while he was home

rich has been back to work now for a few weeks now, which is sad, because i'm never really ready for him to return. the month he was off happened to be the busiest month of the year for me, so it was especially nice to have another taxi driver to help divide and conquer when the kids' activities were at their peak. it was also great to have him available for every thing they were involved in, especially since we hadn't seen him in so long. here's what the month looked liked, while he was home. brace yourself, it was a busy month.

taylor boogied.

he went to his first prom with a big group of some of his very best friends.
i loved his tux and thought he looked like a stud.

here in utah, the "asking" is big pressure to come up with something creative. taylor staked out hailey's yard with caution tape like a crime scene, did a dead body chalk outline and wrote: "hailey i'd DIE to go to prom with you!" very cool and clever, and psyche-esque, taylor's favorite show.

the actual day of the event started with a large group photo/video scavenger hunt which i heard was great. later they broke into smaller groups, and with some help from the other boys' mothers, we hosted the dinner at our house, which was SO GREAT! i'm already thinking of how to make it more fun next year, if the kids will let me. the menu was: virgin daiquiris, strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar, lauri's strawberry & mango salad, chicken parmesan with linguini, bread sticks and dipping sauce, and some kind of heavenly chocolate dessert. 

on the way home from the grocery store that afternoon i realized, "i'm serving marinara sauce?! what was i thinking?!" luckily all the kids were down with using their napkins as bibs so there were no mishaps. phew!

after dinner we headed to the park to take some photos. the boys asked me to do their photos this year to save them some money, and of course, i was delighted! they insisted on bringing ethan, who was being entertained by dad downstairs. i love that they love him. 

ethan thinks these guys are the bees knees, and i agree.

this photo is perfect for illustrating ethan's life as a toddler in a teenage world. 

with them, he's always the center of attention, which he loves, obviously.

the whole group. 

the lovely girls.

taylor and hailey - cutest couple ever! they were both glowing with excitement and nerves and general cuteness, and hailey looked so gorgeous in her beautiful dress!

they wore matching grey chucks, hailey's idea that taylor loved.

of course, much silliness ensued.

i love these boys

high school musical jump - sort of.

followed by taylor's face plant

followed by hailey and i's hysterical laughing. it was THAT funny. 

hmmm. maybe next year i'll save that pose for when they're not wearing formal clothing? luckily nothing ripped or got a grass stain. i hear the dance was great, and they got all the girls home in time for their curfews, so we'll call it a success! 

ethan graduated.

ethan loves to sing, but i feel like that statement is pretty obvious once you've seen this photo. pure joy man. we are going to miss seeing awesome ms.laurie all the time, but lucky for us, she is andrew's mom, so we see her around often. she has a way of making you feel like a million bucks, which is pretty much my only requirement in selecting a pre-school teacher.

oh my gosh, look at that little guy. oh those cheeks.
age four is the best.

spencer sweated.

it was a bumpy lacrosse season. many of the players on spencer's team were first timers and the team hadn't quite gelled yet. but despite winning only two games all season, spencer played really well, including being one of the team's top scorers, and carrying a couple of the games.

i loved his intensity this season, he's kicked it up a notch since finding his groove last year.

i can see that we're going to be involved in this sport for a long long time. i'll take it, spencer is fun to watch.
and.
he ran fast.
hurdles, just like grandpa.

i was amazed that no one ever tripped.
there's a reason, i never ran hurdles.

allie danced.

as always we loved watching her, and after i commented on how grown up she looked on stage (something i say every year), rich said, "she was a grown woman up there on stage", which of course sent me straight to the tissue box. it's just so fun to watch her in her element, she's so lovely. this year she danced in six numbers including hip hop which was awesome. it's especially fun that so many of the thursday girls and even cousins dance with melanie too, so everyone has quite the cheering section!

allie loved that two of her best girlfriends, chloe and blair (the other two-thirds of the ABC ballet girls) came to cheer for her too, both lovely dancers themselves.

we love all the support!

taylor harmonized.

the high school spring choir concert was... interesting. 
which is strange because usually is fantastic.

but i really liked the sophomore group.

and really, the best part of being in choir, is hanging with your peeps.
and taylor's peeps are no exception, we love these guys as much as he does.

boys don't know how to do anything without acting like hot dogs. it's just part of their genetic make up. they can't help themselves. they are the reason mothers invented eyeball rolling.

spencer played. 

 spencer's spring orchestra concert was nice.

not too long which is happy for toddlers and parents alike.

it looks as though this was our last time hearing spencer perform the violin since he's decided his real calling is singing. and while i agree that his voice is a great one, and musical theater will be fun for him next year, i am having mixed feelings about letting him give up the violin that he also plays so well.

allie screamed.
for conrad birdie that is. the junior high musical production of bye bye birdie this year totally knocked my socks off! we have some really incredible talent in our little area which always surprises me. the big push at the end of rehearsals was semi-brutal, but over all i think it was a great experience for allie. 

