We be JAMMIN

I think she's proved she needs her own apron!

My little bowl licker!

WANT SOME???

Giving Me "The Look" Back

I LOVE YOU LAUREN!!!

Memorial Weekend

Last year we froze our buns off camping, this year we were smart and stayed home and relaxed.

We actually had a lovely day Saturday at a park in the close by town of Parker. VERY white suburbia! Kind of freaky, kind of nice! I saw a person laying under a big tree covered by a blanket and told Ryan, "wow, I haven't seen a homeless person sleeping in a park in forever. You never see that here!" Yeah upon closer examination it was just a dad taking a nap with his kid. I am so jaded that I immediately assume someone laying down in the park is homeless.

We walked all around, feeling very "green" that we chose to walk instead of drive to the places we wanted to go. We were the only people walking! Come on America, how high does gas have to go before you change your habits? They said there were more cars on the highways this Memorial weekend than last year? HUH???? I really need to plant a money tree in my backyard b/c it feels like everyone else seems to have one!

We had hamburgers/ hotdogs three days in a row, wish I felt worse about that but I don't.

Monday we took a quick trip to the pool. I got an awesome burn that itched and didn't hurt, so I think it will turn tan rather nicely- YAHOO! I NEEDED to even out my farmer's tan look.

Today it is raining and I am really loving it. The storm came in around 12:30 just as Kristen and I were going to Costco- (Oh mama love that place- so glad I don't have a membership b/c I just put things in my cart like I'm at the dollar store!) I really like driving in the rain. Once we got home the thunder and lightening started and I really love that! Its dark like its dusk so I am ready to go to bed, it gives me such a cozy feeling. Really though I have to go make jam with all the strawberries I picked up!

What Happens In Vegas...

.....is read about on my blog.

So me and the girls broke my rule about never traveling without Ryan and took a trip to Vegas. I know I know we were JUST THERE!!! But heck Southwest had tickets for 25 bucks and I couldn't pass up that deal!

It was super great time! I had prepared to be swimming the whole time, but not only were the pools not open yet, but it was crazy nice there- high 80's! HUH?? That devil town is taunting me to move back!

So some recaps were- church with Michelle and Avry. The girls were loving being together and are just sooo adorable. I don't think I have ever seen two little girls be such best friends so early on. Avry gave a wonderful talk in Primary, we were very impressed!!!! In trying to keep Lauren quiet long enough for people to take their sacrament in peace I asked her a thought provoking question. "Lauren where's Jesus?" After much pondering over such a philosophical inquiry she held her hands up and said, " I ont oh". [Interpretation: "I don't know"] Being the first time she's ever said that then had me disrupting the sacrament with giggles. I love that baby so much! She's a crack up!

Monday we hung out some more with Michelle and Avry and Michelle's sister and her girls. We had fun watching the girls go on rides and play games. It was really cute to see the next generation coming up with all their little siblings. Poor babes mostly just had to watch the big girls having fun- they were sooo good though! Going down the big slide was fun for EVERYONE! Lauren loves slides, so she was happy. Julia was so big there, doing the roller coaster and driving her own mini go-kart! h my gosh it was hilarious! She's never driven anything before and can barely maneuver her tricycle, so this was going to be good. She would gun it and crash and the guy would come straighten her out, then repeat. Finally the guy just jogged next to her around the track. She was sooo funny and cute!

The rest of the time we spent with my family. The girls have so much fun with my mom and brothers. We got a family picture done for my mom for Mother's Day and they turned out really nice. YAY!

Mom watched the girls while I got a little time in the sun and then had dinner with Holly. WOOHOO!!! That was the BEST! I love eating and I feel like thats all I did! Fuji, GOLDEN SPOON ( I can not live with out! I went three times!), TI, In N Out, Lucille's. Oh mama it was heaven!

So the down side is we missed Ryan like crazy, but we're back and getting back to business. I was called to 1st Counselor in the YW while I was gone, so I feel like I need to catch up on that and take off, I am really really excited about it. We are actually doing our family summer vacation right away next week so Ryan can see his best friend in Missouri before he leaves for his second tour in Iraq. We get to stop in Nauvoo which we are soooo pumped about! I have always wanted to go there. We'll be there for our 7 year anniversary so that will be nice. SEVEN YEARS????? HOLY COW!

Then we're stopping in to see my Grandpa and Aunt and friends in northern Illinois! A lot of fun coming up- especially with Lauren in the car for all that time- FUN FUN FUN!!!!!

I have always loved reading the "funnies"

Dick Morris [a political commentator], looked at the four leading GOP presidential contenders in 2008 -- John McCain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani -- and noted, "The only one of these guys who hasn't had multiple wives is the Mormon."



Now some gems from Jules on our walk yesterday:

"It smells like elephants mom".
"I know Jules, its the manure....they put cow poop, manure, on the grass to help it grow".
"COW POOP?????"
"Yeah, see here (pointing to clump)".
"How did they get all the cows here?"


