Morning Snuggles

This morning DA came into our room for his morning snuggle and tickle. Jake pulled him up on the bed and said, "Hey you, come snuggle me."

DA piped up and said, "I don't want to snuggle you, you're stinky!"

Fun in the Sun

This week, DA and I spent the week in Sunny California and loved it. We stayed at a resort in Indio that was fantastic. We'll be visiting there again for sure. Thankfully, it wasn't just me and him. Dad spent the first couple of days with us and some of the cousins came too.


This was the night before we left. DA is just too adorable for words.


We went and saw "Despicable Me" with the cousins at the theater. Little Miss sitting next to DA really got into the movie and almost cried when they took the girls away. I almost did too. It was a fantastic movie though, and super funny.


One evening we went to a street fair out in Palm Springs. It was a blast! We'll have to visit again.




DA loved this fountain and just wanted to hang out there for a while, so we did!


The last morning we were there we went shopping at an outlet mall. The kids didn't want to look at clothes, so they watched Sid the Science Kid on cool chairs while the moms checked out the merchandise.

Then we went outside and the fun began...







They wanted to ride every single ride there, so they climbed in and had a blast.

The ride home was LONG. We did the whole drive in one day, and DA was quite the trooper. And thank goodness for my sister's nephew who drove with us! He drove part of the way home and we wouldn't have made it without him.



He loves his Lightning Blanket he got for his birthday. We take it everywhere.


We saw the most beautiful rainstorms on the way home and double rainbows that crossed the whole sky. It was amazing to be out in nature and see these beautiful sites. It's good to be home, but I need another vacation. I came home to these little guys crawling around my bathroom:



So not cool! I have yet to identify them, but I'm working on it. I'm also praying they didn't get into my food storage!

The Repeat Exchange

This week, DA and I spent some time with Dad in Arizona. It was a blast!

One morning DA came in and asked me for breakfast.

DA: "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy..." repeat until I acknowledge.
Mom: "Yes dear."
DA: "I'm hungry. Will you get me breakfast please?"

I said sure. As we headed for the kitchen, DA turned around and said, "I love you mommy!" Made my heart warm then I decided it was time for DA to learn something.

Mom: "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you..." repeated about a hundred times.
DA then turned around, put his hand on his hip and said, "Mommy, I know!"

I don't know if the lesson was learned or not, but it sure was funny to see him act just like me.

DA also got into lots of trouble this week. Jake lives on the second floor in a condo that has two decks, one on the front and one on the back. DA became obsessed with the decks and by the time we figured out what he was doing out there, there were several items of importance missing. The first thing to go was the remote, then the throw blanket in the living room, a glass cup, some things that belonged to Jake's roommate, several of DA's favorite toys, some hand towels from the kitchen, a tube of caulking, and I don't remember what else. Each and every one of the missing things was thrown off the deck so he could watch them fall. It was like going on a treasure hunt when we went to reclaim them. We didn't take many toys with us, so when DA got bored, he had to use his imagination and natural curiosity to stay busy.

We discovered several things about AZ: Barnes and Noble's play section rocks! The mall has an incredible play place that DA could literally bounce off the walls (which he did) and not get hurt, rain is a beautiful thing, Pita Jungle is delicious, and fire alarms going off in the middle of the night for no reason are not cool.

It was a fun trip and once again I forgot the camera (and my pillow and DA's church clothes). No pictures but lots of fun memories.

Mom, I have something to tell you...

This week, DA and I went to AZ to visit Jake. Arizona, or at least the parts I've seen so far, is covered in red rock and evergreen forests. While we were driving through a redrock canyon, DA piped up from the back seat. This was the conversation that we had:

DA: Mom, I have something to tell you.
Mom: What's that DA?
DA: This is beautiful.
Mom: What is DA?
DA: The world.
Mom: It is, isn't it? Heavenly Father must have loved us so much to give us such a beautiful world to live in.
DA: Yep! And Mom, Heavenly Father would be very sad if we broke it.
Mom: What do you mean?
DA: He would be very sad if we broke the world. Let's not break the world, okay Mom? Does that sound like a plan?
Mom: Sounds good DA.

He was so earnest while he was telling me that it made me laugh and smile with pride at the same time. It also made me want to rush out and champion recycling, go green, and cleaning up the beautiful world we live in. Thank goodness for children who remind us what living is all about.

How I do love it!

I just finished my most recent project and how I do love it! I'm so excited. I didn't get any before pictures, but believe me this thing was not pretty.


It was a medium oak all over with stickers almost permanently embedded in the top.


I saved it from the trash heap and re-finished it. I sanded down the top and removed those stickers with a very little elbow grease thanks to Jake's orbital sander. I then re-finished the top with a beautiful Bombay Mahogany stain followed up with a Dark Walnut stain. It has delicate red undertones from the mahogany stain, and still is in the dark family of wood I love.


I painted the bottom and the legs a fabulous antique white and the contrast looks amazing.


For an investment of $0 for the table and around $20 for the paint and stain I have a beautiful end table and I can say, "Ya, I did that."

The Run Down

So many things have been happening in the last month and I haven't blogged about any of it. The main reason is that I've been back on board reading a ton of books. I've read over forty books this year, the majority of which have been read since the beginning of April. Here's a rundown of the favorites so far:

The Giver by Lois Lowery
Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Fire by the same author
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Seaward by Susan Cooper
Age of Fire series by E.E. Knight
and Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

I would recommend any of these to my friends who love fiction as much as I do. I've read quite a few others, but those are the favorites.

