nurse matilda

I don't know about you, but I really loved that movie Nanny McPhee that came out a few years ago. Sometimes I wish she would come and work a little magic at my house! Did you know that there is a sequel coming out next month? And just in time for Hannah's birthday, that could be fun.

In case you didn't already know, this book here by Christianna Brand is the one that inspired the movie. And you know, the books are usually better than the movies in most cases, and I think that's true in this case. This is one of my favorite books to read, especially as a mom. The kids in this book are super naughty, so it makes me think mine aren't so bad {haha}! I love that in the book there are so many kids, you can never really figure out exactly how many there are. It's just all these kids, and then the baby, and the smaller baby, and the tinier baby, and the tiniest baby, etc. So funny. Pick it up for yourself or your grade schoolers, it's a super fun summer read.

my boyfriend

{haha!}

Just had to share these pictures from our photo date. What a hottie!

name that baby

Please. We need help in the baby boy name department. Any suggestions? Please?

pioneer weekend 2010

{Click on the collage for a better view.}

What a great weekend down at the cabin with my fun in-laws! Complete with plenty sunshine, card games, target shooting, a small town parade in Fairview, a demolition derby {so red-necked and hilarious!}, and fireworks. Lots of laughing and naps in between. Oh, and 4 flat tires for Clayton on his bike ride with Spencer!

We hadn't been to the cabin since last October due to a major flood that happened over the winter. It was so good to go spend a weekend there again. Olivia loved running around the big playroom, going down the slide, and kissing the fish on the mural. The kids drove the 4-wheelers up and down the dirt road, and I shot Clayton's machine gun...pregnant lady with a gun, WATCH OUT!

tater tots

Ben

Hannah {and Aunt Cami}

Nina

Olivia

Every kid has the right to wear Mr. Potato Head glasses at least once

in their life, don't you think?

warm rain, dirt, chalk, and moss

Sat out on the front porch with Olivia, smelling the rain, waiting for the kids to come home from their first day back at school. She scribbled all over herself with the chalk, stuck her little fingers into the dirt, and squished the moss with her toes. Ben picked up some chalk before he even took off his backpack, while Hannah told me how much she likes her 3rd grade teacher. Nina pedaled up the street on her bike {she starts school next week} and Olivia reacts as if she's spotted a celebrity, "Nuh-Nah! Nuh-Nah!" and runs to give her loves. Clayton, a.k.a., The Gardener, trimmed the rose bushes. Olivia wore one of his gloves. I love rain in the summertime.

stamp art

Years ago, when I was expecting Ben, I worked at the University of Utah. Mail came in from all over the world with the coolest stamps. One of the professors, Yukio, the nicest little old man from Japan, would always leave little bundles of these stamps on my desk after he'd gone through his mail. I guess he noticed me always looking at them when I was sorting the mail.

Even after I left, Yukio would mail me envelopes stuffed with foreign stamps and a little note to say hello. It's been a few years since I've heard from him, but I still have all the stamps.

I've been wanting to use them for something creative for a long time, and finally Ben helped me make this stamp collage to hang up in his bedroom. We got the idea here, if you want to check it out. And you don't have to be a stamp collector to do this, I've found lots on ebay for practically nothing.

hubert horatio bartle bobton-trent

Do you ever have times in your life where you wish you had a money tree growing in your backyard? Me too. Especially this week since our freezer/refrigerator decided to completely stop working, as well as our disposal in the kitchen sink. And those darn broken-nose-medical-bills just won't disappear. When it rains it pours, doesn't it?

Here's one of my favorite books...a riches to rags story, rather than a rags to riches story. Because the best things in life are free, right?

Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent and his parents are so rich that they have everything they ever dreamed of. The play Monopoly with real money, host dance parties all the time, and their house is so big that each night when Hubert walks across it to say goodnight to his parents, his hot chocolate gets cold in the process.

But Hubert's parents are not careful with their money, and one day, they realize that all the fortune has been spent. So they sell all the valuables, but then use that money to host another party. It just won't do. So...they are forced to leave their ginormous home for a small apartment. But you know what? They find that it is nice and cozy and they really like it a lot. Especially Hubert, whose hot chocolate is now still hot after walking the short distance to his parents' room to say goodnight.

chrumpits and other fine works of art

"I hav thes litl sisr hr name is Nina she mac's me lafe she is 1 yestrday she got into the pot's and pans hse mad same suop."

-Ben, 1st grade

"I shuvled the drivwa." -Ben, 1st grade

"I got a pocitnife for Christmas." -Ben, 1st grade

"Yestrday I want to the cabin. I was helping bild the pipes and (it) was raning. And I did some of the alekchrek (electrical work)." -Ben, 1st grade

"I think I'm a good bildr." -Ben, 1st grade

Ben's 2007-08 Reflections Contest Winner! "I Can Make a Difference By Planting Seeds."

2nd grade

A little Norwegian paper doll Ben made for his Norway report, 2nd grade.

