getting my feet wet

hopefully there comes a moment in your life where you think all of a sudden "i finally feel like a fish in water" everything thing seems to come together and you finally feel like you've found your place, calling or something along those lines.

this week i was able to say that.

for pumpkinland i was able to make friends with a neighbor and managed to borrow a baby calf for the month. i'm tickled pink with excitement. he's a little holstein calf, a week old and i get to bottle feed him until he can be weened and fed grain and hay. never in a million years would i have thought the farm life was for me. gratefully, i have a generous grandpa who indulges me and is letting me try on the farm girl boots.

a perfect afternoon

wednesday we did a session at the washington DC LDS temple 

it'd been far too long since mitch and i went to the temple together.

i had the privilege of being alyson's escort.

the day was beautiful

but the time spent inside was memorable, perfect and peaceful.

a few tidbits to wrap up my tuesday

i may or may not have just leaked water all over myself... darn hole in my mouth

i just have to say how grateful i am for a working heater and hot showers. with the miserable single digits we've been enduring these last two weeks.... there is nothing better than coming home from work to enjoy a hot shower and curl up in a warm home. we are truly blessed. today i was grateful when the temperature hit 27 degrees. {who would've thought it would be considered warm...}

we have some big news on the job front for mitchel. i may be able to indulge this weekend ;)

along with being incredibly grateful for hot showers and a good heater.... i have to tell you that mitch has gone above and beyond to help our family members this week. there is nothing more attractive than a husband who is always available to help his family and even my nanna with her car and willing to help her with her figuring out her new phone. i'm such a lucky lady. 

...had ourselves a merry little christmas...

we had a very wonderful christmas this year
it wasn't over the top
we celebrated on the simple side and it was absolutely perfect.
since mitchel played santa last year, i manged to pull of a surprise or two for him.
a new riding jersey and a new dress watch
for our family gift we added to our preparedness storage.

usually i have difficulty sleeping christmas eve...
this year was a bit better.
as we were crawling into bed christmas eve, mitch was pulling down his side of the bed....
cezar jumped up and lost his tummy all over the inside of mitch's sheets.
nothing is worse than cleaning up after a sickie at night....
after getting the laundry started and putting cezar in his room
we managed to curl up and relax for a bit waiting for the laundry to cycle.
10:30 rolled around and i couldn't wait any longer.
we slept with just the comforter.... i was to exhausted to stay up waiting any longer.
the boys slept together downstairs and i enjoyed curling up with my own blanket {no sharing required}

my alarm sounded at 7. i quickly turned it off and curled up waiting for sounds of the boys.
they didn't sound for another 15 mins or so but demanded attention as soon as they did.
i originally planned to get us all up at 7 {my little inner child is in full swing on christmas}
but i'm grateful i took it nice and slow.
once i let the boys out, i brought out their christmas bones and set them under the tree
next started bacon for breakfast and whipped up the batter for german pancakes {hootnannies}
i then debated whether to get mitch up or let the dogs in and see if they could stir him.
i tried with the dogs but jake quickly found his christmas treat under the tree.
there is nothing more charming than watching him attempt to drag around a 2 foot bone!
mitch finally came down and joined us.
we exchanged our gifts and then enjoyed our delightful breakfast.

we spend time with both families on christmas
this year was the dayleys. so we made our way to my families first and spent a little time with them.
christmas morning has always been magical at my parents house.
i'm grateful we haven't had to miss out yet.
we headed to mitch's parents around 12:30 and spent the rest of the day there.
being the first to arrive, we enjoyed visiting with his parents.
i may have been slightly moody {according to mitch} .... good thing i remembered caffeine :)
we had a delicious assortment of finger foods to munch on.
christmas was exciting on a whole new level now that kennady is older.
it was magical watching her excitement.
and in true dayley fashion we played lots of games.
we are so blessed and grateful for all the thoughtful gifts!

