Last of picture stuff. Pure Fall Beauty!

August Collage

Click to see bigger pictures, if you'd like, if you love my kids that much. So just a quick catch-up...August was Anika turning 8 and getting baptized. Big event. We went to Color Me Mine for her birthday party and that was a really fun crafty thing to do. Great for all ages...paint your own ceramic things! Who doesn't love using creative juices every once and a while?

Isabelle started Kindergarten, which she enjoys. She had some awesome hair for crazy hair day! I miss Kindergarten, too. It was just a chill time with all the kids and treats and games.

Olivia started preschool and enjoys fighting with her friend over who gets to open the door every preschool morning. She had her 4th birthday and as you can tell, it was the perfect day.

Sam loves his woof from Ikea and will just lay on him whenever the mood strikes.

We hit Lagoon in Sept, which was a very great time to go weather-wise, especially since it was evening. Great times.

Soon I will post our Sundance collage. It was true beauty up there! We made it up Saturday, because we had to say we did it. There is still plenty of time to go; maybe 30 percent of the leaves had changed.
Yay!

What makes a bad day for me and my big BOoHoO

So I shouldn't even be blogging about today because I have August to catch up on, which was a pretty big month at our house. However, I really have to digest this day as to purge it from my system and process it out of my life!

So it starts off with great potential. A day off from school that coincides with the Friday off Russell has from work. Another plus: it's Fall and the temperatures are great. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to have a fun family day, right? Well, right. But oh so wrong, thanks to poor planning and even worse execution. Our first plan was to hit Park City, which we like to do every Fall to see the leaves, but because I didn't really know *what* exactly we'd be doing up there and it seemed too sunny for Park City in the Fall (just a very specific personal preference) I changed the plan to going to Sundance, riding the ski lift, and doing a little hiking. We had to be back in Provo by 4 for dance class. Russell used most of the morning to do a little side work at home, and we didn't leave until 11:30. I thought we were still good, though I had errands to run in Orem before we got to the hiking part. Well, Russell took two kids to RCWilley because he is a bed-baby and really wants a new mattress, though ours is still soft (I'm no bed connoisseur), but he says it's not good if you wake up in the morning with a backache from your bed. I took the other 2 to Michael's to look at some Halloween stuff. I buy 3 bucks worth of stuff, Russell buys the salesman's pitch and we're out 40 minutes.

Next dealy- eat lunch. 1st problem: we told the kids McD's. 2nd problem: it's the McD's by the Orem Target, which is horrific, both in locale and quality. Okay, truth be told, when you go to McD's you know you're most likely not getting a stellar experience, but aim for sub-par and you'll be content. Anyway, not only was the order wrong (which is very usual) but the food was even more nasty than usual, even the apple dippers! Sad, McD's, very sad. And I like their cheeseburgers and fries as a rule...I'm not a snob. Anyway...Russell and I left feeling money was wasted and bellies were still hungry.

One more stop before the much anticipated nature event at Sundance: a "quick" stop into Target to get something I left there last time, and to briefly look at some kid clothes. Well, anyone and everyone knows you can't get out of Target in less than half an hour, and you most definitely won't leave without spending a big sum of money. This was no exception, and by the time we got out of there, it was 3:00. Oops! Russell and I are explaining to the kids that we don't have time to do what we actually PLANNED to do! How sad is that? We both felt pitiful and lame.

We got to dance class a bit late, because of traffic and one other errand we decided to run, and then took the kids out early (which is hard for me) to make it to Anika's last soccer game and party, which made it a big deal for her to go. Sadly, she left ONE shoe and ONE shin guard at home, and we had to run home and we ended up at the soccer game at half-time. Yuckety yuckety yuk. So how's that for a day that just leaves you feeling like UGH! I really needed a personal assistant today to help me with my planning, to check kid's bags, and to pack a lunch for us all, because dang, it looks like my fail to plan really caused my plan to fail. Cliched but true. It could have been a satisfying nature appreciation day! You'd be seeing pictures of me dancing in fall wonder....all of us laughing joyously and making memories, having intellectual discussions about seasons ...or maybe we would have fallen off the ski lift, so maybe this is the best day ever since we avoided a near-catastrophe? Is that how I should look at it? My gut tells me I should have cut out all the extra-curricular consumer errands. Story of my life guys, story of my life.

Anyway, if I could just do today over again...

Happy Birthday Di!

l-r
di, me, meg in PA
Di and I are pregnant in this pic- I got to hide behind the candy bar
(we miss Diana all the time while she lives in NJ)

Well, it was just 8 months ago this day I wrote a birthday post for my older sister and promised I'd be back for another post of emotional sentiment for my younger sister, whose birthday is today. Well, since I really don't have that much sap in me to cover any more years down the road, this might have to be the first and last year I do this for my beloved sisters. So I will make this time a really special experience for everyone involved.

So a few words about Diana. She's just a good true person with smarts, patience, and creativity. I can't go into our growing up years as they had a lot of turmoil, thanks to myself, but I do like to focus on the times I was a good sister. We've had lots of great times!

We got creative with our huts in the field during the summer. I'd like to say that girl with the permy big bangs is Diana, but sadly, that was me. Diana's in her house- she's hard to find, but if you're good at ISpy..

