August

Top Row

*A definite highlight was watching Abby compete in the swimming summer championship meet. It does a mother's heart good to see all the hard work "pay off."
*Ugh! I finally finished these "ugly dolls" for the three oldest. They were not as easy as I thought they would be, but I think the kids had fun designing them and seeing their designs turn into fun playthings.
*The kids and I had a blast seeing our friends' new house, playing on the rented inflatable slide, and catching up with other friends.

Bottom Row

*The brine shrimp off Antelope Island were an instant hit with our family. Oh, and floating in the Great Salt Lake, too.
*We were able to hike up to Cecret Lake with Eric's parents and the Greens. It was a beautiful night, and to top it all off, we were able to see a moose (thanks to Sophie's good eyes).

All in Good Fun!

16 Years!

16 years ago I was blessed to marry my best friend. I couldn't have chosen a better person for me. Here is a review from our last 16 years:



Top row:
*Wedding day at the Oakland Temple, August 5, 1995
*Homecoming at BYU, 1996
*We dressed up as Fred and Daphne down in So Cal. 1997
*Youth Conference Luau, 1998

2nd row:
*Our last day in Hawaii, 1999
*In front of our new home with our new dog, Meg, 2000
*On our anniversary getting ready to eat at the Napa Rose. I'm expecting Abby. 2001
*Our new little addition who finally was growing out of her colic! 2003

3rd row:
*Little Will joined our family 17 months after Abby's arrival. 2003
*This picture was taken on Robbie's wedding (on our anniversary) right before we moved to Utah. 2004
*We took a cruise to the eastern Caribbean for our 10th anniversary. 2005
*Ezra came next. This picture was taken when he was less than a month old. 2006

Bottom row:
*For our 12th anniversary, we rode the Alpine slides in Park City. 2007
*Our last and final addition came right before Thanksgiving. Welcome, Evy! 2008
*Anniversary lunch at Finn's, 2009
*Zip-line tour in Costa Rica, 2010

Large picture: Taken today: August, 5, 2011

July

It's been a long time since I've blogged! I left at the end of June and was gone for 2 1/2 weeks to So Cal. Because we did so many fun things down there, I decided to use two layouts as a review of the past month.




TOP LAYOUT

Top row:
*Abby's group built this fort for Adventure Playground (the main reason we went down to So Cal for so long). The fort was two stories high with five rooms. It also had a sun deck.
*We swam and swam. I think everyday except for two. We loved having time with Bri and Celia (and Mike when he could make the drive out).

Bottom row:
*Will was baptized in the pool. I was a little afraid we wouldn't have a special experience with the baptism held in the pool instead of the font, but I was wrong. I'm grateful to have felt the spirit.
*The lakebed has a new addition--the rope swing. Totally a highlight from the trip.
*I loved being able to see my brother and nephew. They came over to swim. It makes me happy to see what a great dad he is!

BOTTOM LAYOUT

Top row:
*Feeding the lorikeets at the Long Beach Aquarium was memorable. So fun to see Ezra step out of his comfort zone and do the feeding. It was also hilarious because at one point, I had three lorikeets on me. Bri's face was also hilarious.
*The 4th of July at the park in Yorba Linda is always a blast. The kids played games with Nana and Bapa that night as well as many other times during the trip.

Bottom row:
*I took the littles to Disneyland. It was Evy's first trip. The three of us had a great time but, as Ezra put it, looked forward to going home and having some of Nana's food.
*A definite highlight was the beach. We only went twice but had an absolute blast both times. I love this shot because all the kiddos are in it. It's also fun to look closer and see how Ezra was trying to get sand out of his trunks!
*Will caught this two inch long sand crab at Newport. From our research it was probably a female and they don't get any bigger than the one he found!

Worried

While cleaning out the car last week, I found a list in the back seat made by Miss Abby. At first I found the list entertaining. This feeling soon turned into worry because, seriously, is this a normal list for a nine year-old girl to be making? Doesn't this list usually emerge in junior high? Is she already trying to rebel from her very non-glamourous mother? Have I done or said anything to prompt this list? (Luckily, I can't think of anything.) Lastly, what am I going to do? I'm so sad that she already feels pressure to put more emphasis on her outward appearance. Is this normal? I'm not ready for this stage of childhood if it is!



Transcript:

Things I need to do to Look better:

*take a shower every day
*brush my hair alot
*have clean teeth
*put my hair in crazy buns
*use lipgloss
*were (wear) cute clothes
*start to shave
*were neklas and bracelets
*use cute backpacks
*were new earings everyday
*to were things that match

Month in Review: May

Top row:
Abby and Eric all ready for our annual family Cinco de Mayo party (I love how Eric is working the truckin' sombrero. Very nice.)
Evelyn the Destroyer strikes again! And, yes, that's birdseed mingled in with the books. This destruction took place approximately 5 minutes after the family had totally cleaned up the playroom.