now the holiday season has just about come to an end for the year
we are so grateful for everything, especially for the wonderful families we have.

an unthinkable tragedy

yesterday the unthinkable happened.
a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut
innocent children were robbed of their life by a horrible man.
our world is a scary place
and having constant access via media about everything bad happening in this world....
sometimes you need to turn everything off and remember the good.

after work last night i came home and did a few chores.
i was tempted to sit down at the computer and spend some me time catching up on everything
however i quickly changed my mind and decided to enjoy the quiet and safety of my home.
mitchel was still at work, the dishes were checked off the to do list....
i pulled out my lug of fresh walnuts waiting to be cracked and shelled
turned on some christmas music and enjoyed some time with my boys
no matter how rotten and evil the world may be, there are still many things to be grateful for.

last night i enjoyed kissing on my boys and snuggling up to mitchel for a little while.

i can't even imagine what the families are going through with the loss of their children....
my heart goes out to them and my prayers are with them.

i'm beyond grateful for my little family and the safety we are blessed with and the comfort of each other.
i pray i will never face such tragedy.

giving thanks

november has come and nearly gone but this month of thanksgiving has not been forgotten. as everyone has been listing daily thanks, i have made mental note for all the blessings i am grateful for. however i don't want the moth to slip away before i get the chance to write down some thanks givings.

i'm grateful for my incredible husband. he does so much for our little family

we were talking the other day how blessed we are. there are so many people in need and many are struggling to meet their basic needs.... we have been blessed with everything we need and more. mitch and i have wonderful jobs and work with wonderful people. we have been truly blessed with steady incomes.

i'm grateful for my two white fluffy fur babies. they bring me so much happiness. they made me a 'mommy'.

i'm grateful for my nanna. i would have never guessed that my sister would become one of the most closest and dearest of my friends. i consider her my soul mate. she understands me in a very special way.

i'm grateful for my sweet girlfriend jaclyn. she has been an angel in my life. god gave her to me as a visiting teacher, however she has become so much more! she is someone i trust and have the privilege of calling my friend! everyone needs some as sweet and incredible as her as she is to me. thank you for blessing my life sweet jaclyn.

i'm so very blessed to have my foundation. i was raised with so many wonderful examples. the older i get the more i realize how it has sculpted who i've become.

i'm grateful for the opportunity i had to learn yoga. it has brought me to a better place in my health and mind.

that is only scratching the surface in all of my incredible blessings. i'm so grateful for everything that i {we} have been blessed with!!

snow and a sad mister

mother nature gave us a beautiful blanket of snow this weekend.
it was a pleasant surprise.... but it's really really really cold

mitch came home early from training in slc friday
gratefully i was able to leave work and go with him to the doctor
my poor mister was absolutely miserable
turns out he is fighting kidney stones.
a few prescriptions later and two shots in the bum (pain killer and muscle relaxant) we were on our way home.
i'm so grateful for wonderful staff at work and being able to take the time to be with mitch.
i haven't ever seen my sweetheart in such horrible pain.

saturday i worked all day.
mitch was such a trooper and endured a day by himself
i was happy to get a text around 4 letting me know he passed his stone.
there was a cup waiting for me once i got home..... with his stone waiting to be oohed and awed at.
(good thing that is right up my alley)

today he still was feeling miserable.
i kissed him good bye and headed to church.
it was the primary program today.
i'm very lucky to have my class
they are such fabulous kids.
i was able to head home to take care of my mister during 3rd hour

i don't envy my sweetheart
i can't even imagine the pain he has been going through.
mitch has a very high pain tolerance too....
he woke me up from my nap today to let me know he passed another stone.
my poor sweetheart

the last few days i'm incredibly grateful for wonderful family, friends and neighbors
as well as medication to help with the pain and antibiotics.

