Oh My Quotable Friday: Prayer

*Thank you so much for all your prayers for Katie, Jake and their sweet baby girl. Today Kate has her amniocentesis test. Please continue to pray.

Forwarding with Hope

One week, one day ‘till school starts. (!!) I can’t believe it. What a whirlwind of a summer it has been. We’ve spent the last few days finishing summer off with a bang. A family reunion, houseguests, a trip to Jami’s grandpa’s massive garden {freezer corn, yes please} and so much more.

I will be posting pictures soon, but today my mind is elsewhere and my heart is heavy. Today my little sister and her husband got devastating news. News that has yet to be fully defined and news that is certain to forever change them. Please help us embrace them. If you would, please remember Kate and Jake and their sweet baby girl in your prayers. They need prayers. And since I know so many of you know and love Katie, please take a second to leave her some encouraging words {here}.  Right now amidst the shock, grief and unknown they need love.

XOXO

Oh My Quotable Friday: Life

12 on the 12th [08.12.12]

01.   In route.  It’s off to church for us, and on time to boot.

02.   On the program. Spencer and I gave the opening and closing prayers in Sacrament meeting.

03.  My happy girl. We’ve got ourselves a full blown smiler!

04.  Handmade. My sister-in-law, Rachel, made this blanket for Marlee bug. It’s a new fav.

05.  Buddy. Nothing sweeter than a rowdy little boy clad in shirt and tie.

06.  Rock art. Marlee and I were up partying {ha} for most of Saturday night so I called dibs on a Sunday nap. It’s always fun to wake up from a nap and discover what Spence came up with for Sunday afternoon entertainment. Today it was rock painting. Brynlee crafted this one.

07.  Rock art, take two. And Jace’s was a bit more, um, black?

08. Splash o’pink. Marlee hung out in her brother’s room while I hung the kid’s new school clothes {in the very, very back of their closets so they wouldn’t be worn before it was time}. Jace thought Marlee looked so cute on his bean bag, and he told her over and over again.

09.  A dedication. I started working on putting together my blog books. Back in 2009 Spencer turned the first six months of my blog into a book for an anniversary gift. I pulled it out for a reference and smiled when I re-read his little love note on the first page of the book.

10.   Thristy. A big gulp of water for my flowers.

11.    On target. While I watered flowers it was Spence vs. Brynlee and Jace is a game of trampoline dodge ball.

12. Orange & Black. Due to the high amount of wild fires in our area + the lack of rain or wind to help clear things up the sky has been hazy with trapped smoke. The haze causes the reflection of the sun to paint the sky varying shades of orange during the day, and during the evening hours the sun appears blood red in color.

Served with a side of rambling

photo credit goes to Miss Brynlee

I love how Jace says Marlee – sounds way more like Molly, with a long, drawn out “o” that makes more of an “aw” sound than an “o” sound. “Little Mawly,” he’ll say. Unless he says it three times in a row like he often does, then it sounds more like Marty. “Little Mawty, Mawty, Mawty,” he’ll say.

This morning he overheard Spencer and me talking about it. “Her names not Molly,” he corrected us, “it’s Mawly!”  I winked at Spencer – case and point.

However he pronounces her name that kid loves his little sister. Both of them actually. “Sissy” and “Little Mawly” are sure lucky to have him around too. He’s protective and defending, loving and giving, with a large dose of hilarious. The boy makes me so proud.

I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday! Can you? And August 15^th! Holy crap. Time - it flies. We registered Brynlee for 1^st grade yesterday; it’s already that time of year {sigh}.  And while registering Brynlee we ran in to Miss Lori. Come September she will be teaching Jace preschool. I am having a hard time accepting the fact that Jace is old enough to go to preschool. Although he is actually six months older than Brynlee was when she first attended, he still seems too little. I’m trying to put on my big girl panties and not be nervous about the whole ordeal. I mean it’s not like I’m sending the boy off to college – he will be gone two hours a day, two days a week - but still, I’m anxious about it. Mainly because he has yet to successfully attend a church class {or anything, really} without Spencer or I by his side. I’m not sure he’s capable.

Brynlee, Marlee and their Great Grandma Marilyn - look at Marlee smiling at her

My Grandma and Grandpa stopped by for a quick visit on Monday afternoon. It was their first time meeting “Mawly”. Grandpa cried when he held her. And he cried again when I showed him pictures of my cousin Kaleena’s new baby, Elliette. And he cried again when Jace and Brynlee gave him a hug goodbye. He’s turned into a bit of a softie. A far cry from his younger years, I’m afraid. He’s proud of us – all of us: his kids, their spouses, his grandkids and his grandkid’s kids. I know because he told me. We talked about turning 84 {him and Marlee share the same birthday}, and about how fast life goes. “It’s kind of like a big dream,” he told me. “I have a lot of regrets, but there are things to be proud of too.” His life wasn’t easy, and I am sure he does have regrets. But you know what, I am proud of him too.

Grandpa Jess and the kids

On Monday night we headed to Arctic Circle for some ice-cream. I think I am going to have to cross the Arctic Circle on Center Street off my list of places to go. It stinks like stale burnt oil. Marlee’s car seat still has a potent oil smell and I had to shower before I got into bed that night because my hair smelt like a chicken fryer. Gag!

I’ve been spending my free time after the kids are in bed turning my blog into books. 2008 and 2009 are completely done, ordered, and should be arriving in the mail in the next few days. 2010 is waiting for a few finishing touches; I’m hoping to get it ordered this evening. It makes me happy to finally get it done. It’s something I have been meaning to do for like ever. So yea!

