lending to a cute cause

my sweet cuz geneve is marrying a boy she calls 'ry pie'. i think the nickname came from the fact that she would eat him alive if she could (see the love here). i can't wait for the wedding- the happy cry is my favorite emotion.

their rehearsal dinner is going to be in my mom's backyard. gg's future pa-in-law has generously offered to have the bbq catered, so all we have to worry about is prettying up the place. g has entrusted me with decorating. this makes me nervous because she's a super creative person with great taste.

here's the plan: eclectic vintage bbq. there's going to be mason jars with flickering candles hanging from trees and sitting on tables. covering the tables i want a variety of patterned tablecloths. one of my favorite possessions is a lace trimmed checked tablecloth that brian's grandma made- it'll be traveling to utah with me. if anyone has a tablecloth to lend to the cause it would be much appreciated- an extra kiss for you if it has a vintage feel. if you live in utah or cali, please don't throw away your glass jars. i'm hoping to collect all different kinds. thank you!

marisamiley(at)hotmail(dot)com

one more reason to love blogging

lindsey & tiff

so my sister, who i've met and like, has this friend linsey. linsey, who i've met and like, has this sister shelly. shelly, who i haven't met but like, takes pretty pictures and cooks yummy food. shelly posted this reciepe- i bought the ingredients, brian made it, and for the first time in months our family dinner didn't include any screaming, crying, complaining, or gnashing of teeth.

soooo yummy, thanks shelly!

aquatic fitness classes

mia was off track for the month of march, so we enrolled her in some early swim lessons. outdoor swim lessons in march- how rad is that!? she's made serious progress in a few short weeks. swimming freestyle the entire width of the pool without any help. go mia!

she loves swimming and the rest of us love watching her.

Q: why isn't the swirly haired middle monkey in the water?
A: i don't have time to recount the nightmare that was last summer's swim lessons with miley. lets just say that shes not interested.

yes, we might as well be

christa & miley's hands

christa finally found a car purchase prospect yesterday and drove it to the shop so brian could give it a good going over. they greeted one another with an enthusiastic hug and enjoyed a few minutes of chit chat. one of the cashiers eyed brian's oh so comfortable exchange with this dark-haired hottie and felt the need to inquire.

suspicious co-worker: are you guys related or something?
sassy christa: might as well be.

springtime in socal

spring time in socal manifests itself in heat and yellow flower fields. these mustard seed blooms cover hillsides all over the place. chelz & i took to the hills this weekend with a gaggle of cute kiddos and a camera to soak up the scenery.

while the kids occupied themselves collecting snails and other sorts of nastiness, her fancy camera was busy trading hands. i don't have copies of everything we took, so please hop on over to her blog to see my favorite shot (its at the top- you can't miss it).

we had a blast. how lucky am i to have such a talented/cute/funny/generous/loving friend.

regarding plans

planning is one of my favorite things to do. i spend time planning vacations i will probably never take. planning meals is way funner than preparing them. browsing the course catalog is more exciting than taking classes. you catch my drift.

i have big plans- graduate, get a credential, earn a masters, motivate under preforming students, and change the world.

i have little plans- this week i'd wanted to surprise brian with some new reciepes, make some of his old favorites, help christa find a car, build a raised flower bed, and plant organic vegetables. come to find out brian won't be here to enjoy a home cooked meal (or anything else) until the middle of next week. this news was followed by too many errands and tantrumming children.

so i sat. pissed that my plans were ruined. feeling sorry for myself. looking around at the dirty dishes, cluttered surfaces, and nasty floors. maybe if i cleaned the toys/food/god-only-knows-what off the floor i'd cheer up and be able to concentrate on my homework. so i cleaned the floor. felt a little better and sat down to make flash cards (flash cards and plans- equally exciting).

enter levi from the back yard happily scattering a bowl of dirt around my freshly cleaned kitchen floor. followed by my gigantic overreaction. mia stood back observing my behavior. she approached me carefully and said: mom sometimes plans change. you know a clean floor can get dirty. plans change mom and that's okay.

wow.

special olympians & stranger kindness

its my pleasure to introduce you to salt lake's special olympic gold medalist in bowling- our very own silly goose! tiff took the day off friday to watch miss katrice compete for a bronze and the whole family (present company very sadly excluded) returned saturday to witness her win gold. to celebrate friday's success mom and tiff treated katrice to a meal at her personal paradise- and that is were a great day got even better.

once at chili's their waitress made a happily huge deal out of katrice's achievement. she brought over other servers and managers to meet katrice- all of whom asked to see her medal and enthusiastically/sincerely congratulated her on her win. tiff said it was all she could do to hold back tears, so much kindness from strangers was overwhelming. many of them asked to take pictures with our special olympian and requested a copy of the prints. all the wonderful attention was topped off with a fat slice of complementary cheesecake and the promise of a free meal if she returned after her final game the next day.

and return she did. this time accompanied by thank you cards, photo prints, and a very grateful miley family.

