It's not that I don't have anything to blog about.

I do.

I just don't seem to have my muse around any more. Truely, I believe Scott is my muse.

I need to get my butt up and take some pictures.

But until that happens, here are a few random thoughts:

1. I can't get this pettiskirt out of my mind. I think I need one. But am still debating weather or not an overweight frumpy mom could pull it off:

2. Gracie's birthday is in a few weeks. 

I hadn't planned on doing a big party, but how can I not with my family here to help me?

An Alice in Wonderland tea party is my theme and I have visions of these combining together: 

**pretty girls, pretty and eclectic tea sets, laughing and friendship**

**bright colors & dress ups**

**plus the funky(ness) & quirky(ness) of Kerli's Tea Party music video**

3. I totally love feeding my son's obsession with boy(ish) things.

Cars.

Growling.

Dirt.

Woo-wee (Woody)

Buuuhhh (Buzz)

Speaking of Buzz, we buzzed his head. Oh, yes we did.

I now love him more.

Speaking of haicuts, I chopped Gracie's hair. Oh, yes I did.

Well, I actually didn't do the chopping, but I was in charge.

Pictures coming soon.

Catching up and freaking out.

Here are a few more pictures from our time with Scott.

Our trip to the Hogle Zoo was as successful as you could expect.

This pretty much sums up our experience:

This actually pretty much sums up my life.

Why must taking a family picture be such a challenge?

Moving on...

This counts as my children taking acting lessons for the summer:

This was Henry's only consolation as he attempted to jump into every animal exhibit.

A brass statue of an animal to climb on would have to suffice.

And to the "freaking out" part of my title.

Decisions.

Is it all in my head or am I constantly bombarded by all these crazy options for my life that make my head spin?

I'll just give you a quick rundown of what Scott and I are trying to sort through right now:

1. We were told that we will move away from AK in December of 2011 which means we'll have a good 18 months when we get back after deployment. So, should we buy a house???

**If we did buy a house the plan is to keep it and rent it out. Our realtor is also an awesome property manager. Being so close to both an Army and an Air Force base keeps the demand for rentals high...supposedly. If it all worked out perfectly it would be so smart.**

2. Should I stay in Utah, start Gracie in school here (for only 6 weeks) then transfer her back to school in AK? Or...should I just go back to AK without Scott in Aug. so Gracie doesn't get whip lash?

3. Should I torture my family by leaving my kids to visit Scott in Cuba for a week? It would be pricey...if we decide to buy a house is that the smartest financial decision?

Input...anybody?

Road trip finale

While in Phoenix we managed to spoil our kids in every way possible.

You can see their giddy happiness with the experience in the RainForest Cafe:

Seriously Gracie.

The veins in the neck popping out with the tongue squished through your tooth hole.

Really?

Anyway...

The place was a big hit with the kids. Even ornery old Henry.

He's showing his new found love of saying "Cheeeeeeese" whenever a camera is pointed his way.

Then we made our way over to check out the Mesa, AZ Temple.

It was simply breathtaking.

It seems as though Gracie's "posing" habits are rubbing off on Lydia.

And it seems as though I lied.

We have yet, another, complete family photo:

The rest of our trip was filled with lots of swimming, shopping at World Market (sigh), a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and playing at playgrounds.

We drove home in one day.

Blech.

All I can say is

thank heaven for protable DVD players.

The Grand Canyon in a day.

On our way to Phoenix we made an 8 hour pit stop to the Grand Canyon.

That was definitely enough for me.

I wouldn't mind going without kids and doing some hiking and what-not, but with 3 kids, 8 hours was more than enough time.

The construction on this tower kinda makes it lose it's raw, coolness. It is authentically ancient, though they are doing some "safety updates".

The kids really loved this tower. The stairs spiral all the way to the top.

By this point the kids were done with the whole "Grand Experience".  It took some promising of Cheetos to tweek any sort of smile out of them.

Behold: the only complete family picture of the entire road trip.

If you ask Lydia this sheep's name is "Anna AND Ashley...she has two names."

There were many demands that she have her own "Grand Canyon Portrait".

I told Scott that I am totally okay with us counting "Anna and Ashley" as child #4.

Road Trip

Last week the kids and I traveled with Scott down to Phoenix.

The only way were able to steal this time with him is because his boss sent him to a "class" down in Phoenix.

So, we made a road trip out of it.

A little of this:

And a little of this:

 is really all you need for a road trip.

Throw in a ton of fast food and you've got it covered!

Our first day we drove down to Lake Powell and stayed in a small town called Page, AZ.

We walked around the big dam at the lake.

Gracie got a lot of practice with her "posing skillz" this trip.

Check out this action:

This is Gracie portraying how "scary" it is to be on the bridge.

Good, right?

I didn't even have to teach her how to be wierd.

Coming up next:

I'm not dead

There are many reasons I've lost my blogging mojo.

Mainly is that my internet access has been majorly limited due to Henry's impecable ability to lose things.

{a.k.a. my internet card}

Do I have pictures of children?

Nope.

But I have pictures from a bridal shower my mom and I did last week. 

{another reason I've been too busy to blog}

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the shower:

Cake pops! Once you "get it" they are really fun to do!

The food table is always my favorite part.

{Unfortunately, everyone can see that on my thighs}

We had cake pops, eclairs, and this amazing apricot brie with grapes on the side. You can find the recipe HERE.

You've probably guessed by now that our theme was "girly french".

Which turned out lucky for us because between my sister and neighbors we were able to gather a lot of great "french" things without breaking the bank.

I just LOVE the bright pink, black and turquoise!

 My apologies for being so boring.

I hope you liked the pictures.

There is no guarantee when I'll be back.

Especially since in 1 week my lover gets to come visit for a while!!!

