To Entertain You While We're Gone...

This needs no introduction.

We're Off!

Laundry,

Packing,

Laundry,

Laundry.

We're leaving today for Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons!

The highs there will be HALF of what they've been here. 115 degrees to 61 degrees.

I can't wait! Bring on the chill!

So You Think You Can Flamenco

Did you all see the results show last night on "So You Think You Can Dance?" You know the Flamenco Dancer (Waxed chest, squinty eyes)? And did you notice his little back-up group? There was a singer and a guitar player. The flamenco singer started his call, and I immediately recognized his voice! It was Jesus Montoya, and he sang with us in Ainadamar! I totally knew that guy! He winked at me onstage every night. And now he is singing on "So You Think You Can Dance" with Cat and Nigel. I feel like I was vicariously there on the stage with him. This might be the closest I ever get to reality television. I'M PRACTICALLY FAMOUS!!

P.S. My synopsis of the show: Gev and Courtney were robbed of some good remarks (what? they didn't feel it? Are they made of bricks?), Twitchington's dance was so gorgeous I watched it like 6 times in a row, and Nigel was completely out of control all night long.

Brown Socks (subtitle: Why I Love My Dad)

I asked what he wanted for Father's Day, and that's what he said: "Brown Socks."

That's so you! Simple, efficient, useful, not flashy, ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. Brown Socks.

So, Brown Socks it is!

I love you, Dad!

Breakfast in Bed - Whose Bright Idea was this?

Father's Day.

Sleeping in.

Snuggling with kids.

Eli wants to make his Daddy some scrambled eggs and serve it in bed.

I help him crack and scramble some eggs, and we put it on a plate.

We enter the room, exclaiming: "Happy Father's D --"

Lizzie whips around, and as we're saying "day," the heel of her foot lands precisely in the middle of the plate of eggs. The eggs fly everywhere.

Eli starts crying.

Lizzie starts crying.

Adam says he doesn't mind a little heel in his eggs, they're just fine.

I'm picking up creamy scrambled eggs from the carpet, thinking, who started this tradition anyway?! I mean, we don't let our kids eat anywhere in the house except the kitchen and sometimes the living room for movie nights, and now because of the American stigma ideal that our children have already embraced, we have scrambled eggs in the bed. And I remembered that on Mother's day, food ended up in the bed as well.

I'm putting my foot down - just like Lizzie did into the eggs. No more Breakfast in bed!

Hidden Secrets Revealed, Thanks to Kim

Kim has challenged me to answer this tag, and I'm just warning you, it might get ugly. We all know that you could look behind Kim's refrigerator and it would most likely be freshly swept and mopped, but I am a different story. So, gulp, here goes:

What are my kids doing right now:

Duh! Sleeping! How do you think I'm able to blog here, people. Actually, Eli was totally faking. When I snuck into his room, he was loudly humming "Take me out to the Ball Game."


What's in my sink:

This is really embarassing. I'm not kidding, a matter of hours ago, the disposal clogged. Which it has a tendancy to do. It's not a bad disposal, it's just a bit sensitive, like don't even think of trying to grind up atrocities like potato peels or cucumber peels. You know, why don't we just leave any kind of peeling out of it altogether. And, of course, we wouldn't dream of trying to put rice or small pasta down there either. This time, I think it was a leaf of lettuce. It must have been a big, meaty thick piece of lettuce. You know the kind. I think. Anyway, this is my clogged sink that I don't have the energy to fix tonight. Adam will be home in an hour or so from the campout so....Happy Father's Day?? :)

What's in my closet:

Hey, don't judge me. I'm just happy that the clothes are on hangers, hanging in my closet. I'm not the type that organizes by size, color, length, frequency, season - it's more eclectic that way! I am quite proud of my jewelry holder, though, I must say. Adam had an extra tie rack that he wasn't using, so I turned it into my necklace and bracelet organizer, and it's hanging right in my closet with my clothes. It works great!


What's in my pantry?
Flour, granola, cheez-its, canned food...I love this pantry! You can get SO much in it.

What's in my fridge?

Well, I certainly don't need to go to Costco this week! We've got a mango smoothie, pudding cups, and party leftovers: I made a big Frog Eye Salad yesterday for our RS Swim party that I hosted, and I also have a green beans and fresh garden tomato salad in that pretty Mexican bowl.

What's in my laundry room:

Uh, the washer and dryer? Not much excitement here - let's move on.
Favorite room in my house:

This is where the magic happens, people! When my family comes to visit, this is where we gather. When we have a Music Night, this is where it happens. This is where I've been preparing the repetoire for the Children's Choir this week (I'm so excited about the music we'll be singing!) And teaching my kids piano is really one of my favorite things to do. This afternoon, in fact, I spent probably two hours with Lizzie and Eli, and then we sang Primary songs together. This is where all our FHE's start. Basically, most of our family's favorite memories take place here. If I'm getting a little too MoMo for you, refer back to my sink. And closet.

Okay, Favorite pair of shoes:
This was harder than I thought it would be. You see, as I went through my (unorganized) closet, I saw some old friends. Yes, I took a walk down memory lane when I saw this pair of shoes:

I love these shoes! I wore them at my wedding reception. Yes, they have 4 inch heels, and yes, I was standing in a receiving line for hours, but I was determined to not take them off - that's how committed I was to these shoes. And if I took them off, it would totally mess up the look of the front of my wedding dress, so... it was a no brainer.

