PACKING!

.........THERE IS NOTHING WORSE! I dread it every trip. The messy house. Things we need to take strewn everywhere. Kenzie unpacking while I pack. Jake and Kenzie running naked through the house screeching at each other in laughter while a stream of toilet paper follows in Kenzie's hand. But at least they are getting along, right? 3 new loads of laundry to be gone through to make sure we are not forgetting anything in there. Me packing way too much because you never know what you are going to need, right? I am greasy from no shower and might not get one. I can't get my thoughts together and know we will forget something very important. I think I need Xanax. Mike will come home and leave to go golf after he sees our whole day all in one look. There are not enough hours in one day to pack. But I am sure one day I will look back on this and wish I could do it all over again. That will be a long time from now! Yes, you might think I have lost all control and am completely insane, but it's just how my day is going. Drama, Drama, Drama. I had to sit for a moment and blog to calm down. :)

I just finished reading this amazing book, I am a Mother, written by Jane Clayson Johnson. She is the former co-host of the Early Show on CBS and obviously a wonderful person inside and out. Mike gave me this book for Mother's Day and it has changed my life. In it's few pages, she tells amazing stories of Motherhood, and her story of the hard time in her life when she left CBS to stay home. In the last 2 years since I quit work, I have had a very hard time staying home and being a mom. Now this comes from someone who wanted nothing short of that growing up! All I ever talked about was having a bunch of babies, doing housework, making awesome dinners and taking my kids to soccer practice. I thought being a mom would come so easy to me, but it didn't and I am still getting used to it everyday(does it come easy to anyone though?!). Some days I will admit that I wish I could go back to work tomorrow(and am a little jealous at times of my friends who do!), but I know that the time for me to do that is not right now. Through a lot of faith and time things have not become "easier"(because I wouldn't call motherhood "easy"!) but have become more fun, rewarding and I am figuring out what works for me, Mike, the kids and our family as a whole. I've also realized it is definitely all about the journey, taking one day at a time and finding the joy in motherhood. I look at my kids every morning and can't believe how blessed I am that they are mine forever. They teach me so much.
Jane Clayson talks about all the different kinds of motherhood, but that we are ALL mothers. No matter what you do ~ work, stay home........work and stay home........whatever we choose is what is right for us and we need to support each other as women in all our different decisions in life. Here is an excerpt from her book that I love....sorry it is long!

"At church, I watched the mothers with six, seven, eight children......so beautifully coiffed and so perfectly lined up in the pew. How in the world do they do it? I thought. I had new appreciation and compassion for the single mother who had little or no support; the mother of three teenagers whose husband was on his second lengthy military tour overseas; the mother who deftly juggled work and family life; the mother who gave up an exciting career advancement to labor full time at home. There seemed to be as many different ways to mother as there were shoes in my friend Phyllis's expansive closet.
As I began to pay more careful attention to all of the mothers around me and reflected on my own decision to leave my career behind - to trade in sleek stilettos for a pair of sturdy running shoes - I realized I wasn't the only woman with a story. There are a lot of shoes in the closet!
Each of us has a story; we each wear the shoes that best fit our circumstances and personalities. We may have one child or ten children, we may be married or divorced, we may be school teachers or law students, PTA volunteers or community board members. Every story is different, but each includes a common thread: We are all mothers. We love our children. We love the Lord, and we want our children to love Him, too. We are sisters!"
At the end she says, "Sisters, I believe this. I have witnessed it over and over again - in my own life, in my girlfriends' lives, and in the lives of the many women I have had the honor of meeting around the world. We are all mothers. Every day we take part in amazing stories about "ordinary" women who perform the extraordinary work of motherhood. Every day is the perfect day to find someone who can be loved, guided, taught, uplifted and inspired."

I am so happy we are all different and can help each other with our different motherhood strategies. We all need each others help to stay true to ourselves and raise our little ones in this hard world. Thanks to all my awesome mommy friends(and especially my mommy!) ~ from growing up, college, all my family and our great neighborhood ~ you have taught me so much!

I think this sounded like a church talk, so sorry. I just loved this book and have thanked Mike many times for choosing it. He knows me too well!

Ten Interesting Facts About Me......

I was tagged by Stacey, so here goes! (She gave me a hard one!)

1. I have a handsome husband, 2 cute kids(hopefully more on the way someday!) and love where we are in life right now. Life is great.
2. I LOVE to plant and take care of our yard. It has become somewhat of a hobby that I enjoy more and more.
3. I will go to almost any class at the gym - those are my favorite....not a big fan of weights.
4. I will splurge on good makeup and hair products. If I have extra money to burn, that is usually where it goes....or a great pair of jeans.....or cute clothes for the kids.......
5. I have been biting my nails for 25 years. Yuck, I know. My friend Tori and I set a goal MONTHS ago to stop, and now her nails are beautiful and mine still look, well, the same. I know I will stop someday!
6. I have always had terrible dreams, I talk in my sleep and sometimes walk in my sleep. My hubby doesn't get a good nights sleep with me around!
7. I love anything outdoors ~ camping, hiking, fishing and going on picnics with my family and watching my kids explore. There is nothing better to me than being outside in the summer.
8. I enjoy laundry and vacuuming. Gives me some sense of satisfaction ~ not sure why.
9. I hate it when cars are dirty on the inside. Makes me crazy. Just ask Mike.
10. My favorite foods are Edemame, Creme Brulee, anything crockpot, homemade bread and lots of fruit. Especially strawberries right now!

