i heart summer photos

one of my favorite photos of the summer.isn't she beautiful?

ya, i grew her in my belly.

say what?

on saturday afternoon after i realized i didn't remember ethan ever going potty in the morning-

me: ethan, are you still wearing your diaper? (he wears one at night still)

ethan: no.

me: oh, did you put on your underpants?

ethan: no, i'm going commando.

huh? where do you think he learned what "going commando" means? i blame the teenagers.

while smelling candles at target the other day-

ethan: oooo, mom smell this one.

me: oh that's nice, it's cinnamon.

(ethan smells the candle again looking confused)

ethan: no it's not, it's hot tamales.

the other day in the car-

ethan: is it my birthday yet?

me: not yet, not until after halloween.

ethan: how about now?

me: no.

ethan: how about now?

me: no.

ethan: how about now?

me: no.

two days later...

ethan: is it my birthday yet?

me: no, not yet, it's not until after halloween.

ethan: (throwing his arms up exhasperated) but it's been dark TWO TIMES!

repeat this conversation at least three times every day since then, you get the picture. i'm remembering a time about 18 months or so ago, when the doctor requested some testing for autism because he wasn't even using one syllable. not so much a concern these days.

keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times

today was a big day, i can't really believe it's already here -

the first day of school!

(and these might be my worst first day of school photos ever - bleh!)

at the beginning of the summer, i knew it was going to fly by, because it ALWAYS does. and i end up feeling a little robbed on the first day of school. robbed of the carefree TIME i love to spend with my kids that only comes during the summer. this year is no different, worse even, because it rained all of june and i feel like summer didn't really start until july when the sun came out and it was hot enough to play at the pool.

but i guess it doesn't matter how i feel about it, school is officially back in session. this is a big and exciting year for my kids - taylor is starting high school, allie is no longer a newbie to jr. high, spencer is a newbie to jr. high, and ethan is getting ready for pre-school in a few weeks. the kids' excitement to start a new school year, see their friends and have some fun adventures makes it hard for me to be too sad about them leaving again, i am excited for all the fun that school can be for them.

but oh man, the roller coaster ride that is homework, busy schedules, volunteering, carpooling, and trying to stay on top of their crazy lives in between all that needs to be done around here....i'm bracing myself, because here we go.

fifteen

once upon a time, there was a baby growing in my belly, who was so late, i started to wonder if he would ever be born. two weeks and five days after he was scheduled to arrive, he finally decided to make his debut - phew! and although, those were the longest 19 days of my life, since then, time has flown by, and it's been an awesome fifteen years, even though i'm stunned to think that it's really been that long. and i'm grateful every day for my handsome, gentle, thoughtful, and always goofy, taylor bing, who's still not too embarrassed to kiss his mother in front of his friends. or flex his muscles for the camera.man i love this kid.

happy birthday mr. goodbar!

the little things

it's late in the evening.

the kids are in bed.

rich and i are in the office, where we can normally be found this time of the night, winding down in our own computer-related sort of ways.

we have "his and hers" computers but we share office space.

his desk is always clean.

my desk is always a mess, even right after i clean it.

rich is always listening to itunes when he's at his computer, which means, i'm always listening to it too.

it's fine, we like a lot of the same artists.

my favorite thing about rich listening to itunes at the computer is that he sort of hums/sings along to the songs. i'm not sure he even knows he does it.

but it sure is cute.

just one of the many little things that i love about this man.

i'm such a lucky girl.

reunion

i'm not sure WHY it is that janae and i haven't gotten ethan and nicolette together all summer to play. they are the best of little friends and always looked forward to theraputic thursday for some play time. summer's been busy i guess, that's my lame excuse. so when they saw each other at the pioneer parade, i was reminded slightly of the kermit and miss piggy scene from the movie (which i could find no where on youtube), where they run to each other through the grass in slow motion with cheesy music and then embrace. and then fall down. but recover quickly, and then do a happy dance. i can tell you the blogger moms are not the only ones looking forward to starting up theraputic thursday again.

pep talk

at 7am this morning i dropped off a very happy, excited, optimistic and maybe a little nervous, twelve year old at the scout master's house. i left him there with his thirty pound back pack, a kiss, a promise that he would use his hand sanitizer before eating (not likely), and a pep talk. i told him to pray when he's scared, his feet start to hurt or when his pack is too heavy and he thinks he wants to quit. besides double checking everything in his pack to make sure he has what he needs to survive in the uintas for five days, what else could i give him?on the drive home i kept thinking that this was a little taste of what my soon-to-be future life in motherhood will be like. doing everything i can to make sure they have what they need to survive and then dropping them off to let them fend for themselves. i don't know if i've done enough, but when i start to miss him too much, or worry that his feet hurt or that his pack is too heavy, or that he's not using hand sanitizer before he eats, i'm going to try to remember my pep talk and say a little prayer.

big guy

we've had THREE straight days now of dry, clean underpants. wahoo! (ok, and i think little feet dangling eight inches from the floor is just so cute)

i knew we had turned a corner today when i heard little footsteps hurrying down the wood hall, a squeaky bathroom door open, the toilet seat bang, a long pause, and then....flush. all by himself.

we celebrated with a surprise toy.
he's had his eye on this baby for a while now.
he requests to "hold it for just a minute" every time we go to target.

if you ask him why he got to open the "tiny" mac today, he will tell you it's because he "is done with diapers foreber!"
woo-hoo!

the (recent) bane of my thighs and all parts flabby

these marshmallow and chocolate frosting brownies....mmmm....brownies.

the kind of brownies that are so good, the knife never leaves the pan.

and this jar of homemade, buttermilk ranch dressing....mmmm....buttermilk.most recently seen poured generously over taco salad.

