Very wise, that Ella. Very wise.
Mia made it to the park too. These darn shoes have been driving me NUTS! See the strap that's not connected? Yeah, I think they've seen their last day. Too bad such little of her wardrobe matches the pink shoes I bought her. ...I need to find my stinkin' box o' ex-Ella shoes... There's a project for next week!
THE FARMER'S MARKET!! Where the heck were YOU, Steph?? It was a smaller market on the 4th, and a MUCH bigger crowd. Go figure! We love going and supporting local business, though. I'm sure there will be many more farmer's market pictures from this summer. :)
We went to the Hyrum parade. How cute are Ella and Lily here? HOLY CANDY! If you're looking for a great place for the kiddos to collect some serious taffy, this is the parade to go to!
We got some swimming in! Mia is my little fish!
Fun times with me and Lex -and a corner of Noah. :)
We have picked up a tradition of yard-sitting, where kiddos can run around, and we all get to chit-chat all we want! Here's Sarah-Butch. She's such a doll.
Time for sprinkler running too!
The 4th of July 'do! We battled the bow a little bit because I should have gotten it with a different kind of clip, but that's okay. I worked with a girl who's daughter owns the site: babytrendz.com -which is AMAZING! I totally recommend it.
This is a shot of me at the parade. Holy CATS, did I get sunburned! It was over-cast, which is so sneaky! I was the only one who fried, but I should really expect that considering my ridiculously pale skin.
We went to the Boy-Scout breakfast on the morning of the 4th, where Nanny had a great time playing with grandkids. They're all over her.
We made it to the home-fireworks show... Lance's family did one that I didn't make it to the night of the 3rd. He got to hang out with his family for an hour or so that evening before he went to work. Ella spent the night there and got to see the USU show from my in-law's yard, then par-tay with Grandma, Grandpa, and Chazzy-bear... I think I have pictures of that tradition in my 4th o' July blog from last year. Ella had a great time.
On Sunday we went to Rachael's USU Alumni Band Concert at the Quad on campus. It was fabulous. We all hung out -it was cool and shady. The band played a lot of traditional marches, and my kiddos were actually very well behaved! Here's Rach during her shining moment... She plays the french horn. Aaah memories. I played the french horn in band through 11th grade. If I had any brainz in mi cabeza I would have kept it going and gotten a scholarship. Band ROCKS!
I took these shots of the girls at the concert. How cute is my Mia? She & Ella got Lance's lashes... GORGEOUS.
Here's Lala! This girl so stinkin' tan. I'm grateful that both girls seem to have Lance's skin (speaking of Lance's body parts). I just burn then freckel. ...Is that how you spell freckel?
Here's Granny (mom's mom)! This is where the fabulousness begins.
My adorable mom! I LOVE YOU!
I had two poignant moments that brought the traditional patriotic tears to my eyes. The first was at the Hyrum City parade -when first the military passed, then the American Flag. I can't help but get choked up with sincerest pride and gratitude for being an American citizen. How blessed am I? The second time was during Rachael's concert. They go through the different military songs and have those who served in each branch of the military stand during their song. It's so incredibly inspiring and humbling to see these people who have served our country in such a life-altering capacity.
There has been so much to consider with this huge decision and shift in my life. Today was my last day of working in an actual titled office job. I am only ‘changing positions’ so to speak, as the work certainly doesn’t diminish -taking care of my two girls and being all kinds o’ pregnant -soon to be 3 girls to care for on a 24/7 basis. I can’t complain, it IS my choice, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As I left the office today, it only felt right to close this chapter and embrace the next. There are a thousand fears that accompany the decision -and it’s going to be approached day-to-day; the only way I can, as I have no organized plan set up (which makes me crazy). I don’t know what to expect -from myself. I view this new life as one where I have little justification for impatience and frustration -however- I feel as volatile, vulnerable, and irritable as I have ever been in my life.
If we can make it through these next two months -and assuming the Lord blesses me with an even temperament after the baby is born, then facing the next five years and what they’ll bring will be all the more embraceable.
I want this. Really.
I owe a lot to you, and missing your birthday isn’t a great place to start. You gave me so many dear gifts, I can’t begin to explain them to you. What breaks my heart is that somewhere I feel like you feel like you failed with me. I’m the only kid without a degree, true. I haven’t been consistently active with church since I was eighteen. I’m no virtuous mothering example, and say words like “crap” really often. :)
Dad, you have always held a very high standard for us. For the longest time, I resented it and felt like it would never be something that I could attain. Time changes people. At this stage of the game, I have sincerely given up trying to be what I think you think I should be, and it has been liberating. …Not because I don’t care, but because I see what you wanted for me was different all along. The standard you held me to and expected of me was only for my benefit -not for my comparison against 5 brilliant other children, and not for what translated into a degraded self-esteem for years. It really was because you knew what I was capable of -and there’s something so beautiful about that to me.
