New things learned

1. Our tiny yard is coming along. I've learned how to lay pavers, and next is learning how to install a sprinkler system. I've also been reading up (again) on gardening herbs and what plants are best for our yard (it gets partial sun) in Arizona (it gets too much heat). 

2. I've recently acquired an iphone, and my first order of business was learning Instagram.

I hope I'm not overloading everyone with pictures, but I'm just having too much fun. (I'm jennybsnaps, by the way.)


3. In an effort to take better photos, I've (finally) bought a new lens for my camera. I'm slightly glad that Picnik is no longer available, because now I'm motivated to learn a real photo-editing program... so we are trying Pixelmator. It's Apple's version of Photoshop, but waaaaaaay cheaper. Wish me luck. (There are nearly 50 tutorials that I'm going to watch this week.)

Heyday

Cloudy days are perfect park days...

Things we saw:

-- Two dogs, Betty and Sprinkles

-- The fastest remote control car I think I've ever seen

-- Three scooters, two bikes, lots of kids

Things we overheard the other kids saying:

-- "Do you want to trade my scooter for your bike? Ha ha...Yeah right, you ride a girls bike."

-- "She's not aloud to play on Sundays."

   "Why?"

   "'Cause she's Mormon. She has to wait until Monday."

   "Mondays are dumb."

-- "Hey come over to the slide! There's a girl over there selling Takis!" (I'm glad I know what Takis are, otherwise I would have thought it was some kind of drug."

Things June wanted to pick up:

-- Sticks

-- A bandaid

-- Dog business

What an eventful day at the park.

And yes, kid, Mondays are dumb.

Celebrate

35 years ago today, my dad wore a white tuxedo and married my mom.

Look at 'em. Their kids are gonna be so good-lookin'.

Thanks for being the greatest parents ever!

I love you guys... Happy Anniversary!

Being There

It's been that kind of week... the kind when you don't feel like you are doing the best that you can.

I think June can sense I'm having that kind of week too... she wants to be held more, wants to snack on things she's not supposed to snack on, wants to watch another Elmo episode, wants to push the grocery cart (not sit in it), wants to take everything off the shelves, wants to climb the stairs, wants to get out of her car seat, wants to play with our toilet paper, etc.

I can't stay frustrated at a face like that.

Even though it's been that kind of week, I'm still grateful for people who help in the most thoughtful ways:

- The kind that come home after a long day working, and don't care that we're eating macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza, and frozen corn for dinner.

- The kind that share pizzas and salads, play 'VidRhythm', make me laugh, and gush about June even though she's got boogers in her nose.

- The kind that listen to my 'I'm an awful parent!' story and then tells a more revolting (and incredibly funny) story to make me feel less guilty about my parenting experience.

- The kind that help me with unexpected expense, and still buy me a coke every time I come around.

Thanks family and friends.

Whole Love

For my mom's birthday, we went to the hole in the rock in Papago Park.

As a native Arizonan, I am ashamed to say that I've never been.

As a non-athlete, the hike to the top was no sweat.

As a fan of eating, I didn't bring enough snacks.

It's worth going at least once.

Sun flared!!:

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Ate: A Grilled Sausage Wood Fired Pizza from Liberty Market. It was probably the best things I've eaten in a very long time.

Listening to: The Best of George Harrison... 'cause he's my favorite.

Proud: of my William. Our backyard is (slowly) coming along, but we just finished laying the pavers. Next is the sprinkler system. I can't wait for the finished product.

Also proud: of my June. It's funny how quickly they go from not crawling to crawling, and destroying everything within reach.

Reading: this blog post from my cousin, Katie. It is SO WORTH reading. Her writing is perfect.

Here's a tip.

When the weather looks like this...

... do this...

... and eat food like this...

... and don't forget the French onion soup, Smores, and caramel apples.

Handmade Heaven

June is incredibly lucky to be surrounded by talented, generous people. In the last few weeks, she's received handmade gifts that would take me a lifetime to make.

A costume basket from Grandma Martha, including a few handmade aprons:

Hand-embroidered pillowcases from Martha, one for each month:

A handmade quilt from Holly:

The famous crocheted blanket from Tauna... this one goes everywhere with June.

I know there are more, but June wouldn't let me take any more photos today. Thank you to everyone!!

You're My Home

I didn't think I would obsess over Easter dresses, but I succumbed. Thanks to my mom for finding a baby blue one for June. And thanks to my brother, Ryan, for taking the pictures.

Instead of filling June's Easter eggs with jelly beans, I filled it with little fudge-striped cookies. She didn't mind one bit. I also included her first set of crayons in her basket. I can't wait for my little artist to bloom.

Hunt

It was another pleasant Easter Sunday.

My mom's house is perfect for Easter Sunday. So bright and cheery:

The highlight is always the adult Easter egg hunt. This year, we added a little bit more pushing and jostling. I would have taken pictures, but I was too busy unsuccessfully trying to steal other people's stashes.

Ryan found the most eggs AGAIN, but he cheats (and I stand by that accusation).

Kent only found three eggs, but he received the coveted egg prize: a $20 bill.

The grandkids had their egg hunt afterwards. June "found" three eggs... (I may have swiped a couple from her cousins' bags.)

Can you spot the fake smiles in this picture?

After all that pushing and shoving and gnashing of teeth, we went inside and had a beautiful lesson about the true meaning of Easter. Actually, THAT was the highlight. I love hearing my family's testimonies.

Now I'm off to train for next year's hunt, but I can't find my bow staff.

I'll try something new

I'm on a roll this week with trying new things.

Last night I tried this new recipe:

It did not disappoint.

Tonight I'm trying this recipe.

I'm trying cross-stitching.

William and I are trying to put in a sprinkler system in our yard.

I'm trying to listen to more music, and watch less TV.

I might try buying this new album.

A Tribute to Mr. Murray

Bill Murray just happens to be in five of my top ten favorite movies of all time.

June must be a fan as well, because she currently styles her hair like Bill's:

(Thanks to William's hilarious cousin, Alisha, for pointing this out.)

Chopped.

I love preparing salad for dinner. I can prepare it earlier in the day, and all I need is a cutting board and knife.

I made this one.

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Listening to: Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely. My favorite favorite favorite song is 'Many Shades of Black'. Thank you, David, for the album.

Eating: Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Two words: Macaroon crust.

Reading: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. I still read 5th grade novels.

Need: this print, this bag, and I need to try this recipe.

So Happy: my favorite magazine of all time is printing another issue. April 17th.

Found: a lipstick shade that I don't mind wearing. It's a good feeling.

Conference Weekend

Usually conference weekend is bliss, but June had a terrible cough/cold. It was the best because she cuddles when she's sick. It was the worst because she was sick.

Conference weekend inspires me to get my act together. When I want to get my act together, I set goals...

GOALS - memorize one scripture a month, exercise more and eat better to increase spirituality, be positive, and too many more...

In addition to my goals, I made a list of "spring cleaning" tasks I need to do around the house.

When my list became too long, I decided to concentrate on just the upstairs and putting in our side yard.

All this month we'll be painting, organizing, sanding, dropping plenty off at Goodwill, hammering, digging, planting, laying pavers, etc.

Stay nice, weather.