You can bet we'll be busy {at all times of the day....wink, wink}

Maybe there's a shark in the water

Last week was sorely difficult.

I feel tired.

I feel emotional.

I feel ornery.

I feel crazy.

I feel slighted.

I feel depressed.

I feel fat.

I feel tired. {yes, I already mentioned that; but seeing that it is quite to the extreme I deemed it worthy of a second mentioning}

I feel moody.

I feel lonely.

I feel sad.

Please don't send the crazy squad to retrieve me just yet. I didn't expect to have these feelings so strongly with family around. But it seems that even they can't keep the "shark" away.  This is all to be expected and shall pass soon enough.

I just thought I would mention that in addition to my stressful life this little boy can now escape from his crib in 0.2 seconds flat:

*this picture could not be more ironically perfect for this post*

{picture taken by Shelli Cluff at the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum}

This is exactly the look he has on his face as he's connivingly swooping out of his bed. 

The shark is symbolic in so many ways. 

Mainly 

A: That is me; waiting in the background to throw him back in his crib. 

{yes, my teeth and posture also resemble the resin shark in this given situation}

&

B: This could be the imaginary shark that has so uninvitedly tortured me all week long. 

YES, there are two words I made up in this post. 

Sue me. 

{I've got a good lawyer} 

So my sweet friend Virginia Blue gave me an award: 

She's the sweetest, most generous blogger out there! 

She's given me an award before {a long time ago} and I put it off...

 then forgot about it, so I promised myself I wouldn't do the same this time. 

Now, I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself that you don't know:

* Coming up with 7 things about myself almost causes my brain to explode. 

* I learned to ride a motorcycle at the age of 8 and drive a dunebuggy at 12.

* I am naturally VERY flexible...so much so that my physical therapist told me not to stretch anymore. 

* I think I have a hypothyroid and am waiting for an appointment with a doctor to tell me that I'm just crazy and possibly a hypochondriac.

* I don't mind cleaning toilettes, but I absolutely hate mopping floors.

* Now that I look back, I think I was quite a pretty girl in high school, though at the time I thought I was hideous. I'm trying to use this information for my present {25 lb thicker} self image {with little progress}.

*  Oh my gosh...it's been 10 minutes and I can't think of one. more. thing.

Now, I must pass off the blog to some beautiful bloggers:

Lindsey at Lindsey Shaun Photography ~ I love her style and she's so inspiring. I covet her photographic talent. 

Shelli at K & M Cluff ~ my best friend since the age of 8 and she's totally talented, funny, and creatively inspiring. Her view of life as a mom is so entertaining.

Jill at Creative Musings and Such ~ I don't know her, but she is awesome. 

Jessica at Hunduddle Hussy and Lowe Family News ~ This girl says everything that I think about but am too reserved to actually say it. I know I can count on her if I need a laugh.

Stop by and check them out, you'll fall in love with them too!

A Golden Springtime

Last week for FHE I let the kids plant some seeds  in some little indoor starter pots. 

I don't think I've ever planted seeds. I've always let that miracle happen at the greenhouse and get transfered to the garden shoppe. 

I've taken good care, and Gracie makes sure I tell them I love them. 

I do love them...each and every little seed. 

Wow.

What joy I feel from watching a tiny green stem poke it's fragile self out of the soil. 

I keep having a little nursery song pop in my head:

"On a Golden Springtime, underneath the ground;

a tiny seedling lay asleep until the sun shone down.

Awake! Awake, oh little seed. Push upward to the light!

The day is bright, with all your might, push upward to the light!"

Somehow I find a little voice in my head telling me to take the same advice as the seed. 

"With all your might, push upward to the light"

For Scott

I have been scolded for not posting more pictures of our children. 

Therefore,  here is a rundown of our afternoon:

Helping Grandpa fertilize the neighborhood park:

Getting use to the trampoline:

Getting use to the grass:

And the rocks:

Oh the rocks:

Rocks are a little boy's best friend.

Random trail of thoughts...

You know...

I didn't picture myself being this slothful with my blogging when I pictured my plight in Utah.

I have lost roughly 85% of my desire/need/joy/creativity/etc. for blogging.

This week has been spring break for Gracie. I've tried to keep busy with things like buying a new car, going to lots of museums, playing with friends, aunts, cousins, etc.

Have I taken any pictures? Nope.

My daily computer time is usually spent skyping with Scott. It's hit or miss. Most of the time we just end up instant messaging, but when the video does work my heart melts.

To be able to see him move, smile, laugh and cry.

I'm not sure if it makes being away from him harder or easier, but I'm grateful.


Being in Utah has opened my eyes to some personal failings/weaknesses I've always known about. Yet somehow I'm more apt to releasing those issues when I'm with my mom and sisters. I guess there can be problems in being  "too comfortable". I've noticed my pride and slothfulness jumping out when I least expect them to. It's easy to be slothful when I have 5 other adults around me at all times.  It's easy to pass on the responsibility.

Last night I offended my mom and sisters. I didn't mean to...I was trying to help but they didn't see it like  that.  Then as I was reading the Book of Mormon this scripture hit me like a ton of bricks:

"See that ye are not lifted up in pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength. 
Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness."     Alma 38:11-12

This is only the beginning:

Apparently, my mom thinks that because I'm in town, it's time for her to volunteer to be the "shower throwing chairman" of  our area.

Last night was the beginning of our bridal/baby shower  marathon.

We have 3 more to go in the next month.

At least it's keeping me busy, I can't complain.

Katie was the lucky girl of the night.

Here is the greeting table:

The party favors were wrapped candy bars. 

The Food:

Oh the food! 

All these showers may be a stumbling block in my trek for weight loss and 1/2 marathon training.