a runner.....not really.

but I want to be healthy and strong to watch my children and grandchildren grow and grow.
Oh, and I also sort of need to work off all the ice cream I eat.

So I semi-torture myself with running.

And somehow when the run is over I am always glad I did it.
It feels good to know I can go further than I thought I could.

I did this little 10k run this weekend.

The trail was so beautiful and green and well..... kind of pretty hard.
It went up and up the canyon
and then went back down but the down still seemed like up sometimes.
How does that happen??
I'm not sure how this is rewarding when all is said and done.
But I guess it is.
Because there are more runs to come this summer.

a little story

About a little girl named Lucy with tiny quick feet and a very brave adventurous spirit.
She traveled to a beautiful land
and found a hidden waterfall.

She found the the little pool intriguing and wandered out on her own.
Getting a little more courageous with each step.
This little taste of big girl freedoms made her almost burst with happiness.

Yep, it sure did.


She found a very large stick for a little lady and got in over her head {literally}

She did not like this....nope not one bit.


How many times did you go swimming Lucy....4 times.. oh poor girl.
Sometimes there are no lessons learned because the consequence {soaked, scared} is better than sitting on the sidelines watching.
So back into the water she goes to join her favorite friends.

The last piece of dried clothing was spared from getting drenched in case of another mishap.
This made Lucy feel free as the little bird she is.
She was in her element.

Dancing, prancing, copycatting {she does this best} climbing, jumping.
No clothing restrictions holding her back.
Beaming with joy.

And as the afternoon was winding down.
She was content as could be...taking in the view.
I think she was reflecting on how proud she was that she was not sitting on the sidelines.
This could have quite possibly been the best afternoon of her life.

summer love

We thought the start of summer needed to be celebrated. So we headed to one of our favorite summer spots. This place never ever fails us. We loved every minute of it.

Today I'm doing the day after getting back things like unpacking,more unpacking, and a 1,000 loads of laundry. Oh, plus the regular stuff of life that needs to be caught up on that I wish I could wish away like bills..ugh. It's hard coming home and doing all the dirty work. I found a minute to download our pictures of the trip. This was the first picture I saw and it made me smile and realize that all the stuff I hate doing when I get home is worth it for one perfect moment like this. I loved that afternoon eating ice cream under the big old Zion tree, a favorite family Zion's tradition.

p.s. more pictures to come.

on you mark, get set, go

We went exploring and found a stream and a weird plant {that we called turnips}.
We decided to make some boats to race in that stream out of turnips and sticks.
Lucy tugged and tugged on those turnips.

Then we decided to race snowballs.
Canyon won first place.


While we were at it...why not race the turnips?
So we did.
Lucy got the gold this time.

We stayed until the stream turned our feet bright red.
It was a good spring day.

lets eat outside....pretty please.

There was something I wanted really, really wanted....pretty bad.
I wanted to eat every single meal outside all summer long. {weather permitting}
A pretty big request.
Mother's day seemed like the perfect opportunity.
I was crossing my fingers...with summer time dining thoughts prancing in my head.
The result was better than expected.
And so far the gift of eating outside has been the best thing ever!!
I'm in love...with the gift and the gift givers.
Thank you!!!

3 hour hair

When her hair looks like this it means she has just spent the last 3 hours in a afternoon nap dreaming sweet baby dreams. It truly does take the full 3 hours to pull this look off. A 2 hour or 1 hour nap create something totally different.


I love when her hair looks like this. It not only means that I just had 3 hours to myself it also means that when she wakes up she is very content, observant and mushy as can be. She will lay her mushy self close by you for a while and watch birds flutter and airplanes zoom out the window.


Turn on on some music and typically she is in the mood to sing. Not aware that anyone is listening....she is to busy concentrating on birds. It's entrancing laying by her listening to her sweet humming to her favorite song which has stayed constant for a full year If you want me - Swell Season. She even adds quite a few words now in between those hums. Not your typical baby song, I know. Kind of weird...maybe but I won't complain. I like that she has good taste in music.



If You Want Me - The Swell Season

love story

I love this love story so much.
Everyone should fall in love in a setting like this....and she is so pretty!

love note

apology accepted

10 little happy things

{Fall 2008}

I was inspired by the blog rockstar diaries to make a list of the little things that make my heart happy.

Here is my list.

1. Writing my name with a sparkler
2. Snowflakes so big you can catch them on your tongue.
3. Love notes from my daughter (she is barely 6 and completely charming)
4. Rope Swings
5. Hearing a song that brings back a dreamy memory
6. Campfire under a star filled sky
7. Tippy toes
8. Running Further than I thought I could.
9. When a instant message pops up that says "I love you"
10.Finding the perfect gift.

It's nice to think about the little happy things in life.
It's also fun to read what makes other people happy.
Go check out her blog {it's really...really... irresistible}.
You can find my happy list on there and others' happy lists too.
It will make you happy.
satisfaction guaranteed.

six + nine

Canyon and Ellie both had Birthdays this week.

