The Beach

After two full days of driving we stopped at the beach before the hotel. There was rejoicing.

Our fall in a jumble

I haven't posted in awhile so here is our fall. A little mixed up but you get the general idea.

Leaves!



Making cookie trees with friends.




More Leaves.




Halloween. A pajama princess, Darth Vader and Yoda


Star Wars with Aunt Nina (I made her dress).



Vampire flapper.



Sam's preschool halloween party.



Holly's first cake.



Pumpkins



Painting cookies





Last night and this morning. Welcome winter.

My Roots

What I have done

What I have yet to do


I have finally gotten unpacked enough that I can start digging in my garden. I spent time last Saturday with a shovel chopping down some of the weeds. It was hard and time consuming so Rob bought me a weed whacker. Now before you all say "What?". I wanted the weed whacker. Rob is more than willing to go out in the garden and start working. But I love it! The weeds are so thick though that the weed whacker only has power enough for about 20 minutes of work. I'm still trying to decide what to do and in the mean time I will just have to whack weeds for 20 minutes a day.

As I am out there chopping down the weeds and digging up the dirt I feel really close to so many people. Orman the former owner of this home and garden plot loved his garden and worked in it even after he was legally blind. I feel especially close to him because I have a sense of responsibility to him to make his yard beautiful. He passed away a year and a half ago so he probably has a great vantage point from where he is.

My Father who loved the outside. His father my grandfather had a garden so gardens always held a special spot in my father's heart. My grandfather Pettit who taught me how to poison gophers in his garden. He had a huge garden. I mean huge. I remember picking great big strawberries out of the strawberry patch and picking beans and rhubarb out of his garden. His mint bush that made summer evenings in grandpa's garden smell so good.

Rob's grandma Wilma. I never actually met Wilma but I did spend a year and a half in her home and working in her flower beds. It was from Wilma that I acquired my favorite garden books. Books that she used for her garden and that Rob remembers looking at as a child because of the beautiful pictures.

As I am out there chopping down the weeds I feel like they are all gathered around me whispering encouragement. "You can do this". "You can make this garden beautiful". "We can't wait to see what you do with this garden."

I love this garden and hope to make all of my muses proud.

Surprise!

Last night for family night we played chutes and ladders. We talked about doing good things for people. Every time you got a ladder you had to say something nice you could do for someone else. In the end Rob encouraged the kids to think of nice things they could do for others.

3:00 am I was putting Max back in bed (it was not a great night for sleep). I noticed Holly's door was closed. We keep it open to let the cooler air circulate in her room. I opened it and noticed she wasn't in bed. Rob and I began a search and a couple of minutes later found her sleeping on the front room couch. She sat up and said "surprise!". She had cleaned the front room and gotten dressed for school at 3:00 in the morning. Just to be helpful. It gave me a heart attack but what a sweetie!

Drumroll please!

This is our new house. We are currently renting it.


The yard and the huge garden plot are my favorite things about this house although we love everything about it.


Flowers from the rose bushes in the back yard.

My kitchen. I love the lights.

Dining room with a big picture window to the backyard.

Living room and Dining room

Basement.



I didn't take pictures of everything. We are definitely in love with this house and feel privileged to live here.

Grandpa "Evil-Slayer"

Rob's dad collects swords. His office wall is covered in them. My boys love it! Sam a few weeks before we moved asked Grandpa if he got all of those swords from fighting bad guys.

I think Grandpa couldn't help but be a little proud that his grandson thought Grandpa fought bad guys and won regularly.

What an awesome vision for a grandson to have of his grandpa.

Sam is 5

Sam Happy Birthday!

Some of my favorites lately

Sam: "Mom how long until I can drive?"
Me: "11 years"
Sam: " that's a long time"

long pause

Sam: "Mom how long until I am a spy?"


In Sacrament meeting.

Sam: "Dad let's place face fight"
Rob: "How do you play?"
Sam: "We smash our faces together"


In the car

Sam: "I don't feel very good"
Me: "What's wrong honey"
Sam" "I think I am allergic to people"


You make me laugh every day.

You are smart and a good brother to Holly and Max.

You love to play superheroes and legos.

You think long and hard about your world and always have insight that I havn't thought of.

You are brave and strong and happy.

Happy birthday Sam

You are such an awesome boy!

Love
Mom

Happy Birthday Holly!

June 15, 2010

Happy Birthday Little Jo!