OK, SO NOW I TAG SHANNON, AMIE COTTON & MEGAN STEWART!

Priceless Moments

Very Small Swimming Pool ~ $5.00
Awesome Hats ~ $1.00 (from Girls Camp)
Picnic Table ~ Jake's Birthday Present from Hubby and I
Swim Shorts ~ Gift from JoNana
Cuteness ~ Free

These Moments ~ PRICELESS!

Happy Birthday to our little guy!

These pictures are in a really random order, but somehow in all my rushing around today I at least got them on here! This is also underlined, for a reason I don't know and I can't figure out how to get it off.
This past weekend we all flew to my parents house for my Grandma's memorial service. She passed on May 29, and lived a long and happy life. We gathered to celebrate her life and to bury her next to my Grandpa who died 2 years ago about the same time. In my remembering her, I can't believe she is gone, but I am also grateful for all the years I was able to know her and make memories of her. When I look back, the first pictures that come to my mind are of her on the dock at Lake Almanor, CA. where they lived for quite some time, in her swimsuit yelling at us all to get in the lake and swim with her. She LOVED the water. Grandma was also the first one up on Christmas morning, usually around 5:30am. She would go around the house and ring a bell to wake us all up. I will miss that. Grandma was a great cook(her homemade chili was my favorite), she loved to sew and loved to shop even more. She was always concerned about not being "in style". She would ask my sister and I for make-up tips and was always up to date on the latest fashion trends. When I close my eyes I can hear her voice in my mind and hear her laughing. I really hope that I will always be able to remember that. Love you Grandma!
This past weekend was also Jake's birthday weekend! He turned 3 on June 8. He was more than excited to have his birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's. He has been telling me for months that for his birthday he wants a Southwest Airlines cake(just because they're purple, his favorite color), balloons and presents. So it was easy! My southwest airlines cake didn't turn out quite as planned, but Jake loved it. We also flew on Southwest, so to him that was the best present! So we partied all weekend, and played in the sprinklers again, and Jake and Kenzie actually wanted to get in the pool. Maybe we can do swimming lessons soon.

The swim shorts got "wet" so he had to take them off. Isn't that what those are for, Jake?

I should be on Little Einsteins!





Why can't it be MY birthday yet, mom?

Finally!!

The cover for Breaking Dawn is FINALLY here! I love it! Only 2 more months.......and what I have waited this long for will only take a couple days to read. I love the covers to all of Stephenie Meyer's books. Very creative and makes you want to know what is inside. I finished The Host a couple weeks ago and loved it. It was hard to get into at first, but ended up being great and I really hope she writes a sequel. I now like Melanie and Wanda as much as I like Edward and Bella! Oh, and being the dork that I am, I saw this a while back while reading The Host and happened to have my camera in the car.......


I just happened to be in front of a store that had a trailer park next door, and, there it was! My friend Heather who had not read the book yet thought I was being a little strange, but I am sure she thinks I am anyway! Well, after knowing me for what seems like 1/2 our lives she must be used to it by now, right Heather?
Anyway, not much has been going on around here lately except for A LOT of yardwork, and A LOT of playing outside. Why can't it be summer all year? And why can't summer officially start here in Utah? It seems like right when it starts to get warm, we have a cold, rainy day. I love being outside with the kids and having an excuse to not clean the house. =)
A couple quick things about the kids........Jake has decided he loves "superheros" now. A couple weeks ago he went to a "Batman" birthday party for his friend Jackson, and Jackson's mom made these capes for all the kids. He wears it non-stop, even to bed sometimes.

Kenzie and I took a quick trip to Dallas with my mom and my sister last week to see my Grandma. I only took a couple pics of sis, but I like this one even though it is a little blurry. She LOVED my Aunt and Uncle's porch swing and their porch door(that also swings). Kenzie loves anything that she can get her hands on, which, is anything. My neighbor Liz said the other day that one thing she has learned about Kenzie is that she is a very independent woman and very brave. I second to that! Liz said that after going to Jump On It, a place with lots of tramps and bounce houses. Sis scaled a gate there with her hands and toes - it was interesting. We need to get her into gymnastics.



Mike and Jake went to the Father and Sons outing for church a few weeks ago and had a great time. About 400 people were there! Jake enjoyed all the frogs down by good ol' Utah Lake. While they were gone, my friend Mackenzie and I had an all nighter scrapbooking and I mean all nighter. Like til 4:30am. I was out of commission for about 3 days after that. Yes, I know I am not 21 anymore!
I tried to get the kids together for a pic on Saturday morning, yes in their PJ's. I thought Sis might be better at photos than Jake, but lately not so much. When Jake sees the camera now he asks me to "Put it away Mom, please." Yea, nice face Kenzie. A couple funny things the kids did this week that I DID NOT teach them were.......
Jake told my friend Shelby that "All the water just came out of my pepe, is all gone now Shelby, all gone out of my pepe." Neither of us could talk for a few minutes we were laughing so hard.
Last night Kenzie decided to moon our next door neighbor washing his car. Now, if you know our sweet little girl this is not a surprise. The funny thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew exactly what she was doing.