TK+TOTS

laid back

2012-02-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

this semester is nothing like any other we've everexperienced before.

only one of us attending full-time?

but one little hour in the entire week thatour schedules over-lap?

crazy, right?

definitely. but then again, what a perfect ending to our time at byu-idaho it is shaping up to be.

memories likethese to fill the semester up?

yes.

yes, please.

(oh, and i'm justdying...literally, dying!...totell you about grad school plans! i will soon...very soon.)

my kind of pick-me-ups

2012-02-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

let's be honest for just a moment, m'kay?

who can't relate to madonna's 'material girl' just a bit?

okay...a lot?

(my hand may or may not be raised right now.)

that's besides the point.

so whether its new jeans, fun foods, shoes, body products, new hair (finally!), some sweet stamps, or other home decor goodies (like monogrammed sheets that feel like heaven), sometimes a little retail therapy does wonders to lift my spirits.

and trust me. after last semester (i know, i know), my spirits needed some serious lifting!

even the hubby enjoys getting a little material on me. but bless him, he never fails to spend his money on flowers...for me.

what makes your inner material girl smile?

casual sunday

2012-02-10T14:04:00.002-07:00

i planned on posting about something else today...

...but i found a gem of a picture when looking through the camera that i simply have to share.

have to.

ethan. two feet from the church doors, just moments before the meeting is supposed to begin.

(yeah, i realize he's super casual for church, but whatevs. at least we were there)

he cocked his head to the side and was so confused when i told him his new-found 'toy' had to stay outside while we went to church.

and after a few looks at me, then at the snow chunk, then back to me, and back to the snow chunk again (did that sound like an old spice commercial or what!), he hesitantly ditched his icy pal on the concrete.

part of me wished he could have brought the snow inside with him. i mean, who am i to be a kill-joy to his fantastic childhood imagination?

maybe next time i'll let him.

to my favorite girl in the world

2012-02-05T20:41:00.001-07:00

i've been dying to post about brookelyn ever since that tribute post to ethan i did last week. but time, school, and housework obviously got the better of me, and i have yet to get back into the swing of blogging regularly.

there is no one word that could fully describe this highly animated, super-charged girl i've got. she's half pit-bull, half mother-hen, another half sweetheart and lastly, half everything else. one minute she'll be helping me bake, the next minute she's a feisty firecracker of a girl, bossing me, tate and ethan around.

most days brings something new; whether a word, a mannerism, a funny face, a joke...you never know with her.

she's such a multi-faceted gal i don't even know what to brag up most!

her fart potential? (it is as glamorous as it sounds)

the fact that she inherited my five-head? (a step up from your run-of-the-mill forhead)

how she asks me to blow her hair dry after she takes her own shower? (which precedes her dressing herself, which precedes her asking me to paint her nails)

her curiosity about everything?

her sass? (as much as it drives me to pulling out my hair, i adore her sassy...and spunk...and attitude)

her absolute admiration for her daddy?

either way, most days i catch myself just watching her flit about the house, astonished at how quickly she grew from 'baby' to 'little girl' (i'm convinced it was overnight). as expected, here are a few photos of the brookey taken recently:

oh gosh brookelyn, does your mommy ever love you.

to my beautiful blondy,

mom

xxoxx

to my favorite boy in the world

2012-01-29T22:19:00.003-07:00

again, it's no secret i was mia last semester. the real tragedy in that, is that you missed out on "what-could-have-been-undoubtedly-amazing" blog posts. i haven't talked about the kids in weeks...no...months! surely you feel as though you missed out, yes?

(the grandma's are nodding their heads...'yeeeeeesss!')

so. in lieu of a serious lack of blog post-age about the kiddos, here's a tribute to ethan.

oh man. this boy slaaaaaaaaays me. slays me dead. i love 'im.

while his growth in height and weight has slowed, his personality is bursting out more each day. i truly don't even know where to begin.

his cheese face?

his impersonation of what sound a kitty makes?

watching him line up his hotwheel collection in one perfect line?

how soft (and warm! and kissable!) his still-chubby cheeks are after a nap?

his spiky straight hair?

his eyes? (those eyes! i tell ya)

his vocabulary? expanding by the day, by the way; and includes some spanish.

his affinity for drawing? on everything? (no really, every. thing.)

how he tackles brookey to the ground in a fit of giggles?

oh, let's not forget his laugh. never. that laugh that comes rippling from the pit of his stomach. the laugh that is so contagious, it's criminal not to make him laugh somehow.

like i said, i wouldn't even know where to start. so i suppose, nothing but a slew of photos from the past few weeks could truly represent this kid:

curious. clever. happy. cute. squishy. lovable on every inch.

i love you ethan.

more than that moon in the sky you so feverishly adore.

xxoxx

mom

a winter-y introduction

2012-01-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

hi.

my name is kirsten. you may remember me from my prolific blogging habits of the past. allow me to explain...

...it can be summed up as easy as this:

last semester. (ugh)

christmas break. (sweet manna from heaven!)

and a dead hard drive on my computer. (good grief)

so. there you have it.

but now i really can say that i'm back in the game because i have a sparkly new hard drive! yay for functioning technology!

another yay?

this semester. holy. awesomeness. it's a night and day difference and i'm happy to report that it's for the better. i'm usually in bed by 10 at the latest, i work out a minimum of five days a week, i get to see my husband and my children, and make food, do my nails and shower on a consistent basis...i mean really, the luxuries this semester is providing me are endless!

even the weather is obliging! barely any snow until just a few days ago? i mean, that's unreal for rexburg. usually by this point in january, we're buried under at least three feet of perma-snow and ice.

so...not having a computer was a particularly easy excuse not to do homework. and going up to campus just wasn't an option with how many hours tatton gets to work this semester, so this is how i've been spending my gloriously open days:

oh yes my friends. making snowmen. and going on walks. and treating the kids and i to tall, steamy warm mugs of hot cocoa. and double the amount of books at story time. really, i could go on, but i'd like to keep your jealousy at a minimum.

yes, there is homework to be done, but i've learned my lesson:

no assignment can compare, no matter how many points it accounts for,

no matter who the professor is, no matter how detrimental to my degree,

my kids and hubby trump it all.

every.

time.

and maybe a healthy dose of blogging does as well.

christmas in a nutshell

2012-01-07T16:15:00.003-07:00

we left rexburg in the dark at 4am. i had just gotten home from finishing my last project at 2am, so the timing was rather perfect.

the 11hr drive flew by for me (i did sleep for most of it) and for tate (the roads were bare, all 740 miles).

and for the next 17 days, we caved to every pleasure we could: sleeping in, staying up late, naps, sugar, netflix, socializing, and more. needless to say:

it. was. awesome.

there was time with family, dinner with friends, birthday celebrations, presents, food, conversation, shopping, gingerbread house construction, new pajamas, a 2 hour dance party on new years, more food, dress-up, more shopping, walks, lights, circus camels!, coloring, ikea, even more food, driving, reading, landscaping (er? truth), and much more.

it was precisely what we needed at the tail-end of a semester that ravaged our way of living.

and yes, i missed my blogging (and your blogging too!).

consider me back in the game.

in recovery

2011-12-19T14:31:00.002-07:00

this semester was a doozy for all of us. it came ripping through our pleasant little schedule like an unforgiving tornado. most days i was begging for sleep, or even a moment to simply play with the kids. other days, i barely saw them at all. between long hours in class and on campus working on projects, this semester passed both insanely fast and incredibly slow, all at once.

finals weeks finally arrived, for which i was both relieved and terrified of. tatton finished his classes first and in preparation for our 12 hour road trip home, spent last thursday getting us packed, cleaned and ready to go. i however, spent the entire day in the clarke (surprised? don't be). i completed the final four projects i had, a final, and finally made my way home at 2am only to leave a couple hours later at 4am for home.

it was a whirlwind end to a whirlwind semester. later i must tell you about how we survived, but suffice it to say, we're home, we're resting up, and man, does life feel so so so so good now that that semester is behind us!

post-bath babies

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

two freshly bathed babies, wrapped in matching towels, rumps skyward, getting warm by the heater.

i submit that parenthood simply cannot get any better.

why i'm okay that november is done and gone

2011-12-06T01:44:00.010-07:00

two weeks since my last blog post. oh my heck, has life been wild.

actually, the craziness stems back to the beginning of the month of november when i attended an all-day seminar (here).

then i competed in a competition, which got me this (and a jamba juice gift card...whaddup!):

that took two saturdays worth of time (one a practice run through, the other the real deal. click here for full deets)

right before the competition commenced, we found out that my grandpa had passed away. so instead of the thanksgiving break we had planned, we took a spur of the moment trip to utah to pay our last respects to my most amazing grandfather:

the service was beautiful, i sang a duet with my sister sara, and was present for a 21 gun salute for the first time. a bitter sweet atmosphere. i didn't particularly cry because he's gone, but in my reflection, i discovered how grateful i am for him and his life, and just how much respect i have for him. as always, it's hard to say goodbye, but knowing he's with my grandma makes everything just fine.

also on my mind the day of the services? that had things been different, it was my official due date for baby #3.

the following day we enjoyed an impromptu thanksgiving with some of my family:

oh yes, and enjoying the fact that while it may already be winter in the 'burg, it's still fall in utah, yes! (the house my 'rents are posed in front of? built in 1863 by my g-g-grandpa, check it out. and the most amazing appetizer spread ever! seriously, i was stuffed before the turkey was even done!)

as if this wasn't a busy enough month as it was, the month ended with my participation in two more national design competitions, (see deets here). each project took hours! with how demanding it combined with my schedule was, i could never do it again.

not to mention, that in the mix of all that madness, tatton somehow managed to complete all his grad school applications while being a single dad. i'm not lying when i tell you he is the finest father and husband available, and i owe him a great deal for all he's done this semester!

