Celebrity "crush"

Obviously I don't have a crush on them, but meeting Sara and Kate of the 

Our best bites blog and cookbooks

Was pretty stinking awesome.

I attended the Saturday sessions of time out for women and they were speakers there.

As we were walking to the elevator in our hotel that morning Sara just happened to walk up at the same time. Knowing it was her, I got really excited. we talked with her for a minute while we rode down, and then sara was meeting up with Kate in the lobby, so I sheepishly asked if we could take a picture.

I felt like a total goober, and I really was, but as I told my sister, if I hadnt taken a picture with them, I would have totally regretted it.

Oh, and they were awesome, along with the rest of the speakers. Just what I needed to hear :)

I am so weird. But I'm not sorry. Instead of aspiring to be like some crazy, ridiculous Hollywood star I will never look like, act like, or dress like, I would way rather be like those awesome ladies, who are wonderful, REAL mothers who don't hide the fact that life really isn't perfect. 

happy girl

I took the kidlets to our favorite doctor today.

(I seriously don't know how I will have another kid without him being my doctor. Ugh.)

They did great, until the shots. 

Ohhhhh man. Claire acted like I had betrayed her in the worst possible way. It was a screaming, crying group of banshees i dragged out the door. Big sis requested a grilled cheese sandwich. With YELLOW cheese. That girl.

Ev on the other hand, she was a champ (except for the 30 seconds she was purple in the face from the shot, then back to normal). Comment after comment about how happy she was from every person who looked at her. She is really good at getting attention and entertaining everyone.

Love hanging out with her. She hands out smiles and giggles comstantly, and it's practically impossible to put her down once she wraps you around her finger.

And, you know I think she is adorable, and I'm told she looks like me, so it makes me think I must have been pretty cute too. Ha! 

my loves

we finally got around to taking some family photos on Sunday. 

i was antsy and stressed before we got there.

i bought a pair of jeans just for the photos for claire, but she hated them and i couldnt find them that morning. i was upset. realllllly upset.

but then it didnt matter. joe was leaving. and we couldnt stand a moment of unhappiness, so we forgot about it, and laughed about the leaves that kep sticking to her leggings on her bum.

and now, joe is gone for 2 months. i was doing fine until monday night, cried a river. tuesday, that was a waterfall. the puffy eyes wouldnt go away.

but today we are getting past it. its only two months. two months filled with lots of good things, and happy times ahead. yesterday, if i thought about it longer than about a minute i would start gushing tears and felt like i couldnt breathe. but its better today. today i laughed a bunch with the kids, and thought about what a blessing it is that joe gets to do this. it is only 2 months, and things wil be fine. we recorded messages on the ipad from joe to the kids, and we recorded him reading some books.

more pics to come!

This boy

He is giving me a run for my money right now

He can be so cute, snuggly and happy one second

And screaming and hitting his sister (claire, not evie) the next.

He is loud. Like so LOUD. He constantly has noise coming from his mouth. Like joe and I were driving with just him in the car the other day and it was 45 minutes of non-stop mooing. 

But I love him.

It took almost ten minutes of explaining to my parents how to put him down for bed. It is a battle with that kid to get him to go to sleep. And then he is up and ready to go at 5:30 AM.

He always prefer joe do everything, before me.

Everything is all about daddy.

He has to have his back rubbed, hand under his shirt, til he falls asleep.

He is soooooo his father's child.

Which will help while his father is gone. Having little bubba is like having part of joe with me while he will be gone for 2 months.

Love my boys.

I snatched me a good one

Yesterday I went shopping for myself, all selfishly thinking I NEED boots, a new shirt, whatever I want! And I'm not shopping for HIM today, I want to shop for me! 

I came home and whined and complained at my husband about not finding just exactly what I wanted, after he stayed and watched all the kids plus my extra kid I babysit, several hours later.

He listened, patiently, and didn't say a word.

Then he went to run an errand he needed to do, taking a kid with him, and then followed my orders to get all this extra stuff at an entirely different store.

And he came home with something for me.

And then I had the gall to tell him I didn't like them.

So he immediately returned them and got ones I like instead.

And I love them!

But I love him, way, way more.

I mean, really, who goes all out of their way to be extra nice to someone even after they are all bratty and whiny and acting all selfish. Who does that!?!?

I married a good one, that's for sure. I don't deserve him, seriously.

Let her be lazy

She kinda hates being made to sit up or lay on her stomach. And refuses to lock her legs.