These days, I would say that these shoes are my fave. I'm figuring out that I have a thing for heels. Hmm, I think I'll wear them tomorrow. I also love these. They're so green! I have frequently planned entire outfits around these shoes.

Well, enough about me, how about you?! Open your closets, and let's see some skeletons, everyone!

"I Sweat for the T.Q."

...is what I'm putting on a bumber sticker to go on the car I've been driving this week.

You see, Adam took the Teacher's Quorum on a High Adventure Scouting trip this week. They're camping, rock climbing, canyoneering, shotgun shooting, and wakeboarding. And they took the van to carry all their gear and food. Which means that I am driving Adam's car, which is fine except that there is no A/C! It makes me wax poetic...

I feel your pain, honey, now I really do!
But I promise it's okay, because I love the T.Q.!
A few layers of sweat and a hot ruddy face
-We'll just chalk it up to my care and my grace.

The scouts need you more, so I'll gladly share
You and our van, though I can't say it's fair.
You're not gone for too long, and it's really not far,
So which do I miss more: Adam or my car??

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know

Our piano had surgery performed this past week! There was a crack in the bridge (occurs when a piano is moved from dry to humid climates and back!), and it was making all the strings go out of tune. Tuning it would make the crack bigger, so we needed to fix the crack, and then tune it. All the strings had to come off and then get put back on. It took two days and several hours, oh, and plenty of dinero.

As soon as Mr. Pixley took the lid off the piano, Eli was right by his side, peering inside and the questions started firing off: "What are you doing?" "What's that?" "How does that work?" "What is that thing connected to?" "What happens if I push this?"

Try as I might, Eli wouldn't keep away from the poor man. I'd bring him over with me, and he'd slip away and go back to the piano. I think he finds the inside of the piano more interesting than the outside!

Mr. Pixley was so so nice, and said that as long as Eli was quiet, he was welcome to watch, and he promised he'd answer all his questions at the end. Well, you know how hard it is for that kid to be quiet! But he managed, and finally, Mr. Pixley was finished. He was so patient and kind and explained all the intricate workings of the piano to Eli. Eli loved it.

If Mr. Pixley wants an apprentice someday, he's got my number.

Summer is Here!?*%$

You know how I can tell?

a. My dishes are hard to keep up with because we are all eating at home alot more.

b. We've exhausted our supply of Otter Pops...already!

c. I don't have even a handful of minutes to myself during the days, which means I end up staying up later at night after the three hoodlums are sleeping to enjoy kid-free time.

d. Going to my gym that has free babysitting for 2 hours is not considered a "work-out" now, it's considered a "luxury" I wouldn't dare miss. Prepaid babysitting?! A shower in peace? Why wouldn't I go?!

e. Lizzie's Gymnastics schedule is now not considered a burden - we all actually look forward to it as something to get us out of the house, keeping Lizzie active several hours a day, which we all know is good for everyone - it helps divide up the day, and actually helps her to sleep better at night.

f. Lizzie loves doing projects and in the summertime, she has the time and energy to CREATE!!! Last week, she wrote and copied a "newspaper" that she and her friends distributed to the neighborhood. It was really cute:


g. The library has risen up several notches of priority in my life: How could I not feel a special affinity for an institution that has a free program, with free prizes as they progress, keeping my children excited about doing a quiet, self-entertaining activity? I love you, Chandler Public Library!

h. And finally, you know it's summer when you see my kids' outfits because I don't censor clothes during the summertime: Lizzie wore a black baseball hat, black shirt, black knee-length peasant skirt and black soccer knee-highs, with the finishing touch of black wristbands on her arms last week. Today, Eli is wearing his "I LOVE NY" t-shirt with Elephant pajama bottoms and flip-flops. We have no shame.

It's summmertime.

She takes the plunge!

Ivy is starting swimming lessons at none other than Evo Swim School, expertly run by our friends the Taits! This will be Ivy's first experience, other than nursery, of cutting those proverbial apron strings. It will be so good for her! And since she loves to be in the water, this will be perfect.

Eli took alot of pride in comforting her younger, inexperienced sister. And Lizzie was just jealous of both of them!




This will be good for all of them!

I will really miss her.

Our dear family friend, Julie, passed away last Sunday. It was a sad death, and not expected.

I will miss her "Nan's Incredible Crunch" - the best toffee in the world. She taught me to make caramel when I was in high school, and that has become a Christmas tradition for me.

Thanks to Julie's generosity to me when we were starting our home, I look around and I see so many reminders of her. I'm honored to have them. She always had the best taste, and these things were exactly her.





We will all miss her.

This is a little corny...

Ah, shucks! Lend me your ears, we have been stalking you for a long time to tell you that we grew our own corn and ate it! Even the colonel wouldn't disapprove of this! Afterwards, our voices got a little husky, so we had walked down the cobble street road to get a drink.

heh, heh.

Rapunzel,

Rapunzel,

Where did you get that hair??

Matt the Rapper

My bro Matt is graduating from Brighton high school tomorrow!!!!

Do you think he should be a "Rap" major in college?

Hmmmm.