the spoon was the giveaway

Once in a while, you need a little sneaky snack. Grab a handful of chocolate chips, or scoop out a spoonful of ice cream.


Oh, come on. Tell me I'm not alone on this.


Yesterday, Maggie was on my case.


"Mom, why is their an opened can of caramel in the fridge?" (it's dulce de leche, by the way)


"Oh, I was considering using it for some brownies, but changed my mind."


"Then why is there a spoon in your room?"

Umm... 


Last night when I had made root beer floats for the kids, I got a small spoonful of dulce de leche and walked away.


"A-HA!" Maggie runs in front of me. "I knew it! You ARE eating the caramel. It's OK, Mom, just admit it."


Seriously?! Who hired the food police? I thought that was my job. And why do I feel so guilty?

a

rhett-a-tett

He looks like Alan. 


No, he looks like Johnny.


He looks just like Maggie.


Rhett looks like your brother, Spencer.


He is a spitting image of Papa John.


Somehow my boys look like nobody and everybody, but not like each other. When they are all older, will anyone even know that they are brothers?

a

cnn tells it

Someone telling it like it is without trying to defile or sugarcoat it. 


VIEW HERE


And then,




The LDS church released a statement regarding the CNN's informative explanations that said: As national and worldwide attention is increasingly focused on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the need to clearly explain the Church’s background and core doctrines to curious outsiders becomes more and more important.


Which is what I lamely attempted to express when I wrote this blog post that elicited all kinds of opinions. What I intended was not what was perceived. The increasing worldwide attention surrounding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could be more clearly addressed if there was a more distinct line separating a private institution's idiosyncrasies from the entire church's membership. A lame attempt on my part, seeing as nobody addressed that specific idea in the comments. 


But I don't think anyone should cower to express their opinion. My opinion or yours. That's what makes this crazy blog-world so exciting, right? And I guess if you want to tell me that I am an idiot and not address the topic post in the comments section, I need to get over that. I'm confident enough in my own opinion. Mostly.

a

random thoughts

The Sizzler

* Do you ever wake up 30 minutes before you need to, then go back to sleep, but you are very aware of those last 30 minutes of sleep and you end up dreaming about folding laundry? It's always banal and wasteful dream time. It drives me batty. I could have actually been folding laundry and then I'd have more time to take a nap later.


* You know how they say that a prophet is not welcome in his own land? I think about this one a lot lately. I wonder if Leonardo da Vinci's parents thought he would ever amount to anything. "Pick one area of expertise, Leo! You can't succeed in everything. Become a notary, like your father."  Do we think slightly less of the people we know the best? Can only strangers be amazing?


* Maggie got an iTunes card for Christmas and she's only used $2 worth of it. Her latest choice was Selena Gomez's song, "Love You Like a Love Song." I hate to admit it when a pop song is catchy, but it is. Check it out. Speaking of, are Selena and Justin Bieber this generation's Britney and Justin? Or Madonna and Sean Penn? Frankie and Annette (for my older readers!)?


* When will hyper-color t-shirts make a comeback? Seriously.


* Does anyone (especially any woman) over 30 ride spinning rides? Does something happen in your late 20s that throws off your ability to overcome immediate fits of vertigo when seeing anything spin? I am getting dizzy writing about it.

a

sunday

Saw this. Cried. Slow-mo and Pres. Uchtdorf's voice get me every time.





a

boys in the girls' room

We got to hang out with my nephew Ty yesterday. He was a super champ as we watched the kids take their swimming lessons. Maggie's lesson is last and the boys were getting antsy. What to do? Explore the girls' locker room, of course.

And if you really want to see the chaos and awesomeness of four little boys in a high school locker room, watch this:

I also saw first-hand that Ty is being raised right, because when I asked everyone if they wanted to stop off at the dollar store on the way home for a treat, Ty shouted, "RING POPS!" 

My thoughts exactly.

a

oh, hello there

photo 

oh summer. when did you get here? 

Tuesday was your first "official" day and apparently you take those things seriously. The 70* weather is no longer welcome when it's summer, I guess. We were enjoying the warm days and cool nights, but I guess you're in charge now. It's hot, the a/c is on, and the Popsicles are being consumed at an alarmingly fast rate.


Since you're here, we'll soak it in. We'll stop making dinners in the oven and minimize our time in the kitchen altogether. We'll lie under the huge trees in the backyard and play more tag. We'll teach the boys how to ride bikes and go on adventures to parks and shaved ice stands. Oh, and fireworks. There is a firework show somewhere in Utah every weekend. We've seen one already and we're itching for more.


We'll eat lots of kettle corn and corn on the cob. We'll camp in the yard. We want to go on lots of hikes. Maybe we will visit a water park. Probably not. We'll do indoor crafts when it gets too hot and watch movies during "quiet time." We'll go to farmers' markets and pick our dinner up from the corner veggie stand.


We will drink more ice cold water.


thanks for getting here, summer. we're glad to have you.

a