Quotes

I've been keeping these quotes on sticky notes on my desktop. (Can I just say how much I love my digital sticky notes!!!) Anyway, here are some quotes that I love and make me smile or think deeply, lately:

There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it behooves all of us not to talk about the rest of us. Robert Louis Stevenson

It only seems like others have it all figured out; that their challenges are simpler, their friends are jollier, and their grass is greener. But, you should hear how they admire you!

We cannot solve problems at the same level at which we created them.
Albert Einstein

Mondays

I used to hate Mondays! We spend a lot of the weekend either cleaning, catching up on things we need to do, getting ready for church responsibilities or (my favorite) a whole lot of nothing as a family! Monday, then becomes a huge clean up day and is just awful.

But, since we got a dishwasher (which my 4 yr old decided should be part of the family and I'm not so sure she's completely wrong) Mondays haven't been so bad. Sure, there's a pile of laundry and the floors are strewn with toys, but it's so much easier to have machines to help with the work!

I was looking at my calendar and I decided that I really like Mondays, now. I don't have scheduled work stuff to do. No meetings. No appointments. Just a day! I like that.

My husband has to work in the evening, so it's crummy in the evening, but the day, is MINE and I like it!

Mission To Be Happy

I've been a Michael McLean fan for many years! I love to hear his music. He's funny and a very talented storyteller. I love to stand at the piano while Aaron plays and we both sing, especially Michael's music. It speaks to my heart.

Well, recently he wrote a handbook about his new mission, a mission he wants to share with everyone and hopes that they follow suit. It's called Mission to be Happy. It has a CD with music to go along with each chapter. Some of the songs are silly and I think that makes the topics easier to deal with, but some are amazing and touch my heart.

So, why am I posting about this? Well, I'm going to try to post about my reasons to be happy. I usually don't have a problem with being happy, but I want to make this a place where I can write a quick note about the blessings in my life that make me happy. I've been really good about writing in my journal, lately and I'm going to keep that up, but I want this blog to be a place where I can share my gratitude with the world.

And if you're interested, Michael blogs about his daily mission of joy! He's hilarious and at the same time insightful.
Check it out: Mission to be Happy Blog.

I passed!!!!

I took the real estate licensing exam on December 12th and I passed! I wish I knew how much I passed by (to me 71% and 95% are WAY different) but they only tell you if you passed! Oh well, I get the license either way and I'm now just waiting for that to come in the mail! It is nice but strange to be done and not needing to study all the time! I love it!

Updates?

I started with choosing some pictures to post here, so I guess I'll finish by telling you what's been going on in our lives! I'll just take the pictures as they come!

He is getting huge and smart! He loves reading and playing chess and video games!

He is also getting really good at karate! He has a great teacher and is learning a lot.

Me, hum... I've been working like crazy to get my classes done to be ready to take the real estate licensing test! I think I'll make it and get it all in by the end of the year!

I was also recently called to be the primary president in my ward!


We got a second dog. My niece is allergic, so we are taking care of Bingley until she can handle him or forever.

The little one has become quite the little helper! Nothing is safe!

She also loves to run away! She thinks it is hilarious to run away outside, or when I'm ready to change her diaper, or when she's stolen a toy from her sibling!

#2 is a handful! She is adorable and a lot of fun, but is also FULL of attitude! Do any of you want to be her mom for me when she's 16?? Just let me know!

Halloween was a lot of fun! The kids got plenty of candy and had a great time!

The man of the house is busy working at the local high school as well as a private school part time. We keep busy, but we're having fun, too!

So, there you have it! We are doing well and having fun! There isn't a lot of spare time in our lives but we're making it!

The Books of Pellinor

Aaron found a great series of books just looking on the shelf. It is called The Books Of Pellinor. It seems mostly undiscovered at our library, so I thought I'd share it with you! They are fantasy books that are supposed to be based on earth thousands of years ago. They are about magic and saving the world...I really don't want to give away too much, but they are awesome!

The main character is Maerad, a slave who really doesn't know who she is or what is outside her owner's domain. She meets someone who changes everything and then she is on a quest to save the world! The writing is very good and the details about everything are amazing!

The books are called, The Naming (The Gift, outside of the US), The Riddle, The Crow and The Singing. They are by Alison Croggon.

They are listed as young adult books (which I have NO objection to reading...they are many times better than many of the adult books out!) but I think it is really only because some of the main characters are youth. Oh, and they have nothing to do with the King Arthur legends. I was a bit confused by this at first because of the name...

Go check them out! They are definitely worth your time!

Color Pallet

I think this is just about the color pallet I want in my basement family room.

The green is a little too bright, but otherwise, it's perfect!!

What do you think?

I found it here: http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/580450/morning_circus

Artist in the making?

So, is it just me, or does this look a little bit like Picasso's Don Quixote??

Nope, this picture has nothing to do with my post!

Whew! We have started on an adventure of lifelong good health! Aaron and I have been dissatisfied with our health and decided to start doing something about it.

Aaron's idea was inspired by my uncle. He's 69 years old and he is in amazing shape! He rides his bike all over the country just because he wants to. Even when he isn't biking, he is constantly moving. He wore our whole family out in one day!

We were so inspired by him that we decided to follow his example and try being more active. We take any chance we can to ride our bikes or walk to the places we need to around town. Our van still works fine, we've just decided to leave it parked as much as we can. Even when we do drive somewhere, we tend to park far away from the entrance so that we can get that little extra walk in.

The general rule is that if it is safe and feasible, we don't take the van. Sometimes, time, kids, health or weather affect the decision, but we try!