so.

where are we at now?

the madness is not over.

i have projects spilling out my ears, tatton has exams to take, we need to pack for our trip home, and we only have 12 days to do it all. i'd really like to say i have no idea how it's going to happen, but somehow it always falls together, even if at the last minute, so surely it will this time as well. . . right?

weird how 12 days is way too far, yet too soon all at the same time.

just a few things that make me smile

2011-11-21T00:42:00.007-07:00

i've done this before (here), let's see what has me smiling (sometimes laughing) lately. . .

a cozy new duvet for my most amazing new comforter (never mind the aloe pup blocking the view), a little snl-turned-ice cream humor and the most lovely syrup/honey alternative

ethan's 'cheese' face. . .

the ever-diminishing paper chain and the return of cold weather (aka the return of tatton's winter wardrobe, which includes this eye-catching flannel number)

and seeing most of my family in utah this week?

that'll definitely make me smile.

daytime snippets

2011-11-17T01:40:00.004-07:00

sunday to saturday, inclement weather or sunny skies, homework or home, here are a few glances into a typical hymas-styled day:

could you do me a fave? it's precisely one month to the day until we head home, and while this fact thrills me to bits, we seriously have more to get done than there is time enough to do it! more so than any other semester we've experienced. yeah, believe it.

so . . .

could you send us some good, happy, successful school vibes our way?

thanks!

i've come full-circle

2011-11-15T23:34:00.001-07:00

have i ever told you why i decided to major in interior design? well, i will.

did you know that since graduating high school i've changed my major four times? well, i did.

i enrolled in college the fall immediately after high school at what was then known as utah valley state college (uvsc). apparently now it's up-ed it's status to utah valley university. . .who knew.

my second year of college, i returned home and attended portland state university. let me tell you, that was a doozy of a year in my life. and we'll leave it at that.

by the time my junior year started, i was here in rexburg, attending brigham young university-idaho.

every school i attended was a different major every time: uvsc was criminal justice; portland state was psychology, and byu-idaho was culinary and fine arts.

even then, three schools and three majors (and many electives later), i still wasn't satisfied.

humph.

because of my culinary classes (at byu-i), i was on the third floor of the clarke building daily. i would walk through the interior design department, admiring the art and projects on display on hung on the walls, daily.

i must admit, the idea of majoring in interior design had crossed my mind, even while in high school. but because i didn't want to major in the same subject as my mother (stubborn teenage defiance), i never looked into it.

but one afternoon, i was yet again walking through the interior design department. one of the display cases had new projects on display: amazing mini kitchen models.

i couldn't stop staring at them. i can remember thinking "these are amazing". the fine detail, the painfully perfect craftsmanship, the carefully thoughtful interior space planning. . . it was all speaking so very very clearly to me: this is for you.

i pretty much made up my mind that day to major in interior design 'one day'. and between marriage, a house, and starting our family, that 'one day' finally started just 4 1/2 short semesters ago.

now look at where i am. one of my most recent design projects:

my own little kitchen model is now on display.

crazy.

and just maybe, it'll make some passer-by student consider switching to interior design to be a part of the most intensely satisfying degree offered.

maybe.

my babes

2011-11-14T20:38:00.002-07:00

(ahem, 33 days until we head home!!!. . . in case you were curious. you are curious, aren't you?)

i have homework spilling out my ears peeps. but i can't not blog. . . i just love it too much. no seriously, sometimes when i'm trying to avoid homework, i jump on the ol' blog and re-read past posts, jus'forfun.

so before i return to my homework, here are some gems from the kiddos:

- as i finished curling my hair (it had been weeks since such an occasion), brookelyn stood in the bathroom doorway, and while sighing said, "mommy is sooooooo beuyiful! i love you sooooooo much and i like you so much te-oo!"

gah. could you just die? i did.

- post bath babies. naked. running around. gets me everytime! especially when ethan's physique reminds me of a greek olympian.

- photos like this from briton (she watches our kiddos during our overlaps):

- teaching brookelyn about driving after she started yelling at every car: "ca-ful! do not hit us!" "okay brookey, you see those lines?" and so on.

- the ferocity with which the kiddos hug and kiss us these days. i mean, really! brookelyn will grab my face with two hands, and just plant a "big fatty kiss" on my lips for seconds at a time. hmmm. . . must break that habit before the teenage years arrive.

bless those sweet babes of mine, they make mine and tatton's life the perfect peach that it is.

a weekend in four shots. . . again

2011-11-08T13:49:00.004-07:00

wouldn't it be lovely if the weekend lasted all week?

this last weekend wasn't flawless (you'll see what i mean when saturday is discussed), but a weekend is a weekend. . .and you just can't help but live for them.

friday: tatton made the finest grilled cheese sandwiches ever. . .not that i ate them of course, but it was obvious they were amazing when ethan and brookelyn ate theirs entirely.

saturday: the snow came. and if i must be honest, it came late friday night. so while the kids played out on the balcony, i was up on campus for an all-day design symposium (awesome speakers and lunch, but way too much time away from my kiddos on a weekend!)

(i'm trying not to make it obvious. . .the speaker was still presenting. and pumpkin pie dip. yes, that good.)

sunday: welcome daylight savings! an extra hour? i wish i could have one every weekend. however, church was a wreck. . .we were late, and the kids were ready for naps as the third hour begun, which meant tantrums, screams, and running everywhere. lovely, as always.

thankfully, the kids embraced nap time after church and i was given enough time to prepare dinner. before leaving for church, i'd started a pork shoulder roast in the crock pot. . .and by the time our guests arrived at four, all the makings for copycat cafe rio sweet pork salads were sprawled on the counter top. (of course i didn't take a photo, that would've required that we weren't all starving!)

and while it's only tuesday, i seriously wish it was friday already.

for the last time . . .

2011-11-07T13:42:00.003-07:00

besides ditching out on a couple classes today (meh, it happens sometimes. . .don't judge!), today is a pretty monumental day.

registration day.

but not just any registration as those in the past, but today . . .

. . .tatton registered for his final semester as an undergraduate student!!!

can you believe that? i mean, i know a lot has gone on since we started this crazy journey almost three years ago (here), but knowing in april tatton will be a college graduate just seems crazy!

now . . .how to ditch my trunky feelings and get my homework done remains the issue.

we sit on the counter to eat, thank you

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

i've mentioned how tiny our apartment is before, yes? well it is...tiny. tiny enough that we packed our gorgeous dining table away and plop the kids on the counter at mealtime. unorthodox? completely. successful? most every time.

props to the hubs for snatching these one-of-a-kind shots:

(holy mozzarella!)

i know i mentioned somewhere a couple months back that ethan began feeding himself. let me show you how it looks when it's not an innocent piece of bread:

the experts say kids learn through mess-making...

...if so...

...consider ethan a budding einstien.

forty-five and counting...

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-06:00

45 days until we're headed home.

45 days until we're allowed to sleep-in.

45 days until we're free from homework.

45 days until we're checkin' out of frost-bitten rexburg for the pacnw.

45 days until we're done with projects and late nights at the computer (and the clarke).

45 days until i do my hair next.

45 days until we are home.

and if you ask me, 45 days just couldn't come quick enough!

why halloween rocked this year

2011-11-02T01:19:00.011-06:00

since being away at college, it's always difficult to truly get into the spirit of halloween without family (or family functions). not to mention that there is zero time off school and homework is always plentiful given that it's always midterms around halloween.

so while we may not have made it to a pumpkin patch or carved a jack-o-latern, we at least dressed up! allow me to introduce the fam.

brookelyn as a princess:

that shouldn't be a shocker to anyone. this girl is pink, through and through. thankfully, we got this amazing dress from her nana just recently. we pretty much referred to everything as 'princess-whatever', and she was in well, 'princess-heaven'.

next, ethan as the incredible hulk:

best. costume. ever.

i honestly died when i started seeing the dye go onto his skin! it was just too perfect for words. ethan, running around in just frayed purple cut-offs, green skin, and black hair? it killed me! aaaaand everyone else as well, because he got the first prize for the costume contest! (suh-weet!)

then tatton and i (pirate and gypsy):

some scenes from the party:

(i practically had to unhinge my jaw to eat that apple...and you know my jaw, that's saying something!)

after the party, we plopped both kids in the shower to wash away their disguises. surprisingly, ethan went from green to white within minutes.

on halloween itself, i took the kids up to campus to trick-or-treat at the interior design department.

the kiddos of the interior design department (i believe this is all but two of them):

the highlight of this outing was sending the kids into one of our professors classes...while in session!

of course sugar-highs led to sugar-crashes which ultimately meant an early bedtime. considering they slept in the following morning? i'm thinking they went into sugar-comas as well.

so there you have it...a most fitting farewell to october.

a weekend in four shots

2011-10-30T23:41:00.004-06:00

you really should check out the previous post and tell me what you think!

(unless of course you already saw...)

i enjoyed my first weekend post largest-project-ever...and it was awesome! i was able to spend time with tatton and the kids. to say i heart the weekend would be a gross understatement.

friday was a night of celebration for my friend anna and i and our families. she juggles the same crazy roles in life i do (interior design major, mom, student, two kids, wife, etc.). we figured a cheesecake and pajama party was the finest way to close the book on that chapter of our schooling lives.

another gross understatement? to say that anna makes good cheesecake...because she makes phenomenal cheesecake! good grief, it was amazing.

of course we kept the kids up well past their bedtime, but for german chocolate cheesecake and some adult convo time? well worth it friends, well worth it.

the next night involved a halloween party. but i'm not going to show you those photos just yet. we kept the kids up past their bedtime (yet again!) for the party. worth it? always. let's just say, one of the kids came away with the first place prize bucket for best costume. legit.

after party and party clean-up (and sugar-highs coming down), we got the kids to bed and parked it in front of netflix and a pile of nachos.

that brings us to the last day of our weekend (so soon??), sunday. the kids and i were late to church (the usual) and they managed to exhaust my energy supply right away during the third hour (also, the usual). but with how darling my kids are? there's no way to get mad, certainly.

finally, we topped the day off here.

and of course, i'm already looking forward to next weekend (definitely the usual).

costume teaser

2011-10-29T16:11:00.003-06:00

prepping the kids for a halloween party that's going down in a couple hours.

care to venture a guess as to which kid this costume belongs to and what it is?

no matter your guess, it's going to be so freakin' awesome...

