tithing

our family home evening lesson last night was on tithing.

ruby had earned a dollar {by reciting her rap} from her cousins, karen and morgan.

besides a random nickel or dime here and there, it's the first real money she's ever earned.

we figured it was time to teach her what the Lord expected her to do with it {or at least with part of it}.

we explained to the children that the law of tithing requires that we give 10% of our increase to the Lord.

this money goes towards building new churches and temples, and lesson manuals, and teaching supplies, and so forth.

ruby was pretty impressed, and excited to be able to start making her own monetary contributions towards building the Lord's kingdom.

asher wasn't too interested in the topic at all.

in fact, after throwing a toy train at my knee cap, and then standing up and hitting his father in the face, he was sent to bed.

it's a good thing he really loves his bed, because he sure spends a lot of time in it.



we used various methods in helping ruby understand that 10% is 1/10th.

it's difficult getting a 4 year old to grasp that.

i think the m&m method proved to be her favorite, especially because she got to use them to garnish her ice cream sundae for dessert.

she filled out her very own tithing slip and then put her coins inside of an envelope.

she expressed her excitement at being able to hand her tithing to the bishop on sunday.

john explained to her that the law of tithing is something she can be abolutely perfect at throughout her life.

because she is human like the rest of us, some of the other commandments will be harder to follow with exactness, and she will end up making some mistakes.

yeah, she said, like when we sit on a chair backwards, that's a huge mistake.

oh ruby, you are too dang cute and innocent.

we miss her

i won't go into too much detail {at least not today} about how my mother's day expectations were vanquished by a certain, nameless, two-year-old.

i will, however, leave you with this photo. ruby admires the grandmother she never got to meet, and asks me if i miss her. of course i do, ruby. every. single. day. she's my mom. wouldn't you miss me if i passed away?
yes she said, i would, and i miss her too, because she's my grandma.

happy mother's day, mom.we {both} miss you.

ruby's mother

i was invited to attend ruby's spring program this week. as i sat in the crowd and watched my little preschooler perform, i felt honored and proud. honored to be a mother...proud to be ruby's mother.

i cried, too, as i sat there and watched.i cried because the program touched my heart.i cried as i imagined the many hours that went into it.i cried because the children were so sweet.i cried because this school year's coming to an end.
i cried because i'm a mother.i cried because i'm ruby's mother.
no she didn't rap it, but she did a great job.

in the program, the children honored mothers for all the different hats that we wear.

besides the referee mother, there was a chauffeur, a chef, a gardener, a maid, a detective, a nurse, a wonder-woman, a combat mother, and an angel mother.

all the songs were so tender and sweet.

i was so proud of the children for being able to learn them so quickly.

miss arlene should be the primary chorister in her ward {if she isn't already}.

speaking of miss arlene, ruby absolutely adores her.

she really is wonderful.

i owe her so much for not only teaching ruby,

but for loving her,

for taking a special interest in her,

and for helping her thrive and succeed in her program.

each child made their mother a special {and very, very heavy} gift.

ruby didn't want me to wait until mother's day to open mine.

she forced me into opening it the minute we walked through the front door.

{alright, i'll admit, i protested very little (ok, not at all). i was way too anxious to discover what could possibly weigh so much}.

it had never occurred to me...

a garden stone.

how clever.

i love it, and will cherish it always.

it's a special reminder to me that ruby is my daughter...

and that i am her mother.

diapers galore

asher had a stinky diaper this morning,
so i asked him to go and grab a clean diaper, the wipes, and a plastic bag to dispose of the dirty diaper.
he ran off to his bedroom in pursuit of the supplies, and came back with all of this.



he must have really wanted that poop off of his buns.

perfect love

i remember when my mom and dad celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary. i was six years old. my dad gave my mom 7 roses and a music box that played somewhere in time. it was my mom's favorite movie because it was so romantic. on the flower enclosure card, there was a poem that my dad had written just for her. i wish i could remember that poem. after the roses had become brittle and withered away, my mom placed the small 3"x2" card inside the music box. and there it remained for years. i would often open the music box and read the poem and dream about finding a love just as perfect as theirs.

now, 28 years later, i celebrate my own perfect love. today marks the seventh anniversary of the day i married my best friend and sweetheart. the happiest day of my life. the best decision i ever made.

this morning as we lay snuggled tightly in each others arms, john asked if i wanted to know his five favorite things about me.
of course, who wouldn't!?