Hannah's drawing of musical instruments, age 6. "Chrumpit, Xilafon, Dram and Peano."

A self portrait on the potty, by Hannah, age 5. She is saying, "Wipe me mom." Nice.

A menu by Hannah, age 6. "Rabeyoley (ravioli). Pasta. Coorn chawder. Pancacks. Eggs. Sallid. Froot. Hot Dogs. Toast. Barbecoo. Pizza. Vegeys. Sasejes. Metbolls. Hambergess. Timato."

What the heck? Some love and a hot dog, by Hannah, age 5.

"do NOT come in I am doing somthing and you are not alowd to come in and that means you Ben! But you can come in Mom!" -Hannah, age 6

"Pig With a Moustache" -Nina, age 3

"Our Family on the Couch" -Nina, age 3

"Eeyore" puppet (from Winnie-the-Pooh), by Nina, age 3

Last week I decided to finally tackle the eyesore in the corner of my bedroom...the overflowing box of kids' artwork collected over the last few years. I reeeally let it build up this time! I managed to get it all organized over a couple of days, keeping just the favorites. But still I kept a lot. This stuff is just to funny to part with. At some point, I'd really like to use this great idea with their art.

The kids came in and looked through it with me, and we were all practically peeing our pants from laughing at their old drawings. When I read "chrumpit" I had tears streaming down, it just was so hilarious to me.

Here are a few samples for you, enjoy!

P.S. Clayton's mom recently gave us a fat binder of his elementary school work, and it was filled with good stuff too. My favorite was an "About Me" sheet where he filled in the blanks:

"When it is time for Parent Teacher Conference, I.....want to die." Haha!

anniversary #13

Eating at Ruth's Diner. Clayton can even make himself laugh!

Yay! No kids! At least for a couple nights.

One of my favorites of Clayton from our "photo date."

34 weeks and counting down!

Funny things in this hardware shop.

I want these lights!

My view of my feet these days.

Clayton buying my new doorbell at this quirky little shop, Silver Star Hardware.

"Wouldn't this be so cool?" Checking out Cactus & Tropicals.

Wishing I had a money tree while shopping Anthropologie.

Love the packaging on these.

My cute new doorbell, aka, "a little piece of our anniversary on our house," Clayton said.

13 years of marriage and we still love each other!

What a fun weekend we just had...lots of eating out, uninterrupted conversations, and sleeping in. LOVED it.

Eating at Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon was perfect, such a cozy atmosphere out on the patio with live music, white lights strung through the big trees, and clean mountain air. Shopping at the Gateway {namely, Anthropologie, my FAVE, where I got this yummy lotion I'm obsessing over} and getting waffle cones was followed by a late night swim at the downtown hotel. It was a good laugh trying to squeeze my 34 week pregnant body into a swim suit! Not a pretty sight.

Breakfast at noon at Millcreek Cafe and Eggworks couldn't have been better...we definitely want to go there again. Then off for shopping at little random shops where we bought a cute doorbell! I know, I did say random, didn't I? We went to Robin Hood at the dollar theater, and had fun people watching there {let's just say that Sugarhouse has some interesting people at the movies}. We managed to do a little "photo date" as our friend Chris calls it, and snapped some pics of each other, just for the record. Stopped by Cactus and Tropicals just to get ideas for the yard, drove past the little house where we lived in the basement when Ben was born, and Trolley Square to check out new glasses for Clayton. Didn't buy any, but had fun trying them on. Meanwhile, my sister Hailey called and said, "I hate to bother you, but Olivia just threw up all over the front of me." Crap. "Just go to Mom's, she'll help you!" I said. Isn't that terrible?

Park City Outlets=New Shoes That I Desperately Needed For Church.

Then we followed the advice of the guy at the hotel desk there in Park City and took the bus up to Main Street. Italian sodas {also my fave}, iceberg wedge salads and pizza at Cisero's...I couldn't eat it all, my stomach is so squished these days, but oh my gosh, it was good stuff. Then we couldn't find the bus stop back down until it went flying by us with the lights flashing on the front "LAST BUS." So we had to pay a dang stupid taxi instead. Lame!

Had a good laugh watching a Saturday Night Live rerun...we don't have DishNetwork, so it was new to us. "The Mellow Show with Jack Johnson," hahaha!

Saturday morning we were talking about how it was nice to not wake up to fighting in the hallway. See, usually the kids are up before us and being really loud in the hallway outside our bedroom. So it was nice to have some peace and quiet for once.

But we spoke too soon, because Sunday morning, there was a fight in the hallway. Of the hotel. A woman screaming and raging and throwing things against the walls. It woke us up. NICE.

So much for that idea!

We headed up Park City Main Street again and grabbed a quick breakfast at a little cafe {fresh orange juice, crepes, and pastries}, where we spotted these awesomely packaged chocolate bars.

Thanks Hailey, Mom, and Erika for taking care of the kids!