Do the jowls in the first photo remind you of anyone? So that's where Josh gets them... I think I was a pretty cute little kid. The bangs in the last picture crack me up - I'm pretty sure I had trimmed them myself that morning! (I'm not sure why my mom didn't fix them.)
Okay, I've shown all, so to speak. Let's see your pictures! (Assuming your parents no longer want/need them and have sent them to you!)
The boys and I made an impromptu visit to the Pretty Prairie Berry Farm this morning. Spencer moved our flag up and down the row, picked under-ripe berries, squished 
over-ripe berries in his hands, actually put a few berries in his bucket, constantly asked where the farmer was, and generally had a grand time. Josh hung out in his stroller at the end of our row, drinking a bottle, talking to himself, and charming the little old ladies who passed by him. I kept an eye on both boys, had to get after Spencer every five minutes for something or other, 
picked up Josh's bottle every time he threw it, and picked 14 pounds of berries in just under an hour. Nice. My hands are now stained a lovely shade of strawberry pink from cutting all the hulls out of all 14 pounds of berries this afternoon. I plan on making several pints of strawberry jam (and I'm freezing 
several quarts for other mixed berry jams) and a couple of pies that will go in the freezer for a later date. We'll have lots of fresh berries for all meals for the next few days, and, of course, fresh strawberry shortcake! (Homemade shortcake, of course - I'm not a big fan of that fake store-bought sponge cake.) Forget Memorial Day - summer actually starts once you have your first strawberry shortcake of the season. Heaven! So, what officially starts the summer season for you?
Nice. I didn't even realize what he was doing until it was too late. Not bad, considering he only has 1 1/2 teeth. I think he actually ate the cardboard, as there was none to be found on the floor and just a small little bit in his mouth. Does this make me a bad mom? Maybe, but at least I know he got his fiber for the day! Mmmm... fiber.
My question for you is,
Madsen delivered. We were going to work on moving all of the dirt to the backyard this week and then lay the sod on Friday or Saturday. But it rained hard yesterday, so the back yard is now a mud pit and Mt. Madsen is pretty heavy, too. So our plan now is to have a dirt moving blitz on Saturday with some friends and a bunch of wheel barrows and shovels. Then (weather and bogus deity permitting) we will lay the sod towards the end of next week. This project has completely worn out its welcome.
"I wish I were a bear. If you're a bear you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could get used to that. And another thing: before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. That wouldn't bother me either. If you're a momma bear, everyone knows you mean business; you swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line you swat them too. Your husband expects you to have hairy legs and excess body fat. He likes it. I wish I were a bear."
It was all alone among the fru-fru Mother's day hydrangeas and ferns and other flowers. It looked so sad and lonely and out of place among all the delicate pink and purple blossoms. We made eye contact (yes, you can make eye contact with a plant), and it said to me "Help me Maren-wan-kenobi, you're my only hope!!" (Yes, plants can speak, and yes, they make Star Wars references.) I like weird looking plants. I have another one at home 
called a weeping angel or something like that. Lance and I found it at Home Depot several years ago. It, too, called out for help and needed to be rescued. Come to think of it, that's how most of my houseplants make it into our home.
The last picture is of our backyard. Since we finally decided to break down and get topsoil before we lay sod, we figured it would probably be better to pick up as many of the rocks in the back yard as possible. Since the top layer of "soil" was basically gravel, 
we've been raking and shoveling for several days. I went out there yesterday and this scene reminded me of the movie Holes. Okay, there are no holes in the back yard, but the piles of dirt look fairly similar to the movie, right? (BTW, excellent movie and book - I highly recommend both!) I cannot wait until we get our sod on Saturday!! I need something green and pretty, not this barren wasteland.
had lots of rocks in it, but in reality our backyard is made of rocks with just a little dirt in it. (Which is why we've decided to fork out the money for a bunch of topsoil next week!) Check out our rock pile - and this is probably only about half of what we've dug up!!
and generally get in the way as much as possible. In other words, he's a typical three year old.
there is nothing in this world that can keep him out of the water and then run directly in the dirt.
and eventually gets tired and/or hungry and whines until he gets a bottle. Then he drinks his bottle and goes back to playing. I'm not sure how, but he also manages to get quite dirty. I think it might have something to do with all of the dirt throwing by a certain older brother.1. I'm not allergic to mosquito bites. Oh, they'll still bite me, but I don't get the itchy bumps! I 
used to be allergic, but once I hit puberty I wasn't anymore. I have no idea why, and have never asked a doctor. I used to be the only girl at Girl's Camp who would come home not looking like I had the chicken pox! Nice.
2. Speaking of Girl's Camp - I LOVE it! When I was 18 I was Assistant Stake Camp Director. Our stake had a great tradition of giving nicknames after finishing your 4th year hike. The name reflected your personality, and you would be called by that name at camp from then on. We'd have a big ceremony with just the 4th years and the YCL's and they'd give us our names; very "rite of passage" type of thing. My name is Keynote.
3. I've known my husband since we were 14 years old. We met when we were freshmen in high school. I had a crush on his best friend. I ended up dating that friend, then dating another friend of Lance's. Lance and I kept in touch over the years, even after his family moved to Utah. I thought he was out of my life once he went on his mission because he had some girl "waiting" for him, but then he got Dear Johned. Lucky me! So we only needed to date for three months before we got engaged, and our engagement was just shy of six months. We probably could have done everything even faster, but why rush? :)
4. I love little things! Not things that are naturally little - things that are usually bigger. (Which is ironic, considering the size of my "little" baby!) For example, I love going on trips because then I can buy all of the travel sized lotions and shampoos and deodorants. 
Do you remember the 80's plastic clip necklace and charms fad? My favorite charms were the mini 7-Up bottle with real liquid inside, the mini abacus, and guitar with real strings. The best little things, though, are those model tents they have to show what the real tent looks like. I LOVE those! They are so cute. Not functional at all, but so cool. I wish I could buy the model; I don't know what I'd do with it, but I'd find something.
trucks; I HATE those! They make me angry! If I see one on the road I just get all angry and growl or say something snotty. Grrrr.... Oddly enough, though, I don't mind yellow school buses.
the cast off. I know I was just a really little kid, but I vividly remember a bearded guy and the cast saw. After that I had a healthy fear of bearded men, as any self-respecting child would! (Ironically, I am now married to a bearded man.) My hips are perfectly normal now.
The raincoat actually works really well since it's plastic; it wipes off easily. But it's a bit hot. Josh's high chair also gets totally covered. Bits of pureed veggies and meat and lots of crumbs find the smallest crannies, dry, and then are next to impossible to get off! I just throw the cloth cover in the washing machine, but here's my solution for the chair:
I put the high chair out while we water the lawn and 20 minutes later it's totally clean. Sometimes I have to spray off a few chunks with the hose, but other than that it's totally easy. Then it dries in the sun. I don't know what I'm going to do once it gets cold again!
I put them in the freezer now, and he likes them even better.
They slept for another 45 minutes in the hallway and then woke up as happy as could be.
Did you watch the PBS documentary on the Church? If not, you can watch the entire thing at the PBS.org website. (Had I known they were offering it online I wouldn't have stayed up so late the last couple of nights!)