...i can't wait!

back to our regularly scheduled programming...sort of...

2011-10-28T00:58:00.004-06:00

hi.

just wanted to drop a line, let you know that yes...i'm alive (barely). just busier than ever before.

wednesday was a pretty monumental day. i completed what some might consider, a crowning moment in the interior design program: i complete my passive solar project.

i'll spare you the deets...mainly because i don't care to repeat it really, it's consumed my life for the last six weeks, but suffice it to say, i designed an entire house from the ground up (including the plot it was on), drafted the entire thing, and created a visual presentation to boot (sample/finish boards and rendered perspectives and elevations).

in a nutshell: it was exhausting. but awesome.

the drafting would bore you, and i don't have photos of my completed sample boards (oops!) but here are some renderings i completed to help sell my project.

......

that's some pretty obnoxious tile, no? it's appropriate, given the home i designed is in guatemala.

anyway...that's enough talk about that.

but before i go to bed, i have to share this quote with you:

"i live here in great toil and great weariness of body, and have no friends of any kind,

and don't want any, and haven't the time to eat what i need".

michelangelo

(in regards to taking four years to paint the sistine chapel)

my professor shared that with us the other day and i simply cannot think of a better way to describe the reality of the interior design degree. because it's true, i live at the clarke and barely remember (nor have time to) take potty breaks, let alone eat a meal. though i do love my friends, i simply don't have time for them like i would love to. it's cra-cray.

okay, i'm rambling.

but i'm back, and i've missed my little corner of the interwebz immensely!

now, here's the real question: did you miss me?

i thought so.

the secret to a successful semester

2011-10-16T15:03:00.003-06:00

(five weeks down, only nine to go!)

and the only way the next nine weeks are going to pass (and successfully at that) will be via these prophetic words:

and it came to pass that i, nephi, said unto my father: i will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for i know that the lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

(1 nephi 3:7)

i'm riding on that promise to get us through the rest of this semester. it's worked every single semester before now, and i'm betting (more like praying) that it will work again.

and since we're 'going and doing' what we've been told to, i know we'll be given all that we need to finish the nine weeks that lie ahead of us.

what a relief that is!

happy sunday!

weeknight vs weekend

2011-10-14T22:36:00.002-06:00

last night:

more than 9 straight hours of drafting.

vs.

tonight:

gf chocolate chip cookies + parks & rec and the office on hulu.

every night should be a friday night.

(p.s. that project i spent hours drafting? i've worked on it for roughly 120 hours in four weeks...and i still have probably another 50 hours until i finish it...and it's due in 10 days. yikes!)

what really goes on during 'nap time'

2011-10-12T19:26:00.005-06:00

i don't know what it is, but i have the better knack for getting the kids to fall asleep at nap time.

tate? not so much.

usually when the timing lands on him to get them to take naps, they end up playing the whole two hour block. which at that point, it's easier to simply sack the nap idea and put them to bed an hour earlier than usual.

today was such a day. he claims they didn't even make a peep. he thought they were sound asleep. not even close:

the mess might be clean now, but i still have some diaper cream and lotion to finagle out of the carpet sometime...soon...maybe by the end of the semester. boo.

by the way, have you realized how grown up ethan is these days? look at this kid...he's all 'boy'...nothing 'baby' left about this kid.

it helps that he's talking up a storm, feeding himself and has ditched his bottle-loving ways. he's a lover too, always giving hugs and kisses...love those kisses!

don't think he's changed much?

look at this photo taken during winter (jan-apr) semester:

gah!!

chubby baby alert!

i'd love to stay and chat and tell you all about the kiddos and how cute they look when they're sleeping or how cute they play together...but truth be told, i'm headed up to campus for the rest of the night.

(insert weak nacho libre smile here)

staying up at the clarke building all night?

"it's the best! i love it!"

that i do. (snort)

authentic spanish rice

2011-10-10T23:10:00.000-06:00

i suppose you may protest the title of this recipe, seeing as i myself am not authentic-ally anything but pure-white bread. i promise once you taste this recipe you won't really care...it's that amazing. (and authentic ;D).

authentic spanish rice

ingredients:

- (1) 16oz (2 cups) canned tomatoes

- (1) tomato bouillon cube (i use the brand knorr, 'caldo de tomato', found in the hispanic/latin food aisle) dissolved in 1 cup hot water

- 1 1/2 cup rice (i've used jasmine and basmati, both are awesome)

- 1 TB butter

- 2 tsp chili powder

- 1 tsp dried oregano

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 tsp cumin

directions:

- blend tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, garlic, salt and cumin in a food processor until smooth

- place the tomato mixture, and remaining ingredients in a large pot or deep saucepan

- bring to a boil, stir, cover, and reduce heat to a low-med heat (3 if you're using electric like ma'self)

- simmer for 25 minutes; don't uncover until the time is up!

- stir to fluff rice and enjoy!

a little cheese, some guac and a pile of seasoned summer squash is how we enjoyed ours most recently. mmmmmm, bueno!

a painless recipe really. and it doubles perfectly. and let's be honest, when a recipe is this good, you're going to need it doubled.

hello, goodbye

2011-10-09T22:28:00.005-06:00

both to the weekend (boo) and the snow (yay!).

we may or may not have sold a few things on craigslist and splurged on ourselves via shopping for clothes friday night. pants, shirts, a purse and even brookelyn's christmas present? yup, yup and yurp!

then i kind of splurged again at walmart on same nail polish the following day. this time, we had a few returns to make (sans receipt) and which made us the owners of a sizable walmart gift card. duh, i'm going to buy something fun, hence nail polish. and yes, i try them out before i buy them...so sue me. or agree with me, either way.

good glory, the snow melted and the sun reappeared. i'm so, so glad. also, brookelyn's a pro at watering now (baby papyrus in case you're interested).

and as scarce as they are, the halloween decor is up at the hymas abode. all ten pieces of it. not counting that nasty head tate is sporting. i've never liked it much (blame me?) and when ethan burst in to frightful tears at the sight of it, i figured it had run it's course in my line-up of decorations. (queue craigslist posting).

oh, that's a cactus bonsai. though i think tate was being facetious when he told me that...it's darling though, right?

we had some good friends over saturday night (hi-ho douglass'!) where the food and convo was equally awesome. good times.

final random note, the kids were so wild at church today, and i too tired to keep up with them that tate was 'dismissed' from the stand to help me manage the kids. not gonna lie, i loved being able to listen (for once) to what was being taught while tate was out in the hall with both babes. it was certainly a rare treat...promise, i relished it best i could.

well now, i'm headed to bed. i just had to drop some randomness on the blog...it had been too long you know.

is it christmas break yet?

mercy, i hope i make it!

i should have gone to bed hours ago...

2011-10-07T01:08:00.003-06:00

what a week.

within the few days that have passed since i last blogged:

- i completed a pretty tedious and elaborate model of the federal style kitchen i designed last semester (there's a story behind this model...remind me to tell you later)

- nearly missed an entire class period because the kids decided to sleep in a whole hour and a half later than usual...thereby not acting as my morning alarm (gotta love 'em for that though)

- spent the last three nights on campus until at least midnight...subsequently not falling asleep until after one am (ahem...)

- watched fall turn into winter in a matter of 24 hours

no seriously.

i wore open-toe shoes to school this morning (totally appropriate) but when it came time to go home (after midnight), i was tip-toeing through the slushy remnants of snow.

snow people...snow.

i just don't think i'm emotionally ready for the ramifications that follow the first snow! i'm simply not ready to endure another rexburg winter!

[sigh]

but then again, now that i think of it, what can beat listening to the heater warming the house while your hands are wrapped around a hot mug of cocoa? and you know me and my cocoa habits (here). nothing beats it, that's what.

on that note, i'm going to climb into bed and snuggle up against tate....whose legs will definitely be the best place to warm my cold feet. yes, definitely.

only the best monday post...ever...

2011-10-03T16:15:00.004-06:00

monday morning's start early in our home...what with my early morning interior design seminar and tatton's daily dose of chemistry at 745.

this could definitely explain why brookelyn was stricken with a case of the monday's this morning:

ha ha...ha.

the irony. i feel your pain brookelyn, i feel your pain.

the day has since improved twenty-fold. my time at school passed quickly and was followed by a thirty minute dance party at home between the kids and i. (you bet i counted that as my workout!)

not to mention i'm making up an oh-so-amazingly delicious pot of spanish rice to compliment dinner tonight. oh people, it's gonna be good.

cheers!