Another year older and wiser for both of them.

These are old pictures but some of my favorites.

I was looking at them last night.

It made me a little sad.

It seems like they haven't been here with me for very long....how can they be so grown up?

I miss them being smaller...but I love who they are becoming.

I am in the process of getting their birthday photo shoots done.

Because a few years from now I will probably stare with wonder and amazement on how much they have changed since they were six and nine like I do with these photographs now.

{shane does all the fancy collage work... I love it.}

{p.s. Shane is going to start doing some of his fancy collage work  for others. If you are interested see here or you can e-mail me}

spring love

It's May.
May is a crazy month for us every year.
Birthday's galore
Lots of Party's
End of School activities
Dance Recitals
Soccer games
ect...ect....ect....
Good thing Spring and all the green gives me an extra burst of energy.
and....
Good thing this view is my commute into the city.
When May arrives we tend to go to the city a little bit more.
I can't get over how pretty everything looks right now.

{photograph by Shane Cox}

In search of sunshine

during spring break we packed up the car and did not stop until the temperature gauge reported above 60 degrees. Then we took a short break.

We took back to the road 60 degrees was certainly not good enough for Spring Break. We did not stop until it was warm enough to drive with the music way up and the windows way down. When I glanced at the temperature is said 75. I knew we had found our destination.


There was lots of swimming, waves, shark reeks, parks, good friends and thank goodness for the sunshine it felt so good! Nothing like a good old road trip with the family! I could already use another one!

sweet cheeks

I just love her sweet little face in this picture.

I could stare at it for a long time.

I also laugh when I look at it.

She is trying to copy Ellie doing the double thumbs up.....

but all the girl gots is double index every time

no matter how hard she tries.

saving the day

Do you ever miss your child looking at you right in the eyes and at that moment you can tell that they love you more than anyone in the whole world. Kind of like they used to do when they were much younger and you were practically the only person in their whole world. Eyes gleaming, filled with adoration and extreme gratitude for you in their life. A little while ago I managed by luck to get Canyon to give me that look once again....

Seconds before he was about to enter his elementary school doors I quickly summoned him back to the car and whispered to him that his pants were on backwards. Then while he quickly changed his pants I shielded him from any curious onlookers. Afterwards he took a deep breath and when he looked at me to say good-bye I got the "I really, really love you look" that any mother longs for. The look I have missed so much, along with a million thank you, thank you, thank yous. It feels good to know he still needs me. Even if it's only a little bit, I'll take it! I love him more than everything in the big blue sky and I love that just once in a while I still get to save the day for him.

hoppy hop

We had such a lovely Easter Weekend.
{Lucy was in ultra excite mode over eggs filled with yummy candy}
{she also said bunny a lot.... but said candy more standing on her head with a chocolate face}
{Ellie loved twirling in her new dress as much as egg hunting she was content with just a few good finds which allowed more time to twirl}
{Canyon was busy looking for those really hard to find eggs and boycotting the camera at all costs}
{Over the weekend he also scaled to the top of a rock climbing wall to get a hold of the grandest of eggs. One that contained a 10 punch pass to the local rock climbing wall. He was stoked!}
{Sunday}
{Easter sunshine}
{Delicious feast}
{cadbury mini eggs}
{peeps galore}
{family I love}
{ lovely}




{my mom drilled holes in some of the plastic eggs and stuck suckers through them. They stuck up out of all the grass and plants....cute.}

hoover craft vs. ripening banana

When the door slams after school and you hear a heart broken voice yell for mom.....well you know things must not be good.

Canyon with the help of his father (extraordinaire) built a fully functional hoover craft for the Science Fair this year. When I was told of the escapade I will admit I was not a believer. In fact I was a sassy skeptical full of jokes of defeat.

But after hours in the garage, some plastic and a leaf blower motor rigged on top of some wood later.... the craft hoovered, and I was proved wrong. Canyon was in heaven and his big toothless smile was here to stay a while. He hoovered and hoovered around and around...so proud...so proud. Then he painted it silver and made a chart up of how it works and then we hauled that big round saucer into the school on the big day.

After school on that big day is when the door slammed... and things really were not good. The hoover craft did not win....not even close. And trying to hold back tears of defeat and disbelief Canyon informed me that his splendid hoover was beat out by a ripening banana and even worse a 2nd grader with bubbles (because he is in 3rd grade what could be worse?). He was beyond disappointed that they did not even call him out of class to start it and "hoover around". I think he had day dreams of hoovering around for those judges happy as could be. I fed him a lot of lines that contained positive reinforcement. Like "it doesn't matter you tried your best" and a bunch of other stuff....none of which worked. Then finally I said at the end of the day would you rather have a hoover craft to bring home and "hoover" on or a ripening banana to bring home and eat? He smiled a little and said my hoover craft. My job was done. (phew)

The next day I went to school to pick up that silver saucer. This was the day the school kids walked around to check out the bubbles, the ripining banana and the hoover craft. When I met up with Canyon his big smile was back along with the words "this is the best day of my life". I guess it just happened that Canyon got a lot of attention from school children for his hoover craft. Contrary to the judges the 5th graders thought it should have won first place. Canyon talked about those big cool 5th graders and how much they loved his hoover craft all day.

