friday, beautiful friday.

there are so many reasons to be happy it's Friday:

1) general conference weekend. my soul is ready for some spiritual uplifting

2) general conference = an excuse to eat an insane amount of delicious food. we will be eating buttermilk waffles with tons of strawberries and peaches and blueberries, whipped cream and maple syrup, steaks, potatoes, chips & homemade guac, and pumpkin bread-- hopefully not all at once.

3) i've had a nasty flu and am finally feeling a little better this afternoon (which may explain the hefty list of foods on #2- i've been surviving on saltines since Wednesday night. ick). being sick is super lame. feeling better is super awesome. and i kinda want to climb a mountain (since i've been laying on the couch for two days straight).

4) family time. we haven't had some time with just our family at home for a few weeks now- with family in town, us going out of town, the Ragnar, etc etc. sometimes it's just nice to not have any place you HAVE to be, yes?

and so, i'm happy its friday- knowing we'll probably spend the weekend in our dress-ups, watching conference inside Ellie's princess tent, eating delicious fattening food while our souls get spiritually fat, too.

oh and we'll probably spend some time rolling around on our new grass.
because it's so green and so-super awesome.

happy friday/weekend!
xoxo

happy happy happy.

"Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

last week my friend Jenny did a happy list on her blog.
a bunch of things that were making her feel happy.
i like Jenny because she is real and funny but positive. her list made me feel happy. and made me realize that similar things were making me happy, too.
yesterday i read another happy list on one of my favorite blogs, Rockstar Diaries. 
that Naomi is adorable. and is so good at finding joy in the little things...especially in being a mom. i like her and sometimes wish we were friends.

i realize that sometimes on my blog i can be a little bit of a downer.
life can be nuts, you know?
one minute, everything feels fine- and the next...WHAM. things change. little ones get sassy. littler ones start walking and bonking heads on every sharp edge imaginable...resulting in blood. loved ones may pass away. good health can change to poor health. the list could go on and on.

being a stay-at-home-mom is the thing i always wanted to be when i grew up. i wanted to have my cute house and my cute hubby who came home and kissed me every night and my cute kids and my cute plates to serve my cute dinner on. i  didn't really realize how challenging it would be to keep everything cute.  because life gets caarraaazzzzy. sometimes i'm cooking the spaghetti when i realize there's blood dripping from Alice's mouth, and Ellie just spilled milk on the carpet and M walks through the door and wants that cute kiss and i am panicking hearing the timer go off for the spaghetti, while seeing the milk seep in the carpet and the blood getting ready to drip on Alice's new shirt. what issue do i address first? chaos, i tell you. to the point that i'm holding my breath basically all day, and consuming abnormal amounts of bread and chocolate to cope with the nuttiness.

but just because things are crazy and chaotic doesn't mean that there isn't joy.
i have so much to be grateful for -- and so many little things that make me happy every day.

so here's my happy list to share with you-
thanks to Naomi and Jenny sharing theirs with me.

10. Ellie's silly faces. and her need to have several "silly face photos" taken a day.







9. my beautiful new grass in my front yard- and the man laying the sod using a machete to cut the edges. classy. (it's getting all finished today- and then most assuredly deserves it's own post soon. because having your own grass and flowers when you've been living with weeds, mud, and ghetto-ness is AWE-SOME).

{picture taken from my kitchen window- the dudes are out the working and i felt weird to go out there with my camera ... again, more to come, pinky-promise}

8. Alice's lady-bug jammies. these were actually Ellie's when she was a baby. and they are just my very favorite baby jammies ever. the best part is when her little tummy hangs out the bottom of them. oh gosh, her round little belly is simply edible.




7. evening runs- two nights ago, M went on a guys' night with his brothers (who were here from out of town) and his Dad. since the girls and i had the night to ourselves, i decided to take them for a sunset run. the weather was absolutely perfect- a soft little breeze, a beautiful sky, and not a soul on the streets. i love my stroller, my healthy body, that perfect night and that perfect run.




6. side-by-side hotel-room beds for the spazzy 3-year old to jump back and forth on.

5. Alice's little white pants...and her "big-girl stance." i honestly can't believe she is walking so well everywhere. it's absolutely adorable and absolutely saddening at the same time. but mostly it just makes me happy because she is so proud of herself and usually squeals the whole time she walks from one place to the next.




4. bed-time stories with Gammy. brings back so many wonderful memories of being a feisty little girl myself.




3. the beautiful Utah mountains. they rejuvenate my soul. and i miss them all the time.




2.  Fall TV- especially that Modern Family started again. holy hilariousness.

1. the big carts at Sam's or Costco- so that both girls can sit side-by-side. especially when Ellie casually puts her arm around lil Alice like she's the best thing in the world (rather than the casual punches she's usually throwing throughout the day).

1- part B (because this photo is just stinkin' adorable)- eating treats as much as possible- especially from our favorite little local bakery, sweet affair. oh how we love our cookies and cakes over here.

yes yes i am happy.

happy happy happy.

xoxo

7 lessons i learned from the Napa Valley Ragnar

7. if you want to make a spectacle of yourself, lock your keys in the car, and then call the fire-department to come to your rescue. you'll get lots of attention- and have lots of laughs about it.

6. always lock the porta-potty stall. well, unless you want a middle-aged dad walking in on you hovering over the pot.

5. looking fantastic while running is a secret to success. Kristin was by far the best-dressed 80's gal on our team. a few of us tried to rock it, but fell just a tad short of the awesome line...though our hot-pink nail polish was pretty sweet. next time, i will surely take it to the next level, because i'm convinced it helps you run faster...and sexier.

4. running 2 days straight with friends (and with strangers) makes you family.

3. learning how to follow a map could be a useful skill to have -- unless you want to run additional miles...say, 3 of them, after an already longish 7 mile run.

2. dancing and singing all the way through your runs makes them far more enjoyable. i never knew how empowered i'd feel by singing black-eyed-peas' "Imma Be" at the top of my lungs in the middle of the night by myself. and dancing through a finish line was definitely a memorable experience.

and the number 1 thing i learned from the Napa Valley Ragnar is:  
tattoos make you feel strong.
and make they you want to flex in any and every photo op possible.

every lost wink of sleep, extra mile ran, tummy ache, ugly speedo bum, and smelly pasture was worth it!
it was a total blast-something i'll definitely be doing again. thanks for fantastically fun time Ladie's From the 80's!

-a BIG shout out to M for holding the fort while i was gone...and for the extra adorable poster he/Ellie made together for me when i got home. i especially liked the stick figures, squiggles, and salty snacks. my people are so cute.

xoxo

11 months = 11 pictures...plus a few more.

today marks Alice's 11 month of life.
wow.
11 months.
almost a 1 year old.
jeesh.
and so, i thought i'd post 11 recent and adorable pictures of miss Alice- since pictures are just the best part anyway.
yes, there are some repeats.
because a few of these adorable pictures just got globbed into some of my mega posts...and they're just too cute to go overlooked.
such a sweetie, this little Miss Alice.

 

 

ok, ok.
so there were 15 pictures...i just got uploading pictures and couldn't narrow it down.
can't believe it's already been a year since i was ready to welcome this sweet Alice in the world.
such a sweet adventure this year has been.
and you know what a birthday means-
a birthday party!
can't wait to throw it...1-year-old parties are the best.
and in celebration of the circus we've become as a family since Alice entered the world, we're throwing her a circus-themed party. (if you're on Pinterest, i'm sure you've seen all my crazy pinning going on).
should be fun and sweet- just like the birthday girl.
and then, she can officially stop growing up.
because i like her the way she is.

xoxo