The World According to Stacey

Totally Awesome 40th Birthday

2012-01-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Never thought the day would come, but here it is. I'm in love with a 40-year-old! To celebrate, we decided to act like kids and have a totally awesome 80's party with friends and family. Let me tell you, I had fun with this.

I didn't just buy a jean skirt and jean jacket from the thrift store... I actually acid washed them myself with bleach in my backyard... around midnight! I mean, what else would I be doing at that hour? I thought they turned out so cute!

But I didn't stop there... I went all out. I knew there was a good reason to keep my crimping iron around! Someday I'll use my rollers again too, right?

Russ had a great outfit, too, but somehow in all the excitement I neglected to take a picture of the main man of the night! If anyone took a picture of him, PLEASE give it to me!!

NEWS FLASH! I got a scanned copy of the picture my grandma took, and then I had to try to fix all the specks and fingerprints. I think someone had a nachos supreme before handling this picture, so it's a little rough, but it's something! Just don't look too closely.

I was so jealous of Marsa's hoop earrings. (Thanks for giving Russ the Cyndi Lauper tape... I'm sure he'll cherish it forever!)

[Imagine Aunt Karen' picture here... do you really want me to post that silly pose?!? Lori knows it's awesome, and I know you're all curious, so I'll show it to you if you give me a dollar. Or I'll delete it forever for $20.]

Speaking of Lori, she could pull off this 80's look in 2012. Too cute!

Our guests were the bomb... I mean, they were totally tubular! We had a best-dressed competition, and I had such a hard time choosing because everyone looked so good... so, I left it up to the cheers of the crowd to declare the winner. Ian, you have some lungs on you, buddy. I mean, let's face it, Ian was the real judge.

Lisa won the ladies' division for best dressed... because we all wish we had a bodacious jacket like that!

Wendy knows 80's style, and Trevor looked awesome in that wig. A hot mullet is better than nothing, right? ;)

Andrew won for best-dressed guy. I agree... he's bringing sexy back in the headband and wrist bands!

Pete: "I can't see a thing, but I know I must look awesome in these glasses!"

Nice shirt, Ian. (Ladies, he's taken... I know you're crushed.)

Honorable mention to these two for giving life to and raising the birthday boy and love of my life!

Geoff looking just like he did in the 80's.

Kristen wore an authentic 80's shirt from high school... radical color combo! And the slogan is so apropos :) Luckily, we had Kristen on the ladies' team for the 80's "Scene It" trivia game, but we still couldn't pull off a win.

The lucky wife of the fart shirt guy.

I snapped this shot right in the nick of time... just as Wendy started the "Thriller" dance in the background. Nice moves! (Yes, my mom's wearing the jean jacket I acid washed... way cute! Oops, I missed the insides of the sleeves.)

The GI Joe/Miami Vice combo and the wanna-be mohawk should have won Ben a prize, right? And my dad is looking 80's because he actually bought that shirt in the 80's... see, good thing he didn't ever give that to the DI.

[Imagine pic of Jill here... she would kill me if I posted it. Remember, I take bribes.]

The life of the party always shows up just a little late... love the big bangs!

Hot 80's chicks.

Russ and I had sooo much fun hosting, and our guests just made the party rock! Thanks to all who dressed up and came and had a good time.

As for me, I couldn't let my jean jacket be used only once... so I wore it to church today! So much fun... now I'm going to take a nap.

True Confessions

2012-01-18T00:24:00.000-08:00

I'm up late trying to acid wash some jeans, and strange thoughts start to come to mind when I'm alone and tired.

I have weird phobias... maybe all phobias are weird by definition.

I am afraid to put a glove on without looking inside first for fear a spider has made a nest inside.

I am afraid of accidentally touching the bottom of any body of water with bare feet. Even in swimming pools, I'm afraid my foot will touch a drain unexpectedly.

I am afraid of my parents' pool cleaner. I am afraid that if I don't know where it is, I might touch it by accident. I don't even like touching it on purpose, but at least it doesn't freak me out as much. I feel there is a reason it is called "Kreepy."

I count swallows when I drink from a drinking fountain.

I always fish out the little white thing in raw eggs before using them.

I put discs back into the most convenient case instead of the right cases, much to my husband's dismay.

I won't eat mushrooms or shellfish, not because of the flavors, but because of what they are.

I never take the first item on the shelf. I always get one from the back because I feel it has been handled less and is less likely to be damaged or a return.

I once sorted all the L'Oreal lipstick colors in Target because they were all mixed up.

I am a perfectionist when it comes to selecting produce. I seriously spend way too much time trying to find produce that has no cosmetic flaws.

I never use the first stall in a restroom unless it is the only one open. If all of you do that, then I guess my plan to use a cleaner stall is foiled.

*sigh*

I need to chillax. I did get rid of one habit... I stopped trying to make the gas pump stop exactly on the dollar.

Baby steps, people!
Publishing this post seems like a good idea at 1:30 in the morning...

New Year

2012-01-03T13:51:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

Last year, some of my official resolutions were to get more prepared for emergencies, organize family photos and scrapbooks, and hike Four Peaks.

Well, I did add a few items to our food storage that I didn't have before, like apple slices, diced carrots, dry milk, and dry eggs. I also put together some very rudimentary 72-hour packs, which I'm sure will seem totally inadequate in a true emergency, but it's better than nothing!

I have made tons of progress on Brandon's baby book and added a few pages to Kallie's. They are almost done! The family photos are still in Costco photo processing envelopes, but I did buy 4 photo albums, so I hope I will get those filled up by the end of this year :)

Alas, I didn't hike Four Peaks. This year, I don't have a nursing baby, so hopefully I can do it!

It seems like I always start off the new year with lots of optimism and hope, but then... life gets in the way, kids need me for one thing or another, distractions take too much of my attention, problems and trials are put in my way, and sometimes just plain laziness catches up to me.

At the end of the year, I read all these glowing Christmas letters, and my friends and family seem to have it all together. How do they pull it off, and are their families really that perfect, or do they just leave out the bad stuff? This past year has been a real challenge for our family... lots of trials, tears, and sacrifices. It's been difficult, but I'm feeling stronger now, and triumphant because we are still okay, we are still a family, and we still love each other.

So, even if 2011 wasn't perfect, I am happy to celebrate the things that are good and the accomplishments I have made, even if I didn't accomplish everything.

Today is a good day.

Happy 2012!!

December Wrap Up

2011-12-29T13:22:00.000-08:00

I don't want to end December with just one measly post, so here I am wrapping it up!

Kallie's preschool class had a Christmas performance. Kallie is on the very far left.

They sang a snowman song, Jingle Bells, and The Reindeer Pokey.

Kallie is a good mom to her baby, "Rainbow," and wanted to make sure she was buckled in.

I have been wanting to display my kids' artwork in the hallway by our garage, but have never thought of a good way to do it. I finally came up with the idea of a memo board, and since it was so close to Christmas, I decided to make some for my mom and sisters. Mine will have to wait a little longer...

Here is Jill's...

Lori's...

And my mom's... aren't they so cute?

We had another merry Christmas Eve party at my mom's house, and I make it my policy not to carry my camera everywhere (because I tend to go overboard on pics when I do), so I have no pictures from that. It was a jolly good time, though! I got plush snowballs from the white elephant gift exchange, and my kids just love to use them for snowball fights. What fun!

On to Christmas morning, we woke up and checked out what Santa brought, but we waited until after church to open our gifts. I had to play the primary song in sacrament meeting that morning, which was totally nerve wracking to me, so I enjoyed Christmas much better once that was over!!

(Just wanted to explain why Russ might be in a suit... no, we don't generally get dressed up before opening gifts on Christmas...)

Will found this ornament with Kyle's picture on it in his stocking - how'd that get there?!? Santa had a little too much eggnog, I guess...

Paige got... a box!! The kids aren't impressed by that joke at all, but Russ and I can't seem to get enough of it.

This was the first year Brandon could actually help open gifts. The tearing of the paper was the best part for him.

Russ, if you're going to pull a goofy face, then be prepared for it to be published! :) Oh, the joy!

Kallie said she was wishing for a Rapunzel dress, and Santa delivered! She had been wearing that yarn on her head the day before as her Rapunzel hair, so she put it back on along with her new dress just as soon as she opened it.

Thanks, Paige, for making sure there was a picture of me. I was there! And I had makeup on - going to church first may have been a great idea after all.

Gee, I didn't know bedding could be so exciting. He got bedding when he was eight, too, and didn't have near that same reaction...

Action-packed unwrapping frenzy!

Hmm... I wonder what that could be!

Christmas night, we had another gathering at my mom's house with gifts galore! Mom, have you dug yourself out of that mess yet? Jill and I took a bunch of kids out on a surrey ride to see Christmas lights. It was hard work because all the kids were mostly dead weight, but we needed to work off the pie somehow. This one street in my parents' neighborhood is all decked out, and it was like a tourist attraction. We got in the line of cars and sang Christmas carols as loud as we could. The surrey was all lit up with Christmas lights and adorned with a wreath in the back, so we were kinda like one of the attractions. It was tons of fun!

And now, I have finally dug out of the Christmas chaos and am ready to ring in the new year. I even have some new purple and blue sparkly nailpolish to wear! (Thanks, Lolo)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Sweet P

2011-12-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get just a little annoyed when parents rave about how wonderful their children are, so be prepared to be a little annoyed if you are anything like me.

First of all, last week was Paige's dance recital.

Go Paigey!

Then Saturday was her baptism day. She was so excited for this day to come and kept talking about how it would make her all clean. When she went to meet with the bishop beforehand, Kallie was worried about being left behind and said, "I want to see what it is like to get baptized!" We reassured her that she wouldn't miss the baptism.

I made the dress, and it really wasn't that stressful (seam ripping and all). This was my first time sewing on a sheer fabric, and I thought it came out wonderfully. Awesome, another sewing skill under my belt.

Paige endured some burns on her ears to make this beautiful hairdo possible. She looked like an angel to me.

When we went into the dressing room to change her into her baptismal suit, I was all teary eyed remembering when I was in her position and my mom was in mine. I can't explain how privileged I felt to be the mother of such a sweet child.

We gave her scriptures for her baptism, and she insisted on reading passages about baptism with the family later that day. She took them in the car everywhere we went, and started highlighting passages.

Sunday night, I discovered her scriptures, the primary song book and hymn book opened to Christmas songs, and a manger scene set up in my office.

Later I found the program that listed who would play Mary and Joseph, who would be singing which songs, and who would be reading scripture passages. She had planned a whole Christmas program for the family to participate in when her cousins came over for dinner that evening. Apparently, nobody wanted to, but I think it's so sweet that she planned it out like that.

After all the festivities, she was helping clean up and she said, "Mom, do you know why I'm helping clean?" When I asked why, she said, "Because baptism changed my life."

Can a parent ask for anything more?

The Wonder Under the Sea at Molokini Crater

2011-11-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

I'd like to think that the airport x-ray machines damaged my film because it was ISO 800 and we forgot to ask for the hand inspection, but I think the reality is that the camera was just crappy. No zoom, no preview - we were stuck with whatever came out. And then LATER, I read on the back that the underwater pictures are supposed to be taken within a range of one meter. Good thing Walgreens screwed up my order and I got them developed for free!

So, the color you see here is very dull compared to what we saw... see, I told you that you just had to be there! Try to use your imaginations, okay?

Cool long, skinny fish... fish sticks?

It was like swimming in an aquarium.

I tried to capture the breath-taking drop off into the abyss... imagine harder, people!

Lots and lots of black fish... and one yellow one doing his own thing.

This was taken at a shallower depth, so you can see a LITTLE more color. I love the orange ones, don't you?

My legs can't be THAT white, right? Dang those x-ray machines... they totally washed me out... totally...

Hi Russ!

Lookin' cool...

Now go see it for yourselves, people! It'll be like watching Dorothy step out into the colorful land of Oz.