celebrating three years

my week seemed to drag on forever....
i worked monday - friday.
i couldn't have been more excited to be off friday afternoon.
mitch and i planned to celebrate our anniversary saturday and sunday
3 years of marriage.
amazing how fast time flies

saturday morning we slept in and then headed to kneaders for breakfast
it was the perfect way to start our celebrations
after than we drove over to the Hyundai dealer to look at their sonata hybrid
mitch's car is allergic to the snow {that's code for it won't go anywhere once it snows}
after a test drive he was hooked.
hybrids have come such a long way.
lets just say it is one of the most amazing cars we have driven
{and we have done plenty of leg work there}
we made the switch
now i won't have to worry about snow days.... we both have snow capable cars :)

saturday evening we went out with joe and alyson.
they invited us to join them at cornbelly's
we grabbed some amazing mexican food beforehand
then we headed to thanksgiving point.
the line was crazy long. luckily we had gotten our tickets online.
no offense to anyone who loves cornbelly's..... but we found it a huge disappointment and a waste of money.
not that i love scary things.... our money would have been better spent at a haunted house.


in addition to mitch's new car, we picked up a ginormous new tv and new laptops for the both of us.
we decided to spend some of the vacation money that we had set aside
and minimize our january vacation and spend some time enjoying the resorts here snowboarding.

we are incredibly fortunate and blessed.
i'm also grateful for the growth we've experienced in the 3 years we have been married.
tuesday the 30th is our actual anniversary date but since we both work we made it a memorable weekend!

i love you baby

if only i could bottle it all up

yesterday everyone gathered at my parents for Faith's birthday dinner.
she turns 15 tomorrow and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend some time celebrating her.

as time passes and i get to enjoy time with my siblings
i find myself wishing i could bottle it all up
the laughter, the jokes, the conversations.....
i love the stage we are at.
as we grow older, we grow closer
and i absolutely love every minute of it

happy birthday faith!!

early mornings and a deal or two

cezar woke me up by staring at me about 6:17 this morning. somehow it always works. normally i'm able to manage getting up with them fairly well..... today i really struggled with keeping my eyeballs open. but when my alarm sounded at 7:00am i figured i'd roll out of bed so it would be easier to get to work on time. i walked a beautiful large bowl of tomatoes out to the trash can. it was half tomatoes nasty soup. {gross} got dressed, ate breakfast and took care of the boys. it felt good being on top of the clock.

i made a deal with mitch on my way home from work today.... i'll do his ironing if he'll get the front lawn mowed before we leave for idaho on saturday. i think the ironing took more time tonight than it would have to mow the lawn. luckily my task involved the air conditioned indoors ;)

last night we joined mitch's parents for a fabulous night out. we started with dinner at our favorite bakery - kneaders. it's was divine as always. then we headed to thanksgiving point to enjoy their gardens. it was $2 tuesdays in august. {sure glad we got a chance to enjoy it!} we rented a golf cart along with a entrance fee. it was seriously the best way for us to enjoy it. mitchel had a massive blister on his foot due to basketball the night before and the gardens are definitely more my thing. it was such an enjoyable evening. we'll have fond memories of it for many years to come.

i came home to a gorgeous new garage door today. our old one finally gave up the ghost {we've been milking it for 2 years} we were very fortunate to get an incredible deal. monday it died and i called on it and they installed it this morning {wednesday}. the minor down side.... mitch had to rip out the built in shelf next to the door. good thing we weren't in love it with. i'm super excited, happy and grateful to have a new garage door. yay.

happy wednesday

there is something magical about being grateful...

Yesterday was a rough day for me. My body was more exhausted and run down than usual. I could barely manage to count out change for customers.... I was grateful for the chance I finally had to head out to the front flower bed and work on weeding and dead heading. There is something very therapeutic about those tasks whether they are at work or at home. As the clouds finally rolled in air began to cool a little I realized I had many things to be grateful for this week.

