A new car for my sister Emily.

Hello Everyone!  I have not blogged since we started selling our home and moving into a rental last July.  I have wanted to....and not.  I miss the connection I have with everyone when I see them at a party.  I have promised to start blogging about the home we are building... and I will... I promise... just not today.  Today, I sent my sister Emily an email and thought you might all enjoy it.   Social media is wonderful because we all post the pictures of the happy things going on in our lives, which is great!  I love you all and love seeing what you are up to!  Buuuuuuut we all have our little things that we secretly hate about other peoples posts....Mine is clean car envy.  All those pictures posted from inside a car?  I am not looking at your cute kids, or you in fact...I am looking to see if you have crumbs, wrappers, or french fries on your floor mats.  And if you don't, I secretly judge you.  Just kidding.  Sort of.  ;)  And if your dash is shiny....I secretly want to sit in your car.  And if it smells pleasant and clean....I want to live in it...alone....with the doors locked....forever.  Just kidding.  With building this home my dear friend made fun of me. She said, "you are building a home, and you are going to pull your crappy mini van into it!"   We both laughed, and then I told her she was never allowed in my car again, but secretly it is because she has seat warmers.  And I love the feeling of peeing my pants when I haven't really done it.    Emily sent this email to my family....lets hope she doesn't mind me posting it.

Hey everyone, 
Well, my trusty Honda Odyssey bit the dust yesterday as I was driving home from Portland.  We had to get it towed 150 miles. Not fun.  

So anyways, we are looking for a new car.   Honda Odyssey,  under 80,000 miles,  preferably with leather seats, DVD player, and a sun roof is always fun.  If anyone knows anyone who has one for sale or hears of something let us know.    We also would consider a Toyota Sienna.  Darren could fly to Utah this week and drive it home.  So we would like to explore the market in Utah.  If you would keep your eyes and ears open for us that would be great! 
Love you all!

Emily 

This was my reply...

Emily!!!  This is perfect!  I have a Toyota Sienna, and although it may not match all of your requirements it is pretty close.  I will be willing to sell it to you for a fair price....

2001 - 238,000 miles - Toyotas go FOOOREEEEVER!!!!

White paint with some rust spots.  I like to call them leaking cheetah spots.  It makes my car so feminine.

Some Dents, you will never have guilt for hitting anything.....To increase your chances of getting any new paneling for free just go out often during heavy snow storms.

Currently smells like moldy shin guards.  I think this is seasonal....It changes to moldy swim towels in late summer.  Winter is usually great.  I think it freezes all the other smells.  

Once home to thousands of cute little weevils, we have been weevil free coming up on 1 year.  (That was the last nervous breakdown I had, it was right after we had moved and I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed and then sobbed some more.) It is the closest I have been to parking my car above a cliff and "accidentally" leaving it in neutral.  

The brakes are new, but they squeak a little (or a lot....depending on if you stop slow or fast stop)

Back right tire has a slow leak, you just have to top off the air before you go anywhere far.  No biggie.  I can tell you where to get free air.  When you take it in to get it fixed, be sure to have the spare fixed.  Its flat.  The mayor of Perry picked me up off the freeway when I found this out.  I still owe him cookies.

The windshield is cracked, just get dolled up and have it inspected by a man.  Wear flats and remind him you are short, so the crack is not in your line of sight.  Then batt your eyes a few times and tilt your head with a small smile.  Not that I have ever done this, but you could.  ;)

My seat smells like urine and the kids seats smell like puke.  All cleanable.  I did have it professionally bug bombed and cleaned after the little weevil incident.  We have been weevil free since.

Not leather, but the fabric is sooooo soft.  Seriously, its like a babys bum.  A precious little baby elephants bum.  

The arm handles are all broken, but that is great, it means you don't have to yell at your kids to "GET OFF" of them.  So it is a yell free zone.  

No sun roof, but both windows work.  Sort of...trick is with the passenger window... the driver has to put it up or down and inch and then the passenger can control it all by them self!!!  Plus, I don't think you should have a sun roof.  Often times I have to yell to my perfect children "If you don't stop fighting I am going to pull over and pinch every one of you".  (pinching is done on the inner thigh, and only really has to be done about once a year, that is how long the memory of the pain lasts)   And if I had a sun roof I might be tempted to say this "If you don't stop fighting I am going to throw everyone of you out of this moving car"  Isn't parenting great!