Screams bloody murder if you do.

Looks like she will stay my baby a little longer.

Yippee!

Accepting autumn

This is the street around the corner.

Kinda dreamy, yeah?

Fall landed here today with a force.

It is dumping buckets of rain.

So we celebrated with doughnuts this morning.

As we all know, I loooove doughnuts!

It doesn't really fit in with my weight goals, but i decided I really just needed a huge apple fritter.

I tired all the kids out with errands, and now they are, even Claire, all asleep.

Completely awesome! Right???

I am surrendering to autumn. And now, a hot mug of hot chocolate.

On politics

This little girl, and my other 2 kids, and my husband, they mean the most to me. And so, I'm going to say this: the people who have FAMILY in mind while making decisions for our country will get my vote. People who want to protect and defend my family, who want to give, and give even more than they are required, and who have a record of REAL success, they will get my vote. 

I didn't vote four years ago- I had kinda just had a baby, wasn't excited about the candidates, etc., but right now I can't get enough of hearing about the plans laid out that I believe will actually help out this country.

And maybe I'm just feeling a little extra patriotic because of Jose's new job and all, but I have really gotten into the political process this time around, and I am really excited to vote in a few weeks. 

Bytheway, Evie cut a tooth! Way to go little girl!

Doggie lovin'

Watching my mom's dogs has been something else.

Woozy and wizzy are a crack up.

Liz acts like a cat just about all the time. She is nuts. She loves coming up and snuggling, and started coming and laying on a shoulder if she can maneuver just so.

Lucy is also cat-like- in that she is afraid of everything. She is most afraid of balls, and also my kids.  Between them and the big bouncy balls the kids love to play on, well, I'm surprised she comes out at all.

Again, dogs are like children.

I realized the other day I was feeling a bit overwhelmed for a moment. I only have three kids,  shouldn't I be used to it? It was weird, I kept trying to figure out why there was so much noise and commotion. Oh, duh. My three kids, plus two dogs, plus an extra couple kids I was babysitting- that would be 7 other bodies I was trying to keep track of. No worries, the second I realized that i stopped feeling overwhelmed and I put doggies to bed, my baby to bed, and within 30 minutes the extra babies were picked up. Whew. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the dogs, and I love dogs in general, but we won't be getting dogs anytime soon. Maybe after kids start going to school?

On feeling friendless

I try my darnedest to never, ever intentionally hurt someone's feelings.

For a few reasons, but mostly because of something that happened in elementary school. in second grade i remember my friends and I being mean to a girl we didn't want to play with us so she would go away. And I remember seeing how hurt she was. I decided that didn't feel good, and didn't want that to ever, ever happen again. Following that incident those same "friends" started to not be as friendly, and I started to get left out of things. I'm not sure why? We were friends! But they were the cool kids. And had been friends their whole lives, and I was kinda an outsider. 

It's kinda pathetic, but I feel the same thing has happened over and over in my life. In just about every place I've lived, I have tried to make friends with people, think that we are good enough friends, and then eventually I get left in the dust.

I try really, really hard to make friends. I am a really, really shy person, but do my best to hide that, and just be a friend, to everyone. I hate talking to people I don't know, even talking on the phone is a nightmare for me. So making friends does not come easily. 

My mom used to call me a social butterfly- once I am confident in a circle of friends perhaps? Ive never really felt that way. Getting to know people does not come easily. Because over, and over I have gotten left out. Over and over I have felt the sting of being burned. And it stinks. I hate it.

I think this must be how Christ felt? Being left utterly and completely alone, and even denied by his closest friends. How incredibly awful.

I finally was feeling lately that this would never happen again. I thought I was doing alright on the friend area. But, again, it's happened. And I feel completely hopeless. My mom has so many lifelong friends, and always will. I see her put effort into her friends, and they reciprocate. I thought it was finally happening for me, but it is definitely not.

So, is it me? Or is it the people I try to befriend? 

Either way, I'm evaluating everything about myself, top to bottom and making improvements. If not just for me, for my family and everyone I associate with. And I'm teaching my kids what being a friend really, actually means. And I hope it sticks.

I'm not looking for sympathy. I know I am blessed and have people who love me no matter what. Part of moving around so much is that i know that losing friends is part of reality. And you learn to rely on the Savior and your family first and formost. getting forgotten happens. And I accepted that a long time ago. Instead, I ask anyone who is reading this to please, please be kind. And include everyone. Even people you think may not need it, or want it. They want to be included. Find someone who needs including! Help them! How many times did we hear that during general conference?  

