Lincoln
Tad and my brother, Scott
Gabe and Lucas
Alex and Logan


my family is coming to town in some weeks (like two-ish).
well, everyone but David and Maida that is. they've opted to stay in PA and have a baby. whatever. oh. p.s. DandM--i've recently finished little Abigail's knitted hat and booties. i shall send them soon.
anywho, my brother and his fam and sister and her fam are trekking to utah to hang out and play and stuff. pretty much i'm the most excited i have ever been in my life. i can't wait to see them, and hug them, and squeeze them, and call them george (inside joke).
above are some pictures... speaking of pictures and cousins, i recently realized that N. monopolizes these pages representing all cousins everywhere, not that N. isn't simply adorable, but....

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and I must say that I am pretty durn lucky to have the m.i.l. I do. She is funny and quirky, just the way I like 'em. Happy Birthday, Julie! Hope it's a good one and thanks for making me feel welcome and a part of your family.

P.S. Hayden thinks you're pretty cool, too.

It seems as if lately I've struggled with lapses in judgement. Here are two stories to illustrate my idiocy:

Last Sunday I took in a couple of receipts to the ward clerk to be reimbursed. On the form you fill out it asks you to write down the sales tax. I had two receipts and so I added the cents of each receipt together and wrote it down as the "sales tax". That's right, in my head, somehow, to get the sales tax from the totals $45.23 and $20.55 I should add together $ .23 and $ .55. ?!?!?!?!? So, this is what I did without even blinking (or thinking). It wasn't until I'd handed it in and got to the car that I realized my mistake. Who got a D in math everytime they took it? Oh, that's right, I did. --i don't know that that explains that lapse in logic, however.


A few weeks ago I was delivering RS calendars to each of the auxiliaries. I was just about to hand several to the Primary presidency when one of the counselors in the bishopric said, "Shouldn't you be giving these ladies some treats?" In my head I was thinking, "If anyone would have treats it would be the primary ladies. They work with kids all day long. I'm so uncrafty and unclever in the art o' homemaking that I wouldn't be cutesy enough to bring a fun treat along with my calendars." What I said, however, was quite a bit different. I said, "Um. Pretty much I'm in Relief Society and they're in Primary, so they should be giving me treats." What?!?!? I was so shocked and embarrassed by what came out of my mouth that I just turned quickly and scurried back down the hall. How does one recover from such an episode? I mean, you can try to apologize or explain your thought process behind the comment, but then you look like an idiot in addition to looking like a jerk. sigh...

Did you notice that each of these experiences took place in church? Maybe I should just avoid church. ha ha ha jokes, Mom. don't you worry, I'll still go to church, even though I'm fairly sure I've managed to completely ostracize myself.

Here are the birthday photos, I promised. I chose to make a Lion cake, which I found in the "Easy Cut-Out Cakes for Kids" book and true to the title, it was easy.

Oh, and no your eyes are not deceiving you. There are two cakes. One for H. (made with dairy free icing) and one for the party goers.

You may also notice that Noah is enjoying cake just a tad more than Hayden. We are thankful to N. for giving us the show we had hoped for.

H. turns ONE today. My-oh-my where hath the time gone? It's madness I tell you, pure madness to think that it was a year ago I brought that kid into the world. And, I'll be honest, he's pretty much the greatest kid I've ever seen. Here are a list of his accomplishments thus far:

1. Can say, "mmm. good."
2. Says , "daddy" and "doggy" on occasion.
3. Can point to his belly button when prompted.
4. Shakes his finger back and forth as in "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."
5. Does "along comes mister alligator"
6. claps his hands.
7. Shows you "How big is Hayden? Soooo big."
8. Folds his arms when prompted.
9. Uses the signs for "more", "please", and "sleep(y)" in context.
10. Instigates games of peek-a-boo with people in church.
11. Does a sign (not official ASL, I'm sure) for "stinky"

I think that's all... I don't think I'm leaving anything out. You can ask his aunts, uncles, and granparents if we did since we subject them to a "show" each time we see them.