Your Dad and I can't believe how old you are. Where did the last 8 years go? You impress us everyday with your kind heart and your imagination. You are funny and good and make us smile.

When you were born we were terrified to be parents but you won us over and we have loved you from the moment we met you.

When your Dad first saw you he was hooked and you got away with everything. Cake for dinner? No problem.

My favorite things that you do are:

1. Tell stories. You are a story girl. You always have 4 or 5 stories in your head ready to tell.

2. Try new things. Sushi. Holy Cow. I didn't try Sushi until I was an adult.

3. Play with everyone. You love people and play with anyone available. It doesn't matter to you how old they are or how different they are you don't seem to see any differences and you just play.

4. Tease. You love to tease and you are good at it.

5. Read. I love that you love books. What a blessing that will be to you.

6. Bravery. You are the bravest little thing. reciting a poem for the whole school on stage. Getting baptized even though you are a little afraid of being dunked (afterwards you said "Mom I was a little nervous but I am so happy I did it anyway") I didn't even know you were nervous until you told me after. You hid your nerves well. The Tidal Wave and Rattlesnake rapids. You impress me with your tenacious desire to overcome your nerves and "do it anyway".


Holly you are such a wonderful kid. Your Dad and I love you and are so happy you are in our family.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Creative minds

So The kids and I were reading scriptures before bed. I was telling them about Nephi being tied to the ship by his brothers.

Me: "His bands were so tight and he had been tied up for 4 days. His arms and legs were swollen and sore. Heavenly Father sent a storm. The waves were pushing the ship back."

Sam: "Jesus needs a big pair of scissors"

A little irreverent but hey he's thinking.

Back to the Weight Watch

I have been silent about this for a while. I hate discussing it with myself let alone friends but here we go.

I have always struggled with weight. I know where my problems are. Overcoming them though that is different. There is a lot of bad habit and a little physcological stuff to overcome. I even studied Health in College to help me. But the weight crept back in.

I have started running again. I used to be a runner. I ran an hour a day in Highschool. I have struggled with it since. But Thanks to Wii fit and my family I have started again. (A sidenote about wii fit. It can be a little insulting but in a funny way). I know you say running in place is not the same as running. True but it is not sitting either. It actually is a great workout and one that hopefully will build muscle so that I can run again.

So here I am trying to be accountable again. I am not secure enough to weigh myself regularly. I am just going to do my BMI test regularly, exercise every day and eat less. Rob and I started a no sugar month where we just are not eating sugar. It has been hard but I find myself craving it less.

Thought for the day

Sam:

"Popsicles don't have sugar. They are just lick-able and bite-able."

Fantastic News!

Rob just got an offer from Harper publishing for his book Variant.

"Robison Wells's debut VARIANT, pitched as a modern day LORD OF THE FLIES, set at a boarding school where not everything is as it seems and every day is a fight for survival, to Erica Sussman at Harper Children's, in a significant deal, in a three-book deal, by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger (world)."
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/deals/


We are all excited. Congratulations Rob!

I solved a mystery

I just found out why little kids pick their noses and eat it.

Sammy said that he had a booger in his mouth and couldn't get it out because it was sticky. I asked him why he had a booger in his mouth.

He said: "Because I didn't have any place to put it."

A goal completed

I am not a scrapbooker. I have tried and tried but I hate the time it takes and the mess it leaves behind. I love the books. I have many friends who love and are good at scrap booking and admire them for it but I am not a scrapbooker. I want the equivalent of a scrapbook but on my terms and I found it. I finally finished part one of my goal. My family for the past 4 years preserved in a book.

I downloaded Booksmart from Blurb.com and created this book with Rob's and My blog posts for the past 4 years. I even added Holly's blogs at the end.

I love the way it turned out. This is my scrapbook. This is my family history.

Here are just a few pages




Also my weight loss is going horrible but I never give up. It will get better.

The Weight Watch

Mostly I am a very private person (shy really). SO it is with great difficulty that I post this. I feel very exposed. To someone more outgoing this might not seem big but it is huge for me. I started A diet plan last week.

My cousin Lindsey inspired me through her own blog to find someone else to be accountable to. So now I am accountable to my blog.

Last week I lost 3.5 lbs. This week I have so far given into temptation (of my own making) but I am committing again and starting again. So dear blog you are my check and balance. You are my motivation when sugar calls.

Here we go.

Happy 10th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Rob!

Marrying you was the best decision I ever made. Thanks for my favorite decade so far. I can't wait to see what the next one brings.