for the second time this week! :) So, I am totally not an impulse shopper, but when we went downtown this afternoon I stopped in Idaho Mountain Trading to get a lid for Cody's Nalgene bottle (they melt in the dishwasher by the way) and I happened to come upon these Crocs. My girls have Crocs and while I think they look cute in them, they're not really me. I do love thongs of any kind and I slipped these on just for fun, oh wow, I had to leave with them. I seem to spend a lot of time on my feet and they are so cushy. Plus, I love blue and brown together. Oh, where have they been the first half of my summer? Already worth every dollar!
I'm in love...
meet Eliza Jane and John...
Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong era? Lauren and Chloe are obsessed with all things pioneer. Nearly everyday at some point I hear, "Mom, let's pretend we're pioneers." And it starts... We've been reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. I read them many years ago, and it has been fun to revisit them. L & C love hearing about the adventures of kids long ago. We're on the second book Farmer Boy, Eliza Jane is one of Almanzo's sisters. What really had me laughing was them calling Noah Almanzo. I'm not sure where John comes from, but Lauren is always wearing her overalls as costume for the boy. This is Chloe's pioneer doll Bonnie, who was born in Chesterfield :) Last night they wouldn't talk at the dinner table because they learned children long ago were seen and not heard, so funny. Such good imaginations. A few days ago Chloe asked me who the pioneers pretended to be. Or how about, "Mom, did pioneers eat pasta?" Good questions, any ideas!? Apparently, my pioneer knowledge is lacking!
this takes me back....
Happy Anniversary to Cody and I. How fast have eight years gone by!? Amazing, it seems so quick and yet seems like we've always been a part of each other's lives. We get a kick out of reading in my journal how I used to write that he was a fun guy to date, but couldn't imagine myself spending eternity with him. Those were almost my exact words. Well, let me just say I sure hope I'm spending eternity with him, he's my one, my only, I love him even more than I did that hot day at the Logan temple. Happy Anniversary baby!
the only remedy for 90 degrees....
Oh yeah, the slip and slide. Our yard has this perfect little dip in the backyard and I have to admit, when we first even looked at this house I was envisioning a slip and slide heading down that little slope rather than checking out the foundation and all that important stuff. Lauren and Chloe struggled a bit last summer getting onto their bellies, but what a difference a year makes I guess. They hit it running and sail down fast every time. So until it cools down a little we're slippin' and slidin' for our third day in a row! Happy first day of summer!
a few somewhat related thoughts...
I don't think I'm a person who lives in the past, but my memory is sure taken back by smells, old Bon Jovi songs, and today- recipes. I'm bringing Chocolate Revel Bars to a R.S. potluck tonight. They always remind me of my mom, I don't even remember her making them a lot, but I do think she likes them. Browsing through the cookie section were the Chocolate Crinkles I made for our wedding, then Cream Puffs. In college, Julia, an awesome Russian pianist used to bring them every Friday to our Piano Lit class. I don't know how she found the time, and we used to ask her just that, and always her reply was-"you have to take time for those things that you love." What a sweet lady. It's funny how routine works too, it seemed like I would be eating cream puffs every Friday at 1 p.m. for the rest of my life after doing it for four years. Now today, of course the routines have changed, 1 p.m. is now cleaning up the messy lunch dishes. Noah's routine is in mid-change right now. He can sometimes make it to the end of the day with one nap, and boy is he tired then. But other days it's just too long and he zonks out at the worst time-dinner (see above:) Then he's up entertaining us until about 10:30 or so. So, I guess I have to enjoy the good parts of my routine because it seems they change so fast!
lazy afternoons...
Ahh, I love this picture. It is so fun to see my Dad with Noah, while I know he loves my girls, I think this little man holds another special place in his heart. I'm just waiting for Noah to discover how fun all the wheels and things that go brrrm are at the farm. We visited Bancroft this weekend to see my Dad, Shay and Landon. Noah and Grandpa were rocking in the porch swing and drifted off, it's so fun to see them together. Two of the top three men in my life, how I love them all. Happy Father's Day a day late!
lessons learned....
from our ant farm. Grandma Yost gave L & C an ant farm for Christmas last year. Apparently, they weren't the only kids who got one. Have you ever had ants on backorder?! Anyway, in May they finally arrived, in the meantime our farm had hosted something entirely different over the winter-mold. I tried to clean it out and dumped the vial of ants in. First off, only about one third of them were still alive. So I called the hotline. Yes, they would send more ants and yes, they would even send a new farm. The new farm was great, but alas, the ants did not fare well during the journey, over half of them were dead as I quickly dumped them in. So as I look as this neon green colony on my kitchen counter I have to admire those who are still going at it each day. They piled all their deceased friends in the corner and got to work. I didn't think I'd include a photo, it is quite a little graveyard, but it reminds me that when things maybe aren't going the best to pile all my troubles in the corner and get busy!
by the river...
Lauren and Chloe love to go down by the river right off of Broadway and "explore." It gets me a little worked up since it is so near the water, even though they are old enough to keep a safe distance, it still causes me a little stress. I wanted some pictures of all three of them and Noah just wasn't up to being sandwiched in the middle of his two sisters. I was being such clown and making so much noise trying to get even a half smile out of Noah. As you can see I did get the girls to laugh! I like this picture, it is so real and natural. 
more Noah...
Two totally unrelated pictures I know. Is that a guilty face or what, this is what Noah found to do after he woke up from a nap while I was teaching a lesson, at least it didn't involve liquid of any kind AND kept him quiet. I should get those bags out more often! He also got his first haircut this week. Amazing, I remember L and C were nearly two before I cut theirs. He'll probably get Cody's thick hair- why can't the girls ever get it!? Cody took the clippers and just buzzed off that little strip down the middle, this is the 'before' picture and I couldn't get a good 'after' one, but unless you spend a lot of time looking at his head, which I think I may, it's hard to see too much of a difference. He was great with the clippers, he got a kick out the vibration against his head I think. So many firsts happening still in his life, it's fun!
GO Bullfrogs!
Ahh, T-ball, does it take any one else back a few years? Chloe and Lauren are on a team with mostly classmates and kids from church, so it's fun that they know most everyone and get to make a few new friends. Today was the first game, and they won! Not that it's important, they are all about learning where the positions are and how to pay attention- stop digging in the dirt! It's a hoot to watch this league-all 4-6 year olds. They play games every Tues/Thurs morning until the end of July. Not sure Noah was so excited, but he found his own dirt to dig in on the sidelines. :)