(p.s. new header...whaddaya think?)

an eye opener

2011-09-30T07:49:00.005-06:00

here's a random fact about me: i'm blind.

well, not entirely. but i do have a pretty drastic eye prescription that beats out my dad's...and he's in his sixties.

so we had our annual eye appointments yesterday at a new vision center. you know, not one that looks like it was last remodeled back in the 70's. (sorry folks at the old place, if you're business office doesn't look up to date, i'll have a hard time believing your skills are up to date. jus' sayin'.)

if you are lucky enough to wear glasses or contacts, you know the drill. the assistant takes you to one room and takes all those tests on your eyes (the one that puffs air onto your eye is the worst!). at this point of course, i've taken my contacts out and am totally blind. then she walks me to another room to wait for the dr to finish the exam.

now imagine you're me. you're sitting in a chair, and on the other side of the room is the door. keep in mind, you're blind enough that the only reason you know the door is there is because you just walked through it, not because you can see it.

queue doctor entering the room.

he's totally friendly...but i still find it a bit awkward to talk to someone when i can't even see their face, let alone the rest of them. even sitting right next to me, all i knew was "my doctor is a man wearing black and white". he's carrying on a conversation with me and i have no idea if i'm looking at his eyes...or his forehead...or his ear...or the wall. ugh, so awkward!

a few minutes later we're to this part of the exam:

the best part because it's when you actually start to see again.

this is where lens after lens is plopped over your eyes. "which is better...one....or two" the dr will say. with how bad my eyes are, it takes a lot of flipping and switching to finally get to my numbers, but eventually the door on the other side of the room is crystal clear. aaaaaaaah!

at this point, the doctor popped his head in front of my-now perfectly clear-vision to make some final adjustments.

"ohp! hello!" was all i got out before i recomposed myself.

turns out my doctor was maybe only five years my senior and incredibly handsome.

no really, seriously easy on the eyes.

"which is better...one...or two?"

"two....definitely, two."

even better? telling this story to tatton on the way home and him interjecting before i could tell him "oh, that's when you suddenly realized your doctor was a good looking guy, huh?"

awesome.

feel free to share you awkward doctor stories in the comments, i'm always open for a laugh!

family photos - 2011

2011-09-27T17:50:00.001-06:00

they're here! the day brookelyn turned three, we managed to host a party and get our family pictures taken (remember? here!).

well. the disc arrived. i viewed. i drooled. i cried (jus'a little).

enjoy:

(if you're in the portland/vancouver area, you have to check out our fav photographer-here).

this is our third photo shoot with her, see the first and second, here and here.

stories in retrospect - the break in

2011-09-26T14:37:00.004-06:00

today marks an anniversary of sorts. not a cool, lets-go-out-to-eat type, but a i'm-so-grateful-for-my-life type.

you may recall (ahem, you should recall if you are a faithful blog reader), that the hubs and i are-and have been for some time-owners of the most darling-est little ranch home in southeast portland oregon. it's been ours since before we tied the knot and continues to be so even while we are at school due to our amazing tenants (hi mom!).

it's a humble little place that while it may be small-er, it's beautiful, cozy, and through and through just flat out awesome.

this home has soooooooooo many stories. i really do need to document them all one day. i honestly i don't have that kind of time, so today i'll tell you one: the day our home was broken into.

the story begins four years ago (to the day!). tatton and i were sans children (sans pregnant too) and just a couple of dinks (double income no kids); i with my corporate day job, and tatton with his corporate graveyard shift. these were good good times.

it was a typical day. i left for work shortly before tatton came home. just slightly different from the norm, was me taking the suv instead of the little black commuter car. reason being tatton's car was in the shop. with one car in the shop, and the other parked outside my office, any passer-by (or creeper) may assume the house was empty for the day. well, in our case, it was a creeper.

i was on my way home from work a little after four that afternoon and decided to break the boredom of my 20 mile (one-way) commute with a call home to tate, who should definitely be sleeping. he was, and my call only woke him up. nothing more than a little chit-chat when tate blurted "i'vegottago" and hung up on me. i made multiple calls back to him. no answer.

strange.

as i got closer to home, i decided i'd pass our street, heading for the optometrist's office to pick up our newest contact lenses. but as i drove past, what should i see but a collection of cop cars in front of our house, lights flashing, crowds gathering.

i turned a hard-right at the last moment and barreled down to my driveway.

tatton was in the driveway, arms crossed, face blank, speaking with a police officer. "i'll let you fill your wife in" was all he said as he walked back to his patrol car.

"someone broke in" was all tate said, concern for my reaction was straining his face.

somewhere in my stomach, i felt a brick fall.

but still, i pressed for the whole story.

tatton, who typically slept until i woke him up when i got home, had been sleeping light all day. and when the shop called around 3:30 to let him know his car was ready to be picked up, he delayed, thinking "i should be here when kirsten gets home". he tried falling back to sleep, struggling to relax. that's when i called shortly before 4:30. he spoke with me while he sat in bed, the door to our room ajar. he cut me off mid-sentence when he heard a large crash, and the sound of tinkling glass falling to the floor.

surprisingly, his first thoughts weren't 'intruder' but instead, 'oh my gosh, one of my fish tanks just broke and we're in trouble!' i wish he were right. with that thought in mind, he hopped off the bed, phone in hand, and went blindly (he didn't have his contacts in) to the guest room which housed a 55 gallon tank. nope, still intact. "crap! it's the 140 gallon tank in the living room!"

wrong again.

because when he walked from the room, down the hall towards the kitchen and living room, he ran head-on into a complete stranger. without thinking, tatton charged; fists up, voice-raised, cuss-words flying. the man turned, fleeing back to where he entered: through the kitchen garage door.

the man had the door shut behind him by the time tatton reached him. and for a split second, the burglar looked back at tatton, clenching the door shut. tatton could have gone after him, but within yet another split second, the man released his grip on the door, and hopped out the small broken window in the back door to the garage. and in a blur, he was gone.

of course by the time the police arrived, he was nowhere to be found. and even though he left behind patches of hair and clothing in the shards of glass he jumped through, nothing ever came of it.

from the fingerprints on different window sills, the crawl-space opening ajar, and the evidence of someone on their tip-toes under every window, it was apparent this creep had been prowling around the house all day. finally, when he realized there was no easy way to break in, he opted for a rock. he smashed the window to the back garage door first (that's when tatton and i were on the phone). but because that door required a key from either side, he decided to leap through the window, which wasn't larger than two feet wide by two and a half feet tall. once he was in the garage (the same time tate was hanging up on me, and checking on the first fish tank), he smashed through the second window, this time to the door that led to the kitchen. he just slipped his hand through and undid the deadbolt from the inside. and shortly thereafter, met tatton.

you can imagine how i took this news after getting home from a long day at work. i was upset. but strangely enough, i felt okay. for some reason, the previous days and weeks leading up to the break-in, we had felt anxiety about such a scenario, almost like we were being told to 'be prepared'. for that, i am grateful. because even though i didn't rest easy at night for a few months after the incident, i was at least comforted by seeing where god's hand had been keeping us safe that day. sure we were out a couple doors, but we still had everything in our home (cameras, laptop, jewelry, etc.). not to mention that had tatton left to get the car from the shop, i would have been the one to greet our unwelcomed house guest, and who knows how that would have gone.

in the days following the break-in, we exhausted all the 'what-ifs' and concluded we couldn't have fared better in such a situation. and within a few months, i went from sleeping at tatton's parents house, to our house again. and then from sleeping with a handgun under my pillow and bedroom door locked, to sleeping sans-weapon and the door open. eventually we led the fear out of our lives and embraced a calming sense of security by trusting god would keep us safe. it wasn't long until our home felt safe and secure again, our home untouchable by those who would mean to do us harm.

to this day, i remember what september 26th, 2007 was like, but thinking on it always reminds me that god is no stranger in our lives, i promise you that. because that day (like many others i've had), he showed me he was there.

funny faces + barefoot friday

2011-09-24T11:56:00.004-06:00

(two weeks down. twelve to go. but whose counting, right?)

highlights from the week may include, but are not limited to:

brookelyn's coping method during our time in the carwash...

...and ethan's first encounter with a pickle.

on wednesday's and friday's, there is a random hour of time in between two of my classes where tate has a class. naturally, we meet in a parking lot and swap whose watching the kids so the other can go to class. most days during that hour of 'free-time', i've been either running errands, grocery shopping or letting them run through the grassy patches on campus (which thankfully, are plentiful).

but yesterday, tate forgot to pack shoes for them. no problem, let it be a 'run-through-the-grassy-patches' type of day. easy enough; until of course brookelyn had to go potty. so i paraded my bare-footed children through the interior design department so brookey could use the bathroom.

and their pay-off for walking from the car, to the building, to the bathroom, and to the interior design department with soft, baby, bare-feet?

popcorn.

god bless popcorn friday. i'm thinking this just may become tradition.

the popcorn...not the lack of shoes.

back in the groove + a weekend in island park

2011-09-18T21:50:00.014-06:00

i'm proud to announce, that we hymas' just may officially be back in the groove of things! meaning, i'm no longer kicking against the pricks you might say, regarding school. we just had such a wonderfully fun summer, enjoying much less on our plates than usual and i wasn't ready to give that up just yet.

thank you for your words of encouragement, that helped. a lot.

we've got one heck of a ride between now and dec 16th (first day of christmas break) and though i was all nerves last week, i'm ready now, and embracing the idea of all the crazy that's going to happen in these few weeks. and though the posting may slow down (i'm thinking 2-3 times a week), i'll keep you posted on our nutty lives.

usually the first week back at school is a bit slower paced. all semesters previous to this have started at a manageable speed and then accelerated into full-blown crazy-town after a few weeks. this semester? not so. i've been sprinting since day one and if i want to make it to the end, and accomplish everything i've got planned, i can't stop sprinting until the last final is taken. it's gonna be one heck of a ride, and i just may shed a few years off the end of my life to do it, but do it we will!

this was a quote on my friend tiffany's facebook wall that shifted my outlook on this semester:

"a strong testimony gives peace, comfort, and reassurance. it generates the conviction that as the teachings of the savior are consistently obeyed, life will be beautiful; the future secure; and there will be capacity to overcome the challenges across our path." - elder richard g. scott (check out the full article here!)

alright, game face on!

and in our first week back, i successfully missed one class (totally misread the time) and spent my first (of what will be many) 12 hour day at the clarke. the joy of being an interior design major!

after classes on friday, we dropped the books and went out to dinner. you see, our dear friends (james and becky, from az) were in town! glory...we totally needed a break and they were the perfect company.

once we over-stuffed ourselves at wingers, we drove north to island park for the night, staying the night at a family cabin:

we've been here before and have been looking forward to going again ever since. as you can imagine, we spent the evening talking, playing games, and eating sugary things...it's how we roll.

eventually (oh, say 2:30am), we decided to go to bed. check out the sweet bulb on the nightlight in our room!

we were all regrets (okay, not all) the morning after when the kids were up before eight. blah. but soon the men were making breakfast while becks, the kids and i went about our morning of oh...nothing. it's the cabin life you know. food, convo, movies, and only five-star vegging.

eventually we got out the door and made our way to big springs. totally gorgeous. fresh air, fresh water, beautiful scenery. (props to tate for being behind the camera tons more these days...thanks love!)