1) you're just as beautiful now as the day i first laid eyes on you. awww.
2) you're the best mother in the whole world. awww.
3) you're the best wife in the whole world. awww.
4) you have the strongest testimony of anyone i know. awww.
5) i have the most fun laughing with you than with anybody else. awww.
now we all know that these things are far from the truth. i am not the perfect wife, mother, etc. that he made me out to be. but you know what? i truly believe that john was sincere when he shared his sentiments. i know that they came from his heart.he makes me feel like, although i am not perfect, i am the perfect one for him.and i couldn't love him more for that.
i didn't want to let the moment pass without sharing my five favorite things about him.
1) i LOVE your smile. it's the first thing i noticed about you the day that we met. and just on sunday as you were up on the stand conducting for the very first time, i saw it again. you have a contagious smile.
2) you are so patient and understanding. i know that i fall short in so many areas, but you have never been critical of me, in fact you have only ever praised me, lifted me up, and encouraged me.
3) you are the best father. our children absolutely ADORE you. the highlight of their day is when you walk in the door from work. this is something that appealed to me before we even started dating. that day your family came into nordstrom to visit you while you were working, your nieces and nephews just flocked to you. i knew in that precise moment, that you were going to be an amazing father.
4) i love the way you serve with your heart. in every capacity. love is your driving force. you are completely without guile and totally sincere. you do everything you do, because of love.

5) and you're as handsome as all get out.

and then we got to talking all about our wedding day. he told me that he was terrified i wasn't going to show up. funny, i thought. i never questioned whether or not he'd show up, my fear was that he'd walk out before it was all legal and binding, and leave me all alone at the alter.

i think we're both pretty grateful for that beautiful may 4th day of 2004, and that we both decided to take a chance on each other...on love.

it's been exquisite and lovely. even through the pain and tears. especially through the pain and tears.

happpy seventh, my perfect love.

a tale of the 3'2" bandit

one upon a time there was a sly little boy named asher. he had quite a talent for sneaking into things and making off with stuff {many times from hard to reach places} without his mother's knowledge.
and then he would run and hide and enjoy, in secret, whatever it was he had taken. sometimes it was food from the cupboards. sometimes it was lipstick from his mommy's purse, or gum from his daddy's valet. on more than one occasion it was a knife from the kitchen. many times it was something belonging to his sister. more often than not, it was something held in high regard, or something very dangerous. this clever little boy had many hiding places. his favorite, being underneath the table in his playroom. his mother would find him in all sorts of spots though, sometimes crouched beneath the kitchen table, other times wrapped up inside a blanket. asher figured that if he couldn't see his mother, then naturally, she wouldn't be able to see him either. one day his mother noticed that the hidden bag of easter candy had gone missing. having a pretty good idea that her little asher was the culprit, she set out to find him. she didn't have much luck as she checked his usual hiding spots, but then she heard a crinkle and a crackle coming from her bedroom. she was very familiar with that sound, and immediately knew that her sneaky little asher was unwrapping some candy. asher, where are you? she called out, as she headed down the hallway and into her bedroom. she stopped just in time to hear two little feet scurrying hastily away from her. she followed the sound around the corner and into the master bathroom, where she found this...


asher? she continued calling out, asher, where are you? she ran to get her camera, but still continued calling his name. ruby, do you know where asher is? silently, she motioned for ruby to follow her back into the bathroom. they did their best to suppress their laughter, but it wasn't easy. seeing the boy wrapped up in a shower curtain, with his two little feet poking out the bottom, was beyond humorous. asher's mother and sister stood in the bathroom and resumed discussing his whereabouts. meanwhile asher was motionless;and aside from the occasional crinkle and crackle of candy wrappers which could be heard from inside the rolled shower curtain, he was silent. mother told ruby to take a look inside the curtain to see if by chance asher might be hiding there. asher's two feet began to shuffle. it was evident: he knew he was about to be discovered. aha! his sister shouted, as she pulled away the first layer of curtain.