ME: "Julia you have to walk faster, Lauren is going to loose it soon."
Julia: " You sound like dad."




Walking toward a teenage "couple", lip locked and the boy had no shirt on- (FABULOUS!)

Julia: "GROOOOOOSSSSS!" (within hearing range of the inconsiderate self absorbed horny little freaks that can't stop or move out of the way when me and my double stroller get close!)
"He's naughty mom, he doesn't have his clothes on."
ME: "I know Julia, thats why boys are NAUGHTY!"

Have a great day!

Game On

Special guest editor: Ryan

Lauren Grace and I went on our first daddy-daughter date last Friday. We took the train to Coors Field to watch Barry Bonds and the Giants take on the Rockies.

I have come to the conclusion that I am a closet train lover. Every Sunday I wake the girls up early so I have an excuse to turn on Thomas and Friends. I have daydreams of hopping onto a freight train and riding it into the sunset. And I love taking the light rail downtown.

I don't think my girls love trains like I do. When Julia and I saw the Nuggets a few months back we took the light rail. She didn't go crazy when we boarded the train (like I did). Same with Lauren. It was as if she was saying, "Yea, this is a train. Wow. Can you sense my excitement. Yawn. Sigh."

But she had a good time. Everyone on the train thought she was so cute, which made me a little mad because no one said anything about me and my cool Rockies hat and t-shirt.

We arrived at the field at 8. The game started at 7:05, but no big deal, baseball games are slow, right? Well, it was already the 6th inning! What? "Come on Lauren, we have to get in!" I told her as she finished paying for the tickets. We ran up the Rocky-esque staircase and onto the field's concourse level. I ran because I didn't want to miss a Barry Bonds home run, which is the real reason I wanted to go to the game. I wanted Lauren to be able to tell her future husband that her daddy took her to see Barry Bonds the year he broke the home run record. I also want her to be able to say that her daddy has seen a psychologist about his train fetish, and that now he's a normal, functioning member of society again.

We did get there just in time to see a home run, but it was hit by Todd Helton. It was great.

Lauren, being the cheap kid she is, bought us tickets in the nosebleed section. Before we began our ascent I asked one of the ushers if we could just sit in the lower level. I saw some open seats and figured since it was the 6th inning it wouldn't be a big deal. I was told "no." I am not ashamed to admit that I cried right then and there. We jumped onto the escalator and away we went, to sit with our people: the poor folks. No offense poor people, but you and I both know that we don't get the best seats at sporting events.

Before we left the house Chanel told me to bring some baby meat sticks for Lauren. You know, the Gerber meat sticks that come in a little glass jar. The kind that are impossible to get out of the jar without mincing every last stick with your fingers as you try to yank out one of the tasty treats. I get so frustrated every time I try to eat...I mean, I try to help Lauren eat the meatsicles because I CAN'T GET THEM OUT OF THE DANG JAR!!! That night was no exception. I tried to get her to eat the meat stick salsa, which is what it looked like by the time I was done with it. At first she refused, but then she decided to eat it because she was extremely hungry.

We lasted until the seventh inning stretch. Yes, that's approximately 1 inning. And me being alone with a 17-month-old, I thought that was an amazing accomplishment. We went back to the light rail platform to wait for a train. A man came by after a few minutes with a little boy in a stroller. The boy, and I kid you not, was wearing a catcher's mask. That's weird. Anyway, Lauren was walking near the tracks when the guardian of mask boy stopped her from falling. Or at least that's what he thought he was doing. She was fine. As if I'm going to let my little angel fall, right? So I walked up and said, "I got her." Boom. Told him. And then about a minute later Lauren fell. And cried. I wondered how much that mask was and where it was purchased.

Lauren cried for a good portion of the train ride back. We were packed like meat sticks in a Gerber jar, so I think she was uncomfortable. Once were were able to sit down she calmed down.

We had a wonderful time. I love my girls and I am so thankful that they are young enough to be brainwashed into thinking that going to a baseball game on a train with their dad is super cool.

I hope they remember our dates with fondness, and not anger at what could have been.

What Made Mother's Day Extra Special?

A BBQ with our most awesome friends!!!

GOOD TIMES

plundering and planting

Im on the Mormon Meth- Diet Coke. Seriously it juices me up like CRAZY! I had a negative pg test and a 2 dollar coupon so I bought the new Diet Coke Plus (its healthy right???) and drank two while watching The Office. Oh man I was on fire. I obviously couldn't sleep so after cleaning the whole house, reading the Ensign, balancing my checkbook (does 'balanced' count if you're negative?), and blog reading til my eyes crossed I knew the one thing that was left to do.....

cut my neighbors lilac bush and get me some lilacs for my house! Oh yeah baby, under the cloak of darkness (it being 2:30am) I quietly opened my squeaky front doors and creeped across the street marveling at the dead silence of the night. With my trusty kitchen scissors in hand I snipped off a couple blossoms and hurried back home. The fruits of my plundering paid off as I woke 4 hours later to the most wonderful scent! Julia asked where they came from and I innocently told her I cut them from a bush. A few minutes later she said, "I wish I was a Mommy and could cut flowers". Another FINE example I have set for my impressionable daughter. Really though its not a big deal, technically those bushes might not even belong to my neighbor.