Aloha from Maui

2011-11-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

Ain't nobody ever say, "I don't like no Maui." We liked it so much in 2005 that we decided to go back to celebrate our 10th anniversary (I know, how much celebrating do we need? Do we have to stop now?). Amazing doesn't even begin to describe our trip... lots of things are amazing, but this was special amazing :)

Our first day, we drove up the coast of west Maui.

None of the pictures I took can come close to showing the wonder of the lava formations, the immensity of the surf, or the intensity of the raging sea. You just have to be there. For example, this blowhole was shooting at least 50 feet in the air. We just didn't want to get very close for fear of being washed out to sea.

The pounding surf.

We dubbed this formation "Poseidon's Thumb" (even if it does look more like a middle finger) - it's saying, "Epic surf, dudes!"

On our second day, we took a fantastic snorkeling and sailing trip to Molokini Crater. I brought an underwater camera to take pictures of the coral and fish, but I haven't had the pictures developed yet. (Developed... what's that, right?) Along the side of the crater where it slopes down into the sea, we looked over the edge of the coral reef into the the abyss... an awe-inspiring sight that makes you feel so small. I hope I got some good pictures, but like the coastline... you probably just had to be there to experience it yourself.

The boat crew actually put up the sails, but not to full mast. What you see here is maybe halfway up the mast.

There were only five other customers on this boat that normally can take 38, so it was almost like a private charter... very cool!

That night, we saw a magic show at Warren & Annabelle's. Fun, unique atmosphere, yummy appetizers, and really funny and talented sleight of hand magicians... thumbs up! (But I'm still wondering... how did he get that ring inside the walnut?)

Our hotel was great, but we didn't want to spend extra money on an ocean view, so we got this mountain view instead (I did a nice job of cropping out the parking lot, don't you think?).

And here we are sitting on the beach right behind our hotel.

On our last trip to Maui, we took the road to Hana, but we stopped so many times that it was dark by the time we got to Hana, and we never made it to Ohe'o Gulch. This time, we decided we'd only hit our favorite stops from last time.

And we added some of the places we didn't see last time, like the state-run arboretum. Here are some lovely examples of the plant life we encountered...

I'd like to interrupt this program to bring you a public service announcement... please slow down around turns on the road to Hana!

Thank you. And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

By mid-afternoon, we had made it to Ohe'o Gulch, but what sad news... it was a high water day, and they weren't letting anyone play in the water. We went all that way for NOTHING! Okay, it was still cool, but that just made us want to play there even more.

We hiked up close to this massive waterfall and were literally blown away by the force of the water and soaked by the overspray.

One of the best stops from 2005 was the bl ack sand beach. Alas, there was an endangered monk seal lying on the beach, so no people were allowed down there. How many bummers can there be on this excursion?!? (Note: A bummer in Hawaii is much less crummy than a bummer at home.)

On our last full day in Hawaii, we went on a zipline tour, which was something we had wanted to do last time. This one happens to be the first commercial zipline in the United States, so the equipment was a little old school, but it was still fun.

And then we drove up to the 10,000 foot summit of Haleakala Crater, which we hadn't ever visited before. Nothing like the lush crater on Kauai, this crater was vast, barren, and starkly beautiful.

This plant, called a silversword, really is silvery when viewed in the sunlight - quite unique in the plant world. It blooms once in its life and then dies... and it only grows here on Haleakala crater.

I'm telling you, this place gave me chills... you won't get that from my photos, but I tried.

At 10,000 feet, we were above the clouds... it was like being in heaven (or Care-a-lot).

We decided to have a special dinner on our last night, so we ate at the restaurant at our hotel that is right by the beach. We got there right when they opened, and so we got the table closest to the ocean. It was bright at first...

But before our dinner was served, the sun started to fade into the horizon, and we got front row seats for our last sunset in Hawaii. It was PERFECT!

The next morning before our flight home, we spent a little more time playing on the beach, saying goodbye. I miss it already.

PS - Thanks Mom and Dad for watching our kids so that this trip could be possible for us. You're the best, and we love you!

Halloween Etc.

2011-11-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

For trunk-or-treat this year, we did a cemetery theme to complement our costumes. Do you like my tombstones?

And I even composed one line of music to go along with my costume. I enjoyed playing and singing it in a melodramatic fashion while wearing my costume because it annoyed my kids. Payback time!

This year, we scaled back and only carved one pumpkin. That was good because it was hard to find volunteers to do the work. I cut the lid, and Will was our designated gut cleaner and scraper. The girls wanted nothing to do with that.

Apparently Brandon didn't either.

I asked the girls to design a pumpkin face. They drew Hello Kitty, which we couldn't figure out how to do (a bow on the ear... really?). So, I told them to draw just eyes, a nose, and a mouth. They drew a ghost face. Will wanted a spider, so we decided on a two-sided pumpkin. Everybody wins! Plus, how special is this father and son bonding time?

The girls served up "brownies" while we worked.

Here comes the ghost face.

And now the spider.

Pretty cool. Does this remind you of an old Disneyland commercial? I can't place it...

Good job, Will... and Russ, who had to finish the last SEVEN legs after Will gave up. That sure is a fat, nasty spider.

My little clowns were having a great time posing for the camera.

Halloween night, we had Blueberry Muffin...

A fierce girl dragon...

And a sweet little jack o'lantern eyeing the candy.

This is what bored people do while answering the door for trick-or-treaters... they take silly pictures of themselves!

Here's my better half.

The happy couple... I mean, the dreadful couple.

And afterward, more brownies. Cuz we always need more sugar!

Kallie's Sad Birthday

2011-11-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Sad because she was so sick that she laid on the couch the whole time. I put a lot of work into that party, so it was a real disappointment for me that Kallie couldn't enjoy it. Cousin Sam was so awesome to stay by her side and care for her during the festivities.

We had a carnival on the patio... (thanks to all my helpers!)

with ring toss...

bean bag toss... (I almost typed ben bag toss, which is kinda right since Ben was running it)

and eyeball bounce... (boy that game was hard)

Here I am running the prize table.

Sorry, guys, that the stamps were so lame (what, no ink!?!). I had to glue Paige's back together. Hope you weren't wishing for anything cool.

We also had trampoline fun...

Bounce house fun... (thanks Mike and Lisa!)

And swing set fun, but that pic had somebody's panties showing, so I didn't post it... (always be careful when wearing a dress and using a trapeze bar!)

There were lots of fun characters there.

Especially this one...

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Kallie, and Russ helped her open her gifts. She did not look pleased.

She was looking so bad that we decided she needed a priesthood blessing. With Russ and Ben in costume, that was the scariest looking blessing ever, but we're glad we had all those priesthood holders handy.

After everyone left, my mom went and got Kallie some Pedialyte. We helped her drink some and started showing Kallie her toys... about 30 minutes after the party ended, she perked up and started sitting up and eventually started walking around. She was convinced that the Pedialyte was magic juice, so every time she coughed, she would say, "I need some more magic juice!" She slept in our room and woke up twice during the night to play with her toys some more. That made for a sleepless night for us, but we were happy she was finally feeling better.

Happy birthday Kallie!

CA Adventure

2011-10-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

October is almost over, and I'm just barely writing about fall break... aye, aye, aye!

We went to San Diego to visit family and have some fun. We had a small budget, so we tried to do a lot of free or low cost things, and our first stop was the Mormon Battalion museum. If you haven't been recently, you should go again - it is so cool now!

We got to dress up as members of the Mormon Battalion...

Ride stick ponies...

Pan for gold...

Try old time equipment...

And even get a souvenir photo!

All for free! We really liked it.

It was cold and windy that day, and I only brought coats for the kids. What was I thinking? Of course, it was over 100 when we left Phoenix. Russ, his brother, his dad, and Paige went disc golfing later that afternoon... in the rain.

The next day cleared up nice, so we went to the zoo. This was our one splurge since kids get in free during October (it was still $70!). The mama and baby hippos seemed to be posing to charm the crowd.

Paige in the arctic den play area.

Kallie was pretending to be some kind of beast... I think a lion.

Brandon's really enjoying the giraffe, right?

The kids always seem to want their picture taken on a statue.

The next day, we decided to go to Mission Bay.

We planned to fly a kite, but there were no kites to be found except at the dollar store! With pretty significant winds out at Mission Bay, you can imagine how that turned out, right? Let's find out... here is a picture of Paige's first flight.

Russ tried. He really did. He used every engineering skill he had to try to make that thing fly.

I mean he really, really tried.

Ready? Set?

Lift off! Sort of...

But it was mostly a bummer.

That didn't stop Paige from having fun. She was running all around saying, "Woohoo!"

Kallie seemed disappointed at first, but she eventually cheered up and had some fun.

As for me, I laughed so hard that I cried. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. There was makeup all over my face!

After some serious doctoring, Russ actually got that thing to fly a little.

Paige was pleased... but that kite wasn't pretty.

Russ was so proud of himself, he actually let loose and acted like a kid.

After that fun time, we made a stop at the beach.

Kallie started out happy.

The girls loved waiting for the waves to come in.

Paige would stand and let her feet get buried in the sand while Kallie would run away.

But eventually the waves won, and Kallie fell down and got wet. She was sad.

The next day, we drove up to Bates Nut Farm for a fun time with Russ' brother and his family. We were the cheap parents who had their kids pick up the feed that other kids had dropped on the ground. The kids loved it.

Those animals ate anything the kids gave them, too. Who needs to buy feed, right?

Cousins!

I gave the kids a budget for rides, treats, etc., but all they wanted was to have their faces painted.

They both got unicorns.

Oh yeah, they wanted some cotton candy, too.

On our way back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we drove through Julian and stopped at Mom's pies for some apple pie. Yum! You know Julian is famous for apples, right?

The downtown area was totally packed, so instead of hunting for a parking spot, we went to the local park, and we had it all to ourselves!

Here I am with the girls getting ready for a "train" ride down the curly slide.

And that was it. Looking through my pictures, I realize we did more than I thought! The weather was nice, except for a little rain, and it was great to visit with our family.

Flying Saucers

2011-10-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

Is there a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

Prescott Revisited

2011-10-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

As part of the celebration of our 10th anniversary, we decided to go on a road trip to Prescott like Russ and I had done when we were dating... except this time with our three little tag-a-longs! It was different this time, of course, because we weren't driving the Camaro, and we ate lunch at a pizzeria instead of packing a picnic... but I did remember that we were listening to Gin Blossoms on the way up, so I dug the CD out of my CD collection and popped it in. Memories!

After the pizzeria, we headed for Thumb Butte, where Russ and I had picnicked a decade earlier (or more). This time, we were prepared to actually hike it... something I hadn't done before.

Russ had an apple, and when he was done eating it, he wound up and chucked it as hard as he could out into the forest... which would have been all well and good if there hadn't been a small tree trunk just a few feet away that deflected it right back onto his chest. Haha.

As we were sitting and resting, an older couple walked by and said that they remembered the days when they had young children in tow. After they walked away, I said, "Hey, that's us in another 10 years!" The next couple to walk by was a young couple that looked like they could have been dating. It was kinda like seeing the past present, and future all at once.

Yes, Annalee, I was there, too! There we are at the summit.

Paige is pulling some pose or face in all of the pictures from that day... silly girl (go back to the pics above to see what I mean).

The trek down the mountain was steep, but luckily it was paved (and much more heavily traveled). I had Brandon on my back, and he just loved bouncing down the trail with me... he was laughing it up.

On our way out of town, I thought we should get a treat, so we drove down the main street until we saw a bakery. There was some kind of Corvette rally going on that day, so we had to park a ways down the street. We unloaded and walked down to the bakery only to find out it was actually a "barkery" for dogs! That was a disappointment for the kids. Luckily, we found another bakery a little farther down and bought some stale overpriced cookies... mmm.

We took our cookies to the city park and let the kids play for a while. It had threatened to rain the whole day, but we only got a few drops, so it was just nice and cool and fun to be together.