knowing that he was just moments from apprehension, he clung to that shower curtain as if his very life depended on it.

the only thing separating ruby and her mother from the 3'2" bandit, was a piece of water resistant cloth; and as ruby grabbed a hold of it, then briskly and fearlessly yanked it away, a bewailing howl, a lamentation like nothing they had ever heard, pierced them {and their eardrums} to the very core. and there he stood {nothing like being caught red-handed} holding a bag of easter candy behind his back...while his mother and sister laughed and laughed.



asher then dropped the bag of candy, and being the tender sweetheart that he is, he fell into the arms of his sister {who just moments prior had been laughing and mocking him} seeking solace and consolation.

and they got along happily ever after {or at least for the next hour or two}.



the end.

easter overload

i don't think i'll go into too much detail about easter this year.
the very thought is daunting and overwhelming.
i think the pictures are evidence enough that the day was wonderful.
there's nothing better than perfect spring weather, and enjoying a nice sunday afternoon with family.
wouldn't you agree?


the easter bunny sent the kids on a treasure hunt for their baskets. they had a wonderful time following their clues,
and we were so proud of ruby who read each clue all by herself.


9:00 church is difficult to get to, even when it's not easter...but it's almost impossible on easter morning.
we may have to check with the easter bunny and see if he wouldn't mind coming on saturday morning in the future.
i didn't even have time to trim my bangs, for crying out loud...it appears that i have a medium sized animal resting atop my head.


we had fun planting wheat grass for family night a couple of weeks before easter. we were so glad that they turned out, and that we were able to bring them to lori's to use as centerpieces for the dinner tables.
i also made pastel colored cupcake bites to bring.
ruby helped me by placing the m&m on top of every last cupcake.


the annual easter egg hunt in the costello's front yard


asher adores his uncles and cousins.
and i think it's safe to conclude that they're pretty nutso about him too.


the many faces of asher had everybody rolling


the kids love grandma judy and grandpa jerry.
we're always so blessed to have grandma judy in town every easter.



cousins asher and roman {just one month apart} were so cute together during the egg hunt.
asher shared his jelly beans with roman, and roman couldn't stop hugging asher. adorable.
i hope they always remain close friends.

camping and a girls' night

as you most likely gathered from the video, john and asher went camping this weekend. friday night our ward held it's annual father's and son's campout. john, as the previous elder's quorum president in our ward had always {for the 4 prior father's and son's campouts} been in charge of the planning, organizing, and execution of this event. obviously not singlehandedly, but still, it was a lot of work on his part...making it literally impossible to try and take our sweet, but very rambunctious, little asher along. this is probably the first year he would have been old enough to attend anyway, and since john didn't have to be running around like a crazy person this time around, it made it even more enjoyable. they both had a wonderful time, in fact, asher keeps asking when they can do it again; and john particularly enjoyed the one on one time he was allowed with our sweet little boy.


meanwhile, ruby and i took advantage of our freedom, and went out on the town. we got pedicures (ruby's very first) with ella and brooke, and then hit up cafe mix where the girls each ordered a cheeseburger and brooke and i both ordered their delectable greek salad with chicken kabob. the girls were so cute together and so fun to go out with. and of course, i loved spending time with my sweet sister-in-law as well.brooke and ella dropped us off around 8:30, and ruby and i decided that since the night was still young, we should hit up a late night movie {which would put us getting home around midnight...and surprisingly enough, we walked in the front door exactly at the stroke of 12:00}. we changed into some comfy clothes, picked up a bunch of movie candy, grabbed our harkin's movie cups, and headed out. the movie we wanted to see was no longer playing for the evening, so we found something else - in retrospect probably not the best idea to take a 4 year old {turning 5 in a month. see i'm really trying to make myself feel better about all of this} to a movie about a girl whose arm gets nabbed by a shark. swimming lessons this year, i fear, may be even more of a challenge than they have been. ruby later asked me if there were shark's at big surf, and then didn't even want to go pick out an outfit in her bedroom for fear that a deadly shark might be lurking in the shadows and ready to strike at any moment.seriously, what was i thinking?

the highlight of the night for me {that i got to relive over and over} was each time that ruby expressed her love and gratitude to me for being such a wonderful mom {her words, not mine}, and for doing all of this for her. isn't it fun doing nice things for your children, especially when you know that they really and truly appreciate it?makes me look forward, all the more, to our next girl's night on the town.