So today I thought I'd instill some better values and we Home Depoted it for some gardening supplies. We're soooooo excited. I got three tomato plants, a pea plant, a strawberry plant (if only one thing grows let it be the strawberries!!!!!!!), and some green pepper seeds and cucumber seeds. I previously planted some flowers and threw some more flower seeds in today. Yeah I have NO idea what I am doing! Dumb luck is always the best luck right? I thought we needed more space so we ripped out some land where rocks were and extended our little planting area. I think it looks BEAUTIFUL! What a happy mother's day project.

Plus Ryan is putting up a fence for Ms. Moby- yahooo! No more poopy grass!

PS I think it is HILARIOUS that we got Veggie Tale seeds!

Mama's Day Is A Comin!

I LOVE being a mom!
***Flowers picked for me from Julia. LOVE YA KIDDO!!! THANKS!!!!
With Mother's Day around the corner, I sure haven't read too many blogs about what's up. Strange, since like every blogger I know is a mama, hot mamas at that!
I have been really excited about this Mother's Day, no particular reason, just seems like its going to be fun. Julia is a Sunbeam which means she'll be singin at church which I am way excited about, except the song they're going to sing rings a little too close to home and I have found myself more than once wondering if this ward is mocking me. The song is "Mother, Tell Me the Story" and the last line always says, and then I'll go to sleep. So does the whole ward know I live for nap/bed time? Is it so wrong, that I cry over their sweet sleeping bodies? That I love them beyond belief when they are incapacitated. I mean I love them when they are awake and running around and saying the funniest things, (like "Dad you smell like an elephant" when we rode past some manure), but seriously when they are unconscious they are pure angels. The more I think about it, that song just bugs, as if bargaining the entire day to get them to do what I want isn't enough, they have leverage at bed time too? Its the truth though right?
Julia's verse: "Tell me story, rock me, sing me a song, no just 5 songs, bring me some cheese, I need more water please, and then I'll go to sleep".
Second verse is Lauren's " Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom. Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom. whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. mom mom mom mom mom. And then I might sleep three hours straight."
But like I said I'm looking forward to "my" day. It is something so special to be a mom. It is not something granted to all women, its not an inherent right as it might seem, it is truly something to be cherished and I honestly, with all that I am and feel, am grateful to be a mom.

Is this what Heaven is like?

I have been so in love with life here lately. Spring is something to behold in Colorado! Tulips are everywhere, lilac bushes are perfuming the neighborhoods, the air is so fresh and sky so crystal clear blue, it is really heaven. Last night Ryan had Scouts at a park further from our house, after feeding Lauren I put her on the back of my bike and we rode down there. It was such an incredible ride! There is this strip of land that has a sidewalk through it, it is was all grassy and no one else was there, so peaceful. I told Lauren, "you're so lucky to be growing up here!" I was in flip flops, jean shorts, and a sweatshirt and it was dusk, honestly so ideal.
My new favorite thing is to ride bikes with the girls in the seats on back. Why didn't we do it last year??? It is the best!
And the above mentioned lilac bushes are also my all time favorite! They smell like my childhood. Smell is probably one of my favorite senses, next to sight, TASTE, touch, and hearing. I love smelling things that bring me back to my childhood. The chapel on Viking, across from Chaparral, always smells like church to me. The chapel here kind of smelled that way to me when we moved here- nice.

Garage Sale!

Lemonade- $.25

Blueberry Muffin- $.25

This cute picture- Priceless

And Father Of The Year Goes To.....

RYAN!
Last night he watched the girls while I worked out, and what do I come home to????
HOMEMADE OATMEAL COOKIES!!!! I couldn't believe it! The man looked up a recipe online, made them with the girls, and they were BETTER than mine! He is incredible! I LOVE YOU RYAN!!!! And I love Julia b/c she added chocolate chips to the recipe even though it didn't call for them- THAT'S MY GIRL!!!!!!

For those of you wondering who my favorite Mormon is, let me just say hands down, the black lady on the PBS documentary last night. In a nutshell she explained our religion's beginnings as "a white boy, some dead angel, and gold plates". Does it get any better than that? Seriously Ryan and I want to be in her ward!
We really liked the documentary. If you click on "join the discussion" on the website there are some really good comments.
Also on one of my favorite blogs there is a talk she gave in church on The Parable Of The Talents, if you have time and want some great spiritual insight read on.