At the mere suggestion that he might want to go play in the torrential downpour, Bryce was a go!

"Mom, when I'm done, I'm going to need a nice warm bath, cuz it's COLD!"

He played out there for about fifteen minutes and had a great time squealing and seeing how long he could stand under the heaviest drips. He was so sad that the rain had dried up and the sun was out by the time he got out of the bath.

Looks like the weather remembered it was January. Here come the storms again.

After years of waiting for the perfect snow to arrive on a non-Sunday, we finally got what we've been wishing for!We made three huge snowmen in quick succession. All of them were taller than Dane, one was taller than me.

Dane's been reading a lot of Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson lately. This is his version of a snow goon.

Hooray for snow! (sadly, 2 of the 3 were dead by the end of the day, the third collapsed by the following morning)

We flew kites and got generally windblown for nearly two hours this afternoon.

Bryce did a great job.

We only had one kite casualty due to a misunderstanding between Ella and me about which part of the kite she should let go of. It all went into our neighbor's really tall tree.Dane and Ella stayed at it for a solid hour, with Bryce defecting to the swings after a while. They really had a great time. It's hard to believe that the kites, wind and that they held out for so long. The wind was perfect. Very strong and playful, but still warm enough to stand. I'm glad we got this good day in because, if weather reports are to be believed, this March is going out like a lion, too.

A Little Fall of Rain -Les Miserables

After the Rain has Fallen- Sting

Summer Rain-Alphaville, Belinda Carlile

Bring on the Rain-some country singer I can't remember

I Wish It Would Rain-some old Motown artist

Red Rain- Peter Gabriel, This Mortal Coil

Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head- BJ Thomas

Blame it on the Rain-Milli Vanilli

Here Comes the Rain Again- The Eurythmics

Rainy Day Women No 12 & 35-Bob Dylan

Why Does it Always Rain on Me?-Travis

Have You Ever Seen the Rain?-CCR

I Made it Through the Rain- Barry Manilow

Of course you can! Leave a comment!

My little Bryce doesn't have an ounce of body fat on him and it shows, especially on cool Spring mornings when he says: "Mama, I'm cooooold."

Then he'll say "I need to be in the sun."

Lately, one of his favorite activities is laying on his belly, on our sun-drenched deck.

Oh, life's simple pleasures...

...spring is really here and boy, have the kids noticed!

Oh, Sun, we have missed you terribly. Please come to stay!

Dane, here, finally lost that tooth and was given four quarters in his cute little pouch I made for him. If you look closely, you can kind of see the little gap on the bottom right.

He was very excited. All monies currently being earned are going toward this:

Dane told me on the way home from school on Monday that he wanted a faux hawk. Despite my questioning, I'm still not sure where he got the idea, but at the time I was thrilled that he was ready for a short haircut as he's been on the shaggy side lately.

Now that it's done, I'm not sure that I like it. It's a bit too wild to be honest. You can bet his daddy doesn't approve! Besides, I cannot get it to defy gravity like the girl who cut it in the first place.

Another thing about Dane...he has really been awesome about cleaning up after himself lately...WITHOUT BEING ASKED!!! I'm amazed and beyond grateful. He's getting a lot of praise around here.

Ella has discovered trees and she loves being up in our cedar tree. She's adorable.

She loves writing letters on the small Magna-Doodle right now. She loves learning to read. She got the stitches from her mole removal removed and although I can't say she was brave, she did get over it pretty quick. I did help her pay for a new My Little Pony toy which may have helped a lot.

Bryce is a tease and a mischief maker, but he's also crazy affectionate and adventuresome. He is brave and tough. He has been living it up in his sandbox and loves to push buttons (literally, not figuratively). Cell phones, computer keyboards, cell phones, mouse buttons, dishwasher buttons, remote control buttons. Did I mention cell phone buttons?

Cameron is LOVING his new job and new duties. He's waited a long time for this and totally deserves it. Yay!

