Purely Irresistible

Look at the sheer joy he has on his face. Its like I have just given him the best thing in the world next to life! Man I'm an awesome Mommy!
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And my awesome child... not the same day as the corn, decided to color on our couch and recliner with BLUE crayon.

Not so easy to get out there huh stud muffin!

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Oh wait- that wasn't you that scrubbed the couch until your arms went numb, that was Mommy! Needless to say, I was horrified when I caught him drawing on the recliner and swiftly sent him to timeout. On the way to timeout I noticed another lovely little surprise. The recliner was his 3rd trip with the blue crayon! He first decorated both of the couch cushions. What's that word Bill Cosby uses when his wife comes down the stairs and sees her children eating chocolate cake for breakfast? And incursion? yeah- that's what happened to me. :) I might have decided right then and there to sell him to the grandparents if he were any less cute.
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So. So. SO cute.

Scraped by on the hair of your chinny chin chin this time Ayden.

A good man I never knew

A man I worked with died today. I am dumbfounded. Sad. Regretful. Upset. Upset with myself for not getting to know him better. I feel like I really missed out on a great friend. He was an older gentleman. He loved to tell stories. I wish I would have listened. He served in the military, what stories I bet he could have told! After the military, he was a police officer until he retired. A good man. Then, because of the highly successful progran called Social Security... he came out of retirement and took a position here at ancestry.com Inc. as a night guard. I do not know how many years he spent here, I do not know about his family; if he left his wife behind or if he has finally gone home to be with her. Whether or not he has children. But I do know that he was a good man- IS still a good man. I know that he loved people, and their smiles. He would take photos for the employees when they first started here and he would always comment on how beautiful peoples' smiles were. If you weren't so please with your picture he was happy to take it until you were satisfied, jabbering the entire time about nothing of consequence. I wish I would have listened.

Its interesting that when someone passes away, no matter how significant or insignificant they are in my life, it always make me take stock of my own, and the people in it. We only get one life and I pray with all my heart that I can live the rest of my future full-hearted and full steam ahead. Whether that means taking a lazy day watching the clouds float by or running myself from dawn to dusk. I want to finish or at least put a dent in my bucket list. There are too many wonderous things on this planet that I do not want to miss out on. I want to LIVE. I want to DO. and I want to be remembered. Good memories.

I knew Jim for maybe six months, saw him close to every night and spoke to him maybe ten times within that time frame. From that amount of interaction I was drawn to his pleasant demeanor. If that is all that people remember me for when I pass away, then that is good enough.

Here's to a good man.

What the. . . ?!

I'm going to try something out. Inspired by my Mother. While I was on vacation in Oregon, which I must add is SO strange to me. I'm going on vacation to my own home where I was raised.... heck a vacation is a vacation! While I was there I was surprised that my mother was so bothered by me saying 

That sentence had become such a common part of my vocabulary that I didn't even stop to think about what it REALLY implies. So here is what I am going to try instead. "What the D?!" or perhaps "What the C!?"

We'll see how that goes. I could just stop saying that all together. I really ought to be more lady-like.

What's your story?

Lately a lot of people around me have been getting engaged, ARE engaged, or just freshly married. Which I think is SO awesome! AnD its gotten me thinking about my own engagement. And whether or not it is story worthy... and I submit that it TOTALLY is!

First of all- here is my handsome groom nearly 3 years ago! Before I get too far into this and pictures start get confusing. McKay and I were civilly married first in 2006 and then were sealed a year later in. . . can you guess, 2007! Man you guys are smart. Ok. So this photo is of our actual marriage. It was a very small ceremony at my grandparents house.

BUT that's not the point of this post. Our engagement story is! So here it is.

I was staying with my grandparents in Idaho for a time. It was close to BYU-I, which was nice! And McKay was here in Utah going to BYU. So on weekends he would come up to see me. And on one particular Sunday he decided to drive up to visit for the day. Its a four hour drive. What a stud driving all the way up there for me! Then staying until 8 or 9 at night and driving all the way back! He normally did that by the way. 

So on this Sunday he arrived around noon. Text me that he was putting gas in the car for the drive back and that he'd meet me at church, which is where I obviously was. I waited....

and waited..

and waited....

FiNaLlY my grandma went to the house to see if he was there. Church was still in session, we had about an hour left. She didn't come back. So grandpa and I walked home and when we arrive I was greeted by a very VERY awesomely dressed McKay! Try to picture the next several photos on McKay. 

He wore a much brighter teal v-neck that was my grandmothers. It came up to just below his belly.

He had a maroon bathrobe on that I believe was my grandpa's.

For pants he wore my grandma's white capris and then my grandpa's white knee high socks. It was the messiest outfit I had ever seen. I have no idea why he was wearing most of my grandmother's clothes... or my grandparents clothes at all for that matter!

   He explained to me that while he was at the gas station that he had an accident. NO not the kind that you do to yourself when you're scared or just can't hold it! Not that kind of accident! He pulled up to one of the stations and got ready to refill his tank. Once he'd selected the grade of gas, he, like all of us, took the lever out of its holder and went to fill his tank. But instead of getting to do this, he got a face full... correction... body FULL of gas. The thing sprayed ALL over the place and very clearly all over him. 

