Happy Fourth of July!

We spent the fourth of July at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and had an absolutely fabulous time!

not for the faint of heart

We rode our bikes across the Golden Gate bridge -twice!

We got this crazy idea that it would be fun to bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, so this past weekend we did...and we barely survived! If we had known what we were in for we would never have done this but as my mom said, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" And in the end, we are glad we did it, but it was a whole lot more than we bargained for. We didn't know about the two massive hills we'd have to go up (which we could barely walk up let alone pedal a bike towing 50 pounds of children); we didn't know how much harder it actually is to remember how to ride a bike after 10 or so years; we didn't know Lexi was going to get an ear ache and cry all the way across the bridge (and back); we didn't know about the crazy wind blowing against us that nearly defeated us; we didn't know we wouldn't be able to make it to the last ferry back across the bay (which meant we had to ride ALL the way back -yeah, I very nearly just sat down and cried!); we didn't know there was no such option as a rescue helicopter when we wanted to give up; we didn't know we'd end up riding almost 12 miles!!!; we didn't know we'd be bruised and aching for days after (I took a few swiggs of the children's tylenol we bought for Lexi to help ease the intensive aching in my legs -it helped!); and we didn't know what a sense of accomplishment we'd have after surviving all that! It truly was breathtaking (not just because of the wind in our face)! We are glad we did it and enjoyed the downhill ride back to the city during which we could reflect on our triumph. I will recommend to anyone with the same crazy desire to bike across the bridge to ride a ferry to Sausilito and then bike back to SF across the bridge from there. It would be mostly downhill and a delightful ride. For us, this trip made the top of the list for both the worst and the best of our many "weekend warrior" adventures.

At Long Last!

I have been wanting to see the waterfalls at Yosemite since we moved here and finally got my chance a weekend back. They were spectacular, as is the Yosemite valley in general! What a beautiful world we live in!

I just had to share this one!

"Kids say the darndest things" and yesterday I really got a crack up over this one:

We went to check the mail and the kids dumped it all the floor of the front room to scour it for any piece with their name on it. Lexi found one for her and upon opening it she asked me what it was. I told her it was a bill from her doctor for a check-up she'd had. She looked it over for another minute and got a concerned look on her face before her little eyes filled with tears and she said, "Mommy, it says I owe $80 and I don't have that much! I've been saving up so hard to get my microphone and now I just don't know what I'm going to do!" Oh, little Lex! I told her that her daddy would probably help her out and she gave a whimpered "ok". She was SO relieved this morning when she talked to her daddy to find out he'd be covering all her medical bills for her. Whew! Now back to saving up for that microphone!

what else we've been up to

While I've been on a bit of a digital hiatus, we've been having lots of fun. Here's a little of what we've been up to:


Fruit Loops! - making necklaces



Making and eating homemade popsicles.






I baked my first lattice top peach pie -it was absolutely delicious!


More floating around.





Hair dos -this one is a Lexi original. (She brought me the stuff and told me just what to do if typical Lexi fashion. :)

How does your garden grow?

We get SO excited over pretty simple things around here and lately, one of those things has been watching our garden grow. We discovered the first of our watermelons starting to grow last week. It had to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen. It's smaller that a marble, but complete with stripes! We also have the first of our green peppers bursting through and oodles of tomatoes (the first of which turned red and was immediately eaten by a worm!) We also have onions growing and a strawberry plant which re-seeded itself from last years crop.

The flower box you see at the bottom of my pictures was a gift from my sweet neighboer Barbara, who is moving tomorrow, much to our dismay. She has been a very dear friend to us and we will surely miss her cheerful disposition and smile beaming from across the street. We used to be able to see her flower box from the girls bedroom window. She didn't want us to miss getting to see it so she gave it to us as something to remember her by. (sniffle, sniffle) Barbara is 68 so it feels funny that I'm having such a hard time over her moving but she has been a real "touch of home," like a grandma to us while we've been away from our own family. We love you Barbara. Thanks for being our friend!

Ready to Swim!

We are back in the water and ready for another summer full of splashing around in the pools of our friends. Last week we headed out and much to my surprise, Allie LOVED the pool. This is a huge step considering she doesn't even sit down in the bath tub. She's never been one for water, but I think she is beginning to have a change of heart -hooray! (That will make the summer go a lot smoother for us.)

...and we're back!

What a wonderful time we had visitng our family and friends this past month! To all of you, thank you for making it so much fun that even after all that time away from our own home, we still weren't quite ready to leave you. We can hardly wait until next time!
While we were away, Alexis turned 5 and also lost her first tooth! This was exciting stuff for our little crew. We enjoyed welcoming my brother home and celebrating the wedding of my Uncle Randy to the love of his life, Vicki. We also swam, and rode horses, and made cookies, and went to the zoo, and shopped, and colored, and ate, and bowled, and almost never slept. What a trip!
One very special thing we got to do was attend the open house for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was very exciting to have the opportunity to take my little girls inside the walls of the temple and explain to them the special things that are done there. I also got to visit the recently dedicated Draper temple. How amazing it is to have so many temples in the world today!
Now that we are home, we are excited for summer and ready to swim the days away!

Welcome Home Bobo!

