Cool Stuff with Old Friends

What is the thing I miss most about living in Utah? 

I. Miss. My. FRIENDS!!! 

Sniff, sniff.

Thankfully, we live close to cool stuff...  So our friends come to visit sometimes.

They come to see the cool stuff, and we trick them into hanging out with us:)

We had a lovely time with these two, eating and talking and acting like 12 year-olds at City Walk.

Who wants to come see the cool stuff (and play with us) next?

Friendly Passengers

Don't you love it when your kids get along? (At least for long enough for you to take a picture?)

This one's from the train at the Santa Barbara Zoo earlier this month.

Aren't they cute?

Pet Petting and Pumpkin Picking

For a girl who doesn't really care for pumpkins or candy or Halloween... I've sure been spending a lot of time at the pumpkin patch, eating candy, and taking my kids to these EXPENSIVE Halloween-themed-parent-traps. Sigh. The things we do for our kids:) 

I think the kids had fun at this one. Here are the pics.

Dad and Mom, however, didn't have as much fun.

Haha. 

Lesson learned.

Happy pumpkin picking, everyone!

Cornbelly's

When it comes to corn mazes, pumpkin patches, hayrides, and Halloween, UTAH DOESN'T MESS AROUND!

We had a great time at Cornbelly's Corn Maze this weekend. Here are the pics.

Our Old Utah House

Today the kids said goodbye to their old Utah house. 

At first I didn't love our old Utah house. At first it was just... well... OLD... with chipped white formica, stained linoleum, gold, dated EVERYTHING, and ugly, dog-urine-soaked blue carpet. 

Actually, at first, I kinda hated that old Utah house.

But then we got to work. We tore down and re-built, we drywalled and sanded and primed and painted and cut and nailed and caulked and tore up and replaced and refinished and reworked and tiled and plumbed and weeded and planted...

And then, at the very end, I LOVED it! I loved that Utah house! 

I mean, what's not to love? It's SO CUTE on the inside. And it's in a PERFECT location, with a GREAT backyard, and AWESOME neighbors.

Sigh. 

So, it was hard to say goodbye today.

But we can't live in two states at once. 

And we can't pay two mortgages any more. 

So, we're renting it. 

I'm glad we came to Utah to meet the new tenants. They're awesome.

I think they'll love our old Utah house. 

Green Mom

Being the mother of these four little kids (ages seven, four, two, and eight months) sure helps me remember the things that matter most...

Yes, yes, I sure do remember those things that matter most... BECAUSE THEY ARE THE THINGS I NEVER DO!!!

You know, those things at the bottom of Maslow's pyramid... I don't do any of those things these days. I don't do the eating, or sleeping, or getting dressed, or exercising, or taking a shower, or going outside. 

The good news is, I'm very Eco-friendly now.

I don't ever eat out, so I use less plastic, packaging, and energy.

In fact, my diet of leftover peanut butter and jelly crusts and half eaten string cheese has reduced landfill waste by 300 pounds this year.

I don't sleep at night which makes me SO empathetic to the plight of endangered nocturnal animals like the Blue Sided Tree Frog, New Zealand Kiwi Bird, and Wooly Flying Squirrel. I'm TOTALLY donating Garrit's next paycheck to the NWF.

I don't shower, so I use WAY less water! And I don't have time to drink water! Sometimes I even forget to brush my teeth, so, WOW! I am good at saving water!

I frequently fall asleep in my clothes, and then I wander around the house in the same grubby t-shirt and leggings for days. Just think of all the water I am saving by like NEVER washing my clothes!

I seldom bathe my children or wash their clothes either! Boy oh boy I am GREAT at saving water!

I don't go to the gym so I am saving TONS of energy. I don't need a gym because, well, I am always sweating as I try to wrestle the scissors and knives out of my children's hands. 

And I NEVER leave the house. I'm always here because someone is always taking a nap... And it's always NOT me!

I am so Eco-friendly I might actually LITERALLY be turning green. 

Aren't you proud?

...

But seriously, it's crazy around here. I miss the things that matter most...

Selfies

Drew taught Lily how to use the camera on my phone. Now she always has my phone, and she's always taking pictures! As of tonight, I think I have 1,000 Lily selfies on my camera roll. I should probably tell her to stop... But some of the pictures she takes are HILARIOUS! And some of the pictures she takes are, well, priceless. I'm happy that, at this moment in her life, she thinks she is worthy of so much storage space. I love that girl.

Party in the LBC!

I love these humans. 

For his birthday, Garrit went to Utah to watch the BYU vs Utah football game and when he got back we spent the day in Long beach doing this...

And this...

And this...

And this...

And this...

And this...

And this...

And this...

And finally this...

This was my favorite part...

Such a fun birthday! 

Here We Are

You know the kind of frantic purse shaking you do when you're late and you can't find your keys in your bag? So you turn the whole purse upside down and you shake 'till the insides come out? And the cards and change and crumbs and keys are all in a heap on the floor? But you don't even care because you're in such a hurry and all that matters is YOU FOUND YOUR KEYS?

Well...

My life is the purse... Our home is the keys... And we are the heap. 

We've found the keys. We're here. We have a place to live. And everything else is a mess. The crumbs and fishy crackers and change and cards are everywhere... but we're here. We're here in California. Garrit is happy. The kids are happy. And I'm trying to sort the rest out. 

I wish I had a day to do nothing but write.  So much has happened since my last post; so many events and so many emotions. I think writing would help me sort it all out. 

But writing will have to wait... Because there is a baby to nurse and two babies to change and four little mouths to feed. And dishes to do and laundry to do and shopping to do and homework to do and lunches to pack and boxes to unpack and baths and hugs and kisses to give. And life to live. 

Sigh. 

It's been a hard move. But I'm hoping for the best.