Now beyond that, this thought has been getting me through.

"Everything unfair about this life will be made right through Jesus Christ."

Or something like that.

I've heard it multiple times in the last month or so, it seems to keep popping up, and I love it. 

Pretty sure I'm so far from being a good friend, but I'm trying! Try with me?

Everything she does

Everything she does puts a smile on my face.

Except when she poos three times in a row.

But even then, she loves getting her diaper changed, and her giggle and kicking legs is hilarious.

At six months, she hates laying on her tummy, grabs at everything, doesn't have teeth, would rather not sit on her own, and only likes a tiny bit of food at a time.

Everything a spoiled rotten princess should be.

I have a million things to say right now.

Loving General Conference, as always. 

Hearing what I need to hear, the amazing announcement that has spurred a movement by so many people, setting goals to better myself, my marriage, my family.

Utah is putting on a spectacular show right now- the fall leaves make the mountains look like they are lit with fire. Joe and I snuck off on a date into hobble creek canyon today (don't tell, we skipped a little bit of conference, but listened to it) and practiced our gun shooting skillz. It was a fantastically gorgeous day, prefect leaves, and fun shooting.

I'm starting to think I might miss Utah a bit. And I'm sad for all the things we will miss- seeing the Provo city center temple completed, using the Trax from Provo to salt lake, all the downtown construction and building done, expansion of the MTC, so many things! Just plenty of things to come back for, right?

Treasure hunting

I've been scheming for claires's birthday party for several months now. 

We don't do a lot of parties, and the general rule is a "friends" party for the kids' birthdays every other year. Since Claire is leaving so many friends behind I wanted to do something extra fun, and we're having a special get together! Completely girly, and super sweet. 

And thinking about it gets the thoughts about joe leaving for two months off my mind.

So I convinced Lindsay to go treasure hunting with me yesterday. 

And treasure we did find!

But these little goodies will have to wait to be shared.

Just know, DI produced some awesome finds.

And, I'm doing all of it without the aid of Pinterest. Gasp! Maybe a little inspiration from a couple blogs, but no Pinterest. Woot.

(I keep getting flack about not having one. It is a time sucking machine, and I already of enough other things that suck my time.)

Bytheway, my husband, yes my husband, has a Pinterest account. So he can pin the guns he wants. Hilarious.

Ode to Lola

• 

You were a good little car.

You served so many, so well.

 You got beat up, scarred, and seemed to be falling apart.

But you were strong. Solid under the hood.

You were the scene for so many of my high school memories. And kept those stories to yourself.

You survived a teenage boy driver. 

You brought home 2 of my babies. 

And you will continue to serve someone else. 

We sold little Lola the Corolla last week. She got snatched up really fast, so fast I almost didn't want to let her go. She seemed to be nothing special, but she got me through high school, and then the last four years of our marriage. with joe leaving, and then going to school and training we just don't need another car, and so we parted ways with her. All the kids in my family drove her for a little bit at some point. I talk about her like a person, and no I'm not THAT attatched, but I was a little sentimental thinking about all the things that happened in that car. All the boys I drove around, friends who carpooled with me, all the nights I drove solo for 45 minutes each way to see friends. The times I locked my keys in the trunk, more than once. So many good times.

She better be treated well!

hello october

Hmmmm October. I've been dreading it. Joe leaves in October. (Three weeks from wednesday) So, not really looking forward to it. For the kids, I'll put on a happy face and pretend I'm not completely freaking out.

I went to church by myself yesterday with the kids. We even walked, well not really. I walked, and the three kiddos hitched rides on my one child stroller. It was quite the sight, but I really could have fit one more on there :) we got there 15 minutes early, not sure how??? And we didn't have to dismiss ourselves first hour. Bonus.

We had a 'special' dinner last night to welcome fall. Nothing fancy, but we lit candles and put 'punkins' on the table. They sorta loved it. 

My parents are off on the sight-seeing adventure of a lifetime, sorta really jealous. But they totally deserve it. So, doggie-duty for us! I call them 'wizzzzie and wooozy' and they hate it, but tolerate it because I feed them. Ha!

Evalyn turns six months this week. With no desire to roll over, sit up, or pop some teeth out. Which is kinda awesome. Like, she acknowledges I really want a baby of mine to stay a baby longer than six months. Thank you Evie Jayne. 

Blogger haaaates me. No pics right now.... Maybe later?