*from left to right, top to bottom:
ruby and i soaking our feetruby barley able to soak her feet and sit in the chair at the same timeruby's feet getting prepped for polishinganother shot of ruby practically lying across the chairthe finished productsruby being carried to the dryer (now that's true customer service)the two of us at our late night moviewe got home super latebrooke and ella getting pampered

two people in love

we attended a family reunion today. it was a very long reunion {5 hours to be exact}. there were a few awkward and uncomfortable moments, mostly having to do with a couple of far from interesting {and very lengthy} slide show presentations - but also a handful of funny family stories, some good entertainment, contests and activities for all ages, prizes, and a potluck...you know, the all the typical family reunion hoopla. as i sat and gazed around the room, and as my eyes beheld the sea of people in colored t-shirts, i couldn't help but feel a love for each of them {most of whom i've never met}...because all of us, in some way, some very special and important way, were connected. my eyes welled with tears as i reverenced and awed the sweet twosome that started it all. the different colored t-shirts we wore represented each of charlie and zina dana's 5 son's {one of which happen's to be the grandfather of my sweet john}. i wonder, on that spring day in april of 1908, as the two of them exchanged vows under a mulberry tree, if cute charlie and his little love-bird, zina, had the slightest idea of the legacy they would leave to their future posterity. and when they brought home their first son, ferrel, did they even consider that this would be the beginning of something that would go on forever? even long after the two of them were buried deep in the earth?joe dana was their third son, john's grandfather. i met joe several times while john and i were dating. he was a strong and stalwart man. faithful beyond measure and valient. an example to everyone privileged enough to know him. he passed away just two days before john and i were to be married. he had hoped to make it to our temple sealing, and i know that he was in fact there. i sat at the reunion today and thoughts of these things carried me away. i then tried my best to add up the number of descendants that came from just joe and dora alone. i counted in my head close to 200 people...i'm sure there are even more than that. and those are just the descendants of one of charlie and zina dana's sons. just one. those in attendance today, i'm guessing represented, at most, a small fraction of the entire group. a family tree with hundreds and hundreds of branches, that at one time started with only two. it made me think of that cheesy cliche saying, you know, the one that says...all because two people fell in love.
crazy to think that in a hundred years from now, hundreds of peeps could be gathered together honoring and remembering john and nicole eagleston.
kind of a mind boggling and exhilarating thought.

it's a wRAP

ruby has her preschool spring program coming up. each of the students in her class has been given a small speaking part to have memorized in time for the program. miss arlene sent those parts home last week {or maybe the week before, it's all a blur} with each of the children. ruby and i didn't waste a second. immediately we read over her part, and began the process of learning it. for whatever reason, despite the fact that she is very good at memorizing poems and songs and whatnot, she experienced some difficulty in learning this particular speaking part {small as it was}. in hopes that she would learn it quickly, and at the time thinking it was a rather good idea, i began rapping it. i was right, it worked. those words stuck in her head like any good hip-hop song will...problem is, now i can't get her to recite it any other way. i'm sure her teacher just thinks we're absolutely cuhRAYzy. well i guess it's about time that she {and the rest of you out there} learned the truth...

this one's my favorite. notice how much amusement asher gets from my soft, doughy tummy.

i'm falling behind

i can't catch up.
and i'm not just talking about the blog either.
it's me. it's my life. it's my home, and my garage, and just pretty much my everything.
life is beating me up {in a good way...no need to worry...it's just busy is all}.
and no matter how hard i try to grab hold of it - you know, to get a handle on things - i invariably fall three or four steps behind.
always.
it must be me.
it has to be something i'm doing {or not doing} to myself, and so i guess unless i make some major changes, i think my life will always feel this way - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a crazy thing, no doubt.
and i don't exactly want to live the rest of my life feeling like a basket case.

just today, as a case in point, we colored easter eggs.
wait. isn't it? three days past easter?
i'm telling you, this is the story of my life.
always a good three or four steps behind.



last year we tried the silk tie method of coloring our eggs; and were so pleased with the results, that we decided to attempt it again today...of course without forsaking the traditional {colored tablets in vinegar} approach.

