School's out for Summah!!!!

Our favorite song this morning:

It's the last day of school and my kids are more than REALLY excited!!! We made it through another year! We're going to visit my parents this weekend and I can't wait to see them, other than I think I have an ear infection. :( It's been a rough week, but I'm going to the doctor this morning. I think I get an ear infection every May. I'm not going to let that stop us from having fun!

Hope you have a fun weekend! :)

Blah-ging: it's not you, it's me

I've been so busy and I'm just not in the mood to blog... I'll try to catch up on my blog reading tonight. I promise: it's not you, it's ME! Blah.

We had a wonderful weekend:

• We took Friday off and just played. All six of us. It was more than splendid. I'll write more about that later too. We kind of planned it last minute. It was SO fun. We are so blessed. By the way, I love sushi.
  
• On Saturday we cleaned out our garage and car, just to mention a few things. And those are MAJOR things.
  
• I went to a Stake RS meeting and heard a great talk by Emily Watts. She was AWESOME! I'll write more about that later too.
• We rented Harry Potter 7 from the Redbox and I loved it. (Kaia and Beck didn't watch it -- I'll save you the trouble of cussing me out. You're welcome.) *SPOILER ALERT* Tell me I'm not the only person that cried when Dobby got killed? I knew it was going to happen; I've read the book, but it still made me really sad.
  
• We ate dinner outside -- to me, this is THE welcoming ritual of summer. Any suggestions on yummy things to grill?
  
• The girls and I got new swimsuit cover ups and flip flops -- another sign that summer is really coming!

Are they cute or what?
My cover up is the same color as Zoe's. The sash can be worn many different ways and well, that fact made us want them regardless of the color. They can be dresses, skirts, sleeveless cover-ups over your bathing suit, yeah, it's just too groovy. We can't wait to walk around Bear Lake all dressed the same. I am so blessed to have these precious girls.
They are definitely my shopping buddies.

I hope you all have a FABULOUS week.
My kids get out of school on Friday and for the moment,
I'm really happy about it.
No more homework, no more books, no more children's dirty looks! :)
I just want to play...

A Belated Biologist's Mother's Day Song

Yes, I am a total science geek; I enjoyed this WAY more than I care to admit. It brings back so many memories of my Developmental Biology class at USU. I just happened to be pregnant with Gabe while taking this class, so my professor often used me for examples in class... yeah. I LOVED this!! I want to be Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus when I grow up! Thanks from LisAway for sharing it on her blog. :)

This week has been very busy... my hubby got home last night at midnight and we're all glad to have him back. Life is good! Yay for mothers everywhere, we ROCK! :)

Chopped liver is getting a new necklace today, so there!

I wish I could blog about what I truly feel. I just can't. I guess I could, but I don't want to cause even more trouble. That's a bummer about having a public blog. I read other blogs and wonder what's really going on in their lives. Can it be that perfect and happy? Yeah, me neither. But if you've read "The Help" you'll understand what I mean when I say there's a few people I'd just LOVE to give one of Minny's chocolate pies to right about now!

You know, I can handle when Zeke goes out of town for work. I can do everything without him even though I miss him. What I can't handle is my children. They are just OFF when he is away. I know that we are a close family and all, but sheesh... I just wish I could take them to a kennel or something while he's gone. Okay, I was going to edit that, but I'm trying to be real here. Those of you that judge me; well, you are NOT me, and my children are not YOUR children. I'm not a good Mom; sometimes I'm kinda selfish and I'm usually pretty tired AND I don't put up with anything. So I know they love me, but well, I make them clean their rooms!! Oh, the horror!

This was a very unexpected trip. Zeke called me from work on Friday about 1pm to say he has to go to New Jersey to help get ready for a demo (his company builds automated parking systems, by the way) AND he was leaving for the airport at 2pm. ONE HOUR. Um, okay? What do I say?