The bumper is turquoise under the dent and crack marks.  Turquoise is so in right now!!!  Have you seen www.houseofturquoise.com ?  We could honestly probably have it featured on there!

CD Player works, and it even has a CASETTE PLAYER!!!!  BooooYaaaa!!!!!  those are hard to find these days.  Who wants a DVD player?  Your kids should be looking out the window day dreaming.

The AC / Heater works awesome!  And everyone around you will know it because the belt squeaks for the first 10 alligator seconds.  I usually wait til I am out of a residential area to turn it on as a courtesy to our neighbors.

Other than that it is AWESOME!  We have had so many happy memories in it.    I have been so blessed to have a reliable car.  I love you so much!  I will only be partially offended if you don't buy my car.  ;)    Good luck Em.  Your the best!

Love Julia    ( oh, and it has a Dave Ramsey sticker on it so people won't judge you.)

Is everyone ready for summer?????  

Holy cow.  I am done, Okay somewhat done.  But I still get to say "Holy Cow".  I still need to put things on the walls and add one more panel to each window and buy bamboo blinds for the windows and get carpet and hang the gifts from our chinese foreign girls, and, and, and..... I know, it will maybe happen later.  And later will probably happen when we are ready to move.  ***Sigh***.  But on the brighter side of all those depressing thoughts, I got some HUGE projects done.  They are huge because I have some super cute kids, who are super helpful and super demanding.  I am not complaining, because I know I am sooo blessed, but it is a fact.  Most specifically a 2 year old and a 1 year old.    Here we go......  Before and After

Before & After

 You can see the Entertainment center on the back wall.  It got stained but I still need to buy new pulls, which I haven't found any I love.

The spirit was not there for scriptures tonight

I love to imagine that I have this perfect family.  That we teach our children the gospel and that they are making good choices daily.  Well we do a pretty decent job of attending church, watching clean shows in our home, keeping the fighting down, clean language, reading scriptures, praying every night, etc.  So this all sounds great, and my parents would be so proud.  But let me tell you what scriptures was really like tonight.  This was probably our worst night ever of scripture reading.  If you don't have children, you are welcome to say,  "my children will never act like that".  I would have said it too. 
        So it all started with me asking, then telling, then yelling at the kids to get on the bed and pass out scriptures.  My final threat was "pass out the dang scriptures so we can have the spirit in our home!"  (yes, my kids know the irony of that statement)  We have done really good with the kids, we have read 160 pages in the last 6 months, and everyone reads.  We have been asked by the stake to read the Book of Mormon as a family before the Brigham City Temple opens.   But sometimes scripture time is.....   anyway.....   Once we were reading it went something like this.
1.  Terry starts reading
2.  Lawson (16mo)  was crying and trying to nurse for the 4th time in the last 10 minutes
3.  Anson (2) appears in Terry and I's bed with a pop tart and sucker and climbs onto my white bedspread  (which means he's been in the pantry!  Troublesome 2 year old!)
4. Lawson is now screaming and climbing over everyone to get the sucker and smooshes poptart on my WHITE bed spread!
5.  Anson and Ashlyn (9) are laughing and giggling way louder than Terry is reading
6.   Aiden (7) is getting his back tickled by me and totally content
7.  Ashlyn is reading and things are going pretty good.  And this is pretty normal for a night but this is when all heck breaks loose.
8.  Aiden is reading laying on his stomach by Terry and  toots, right by Terry.  Well, Aiden gets in trouble for "squeezing it out".
9.  Aiden is crying, leaves the room.  Lawson is crying, and trying to nurse, Elle smells like pee because she never changed her undies after peeing "just a little bit".
10.  Terry brings Aiden back in and apologizes and cuddles him, Elle is sent to change and we resume reading.
11.  Usually I pop questions in during the middle of reading to check and make sure the kids are listening and tonight we are reading about King Noah and Abinidi, so I am asking little questions like, "who needs to repent?"  "Who is the king?", "Why does King Noah want to kill Abnidi", etc.  And because of all the chaos, Terry is just trying to get done.  And I want to make sure the kids are  listening.
12.  Terry gets after me and asks mockingly "Are you done asking your questions?"  to which I reply, "just a few more."
13.  I ask the kids (just to tick off Terry) "What color is Abinidi's hair?" and they all belt out "GRAY".  Good they are listening.  At least I got a good laugh out of Terry.  So he starts reading more, and I interupt and ask "What color is King Noahs hair?"  they know this one "Brown!"  Terry chuckles and keeps reading.  And one line from being done I interupt again and ask "What animals are laying by King Noah?"  And kids are giggling and yell "Cheetahs!"   (none of this is in the scriptures, it is just from the picture the kids know).   Not very reverent are we?
14.  We start prayers and we always have two cute toddlers being silly, distracting or crying, and I know the Lord hears the prayers but we don't always.  So Ashlyn is 1/2 way through her prayer and pauses and Lawson has been trying to nurse ( I have already nursed him 6 times in the last 30 minutes because he thinks I am an open buffet and I am trying to keep him quiet).  I can't really hear Ashlyns prayer, and 1/2 way through I say, "okay Aiden now say your prayer".  Ashlyn belts out "Wait I was thinking, I am not done".  Oh, sorry!
15.  Prayers was a success, other than my interuption and we start hugs and kisses. 

