Lake Day

 Our good friends the W fam invited us to spend the day at the lake one Saturday in June.  It was a pain getting everyone up and ready by 7, but it turned out to be one of the best days we've spent as a family in a long time.

 First up - swimming!  We basically parked the boat for a little while and let the kids swim.  They could've stayed there for hours - they were having so much fun.

 They would all sit on the edge of the boat, plug there noses and then fall backward.  They had a blast.

 Next up - wake boarding and knee boarding.  Xander and Ben both knee boarded and had a blast.  The last time we were at the lake, Xander tried to wake board and couldn't do it, so this time he was excited to get the hang of knee boarding quickly and LOVED it.  It was fun to watch Eric and the W kids wakeboard. They were like pros.

 Last up - tubing.  This was my favorite.

 The looks on the kids faces while we would try to get them off the tube was priceless.

Eventually, Ian and I got talked into going with Evan.  And the tub sunk before we even started.  Umm...embarrassing...  The boys loved it that I would go, so after that I went with Evan again and then went with Ben and Xander and Ben and Max.  It was so much fun.  The only downside was the pounding headache I had afterwards from hitting the water at top speeds.  Well worth the pain though.

Such a fun, great day.  Thank you W fam!  We are lucky to have you guys as friends!

I'm going to tell you a secret...

I'm addicted to Twitter.  Sad but true.

I blame my brother Darrel.

I follow a myriad of people and I love it.

Certain people make me laugh all day.  I even text their tweets to Darrel and Kim because I know they will think it's as funny as I do.  Today was "Nobody beats Rhianna like Chris Brown"  I'm sick, I know.

And then there's the SYTYCD Twitters and the Big Brother Twitters.  I look forward to reading those...it's like I'm catching up with old friends.

Also, if it weren't for Twitter how would I know that the US Weekly story about Emily cheating on Jef was false?  I heard it straight from Jef's Twitter page that it was all lies!  And then he posted some funny Instagrams about it (don't get me started on my love affair with Instagram...)

And thanks to Twitter I now know who Jamie Goodwin's boyfriend is.  Yes, I care.

And I know that Travis and his friends are spending the week in the Bahamas.  And then Kim and Rob have made up.  See, I learn all sorts of important stuff on Twitter.

So there you have it.

I'm addicted to Twitter and I don't care who knows it.

ps...if you want me to text you silly quotes (which may sometimes cross the line) let me know.  ;P

Ruby turns 3

 We celebrated Ruby's third birthday at my parents' timeshare in Scottsdale.  My mom got a cake and decorated it with fondant shipped from my aunt Carmen - who makes the cutest cakes and cupcakes in PA.

The birthday girl and her cake.  I love this girl so much.

 Presents!

Xander clowns around with the kids.  Also, can you tell he LOVES getting his picture taken???

Kreed and Ruby - best friends and cousins.  Ruby told me, "This is my friend Kreed."  :)

Ro is happy to celebrate his little sister's birthday.

At the pool.

They were serving a free dinner of hotdogs, chips and drinks at the pool that day.  Lucky us :)  It was a fun way to celebrate Miss Ruby Jane turning 3!

It's been

a week since I blogged.  Mostly because I've made a conscious effort to spend more time with my boys and less time on the computer.  I feel like I'm constantly trying to find the balance between work, being a wife and mom and finding time for the things I love to do - like reading, running and blogging.  Ian likes me to spend time with him after the kids are in bed, so it's been hard to find the time to blog.

This morning I woke up and felt so weird.  My head was spinning and I felt like my heart would beat out of my chest.  It felt like I was having a panic attack.  Well, I am the queen of pretending nothing is wrong so I got up, took a shower and started to prepare my lesson for church.  Only I couldn't concentrate on any thing and my children were driving me crazy.  They weren't even misbehaving I just felt like I was going to jump out of my skin.

I feel like I am a logical person.  When I feel this way I get so irritated and basically I feel like a failure.  I went to my bed and just cried because I knew there was no way I was making it to sacrament meeting feeling this way, and that made me feel more like a failure.  I cried my eyes out to Ian all the while he was cracking jokes and making me laugh while I was crying - showing me how silly I was being.  I really love that about him.

We got ready and made it to church after sacrament meeting.  Ian gave the lesson to our primary class and I basically sat there, trying to participate but feeling crazy and unhinged the whole time.  Finally I had to leave and then come back to get everyone.

I am grateful that Ian was there to help me and didn't make a big deal of it.  And I'm grateful that after a 2 hour nap I felt infinitely better.

I haven't felt that way in a long time and it was scary.

Weekend at the Condo

 My graciously let us stay in her condo in Scottsdale for Ian's birthday.

 The boys love it - it's like a hotel but better since it has multiple rooms and a fridge.

 We had so much fun relaxing and playing in the sun.  Ian went over with Xan, Max and Evan early on Saturday.  I followed later with Ben who returned that day from scout camp.

 There is nothing I love more than spending time with my family.

We had a great time :)

Friends are tender mercies

 It's been hard with my mom gone - especially since I'm used to talking or hanging out with her almost every day.  I'm so thankful that during the summer a few friends and I would get together on Thursdays to hang out for a little while.  Adult conversation is always nice :)  On one Thursday we took a field trip to Sweet Tooth fairy...yum!

 So thankful for my friend Drea.  Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I ride my bike over to her house.  We basically just sit around and make jokes and laugh.  I love that we have the same sense of humor and that she always looks so happy to see me.  She always calls or texts me when I need it the most.  She is such a tender mercy in my life.

 Nancy at work is another tender mercy.  She is like my other mother.  She made me this cute anklet and some beautiful earrings.  I love that I can talk to her about anything and she will always listen and give me good advice.

I had to include this picture.  Christy slaved for hours over Twister sheets for Colee for her bridal shower.  They were awesome.  I am always amazed that Christy can basically do any thing she sets her mind to and she isn't afraid to try any thing.  I so thankful for her and for her example to me.

I am so lucky to have some pretty great friends :)

Haircuts

Before:

Let me just say that I love that these two boys are becoming such good friends.  Max really loves being a big brother to Evan.  He's so good about showing him how to do things and playing with him.  In return, Evan lets Max get his way...sometimes.

Michelle came over in June to do haircuts.  Evan hates haircuts.  He always has, so the fact that I got this picture of him not only with the "cape" on but with him sitting still...it's miraculous!

After:

I love these two.  A lot. 

Ian turns 40

 I really wanted to do something special for Ian's 40th birthday.  The problem was money.  And having none.  Our good friends Steve and Elise were getting ready to move to Utah, so we (just Ian and I) made a quick trip (think 2 days) out to California to stay with them.  We planned it so we'd spend all day on Ian's birthday at the beach.

 Windmills:

We left late Monday afternoon so we didn't arrive at Steve and Elise's until late Monday night.  Luckily they all stayed up waiting for us :)  Ian was so funny.  He kept telling stories and had us all cracking up.

 The next day we had breakfast and then headed to the beach.  Elise and her kids joined us for a little bit.

 We just hung out at the beach and relaxed.

 Ummm...my husband is much better looking than I am.

 Diet Dr Pepper and a celebrity magazine = heaven :)

We went to one of our favorite beaches - Salt Creek.  It's so beautiful there.  Ian and I took a long walk and I snapped some photos.

 On the way back from our walk a fisherman had caught a fish.  I took a picture for Xander.

 The next morning we left Steve and Elise's and headed to Laguna Beach.  We just walked around and looked in all of the shops.

I love how artsy and beautiful Laguna Beach is.

It was a fun, relaxing few days.  Thanks to Steve and Elise for putting us up and helping Ian to have a great 40th :)