brushing teeth

L does not have teeth yet, but like most other things she just wants to do what everyone else is doing in the family. She loves brushing her teeth when the rest of us are. She even tries brushing my teeth for me. :) Man, I adore this kiddo!

 

congrats to the newlyweds

Congratulations to Jared's sister, Mary and her new husband Troy!!! Marriage is wonderful and I am so excited for their new adventure together. The ceremony touched my heart, reminded me of my own marital covenants, and helped me recommit to love more fully.

But first, this is my favorite picture from the weekend. This is my baby L and her face just CRACKS ME UP every time I see it! Bwahahahaha!

 The night before the wedding was insane by my standards. The only people who went to bed before 2 in the morning were me, my sister-in-law and our three small children. The grandparents, the visiting aunt, cousins, Jared's siblings - everyone else - didn't go to bed before 2! Nuts, right? And they weren't even doing last minute prep for the wedding. They were playing games, chatting and eating grilled cheese with kimchee. To Jared's credit he was only up that late to finish his final paper that was due the next day. He didn't want to work on it on the wedding day. He worked hard, although he takes a long time to write. 

 We all nearly died from the dessert buffet at the wedding reception. Wow, there was a lot! Never eating sugar again.

 Sorry about my lame camera pictures. They were radiating far brighter than these pictures give them credit. GORGEOUS couple.

 The colors were navy, tan and white. It looked really great together and the whole O family coordinated our clothes. I think the photographer must have gotten some really great family pictures. Hopefully more to come on that.

Daddy daughter dance. It was so sweet.

L taking up the whole dance floor. Not a lot of people danced, but there were spurts. Jared even danced with me. I also danced an awful lot with my kids.

Aww. Mimama dancing.

And when we came home my boys crashed. So did the lady, but S was so out of it he never even woke up when we took him out of the car. You'd think we drugged him. Oh, wait. We did. With tons of sugar. Poor boys. 

It was a beautiful day with family and remembering of marital promises. 

Side note. My guy just said the prayer over lunch. It is sweet to remember his prayers. :) 

"Heavenly Father, Grateful for this day. Grateful for this food. Grateful for the barbecue chicken and the chips. Grateful for the 'mato and lettuce. Jesus' name. Amen."

happy birthday to our guy!

I can hardly believe that it was three years ago that we welcomed this little man into our lives, our family, and our hearts. He has changed me for the better. What a complete joy these three years have been with him. He makes motherhood feel like the best dessert to adulthood and you just want to keep coming back for another bite. S is imaginative, self-soothing, active, forgiving, inquisitive and verbal. His common response to questions this week is "I don't know." 

chocolate cake like he requested!

He loves pretending to be African animals, especially lions. He loves bread, although we don't eat it much. He coming outside for any reason he can find. Yesterday we was disappointed he didn't take the trash out with me. 

we spent the a.m. at the animal farm with friends

I adore putting him to bed for that is the moment that he gets the most spiritual. He asks questions about prayer or makes observations about heaven that cause my heart to sore there and back. His prayers melt my heart and soul with warmth. 

He want to be a part of the big kid games and likes going outside when he hears them playing.

He still loves helping me around the house, especially in the kitchen. He must push the blender button loves washing the dishes in soapy water. 

He requested that he watch a show and go swimming on his birthday. We did watch something, and were going to borrow a friend's backyard kid pool but it really wasn't a swimming kind of day. It was VERY windy and would have been cold. 

Thank you to his dear grandparents for the floor puzzle, cute undies, loving notes and the DASHINGLY handsome little man suit. 

Happy birthday to our guy! We love you more than words can tell. What's your favorite characteristic or memory of the birthday boy?

front step

The front step. The introduction to my house. The first impression. The front porch is kind of a big deal. I think I finally like what I've got going on here after a year and a half and indecision. Both the functionality and beauty please me. Both need to be present for me to like it in my house.

