loving this summer a bit much.

being with these silly girls is what life is all about…

we are loving every little bit of our summer!

we attempted riding without training wheels, for like, 15 minutes..

they are back on, as high as I can get them to help her learn to balance..

best $20 spent this summer was on a slip and slide.

seriously..  this is awesome!

up next, we have a bathroom re-do coming up where I will attempt to board and batten one wall.  yes, just one.

until then, we will be outside, soaking up the sun, a laughing, a lot.

saw this quote on pinterest

and knew it needed a home on one of my pages.  I really wanted to put it on a canvas and hang in the house, but then liv came out with her latest creation, and it was decided.

her cut-out alphas are perfect, don’t you say?

so the pic is old, just a couple of years, but it’s perfect..

(click on layout for full list of credits.)

back to laying in the sun.

I will let you know about all the beautiful things I see later.

summer!!!

it’s finally here!!

I cannot convey how happy I am in this moment, and how sad I am at the same time.

I love that I will have my girls all to myself for the next three months!!  I love that there is no more homework.  I love that the drama and crap that comes home with my girls from school will end (temporarily).  I love that we can sleep in, if we want, and stay up late (but not too late).  I am happy to see growth.

I am sad to see the good things of this school year come to an end.  I am sad knowing that when I send them back at the end of the summer, they will advance a grade, and therefore, be growing..  even though I beg them to stop or at least slow down.  in a way, I am sad to see the changes.  they are not little girls anymore..

more has changed than just age, height, hair length, and what they have gained knowledge-wise.  some teeth have grown in too!  for some reason seeing the side-by-side makes me tear-up…

but we are celebrating, you better believe it!!

thank you pinterest for the inspiration!!

there were long hugs, cleaning-out of backpacks, and those things are packed-away, out of sight!!

it’s summer!!!!

not a pity party.

just a list of excuses for why I am behind two days. :/

merrill has a bad sinus infection, and by “bad” I mean horrendous. 

he started feeling it the end of last week, and by saturday, he was ready to go to the doctor. (!!!!!)  really.  this guy, asking to go to the doctor?  it MUST be bad.

too bad for him, the instacare had closed, he got to wait until the next morning.

two antibiotics, a prescription for loritab in hand, the kid was still struggling.

we have tried EVERYTHING.  by everything I mean EVERYTHING..  well, except for this one drink I found on pinterest.  we are not brave enough to try that.

(for the curious:  water, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, honey, and lemon.  in my experience, ingesting apple cider vinegar ends in vomit.)

we have tried just about every decongestant, steam, oils, reflexology, moist+heated washcloths, then graduated to a rice bag that we have been spritzing and heating.  the loritab didn’t help.  we have already gone through a bottle of advil.  neither of us have gotten a full night of sleep since…  thursday?

it’s awesome.

I really can’t stand to see him so sick.

but, I have accomplished a few things, and as time (and my new nursing schedule permit) I will post all of my accomplishments and fun finds.

for now, here’s two layouts brought to you by the goodness at AC Digitals.

first up is new product, “Dear Lizzy Spring”.

(you can get it on sale this week!)

other goodies on this page:

stitching- anna aspnes
frame- liv.edesigns
photo corner- splendid fiins
background paper- amy tangerine “ready set go”

 

this loveliness is from crate paper “fourteen”.

 

I had to laugh at myself while saving off this layout.  I have a lot (A LOT) of layouts titled “sisters”.

that’s what I get for having 3 girls.

also used on this page:

stitching- anna aspnes

buttons- crystal wilkerson

paint brush and brown paper for the letters- liv.edesigns

font- “burvetica thick nc”

um, yes. these are my girls.

just in case a misunderstanding were to take place here, I just wanted to be sure that you understand, these are my children.

I am told they are “stamped hard” with that pitcher brand.

I can tell you that personality-wise, they are mostly me.  they are goofy, silly, at times inappropriate.  but they are also a little shy.

funny story about this here shoot, it was born in my brain back in may.  we came across this fabulous wall on 17th street in ogden, while driving to a sprinkler parts store far too many times in one week.  I kept fantasizing about it.  the colors for the outfits needed to be funky and mis-matched, but not too crazy.  I knew ashley would have to wear boots..  nails must be painted.  I worried about how long lynnie’s legs would look in these shorts.  but I worried mostly about being accosted by a bum being in that part of ogden.

then, still back in may, while shopping at target, peyton and I came across parts of these outfits on clearance.  they came together too easily.

and then summer came.

I vowed I would not sit in front of the computer too much.

