a blended life

I'm posting for a few reasons: 1)The last post reminded me of a few funny things Hannah has said lately 2)It's the last day of the month 3)I'm too wound up from my night class/commute home to sleep anyway The preschool schedule was still on summer hours, so I had Hannah home with me for a few days while Leah went back to school. Here are some of my favorite one-liners from her: (mature audiences only) "I love anything 'dot-org'. It's my favorite." "Can I have a crum-ola bar?" She meant granola. Crum-ola is way more fitting. "Do the Wiggles have penises?"--sorry, but it was too funny to pass up. She likes to help me wind embroidery thread, even though I end up re-doing most of it when she's not looking.

Hannah Lisa, age 3 months: Hannah Lisa, age 4 1/2 years:

First, read this really good quote: “Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of ‘what if’ and ‘if only.’ … “Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey and share our love with friends and family. One day, each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is most important.” Thomas S. Monson I finished this one a while ago but didn't have a specific home in mind for it, so it's been sitting around (along with the other 50 or that need a loving home. This is starting to sound like a rescue mission...). Maybe this one's for me. A few years ago, right around the time that Leah was born, I was lamenting to someone about how I feel like my whol...

Did I already mention that we went to Seattle and it was fantastic?! Man, I LOVE that place! If I think to hard about it, I start to wallow in pity that I don't live there. So I'll post these pictures and move on. Hopefully. DAY ONE: First airplane ride! They loved it. I get pretty motion sick and was on the verge of losing my dinner nearly the whole time. Hannah looks a little, uh, different here. DAY TWO: Church (which was refreshingly normal) and hanging out with the cousins at the pool. We stayed n apartments that were being used all summer by my dad's research team. Since they evacuated in early August and the contract wasn't up yet, we had some empty apartments to stay in. I couldn't get Leah out of the water nearly the whole trip. She is such a fish! DAY THREE: It seemed convenient to push Hannah around in a shopping cart. She got embarrassed when Grandma took her picture. First stop--the Pacific Science Center. This is a very hand-on, intera...

Okay. Let's have a frank discussion about Utah. I've always thought of Utah as brown, ugly, dry, extreme weather, weird people, boring, etc. It's only in the past year (shame on me) that I've really tried to open my eyes and appreciate all the good things about Utah. My recent trip to Seattle confirmed everything I've always thought and I may have looked at some rental options in the Shoreline area (ahem). Nevertheless, this is where I live and it's about stinkin' time I enjoyed it! No more wasting time being disgruntled and unhappy about my living conditions. It's not going to change for a while, if ever, and there are so many great things about this state. What a waste of a good life to wish it away, wanting to be somewhere else or doing something different. I'd rather be enjoying things RIGHT NOW. Plus, I want my kids to take pride in where they live and know that beauty is everywhere. Friends can be made anywhere. Fun is something you create, not...