 Gecko for good luck; a housewarming gift from a friend. A lovely sounding wind chime. Living house plants and the flowers that remind my neighbor of Dr. Seuss. The feathers we collected from the farm found a home in our spider plant tucked back there. What else do you do with one lonesome but tragically beautiful peacock feather?!?

 A yard sale bench with storage under the seat! Thank. You. It was only 3 bucks! It needs a new coat of paint that I may or may not ever get around to, but at least I have the original black paint. The owner threw it in for free. :)

 Potted sage, catnip, and now stevia and a baby spider plant have joined the front potted garden.

I really enjoy living plants but I know I have no special talent for keeping them alive, so this is a wonderful success for me. Thanks to farmer Leigh and my mom for providing all these plants!

coins to cash

The other morning I needed to get out, so we went on a "benture" as my guy calls our adventures. Simple. Short. But it helped me feel sane and productive while my husband is gone for almost a week. 

We didn't even get fully dressed for the day, made a quick smoothie breakfast, and booked it to the credit union coin machine first thing in the A.M. The guy loved it. He's holding the receipt for our cash. 

 We looked ridiculous. I know. He was still wearing unmatched PJs and I threw on some clothes I thought I had lost in UT but I found them packed in baby girl clothes. I was so ecstatic to have them "back" I threw them on convincing myself they matched. Looking back, they so did not! Oh, and S picked out his own shoes for the day. They really should have been in a tote in the closet somewhere, but he loves these boots so I couldn't do it. Either that or I just haven't made time to. You decide which. 

L: "Whatever, mom. The sun is too bright..."

and it begins

And the painting of our walls begins...

Can you see it? The patch I painted this week?! There was an ugly white spot where there was no paint under the giant Verizon box we removed out of the dinning room. The dinning room! Of all places, the previous folks put the Verizon battery back up box in plain sight of the front room and in the dinning room. So, it had to be moved to the basement. No biggie, except there was no paint underneath and NO information about the paint on the wall already. No color, primer, even brand left behind by the sellers. So it became my task to experiment. And it isn't a perfect match but it is certainly an improvement. And that is why they call it home improvement. :) Oh, not to mention that I filled in four holes before painting. I am so proud of my not handy self. 

cousin loving

We love this Stephenson cousin! Thank you for spending the day with us little lady! We love you! We had a great time. She is the best mother's helper! The went so smoothly, although she was so bored when my kids napped. Thank you Lord for our family, especially those close enough to see often!

 Don't mind my son's jammies all day long. It's in fashion where I come from.

 We went to the park and our helper pushed my little L all cushed in her wagon. She acted like it was a massage and rock to sleep all in one. She loved it! And she cousin ADORES her. 

 (so do I)

 And did anyone else notice how stinking cute my niece dresses? Everyone in that family is so adorable.

food, farm, and fixing

Amazing Russian potato salad!! Thank you to Valentina from our previous ward for the recipe.
Equal parts of:

1. potatoes, boiled then peeled 
2. carrots, boiled then peeled 
3. white northern beans, cooked
4. dill pickles
5. canned beets
6. sauerkraut

Combine all ingredients, add a bit of oil and salt and pepper to taste, and devour!

The sauerkraut made for the distinct flavor and finally I found a recipe that the ENTIRE family loves that uses lots of my homemade sauerkraut. I made a giant bowl and it was gone in two days. All four of us just kept coming back for more. I should share my sauerkraut recipe, and I will...... in another post. :)

Picking raspberries down on the farm. We also took home gleaned broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, and sorrel. During our feather hunt we found a beautiful ostrich feather and two duck feathers that decorate our front porch. We LOVE our farm!

And this beast is the bush in front of the house, in the process of being trimmed to 1/4 its size. I finished after this picture was taken. She is a nasty thing, full of spider/cob webs, bird poop, little white pods that look like larva, and coated with an oily black residue. Any geniuses out there know what plant disease this might be? I cleaned it up with a trim and a power wash, but the residue and webs are back a week later! No other neighbors have bushes with this problem!