Bottom row:
Our family discovered letterboxing for the first time and LOVED it!
Cheers to the fact that it was actually sunny and warm in Utah!
I don't know how many times I have fished a flying disc out of a tree since I bought them a couple of weeks ago! Note: Buy only discs in bright colors other than green.

My Statue of David

Yesterday was a beautiful, near perfect day.



I went on a run. There were very few timeouts. I had several opportunities to hang out with my cool neighbors. The weather was PERFECT. Eric had no meetings. We had time together as a family. While Eric ran to pick up dinner, all of the kids rediscovered the sandbox. Every spring when this rediscovery happens, they are so content to dig and be friends with each other.









We ate yummy Costa Vida, and Eric and I decided the evening was pretty close to heaven as there was no fighting and we were eating great food in great company under the clear blue sky.

After dinner the kids went back to digging and building volcanoes. This building led to needing water for the volcanoes (of course). So we decided to fill up the wading pool with water for them to retrieve more easily for the sandbox (cue major cleaning ahead).

Water + sand = really wet sand and mud in some places which equals kids getting really dirty and wet which equals lots of Spray 'n Wash.






Ezra and Evy thought the ice cold water was just fine. They both stripped down to nothing and decided to play, splash, and lie down in the freezing cold hose water. We insisted Evy come out for a warm bath when her feet were literally turning reddish-purplish.

As she was being watched in the bath, I went out to coax Ezra into the house. As I rounded the corner, I heard, "Mom, I need a wipe!" and then beheld this sight:




Yeah, like a wipe would help clean that work of art!

Even though A LOT of cleaning was necessary, last night was a ton of fun--one which I hope the kids will remember for a long time--and one that is prepping me for one fun summer (hopefully--ask me mid-August).

Congrats

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I spoke with my mom. I ate candy. I played outside with the littles. I went to the park (and didn't lose a single child). I attended a college graduation with people I love in honor of a really cool guy. Also, the day was literally beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. Gentle breeze. Warm sun. I got a little color. (Go away winter whiteness.)

I think Eric's parents and brother brought with them the sunny weather from So Cal. (Thanks so much. I needed it.) They were in town for the really cool guy's graudation with his Bachelor's of Social Work. I really look up to said cool guy. He has juggled so many responsibilities and has worked incredibly hard for his degree. I also look up to this cool guy's wife. She has been an amazing support to him for a very long time. I'm so thankful to have shared part of this happy day with them. They're just awesome people who deserve a big CONGRATS!

April

Top row:

1. Will crawled into this mini cave during our family trip to Zion National Park. What a beautiful place in the spring! There were many "highs" during the trip, but maybe the most memorable was when Abby asked me if all the red rock was real or made out of plaster.
2. I was blessed to have a girls' weekend in So Cal. I was able to practice taking maternity photos for my daring sister and brother-in-law. These gorgeous people made my job easy!
3. Eric turned 38. We celebrated by eating at Smashburger and enjoying cupcakes from a local bakery. His favorite: the red velvet.

Bottom row:

1. Our family's "haul" from the much-awaited Easter package my mom and dad send each year
2. Lynn, Val, and Chelsea came up for my niece's baptism and Eric's setting apart as the bishop of our ward over Easter weekend.

Armed and Dangerous

Does this little girl look dangerous?

Give her a crayon and she is one scary little girl! (Graffiti done within minutes of when the above innocent picture was taken.)


Righting her "wrong."




So, so many more "wrongs" around the house for her to right. I find them ALL THE TIME. They seem to pop up at every turn. Luckily, she's my fourth and I realize it's just a stage that the previous three went through as well. I'm just hoping she'll grow out of it before she happens upon a Sharpie.

March

Top:
*First sign of spring with this crocus pushing up through the snow
*Our family loved visiting the Limbs and Grandma GG in Idaho.
*Eric with Abby after her class opera performance of "The Empty Pot"

Bottom:
*Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles to keep the littles happy
*A new favorite game of Will's is Spinjago. We played many a game this month.

Future Engineer?

My little Ezra's mind is so interesting. I love how I get more peeks into it as he gets older. He is constantly keeping me on my toes with his seemingly endless questions. I love this particular question he asked me yesterday about Jack who jumps over the candlestick: "Mom, why does he always jump over? Why doesn't he ever walk around the candlestick?" Good question. I think Ezra should go ask his father.

