treasures from the phone

Random pictures from all different times.  Instead of writing a description I decided to title each photo.  

My Favorite

(April 2012)

Asleep in Giant Basket with a Fever

(March 2012)

Busy in the Kitchen

(March 2012)

Old Man Wrestles Bald Man

(March 2012)

Bald Eagle at Grammy's

(February 2012)

UPS Store Tour

(February 2012)

Cute Boy Laughing

(December 2011)

Locked Up

(December 2011)

Accessorized

(December 2011)

Oregon Baby, Utah Bound

(January 2012)

Dead Princess Shrine

(March 2012)

friends we miss

Here are some of our very favorite friends we had to leave behind:

Deanna McRae

Truly a little angel in my life.  She was my friend, she was my visiting teaching partner, she was like a (young) mother to me while I was there.  She really reached out and helped whenever she saw a need and truly took care of us.  She is the mother to six wonderful boys and has a heart of gold.  Really felt lucky to be able to call her my friend and know such a wonderful family.

Matthew Broberg

This is McKay's kindergarten buddy.  They went to preschool together for a year, and then got to do half of kindergarten together too.  I love this kid so much.  He was always fun to have around.  So good, polite and funny.  He and McKay would go to each other's houses a lot before school and ride the bus together.  They loved to trick the bus driver at the different stops.  Matthew never ate a bite of food when he was at our house.  I would feed him lunch and he would barely nibble on a cracker.  I was always so worried until one day I talked to his mom about it and she said that he has an extremely sensitive gag reflex and if there is anyone chewing with their mouth open, or especially a baby eating with their hands and smearing it all over, he could easily throw up!  I about died laughing, and I guess Layla ruined his appetite every time!  Such a sweet boy though.

Blayke Gardiner

One of Ellery's best friends.  They were very similar in their taste for dress ups and all things girly.  As soon as they would get together, clothes would be flying off and before you could even blink, there would be two princesses, or ballerinas or something beautiful standing before you.  Ellery could get really bossy with Blayke, for some reason, but I'm told Blayke did the same thing at her house.  It was always a very good day for Elle is she could play with Blayke.

Stephanie Broberg

 This is one of the most beautiful people I have ever known.  She is so kind, so loving, so generous, and just so good.  She was the relief society president almost the whole time we lived there and I learned so much from her.  She's also Matthews mom.  She has two daughters, Audrey and Caroline, and I am so sad that we don't live there anymore, purely for the fact that those two girls can't be my babysitters in a few years.  The whole Broberg family is as sweet as their mom.  

Hendrickson girls

I don't have a picture of all three (now four) of the cute Hendrickson girls, but we sure loved them, and their sweet mom.  Ellery and McKenzie were best buds and we all loved sweet Halle and spunky Taylor too.  

Rilynne Hollist

Rilynne was our closest ward member and we were sure happy when she got old enough to play with us outside and have play dates at our house.  She loved the kids and would just run right over to our garage and join in whatever was going on.  She is such a cutie and we already miss playing with her and her mom, Cathy.  

my driver

My sweet dad drove us to (June) and home from (September) Utah last year so I didn't have to do it on my own with my three little kiddies.  He is such a sweetheart.  

One thing I have learned about traveling with this man is that he likes to stop and smell the roses. . .the roses being little local restaurants, and smelling being eating at them.  He also enjoys some pretty interesting gas station snacks as well.  Have you ever been travelling with someone who came out of the gas station with a huge smile on his face, only to have him reveal spicy lima beans as the treasure he found inside. . .and chose to buy?  I have.

It took a little longer, sure, but these little stops made the trips a lot of fun.  On one particular trip he wanted to stop at VooDoo.  We may have driven the wrong way down a one way street, we may have gotten lost, we may have been a tad bit stressed out, but we got our donuts!

One the other trip I swore we were going to run out of gas somewhere in the Idaho nowhere towns, but we found a tiny little cafe run by that old lady in the picture below.  I so wish I could remember her name, but I cannot.  We got to try the world's best cinnamon rolls, but we decided that they weren't the world's best.  Just okay.

My dad was very intent on letting the kids swim each at the hotel each night after a long day of driving.  If it had been up to me, I would have skipped swimming, but Poppy knew how much they would love it and made it happen.  They were lucky he was there.  

Also, my dad is the king of athletic wear.  I have discovered upon looking at these pictures that he prefers to wear light neon green sports wear when he travels.  That's okay, I prefer my black yoga pants.  We all have our favorites. 

(look how small my laysie is?!)

