It's Friday evening. We're patiently waiting for Daddy to get home so we can eat dinner and start our Friday movie night. The goodies have been bought, the movie picked and the couch pushed together and full of pillows. Our big beast of an old couch may not be much to look at but when pushed together it does make the most comfortable couch/bed. Perfect for a family of four to all sprawl out on while watching a good movie.

It's been a drizzly wet day. I love the rain but Luke and Ava were a little sad. The day quickly took a turn for the better when Papa John and Grandma Patsy stopped by for a visit! We haven't seen them since January. The kids were so excited to see them. Ava barely let anyone else get a word in. She was so full of stories and owies to show and tell them about. They brought the kids each a big cool shell from the east coast and took us out for lunch. We had a really fun time. Can't wait for all the upcoming time we get to spend with them.

I just wanted to share a little quote I heard from a friend today, thanks Kim. Not sure who it's by but I just loved it: "While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

Some funny pictures I took durning one of our warm days. It was so nice I let the kids run through the sprinkler. I think it was in the high 70's that day. As you can see the entire day was spent in swimsuits.

I told Ava she had to at least wear shoes if she was going to ride her bike. She came out with these stylish matching yellow muck boots on.



poor dog...she is sooo loved:)

Gardening

I snapped a few pictures of some beautiful green that is springing up all over the yard. I get so excited about it all!

parsley-cilantro-rhubarb-rosemary-chives-onions-hollyhocks & columbine

These are a few new things we're trying out this year. The margarita tulip. I love this tulip. It opens like a peony or rose, full of petals. I will for sure be planting more of these this fall. Jeremy really wanted a blueberry bush, so we are going to give it a try. This is actually a replacement to the one we killed earlier this year. If anyone has grown blueberries around here and knows of any tricks please let me know.

Now if we just keep these little stinkers who hangout across the street from eating it all. Last year we tried putting bars of Irish Spring soap all over the garden and it worked amazingly well. But this year our little herd has grown. One evening we counted 31! I'm tempted to stake crazy Fred out in the front yard to scare them away. :)

This is not my yard. I wish! I took a picture of a magazine page I ripped out years ago. Is that weird of me... taking a picture of a picture? I looove this fence! I want Jeremy to build me something like this to keep the dogs out of the backyard garden. Because now that we have it planted, I'm scared they will trample everything. So the past few days I've had to keep them under tight watch. I feel bad that they can't run crazy in their own backyard anymore.

I added this last picture in case Jeremy needs another idea of something else to build. A backyard porch swing would be so fun and relaxing.

Tan Lines and Horny Toads

Ava came home with the cutest little tan lines. I don't think she or Luke let Domma and Rice drag them away from the pool for very long. They had so much fun just the four of them. I still need to get pictures from Domma Barkers. Jeremy and I drove down on Friday night to meet up with them and spend the rest of the weekend. Grandma and Grandpa left us with a hotel room fully stocked with drinks, junk food, pool toys, new swimsuits, you name it they had it. I swear the sky is the limit when it comes to grand kids.:) Being a grandparent seems so fun. You are automatically just cool and fun. We love them! Thanks again for the fun in the sun weekend! Such great memories....

THE POOL.

Our friends Henry and Tony the horny toads. (names by Ava)

I forgot just how darling and easy to catch horny toads are.

Hiking the red rocks.

Looking over St. George.

(Picture by Ava)

Forever ago Shayla tagged some people to post the 10th picture in their 1st folder. Karen reminded me that I was one of those people. My first folder is a lovely mess of a folder full of this and that, mostly old scanned pictures. The 10th picture was just plain embarrassing. Not going to post it! Here's my 11th picture...

A fun day with Sarah. Cart racing around with I think this was Melanie's horse. This picture cracks me up because just earlier today Sarah and I were talking on the phone about 6 million acers, buggies and a simple self reliant life. :) Sarah just posted a pretty horse video that she and Karen made back in the day. It's just relaxing to watch. It makes me want to slow down life a little. Enjoy things a lot more. I start to feel like I'm getting smothered and slowly sucked into a world were everyone is driving around always hurrying here and there--searching for things that will make them happy, prettier, better--shopping for who knows what--building who knows where--it's all about bigger and better--slowly but surely the beautiful and real things in life are getting crowed out by it all. Someday we will all take a good looked around and realize that the important beatiful things in life have all been replaced and ruined with pointless silly crap.

Little Bit of Everything

I am alone. This never happens. Never! Kind of weird. My kids have been scooped up by their Rice King and Domma Barkers and are having the time of their lives down in St. George. (Well I'm not sure about Grandma and Grandpa, but I know the Luke and Ava are.:)) Jeremy's still at work and here I sit at the computer....a little bored right now.
It is amazing the things that can be accomplished without two kids. I have whipped right through most of my to do list: cleaned the house top to bottom, did a little window shopping, mowed the lawn, shaved my legs during a very long uninterrupted shower, actually did my hair and make-up, put on tanning cream :)(?), watched some TV, washed the two...yes only two dishes in the sink (which were both cereal bowls. If I didn't have kids and a husband to cook dinner for I would survive off of cereal and only cereal...okay maybe a little chocolate.) I went for a jog, got home from my jog and as I was unlocking the back door, said, "hey pups!" to my dogs which were sadly looking at me through the fence because I had left them behind. Then added, "just a minute guys, mommy's just gonna get a drink." ...and then I looked around me to make sure no one heard me just call myself mommy to my dogs. I know, wow. I have actually talked to myself a lot today, referring to myself as mommy(?). "I know mommy's a dork."
Anyway, the two major things that I wanted to get done, like my couch slip cover I was going to finally sew, hasn't been touched. Same goes for the book I was going to read. I'm just running out of precious alone time and now I'm stalling on the computer. I'm so boring...wow! Tomorrow I need to call Sarah up and go for a horseback ride or something fun to make the most of my last day. I have loved every lonely minute of it. Thank you Rice and Domma. I needed it. Love ya! Alright, now that I have got some crazy talk out, here are my "little bit of everything" pictures. Oh and a funny little video of Ava crying on Easter Morning because the Easter Bunny had left without even saying hi to her.

Easter morning. Ava chowing her chocolate bunny. (like mother like daughter)

Ava's new princess fishing pole.

Luke's cool new army guys. (We play army guys A LOT!)

What we woke up to on Easter morning! SNOW! At least the sun was out.


Jeremy made us his fabulous German Pancakes for us to eat during Conference.

SO GOOD!

The snow has melted and the little daffodils are popping out.
Just a picture of my handsome Mr. Bones. Dressed and ready for the day, all-by-himself.

Ava with her little friend. They were washing their hands and seemed to have gotten a little side-tracked by my lipstick.

Jeremy and I cooked our very first turkey ever! Jeremy smoked it in his smoker for a few hours. Then we baked it with butter and rosemary. It was perfect. So good! We made ourselves proud.:)

Just a picture of my favorite store. I went here on my alone day window shopping trip. I never go here because it has the most expensive junk inside. It was fun to look around wishing and dreaming and not worry that something might get broke by curious little hands.:) Someday I want my garage + my whole house to look like this. The doors are like an olive green color and I love them. Someday....

All this talking to myself and taking pictures of a store in the parking lot? I have no response to that.