Sanna. As we were looking over the schedule for next week, I noticed I only had one closing. I asked her if she needed/wanted me to take any other closings. Although I am extremely grateful for the openings, she looked at me and said it's a little gift to me. She had noticed that I'm even more exhausted and fatigued than I had been and knew that opening shifts are easier and I would be able to bow out earlier if needed. Sanna is a beautiful little angel who had truly blessed my life in more than one way... but this week I needed to express my additional gratitude for her and her taking the time to care for me and my needs.

Jaclyn. I've been so blessed by her from the very beginning when we met. I'm thankful for her being placed in my life as my visiting teacher {almost 2 years ago}. She has very quickly become one of my most dearest friends. We struggled with getting together during the first half of the year but we are trying our hardest to make up for lost time lately ;) Wednesday we had another girl's night and I was so touched by her sweet gestures to celebrate my birthday {although late due to our schedules}with me. Jaclyn is an amazing baker and she out did herself by making two FABULOUS cupcake flavors for me!!!! My most favorite of her's {the peanut butter chocolate cupcake} and a new strawberry lemonade cupcake. She also took me out to her new favorite Italian ice place and introduced me to the best summer treat ever. And to top it off.... A  gift card to my favorite place - Cafe Rio. Everyone needs a friend like Jaclyn. She has been such a jewel in my life. I'm beyond words grateful for her in my life!! Thank you my sweet friend for taking such good care of me!! An additional thank you for my cupcake delivery tonight too!! Glad we got to spend more time together this week!!

Mitchel. For continually being the best husband a girl could ask for. Thank you for always keeping your eyes opening for possible things that may help my health., for being understanding to my needs and ALWAYS being patient with me. I'm eternally grateful for you and blessed that you are my one and only! xoxo

My siblings. I'm so happy with the relationship we all share and for what time has added to the equation. You 5 are easily the coolest people I know and am glad I get to call you brother and sister!! Looking at the pictures of us at Abby's wedding all together makes my heart happy. I look forward to what the future brings our way!! I love each and everyone of you.

Jake and Cezar. You are my sweet fur babies. I love each of you so very much. I couldn't imagine my life without either of you now. I suppose this is my little peak into what becoming a momma to babies is like. I thank both of you for blessing my life and always being able to get me to smile! You make our little family whole. {until we bring you a sibling, with two feet.} I love you my little ones!!!

an unwelcome visitor

I went to bed last night hoping I'd be up for yoga. But once morning came around I knew wouldn't be making it. My body was absolutely run down and exhausted. I'm still really sore in my quads from our Subway adventure and have a lingering cold. After a quick trip outside for the boys, I crawled back into bed and fell asleep. Mitch started to stir with the boys around 8:40 and all three of them tried to get me up too. I wasn't having it. Eventually I managed to head downstairs for my morning routine of caffeine and my handful pills. Once the caffeine kicked in, we decided to attempt a little shopping for Abby's wedding on Saturday. We didn't have any luck this go around either. However smoothies for breakfast and a stop for nail polish things seemed to be good.

Back home we curled up for awhile before Mitch headed into work. The morning was overcast but the sun finally decided to come out around noon. I desperately wanted and needed a nap but figured I'd fill a trash bag or two with weeds before the trash got picked up. It was startling how muggy and hot it was outside. I bagged up my withered peas from the heat, weeded out half of the garden and mustered up a little more energy for another bag full of weeds from the front yard. Not even a half hour outside I was dripping like I never have before. My original goal was to avoid the main heat of the day considering it was supposed to be 104. After filling up the rest of the garbage can I called it quits and headed inside for a nap. Laying down with the boys I couldn't quite put my mind to rest.... our overgrown lawn was calling for a mow.