(i'm lurvin' this picture)

we came here two summers back (also with the jackson's and the wyatt's). only last time, we had an interesting run-in with some hippy religious group waving tie-dye flags while holding hands and singing kumbaya around the springs. actually, it wasn't kumbaya, it was something like 'freedom, freedom!' hence, why we forever will refer to them as the 'freedom-fighters'.

anyway.

here it is:

we also got to reminiscing: james and becky about their proposal (here, at the springs almost four years to the day!) and us to the last time we were here (two years ago and two less kids).

after big springs, we took over subway for lunch where ethan made friends with some bonafide cowboys (he was diggin' their chaps).

once we finished lunch, we decided since we were at the base anyway, why not drive to the top of sawtell peak? though everyone else in our posse had, i'd never been and was looking forward to the view. at almost 10,000 above sea level, you can see three states (mt, id and wy), parts of yellowstone, the grand tetons nand henry's lake...not to mention the rest of the valley which is stunning.

the climb is all hair-pin turns, zero guardrails, and straight up to 10,000ft. and though i've never considered myself afraid of heights, i found my body physically reacting to being up so high, on such a narrow road, without any guardrails on the roadside. it was wild! thankfully tatton was the driver and that was no big deal to him.

by the time we reached the top, the temperature had dropped nearly 20 degrees and a storm was roaring over the mountain top. the kids stayed asleep in the back while tate, james and i checked out what view was left uncovered by the storm.

but i couldn't stay out as long as they did. me and my flip-flop clad feet raced back to the car after just moments in the almost freezing temps.

if only the sky was clear and we had my on-my-wishlist dslr...i could've gotten some wicked pictures! here are some via google:

we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the cabin (duh, only like the best thing ever!) before packing up and heading back to rexburg around six. we could've stayed another night, but sunday equaled a flight home for the jackson's and early meetings for tate.

we spent the rest of saturday night soaking up the company of our dear friends before having to say goodbye. hopefully we'll get to see them again soon!

today was awesome. we got to church (almost) on time, the kids were great during the entire three hour block, and we all got in 2.5+ hour naps!

not to mention ice cream for dinner.

best weekend ever in my eyes. because nothing beats good friends and good food.

and sometimes life is hard...

2011-09-13T23:12:00.003-06:00

let me just start by saying...woah...where did my summer go? no really, did you take it? because i honestly was not even close to being done with it yet.

: : le sigh! : :

well, no matter where it went, it's gone and school is back with a vengeance my friends! good grrreeif! this semester is going to send me to the loony-bin...i just know it. it's all late nights and kid swapping from here until december. (good news interjection: this is our last full-time semester together! wooty-woot-wooten! come january, tate will barely be half-timing it! holleeeeer!)

sometimes...i wish i had just stuck with the major i first chose when i started college (oh, you know, back in sept 2002) so that i would have graduated college five years ago.

sometimes...i wish i had just stuck with the second major i chose a year later.

sometimes...i wish i had finished my degree before i had kids (okay, i wish for this all the time)

sometimes...i wish it wasn't so hard.

but, the reality is, it is so hard. for whatever divine reason, i am here. now. going to school full-time with my hubby right by my side doing the exact same thing; not to mention two crazy-cuddly kiddos that only crazy up the mix even more.

and i would totally be lying if i said i haven't already cried a little this semester...because i totally have.

on the other hand, i've also laughed, and you will too. see this headband?

this precious little pink number is brookelyn's. quite new actually, she got it for her birthday. though, there's something missing. actually, lots of somethings missing: roughly 50 pink rhinestones to be exact. and here's how the convo went when i saw her un-bedazzled headband:

b: 'here mommy, hold this'

(handing me the headband)

me: 'ok...wait, brookey? where are all the pink shinies?'

b: 'i put them in my belly!'

me: 'wha! why?!'

b: 'so yummy!'

oh heavens. nothing like sparkly toddler poops, eh?

oh...and any solid 'pick me ups/you can do it's' would be totally welcome!...jus'sayin'.

summer roadtrip day seventeen thru twenty-two: lots of random goodness

2011-09-12T16:42:00.018-06:00

(phew! this is the last you'll hear from me concerning our summer roadtrip. but in case you want to read about it all over again, check out the entire twenty-two day trip here!)

sunday, september 4th:

after such a busy saturday, we decided to take things easy sunday. oh, who am i kidding, we always do that, it's tradition! also tradition? sunday night is dinner night at the hymas homestead...every kid and grand-kiddo comes and we eat, talk and play. every. single. sunday. probably one of biggest things i miss about not living near family.

of course the day started with our time at church, which of course can only be followed by naps. and after naps? we took it outdoors...

...it started off innocently enough...

...but turned into a full-blown water-war.

ethan was doused and brookelyn stayed dry. so what better way to remedy wetness than to roll in the dirt, right? at least, that's what ethan thought because he quickly turned into this:

ah yes. chubby, muddy, toddler, boy...the words are synonymous.

and when it came time to clean up for dinner? tatton kept the mess outside by de-clothing the muddy-buddy-baby on the deck. at which point, realizing how delicious it is to be bare-nakey, ethan trompsed around sans-clothes.

dinner was awesome. (the usual)

everyone stayed late chatting. (the usual)

and the kids passed out, hours passed their bedtime. (also, the usual).

monday, september 5th:

happy labor day!

speaking of traditions, tatton and his brother thayne (what a pair, check them out here), typically reserve labor day weekend for summiting a mountain. well...thayne's ankle was out of commission this year, so they opted to hike saddle mt, a day hike out near the coast. there's no arguing, the northwest is gorgeous.

once tate was back from his morning hike, we headed over to my parents house for the rest of the evening. and what started as a delicious dinner out back with the kids roaming the yard chasing the chickens, suddenly erupted into yet another water-war! only this time, it was i wielding the weapon:

good times, good times.

we checked out after midnight. tired, full, and totally happy.

tuesday, september 6th:

what was an unplanned day, quickly turned into a day to run errands. the first being back to my parents to pick up everything we had left there the night before (both ethan and brookelyn's shoes, clothes, toys, etc). then a trip to target (of course) and before we knew it, it was post-naps and dinner plans were being made.

instead of cooking ourselves, tatton, the kids and i followed tate's parents to a hole-in-the-wall type mexican restaurant. definitely good. definitely worth keeping a secret. handmade corn tortillas? truly authentic food? i'm hungry just thinking back on it.

after dinner, we headed to a park to meet up with some friends of ours, the longs! (remember, her?) while ethan napped in the car, the rest of us watched the kids play. after the park, we met back up at home, played games and talked until our eye-lids began to droop.

wednesday, september 7th:

after naps, we made our way up to vancouver to spend the rest of the day at the adams' (tate's older sister). but...before stopping there, we stopped at wal-mart and found the one...

the only...

the highly-coveted-and-sold-only at wal-mart: marshmallow popcorn!!! two boxes and four bags to be precise. granted, after a solid dinner, and a bit of play time for the kids, we downed all four bags during a movie. don't take the word 'magic' lightly my friends, it easily beguiled us into eating it all!

oh! that's the way i eat popcorn...you see, i hate getting my fingers icky, so i just tongue it right out of my bowl. i'm a nerd, i know.

thursday, september 8th:

i don't even really have much to say about this day. the day before we were to head home? it was all cleaning, packing, organizing etc. nothing noteworthy really.

friday, september 9th:

after (sadly) checking out at 6am, we ditched our usual route home and went through washington. we made it to pullman a little before noon for yet another campus visit for tatton. so while tatton spent his time rubbing shoulders and getting the tour from future-profs, i took the kids for a drive, scoping out the town. and i know i mentioned our visit to uc davis a few posts back and how much i loved it there...but...i've gotta be honest with myself...i luuuuuuuurved wsu. uc davis felt new and exciting. but pullman, it felt like home. not to mention the program kind of out-beats the program at uc davis and the significantly cheaper cost of living, but hey...we'll see what school ends up winning our vote later, but for now? i'm voting wsu.

we stopped at quiznos for lunch (did you know kids eat free there? cool!) and were back on the road about 4. our course took us up through the pan-handle of idaho, through montana and finally, back down south to rexburg.

this was from our final gas-stop in dillon, mt. one of our cheaper fill-ups actually.

now, i know you're probably sick of these roadtrip posts (i kind of am too!), but i had to catalog such a big trip!

here are some deets i want to remember:

- starting mileage: 84445

- ending mileage: 88543 (that's over 4,000 miles!)

- average mpg: 19.4

- total cost: $782.56 (we estimated $800...not bad)

- states driven through: 7

- # of lollipops consumed: uhh...i didn't keep track, but our container is empty...don't judge

- # of side-of-the-road pit-stops (aka peeing on the side of the road because you just can't wait): two (yes, i was a participant in both)

- highest temperature: 120

- lowest temperature: 54

phew.

now, back to my regular blog-posting!

well...maybe. you see, school started today and it's shaping up to be a pretty monstrous semester. wish me luck, yes?

also, if you read all these roadtrip updates? you are definitely the coolest...evah!

summer roadtrip day sixteen: happy birthday brookelyn!

