Just call me Kermit

Last week I bought my very first reusable shopping bag.


I was at one of those darn European stores who hold their plastic bags hostage for money. It's our closest (and more importantly, our cheapest) grocery store, so after toying with the idea at each encumbered visit, I figured I'd bite the bullet, make like Nike, and just do it. At least it was one of those jumbo ones so I can break my back trying to carry in 4 jugs of milk into the house at the same time.

I'm already being tempted by the siren of fabulous reusable bags I hear calling my name...you can find some fun ones here and here. (But let's be honest...heaven knows I'll probably choke before I spend more than a buck or two on a grocery bag. *sigh*)


This morning, I spent a good chunk of the morning looking into our local recycling program. They have curbside pick-up here and even give you the oh-so-attractive blue bins shown below. yay! for not having to go and drop it off yourself.

All this eco-friendly time-suckage has made me wonder if I haven't turned a pale shade of lime green *gasp*

Do not fear, dedicated reader, I still have a looong way before you find me in birkenstocks, eating granola, and hugging trees.

Uber-Post II

... although a much less exciting (albeit more sarcastic) one

Usually when I take over a week or two to update the ol' blog, it's because I've been having loads of fun and exciting things going on. Lest you think that's the case this time...let's clear that up right now...it isn't. I didn't go to the Cayman Islands, I'm not pregnant (praises be, hallelujah), I haven't been furnishing my new place from scratch, and my children aren't being so darlingly charming that I just couldn't wait to post about them. So...you might ask, what have you been up to? Well, dedicated reader, let me tell you:

I've been in Oklahoma for about two weeks helping my sister, Stephanie, (along with my other sister, Liberty, and often my mother) de-junk, re-organize, and begin to pack for her upcoming move to Amarillo. We seriously did this basically everyday. I probably should have taken pictures for documentation purposes, but all you would've seen were some dirt-covered, half-naked children. After seeing said children, you would have felt obligated to call DHS and we wouldn't want that, now would we? While so much work doesn't seem like a lot of fun, when I'm getting to spend all day, every day with my sisters, what's not to love?

Here are a few rare, random cute pictures I did manage to get on the trip, however.

Independence Day

My sister, Stephanie and adorable niece, Ella

The girls, lounging about

Ezra killing some time, waiting for fireworks (the smiling one is seriously one of my favorite pictures of Ezra, ever)

For our one outing of the trip, we went to the Omniplex Science Museum down in Oklahoma City. We figured if we didn't do something fun, the kids would mutiny. With nine of them and only three of us, the odds were definitely in their favor.

The sweetest thing since refined sugar

Spaceman Georgia

Gavin, Gunner, and Ezra playing at the water table:

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There's been a bit more shimmer and glitter around our house lately. Georgia refers to her's as her "spakaly shoes" for obvious reasons. Mine are fondly referred to as my "cocktail sandals" because it looks like I'm wearing big cocktail rings on my toes. Like mother, like daughter. (ps-thanks mom!)

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Speaking of shoes...I spent approximately ten hours looking for a new pair of sandals for Georgia last week. That's right, folks...I said TEN hours. That's like a friggin' part time job. You see, Georgia's grown out of her everyday sandals and apparently has the hardest feet to fit this side of the Mississippi. Not only does she have difficult feet, but I'm crazy-cheap and the thought of spending more than $10 on sandals this late in the season makes me angry (never mind the amount of money I spent on gas looking for said sandals). Finally, after much long-searching, I found these babies. They would match most of her wardrobe. They were a half size. Best yet, they were on sale. Seeing that they were the last pair in her size, I snatched them up quick.

Less than 24 hours after the purchase, Georgia took a pen to them. Spencer attempted soap and water when he first came on the scene. no luck. Soon, he moved up to wet wipes. nope. Getting desperate, he tried spraying them with hairspray and wiping them down (it works on clothes, right?). it took a bit of the ink out, but not nearly enough. When Spencer finally 'fessed up to me about what had happened, I even bust out the Magic Eraser (I mean, it gets out permanent marker, for heaven's sake). the shoes were still scribbily. *sigh*

Too bad. She's so wearing them. There's no way in heck I'm starting over.

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I was talking to my sister the other day and we came to the conclusion that Scarlett resembles a monk. Yep, I mean the little old men with funny hair, incense, and robes. With the scraggly hair around her ears, round hairline, and man-brows, she's a near-perfect match. In fact, if I didn't have Georgia's fairy costume from last Halloween, I'd already be searching for horsehair robes and rope belts on etsy.

(the pictures don't even do the look justice. although, the third one does show the monk hairline fairly well)

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Georgia's decided she now knows how to dress herself. Too bad she looks like a corner worker. Just give her some magenta lipstick, fishnets, and hooker boots and she's good to go.

