time. sleep. never enough.

i have been struggling lately trying to get my kids the proper amount of sleep. especially little emma, she just doesn't go to bed early enough, she's up several times at night, and then she's up early in the morning. tonight i had to lay by her for over an hour (combined) to finally get her to go to sleep. and now it's after 10pm, and i don't have much time for the cleaning and organizing, etc... i sent nate a frustrated text, venting about my lack of 'me' time. and then a poem came to mind....

cleaning and cooking can wait till tomorrow,
for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
so quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep
i'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

i starting thinking about my true calling in life, and at this point in time, it is that of a mother. not cinderella, not a wonder-housecleaner. but a mother to nurture and raise these 3 sweet girls in the gospel. i tweeked the poem a little to fit my time in life....

cleaning and cooking can wait till tomorrow
for children grow up, we've learned to our sorrow
so quiet down dishes, dust go to sleep
i'm immersed in my children, and children don't keep

hopefully i can keep that simple little poem in mind in the future when i start getting impatient with spending the time i need to spend with my girls. because i am oh-so-blessed with 3 of the most amazingly beautiful and perfect girls.

emerson drive and foliage!

we had a chance to hit a concert on Pioneer Day, and it was a blast! it was Emerson Drive, and we went with my Dad and Carla. they sounded awesome, and it was SO FUN to see the girls groovin' and singin' along. i'm so glad they enjoy good country music, and good concerts!

we also threw in some plants, bushes, etc... so the yard is done for now. we are still going to put a few trees in the front yard, but where and what kind are still to be determined. for now though, i think the yard looks dang cute. (and i am so sick of having dirt permanently under my fingernails! it doesn't matter how many times i shower, wash my hands, and scrub my nails...it seems that the past few days i've been looking rather dirty-handed.) as for me? i'm going to go have a popsicle.

peace. out.

the yard, the missionary, the 4th, the fun

Life has been so super crazy busy lately. We finished the yard. Spent time with AZ friends. Sent Joseph off on his mission. And so many other things! Here's a quick picture catch-up:

THE 4TH

The Youngs were here for the 4th of July and we went to the Provo parade with them. It was such a breath of fresh air to see friends again! Thanks for the fun times, and the girls' night Maile!

kiddos at the parade. the provo parade is HUGE! it was fun.

4th of july babe

this was the elberta parade. the girls each ended up with a grocery sack half full of candy, all from about 5 'floats'. i use the term 'float' loosely...it was more like one tractor pulling the cub scouts, and a couple kids riding bikes. seriously. the 'parade' goes up and down the street a couple of times. i LOVE small town fun though...nothing like it. THE YARD

so the Wise Man built his house upon a rock, right? so why not do the same? apparently that's what Salisbury was thinking anyways.....

so yes, our yard is/was pretty much a rock. clay. everything that is hard and immoveable. we thought getting a yard/fence in would take a week. 5 weeks later...sheesh!

we owe a HUGE THANK YOU to so many people who worked tirelessly with us to get the yard leveled, raked, trenched, sprinklers in, raked again, sod laid, etc...

so thank you to dad, mom, and zach for breaking your backs for our yard's sake. we really could not have done it without you. thank you to josh, justin and esteeb for all of your hard work, and yodeling songs while swinging the pick at the trenches. thank you to heather for being the best pregnant water girl ever. thank you to everyone else who helped us at all with this yard...we really wouldn't have had a yard without y'alls help. and buns: thank you for working every minute of the day/night that you were off work to get the yard done. seriously folks...one night i got home late from a movie with a friend, and as soon as i got home (10:30pm) he went out with a headlamp until after midnight working on sprinklers. you're da man buns...for real. love ya.

i love this pic of josh on the neighbor's tractor. you rock josheenia.

breakin' backs....
go parker-boy! he did about half the yard himself.

pourin' the patio. if only it were 12" wider. (lol!)

someone forgot to tell nate you're not supposed to be IN the cement...

oh boy. more back breaking.

the girls enjoyed playing on the rock/dirt piles around the neighborhood while we were working.

all raked, sprinkler-ed, and ready for sod. phewf...that took FOREVER.

looks like a cake-walk, eh? i got to the point that if i saw another rock i thought i would vomit. i now hate rocks.

here comes the sod....

sod-layin' party. thanks dad, zach, buns and heather. (by the way...i really did work my rear-end off too in the yard. i'm just always the camera-woman so you never see me workin' :o)

aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh....done!

the green. the grass. the HUGE smile on my face.

sod: check. curbing: check. sprinklers: check.

and now the fence: check!

i could look at this picture all day. now we just need to throw a few trees, bushes, and flowers in.

THE MISSIONARY
this is my little bro Joseph. we've pretty much been best friends since he was born. he's such a good kid, he's a blast to hang out with, and the girls adore him. (i'm talking about MY girls...but all girls adore him regardless ;o)

of course cait had to try it

my dad and dennis (aka 'bulldorado') providing some live entertainment at one of the last family get-togethers before Joseph left on his mish

he's also the reason my nose is crooked...in case you've ever noticed. i was laying on the floor next to the couch and he was bouning on his knees on the couch, and he bounced off and his knee went straight onto my nose. (this was probably 15 years ago b.t.w...and ironically enough, that is the exact couch that caused me the crooked nose.)

breakfast before the m.t.c.

one last try at the 'claw' machine...he's pro at these things.

had to swing by the clinic so he could say goodbye to the on-call doc

his last few minutes before the M.T.C. were spent doing this: (smart man...)

New Jersey:

please be good to him! you have no idea how lucky you are to have him for 2 years.

we love you poots...we miss you!!

THE FUN

someone traced this chalk figure of Emma at my dad's house...i thought it was sooo funny how it looked just like her with buns in her hair and all

sare gave the girls MUCH NEEDED trims..

emma lasted about 2.5 seconds before she was done

so there ye have it. busy, but fun things going on. :o)

what the huh?

So Emma gets a sticker on her hand at the end of nursery every Sunday. This was her sticker from last week. What the double?! A toothless little girl with a black eye? I don't get it....
(I got a good laugh out of it though!)

happy 4th of July!

officially 'frocked'

Nate officially started his first day as a Resident today. (Technically 1st years are called interns.) At lunch they had a lunch at the park, and a "Frocking Party" is what they call it. A.K.A. Interns get initiated before they receive their white coats. It went something like this:

That is the residency director with the crazy garb and the googley-eye glasses. You can tell this is going to be a good 'frocking party'.

First they had to divide into teams and see who could cast the fastest. While handcuffed together.

And the cast hardened too fast. So Nate was trying to cut it off. The fun.

Part of the obstacle course. A plate of whip cream and taco lettuce. Yum.

Dizzily running the course...

The end result: A bunch of wet messy residents. They passed though...good job guys. (If you can't tell there were a lot of water balloons and slip'n'slide'n involved.)

This is when they are 'knighted' and receive their white coats. I'm so glad everyone has such a great sense of humor. I'm going to get along great with these people. :o)


The new white coat.
Aww..how cute. And wet. And dirty.
Looks pretty good in it. If I do say so myself.
A fun pool we found in Provo. It's not Val Vista Lakes, but it'll do for now. :o)

Notice in all these pictures how my girls look like they are FREEZING?! It was over 90 degrees...but they're used to a LOT warmer temps to swim.

Here's the start of a few house pics. We'll start with the playroom for today. It's not organized very well yet..but it's WONDERFUL having a place for all the toys.

Katie and her kiddos were in Utah so we played for a day.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO VISIT...it was so fun Katie!