2011-09-11T15:55:00.018-06:00

(we may be home from our summer roadtrip by now, but i'm bound and determined to get caught up on the rest of our trip! so, stay tuned! also, check out the rest of our trip here!)

saturday, september 3rd:

happy birthday brookelyn!

it's incredible knowing that i have a three year old...three! but then again, not that surprising at all. brookelyn sure acts the part of a three year old and though she (and we) have our moments, we think three is such a fun age to have in the house. curious, talkative, energetic, happy, imaginative...and more.

on top of it being brookey's third birthday, it was her golden birthday!

i had plenty of dreamy ideas about how to make her birthday all golden (food, crowns, party favors, cake, etc.), but in the end, it came down to the present we bought her. which i will share with you in just a bit.

besides being her golden birthday, i still needed a theme. and one night, while i thought about it, i looked at brookey in a darling pair of polka-dot pajamas and that's all i needed.

her birthday announcement (designed by moi, of course):

the prep:

i took some time on thursday and friday morning to prep some of the party food and whatever i didn't get to, i took care of saturday before the party. thank goodness for tatton (who took over all things kid-related) and to his mom (who helped me keep sane in the kitchen)! otherwise, i wouldn't have gotten everything done in time.

i dared a six-layer cake this year. here's a sneak peek:

the in-between:

as though a birthday and party wasn't enough to fill our day, we had family photos scheduled with our fav photographer that afternoon. (seriously, you have to check her out here). so after naps, we took a break from the party planning, got ourselves all spiffied-up, and met with our esteemed photographer at the rose gardens in the gorgeous west hills of portland. it goes without saying that one) i'm totally excited to see the photos once they're finished! and two) you know i'll be sharing them here.

the special guests:

granted, everyone that was at brookelyn's party is pretty darn special to us (ahem, it was all family you know), but we had a particularly special surprise for brookelyn. you remember paige (here & here)? well, her hubby michael and her drove down from the seattle area and made it to the party! hooty-hoo!

the food:

let's just start by saying, i never make enough. i always plan to make tons of food, realize that's just way too much to take on for a party, slim down the menu, and then realize i should have made gobs more. alas. here's what was on the menu:

- pizza in a bites, both gluten-ous and gluten-free (recipe here)

- olive bowl

- fruit kabobs

- cheese kabobs

- baked macaroni, both gluten-ous and gluten-free

- lemonade adorned with the most darling fresh lemon ice-cubes

the dessert:

after the food was nearly gone, a spot was cleared on the table for the highly-anticipated desserts: oreo pops and the six-layered birthday cake! (notice the cakes resemblence to the invite? yup...totally on purpose. only imagine a yellow banner strung across the top...because i ran out of time to actually do that).

we handed out the oreo pops first. you assumed correctly...they were hugely-awesome. next time i will make them with gluten free oreo cookies, i felt deprived!

the presents:

since everyone seemed to be running on sugar-highs anyway, we took a break in the eating department and circled up for presents.

for the record, i have to mention that brookelyn opened her present from us earlier in the day so that she could wear it in our family photos. after thinking over some potential gift ideas appropriate for a little girl on her third and golden birthday, we eventually decided, that 'gold' equaled jewelry, and so we bought her a sweet little heart-shaped, cubic-zirconium encrusted locket. (you can see it in the photos!)

from everyone else, she truly made off with quite the loot:

- a jelly belly sno-cone machine (plus some raspberry tarani syrup!)

- a rapunzel barbie (you know, since she only watches tangled like 15 times a day if we let her)

- a pink box full of all things princess (including her own princess dress!)

- handmade crafts and cards

- clothes, pajamas and books

yes, quite the loot indeed. but better than any present, was the fact that for the third birthday in a row, she's been able to celebrate her big day with her whole family. that's the best part.

the cake:

it didn't take long and everyone was back in the mood to eat. queue cake time! and though it was a bit tricky to fight the wind to get the matches lit, it worked, she wished, and the candles were blown-out.

who knows what she wished for. though i know what i wished for: that i would have made the cake gluten-free! it looked amazingly delicious. don't cry for me though, i bought a box of special ice cream bars for my mom, my sil brandy and i (all of us gluten free).

and as you can imagine, the rest of the night was all family, all talking, and lasted all night long (well, at least until close to midnight).

here's to being three brookelyn! we love you!

check out the next (and last!) installment of our roadtrip tomorrow!

summer roadtrip day thirteen, fourteen, fifteen: gma & gpa's house, party prep, and a night in vancouver

2011-09-07T13:15:00.014-06:00

(catch up on the rest of our roadtrip fun here!)

wednesday, august 31st:

after being in town a few days at this point, we were itchin' to see my family! so after wednesday naps ended, we drove to my parents house and spent the rest of the day (and evening) there talking, eating, playing and simply being around each other.

brookelyn spent awhile getting caught up with her 'unca wi-yum' via sidewalk chalk art and tate and i got caught up with our little old house by admiring the lovely yard and landscaping my parents have maintained.

we enjoyed dinner out back, on a patio lined with lit tiki-torches. living as close to the gorge as my parents do, there is always a breeze in their yard and that night was no exception.

once dinner had digested (somewhat), tate and my brothers william and alex, made a run to the store for the makings of our newly discovered marshmallow treats (remember, i mentioned them here). while the boys were out shopping, we built a fire out back in my parents fire-pit, readying it for perfect marshmallow roasting conditions.

my parents may live in the thick of the city-suburbs, but with a quarter acre lot, towering douglass firs, an in-ground fire-pit and the neighbors pond, it's easy to feel like you're in the thick of the mt hood forest, listening to a stream nearby. of course, this escape to the woods only makes it like a thousand times easier to eat more marshmallows than is healthy. for me anyway.

we packed up and headed home once the kids' sugar-highs turned into sugar-tantrums and then sugar-comas. seemed only appropriate.

thursday, september 1st:

not a very eventful day as far as vacationing is concerned, but definitely a noteworthy day in deed. because of our friday plans, we set aside thursday to do everything to prep for brookelyn's birthday party scheduled on saturday. that meant shopping for food, a present, and all other sorts of party supplies.

we packed the kids along and of course, brookelyn packed her puppy along. which dutifully walked beside us throughout every store, schreaching and creaking the entire time.

after a day full of shopping, we called it a night and hung out at home with the kids.

friday, september 2nd:

since our plans were scheduled after naps, i spent the morning prepping party food (to be revealed in tomorrow's post of course!) while tate kept both the kids occupied. of course, his form of keeping a kid occupied will always involve being outside and getting dirty in some fashion. hence the diapered child playing in the pond.

after a scrub-up and naps, we were out the door and on our way to vancouver for the rest of the day. you see, tradition demands at least one night of overeating and board games up at thayne and brandy's house in the 'couv. it's what we do.

traditionally, we show up, decide on dinner, the boys go shopping for said dinner items while the ladies have kid duty, boys return, we scarf down dinner, put kiddos to sleep and game it up until the wee hours of the morning.

it almost went like that this time around. only this time, brandy and i went for the food (wherein we searched high and low for marshmallow popcorn without success...remember, we had that with our az friends, here!), and never got to gaming it up because we just plain talked too much! that and our kids were pitching fits about sleeping in their living room, so we peaced out before armageddon set in.

and as tradition goes, tate drove the thirty miles home while i slept in the passenger seat. i love that tradition!

oooh! come back tomorrow! it's going to be all about brookelyn's birthday and party!

summer roadtrip day ten, eleven & twelve: recovery, shopping and the oregon coast

2011-09-06T14:38:00.031-06:00

(missed a day of our roadtrip? check out the rest of our summer fun here!)

sunday, august 28th:

finally! a day of rest. a simple day in deed! sleeping in, missing church, lounging on the deck (hence the muddy boy), naps, movie-time, and homemade meals. exactly how a sunday should be.

ignore my profile, focus on those big blue eyes! amazing, right?

monday, august 29th:

for good measure, we decided to take things easy on monday as well. granted after a solid sleep-in, a hearty breakfast and showers, we did pass the kiddos off to nana at nap-time and enjoyed a small trip to the mall. we were on the hunt for new jeans! we had two hours to shop and get home, so i didn't explore any new brands that you fine people suggested i try (here). instead, we found ourselves at american eagle (a tried and true brand for us).

so, i know i mention in this post that i was able to fit into a size 4. but what i failed to mention is that i didn't buy those size fours. why? it was a little snuggish and i was more comfortable in the 6. after fitting into a size four this time around, i shouted from my dressing room stall to tatton's (without any regard to who was there) to let him know "yes! i'm a four! i'm a four!"

holla. i'm a four.

even tate dropped down to a size 31 (from 34). you can only imagine the triumphant faces we were certainly wearing as we purchased our jeans and walked back to our car. hard work pays off my friends! it truly does.

the plans we made for that night fell through at the last minute and we found ourselves spending another night-in at the hymas home. which was totally fine, because vacationing is all about down time.

tuesday, august 30th:

yaay! time for a trip to the beach! we definitely try to go to the coast every time we're in town, even during the winter. and imagine our excitement when we paired up with tatton's older brother thayne, his wife brandy and their kiddos to spend our beachtrip day with.

we met at the tillamook cheese factory in (duh) tillamook, or. if you've never heard of them? shame on you. they're only the finest cheese makers in the world. seriously though, go to your local grocer, buy a brick, and revel in the best cheese ever! i'll be the first to admit, tatton and i are tillamook snobs. yogurt? cheese? ice cream? butter? most always we purchase tillamook. it's uh-mazing! (i sung that last part out loud...just for you.)