Terry and I both got a good laugh out tonight.  And as Terry and I laid in bed I asked, "Do you think the spirit was here tonight?"   At least we got another chapter read!

A TMI Blog for all you ladies out there.

Sooooo.....  toooday.....  I woke up happy and thought, I am going to wear a yellow shirt with my yellow shoes and yellow finger nail polish.  What a cute outfit for a sunny day!  And I didn't wear makeup today or wash my hair so I didn't stand in front of the mirror at all.  Needless to say, I left the house without looking in the mirror.   I stopped at my friend Darcy's house and dropped off Ashlyn and Aiden to play.  She keeps her blinds closed so the lighting wasn't so good, and we visited for a while!  Can you tell she is in  A LOT of trouble with me for not noticing something?  Well, I carried on to Ogden and went to Bed Bath and Beyond, Chick fil A, a music store, the Girl Scout store, and the bookmobile office.  Yep, I made all those stops, I even saw one of my neighbors and visited with them for a while.  Well, I am kind of a friendly and talkative person, and notice that today, people were just a little off.  It was weird, but oh well.  I never assumed that you could see my zebra striped bra through my Shirt!!!  Not just 1 shirt but a white collard shirt, a yellow tank top and  a yellow cheetah print tank top thing.  Yeah, so between the yellow cheetah and the black zebra?????  When did I realize this?  At 7 tonight, right before Family Home Evening.  Did you know I am actively religious?  Yeah, but I bet EVERYONE I encountered today didn't think so!  ("No wonder she has so many kids")  Ahhhh!  

A Calm snowy night

So tonight I  just some reflection on a snowy night.  I love the snow.  I always have.  Tonight I walked home from book club at 11:30pm because we were having too much fun like we always do.  I walked out to 5 inches of fresh unmarked snow on the ground.  All snug and warm in my down coat with my cute chenille gloves I felt so peaceful.   I loved the smell, the crunch of my feet, and the quiet that accompanies a good snow.  I used to take advantage of moments like these before I was married and I would go up the canyon and seclude myself in the moment of peace right in the middle of the storm.  There is a certain warmth of a healthy snow storm, and I love to walk, or sit, or ski, or snowmobile, or drive, or snowshoe, or slide down a snowy hill, in freshly fallen snow.  I love the snow that has collected on a small branch that will eventually be bare.  I love that you can tell if there was wind, because of where the snow has settled.  I love seeing an animals prints and wondering where it was going and what it was doing, and is it watching me now.   I love the snow at night.  I love a full moon on a snowy night.  I love waking up to a storm, and I love waking up to white.  Tonight I came home and went out on the back porch and just stood there soaking in the silence and beauty of the magic.  Snow is magic, did you know?  I always feel so comfortable when it is snowing.  I love to sit down in it and watch it build on the trees and bushes and mountains.  I love to watch it melt on me, and when it doesn't melt anymore, I know it is time to go in.    If I wasn't a scaredy cat I would go back out and wander the woods that are behind my house so I could make the first tracks.  I would soak in the beauty, smell and silence of it all.   I miss skiing, snowshoeing, driving, and sitting in the woods in the snow.  I miss hiking to the top of hill and sliding down it.  Tonight I remembered all the beauty of a snowy night and I kind of ached for it.  I know that sounds sad, but right now, this season in my life is for other things.  Later, there will more time for the snow.  For now, sitting on my back porch will have to be good enough.  And, one of my favorite things about being out in the cold is when you come in, sit on the toilet seat, and it is warm.  So you feel your bum cheeks, and they are freezing cold, and you had no idea that they were :)  Not til you sat on a toilet seat.  Then taking a nice hot shower and putting on sweats and a sweatshirt for the rest of the night.
 This is my view from the back of my house.  Now just imagine it at night.  Beautiful simple Perfection.