Anyway, Happy Birthday Diana! I'm excited for the day when you live a lot closer and we can celebrate your big day with a night of clubbin' and mocktails.

In memory of post #2

Back in the old days of 2008 when I started my blog, I had issues to discuss. I am a little sad I have departed from my insightful commentaries on various consumer products, or politics, or world news. Well, with the exception of the last two mentioned, my blog was a source of strength for my many reader. Her name being Megz. Going back I realized how succinct I was, how I didn't just go on and on for paragraphs. I miss the old me.

With that old post in mind, I wanted to give an update. Secret deodorant being the issue at hand. I didn't even post a picture back in those days of newbieness, so I made sure to not be lacking in that area today. If I were one of those bloggers, I would even show my armpit, perhaps with a little stubble (of course I don't have stubble ever!) as I apply the Secret. But I'm not going to do that for you.

So here's what happened. Secret did some random consumer research online, found my blog, saw my dismay at their change in formula, and after a year switched it back! So now I am finally back to wearing Secret Unscented. I tried several other flavors of deodorant, and I have been disgusted from the smells emanating from my armpits ever since. I am not a smelly person (i'm pretty sure), and I don't sweat excessively. So with that in mind, how can any sane person desire a wet-sweat-tainted version of Watermelon Sunset coming from the top two corners of their body? I don't want to smell my pits at any point in the day. No Baby Powder Unfresh, no Fusty Flamingo, and please no Tropical Breaking Wind. Not only do people get a whiff of you as you walk by, but you have to smell yourself all day long. And that is just something I can't handle. I love me a good perfume or lotion or spray, but mixed with body sweat just doesn't quite have the right zest, you know?

So my question is, how do you people out there that wear scented versions of deodorant defend yourselves? I am almost of the mind that you should go au-naturel- body-smell before you go scented.

But credit where credit is due. Thank you Secret, for taking the scent out of your Unscented once again. You heard my voice and I will once again pay 10 bucks a year to your company. Gracias.

Everyone loves a before and after

Whether it be a dramatic body before and after photo or a little less exciting home improvement before and after, who doesn't love seeing changes? And hopefully changes for the better?? It's like getting to take both roads in your journey and not just one with befores and afters. Think about it. We could have kept this kitchen as is and be pretty darn content with it, or we could change it up and see how it can change our lives. And let me tell you, my life is SO MUCH better now. My house is so pleased to experience a little plastic surgery. I am so much happier I now walk with a bounce in my step. My kids are singing all day and never a sassy mouth doth spout.

BEFORE
(so brown and sad)

AFTER
(light, airy and bubbly)

(our painted and glazed island)

You could call us lazy painters but I just call us smart and not wasting time with unimportant roadblocks. Here's the thing- we removed the hardware but didn't remove the cabinets, didn't take out the drawers or the stuff in them ( just threw a newspaper page on them if we remembered), didn't sand (but primed with Valspar sander primer) and about 16 hours and three coats we finished. How great is that? I know some people think it's sacrilegious to paint over wood, but we didn't burn it or anything. It's still in our kitchen, just covered with a nice coat of paint to keep it toasty.

Di, Ani and Is

Moving on.... summer has flown by with its softball, swim lessons, 4th and 24th celebrations, parades, family reunion, and good times of that sort. It has been great to have my sister Diana and her family come down for their yearly visit from NJ. We braved the stinky and algae-ful Salem Pond water last week (how did I ever swim in that pond?!) and enjoyed a little paddle-boat ride. This is a beautiful place though. I am always in awe.

Car bonding

yup, a real live picture

Well, this was it! Our first family vacation out of state in a looooong time. I wasn't super-excited about packing the kids in the car for 14 hours but with the help of a dvd player (I know- weak!) we eliminated any fun family singathons and alphabet car travel games and instead sedated the kids with Barbie, Elmo, and other equally numbing entertainment. And you know what? Bless it all.

Above is Snoqualmie Falls in Washington state. I thought the kids would be speechless at nature's death-fall but they didn't seem too captivated. Shucks. Took me back to "The Fugitive" with Harri Ford, my ol' buddy. Great movie.

On a ferry with R's parents to Lopez Island, one of the San Juan Islands. Some people actually live there, which came as a surprise to me! I always thought those little specks on the map outside WA were just for looks. Goes to show...

The pictures below were from a beautiful beach there on Lopez. We saw sea life--some starfish, a washed up jellyfish, and crabs.

Burying Isabelle's legs in the sand. Good wholesome sand fun.


Cute Liv. The girls brought home about 10 lbs of seashells. I walk into their rooms and am blown over by the smell of sea air and dearly departed fishies. We did bring the beach home with us!

Best hats ever.
Be assured that Sam had his fun too. How can sand +water+boy not equal true bliss? Things did go a little too far when his naughty big sister Iz dumped a handful of sand down his diaper. Poor Bud! That is a place where one needs no exfoliation.

Well, we had a good time visiting R's parents and family on our trip. Now back to figuring out how to hook myself up with a comfy hammock, an icy drink, and an uninterrupted reading hour in that hammock for the remaining days of summer....