Happy October

Here are a few random pictures I took recently. I'm not much of a "photo-op mom-" I rarely remember to bring a camera along when we do something, and even if I do remember it, I forget to take the stupid pictures until it's too late. So, a lot of my pictures are random, mostly everyday stuff at home, cause that's where my camera always is. But for some reason, everyday stuff can be a lot of fun when there are awesome kids involved. We have been having fun lately. It was especially fun when my old NYC buddy Melanie (who now lives in Minnesota) came into town with her new baby Tennyson (who was super good and didn't even make a peep the entire time!) and we got together for lunch in downtown SLC with another ex-New Yorker Melissa (who now lives in Draper.) We had a good time catching up over lunch then snatching up our babes and bailing out of Pioneer Park as some homeless dudes started a fist fight right on the playground where our teeny kids were playing. Classic. We should have known better than to take our kids to that park. I'll give it this much though- it lived up to its reputation impeccably. So much for giving the place the benefit of the doubt. I'd skip it if I were you.

Me and Mel and our two girls!

We only managed a profile of each of the 3 kids pictured here. Spot them if you can. (And btw, thanks anyways, foreign grandma who had never used a camera before.) That is Melissa in the green shirt- 4 months prego and such a babe! She even had some derelicts wolfwhisting at her! Too bad these two were the only pictures we got. In fact, Melissa sent them to me. (Please... like I am ever going to remember to bring my camera? Riiiiight...)

We got the Halloween decorations put up, which Drew was elated about. We forgot about good old Skully from last year. Remember him?

Getting to know each other- it was a little awkward at first... (this picture was taken almost exactly a year ago, it is so weird that Drew was still in diapers then. Those days seem like a lifetime ago!)

Did I mention Skully talks? He has a repertoire of smart-alec comments, (delivered in a thick NY accent) including : "Eat some candy-you're almost as skinny as me!" and "Hey! Wanna 'hang out' sometime?" and "Hey- you got the time? Oh, look at me, whaddo I care?" Super lame, I know. But Drew loves it. And is simultaneously terrified of it. But, that's what Halloween is all about, right? Skully was tired of being crunched up in a box all year! Instead he is now hanging from a double Shepherd's Hook in the front yard, with a bird feeder on the other side. (Which reminds me...today I was noticing I haven't seen any birds for a few days...guess the birds have more sense than I gave them credit for!)

How cute is she?

All kids need a few naked bathtub shots taken in their lifetime. I think this one was tastefully done. These two are super cute together. They really love each other.

Ditto for these two.

My mom took this one the day we picked a bunch of stuff from the garden to make our salsa. Which turned out pretty good again this year. It was awesome to grow all my own salsa ingredients- there is something very satisfying about that. Even though it was a huge mess and kind of a pain. (Don't worry- I didn't include broccoli in the salsa. It was just there.) Still fun to do, especially with my mom there to help. Everything is more fun with her. We also have a plethora of huge pumpkins! Which is amazing to me because I bought the most pathetic looking pumpkin seedling last spring, since it was the only one left, figuring I would be happy if we got one little pumpkin. The pumpkin ended up taking over the entire garden, and so far has produced about 12 basketball sized pumpkins. I learned not to doubt what an underdog is capable of-with a little tenacity, and when presented with the right opportunity, anything is possible!

Too bad I couldn't have her eyesight. Not fair! I tried to get Lasik, but after doing the screening the Dr. warned me to never, ever get this surgery because my corneas are freakishly thin (10% of normal), and I would likely go blind within a few months and need cornea transplants. And contacts are a no-go either because, as luck would have it, my eyes are also freakishly dry. So there you have it-glasses for life. Sure beats the alternative though. I hope our kids get Marshall's eyes and my teeth. Poor M had braces for like 5 years, including rubber bands and...wait for it...headgear! (Sorry honey, but it's too awesome not to share with the world.) Funnier still, we got a box of random stuff of his from his parents before they left on their mission, and they had actually kept the headgear! We had a good laugh with that one! (Love ya, honey. Go ahead and call me four eyes-I deserve it!)

