It came.

Since Marshall was fairly young I have resigned myself to the fact that there would come a day (or days) that I would find myself in the Dr.'s office waiting for a cast/stitches/x-rays/etc.  I've always sort of planned on it so I wouldn't be shocked to find myself there.  Well, today was that day.  Really just the first, I'm sure, but we've survived the initial experience and now I'm starting to wonder how the rest of it will pan out.

Tyler is now officially the first of our kids to break a bone.  He got tripped up by a hose yesterday while we were helping Uncle Jon with his Eagle Project and it turns out he broke his tibia.  It is a long, diagonal fracture through the bigger shin bone and I feel so bad for the little guy. 

He was a pretty brave boy while the doctor was checking out his leg and he resisted plenty while he was getting x-rayed, but he was ticked when they started putting the cast on.  He didn't get over that part for a while.  I am so glad I thought to grab his blankie and doggie when we left for the doctor- he held on to those two things quite a bit through the various procedures and sweetly demanded them when his cast was going on.  He's sleeping it all off now, but I'm definitely nervous about the adjustment period we're all going to have to this giant "club" on his leg.  I never thought to mentally prep myself for this part.

Look how sweet he looks... the poor kid spent a good three hours sleeping once we got home from the doctor.  

Get better soon my little one.

Sometimes I Do Dumb Things

Sometimes I do dumb things.  Like:

Open the truck door into my forehead.  I could not believe I did that one.  I just jumped into the truck as fast as I could and fell over so in case I started crying no one would see.  It hurt so bad.

How about the time(s) I order my dinner in the more expensive way just to get the same final product.  I really didn't realize until after I had paid then I put it all together.  The poor girl taking my order the other night started to suggest how I might want to order, but I was sure what I ordered would be better.  Until it wasn't.  It was the same.  (Shouldn't combo/dinner plates always be cheaper than a la carte?)

Oooo.  Oooo.  This one is a doozy.  Procrastinate using the restroom while wearing Spanx.  (A super tight apparatus that holds one's belly tight.)  A girl can only remove so many layers in such a short amount of time.  Rest assured that I "made it."  Just barely though.

The fact that I just told you all about my spandex wearing "dilema."

Along the lines of the first one... leaning over the counter and hitting my head on the upper cupboards.  There's a reason I really only work at the 20% of our kitchen counter that is overhead-cupboard-less.

Somebody please tell me the dumb things they do so I don't feel so challenged.

Spring Fever

Our house is starting to look like a home!!!  We've got some stuff planted in front, I've forced myself to buy a little more decor for inside, and I've made a rough plan for our landscaping.  Colby promised sprinklers would be going in within the next few weeks, and if we have any $$$ left over, we'll at least get grass for the front yard.  I am so excited!!!

 Above you will find a couple slightly different angles of the planter along the front of our house.  I just love ranunculus (the yellow flowers), and the people at the first nursery I went to almost told me I was crazy for wanting to get some, but I figured even if they only last a little while, then I'll still be happy.  Then it would be on to the next trial and error planting...  We planted the tangerine crossvines last weekend, and you also see what I think is called sea or pink thrift.  Who knows, I'll go find the tag sometime and give you the official name.  :)

Below are the two containers I filled.  The one on the left has another ranunculus (of course), anemones, a couple herbs and whatever that cute white flowered plant is.  Chances of it being over filled are fairly great, but if it fails, then I'll have one more lesson under my belt.  The pot on the right has a few shade loving plants, since the opportunity to plant shade lovers in our yard is practically non existent.  I'm looking forward the really getting the hang of this in the next few years so I can feel brave enough to invest in more pots and containers for our back patio.

Tyler was my little helper this afternoon getting everything planted while Marshall was at school.  

He may even be cuter than all my new plants...

Since I've been feeling the need to get out and garden I've decided I need to get me some of these shoes.  I've never been a Crocs fan, but I am so on board with these adorable little flats.  I also like the yellow and sky colored ones, but I think I've settled on the navy.  If I don't find them in St. George tomorrow then I'll grab them online.  I love spring!  (Even if my allergies often make me feel like the end of the world is upon me...)

The Highs & Lows of Yesterday's Wardrobe

I was so proud of myself yesterday when I got ready for church.  I did something my mom would never have let me do... I wore vertical AND horizontal stripes at the SAME time.  It was a super silly thing to be so elated over, but I felt like it was quite the break through.  I failed to get a picture (probably on behalf of my bad hair day... it always takes me a week or so to get used to a new do) but I'll describe it.  My skirt was black with vertical pinstripes.  They were subtle, but still there, wink, wink.  My top was a 3/4 sleeve gray sweater with thin, red, horizontal stripes.  Like I said before, it was such a silly thing to be proud of but I love getting outside the box.  And I can't forget... I wore my super high black peep toe heels.  Colby's favorite of all my shoes- surprising but true.

Now for the part that makes me frown a little.  Later in the day I wore the same jeans I wore all through my first pregnancy.  I don't know which is worse; the fact that I wore my "pregnant pants" or the fact that I refused to wear maternity pants the first time around and bought the lowest cut, stretchiest pair of jeans I could find.  (Side note: During my second pregnancy I found my love for maternity pants.  The ones that have the elastic that come all the way up to your bra... and I still think about wearing them on a daily basis.)

