About today...

I am not having the best day. I spent the morning trying to get my stupid mini van from hell registered. Sounds easy, right?

New windshield: $167.00
New front rotors: $218.00
Safety Inspection: $ 41.00
Registration: $107.00

How many days I think the transmission will give me before it quits??? Not many.

I hate today. What I should do is go find my scale and weigh myself--wouldn't that just be the cherry on top....

I know this pic is recycled, but I needed something to smile about and this pic does it every time!

Jenna and "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!"

GIRLS NIGHT!

I was tempted to title this post: "When BAD ideas happen to good people."

Last Monday me & my girls were walking through the local thrift store. Kesley & Jenna were aimlessly strolling down the isle when they both stopped in their tracks by the same object. There in front of us was a sparkly LIME green prom dress from the '80's--in my size. Kesley said, "Ohhh Mom!" Jenna was speechless.

Jenna has been begging for another "Three girls and a milkshake night" for a long time. Anyone remember that night when I squeezed my body into one of my daughters white sequined dress ups? The girls did my hair and we danced to Taylor Swift... ? Ring a bell? Anywho, as I was staring at the lime green, sequined monstrosity that was hanging on the rack in front of us, I had this great idea: We wouldn't just have any ole girls night, we would have the BEST GIRLS NIGHT EVER! A dress MY SIZE would give us some fun options. It was a sign from heaven when I saw that the dress was half off and only $6!! We bought it and started making plans for Saturday.

The wait from Monday to Saturday was an ETERNITY! To top things off, we spent Saturday morning and afternoon doing yard work. By 5:00 we were all tired and VERY dirty. We put on some Taylor Swift, took baths, and started to get ready. First up: FINGERS AND TOES!Next, HAIR! We all know I have ZERO talent in that area. I asked Aunt Bonnie if she would come over and do our hair for us. All the Smith girls are talented in this area. She did an AMAZING job. Jenna still keeps saying that her hair was her favorite part of the night! THANK YOU BONNIE!! Kesley will not sit like this and let me do her hair--not for a second. Step 3: Makeup! Bonnie was nice enough to do our make-up too. These ladies felt SO BEAUTIFUL. Now, it was time to put on our dresses for the big reveal...CHECK US OUT!! Can you believe someone parted with this spectacular dress!!?

Next up: EAT! Our original plan involved going to the mall (Kesleys favorite thing) and eating at Red Robin. But, you know how you always feel a little prettier (and 20 pounds lighter) before you actually see yourself in the picture? Ya. My ladies couldn't be cuter, but about this moment I started panicking! I kept thinking, "Could we just order in pizza? What can I make fast???" I REALLY didn't want to be seen in public like this.

The girls really wanted Bonnie to come with us. She was nice enough to be our chauffeur in her fancy new car (which beat the heck out of a dirty, old mini van!) and we took off. As we were driving by Macaroni Grill, I saw a group of ladies all decked out in their PROM DRESSES!! What are the odds? I realized we were going to be steering clear of any place where this dress could be taken seriously. So, here we are in ICEBERG! Don't judge. It's good food, yummy shakes and ALWAYS EMPTY!!! I was SO GLAD Bonnie was there. Thank you Bonnie for being the one to get up to get extra ketch-ups and napkins and spoons and waters...I seriously don't know what we would have done without you!! And Jenna even got her milk shake!Next Girls Night: MOVIES AND PIZZA!...at home.

"Oh the times they are a chay-ane-gin"

You know that Simon & Garfunkel song, right?

So, Brent is the BEST, but he is also the STINKIEST man alive. By evening he can be pretty...how to say this...ripe? Anyone ever been up to the sulfur hot pots in Midway?... Ya. that is the smell.

The kids have been too small to really notice. Jenna has always had a nose from hell and she'll throw in an "Ewwww, what's that smell???" But that has really been about it. I keep telling Brent that things are going to change soon. Girls reach a certain age and they begin to notice EVERYTHING irritating that their dads are doing. I remember leaving the room when my dad was going to eat a banana or sit down for a bowl of cereal (I have to do that with Brent too, so maybe that's just me...) I kept telling him it was only a matter of time before these stinky toots were going to come between him and his girls.

