Quick Takes

1. Dress Ups and Lego Duplos are hot items around here. I'd be lost without them. They are by far the most loved toys in our house. 

2. Last Friday I had a lunch date with these two cuties. They each earned a free kids meal at Hardee's via our library's summer reading program. They were pretty happy about the whole ordeal.

I forgot how much I love curly fries. Yummy deep fried goodness.

3. Almost two weeks ago we had our semi-annual dentist check up and Reido was a super star. He did not make a peep. They completed an entire cleaning and check up without any help from mom or dad (just puppy). He told me his favorite part was the X-ray. He also told me they practiced what was going to happen to his teeth on his fingers, I thought that was pretty clever.

4. He also had his last day at Tot Time. I wanted him to give something nice to his sweet teachers, three el ed college girls, but I didn't know any of their names (how horrible am I) so making a card was out of the question. Instead I grabbed three of my small size L'BRI lotions and had him give each of them one while looking them in the eyes and saying "Thank you for being my teacher." We rehearsed it a few times at home, and he was so excited and nervous "should I do it right when I get there, or at the end?"  We decided it'd be a good goodbye at the end of class, so when he saw my car pull up he ran over asking "where's my lotions?" Then I watched him walk back over to each of them and repeat "Thank you for being my teacher" three times, even though they were all standing right by each other as he did it. They "ooohhhed" and "aaahhhed" each time he did so. It really was quite adorable. He's been missing Tot Time this week and I think the whole experience has him really excited for preschool. Mission accomplished!

The tie-dye shirt was a Tot Time craft. Oh, and he did not pee his pants, just a leaky water bottle on the car ride over. 

5. A few weeks ago I was strolling through Toys R Us when my eyes found pure gold. PURE GOLD, I tell ya! This sweet baby was my first love. And I have proof. 

6. The weather has been absolutely amazing the last couple of weeks. We've spent lots of time enjoying ourselves in our back yard. 

7. On Monday the kids and I drove through the country to meet an old childhood love of mine (not the above Cabbage Patch doll, but the little girl with a similar one clutched to her chest in the above photo). We had lots of fun catching up. I was able to go to lunch with both Heidi and her big sister Annie. When we were little, little tykes our parents (and one other family) would have game nights and BBQs together and all us kids would run wild. Annie and my older brother Jon and Heidi and I always remained close friends. They just happened to be in Wisconsin for a quick weekend, and I was thrilled to go see them.

We did spend quite a bit of time chatting about old friends (both from our childhood and college years, since we were both Aggies). We talked about our current stages in life, and I probably came off as less than thrilled over motherhood and marriage. I was just kind of in one of those "motherhood is work" and "marriage is work" funks. Hard work. And while that is true (so much work), marriage and motherhood are also marvelous and beautiful and rewarding and joyful. 

Anyway, I don't have anything grand to say about my lunch date with Heidi, but it's a special little memory I want to keep tucked away here on my blog. As a mother I can only hope and pray my kids have a friend as dear and as sweet as she. I was truly blessed with a magical childhood, filled with wonderful playmates. I'm grateful the years and the distance don't keep us apart. I truly believe the relationships we forge on this Earth are Eternal and Divine.  

Flashback

I came across this picture today, and it just made me so happy.

I was looking for baby pics of me and Ben to see who Reid looks like.  Can you believe I've never even seen a baby picture of Ben?  That should be illegal.

The breakup

Shoot, I was telling Ben about this one the other day and I think he fell out of love with me for a brief moment. I didn't think it was that bad. What do you think? I started dating this guy the end of my Sophomore year (College) and he moved back to Idaho. I am such an out of sight out of mind person, plus I wasn't that into him to begin with so I don't know why I thought this could last. Well, a couple weeks into summer break I decided it had to end, there were too many other fish in the see for me. So I made plans to go see him in Idaho and end the whole thing, he of course thought I was coming to meet family and what not. Well, neither happened cause two days before he got in a motorcycle accident and was hospitalized. Whant-wa. So I stopped by the hospital for like an hour before I headed onto my roommates house in Driggs. Beautiful town by the way. Then I waited a week for him to get out of the hospital and just broke up with him over the phone anyway, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid in the first place. Go figure.

But the worst part, in Ben's mind, is that I must have led this guy to believe we could start dating again when he came back to USU. Which I knew was not the case. I had my eyes set on some other young lad and by the time Fall came around I knew nothing was going to happen. But the dude just got out of the hospital, I had to give him something to look forward to right?

