One Lucky Mama.

It happened 13 years ago TODAY.
A tiny little sweet-faced boy, with blue eyes, and dark hair, with a tiny cowlick right at the top of his forehead..
was layed in my arms--
and I became a Mom, for the very first time ever.
I have now been proud to be his Mom, for 13 years..
(making not only myself, OBVIOUSLY very old..) but more importantly, HIM, a "teenager."
How lucky I am to have had him sent to me. How grateful I am that the Lord trusted me with such a dear little spirit. A little person who I would love beyond my ability to comprehend, and who would love me back, every single day. A little boy that would say things to melt my heart.. and at his PRECIOUS age of 3, would sing "Livin' The Vida Loca" into his stand up microphone, as many times as I asked him to.
He has always been my buddy.. my respectful, thoughtful, son.
He is now my funny, mature, loyal and responsible oldest sibling,
and smart, talented "young man".
He is his little brothers really cool hero..

and little sisters first choice of a shoulder to lean on.

He LOVES his cousins..




LOVES roller coasters..



LOVES snowboarding..


and LOVES the guitar.

I LOVE that he is mine.
Happy birthday my very first teenager. I love you forever.

Tagged By Abby..

1. What is your current obsession?
Getting "shredded". I know. Not gonna happen. But on my new "30-Day Shred" DVD, Jillian says if I do it 30 days.. I'll have a six-pack. I'm thinking all I'm really gonna end up with is an even stronger bitterness for Jillian than I already hold..

2. What do you hate the most that everyone else seems to love?
Soda.

3. What are you wearing today?
Right now.. sweaty jogging clothes that I'm pretty sure stink a little.
Today I had on a kelly green v-neck t-shirt that all day I wished I'd had bright yellow flip-flops to wear with.. but didn't.

4. What's for dinner?
It was meatball and mozzarella sandwich on that good chewy Wal-Mart loaf bread.
Mmmmm. Tasty, AND heavy.(Hence the reason I had to go jogging at 9 o'clock at night.)

5. What would you eat for your last meal?
Japanese. With a double order of fried rice. Maybe even an extra white rice to pour some ginger dressing over. And I'm dying.. so I'm not even jogging after.

6. What is the last thing you bought?
4th of July hoo-ha at Joann Fabrics cause I thought I had a 40% off coupon, that was of course, expired.

7. What are you listening to right now?
My kids playing and laughing from the basement. (Ya think they'll get to bed before midnight ONCE this summer??) Oh.. and the hum of my portable A/C. It's music to my ears.

8. What do you think of the person that tagged you?
Abby. My adorable in every sense of the word, cousin. She could easily be one of my very favorite humans ever. She is funny and stylish and humble. Like her ALOT.

9. If you could have a house--fully paid for and totally furnished--anywhere in the world, where would it be?
That is way too stressful to choose right this moment. Wherever it would be.. it would involve lots of trees.. lakes.. a shiny new Target.. and family. MORE, FAMILY.

10. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would it be?
Am I allowed to go to heaven and hang out with my cute Mom a minute?

11. What is one of your hobbies?
(Does "shredding" count? Hee-hee.) I'm gonna go with writing.

12. What is the next thing in life you are looking forward to?
Vacation at the beach with my FAMILY. It does not get any better. Seriously.
(We actually have a slight belief that the next life will just be all of us, on the boardwalk, eating Thrasher fries with vinegar, in Bethany Beach.)


13. What is your favorite color?
I like pinks. Pale ones.. and bright ones. But no mauve thank you very much.
I'm big on greens too. (Just not "hunter". In fact I'd like to add that hunter green, is my least favorite color. Not that anyone asked.)

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your wardrobe?
My Levis are a good staple.. but I have a white blouse with a few ruffles down the front that I enjoy tremendously.

15. What is your dream job?
Writing movies. And actually getting them made. Can you imagine??

16. Describe your personal style.
How do you answer that? My husband has mentioned I may want to meander OUT of the "misses" section, and into the "grown-up" clothes.. which I will do on occasion.. but for the most part just find the prints and cuts I like somewhere between Express and the "Candies" section at Kohls. (Is that embarrassing?)
I like silver, and simple clean color combos.. along with bright flowy patterned junk.. so who KNOWS what my style would be described as. In fact.. will someone else try? I'd be interested to hear what other people think my style IS..

17. What is your favorite tree?
Bradford pear. Cute shape.


18. What are you going to do after this?
Shower my stink off, maybe?

19. What is your favorite fruit?
So depends on my mood.. but raspberries are way up there.

20. What inspires you?
Peoples abilities. Their individual strengths and talents. I get all awe-struck when people excel at unique little pieces of life. From decorating a home, to cooking really well.. artistic skill, or athletic ability.. I admire it all.

21. Who was the last person that you kissed?
My boyfriend. Jasen. Before he left for work.


22. What are you currently reading?
Do blogs, count?

23. Go to your bookshelf, take down the first book that you see with a red binding, turn to page 26 and type out the first line.
"Nickie gave Otis one more pat and hurried back downstairs."
(The Prophet of Yonwood. Jesse read it for school, and I have no idea who Nickie, or Otis are.. and why she would "pat" him.)