Dad, I want you to know that I haven’t given up “meeting” that standard, but I will tell you , it will be for ME that I get there… And when I do, I know that what will make me feel like I accomplished it, is what you truly want for me.
I do celebrate you Dad. You’re an absolutely fascinating and complicated and strong and good person. I am grateful for your flaws. I am grateful for your immeasurable strength. Happy birthday, and please know that I love you beyond what words can express.
Your daughter,
Rebecca
The Crew
This baby got SOOO dirty!
Here's Lance's brother John. ...The dirtiest of the group, I think. 
This is LeAnne, Monique (LeAnne's mom and John's wife), John & Monique's daughter Caitlin, and LeAnne's daughter Ariana.
Love you Debbie and Donny for organizing and putting this reunion together for all of us to enjoy! There's nothing better than family.
The other day I went into the kitchen and noticed that all of the magnents had been mysteriously removed from the fridge...
Around the corner I found my little busy-body OCD mini-me hard at work putting all of the magnents on the trash can...
Then she found a new spot for all of them...
Mia is becoming methodical in how she'll stack things and put them in to piles. It's precious. ...Is that a good word for it? :)
Here's the new pile.
I'm sorry, but how ADORABLE is that?! It's a great sign that no maternity test is needed. THIS kiddo is definitely her mother's daughter! (heh heh heh)On the 13th, Scott and Candace tied the knot... again. Not only are they family, but they're very dear friends to us as well.
For the wedding, I did Candace's hair. This is one of my hair masterpieces! Yes folks, the talent IS astounding, please stand back in awe as you look at how simply FABULOUS it looked!
...Just happy to contribute some of my talent to this very joyous occasion. :)
Here's Lance and me. The park was gorgeous -Von's Park in Providence. It was so lush and green. The river is VERY high and close by and is a danger for kids -it causes a bit of an acoustic issue as well, but overall, just a beautiful location.
Here's Lance and his two Grandma's! To the left is Donny's mom, and to the right is Debbie's.
Here's the happy couple! How sweet is this picture?!
...And here is the couple I know and love. Scotty, we're related again. Eeeeew.
The FAM!
Here's Lily and her BFF Noah playing with balloons!
Ella's hair looked fabulous, however, it had to be re-done 3x. NOT practical.
Here's the Milly-Kisses.
Can you feel the love? I think he's trying to give me some "dap" -but I'm sure that's not the right term these days... Knuckles? "Bump-It"?
Now that the computer is trying to cooperate, we'll be speaking only words of love about it, so as to not offend the great technology gods. This could be the beginning of many more wonderful blog entries that include pictures! Hooray!
SHAMEY SHAMEY SHAMEY. I should have gone to Mom’s a LONG time ago once we discovered that the crummy computer at home isn’t going to turn on without some serious help from someone who knows what he’s doing (ahem, Allen? SOMEONE???? Surely one of my readers has a knack for fixing computers for cool chicks -for FREE?!)… Thus no blog updates, which is sad for everyone, right?! Anywho, here’s the catch-me-up. The weekend was CRAZY busy, but that’s how we like it.
Lance’s sister Candace and Scotty got married. Um, yeah, they were married before. I guess when stuff goes downhill and you can get a non-contested divorce finalized within weeks, being separated for just over a month took a BIG toll… They’ve been together almost as long and Lance and I have. Kinda funny –but very romantic- that they had this special day to bring it all back together. I'll post some pictures on that later...
We had my work party, for which I completely missed the boat on taking pictures. You didn’t miss anything. The food was terrible, and unfortunately because of rain/ grumpy kiddos we took off pretty quickly. What happened to the good ole’ days when companies sprung for some cheap Lagoon tickets? *I miss Boyer!
On Saturday morning we found out that the fam-dam-bly is official expanded by one, as Phoebe Alexis made her way into the world! Congratulations to Dave, Lexie, and Noah on their new addition!
I love blogs. I love that there is a way to stay updated with my friends and family using modern and quick technology! I love that I have an outlet for the digital pictures I take! I love that I can have this published and actually hold it in my hands! I love even more that I have this record of our lives for my children –that they can see so much of their lives from the unique perspective of their mother. It’s a wonderful thing! Long ago I used to be an avid journal keeper. If you look in my living room, you’ll find a stack of journals –probably around 10 or 12 that chronicle my life as a tween through early 20’s. Some of it isn’t pretty, and I haven’t decided whether or not the journals will ever be read by my children. I’m such a different person now, and as I grow and as they grow, my experience and perspective will also differ. I’ll have much more wisdom to offer in time rather than reading the emotional crummy mistakes and crushes from a different era. …Not to say it wouldn’t be entertaining. I just think that this forum is excellent –it’s diplomatically (heh) written with them in mind –they get the best of the experience at present and the writing really is for them. Blogs ROCK.