to my utter astonishment, things were going rather well...

that is...

until asher crushed the heck out of one of his eggs,
and then managed to spill blue dye all over my rug.

that was it.
without hesitation, i quickly {and excitedly} unstrapped him, removed his little apron, and put him straight to bed.
am i just the meanest?



then ruby's friend came over, and our coloring fest went downhill from there. no longer was coloring easter eggs with mom, the cool {or even fun} thing to do. the girls ran off in pursuit of bigger and better things, and that left me...

all alone.

all alone {aside from my little green egg friend}, with 12 empty bowls of colored dye, a soiled tablecloth, a stained rug, a sink full of egg coloring dishes...and, sadly, lacking the desire or energy, to do a darned thing about it.

in a nutshell

i wake up early and head out for my daily run.
i get ruby up and ready, and after our morning prayer as a family, asher and i stand at the front door and bid farewell to ruby and dad.

we finish getting ourselves ready for the day, and then head out the door. our destination(s)? target. michaels. walmart. i spend most the time wandering aimlessly up and down the isles, in and out of the fixtures,and then forget to buy the very things i went for in the first place. why? because i'm talking to my sister on the phone, and because i am the worst multitasker in the world. while we're in walmart, my raveging, chocolate loving, two-year-old, attacks the almond bark - packaging and all. this is a fun one to try and explain to the cashier.



it's finally time to pick up ruby from school. she comes out to the car wearing an adorable bunny mask - which she refuses to remove, and within minutes, is sound asleep.



we drive out to phoenix to my favorite baking and cake decorating store. i am not a baker, nor do i decorate cakes, but i could spend hours inside of ABC cake decorating. ruby is still asleep when we get there, so i decide to forgo spending hours inside. instead i park in the front and center spot {the one that can be see from anywhere in the store}, leave the car running, and make a mad dash for the one item i really need - being gone a total of one minute.

we then head to the airport to pick up grandma judy. her flight has been delayed, so we sit in the cell phone lot for close to an hour. thank goodness for solitaire - that hour felt like a mere minute.

we head straight to in-n-out with grandma. it's tradition. something that is not tradition {and i hope never happens again}...asher sprays his vanilla shake through a straw pointed directly at grandma judy. grandma laughs. a nice hearty, amusing laugh. although i know she is not amused.

we drop her off at lori's - where she'll be staying, and i put asher straight to bed.
naughty boy.

i spend the rest of the afternoon putting all that chocolate coating to use {making pastel-colored cupcake bites for easter}, while the children sit quietly on the couch {only in my dreams} watching toy story 2.

john walks in the door from work. i don't have dinner ready. surprise. surprise. it's 6:20 and i don't even have an idea in my head. i whip up a few turkey sandwiches along with some apple slices, and a cupcake bite for dessert. ruby's confused because isn't this lunch food mom? and after devouring his cupcake, asher begs for more muffins mom.

we spend the next couple of hours wrestling, and playing, tickling, and laughing... and then wind down with a few verses from the book of mormon - another tradition. ruby's heart melts when she finds a picture of mary holding the Christ child, and my heart melts as i witness the way she raptly studies the painting.



after the kids are settled, i head next door and visit with one of my dearest and sweetest friends.

as i now sit and contemplate the day, i realize that it was nothing amazing. not anything out of the ordinary per se. i'm tired, my feet hurt, and my back hurts. but i'm grateful. i'm grateful to my children for making life interesting and fun. i'm grateful to john for his devotion to his family, for providing for us. because of him, i feel safe. i'm grateful that ruby has a good teacher that she loves, and from whom she has learned so much. i'm grateful for my mother-in-law. we love to laugh together, and i love her like i love my own mother. i'm grateful for sisters. i'm blessed with 4 of the very best. i'm grateful for good, kind, and caring friends...and that i'm able to run {even though it's not always my favorite thing to do}...and that we have good food to eat {even if we sometimes eat lunch or breakfast for dinner}.
so there you have it, my day and my beatitudes...
in a nutshell.

blame it on the dog

asher has been super into purses lately.

and i don't mean into like he enjoys rummaging through mom's purse

{because that's nothing new, he's always been into that}.

