Magnificent Meg

This little girl is now eight and is one of my favorite people. She was born a "mom" caring for siblings, cousins, friends. She loves Owen (which automatically makes me love her) and will rescue him from any perceived danger.

She is musical, dramatic, artistic, loving, energetic and a joy. We love you Meg! Happy Birthday.

Our Life, Right Now

I would regret it, if I didn't record the daily happenings in my little guys life. O's life is full of passion, happiness, energy, and the occasional strong-willed moment.

Owen loves being with his momma. He is my shadow, and has taken to wearing my clothes (yes, I actually wear these leg-warmers/socks to sleep in) . . . . . . and painting his toe nails. He follows me everywhere and "helps" me with all my daily tasks. We love snuggling while watching a show, reading books before bedtime and he is always asking "what's that mommy?" or "what's that noise?" He says my name frequently and I don't think I'll ever grow tired of it.

Our morning routine usually consists of milk on the couch while watching a show on the Disney channel. He sits for about 10 minutes and then is eager to get into his stroller for a walk or trip to the playground. We couldn't sit still for too long, now could we?

Owen loves his little friends. He often says, "Can we go to Henry's house?, Jackson's house, Sammie's house, Meg's house, James' house . . ." you get the idea. He even refers to all of his friends in his books. Oh, that's Kyle mommy. That's Grant. That's Emmie, mommy. He is lucky enough to get to spend a few days a week with his buddy Isaac. These two would run away together if left unattended for more than five seconds. It's a good thing I am still quicker than them.

Why is it that you always want what someone else has?
Now, we're happy.

Owen is a good kid. Trust me, he has his moments. He smacks his head when he is mad. He tells you "No I NOT!" when he doesn't want to do something. But, he understands consequences, he will usually apologize before being asked and has a darling "sorry mommy."

Life is good. I think I'll keep him.

Sisters, Sisters

My sister and I used to watch White Christmas together, all year long. We'd dance in the basement and I'd use the fireplace as a stage. I was quite the dancer in high-heels for a six-year-old. I think I secretly thought that you fell in love dancing and singing and that most conversations could actually be put to music, but I digress.

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters . . .


I wish I had that dress. We do however, have matching blue, as you can see below, thanks to my mom.


Although I don't have feathers, I thankfully have the best sister in the whole world. She's honest, no-nonsense, witty, did I mention beautiful?, kind and believes me to be a better person than I really am.

I remember walking into her room when I was 15 and she was in a ball weeping. I asked her what was wrong and she replied that she hated that I was so sick. I had been struggling through mono, pneumonia and some other viral complications that had completely wiped me from normal daily activity. She wanted to take it from me. She said I didn't deserve it.

She has loved me purely, whole-hearted and is without question, my best friend. She defends me, believes in me, and never questions my judgment.

We have our moments, I'll be the first to admit it. She has her limitations, as do I. Fortunately for me, she is half blind to my faults. She's the best sister, and I'm glad she's mine. Happy Birthday Kate. I love you.

Family and Celebrations

We gathered as a family in July to celebrate several birthdays. Missy, Joey's sister, hosted. She invited the refugee family she has taken under her wing. It was remarkable (and quite chaotic) to see several families together, celebrating.

A few pictures of the cakes I made for the occasion.


This was only half of them. I get tired just looking at this picture.
If you look closely, you'll see Owen attempting to blow out the candles, not unique for this little guy. Always happy to help.

This is moments before Owen, left me, to go sit by a boy who was sitting alone. Little kids get it. So full of love and don't see barriers quite like adults. Love him.

Black Mountain

We spent a month house-sitting this summer. We thoroughly enjoyed being back in our old neighborhood, enjoying a beautiful backyard and being close to Joey's mom. I don't think I got more than four hours of sleep each night, but that is a whole other story.

We spent a lot of time in the hills behind the house and attempted Black Mountain one night after dinner. We even convinced Kathy to join us for part of the hike. As far as Joey is concerned, this is his mountain and backyard. He spent much of his childhood here and had names for almost every rock we passed.


Throwing rocks while taking a very much needed break. Owen can only last so long in a backpack. Look at the city and Wasatch Mountains behind us. A few of the reasons Joey is never leaving Salt Lake City.

We were also able to see the part of City Creek Canyon that burned this summer. Earlier that week, the planes flew remarkably close to the house and we even saw firefighters parachuting down. Now that is something you don't see every day.










A faint glimpse of the neighborhood we both grew up in. We love it here.

Cake Helpers

It seems I've had a lot of these lately:

Which consequently means Owen thinks he is needs to decorate his own cake too: Similarly, any time I watch my nieces, they ask "What are we going to make?" when they walk through the door. Cakes, naturally:

Things Seen

. . . at the Utah State Fair:

• A little boy, about four-years-old with his pants at his ankles, going to the bathroom right in the middle of the side-walk.
  
• A 50+ woman walking around in just a swimsuit. Yes, you read it right. I'm not quite sure why it is, but my sister said it right, "Where do all these people come from? Where are they the rest of my life? It seems they all come out in masses when the fair rolls around."
• An eight-year-old boy, larger than anyone I've ever seen, throwing a two-year-old fit because he dropped his slushee. (Thankfully, I did not know any of the above mentioned people.)
• Someone (who shall remain nameless) spend a hefty sum on a foot long corn dog and then proceed to eat the entire thing (except for maybe two or three bites she shared with her son).
  
• Owen finding a worm-eaten, rotten apple under a trailer and eating that for dinner instead of his corn dog.
• These two playing with a wagon behind the carnival games. Look like brother and sister don't they? No, my sister and I did not coordinate their outfits. Luck of the draw.
  

• A mom spend even more than she did on the corn dog to take her son on The Giant Yellow Slide. "Again!" Owen would scream every time we came down.

Exciting, thrilling and a lot eye-opening at the Utah State Fair.