Happy New Year...

Never failing, Christmas break means someone is down sick. This year Steve is the unfortunate victim and it's not looking pretty. He opted out of all New Years Eve activities so he could get some rest which meant I could put the youngest two down to bed before heading out to hang with family.

Our brother and sister-in-law are back in town from a semester in China and they were kind enough to host everyone at their house despite not being fully unpacked. We had missed out on a lot of cousin time with them and we were trying to make it up in one night!


We played games. Wits and Wagers is a new family favorite that some friends introduced us to. We typically play it with two other couples, but we played it in teams and it was just as fun.

We did fireworks. It doesn't rain very often, but it rained all day long. It was looking like we wouldn't get any off but the rain cleared just long enough to see some sparks.




And we toasted to the new year.




It was late by the time we got home. I dreamed of sleeping in but that dream was slashed at 7am upon Bennett waking up. Needless to say we had a pretty lazy day today. Steve's still sick. Hallie took a nap on the couch today and I even shut my eyes for a little while. We're great hosts for my sister visiting!

Our imperfect Christmas tree...

My instagram feed is full of beautifully decorated Christmas trees right now. They might as well be professionally decorated trees, they look that nice. Perfectly placed matching ornaments with a graceful ribbon running spiral down the whole tree. I'm still wondering if they were taking pictures from the cover of dwell magazine and putting it in their feed.

Then I look at my own tree and I smile. The tree is crooked and we're missing a couple lights. The kids insist on putting every ornament we own on the tree - including Steve's 2nd grade masterpiece his mom kept all these years - and because the kids put the ornaments on it's a little bottom heavy. We have homemade, gifted, souvenir and collectible ornaments gracing our tree. Every time I turn around the kids are rearranging the ornaments and I always know where Bennett has been because there will be a cluster of 6 ornaments on the same branch! It's a hodge podge of sorts that I'm sure hurts the eyes of many but I really love it.

I love the excitement in the kids as they watch me unwrap the ornaments shouting with excitement which one is their very favorite. I too have my favorites and I carefully place them at the top of the tree to avoid any casualties. And aside from the few I put at the top the rest is free reign and the kids have a grand time. The best part is, when we're done and we turn off the lights and the tree glows, it is the most beautiful tree you've ever seen. Will it be gracing the cover of any magazines...nope. But my kids are pretty proud of it.

And we kicked off the season with a special reading of Christmas Day in the Morning by the glow of the tree - that book gets me every time!

We labored...

It's labor day, so we labored and then we played.

Steve was off school so he agreed to help me replace two toilets and two ceiling fans. Those that know my husband know what a sacrifice this truly is...he hates home projects more than anything. But he agreed and I wasn't about to ask twice!

Of course, there are always hiccups and sure enough, we pull out the first toilet to find a completely rotted toilet flange. So rotted that it couldn't even hold the screw for the toilet. It was literally in pieces which meant that our quick fix switch was not going to be the case.

I couldn't do anything without a run to the Depot so we left that project and went to the ceiling fans. I've had these fans purchased and sitting in the garage since February. It was about time we installed them!! Not only were our brass fans ugly - they weren't functional.


The run to Home Depot took longer than expected and by the time I got home it was time to play. Steve's rule is work in the morning, play in the afternoon, don't mix the two!

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening swimming and BBQing with family - the way every labor day should end!

Labor Day...

I'm trying to convince my husband that Labor day is meant for laboring. I've got some toilets that need installed, a couple ceiling frames, a frame that needs to be built...the list goes on. We might get one of those things done, all of them, or perhaps none. But one things is for sure, we will be by the pool at some point. Probably making more GoPro videos to add to our already large pool collection!

4th of July 2014...

I wish we celebrated our country's independence more than once a year. Doesn't it see like such an important holiday really qualifies more attention than just one day? Maybe it's because I love seeing everyone in patriotic colors. Maybe it's the delicious BBQs we partake in. Or the flags that seem to line every street and store window. I can't help but love hearing the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner more than a couple times. I really do love it.


Our summer traveling schedule had us spending the fourth of July in Idaho this year. We knew we were missing out on our traditional pool party back in Arizona, so we made sure we lined up plenty of fun.

We started the day with a lunch bbq at the park with fried chicken, a dunk tank, water balloon toss and watermelon (that just screams American, right?).



After lunch, we met up with two of my brothers and their families for the rest of the day/evening. Our activities included swimming, fishing, kayaking, ATVs, dirt bikes, more bbq and plenty of fireworks.

My brother's house (my children refer to it as the farm) is always a favorite and from our activities you can see why! Sometimes 20 acres of fun and animals sounds blissful and then I remember they're a ways from a Target or Walmart and I'm reminded why living in a city is awesome! My kids might disagree.

Each one of them caught fish which they were delighted with. However, I think the tub of worms might have been a bigger hit.








We spent the evening talking, eating and making fun GoPro videos until it got dark enough for fireworks. And then we burned money (at least that's what lighting fireworks feels like!!). And the kids oohed and aahed and in the end they just wanted to hold their own sparklers. I'm not sure what it is about fireworks, but I love them. I love the streaks of light they send into the air and the sound they make when they "boom" - especially the big fireworks. A night like this puts me in my happy place really quick, especially being surrounded with family. Loved every minute of it.







Happy Birthday America.

Celebrating fathers...

This guy has been loved and hugged and snuggled all day - thank heavens for a day to celebrate great fathers.

Hallie was in charge of the candy bar poster again this year.


I love the line, "Thank you for all your hard work with Turtles, to bring home a payday doing whatchamacallit." Fantastic!

Hallie's favorite thing about her dad: Saturday morning pancakes.
Hunter's favorite thing about his dad: wrestling in the living room.
Bennett's favorite thing about his dad: going on walks and bike rides.

My favorite thing about my own dad - he helps me with my crazy building projects.


Dads are awesome. Happy Father's Day.

Easter Sunday 2014...

Church services focusing on the Savior and his resurrection, food, family and a cousin egg hunt. It was a pretty great day (aside from the sugar highs and sugar lows, and we even do our Easter baskets on Saturday!).

My sister-in-law has hosted Easter for the last several years and she does an amazing job. It's not easy to make a group of 34 feel close and intimate, but she pulls it off every year. The older cousins hide eggs for the younger cousins and then we get to stay outside and enjoy a beautiful evening. We've got to soak up those cool nights while we can, our summer nights are too close for comfort!














I am notorious for putting kids in Easter buckets - some years they fit better than others! Check out Hunter and Bennett.