LOL

Cute again. How does she do it?

We are enjoying October a lot. The weather has been so perfect, and we are enjoying that immensely. We go to parks a lot, which both of the kids love. I think Allie must be a teenager trapped in a 16 month old body- she has the attitude and determination and wants to do her own thing. She knows what she wants- I love that quality. But at the same time, she is super sweet, and I can tell she is trying to be obedient and learn her boundaries. She has lots of words she uses, sometimes they aren't pronounced quite right, but we know what she means. My favorite thing she says is "thank you" both when you give her something, and when she wants something. It is super cute- and just TRY to resist giving her what she wants! (Seriously, mom-TRY!!) Drew is ever the sweet older brother. He is kind and gentle, and is learning so much. He is really interested in learning to read, and spelling and stuff. It is amazing to me the questions he asks, and words he can read. He knows all the sounds, and is learning to put them together. I love that he is interested in learning to read early on. And I love that he enjoys school so much. His teacher is awesome, and I can tell he really loves her.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. Nothing life-changing going on around here, but that is just fine with me. Well, one little thing was sort of life changing. This year was my first General Conference with a Tivo. Let me just tell you, folks- this little invention has changed my life! Not to sound like a pathetic TV head, but it was so great being able to pause it and take care of kids, bathroom, snacks, etc. all at our own convenience. I could ffwd over the sustainings (is that bad??) And rewind if I missed something. Pure heaven. Ever tried to watch (and absorb) 8 hours of TV over the span of 2 days with 2 little kids? Not happening! I actually got to hear every single talk this year; I don't think I missed a thing. And that is saying a lot. Don't know how I ever lived without it. Goodbye for now-more later!

Yellowstone

Well, we made it back home in one piece. In a nutshell, my feelings about Yellowstone for a vacation are as follows: #1 It is a LOT of driving- both getting there from where we live, and then, once you get there, still more driving! I think we spent the majority of the weekend just driving from place to place. We spent an entire day driving to get there, had one full day of exploring, then spent the better part of the next day driving home. I guess we should have planned things better. #2 The first buffalo you see there is cool- a novelty. But the novelty quickly wears off as they create large traffic jams, some cars with fascinated tourists taking pictures, others with people like me, annoyed, fighting back the urge to honk or throw something at the reeking beasts. #3 I don't get it...what exactly is so interesting about looking at a thousand different holes with water/steam/poo smelling mud coming out of them? I tried and tried to be appreciative, and in some ways I was, (I get it- nature is beautiful and all) but as I looked around at all the tourists, from all over the world (Japan, England, Germany, etc.) I felt sort of sorry for them and hoped that this wasn't going to be their main destination while here in the U. S. of A. Don't get me wrong- we had plenty of fun... but I guess I'm just not the geologist that I might be. Maybe I need to wear more polar fleece and Birkenstocks, and eat lots of granola, then I will be a better tree hugger. My idea of a vacation still involves sitting by the pool/beach sipping a drink and reading. But, at least now I can check Yellowstone off my "Places to Go" list!

Old Faithful. We got in Thursday evening and had just enough daylight left to enter the park and see something. We decided this would be a good place to start and took our chances that we wouldn't miss the eruption. (It only "goes off" every 90 minutes, on average.) Luck was on our side, it turned out. Just as we got there, the large crowd that had gathered suggested some excitement any minute now. We only had to wait about 10 minutes to see the action. It was neat. I won't use a more exciting word than that to describe it.

The sunset created a cool view at Old Faithful.

This was at Fishing Bridge. And no, you can't fish from fishing bridge. So don't try. It rained on and off on out last day there, but not too severely.