i'm talking, he loves purses, and actually insists on taking one with him wherever we go.

today he chose one of ruby's, which is in reality a cosmetic case that use to belong to me.

i told him that we'd be leaving in just minutes to get ruby from school, and that he had better pack his purse quickly, or he'd be forced to leave it at home.

i hurriedly grabbed my shoes, my phone, my sunglasses, and a 20 0z bottle of diet coke,

meanwhile ash grabbed his things;

and simultaneously, the two of us walked out the front door...

purses in hand.

it wasn't until we were headed home, two hours {and a trip to the mall} later,

that i was made privy {thank you, ruby} to the contents of asher's purse.

a toucan pencil topper

a silly band in the shape of a truck

a single sheet of notebook paper containing a scribbled design - probably created by asher himself

a few play tools

one of ruby's headbands

a fry's vip shopper's card

and a butcher knife from the kitchen.

yeah, you read it right...a butcher knife from the kitchen.

i about died.

how does this boy come up with these things?

and the fact that he's still alive, in spite of all the things he comes up with, is even more of a wonder to me.

i did my best on the car ride home to explain the dangers of carrying an open blade knife in one's purse.

i pleaded. i implored. and even disciplined.

but after all that, what does he do?

blames it entirely {along with his poopy diaper} on dix-d.

poor, defenseless little canine.

.

counterbalance

john and i decided to take the challenge (given by my friend sarah) to run 100 miles in 100 days.
that's just one simple mile a day...but it's a heck of a lot more than we're doing right now
{which is nothing...in case you were wondering}.
We ran our first mile together as a family {tonight for FHE} at the junior high track.
i was so proud of my kids...especially ruby, who ran the entire mile, taking only one or two short rests in between. we were all sweating and feeling so proud of our accomplishment...

and then we came home and made pizookies for dessert.



we've got problems.

we really, really love him

he comes to town bearing gifts for each member of our family.

he doesn't complain about having to sleep in the kids' room on a twin bed.

he doesn't mind being dragged out to the mall
{which i happen to know, is not one of his favorite places}
to get pictures of the kids in their easter clothes with the easter bunny.

{and after reading the sign prohibiting the use of personal cameras and other devices, he insists on paying for the pictures himself - and pays a ridiculous price for them, i might add}.



he squeezes in the back seat, between both kids and their car seats, and has a smile on his face the entire time.
{and the kids do too, because he tickles them incessantly, and they still beg him for more}.

he treats us to lunch...and carousel rides.



and then spends a nice chunk of his afternoon building volcanoes, reading books, crawling on the floor playing cars, and blowing bubbles with his grandchildren {in the freezing cold rain, no less}.



and then does the volcano all over again, because asher was asleep the first time.




he buys us dinner {five guys - my new favorite},
and joins us for a movie {true grit - my new favorite}.

and wakes up especially early on sunday morning to help me get the kids ready for church.

and pays an exorbitant penny for a plane ticket to arizona, to see his son-in-law {yes, my john} get put into the bishopric, and ordained to the office of high priest {say what?! yeah, this news merits it's very own post, wouldn't you say?}.

but THIS post is about my dad, because geez, what would i ever do without him?
and what would john ever do without his father-in-law?
and what would our children ever do without their grandpa?

{and how does that old saying go? behind every great man there's a great woman?
something like that?
well, my step-mom, lynell, IS the greatest.
i know she would have been right by his side, if she didn't have to be in new york running a festival.
in fact, i'm sure it was she who encouraged him to come, and maybe even gave him the idea of bringing gifts for each of us.
she truly is a sweetheart. i'll forever be thankful to my Father in Heaven for her, and for her continued love, encouragement, and support.}

we dropped grandpa off at the airport last night, and ruby cried the whole way home. and then in her bedtime prayer, she thanked heavenly father that her aunt angie is getting married this summer so that we can go to utah and see grandpa.

and then tonight, as we sat around the table for dinner, she looked at grandpa's empty chair, and again, she cried.

my mother-in-law, judy {who also came to town this weekend to support john - bless her heart}, always reminds me that it's a good thing to be sad when your loved ones depart...

because that means you really, really love them.