**what is the bane of your flabbiness?**

**did you catch the homer simpson tones of this post?**

one word

i love going back and reading these little "peeks" into my day. such a fun and simple way to journal. found this fun one on gail's blog. have fun.

1. where is your mobile phone? hidden (from ethan)
2. relationship? content
3. your hair? dirty
4. work? slow
5. your sister(s)? in-laws!
6. your favorite thing? home
7. your dream last night? bread
8. your favorite drink? dark
9. your dream car? clean
10. the room you’re in? messy
11. your shoes? barefoot
12. your fears? overwhelming
13. what do you want to be in 10 years? sane
14. who did you hang out with this weekend? friends
15. what are you not good at? sewing
16. muffin? lemon
17. wish list item? wand
18. where you grew up? virginia
19. the last thing you did? goodnights
20. what are you wearing? pjs
21. what are you not wearing? bra (sorry boys)
22. your pet? goldie (for this week)
23. your computer? sticky
24. your life? content
25. your mood? relaxed
26. missing? sleep
27. what are you thinking about? camp
28. your car? toyota
29. your kitchen? unfinished
30. your summer? zooming
31. your favorite color? yellow
32. last time you laughed? today
33. last time you cried? tuesday
34. school? wish
35. love? tons

the pay off

finally, after THREE long years of surviving a mouth full of metal, and writing check after check after check...

(day he got them on three years ago)

(right before they came off)it finally paid off. what a handsome stud!

he also opted for contact lenses last week which totally add to the "make over" effect.

i've had to look at him twice a couple of times, he's just looks so much more grown up.

it's so fun to see how much he's changed since the day he got his braces three short years ago. wow.

it only took him about ten seconds to take a big giant bite out of an apple in the car on the way home.i let him choose the dinner menu. he requested, "anything that goes with corn on the cob".

it's the little things.

a peak inside

TODAY
June 29th, 2009
Outside my window... this sun hasn't yet set and it's 8:42pm - long days are one of my favorite things about summer.
I am thinking... i have been a pathetic blogger. mostly because it's been a pathetic summer so far and there's not been anything really worth blogging about. lame.
I am thankful for... the gloriously HOT temperature today that made our long day at the pool so great.
From the kitchen... i made the kids' favorite tonight - chicken and rice. it's the easiest, poor man's supper, but whenever i make it, the kids act like it's christmas or something. i also tried making a pie my mom used to make when we were kids. it tasted familiar but was super sour.
I am wearing... my paint clothes, because two hours ago when i got home from the pool i changed into them with really good intentions to get out to the garage and work on cabinets. i guess since the sun hasn't set, it still could happen.
I am creating... a top secret project. believe it or not i'm "practicing" what i'm going to be making for christmas gifts this year.
I am going... to bed early tonight, WITH a sleeping pill.
I am reading... "and the ladies of the club", which is the thickest book i've ever tackled at 1,764 pages. so far it's good, but it better be for the time i'm going to put into reading it. i just finished, "the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society", and now i would like to travel to europe.
I am hoping... i can get some decent sleep tonight, accomplish at least half of my to-do list tomorrow and find some time to file my toe nails. why is it so hard to fit the small stuff like this in during the day?
I am hearing... rich humming along to cheryl crow while he types away at his computer. having "his and hers" computers in the same office means that sometimes we actually hang out together. :)
One of my favorite things... reserved movie theater seating. the teenagers and i bought tickets to the midnight showing of harry potter six and don't have to show up four hours early to stand in line for a good seat. hallelujah.
Around the house... teenagers are facebooking, the dishwasher is humming, a batch of chlorine-smelling towels are waiting to be washed, and our family is winding down for the night.
A few plans for the rest of the week... girls camp meeting - i'm happy to finally get this ball rolling, work on the cupboard doors, rich skipping work on friday, and our city's fourth of july fun. should be a great week.

work?

ok, so last week was not ALL movies and pajamas. i did bring home a little bacon as well, but these guys were so sweet, can we really call it work?

monday i got to hang with this little guy, who has the most hair i've ever seen on a toe-headed newborn. he even had pork chop sideburns like elvis, which i couldn't stop shooting. his siblings came too and i have a thing for feet.

especially little ones.

especially all different sizes of little ones.

tuesday i hung with these little beauties. oh. my. goodness. i just wanted to nibble their tiny little toes like corn on the cob.

pretty much, i love my job. can you blame me?

decompressing

last day of school!

last day of jr. high! (for taylor)

last day of elementary school! (for spencer)

these photos were taken before the kids knew it was going to pour down rain the entire first week of their summer vacation. (i think i should get a commission from aeropostale for all the advertising, don't you think?) so, we haven't gone swimming yet, bummer, but we did have a week to decompress from the insanity of spring. we stayed inside, watched movies on the new high def TV (amazing), ate popcorn, that sort of thing. except the day that we drove to salt lake to watch a movie and, uh, eat more popcorn. we're all about variety around here.

the cold, wet weather has not bothered me even one single bit. mostly because i know it's going to be blazing, sweat-pooling-in-every-crack-and-crevice kind of hot, soon enough. which, i can definitely live without. yup, i will take the rain any day. this week's forecast? more rain. wahoo! er, i mean, sorry kids.

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.