Perspective

Today my 3 year old got dressed and I noticed a few grease stains on her shirt, that I obviously missed when I did the laundry. I pointed them out to her and told her she needed to change because of the stains. She looked down at the marks on her shirt and said, those are polka dots, Mom.

I needed that perspective today, thanks, Genna! 

I have been planting tomatoes in my garden for at least a decade now. I started long before I appreciated the difference between red, ripe homegrown variety and the pink, dull impostors that you get at the store. Back then I only planted tomatoes as a means to making spaghetti or pizza sauce. Now I must plant them, because you just can't enjoy a blt with the t's from the store.

Another reason I love having a garden full of tomatoes is so I can make Fried Green Tomatoes. I dip the green ones in a flour/salt & pepper mixture and fry them in a tiny bit of olive oil and then eat them with ranch dressing. I was so excited to be able to pull a few small green tomatoes from the garden the other night.
It won't be long now and our salads, tacos, sandwiches and burgers will taste so much better with the juicy red tomatoes that only summer can bring. 

Swimmers Take Your Mark

I am really proud of my boys! They had a swim meet Monday night and they both swam GREAT!

I know they don't always feel like swimming for an hour a day for practise, but they do it anyway. It is such great exercise and has really made them into strong swimmers.

It was only two years ago, but I still remember the first time Connor swam the whole length of the pool and had to stop on the side part way through. Monday night he got 4 first place ribbons and a heat winner ribbon.


With my boys being so close in age, there is a lot of competition between them. So naturally, Jameson was a little upset that he didn't get as many blue ribbons as his brother. Even though we explained it to him, he didn't understand that he swam in fewer events, against twice as many boys as Connor did. So getting, 2 6th place ribbons, a 3rd place and 1st place ribbons is nothing to be ashamed of.


Like I said, I am extremely proud of Jameson and Connor. They work hard everyday swimming and it paid off at their meet on Monday. But I hope they know that even if they hadn't brought home any ribbons I would be just as pleased with the efforts that they have put into swimming. Love you boys!

Summer Lovin'

Along with trips to the pool, popsicles, and watermelon- reading has always been high on my summer to do list. I remember as a teenager, my sister and I riding our bikes to the library with a backpacks. I would check out as many books as I could stuff in the bag. The ride home always seemed so much longer than the ride there. I don't think my parents appreciated me holing up in my room until I was finished reading them all. And I do remember on several occasions on vacation being told to put the book down and enjoy the view as we were traveling.

I wish I could instill this love of reading to my children. The boys just don't seem to have caught the bug like I did. I am sure it is my fault, the tv and game cube are too accessible and can provide entertainment without much thinking or effort on their part. I am holding out hope for Genna however, every night she asks to have the light on for a while longer so she can read.

We are planning a trip to Michigan this summer and I can't wait! But until then when I am not at ball games or chauferring my kids to the pool- there is a good chance I probably won't be around. I might be visiting an Amish community while reading, Jodi Picoult's novel Plain Truth or learning how incredibly blessed I am to have the wonderful loving husband I do, instead of the abusive one the main character has, in Picture Perfect, also by Jodi Picoult. 

More pictures

Here are a few more pictures from the past month.

The first one is of me and my sweetie on Easter Sunday!

Next is Connor during our egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's Bennett's house.

Third is Genna all dolled up in her Easter outfit.

And last is the result of our No TV on Sunday rule. Troy and I always take a nap and this is what we woke up to. I am not sure if Jameson was just bored enough to dress up or if he was being a good big brother and playing house with Genna. Either way, we thought he looked hilarious and had to snap a picture. 

Finally, some pictures

Just wanted to share a few photos from the past couple of months that I have been neglecting this poor blog.

I absolutely love spring flowers- hyacinths and tulips are my favorites!
I was so excited to find this bicolored tulip this spring.

Genna had her first haircut- well, really just a trim. But she was such a trooper. She really hates having her hair brushed and unfortunately Mommy threatens to cut it off when she doesn't want to sit still to have it done. She found out that a haircut really wasn't a bad thing.

Here are some of the eggs we dyed for Easter. We used liquid food coloring and vinegar for the first time this year- I have always been a kit girl, but we were really happy with the results.

The day before Easter we had some major thunderstorms move through and while we were getting ready to go to Stake Conference for the Adult Session, we had a tornado warning. We were thrilled to see such a huge and beautiful rainbow in the sky after the storms had passed through.

Embarassed, but hopeful

Wow, how can a month have gone by without me posting a single solitary thing on here? Just so you don't feel bad- I haven't been keeping up with much of anything- emails, phone calls, message boards. It has been a combination of being busy- been doing a lot of subbing, and I think a bit of depression. It has been a hard winter for us financially and so far the springtime hasn't been much better. The good thing about spring is that it is all about hope. And I am hopeful that things will get back to normal around here soon.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. It was Stake Conference and Elder Bednar spoke. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be taught by him. So grateful for my wonderful family and the chance to be together this weekend. I am excited my parents come home from Arizona this week. It will be so good to see them!

I will try and catch up some of the past month with some pictures later, if I can get it to upload. Unfortunately, I am having memory issues and so I am not sure if I can even transfer any pictures, but I will try.