aloha.

laundry: done
vote: check
medical release: completed
fridge: cleaned
tulips: planted
sheets: washed
bills: paid
work: taken care of
bags: packed
daughter: staying home with gpa & gma

and now i'm ready to leave tomorrow morning to go here:



[long sighs and deep breaths].

ALOHA!

photo courtesy of Jonathan Canlas, who will be teaching a workshop Jayson will be attending.

two!

Mae turned two today. What can I say about this girl? She's adorable. And spunky. And she's starting to show signs of being two. But I've never loved a little thing more than I love this girl.

I stayed up a little too late and went a tinsy bit overboard (really, 3 dozen balloons?). But I don't plan well and then in the heat of the moment I get a little carried away. Staying up until 4:30 wasn't a really good idea. I decorated, wrapped, frosted, boiled noodles, cleaned, made a bunting, did laundry, etc. But it turned out really cute. And it's all worth it for this cute birthday girl.

She loved waking up to the balloons, and a breakfast of Mickey Mouse pancakes. I should say that ever since we went to disneyland, this girl's been obsessed with the Mouse.



We then quickly ran out the door to cook dawgs at the football game. She was pretty impatient, but I can't say I blame her. It was mostly okay though because she had her new tinkerbell doll from Sheekie.

And it was okay too because it meant she could watch Cougar Football. We only stayed for half of the second quarter, but it was enough for her to see some action and get home in time for a long overdue nap.

We had some friends/family over for dinner tonight with a Mae-centered menu: mac and cheese (not really kraft), peas, grapes, and Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets.

Here is the bunting I made. Everyone seems to be making these lately, and I think they're pretty adorable. It was pretty bootstrapped since I decided to make it at midnight last night.

Mae's favorite aunts, Joy and Katy. At least the one's that spoil her WAAAAAAAAAAAY too much.


I hate to say it, but her cake was pretty amazing. I was so impressed with how it turned out. It tasted even better than it looked, which is a feat because I don't usually love cake. But this one was delicious. I followed these instructions, used this box cake (and froze it, which I think helped even more), and used this recipe for frosting (probably the best part). The best tasting cake I've ever made, hands down.

The ears should have been a little closer, asthetically and structuraly (one of the ears fell off 5 minutes before we started singing). But Minnie's pretty cute anyway.


Singing and blowing out the candle.


We opened presents too. Mae got quite a bit of dress up things, including this too adorable Minnie Mouse costume. You can't really see them in this picture, but it also includes some ridiculous yellow high heels. Ridiculous=too cute for words.

She also got some "Little Miss" things (as in, little miss chatterbox, little miss naughty, etc.). We've been pretty into these characters this last month. She loves Little Miss Chatterbox, and sometimes I think it's because she's Little Miss Chatterbox.


What a day we had! She was pretty spoiled today, but I guess it's okay because we did only half of the spoiling. Mae is a loved and adored little girl and has incredibly generous family and friends.

Mae's growing up fast, and we're just trying to savor the days and take it all in. Happy birthday Mae!

bittersweet

I thought I should mention that I was released last Sunday from Young Womens. It's bittersweet. I love these girls. I adore the Young Women leaders.


Being in Relief Society today was a really foreign feeling. It was a fantastic lesson and I left feeling uplifted and reflective. They took the time to welcome me back, which was so kind and thoughtful. I'd missed the sisterhood of the Relief Society during the last three years. But it was still weird being there.

The same Spirit that calls you to a position, also calls for you to be released. It was time for me to move on.

If I just didn't miss these girls so much....

my favorite new blog

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com

I pretty accurate composite of you, me, and about every blog I read. It's a satire, so don't be offended. Just find the humor in it and laugh your head off.

what do you do...

...if you don't like either of them?

messy house, full heart.

I was walking around my house tonight, totally mortified of how messy it was. Jayson and I kept wishing it was as immaculate as it was last week. It felt so clean and beautiful last week, and this week it's a disaster area.

Tonight we had a lot of friends at our house that we were not necessarily expecting. I really like to have a clean house when friends are coming over for the first time. It was so great to see them all; to eat, chat, and spend time with them. I loved it, but I can't deny that I was so embarrassed at the state of my house

After they left I started to pick up, and I had a really important moment. I realized that 95% of the mess/disaster/clutter was caused by service opportunities we had had this week. Jayson's scout bag. Our 72 hour kits (we needed some things for the last minute inactive scout who joined the camp out). My bag from staying over and taking care of my sister in law. Toys from adorable kids that we got to watch. Snow gear so our friends from out of town wouldn't freeze at the football game. Dishes from having dear friends over. You get the picture.

I would so much rather have the full heart and messy house I have now, than a pristine house and none of these experiences. It's been an unusual week for us with how much we've been able to give to friends, family, neighbors, and strangers. I wouldn't change any of it. If my house ever looks like this again for the reason it does tonight, perhaps I won't even apologize for how messy it is. Because my heart will be singing like it is right now.

I hope to have more weeks like this one.

projects

General Conference weekend means mission reunions for Jayson and I. For Jayson's mission reunion this year, President and Sister Hart were looking to do something different, and Jayson suggested we do it at our house. We love parties, so we decided to make it happen.

We were really excited, but also quite intimidated about having President and Sister Hart at our home, as well as all of the missionaries. So it's been two full weeks of projects to get our house ready. We could have used two more.

If you're having a mission reunion at your house, you might:

Sand, prime, and paint your pillars and trim.
Sand, prime, and paint the bench you found in the garbage two years ago.
Paint the concrete that's been peeling for two years. We did all this to the front porch too.


Weed, weed, weed. Mow and edge the lawn. Transplant a few of your plants to new places. Fertilize.

Clean the back patio. You may not have found time to water seal the new fence.

You may also have not found a coffee table and rug that you could decide on.

But you might have FINALLY printed, framed, and hung family pictures.


And rearranged the living room furniture, again.



Painted the kitchen (Sorry Karrie, your wreath never made it back to your house. Do you want it back?)

(I love love love this color). "Quietude" by Sherwin Williams. Very similar to a color in the pottery barn catalog. The pictures don't do it justice.


We finally found a place to hang these windows. They'd been in my room for almost 2 years. I loved them, but we could never really find a place to put them. I like them in the kitchen.


We moved this desk and computer into the kitchen from the guest room. And hung the hubcap from Jayson's '53 chevy truck.

Cleaned the carpets. Don't judge us. They're disgusting, I know (this was the before picture).


And cleaned all of the closets, floors, baseboards, walls, doors, bathrooms, etc, etc. (no picture for this, sorry).

We changed Mae's room from a nursery to a toddler room. Big girl bed. No more snuggly rocking chair (it's moved to our room).


We hung Mae's alphabet (thanks K!), and set up a table and chairs for her to play at. (she loves it).


We served these adorable mini dawgs--half dawgs in their own little bun. They're so cute I could kiss them.

We also served the infamous baked beans, Laurie's salad (DELISH!), and strawberry lemonade. And desert? Smart Cookie.

I bought a few new dishes (they're not all new).


Tried new candy--candy corn kisses. Don't gag until you try them.


Then I kissed this man (how could I not?).


The reunion was a hit. I think everyone had a really good time, and we had a pretty good turn out.

And now...we're headed to the cabin to recover. I almost feel like our house should be for sale now or something, it's so beautiful and clean!