It has been a good week. I am so grateful for my friends. Thank you all for being there for me.

Oh and finally, while searching for other images, I stumbled upon this...

Yeah, seriously.

I think this is a bit too much.

I have two long lasting snow piles in my front yard due to having a north facing house with very tall trees surrounding it. I have watched these piles with much hope over the past few weeks as they dwindled down to few crysteline sprinkles stuck together by sheer will-power. Yesterday I was particularly sure that they would be gone by today. Yay! As usual, the universe has other plans. It snowed with a vengence last night. I guess it's just God reminding me that He is in charge. Well, I'll try not to care because I'm going to be in Florida soon. Ahhhhhhh... Gulf coast and Mickey Mouse, here I come!

It has been a lot of fun watching Ella blossom into a more mature 4-yr-old as of late. She's such a lovely little thing and is so caring. She's learning about service and compassion. She's getting a better reign on her emotions, learning that being corrected is not the devastating thing that it used to be. She is a daddy's girl when he's home, but turns around and is just as devoted to me when we're together.

I participated in my first book group last night and had a really great time. It's a small group in my ward and we discussed Orson Scott Card's Sarah (from the Women of Genesis series). Our next book is The Giver by Lois Lowry.

I participated in Facebook for about two weeks. I'm happy to say that I'm a fully-recovered addict and my life is now back to normal after deactivating my account.

Parent-Teacher conferences are tonight. I'm excited to hear about the progress that Dane has made as well as the negative. I get anxious to know how he does while he's away.

I'm giving blood tonight as well. Always fun, eh?

Well, there's some randomness for ya', but at least you know a bit more about the goings on around here and that is why you're here, right?

So it's snowing...a lot.

I'm not going anywhere so I'm sharing some recent happenings around here in reverse order.


I locked myself and the kids out of the house this morning without phone, wallet and well, keys. I was just walking across the street to participate in visiting teaching and as soon as I shut the door I knew. My saintly partner drove me to friend Angie's house who sadly wasn't home. Then I had my partner drive me to Wal-Mart grocery store. Can you believe she lent me some money, just in case? I figured we wouldn't be a burden on anyone and we could find something to entertain us, IE finding letters, numbers, colors...while waiting for Cameron's meeting to end so that he could come help is get back in. About 7 minutes into our Wal-Mart adventure, I realize there is no way that I'm going to keep them occupied for an hour and a half here (yeah, insert "duh"). Then I turn around and see my saintly friend Angie walking up the aisle with her kids. I'm sure my eyes bulged out all cartoon-like, knowing that I had just been very blessed because not only did she take us into her home, but she fed us lunch too. I know that "this is what friends are for" (as she kept telling me), but it sure is humbling and I feel so grateful. I'm also grateful I can give my visiting teaching partner her money back and didn't need to use it.

Ok, I also locked myself out of my house last night, too. Cam was home and answered the door after I pounded a bit. I was practicing for the Christmas program on Sunday with the aforementioned Angie. Boy, she's been helping me out a lot!

Yesterday was Sunday and a good day. My primary kids sang so well and they appreciated the Hershey's bribery. I also got to see my little sister who had me take pictures of her with her dog. They turned out cute. She's so beautiful.

Then my mom came up to see my kids. They sure do love Gwama Cindy!
Saturday became Mom and Boys day for me and Daddy/Daughter day for Cam. Between normal errands and all the craziness of Christmas errands we divided and conquered. Cam and Ella also baked yummy Craisin/white chocolate chip cookies together. However, we started the day out by taking family pictures for Christmas cards much to my family's chagrin (which shows plainly on some of their faces in the photo).

Friday Cameron and I did something I thought would never happen...we sang together...in public...in performance capacity. I've never been so happy in my life. What a treasured memory! He did so awesomely and even sang a verse of Silent Night/Stille Nacht alone and in German.

