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.

demolition dust

i didn't have to wait too long to get my demolition photo. i just waited until everyone had finished and gone home. finished for the day that is, they'll be back tomorrow to work some more. we're expecting a week of this mess.crazy mess - the dust is unbelieveable. demolition dust, it's pretty gross. and it's even worse when you don't have cupboard doors. :) we are having the whole main floor done, so this is only a small part of the mess.so pretty much, i don't think we're going barefoot for the next little while.

by the way, while the guys were scraping away at the floor today, someone knicked one of the radiant heat water lines that runs through the floor which caused a real life "old faithful" kind of effect in my hallway. and we are back to having no water until it can be repaired. can someone just come and exercise the demon that must live in this house please? i swear we have the worst luck with those dang pipes! at least it was all over the carpet we were already ripping out right? way to look on the bright side.

old school

demolition of the world's ugliest tile and grossest carpet starts TODAY! i snuck into the kitchen and snapped a quick a photo of the giant mess they're making and then realized i had no SD card in my camera. doh! i'm too embarrassed to go back in there and take another. :) i was looking through the photos i took of the house when we first bought it and thought this one of the kitchen was so funny that i had to post it.when the cabinets are finally done (i finished the drawers and they look so good!) i will post a big after shot that will include everything that we've done to it over the last 2.5 years since we moved in. this wall paper cracks me up! oh man was it a lot of work, but, that's the story of this house. lots of work. man it's noisy at my house today.

first time

dear spencer,

i really enjoyed hearing you play at your orchestra concert this week, the music was great! i could tell you were having fun and that you had worked hard to learn your pieces well. you are a serious musician, i don't think your eye brows relaxed until it was time to take a bow.i love that you've always wanted to be a violin player, even if you don't always love to practice. i expected it to be a harder transition this year going from piano to the violin, but you made it work and you are great!

it was also fun to hear from the jr. high and high school orchestras because it made me excited that you are headed there next year! you are lucky to have such a great teacher who loves his students as much as he loves music. i could tell that he was very proud of everyone's hard work.

i hope that you will always love music and that you won't fight me too hard during the summer to practice. when i think back on what you were like as a twelve year old, i will remember how great it was to see you playing your violin on stage for the very first time.

you are one great kid, and i love you! good job bud.

love,

mom

new toy

i haven't had much time to play with it, but yesterday for about an hour i tried out my fancy new lens with a killer macro mode. the poor bush in my front yard seemed like a good place to start. there's a gorgeous fruit tree trying to bloom right in the middle of it. and doing a pretty good job of it too!

"bloom where you're planted", this guy did.

the blossoms are these sweet little pink pods, i just couldn't help myself, i kept getting closer...and closer. so beautiful.next i moved on to the lilac bush that is just starting to get some blossoms from it's new buds. i have such an affection for lilacs that it was hard to stop shooting. their tiny little four petaled flowers are something to behold for sure.

our neighbors have a few tulips, so i wandered over to their yard for a few minutes. i hope they don't mind, would you mind if you looked out the window and saw someone photographing your flowers? i wouldn't, and i'm sure my neighbor's don't either, we have great neighbors.

but as always, the daisies drew me in. i have an addiction to these daisies. every time i walk past them my right index finger starts twitchin' for the shutter button. most times i can talk myself through it, today i couldn't.

i did resist the urge to post all 116 photos i took of JUST the daisies. i told you, it's a sickness. instead i put up a few of my artsy-fartsy favorites. here's the problem though, i take so many that they sort of all blend together and my judgement becomes some what blurred. so i need your help, tell me, are any of them frame worthy? be honest. you won't hurt my feelings. i'm sure i'll be out there all summer, lying on my belly across my front steps, for everyone to see, holding my tongue in just the right spot trying to compose the perfect photograph. because that's just how i roll.

abandoned

life of the tail-ender is not always easy.

after ethan woke up on monday morning, this was our conversation:

e: where's allie?

w: she's at school?

e: (looking a little sad) well, where's taylor?

w: he's at school too.

e: well, where's spencer?

w: he's at school too.

e: (in a soft whisper voice) is papa at work too?

w: yes buddy, it's monday so everyone went to school and work.

then came the big puffy lip and the saddest eyes you've ever seen and even a few tears. i tried not to take it personally that he wasn't over joyed to be home alone with me. i mean, we do fun stuff like play dough and puzzles. but i know that he is happiest when everyone is home because he loves and looks up to them so much and when they're home, it means there's always someone in the house willing to play.

life of a tail-ender is not always easy.

cheap labor

one of the "perks" to have teenagers, is that they are the type of children always interested in purchasing something or going to a movie with a friend or some other activity. all of which require money. enter my brilliant idea for cheap labor. anything that is not required by the state for me to buy for them is always negotiated by some sort of chore not included in their regular chore list. as an example, saturday, allie wanted little dance socks for her upcoming receital. i hate mopping the floor and so, you can see where this is going. i'm keeping all my fingers crossed that i can get some good yard work out of all three kids this summer using this tactic. is this child abuse? oh wait allie...you missed a spot.

ps.. do you love her knee pads? that was my genius idea, they save your knees from mopping stress, fabulous.

got skills?

allie's nail art skills are starting to pop up in other areas. maybe she should forget nail technician school and go work for ace of cakes on the food network? ok, she's not quite ready for that, but they do use toothpicks a lot on that show, and tooth picks are allie's spe-ci-al-ity.