pre-trek trekking

i asked ruby if she liked this picture of me and john.
she hesitated for a moment and said, well when i first looked at it, my brain didn't really like it.
what do you mean your brain didn't like it? i questioned.
i really like it, she went on, i really do. i think you and dad look great.
but my brain just saw it and said ewww.



our stake is doing a youth pioneer trek this summer. john has been called to be over all the ma's and pa's. it's a pretty big job. he and a few others from the trek committee recently held a mini-trek for all the leaders so we might know what to expect come june. we didn't go to the actual trek site for our mock run, instead we went somewhere much closer to home - a place covered with popular motorcycle trails. as a result, we {literally} crossed paths with several motorcyclists {and forest rangers asking for our permits, which we didn't have...oops}, who i'm sure thought we were completely our of our minds. a colony of people pretending to be from the mid 1800's - dressed in pioneer garb and pulling handcarts. in fact, i'm positive that their first impressions of us were in harmony with the thoughts going through ruby's head when she saw that picture. ewwww.

we are a peculiar people. but that's something i will forever be proud of, and always take as a compliment. i'm so excited to have this experience. not only of working with the youth - which i always love - but also because i know it will give me a better understanding of what our dear pioneer ancestor's had to endure...
if only just a glimpse.

april fool's day flop

i thought i'd be so funny and trick the kids today by offering them styrofoam balls - dipped in chocolate.
totally backfired on me.
i mean, who would have thought they'd devour them the way that they did?
i take that back. i figured asher might. he's my child who loves chapstick and contact solution, and who voraciously inhales anything that goes into his mouth like it's the last thing he'll ever be given to eat.

i apologize for my annoyance in the video. i was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my face.
poor ruby seems so confused.
i think next year i'll do chocolate covered brussels sprouts, or radishes.

on a different note, today we hit a record high temperature of 100 degrees.
no april foolsin' this time around.
it was a HOT one.

snuggle buddy

whether it's bed time or nap time, she is THE BEST little snuggle buddy.
and i'll tell you one thing, the two of us {while snuggling} have been known to giggle harder than a couple of school girls, especially when it's supposed to be 'lights out'.
although i hope that some day she outgrows wanting to sleep in mom and dad's bed {every night},
i desperately hope she never stops snuggling with her mother.

az living

we love living in arizona for so many reasons, but especially for it's gorgeous weather.
while our friends and family are scraping the snow off their cars back home in salt lake, we're sitting on the lawn watching a baseball game {in the 85 degree temps}. it just isn't fair, is it?
spring training is the best.
last year we hit up an A's game, this year it was the cubs vs. {our very own} diamond backs.
nothing like throwing down a blanket, and sitting around eating dogs, and nachos, and big tall ice-cold sodas, with the people who mean the very most to you in the whole wide world.
it's heaven.
and spring training wouldn't be spring training without all those sun bathers. in fact, i'd be willing to bet that more than half the lawn tickets were purchased by people who love the sun way more than they love baseball.
check out this bikini clad woman in the photo below. i was pretty impressed as she demonstrated her ability to multi-task. she was able to get a tan, watch the baseball game, and exercise, all at the same time. she was really working those legs while she was standing there cheering for the cubs. squats, leg lifts,
you name it, she was doing it.



we ended up bailing after about 4 innings because we were dripping from the heat. go ahead now, feel sorry for us now.
after all, AZ living can be pretty rough.

amazing

we were running late this morning.
i was rushing to get myself and asher ready for a dr's appointment,
and john was jumping in the shower with the objective of being ready for work in 20 minutes flat.
that left no one to get ruby ready...except for ruby.
i told her to run fast and pick out an outfit.
i figured she would throw a fit because she hates going anywhere alone - even if it's just to her bedroom.
surprisingly, she complied, obliging dix-d {our vicious yorkie guard dog} to accompany her.
she came back a few minutes later, looking like this.
not only did she pick out her own outfit, but she fixed her own hair too.she was so proud.she came back into my room - totally beaming - and said, mom, isn't this the most amazing hair-do? everything inside of me wanted to say no, it's a bit troubling, actually, {i'm so grateful i didn't}.
alternatively, i smiled, and said,
it IS amazing ruby...and so are you.
{because she truly is.}