He came home and I helped him throw his suitcase together. He won't be back until Wednesday. As soon as he left, Beck started crying. He was gone before the kids got home from school. Friday's are fun, we usually watch a movie together and just feel relaxed with no homework and a big breakfast on Saturday. (especially after the insane weekend we had last weekend). I told them Dad had to go out of town... and the girls started crying while Gabe went downstairs in his room without saying anything. What can I do? I'm glad they love him so much, but I can't do anything to make it better. We're all just kinda bummed out, but hey, isn't it great we love Zeke so much? It could be worse. Zeke is a wonderful father and husband and life just isn't the same when he's not here. But do they have to cry all night about it?

They get really frustrated because I'm the one to make them go to bed, do their homework, set the table, do the dishes, take a bath, take out the trash, be nice to each other, etc. And I'm always the one to say NO. By the end of the day, I am exhausted, physically and emotionally. I need a break. They are sick of me and well, the feeling is mutual. Have I mentioned that Beck isn't napping anymore? They cry and whine, "I wish Daddy was here, he's more fun; I wish Daddy was here, he would let us stay up late; I wish Daddy was here, I like his hugs..." You know I'm trying to be a Mom here and do the best I can, but I think I get a bit jealous. Dad is the BEST, he's not here all the time, he's a novelty... and I feel like chopped liver.

Friday night was okay, the kids had friends over and that was a good distraction. But after the friends went home, I got the kids ready for bed and it really hit them Dad wasn't here. The girls were crying again, "We miss Daddy, we can't go to sleep without Daddy tucking us in.." He's traveled for work quite a bit before, but not very much in the last year or so. I guess we're out of practice.

With lovely early morning phone calls from irrational neighbors (kill me now!), Beck burning his hand on my flat iron, Gabe accidentally breaking the pull cord thingy on the lawn mower, and me getting really sick from my apparent aversion to grease? while we were at Willow Park (yeah, NOT fun); Saturday was a bit exhausting to say the least. I spent most of Saturday afternoon cuddling with my children and laying around reading "The Help". One thing I will say, my kids are really patient and sweet when Mom is sick.

Saturday night, our ward had a pillow movie at the church. We watched the Joseph Smith movie that they show at the Legacy theater in Salt Lake. It was INCREDIBLE. What an amazing man. I am in awe of his faith and courage. I cried through most of it and felt terrible for complaining about my own little minor annoyances I deal with. Maybe I needed a harsh reality check.

I did find a really cute shirt and pair of earrings to go with a skirt I found at the D.I. (thrift store) last week, but now it needs a necklace!
So my quest for today, is to go find one. I think I deserve it!

By the way, I paid $3.87 total for the earrings and shirt at Kohl's.
Now THAT feels good.
Oh, and can I just say how much I love my Mom, my friends, Lora and Jessica, and my blog friend, Claire. They make me smile! :)

Ramblings, a good book, and a great scripture

Gabe and me at Zeke's graduation...
I love this guy, we have a lot of fun together.

It's been a busy week, but a good one. I am SO relieved to have Zeke's party over with. It was fun, but a lot of work and unnecessary stress.

On Tuesday, I went to a great Relief Society Activity about Family Home Evening. I actually learned a few new things that I want to try... I'll share them with you later.

On Wednesday, my wonderful visiting teachers came over to see me. I love these women. They are my friends.

On Thursday, our new home teacher and his wife came over and we really enjoyed getting to know them better.

Heavenly Father knew I needed a spiritual boost this week.:)

On Thursday, I helped at my friend, Julie's, preschool. It was a long day, but I really enjoyed it. We went to Willow Park for a field trip (twist my arm) -- it just happens to be one of my favorite places ever.

So far, I'm really enjoying "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, it's one of those books that I'm thinking about all day long and I carry with me from room to room just to get a few pages in here and there. It's going to be one that I will never forget... and if I do, I'll just have to read it again!