This is one of Marshall's pictures. (You can tell because it actually turned out good.) My picture taking skills leave something to be desired. You can pretty much assume all the landscape pictures, and animal pictures you will see here were taken by the him. Pardon the stereotype, but I think he must be part Japanese.


We took this long hike with all these switchbacks to get to these waterfalls. People were giving us funny looks for dragging our little boy along on such a serious hike. What they don't know is that I carried him much of the way. It was a good workout!

Not taken by me.

This either.

Or this.

Thinks he owns the place!

We saw a lot of this sort of thing while at Yellowstone. It was cute at first, but it got old fast. Especially when people were too scared to pass the stinking beasts, and so they just followed slowly behind them, taking pictures of them dropping ginormous piles of dung on the road.

Daddy and Drew

Thanks to Darren and Cynthia for lending us the baby backpack! We don't know what we would have done without it! Allie loved all the hiking. (Wouldn't you, from her perspective?)

Loop hike around Old Faithful at sunset.

Mr. Bubba Man

As we were first entering the park, we saw a family of elk crossing the river. M went to take a picture, and someone had taken the batteries out of the camera to charge them, without replacing them. Oops. No worries though- it turns out elk are a dime a dozen there at good old Yellerstone!

Yet another waterfall.

The fam.

LOL-this is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. This was our first buffalo sighting, and as per eager tourist usual, we (and when I say we, I mean Marshall) just HAD to snap a picture (after all, this might be the only buffalo we might see...) An argument soon ensued because this was taken out of the window of our moving car, and apparently I was supposed to stop so he could admire this beautiful creature more fully. Alas, the beast's tail is all we have as proof of that first sighting.

Cute Tiny.

She loved being packed around!

So, our trip had come to an end, and it was time to come home. In all, we had seen a bazillion buffalo, and plenty of elk, a few deer, and various birds. But the one animal I really wanted to see in the wild, the more elusive bear, had yet to be seen. We had headed out the south end of the park, and were approaching the Grand Tetons, when we saw this dude off the shoulder of the road, just minding his own business:

A grizzly bear! It wasn't a huge one, maybe even a teenager or something. But still so awesome to see in the wild. Our drive home was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. We drove through Grand Teton National Park, which had the most beautiful views of the lake reflecting the mountains (although I still can't say the word "Tetons" without giggling a little...I admit, I sometimes have the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy.) Then we drove through Jackson Hole, boring and very, very crowded. (Maybe it's only cool if you ski?) Another highlight was getting Marshall to listen to Twilight on tape with me for much of the drive (at least, the parts of the drive where the shrieks coming from the back seat had dulled to a faint roar.) And since Marshall rarely reads this blog, I am going to totally out him here and say that I could tell he was totally getting into it- awesome. Then we kept driving, as the rain picked up a bit, through the winding canyons that led up to Bear Lake. The incredible colors of the changing fall leaves were, (and still are) almost indescribable! The bright flourescent oranges and yellows and reds, contrasted against the bright greens still stubbornly hanging on to their colors just a bit longer- took my breath away. I regret now not having pulled over to take some pictures. That would have been much more pleasant to look at and remember than a buffalo taking a dump on the road. I digress...

We had a good time. Our hotel room was a little private cabin, which was gratefully upgraded to the deluxe model (thanks to my sweet-talking hubby.) It was a very nice little cabin- complete with a kitchenette, tacky rustic decor, a jetted tub, and some weird wolf thing I had to cover with a blanket because it was scaring Drew. Although Allie had a fever of 103 most of the time we were there (thanks, lingering ear infection), and although Drew had a puking migraine the day before we left, we still managed to get out there and enjoy some good old Grizwold family fun!

