park day

today was officially luke's first day at the park...where he actually got to play. the sun was shining and it was a glimmer of hope for what is yet to come. luke wasted no time in figuring out what to do...

concentrating on getting up that slide...

so he could have the ride down.

playing peek-a-boo and in the tunnel with max

max had a great time chasing luke around...

but this picture says it all ...

she's 33!

my big sis is 33 today. i thought i'd share 33 reasons she's the best big sister in the whole world:

1*she is smart

2*has the greatest hair - wash and go style!

3*amazing ability to research and find out anything about anything

4*great big beautiful brown eyes

5*always shares wonderful advice

6*says it how it is

7*funny

8*great smile

9*gave me the greatest nieces!

10*determined with everything she does

11*inspiration for me to try body for life - she looks GREAT!

12*wealth of knowledge

13*memory of an elephant

14*has more friends than you can imagine

15*succeeds at everything - or fakes it really well

16*creative

17*patient

18*willing to take care of a friend's pet - for a whole month!

19*technologically savvy

20*gives me somebody to look up to

21*humble

22*extremely laid back

23*good at losing things...and sometimes finding them

24*her ability of losing things makes me look organized to the rest of the family -- thanks for making me look so good!

25*a great friend

26*did i mention smart?

27*an example of all those things you want to be...she is all of those

28*m&ms stuck in her upper lip on the drive to idaho

29*ability to make friends and then keep them for years

30*amazing testimony

31*spontaneous

32*beautiful heart

33*somebody i can strive to be like someday

thanks marisa for being such a great sister, example and amazing friend. i love you. happy 33rd.

pretty tricky

he figured this one out all on his own. what a champ.

yay for me

here is the skirt that i made. yay for me.

blue dragon

so, i made mention of the blue dragon earlier. here's the scoop. before i headed out to visit the bills, i asked max what he would like me to bring home for him. without hesitation, in true max-matter-of-fact way, he said, "a blue dragon." hmm. ok. not sure where that came from. i thought perhaps this was just a thought for that moment. so the day before i left i asked him again. again i got the answer, "a blue dragon." once i landed and was with the bills girls i called mike to let him know i arrived safely. max wanted to talk to me. when he got on the phone i said hi. his only response was, "remember mom, a BLUE dragon." ok ok. i think i got it! the kid wants a blue dragon. so, we were on the search. (i'm getting good at searching for hard to find items!) we were casually sauntering down pier 39...i was loving the sunshine. marisa reminded me to keep watch for a blue dragon. and what do you know? she looked over at a puppet/stuffed animal store and said - maybe they will have one? we headed that way and there, right in the front display window was THE BLUE DRAGON!! wahoo. got that down - now i could enjoy the rest of my trip.

fast forward to the welcome home festivities. we lugged my luggage into the front room -- it was a bit heavy from all of the trader joe's food i hauled home! max was anxious to see my find. i didn't get quite the response i anticipated. i do believe this picture captures the word no.

apparently he wanted a blue dragon that opened his mouth. next time i'll be sure to clarify any special characteristics required. as if a 3 headed blue dragon puppet wasn't enough!? it took a bit of convincing ... three heads are so cool ... no one else has a blue dragon with three heads. i think he ended up happy after all. (although it could have been the chocolate i brought home.)

samma-sisco

if you've read marisa's blog you've heard that i had the chance to go visit for a few days. aahhh. california sunshine is a NEED of mine in gloomy utah january. it was so nice. i'll share a few highlights:

samma-sisco (aka san francisco) visiting the seals, seeing the bridge, smelling the tulips (ya - they have tulips in february. who knew?), coming across chestnut street way too many times, finally finding the correct way to drive down lombard street, and finding the infamous blue dragon max had requested as his souvenier from my trip. (more on that later). here are a few pics of that day:

we crammed a lot in in just a few days. we made homer bread (thanks lucy!), played the flour game, shopped, shopped, ate and shopped some more. there were plenty of silly faces

and some sweet smiles -- how can you resist these girls?!

i got to meet cheerio - and hear sofi holler "pupperoni" to get him to come. (you really have to hear her to appreciate it...)did i mention the beautiful tulips?
this is getting rather long. if you're still reading, i have to share one more highlight. marisa found these amazing pillows on a friend's blog. we've searched high and low. online, various stores, fabric, etc. well, i must be the lucky charm, cuz when browsing through marshall's right before heading to the airport yesterday, i found the pillow!!!

happy early birthday, marisa!

the trip was wonderful. going away always is good. it makes coming home even better. i came home to loving kids, a happy husband and a clean car. does life get any better?! thank you mike for lettine me go and for holding down the fort. thanks to the bills for letting me come and taking care of my sunshine fix. i'm one lucky gal.