Zeke bought ME a graduation present Tuesday night... a cell phone. Not sure what to think about it... you see, dear friends, I am a guilt-monger. I thrive on guilt. The last 3 years have been really tight financially and well, I've gotten along just fine without a phone. Zeke wanted to get one for himself when he graduated, but his work got one for him... so he wanted to get one for me! We'll see... so many buttons... so many apps, so many things I don't even know or care about. (yet) Thanks, sweetie! He just said, "I know you'll love it and I want you to have it!" Yes, I think I've said this a million times, but he is a keeper for sure!

Beck is at this very moment having a HUGE fit and saying it's "My turn on da compooter!!!!!" HELP! If you ever wonder why my blog posts feel choppy and don't make sense, it's because I have a three year old climbing all over me and yelling in my ear. Persistent doesn't even begin to describe this boy.

Just this morning I was getting ready and I had my flat iron plugged in. I have told Beck since he was crawling NOT to touch my flat iron. "It's very hot, Beck, it will burn you; ouch!" He kept grabbing at it, teasing me while I was putting my mascara on... "Beck, it will hurt you, please do not touch it!" Next thing I know, Beck jerks his arm back screaming... out of the corner of my eye I saw him grinning and he reached over to touch it on purpose. Wow. I wonder if Heavenly Father watches us make dumb choices like that and all he can do is shake his head and think, "I told you so!" I love that boy and I hope he can learn to mind, even just a little bit for his own safety. I am so thankful that he's okay. ( "... it's just a flesh wound")

Here's a great scripture I found this week; it has really helped me to process and deal with events and relationships in my life.

2 Timothy 3:1-12: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, un-thankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts,

Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

I am so thankful for the scriptures. I know it isn't easy, but I know that trying to live the Gospel will bless our lives and it is the right thing to do.

I am so thankful for my husband. He is my best friend and I know that he will always stand by me and support me in whatever comes our way.

Sneak Peek of the GRADUATE!

We did it!!!

P.S. Happy 1st Birthday to "Uphill and Smiling"! :)
Thank you for all of your wonderful comments and your friendship.

Flirting with disaster...

I had a great weekend for the most part. As the days and years go by, I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. My husband is absolutely second to none and he is the best thing about me. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my sister-in-law, Dani, and her family. :)

The graduation and party were nice and well, I'm kinda glad it's all over...
I'll post about the graduation later. I've got LOTS of pictures and lots of stuff to do today. I want to do this quick post first.

Do you remember the dress I wanted to "remodel"? I bought it when we lived in Colorado Springs about 10 years ago. It's pretty, but it's really long and well, kinda boring and out of style now... I figured I don't wear it much anymore, so if I mess it up it's no big deal.

I wanted something really feminine and twirly and kinda fancy and fun. I cut about 18 inches off the bottom and used some of that to make a ruffle on the "new" bottom. I really like this shirt I got for Kaia and I used it as a pattern to make ruffles/fringe across the front of my dress. I used the leftover fabric from the bottom and some purple toille fabric. Here, the ruffles are pinned in place. I basted them before I attached them, so they were a bit gathered and ruffly, it was really easy:

I found some gorgeous ribbon flower trim for the collar and bottom. I also took the lining out of the sleeves to make it lighter and more "springy".
I spent about $9 total!! Yeah!

I LOVE how the bottom turned out!

Close up of the collar:

The finished product!

I wore it with pearls and my brown heels. I think it turned out pretty good. This picture isn't the greatest... Zoe took it for me right before church, really, it was 8:56am. Thanks, Zoe, your Mom isn't the most photogenic.

On this Mother's Day...

I am so thankful for my Mom and my mother-in-law and all the wonderful women in my life.

But on this Mother's Day, my thoughts are with those who really want to be a Mommy, like my dear friends, Lora and Shari. I love you and I'm praying for you everyday. You will be the most awesome Mommies ever!

This is a very special picture to me. From left to right: my niece, Angee, held by her mother/my sister, Brenda, and then, my mom, holding me, probably December 1975. My sister and I were almost 18 years apart and my niece and I are only nine months apart.:)

My heart aches for my nieces and nephews whose Mommy (my sister) is in heaven: Angee, Brintton, Brooke, Jake, Jacey, Jaxon... this is for you!
I LOVE YOU ♥

This is my sister Brenda (top right) with all of her children and grandchildren (except for Kyden and Braxtten)

So much to do... so little motivation...

