And just like that...she's back.

I figured taking a nine month break from blogging would make me appear mysterious. Who was that blogging lady with the kids? Where did she go? Did she vanish? I miss her sleepy, tired eyes.
Don't worry. You can still your beating hearts. I'm still here.

I must mention that a dear friend passed away this week. I was her visiting teach for as long as I can remember. I grew to love her. My week has been sad. I find myself puttering about the house finding ways to deal with my sadness. To keep my mind occupied. I made a long, complicated dinner (Sean liked it), placed an Amazon order for books, ate some chocolate chips.

I'm hoping to use my sadness as a reminder that life is fragile, to be grateful, and  enjoy each day.

Below is a brief summary of the past little while. Most of my photos are hanging out on my phone, but I found some of the good ones. 

Jared's first day of preschool.

Gracie realized everyone was wearing the same color. This was terribly exciting and required a picture.

Gracie's first day of first grade. Notice her pose. Knee turned in, toe pointed, hand flexed. She's good at stuff like that.

Rory thinking her mom has officially lost her mind.

This might just be my favorite picture of all time. It pretty much sums up my feelings about competitive sports. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, my friends. Wouldn't we all rather be home eating a fruit snack and watching Star Wars? Needless to say, Jared wasn't on the most winning team.

The thing is...

I haven't posted since, oh the end of February. I did a little family update, fully expecting to do another one. But then I didn't. And I didn't really want to. Not sure what happened. Maybe I felt overwhelmed by the millions and billions of voices already on the Internet. Surely, mine wasn't important and no one cared. Maybe it was because motherhood was taking every ounce of spare energy I had, because it was. Or maybe I was simply over blogging.

Also, I'm a very private person. I keep most of my opinions to myself. I find I would much rather listen to someone and get their opinions then make sure mine are heard. I've always been that way. I find it serves me well. I can leave a conversation knowing  a lot about a new friend. But when I blog I have to talk about myself and my family and I find I'm not good at it.

But then, my cute sister asked me to blog again. She likes what I have to say. Even if it's usually about my kids. Because they are always on my mind.

So, here I am, because someone asked. Maybe that's all I needed, or maybe I needed a break. Don't we all need breaks?

I'm horrible at taking and posting pictures.

And I spend all my free time either working on my novels or stitching. So that might be a bore as well. But I am going to start trying to keep those who care up to date about the comings and going of my tiny world.

So, I will now post pictures of my darling kiddos. They have grown quite a bit. :)
Um...turns out, all our best photos are still hanging out on our phones. Better not lose those!

Until next time - Autumn

Family Update

So. I've go through phrase phases. A lot. Right now I can't stop saying "it what it is" and "truth". It's almost an addiction. Truth! It's odd how life can be incredibly busy when not much is happening, but that is how things are around here. It is what it is. Except for... Jared is four! Holy smoly moly. When did that happen? He's gone on a growth spurt and now I make funny noises when I hoist him into a shopping cart so he can finish napping.

And this little Pookie. I pretty much follow her around All. Day. Long. Truth! I pick her up from the stairs, feed her Cheerios, play music and watch her dance. My word, she is a sweet little thing.

I love this picture, because of the beatiful dancer, and the goofy mother. So the following story deserves a post in and of itself, but seeing how I blog, it is what it is. - We were at the ice cream store today. There was some pop music playing and a tween girl was dancing to it. Gracie watched her and looked away. After a minute, Gracie looked around. No one was looking at her (except for me, because I'm ALWAYS watching). So, she busted out one of the hippest, funkiest dance moves I've ever seen, then went right back to normal, staring at the different flavors of ice cream. She is shy so I had the hard job of pretending I didn't see, as she would've been mortified. This girl is everything that is good.

Jared and I may have developed a nasty habit of eating sweets while Gracie is at school and Rory is napping. By nasty I mean delightful, fun, tasty, and wonderful. That boy loves his chocolate. And his mother. I buy his love in the form of chocolate chips and am not ashamed.This is what I stare at all day long, and sometimes all night long. It's so hard to ignore her when rocking her for a nap. Today I failed and flirted with her briefly. After that she was all giggles and hair pulling. She's like chocolate, or a bread basket. Just try to resist!
My crew after getting their hair cut. I always take a picture becasue I think they look so snappy. Finally, for the biggest news....I got leopard print pajamas! Boy did they cause a stir. Jared followed me around house, patting my bum asking me if a cheetah died for my clothes. No. A cheeteh did NOT die. And then when I put Rory in her zebra get up, everyone almost had a heart attack.

Best eighteen bucks I ever spent.

It's that time of year...

Merry Christmas! Let's get festive!
Where's the mistletoe?
Let's eat more cake!
Ring those silver bells!
Let's eat more cake!

It's Christmas! And some body's excited! Holla!
To start the outtakes this year, I'd like to state upfront that it was my idea for Gracie and I to wear dresses that matched our couch. Exactly. I like a challenge (have you seen her around?).

Before the fun starts, I'd thought I'd show you a "behind the scenes" shot. Notice the blocks, the piles of never played with toys, my apprehensive face.
The apprehensive face can be hard to shrug off. On the other hand, the flashing baby toy we hooked below the camera to catch Rory's attention...worked great. Sean especially liked it. It played music.

Presenting Autumn, the mother with the ten foot arm. Her boy never gets away.

"Gracie? Gracie? Sean, where's Gracie?"

I believe I've mentioned before that Sean likes himself a good lean. Maybe a bit too much.

"Sean, does my dress make me look ploofy?"
"What does ploofy mean?"
"Big."
"Of course not. Tell Jared to stop licking his wrist."

"Jared? Jared? Are you sure I don't look ploofy?"

I like this photo. We can almost see Gracie, but Jared seems to be lost in a world of deep thoughts. No deep thoughts here, only bright, happy smiles, so we...

Photoshopped Jared!
Merry Christmas! Again! 2011!
P.S. Rory wants you to know that she has developed an awesome pincer grip. Way to go baby girl, keep grabbing small things. Please no more choking pointed sticker stars (long, unfestive story).

The Big Six Years!

Six years ago today, my life took an incredible turn for the better.

Happy birthday dear daughter! You are one loved little girl!

Seven Years!

From this:

To typing with a baby on my lap...

It's been a bit wild, to say the least. And now you know why I can never get rid of my BYU sweatshirts. A wonderful, perfect excuse! Happy seven years! I love you!

Little Pink Dress

Gracie: April, 2006 Rory: August 2011

Be Still My Beating Heart!