laugh out loud funny

I love this BYU parody of this Old Spice commercial. Hilarious.

picture overload

On a Sunday afternoon in the park...






Want to see more? Okay. Twist my arm.

I am such a lucky mom.

12 on 12 | july

[click to enlarge]

1. I woke Emma up at 6:20 and took her to swim team. Anne and Sawyer were up before seven. An early start to a long day.
2. Nathan and Slade slept outside in a swingset fort. Pretty fun to get to slide out of bed.
3. I came home from getting my hair cut to this scene: Anne with her hair all askew holding her babies and a big mess of crackers and crumbs all over the table.
4. My Monday jobs: dust and vacuum main level, mop kitchen, wash backdoor windows, and such. I have really loved having this card system for the last month or so.
5. Nathan, Sawyer and Anne were all sick today. They stayed in pajamas and watched lots of TV.
6. I've discovered the joys of listening to audiobooks on my iPod while I get my housework done. It makes me feel doubly productive.
7. New clocks hung up in the entry. A bunch of our folk dance friends are coming over on Wednesday night. Of course, I'm frantically trying to figure out how to lose 30 pounds and get all my house projects done before then. :)
8. Dave playing Tetris on his phone. He got a smart phone recently and we both are in love with it. Technology is so great.
9. We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. It doesn't look all that tasty in the picture but this meatloaf recipe is awesome. I found it on allrecipes.com which is my favorite go-to site for recipes.
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
10. Dave taught our lesson in Family Home Evening tonight.
11. Nathan and Slade wrestled all the way through FHE. It seems that the kids don't get anything out of FHE. However, I'm thankful that we've made it a routine part of our family life. I'll just have to have faith that they're getting more than it seems.
12. We finished the evening with a movie (Nathan's choice) and popsicles for a treat.

happy fourth

What's not to love about the Fourth of July? Patriotism, food, family, fireworks. It is truly one of the best holidays around.

We started our celebrations on Saturday with a BBQ at Keri's. The food was plentiful and deliciously satisfying. The conversation was plentiful. The kids were happy. The fireworks were only just short of dangerous.

On Sunday, we spent the evening at Katie's house with the other side of the family. More food. More cousins to play with. More fireworks. Good times all around. I made this layered Jello and a flag cake. Both were quite visually delightful and though time-consuming not terribly difficult to make.




My children promised me to indulge me in a bit of picture taking. One good picture and one funny was all I asked. It took quite a lot of cajoling to get Slade out there but we managed to get everyone in the shot. It is still rather hard for me, but I'm learning to just let go of the expectations for composition, lighting, posing, or expression and just take what I can get. With this imperfect photo, I'll tuck away memories of the day. I'll remember going to play the piano for Sacrament meeting at the retirement home down the street. What a privilege it was to hear the testimonies shared by those who have lived a lifetime in the service of God and country. I'll remember how happy I was to sing and play patriotic music in Primary for Singing Time. We listened to The 1812 Overture and The Stars and Stripes Forever along with singing the traditional patriotic songs. How often can I get away with something like that? Because of this picture, I won't forget that Anne wore the same outfit that she wore last year. I certainly shouldn't forget Emma getting completely upset about the fire started on the mountain above Katie's house by some idiots shooting off illegal fireworks. She was in tears even though we were perfectly safe. Apparently she is terrified of fire. Who knew?

Happy Birthday, America! We are so blessed to live here!

the wonderful wizard of oz

Emma participated in a week-long voice camp this week. She wasn't excited about it at first but ended up having a great experience. They put together a short show combining songs from The Wizard of Oz and Wicked.


She performed well. When she decided to smile and really turn on the showmanship, she really lit up the stage. With her dress, hair and makeup, she looked so much older. I got glimpses of her as a teenager. Yikes. I'm not ready for that!