Babies and Boo-Boos and Bubbas

Summer is winding down. I like it. First, I couldn't wait for it to come, now I am sick of the heat and am happy to see the first signs that fall will soon be upon us. Sadly, one of these signs is that the hummingbirds have stopped coming around. This is a tad depressing, but I know they will faithfully return for their free gift of red nectar late next spring. For now, I will be busy gathering our garden harvest. We have so many tomatoes, I don't know what to do with them! After I make salsa galore, I guess I will bottle them and then give the rest away! Let me know if anyone wants any tomatoes. (Or salsa for that matter!) And our pumpkin plant is some kinda freak on steroids. I was thinking I would be happy with a pumpkin or two, but the thing has taken over our garden and we will likely have dozens! Please come and get one in October if you are ever in the neighborhood.

Bubbas: Another reason I can feel summer coming to an end is that Drew started preschool last week. He absolutely loves it! He comes home telling me all sorts of things he has learned. It sounds like so much fun, I want to go to his school, too! His teacher is awesome; she reminds me a lot of my mom. Maybe that is why he likes school so much.

First day of school. I love the fake smile, awkward posture, and closed eyes. Classic picture!

Some kids cry and cling to their parents at the prospect of leaving. Not this kid! I could barely contain him long enough to take a few crappy pictures before he bolted off to catch the car pool with his friend's mom. I love that he is so independent. And it makes me a teensy bit sad at the same time.

Babies: I have been spending some time down in Cedar City; last week I spent the week there watching my brother's 4 kids (so there were 6 kids in all-wahoo!) and that was quite the dog pile! I love those kids like they were my own, and they are great kids, so we had a good time. I can tell you this much though- I doubt I will ever have more than 1 or 2 more kids. The chaos makes me nuts! But my mom came to help every day, and we made a fun party of it. Here are some awesome 'darndest things said by kids' moments from that week:

On Saturday we were bbqing some hot dogs and stuff, and I was being an awesome aunt and letting the kids have junk food and soda. As I was fixing Drew's plate with a hot dog and macaroni salad and some Cheetos, this is the exchange that took place:

Drew (looking at the plate of food): "Can I have some cooked carrots?"

Me: "No, sorry, baby- all we have are Cheetos. You will just have to eat those."

So he just takes his plate apathetically and goes outside to eat it. My mom and I were in tears laughing. What kid does that? Asks for veggies when handed a plate of artificial, processed junk food? My kid is so funny! I learn a lot from him. Way to go, Bubba!

Here's another funny one, by my 4 year old neice, Hannah. We were in the bathroom getting ready for church and we saw a bug in the bathtub.

Hannah: "Eww, look- a spider in the tub!"

Me: "No, that's not a spider, it's an insect. Spiders have eight legs; that one only has six. Other types of insects are ants, beetles, and potato bugs."

Hannah: "Oh, potato bugs are my favorite! I LOVE potato bugs!"

Me (teasing): "Well if you love them so much, why don't you marry them then?"

Hannah (dead serious, with a thoughtful look): "Well, they're kinda small...and they wouldn't have any clothes!"

I love it! Little kids are so funny sometimes. I love their innocence. What a crack up!

Boo-boos: Last Thursday night my mom came into town and as we were getting her settled in, Drew saw her pillows at the bottom of the stairs and, of course, he jumped six stairs to land on them. Great idea, right? Wrong. His teeth went almost all the way through his bottom lip. Blood started gushing everywhere, splattering all over the wall, carpet, me, etc. Fortunately, after applying some direct pressure, the bleeding didn't last too long. Unfortunately, his little friend happened to be over playing at the time. The look of terror on his face after seeing the carnage was pretty sad. When all was said and done, Drew was fine, although his lip looks like hamburger, and is amazingly swollen. It is getting better every day, but, poor kid!

Allie is doing awesome too. She is walking quite well now, and learning new words every day. It is nice having her start to be able to say what she wants now. I love her little sassy attitude. (She is definitely her mother's daughter...lol) She has a very different personality than her brother. This is challenging because what worked for him is clearly not going to work for her, so I might have to start from scratch here. It's worth it, though! We love our little girl.