The other night Brent was in singing Kesley a song before bed. I guess he was particularly ripe this evening and let one slip. For the first time ever Kesley kicked him out! It was so bad she was GAGGING!! Poor lady. Now she understands why I let him retire to the family room downstairs while I hide in my room with the door shut to watch my evening shows! The next evening he was greeted by this sign posted above her bed. Maybe she thought decorating it nicely with an Easter egg would soften the blow?

"No tooting on my bed"

So, tomorrow is the big day. Here is another clue about my adventures with the sequins...You should be scared!

Sloop John B

I was singing away in the shower this morning. It was the chorus of some song that I didn't know, but somehow was in my head. Jenna came waltzing in and said, "That's not how it goes, mom!" I poked my head out and said, "What?" "That's NOT how the song goes!" she insisted.

Here she is, proving that she knows what's what. Listen close!


Yes, she is singing about a drunken sailor getting into a fight. Yes, I still think it's cute. It's a song the Beach Boys sing about a boat named, "Sloop John B." You see, Brent loves to sing the kids songs after they lay down in bed for the night. It's the kids favorite thing in the world and I love listening from a distance. While hymns would be nice, he is usually singing something more along the lines of Jimmy Buffet, John Denver, Neil Young, Grateful Dead...you get the point. Kesley's favorite song is "He went to Paris", by Jimmy Buffet. It's about a guy who goes to Paris to chase his dreams. While he's there he finds a girl and leaves his dreams behind for her. But after, "The war took his baby, mumps killed his lady and left him with only one eye." He goes back to chasing his dreams. It's very inspiring.

Ha! Kesley just came home from kindergarten and Jenna wanted to show her this video on our blog. Kesley said, "Mom, why didn't you finish it?" And then she sang me the next verse! I think it may be time to start incorporating some hymns...

My weekend was S-S--A-A-A---W-E-E-E-T!

Look at the size of that cinnamon roll! That about sums up my weekend. Three of my AWESOME sis-in-laws and I had the BEST little girls getaway. We stayed in a DELUXE suite up in Zermatt and went SHOPPING and SWIMMING and stayed up late watching MOVIES and ATE yummy food. It was HEAVEN!!

Plans are already taking shape for next weekends girls adventure. Here is a small glimpse of the hideousness, I mean adventures that await!

Easter--a week late

It always throws me for a loop when Easter falls on Conference weekend. The religious side of me thinks it is FANTASTIC, don't get me wrong, but the prideful side of me really likes to dress my little girls up in their cute Easter dresses and strut them down the isle at church. D'ya know what I mean? It just seems a little anti-climactic when that happens the week after Easter. Is that ok to say out loud?

We had a great day, you know, despite the disappointment. Conference was AMAZING! Aunt Amber showed up in between sessions with lots of Easter treats and stayed for an EPIC indoor Easter egg hunt because of all the fresh snow. I don't like fresh snow on Easter--it should be against the law. After the second session, we had my parents and a few others up for a big Easter feast! I think it was the best ham I have ever had. Then, ALL my siblings and families--minus Joseph & Olivia who were very missed-- came up for a big cousin bash and yummy strawberry shortcake. 60 PEOPLE!! Glad we had a bigger house that fit everyone. Great day!

Picture of the tables before we ate. Maybe next year I will splurge and buy the fancy plastic dinner wear. It is Easter after all.

Jenna and Ashton--kinda looks like someone just busted them trying to sneak a roll before the prayer...

Grandpa snoozing with a full belly (yes, that does seem to be a sparkly star crown on his head.)

Gavin & James and I think a new pose we will mostly like see Gavin doing in our next family picture.

Great day, but WHAT ABOUT THOSE EATER DRESSES? This year our Aunt Tiffy made some very darling dresses for my girls. I had very good intentions of dolling them up for church yesterday, but I was nervous about teaching Relief Society and Brent and Gavin decided to skip church and go with Grandpa to visit Aunt Susie, so in the craziness of the morning I did the best I could in the 5 minutes I devoted to them. It was such a crazy morning that, not thinking, I grabbed my cell phone on the way out and and put it in my church bag. I was a little late getting into Relief Society (which is first for our block) and was just about to start my lesson when it started RINGING! I was so embarrassed. I apologized and promised to change my ring tone to a hymn in the small chance of that EVER happening again.

