Coming Attractions

I have so much to tell you about. And yes, you're going to have to suffer through my obsessive need to over-share in the details department. But I don't have time to write it all out right now. So instead, I'm just going to upload a few pictures to give you the general idea.

First, Ryder. I left him sitting in the boppy pillow and returned to find him happily sucking his thumb, grasping a t-shirt of Craig's that happened to be dangling above him. I guess anything can be a lovey if you can reach it!




Second, last night. My sister Natalie and I got to go to a Mariner's game together! Without children! Despite the heartbreak at the bottom of the ninth inning, we still had a fabulous time together. Many many thanks are owed to all the people who made this possible!

Yes, I heart Ichiro. And this should give you an idea of just how close we were. (YES! I took that picture!!!)

And third. This

is where we're headed this weekend. I can hardly wait!

More later, I promise!

Not Again!

All right, readers. Do you remember back in the fall, when I had some sort of identity crisis and wanted to do crafty things? That feeling never really left. In fact, I just borrowed my mother-in-law's sewing machine and am hoping a friend of mine (the same one who bailed me out with my craft project, actually) will give me a few lessons this summer.

If that were the end of the story, then it would just be old news.

But it's not.

Today, I found myself wondering if maybe I should start running this summer. Cue the scary organ music.

In order for you to fully grasp how weird this is, you have to understand that when I was in high school, I made it a habit of telling people that running was "against my religion." When I got to BYU and could no longer use that excuse, I switched to explaining that I felt that running was an unnatural act ("unless it's to the bathroom or away from bears"). I HATE running. Hate, hate, hate it. My friend Carla tried to get me to run with her, and after a block of gasping for air, I told her that I was done and I wasn't trying it again. She keeps trying to convince me that we should run a marathon together some day, and I always laugh and tell her that maybe when hell freezes over. But probably not even then.

I like most other forms of exercise. I will do aerobics, jazzercize, kick boxing, step aerobics, yoga. I have done ballet, standard ballroom, Latin ballroom, karate and capoeira. I biked my entire mission. And honestly, when I'm not surrounded by my under-four-feet crowd, I even walk pretty fast. I just. don't. run.

But recently, the "yoga" class here at church has turned into a circuit workout class. This means that our instructor, Vangie, has us do 30 seconds of various things-- jumping jacks, weight-lifting, sit-ups, and any other evil, strenuous thing she can think up. And since you only have to do each thing for a short amount of time, the goal is to keep pushing yourself just that little bit longer and you get a really great workout from it all. Of course, Vangie cheats. She claims "30 seconds" but it's always longer than that. Usually we've been jogging in place for a full minute before she gives us our 15 second warning. And when she counts down from 5, she's really counting how many more times you can do each task. It has nothing to do with seconds. I think. I can never actually see the clock...

But it works. The first time I did this workout, I just about died, and I was sore for the next week. (It probably didn't help that I showed up expecting yoga and was wearing flipflops. As devoted as I am to my flipflops, tennis shoes definitely work better for jumping jacks...) But I realized this week that I'm getting better at it! When Vangie makes us do bicycle sit-ups, I can now do it for the full time! (At least, on the first rotation I can.) The same goes for the jumping jacks and the jogging in place. I may be breathing pretty heavy by the end, but I'm still breathing!

And I got to thinking, if I can improve this much so quickly, maybe I should be doing more. Maybe if I began running like the circuit training-- jog a bit, walk a bit, jog some more-- and built up my strength...

I might just have it in me after all. In any case, I at least want to try it and find out.




Who am I any more?

Olly Olly Oxen Free!

Did you ever play tag as a kid? And did you have a "base" where you were safe?

I realize that the shower has become my base, my safe place, my little break during the day. Don't get me wrong-- I have always loved a good, long hot shower. But now, it's my only break from the constant interruptions that come with having two very talkative and inquisitive children and a baby. As my homefree place, it's a part of my day which I try my best to enjoy to the fullest extent. And like any good game, shower time has developed certain rules that I must follow. And with each kid I produce, these rules get more and more complicated. Right now, the rules go like this:

-if Ryder is down for a nap and has been quiet for at least fifteen minutes (and therefore is probably actually asleep), you may shower.

-if you hear Ryder making happy noises, you must get in the shower within 30 seconds of hearing that noise and shower as fast as humanly possible, or else forgo showering until his next nap time rolls around

-if the noise you hear is crying, then you don't even get that 30 second window. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, do not shower at this time.

-for optimal showering experience, Bentley and Kendra should be watching a movie. Otherwise, they will interrupt you several times for reasons that you usually can't hear, but which will make you worry enough to cut your shower time in half

-the bathroom door must be locked during shower time. This is why you won't be able to hear them. If they sound hysterical enough through the muffled door and water noises, you may turn off the water and yell, "WHAT?!?!?!" but you'll probably just tell them to wait until you're out of the shower.

-if Bentley and Kendra aren't watching a movie, you must hem and haw over whether or not to lock that door. Whatever you decide to do will probably be the wrong choice, though.