I so enjoyed the long hours in the car that we got to talk, just me and him.  It was fun to have him all to myself for a couple days, and I am so very grateful for a dad who sacrifices so much to help me.  I'm also grateful for a dad who picks up all of the gas along the way. . .and the hotels. . .and the cafes. 

 He's the best.

easter sunday 2012

Happy Easter!

picture pile

Lots of pics to share today from the last month or so.  

There once was a precious picture of these two delicately dipping chocolates together- their chocolate covered hands working side-by-side.  Somehow this was embarrassing to them.  That's why when I saw them loading the dehydrator with tiny pieces of sliced pineapple, I had to snap a picture.  

  

Me and my sweet baby.  We're usually in love.

Getting ready for the bedtime routine.  They all looked so cute and my camera was right there, so I wanted to capture what everyday life is like.  This is our every night.

Wayne joined the crowd for a few days and stayed with us.  Grandma was primarily responsible for him, but the kids sure liked having him around.  

Layla like Wayne alright, but not as much as she liked his carseat.  She spent probably a total of a few hours playing in it.  She'd awkwardly get in it, roll around in it, stand on it, put her babies in it, pretend to sleep in it, climb on it- she even got a huge bruise on her cheek by falling on it.  It was a great toy to have around.  

Brian and Darrell camped in the backyard with the boys and Elle.  How lucky are they?  I love how Elle can be just one of the boys.  Her and Silas have quite possibly the cutest friendship I've ever seen.  They love each other so much and have nothing in common.  It's the best.

One day Layla wore jeans and she turned into a seven year old.

One day Ellery found her pink, plastic glasses and she wore them all day.  Like she was really wearing them all day long.  Went to Lisa's, came home, watched a movie, played with McKay. . .I guess she took them off for dinner.

And look what this is!  It just might be our new kitchen!  Isn't it beautiful?  I love it.  We are in the thick of making things happen to buy this house in Pleasant Grove.  I hope it all goes through.  Fingers crossed!  

Next up?  Pictures from my phone. 

thoughts on a book

Itty bitty flowers picked on the way home from church by me and my little Ellie girl.  

There is so much to say, yet I can't really find the words.  My lack of writing has caused my mind to cloud over and the words, inspiration and energy to write don't come easily to me these days.  I have so many things I want to record here, but because of that cloud, I am very behind.

Thursday I was in a bookstore.  I noticed Stephanie Nielsen's (nienie's) new book was on display.  I picked it up out of curiosity and thumbed through the pages.  In the middle of the book I read about her explaining to her mom how she had been with her grandmother who had passed away when she was a little girl.  I found the few paragraphs I read fascinating, and for that little glimpse of the book alone, I decided to buy it and read it.

I have finished the book now.  Obviously I have been reading quite a bit.  I am not a huge fan of her blog.  It's okay, but it's never been my favorite.  I definitely am not a daily, or even weekly reader.  I initially wanted to read her book because I was curious about her accident, her recovery, her life.  I knew there would be interesting details.  And there was.  But I didn't expect to be so inspired by what I read. 

It has made me think a lot about trials.  We all have them.  Stephanie Nielsen had to endure such a horrendous and painful trial, both physically and emotionally.  The descriptions of that pain- in her body, in her guilt, in her lack of confidence as a mother, and in reconnecting with her children- was heartbreaking, amazing and inspiring to me.

It made me think of my trials.  How have I handled them?  Have I done it with maturity and grace?  Have I learned all that I was intended to learn from them?  How will I handle my future, which surely has various trials scattered along the way?  I think back to some of the difficult experiences I've had and I know that some have refined me and made me stronger, better, wiser.  Some, I am still working on gaining those attributes from, but I have a new resolve to do better.

It made me think about being a mother.  She revels in her role as a mother and it made me remember what a gift it is to take care of these children of mine, everyday.  There are many distractions that pull me away from that focus, but it is a role I truly cherish and something I need to remember daily, even when it's hard.  Especially when it's hard.  It made me want to really be present for my three.  I am so lucky to be their mother.  

Family is everything.  I know that always, but sometimes it feels good to know it a little bit stronger.  We are so blessed to belong to a family.  I am so lucky to have mine.  My whole, big family too.  All of them.

So, um, I guess what I'm saying is it's a good book.  

It's funny, I had absolutely no intention to write about this.  I was going to talk about how we are house hunting (and put in an offer tonight!) and how Brian started his new job this week.  But this post just kind of happened.  So there you go.

thoughts on my family

I feel like I have not really captured who my family is on my blog lately, so that's what this is.