I promised that I would enjoy every second of this summer with my girls.

and I waited for a time when merrill could go with me to that scary part of ogden where the bums roam.

and waited.

and waited.

and waited.

then august came.  the first day of august to be exact.

and I was like, “holy freaking crap!”  because that is what I say when I freak out a bit.  “school is going to start THIS MONTH.”  and all of those memories of my dreamed-up photo-shoot in front of this crazy wall with the darling + cheap outfits came rushing at me.  I debated for a second between catching-up on the laundry and going to take these pictures.  I debated about waiting for merrill, realizing that that kid will be far too busy for the next 11 days to count on him to protect us from bums.  then I did hair and painted nails like it was going to save my life.

(I did not look so cute.  maybe that is why we weren’t bothered?)

and it was successful.

everyone got along quite perfectly.

(you know, because their payoff was lunch at “yak” donald’s.  what?  you don’t call it that?)

so here you go, just a few (haha) of my favorites.

and then some goofy for you…

mom & me journals.

I remember when my sister-in-law bought a circle journal for her daughter years ago.  that made me look forward to when my own girls (and I only had two of them at the time, one just an infant) could read and write so we could do fun stuff like that.

well, 2/3 of those girls can read and write!

it is also a time in life when I want to really help our relationships to grow and become stronger.  enter the mom & me journal.

(it also helps with their reading, writing, and spelling.)

(bonus!!)

so thanks to pinterest for some fun inspiration, we are diving right in.

I could have bought a notebook, slapped a label on it, but no.  I had to do something fun with it, girly it up so they would be as excited about it as I am.

I spiced-up the outside of a plain old black & white composition notebook with these pretty papers and elements from cosmo cricket.  I added some tattered angels glimmer mist in “electric blue” (on the blue one), and chalkboard mist in “sprout” (on the green one), before I glued all of my embellishments down.  I also added a strip of ribbon to use as a bookmark.  I glued that down to the outside of the spine before I covered it with muslin.  the strip of muslin was folded and sewn at either end to help control the fraying, and I left the raw selvage edge to add to the prettiness of the front.

so far the girls love them.

I have been participating in a conversation about favorites with ashley.  she is rather extensive about favorites.  example:  “what is your favorite type of carpet?”  this one can go on forever.

lynn is currently conducting an interview with me.

looking forward to more fun days and questions with these, not to mention the great keepsake they will be one day.

the reason why I have to clean feet print off my walls…

tumbling.

and it’s not just feet print…  there’s a lot of hand prints on those walls of mine too.

practicing is a good thing, right?

another good thing, they love it.  I certainly helps that it is their aunt mikell kitty-cat jazz hands pitcher (and grandma) who is teaching them.  it is also good that they have this in their genes.

(paternal genetics, not mine.)

they absolutely love it. 

I love watching them.

peyton even gets her own private lesson.  who on earth would want to be left out of this kind of fun?

I have to say she is the best, and I mean that honestly.  not because I have known mikell kitty-cat jazz hands pitcher since she was, like 4, not because she is merrill’s little sis, not because she can rock the fake laugh/hand under the chin pose, but because she is an awesome teacher, great at what she does, and so incredibly motivating and fun.

all of this makes my more frequent wall-washing worth it.

a chocolatey update.

success!!
(sort of.)
two of my three little ones actually stayed in their own beds the whole night.
(no wakie-uppies.)
i was able to...
sleep..
kind of..
in a bed.
not my bed, mind you..
but peyton at least got the idea that she is to sleep in her own bed, and not mine.
i needed to clarify that in order to earn a candy bar, i would have to be allowed to sleep in my own bed, all night, as well.
the kiddo got half of it!
she woke up "fweaked out", and asked me to snuggle her.
it wasn't her fault that while snuggling, i fell asleep in her bed, and stayed there the rest of the night.
i replenished my cupboards with a variety of candy bars from the fall-apart (aka wal-mart).  all children were paid (with the exception of the youngest, who didn't nap today and fell asleep early).
i think i might just pay myself for surviving yet another night in a twin-sized bed with my littlest who also enjoys kicking the covers off.
yup, mars bar for me indeed!
(moral of the story is: bribery works.)

those funny little things that happen that make life, life.

