Animal interaction deprivation

My poor kids... They have so little experience with animals, they just think it's the most exciting thing in the world when they get to play with a cat!
I just stopped by to take care of my friend Tara's feline for the day. 

I'm having a tough time getting the kids to leave. 

They love him. 

And he appears to love the attention. 

But I can't wait to put them in a bath because cat hair on their clothes/bodies kinda disgusts me. 

I'm glad Lily is highly allergic so I have an excuse to never own a furry pet. 

But I still feel for my kids...cuz I totally loved my animals as a kid!

Fwd: a random text from Mom today

She texted: "What a miracle! A forever moment in my mind with those newborn twins - thank you!"

Isn't that sweet? Gotta love random reminiscing.... it helps me step back and be grateful.

Such amazing memories of that beautiful, crazy season in my life!  

Suessical reading session

She read them all the books, then took them to the play at the Bing theater! Best Nonny ever.

Ancient artifacts

There's a physical therapy clinic next door to the gym I workout at. Today, one of the receptionists came over holding this collage plaque display thing and said, "I just realized that this is you!!" 

Kinda sad that I'm barely recognizable apparently ;/  

I could tell she was thinking, what happened to you?! 

Or maybe I'm just hyper sensitive...but lady, here's what happened... a decade, four kids including twins, 8 moves, and frequently eating like an elite distance runner but not training like one! Ha! 

Whatever. I'm fine. I'm happy. 

I wouldn't mind having 9% body fat again...but I'm obviously not willing to do what it takes to get there again :-) BTDT, moved on! 

But fun to look back at the memories sometimes. 

And funny that PT (he fixed my ankle in 2003) still has the articles and I DON'T! I should probably get copies incase my kids I want to see what I did in college. Only looking back now do I really realize what a unique experience and opportunity it was. Super grateful for it.

Cruising with his lil sis

It would be fun to recreate this picture 10-15 years from now with a real car:)

In the meantime, this Cadillac remains in my top ten yardsale finds ever. $20. So much fun, and the battery life is amazing!

At Devin's bday party

I worked hard to make this kid a custom video! It's on Youtube HERE. I really love using Picasa and Windows Movie Maker to put together these things! It take SOOOO much time...gathering the photos, editing them, putting in order, coordinating music and timing, selecting transitions, saving and uploading everything.... it's like a 4 hour deal, minimum. But it was worth it! Now I want to make more of them!

The party and video viewing happened at Nonny and Papa's as usual. It was fun - games, singing, excellent dinner (best beef stew ever).



We can thank brian for the odd uncomplimentary angle...but charity looks so cute, had to post it

It looks creepy

When you're the fourth child, ya gotta sleep with one eye open I guess...

11th anniversary date!

The Piano Guys were ammmmaaazzzing!!!!

I was shocked at how fast time went. I could've sat and listened to them all night (which is a lot to say for someone who doesn't like to sit still!)  It was so fun to go with Brian - and bring mom&dad along as a thank you gift! Plus Steve+Meg and kids - it was awesome seeing those teens enjoy it just as much as the older crowd.

YW yard+bake sale miraculous SUCCESS!!

We had a true miracle happen - the forecast had been TERRIBLE up til just hours before this big event.
I was nervous - we had worked SO HARD prepping for this fundraiser. Collecting yard sale donations from ward members, making signs, bake sale items, announcements, etc etc.

I prayed that somehow it would all go smoothly and these girls wouldn't see their efforts wasted.

The Lord overdelivered!
We had almost ZERO rain - nothing but a few drops. Just 5 miles away, it was an absolute downpour.
There were areas in Spokane experiencing flash flooding.
But our little yard and bake sale? Dry and thriving!!
We had a goal to make at least $500. My lofty goal was to double that and make a thousand.
But no - we made over $1300!! Enough to pay for all their camp and High Adventure costs.
It truly was an answer to prayers.
This event was such a WIN in others ways...the girls had fun and bonded, they talked to people about which church they belonged to and what this fundraiser was for, ward members totally went the extra mile to show their support with donations (which in turn helped them de-clutter!), and I learned some valuable lessons on how to run a successful sale.

And more importantly - how to depend on our Heavenly Father to help me when I'm truly striving to do what I'm called to do... help these Young Women come closer to Christ!

Tire flipping!

I've been going to a new little gym the past few weeks and they're having me do some fun stuff! 

Monkey bars, battle rope, obstacle courses, rainbow ball slams...and tire flipping! 

That thing weighed 90lbs!! 

I'm not sure I'll keep going here much longer, simply because it's going to get hot and they do lots outside and I'm lame and love AC...but for now it's awesome to mix it up.

He told her to make a sad face

 Who wore it better?!  

Running with the boss in Ogden!

On Friday afternoon I got to hit the trails with Janae! 

It was so awesome! 

I was scared she'd be too fast for me but we just did a casual run...up the mountain...!! 

Loved it. 

After being up since 3:30 and traveling for hours it felt awesome to workout.

 And work! Ha! 

I have the greatest job working for UtahRunning.com. 

The whooping 5hrs/month I put in are very sustainable and pay off in many ways...like having a great "boss" to motivate me to get in better shape and stay on top of our little biz.   

superdad!

Brian's been doing so great with the kids while I've been away this weekend! (well...from the reports anyway....I'm not home yet to see evidence...) He said Charity's been a total sweetheart, minus some middle-of-the-night mommy missings. Poor baby. Can't wait to snuggle her. It's been a long (yet short!) 3 day getaway for me to Utah! Brian's had Bennett too, but I knew he'd be fine. I was just worried about little cherry. And that he wouldn't do her her and she'd look homeless. Oh well...It's good for all of us, right?!

My people in Arizona!

just another awesome YW activity night!

Good fences make good neighbors!

The windstorm last November blew our fence down. So we've been busy repairing it!  Well... our neighbor has been doing most of the work... which is fine, since we paid for the all the materials...but I think they're still miffed that we're not doing more of the work.... SEE?  Fences are a good thing!! :)

Taking the mamas out

Had fun taking Meg, Mere, and Mom to the theater for the Mother's Day movie!
 Despite being totally full of sneaky liberal agenda, it was warm and funny and relatively clean.
And super relaxing after a crazy busy morning!

Happy Mother's Day to me :)

Brian and the kids did a great job making me feel loved today :)

Sunday best!

New outfits courtesy of Nonny and Gymboree sales, as usual :)

M-day plans

2 yr old discovers wrinkles

Charity discovered the consequence of spending too long in a warm bath...wrinkly hands! And she was NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT! She cried and asked me to get it off her. I explained it would go away soon when she dried off and got in jammies. She still wasn't happy and kept trying to wipe the wrinkles off.