another shot of caffeine and I figured I'd hurry up and check the mowing off my list, shower and make lunch for Mitch by 3:30 and then I'd be able to enjoy a nap. {Mitch has a habit of interrupting my naps if he is working} Putting the mower on the tallest setting I made good progress with our forest.... until I make a second pass next to my perennial bed on the south side of the lawn.... Why in the hell is there a snake in my yard?!! My heart immediately pounds through my chest and I try to keep cool. As I keep eyes on it I weigh out my options. Mitch doesn't come home for another couple hours, I'm not really in the mood to sit here and watch it. I can't leave it and lose sight of it... that would be even worse. Maybe I can leash Jake and he'll get it and mangle it enough I can dispose of it. Perhaps mom is in town and can come to my rescue. Maybe someone in my neighborhood was home and could possibly help.... I would take ANY neighbor at this point.  I mow the rest of the area {like I would vacuum. back and forth} keeping my eyes on this horrible visitor. My first go at it was with Jake. But the little bugger disappeared while I went to leash Jake and bring him out front. Terrified my feet would find it, I kept my distance and called my mom. I asked her if she was in town and she reminded me she was working today. {I already forgot it was Wednesday in my panic} As I'm standing there shaking and trying to maintain some strength, Jake is sniffing the flowers and marking the front yard, Mom says she's the only one at work at the time being. {damn} Gratefully our old Bishop pulled into his driveway at that moment and I quickly called out to him. I asked him if he could come and help me with a snake. I was so grateful at the moment when he walked over. I hung up with mom, reigned Jake in close and explained what happened. He started to look while I took Jake to the back yard and came back with a shovel. Brother Clarine commented that it was going to be a good thing to have. I let him know it was a medium size garden snake but I'm absolutely terrified of them and just needed to have it leave my property. He starts poking around and lifting bricks and nothing.... We chatted up a bit while this was happening. Shovel in hand he even looked through the salvia, lavender and hollyhocks. Unfortunately nothing. He lifted the sprinkler valve box and peaked in.... nothing. he even offered to finish mowing that corner so I wouldn't have to be near it. I thanked him but told him I had managed to do so already. I asked him to double check the valve box. Sure enough the little stinker had curled up in the corner under the valve so he could hardly notice him let along grab him. I ran to the garage to grab my trowel, pruners... anything to help get rid of the thing. After pinning him down and attempting to kill it, he finally managed to catch him and pull him out. I asked him if he'd let me chop his head off in hopes of regaining a peace and courage from it. Brother Clarine was so kind and pinned it down for me and let me do the honors. Afterwards I went to scoop it up with the shovel and take it to the trash {sure glad the garbage truck had yet to come} but he was such a sweetheart and carried it over to his place and dropped it in his trash can. Brother Clarine was my angel today.

Breathing deep and trying to regain myself I called mom to let her know what happened. She was proud of me. I had texted Mitch earlier during it to let him know I found a freaking snake in OUR yard.... It was definitely a big moment for me. I did go back out and finish mowing the front yard, planted my peach tree {almost a month later after bringing it home} and then started on the back yard. As I was thinking about the whole situation I surprisingly got angry. I felt a little bit empowered but I was so pissed that the snake had found its way into my yard and took away the safety and peace of my garden. I don't think I've kissed my fear good bye but I took a GIANT leap in tackling my fear of snakes. Surprisingly enough it happened to be on my own turf. I pray that no more unwelcome visitors slither their way into my yard but I do know that I'll be taking them out with my trusty shovel now. So dear snakes beware!! You are NOT welcome here.

highlights of my week

getting a lot accomplished in my yard. my patio is looking a little bare due to the fact I'm finally getting more of my 'collection' planted. it feels good. plus my garden is looking beautiful.

having wednesday off and spending time indoors cleaning and organizing.

taking a nap {even though Mitch has great timing and always wakes me up sooner than I wanted}

taking Abby and Russell's engagement photos and spending time doing minor edits. I love the end results.

having Cezar spend lots of time snuggling me.

sleeping with the windows open and having the nights get chilly.

having date night with Mitch on Tuesday

getting my office put together a little more and hanging some vases {wedding gift} and will plant them with succulents..... sooo excited!!!