Random and Fun

Ali did a fun tag (and we all know I'm a sucker for tags). It's easy too. You just post four pictures of yourself, starting with 2005. Try to use pictures that were taken around the same time of year, so you can see how you changed each year.

2005 Funny story. I was getting off the bus in Singapore when I short sighted the curb and landed flat on my face. The Chinese (who are all about saving face) were shocked to see me get up and burst out laughing. Sister Budge got a kick out of it too.

2006

No way would I have believed anyone if they had told me I'd be married six months after I got home from a mission. Sister Boston, my last companion, called it. But I thought she was talking crazy talk. She was right. Heavenly Father answered my prayers when he sent Ben my way.

2007
At the Hogle Zoo with my buddy Jaedon.

2008

When my girlfriends came to visit me I got a little girly. I used Al's diffuser to see if Heidi was right, anyone's hair can curl. And she was right, my flat, straight as a board hair did curl. But it only lasted a couple hours. So, what do you think? Should I buy a diffuser?

You're probably wondering about my Triathlon.  Well, I finished it. I'm waiting for some pictures before I post much about it.  So hold out till the beginning of the week.

This month's flashback friday is brought to you by:

YOU!!!

It's the memory game. Both my Sister-in-laws did this and I thought it looked fun. Here's how you play:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

High School Tag

Thanks Al, this tag came just in time for Flashback Friday.

1. If you could go back and tell your teenage self one thing, what would it be? Kiss more boys. That may sound sill (or even a little slutty), but I mean it. You're only young once. Oh, but be sure to only kiss.

2. Did you do any extra-curricular activities in High School? I did a little bit of everything. I loved being busy, busy, busy. But I was most involved in Basketball, Student Government, and the School Newspaper. And does making shakes at Leo's count, cause I did plenty of that.

3. What did you do in your spare time? Practice Basketball. I wanted to be a big star. I also spent a lot of time with my girlfriends. We were always up to something SUPER fun!

4. Coolest thing you did as a Teenager? Not care what other people thought of me; I'm grateful for that. I was just out there to have fun. Or . . . toilet papering one of my summer fling's house - while his parents watched. It was my guy friends idea; the dude was my first kiss, and then he totally dropped me. They wanted to get even with him. I later found out his parents made him clean it all up; he had it coming.

5. Did you have a boyfriend in High School? Not really. I had a huge crush on a kid who broke my heart . . . twice . . . both by kissing other girls (one of which was my best friend :) no grudges though). To prove I was over him I decided to go for the "new kid," but that didn't really flare up until my first year of college.

6. Any favorite songs come to mind? "Leavin Town" by Dexter Frebish and "Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse

7. If you could change one thing, what would it be? NOTHING. I've always had that attitude, I'd change nothing, not even my mistakes.

8. What did you think you would be when you grew up? A writer. Journalist or something like that.

9. Picture of self? I think it's fitting that the only picture I have in my house right now is this one. . .

. . . of the six of us. These are the girls I did everything mentioned in #10 with. And so much more. This was the night we took off to Denny's. One of our last nights together before we all headed our own ways to colleges across Utah. I love these girls and my memory of them will always be the greatest friendship I've ever had.

10. Craziest thing you did in High School? I could go on and on. Most of it was legal though, except that one night we spray painted our nicknames on some rocks at the rez. Other than that, it's stuff like decking out a brown suburban as a "Just Married" mobile and dragging main, night swimming at the thirty-foot, roller blading in the rain, camping with just girls (as opposed to all the times we camped with boys, and yes the time with just girls was WAY more fun than all the times with boys - something all teenage girls should learn), and of course taking off to Denny's (next town over) late at night with a detour to a swinging contraption hanging over the Sevier.

I had the best friends in the whole world. We invented all sorts of crazy fun. We also invented not telling our parents where we would be, just that we were sleeping over somewhere. Then we'd come in late at night and crash at someone's house (or on their trampoline). Our parents made a habit of calling each other early Saturday morning to find out where we were. One thing was certain, we were always together. We'd get in trouble for a little bit, but then Saturday night would roll around and we'd be back together again, cause the truth was all our parents loved each of us, and they didn't mind that we spent all of our time together. They knew we were good for each other.

I tag anyone who wants to reminisce about old times.