we did the usual tour...photo op, watching the cheese making process and of course, cheese sampling (best. part ever!). and to top it all off? some fresh tillamook ice cream. (we shared a cup of 'udderly peanut butterly'...why tatton decided to share a cup is beyond me, because there was no sharing going on at all, poor guy).

from the cheese factory, we drove west of town to the three capes scenic route in order to get to the cape meares lighthouse. first, some lunch:

then, a walk down to the lighthouse:

then a walk back up to the parking lot, and further up to the octopus tree (only the largest sitka spruce ever! yes, that was a plug from tatton):

love that boy of mine!

after cape meares, we drove south on the 101 to oceanside. a beautiful, small town perched quite vertically on a hillside. it was here that we spent the remainder of the afternoon. i'm not sure how long we were there, nor how many hours passed, but i do remember not wanting to leave because of how beautiful the day was. which if you're familiar with the oregon coast, you'd know that a day at the coast that doesn't require a jacket is a gooooood day.

if you ever go to oceanside, make sure to look for this tiny door in the wall. it's a little bit of a walk from the beach entrance, but completely worth it. we spotted it from a distance and after tossing back and forth a few ideas about what it could be ('an army bunker!' 'no, drainage of some sort!'), brandy and i ventured off, leaving the boys behind with some of the kids, to find out for ourselves.

turns out, it was a tunnel through the mountainside to another beach! but not any typical beach. a beach only accessible through this tunnel. a beach void of sand and covered in black rock. a beach that (not to sound totally, and utterly cheesy) seemed kind of...magical. okay yes, that was cheesy, but really though, it kind of was.

the exit onto this hidden shore was nearly right on top of the water. i'm certain it's partially buried when the tide is in. the beach was empty. just wet rocks and the sound of the waves crashing into the hillside at close proximity.

after we returned, the boys took their shot at exploring the hidden beach. too bad they didn't take a camera, because they ventured much further than we did.

if you haven't been to the oregon coast, there are a few things you have to know: there is no where else like it. no other coastline can compare to the rustic and majestic beauty of the oregon coast. no words do it justice, no amount of terrible weather can keep you away. it's beautiful, it's cold, you almost always have to wear a jacket and pants, but yet, it's fiercely addicting. you can't not visit the coast time after time...no matter how wet or cold it was the time before. the entire span from the top of oregon to the california border is dotted with scenic ridges, cliffs, viewpoints and lighthouses. not to mention town after town full of antique shops, seafood diners and souvenir shops. if you haven't ever visited the oregon coast? it's time you did.

we lucked out. because while our day at the beach started out cloudy, the clouds eventually broke and the sun (and warmth!) broke through and was there for the rest of the day. can you say bliss? i sure did, and it was terribly hard to leave.

yet, after the kids had had more sand than they could handle (literally), and were tired and sore from running and playing non-stop, we eventually loaded up our fun and headed back home.

and within the first five minutes of our hour and a half trip home, the kids were out:

of course a day at the beach can only be followed by de-sanding, baths, and cuddling up in front of a movie with cozy jammies on. jus'sayin'.

what's in store for tomorrow's post? you'll have to wait and see! come back tomorrow!

summer roadtrip day nine: family photos

2011-09-05T14:41:00.010-06:00

(missed a day? read up on the rest of our summer roadtrip here!)

saturday, august 27th:

you would think that after getting home at three in the morning, our main objective for the following morning would be to sleep in. not so. instead, we set the alarm for the second time on our vacay and were up and about our morning by 730 or so. reason being? the annual hymas family photo was scheduled at 11am sharp. yikes! that meant breakfast, showers, hair and everything else needed to be ready by 1045 so we could make it to the park in time.

i would like to post a copy of the family photo here for you, but i don't have a copy of that yet (ahem...thayne!), but i will when i do. in place of those, i have a delightful smorgasbord of photos that sum up our time waiting for the whole clan to arrive (ahem...thayne!).

this one of nearly all the granddaughters is a particularly sweet shot.

while waiting, it seemed only appropriate to throw the old pig-skin around...even i got my arm warmed up with a few tight spiral throws (emphasis on a few...my throw is rusty at best!).

and then it happened. ethan handled a football for the first time ever and i saw how very easily ethan could be a football player one day...you know, with his size and all. seems appropriate, no?

photos commenced and-miracle of miracles-i think we captured a few with all of us looking and smiling at the camera...at the same time! hot dang!

the rest of the afternoon was spent in typical hymas fashion: there were kids all over the place, movies playing back to back, and plenty of food and conversation to fill the entire afternoon and evening.

a fine 'welcome home' in deed!

i've posted hymas family photos before...check them out here and here!

like following us on our roadtrip? good, 'cause there is definitely more to come! tomorrow!

summer roadtrip day seven & eight: alhambra, ca to davis, ca to home

2011-09-04T23:56:00.012-06:00

(catch up on the rest of our summer roadtrip here!)

thursday, august 25th:

it wasn't too early thursday morning when we left the jackson's house for the last time on the next leg of our summer journey. of course we had to stop at target for some last minute 'musts' but we were soon on our way.

within a few minutes on the road, this was my view as i checked on the back seat:

so worn out! luckily, they had six hours in the car ahead of them to catch up on their missing sleep. from gilbert to alhambra (where my older brother zach and his wife alicia live) is a straight, six hour shot westward. i would like to tell you all about the beautiful ride, and how it was green and lucious and full of all things beautiful to look at...but that would be a lie. because once we left the phoenix metro area? nothing.

though after an hour into our trip, we began to notice an unsettling pattern occurring on the side of the road. you see, every twenty yards or so (give or take) there were scorched patches on the shoulder of the highway, just the size of a car; sometimes the size of a truck and trailer. either way, while blasting through the sonoran desert on a 115 degree day, going 80mph with the ac cranked, it suddenly made sense what those scorch marks were: a tag for each car that had burnt to flames doing the same journey we were on. on top of that? imagine saguaro cacti, shreds of diesel tires, rattlesnake signs, and dry brush. it's official, we drove through the devil's throat that day.

after a pretty uneventful ride, we pulled into alhambra (which is much much greener than the whole ride before us was), just in time for dinner. of course the kids made themselves at home right away:

the question quickly arose about what we wanted to do that night, but frankly, knowing we didn't have much time to be with my brother and his wife, i was much more in the mood to just be instead of fretting over which sights to take in.

we did just that. first, some dinner at chipotle (mmmm...bueno!) and a drive through their neighborhood just so i could drool over the houses. one of which was this beauty (as seen on "father of the bride"):

and palm trees. nothing could be more appealing to me than roads lined with palm trees. (especially when thoughts of the rexburg winter start haunting me).

after baths and story-time, the kids were ready for bed. apparently i was as well, because i too fell asleep while tate, zach and alicia were busy in conversation downstairs.

friday, august 26th:

the one day we woke up to an alarm while being on vacation. and though we were still exhausted from all the driving the day before, we had a big day ahead of us, with no room to dilly-dally.

though, i simply had to spend a moment out on the balcony admiring the beautiful sunrise...brookelyn soon joined:

after a deliciously filling breakfast, we said our goodbyes and were on our way. but first, a pit-stop. we stopped at the closest gas station to my brother's house and could not get over the mural that surrounded it; just gorgeous.

now this, is sad: i have zero pictures to capture the rest of our day. which is crazy, because it was a twenty hour day. (sick, i know.)

after a fill-up, we drove straight to davis, ca. and thankfully, even though we left later than anticipated that morning, we made it to ucdavis just in time for tatton's appointment with the college contacts he's made. while he was given a tour of the campus and his would-be program and professors, i drove throughout the town with a scrutinizing eye. i was looking for the good, the bad and the ugly. but in reality, all i found was the good, the awesome and the amazing. and of the five schools that tatton is considering for grad school (see them here), davis quickly became my top pick!

we busied ourselves with conversation about our time in davis as we traveled north the rest of the afternoon. and while it would have been prettier to travel the 101 northward, we saved on time and mileage by travelling up i-5.

i'll spare you the boring details (too late maybe?), but suffice it to say, we left davis at 3pm, stopped for dinner at 6pm, took a nap in a gas station parking lot at 11pm, and pulled into gladstone, or (home!) at 3am saturday morning.

phew. home...at...last. nothing could be sweeter.

check in tomorrow to see the next installment of our summer roadtrip!

summer roadtrip day four, five & six: gilbert, az

2011-09-01T11:47:00.011-06:00

(check out the rest of our summer roadtrip here!)

monday, august 22nd:

though it was hard to leave green river and our good friends behind, the time had come to head further south into the desert to see another set of close friends.

this time our journey took us through the sweltering desert nothing-ness of southeast utah, and northeast arizona. the desert is an impressive sight! it's hard to believe how dry, hot and empty it all can be and yet, random houses could still be seen spotting the landscape. it really made me miss the lush green northwest that we call home.

before i forget, i must make mention of one memorable aspect of this portion of our trip. over the couple days in green river, brookelyn hadn't consumed as much water as she should have and the heat got to her. so on our way to gilbert, we pulled over way too many times and used way too many wet wipes and changed way too many outfits while battling her sensitive stomach. poor gal.

with time (and money) constraints, we blew past the turn off for the grand canyon saying "we'll see it next time we come through" because yes, we totally plan on going through there again. and after hours of nothing but orange desert and sage-brush, we climbed the road into flagstaff. now there was a surprise. flagstaff is green and full of pines and evergreens, who knew? we stopped for lunch and a quick stretch of the legs and were back on the road.

by the time we pulled up to our stop for the night, we had spent 9+ hours on the road and were ready for a couple days break.

tuesday, august 23rd:

our dear friends in az are george and stephanie wyatt, and james and becky jackson. two couples that before moving to az, lived in rexburg in our complex, and with whom we spent hours upon hours with.

