buttah

I know all of us think our dog/s are the most adorable dogs on earth - and they are. You all know how the sun rises and sets around my 2 dogs Luna and Angel. But sorry folks - this sweet baby HAS to be the most precious baby on the face of the earth. Such a random post, I know... I have resisted posting this pic sooo many times. It floats around the internet now and then, and every time I see it my bones disintegrate and the rest of me just melts into a pool of buttah. I received it again from my friend Tami last night, and it never ceases to reduce me to an overdose of cuteness. So take a few minutes to smile at God's precious little creature, and have a great day :)

bare

Pathetic, I know. Please don't call social services. There are Hot Pockets and waffles in the freezer, I promise. We even had a few protein bars left. But when I opened the fridge yesterday morning and finally focused on how COMPLETELY EMPTY it was ("would anyone like some A-1 on their yogurt? or perhaps some ketchup on their cream cheese?").... I really truly was slightly mortified that I could let my fridge reach this state! Are you even kidding me!?! Have I really been so blindsided working on projects and Christmas that I didn't see this coming?!? Were all those activities really more important than making sure my family has FOOD!?! Um...


All right, I admit it. I hate going to the grocery store. I hate it. I really do wait as long as possible to go, unless I am out of diet Coke and/or Ruffles. Actually, that's not true - I'll send my kids or my husband on a DC/Ruffles run, and they know they must go or face my wrath. But the store... the same things over and over again, year after year. Blahhhhhhhhh. Especially for those of us who are cursed with the I HATE COOKING curse. And it really IS a curse I might add. I would give ANYTHING to love to cook! ANYTHING! To have a family of boys and to hate cooking is a guilt-producing irony fest. Every single day! UGH. I can't even go there right now.


So YES, both John and I went to the grocery store yesterday. Even though it was pouring rain. And YES, our fridge is stocked with something besides condiments. And YES, our family once again has real food to eat. In fact, I'm fixing taco salad for dinner tonight - AND MY TACO SALAD IS REALLY GOOD - so please don't judge me too harshly. Oy - I need a diet Coke :)  

friends are the family you choose

Oh people... I would be remiss if I didn't shout out a very heartfelt thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to my dear friends who made me feel so special on my birthday. You know the saying "friends are the family you choose for yourself"... well, that's how I feel. Not a day goes by when I don't pause to give thanks for such precious friends.

Since we were crammed into Davy's truck driving across the desert on my birthday (not really the kind of birthday activity you look forward to) my friends really brought a smile to my face when I reached home. There were gifts at my door, gifts snuck into the house, cards everywhere, something like 60 Facebook wishes, e-mails, blog comments, messages on our answering machine... you name it. Even Davy's girlfriend and best friend Val & Liam had decorated the white board with a sweet message :) And it didn't stop there. Gorgeous, yummy bundt cakes, delectable pumpkin bread, candy, cocoa, several friends chose awesome ceramics that are so ME it was just uncanny... and the sweetest sentiments in cards you could imagine. You friends... you have blessed my life so much. I just want you to know that, and to know how much I love and appreciate you  ❤

Thanksgiving weekend...

a beautiful sunset at the LDS Temple - getting ready for the lighting ceremony

the Christmas lights were so pretty and it was a crisp evening!

wow - normal faces! (confession: attempt #2)

now there is a nice looking family :)

much of the weekend was devoted to playing "Ninja"

any game where you can slap each other silly is very popular with boys

"Hey I know! Let's get Kaylee to play with us!" Poor Kaylee...

"Don't think I trust you guys for one second..."

LEFTOVERS! YUM!

I really gave birth to this? Really? Seriously? Oy Vey...

Here is Kaylee in action as the head life guard at the pool where she works when she's in town

Awww - is she just too cute or WHAT!!!

Yeah baby - lifeguard power!

movie time!

Uncle Fred fixin' up one of his huge Sunday breakfasts

Aunt Dianne & I did our share too! I made all the pancakes and forced my family to come witness it ;)

Happy birthday to ME! 

NO I DID NOT TURN 50!!! THAT WAS A SICK JOKE FROM DIANNE!!!

She's just jealous because I have years to go before I turn 50!

But I loved my cake and it was an awesome birthday :) 

wearing my groovy flower child birthday flowers :)

that's right - peace baby, and happy birthday :)

all this birthday action plum tuckered out Snickers - hee hee

late one night we found John & Fred at the piano singing Christmas carols - how cute was that!?!?

it's just a mystery how these brothers look nothing alike......

