Um...

I just have to make a note that the previous post was a sarcastic one. My dry sense of humor gets me into trouble sometimes. I have been making fun of Mitch over this arrangement since he brought it in yesterday (don't worry, he's not offended). I believe it is hideous, and if I paid for flowers and this showed up at my door I'd demand my money back! Just thought I'd specify that before people continue complimenting him on his mad flower-arranging skills! :)

Who knew....

...that my husband had a natural talent for arranging flowers? I've been cutting fresh flowers from my yard and putting them in vases. The last bunch died so I trashed them and I hadn't had a chance to cut new ones. This morning Mitch said he was going outside to get some himself. I don't think it is so much that he loves flowers, as the fact that he feels the need to find some usefulness in the flowers I've planted because I kind of went overboard in the flower department this year (to my credit, most are perennials and will come back next year). So anyway, I came to the table this morning, and what did I see? This gorgeous arrangement. I'm designing "Mitch's Floral Arrangements" business cards tonight.

A Story About a Shower

This morning in the shower, I started thinking about some of the little things that have changed in my life since I became a mother. Obviously, there have been the big changes, but I caught myself thinking about the smaller ones... like taking a shower. There were a few basic steps to taking a shower for me. Boy did they change. I will refer you to the following comparison:

Before Kids
1. Recognize the need for a shower.
2. Immediately get in.
3. Shampoo and condition hair.
4. Clean with nice-smelling body wash.
5. Shave legs if needed.
6. Get out and dry off.

After Kids
1. Recognize the need for a shower.
2. Immediately get in.
2a. Not so fast. No matter how disgusting you are you must wait for the stars in the universe to align perfectly before you can get in (i.e. both children fed, content, occupied, or sleeping). If you miss this precious window, you are pretty much out of luck until back-up arrives (husband).
3. Shampoo and condition hair.
3a. Realize that your 3-year-old has dumped your entire bottle of conditioner out during her bath and refilled it with water. Forgo conditioning today.
4. Clean with nice-smelling body wash.
4a. Again, no body wash available because said 3-year-old emptied the bottle.
4b. Use husband's Irish Spring bar soap which makes you smell like a man.
5. Shave legs if needed.
5a. Phone rings. Panic remembering you left the phone next to the sleeping baby.
5b. Baby wakes up, starts crying.
5c. Decide to forgo leg shaving again.
6. Get out and dry off.
6a. As you stand there in your towel with dripping hair, in walks the 3-year-old with snot hanging out of both nostrils past her chin and a very distressed look on her face. You quickly wipe her nose. And whew! you're done...

I'm sure most of you can relate. I assure you, I wouldn't change my life at all, but I think this Saturday I'm going to demand that Mitch let me have an uninterrupted shower, in which I will have time to condition my hair and shave my legs!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

... or farm to be more precise. We just got home from visiting Mitch's family in Lovell, Wyoming. Whew! What a long 9-hour drive for Kate and Marin! Mitch's brother's family who live in Alaska decided to baptize their son Ethan in Lovell so all of his cousins could be there. All of Mitch's siblings and their families were there except his sister JanaLee's family in Texas. She's the one with the son named Bridger who is getting a bone marrow transplant soon, so we were very sad they couldn't be with us. It was a grand week packed with lots of fun. Marin loved playing with all of her cousins and she was very sad to leave! Here are some of the many many pictures we took:



These pictures were actually taken in Logan before we headed to Wyoming. This is Marin's cousin Olivia, Nicole's daughter. She and Marin are the same age and best buds. When Livvy moved to Alaska I told Marin she went on an airplane to get there, so Marin thinks Livvy lives on an airplane. When I told Marin we were going to see Livvy she said "Oh good, now she can get off that airplane!"


Rub a dub dub, 5 kids in the tub! Marin got to take LOTS of baths at the farm. These kids will really love this picture when they're teenagers!


For a long time there were not many girl cousins in the Moncur family... but the last 5 of 6 grandkids born have been girls. Here they are minus Kate. What cute girls!


The first day was beautiful and we got to go swimming at Mitch's Grandma's house up the road. I forgot my swimming suit, which I'm sure is a sign that I shouldn't be wearing one 3 months after having a baby. Here is how Mitch's mom, Nicole, and I participated in the swimming-- in the shade next to the pool.



The next morning at 7 a.m. we had a 5K "Walk for Bridger" to raise money for my nephew Bridger's upcoming bone marrow transplant. There were lots of friends, neighbors, and family to support the little guy. Mitch opted for the 1 mile walk with Marin on his shoulders. I carried Kate in the Baby Bjorn for the full 3 miles. She was the youngest participant in the 5K!


Next up, Ethan's baptism. It was such a nice event. This picture accurately captures Marin's behavior at the baptism. She was tired and just a bit (understatement of the year) naughty.


This is a castle that Mitch's mom saved from her school class' play. She is a family consumer science teacher at the high school and I believe this "princess castle" was from a theater unit they did. She saved this thing in her house for months so the girls could play in it. That's the kind of grandma she is. They loved it of course, and also had to eat their dinner in it!