Little Helper

2011-10-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon baking cinnamon rolls for dinner. I know, healthy, right? I like to serve treats for dinner from time to time, which I learned from Aunt Marsha's example when I heard that she sometimes serves rootbeer floats for dinner.

Kallie was the only child at home and awake at the time, so of course, she wondered what she could do to help me. Although the help from little hands is usually not really needed (and sometimes makes things more difficult), I knew she wanted to feel important, so I asked her if she could pour the ingredients in the pot for me. First, she tossed in the cube of butter. Then I measured out the sugar and handed it to her, cautioning her to hold it steady. As I lifted her up to pour it in, I saw that it was tipping over, and without enough time to do anything about it, I shouted at her that she was spilling it! At the same instant, sugar went everywhere - some in the pot, some on the stove top and floor, and the rest going up in a puff of smoke as it hit the hot burner.

After the smoke cleared, a small ball of sugar still smoldering on the burner, I put Kallie down so that I could assess the damage and figure out what to do next. She immediately ran off upset. Though I was frustrated at the situation, these words from President Thomas S. Monson immediately came into my mind, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." I quickly called her back into the kitchen, and as she slowly walked back toward me, I saw that her eyes were red and full of tears - a look of sadness on her face. I took her into my arms, the mess still all around us, and I assured her that it didn't matter and that we could fix it. We hugged for a minute or two, and when she finally calmed down, we continued baking together. I'm so glad I overcame my frustration to take the opportunity to love her and show her that SHE is what matters to me!

By the way, the cinnamon rolls still turned out delicious!

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

2011-09-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

Three houses, three states, three kids, and seven court battles later, we celebrated our 10th anniversary on September 22. Leading up to the big day, I just kept thinking of all the trials we've endured as a couple, and I used that as an excuse to book a swanky hotel on Maui for our trip in November. I deserve it for hanging in there through thick and thin for 10 years (and counting)... right? :)

We were so young and unsuspecting...

The happy couple.

After we got married, we stayed at a hotel in Scottsdale, and then took off for Florida in the morning without anyone at all knowing where we were going. This was right after 9/11, so there was no one on our flight, and we got a primo room at a beach front hotel in Key Largo for just $99.

Someone please tell that lady to put on some major sunblock before going snorkeling so that she won't get a severe sunburn, the effects of which would show up on her back for the next two years!

After a few sun soaked days in Key Largo and Key West, we got ourselves a convertible and drove up the coast and then over to Epcot Center.

Ah, to be so young and carefree again!

What is the deal with this pic? Are we just giddy about being married or something?

When we got home, it was time to open our gifts. Here, I am showing 3 of the 5 crock pots we got. We kept that one in the middle, but somehow it got lost during our latest move - how do you lose a crock pot?

And at the end of the gift pile was an unmarked gift, wrapped in Christmas paper. Who could have given us such a treasure? Hahaha. I hope it wasn't any of you! :)

When we went out for our date on our anniversary, we just parked out in the desert and started talking about all that has lead up to this point... how we met, how we fell in love, how we ended up where we are, and everything in between. As we started listing the fun things we've done, the places we've been, and the memories we've made together, I started to realize that I put way too much emphasis on the hardships when I think back on our marriage. We have been so blessed in so many ways, and we have thousands of pictures to prove that we've had a wonderful life together... looking through some of the really old ones to find pictures for this blog reinforced that in my mind. And then to have my little Kallie show up in the kitchen this morning after I had just seen pictures of William and Kyle at her age - it was sweet to think of all I have. Who needs Maui?

Okay, me. Can't wait.

Ordinary Days

2011-08-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

Really, there is not much going on now that school's back in session, and it's too hot outside to do anything fun. So, until it cools off, these pictures of our very ordinary August days will have to do.

Paige likes to dress up with random accessories.

Happiness, only 99 cents.

I just like how handsome he looks in this picture.

Playing pirates!

This morning while Kallie was taking a bath, Brandon was standing next to the tub, reaching for her little squirt toys. The moment I left to get Kallie's towel, I heard a big thump and then a cry. That must have been a big surprise for him, and even though he was crying, I just had to laugh and take a picture.

Cream of Chicken Soup

2011-08-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

I found out a few months ago that my daughter is allergic to soy, and I think that's what's been causing her rashes. Anyone who has a soy allergy in the family knows that soy is in LOTS of things! Salad dressings, mayo, buttery spread, spaghetti sauce, crackers, etc. Today I found out it is also in cream of chicken soup - I feel so sad because I have been feeding that to her for so long!

So, today I tried making my own "can" of cream of chicken soup, and it turned out great! Here's how:

3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/2 C milk

Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour, chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once, and cook and stir until bubbly. I cooked it until it was pretty thick and then let it sit to thicken even more. It made more than your typical can of soup - maybe about 2 cups.

I used this in a chicken cornbread casserole recipe, and it was perfect for that. Maybe you can find a use for it, too!

Date Night

2011-08-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

One day after a particularly stressful and busy week, I decided that Russ and I needed to have more fun together. So, I planned a night out. Planning is good, as our last spontaneous date didn't turn out very well when we had no plan and not much left in our entertainment budget.

First, we went to Sugar Bowl in Scottsdale. I didn't have any particular reason for choosing that place except that I remember my dad taking me and my sisters there when we were kids, and I remember thinking it was great just because of its name. What kid wouldn't want to go to Sugar Bowl? I used my Entertainment book 2-for-1 coupon, and we shared a sandwich and a giant banana split. Yum.

Afterward, we went up to north Scottsdale to a rock climbing gym called AZ On The Rocks (another place that had a 2-for-1 coupon). Russ was totally surprised that I would choose such a place. We watched a cheesy introduction video (Russ can't help himself, people... he has to crack jokes), and then we geared up. They had us sign a legal waiver basically saying we knew we could die from this. Great!

Since Russ had done this once before, he was the first to climb, and I was the first to belay (hold the rope). See, this worked out well for a date because, you know, we had to work together to survive! :) I was so nervous because the guy with ravioli breath was saying over and over never to allow my right hand to let go of the rope (we could die, right?). Pressure. I felt really awkward and slow at first, but after the first climb was over, I was starting to feel more confident. Then the guy told Russ to fake a fall, and I was all nervous again! But don't worry... he didn't die, even with my lame belaying skills.

Then it was my turn. Of course I looked down because I love to be scared, right? When I got to the top, the guy with ravioli breath told me to let go of the rocks and grab onto the rope. That felt a bit precarious, but I did it, and Russ brought me down safely.

After that, I was ready to conquer more. I surprised myself and Russ with how well I did. I even tried one wall that had a section that was slightly inverted, and I totally did it! I never fell, which was awesome since Russ fell once - though in his defense, he did successfully complete one climb that was slightly harder than any of the climbs I did. We did six climbs in all, and our arms and legs were worn out at the end. What a great way to burn off a banana split!

When we left, we told the guys that we hadn't paid yet, and they told us not to worry about it! Wow, that doesn't happen very often. So, I have to put in a plug for them - AZ On The Rocks! Fun!

Sorry, no pictures because I couldn't let go of the rope with my right hand :)

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

This year, Paige started second grade.

Kallie started preschool at her big sister's school. She feels all grown up! And I have to admit, she is growing fast.

I hope they have a great year!

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Both girls started their first swimming lessons this summer...

I was worried about Paige because the class I put her in was for kids who already had some lessons, but she was too old for any lower level classes. She caught on right away and did great!

Awesome front glide!

Front crawl.

She had a little trouble with the back crawl, but you can see that she concentrated hard on doing it right.

Kallie started in the Tadpole class with Savannah (thanks Lolo for the pics!).

She was really good about doing what the teacher wanted her to do, but she was careful to keep her head above water.

They were getting all advanced by the last day - out in the middle of the big pool and all.

Even though she wasn't recommended for the next level when she finished the class, I think she deserves an A+ for having fun.

First day of school pics are next.

Sun Drenched Summer

2011-07-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

See, summer break was super short. The kids are already in school, and I'm not caught up enough on my blog to put the first day pics up. I better get crackin!

Natalie and I were the first ones to ride the tube, and our driver was crazy! I got some major thigh slaps because my lower body slid off the side of the tube when we simultaneously flew across the wake to the right and went over some other boat's big wakes. I fell off (or let go) twice, but Natalie conquered! The rest of the kids were a little freaked out after that, and Paige would only go on the tube if we went slow - really slow. I think Russ almost fell asleep.

(To be fair, this pic was taken before we started going.)

The cap'n and his wife.

We finally got Kassidy out there on the slow kiddie ride. The girls kept giving us these weird hand signals, like putting the thumb and forefinger together and then opening them, or thumbs up, down, up, down. What? Well, we stopped to find out, and as the tube came to a stop, they all three slid off the front into the water. Hilarious! Kallie said excitedly, "Mom, I went underwater! And I had my eyes open! And my mouth!" Yummy. See, I've been urging her to go underwater at her swim classes, so she was mighty proud of herself... even though it was involuntary. We found out that the hand signals meant they wanted us to turn... gee, I wonder why we didn't get that!

After that one, though, Kass and Lucy were ready for a faster ride... not so much Kallie, so Nats hopped on.

Total cuteness with pink galore!

Russ got some pretty choppy water on his first round (I know you're thinking, "Hey, it doesn't look choppy, you wimp," but I'm serious, it was). At least his driver was super awesome! Oh yeah, and his photographer. The other pics were blurry because of the motion of the boat, but that's okay because somehow I like this one, even cut off.

Jill says Lucy means light.

Chad got up after... how many tries again? I lost count. Go Chad!

Thanks, Jill, for bringing the suckers... no really, thanks a lot. Somehow, one ended up in the dryer. Non-sweet! Or maybe sticky sweet.

What in the world is happening in this picture? Me thinks aliens might be abducting her with a giant vacuum hose.

Kallie means beauty.

Sweet! I didn't see any of his jumps because I'm too nervous about driving to look back very often, but I could sometimes feel the tugging on the boat.

This could be a Clinique photo... or a Justin Bieber poster?

(See Jill's July 9 post if you want to get the joke.)

Photographer's self portrait... lovely.

There was a little light left after Russ' last wakeboarding run, so Nats and I hopped back on for a super ride (I was sore for two days). Nats is such a fun-loving thrill seeker!

Thanks, Isons, for a fun time!

H2 Oh Yeah!

2011-07-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Fun in Michigan... the Long Final Chapter

2011-07-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

The morning we were going to Mackinac Island was a little gray and drizzly, but we hoped for the best and headed to the ferry. Russ braved the cold air to photograph the Mackinac Bridge from below.

Paige made up a joke while we were there, by the way... why couldn't the boat fly? Because it was not a ferry!

Our arrival on Mackinac Island was everything we thought it would be. Quaint streets lined with fudge shops, horse-drawn carriages, and lovely Victorian architecture accented with copious, fragrant blooms.

We headed straight for Fort Mackinac, situated atop the hill near downtown, and started our tour off with a steep hike up to the entrance, followed by the hourly firing of the cannon. Then it was off to visit the historic buildings they have there at the fort. In the kids' area, the girls got to dress in period uniforms.

Along the fort walls, there were several openings where we could view the harbor and the downtown area. It reminded me of many puzzles I've done, although this picture doesn't do it justice.

After a couple of hours, Russ told me he didn't want to read another museum plaque for the whole rest of our trip. Okay. After lunch, we rented a horse and buggy... now that was just funny.

Russ is not a horse person, for one thing, and I made him be the driver the whole way. When Brandon dropped the map, I asked Russ to stop, and the best he could do was go in reverse and then forward again. That was fun jumping off and back on while the buggy was in motion!

That horse really wanted to tailgate the buggy in front of us, which is part of the reason we had such a hard time getting it to stop. After we stopped for a break, the other horse was gone, and our horse really didn't want to go up the hill. It kept stopping, turning, and whinnying. Russ was threatening that horse with the whip, but luckily it listened before he had to follow through. That was fun times! Happily, we did manage to get a bit of sun, and it didn't even rain much the whole day.

