My husband is very practical. And cheap.

Jeff and I were browsing Costco.com for furniture when I noticed a tab at the top labeled "funeral".

"Huh???" I asked, to which Jeff replied, "Oh- they sell caskets. This is where I'm planning to buy your casket. Funeral homes totally rip you off when you are in mourning."

You already know where you're going to buy my casket???

Isn't it ironic...

It is 5:23 pm and my doorbell just rang. I sighed as I answered the door, certain it was a door-to-door salesman.

It was.

He was selling no-soliciting signs.

Super good song

This week Caroline and Brin invited six neighbor girls over for a craft afternoon. As they were working in my office Caroline turned on my itunes favorites and this super good song came on. The following conversation ensued:

Several girls at once: Oh! I love this song! I remember it - oh yeah! It's the song from the end of Night at the Museum!

Jenn: Actually, it wasn't originally from the movie. It's much older than that.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. First it was in a Gap commercial.

Enjoy the video and the outfits. Earth Wind & Fire rules.

2:42 A.M.

I had a dream last night that scared the literal hell out of me. The only reason I mention this is that in a recent group discussion I bragged of not having had a nightmare in over ten years. Like Jerry and his vomit, my streak is over. It went something like this:

I came home from church in between meetings (common for me in real life), only it wasn't my real home it was a duplex with a shared four-car garage in the middle. When I pulled in (driving my tan Ford truck from high school, a.k.a. "The Fo") there was a man parked in my driveway. If Christopher Llyod and Albert Einstein had a love child, this is what the man would look like. Let's call him Christopher Einstein.

So anyway, Christopher Einstein is hanging around my garage and asks me where the nearest church is. I walked him to the corner and pointed down the street. "It's not the church you see there, but if you keep walking it will be on your right," I told him. Annoyed I wouldn't give him a ride and glancing at his watch he dissappeared into my duplex's garage.

Meanwhile my neighbor (who was actually my old neighbor in real life-weird) steps out of the garage and warns me, "Don't get in his car. If you go together, be sure to take your car and you drive. That's much safer."

I got into the 'Fo' and, as every woman does, checked the back set. It was empty.

Heading off down the street I shifted gears (manual transmission)... first... seccond... third...

and then in the rear view mirror I see the fluzzy white hair rising from the back seat. I shouted, "You son of a bi..."

And then I sat straight up in bed and glanced at the clock. 2:42 am. My streak is over.

Psychology majors, interpret please.

God makes them cute so you don't kill them...

How could I ever feel short tempered toward a face like this? Her adorableness is the only thing that saves her from being dropped off in the woods sometimes. Take today for instance...

First, she pooed in the bathtub. After bleaching all the bath toys and transferring her to the shower to get clean I put her down for a nap. Luckily, Whitney came to clean today. (I like Whitney more than any other living person.) Apparently a freshly scrubbed tub is irresistible to Gracie, because before I knew she was missing she was in the tub, full clothed with freezing cold water up to her belly. Oh, and somehow she managed to smear black dirt all over her feet and onto the tub.

All of this is normal, day-to-day activity for a child and those of you with children are thinking, "Yeah...and???". But after nearly ten years of mothering things like this are growing considerably less charming. I describe it as Chinese water torture. No one drop is that maddening, BUT

drop..drop...drop...drop..drop...drop...

Nature, however, is programed to reproduce and preserve life and therefore, my affection for this little devil far outweighs my irritation.

Lucky for her.

Lucky for me.

The Next Generation

Last week we were lucky enough to host an up and comming soccer super star for BYU soccer camp. My long time friend from high school days has a daughter the same age as Caroline and our two girls have become quite good friends. Each morning they ran four hours in the hot sun for camp (it was nearly 100 every day!) and then we played HARD every afternoon.

We painted pottery at color me mine...



Saw the new American Girl movie (we all brought our dolls)...

taught each other new hairstyles so we could look alike as much as possible...


and made homemade pizza, went to seven peaks waterpark, went out to eat every day, created original movies on the computer, and stayed up WAY too late each night sharing music from the ipods. Preteen girls are SOOOOO much fun. I feel like I'm that mom in the movie Mean Girls- you know the old-but trying to be young one who tries to hang out with her high school aged daughter's friends ("Ladies! What is the 411?).

By the end of the week I was litterally exhausted. I felt like we had been on a vacation! I love living in Utah for the reason that sooner or later, everyone you like will travel through. We sure like Anne!

Ooh, La La

This is soooo Brin. No matter how many times I hide this Grandma-gifted dress she seems to find it. And this time she found gloves and a leopard cowboy hat to match.

Not a great pic, but..

Gracie loves frozen blueberries.

Fifth grade, here we come!

For the third year in a row Caroline hosted a last-day-of-school water party. Her entire fourth grade class, including her teacher pictured below, enjoyed a blow up water slide, water guns and balloons, pizza and treats. It's our little tradition- and I count it toward my mandatory 40 volunteer school hours. HA!

Panther Champs

All fourteen Pink Panther families convened at our house for the end of season BBQ party. Even though most of these girls are skilled enough to make a competition team we have all decided to stick together in the rec league to play under the direction of Coach Jonathan Sherrill. The girls are all such great friends. And they WIN WIN WIN!