Breathing in that fresh mountain air...

A morning adventure to close out my mama's time with us here in Utah...now it's on to Texas! Jen

Tour de coop...

So, we kinda want chickens. We aren't sure yet and so we went on the city's "tour de coop", a day where you can tour urban homesteaders' backyards. We only made it to three homes, but they were amazing. Huge gardens, bees, chickens, a sun oven cooking a quiche...it was all very inspiring. It made me want to simplify, spend more time at home, work harder, slow down. Amelia kept proclaiming her love for chickens and that she is SO EXCITING about getting some. Sam, though less exclamatory, is probably the one that would spend the most time helping mama and daddy care for them. So, we shall see but either way it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
All for now,
Jen

Beautiful boy.

We love him so.

Retro.

We went to a cute little retro cafe yesterday. The babes were a little fussy from their late night out the night before so we didn't stay long (yes, just long enough to fill them with a little sugar:). It was fun though and the babes thoroughly enjoyed their cupcakes:)






All for now,
Jenn

Chicago!

Admittedly, I don't know much about music. It has just never been a huge part of my life (except for hymns and spiritual songs and songs from Annie and Newsies:) . I love music, but I don't love music--you know? I can only think of a handful of concerts I have been to--Rich Mullins, Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson, and the bands my brothers have worked for (older brother)/played in (younger brother). Just like my relationship with being a sports spectator--I mostly just love it if my brothers are somehow involved:)

However, when my mama said that her friend could possibly get us tickets to Chicago my ears perked up and songs and emotions came rushing forth. Here was my immediate memory upon hearing the word Chicago:

I am in 6th grade. I am at my friend Lesley's house spending the night and we are up late listening to music on headphones. She puts in one called Chicago and I think it may have been her older sisters' music (hi Court and Ashley!:) . I'm not sure if it was because the music belonged to her sisters or because it was all about dramatic break ups and unrequited love, but at that moment I felt so worldly and so...understood! Finally someone was singing about these feelings that my 6th grade hormonal, boy crazy heart was pumping out. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down as many lyrics as I could. I think I memorized the songs instantly. I may or may not have begun writing letters to my unrequited loves in school, working in some of the lyrics. Oh my.

You see, I don't have many of these musically inspired memories. So, this Chicago memory was fun and I suddenly could not stop singing all of those lyrics that were stained into my heart forever:)

We got to go to the concert and it was so. much. fun. It was a beautiful evening at Red Butte Gardens. The people watching was great (though I am not a "dance your heart out" kinda girl, it is so fun to watch people that are:) and they really did put on a great show. Such a fun memory with my mama and Joel, though mom and I were much more into it. The babes were having a fabulous time at their friend Vera's house (thanks again Anne!) and it was just a great time all the way around.

That's all for now,

Jen

Two babes asleep in their beds, fan whirring and music playing as they sleep. Mammy painting a mural in their bathroom, bold with her decisions of color and space. Mama reading a good book, hungrily turning the pages while the warm summer breeze blows through the window. The cherry tree outside the window. The tree we have watched so closely, waiting and watching as the tree went from bare to blooms to green to red and now it is waiting for us to come and pick it's fruit.

I want to take the time to write about each of these summer scenes as they come, but it is hard to take the time in this season. I want to write about our yard sale finds, our summer salad recipe we can't stop making, our trips to the new community center, seeing Chicago tonight at Red Butte, finally breaking through my adoption paperwork funk, how I am so looking forward to seeing my Texas family in a week, and so much more! Maybe I will get back in a writing rhythm soon, but I won't make any promises:)

All for now,

Jen

Summer love...

Lots of blueberry popsicle, sandbox playing, park going, tree climbing, garden exploring, summer love to you! Jen

Confessions of a yard sale junkie...

What made yard saleing today even more fun than usual? My mama was with me!!!!!!! So, so wonderful. We were up and out the door by 6:45 am and after a quick caffeine stop we were on the way to our first sale.

I walked in (a big church gym) and the first thing I saw was a table with a shoe box on it. I looked in the box and what did I see? About 5 GIANT whales and about 5 small ones. Many of you who read the blog know that these types of animal toys are the babes absolute favorite, and sea creatures are the most beloved these days. Anyway, I was so excited. I got the whole box for $2. :)

We also got some great clothes for Fall.