I sure love you Dianne - thanks for such an awesome weekend xoxoxo

Thanksgiving!

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post our Thanksgiving photos! I'm going to blog like a maniac for a few days so I can get Thanksgiving weekend and all our fun posted, and move on to the holiday season at hand! 

We drove to southern Utah where John's brother and his family now live. Our oldest son Danny and our niece Kaylee drove down from where they are going to universities in northern Utah so we could all be together. It's our favorite time when all of us can be together :) Look at the gorgeous table Kaylee set for Thanksgiving! 

Complete with individually hand-dipped candy apples! Yum!

Oh my gosh, just look at my adorable niece Kaylee! I love this precious girl!

Oh look... one of the mentally disabled Walker boys has appeared... poor Kaylee...

This is what happens when the 3 of my boys get together. I gave up on trying to get a normal photo of them.

We did happen to get a few good photos of all of us smiling at the camera instead of rolling eyeballs/holding a brother in a headlock/blowing out candles/drooling/breaking something/etc. Sitting next to Kaylee is my terrific nephew Sam, and on the far right are my wonderful sister in law Dianne and brother in law Fred. They made our Thanksgiving awesome and we are so grateful for them :) They always go out of their way to make things great.

tree crash

Perhaps you are wondering why there is a very large eucalyptus tree lying horizontally across my backyard. I should be posting Thanksgiving weekend photos and the beginnings of Christmas at this point. Well, those pics are all on their way. But I have to back up for this one extra post of thanks.

Some of my Facebook buddies already know this story, but I feel it's worth repeating. Please note the huge mass of branches right next to the trampoline. That's where my dog Luna and I were standing seconds before a gust of wind came and the limb came crashing down. It had fallen earlier, half into a smaller tree outside our bedroom window and half onto the roof on top of our bedroom. As Luna and I stood outside assessing the damage, and I was wondering what to do, it entered my mind as plain as day: GET AWAY

I quickly thought of course! It would only take another gust of wind and that whole thing could come down! I said out loud "Come on Luna - I don't want you to get hurt" and snapped my fingers so she would quickly follow me inside. The second - the very SECOND - we stepped off the grass away from the trampoline, a big gust of wind came and I heard a crashing sound. The entire limb with all it's branches, rolled off the roof and out of the tree and came slamming down right in front of us. In the exact place where we had been standing seconds before. 

Above is the poor smaller tree the huge eucalyptus limb originally fell onto... You can see where it just couldn't hold it's weight any longer and two of it's largest limbs were broken off as well. 

And of course, here's Matthew my lumberjack, who went to work on it within a few minutes after he got home from school and saw what had taken place.


All I can say is, those people who say there is no God? Who say that little voice inside is a bunch of hooey? Who say that close mishaps like this are just a coincidence? Who insist guardian angels are a sham? All those jaded people who say believing in something is just a crutch for the weak? I say to you... MULE MUFFINS.

December 1st!

Can you even believe it? Wow, December 1st! And I'm barely making it at that - it's almost over! I've been playing catch-up the entire day and the day really got away from me. But I was determined to wish you all a happy December 1st, as I myself am always so excited for the holidays to officially arrive :)  

My birthday was yesterday - I can't believe I missed posting on my birthday! I still get as excited about it as if I were a kid :) But we were on the road all day returning from our Thanksgiving trip to see family and our oldest son. Not the greatest way to spend a birthday - driving through the seemingly endless butt ugly desert of Nevada, the 4 of us crammed in the cab of my son's truck... but we DID have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and birthday celebration before we departed. I sincerely hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving as well! And you know I will post on our fun excursion ASAP! 

But in the meantime, is this not the COOLEST Christmas tree??? I've been trying to catch up on Apartment Therapy's main blog all day today, between loads of laundry and whatnot, and I smiled mighty large indeed when AT San Fransisco blogger Molly Anderson reposted this tree from last year. I remembered it instantly because it had completely knocked my socks off! How fun to revisit it again - it was like seeing an old friend :) The original post came from Dutch artist Jane Schouten of All the Luck in the World. 

So innovative, how she used all these tiny found objects and little keepsakes to turn into something so amazing! It's so fun to look at all the tiny details she used - the majority of these colorful objects have little to do with the holidays, and yet together they all end up making a crisp, modern, colorful tree on her bright white wall - so striking! As always, there is beauty in the details - it's the little things people!!! 

Anyway, happy December 1st! My motor is officially running! Heh ;)