SATURDAY=WORK DAY

All play and no work makes for a lot of crap that needs to get done! So we "done it" on Saturday... all day. And now it's all done. Okay, that's not true, I wish it was all done, but I have to be happy with some of it being done. I do know this much, I'm done in for a couple of days after working in our monster yard. Let me know what you think. It needs to look awesome so that when we list it for sale (that's right, we're selling the house) people will drive up and think, "Wow! This place looks pretty nice." I have to admit that aside from the crushing pain that follows a full day of yard work around here, I will really miss this beautiful yard and neighborhood. And the inside of the house will be exactly as I would have liked it to be for the six years we've lived here. I get to take all the memories though, and wherever we end up, will be the right place for us.

Front porch and half of the flower bed

Chard, pumpkin and the little waterfall in our garden.

FRIDAY=FUN DAY

AT LAST! We got to take the boat out after weeks of cold weather! Last year we were wakeboarding in May, but this year the warmer days have been spotty at best, and the water temps at the lakes have been too cold to get in. Jeff decided we were going out on Friday, no matter what. The forecast called for temperatures in the 70s so we decided to give it a try. Not only did we pack towels and sunscreen, we made sure we had jackets and blankets, too. I decided before we left that this was not going to be my first ride of the year... I'm not good with the cold. But Brit has been waiting, not so patiently, to try out his new wakeboard so he was keeping his hopes up that the temps in Utah Lake would be warm enough to get in. Once on the water the thermometer read 63 degrees. We thought for sure Brit would chicken out! He didn't though, and was soon wiggling into his wetsuit for his first ride of the year, and first ride on his new board.
After one time up, he decided he was freezing his patooty off so he came back in the boat. My favorite part of boating is just being out there on the water. We took some time to drift and soak up the sun which was quite relaxing and therapeutic for me (while it lasted). I think it felt more like torture to my active, and easily bored husband because at precisely the moment I was drifting into a zen-like state, he felt it necessary to honk the horn! I guess that's why I felt it necessary to post this picture of him...
Our first boat outing of the season went pretty well. I may have accidentally scratched up the front of the boat by bringing it onto the trailer too fast... but I see no need to go into that "minor" little detail ;)

THE VEGETARIAN THAT DIDN'T LIKE VEGETABLES

Once upon a time I had a son named Brit. He was a kind and caring boy from the very beginning, who loved animals, and was always committed to his own set of values and beliefs. Brit grew to be a kind and caring teen (no, I'm not kidding) who still loves animals and many other things as well. Being a teenager, Brit began to care about more than just Legos and remote control cars, he started to wonder how and why things are the way they are. When someone on t.v. spoke about social injustice, or war, or animal cruelty, Brit started to pay attention. He is, as I mentioned, a caring boy. A while back Brit decided he wanted to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. He felt it was his small way of helping his fellow living beings, and a way to be more healthy. One problem though... Brit doesn't like vegetables!

The road to vegetarianism has been a bit rocky for Brit. He's learning that in order to be healthy veg, he has to really think about balancing his meals, especially since he is still growing. He incorporates his meat substitutes, lots of fresh fruits, vitamins, and even dairy. But he keeps coming back to the fact that if he is going to reap the full benefits of his veggie lifestyle, he's got to add those veggies! He's not giving up though. And as I watched him choke down a salad with spinach in it at Sizzler tonight, I couldn't help but feel proud of him for sticking to his convictions. I also had to giggle a little at the situation. I think sometimes the greatest restrictions we have, are the ones we put upon ourselves.

Good work Brit! I'm proud of you.

BABIES, BIRTHDAYS, AND BEDROOMS

Whew! What a crazy week we've had! Devin and Addy had their new baby Jacoby on Tuesday, and it took us till Friday to finally see him. Of course my good intentions of getting some cute photos of him remained just that... good intentions. As soon as I get some pics, I will post them. You'll have to take my word that he is FREAKING adorable!!!

So not only did we celebrate a new baby this week, but also had a couple of birthday parties to attend. Our neice and cousin Beka turned 13 this week and we all had a great time celebrating with her at a local bowling alley on Friday night. The extended family took three lanes in all. Some highlights were the black lights which made our teeth, clothes and underwear glow in the dark! And the french fries were delicious and homemade! Yum. After bowling, a few of the late-nighters went to Sizzler for dinner. Once again I only got a couple of pics of the whole thing... yes, I'm still getting used to being the photographer in the family... that has always been Jeff's job.



On Saturday Kaylee had a birthday party for her friend Alyssa at Murray Park. They went swimming and reportedly had a great time.