-if you shower before all of the kids wake up, you will spend the entire time worrying that they are crying in their rooms. This really isn't worth it unless it's Sunday and Craig is home and can take care of them (or tell you that Ryder is hungry, so you'd better hurry up).

-if Ryder has slept through the night, do not bother showering until you've fed him. You WILL be interrupted. Even if you can't hear him, you'll still spend the entire shower worrying about him.

-Ryder will almost always sleep through the night on nights when you have to get up early and shower, thus leaving you completely unsure of what to do.

-showering at night is definitely better than not showering at all. But it's sort of like sitting on base when no one else is playing tag. What's the point?

-when you do step into that shower, sigh with relief. And enjoy every second of it. You deserve it.


So, all this begs the question: what are some of your self-imposed rules?

Sitting Up

Ryder is working on sitting up. Given the right toy to focus on, he can sometimes manage for a few minutes before he'll suddenly face-plant into whatever's in front of him. So we still have to be kind of careful. But he's coming along!

Pictures of Summer

Isn't this just what summer's all about?

(Thanks to Craig for thinking of letting the kids run through the sprinkler AND for documenting it! You're a great daddy.)

Here, here!

I'm not even convinced that I like Mitt Romney as a candidate. (I'm still hoping Christie will run!) But I do like that him running has led to this article by the Head of P.R. for the Church. I think it's about time the Church began sticking up for itself a bit through some of these ridiculous accusations.

Time for another, "It Goes Without Saying" post

It goes without saying that the time my neighbors drop by and actually come inside my house will be the same day that I decided on a whim to organize my pantry. Kitchens look so much better when there are canned goods stacked on every surface!


This same rule of physics was also in motion the day that I decided to "tidy" the kids' room by simply throwing all the clothes on the floor into their closet. This was the same day that my mother-in-law helped Kendra get her sweatshirt. From her closet.

Why do I always get busted on these things?

Or, perhaps more to the point, why do I keep trying to get away with them anyway?

The Riddle

First of all, kudos to both my sister and my Dad who figured out the riddle right away-- they were right on: all three things-- your marriage, your teeth and your testimony-- are things you need to take care of every day if you want them to last. That seems like such a silly thing to be writing about, but I feel like I can't turn around without hearing about someone whose marriage fell apart, or someone who left the Church, and those always worry me. I start doubting myself, wondering, "Will Craig and I end up like that? Are there warning signs that I should be watching for that I'm missing?" (Let me tell you, Craig LOVES it when I start second-guessing us and he gets to spend an evening reassuring me that if there were problems, we probably would have noticed! Fortunately I don't have those freak-out moments too often!) Or I begin to wonder if my testimony is strong enough to see me through everything life has to throw at me.

It makes me think of a day when, out of the blue, one of my high school teachers asked us, "Do any of you ever get depressed at the idea of having to brush your teach every single day?" He quickly back-pedaled a bit, explaining that he wasn't trying to say he liked mossy teeth or anything, but sometimes he just didn't want to have to do something every single day. And I loved him for saying it, because I had felt the same way. What-- I don't get a vacation from taking care of my teeth ever??? Which is silly, because I like brushing my teeth! I'm a big fan of personal hygiene, actually. But every day? For the rest of my life? Really???

And I think sometimes we tend to think about our testimonies in the same way. Those CPR steps-- church, pray, read scriptures-- can seem like a lot to have to do all the time, over and over, for the rest of our lives. But I've watched people who don't do those things struggle so much with their testimonies and ultimately lose them. A testimony is a surprisingly fragile thing. You can never just say "I've arrived!" and be done obtaining one.

A marriage is a little different, because most of the things you can do to keep your marriage alive and well are actually really fun, but as life gets busier (and with each additional kid!), it can be hard to do those things. Add to that the stress of daily life and not getting enough sleep and I can see how it would be easy to let those little things that make for a happy couple go by the wayside.

So here's my soapbox thought for the day: in the same way you wouldn't just stop brushing your teeth because you figure they're good enough the way they are, don't ever stop taking care of your marriage or your testimony. A few minutes of daily upkeep will do wonders for them all!

Cousin Pictures

I already told you that my sister was here with her kids over the weekend. I only got a few pictures from it all, but they're worth sharing.

We'll go with the worst one first:

Is it just me, or do they all look kind of bad in this picture? But what makes it even worse, if you look at each kid individually, they also sort of look way older and snootier than they actually are-- like they're just too cool to bother giving the camera a halfway decent smile. The more I look at this picture, the more it weirds me out... Seriously! Look again! Isn't that paparazzi-esque or something?



This picture, on the other hand, is pretty good of all three of them! If only I'd done Kendra's hair for it...

And then finally, I cannot even tell you how much I love this picture of Ryder getting re-aquainted with Caleb:

I love that Caleb has slapped a wet hand right down on Ryder's face, and I love even more that rather than rescue Ryder, we took a picture of it. We're great parents! Natalie was out of the room, so she cannot be blamed for not controlling her son. This is totally Craig and my fault.

Poor Ryder-- good luck in life with parents like us, kid!

And now, a riddle!

What do your testimony, your teeth, and your marriage all have in common?


Anyone? Anyone?


And bear with me here-- this is something I've been thinking about a lot recently!