I woke up this morning feeling really motivated to clean my house...
but the feeling passed quickly. Thank goodness!

I'm planning to get another water test done on my aquarium today and see if things are better... my fish are acting better and no more of them have died. :)

12th ward sisters, "Don't LOOK!" (sorry) Everyone else: Look at what's in the top of my closet right now!! I can hardly stand it. My husband is in charge of the Mother's Day gifts for the women in our ward this year and this chocolate is just waiting to be eaten... 140 pieces...
oops, it might be 139.

I love my husband SO much... he loves me back for some strange reason I have yet to understand... maybe there is no explanation, it's just a miracle.
Zeke's using my purple netting/toille for a make-shift fascinator.
It's goes so well with his "Code Monkey" shirt.

I love my children. They drive me crazy sometimes, but I love them so much... this is Zoe and Kaia doing their best version of "Sister Suffragette" from Mary Poppins; you should hear them sing it! They are standing at attention. Zoe's getting pretty good at her British accent: "What IS it, Katie Nana?!"

"We're clearly soldiers in petticoats!

And dauntless crusaders for woman's votes!

Though we adore men individually,

We agree that as a group they're rather stupid!

Cast off the shackles of yesterday!

Shoulder to shoulder into the fray!

Our daughters' daughters will adore us

And they'll sing in grateful chorus:

'Well done, Sister Suffragette!'"

I love my family... I feel like such a weirdo... I don't fit in anywhere... I'm so glad they put up with me. I feel like I don't know how to make friends or be a friend. In general, people just don't like me. (wah, wah, I guess I'll go eat worms...) Please don't comment and say "NO, Lacy, that's not true!!" Really, I'm not looking for sympathy, it's not what I want. I'm looking for reasons why and I'm just telling you what I've observed. People have given me reasons and well, they're just not good enough. It's true. Tonight is Book Club and I've been having that stressful/neurotic/anxious feeling again that I shouldn't go...

I talked to my Mother-in-Law, Patty, this morning... she is a kindred spirit. We talked about our fish and her Entomology finals and our mutual lack of desire to clean our houses... I love this woman. I need her in my life.

Happy Star Wars Day!

"May the 4th be with you!"

decisions, decisions

Last Saturday, Zeke and I started watching a movie in bed around 10:30pm. FYI, I am NOT a late night person... I just cannot stay awake. So sometime around? I don't know? midnight... I was SCARED awake by this horrible snorting/choking pig noise. Then, I suddenly realized I was choking a little and gasping for air and.... then, I realized it was ME! I had fallen asleep sitting up and snored/snorted so loud I woke myself up. How attractive.

We've been married for 15 years now, and I am still so embarrassed. I think Zeke was embarrassed for me too, because he didn't really laugh too much (on the outside anyway). I was really confused and groggy and said, "*snort* Wha! What's going on?! *gasp*" and he just said, "Uh, honey, I think you were snoring..." Nice. Anyhoo...

Saturday is Zeke's graduation... YAY!
Saturday is also Zeke's big party... it will be fun, right?
So far 168 people have said they are coming. 168 people! In my backyard.
Or if the weather doesn't hold, we'll be at the church, but still.
I've got a LOT of work to do.

So this is what I should be doing:

• mowing the lawn
• cleaning out the garden
• cleaning my house
• grocery shopping
• fixing the hole and scratches in the paint on our wall from trying to put our couch in the basement
  
• getting lights, music, and decorations for the party
• preparing my Primary lesson for Sunday... yeah.
• taking down the trampoline -- 168 people? that's just a law suit waiting to happen.
  