At the end of the day, we had to buy some treats, of course - including a pound of various flavors of fudge. YUM!

Before we left town the next day, we decided to pick up a pasty (rhymes with nasty, but it's not), one of the traditional foods of the upper peninsula. It's basically a pastry puff filled with chicken or beef and potatoes - kind of like a hand-held pot pie - which men used to eat for lunch when working the mines. We stopped at a scenic park on the way to Charlevoix to share it.

During this part of our journey, I was on the hunt for a petoskey stone, which is Michigan's state rock. It's actually petrified coral from prehistoric lakes (or oceans?). So, we stopped at a lot of beaches in this area, which is known for its plentiful petoskey stones. Unfortunately, I didn't really know exactly what one would look like, so the hunt was long, but luckily the girls enjoyed the beaches while I searched.

Making our way through the "cherry capital of the world," we found this farm stand along the road with the cutest little playground and a maze. See the trees in the background all lined up in a row? I was such a sucker for this place!

We bought some feed for the chickens, but it started raining, and they headed for the coop... and we headed for the car.

Next we drove up the Old Mission peninsula to see the lighthouse and continue the hunt for a petoskey stone. The drive was just gorgeous, with rolling hills covered in tailored orchards and dotted with old red barns. Power lines, not cool.

It was definitely chilly when we arrived at the lighthouse, which is why it was so ironic that people were serving ice cream and a group was performing music to celebrate summer! We skipped a tour of the lighthouse and the summer celebration so that we could hit the beach.

That night, we stayed in Traverse City. Being in the cherry capital, we ate cherry chicken pizza for dinner, of course. Seriously good.

This blog is getting long, no? Sorry. Two more days. You don't even know how many pictures I am skipping!

The next day, we headed toward the Leelanau peninsula. When we got to the state park at the tip, we discovered that Michigan wanted eight more dollars to see the lighthouse there. Okay, we had already seen a few lighthouses, so we decided against it. On the way south again, I read in my book that Peterson Park was a great place to search for petoskey stones, so we made a stop. It was a grassy park with a playground, but there was also a stairway down to the rocky beach.

Petoskey stones are easier to recognize when they're wet, so I went down by the water line and pushed a few stones away from the top layer. I figured maybe people had already scavenged all the ones on top. After a few minutes, I found one! Eventually, I found three - happy day - but I didn't want to be a hog, so I put my least favorite one back so that someone else could find it.

Continuing on, we stopped to see the old fishing shanties in Leland that have now become tourist shops... mostly.

Then we hit Cherry Republic, where we ate cherry hotdogs, cherry hamburgers, and a grilled cheese sandwich on cherry bread.

We also ordered the monster sundae, made with four of their 13 varieties of cherry ice cream and two "boom chunka" cookies. By eating it all, we got our picture on the wall. Fun.

Next we went to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Did you know there are sand dunes all along the western edge of Michigan? Me neither! They had lots of vegetation, unlike the dunes in Yuma. There is one area called the dune climb where you are free to run up and down a big dune. The sun came out full force just for us, and the kids really had fun.

Then we took the scenic drive. Kallie and I braved the threat of rain to take a short walk along a little trail. Some of you may not know that I like to take close up photographs of flowers... I really love how this one turned out.

This is the Lake Michigan Overlook. Some crazy people jump down the side of the dune here all the way to the lake shore, which may be fun on the way down, but apparently it's a strenuous 90 minute crawl back up. No thanks.

After leaving the national lake shore, and having just found out that the restaurant with the most famously good cherry pies was going to close before we could get there, we made a final stop at the Point Betsy lighthouse before heading to Big Rapids. The wind was picking up, gray clouds were rolling in, and the waves were becoming fierce, which just made the whole scene all the more beautiful against the backdrop of the setting sun.

On our last day in Michigan, after visiting some missionary sites in Big Rapids, we visited the city of Holland. It was almost a ghost town, given the gray weather, but that was fine with us.

The kids loved the wooden shoe shop.

In the middle of Windmill Park, they have the last authentic windmill to ever leave Holland. They still use it to grind flour, which is sold in the gift shop.

After that, we headed back to Grand Rapids to get a few more mission pictures, and then to catch our flight home. What an awesome time we had in Michigan. Who knew it could be so cool?

Fun in Michigan, Part 2

2011-07-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

After staying the night in Saginaw, we visited Apple Mountain ski resort to recreate a picture from Russ' mission. It was essentially a bunny hill (hilarious to a 19-year-old missionary) - nothing like the ski resorts we have on the Rocky Mountains, but it's all they've got. The girls found a cute little bench made out of skis.

Afterward, we headed toward "the thumb" of Michigan. In case you don't know, it's a well recognized fact in Michigan that the lower peninsula looks like a mitten, so they call the part that juts out into Lake Huron "the thumb." At the tourist shops, they even sell hot pad mittens with a map of the lower peninsula printed on them.

But anyway, we were headed for Bad Axe, which was one of Russ' mission areas. On the way, we stopped by the only known petroglyphs in Michigan - a mystery, since Native Americans were not known to live in that area during the time the petroglyphs were made. So, we hiked down this little trail to the site. I like how the girls were both dragging their sticks.

And that's all I'm going to share with you about that because the petroglyphs were SO BORING and anticlimactic... I didn't take any pictures of them. Seriously, it was this fairly small area of rock with a fence around it and a person sitting there to tell you what they know about the petroglyphs (which is basically nothing). For the rest of the trip, the joke was always about how the other things we saw in Michigan were nowhere near as cool as the petroglyphs! I'm so glad we didn't have to pay admission.

After visiting Bad Axe, we went up to Port Austin and saw one of the great lakes for the first time - Lake Huron.

And here was the first of many lighthouses we would see on our journey.

At nightfall, we started heading up to the top of the mitten, where we would stay in Mackinaw City. The next morning, we headed across Mackinac Bridge (or "Mighty Mac," as it's called) to the Upper Peninsula. People who live up there are called "yoopers" because they live on the U.P. Get it?

From there, it was about an hour drive through some pretty impressive forest land to Sault Saint Marie (pronounced "soo saint marie") to visit the Soo Locks. Since Lake Superior is 20-some feet higher than Lake Huron, the ships have to pass through these locks to get from one lake to another. There is an observation deck where you can watch this (very slow for kids) process.

Here's a freighter just entering the locks.

And here it is lowered and ready to exit into Lake Huron (you can just barely see the bow and upper level at the very back of the ship, which looks kind of like a little white building). They don't need pumps to make this work... they just let the water seek its own level. Pretty cool!

For lunch, I just had to eat the main local catch - whitefish. The restaurant claimed that the fish I ate that day slept in Whitefish Bay the night before. Unfortunately, a couple of bites tasted like the fish hadn't slept in Whitefish Bay in at least a week. Oh yeah, Whitefish Bay is where the famed Edmund Fitzgerald was headed when it was hit by a sudden, fierce storm on Lake Superior that sank it and killed everyone aboard.

After lunch, we headed up farther into the upper peninsula, thinking we might visit the shipwreck museum that had a whole room dedicated to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - including its bell. The museum is owned by some people whose hobby it is to dive down to shipwrecks and showcase the things they've scavenged from them. But alas, the admission price was a little steep, so went for the cheap option... a free tour of the Point Iroquois lighthouse. (We made a donation, okay people?)

The view from the top.

The lighthouse sat on a very picturesque stretch of shoreline on Lake Superior, so I knew we just had to put our toes in the frigid waters of the greatest of the great lakes. The variety of rocks available on this shore was amazing, so I decided to collect a few. Plus, I was thinking... free souvenirs!

Kallie thought this one looked like a baked potato.

After the lighthouse, we decided to continue on to Tahquamenon Falls. They were touted as the second largest falls by volume east of the Mississippi (the first being Niagara). Sounds impressive, huh? We paid $8 to get in and see this phenomenon.

These are some of the 104 stairs to the lower falls. They reminded me of the stairs to the lower falls in Yellowstone Park, only way more sturdy looking - not so much rust and stuff.

Yeah, I admit it, I counted for her so that I could get the perfect shot.

The walk back to the car was in the early dusk, and the mosquitoes were coming out full force by then. Russ made a beeline to get out of there ASAP, since he's a natural mosquito magnet, and we killed a few in our car even after jumping in as fast as we could. They managed to get a few bites, but overall we came out pretty okay thanks to OFF!

From there, we headed back to our hotel in Mackinaw City - the next day would be our trip to Mackinac Island! More details to come in part 3...

Fun in Michigan, Part 1

2011-07-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

While I was sorting through my photos, I realized there are way too many for one post, so I'm going to pace myself.

We'll start in Jackson. After we spent a long day tracking down missionary pads, the girls finally got to do something fun on their vacation. We went to Cascade Falls, which is a man-made waterfall that has hundreds of lights choreographed to music. We arrived right at opening time (8:30pm), only to find we had to wait another hour before it would get dark. It had been drizzling all day, so after adding in the fountains and falls, it made for a wet time. We were some of the very few crazies out that night.

After staying the night in Lansing and visiting some missionary sites there, we headed to Dearborn for the remarkable Henry Ford museum. This place is amazing! The first thing we did was visit Greenfield Village, where Henry Ford had collected some of America's most historic buildings and moved them by railroad to this location. Seriously! We saw the cycle shop where the Wright brothers worked and built their first airplane, the Wright brothers' home, Edison's Menlo Park laboratory complex, the first Ford Motor Company building, Henry Ford's childhood home, Robert Frost's home, Noah Webster's home (the dictionary guy), slave quarters from a plantation in Georgia, and the courthouse where Lincoln practiced law. We did not even have time to see the whole place!

They also had little 19th century style shops, including this cute little hat shop where you could try on all the hats in the store. The girls loved that.

And a building with a Heinz exhibit, including a really old bottle of ketchup. I mean, I am a huge Heinz ketchup fan, but this made my stomach turn.

Then we got to ride in an authentic Model T! Where else in the world can you do that?

The next day, we visited the museum. I thought this place was on par with the Smithsonian - amazing!

We saw several presidential limos, including this one that President Kennedy was assassinated in.

A great exhibition of several cars made throughout the last century, including this 1896 model. Looks a lot like a carriage.

George Washington's mess kit and camp bed.

The chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated.

And the very bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat! Yes, that's Kallie sitting in Rosa's seat.

Each day, the museum disassembles this Model T and then has the guests come and help them reassemble it.

After a several hours at the museum (and trust me, we did not see everything), we went on the Ford factory tour. No pictures were allowed, but it was really neat to watch the assembly of Ford F-150's. I was glad we could take the girls there and show them how cars are made - it was just like the show "How It's Made" in real life! We did get to take a picture from the observation deck overlooking the Ford plant. It was a huge place. To think this is where it all began...

After the factory tour, we headed north toward Saginaw. The plan had been to spend an afternoon in Frankenmuth, Michigan's little Bavaria, but we were running late because of how long we chose to stay at the Henry Ford. Luckily for Russ, the world's largest Christmas store was still open.

As you can see, he loved it!

After that, the plan was to have a world famous chicken dinner in the largest dining room in the country (seats 1500). Well, their website is terribly out of date or something because the chicken dinners were $22 a piece! It was served family style, so there was no option for sharing, and we decided to opt out. I know, how could we? Maybe it was just more expensive because it happened to be the Bavarian Days festival... I don't know. But I do know that the thought of spending that much on one meal didn't sit well with me, and I am quite positive Russ was not interested in splurging on chicken. So, we ate at DaVinci's at the edge of town, and it was pretty good. I was kinda sad about all that for a while, but I guess I'll have something new to do if I ever go back. Overall, Frankenmuth was pretty much a bust, considering we missed the cheese haus and the woolen mill, too, since we got there so late. Oh well. At least we made it to the Christmas store... hurrah!!

To be continued...

