happy birthday ruby!

Happy birthday to the craziest little two year old. Last night Ruby woke up around midnight and did not want to go back to bed. After climbing out of her crib for like the tenth time I found her in her room with the lights on, her pajama bottoms off and in the hamper, and she was trying on skirts out of her bottom drawer. She is a crack up. Seriously, not a dull moment. My favorite thing about Ruby is that she has a sense of humor. AND she thinks she is funny. Which in her defense, she usually is. 

Happy Birthday Ruby Lou. We adore you. You are crazy, darling, fun, happy, wild, particular, and wonderful. And I wouldn't change a thing about you.

Love you!! 

The Morning Person

There are few things that Parker loves more than waking up very early Saturday morning and watching Holmes on Homes with his family of dogs.

I hear Parker's little feet bouncing up the stairs each morning between 6:30 and 7:00 am. He shuffles around in the living room for a few minutes, making sure all the stuffed dogs he carried up from his bedroom are comfortable, then heads into our room. He sings "good morning," in an unnaturally happy voice. Then asks one of us to make him a toast and turn on the tv.

He is a strange and delightful little man, especially in the morning.

me too.

Me too, Soph. 

Love you, my Scooch.

M.I.A.

I am feeling a bit sad that I haven't been keeping up on here. 

Mostly for selfish reasons. Like, I want to look back and make sure that I got the important stuff.

Like my sweet Nana passing away.

And our trip to the Pumpkin Patch for the perfect pumpkins.

And the many outfits and accessories that Ruby wears each day.

Or the concerts we attended. The friends we laughed with.

A perfect Thanksgiving, shared with family.

Or the cute big words that Parker says each day, like hysterical.

Oh, and  Halloween. It was so fun.

So yah.  I need to be better. 

Mostly, because a funny thing happens when I start writing about my life and kids.

I am more aware of my many blessings.

And less concerned about my so called needs.

Perhaps, that will be my goal for this Holiday Season. To really, truly be more 

grateful.

awesome.

Ruby is awesome.

dear blog.

Dear Blog,

Hi.

I haven't forgotten you. Okay, maybe I have a little. I'm just busy trying to juggle the things I put in my life.  Truthfully though, I think you are important. So I hope that you'll take me back.  I actually write down cute things about my kids and my life on here that I don't want to forget. And, you connect me with people that I like a lot. It's good to be connected. It's good to have people that you like a lot.

Ruby is growing up at the speed of light. She yells funny things, makes people at Target hate me, and seems to think she is hilarious (Like father, like daughter). Parker is pleasant, happy and entertained by stuffed animal friendships. He is also really kind. His new preschool friend exclaimed to his mother, "Why is Parker just so nice?" Ruby would beg to differ though. Sophie is a big first grader, conquering jumprope and the monkey bars. She reads to me at night and we play math addition games. Her big brown eyes still melt me.

John and I may be a perfect mess of chaos right now. Perhaps we are guilty of "biting off more than we can chew." But alas, I think John has balanced it perfectly. He is well loved, but mostly by me.

So, I should write more often. And I hope I will.

Love,  Me

New dog... Old dog.

Parker is at a really cute age. He is getting so old and learning so much, and yet still so young and innocent.  He has a million questions, gives out the best hugs, and wakes up at the crack of dawn happier than anyone I know. He is just a fun kid to know. I really like being his Mom.

Since he was little he has loved his Old Dog. That is the name he gave him. He has "love holes"-little worn out holes in the fabric- he has been loved so much. Over the years I think John and I have come to love Old Dog too. I have had to be so careful, and so far in a little over four years, we have yet to lose Old Dog.(There is no replacement!) Mind you, he has gone missing before... luckily not for long. One time he was missing for a day or two and when I found him nicely tucked in the playroom, inside the play kitchen oven, I told Parker where he was. Parker responded with, " No Mom, he went to the mountains to visit Ronnie Reynolds." Oh. Okay.

About a month ago, there appeared New Dog. Not to replace Old Dog, just to be side by side with Old Dog. New Dog had previously lived in the playroom bin full of stuffed animals. I'm not even sure where he came from. Now Parker is teaching New Dog how to be a good dog. He takes both dogs on walks around the block, for real. He puts them in their dog beds for naps, he feeds them out of dog bowls full of cereal. He LOVES these dogs.

Maybe, this means I should cave (and this would be a huge cave...) and just get a real dog one day for this boy. But maybe not. He loves these dogs, and I know they love him back. And it reminds me of the white, "love holed", stuffed animal dog, Hoss, that slept with me for many, many years. Hoss was named after my favorite teacher, Mrs. Orphanakis' dog that died, while she was my teacher in Second Grade. Hoss was so matted and tattered from being washed so many times in the washing machine by my mom. That same dog is now in my grown-up (sort of) closet today, sitting on the top shelf because I can't bear to get rid of him.