Firsts Tag

First memory I think that would be sitting on my mom's lap in our frontroom when she was pregnant with Phillip.

Food
1. First thing you made all on your own Probably cookies. I'm sure my mom was close by watching and I'm also sure Haley or Shellene was there with me. And some of the egg shells were likely to land in the batter.
2. First meal you cooked Mac and Cheese and No Bake Cookies for my brothers and Quinn and Devin Lindstrom. Devin probably offered to help, he was so nice to me when the big boys bossed me around. Gotta love being the only girl.

School
1. First formal schooling you had A preschool at BYU. I loved it.
2. First bad grade you earned Miss Beckwith flunked me when I was her library aide. Good thing I didn't need that class to graduate. I was so surprised, I thought I was her favorite. Meanwhile, I earned straight C's in Mr. Judd's Anatomy class. It was hard, and cute boys sat behind me. I couldn't help it.
3. First post high school education you had 4 and 1/2 years at USU.

Career
1. First job you dreamed of having Teacher
2. First time you made money Maybe babysitting, but I was never much of a babysitter. I cleaned my Aunt Syd's house for a few bucks a week. That might have come first.
3. First pay check job I was paid a small stipend for helping out in a elementary classroom during summer school of '95. That's right, I was only a seventh grader.
4. First career Teacher - oh I turned full circle on this one.

Travels
1. First family vacation Does a trip to Grandma and Grandpa Hardy's count? I loved going to visit them.
2. First time you went out of state Arizona, to the Grand Canyon
3. First roadtrip with your friends I drove to Fillmore to watch a track meet during my sophomore year in high school. I'm really surprised my parents let me do that, I was barely 16. I probably told them I was going to watch Jon but I was really going to watch Eric - which I'm sure they figured. I can't quite remember who went with me. I know there were only two people. I think I invited Haley, Heidi, Marie, and Ali. We drove in my blue bomb car. I bet Ali and Marie were the ones who ended up coming. Help me out here girls, were you there?
4. First time on a plane Ha, on the mission. Talk about a big break in. I was the flight leader for my MTC group and I was the only one who had never been on a plane. It was the craziest flight ever. China is FOREIGN!
5. First time out of the country Family trip to Tijuna. It was so fun. Jon had just come home from his mission and Matthew was about to get married. It was our last big thing together.

Boys
1. First crush Michael Corey. I was so in love with him in Kindergarten.
2. First boyfriend Remember the phrase "will you go out with me?" Well Eric Hintze passed me a note in the sixth grade with that very question and I was thrilled. But if you think that doesn't count it would still be Eric Hintze, in high school.
3. First time you held hands with someone Jeremiah Skeem at a football game in eighth grade. Funny that he ended up marrying my best friend!
4. First date Dave Stanworth, right after I turned 16. When he called and asked me out I didn't realize that he had asked me on a date. My mom had to point it out when I told her I was going to the movies with him, Shai Robison and Ryan Byrd.
5. First kiss Brady Wood. What a moment!
6. First love Jeff Plumb. I wish I could say Ben, but deep down I have to admit I gave bits of my heart away before I met him. But of course my love for Ben is heaps and bounds bigger. It's like comparing an atom to the universe.

I tag Shar, Ali, and Tosha and anyone else who feels like reminiscing about their firsts.

This is for you Al

My friend Ali tagged me in a Flashback Friday. So here are some pre-kindergarten photos.

I always had my fingers in my mouth. I love the pink curlers. I still remember staying up late to have my mom put them in. Probably until High School. Nerd.










Brother Jon was my favorite growing up. I can say that cause they've all been my favorite at one time or another. But I do remember really looking up to Jon as a kid. He was so nice to his dorky little sister. Look at him teaching me how to ride that tricycle.







I still have this dress.
Easter Sunday '87






How white trash is this!!! Seriously Mom and Dad . . . thanks for the fun times.


Me and my friend Heidi go way back. We always did the funnest things at her house. This is a Christmas countdown we made. Fashion was so great back then.
















These are some photos from a family vacation we took to Bryce and Grand Canyons. Notice Phil's pink blanket. I love it. My brothers are so cool.

Flashback Friday was a blast. I'll probably make it a monthly habit. I just love memory lane. I feel so blessed to have had such a good family and such wonderful friends. I wouldn't change anything about my life. I tag anyone who wants to waste time digging out old photos and sharing some cherished memories.