We are getting ready for my first trip to Yellowstone ever. We are going the week after next, and I am looking forward to our first vacation in years (and I use the term "vacation" very loosely here; anyone who has ever gone anywhere with kids knows what I mean.) It will be nice to get away for a few days. We are staying in West Yellowstone at a hotel that is actually little individual cabins, so that should be cool. I am open to suggestions as to what to do & see while there. I really don't know that much about Yellowstone, except that it has geysers. And I am not sure what kind of weather to plan for. Anyone who has been there, please feel free to leave comments. Also, is Jackson Hole a worthwhile place to stop and check out? I have never been there either, but I have heard it is kind of touristy...what do you think?

Memory Game

I have been seeing this all over on other people's blogs; I guess it's my turn to play along.

Here are the directions:

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Blogger's Block

I don't know what the deal is, but I seriously feel like I have no desire whatsoever to update this blog. It is not for lack of goings-on, because we have been pretty busy. I don't know, maybe it's lack of notable pictures. It seems like every time I go to take pictures lately, the batteries are dead, or I forget the camera altogether. Ok, ok I admit it! I have been using up my leisure time lately ripping through the Twilight series, so I haven't had much time to blog. (And I know what you are thinking- I'm a total sheep...I know, and I don't care! It's the most fun I have had reading in a long time, so back off. lol) So for lack of time, here is the scoop on the happenings around here this past month (in random order): Went to Cedar City to visit my mom and Rachel & kids, and helped my mom out a little bit with her summer camp, A few weeks ago, my grandpa passed away, my mom's dad. My parents had the opportunity to spend his last moments on this earth with him, before he passed, which was a wonderful experience for them. I love the perspective the gospel gives us, it makes things like death seem like not such a big deal. I know he is now with my grandma and things are as they should be. Also this past month I helped plan and carried out our Primary Activity Day water party thing (I have to admit I'm glad to have that over with- sorry kiddos) I am still trying to prepare my Easy Dinners Enrichment night for this week, Drew had swimming lessons for two weeks straight, that was kind of a pain but most of the time Drew enjoyed it, tried to keep on top of gardening (I have zucchini and squash coming out of my ears, people! If I have to incorporate zucchini into one more recipe, so help me...! But I do have to admit, the zucchini bread's not so bad.) And, we finally have some tomatoes ready to eat. Normally I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but garden tomatoes are a whole other thing! (I have this weird compulsion to eat them the way my dad always did- with mayonnaise and salt and pepper. I know, it is so disgusting, but for some reason I gotta!) Hmm, what else...? Allie is walking a lot more these days, still a bit wobbly, but she is making progress every day. Drew- you guessed it...still playing trains. (But only when he's not outside riding his awesome bike!)

Well, that's all I could come up with for now. Now that I think of it, maybe I am better off saying nothing than rambling on about random stuff. Oh well- take it or leave it! Here are some recent pictures I managed to get- enjoy them.

Very cute- even if I do say so myself (dress compliments of Auntie Mel Smith.)

I love that both of my kids have farmer's tans- it's so awesome!

I wanted a picture of the flowers in the front, but oh well (they look prettier up close.)

Family Update

I have totally been a blog slacker lately, sometimes it just takes me forever to do a recent post so it gets put off. Here is a bit of what our family has been up to lately:

Allie: 13 months old- not quite walking on her own yet, but seems to be getting closer as we practice with her. She will walk holding someones hand, but quickly sits down as soon as we let go of her hand. She loves to climb up on stuff though; I frequently find her sitting on top of our "coffee table" (train table). She is starting to talk more and more, first word was "hi" and loves to wave at random people, and seems to make friends everywhere we frequent (gas station, gym, library, etc.) She's a popular kid and the girls that work at the gym day care fight over her every time we go. I love that. Other words she says are "dog" (she is beside herself with excitement every time she sees one ("gog! gog! gog!") another word she likes is "milk," (which sometimes sounds like "mo") "uh-oh" (funny that they learn that one, I don't think I ever say that.) Of course, she loves saying Bubba, mama, dada, etc.