We've been planning a trip to Anaheim for the last month or so and we're excited to be leaving in a little over a week. We're going to Disneyland, the beach, and to see my brand new niece! I'm so excited and DA can hardly wait. Sandcastles and fun, family and relaxation. Sun, sun, and more sun. That's my kind of vacation.

The hardest thing that's come about in the last few months has been the best thing too. Jake was hired as an intern at Gore in Arizona this summer, but DA and I won't be going with him. We are staying here at our little apartment and Dad will be gone for two and a half months. We're sad to see him go, but very excited that he is going to have a wonderful experience working for a fantastic company. It's exhausting to think I'll have only myself to depend on to take care of DA all summer. Good thing I have the lawn mom's to support me and a promise of a girls' night every week with my wonderful friends. I'm worried about Jake for the most part. I've been taking care of him for five years. How is he ever going to fend for himself? Thank goodness for family. I have a fabulous Aunt and Uncle who have invited him down to their house whenever he would like to go. I love my husband dearly and wish we could go with him, but things don't always work out that way and I believe the Lord has plans for us this summer that require this short separation.

In preparation for our separation, Jake and I have pulled together a good amount of food storage and essential items. I am all about hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Our food storage has more than doubled in the last few months thanks to my parents and the case lots sale at the local market. There is no time like the present to be prepared for the future. Sadly, we don't really have the room for it, so once again my office is a mess. But I can live in a mess for the time being and work out a long term system as long as we can continue to get prepared.

I've made a couple of resolutions which I am now prepared to share.

1) I will do dishes at least once daily - This is difficult because we don't have a dishwasher and I hate doing dishes by hand, but it's so much less overwhelming when I only have to do the dishes from one day as opposed to one week. Okay, I'm rarely that bad, maybe every three days or so I put my nose to the grind stone, but no more. This is going to become an every day habit. And I thank my GoodReads group who recommended many fabulous audio books that help me stay motivated to do my duty as a housewife because I only get to listen when I'm cooking or cleaning.

2) Go to bed early and wake up early - Waking up early really isn't a problem. DA generally has me out of bed by 7:30 at the latest, but going to bed early has become a problem. I finally canceled my WoW account this week, and I haven't played in about a month, so it has been helping with the getting to bed early front. I am hoping that with less distractions this summer, I'll perfect the art of early to bed early to rise again.

3) Prepare food when I buy it - For the last six months or so, I've done a two week menu plan which has been working great. The only problem is I rarely make the time to really make the healthy part of the meals, like the salads. I LOVE salad and I would eat it with every meal if it weren't so darn time consuming to prepare. To make it easier on myself, I took a hint from my mom and have started washing, preparing and storing my fresh produce when I get it. It is so much easier to throw together a nice salad when everything (particularly the lettuce) has already been washed. So, I'm committing to keep up this new way of doing things and preparing my produce in advance for the two week menu when I buy it, just like I've been doing with everything else.

4) I will accomplish my projects this summer - I have several building projects I want to tackle this summer, and I'm revving myself up to get going on them as soon as good weather looks like it will stick around for a while. I also have some organization and craft projects which I want to accomplish while Jake is gone, so this summer is the summer of projects for me. Wish me luck!

I know this is a long blog post, but I had a lot on my mind tonight that I knew I had to get out on paper, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep. Anxiety over Jake and DA, wanting to be a better person, a better mom, a better wife, and a better housewife, and generally not knowing what the heck I'm doing with myself keep me up at night and I want a good night sleep. Sweet dreams!

Facts in Fours

I guess I got tagged, so now it's my turn to be it.

Facts in Fours

Four shows I watch:

1. Bones - when I can catch it
2. Law and Order - the original is the best
3. The Marriage Ref
4. Little Einsteins

Four Movies I love:

1. Lord of the Rings
2. Star Wars 4-6
3. The Italian Job
4. Pride and Prejudice - only the six hour version has the perfect Darcy

Four things I'm passionate about:
1. My family - all of them, even the nut jobs, but especially DA and Jake
2. Writing
3. Reading
4. The Book of Mormon

Four Phrases I say alot:
1. Jimminy Cricket
2. You little stinkpot!
3. Oh poop
4. Dagnabit!

Four things I've learned from the past:
1. My parents really did know what they were talking about.
2. Most days it's better to just bite my tongue.
3. Anger never solves problems.
4. Heavenly Father is just a prayer away.

Four places I would like to go:

1. Anywhere in Europe.
2. Egypt
3. China
4. New Zealand

Four things I did yesterday:
1. Listened to a beautiful conference
2. Saw Rachael's new house (and drooled)
3. Ate a fantastic dinner the greater majority of which I didn't have to make.
4. Had a fabulous chat with my Dad.

Four Things I am looking forward to:
1. Family Vacation this summer - Disneyland!
2. Having a clean kitchen
3. Jake being home for the summer
4. Jake graduating some day (hopefully in the near future)

Four things I love about summer:
1. The Sun!!!
2. Being able to go outside EVERYDAY!
3. Swimming pools
4. Being warm

Four things on my wishlist:
1. My own house I can renovate, decorate, and change all I want
2. A dishwasher
3. More family time
4. A VBAC for my next child

Four people I tag:
1. Aubry
2. Anne
3. Melissa
4. Natalie

You're it, so now tell us what your Facts in Four are!