The rest of the week I enjoyed time with my family. I love having Dane off-track and home.

We're simply too too excited for next week! We have fun stuff planned, it's Cameron's birthday and of course, Christmas Eve/Day!!! Yay! This is the most wonderful time of the year even if it is 29 degrees Fahrenheit

I wasn't going to say anything about the election last night (I really don't like politics), but I couldn't resist the REM lyrics I used as a title.


Although I have serious concerns about our president, I can't help but feel proud to be a citizen of a country that has finally looked beyond race and voted in an African-American. I was so touched to see Jesse Jackson with sincere tears running down his cheeks and couldn't help but think of Dr. M.L. King.

Now, the weather! Yikes!
How do ya' like them roses?




Festive!

First off, it is DUMPING rain outside. Love it!

Kids are doing great on that whole schedule thing...too bad I feel so lazy today (it's the rain!). I'll get myself in gear. Cam need clothes washed before his trip tomorrow.

Speaking of the trip...Cameron is taking the camera. I do not think this is fair, although I wouldn't have him without it either. Take some really good photos, Cam!

I still love OMD (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark)

The video is over the top corny, but the lyrics are devistating. If you click play, just close your eyes or pull up the lyrics or something. It's rather hard to watch.

Ah, I have laundry to do, I'm sure I shouldn't have just eaten a Tootsie-Pop for breakfast and I should probably shower, too.

Have a nice day!

Here is the latest photo of the Oquirrh Mountain temple.

I haven't done an update since March 10th. It probably just seems like they've only turned the temple yellow, but it's really coming along. The large triangle point to the left is the future steeple. I love the fantastic storm going on behind the structure there.

At night the have the inside lights on and you can easily see it from the Bangerter exit off of I-15. It's very beautiful to see those lights at night.

1. I have Post-Traumatic Vomit Disorder. PTVD is frequently experienced by parents whose child has thrown-up all over them in the last 24 hours. It is evidenced by a uneasy, queasy feeling that you too will soon be losing your lunch, despite the fact that you're not even sick. My little Bryce coughed himself into such a mess last evening and we spent the rest of the night worrying whether each cough was a warning of impending doom or not. Thankfully, he did not throw up again, but he did cough and cry all night long. Today, he's his usual social busy-body self, only with a temp of 103' F.



2. My musical taste has been punctuated by a very happy 3 minutes and 36 seconds. I have discovered for myself a song called Walk Away by Franz Ferdinand. It is so totally rockin' cool and yesterday the kids and I danced like crazy people all over our family room together to it. I'm a sucker for a story song (which this is, almost).

3. I love spring rain. We have an abundance right now. Deep breath in...

Ella, with much enthusiasm exclaimed "Mom, I think the rain is making puddles. Lots of puddles everywhere!"

4. Tired of my mediocre spirituality, I have been steadily improving and have added more spiritual books to my reading list with the strong and real intent to read them! I've never read many LDS books, other than the missionary classics, preferring to stick with the scriptures alone. Anyway, I'm excited and currently reading Eve and the Choice Made in the Eden.



5. I love the Goodreads Never-Ending Book Quiz, here.



6. I feel amazed and in awe of the blessing of my husband, Cameron. When the going gets tough, he sticks to me closer than ever and never lets me doubt his love for me. What an amazing gift he is! I've said it before: while I don't believe that every person in the world has just one right person that would make them happy for eternity, some people do and Cameron is my one and only.



7. I am really grateful for creative and fabulous friends that inspire, uplift and entertain me. To name just three: Angie, Anisa, Rachel. Thanks, girls!



8. I'm really grateful for my cell phone (the thing I thought I'd never want or need). My favorite feature? The calendar that I can plug my appointments into and it'll even remind me 15 minutes before I need to be there. Second favorite feature? That it plays MP3s and that I currently have over 400 songs at my finger tips. Yum!

Yay, I love Spring. It really makes me happy.