It's not just an Old Dog. It's part of being a kid and loving something that makes you feel safe. I hope Old Dog makes it to Parker's grown-up closet top shelf one day too. In the meantime, I think Old Dog will continue to be dragged around our street at 7am Saturday mornings, on a real dog leash.

lunch date

Today for lunch Parker and I ate turkey sandwiches and strawberries. He got a book order form from preschool and we poured over the pages together. It was a heavenly thirty minutes circling each book that looked really fun to read. He said, "Mom, this is really fun, just you and me."

It really was.

It seems like our lives have filled up so quickly lately. Soccer, soccer practices, guitar, dance, work, house work, young womens, etc. that it is always in my nature to rush along to the next thing. There was no rushing today. After lunch we snuggled on the couch and watched an episode of "Word World" together.

It was good to slow down for a minute. And it was heavenly to spend it with my Parks. Love him.

Some things we missed...

I just glanced back through my pictures to see what I missed here on the blog. Here is a start....

We went to a Bee's game with the Parker clan, the Sessions and Adi and her kids.

Parker broke his arm falling of a chair in the back yard. I believe he, Soph, and Henry were playing Star Wars train. He fell off the train. :( It was a sad day.

We went on the boat. (Not enough, if you ask me.)

Cute Ruby on the boat.

Four generations on the boat. My darling grandma.

We went to California. (more on that to follow)

My sweet baby turned into a little girl.

bad bad blogger...

Wow. I have so much catch up to do! I can't believe that the last time I blogged was my birthday party. In fact I am so behind that I still have the stacks of thank you card from my party still on my counter. Sheesh. Well, summer was lovely and perfect and fun. I have a whole slew of photos that will trickle onto this blog over the next little while. The end of summer dished out a lovely surprise... a job opportunity that just couldn't be better. I had toyed around with the idea of going back to work part time and so I had gotten all my paperwork together thinking that if the stars aligned perfectly then I just might do it. I only wanted to do part time at Knowlton, my kids own school (and John's alma mater), so I wasn't sure if it was really going to be a possibility this year. After a few ups and downs and at the very last minute (like a week before school started), the position of my dreams opened up! And lucky me, they hired me. I am teaching part time 4th grade with my super good friend Tatiana. It is a dreamy set up.

Our class is darling. And it is so fun to be back in the classroom. It's like a part of me has come back. Maybe that sounds crazy, but I just am loving being there and loving my job. It is so fun to be at Sophie's school too. I saw her during an assembly yesterday and her whole face just lit up. It is the best.

So, eventually I will catch up... with the laundry, the deep cleaning, the garage cleaning, my sleep, being a good friend, and blogging. I've just been busy snuggling and loving my own kids and relearning the 4th grade curriculum. Life is really good.

my favorite birthday ever.

I think I want to turn thirty every year... especially if I get to redo the birthday festivities that accompanied turning thirty. It was my favorite birthday party celebrating ever.

To start John and I went out on my actual birthday. We went to Red Rock which is a personal favorite of mine. Mmmm. The Redrock burger is my favorite hamburger anywhere... Yum. Then we had a gift card to Boondocks so we went miniature golfing and played some arcade games. We had a pretty serious air hockey tournament. John won, I let him.

I took Sophie with me to go get a pedicure and a manicure. It was so cute. It was her first time and she was so cute. They actually just painted her nails, but she loved it. And so did I. Later Adrienne and I went to get massages and a Red Mango. 

And then Saturday night we celebrated. John and I decided to have a Dance Party for the party and were unsure how it would actually turn out.  I had so many awesome people help us pull off this party and it was seriously one of the funnest nights of my life. Maybe second to my wedding.(Oh wait, put it third... 2nd is Jason and Erica's wedding) It was that much fun. So thanks everyone that came. It won't be the last dance party that is thrown by the Connors'. And a BIG huge thanks to those lovely peeps that drove super far, and flew to be here. Muah! Hugs and kisses to you. 

And to my surprise.... I even got a choreographed dance from these lovely men, and some awesome ladies as well. It was amazing. Nothing short of perfection.   ( And yes, that is indeed George Costanza)

Straight-Up from Tom Garner on Vimeo.

Here is the video of the dance in case you missed it. :) Thanks everyone for the most perfect birthday anyone could ever ask for.  I am so lucky to have such good people in my life.  Thirty is awesome.  


PS. There are so many more pictures to come.......  and they will come.

loving....

I love summer time, and the way it smells.
I love where we live. It is so pretty.
I love late evening runs with my new fancy garmin gps watch that tells me everything about my run. (even if it tells me that I'm slow...)