I took picture on Sunday for my 12 on the 12^th; I just haven’t gotten around to putting them in the grid. That was actually what I sat down to do while the kids played in the sprinklers, but I started rambling instead. And now their done and its lunch time, and they’ve asked to go to the movies today, and well, I’m just not getting to it. Maybe tomorrow.

P.S. You should watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory sometime today. It’s laugh out loud funny.

while I type

she wore white

My Photo Album: Lagoon

It's what fun is!

We just got home from a family trip to Lagoon. I think it’s safe to say that we all completely enjoyed ourselves. The weather was hot, the rides were fun, and the company was gratifying, as always.

Dad and Mom parked their camp trailer on site {so convenient} and the rest of us booked a hotel. Gone are the days where our little families can bunk together in shared hotel rooms – we have blossomed into quite the gang – twenty-two, and one more arriving in January.

We did Lagoon one day and bounced back the next day for an afternoon at Lagoon-a-Beach + more rides. We also found time for the hotel swimming pool, and spent our Friday back to school shopping. I had promised Brynlee a mom and me back to school shopping day just like last year, so to accommodate Spence took Jace to see the new Ice Age movie and Brynlee and I shopped for her school wardrobe {apparently neons are in again, bleh}. The boys joined us later and we shopped with Jace in mind {he will be a big four-year-old preschooler come September, holy moly}.

Let’s see, while at Lagoon:

Brynlee and her cousin Livvie took the big ride plunge and have now rode nearly every ride that Lagoon has to offer: Wicked, The Spider, Colossus, and the ancient White Roller Coaster included. That girl of mine, she’s a thrill seeker. After she found out she was tall enough {with only having to fudge a little} she rode every big roller coaster without hesitation. Early in the day we swapped out her low ponytail for an on-top-of-the-head bun and added a big hair bow for extra height. They measured her every time she rode, but thankfully her dad had taught her how to stand for measurement – neck stretched, head up, back stiff, and the tiniest bit of elevation in her toes. She passed as just tall enough all but twice – and those times she would watch for a shift change hoping for a less strict carnie next time around. The Wild Mouse was her all time favorite, the White Roller Coaster was her least and I think at final calculation she road Wicked seven times. The thought makes me dizzy.

Jace and cousin Zayne were Lagoon partners in crime; running from ride to ride with “Pa” as their personal usher. Me and baby Marlee, Jami, pregnant Katie and Grandma, were the other half of the boy’s entourage following them as they ride hopped and waving at them as they circled around and around. Jessica and Luke would join us too, but for the most part Luke wasn’t too hot on the rides – sitting safely in the stroller was more his style. The Bumper Cars were a fav for the boys and on Wednesday night I think we spent at least an hour riding them again, and again, and again. Well, until Jace suffered from an attack of extreme exhaustion and threw a bit of a fit because he couldn’t get his car unstuck. Oh, the amusement park drama. If you ask Jace what his favorite ride was he would say, “all of them, except the ladybug ride and the scary one {The Haunted Mansion} and when it was time to leave he begged to ride “one more awesome ride!”  Ten-ish rides later, we left. I love watching Jace and Zayne together, they are the best of buddies and the two of them make quite the pair.

Marlee was a Lagoon champ. I don’t think she fussed once during our three day trip, no kidding. We all took turns snuggling her and kissing her baby soft checks and the kids would run to the stroller between rides to see if she was sleeping or awake. Most the time she slept – rocked to sleep by the calming movement of her stroller. We would retreat to Grandpa’s camp trailer from time to time to let her have a car seat break: change her diaper, feed her and let her kick those little two-month-old feet.

My highlight of the trip was riding Wicked with my mom. Oh my holy heck, it was hilarious. I have the funniest mom, ever. Another funny mom minute was when she rode the pink pig on the merry-go-round. Even strapping herself in for extra safety. When the ride ended her pig stopped at the highest point possible. A point so high that it was near impossible for mom to maneuver her way off that dumb thing. We all had a good laugh at her expense.

I wished Alan, Jaelynn and Chloe could have joined us {high school football season is underway and Alan is busy coaching. Go Red Devils!}, but other than that it was a perfect little summer get-a-way.

Stay tuned for our trip to Lagoon in photos.

also in june

june.first.twenty.twelve

at the library.

june.thirteenth.twenty.twelve

my boy in red.

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awesome.

june.seventeenth.twenty.twelve

on fathers day.

june.eighteenth.twenty.twelve

big brother, little sister.

june.nineteenth.twenty.twelve

hula hoopin.

june.nineteenth.twenty.twelve

stained cherry red.

june.twentieth.twenty.twelve

my boy in blue.

june.twenty.third.twenty.twelve

at the pool.

june.twenty.fourth.twenty.twelve

picture day.

june.twenty.seventh.twenty.twelve

so proud.

june.twenty.eighth.twenty.twelve

our marlee bug.

 

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in the morning.

june.twenty.seventh.twenty.twelve

And then, at the end of June, with our new baby sister in stroller we made our way to the golf course to feed the ducks – with plenty of stale hamburger buns.

The kids ate more bread than the ducks, Marlee slept the entire time, and I took these photos:

june.nineth.twenty.twelve

And then six days later, I was still pregnant.

So we spent a Saturday afternoon at the skating rink.

I wore my sandals and walked around the rink helping Jace skate until I was certain I was going to die. Or at very least go into labor.

Neither of which happened.

this is how jace skates, by the way.