This is a weather vane from the Nauvoo Temple.  I love watching it out my window every day.  Thank you mom for the gift, thank you dad for the funding of the gift.  I think of your mission every time I see it.  In the summer is a grape vine from my parents house that we transplanted.

Tomorrow, for the first time this year, guess what Terry gets to do?  Get a snowmobile working for me....  Because HE can watch the kids while I go play!  ( Which he does plenty!  And is always so nice about it)

Now, I know you are all super jealous that we are the proud owners of these bad boys.  Terry got these $75 snowmobiles working and we have had a BLAST on them.  Their engines are so not what they are in newer snowmobiles.  Do you like the black garbage bag, duck taped seat?  Envious I know!  Well let me tell you something if you are laughing.  WE PAID CASH!  Yes we did.  Every penny of it.  So laugh away!

 This is in our back yard.  We can go right off the back of our hill into 5 acres.  We love it!  Do you love my pajama pants, because I do?  Throw on a coat and gloves, instruct husband to start snowmobile, walk out in the back yard and go snowmobiling!  How can I not think that is awesome!  (I think I had just had a baby a month before this picture.  6 weeks my... cold bum cheeks!

 Ugh, this is a post pardom picture.  My face looks photo shopped chubby.  But I really was chubby.

Oh, and Happy Dr Seuss day!  This is Ashlyn last year.  Elle is excited to do her hair this year!

Look how cute her outfits are.  She has such a talent for dressing.  My little stylish girl.  I even make her dress me sometimes.

This was Kindergarten and Ashlyn BAWLED until I took her to class and she saw other girls had fun do's too.   Then we hugged and she had a fun day. 

I have a love hate relationship with pregnancy

Today at WalMart I saw a woman who was pregnant, and it made me sick to my stomach.  I know this sounds harsh, but please let me explain.  I am excited for her, I am.  And first let me say to those who wish to experience pregnancy and have not had a chance yet, my heart goes out to you, and I have cried for you.  Please laugh with me through this ;)  So when I get pregnant (men, you may want to close the page now.  It has some TMI)  I know within a day because I get vainy.  I quickly schedule a Dr Appt and tell him, I need these prescriptions NOW!  Ambien, Ambien CR, Prevacid, Zofran, and a multi vitamin.  And within 2 weeks I am puking my intestines out, peeing my brains out and crying from 5:00pm on.  At this point I have already put on 15 lbs and my marriage is a mess.  Why is my marriage a mess?  Because I go from being happy, productive, kind, fun, and normal to walking with a scowl on my face, hating everyone, not doing a dang thing, and laying somewhere all day and night.  And I still look normal, so my husband expects "normalness".  Although Terry has been sooo nice during pregnancy.  Everyone is being neglected (including the house) and I am taking my ambien by 7 pm.  I am sick, although I know not as bad as some, but sick enough that I lay in bed sobbing wishing I could die because I am soooo sick.  Wishing I could just throw up so that I could go to sleep (can't take the ambien til I puke, or else I will throw it up).  Wishing that morning would come so that I could feel normal for a few hours and actually be a human.   This lasts until 17 weeks.  Phew!  If I can get through that then I can survive the rest of the pregnancy.  Now whether my marriage, husband, children, friendships or house can, that is a different matter.  I actually do pretty good after the morning sickness but I put on a good 60 lbs.  On my 5'1" frame, 200 lbs just doesn't suit me.  I saw this picture of me today while I was organizing photos (taking "tagged" photos off FB to put in my photo albums) and had to post it to all of you.  It is humorous, and I can laugh about it.  And yes, being pregnant is worth it.  I love the creature that comes out.  Yes, creature.  My precious little bloody aliens, that turn into sweet chubby babies.  I am so thankful that even with pregnancy comes such love, fulfillment, and beauty.  The journey of having a baby and bringing them into a home is hard, and frustrating, and worth every ounce of energy and patience, (and not so much patience).   Every child has been different, come with different personalities, come at different phases of life, and I am so thankful for every one of them.    So when I say that seeing a pregnant woman makes me sick, please know that, that is because I have been through all these things twice in the last 3 years.  So all of this is a little too fresh in my mind.
Gained 60 lbs, lost 60 lbs and run that first mile both times.  (yes I work out my entire pregnancy, and I still gain the weight.  I was walking 4 miles 3x a week til I was 7 mo pregnant and my hips hurt too bad)
Paid for and took 5 pills a day for 12 weeks
Puked daily, more than once, for 12 weeks
My marriage has survived 12 weeks of a non existent moody and puking wife  (marriage is only rough during those 12 weeks, the rest of the time is a breeze ;)   )
I have had 2 epidurals, and delivered babies 8lb12oz and 9lb 13 oz.
I have nursed, lost my milk, pumped it back in and gotten yeast infections in my chest.
Mastitis.... twice,
Having to cover your chest while in the shower because you hurt so bad FOR WEEKS.
Been up all hours of the night, been pooped on, puked on, peed on.  Paid for all those diapers that are polluting the earth.  (that is a joke, I am not going to go "Natural").
Neglected 3, then 4 other kids because a crying newborn is the priority.
Had someone in my bed at night for 90% of the last 2 years.  (I know this is our own fault, no lectures please)