she played the girl that wouldn't smile for conrad's manager. i for one, was SHOCKED that she played this scene without cracking so much as a grin. i kept waiting for her to crack under the pressure.
the girl loves the stage what can i say? 
and she played that giggly, girlie, boy-crazy teenager spot on - go figure!

ethan flew.
ethan was inspired by watching the prom kids jump off our brick ledge in the front yard. he begged me to take photo after photo of him jumping off of the ledge and would crack up looking at LCD screen after each one. then he would say, "just one more". 

until he was happy with this shot.

 super man!
these will be really fun to edit....some day.

we packed. 

and i didn't take any photos!
what the?
except this one...

which also represents ethan's ability to play with anything.

we moved.
and i didn't get any photos of that either.
i was exhausted ok?
but it went pretty smooth.
and we found out just how loved we are.
which is a lot.

and then, the next day, rich went back to work.

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?

stuff

there's nothing like seeing most of what you own in boxes.
how did i ever collect so much stuff?
i really consider myself an anti-hoarder, i clean out stuff all the time.
too much stuff makes me claustrophobic, i have to get rid of it.
but there are still a lot of boxes, it surprises me.
how do we still have all this stuff after i've sent so much of it to good will?
i'm worried about moving to a home that doesn't have a ton of storage.
this home has more storage than anything else.
it's going to be an adjustment.
but also a lovely excuse to get rid of so much crap.
the walls are all naked now, it's very strange.
it's not my house any more.
boxes are stacking up in every room.
and i'm just so ready to start moving them!
i couldn't have done this without rich, he has worked like a mule getting us ready.
we close tomorrow, which means, i'm still worried something could go wrong.
i'm worried about adjusting to a new ward.
i hope there are kids for my kids
i worry too much, i know, but this is a big deal, so "smooth" would be nice.
so far, mostly smooth, so i will keep my fingers crossed.
and i promise, after we unpack and settle in,
i will be a better blogger.
spring has been a crazy whirlwind of goodness
so right off the bat i'll have tons of material for posting.
i can't wait!


smooth....smooth....smooth

something is different

there are whiskers in my bathroom sink
the crossword puzzle is all filled in
ethan isn't attached to my hip
the teenagers aren't complaining about needing a math tutor
the sink is always empty of dishes
neatly packed boxes are stacking up quickly in the garage
a little black sports car is constantly parked in the drive way
i am cooking real dinners again
i am not sitting alone at track meets, lacrosse games, dance recitals, school plays or choir concerts.
i am a happier mom

it all leads me to one conclusion:
toy story 3 is FINALLY done and i have my husband back!
can i get a hallelujah amen people?
and how about celebratory blizzards? yes please.

we are a happy family once again.

and he has four weeks off.
which is good for me - help with the move, bad for him - help with the move. not a super exciting way to spend your comp time, but it's better than a 100+ hour work week right?
the person that will be the saddest when he returns to work in three weeks - ethan, because he finally has someone to hang out with during the day besides me.

and if you want to see what he was up to during all that time, check out this little video.


ya, that's my nerd.
and please, go buy a copy for your family!

do-over

four years ago when rich and i moved from our last home, we did so with the intent to add a little bit of space, especially for the soon-to-be teenagers in the house. so we bought our current home, and even then, we sort of knew it wasn't quite the right fit for us, but hey, it was the ONLY house available in our tiny town with teenager space and we thought, with a little remodeling, we could make it work. that, and when something's right, you just have to go with it. and besides, it's a GREAT house.

for the last four years, we have repainted, remodeled, re-floored and even repaired every inch of this lipstick house hoping to make it more our own, more workable for our family. and a few months ago, we sort of came to the conclusion, albeit a surprising one, that it was time to call a mulligan. you know, mulligan is just a fancy golfing way to say, "do-over". i think we actually knew this years ago, but we've loved the ward and neighbors so much, that we tried hard to make it work.

so, we put our house on the market and in three weeks, it SOLD. for full price. what the? in this market? i was prepared to have it listed for a long time. i keep thinking this is a dream and i'm going to wake up and cry for a month. but it's not, and we have to move soon, so onto making a list of priorities for the next house.

something funny about teenager space. once i had it, almost immediately i was saying to myself, "where did everybody go"? i missed having everyone around.  with that, we decided that square footage wasn't as important as number of bedrooms and the right kind of layout, one with a big open gathering space in the middle of the house. and we found it, in the next tiny town over. smaller, but newer, and with a bit of teenager space, but also with a big open main floor, for gathering. and nothing, and i mean nothing, has to be repainted. at least for now.

so that's our big news. hopefully i didn't just jinx the process. if everything goes smoothly (please let everything go smoothly), we will be moving the first week of june. i gotta go pack!

when i wasn't looking

it's been a big month, lots to talk about, and lots to post.
big news post coming soon.
but until then....some funny surprises on my camera courtesy of allie.