I have three little girls.

they add a fair dose of drama to our house.

a lot of humor.

too much excitement at times.

here’s just a sampling of the shenanigans that have gone on the past week:

lynn has another loose tooth.  she won’t let me touch it, but complains about how it bugs her and has given her a sore on her tongue from playing with it.

she is also terribly nervous about the moment (which will inevitably come), when her third grade teachers will start to throw all of the “hard” stuff her way.

she passed her level one, basic ice skating class!!

she has also started channeling her inner comedian.

then there is ashley.

she is growing up. 

the child who was once afraid of talking in front of people, saying prayers in primary, etc.,  has started to voluntarily, and by herself, fill in for kids who aren’t there.  amazing!!

she is also the child, who will lose things.

she is at school all day now.  (sniff..)  which means she doesn’t have lunch with me anymore. (sniff..) which means that I pack lunch for her to eat at school.  (sniff sniff..) 

now I could put her lunch in a boring old brown bag, but that might just depress her.  if I put it in her fun hello kitty lunch bag, it will make her happy, but she will lose it.  honest!

so as school started last week, so did the eating lunch at school minus her mommy, and the hello kitty lunch bag went too.

it came home two days in a row, and the third day, it was forgotten.

now do I know my kid or what?

it was happily reunited with us friday.

she is also obsessed with dinosaurs.  mammoths are her favorite, and she will happily recite random facts about them to you if you listen.

(allosaurus is a close second.)

and the youngest of our bunch has an obsession with taylor swift.  I need to record her singing along to a few songs and post it.  it’s pretty darn cute.

she is also currently idolizing mulan.

she even butchered her hair (but not obviously), in an attempt to be like her.

I swear, every time I fix her hair, I find a new spot that has been trimmed or scalped.

p.s. merrill turned 32 on saturday.  he desired a low-key day, no cake, but he does make a handsome 32 year old!

advances in swimming

it seems like every year, ashley “forgets” the fact that she knows how to swim.

this year she even took to screaming when we would try to take her to the deep end, just as a reminder that she knows what to do…

every summer, by the end of the summer, the kid “remembers” that she knows how to swim, is going down the slide and off the diving board no problemo!

last summer, sadly, she didn’t “remember”.

(but she would jump off the back of the houseboat at lake powell?)

i am happy to say, that this summer, she remembered.

(finally.)

lynn lives with goggles attached to her face…

and little peyton, who started out not liking the water much, has fallen deeply in love.

seems as if all my girls have grown gills and fins.

what to do while your files are transferring to your new external hard drive..

why you rack your poor, tired, probably bloodshot brain, to think of updates to blog about.

let’s see…

ashley’s hand is a magnificent shade of purplish/green.  still can’t make a fist, well, because it is still swollen awesomely as well.  no blood-filled bubble, but an awesome contusion.  her splint “accidentally” came totally unwrapped yesterday.

(yeah, you buying that too?)

get this..  peyton asks merrill first thing this morning, right after her little eyes pop open (in our bed..  bed hog), “daddy?  will you turn on simpsons?”

his answer: “i can’t right now, but they will be on later tonight.”

her response: “yesssssss!”

the kid also drew a mural on ashley’s wall, probably the same time ashley’s splint and bandage get up was “accidentally” falling off of her hand, with the markers from the dollar bin at joann’s.  they don’t come off the wall unless you really work for it, and when i say “really” i mean reeeeeeeaaallllly work for it.  the wall is now dull.  it needs paint.

(so does my obscene basement.)

so i think i will buy plenty of paint.

;)

(i do have plans for that…)

lynn lost another tooth.  she freaked-out, saw her own blood (all two drops of it on a tissue), turned a whiteish/green and i promptly made her lay down.

there is another one that is on the brink of falling out.

she won’t let me near it.

i plan on “flossing” her teeth tomorrow.

(insert evil laugh here.)

while sitting in sacrament meeting sunday, ashley looked over at an older gentleman in our ward, one who has a good, full white beard, and asked me, “mom, is his name lonesome dove?”

well, if you haven’t watched that particular mini-series, you don’t get that.

you might not get it if you don’t live in our ward and know who i am talking about.  it made me laugh, pretty hard, and well, that is all that matters.

so here i sit..  and type..  while forty-something gigabytes transfer to my new, gigantic, external hard drive. 

why am i doing it now?

well, because i just edited the cutest pictures i think i have ever taken (well, i love them now, like, a lot..) and i have this nagging feeling that as soon as i go to bed, start to dream about happy things, something will inevitably happen to my computer and all will be lost.

i took these pictures yesterday.

i edited them all today.

hard work.

done.

fate.

not my buddy.

am i making sense?

free cell is a good way to spend this time.

candy, candy!

this week’s layout comes courtesy of cosmo cricket’s latest line of “garden variety”.  my layout features paper and elements (aka “candy” to the cosmos).

love the fresh-picked feel it has to it, makes me want to go live on a farm.

(i tell merrill that is the plan if something were ever to happen to him.  pack up the girls and head to the rural i tell you..)

tangent:  i realize, as i post this, that i took this picture on our anniversary..  kind of funny to see just what has happened in 11 years..

(click on layout for full list of credits.)