She loves being Drew's shadow and doing all the stuff he does/messing up his stuff (isn't this what siblings are for?) She loves to climb up the stairs, but is too scared to come back down and will sit at the top of the stairs and yell at me until I come and get her. As is the case with most, if not all, kids her age, she loves getting into things and making messes! As a result, I have had to make some adjustments to my home decor. Things will have to be a bit bare for a while. She sometimes likes to follow me around and try to cling while I am busy (we call her a Klingon [sp?] when she does this) and has a lot more attitude than Drew ever did. (Is this a girl thing, or a personality thing?) She likes to tell it just like it is...(might sound familiar to those of you who know her mother...)

We love her "mad scientist" hair, that is so strongly reminiscent of her brother's when he was this age (the wispy remnants of baby hair that are trying to grow out into real hair but really just flip and curl randomly around the base of her head.) We love our little girl so much. It is such a joy to have her around, and to watch her grow.

Drew: 3 1/2 years old now. Still loving those trains. Wants someone to "play trains with me!!!" all the time. This gets wearying since I can't stand playing trains, (please don't tell him I said that...!) and even when I relent and do it, it is never for long enough "Hey- you are supposed to be playing trains with me...!" (as I try to sneak away after 15 minutes or so of playing.) Also loves, loves, loves his best friend next door, Ethan. The two are practically inseparable. He is also at that age where I am not sure how much supervision he really needs; he wants to go outside and play with the other kids all day, but I hardly have the time to sit around watching him, so I have to let him go off on his own. This is hard! I am stuck somewhere between worry and guilt, worried that something might happen to him and guilty for doing my own thing while he is off doing who-knows-what. Letting go is hard sometimes! (Truth be told, mostly it's the other kids that worry me. Let's just say that some of the kids around here don't have the keenest judgement sometimes.) But I suppose it only gets that much worse as they get older and the trouble potential exponentiates... He also loves books; he loves to read and be read to. I love this. I try to plan weekly trips to the library to expose him to as many books as possible, and we try to read to the kids as much as we can. He knows the alphabet very well, and knows what sounds most of the letters make. We work on spelling a bit while he is in the tub (stick on letters) and he can spell a few things. He can count to 100 with a little bit of help here and there, and is excited to start preschool in the fall. He can ride his big boy bike very well (with training wheels) and loves zipping all around the cul-de-sac and riding to church each week. Still has the ongoing love affair with his "cat," the (now quite ratty and stained) stuffed BYU cougar Nana gave him for his birthday a few years ago, and he tries to take it everywhere with him. Let us not forget, the cat's companion, the "B." (baby blanket- also a gift from Nana) I have offered to wash both items many times, but such offers are usually declined. Funny boy. He loves to play hide and seek, it is hilarious looking for him as he is stifling a giggle from his hiding place. He is starting to get some freckles across the bridge of his nose, but curiously enough, he doesn't burn easily- he tans (which is kinda unusual for a redhead, I think.) Both Drew and Allie are sporting some awesome farmer tans this summer. It is adorable.


Marshall: Still working as a controller at Exevision. (I still don't really understand what the company does, so don't ask me!) As for what a controller is exactly, I don't really understand 100% either, but basically he handles their money.) Last year, he was able to hire a full-time assistant, so things have gone much more smoothly for him since then. He seems happy with his job, and a smaller company seems to suit him much better than the huge firm he was working for in NYC. He is also getting adjusted to his new calling in the ward as EQP. In my opinion, this calling has been such a relief from his last one with the YM, and he has much more free time these days, which has been so nice for our family. He goes to play b-ball some weekday mornings with some "old men" as I like to call them, (in reality I think they are in their 40's or something; I'm sure they would love it so much if they heard me call them that.) And of course he plays ball with the EQ each week. He loves his children so much and I am always in such awe at the time and attention he gives them each day. I am so grateful for his hands-on approach at parenting, playing with them and reading, singing, wrestling, etc. with them every night after work, even when I know he is dead tired and when he could instead be zoning out in front of the TV. My children will always grow up knowing that their father loved and cherished them. I appreciate this so much more that I think he even knows.


