Lemon Squeezy

If you've never had help hand-squeezing 6 cups of lemon juice from these two adorable, professional juicers, you are missing out, my friends.

It goes WAY faster with their mad skills.

Easy peasy.

Love Pile

 Please enjoy some post-Valentines Day love-piling from four of my favorite people in the world.

Sometimes they drive me crazy. But mostly they are spectacular little humans.

What a wonder it is to be their mommy.

A Life Remembered

This weekend we celebrated the life and mourned the death of my sweet father-in-law, Dennis, who passed away in August. We had a simple, beautiful ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, where Dennis received full military honors and was remembered with tears and laughter by family and friends. It was very touching to see how many people were in attendance, most of them traveling great distances to be there. It was a wonderful  tribute to a sweet, gentle man, and a fitting farewell considering how many lives he had touched with his kind and calm demeanor. 

Songs were sung, words shared, prayers spoken, and then his remains were laid to rest at last. It was quite sobering to witness, but what a blessing to remember that his spirit lives on despite the fact that his physical body remains here on earth and we are continuing through our lives without him. Truly we have the privilege of not only remembering his life here on earth, but of ultimately seeing and embracing him again once our own earthly sojourns have come to an end.

Difficult as this whole experience has been, I pray that it is a gift to help us to remember what a fleeting and precious gift life is, and to encourage us to fill the time we are allotted with compassion and tenderness as Dennis seemed to do so effortlessly.

{Joy Young & Linda Monson}

{David & Pam Monson, Linda Monson}

“Life in all its resiliency, beauty and strength is sometimes eclipsed by its unquestionable transient frailty. Today we are alive…tomorrow is not promised. And it seems, the evil that lurks in the shadows, this side of heaven, often has its say. But let it never be that we allow evil, which basks in our fear, to hinder our ability to live vibrantly unafraid of what tomorrow might bring. The only way to defeat the inevitable darkness that touches this world is to live and love brilliantly bright with purpose. To not do so, is to diminish the very memory and glow of all the beautiful lights that have gone out before us.”  -Jason Versey

(P.S. Thanks so much to Handsome Zac, my soon-to-be nephew-in-law, for taking so many great pictures so that we could focus on the ceremony. And to my amazing family for coming so far to be a part of this. And my mother-in-law Linda for being so strong and amazing. You guys really are the best.)

Those Are the Rules (I Didn't Write 'Em)

The rules of photography clearly state that, "at any given time, only one of the party being photographed shall look directly at the camera and make a decent and/or passable expression..."

Clearly these boys are rule followers.

Top {Mommy} Chef

 You know it's been a long day when the remains of dinner look like this:

{Tuna sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, cheese quesadillas. 

Oh, and  Pirate's Booty. LOTS of Pirate's Booty.}

Not surprisingly, it's nights like this when everyone actually eats all of their dinner. (Except Lex, who ate enough Pirate's Booty to sink a ship and then opted out of eating her tuna-fish sandwich.)

Just call me Mommy of the Year.

Performer in our Midst

Alexa's got a pretty impressive resume for a 5-year-old:

Singer/Songwriter

Helper Extraordinaire

Jewelry Collector

Alphabet Expert

Dancer

I-Spy Book Genius

Personal Stylist

Spencer Wrangler

Professional Snuggler

Gum Connoisseur 

Storyteller

Moon Finder

Just about everything about her is fun and awesome. (She does have her moments of stubbornness, but heck, so do I.) I'm so interested and excited to see where she'll find her niche. 

{seen here performing her hit single,

 "Listen to Your Heart: Everybody Come Up and Stomp Your Feet"}

Recipe for a Happy Boy

Start with your favorite little boy (preferably wearing pajamas.)

Add:

-one pair of boots
-two shovels
-a watering can
-free rein in an entire backyard full of dirt

Mix well, and you are sure to have one happy {muddy} little kiddo on your hands.

(Just prepare for a healthy dose of kicking and screaming 

when you tell him it's time to go back inside.)

Procrastinator's Progress

What do you get when you cross...

a semi-truck in the middle of your street,

a speedy forklift driver,

and one Very Curious Little Boy with a cookie and a front row seat?

PROGRESS!!

That's right, folks, things are moving along in the backyard. Craig has literally been working night and day trying to get all of the underground stuff done (gas lines, irrigation, and conduit) so that we can finally get the decking done around the "pool." (Or, as I like to call it, "the kidney bean-shaped hole in the ground that will probably never be done.") 

Heck, even I got dirty trying to helping him get stuff done out there. Let's just say, if you haven't helped your husband painfully shove approximately one thousand cords and wires into too-small conduit at 12 in the morning when all you both really want to do is give up and go to bed, then well...you haven't lived, my friend. 

(And you must not have an adorable procrastinator husband like mine.)

Can't you just see us swimming and enjoying the scenery out here in just a few short months?

I know. I can't see it either. But Craig tells me it's true.