Moments

July 14, 2012
There are some moments when you stop and wonder how anyone could ever deny we are children of a loving God.

Muddy tires

July 13, 2012
So as not to spoil my post about our Richfield ATV adventure on my family blog, I'll just say that going home with red mud all over your tires must mean you had some fun. Right?

The "other" woman

July 12, 2012
I tend to not get too overly jealous when it comes to Jeff.

Except for one thing.

Sandy.

She's a coworker of Jeff's who has the magic touch when it comes to baking. That woman can bake the most delicious, moist, heavenly piece of cake you've ever eaten. I want to hate her because when she brings treats to work that's all I hear about for DAYS on end! Sandy this and Sandy that and oh, I wish you'd make me a delicious carrot cake or pumpkin spice cake or homemade peanut butter cup like Sandy does. It wasn't until Jeff snuck home a few of her goodies to prove to me that she really is as amazing as he raved about that I believed him. I mean, I make a pretty soft, sugary chocolate chip cookie myself. But nothing compared to what Sandy bakes.

So when he brought home an entire pumpkin spice cake for his birthday earlier this week, I both cursed and praised this woman's name 'cause I've been eating a slice (or two) every night since!

The romance after 10 years

July 11, 2012
I'm telling ya the romance after 10 years of marriage to Jeff is almost indescribable.

When I asked him what we were going to do on our anniversary today, he replied with the following:

"Well, I don't know what you're going to do but I'm going to buy me a shed (translation wives, a big man shed to hold your man toys in that you'll throw your back out lifting), go to work, then take my bike in to get fixed and buy me a new iPhone."

Oh wait. It gets better.

When I asked him what I get for 10 years, he said, "My happiness."

It's a good thing that man has made me laugh every single day for the last 10 years, even when I want to make him sleep on the couch!

The joke

July 10, 2012
The best Popsicles are the ones with jokes on the sticks. My kids love them. I swear they devour through boxes of Popsicles just to get a new joke in their repertoire.

Every time they finish another Popsicle off, they run over and ask me to read their joke. Even Cole gets in on the action. Today, after he asked me in his own babble that no one understands until he throws the Popsicle at you and screams "MOM!", and I read the joke (What animal unlocked the farm gate? The turkey), he giggled like he totally understood the punch line.

Now that's a good Popsicle! Hilarious.

Free museum day

July 9, 2012
I should have known when it took me an hour to "buy" our free tickets online to the Natural History Museum of Utah, that it was going to be crowded. Apparently every other mom in Northern Utah had the same idea I did. Take the kids to do something free and potentially educational.

We saw more bugs and butterflies than I thought possible. We "roarrrred" at dinosaur bones, created wind, saw how earthquakes break apart the earth, put together puzzles of the cells in our bodies, played in the "backyard" with bug catchers, made Native American good luck animals, and searched for dinosaur bones outside (all while avoiding the rattlesnakes... there were warning signs everywhere). But I think the highlight of the trip for the kids was eating crackers in their cafe area and riding the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the museum. With that highlight, it's a good thing I didn't pay a dime to get in!

A gift for someone special

July 8, 2012
We had somewhat of a rough Sabbath morning.

Fine. Somewhat is an understatement.

In the midst of celebrating Jeff's birthday, my two kids who have gone to bed way later than they should be ever since summer began decided to push me almost to the max.

It's not that it's necessarily any different than most days what with the whining, fighting, screaming, crying, and sassyness. But today, I was supposed to teach YW on keeping the Sabbath day holy.

Um. Yeah. How is one supposed to do that when it took everything inside of you to keep from swearing at your kids or banishing to their room for life? At one point, I walked over to the sink, praying for a pile of dishes to scrub the ready-to-implode-mean-mom away.

God must have a sense of humor.

But He also must know that sometimes moms need tender moments to make all the chaos and tears worth it. Like today, when Pearl handed me this bag filled with taffy and a note that simply said "Thank you!" She told me she was supposed to give it to someone very special. And she picked me.

I guess I'll call off the gypsies for another day.