20 Years Gone... Our Amazing Time Travels

2011-06-25T01:02:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it could have been twenty years since Russ served in the Lansing Michigan mission! For our family trip this year, we decided to go back and see the places he served, and it was much more rewarding than I thought possible! We brought along his missionary journal and some photos of places outdoors that we thought we might be able to track down and photograph again. We had some amazing successes, as well as some disappointing failures, but most importantly, we had fun along the way.

We started in his first area, Grand Rapids, and went to his old missionary pad. He had a small apartment attached to this house.

Then we checked Google maps to find the A&W where the missionaries ate on P day.

Google gave us a bum address, and upon further investigation, we realized there is no longer an A&W in the area. So, we did the next best thing.

While driving around looking for memories, we soon realized that Russ didn't remember much about the places he had been. But luckily he did spot the place where he used to get cheap hamburgers. I guess they weren't that good because it was all boarded up.

Then we were off to Hastings to visit Russ' third area. I found an old picture of his top floor pad here.

Not much has changed, right?

After that, we decided to start doing some real investigation work. We started with a picture from a park, so we typed "park" into Google maps.

A couple of parks later, we hit the jackpot! I was so excited to actually find one of the locations in the pictures, and it gave me lots of hope for the rest. Here is Russ with his new "companions."

Luckily the name of the place was right on this picture.

The house was still there, although white now, but the bushes and trees were much bigger and hid it from view.

A search on "Devine Road" made this one pretty easy to find.

But the nerve! The sign was different, and it was among some pretty tall grasses, so Russ didn't get too close. And... he forgot to mention that it was imperative that his head cover "Rd" as part of the joke of the picture... but he wouldn't turn the car around for retakes. I was miffed!

Okay, this was my favorite. "Chapel" is pretty generic, so we thought we wouldn't find this one. Then something caught my eye... gravestones!

A couple of cemeteries later, there it was! With new windows, too! I guess some things get better with time.

Off to Jackson, Russ' fifth area. Again, he had a small apartment in this house.

This picture was taken at a church building, and since there aren't tons of LDS churches around there, this was a pretty easy find.

It was mutual night, so we decided to drop in and ask someone if they knew the man in the picture. The guy we asked happened to be his former neighbor, but he told us that this man had recently moved farther north. Then he told us that he (himself) converted to the church soon after Russ left the mission, and he rattled off some names of old timers in the ward. Russ had vague recollections of some of them. Cool! It's too bad we couldn't find a guy in a muscle shirt to dig around in the dirt when we took this picture. It would have been more authentic that way!

Later that night, we bumped into the current missionaries serving in that city. What are the chances, right? It was weird to think they might not have even been born at the time Russ was serving.

Next was Lansing, Russ' seventh and final area. I know, we didn't visit these places in the right order at all. This place was right downtown, and we tried to get to his actual door, but all the building's exterior doors were locked, and no one was around.

Then, not thinking of visiting or taking a picture in front of the museum where Russ served, we decided to look up the mission home address. We're still not sure if this was the mission home when Russ was in the field, but he said it could be. We knocked, but no answer.

After a fun filled visit to Dearborn (more on that in another post), we headed up to Saginaw, Russ' fourth area. The woman who owned the home was out gardening, and we asked her permission to photograph the home, stating that Russ had lived there twenty years ago. To our surprise, she said she had been living there for 29 years! Turns out, the house used to be two apartments, and she was their neighbor, though Russ doesn't really remember any interactions with her. She now owns the entire house.

Here's one of Michigan's ski resorts, Apple Mountain... although back then, it was Bintz Apple Mountain.

Luckily, Russ had written the name of this place on the back of the photograph, so we found it pretty easily. No snow now.

On the way to the next area, we were reading in Russ' journal and came across the name of the people whose farm Russ used to serve on.

(gross)

We decided to look them up and drop by. We found out that the owners had passed away and that the farm was now run by their son. He was very friendly and touched that Russ thought enough of his father to visit.

Just for fun, he showed the kids the farm animals, too.

This is the tractor that Russ had driven, as recorded in his journal. Having been built just after WWII, it's long since busted.

When we finished at the farm, we continued on to Bad Axe, Russ' sixth area. What a ghetto pad! He actually lived above a store in the middle of town... right on the corner with the town's only stoplight.

The main door was unlocked here, so we took a peek.

And I snapped this picture of their windows while standing next to the tattoo parlor, and just as soon as the gang of Harleys roared by. I guess they live up to their city's name! (They have a hatchet festival each year, too.)

Okay, we didn't have this picture with us, but we knew it existed.

So, we took a picture, but we didn't get it just right. Oh well. Nice trees!

This next one is sort of a mystery.

Russ knew he had visited Port Austin, so we went up there to try to find this location. What we found was similar, but something fundamental had changed. The railing wasn't quite right, the walkway wasn't either, and we couldn't quite match up the background according to the angle and buildings. But it was similar enough that we were convinced it was the right location, just twenty years later. Things change.

And this one was a bust. The back of the picture says, "Dead End Road," which Russ insists was the actual name of the road.

But Google maps didn't agree, although it gave us a nearby motel that was located on a dead end road... and we snapped a picture anyway... cuz we tried.

On our way out of town, Russ spotted "Johnston Road" and knew he had taken a picture in front of a "Johnston Road" street sign.

But he wondered how this remote road could be the place because he remembered being on his bicycle. When we got home, I found the original picture. Apparently, there is more than one "Johnston Road" in Michigan.

After a some fun-filled days sightseeing northern Michigan, we finally arrived in Big Rapids, Russ' second area. This was then.

And this is now. They lived on the top floor.

But where are the stairs to get up there?

Then we drove up the road Russ remembered to have the church on it. At the time, the church was in a converted restaurant building. He knew the building was no longer the LDS church, and he saw a building that looked promising - a Christian church with a cross out front - but he second guessed himself, and we didn't take a picture. When we got home, we found this picture... that was the building, all right! Darn it! Next time, just take a picture anyway.

I spent more time looking for this playground in Hastings than on any other location. I never found it, and I finally accepted the fact that it was probably gone by now, being made of wood and all.

So when we found this similar playground in Big Rapids, I just had to take a photo... even in the rain!

Encouraged by all our success, we decided to try to find a few more locations when we returned to Grand Rapids for our flight home.

I found this location solely by studying the satellite pictures of Russ' area! I was sooo proud! Even though the bushes were several feet higher, and quite difficult to tromp through, Russ did it for me (and I owe him one, apparently).

The bonus was that Russ saw another place where he knew a photo was taken, but we did not have the photo with us. I found it when we got home.

So, the positioning isn't quite right. But that's still cool!

And lastly, since we didn't find this church building in Hastings, which was where we expected it to be based on the date on the back, Russ guessed it might have been taken at zone conference in Grand Rapids.

Bingo!

This trip was so fun! We loved the scavenger hunt, we loved reliving the past, and we loved talking with the people who are there now.

Ladies, if you like adventures, and your husband served a mission, I highly recommend going on a trip like this. My only regret is that I didn't spend enough time beforehand researching the facts. I was relying on Russ' memory, but it was pretty rusty... we missed two pictures, which probably would have been easy finds, because Russ had his dates and locations mixed up. There were also clues in the journal that could have led us to more sites, such as the pole barn Russ helped build. I didn't have time to track down an address because the owners are now dead (I found the woman's obituary on a Google search). Then there were those pictures that weren't in the photo albums, but turned up when I searched the photo box. Even so, I am still amazed at how much we did find, and I'm so happy we did it!

Kallie's Preschool Program and a Photoshoot

2011-06-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last month, Kallie sang in her spring preschool program on the last day of school. What a cute little butterfly! She makes me laugh because she's always waving at me from across the room. She loves being on stage and once told me I should put her in a rock show!

I think she's going to be a photographer when she grows up. When I was unloading the pictures from my camera, this is what I found...

Amazing macro...

Artistic use of the mundane...

Moving juxtaposition...

Poignant positioning...

Inspiring self portrait...

Amazing perspective...

Breath taking depth of field...

Stunning geometry and lines...

Interesting texture...

Bold color...

Spectacular still life...

And how about this use of light? 100 times more light than light!

If she can produce this photography at such a young age with a cheap camera, just think what she'll be able to do in another 20 years. She is destined for greatness!!

You know your kids watch Tangled too often when...

2011-06-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

No, she didn't cut a lock off her hair like Savannah did... phew!

As I was straightening up the house, I noticed several crumpled papers scattered about on the floor upstairs. I grabbed them to chuck them in the recycle bin, but luckily I took a look before tossing them.

Housecleaning makes me grumpy, so it's nice when the mess actually brings me a smile!

The last of the birthday pics

2011-06-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

It's June already! Do you remember birthday week back in mid-May? Well, there are still a few lingering photos from my mom's birthday on my camera, courtesy of Jill. We were gettin' crazy with the party favors!

Even Marley got in on the fun!

And since it's June and we're talking birthdays, might as well add a picture of Will eating at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant on his 15th birthday.

Baby B turns one!

2011-05-31T15:44:00.001-07:00

We had the family over and started out with fish tacos and rice for the celebratory dinner.

I made one giant cupcake for the birthday boy and covered it in lots of messy frosting. You can see he is already on the verge of tears... this is gonna be bad.

We all gathered around and stared at him, waiting for him to put on a great show. He seemed a little apprehensive, and would only touch a bit of the frosting as he looked around suspiciously at everyone.

Then grandma shoved his hand into his cake, and that was it - he was done for the night.

Wow, Lori, you made this picture of the gifts a real keeper!

I debated whether or not to open the gifts, but the kids were itching to do it, so I let each one of them open one gift, and I told them to act like Brandon when they did it.

We had paper throwers...

Clothes being put on heads...

Gift wrap eaters...

Toy eaters...

And kids who tried to eat the whole box!

I don't know if you can see this, but Natalie threw Brandon's monkey as soon as she opened it.

And Paige was throwing the bow and wrapping all over the place. The kids had a ball, and once all the gifts were open, they went crazy and threw everything that was on the table onto the floor. What a mess!

A couple of days later, Brandon got to try his cake again. This is the before picture.

He was slow at first...

But it didn't take long for him to realize...

cake is awesome!

This is after.

Squishy, squish. Playing with your food is so fun.

Want some?

After catching up on his sleep, he realized it's good to be one! I can't believe it's already been a year since I was holding my newborn baby Brandon in the hospital, showing him the rising sun, and telling him all about the world, the plants, the clouds, etc. It's been a year since I gasped a breath of relief as the enormous pressure he was putting on my body was suddenly relieved, and I marveled at the new life before me while the timer on the warming table showed that he was only a few minutes old. Those memories are sweet, but the time went too fast.

Now he is a busy kid, learning about the world by shoving everything he can into his mouth... even that worm looking thing that he found on our kitchen floor and the used Q-tip. Nothing is too gross. He opens all the cupboards now, too, and loves the clanging sound that the glass dishes make when he bangs them on the floor. Nothing is too fragile or too precious to be used as a drum stick! I'm afraid this kid will be my most curious, most adventurous, and most mischievous kid... but he's wonderful, and I'm so glad he's mine.

Payson and Fossil Springs

2011-05-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

One thing we did for my mom's birthday was go on a family road trip to Payson and Fossil Springs. First we stopped in Payson to grab a big bucket o' chicken, and then we headed to a pretty little park shaded by ponderosa pines (you may recognize this park from my blog about our new year's eve trip to the snow).

"Faster, faster!" they yelled (I guess dizziness and nausea is appealing to the kiddos).

The general store manager opening it for business.

Paige organizing the merchandise at the general store.

Kass is always one to go her own way...

Brando was having fun, too.

And here's some very special mother/daughter time - oh, the love!