Pretty ladies in their Easter dresses. THANK YOU TIFFY!

I just love Jennas chubby calves in this picture! I hate how all that cute chubbiness goes away between 3 & 4. I sure will miss it!

Oops, did I skip a day already?

That little part of my brain that must document all the cute/funny moments won't let me be free to blog away in peace. I found this picture in the archives and realized it killed more than two birds with one stone:This documents Jenna in her make-up journey, shows Kesley's cute toothless grin and how she has made a lot of make-up applying progress since last year (although she did go a little heavier on the blush than usual), and how much free time Brent has now that he lives 2 seconds from work!

Kesley has had several big milestones in the last 2 months. She lost her other top tooth shortly after we moved in and just in time for her 6th birthday! She lost another bottom tooth a couple days later. The tooth fairy let her keep her top tooth (which got lost 2 seconds later) and then got stuck in a snow storm 2 nights in a row trying to retrieve the bottom tooth. The tooth fairy has NEVER done that before and it was VERY shocking when it happened TWO nights in a row! Luckily, Kesley is so easy going. I love her. Here she is on her birthday with a cute, new dress from Tiffy, a doll that Amber gave Brent to give to her that was her great grandma Kit's, an art set from Bonnie, a new sleeping bag (so she wouldn't be humiliated at her birthday sleepover with all her cousins when she had to sleep in a Thomas the Train bag--it happened at the last big sleepover and her aunt caught her trying to hide it before anyone else saw it!), and a new bike!! Love this lady.
And finally, something a little more recent. For you Mary. These are the shelves in my living room. I have lots of books and TONS of souvenirs I can't seem to let go of. It started out innocent enough, but now this shelf always seems to scream a line from the Little Mermaid song she sings in the Tavern--you know the one--"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't ya think my collections complete?yada yada yada...HOW MANY TREASURES CAN ONE TAVERN HOLD???" That's the line goes through my head. But, it did get a lot of things out of boxes...

Something old--Something new

testing...testing...is this thing on?

Ok, so with a small guilt trip from Liz I will make good on my blog updates. I really want to catch up on a few things but, as to not bore anyone of the 9 of you who read this to death, I will move on and try to incorporate a few old things in with the new.

Old thing #1 MY PARENTS GOT THEIR MISSION CALL TO.....EVERETT WASHINGTON!!
I have very mixed feelings about this. While I am ECSTATIC for them, I am dreading having them gone for 2 years. Who will I call to ask how to boil an egg or...do anything house-wifey? I tried hard to talk them into filling their trunk with Book of Mormons and just taking a long road trips every two months while they pass them out--doesn't that sound like a good compromise? My dad said they are "On a religious kick" so I guess I'll let them enjoy their moment and stop trying to talk them out of it. Love you Dad and Mom!


New thing #1 We had a great April Fools Day! I thought I was pretty funny this year. I put food coloring in the bottom of the kids cereal bowls in the morning and let them pour their own milk--it went over pretty good. For dinner we had some friends over--shout out to Holly B!--and I made meatball cupcakes with pink mashed potato frosting. The kids were so excited when I said we were going to have dessert first. Jenna was the only one who couldn't see any humor in the joke and burst into tears when she snuck a finger full of frosting before the prayer and didn't like how it tasted...don't mess with Jenna when it comes to anything food! She managed a laugh at the orange punch that was actually jello--I guess Mary Poppins was right about that whole 'spoon full of sugar' thing...
Here's all the kids, sans crying Jenna, and Holly at the table--this is for you Mary Morton!
For dessert we had HUGE ice-cream cones. The kids made it up to the table in record time for their X-tra large scoops! This is Holly's Audrey with hers.
Here is an embarrassed Kesley getting hers...Wow, one update under my belt. Feels good. My camera is on the fritz, but I am going attempt an update a day for a while and see how things go. I'll try to make them interesting and keep them short and sweet...can you handle it?