Layla:

• Loves being outside and would "jump, jump" on the tramp all the time if we let her.  
• Has a knack for collecting rocks while outside and holds them in her fists just like Elle does with her princesses.  Tonight she fell apart because she wanted to sleep with two she had collected.
• Has a vocabulary and understanding that truly amazes me.  She not only says new words almost daily, but shocks me with how she can communicate feelings and her comprehension.  I kind of feel like she will be the genius of the fam.
• Sleeps upstairs in a huge room alone while we listen to her through the monitor.
• Definitely has a girly preference all the sudden.  Last week she wore a white dress to church and I could tell she felt gorgeous in it.  Today she saw the dress, grabbed it, and with a smile said, "dress!".  Of course I let her wear it again.  
• Loves baths so much.

Ellery

• Snuggles
• Softest skin in the fam
• Talks about her family to every one
• Is in a new preschool group with our new neighbors- the Bakers.
• If you give her affection/attention, you are her best friend.
• Loves playing with her cousin Ash.
• Is not as into skirts and dresses lately.
• Favorite movie right now is green eggs and ham.
• Has struggled going to primary lately
• Is into playing with the boys

McKay

• Loves playing outside.  
• Is way into playing Grandma's old school Nintendo and tries to recruit anyone who will play.
• Is hardly watching any tv now that there is so much attention to go around at Grandma's.
• Has completely abandoned any little skill he built playing by himself.
• Finally grew out of his brown shoes- we all are sad, they were the best.
• Never wants to go to school in the morning, but is happy as can be when he comes home.
• Is having the hardest time with daylight savings.
• Is really dirty lately.
• I love reading what he writes in school.
• Might never want to leave this neighborhood.

thoughts on a sunday

Miss Layla's handy work

• We've had a fun week.  Brian and I looked at homes almost every day this week with our realtor.  This has been quite an interesting experience.  We found one that we like and are still discussing if we want to move forward with it.  

• Buying a house is a pretty major decision.  

• On Friday Ellery went to her cousin Ashlyn's 5th birthday party.  It was princessed themed and she loved every second of it.  My favorite part was when she was recounting every detail to McKay on the way home.  The best part?  He was totally into hearing all about it.  She was a little shy at first with the other girls since she didn't know them, but you would have thought they were best friends the way she talked about them on the way home.  She remembered all of their names.  

• Another conversation I loved hearing this week was when Ellery was trying to make some kind of a deal about McKay giving her money for her fruit snacks and she kept trying to talk him into it.  Finally he said in frustration, "Elle, I'm so confused.  Just stop.  You can have your fruit snacks back."  

• McKay got to go to Matt's half birthday party and it was a "late night".   They played outside, then watched the Phineaus and Ferb movie.  We kind of crashed the party I think, because the whole family came and McKay kept asking us when we were going to leave.  Now that I think about it, I kind of feel bad that we stayed when he wanted to be all grown up at a late night.  It's just not the same when your baby sister gets to stay up just as late.  Oops.

• At this very late night, we were playing Bananagrams and Ellery and Layla were supposed to be watching a movie right behind us.  Layla came over to the table and we all gasped.  She had found Krista's mascara and had painted both of her hands and one eye.  Black was everywhere.  It was quite a shock.

• She is quite sneaky, that girl.  She can open things that I would never expect her to be able to open. Also, so is talking so much.  She's getting so big.

• We enjoyed a weekend full of General Conference and treats.  A good combination, if  you ask me.  

• Brian starts his new job tomorrow!!!  I cannot believe it's finally here!  You all know I love my husband, but I am super excited for him to be working.  It's just time!  He will be happier, I know.  These last few months of no responsibility have been great, but I am ready to get back to reality. . .or I guess I'm ready for him to get back to reality.  Anyway, he is going to work tomorrow and I am excited for him to get settled.  

• This morning, as an April Fools joke, Adele was explaining to McKay that his school burned down in the night.  Guess who believed her and was about to freak out?  Me.

• I volunteered in McKay's class on Wednesday.  I'm so glad I get to go in, even though it's only for a half hour.  It's so fun to see him interact with the kids in his class, and I kind of feel like a celebrity from all the attention I get from those kids.  I'm sure that will wear off the more I go in.

• McKay and Elle are still loving the neighborhood.  They have never been so social and I almost don't know what to do when they are out playing all afternoon.  It's a really good thing they have going on, especially for McKay.

• That makes me think about the weather we've been having lately.  So beautiful.  It is a spring like this that makes me glad I am in Utah right now and not Oregon.  Spring is rough for me in Oregon. I am quite enjoying going on walks with the girls, and although Ellery does not like it, I am hoping to make a morning walk a regular thing.  

• Okay, happy I did my thoughts this week.  It's actually not too hard once I just sit down to do it.  

Happy Sunday!