Notice that I didn't mention moving. Still not doing that, although in church the other day he did scoot on his bum backwards across the gym floor, and, he can turn in circles on his bum as well. A pretty brilliant boy in that department.
Anywho, Happy Birthday, Hayden. Love ya' bunches.

pictures of the birhtday party and my cut-out cake coming soon....

three, almost four, years ago i met Brent. we've been friends ever since (well maybe not ever since... there was a brief moment where i was not his favorite). if you'd told me then that i'd end up marrying him, i would have laughed at you, hard. because, really, who could be less suited for this ultra-outdoorsy, boundless energied, perfectionist of a guy? certainly not me who truly dawdles through life stopping often to smell the roses, take a nap, read a good book, bake a cookie or two. but, oddly enough, we make a fairly decent couple.

i like my husband because he laughs with me and even at me, when it's warranted. he has mad man skills that i'd never before seen (sorry, dad - you have mad man skills too, just a different kind). he rough and tumble on the outside but would help almost anyone out in a pinch. i like to call him french bread, even though he hates that analogy, because he's hard and crusty on the outside, but warm and soft on the inside.

brent makes me laugh. he's pretty stinkin' funny, but you have to be paying attention. he is an artist, he can see things in a piece of wood (or "sticks" as i like to call them) that no one else would. he does things for me whenever i ask and is completely unselfish in our relationship offering his time and money, even if that does mean he has to buy his own birthday and christmas gifts. he is a great father, always willing to play with H., although he does draw the line at dirty diapers--understandably so.

anywho. i just love him 'cause he's dirty hot and i can't imagine my life without him.
the end.

Hayden's first birthday is coming up. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I say this not because I am sad he is getting older (i mean, c'mon, he's only a year), but because I have to throw my first kid birthday party. I realize this shouldn't be frightening, but I am, quite possibly, the LEAST crafty/creative person in the world. I just ran into a friend of a friend's blog who threw her son a bug themed birthday party complete with little cupcakes shaped like bugs, all cutely decorated and what-not.

Man-o-man. I can't compete.

I didn't even send out cute invitations with his picture on it and some cute saying about him turning one. Nope. Just bought the $2.50 generic cards at the Dan's that said "Your Invited to a Birthday Party" on the front and then I filled in the information regarding the place, time, etc.

I used to laugh at my across the street neighbor when she rented blow up toys for her Easter party ( for which Brent dressed as the Easter Bunny by the way). Now, however, I understand her feeling of needing to "keep-up with the Jones's". I swear, sometimes being a parent feels worse than being in High School in the comparing department.

Please understand that I do realize, in the logical part of my brain, I'm being a tad bit ridiculous. Of course, all of these things don't really matter, but sometimes I wanna be that cutesy mom who does the fun things and is all creative-like with celebrations and traditions and such. Sigh... I suppose I can only be me as a mom--although, sometimes, I'm still unsure of what/who that is.

...Something completely unrelated. Hayden has this little polar bear that growls when you push its head down and whenever he plays with it, he growls back. Seriously, now, can he be any cuter?!?

The Bear

H. growling.

Our home away from home.
Hayden's laundry. He had some issues with vomiting and pooping while we were away (thank you molars that are coming in). Thankfully, I brought several change of clothes.

The Grey's River in Wyoming. I swear this country was indescribably beautiful. Green as all get out, wildflowers of every color. Simply fantastic.
The required s'mores by a camp fire. Here's the fam. along with my nephews, Tucker and Dylan.
LONG day. So sleepy, Hayden.
Chillin' and chattin'.
Playing in the river.


My vision of a perfect fourth o' July is filled with Chuckwagon Breakfasts hosted by the local Lion's club overflowing with poor to mediocre food (including horrible bottled syrup. YUCK! my mom always made our syrup, so I'm kind of a syrup snob) and crazy people to watch. Then on to a parade where you sit in the ever growing hotter sun baking while watching sweaty teens and town/city officials wave to you atop their pedestal or marching with their instrument of choice. After this it's often home to bake for the BBQ you've been invited to and hopefully put the little one down for a nap... or, if I'm lucky, put myself down for a nap. In the end the day will finish off with a (hopefully) fabulous display of fireworks.


--I realize my description may not sound great, but it is my tradition, and I am much like Tevya in that my life revolves around tradition. In fact, I almost feel as if Tradition is a somewhat magic word. It's what childhoods are made of.



Anywho, to make a long story short- too late-, this is not what my fourth looked like this year. We went camping. I wasn't disappointed, though, I might even be able to change my view of what the perfect Fourth should look like. Above are some pictures to help illustrate the fun we had.