it's been said

 

{while reading the picture scriptures}

I'm tryin' to find the Lamanites! Oh, here they are.

+

{note the speaker}

Belle: Ah-choo! Ah-choo!

Belle: Oh, excuse you!

Belle: You're excused.

+

{to me, while playing}

So how's your morning day? Is it pretty noxious? Or pretty happy.

+

Me: We need to go home and clean because our apartment is a dirt ball.

Belle: No it's not! There is no dirt, and there is no balls!

+

{after I sing The Man of La Mancha}

Belle: You are NOT the man of La Mancha, Mom.
I'm the GIRL of La Mancha.
And Daddy's the MAN of La Mancha.

+

{while the girls bathe}

Me: Don't pour water on Lou's head, please.

Belle: Okay. I willn't.

+

Belle: Okay Mom. What's this animal?

Me: A frog.

Belle: GOOD JOB MOM! Now try this one. What's this?

Me: A giraffe. WOW! Great job Mom!

{and so on...}

+

{while playing "I Spy" in the car}

Belle: I spy with my little eye something that is blue on your legs...

Me: Um, is it maybe my...shorts?

Belle: YES! Mom, you got it! Good job! Okay, now your turn.

 

 

Belle: What are we doing?

Me: We're driving to Target.

Belle: I don't wanna go to the red store!

{blaspheme!}

+

{while reading her special reading books, to Lou}

If you touch my books I'll be very uh-set at you! These are VERY SPECIAL books!

+

{as we drive to the Natural History Museum to meet friends, one of which is a boy just older than her}

I think I'm gonna hold his hand...{to herself}...I dunno...Yeah, I think I am.

+

{while visiting her great grandma, whom we haven't seen in a while}

So....Gram....what have you been doing?

{she often does this adult conversation thing and cracks us up like crazy}

+

{when Grandpa met us at Temple Quarry Trail}

Papa! Did you choose to come meet us?!

+

{while teaching me how to do "bones" and "park it"}

Me: Like this?

Belle: Yes. That is correct!

+

{singing to the tune of A Spoonful of Sugar}

Just a spoonful of Nutella makes the sugar go down!

{no truer words...}

+

Belle: Mom, do you know what kind of dog this is?

Mom: No, what kind is it?

Belle: It's fat. This dog is fat.

 

 

 

the mountains are calling

So for a while there, we had a very busy daddy. And while he did a very good job of finding evening hours for his girls, it was a rough go for a while. Lately, things have eased up a bit, and he's been home most evenings. Naturally, we've headed to our favorite spot (The Temple Quarry Trail at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon) on several occasions to walk and talk and decompress. We've also been house hunting like mad (and failing like crazy, good times), and this little trail and the proximity to the mountains is the primary reason we've decided to stay in area we're renting in. There's something incredibly renewing about walking where the trees have been talking for decades. And as you can tell, our girls are right at home in these rocks and trees. And I'm so glad they are. I hope that even when technology tries to take over their lives - and let's be honest, it has in many ways already - they'll remember the mountains and return over and over like we love to do.

big lights will inspire you

 

 

My sweet sister-in-law, Whitney, up and moved to New York, New York last week. Here's the thing: Whitney is hands down the most selfless and loving person I know. She's not just the champion of babysitters, she's also one of my best friends. And everyone's best friend. The trick is, she is sincerely everyone's friend. She cares deeply and serves without question. She is truly amazing. When she got accepted to her dream school in New York, I was thrilled for her, albeit a little terrified at how we'd all survive without her for a few years. (Years?!) And so to celebrate her and her achievements and to show her that although we would all miss her but were THRILLED for her - I decided it was time for a party. (When is it NOT time for a party in my world?) I kept my plans on the uber down low for a few months. You see, keeping a secret from Whit is like getting me to clean the bathroom. Nearly impossible. I let her sister in on the plan about a month out, and we let others in on an "as needed" basis. No lie. It wasn't that someone would want to spill the beans, just that it's nearly impossible to not tell Whitney everything!

 

 

Miraculously, she never found out. Even when she had a work party come up exactly during the time we had scheduled her surprise. Strangely, that work party got "canceled," and she walked in to a big old group of friends and family who love her and celebrate her. It was a perfect night, with New York foods - pizza! pretzels! hot dogs! - and laughter and love. I hope it was just what she needed. The next few weeks will have their lonely moments for her. But I hope when it gets a little quiet in her tiny apartment, she can look back and treasure all the love that was in the room that night. Because it was all for her.

 

 

A big thanks to everyone who took my crazy ideas and ran.

This was a family event, to say the least, and I'm so glad we have

an army to pull off crazy things like this! Thank you!

 

A few notes on sources:

Balloons - We strung them up as there's a nation wide helium shortage. No lie.

I Heart NY necklaces - This started as a "let's buy everyone a shirt!" idea.

Then into headbands when we did a little math.

Then brilliantly into necklaces. (Thanks Steph!)

Cupcakes and "black and white" cookies - Granite Bakery custom made these for us.

I was up til the wee hours of the night in Lake Powell text messaging Kim

telling her all these random things I was dreaming up, including the baked goods,

as we had very little time when we returned to pull it together.

Pretzels - Did you know you can buy these in bulk at Sam's?

Like the delicious ones Sam's serves at their deli?

Many thanks to Grandma Cheney for hunting these down (and the rest of the food).

Printables - Subway signs, framed message, etc. were made by me.

Tabletop cityscape - I had this cock-eyed idea to make a skyline out of cardstock.

And Grandma Cheney - Master of the Cricut - was all, done and done.

Starry and glittery decor - I went down the star aisle at Zurcher's and put everything into my cart.

 

heaven on earth

So we went to Lake Powell with the Cheney clan last week. No, I was not just being lazy for yet another week and not blogging. I was busy basking, silly. Usually I'm just lazy. This time I was both lazy and basking.

When I was little, my family went almost yearly to Lake Powell, and it truly is one of my most favorite places on earth. It's beautiful and refreshing. And relaxing, even when there is a lot of work involved. Because technically, you don't have to do anything. Including shower. There's no Internet, no one knocking at your door. Just the water licking your toes and the smell of that lake in the air that is so singular it escapes description. Something like exhaust and sand and sunblock all mixed together.

I haven't gone to Powell since the summer before I got pregnant with Belle. And this year we took the girls. Admittedly, I was nervous. Belle is the most cautious child, and adhered to the life jacket rule before she even left the apartment (literally - she made sure I knew the rule fifty thousand times before we left), but Lou? She posseses little caution and pretty much loves to test everything. Boundaries are made to be stretched. Thankfully, no one was hurt or fell in or had any scares. They just built a sand village (with a ridiculous water feature) with Daddy and rode in the "little boat" that goes "bump bump bump" (Belle's favorite part) and refused to ride the "motorcycle boats" (waverunners). Belle was - as expected - nervous about the water. But she worked up enough courage eventually to hang out on the ladder at the back of the boat and ventured out a few times with me or her Aunt Whitney. And Lou just wandered around being goofy. As always. All in all, it was perfect and REALLY needed. We had the best laughs and the deepest sleeps, borne of lazy sun-drenched days. Good times all around.

And because this blog has become a serious dumping ground - cue the massive photo dump. You're welcome Grandma Lichelle and Aunties. The rest of you are excused. :)