The surprise homecoming greeting that almost wasn't... Yesterday morning, Adam and I woke up and decided on a whim that we could make it up to San Fran to greet my brother during his four hour lay-over there. We pulled things together as quickly as we could and made it to the airport literally a minute before his plane came in. We were in position to greet him, waiting at the door we were instructed would be the ONLY door he could come through. This was imperative to our plan as he was not expecting us and we'd have no other way to reach him and let him know we were there. We waited and waited and got a little concerned and then waited some more. We began to really be worried when we saw all the flight crew exit and then passengers from following flights. I asked another airport attendant what could have happened and was informed, "the only way he would've come through the door we were told to wait at is if he was lost. He should be on the other side of the building." WHAT?! We'd let an hour pass by and he could be anywhere by now. I was in a heartbroken panic and we trecked over to the Delta check-in counter to see if he was there, but he was not. Someone was inspired to suggest we try and page him. Why didn't I think of that? Probably because I didn't actually believe it would work -but it did. He came and found us and we got to spend a wonderful couple of hours together. He enjoyed a hamburger and a root beer and my girls were in heaven to have their Uncle Bobo with them. For Lexi, it was like he'd never left. She was in his arms nearly the entire time he was with us. And you would've thought that Aubrey and Allie knew him just as well; Allie even snuggled right up to him. We are so excited to have him "home." He could hardly wait to continue his journey home to see his mommy, as well as my dad and brother. What a wonderful day! Welcome home!

A bit about mom's

(My mom and me at our "Fancy Nancy" party)

How grateful I am,
How fortunate I've been,
That you are my mother
And also my friend!

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day and I hope you did too. I am so grateful for the sweet little monkeys that call me "mommy!" And I am so grateful for my "mommy" who is a constant teacher, friend, example, and support to me in my life. I love that I can call her to share my concerns and troubles or the mundane details of my day, and she will listen and she can do the same with me. I am also grateful for the many "mother figures" I've had in my life; wonderful neighbors, friends, relatives, teachers and leaders that have influenced my life for good. What a wonderful tribute to women that Mother's Day is!

Today as I was running in circles sorting and then re-sorting my laundry, putting away the belongings of the bathroom drawer and then putting them away again, compiling my coupons and then picking them up off the floor and compiling them again, and ...well, you get the idea; I smiled and had a little giggle inside myself as I thought "I read about it all the time, but really, truly, this is part of the bliss (did I really just call it that?!) of motherhood." This is what gives the experience of mothering character and I love it. I never thought I'd hear myself say that but I do, even all the chaos. I love being a mother and although it is infinitely harder to get my household chores done with little ones literally hanging off my legs and un-doing everything I do so that I have to do it multiple times over, I love it! I know that I will one day miss the face of my little one year old, with her bright excited eyes, grinning up at me with her hair standing on end and a runny nose that could really use a tissue, and the mess at her feet that she has just created as she explored her most recent curiosity. I will one day miss that Lexi likes to be so much "bigger than her britches" and I will miss the way Aubrey loves barbies and that she can never be parted from her blankey. They are the joy of my life!

Anyone needing a little comic relief, must read the book "All Mom's Go to Heaven" by Dean Hughes. It is short and excellent. It is written by a man who played "mom" for an entire summer while his wife was finishing her master's degree. (It's the experience we all dream our husband's could have so they could just understand us and what it's really like to be at home a little more.) It is a must read! Pick up a copy and tell me what you think.

TOMORROW!

(Miles' Farewell -May 2007)

I can't believe it! In just a little over 24 hours, my brother will be arriving home from his mission in France. He served a wonderful two years teaching the people there about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Alexis said to me today, "after tomorrow, 'Bobo' won't be teaching people about Jesus anymore." I reminded her that we can all be "missionaries" and be example even when we aren't formally called to do so. She is quite the little missionary herself as she sings her heart away for all the neighbors to hear, belting out simple truths of the gospel through primary songs. How grateful I am for music and for primary that help us teach our little ones! Alexis and her Uncle Bobo have a special relationship and no one is more excited in our house than she is to see him and give him a great big hug!

(Je t'aime, mon frere, a la lune et retour!)

camera under repair

Last weekend, we went out to the beach with some friends and had a wonderful time. It was crazy windy, but still a lot of fun. During the course of our day, I inadvertantly dropped our camera in the sand! :( So sad! Who knew how much damage a little sand could do? The happy part of this story is that the camera was still under warranty (accidental coverage even)-wahoo! Let us hope I have it fixed before we head home to welcome my brother back from his mission; he returns from france in just 12 more days!!!

Until then, I found this cute little poem that very well sums up our days:

What Did I Do Today?

Today I left some dishes dirty,
The bed got made around 3:30.
The diapers soaked a little longer,
The odor grew a little stronger.
The crumbs I spilled the day before
Are staring at me from the floor.
The fingerprints there on the wall
Will likely be there still next fall.
The dirty streaks on those windowpanes
Will still be there next time it rains.
Shame on you, you sit and say,
Just what did you do today?

I held a baby till she slept,
I held a toddler while she wept.
I played a game of hide and seek,
I squeezed a toy so it would squeak.
I pulled a wagon, sang a song,
Taught a child right from wrong.
What did I do this whole day through?
Not much that shows, I guess that's true.
Unless you think that what I've done,
Might be important to someone
With deep blue eyes and soft blonde hair,
If that is true...I've done my share.


I'm not sure who wrote this poem; I just happened across it online one day. It brought me some consolation from the frustration I sometimes feel as a stay-at-home from some of the "things" that don't get done each day and made me more grateful for the more important stuff we do.