I love my darling Soph, who is growing up too fast. She now has a toothless grin, which is adorable.
I love Red Mango. I daydream of that place. My goodness.. I just love it.
I love eating snap peas out of my garden while I read and the kids play in the sand box.
I love the way Parker has taken an renewed intense liking to his "old dog" and "old blankie". They are so tattered, and loved. And they keep him young.

I love days at the Farmington Pool, just being out in the sun. Even if Ruby is borderline impossible at the pool, it is still enjoyable.
I love the little stolen moments when Ruby isn't screaming, and she will actually let me hold her, and she wants to kiss me. Man, they melt my heart. And I love my alone time with her. She is so calm when the other two are off playing...

I love my cute hubby with all my heart.
I love trying to enjoy these moments. I truly believe that life is meant to be enjoyed. So amidst all the craziness and stress that seems to cloud my better judgement and perspective on life sometimes... I really do love these moments.
I love the song "Like A Prayer". It's playing right now at my house and it is making me happy. What an awesome song.
I love good friends.
I love wearing flip flops everyday. I'm sure it's terrible for my feet, but it's good for my soul.
I love hot pink nail polish. It's cute and it makes me happy.
I love the garlic and basil turkey burgers that we had for dinner tonight.
I love this week already... and I think it is going to get better.... Here is to turning 30 and loving it.

salem spring

I did the Salem Spring Triathlon last weekend. It was super fun, and I am hoping it was the first of a couple tri's this season. 

John, and I at the finish line after the race. Parker tagged along. The other two kiddos stayed home. Parker was a trooper and super fun to have there.

Pre race jitters. My bike tire had just popped for the second time right before this picture. Thanks to John, all the cash in John's wallet and the awesome bike sponsors at the race... I had a new bike tire in just the nick of time. In fact... I went to swim and John took my bike to get fixed. When I got out of the water I had a new tire. Best husband ever. Seriously.

My age group starting the swim. It was such beautiful weather that day. I saw my parents and sisters right before I got in the water and I didn't know for sure that they were coming... it made me get all choked up seeing them there.

Me coming out of the water and into the transition area.

Cute Parker and My Dad. Love these two sooooo soooo much. My Dad was always the inspiration for my athletic pursuits growing up. He never missed a swim meet, never missed a water polo game (except maybe the one he got kicked out of...), yelled super loud at every game, flew all over the country with me to water polo tournaments and camps, ran my first marathon with me and more. It always feel so right to have him be at events like this cheering me on. He is the greatest, truly.

Here I am doing an awkward shuffle run. It's what I do. I have no photo proof that I biked, but I did.

Parker eating my watermelon just after the race.

And on the way home... we stopped in Provo and ate at Hikory Kist ( for old times sake). And of course we then had to stop by and take a picture of our first house. Sooooo many memories here. We loved this place so much. Even if it was ghetto Provo and we were constantly being approached by homeless sketchy people. 

It was a good day.

summer...

I like summer. Bring on the BBQ's, the pool, the lazy days, my children fighting, the sun, the beach, the lake, waterskiing,good books, family, friends. I'm ready.

And just now I played catch up on the blog... a couple posts cracked out super fast while my children ran circles around me. Now it's dinner time.... I suppose I should figure that out. I wish I could make this picture come to life on my table right now......

Last day of school

I can't believe how fast time goes. Really. Soph finished Kindergarten. I can't believe how much she has grown this year! I am so proud of her.

My cute little walkers. These three walked to school together. Bless Hillary's good heart for taking that responsibility on. 

Sophie and her teacher Mrs. Neal. She was amazing, kind, perfect. We will miss her.

On to summer.

dance

Another recital in the books. Yipeee. It was a "small" recital year which was really nice. All the girls were great! Suzanne ( the lady we bought the studio from three years ago) came. And that was fun too. (Though Court was backstage for the picture! Sorry Court!)

 Then we went to Hires to celebrate. I felt like I was in high school.... it was awesome.

california

End of May we took a quick weekend trip to California to see our friends the Barnetts, to see The National in concert, and to celebrate Brandi's birthday at Disneyland. It was super fun.

Lunch at the Getty.

Santa Monica, Third Street

The amazing venue. The Wiltern was awesome. The National was amazing.

The fuzzy phone picture.

We consumed soooo much frozen yogurt in such a short time period. One day we had it for dinner.

The happiest place on earth, love it! Just after we ate a super expensive (overpriced) breakfast at our hotel... everything at Disneyland seemed so cheap in comparison after that. 

Disneyland crew... Jared and Coleen met us later. Why don't we have a picture of them too?

The boys.

Space Mountain hands up challenge... I love Space Mtn.

Glorious, fun weekend. It truly was so good to get away for just a minute.

And it was super fun to laugh and laugh and laugh.

Thanks guys.