When lunch was over, we headed up to Strawberry to get to Fossil Springs for a short hike by the river. The road there is kinda crazy. You could literally drive off the edge of the mountain like Toonces the cat... and someone did. On our hike, we found an axle on the trail and saw the body of an old car caught in the trees and bushes above. I think we violated our rental agreement by driving on an unpaved, pothole filled, rock covered road - at one point, I totally expected a flat tire. I was having flashbacks of our Yellowstone trip where my dad totaled the rented minivan when he hit a giant block of concrete. That was fun, right Jill? Memories!

I have lots of pictures like this, but with different backgrounds and different babies.

Doesn't he look like an angel?

The "trail" to the falls was muddy, slippery, steep in places, blocked with boulders in others, and generally difficult to traverse. With all those kids, the going was very slow. Then there was the bent over tree that Kallie was so carefully trying to pass under when her uncle Chad stepped on it and conked her on the head! In his defense, he pretty much took care of her after that.

Once we realized that we didn't have time to make it to the falls, we decided we'd just stop to have some river fun.

"The water is perfect!" Kass said. "Okay, that means it's cold, but we won't die," we all thought.

My dad was the first one to brave the river.

We got into the river, and it was cold, but not deathly cold. Natalie kept grabbing huge handfuls of river moss and putting it on me - nasty! Overall, I'd say the river was too high adventure for the kids. When Lucy got in, Russ let go of her hand, and she started floating downstream. I grabbed her right away when I heard him yelling, but it was kind of stressful trying to keep all the kids from getting washed away. There my dad was, instructing the kids to keep their feet out in front of them if they get caught in the current. Awesome. Russ hadn't planned on getting in, but he had no choice when he lost his footing, getting a nasty scrape on his shin in the process. The current was so powerful in places that I couldn't even turn my legs around to get the leverage I needed to get myself out, much less the kids. It was crazy! Paige was freaking out because she felt unsafe, and then when she fell face first into a pool of moss, she was totally done. I think we all had some scrapes to show for that fun little adventure!

This pic is for Annalee - proof I was there!

On our way out, my dad had this bright idea to take a short cut straight up the mountain. You know this usually ends in some kind of adventure, and it did. We found a place that was not too steep, and we started climbing up the leaf covered mountainside, with Kallie whining all the way. She had had too much fun already. Everything was going fine until we got to the very last part, which was steep, slippery, and blocked by thorn bushes. My dad blazed the trail, only to find a fence at the top. Turns out, the fence and thorn bushes were put there purposely to deter people from blazing trails - it was a restoration area. Oops. Luckily, the fence wasn't too long, and we were able to walk down a ways to get around it and discover Jill blazing a separate trail and grabbing onto a stranger's walking stick to help her make it all the way up. There were a few people walking on that road because it turns out that the road was part of the trail to the falls - the EASY way - and we were just the weird group that came up from behind the fenced off area (what is wrong with those people?).

But it was super fun, and once our pants dried off and the kids fell asleep, it was all good. Oh wait - Brandon cried so much near the end of our drive that he puked. What a fabulous end to our day! Car seat barf is the best.

Goin' Buggy

2011-05-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pictures from Paige's "Bugs!" musical. She was a firefly.

Thanks, Papa J, for giving us a reason to take a mini vacation

2011-05-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, we set off to California, mostly to attend the funeral for Russ' grandpa, Papa J. But is it so wrong if we had a lot of fun?

My very excellent cousin, Shannon, let us stay at her condo, and we went to the beach in Ventura the next morning - cold because of wind, but the sun was shining, and the sand was heavenly warm.

Brandon is always good for free smiles, no matter what the occasion. But what is Russ watching? You'll see.

Shannon brought her awesome kite, and I tried so long to get a shot with both her and the kite in it. I thought if I took the shot at an angle, I'd get the kite in the frame, but it was so bright out that I couldn't really tell where the kite was, and my picture ended up like this.

Once it crashed, it was easier to get it in the picture :)

Success at last! I think the angled shot would've been cooler, though.

I have never seen ladybugs at the beach before, and for some reason there were a ton, both alive and dead, on the beach that day. The girls were thrilled, and Kallie was just so sure her ladybug loved her.

Of course, there was much playing in the sand.

And for some reason on that particular day, there was also a lot of death on the beach. I decided to make a montage to document this strangeness.

When I was showing these pictures to my grandma, she shrieked in horror and turned away from the screen. If you know my Grandma Bev, you can just imagine this. She thinks I'm demented. Maybe you do, too, so here are some nice photos of shells to help you feel better.

After the beach, it was on to the funeral.

First up is Russ' brother, Ian. I know, he looks like a mountain man - maybe the Brawny man? This is why I had to take a picture and name it "lumberjack.jpg."

Here is his son, Patrick, or Patty, as I like to call him. I especially like to call him Patty Kirkpatrick because his mom's maiden name is Kirkpatrick, and there's a female news anchor in Phoenix by that name.

Okay, Kallie playing by the pool. I wish they wouldn't make their chlorine holders so enticing to children! She was giving me repeated heart attacks.

Listening to a bunch of old people tell old stories about a dead person was just too boring for this little one (and most of the other children), so she fell asleep on her Aunt Beth's lap.

The next day, we took a drive on a beautiful highway from Ventura to Santa Clarita. Seriously, this highway was picture perfect with orchards and tailored fields, mountains covered in greenery, a perfectly blue sky, and farmers' fruit stands along the side of the road selling strawberries, avocados, and oranges. We thought surely it couldn't get any better until we saw people dirtbiking in the foothills and a sign pointing to the lake. Then when we found the Costco in Santa Clarita, I could officially say it was paradise.

The reason for our trip was to visit the homes where Russ' family lived when he was a wee little tyke. First, it was 19690 Newhouse, where they lived when he was born.

And then it was 28115 Foxlane, where they moved when he was one or so. They moved to Oregon when he was two, so he has no memory of these homes. It was fun to imagine the family living there, though.

We also had gone the night before to see the hospital where Russ was born, but it had been demolished and replaced with a high school that is set to open next school year. We pointed to the ball fields and told the kids that was where their father came into this world. I wonder if that was confusing to them! :)

After visiting those homes, we headed for our home, all smiles. A little relaxation, a little family time, and a little nostalgia made for the perfect little mini vacation.

Ponies, butterflies, and a cute baby boy!

2011-05-05T21:49:00.001-07:00

April, where have you gone? It seems the pictures are piling up on my camera again. Hey, at least I have a camera!

Ponies

So, last month the girls went to this unicorn birthday party for the little girl next door. When we pulled into our driveway after church, Kallie about jumped out of her seat when she saw three pretty ponies in the neighbor's driveway. One even had a unicorn horn! No kidding - a unicorn birthday party with real ponies! A dream come true for little girls, right?

Kallie rode on the pink and white horse. Doesn't she look regal in that purple princess dress on the pink princess horse?

Paige was a little timid about riding on the horse at first, but I finally talked her into it, and she rode on Cocoa, the brown horse.

They both wanted to ride on the purple unicorn, but they would have had to wait in line a while for that. I hope this doesn't give them any expectations for their own parties - we're not that fancy!

Butterflies

Paige was so happy I finally got to be a chaperone on one of her field trips (it would help if she would turn the permission slips in on time, you know).

I was in charge of four little girls, including Paige. Our group was super cool! But our bus wasn't - it went to the wrong school, so we had to wait a while and got off to a late start.

I hadn't ridden a school bus in so many years, but luckily we got to sit in first class - you know, the rows near the front.

We went to the Desert Botanical Garden to visit the butterfly pavilion and learn all about desert buddies! Orientation time was first. Luckily, we got to sit in the shade because it was pretty hot out.

We weren't allowed to touch the butterflies, but there was no rule about trying to get them to land on us. There weren't any butterflies who were takers for landing on our fingers, but one butterfly landed on one of the girls' hats and flew away before I could get a picture.

Paige is an adorable caterpillar, I think.

Okay, now for cute baby boy!

He's going to be trouble really soon. Not only does he pull up onto the first stair, but he also pulled himself onto the treadmill and then proceeded to fall off head first so that his head was on the ground and his body was still on the treadmill. If it weren't for Kallie, I wouldn't have noticed right away because he didn't seem to mind that awkward position at all! Today is the first time I've noticed him crawling on all fours instead of the army crawl - oh boy, I can just feel the mischief coming on!

More photos soon.

Stuff

2011-04-28T15:35:00.001-07:00

Kallie: "Mom, can we wash Rescue?"
Mom: "Why?"
Kallie: "It has stuff on it."
Mom: "What kind of stuff is it?"
Kallie: "A stuffed animal!"

Mom, Why Does the Calendar Say 200?

2011-04-16T15:38:00.001-07:00

It doesn't say 200, Paige, it says ZOO! Although Paige couldn't go because of school...

Kallie's preschool went to the zoo for a field trip, and luckily her aunts and cousins came along for the fun. The kids really enjoyed climbing on everything they could find there.

Sweet little Meems just enjoyed herself without really making a peep, and she walked very far... much farther than my four-year-old was willing to walk. Kallie was constantly trying to hitch a ride on somebody's stroller since she couldn't use mine because Brandon was in it.

This is the one and only picture I got of Savannah actually looking at the camera, so enjoy.

What cute burrowers!

I tried four times to get a shot with everyone looking at the camera. You have to be quick for Savannah. She doesn't understand the concept of looking at the camera until the picture is taken. Oh well. Lucy, on the other hand, had a different pose for each shot... I like her face in this one. I think she must get photographed a lot... she's a pro!

Lucy shared her expensive popsicle with her cousins... how sweet!

Okay, funniest moment. At the petting zoo, Lucy, Kallie, and I were all petting this rather large goat standing under one of the shade ramadas. A few moments later, we notice the goat relieving itself on the concrete... and of course, the concrete caused goat pee to splash all over the place. The girls got grossed out, and Lucy said, "I was wondering what all that wetness was!" as she wiped off her feet with her hand. Jill was just thrilled and put Lucy in the sink for a mini bath. Ew.

Now this pic is not of the goat that peed - this is before that happened. It looked like the perfect little farm girl picture to me.

So I got one of Kallie, too. This was a nice goat.

Who doesn't have at least one picture of their kids in the animal statues if they've ever been to the Phoenix Zoo? I have many because my kid decided to get on each animal and say, "Mom, take a picture!"

Brandon was his usual sweet self, just kicking back and enjoying the ride. He didn't fuss one bit.

Lori forgot her sunglasses, but that turned out to be lucky because she scored these awesome shades for $5 at the gift shop.

At the end of the day, we took a ride on the carousel. Sorry Lucy! Next time, for sure. As usual, I couldn't get a shot with Savannah actually looking at the camera. She's going to love all these pictures when she gets older.

Almost looking at the camera...

Kallie enjoying her ride on the "shark" (although I tried to tell her it was a dolphin... she wouldn't believe me).

Thanks everybody for the super fun time!

Parting Is Such Sweet... Bliss

2011-04-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Another pound... gone. Yes, it's a slow process... almost agonizing at times. It looks like I'm losing about one pound every ten days, but it's okay because I'm never hungry and still eating everything I like (chips, ice cream, etc.), just in slightly smaller and less frequent portions. I also have a Filiberto's 99-cent bean burrito for lunch every Wednesday, but now I cut off 1/4 of it for Kallie. At some point I'm sure I'll hit a plateau, but today's scale reading proved I haven't yet... yippee! The best part about this is that I'm no longer craving sugar so much. Sugar is addictive, you know... the more you have, the more you want. I was at the point where I felt I needed something sweet almost every day, and I always had an excuse to indulge (if you need an excuse, any excuse will do). I still have a treat every now and then, like Baskin Robbins ice cream yesterday, but it's not nearly as often... and I'm okay with that. If you are addicted to sugar, you might try doing what I did at first. If I had a craving for sweets, I would not indulge, but instead have some other snack - anything else, as long as it wasn't sugar (unless it was fruit). Chips and salsa was a good alternative for me. Anyway, after a couple of weeks, you'll find that you don't crave sugar as much. Try it!

Thousands of Words

2011-04-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

In pictures!!