24. What delighted you the most today?
Jesse and Sophie playing and laughing really hard while he dangled her from his shoulders..

25. By what criteria do you judge a person?
How comfortable they are with themselves. (Not they they have to be for them to be enjoyable.. I just notice.) Their honesty.. openness. Oh.. and the way they talk to their kids.

26. If you bought a wiener dog today, what would you name it?
Oscar? (As in.. Meyer.. weiner?)

27. And for my own question.. hmmm. O.K. If you were to be someone else for a day, who would it be?
Me?? Faith Hill. Obviously. She's gorgeous, she can sing.. and oh yeah.. she's married to TIM McGRAW.

The rules:
1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own. (I didn't replace any. Oops!)
2. Tag eight other people.
I tag anyone willing to do this! GO.

Bear Lake Buns...

Really loved this moment.
Thought you might too.

Batta-UP!!

(Did you say the post title with the right voice inflection??
I'm hoping so.)
We just finished Bo's T-ball season.. and what can I say?? Not only can the boy hit a ball.. but he looks dang cute in Converse tennis shoes.

I know.. Converse are more of a 'basketball' shoe.. and actually, aren't even worn for that much anymore. But their his favorite, and they matched, and come on folks.. it's not the major leagues- it's T-ball.
Ya gotta love a sport where everyone gets a home run.. a bag of cookies and a Capri Sun are mandatory reward after each game..

and chattin' with your buddy at first base is way more interesting than actually focusing on getting to second, base..

and playing with the dirt is always an acceptable way to pass the time on third.
I pretty much enjoy watching Bo do anything..

but him running it home, in his Converse.. has to be one of my favorites.
Nice season my boy!

MY Cousins Are Cuter Than YOUR Cousins!

I love cousins. I like just being with them. Feeling connected, knowing that we all came from the same roots.. and that we've all eaten at the same fancy, meticulously set dining room table at Memas.. snuck gingersnaps from her pantry.. and played games on Papas beautiful acre of land. I love that we all know what real figgy pudding taste like.. and that we were all privy to closed-captioned T.V. at a young age. Oh.. and our Moms and Dads are brother and sister. I like that part too. As different as we all are.. and as little as we're able to get together.. as soon as we do-- it's homey. Cozy. Easy. I really do want to know what they're doing.. I really am interested in what their spouses are like.. and I really do like their chic and unique fashion flair. Yesterday I got the chance to meet up with them AND my sister (BONUS week! She's been here this week too..)at the Gateway in SaltLake.
I'm a spaze.. and know the streets of Salt Lake City about as well as I'd know the streets of Brooklyn-- so it took me awhile to actually ARRIVE at the Gateway.. but once I did.. was so worth the drive to find my sister and kids, cute Aunt, and 3 of my fun girly-girl cousins all ready to swap Old Navy deals and potty-training talk. I was of course too busy chattin' it up to take alot of pictures of my actual cousins.. but loved watching my own kids play in the fountains not only with their own cousins.. but my cousins kids. Yeah. I love cousins.

Cousins from American Fork.. Wisconsin, and Vegas...

(Does this count as water ballet??)
Can't wait til' next time.

Seriously, People....

So is this how it's gonna be? No new posts for weeks on end cause it's summer.. and you people have.. LIVES?? Come on now.
I know I haven't been an over-achiever myself in the blogger department.. but at least I give a valiant effort every so often. Truth be told.. if you do not supply me with a few more clever antidotes, and engaging pictures, a little more often-- I might have to actually GET SOMETHING DONE!
So please.. please.. whatever ya got.
I'm not picky.
Just give me somethin'.

I Have A Confession To Make...

So, something I've ended up loving about our quirky old house.. is that the kitchen is in the front of the house. There is a big open window over the sink (which being that I STILL have no dishwasher, comes in handy for watching the exciting front lawn and exhilerating street events while I do dishes MOST of my life.) I usually leave the blinds open in that window, all day-- and into the evening, til bedtime. That is.. unless.. I happen to be cooking something tasty.. or baking something even tastier. Almost nightly.. standing there in that front window, I often find myself shoving my face.. with, oh, maybe a bite of the kids fresh hot mac n' cheese (that I would never indulge in a whole carb-filled bowl of, but will easily down 8 forkfuls of in no time flat, straight from the pan) or a couple spoonfuls of taco meat.. just to test it. But it's the finger full of cake batter I catch myself skimming from the emptied bowl, draping to my mouth, often leaving an unflattering drip on my chin.. that usually causes me to realize the blinds are indeed still open, and the outer darkness, and inner track lighting, make the vision of my gluttony like a perfectly framed piece of revolting art for all those passing by. It's at any of these moments, (but especially the baked goods batter moment) that I grapple in a mad, chocolate-covered finger panic, for the blind cord-- and quickly slap them closed.. shutting out the world from the upsetting image, that is me.
So if ya drive by anytime before midnight, and see the blinds closed.. you can pretty much bet that at some point that evening I have been licking a knife covered in icing.. or seeing how big a piece of cake I can manuever into my mouth in one bite.
Yeah. It's true. Nightly.
And I just thought it would feel good to get it out there.