(as always- pictures compliments of tiff's rad memory catching skills)

silliness & selfishness

brian is out of town again this weekend. i really am trying to be happy for him. happy that he's out fulfilling his dreams with his favorite people (see #5), but i'm not. i'm selfish. i want him home. with me. with us.

i try unsuccessfully, almost every morning, to persuade/temp/bribe him into staying home from work. i fall just short of throwing myself at his feet, arms clenched around his ankles. in response to my fits he offers a chuckle, a mini lecture on responsibility, and blah blah blah.

i miss all the silly surprises when he's gone- the uncontrollable laughter from the next room, the masking tape hallway hopscotch, and the sharpie markered belly faces.

the means to a much better end

this is my new school bag. isn't she pretty? another (slightly modified) pattern from this talented artista. while working on my bag the other night, brian asked me when i turned 80. it's true- i love needlework. the canvas tote is a long awaited replacement for my red high school jansport. all of my school supplies fit snugly inside, but it does much more than simply carry my things.

i have a lot of regrets about not completing my education the first time around. i'm constantly reminded of the sacrifices being made so that i can fulfill my scholarly obligations. the bag reminds me that all the tribulation is the means to a much better end.

another weekend outing

 

we went to the mall. i thought with the looming "economic crisis" that it wouldn't be busy, but i assure you that the ill-mannered masses are out spending their money. it was not fun.

one quick stop made the whole trip worth while. we shoved 3 dollars and 5 family members into 1 tiny booth. this happy little photo strip is what came out. my fav is #3, even if levi's inability to hold still resulted in him looking slightly deformed. here's to hoping our travels bring us across another booth.

(10 points to anyone who spotted mia's missing tooth!)

sunday's deserving destination

there were no crowded parking lots, outrageous admittance fees, or long lines- just three open floors of concrete creative wonder. the amazing san diego children's museum is a converted warehouse in the heart of downtown sd. there are singing vacuum cleaners hanging high on the walls and modern art pieces suspended from the ceiling. the monkeys painted a vw bug, sculpted clay, made shadow puppets, climbed a muraled rock wall, danced in an over sized ipod, built a tent city, and blew bubbles off a sunny balcony.

the museums motto is 'think play create' and that is exactly what each of their exhibits force children to do. most of the attractions were made out of re-purposed cardboard and everyday household materials. it was inspiring. brian and i dreamed together about buying a commercial building and all the wonderful ways we could make it our home. i dreamed alone about a battery/plastic/television free life for my family.

like with most family outings, we ended wearier than we began. mia's observations are usually accurate, but she was wrong about one thing this weekend- the hotel was not nicer than our house. there really is no place like home.

i can't conclude this post without mentioning our beloved chino youth museum (same concept, smaller scale) where wonderful memories and friends have been made

the suggies go a-wall

the suggies + 2 days off in a row + fat tax return = impromptu mini vay-k

brian and i stood over a sink of dirty dishes saturday afternoon discussing how we could utilize our unusually free time. i mentioned a certain southern destination that i'd had my eye on. just like that he instructed the crew to pack their bags- we're going on a trip. the kids shoved toys, pjs, stories, and swim suits into their personalized packs. and we were off.

after driving 1.5 hours due south, we arrived at our chic san diego hotel. watching the kids navigate the sophisticated space with their suitcases in tow could be the cutest thing i've ever seen. i couldn't stop taking pictures. they dug the elevator.

they entered our room all wide-eyed and exploratory. mia kept telling me how much nicer it was than our house, miley searched for a kitchen, while levi took the filters out of the a/c unit and banged the dust onto the coffee table. seeing the ordinary through their excited eyes is one of the greatest things about being a parent.

miley never did find a kitchen, so we ate out on the town. we chased dinner down with a way past bedtime swim. sunday would bring us to our ultimate destination. a destination definitely deserving of its own post. it wasn't sea world or the zoo- it was so much better than that...

my day has just been made

first, find a picture that makes you happy. then, blow it up on blogger using these easy steps (i found step one to be the only necessity). i'll sleep well tonight knowing that one of life's great mysteries has been solved.

a few first sentences

they might not be accurate, but they're dang cute.

miss mia had a party

grandma c helping the girls shape the sticky dough

a little after school affair with 4 of her favorite kindergarten friends. an enthusiastic mia greeted her guests before they had a chance to ring the door bell- she'd had her face glued to the front window for an hour. after some giggly girl play time, mia handed out the aprons and i divvied up the pretzel dough.

i was nervous planning such a structured party for little people, but the girls loved it. they kept commenting on how good the dough smelled and laughing at the messes they were making.

the birthday girl stood happily rolling at the helm.

they all chose to shape their dough into puffy pretzel hearts- it couldn't have been more precious.

they painted on the butter before pouring on the cinnamon-sugar.

and then everyone enjoyed.

after devouring their sweet snack, they moved onto decorating cakes- slathering on bright pink frosting and thick layers of sprinkles. the cakes were then boxed, ribboned, and labeled to be enjoyed at home under parental supervision.

when the cooking was complete, the group ran hand-in-hand around the backyard like only little girls can. i still haven't decided who enjoyed the afternoon more- me or them.