Friday, August 17, 2007

There Was a Child Went Forth




There was a child went forth every day;
And the first object he looked upon, that object he became;
And that object became a part of him for the day, or a certain part of the
day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.
The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass, and white and red morning glories, and white and red clover,
and the song of the phoebe-bird,
And the third month lambs, and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the
mare's foal, and the cow's calf,
And the noisy brood of the barnyard, or by the mire of the pond-side,
And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there--and the
beautiful curious liquid,
And the water plants with their graceful flat heads-all became part of him.
His own parents,
He that had fathered him, and she that had conceived him in her womb,
and birthed him,
They gave this child more of themselves than that;
They gave him afterward every day--they became part of him.
Walt Whitman
(Photos courtesy of Kristen)

Monday, August 13, 2007


Well, here I am 10 o'clock at night, and no husband to be found! Jon and Olivia went on a camping trip with another daddy/daughter duo in our ward, and are having the time of their lives right now getting dirty, eating way more junk than mom allows and staying up late. I hope they are having fun, because I know that I am. Am I terrible to love it when I am ALONE? My babies hit the sack, predictably early, and now I have free reign of the house. I am getting ready to go eat a big bowl of ice cream and sit in front of E! News. Is that so hopeless of me? Everyone leaves, and I had high hopes of being productive, but all I want to do is veg..........

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Messes......


So, yesterday, when I was loading my blog with all of the pictures from the last post, I heard an unusual amount of glee coming from upstairs. I headed up to see what was going on. When I rounded the corner into my dining area, I found my sweet little twins up on the kitchen table playing in an entire box of "Fruity Cheerios" which they had dumped all over the table and floor. Then, since that wasn't enough fun, Molly was sprinkling salt into it all. The scene should have been hilarious, looking back even one day, I know that it was, but that is not how I saw it at the time! I immediately took them off the table, told them "no, no" and began cleaning up the disaster.

Reflecting on this since then, I realize that I should have done some things differently. I should have pulled out my camera, my video camera, or at the very least, LAUGHED out loud at the fun they were having. Sometimes I really HATE that I am so efficient, because the thing that I love the most about my children is that they are NOT.

So, I am making a new goal. And please feel free to hold me to it! I am going to start laughing at my life more, and whining about it less. I am going to start taking pictures in those wonderful moments, the way my sweet friend Kristen would do! I am going to let stuff go, just a little bit more. I am sure I will always be a little anal, but I have got to loosen the straps a little, because after yesterday, I am sure they are way too tight!

Sorry............I REALLY wish I had a picture. I am almost tempted to re-create the mess, but surely there will be more soon!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Oh what a time!

Can I just tell you how much stinkin fun we had with my sister in law Crystal and her kids, Jaide, now 15 and darling, and Tage, now 9 and as spunky as ever, but loveable just the same? They got here last Sunday night, July 29th, and we did not stop going the whole time..............hence the reason I have not updated my blog. My apologies to all my fans. They just left this morning after a late GNO, and I can honestly say that these are visitors that we will truly miss!

Molly snorkeling in the back yard with her cousins!
Crystal and her naked nephew! She tied a bow in his curly locks!


Jaide, snorkeling. Did I mention how darling she is?
Here's a picture of all the cousins at the park by the river.
Max being a climber in his Keens.
Happy kids!
Olivia, Jaide, and Tage playing "Monkey in the Middle."
We picked lots and lots of marion berries, and made 30 bottles of JAM! Everytime I eat a PB&J I will think of Crystal! She is my favorite gal to make jam with!
Cousins at cheese factory! We had a picnic of, what else, cheese sammiches and ice cream cones for dessert! It was windy, but sunny, so we couldn't complain!
Playing in the sand at the beach was so fun for my girls and their cousins, but little Max kind of hated it all! He was tired, windblown, and just plain cranky!
Is there and ELEPHANT in the room?
Wee! Molly loves to swing with Aunt Crystal!
Taking time to smell the roses!
Everyone took their turn on the elephant, even Aunt Crystal!
.