Check out our garden these days! The other day I pulled out some zucchinis the size of my forearm! I didn't even bother to go look to see if we had anything started, and much to my surprise, there they were! We ate them for dinner that night, they were great. I have a feeling there will be much zucchini bread around here in the near future. Anybody know any other good recipes for zucchini?


Krista: Has been keeping busy running the show. Have been enjoying the outdoors as much as possible this summer, and have tried to find ways to do things with the kids outside where I can. We take a picnic to the library weekly to watch a puppet show/storyteller outdoors and then venture in to get some new books. I have been busy trying to take care of the house and yard, trying to keep everything alive. The garden is doing great (see picture), and the lawn is surviving somehow. (Never buy a house without automatic sprinklers! What a pain.) I have gotten back into my reading groove (took a few months off due to hecticity) but this week finished Harry Potter #6 and now am almost halfway through the last one, #7. (It is hard to be a reader with 2 small children! I need total quiet and that isn't easy to come by around here!) But it's a treat when I do get to read. My next read will be the Twilight vampire books (I'm a sheep, I know- who cares? My mom is reading them, so I have to too, then!) I am still going to the gym most days, which I really enjoy as me time (plus I get to watch TV, total bonus there!) I am getting adjusted to my new calling as the Primary Secretary (who knew how much crap they do behind the scenes? I had no idea.) It is really time consuming, but I feel like I am suited to the job and am slowly adjusting and figuring things out. Oh- and I finally went and got the blond back in my hair again- and...exhale. I feel like the blond suits me so much better. Sad that my natural color makes me look (in my opinion) ill. I spent the last 9 months with the brown, but I think I will probably be blond and short from now own. Much easier for me. Hey, it's like I always say, some people are born blond, and some people are born to be blond...

Things are good. Getting ready to travel down to Cedar City next week to visit my family, which we are really excited for. I miss my family and haven't seen much of them this summer. Goodbye for now!

Lately

We have been loving our back patio these last few weeks, since the weather has been so warm. I think we have cooked-out most days of the week! I love the summertime so much.

My flowerpots on my back patio.

Our garden is doing so awesome! Especially considering that neither M nor I have ever gardened before. Things are actually growing...fancy that! We planted onions, corn, 5 kinds of tomatoes, 5 kinds of peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, cilantro, broccoli, and, of course, some pumpkins. If all goes as planned, I am hoping to bottle lots of salsa this year!

Our first official veggie- a solo green pepper!

This is right outside the window in front of our kitchen table- we love to sit at dinner and watch the hummingbirds whiz around.

This is cute but I wish I would have moved that watering can so it doesn't look like it's attached to her. (Not much of a photog, am I?)

Mosquitoes! I sprayed her legs and arms really well with repellant, and we went outside for just a few minutes. Apparently it was a few minutes too long, because they nailed her right between the eyes and in the middle of her forehead. So sad! I absolutely HATE mosquitoes. Guess I better spray the front yard, too. Poor little thing.

Drew now has a new sidekick, whether he likes it or not. Actually, he is really sweet and patient with her, and is very kind and loving to her. They have fun playing together. She is still trying to learn that train tracks are not for ripping apart and throwing across the table. Drew is having to learn patience on that one.

At any given moment at our house, this is what you will likely find Drew doing.

If Bubba ever tells me “hates me,” or that I am the meanest mom ever, or anything like that- I am going to show him this picture! (My mom swears I once said that to her- what a brat I was!) Eating cake batter out of the bowl with a spoon? I’m pretty sure I am the COOLEST mom ever!! (At least I was for a day. Here's proof.)

Ditto!

Shameless self-portrait!