His good night words " I'm so happy I made the hoover craft". I guess 5th graders opinions are far more important and superior than the science fair judges at least to a hoover craft building 3rd grader.

So...here is it in all of it's glory during the construction phase.

The beloved hoover craft.





Hopefully soon I will get the finished product on here.

peek a boo

tree trails

I love heading up to the mountain with the kids. It's fun to be on a tree trail and ahead of you are your 2 little ones zipping through the pines like old pros. We just need to get Lucy up there zipping around and then it will be complete. Next year she will be in training. :) maybe this year...but just a little bit.

a suacy singer

She is closer to being 2 than being 1.

She is:

Saucy {loves sauces on all of her foods ranch being the favorite. The saucier the better is her rule. I think she gets this attribute from me.}

A singy little thing {she sings and sings. There are 5 or 6 songs she just loves and she sings, hums and stays in pitch it's funny.}

Very talkative {she surprises me with new words every day}

A jumper {she is known for clearing some pretty big gaps from couch to ottoman these days}

Kissy {she still gives kisses like no other practically to anyone. It is her speciality, part of her charm in life.}

A high fiver {these usually follow right behind the kiss she gives}

A eyebrow raiser {I think she has learned that raising her eyebrows on demand always gets a good laugh ...someday I will get a picture of this spectacle}

An amazing part of my day!

tippy toes

Ellie is always letting me how many more days it is until Wednesday. She is constantly on the count down for when she can spend an hour straight on her tippy toes in front of those big fancy mirrors listening to beautiful music. It makes her happy....it really does. 

scatter love

Little Lucy out and about scattering love.....a little here....a little there. 

love day

Lots of love 

Tons and tons of sugar cookies with delicious pink frosting and mountain high sprinkles on top. 

A heart shaped pancake breakfast with my loves (little and big)

Gifts with love for the kids. Surprise gift for the Mr. and cute new shoes and bag for the Mrs. 

Topped off  with taking big wide open fresh turns on best powder day of the year with my Valentine. 

It was a really really good Valentines Day!

to ellie, love mom

To, Ellie

When I was pregnant with you I would daydream and try to imagine what you would be like. What it would be like to have a daughter. I will have to say that you are not exactly what I invisioned. You do not fit the mold.....not even a little bit. For you are far far better than anything I could have ever imagined. I love you more than I ever thought possible. I feel so lucky that you are mine.  Happy Valentine's Day Ellie-Aspen. I love you forever and ever!

Love, Mom

wish

Today, I really really wish I was up at the mountain getting fresh tracks. Even a meesely hour would do. In fact that hour would be an absolute dream. I tell ya sometimes big responsibilities like kids are hard. Worth it....yes most definitely, but still hard. A downright sacrifice at times. Kids are amazing creatures how do they manage to make all the sacrifices worth it? It's a good thing they are tricky like that I guess. There... now that I have that off my chest I feel much better. Now I am going to go pull up all my blinds let the sunshine in, turn on the song featured below full blast and get back to those big responsibilities. Who knows I may even try to fit in a few of the little responsibilities like finishing mopping my floor, and scrubbin some toilets....YEAH!!!

Slung-Lo - Erin McKeown

have a happy monday

I saw this video on my sis-in-law Allison's  blog a few days ago and it made my morning happy. The song has been one of my favorites for a while and now the video is just as amazing. It is really really good. So watch it and maybe it will make your Monday happy.

Thanks Allison.






be mine

Last year I wrote this about my little Valentine. A lot changes in a year. She doesn't mind it so much anymore if her big brown eyes loose line of sight. In fact I think she kind of likes it so she can cause mayhem in the pantry or string toilet paper about the house. She insists on walking all by her big girl self and her favorite place to be is probably chasing Canyon and Ellie around the house instead of riding on my hip. Yet, I still think she loves me because she says "laaaaa uuuuuu" as she kisses me and when she smiles at me her eyes light up and twinkle. I love you too Lucy B. You will always be mine.

more love

Canyon loved going ice skating during school today.  

I loved being able to go and watch him. 

month of love

January is a now a thing of the past. I am sooooo glad I like February so much better! The month of love!  So why not talk about love the whole month? For instance I love looking through this web-site the pictures are beautiful and I love the clothes. It doesn't really matter that there is NO way I could pull off half of these lovely ensembles.  I still love them just the same. The dress below is one of my favorites.  I'm pretty sure I need it and the shoes to.