spending almost 4 hours with Jaclyn last night having dinner and catching up. Good golly it's been too long since we've enjoyed a girl's night and spending some quality time together! Looking forward to the 18th lady!!

looking forward to spending tonight {Friday} soaking up some more girls time with Nanna. It will be epic as always.

driving Mitch's Z for the first time ever. It's been 6 months since I've driving clutch. I forgot how exciting and fun they are to drive.

making it to yoga this morning. the one highlight of having to switch schedules with Sanna at work. My body needed it {as always}

live and let live

it's a hard lesson to learn.
I'm trying more and more to accept everyone and everything for who and what they are.
everyone has their own agency and gets to experience life in their own way.
we all have our own voice of conscience
we don't need everyone playing the roll for us

tonight as I was sitting on my patio enjoying the light breeze and trying to cool down {Jake is a mini furnace}
I watched as the boys were tearing around the back yard burning off the last little bit of energy.
in that moment I was a warm fuzzy happy inside
just an hour earlier I was having a 'holly' moment.
I was exhausted and worn out and ready to crawl into bed and indulge in it....
however since the sun was still out, we hit play and watched another episode of our current show.
as I was basking in my warm fuzzy happy moment
I realized that I experience 80-90% good
and only 10-20% bad
gratefully I've come a long way from were I was last year at this time.

each day brings new light
and each day I take another step
some days are easier than others
some days I make more progress in becoming the woman I am {have the potential to be}

my bad moods don't last as long as they used too
and even though I'm consistently tired
{thank you dear health}
I find that I'm progressively in a better place

I'm only human though...
and heaven only knows how many faults I have
but I see growth inside myself.

you can't judge my choices

without knowing my reasons

-unknown

the angels were looking out for us

today started out like any normal Sunday.
Mitch had to work
I slept in and then got ready for church
and prepped the lesson for sunbeams.
Luckily I ended up over preparing and I survived teaching all by myself.
Mitch beat me home
I made smoothies for lunch
we sat on the back patio enjoying the sun and letting the dogs play for a bit
than I headed upstairs for nap time.
I rolled out of bed at 5,
Mitch headed out side to check on our tri tip steak
I went to look out the office window and saw our siding completely melted.
I knocked on the window and Mitch noticed it about the same time
he waves to have me come down stairs
I attempt to grab my phone to snap a picture but couldn't find it in the blankets on the bed
hurrying outside Mitch asks me to grab the hose.
I soak down the side of the garage as he attempts to turn the grill off.
then pulls the grill out further into the patio.
standing there I couldn't help but start to laugh.
Mitch didn't find it amusing at all.
We are incredibly grateful and lucky that the garage didn't go up in flames.
our delicious tri tip met the garbage
the garage smells like melted siding
and the grill is toast.
we called our home owners insurance
and are hoping they'll cover most of the repairs.
it could have gone from bad to worse in minutes....
the angels were looking out for us today.

a couple of reasons I'm the luckiest girl in the world

This past week my hubby went above and beyond to make sure I was taken care of during my crazy work week/days. I'm beyond words grateful for everything thing he did. Watering my plants for me, taking care of the boys, making sure laundry was done so I had clean clothes to wear, bringing me lunch on Saturday, getting me a beautiful bouquet of roses for Mother's day {I'm a fur momma}, making sure I was able to relax and rest on Sunday, letting me sleep extra, helping me in the yard..... I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Mitch has really out done himself lately. I'm feeling incredibly loved. Thanks for everything you have done for me sweetheart! I appreciate you and everything you do for me and our little family.

12 of 12 : Instagram style

This past week was crazy busy for me. Mother's day week is the busiest week of the year for us at the garden center and true to form.... I squeezed as many hours in at work as I could muster in order to keep things running smoothly. I started Saturday morning bright and early in hopes of being into work by 7:30 knowing the crowds would start early. I laid in bed soaking in the quiet of the morning, scanning through my phone and realizing it was the 12th.... there was no way I'd be able to tote my SLR around capturing my day. So I settled with my iPhone, knowing that it'd be easy to snap pictures of my day.

