Wazzuuuuuuuuup!

I've been pretty busy over the last few weeks, so I haven't had a chance to post much. Summer just seems to fly by, doesn't it? So here's an update:

Jeff has been working really hard at his job. He's also been playing church softball with Bill (his dad) and Ryan (our bro-in-law), which he loves!! I think its great that they have that in common. Their team tends to do really well and they always end up in the region playoffs, we'll see this year. Go Heights ward!
I have been working a lot lately. Well, a lot for me anyway. I worked for NAI for about a week training the new girl who is replacing the girl who replaced me. I know, weird. It was fun to be with all my friends at NAI though, and I loved it. After being home with the kids all day everyday for the last 5 months, it was a welcome change. Then I was being trained for the next two weeks for my new work at home job. I love it! It is so nice to be able to help with the financial support of my family, but I get to stay at home to do it. I think I'm catching on pretty quickly and its been great so far.In the meantime, the kids got to spend part of every day with Grandma Patty (as they call her) while I was at work. They love going to Grandma's house and she loves having them. I hope they didn't wear her out! They can be exhausting at times. While they were with Grandma they went to Wheeler Farm with Auntie Missy and Jackson. They got to ride ponies, feed the ducks, and go on a hayride. They loved it!! That was about 2 weeks ago and they are still talking about it. I'm so grateful to our wonderful family for being able to help us out like they do. Last Saturday, we went swimming at Grandma and Grandpa Hinds' house in our blow-up pool. It was so much fun!! Jackson came over and the three kids had a blast.
See how long Mally's hair is? Right after they went swimming, Auntie Missy cut about 4 inches off! Jinkies! Mallorie wanted it shorter, but Mommy couldn't handle it. It is still pretty long and looks A LOT better! It curls under quite nicely all by itself and I imagine it must be cooler.
We also got to visit with my Aunt Gail and my cousins: Josh and Heather, Lis and Jason, and Emily and her boyfriend Andrew. It was great to see them! Not growing up around each other, we've never had a lot of chances to hang out, but I really enjoy them and I hope we can get together more often. The day they were all here, we finally convinced Mason that it was time to release the butterflies, so we did. They flew right out and into the yard! We think we've seen them a few times since, but of course you can't be sure.
We are going to Yellowstone in a few weeks. Yippee!! Its an annual trip we make with the Hinds family and its so much fun. You would think we would get tired of seeing the same thing year after year, but we don't. I think its just fun for all of us to be together. And its even more special because Grams and Pops come up from Mesquite and Rick and Cameron go too. There's 4-wheeling, fishing, and shopping. Yahoo!! We can't wait.
The kids will be starting preschool in the fall and its a little scary for everyone. Any ideas on making it easier for mom and kids would be great!

Our superstar!

Well, we have a new star in the family. Jeff was "featured" on Channel 2 News today. They were doing a story about how West Valley City is trying to clean itself up and they talked about the five new Code Enforcement Officers that were being sworn in today, Jeff being one of them. But, they specifically interviewed him and not the other new people. He looked very handsome (I think that's why they picked him) and gave a great interview. Hollywood here we come! So, Jeff is sworn in now and has his badge and everything. Congratulations Jeff, we're so proud of you! Click on this link to get to the video on KUTV, the video will be on the right-hand side of the screen and you have to click the play button:

http://www.kutv.com/?articleID=44076

Lovin' the in-laws

We had such a good day yesterday! We went down to Bountiful for our friend Lindsay's homecoming. Yeah Lindsay!! She served in the London South Mission (I think that's right, correct me if I'm wrong) and she is such a cute, great girl. She is our sister Katie's best friend and she is like a member of the family. It was so awesome to sit in sacrament meeting with all of the Hinds family together. Then we all went to Grandma and Grandpa Hinds' house and just hung out all afternoon. I was really struck by how lucky we are to have such a wonderful family! And how lucky I am to have married into it, and how lucky I am that my sisters-in-law married who they did, they have awesome husbands-but what else do you expect for such awesome women! We all get along so well and I really feel like they are my brothers and sisters/parents. My favorite thing yesterday was watching our nephew Jackson play with our kids. In church, he wanted to sit right by "MalMal" and wanted to share Bubba's snacks. It took a little convincing, but Mason finally shared without throwing a hissy fit and everyone was happy. Then at Grandma's house, the three of them played outside with Grandpa and had such a great time!! Jackson follows the big kids around and mimics what they do, it's so cute!! And the kids are great with him (for the most part). They let him play with them pretty well and love to have him around. I didn't take any pictures of the three of them together yesterday, but I will soon and post them.
So, to the Hinds', Davis', and Barnedts' I want to say Thank You! For accepting me the way I am (all uncoordinated and non-sporty), for always being there for us, and for being great friends. I love you all so much!!

Our new pets

For his birthday, Grandma gave Mason a butterfly house and some caterpillars. He was soooo excited. He has seen the commercials on tv for them, and he couldn't wait to get those things and see them grow. When we got the cup with the caterpillars in it, he was a little confused because they didn't look like butterflies, but we explained how it all works and he was cool with that. He checked on them everyday while they were in their cup getting bigger and bigger. After about a week and a half, they had all cocooned themselves in their chrysalids and we put them in the actual house. Then yesterday, after about another week and half, the first one "hatched" and it is really cool looking. Its hard to see in the picture, but it is kind of pearly gray with blue spots. Another one "hatched" today and now they both actually have blue and orange spots. It looks like there is a third that is wiggling and trying to get out now, so we may have a whole family of them soon. There are a total of five. Right now, we are feeding them sugar water soaked paper towels, but we are going to buy some oranges at the store so that they can feed on that. If your kids want a pet, but you aren't ready or can't give them a dog or cat just now, butterflies are extremely low maintenance and fun! We are having a great time learning about butterflies and it has calmed the requests for a pet for now. If only they lived longer than 2 weeks!

Bad Day!

So, today is just one of those bad days when it feels like the whole world is plotting against you and that nothing is right. I've been really stressed out about a lot of things lately. I've been trying to solve a moral dilemma that I'm having, and today I just found out some news, out of the blue, that has hit me like a ton of bricks. Nothing serious to anyone else, but to me, it's devastating. Okay, that sounds pretty serious, and it is-to me, but I'll be okay. For those of you who know what I'm talking about...really, I'm okay and you don't need to feel bad or worry about me. I promise! For everyone, I really am going to be okay. It's just one of those days. And I wanted to share because most blogs just talk about things when they are all hunky-dorey, but this is real life and, well (cover your eyes), shit happens! And it landed on me today. We all have to have our roll in the poop wagon! In the grand scheme of things though, my family is healthy and happy, and we love each other and that's really what matters. I know that I'm being very cryptic, but it's not my place to give details. So, please just keep me in your prayers! It's just a bad day. I love you all and I'm so grateful to have such great family and friends in my life. You're the best!