So, we walk/bike to work, school, grocery stores (most of the time and not for big trips) church, Grandma's house, etc. So far, we like it a lot!

I feel so much better and have so much more energy and ambition to do the other things I need to be doing. It takes more time to walk, but I still seem to have plenty of time to do the things here at home, even the fun stuff!

So, I challenge you to do the same! Or come up with your own plan, whatever!

Oh, and that is a picture of Doodle at Bear Lake! She sure had fun in the dirt! There is a similar pic of Princess up there with the same makeup! I should find it...

In Which I tell you why I am such a bad mom... (Otherwise titled: "I didn't blog about my daughter's Fourth Birthday!")

I still feel bad about not blogging about Princess's fourth birthday, and I felt a lot worse before I started writing this, but I do feel bad.

I just haven't been blogging lately and I think the pics are still on my camera. (Two weeks later!)

Anyway, she is adorable and she turned four!

Lately, whenever anyone asks her how old she is, she stops, looks over at me and asks how old she is first. I guess it takes some getting used to!

She is really fun and loves to have fun. She loves to ride her bike up and down the sidewalk. She'd swing all day long if someone would push her. She loves to be read to and will "read in her head" because she doesn't know how for herself! She is a really helpful kid. She is always asking to help with cooking, dishes, weeding, you name it! She loves to help!

She is also pulling out of her thunderous threes!!! (I hope!!!!!!!!!!) At least when she wakes up there is now hope that she'll be in a good mood for the day rather than fighting us at every turn! Three was WAY worse for her than two years old was!

This should be a fun year of learning and playing for her!

Look Who's One!

This has been a really busy year and so in some ways it went by so fast, but in others it has seemed really slow!

I'm so happy to have Doodle in my life! She is an amazing little girl! She is just bursting with excitement and energy all the time!! She is so funny and fun to have in our family! I'm so glad she's ours!

Here's her life in pictures!!

Starting with me very pregnant with her. (This is at our false alarm! You'd think I wouldn't have one of those with my third baby!)



New Born



One Month Old



Two Months Old



Three Months Old



Four Months Old



Five Months Old



Six Months Old



Seven Months Old



Eight Months Old



Nine Months Old



Ten Months Old



Eleven Months Old



One Year Old!!



Happy Birthday!!!

11 Months Times Three

I'm a bit late on this one but I thought it would be fun to show all three kids at 11 months!

It is interesting to look at them and see how similar they look now, but how different they looked as babies!!

Indy:


Princess:


Doodle:

RFL Yard Sale

We had a successful Relay For Life yard sale! I made $130.95 (plus the $35 we added as our donation and change to start the day).

I'm still going to sell suckers and hair clips at the Relay.

I'm happy, but tired!

Life Lately

So, what have we been up to?

Indy has become an excellent reader! He finished first grade last week and is having a nice summer. He's getting close to earning his orange belt in karate!

Princess is going through a stretching period....where she tries to see how far she can get us to stretch the rules for her. She's always had issues with rules. I hope we can rein her in before she's a teenager!

Doodle is walking really well and prefers it to crawling! She loves to walk around with a toy in each hand and one in her mouth. She babbles a lot and has said a few small words...(Maybe even "cake".)

Aaron finished school, too. It's really nice to have him home more. He is still teaching at the private school part-time, but four days a week.

I have been trying to get ready for our yard sale on June 20th for Relay for Life. If you are interested, leave me your email and I'll give you the address. (It isn't at my house.) I've been sorting my stuff, collecting other people's stuff and crocheting hair clips.

That's basically us in a nutshell!

Have a great summer!

I won a Contest!!

I won these beautiful clay creations from Clayworks on CraziBeautiful Women!

This is a fairy door! It is to allow good fairies and other magical creatures into your home! I love it!


These earrings are also beautiful! They look great with my short hair and my favorite green shirt! I just love them!!



CraziBeautiful Women has a couple of contests going most of the time! There is a lot to see there!

Kim does quality work and it is beautiful! Go check out her Etsy shop to see what else she is up to!

A Real Walking Video!!

I finally got a good video of Doodle walking!!

Here she is today at 10 months old!!!

Guess Who's Walking!

I wasn't surprised at all for this little one to be walking so soon. Her siblings walked at her age, so she had to keep up!

Sorry that this is so short! I need to try to get video when Dad is around, but so that my Mommy can see, here is a little clip of Doodle walking, today!

We Have Great Neighbors!!!

Our next-door neighbors wanted to shade their south-facing wall. There isn't enough yard on their side to do so, so they offered to buy the trees if we'd put them in our yard. We wanted shade in that part of our yard as well, so it worked out great! It is so nice to have neighbors that work with us to accomplish what we all need and want! They are awesome!

I Used to Blog More

I'm not sure why, but I haven't been blogging here as much as I used to. I have been busy and also blogging about gardening more. I love to do that! It helps me to keep my knowledge current and actually in my head. I am also in the planning stages of starting a garden coaching business. I would go to people's yards and teach them about the plants they have as well as how to take care of them and generally improve their gardening skills.

If you're interested, my gardening blog Turn Your Thumb Green is updated pretty often, now and I'd love to hear any questions you may have for me! Also, I've been pretty active at Crazi Beautiful Women This has been a great opportunity for me and I hope it turns into more!

I'm not going to stop blogging here, but I think it will just be about what it has been for the past several months rather than the several times per week.

I guess I didn't need to say anything, but I wanted to explain... Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

And, This is Why I Win Mother of the Year!

Apparently, she can get into the bath all by herself!


Don't you like how I took a picture of her before I rescued her from the bathtub?? I made sure she was safe, first.

(Maybe I should keep a better eye on big sister's bath time!!!!)