I bought a new camera. No, not the fancy dSLR that I wanted but didn't have the budget for right now. I exercised self-control and bought another little point-and-shoot... so little, in fact, that I think it's cute. I resisted buying the pink one, though.

Of course, I had to see what my new camera could do.

He wants the camera...

What better time than general conference for a photo shoot?

On Jill's blog, she says, "You might be a photographer if you've ever stepped out mid shower to grab your camera..." and then she says, "k, now you go." I don't claim to be a photographer, but I'll take my turn anyway.

You might be a photographer if you've ever taken your camera to the grocery store...

...to photograph produce.

I promise, I just found these lying like this.

I shall not bore you with all of them. Just know there were more. Upon seeing these photos, Russ' comment was, "I am so glad I didn't go with you."

Sunday, we had lunch at my mom's, watched conference, and enjoyed the most beautiful afternoon. I saw the snow at temple square and thought... well, I just thought I was glad not to be there in the snow. I enjoyed it quite enough through the television.

This girl has natural beauty. It's easy to get a good shot of her.

And now for a lovely finale.

THE END.

A Rambling Lady Rambles On About Rambling

2011-03-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

People... I had to turn the A/C on in March! I felt bad when I saw the pink cheeks and glistening foreheads on my kids, and I just couldn't send them to bed in such heat. If it had been just me, I would've toughed it out. So that stinks. I was hoping for one more tiny electric bill.

This blog is because I feel like rambling. My car currently says "5 miles until empty." I have spent so much in gas over the past two weeks, it pretty much blows my mind. Luckily, tomorrow is the day I fill up. I'm thinking I need to figure out a way to drive less... I can be green and save green... or, I can save the planet and my wallet. Whatever.

HOA's can be lame. We just want to paint our house the original colors... well, good luck finding out what they are, sucker!

HOA: Here are your colors.
Me (holding them up to our house): Yeah, no.
HOA: Maybe someone repainted your house with colors that weren't approved.
Me: Have you seen the paint? Impossible.
HOA: Maybe they're just faded.
Me: Come look at these paint chips yourself. I'm not retarded! (sorry, that wasn't PC, but neither am I)
HOA: Submit colors, and we'll see.
Me: I really don't want this to take all year, you losers. Can I just match what's already there?
HOA: Well, we really need to have paint chips approved.
Me: How about I leave it the same faded, cracked, and peeled way it is now... is that better?

Okay, so I got totally stressed, I'll admit. I promised myself that I wouldn't obsess about it all day because I tend to do that... obsess over one thing and forget about everything else in the world. But, this rambling blog was just begging for me to complain.

Inner peace... (inhale)... In-in-inner peace.
(Do you people love Kung Fu Panda, too?)

I planted three plants in my front yard with NO HOA APPROVAL. Do you think they're going to come by and go, "Um, we really need you to submit a plan for this... so, can you dig those up and please return the freaky drip valves that were sticking up all over your yard for the last two years? We liked that better."

Okay, the angst is gaining too much momentum.

So, a positive note. I went to enrichment tonight, if it's still called that, and I had a super great time. Sometimes you just need to laugh with the ladies to help put your life back into balance, you know? I just can't really explain how funny it is to a perfectionist to see what sewing errors other people will just ignore. It reminded me of the the gloves... Lori, you remember the gloves! Yeah, try to sew a few gloves out of a cotton fabric like broadcloth with no pattern some time. Just trace your hand and everything will work out okay... right? Haha...

Let the good times roll...

Oh yeah, I made 64 cloud nine rolls for the enrichment dinner. They were Amazing, as usual... people were trying to snag the leftovers. Can't say I blame them! Lori, you did a great job with the butter. Sorry about the gluten. Wendy, that recipe is a sure winner every time! Wendy? Hello? Are you there?

Good night people (if anyone's listening).

Another One Bites the Dust

2011-03-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Even after a weekend of partying with our friends, I have managed to lose another pound. I even had a wavebender at Bahama Buck's (though I didn't drink the whole thing... just 80% of it), so I'm pretty amazed... but happy! Just thought I should let you know :)

I also bought a new camera. It really stinks to have to replace something you lost... it's like, I shouldn't have to spend this money, but I was careless. Grr! I wanted to get a better camera, but alas, the funds aren't there right now, so I got a tiny pocket camera. It's supposed to be pretty good for its size, though, so we'll see.

More pics soon! :)

Good Riddance

2011-03-20T17:37:00.000-07:00

You guys are going to be so proud because I lost another pound! It came as a surprise during my routine morning weigh-in. That was after breakfast, too! Then I decided to take a look in the mirror, and I realized I could actually see a difference. My belly is really and truly shrinking little by little. It's slow, but it's progress! I can also see that my obliques in particular are firmer and more shapely. Okay, it's a long way from a tone tummy, but just the fact that I can see a difference has really motivated me again.

My only road block ahead is that the Jones are coming to visit us, and we want to take them to our favorite restaurants, of course. I guess my plan will have to be to continue doing what I've been doing... keep eating the same things, but less of them, and continue the workouts. Hope I don't put that pound back on because it was a booger to get rid of it!

Blog Funk

2011-03-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is my third attempt at starting this blog. I don't know how to explain this to you, but I am in a blog funk, and I don't know why!

Maybe it's because I lost my camera in California. I mean, who wants to read a blog with no pictures, right? Sadly, the camera was lost before our trip to Disneyland. Russ got a few pics on his cell phone, and we got the most horrible picture of the family with Mickey Mouse. Seriously, it shouldn't be that hard for the photographer to frame the picture properly when she's taking pictures of thousands of kids per day. Then they want $15 for two 4X6 prints of a horrible, unedited photo?!?! Pshaw. That photo won't see the light of day, people.

Do I sound grumpy?

The other day, Paige wrote some interesting pieces of advice and posted them on the fridge, and I totally would have taken pictures of these little notes, except, you know... my camera is gone. Very sad. But, I can still write what they said. You'll have to imagine the cute little first grade writing. Wait, I just realized I can scan! Sometimes it takes me so long to be smart.

Wow, she is wise, right?

While I was searching through piles of papers for those, I found the picture of Kallie's preschool class, and decided I could scan that, too. This blog is getting more interesting all the time!

I just love the face on that girl in the second row with the giant flower plopped on the top of her head. Maybe she's just ticked off that she has to wear a ridiculously huge bloom on picture day.

I just tried to scan my face as an offering in lieu of a photo. This was a feat because my printer is above my monitor, so I was balancing on my chair with my left leg while I had my face smooshed on the scanner bed, and then I clicked the mouse with my right big toe. Well, it lit up like it was going to do something, so I waited in this precarious position for a while, but eventually I realized the scanning program was not responding, so I gave up. The little light on my printer is still blinking, and I have no idea what's wrong. It's probably better that way.

In other news, I have finally decided to really try to lose a little of the belly Brandon gave me when I was pregnant. I lost all my pregnancy weight, but the dough ball of a belly nonetheless remained. Grr. So, I have been cutting back on calories and working out every day, and I am very happy to report that I have lost a pound! I was so excited the day I discovered this, and it came after a night where I asked Russ to think hard and dream about what my new weight would be without this pound (so maybe "the secret" really works). Today I am feeling less motivated, but I successfully averted the food booths at the Ostrich Festival, as well as the frozen yogurt shop afterward. However, Paige won the Triple R award at school, which is given to kids who consistently demonstrate the school's values (respect, responsibility, and right to learn), and that means a giant Hershey bar is sitting on this computer desk right now. I took a tiny piece, and it just makes me want more. Ugh. Despite my tiny successes, the belly seems to be determined to stay. After a few weeks, it's enough to make me want to give up and just start eating what I like again... I mean, if it's not really going to make a difference one way or the other. But, I will force myself to keep going... I'm not a quitter, right? What I should do is take pictures because maybe then I could see a difference, even if there's still a lot of dough left. But alas, no camera. Very big problem!

So anyway people, a couple of days ago, I bought myself some new clothes. As usual, everything in the misses section is so drab, so I finally broke down and shopped in juniors. I don't want to be the old lady shopping in juniors, but I actually found some clothes I like, so I decided to buy them and wear them and just be me. Especially with this one shirt... I think the gathered top is supposed to go all the way to the bottom of the bust line, but I'm a 35-year-old nursing mother... not gonna happen! Well, I like how it looks anyway, so I wear it.

Last, but not least. All is not lost without my camera because I have a super cool sister who took some photos of Kallie at her recital. Hooray!

It was really, really cute.

Here Comes Trouble

2011-02-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

And apparently it comes in twos.

Brandon is a grabber... and he's quick. He looks quite proud of himself, don't you think? Who knew he could reach the cereal bag from the "confines" of the Bumbo?

Kallie is a drama queen. Every little thing that is asked of her just totally ruins her day.

Kallie: "Mom, can I have more tater tots?"
Mom: "Eat more cabbage first."
Kallie: "Aw, but I very don't like cabbage."
Mom: "Well, no more tater tots until you eat at least three leaves."
Kallie: (groans)
Mom: "Oh yes, I'm such a mean mother because I want you to eat healthy food that helps you grow big and strong."
Reluctantly, she pulled each leaf off the pile one by one, and...

later when the kids were in bed, this is what I found under the table.

Kallie, we don't even have a dog. She is in so much trouble!

Tumbling

2011-02-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

Paige some tumbling classes last month and loved it! I didn't get to go to the big show at the end because Kallie was sick, but Russ went and took some pictures of her doing her thing. Go Paige!

A Study in Grapefruit

2011-02-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

Today was the day I've been waiting for. Last night's freeze convinced me to pluck one of the grapefruit from my tree and eat it before it gets destroyed somehow.

It was... DELICIOUS.

The cut open pieces of my grapefruit, sitting there all dug out after giving me long awaited satisfaction, looked so bright and beautiful against the backdrop of my black granite counter tops.

So, I took a page out of Jill's book and decided to photograph something mundane to tell a story on my blog.

And then I got photo editor happy.

Behold... my study in grapefruit.

The Lazy Days of... Winter?

2011-02-01T12:13:00.001-08:00

You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day.

Chunky Monkey Eats Solids

2011-01-30T14:27:00.000-08:00

First up, rice cereal. He tried not to close his mouth.

When he finally did, he didn't look too thrilled.

Sometimes he thought it was just plain funky.

Next day, he gagged.

And frowned.

But once he finally swallowed, he still loved me all the same.

So I changed my game and gave him everybody's favorite... green beans! He made me laugh because it looked like he had a bad-guy mustache, and he had the grumpy face to go with it.

Then he shuddered.

And almost cried.

After a while, I think he was about to blow chunks.

He wasn't as quick to forgive me for the green beans, and I think he already cemented in his mind the idea that every kid believes... anything green tastes GROSS!

2010 Finale

2011-01-10T18:29:00.002-08:00

So, I'm checking my camera and finding I have LOTS of pictures I haven't shared. I have no excuse, people, but come to think of it, I did spend a little too much time bargain shopping during December. I hate it when I buy something and then I find it cheaper later. I know, I know... I thought it was a fair price when I paid it, but I still feel ripped off.

And that has absolutely nothing to do with this post, which I fear might be long. Might want to grab a drink, put up your feet, etc. Just don't... *gasp* click on the red X... or whatever you Mac people do.

First week, Paige brought home "Leo," her first grade class pet, and he went everywhere with us.

Ward party.

Grocery store.

Chandler parade of lights, where Paige was in a dance number.

We hosted our family sing-along on the first Monday in December, and I loved it because the people in my family are so family-ish and fun. Thanks to all the singers!! No pics...

One day in mid-December, Mr. and Mrs. Claus came to visit our neighborhood, and the kids got to meet them... except Paige, who wouldn't go anywhere near them. Weird, I thought the babies were the ones who were supposed to hate sitting by Santa. I guess at her age, Santa's not really scary... he's just kinda creepy. Good girl - stay away from creepy people.

Then Christmas came. We must have been good this year.

