promised myself i would try to add a few things to this list every so often, so here goes. if you would like to see the first two installments, click here.

* i love gumballs - purple is my favorite but pink is a close second.
* taking up the tile made more dust than i will ever be able to physically remove in my life time.
* i wonder why creamies come in other flavors besides chocolate. what's the point?
* i function surprisingly well with no kitchen or living room furniture.
* it is better for my mental state to have things on my schedule to keep me going.
* i think may is busier than december and is more difficult to get through because there's no "christmas magic" to act as an anesthesia to get me through it.
* i really love veggies and fruits, but i also love butter and cheese.
* mother's day seems to really magnify the guilt i have over all of my short comings.
* i really love cherry wood. even though it shows more dust.
* sometimes i wonder if it's sick a wrong that a woman my age thinks zac ephron is so hot. i could almost be his mother!
* i'm lucky to be married to a man who sees the good in me.
* i love having "good mail" in my email inbox.
* i have survived this year because of theraputic thursday and good girlfriends.
* i wish i knew how to purge my life of guilt.
* i regret cutting my long hair.
* i always have a sick nervous stomach before a photo shoot.
* i keep thinking i'm going to burn my painting clothes after the painting project is over, but then another project begins before i have the chance.
* i wish we could have general conference every weekend.
* i have three ward callings right now.
* i mostly prefer silence rather than music while driving in the car.

ok, that's enough for now.

do you have guilt?

how do you feel about mother's day?

do you want to burn your paint clothes?

lessons from a toddler

i could use a little bit of this... balance, that is. the month of may and all of it's well, may-ing, has a way of making me feel so completely unbalanced. (insert mental illness joke here.) it's no wonder that right about now is the time of year when i start to count down the days until summer break (twenty-nine), when we can all take a deep breath and finally have some real family time again.