Now Happy Monday everybody.  

In about an hour I'll be hanging out with my baby sister watching the season finale 

of the stupidest, most addicting show in the world, Pretty Little Liars.

Becoming Domestic Has Ruined My Life

The title of this blog post sounds dramatic, I realize that, but I just wanted to give everyone a fair warning. Domesticity is a slippery slope.  Dangerous waters if you ask me.  Today I have two gripes:

Strawberry Jam:

A few years ago I was given a gift of homemade strawberry freezer jam.  I've always love freezer jam, but this one was beyond incredible.  Whenever I'd ask about the recipe my friend would just answer with, "I just follow the directions on the box."  Well, I've tried it and it never worked out the same.  Until last year when I tried a bunch of different brands and I found the trick.  Use the "less sugar needed" pectin and you'll get to-die-for strawberry jam.  Every time.  The trouble is now... I can't eat any other strawberry jam... it's practically torture.  That, and the fact that I can't eat pancakes without it.

Salsa:

Probably while I was in high school my dad learned from his brother Jeff how to make really yummy home made salsa.  It's so yummy!!!  Well then, my dad married Realaine who also makes a mean salsa.  It's pretty much guaranteed that there's always fresh salsa at their house and I have grown very accustomed to it.  It took me a handful of tries to finally get it about right and now I make it all the time.  It's so simple!  Just canned tomatoes (they're never out of season), a serrano pepper, garlic, green onion and cilantro.  Seriously SO easy! The only problem is that I just can't stand store bought salsa anymore.  It's the worst when I crave it and the store is out of the pepper I need or I'm out of cilantro or something.  So now I'm basically limited to making it myself, only eating the fresh salsa at mexican restaurants, or just going without when I eat at other people's houses.  How lame is that?

It's So Simple

It is simple things like this that make me so happy about spring.  

Tulips are my favorite... especially in a vase in the house.  

I need a whole garden of tulips so I can have a whole houseful of them.

If I could always have tulips in my home, I would always be happy.

Slight Fail

About an hour ago (a little after 10 pm) I got off the phone with a dear friend who had some heart breaking news.  I was on the phone with them for a while just trying to grasp it all and figure out how I might possibly be able to help.  I'm so glad my kids understood that I could not exactly help them at that moment.  A little while after hanging up the phone I noticed a great deal of calm in my home.  I got up to investigate and found this...

Marshall crashed on the couch sound asleep.  Notice the sword he was carrying on his back in his shirt and the fact that he's wearing all green.  It was the day to dress up for St. Patty's Day at preschool and my boy really lived it up.  He even wore his camo green rainboots with the airplanes on them.

But where was Tyler?

He had climbed up on Marshall's bed and crashed himself.  And yes, his bum is rather bare.  Don't report me... I tried not to reveal anything but how cute this boy is.  I thought it was funny that he is sleeping on the lower half of the bed.  Maybe I should have taken the picture at a wider angle...

Sorry kids, you were wiped and I was taking too darn long.  Thanks for understanding though, my little ones.

Colby has Turned "Almost Old"

I may be a day late on the blog, but we've been celebrating "the Old Man's" birthday for a few days now.  Yesterday (Colby's actual birthday), Grandma asked Marshall if he knew who's birthday it was and when we told him it was Daddy's he just acted like we were weirdos because it had already been Daddy's birthday for a few days already.

Celebrations began with an Avatar : The Last Airbender marathon.  In an effort to be a good wife I just allowed it to happen and went on with my life as if I didn't have a husband or children.  They were "sucked in" from Thursday night until Monday when they finished all three books (seasons in normal person language).  There was no work done inside or out on behalf of our family's celebrations. 

Saturday we had a BBQ with some great friends in St. George and went swimming.  Then we came home and got started on dinner: borsch, Colby's fave from his mission.  We invited our cousins David and Allie to come down and share in the joy and luckily they liked it!  Or at least they told us they did. 

Whether they did or not, we finished feasting on a new family favorite recipe- Banana Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting.  (Allie- I included the link for David's benefit)  The cake was good but the frosting was SOOOOOOO good.  Here's Marshall enjoying what didn't make it on the cake.  I think we all could have just sat and ate the frosting all night.  It was a brown sugar cream cheese butter cream and I'm going to be making that stuff for years to come.

When Sunday rolled around we celebrated with family and we gave Colby his presents early because he was going to be gone for work starting Monday.  But when Monday morning came, he decided to stay home on behalf of Marshall going in to the surgery center for some dental work.  We chose to have him put to sleep for the work so that it wasn't a major battle of wills.  We had been advised to be prepared for one ornery kid once it was all over since anesthesia affects kids in all kinds of weird ways.  It was nice to have Colby there because he is Marshall's best buddy and I really think it helped Marshall handle it all with no problem whatsoever.  (I attribute his good behavior to that and the blessing he received the night before.)