Finally, Jeff finished up the rest of the master bathroom this weekend, and I got the master bedroom painted and decorated the way I wanted it. The only thing left to do is have the new carpet installed. I got some pretty cool stuff at a yard sale last weekend, held by Desert Point Builders, one of our clients. They were liquidating furniture and decor from some of their model homes at great prices! I would have gone crazy, except Jeff was with me :( so I had to control myself.



All in all a busy week with a lot to show for it, so I'm happy.

CONGRATS DEVIN AND ADDY!

My brother Devin and his wife Addy delivered their second baby this morning around 10:15 a.m. I'm told he is a 6 lb. 5 oz., darling, little guy with a full head of black hair. I hope to get in to see them tomorrow and will take some pics to post later. When we talked on Monday, the name they had for a boy was Jacoby Shin Swensen, so I'll confirm that when I visit. They are such great parents and I'm happy that they had a trouble-free pregnancy and a healthy, happy delivery.

Congratulations guys!!!

DINNER WITH THE GROWN-UPS

My sister Kara is the greatest when it comes to birthdays and parties. She always made a birthday special by decorating and making banners and cute signs for the person having a birthday. Nowadays, you can expect to get a really cute hand-made card from her on your birthday, and she never forgets! Now that we are older and all live in our own homes (well most of us), we've found that our lives are getting busier and busier and sadly, we just don't have time to do big birthday get-togethers like we used to. So leave it to Kara to come up with a really great idea for celebrating birthdays: she suggested going out to dinner twice a year- just us grown-up siblings and our spouses. Last night was our first bi-annual birthday dinner at TGI Friday's. Everyone was able to make it except Joe who couldn't get time off from work. We had a great time sitting around and talking, making jokes, and teasing each other. Of course we had to talk about all the good and even some of the bad stories about growing up in a large family with both biological and adopted siblings, and although we're not all related by blood, I think we all inherited the sarcastic gene somehow. Kara had taken the very unpleasant task of letting my mom know that this dinner was going to be for the kids only, but she took it pretty well.

It was a great time that I'm looking forward to again in another six months or so! But the fun had to end sooner rather than later because people needed to get back to work or to their own kids. Jeff commented on the way home that he had never been to something where it was just my siblings and that it was a nice time. For me, it was reminiscent of childhood Sundays when we weren't allowed to do much in the afternoons, so we'd sit around playing games or talking.

I've always been a big believer in living for the moment, that I should do what I want to do now, rather than waiting... cuz you just never know. Spending time with my Sibs is important and I'm glad we had our fun dinner last night. Thanks Kara!

WANNA GROW OLD WITH YOU

Today is my 18th wedding anniversary and even though it's not generally seen as a "milestone" anniversary, to me, it feels like one. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't take to adulthood all that well, and it took me many years to finally settle into marriage and family. I think I just didn't take the time to figure out who I really was and what I wanted in life before I got married and then had kids. I had ideas, but you know how it is... once you are a wife and then a mother, your identity can really get lost in the shuffle (not a bad thing by any means). Once the kids started to get a little older and more independent, I finally had the time to really work out all the little kinks that needed working on, and over the past year or so I feel like I've finally come into my own. Better late than never, right? And I also think that there are not many men who would have hung in there with me like Jeff has done during all the stretching and growing pains. Anyway, today I feel pretty lucky and blessed to have made it to 18 years, and I'm grateful to Jeff for continuing to ride on this crazy train with me! I will admit though, that this new feeling of calm and purpose feels pretty nice, and I look forward to having more of this kind of living.

So... what did we do today? The day started out as normally as usual. Everyone up and fighting for the shower, then Jeff and Kaylee going for their weekly brunch together. They brought me a huge bouquet of flowers and even did the dirty work of cutting them and putting them in the vase (the worst part about getting flowers, dontcha thing?). But wait, it gets much better... Jeff scheduled 90 minutes massages for us which was like heaven for me! Then we grabbed an early dinner/late lunch at Market Street. I had the halibut oscar and was not disappointed. We asked to be seated outside on the patio so we had the whole thing to ourselves most of the time. The restaurant is located next to Little Cottonwood Creek so we were right on the water- BEAUTIFUL! After massages and delicious food we were both feeling sleepy so we came home for a catnap (wink). Once we arrived home we had a note from Kaylee on the door to let us know that her gift to us was a thorough cleaning of the house! What a sweet thing to do! Thanks Kays!

All in all a really nice, relaxing day, and the weather cooperated too! Thanks to my Sweetie, and my little ones too for all the gifts you share with me.