the anti blog

so i am not in the mood to post much about anything.

not even the mundane.

or the routine.

but i caught myself in the quiet of the evening,

counting my blessings.

for the many things i possess.

and the love i have for my family.

and my health.

and the knowledge that i am a precious daughter of God.

and the gospel.

and the fundamental principles it has taught me.

and for the fact that i come from a long line of good people.

people with integrity and a basic goodness.

and i am glad for that.

i am glad because i would not be the person i am today without those precious things in my life.

so heres to a wonderful existence.

and a bright future.

full of peace and happiness.

and even a little joy.

my wings may be damp, but theyre drying off.

big girls gone

i am missing emma making these...

and these...

and aenon's scary faces...

and emma's fixation with disneyland...

and our shopping trips...

and all the yummy food we like to eat...

and days spent lounging by the pool...

i am missing my girls.

big time.

but i know they are off doing fun and meaningful things of their own.

living their own lives.

spreading their wings and flying in the right direction.

and that makes me happy.

endless summer

so my annual end of summer funk is beginning to rear its ugly head. 

i feel a tantrum coming on.

hate this time of year. 

absolutely abhor  it. 

can i make myself any more clear?

hate the kids going back to school...

the older ones out of state.

hate, hate, hate it.

soon i must follow some sort of routine, and be on time.

must actually look at the calendar on a regular basis,

and be the "go to bed now" police.

also must do laundry in a timely manner.

now that will be a feat in itself.

and lucky me, now i get to do 4th grade math.

(i think i am too old to be doing 4th grade math, and i didnt get 3rd grade math down).

so what the heck am i going to do when eden goes to college next year?

ughhh.

friends forever

my friend, leigh and i will be friends forever.

we coined that phrase for us years ago.

i have known her for about 20 years now.

we "get" each other.

i have come to realize that there are people who you click with and those you dont.

and isnt it funny how you usually know this right off the bat.

i have encountered people i cant stand, could take or leave...and others i cant get enough of.

i guess thats the way its supposed to be.

i can count many (and i am very fortunate i have a large friendship circle), 

who i connect with deeply, those who i share a special bond with. 

those who i consider soulmates and true bluers.

so thank you to all of you out there for being my friend...and you know who you are.

 this is andrew, danes forever friend.

they have been friends since kindergarten,

have endured andrew moving away,

and changing schools.

they never fight but speak their mind.

they are kind and considerate of each other.

they share the same interests.

their friendship has endured the test of time.

the way true friendship should be.

and i am glad.

perfect orbs

look what i grew...

and they even taste better than they look.

still need to find the nasty tomato worm which is eating all the leaves. 

he is hiding well.

june gloom go away

i need a beach day, and unfortunately june gloom has been present all summer long.

ughhh.

gorgeous day in san diego

so we went to the world famous san diego zoo...

the giraffes are our personal favorites...

another reason verifying there is a God who has a 

keen sense of great design and creativity. 

i mean, c'mon...who would have thought of this beautiful creature?

and two of the elephants who were rescued from a circus. 

rescued from abuse, malnutrition and neglect.

the exact reason why i dont take my children to the circus. 

a barbaric, abusive industry in my humble opinion. 

sorry to all you circus workers out there.

you wont EVER catch me under a circus tent. ever.

and edens personal favorite...the rhino. 

so darling eden, this is for you. 

we missed you on this trip.

just wasnt the same.

so glad you are coming home today.

cant wait.

new love

been doing a lot of this lately. 

have realized utah drivers suck and i have a newfound love for my suv.

we have bonded deeply. 

he takes care of me.

pigged out at the rio buffet. ate way too much, then tried to walk it off on the strip.

watched the fountain show at the bellagio...accompanied by frank sinatra.

scored an inexpensive rate at the vdara. would highly recommend the 49th floor and the 

heavy linens which were to die for.

yes, that is the infamous rio in the background.

stumbled upon these huge glass flowers.

and found this fantastic background for a model shot.

so i have a new respect for vegas.

actually not that bad of a place.

thats my name

"momma j!"

 was called out to me with enthusiasm in the parking lot of heritage halls this morning.

made my heart sing, when carson yelled it out from across the street.

i was greeted with long hearty hugs from 4 big kids who had a great week at efy.

big smiles, lots of dirty laundry and laughter in the car as we ventured

to kneaders for all you can eat french toast.

a perfect end to an eventful week in p town.

they were so happy to finally get good food...apparently lots of 

macaroni and cheese and jello this week in mormonland.

typical latter day saint fare.

its no wonder freshman at byu gain like a million pounds.

and have you noticed there are bread stores everywhere in provo?

i am definitely in bread heaven...however will have to get back on a diet when i return home.

at least i still fit into my jeans...so far.

knock on wood.

and as we were driving to the airport...a billboard for "bathenaked.com", 

(you know, utah the capital of billboards) 

a company who manufactures bathtubs i guess, shows up on the freeway. 

the kids all took notice and started laughing.

"what the heck?"

then max says..."just make sure you dont hit google images for that one"

the car erupted in laughter.

max, the funniest kid alive.

never a dull moment with these 4 in the car.

wouldnt trade them for anything.

then these boys fell asleep about 5 minutes before we arrived at the airport. 

and sorry april, i transported your priceless child without a seatbelt. 

we did arrive safely though.

it was either leave a couple of suitcases behind or put max in the middle of the captains seats.

i promise i would have grabbed him before he hit the windshield, had we had an accident.

promise.

would do anything for that boy.

forgive me.

and see you on monday!

family power

this photo really needs no explanation...a rare time for all of us (except dale) to all be together.

i am enjoying spending the week with my mom and dad in lehi, waiting for the kids to 

get out of efy. we have a fishing trip planned for friday, saturday park city, farmers market, and the alpine slide, then vegas on sunday...and the rio buffet. so all in all a fun week planned.

dane and i experienced thunder, hail and lightning yesterday which was exciting...actually the loudest i have ever heard in my life, and hail stones which made lots of noise on the roof of my car. 

even went to sleep with the thunder roaring outside our window.

and i got to hold this darling baby...his name is donovan. what a sweet, good baby. my nephew jacob and his wife toshias baby boy.

and i cannot even believe my kids were this little.

seems like forever ago.

and a couple of generations here. great grandfather, my dad.

good week.

utah white boy

never before in my life have i ever seen a blonde, blue eyed gardener.

only in utah.

not very often

are my sister, parents and me in the same room together.