flash those pearly whites

BEFORE:  May 2009

...DURING... 

AFTER:  July 2011

Wahoo!

Maddie gets hers' on next week, stay tuned...

loooong winter's nap

I can't begin to play catch up after a 7-month blog-batical, so here's a snapshot of the latest:

Brayden is happy to be out of school and calling himself a freshman!  This summer will be full of earning money, sports, youth conference river rafting, scout trip to Wind Rivers, Eagle project, "graduating" from piano, and an ever-increasing social scene. Maddie and Connor have been on 3-week break and will head back to to finish the school year next week, but not before Maddie gets back from her first girls camp!  It's early this year and there's still plenty of snow with the wet spring we're having. Rick is up at camp for the next 24 hours and I'm excited to hear how she's doing her first time away. I'd be utterly shocked if she's pining for home! Meanwhile, Connor is squeezing in all the time he can with his favorite nearby friend before he moves to Florida next week. Come to think of it, he and I need to get started on a report on the Plateosaurus...  

Fisher turned 5 and graduated from preschool--he's been playing soccer for the first time this spring and is a soccer machine!  We blame this on big brothers and the whole family loves to watch him. :)  Logan is already counting down to his 4th birthday and preschool this fall.  My baby is growing up!  He is going to m-i-s-s his best friend Fisher when he heads off to kindergarten in a couple of months.  It's crazy that we're out of baby/toddler stage forever, but I like it. I wonder how I'll do with one lonely child at home for the next couple of years?  Weird.

Rick's job is solid and we are thankful to be continuing the slow process of economic recuperation. He is thrilled to back in the young mens presidency and will go on the week-long scout trip with Brayden in a few weeks.  I'm jealous that he gets to be with the youth!  I'm in the relief society presidency now, but really I've just been trying to keep life and family and Tracy in one piece! Maybe my new hairdo tells you how that is going. 

I'm feeling a sense of urgency, wondering if we're doing everything anything enough that we hope to do as parents with only 4 years left before kids start leaving the nest??  I'm more selfish with our time and more laid back about so many things than I used to be, yet I feel like there's too much to manage most of the time.  I often think of something I heard Julie Beck say a year ago in women's conference, that a good woman, with the help of the Lord, can successfully accomplish 2.5 out of the 3 daily shifts she faces. I find this hugely reassuring! Sooo, even though I feel like I'm averaging less than that, I'll keep moving forward in hopes that I'll get better and better at prioritizing.  Bottom line is that no matter how inept I feel at times, I LOVE the stage we're in!  Here's what it looks like lately:

it was a dark & stormy night

And now for my Halloween soapbox:  We should ALWAYS celebrate this otherwise annoying holiday on a schedule-free Saturday complete with rain and pumpkin carving and a warm meal in the crockpot and cornbread in the oven.  Oh, and time to deep clean my laundry room.



Happy Halloween to me.



Can't ignore this little gem:

also in october

Cleaning above the fridge & one thing led to another (still wearing shorts)

A hard fought win in a rough season

Logan turned THREE!

Monster Concert--I got to play one trio and five duets with these two!
Four pianos + LOTS of hands + silly costumes = lots of fun (at least for two of us)

Preschool Crazy Hair Day.  You can imagine the wild times.

"This one might be big enough."

Daddy-Daughter Hoedown

Me, my kiddos, and just the right number of candles

fresh air

We took the kids out of town for their fall break last week.

No big agenda, just all of us at a lovely lakeside mountain condo for four days, slow-paced and carefree amid beautiful fall colors and gorgeous weather.  We played ball and lots of tennis, explored the beach, picnicked, hiked around, watched movies, star gazed in the hot tub, played games, had a good family council, laughed, ate, slept in, and simply...relaxed.  

Can you feel it?  It was a little slice of heaven.  And, I predict, a new tradition.

(I like that guy in the background too)