These are not complaints, they are facts.  I would, and plan on doing it all again some day, just not now.  Especially since seeing someone pregnant just makes me sick.  I am so thankful that I have been so lucky to have children let alone have healthy children.  It is all worth it, and I know it. But so you can all have a good laugh, here is a "pregnant" shot, and a "now" shot.  I kind of think there is a difference.

  Here is pregnant, no makeup, 10 brain cells, and a smile on my face, After is 14 months after pregnancy, makeup, 60 lbs less (for the 5th time) and 20 brain cells (they are multiplying rapidly), and a smile on my face.   Terry is a good man to love me through the process of becoming the lady on the left and back to the lady on the right  ;)  Just think how great life will be when I am functioning on 100 brain cells!

 My belly is really that big.  It isn't just the picture. This is 7 days before Lawson came 9 days early 9lbs 13 oz.  Pregnant women deserve to be "FRUMPY".  I am just wondering though since I am 14 months post pardom, can I still be frumpy?    (the hutch in the back ground is the one I just refinished, I will blog about that later)

I need to say too, that we have survived all of this and we live in a very happy home.  My children are loved and they know it, and Terry and I love each other so much.  I love my husband, he is the best man.  I put him though a lot and he is so good to me and such a great dad.  I love that he hugs me from behind and always tells me I am looking good.  I love that he tickles my back while he watches sports, and I love that I can harrass him and he can harrass me.   And I love that I do what ever I want and he gets upset sometimes, but no too upset  ;)  Now that is a good man!

I know my cup runneth over!

ALMOST done before & after Buffet hutch

I have been working FOREVER on this dang thing and now that I am almost done I am so excited.  So excited in fact that I am posting this for my mom, because she came up and helped me when I had a "breakdown".  Actually Emily my sister informed her I was having a "breakdown" and came up 2x to help!  I have the best Mom in the world!  A breakdown over a buffet hutch?  Well it really runs deeper than that.  It is that I feel the need to start and finish something for my home.  I don't care if I drive a brown station wagon and live in a tent as long as I have my Pottery Barn linens (with some one else's initials on them) and my Pottery Barn decorated home/tent ;).  That is what I love and love and love.  Decorating.  So this buffet has traveled from Tennessee (my brother David's) to Virginia, where we lived, then it came back to Utah with us.  Terry has put up a decent fight over this piece of "crap" (pardon the french).  But it has turned out SOOOOOO nice.  Here are some in-between pics.  It is not done, obviously, but with life as crazy as it is, no project gets done in one big sweep!  NO PROJECT!  It drives me crazy really.  Although I have been crazy for quite some time now, so that is no new surprise ;)  Anyway, I will tell more on the FINAL post.  (Mom and Emily, I hope you are having so much fun in Florida.  Emily good luck on your delivery of your sweet baby, love you!  

Before and Almost After

I have the other things in the garage drying from the last coat of urethane.  I learned  A LOT about urethan.  I learned a lot I should have known BEFORE I did it.  Knowing is 1/2 that battle.  Knowing that 1/2 before the battle is the other 1/2 of the battle.  The piece below used to look like the entertainment center in the following photo.  I just stained and urethaned.  ha ha ha.  I am totally a poet!  And put on some awewome hardware from Hobby Lobby.  Considering how awesome it looks, guess what is going to happen to the entertainment center....

 

Happy last days of winter everyone!  (Cooke City MT)