for family.

i am sad that we were not all together this year. but i am thankful for each of them.

thankful to be a mom, sister, daughter, and wife.

– the approaching season that signifies the savior

– hot chocolate with loads of whip cream

– dallin’s preschool teachers

– emails from granny mask

– and this . . .

happy wednesday!

so, the other day i had one of those proud mama moments.
i imagine it is similar to what i would feel like after sending my kiddie off to college. it all starts from the moment you gave that baby life and all the struggles to help them turn out right. then you send them off and hope they can make something of themselves in the big world out there.

i couldn’t help but smile when i saw my “babies” surviving and thriving out in cyberspace! ok, silly analogy, i know. but you get the idea. 😉
i was on scrapnfonts a few days ago and ran across these in the idea gallery. i absolutely loved seeing what someone else did to bring these to life.
looks like they are adjusting to college life quite nicely and i couldn’t be prouder. 🙂

i realize that it must appear that i only talk about haircuts around this place. if i were to do a survey, i suppose that it would be my most frequently revisited topic. so at the risk of sounding completely vain, i am once again talking about hair. probably because it is a source of great angst in my life. that and thighs…oh, hair and thighs…
if only i could have thinning thighs instead of thinning hair. hah! 🙂

introducing the haircut, which oddly enough wasn’t so much of a hair “cut.” after being stuck somewhere between blond and brown, i decided it was time to find the brunette girl again. and then i went out on a completely crazy limb and decided to grow a long, voluminous head of hair right before my very eyes. the secret: clip-in hair extensions. yes, it was definitely one of the most exhilarating trips to the salon i have ever experienced. it was like putting on glasses for the first time to see what you’ve been missing or tasting european chocolate or yogurt and wondering where it’s been all your life. 😉

talk about feeling like a new woman! there is hope in a package! thin-haired ladies of the world unite!

p.s. in the future i will try to keep the frivolous haircut blogging to a minimum. 😉

he went. he saw. he won a major award. and he sung some songs.

last weekend was great! we made the trek to arizona for jeff’s 10-year high school reunion. i think the feelings at reunions are always mixed–a bit of uneasy awkwardness accompanied by excitement. i’m just glad it wasn’t my reunion. 😉 but i did have a fabulous time getting dressed up for the occasion (i’ll share that story later). overall, he’s glad he went and i was happy to accompany him.

the highlights of the event: jeff won the extreme makeover award. are you wondering about those implants he had? hee hee.
i guess you could consider his new set of front teeth as implants but besides that everyone was amazed that jeff actually grew after high school. he can’t remember how tall he was at graduation, but by the reactions he seemed to be getting from everyone, it would seem that he was 4’10”. 😉

the other highlight was the mini reunion he had with his good friends from a singing group way back when. ever heard of twyce around? 6 guys. 6 high school hotties. 6 amazingly talented voices. they even made a cd. this was big time stuff. 🙂

it was a treat to see them get together again. laugh. reminisce. and pick up singing like they never left off. these are the friends that meant the most to jeff and i’m so glad they were all there to “relive the glory days.”

dallin loved it too. we listen to the cd all the time at home and in the car. you can imagine his excitment to see and hear the songs in person. it was fun to hang with the other wives as well. yeah, we’re groupies!

here’s a little taste of the glory…

dallin’s favorite song

and another barbershop beauty

we love it when jack blows into town! although ella may look otherwise–this is her classic face. and even though i wish i could have gotten a smile from her, i am glad i captured this look.
the pouty, sassy, fiesty, you-want-a-piece-of-me? look.

it was a happy halloween for buzz and the flamenco dancer. plenty of candy and quite possibly the funnest street we’ve ever hit. front lawns were converted into corn fields, garages doubled as haunted houses, and the most amazing treat a four-year-old could ever receive–playdough! he sat at the table playing with it most of the day without even asking for his candy. that’s what i’m talkin’ about!

too bad mine and jeff’s plan to dress up as nacho and encarnacion didn’t work out this year. jeff’s quite daring and all but somehow i couldn’t convince him to wear stretchy pants. not even in his room. just for fun. 🙂