chicken

ok, so i shared my jim brickman concert experience. amazing. well, on saturday i headed out to california to visit marisa and family. i was at the salt lake airport. i had just gotten through security and up the escalators and was heading to my gate, when out of the corner of my eye i thought i recognized this lady. she looked exactly like anne from the concert thursday night. i took a triple take - seriously - and realized...yep, that's her! and to my surprise, jim brickman was right next to her. !! i'm normally the type to just smile and keep walking - not one to make a scene. plus i'm a chicken when it comes to approaching strangers that i'm fond of. just ask my mom. anyway, by the time i had finished my triple take and realized that jim was there too (like how i'm now on a first name basis?!) they were behind me. i stopped, turned around and approached them. i told them that i had been at the concert thursday night and that it was wonderful. they thanked me for the compliment and we went on our way. i immediately called mom and mike and told them who i had met. pretty exciting! only, it gets better. i got down to my gate and was standing around waiting for my plane to begin boarding. the airport was really busy - no where to sit. so i was standing there people watching. lo and behold, who came walking down the corridor? jim and friends! oh, i should mention that mom was disappointed that i hadn't asked for an autograph for my boarding pass in our first meeting. when i saw them walking down the hallway i was on the phone with mom. i told her they were right in front of me - literally. she encouraged me to get an autograph. being the chicken i am...i found a seat and sat to wait for my plane. then i said to myself, "you'll never have this chance again - ever. and he'll never remember you. who cares if you make a fool of yourself!" so, i got up, went over to where they were standing and asked for an autograph. yes, i am a crazy fan! his tour manager asked if i had something for him to sign, so i started to pull out a piece of scrap paper from my bag. he said - wait, i may have a picture i can sign for you. WhAT?! a signature and a picture? just my luck! he signed and we chatted for a few minutes. i told him i was on the third row at the thursday night concert and it was amazing. he thanked me. get this - his tour manager said she remembered seeing me down front?! must be this crazy unforgettable hairdo of mine. so, here it is. my prized jim brickman photo. somehow i don't think mike would like me to frame it and hang it in the front room. so, how's that for being a chicken?!

a perfect valentine

last night mike and i went on the perfect valentine date. the fact that we got a baby sitter to come over at 4:30 so we could get to dinner was a great start. we went to the roof restaurant - on the top floor of the joseph smith memorial building. it was a fabulous meal. i love good food. then up to kingsbury hall for the concert of all concerts. romantic piano concerts, that is. i am a huge fan of piano music. and jim brickman is my absolute favorite when it comes to instrumental piano music. he is amazing. somehow, through a great friend, we scored incredible seats -- 3rd row. right down front. smack dab in the middle. i mean, we were probably 25 feet from the piano. so close i could see that jim had a small thread on the leg of his pants, the fiddle player had piping on the pockets of his jacket and the vocalist, anne, had amazing beading on her gowns. as mike says, we were close enough to see them sweat. literally. it was perfect. we sat and listened to the most amazing music. such talent. it was a perfect evening away. a perfect place to spend time with my valentine. i love you, mike.

happy anniversary

i have to admit...i have the best parents in the world. this post is for them...today is their 34th wedding anniversary. so, here are 34 reasons i love them.

1 - they love each other and it shows.

2 - mom is willing to still come to the doctor with me to hold my hand.

3 - dad is so smart. i mean so so smart. always has an answer.

4 - they love to spoil their grandkids.

5 - they enjoy living life.

6 - dad can make up the best stories to explain anything!

7 - laculator, energency, pernointment

8 - dad is a great teacher.

9 - they are the reason i am who i am.

10 - both are great at what they do.

11 - always willing to go the extra mile and help anyone.

12 - they have great smiles.

13 - dad always gave us kids father's blessings the night before school started. i think those made all the difference.

14 - birthday balloons.

15 - encouraging me to serve a mission - and supporting me.

16 - for their candid advice.

17 - for sunday dinners - every sunday.

18 - for family vacations - hawaii, california, oregon coast, camping, washington - always a fun time.

19 - helping me realize that rules are what kids need - when i was a kid and with my own kids.

20 - matching christmas jammies and clam chowder traditions.

21 - being there when my babies were welcomed in to the world.

22 - letting me know how proud of me they are.

23 - dealing with my high school teenage drama.

24 - being sad when i'm sad and happy when i am.

25 - for teaching me how to give and serve with a happy heart.

26 - for mom bringing me a laundry basket of special treasures that "i really needed" cuz she couldn't bear to throw it away.

27 - for mom taking me to ricks college.

28 - for dad driving me back to ricks college and home again all in one day - and for the talk about potato cellars. (he may not remember, but i do).

29 - for giving me 2 amazing sisters and 1 fabulous brother.

30 - for being my best friends and teachers.

31 - helping me to see what opportunities were out there - and showing me i could have it all.

32 - always remembering the little things...and the big ones.

33 - birthday dinners.

34 - for making me feel like the most special daughter in the world.

mom and dad - i love you and hope you had a happy anniversary!

beginning of the end...

so, for those of you who know me well, you know that i am a sentimental freak. and i'm the first to admit it. know those firsts i mentioned before? i'm a sucker for firsts and taking note of them...pictures, souveniers, journal entries...anything to remember the moment. well, today was one of those firsts, and i missed it. i was gone all morning and came home just after mike had put luke down for his nap. it was wonderfully quiet - mike took max and went to run an errand in salt lake. i enjoyed the time alone...quiet. then luke woke up and i went down to his room to get him. his hair was GONE. cut. short.

i have to admit, he looks darling - like such a little man. but i missed it. i wasn't there to take pictures, save the hair, see the first haircut. (i did dig the hair clippings out of the bathroom garbage - insane). may i remind those of you who know, mike did this with max as well. i missed his first haircut, too. i was quite perturbed...sad that i had missed it. no before and after pictures. well, i took plenty of after shots. as i mentioned this event to a friend she told me that the first haircut is always the beginning of the end. once a little boy haircut, always a little boy haircut...no more baby. it's true. luke is such a little man now...not a baby.

such a handsome little man!