So here is my 12 instagram style :)

1: early morning. Spending a few quiet moments with the boys before getting ready for the day
2: waiting for my laundry to dry, so I could get dressed
3: clocking in for the morning. I was already at 43 hours for the week.....
4: I'm in love with all the hydrangeas that arrived Thursday!!

5: Mother's day weekend.... Saturday is the busiest day of the year
6: lines all the way to the back of the store
7: 15 min lunch break with Mitch. He surprised me with Cafe Rio. Best lunch ever!!
8: 3 pm = survival cake {that my momma brought for everyone} and caffiene

9: a quick visit to the baby goats
10: empty parking lot. best view all day. Glad to be going home
11: I walked in the door to the most beautiful bouquet or roses. A beautiful way to say Happy Mother's day to me. Mitch has really rocked my world this weekend. {Thanks for being the best Honey!!}
12: my daily walk through my yard.

the makings of a perfect evening

I've been in a minor funk the past day or two... super tired and struggling through the days.
I seemed to finally be kicking that funk out the door this afternoon...
but the golden ticket came with a text from Mitch asking if I could be home by 5:10.
I sure could.
When he got off work and called me I asked him what he wanted to do.
As usual his response was 'I don't know.'
but he quickly made up his mind...
lets take the boys for a hike.
Once home I checked on my yard and did a little watering.
I noticed some green coming up where I planted my hardy kiwi last year.
I went to go look at it and happened to step on the rake and have it crack me in the head!!!
Surprisingly I didn't even swear.
Clutching my head I swept the leaves away from the green and saw that my kiwi is coming back!!
I thought it had died.

Super excited, however my throbbing head kept it from being too exciting.
Mitch came out and kissed my head and asked if I wanted to stay home.
The neighbors were mowing their yard and I knew that the boys wouldn't be able to spend any time outside because of it. {naughty boys}
I sucked it up and got dressed, Mitch brought me some pain reliever
and then he suggested we get Subway on our way up to Battle Creek.
We filled our camelbaks and grabbed subs and headed up the mountain.
It was beautiful.
The boys loved being on the mountain smelling everything.

Mitch and I were surprised by how well we handled the hike this time around.
its sad thinking how bad of shape we were in last year.
We enjoyed our subs and the boys begged for some too.
After our picnic we headed back down because it was getting cold and Mitch forgot a jacket.
I have to say that it was a perfect way to spend our evening.
Once home and showered I went out back to enjoy the spring air and paint my nails while the boys enjoyed being outside.

It has been a wonderful evening!
I'm grateful for time with my hubby and boys and time to ground myself.

everyone needs boyfriends

I spent my day with the most darling little men ever. My morning was filled with getting acquainted with Crew, catching up with Kellen, playing at the park, switching laundry and making lunch for the two. Crew is the most polite 2 year old I've ever known. He says thank you for everything. Absolutely adorable! Kellen is so big!! I started with the Harts back when Kellen was 6 months old.... He turns 5 next month. Crazy how time flies. The afternoon was filled with folding laundry, Crew taking a nap, spending time with Kellen, catching up with Kaden and Chaz when they got home from school and cooking dinner. It was a fabulous day. I loved spending the day with them!

Tonight I've got Pilates.

I picked up a new yoga mat and a AM/PM yoga DVD for the days I can't make it to the gym.

Kissed on my boys.

Walked through my yard. It's a daily ritual for me :) I love seeing the growth of all my plants.

Ate some yummy cadbury mini eggs... Craving a little chocolate.