So then, since we weren't done in St. George until 3 or so Colby decided he'd just go down to work in the morning instead of that night.  I started feeling bad because he was now going to be home on his birthday (even though it was only going to be in the wee morning hours) and he didn't have anything to open or enjoy on his birthday.  So I made a last minute call to some of our best friends and the Barton family came over for Root Beer Floats on Monday night. 

I'd say Colby had a weekend full of love and celebration that should last him into these last couple years of his 20's.  It's slowly creeping away... and the effects of age are starting to settle in.  (I chose the picture at the top for the way it really shows off the silver highlights in Colby's hair.  Not only is he going gray, but he's also thinning out.  And I'm not talking about around his mid-section.  *wink wink*  Who needs hair anyway?)

We all love you Colby.  I'm sure you know that!  And in case you didn't, we'll be celebrating this Friday with my family too!

Happy birthday!!!

Good Weekend

Last weekend was super crazy for us.  We left Thursday for Salt Lake for the State basketball tournament  (the girls finished 6th) and came home Saturday (barely ahead of a big snow storm).  We were home for less than an hour, switched out some dirty clothes for clean ones then made our way to SoCal for a family reunion.  We were able to convince Colby that the kids would be on their best behavior if we spread the trip over one more day and came home Monday.  We dropped Colby off at Willow Beach (the marina on Lake Mojave below Hoover Dam) for work then finally made it home late Monday night.

When we made it to Willow Beach, the first thing we had to do was find Grandpa.

He always has the best ideas and suggested we feed the ducks. 

There were tons of them around and a good handful that were walking around right by us on the boat ramp.

I'm not sure Tyler understood the concept of feeding the ducks.  

1) Getting the food.  2) Eating the food.  3) Making sure he got to eat both handfuls of food.

But after a few minutes he seemed to get the hang of it.  

1) "Oh.  I guess I throw the food to the ducks."  2) "Never mind.  I like this cereal."

A few of the ducks were really friendly and were eating out of our hands. 

Marshall had to be really patient, but this duck finally gave him a try.

What is this?  Tyler eating more of the food?  Haha.  He even had that duck's undivided attention.

After a while we decided to head to the end of the dock to share the food with the other ducks
that were staying in the water.

Tyler is so funny.  He wanted to hold them.  He'll do this when he wants to hold something that he sees in a picture too.  Usually fish or small animals in a book.  He once even did it to a picture of Great Grandpa Stratton.  That one made my heart go all melty.  

He was saying "come here" to the ducks like he does to the neighborhood kitties.

Proof that I was there.  Also proof that you should wear make up on road trips.  Haha.  At least I wasn't in PJs.

This was a really fun, insane trip.  My favorite parts were spending FIVE whole days with Colby, seeing family we haven't seen in a while, and the moment Marshall piped up after 9 hours in the car (on the third day of driving- so really like the 17th hour), "I'm getting tired of this adventure."  The kids were champs the whole time though.  They traveled really well and were happy little campers the whole time.  The worst part of the whole thing was the day after we were home and both boys seemed to finally find an outlet for all of their grouchiness they had been bottling up.  That was OK though, because we were at home and no one else got to see it.

No Picture :(

I am told Marshall got married today.  Haha.  Talk about epic failure on the part of "professional photographer of the family."  I have no images to remember this day.

We were at playgroup and Tara hurried and told me to look out the window.  What did I find?  Marshall and Ayla holding hands walking across the lawn.  Oh my.  It was so cute and so strange all at once.  The realization of how strange it was is really just starting to sink in.  I'll elaborate in a second.  But just to paint the picture, Ayla was dressed in a pretty white princess dress-up and they looked so adorable together. 

When Marshall came in he told me he married Ayla.  I just smiled and told him I thought it was great.  After a few minutes he told me he that he also married Adalyn.  (Wow!  What a ladies man.)  It was so silly and so cute.  Tara told me Ayla was quick to tell her about it when they got in the car to go home and she was also very eager to tell her daddy.  The second Colter got home Ayla informed him of the sacred union.  Colter's reaction was classic, "Doesn't Marshall know he's supposed to ask me first?"  Whoops.  I guess we haven't taught our son the way things should be done in that department.

Now for the part that is strange to me:  My son has been talking about marrying Ayla for a while now.  (In fact, just the other day Marshall told Aunt Camie that he was going to marry Ayla and they were going to live together again.)  And before that he talked about wanting to marry Addie.  But I never thought much of it because those two are basically the only girls he knew at the time.  Now he knows girls from preschool, but doesn't seem to care much about them...  I always just tell him whoever he marries has to be nice and cute and love Jesus.  It is just sinking in to me now that he actually likes girls and thinks about marrying them.  I know its not anything bad or abnormal, but I just have never thought of what it would be like when Marshall was "in love."  And I definitely never thought it would come at 3 years old.  I guess the thing that's really strange is that Marshall is getting to be a big boy and isn't only worried about where the nearest dirt pile is and whether or not he gets ketchup with his next meal.  I don't know what to think about him getting big.  But I definitely know if I find him kissing those "wives" of his he'll be in big trouble.  With me and their daddies.