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Since I've had a lot of inquiries, I'll fill y'all in on my new locale. I just gotta say how absolutely in love I am with our new town. Overland Park (Kansas) has so, so much to do, including TONS of family-friendly activities. I have endless shopping options (there are 6 Targets within a 6 mile radius. Six. I kid you not!). We're close enough to Kansas City that we could spit on it with a good tail wind, yet Overland Park is big enough that I don't feel like I have to actually go into the city basically ever. I'm always surprised at how friendly people are and our ward is just so fabulous. The neighborhoods are all lined in big shade trees and everything seems nice and clean. I could be content with spending the rest of my life here and that's pretty big coming from a moving junkie like me. Despite the tantrums, spit-up, and constant laundry, life is pretty darn good.

How's this for an uber-post?

Sorry for the pseudo-posts, oh loyal readers, but things have been insanely busy around here lately. Here's just a bit of what we've been up to:

At the end of May, we headed out to the Beehive State for Spencer's twin siblings, Kyle and Kimberly's graduation from Springville High School. Congrats to some of the sweetest, cutest, more talented teenagers I know. Kyle is planning on going on a mission sometime this fall and Kim is headed to Southern Utah University for school. Congratulations you two!!!

On May 26th, Georgia turned a big ol' 2 years! I know most people can't believe that their baby is a baby no longer, but I've been convinced of it for a while now. Georgia's been talking, running, and acting otherwise grown-up for so long, that I've felt she was nearly two since she was about 18 months old (more on her later).

Who doesn't love a $1.99 echo microphone? Everyone knows it's the only thing to sing into when you're table dancing to the Beach Boys

Georgia concentrating hard on ripping tricky wrapping paper

Georgia loved the Barbie cake that Aunt Kim made her (didn't she do such a cute job?)

I'm going to take a quick break from our regularly scheduled trip log to just say how absolutely in love with Georgia I am. She's easily one of my very favorite people in the entire world. How can one not adore someone who calls things "fabwulous," says "Hallelujah," and "I love you the whole world" on a regular basis. If there ever was a firecracker, she's it. The mere thought of my daughter makes me smile. Heck, even when she's being a bratty, sassy diva, it's still mildly humorous (for example, when I asked her why she had pinched Ezra, she replied, "I just wanted to" and then, "it funny." Horrible? yes. At least a liiiitle funny? absolutely.). She giggles behind her hands, enjoys being naked more than anything, and dances instead of walks. Sometimes I just look at Georgia and wonder to myself, "Who is this little mischievous sprite in human form and how did I possibly give birth to her?"

Now back to our regularly schedule trip log...

While in Utah, we went up Payson Canyon to a beautiful little waterfall called The Grotto. Not only is it a beautiful spot, it's actually the place that Spencer proposed to me, making it particularly fun spot to visit just a couple of weeks before our five year engagement anniversary.

Ezra on the trail up to The Grotto

Spencer packing Scarlett

Kinda a random picture, I know, but I just love Georgia's face peeking over my shoulder

Ezra throwing rocks into the waterfall

Georgia picking up rocks to throw (it was obviously the activity to do)

While in Utah, we also visited some local wetlands. I should remember the name...but I don't. Here's some cute pictures anyway.

Ezra looking for fish

Ezra, Aunt Kim, and Aunt Leslie

Georgia running down the trail (she did a lot of that)

Ezra and Uncle Kyle

Scarlett, Georgia, and Me

We were so blessed to be able to attend the Oquirrh Temple Open House. It is just such a beautiful temple and the spirit was so strong in it.

Our last event was a quick trip up to Bridal Veil Falls up Provo Canyon.

Georgia showing us a seashell she found

Scarlett and Mommy

Ezra and Uncle Kyle "being tricky"

Other random cute pics:

Scarlett and Daddy feeding ducks

Georgia reading on Grandma's front porch, her very favorite pastime

At a picnic with some friends, Ezra discovered that he can climb big trees all on his very own

After coming home to Oklahoma in early June, we quickly packed up and moved to Kansas City (well...Overland Park, Kansas, to be exact. It's a suburb of Kansas City that's close to Spencer's job) on the 15th. It's been absolutely crazy since (then again, that seems to be the constant state of affairs at our house). We've been busy unpacking, pottytraining Georgia (we've tried off and on since she initiated it last January), being all kinds of sick (there's been fevers, puking, and grumpiness galore), and exploring our new surroundings ever since.

I'm uber-impressed if you made it through the entire post! Either you're really bored or just very dedicated. Have a fabulous day!

I promise there is an uber-post on it's way...as soon as I unpack all these boxes. In the meantime, here's this little tidbit of goodness:

I realized today that I have somehow managed to train my barely two year old to bring me not only her empty sippy, but also the half-empty gallon of milk that she has gotten out of the fridge by herself, whenever she wants a drink. I don't know if that makes me incredibly lazy or just incredibly smart.

possibly both.

The End of an Era

Ezra informed me today that my kissing his skinned knee doesn't really make it feel better...

at least I still have two other little ones who know that

kisses cure what ails you