Livvy, Marin, and CaMee's twins Preston and Benjamin. Marin and Livvy couldn't get their names straight, so they just called them their "friends."


Here are the kids playing in the sandbox. Mitch's dad was playing with them earlier but it got a little too crowded. Aren't my kids lucky to have such great cousins and grandparents?!


Here are 19 of 20 grandkids. Doesn't Kate look thrilled? Yes, Marin and Livvy are holding fly swatters, which they called "smackers" and wouldn't put down for days. We had to go buy Marin her own "smacker" as soon as we got home-- one that will never be used to kill flies since she occasionally puts her mouth on it (sick, I know).


On Monday, the boys went on a fishing trip. Mitch and his brothers are like little boys when it comes to playing. They love it! Mitch especially loves to fly-fish. He's pretty die-hard and even ties his own flies. Mitch and his brother have been e-mailing Google Earth links back and forth for weeks deciding where exactly to go. Looks like they picked a great spot. They all limited out early. That night we had a fish fry!


This cute idea is what the girls worked on while the boys were gone. The toes in front are Marin's.

I always knew I married into a great family, but I'm starting to appreciate them more and more as my girls grow up. As we were leaving, all of the cousins came out in a big group to wave good-bye and hug (well try to hug) Marin. She had this huge grin on her face. What a lucky girl! Thanks Moncurs for such a fun week!

A Miracle!

My good friend Heather Moore took our family pictures a few weeks ago and let me just say... she is a photography genius! The fact that she got even one shot of Marin smiling is amazing, let alone several. Marin was being such a stinker! She kept wandering off, putting her hands over her face, ducking her head, or climbing on the rocks-- anything BUT looking at the camera and smiling. I was starting to lose my patience and was basically telling her to "sit down and shut up!" but not quite in those exact words, which, surprisingly was not especially effective at getting her to smile. We had to call it quits a little early too because a random storm came through and started raining on us. I really thought we didn't even get ONE decent picture. I think Heather was a bit discouraged too. But as Heather got looking at the results on her computer, lo and behold, a nice family picture!

Marin thinks the Logan temple is a castle. When I first moved here I wasn't a huge fan of the temple because I have a special place in my heart for the St. George temple which is completely white. I thought it was weird that the Logan temple wasn't white. Now I love the Logan temple, probably because Logan is starting to really feel like home for me (since I have lived here for over 9 years).

This is a shot Heather wanted to do just to satisfy her artistic needs-- she really is super creative and a great photographer in my opinion. Anyway, Mitch and I couldn't keep a straight face because we're horrible at any serious-type pictures (you should see some of our wedding picture disasters). Anyhow, I still think this turned out super cool. Logan really is such a beautiful place to live!

Oh, and in case you wanted to blow up life-sized pictures of our family (you know you do), too bad! They are copyrighted, as you can see, so don't even think about it!

Speaking of Napoleon...

Halloween 2005

A special thanks goes out to Avree for the moon boots and stealing those sweet safety goggles from the chemistry lab. Oh, and someone from Star Valley High who donated the shirt to D.I. And we can't forget Matt for donating his tight 501's to complete the ensemble. Too bad Mitch didn't have any feeling in his legs by the end of the night! Also, 3 stars if you can identify the masked man in the background of the 1st picture...

Ode to Dance

This morning at the gym a favorite song of mine came on, just as I was doing my 50 lb. bicep curls (okay, 5 lbs). You know the song at the end of Napoleon Dynamite when Deb and Napoleon are playing tether-ball? It's called "The Promise" by When in Rome. Anyway, it reminded me of the movie, which reminded me of this:

Napoleon Dynamite Dance Scene

I love it! My old favorite dance scene was from The Three Amigos, with Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short to the song "My Little Buttercup". In fact, my good friend Jesika and I learned the entire thing, videoed ourselves dancing it, and sent the video to some boys she'd met at Bear Lake (this was in 9th grade). Boy, I'll bet they were so impressed!

Well anyway, I've always loved to dance. However I am not a good dancer (at least I know this). When I was about 6 or 7 my mom made me choose between dance and piano lessons (they couldn't afford both) and I picked piano. While I wouldn't change that decision for anything since I love playing the piano and I have been able to do lots of good things with it, I do love dancing and appreciate the art.

I have some great memories of dancing with my friends--especially Ash, Stef, and Melinda. Ash and I unsuccessfully tried to learn the moves to "Thriller" one time. Oh, and guys, remember our Shania Twain line dance we made up? It was awesome.. we busted it out at the country music dance club and had at least 50 people dancing it with us. In fact, that dance caught the eye of my husband-to-be at the Tubing Club's V-Day party karyoke contest. Our group and Mitch were selected as finalists to compete in a karyoke-off for first place. Alas, he took away the prize, but the whole thing, including us dancing on our knees to Madonna's "Like a Prayer" is still on camera. Believe me, it's one my kids will die over if they ever get their hands on it. Mitch asked me on a date shortly thereafter, but I digress...

My dream would be to someday learn all of Napoleon's sweet moves, but until then I'll have to be content to be a spectator to the lovely art of the dance, except of course when I dance with Marin (who absolutely loves to dance)!