• etc
• etc
• etc (i.e. WORK)
  

This is what I've been doing:

• blogging
• making the "perfect station" on Pandora. Today? The Hives, Jet, Jimmy Eat World, The Script, Jack Johnson...
• playing "Just Dance" with Beck... our favorite song? "Lump" from Presidents of the U.S.A.
• stressing about my aquarium... I lost two fish over the weekend and I took a water sample in to PetSmart and the ammonia levels are really high. Not sure why. I love my fishies.
• sewing funky pillows for my bed, oh the possibilities...
• reading "The Help", so far I like it. It's a great distraction from the party. At this point anything is. I'm excited, but I would rather just have it be here than stress about it.
• stressing about my aquarium... I've changed the water twice since Saturday. :(
• redesigning an old dress of mine after seeing this. I hope it turns out... Here's the before:

I sound like a 10 year old... and you know, this week, I kinda feel like one.

*GOOD NEWS!!* Remember Kaia's weird little growth/mole thing on her tummy? I took her in yesterday and it's nothing serious at all. Some weird phenomenon where the lymph nodes and blood vessels group together on the surface of the skin. Official name? lymphangeoma circum scriptum (spell check did NOT like that one!) Nick name? Frog Spawn! (I am NOT kidding!) When Kaia heard that she yells, "Wicked!!! I'm going to tell Hannah that I have frog spawn on my tummy!" :) Oh, I am so happy it makes me cry. We are blessed.

Oh, and one more VERY important thing... it's Book Club on Thursday! How does it always seem to come just in time?

Just another visit from the Easter Platypus

"It's the Easter Platypus, easter shrimp for everyone!"
(Invader Zim, photo from Google images)
I just thought the Easter Platypus was another silly thing from Invader Zim,
but I found this great post today. *love* I am such a wanna-be biologist :)

Okay, I've decided that I am THE worst picture taker ever. EVER! Not just the actual photos; you know the lighting, the set up, the camera angle or whatever, but I'm just so busy playing and being in the middle of stuff (and chasing Beck!) that I forget or I miss the best shots.

So here's just a hint of our Easter activities:
Coloring Eggs (I LOVE that Zeke loves to do this with us)

Zoe is concentrating really hard...maybe.

I love the look on Beck's face

Kaia likes to dye her eggs really dark (I love her missing tooth)

Easter morning: The Easter Bunny/Platypus always comes to our house on the Saturday before Easter Sunday so Sunday can be more calm and focused on the Savior. I'm really happy with this "tradition" and I highly recommend it. So on Saturday, Beck woke up at 6:30! Zeke and I brought his basket into his room and played with him until the other kids woke up. We put the gate up so he wouldn't escape and find all the eggs that were hidden before everyone else.

Zoe and her new bunny

Kaia and her new bunny

Gabe and his chocolate bunny (this boy's got his priorities straight!)

Later that day, we took the kids to Old Main Hill at USU to roll Easter eggs. Roll Easter eggs? Well, I grew up in a little town called Salina, Utah and for as long as I can remember we would take our colored Easter eggs, climb the highest hill we could find (usually the Stone Quarry that was just 3 blocks from my house) and let our eggs roll to the bottom. Why? No idea. It sure is fun though! We'd race them and throw them and chase them down the hill.

Now that I'm an adult, the penny pincher in me has a bit of a hard time "wasting" all those eggs. But my kids really enjoyed rolling eggs. It was worth every penny. There were dozens of other crazy Utahns there... and hundreds of seagulls circling overhead waiting for everyone to leave so they could have the biggest egg salad picnic ever!

Watching and waiting... the girls had to follow each egg down the hill and see if it survived. They weren't too thrilled with the idea of ruining their artwork. Oh and Kaia found a rotten bird egg -- you cannot imagine how upset she was when we told her she couldn't keep it!

On the other hand, the boys were trying to coax the girls into giving them their "leftover" eggs because they rolled/threw/smashed all two dozen of their eggs in the first 5 minutes. Zeke was right in there with them! He and Gabe figured out it was more fun to throw them and smash them into the tree trunks than let them roll down a hill...

I didn't get any pictures of me or the family on Easter Sunday...
oh well...Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da...
We did have some yummy salmon, asparagus, and cheesecake though.