 Hence the reason for the odd smell and the extremely funky clothes. I guess he'd showered about 3 or 4 times before we arrived.  He was there for about 5 hours  before he knelt on one knee, in my grandparents' basement on their 70s brown shag carpet, and proposed to me. Dressed in the most ridiculous outfit and the cutest nervous grin. He took my hand and it was all I could do to not crack a smile at his clothes.  I cannot remember what he said, I'm sure it was beautiful. McKay has such a way with words. Something I am truly envious of. I was just so caught up in the moment that I can only really remember the wonderful feeling I had when he asked me to be with him for all eternity.

 

And of course now we couldn't be happier!

Here is my dress at my sealing.  It was beautiful! And it was even better of course because I had my wonderful little Ayden there with me. I just wanted this photo in here to show you the difference between the two dresses you see in this photo and the previous. This one here fit so wonderfully! 

Also I had to add a picture of our first cake.... just to make all of you feel better, if anything awful happens or did happen at your wedding. You were not alone! I nearly cried when they gave me this atrocious cake.

My colors were off-white and red. Let me repeat. OFF-WHITE... not sunshine yellow! and red. I was mortified when ON my wedding day, this is the cake I was presented with. And just so you don't pity me too much.... if you were feeling bad for me at all. :) Here is the cake I had for my sealing.

Cool dad not included in the package! Or maybe that's hungry Dad. 

And now- I want to hear all of your engagement stories if you feel so desirous to share them! Or what your dream engagement would be like if you're no to that stage of your life yet. If you just want to leave a comment, you can do that too... or not. lol 

Eye doctors... bah! ........and other nonsense.

Ok I don't know how well you can see this in this photo, but I went to get an exam and they dilated my eyes. So my pupils are HUGE. I looked like a cat! PLUS I couldn't go outside all day for fear of the sun. And the bummer is... the guys didn't even give me right strength. He gave me a -2.75... I don't know what that means, but I think my eyes need something stronger than that because I still see just as bad as before I came for his help. So annoying!

On the other hand, both boys are great! Happy as can be. Ayden had an appointment for his foot doctor this last Friday. Everything looks in order. woot woot! He got new shoes for his brace. He will wear it every night until he's about 4 I believe. Poor guy. But at least he doesn't have a deformed foot anymore. Truly a great blessing right there.

 

Ethan is going to be 8 months old this month! Holy cow where has the time gone! I can't believe it. He's already 16+ pounds. Crawling, scooching along the couch and... brace yourself... climbing the stairs! AH! He has to keep up with Ayden though- totally understandable, but now the baby gate goes at the bottom the stairs as WELL as the top depending on where he is.

McKay is also feeling better! Hallelujah! We are seeing improvements, which I always LOVE! As I'm sure he's pretty thrilled about as well. If you're wondering what I'm talking about- McKay has liver disease and he's had it since about the beginning of the year. It got extremely bad this summer and he had to leave work. Now he's slowly improving. Woo Hoo!

Oh and Ayden took that picture of us. He was so proud!

An honor

Today I did my grocery shopping. I got to go by myself *beautiful loong sigh* While I was at the store I saw the most precious thing I have seen in a long time. I'm not joking either, totally serious here.

I saw an old man and woman in their late 80s or 90s. It was beautiful. She was gorgeous. And no I do not mean she looked like she was in her 20s. I mean, under her snow white curly hair, her small and frail frame I could see what a wonderful, hard, exciting life she must have lived.

Her little eyes, circled with wrinkles, just sparkled.  I was entranced.

Her mouth was framed with lines from a life lived full of smiles. Full of giggles with daughters, bugs with little boys; curly pigtails, stray fireworks and ecstatic screeched! 2nd, 3rd and 4th honeymoons.

Surprise Mother's Day breakfast- burnt, but delivered with proud, excited eye. Kisses on scraped knees, dirty hands, dirty mouths and dirty furniture. Pet salamanders, leisure picnics, and footprints in her kitchen. Star gazing, hiking, campfire ghost stories and sticky smores. Proud report cards on her fridge, proud young athletes! 

Her soft fingers were traced with lines from thousands of scrubbed dishes, thousands of wiped away tears and carefully placed band aids. Those fingers held little hands, colored with her babies, waved goodbye for preschool and college. Wiped up fingerprints on her windows and walls. And have been interlaced with her husbands' for decades, and an eternity to come.

Loving, tender husband. At first awkward and scared. Young and seeking her affection, her attention and her love. Tenderly bent on one knee, grasping her hand. A quiet yes and trickling tears. Soft kisses. Gently putting his arm on her back to let everyone know she's his. Roses just because. Dancing. Feeling him hold her close against his skin. And gloriously growing old together.

She was so clearly at that moment the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Walking with the love of her life, who I must add was also the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Sweet, sweet spirit. His back slightly bent, from I can only imagine a hard worked life. But still walking with his beautiful wife through the grocery store. They had been standing by each others' side for almost a lifetime. Gone through the triumphs and the tears together. They radiated a magnificent life. I was so overwhelmed, so taken aback when I saw them. I truly regret not stopping and telling her how beautiful she was, how beautiful they both were. 

What an honor it is to grow old. Truly something to be envious of. And even more so with the love of your life. I pray that my Father in Heaven has granted me the blessing of growing old with the love of my life.

Slight lapse of insanity

Never again bud.... that is the last time you get oatmeal or malt-o-meal for breakfast!! I must have been CrAzY to let you eat that and walk out of the room while you were munching!