Oh, so Saturday night we got a screw in the jeep tire.... gratefully it held enough air til this morning so we could drive it to Discount Tire. Mitch was a sweetheart and got up and came with me. 7:40 am we arrived and able to get it in line for service. Highlight of the day -- they fixed it for FREE!!! Amazing :) Thank you Discount Tire.

busy living life

Time has flown by the last couple of days. I suppose with spending majority of my hours at work and then attempting to get a few things down around the house... poof the days pass by. 

Last Friday I was able to make it to Yoga. It was exactly what I needed. Headed into work at 11. However, Mitch had the day off since it was Good Friday and I kept wishing I was home hanging out with him. 2:30 rolled around and I called him and told him to come pick me up at 3. {he was trying to get bids on new tires for me and even surprised me by installing a new radio in the Jeep for me. Mitch is amazing!!!} I gave Andrea instructions for the greenhouse. And I took off to spend some time with my man. We rented a movie, grabbed a few snacks and curled up at home. It was the perfect way to spend some time together.

Saturday I aimed for a short day as well. {the joys of pulling crazy hours the first part of the week} We had invited Hope to come have a sleep over with us, since she was such a help with Cezar when we got the furnace replaced. We headed home shortly after 1, took showers and got ready to go out shopping. Mom had asked if we could go shoe shopping for her. I even found a darling pair of flats. Mitch wanted to do a little something extra for Hope, so we hunted for a pair of skinny jeans for her {the ones she was wearing had holes in them} For being a girl, I was surprised that she wasn't into shopping more. Maybe she was being polite. For dinner we grabbed our favorite Chinese - Fongs. We decided to play Monopoly after dinner. It's Mitch's favorite game. I had fun watching Hope try to figure out the best way to get ahead in the game. We had a fun time playing it.... but like always Mitch won. 

Sunday was Stake conference. We stayed home. Mitch was up for over 3 hours sick throwing up during the night. I was even a good wife and got up with him {once he called for me}. Our day was pretty low key. Hope and I made Nanna's birthday cake for her birthday dinner that night. It'd been such a long time since I'd baked a cake, I had to ask Hope for a few pointers since she makes cakes more frequently. I took a short nap before Hope and I headed down to my parents. We made a quick stop at Mitch's parents to drop off a Easter Lily. {it's one of Susan's favorite flowers} Cezar came with me and was on really good behavior when we stopped by. Hope was glad to finally make it home. Nanna was thrilled that Cezar came too. They adore each other. I helped mom hide the girl's Easter candy for their Easter hunt. As we watched Hope and Faith search for their goodies, Jelly {my parents renter} came out to sit with us with her darling baby. Cezar shocked Nanna and I by crawling into Jelly's lap and curling up. Cezar has been so wary of strangers we didn't know how to take his behavior. It was darling though. He even showed interest in her baby. I suppose they is hope for good manners {someday ;) lol}. We enjoyed homemade Cafe Rio for Nanna's birthday dinner. After presents and cake, Cezar and I said our goodbyes and headed home. Cezar fell asleep next to me, I had to stop for gas and was grateful to make it home safely after the holiday traffic. 

Today I had scheduled work off, planning on starting work for Amy again. She forgot that it was spring break though and they would be out of town. I decided to keep the day off though and try to get caught up on some things around the house. I started the day out with Yoga. I never regret crawling out of bed and headed to the gym. It's seriously the best way to start the week off. After Yoga, Mitch and I made a quick trip to Home Depot to pick up new oil for the lawn mower. Stopped at the credit union to look into refinancing the furnace we just had installed. Then I helped Mitch change the oil in the mower so I could get some yard work done. I was exhausted though, so after Mitch headed to work I crawled into bed for a nap. I'm glad I did!! I woke up and spent the rest of the afternoon in the yard. I feel accomplished :) Mowing, edging, dead headed last years perennials, weeding, cleaning out the garden, planting carrots, watering all the flower beds, transplanting a few things to new places in the yard.... The yard looks so much better. A quick shower to wash off the dirt, I headed to Pilates. Needless to say I'm absolutely exhausted tonight. A good exhausted though.