A Trip to the Aquarium

 

Today Ezra, Evy, and I ventured out to the aquarium--just the three of us. It felt like old times with Abby and Will when I would create, explore and discover way more often than now with the two little ones. It was so much fun to see the wonder and excitement in their faces, and it reminded me to have more outings like today with Ez and Evy.

Also, it wasn't too shabby for me to try out my new camera (Eric surprised/spoiled me) and see what "she" could do in the low-light atmosphere. I had her cranked up to her highest ISO, 6400, so the pics are a bit grainy, but I still think she did a great job. With my old camera, these pics would look grainy at ISO 800. A major improvement for sure! All these photos are unedited and were created with Picasa's photo collage feature. I love my new soon-to-be best friend!

Especially for Mom and Val

I have always loved taking pictures. The now tens of thousands of pictures on my hard drive and piles of older 4 x 6s prove it. I have also loved fabric. From the time my mom would make me homemade dresses and Barbie outfits to the times Val has helped me along on some basic projects to my quilting class I took when preggers with Will, the love of fabric and creating has followed me throughout my life, too.

It seems like Abby may have acquired that same interest in sewing as well. She has taken a few sessions of sewing and has enjoyed every bit of it. Seeing her come home with darling little projects inspired me to finally learn how to sew/read a pattern. So I looked into sewing classes and found a cute little place called The Finishing School. I love it. I also enjoy my teacher and the fact that she is from the Palos Verdes area and knows quite a few of Eric's relatives in that part of So Cal. Such a small world!

I wanted to post some of the projects I have completed--not to boast for sure--but so my mom and Val can see what I've been up to. It's so exciting to learn a new skill that I can hopefully bless my family with! And if I can sew, anyone can!


My first project was this apron.


I then made pajama pants for Ezra.


I was so excited to learn how to make jammie pants that I went home and made some for Will all by my little self. Crazy!


I then made this skirt for Evy.


This is my last completed project--a purse for Abby.

I'm now working on a tiered ruffle skirt for Evy and hope to finish it this week or next. All in all it's been a blast learning a new skill and shopping for fabric of course! Also, I'm learning I now need to invest in a serger. I'm keeping my eye on this one.

February

Top row:
1. Will working on one of his comics about a plankton who turns into a hero. Very cute.
2. We received a Valentine's gift package from Lynn and Val. It was such a fun treat--all the way from the cupcakes to the little cupcake toppers.

Bottom row:
1. This is how Ezra rolls when building Legos: he builds crazy towers with all the same color, repeats with all other available colors, and then gets frustrated when crazy towers begin to easily fall apart.
2. Abby made it to the six week mark of having her ears pierced on Valentine's Day, so she celebrated by wearing dangly earrings for the first time.
3. Evy + Mommy + silliness + chocolate = war paint, of course!

Warning: There is a monster at the end of this post.

We had a busy but great weekend. Besides talking about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and reading up a little on the latter, we also seemed to fit in since Friday: a swim meet, a haircut for me, a date, a family dinner, sledding, another family dinner, and almost five hours at Classic Skate. I also managed to fit in 11.2 miles of running and an Obsidian workout. Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty drained right now!

Here are pictures from our weekend. (And don't forget the monster at the end of this post!)



Eric's favorite Chipotle meal (And, yes, he can eat it ALL.)


Abby swimming the 25m freestyle


Abby after her first race


My new cut and color (Shawna at Brio is the best!)


Boppa sledding backwards with Evy


A sweet crash and burn


This kid loves to sled--the faster the better.


Workin' the shiny shades


Val shreddin' up the hill


Will workin' on his front flip


Evy and I sliding down one of those huge bounce house slides


Pretty much this is what I saw of Ezra all day. That kid can climb!


Abby workin' the sweet blue and orange skates


The monster

It's Finally Done!

Last October I decided I needed to finally do Evy's blanket. I've made one for all the other kids, so I kind of felt obligated to make one for Evy. And plus a little bit of me wanted to make one for her, too. :-)

It took me a while to choose the fabric. I like the end product but visualized more of just pinks, oranges, and blues in the beginning. Since I couldn't find any fabrics that had just the right feel, I settled on this cute line. (I can't remember the line they are from.)

I tried to get it sewn in a month before she turned two. I got most of the quilt top done but hit some snares with all the finishing work and took a much needed break until last Friday when I decided to finish the darn thing once and for all. So, it's finally done--albeit is majorly "jimmy rigged." Hopefully it doesn't fall apart when it gets washed for the first time (a little fear I have with all my sewing projects).

Even though the binding caused me some headaches, it was all worth it when I see how much she loves her blankey. And yay for me as I have one less project to worry and stress over!