On the very day when our friends were supposed to come visit us from Farmington, New Mexico, Arizona got the biggest storm of the year, and they had to cancel their trip. So, to make the best of it, we drove up to visit the snow on New Year's Eve. That sounds so wonderful, you know... visiting the snow instead of shoveling it. There was only rain here in the valley, although it dropped below freezing for three nights, destroying quite a bit of vegetation (but you know I had my grapefruit covered with a sheet!).

Lots of snow pictures. Russ was stoked about using our 4-wheel drive.

That night, it was party time at Lolo's - you might have seen her blog. It was a rockin' good time. I love all the holidays, but I must say it's nice to have a break.

I have some resolutions, though. Organize family photos, make lots of progress on baby books, and ready our 72-hour kits, to name a few. I figure, if I work on my new year's resolutions for at least one week every year, then I might accomplish them before I die... maybe.

Oh yeah, and hike Four Peaks, despite my bum knee. My goal is to do my physical therapy exercises religiously and see if I can get my knee strong enough to handle that hike. We went hiking in the Superstition mountains a few weeks ago, and Four Peaks was just staring me down. I must conquer. And then the Grand Canyon, which I have ALWAYS wanted to do, but not this year. Who's with me?

There was a set?!?!

2010-12-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

You may have seen examples of how my talented sister, Lori, paints canvases for her kids' rooms. Well, when I first bought Brandon's nursery bedding, I enlisted her to help me paint some canvases to match his bedding.

I wanted three square pictures, one of each animal, to hang directly over the crib. Lori went with me to Hobby Lobby to pick up the supplies. Between the canvases themselves, the paint, and the paintbrushes, it wasn't exactly inexpensive.

Have you ever had Burger King nachos? Well, they don't serve them at Burger King... Lori serves them at her house, and she served some to me when I came over and spent the better of a day working on the paintings. It's a very secret recipe, so you probably shouldn't ask for it.

We made a lot of progress on the paintings, but there was still a lot to be done when we stopped for the day. I said to Lori, "After the cost and all the time we've put into these, I probably should have just bought the set."

Stunned. "There was a set?!?!" Oops, yeah. We looked it up online, and it was actually cheaper than I thought. BUT, there were only two pictures and they were 10 inches square instead of 14 inches square. Plus, they were not made with love. We tried to convince ourselves it was totally worth it. I think it was... even after spending the majority of the following week finishing them.

And here's the whole effect. Two 10-inchers would've looked kinda cheesy, right people?

And the lovely window valance plus the cute wooden rod I searched forever to find at a decent price.

Now that Russ has finally hung all this stuff up in the nursery, I let the baby sleep in his own room. Yahoo! We actually get more sleep now... zzzzz.

*smiles*

The Spirit of Christmas

2010-12-23T13:16:00.001-08:00

I went to Costco today. So did a few hundred of my neighbors, apparently. The parking lot was a chaotic free-for-all where only the rudest were aggressive enough to snag a decent parking spot, and I ended up parking farther from the entrance than I ever have before. As I prepared to get out of the car, I checked my list to make sure I really needed to brave the crowd. Yep.

The carts are big, and there were lots of them. Some people were browsing, and others were in a hurry, so there were lots of jammed aisles with annoyed people trying to get through. Smiles were rare, and "excuse me" seldom heard. Is this what Christmas is all about?

All of the checkout lines were open, and all had long streams of people behind them. As I waited, I reviewed in my mind the things I would need to rush around and do today. Hurry. Rush. Stress. People, please get out of my way!

When it was my turn, I asked the cashier if they sold stamps. She said that they did sell stamps, but only in lots of 100. With the internet, I remarked, I hardly ever send things in the mail... that would be too many.

The next thing I know, the woman behind me is holding out two sheets of brand new holiday stamps. "I've already sent my Christmas cards, and I won't be needing these. Just go ahead and take them. I'd hate to have to make an extra stop for stamps."

Surprised, I asked, "Are you serious?" She insisted, and I took them from her, despite the twinge of guilt I felt for freeloading. I wished her a Merry Christmas and went on my way.

As I walked to my car, I noticed a new feeling inside. Gratitude? Not exactly. My stress melted away, the crowd didn't seem to bother me anymore, and I smiled at everyone I passed. The gift she gave was more than stamps; it was the gift of charity and good will toward men. This gift lifted my spirits, changed my attitude, and revived my hope in humankind. I realized I had been shown the true spirit of Christmas by a perfect stranger, and I vowed to pass this spirit on to others by paying it forward.

I hope that woman feels happy about what she did today because it really made a difference to me.

2455 E Gingerbread Lane

2010-12-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

We needed more sugar around (right?)

The girls were so excited about the idea of building a gingerbread house. I was kinda scared (Lori, remember the "outhouse"?)

We carefully worked on the yard while the icing was drying...

Made lovely patterns on the roof...

Adorned it with the perfect finishing touches... (love my trees?)

And voila! It may not look like much, but it's the best gingerbread house I've ever made, and I learned a lot for next time.

YUM

Halloween Fun and ER Visit

2010-11-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Time to relax now that the week of Halloween is over. It was a mad dash to finish all five costumes that I made this year (I stayed up until 5am one night!), a trip to the fair, a dinner and birthday celebration for Kallie, the ward trunk or treat, and all our regular appointments in between.

Breathe...

On Halloween day, we managed to find time to carve a pumpkin together. It was a family effort...

Russ drew the design.

I carved it.

The girls cleaned out the innards and played in the mess.

That night, Russ set up in front of our house.

Paige's no sew witch costume turned out really cute.

The mermaid was beautiful, and the alien was out-of-this-world! Kallie had just woken up from a nap and wasn't feeling too good, so she missed the first block of trick-or-treating. When we came back by the house, Paige decided to stay home, and Kallie decided she was ready to go. We went around one more block before heading back home for the night. Brandon only collected one bag of candy that this old lady insisted on giving him. She tried to hand it to him, but I told her he was too small to grab it, and I put it next to him in his stroller. I guess he looks older than he is!

Scaaaarrry.

Kallie didn't feel super, but you wouldn't know it from her sweet expression.

I know the pictures are bad, but I had fun dressing up as the Queen of Hearts. That costume was a beast to make!

Hard to believe that little mermaid ended up in the hospital the next morning. She had been coughing the night before, but it didn't seem very serious. During the night, she was coughing and crying for Mom, so I brought her in my room and turned on the humidifier. She kept waking up and complaining that her tummy hurt, which I think was from coughing so much, so I gave her some Tylenol. The coughing continued, though, and it caused her to throw up a couple of times. In the morning, she became extremely lethargic. I tried to get her to take fluids since she had been vomiting, but she just laid back in my arms with little response. I started crying and begging her to drink something, but she wouldn't. When I left to get Russ, I heard her tiny voice say, "Sorry, Mom."

Russ took her to urgent care where they told him she had pneumonia and that he needed to get her to the ER as soon as possible. He rushed her over there, and I met up with them later. It nearly broke my heart to come in and see her like this.

Later, she was admitted and they put her on oxygen. After sleeping much of the day, she began to perk up a little bit in the evening.

She loved pointing out her red toe to everyone and telling them that it was her blood.

The nurses loved her. She was cooperative and talkative, and when we left the next day, the nurse said she was going to miss her little chatterbox.

We're just so thankful everything turned out okay. She still has a cough because of all the congestion, but it is improving. The doctor said she is no longer contagious after her fever stops, which it did yesterday, and that she can return to school after 24 hours of no fever. So today she is resting, and tomorrow she'll be back at school collecting more germs.

Red rock dreams at sunset

2010-10-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, a couple of weekends ago was my very first trip to Sedona. I know, I was practically raised on day trips, and I lived here for 25 years before moving to California, so how could this happen?

Okay, I take it back. My dad flew me and my high school boyfriend to Sedona (yes, the view was awesome), and we had lunch at the airport before flying back, but that was it.

I didn't even know about Red Rock State Park (how embarrassing)

Saturday, I just had a hankering to get out of town, and I asked Russ if he had anything going on the next day at church. He said no, so we made a quick plan and took off the next morning. Boy am I glad I parted Kallie's hair pretty straight because I sure got a lot of pictures of the back of her head. You know, she's exploring, so what am I supposed to do?

Don't worry, I asked her to turn around once in a while.

The original idea was to find some fall color, but alas, the trees were not turning yet. I'm glad Paige managed to find a few beautiful specimen.

Maybe this leaf is turning, or maybe it just happened to be dying. Either way, I'm cool with it.

There's something about kids sitting by a stream that is so quintessential summer time... if only they had overalls and bare feet.

See that collection in her hands? I was pleased to see the girls finding the simple little things in nature so beautiful that they wanted to collect them and take them home.

Finding a bridge is always fun for some reason. Even I get excited. I know, you saw a bridge before... but that was the first bridge, and this is the second one. Still very cool.

For Russ, there was a lot of bug slapping. I don't know why I laughed so much about that... it was kinda mean.

When you're exploring, you might find a funny forest that only exists in dreams and fairy tales... very curious.

And there just might be a lot of bugs to slap (ha ha)

While you are on your adventure, you must write everything down so you can remember when you wake up...

(using your imaginary pencil, of course)

And share a smile with your friends before you leave.

What would you do after a fun adventure like that? PLAY! We found a park just before sunset that had beautiful views of the red mountains, and the girls got to run free.

Russ and Brandon sat and watched.

And now I get to share with you some of the nature photos I took.

Okay, I really wanted to let you enjoy these photos in silence, but I can't be quiet. I love this next picture because of the light. I was trying to capture it, but I think you just had to be there. It was glistening!

And I thought this one looked like a postcard picture, so there you go. You can send me 25 cents and then print this out and send it to your friends so that you can pretend you went to Sedona, too.

Finally, I found some beautiful fall color... even if it was on the plant at the visitors center.

Arizona sunsets cannot be matched. What a beautiful way to end a beautiful day.

I know you've been wondering

2010-10-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

What has Stacey been up to? Well, this ought to give you a hint.

Isn't she the most gorgeous mermaid you have ever seen? I had to shorten this pattern by almost a foot to make it fit Kallie (aka "Sharkie," as she has asked to be called for the last several days... before that, she was "Link").

We got a new car... well, it's new to us. Either way, it's always fun to have new wheels, and this is our first vehicle purchase in 7 years, so we're happy!

Is Brandon big? YEAH!

Kallie took a tap class with Savannah in September, and she loved it. She just can't wait for her ballet class to start in a couple of weeks.

My leg is getting a lot better. I was finally able to take my brace off on Thursday, so I am walking... kinda. It's still painful, so I'm slow and working on getting rid of my limp. I'm continuing physical therapy for now to help me regain my strength and balance. It's so liberating to be crutch-free, though! I can carry my baby, cook dinner, and clean my house. I can also drive places, so I'm back to running errands and finding reasons to go to Costco or Joann. Not good for our budget, but it is nice to be able to get off the couch!

I found a picture of myself at Lake Powell shortly before the accident. I wish I could go back to that day and decide to loosen the boot on the ski a little more.

I was also reminded that we had a lot of fun at Lake Powell, and we'll miss it until we get to go again.

Oh summer, how I am sad to see you go. But last night, I experienced the cool air of October, which comes like a sigh of relief to those of us living in Phoenix, and I started getting excited for the months to come. Halloween, state fair, birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas... it's just wonderful now that I don't have to dread the snow. No offense, Utah... I'm sure your trees are just beautiful right now, but your snow makes a cold, slushy mess!

Fall = happiness

The Mind of a Three-Year-Old

2010-09-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Kallie was pushing keys on my keyboard, and when I told her to stop, she said:

But I am cute!

True, but does that mean she thinks she can do no wrong?

Sweet Beauties

2010-08-22T16:22:00.001-07:00

I usually don't give my girls fancy hairdos, but a couple of weeks ago, we played "beauty shop" before church and gave them both curls. They loved it!