Onto the next sale where I found 2 brand new stainless steel trash cans for the kitchen ($5 each). Also some dress up clothes and books.

The last sale was tough. We had the babes with us by this time and we found a jack pot of a sale.It was tough to navigate with two hungry, tired children but Mammy saved the day and took them on a walk. Major outdoorsy people with money equals lots of great stuff for our Utah adventures. I got two new, quality sleeping bags for the babes (I paid $20 each-- $99 each in store!), some patagonia shirts for Amelia, some clothes for Joelie, and a new bag for my mom.

Some of the loot.

The babes try out their sleeping bags and Sam tries on a kitty costume. Amelia loved having her own, personal cat and couldn't stop hugging him, petting him and dragging him all over the living room:)
Sammy and Joel sleeping the rainy afternoon away:)

Amelia ready to head out to a tea party with mama.

Amelia trading her HUGE whale for Claire's adorable Peter Rabbit. I think Claire was like, "Um, what is this monstrosity?" :) Happy 1st bday to our adorable little friend.

Reunited after the party. They were SO happy to see each other and played and played until bedtime. A little time apart can work wonders!
Before story time tonight...I just think they look so adorable in their little PJs:)

Lovely day, lovely deals, happy mama.

Jen

Oh to be three...

To paint with your hands and your feet, to make mud muffins, to dance, to help, to listen...and through it all, to learn. This is being three, so wild and free.

Confessions of a yard sale junkie...

I admit it...I love yard sales. A lot. lot. lot. lot. It was hard for me to admit that for a while. I mean, I work hard at moving toward simplicity and that means having less stuff, not more, right? I really don't want buying stuff to be my hobby, no matter how cheap it is!

However, I have grown to accept that as long as I set limits for myself, stick to things that we really "need" or will use frequently, it's okay! It's okay Jenny! So, in an effort to embrace this little "hobby" of mine I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite finds and my observations in a weekly post called , "Confessions of a yard sale junkie." The weather only permits them for a few months here anyway, so you won't have to endure this for too long.

I'll start by sharing a little story from last weekend. I was on a mission to find rugs and/or dark curtains. I walked up to a sale and saw a great looking green rug. I walked briskly over to it and started to look it over. "Land of Nod" (good), a little pilling (not good), "how much is it?" "Ten bucks"(I think that's pretty good). I think maybe I should ask for $8 when a man quickly walks towards me and asks if I'm buying the rug. It must be a great deal! He is going to take it and run if I don't! "Oh yes, I am buying it" I say confidently while hugging the rug a little closer. "Oh great, can I carry it to your car for you?" He replies.

Um, what? It quickly registers that this is his home and he was just being helpful, not trying to steal the rug away. Ahem.

Good thing I love it under our dining room table:)

Anyway, more funny stories and treasures found to come! Jen

Whew, today was a fussy one. Lots of crying and whining and time outs and, I hate to admit, raised voices. By rest time I was just ready for a new day! Thankfully, we get one of those tomorrow:) But to end this one on a good note, I thought I would share some pictures of sweet moments I was able to capture. They really are plentiful.

First up: Little friends.
These three have been visiting Red Butte Gardens together since they were barely walking!

Here they are this morning in a brief moment of peace. They were so adorable working together making a birthday cake for their cows and singing "Happy Birthday" to them over and over.

Meet JJ. Is he cute or what?! We feel so thankful to have he and his fabulous parents living right next door! I'm hoping Amelia didn't scare him away yesterday as she professed her love for him about 25 times while he was over playing:) "I love you JJ because you are a big boy! I love you JJ because you are my best friend named JJ. I just love you JJ."

Here they are making banana bread...they were so proud and serious about their job!

Oh, and big friends are pretty wonderful too. Really, what would we do without them? Here are our book study friends--hope you guys don't mind being on the blog:)
Ok, a few other favorite things of late:
A new rug to add some color to the dining room (Land of Nod $10 yard sale find!)

These beautiful roses pouring in from our front yard bushes. Also, this new cookbook ( .25 yard sale find!). Already made some yummy salad dressing, banana bread, and spaghetti sauce. Mmmm. Simple, whole foods recipes.

Joelie's garden work: Making this house a home!
See (Jenny)? Lots of good stuff going on. Here's to hoping that tomorrow will be a more peaceful, loving day! Jen