also in gilbert? an in-n-out burger joint. i'd never been and was anxious for my first in-n-out burger experience! i must say though, while they are pretty freakin' delicious, burgerville (a pac nw specialty) is soooooooo much better. jus' sayin'. no hard feelings, k?

so, as luck would have it, the two days we were in gilbert happened to be the two hottest days of the year. cool, right? no, not cool. in fact, exactly opposite.

so besides jumping from air conditioned home to air conditioned car and back, we did our best at avoiding the unforgiving heat. especially since brookelyn was still lethargic and worn from the heat (and lack of sleep) from the first installment of our trip.

the hottest we saw our car read was 117...but this is impressive just the same:

after lunch, we headed out to becky's parent's house to take a dip in their pool. (not only did i wear a swimsuit again, but i dared doing so in front of the camera! woot for progress!) the pool was perfection. and we stayed in until we all formed deep wrinkles in our fingers and toes, before getting out.

that evening was as fine as it gets. a ladies-only trip to target and the grocery store, all of us cooking dinner together, over-stuffing ourselves with our fine culinary skills and talking, talking, talking.

wednesday, august 24th:

with another forecast of devilish heat, we kept the kiddos inside. after george and steph graced us with pizza for lunch (a whole gluten free pie for me!), we spent the majority of the afternoon chatting, playing dominion, watching movies, and eating all things yummy (like marshmallow popcorn? i had no idea! so so yummy!).

it wasn't until later that evening that brookelyn finally felt like herself again. at this point, we decided to venture out into the heat.

our first stop was the mesa lds temple grounds for a photo op:

and once it got too dark for photos and too hot for walking (which wasn't long at all), we piled back into our caravan and drove to asu's campus...jus'for fun.

after asu, we picked up some dinner from jimmy john's and finished the night back at the jackson' with of course...more conversation. it's what we do best you know!

we were worn out. and ended up going to bed sooner than we wanted (still so much to talk about!), in order to be ready for our drive the following morning.

we quickly concluded these few facts about our visit to az:

- so glad we took my car that has the better ac even though it's costing us hundreds more for gas

- never visit az in august...too ruddy hot!

- long hair and az = hot neck...which is not hot

- water, electrolytes and ice cream...all modes of az survival

will we visit az again? certainly. hopefully longer next time...and during their winter months too!

check back in tomorrow to hear about our trip through california!

summer roadtrip day three: green river, ut

2011-08-31T11:59:00.027-06:00

(get caught up on the rest of our summer roadtrip here!)

sunday, august 21st:

even after staying up late the night before, all of us (meaning four adults and four kids) made it to church on time at 10am. amazing, i know. and after wrestling those four kids during the first hour, it was sweet relief to drop half of them off at primary and hold the other half as they napped for the next two hours.

lunch followed church, naps followed lunch, and a trip to the beach followed naps...you follow?

here is a meager attempt to capture the beauty of green river as we drove to the beach:

(this actually happens to be the hay field korry and taffee were married in over five years ago)

now when i said beach, i meant beach. i know what you're thinking, because i thought the same thing the first time i came to green river five years ago: "a beach? aren't we in the middle of the utah desert?" nothing could be more true.

we couldn't have asked for a finer day at the beach either. the sweltering heat was masked and made comfortable when the clouds rolled in and the breeze began to blow. i don't even remember how many hours we were there, it was that pleasant.

ahem...commencing photo dumpage, now:

not gonna lie...this is a good shot.

ah yes. audri and ethan (who met for the first time this weekend) quickly became pals. can't you tell?

you'd do this too if you'd just cracked open a watermelon on the sand as perfectly as you see here. this was just a second after korry dropped it...and this is precisely how it landed.

broookey was entirely content with a bucket and shovel.

oh heavens. this boy. we could not keep him from diving face-first into the sandy-puddle. he just loves a mouth full of muddy sand apparently. and honestly? i figured since it can't kill him, who am i to be a kill-joy?

the boys ditching all evidence of watermelon consumption.

i must mention, this was ethan's very first beach trip. which of course equals his very first interlude with sand. in case you couldn't tell, he's a fan...a big fan.

eventually we washed off the kids, loaded into our cars and headed home for dinner and bedtime for the younger crowd. but once the four kids were sound asleep, we headed out back for some (much needed) adult time around the fire-pit.

we ate way too many s'mores. and in doing so, discovered the best way to eat marshmallows and chocolate. i'm not too privy to sharing this secret, but suffice it to say, it involves slow-roasting the marshmallow to perfection, slowly removing it from the skewer, blowing on one end to create a marshmallow cup, and filling said cup with mini chocolate chips and whip cream. gash...i'm bloating just thinking about them.

and after way too much sugar, convo, and testing their hammock's weight limit (with all of us on board) we called it a night. a rather perfect night to end our time in green river, if i must say.

stay tuned for day four of our summer roadtrip...tomorrow!

summer roadtrip day two: green river, ut

2011-08-30T00:29:00.016-06:00

(missed day one? follow our roadtrip here.)

saturday, august 20th:

like any other morning, the kids woke us up well before we wanted to be. but who could blame them, they were full of excitement! especially considering where we were and who we were visiting.

green river, ut is the out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere (in a good way) home to our dear friends korry and taffee. tate and korry's friendship goes back over ten years. awesome, right? even more awesome? korry's wife taffee and i hitting it off as the-best-of-friends after meeting over six years ago. yet even more awesome? adding four little kiddos to the mix. this my friends, is always bound to be a good time. (check out our previous green river excursions here and here).

back to the morning.

after a groggy wake-up, we dove right into breakfast. which involved only the best watermelon in existence (easy to come by of course when your hosts are the watermelon farmers of the state).

breakfast was followed by making messes (for the kids) and lots of catching up (for the adults). taffee and i lounged in our stretchy pants while the men-folk went trompsing around town doing farm-type duties.

naptime quickly came and afterward we found ourselves camped out at one of the many vetere melon stands in town. while tate's inner-salesman came out i enjoyed snapping photos of the kids who were strewn all over the melons.

we met people from all over the country who were full of all sorts of conversation. but how neat to suddenly be a part of their vacation memories by working at what i'm sure they'll remember as 'that amazing melon stand in green river'.

this was an impressive moment: not a drop fell to the concrete. not to mention the killer harry potter-esque crack running up the side. no need for utensils either, that's what hands are for!

oh, did i mention that it was supa-hot in green river? well, it was. so naturally, after a shift at the stand, it only made sense to cool off in their pool. even i took a chance in a bathing suit (you know my fear of those) and enjoyed being in the perfect water.

the day didn't stop there. in fact, taffee and i went to a baby shower while the men fed and got four children ready for bed.

and finally, this was how we topped off the night: tired babies on the couch, cute babies with bottles and taffee...shredding-in a most un-orthodox fashion i might add-a zuchini for a tasty recipe.

isn't she obnoxiously beautiful?

i'll save the details of our next day in green river for tomorrow. i fear i've photo-dumped enough already, and just you wait for the load of pictures i'll be posting tomorrow!

night!

introducing: a blog makeover

2011-08-29T23:11:00.008-06:00

a few days over a month ago, i announced my first ever giveaway. (refresh your memory here). and then after a week or so, i announced the winner, here.

well. i'm definitely pleased to announce: the blog redesign is complete!

i must say, i was nervous to redesign someone else's blog. what if they hated it? what if i couldn't create something that they liked? that they felt was 'them'? but all those fears quickly subsided after jen and i began to exchange convos about her vision for her blog.

we started with some inspirational photos:

and from those created a color scheme:

after creating a color scheme, i also noticed a trend in most every photo: circles. so with the color scheme and circles, the blog began to take form. another trend i noticed in the photos? stripes. not as obvious as the circles, but enough that i tried pairing the stripes and circles together for contrast and that's when the blog really began to form itself.

jen was involved with the entire process. so the blog you'll see, is all her. and i'm so pleased with how it turned out.

here are a couple screen shots of her blog before the redesign:

(she even had circles and striped on her previous blog)

these are a couple screen shots after the redesign:

but no need to hang out here, go check out jen's blog (here). maybe drop a line and say 'hello' and of course, if you're feeling super-friendly, leave me a comment about how you think i did!

now, back to our regularly scheduled road-trip updates...

summer roadtrip day one: slc & springville, ut

2011-08-29T00:50:00.006-06:00

(check out the rest of our summer roadtrip here!)

you guys...woah...talk about major blogging hiatus for me, right?

i thought it would be fun (and wise) to blog as we went along our summer roadtrip, but let's be honest, who wants to interrupt fun, just to blog? i didn't. carpe diem!

but, now that we're home (yes! home in the nw!), i actually have some time to tell you about what we've been up to this last week.

friday, august 19th:

yay! the beginning of the end of summer! we blasted out of rexburg after sleeping in and eating a big breakfast.

our first stop was to see an old friend of mine-holly-who lives in salt lake. god bless social media and technology, because even though it had been nine (nine!) years since we had seen each other, it felt like hardly any time had passed at all.

her place was the perfect pit-stop for all of us: a large basement playroom, snacks and non-stop conversation. definitely a perfect way to start our trip!

after holly's place, we narrowly missed salt lake traffic as we drove an hour south to my grandmother's house in springville. before we barged into grandma's, we stopped at a local papa murphy's for our favorite chicken pizza.

we spent our time eating, relaxing and just talking. even better, my sil brittiany and my older sister corey were there as well to join in on the get-together goodness.

we definitely could have talked longer, and we did talk longer than we should have because our exit was full of tantrums. we made a quick exit and good-bye and geared ourselves up for yet another two hours in the car. but not until we attempted a group shot. see the tantrum? it's there.

where were we driving two hours that night after eight pm? why, green river, ut of course! but that portion of our trip will have to wait until tomorrow.

stay tuned!