it's nice to know they have fun together even when i'm not looking.
what a ham!

my space

 i thrive on peace and order, but for too long now it seems like i never have enough of either. we usually have it on saturday afternoon after we spent all of saturday morning doing chores and restoring order to our home, but once a week was not enough. it's a vicious circle really, life gets crazy, so house hold responsibilities get neglected, which makes for more crazy, which makes me run straight to the ice cream. we pray as a family for a good spirit to reside here in our home so that whoever comes to share our space (including us), feels loved and welcomed and safe. it's hard to have that spirit when everything is so chaotic.

so i really only set one goal this year, knowing it was kind of a big one, to not only find more order and peace in my house, but find a routine to help me keep it that way.

i spent about three solid weeks painting and finishing little projects hanging over my head, purging every closet and storage space in the house, making a million runs to the DI (good will), labeling bins and organizing.

i  had accomplished the "find more order and peace" part of my goal, but i knew the bigger job would be to keep it that way.

the answer has been simple, a list of small tasks, that have to be done, every day. period.

beds get made every day.

bathrooms get wiped down every day.

at least two loads of laundry get done every day.

the kitchen is cleaned after breakfast and after dinner every day.

spend twenty to thirty minutes straightening every night.

that's it. doing these five things religiously has REVOLUTIONIZED my life. i feel so empowered! i have more mental stamina and time to tackle the big chores and projects that need to be done because i'm not so overwhelmed by all the little stuff. it's a simple solution, i know, i'm kind of a slow learner. but it's working. when the kids get home from school and my second shift starts, things are in order and i can focus on them and their needs and getting dinner made. there is a happier, more peaceful feeling here in this space that makes me smile, and more able to grab yoplait whipped yogurt instead of ice cream.

so here is a tour of my clean, and organized space. why i am doing this? one, i would love to have some detailed photos of the different homes i lived in growing up, think of the memories those photos would spark! two, it's a sense of accomplishment for me, a reward of sorts after all that i have done. a pat on my back, as self indulgent as that may be. and three, who knows how long i will be able to keep this up, so i'd better take photos NOW while it's good. (just keepin' it real ya'll.)

welcoming space

 visiting teaching, music playing and pondering space

 gathering space

cooking, eating and laughing space

allie's primping space
(my next project is to paint these cabinets)

blogging, crafting and nerding space

sanctuary space

nose powdering space

ethan's little boy space

allie's uber-girly space

taylor and spencer's smells like teen spirit space

boys' too much cologne to impress the girls smelling space

play space

ahhhh. now i need to throw a party.

boys

here are a few things i've learned about boys so far in my fifteen years of raising them:

1. they have a tendency to act before they think.
2. spiders are no big deal to them, neither is squishing one.
3. they really do have hollow legs and the need to fill them is constant.
4. they care as much about their hair as the girl in the house.
5. most of the time, they are best friends, except when they hate each other.
6. they like to compare muscles, strength, height and arm pit hair.
7. ping pong and frisbee are contact sports.
8. just about any object can be made into a weapon of some kind.
9. they want to be ninjas when they grow up more than anything else.
10. the percentages go something like 51% gentlemen, 49% pigs, depending on the meal.
11. they worry about how they will support their families and where to go to college.
12. they can pick up the controller to any video game and instantly know how to play.
13. they secretly believe that chuck norris is as awesome as his jokes portray.
14. they are as emotional or maybe more than the girl in the house.
15. they are consummate show offs and hot doggers

16. especially when filming each other.

17. they have big hearts

i love (most of the time) being a mother to boys

NOTE: taylor informed me that some of these photos were reenactments of a few star wars light saber moves. which forces me to add #18. boys are dorks. in a good way.

all over the place

a common conversation:
me: (after a long quiet minute) "where are you?"
rich: "all over the place"
which i can totally relate to.

this morning i am....

reveling in a very clean house
happy to be indoors with heat and slippers
thinking that maybe hot chocolate would be perfect for breakfast
already prepared for dinner tonight
thinking that all the birds at my feeder make me happy
looking forward to the thursdays girls coming over
excited to cross a few things off my random things to do list
already through two loads of laundry 
feeling a little like i've lost my way
wondering if my prayers go past the ceiling
having too many hang ups about my body
hoping i that i give my kids what they really need
glad that american idol finally had something to cheer about this season
missing my honey
counting down the days left until spring break
thinking mother nature didn't get the "spring break" memo

feeling badly for the tiny new buds on my trees
glad i didn't plant flowers yet even the though warm weather tempted me to
coveting this beautiful bag that i can totally justify, but not really
happy to have fresh pink polish on my toe nails
trying to decide if i should make my bed or crawl back inside it
thinking that twitter is the bees knees
desperate for my roots to be colored - tomorrow isn't soon enough
hoping i can sneak in a shower before ethan wakes up
hearing little footsteps coming down the hall...so i guess not
all over the place