Every girl needs to spend some time with a horse...

...or at least every girl I have ever known.
Here are some of my favorites from a riding lesson I got to watch today.
It was delightful!

because even on a farm, it's all about the fashion, am I right?

spunk. the word you are thinking of is spunk. she's got it.

oh. the. cuteness.

these girls...and the best part is, their outer beauty isn't even the best part about them.

hello there, summer.

car conversations...

Coop: "Mom, can you please zip up my hoodie before I get out?"

Me: (in a British accent) "Indeed. It would give me great pleasure."

Coop: "Eeeeuuw...never mind. Why do you talk all weird?"


So basically my 7 year old is more mature than I am.

Whateves.

car conversations...

Me: "Guys, you need to give girls a break, because having to have a menstrual cycle is NO fun."

Connor: "I do!! I think it is horrible what girls have to go through!"

Spencer: "If they know it is so bad, I don't understand why girls aren't more sympathetic when we get kicked in our business...."

Connor: "Umm...excuse me, but do you get kicked in your business EVERY SINGLE MONTH???"

Me: "Connor, you are going to make a lucky woman a VERY good husband someday."

quote of the week...

"As I have practiced it, photography produces pleasure by simplicity. I see something special and show it to the camera. A picture is produced. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs."
--Sam Abell



I snapped this while assisting my lovely daughter, Bri Lamkin, as she shot a wedding. I love that my daughter has a passion for photography. I love that I get to see the world the way that she sees it, when I look at her pictures.

Harry Potter Party

After coming through the front door, which had been made to look like Platform 9 3/4, they went straight into Olivander's Wand Shop (the office) and after choosing their wands (which The Hubby cut from wooden decor sticks I found in the floral section of WalMart), the kids boarded the Hogwart's Express (which was in the front room.) The guests filled their favor bags from the trolley of candy and treats, and I printed out quotes from every Harry Potter book (from thereadables.tumblr.com), mounted them on cardstock, and they got to choose their favorite one to take home. The dining room with party food and drinks was the Great Hall and we hung mini-led candles from fishing line. The family room was the Common Room, and contained spell books to study from, while the television played Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And finally, the back yard was the Quidditch Field (which thank goodness my adopted family plays every year at family reunions, so I just had to borrow theirs!)

We had loads of fun, and it really wasn't that much work as far as parties go!

 

 

 

I found this list on my night table. I've thought about what her thought process must have been as she wrote it.

 

"So...I heard Mom and Dad say they need to go to the store. I should let them know what I would like them to get. Maybe they would buy me some cupcakes? Cupcakes aren't so big...they would probably go for cupcakes. ... If they'd go for cupcakes, then why not cake? Basically the same thing only bigger. And there is no way 1 cake is going to go far in this house...better ask for 3."

 

"They will probably go to Sam's. And you know what they have at Sam's? Trampolines. How hard would it be to just toss a tramp in the cart along with the cakes? And, the hot tubs are basically RIGHT THERE next to the trampolines...Mom and Dad would love a hot tub...it's really more for them, honestly..."

 

"Now, since I am going big here, I think I will put pool...but I need to be careful because Mom and Dad might not have the facts they need to make an informed purchase. I need to put 'huge'. If I don't put 'huge', let's just remember who we're talking about here...they could come home with anything. Some little dinky plastic thing with no room for me to swim underwater.

Yeah, huge. That ought to do it."

 

 

happy anniversary, bri and jordan!

Our sweet daughter and her wonderful husband started their journey to forever 2 years ago today. I wanted to post one of my favorite quotes on marriage in their honor:


"Marriage hath in it less of beauty but more of safety ... it hath more care, but less danger, it is more merry, and more sad; it is fuller of sorrows, and fuller of joys; it lies under more burdens, but it is supported by all the strengths of love and charity, and those burdens are delightful."


--Bishop Jeremy Taylor



Here's to 100 more annniversaries, dear kids, all filled with love and happiness.

More Marin-isms

Connor: "I need some lined paper."
Marin: "Oh! I have a Constipation Notebook that I never use! You can have the paper in that!"


We are talking about presidents at the dinner table. Somebody brings up JFK, and the fact that he was assassinated.

Marin: "There is just so much tragedy in the world. The Twin Towers fell; President Kennedy gets assassinated; the book fair closed early..."


The older kids tell Dad and Mom that the door on the downstairs armoire is completely broken.

Marin: "Yeah, that was me. I was sitting on the door, and then I remembered that I shouldn't be sitting on doors, so I was getting down, and right about then--it broke."

car conversations...

Marin: You are SO pretty, Momma. You are just beautiful....You should be a super model, because you are so pretty....You should! But you probably can't be a supermodel, Momma....because you are so busy...because you are a mom, and a young women's president, and you work. So...you probably can't be a supermodel.

Me: Yes, Marin. THAT is why I can't be a supermodel. Lack of time.

Oh, dear.

I walk into the room after having been on the phone.
My 7 year old daughter sits up quickly and says brightly:

"Hello, Mother! We have been sitting here doing nothing wrong while you were on the phone."

My gut instinct? She is totally lying.

at the doctor's office...

Pediatrician: Okay, everything looks good! Today we need to give you 4 shots, though.

7 year old daughter: 4???

Pediatrician: yes, 4. I know it's a lot. Sorry.

....long pause...

7 year old daughter: I want you to knock me out for it.

halloween...






from left to right:

Oliver the Trumpeter (search you tube to understand), Little Red Riding Hood,

Harry Potter, a fairy, and Ron Weasley.

fall break fun...

Connor wanted to try and make our friends' recipe for salsa. I'd never made salsa from scratch before, so it was a fun little challenge. It turned out really well!

opening the call...

There aren't adequate words to describe how it feels to watch our son choose to take 2 years of his life and serve the Lord and the people of another country. We are grateful to be his parents.

Hurrah for Israel! Hurrah for Israel!

back to school...

Well, look who's making a blog post. I'll go slow, so I don't pull a muscle or something.

Here was this year's back to school treat for the young women I serve in our church. I got it from the awesome Sugardoodle website, and just modified it a bit.

(you can click on above picture for a better view of the text)

I love the way they came out. My favorite part of doing this is going to the young women's houses to drop them off. I love to look each girl in the eye and see how her day went. Give her a hug and make sure that when she is at school and feels all alone, she knows that someone loves her and is praying for her to succeed.

On a side note, all of our children are in school all day this year except our son who graduated last year. (he leaves for his mission in January, don't know where to just yet.) Everyone keeps asking me, "Wow!! What are you going to do with all that time??" and I finally came up with an answer. "All the same things I did before, just with less interruptions."

car conversations...

18 yo son: So, I think I have trouble communicating with my girlfriend.

Me: Really? Why is that?

18 yo son: Well, for starters, she didn't know she was my girlfriend. So.

we can try to blame the drugs, but he's just like that...

18 year old son, after coming out of surgery:

"Wow. The last thing I remember is hearing the word 'buttocks'".

(long pause)

"I do have nice buttocks."

love, logic, and a little 70s rock...

Teenager: So...I want to go out with my friends tonight.
Me: Uh huh. That's nice.
Teenager: Sooo...can I?
Me: Here's the thing: if you are going to rock and roll all night, you gotta party every day. And, to me, 'partying every day' does not mean 'sleep on the couch for 6 hours'. Do you see where I am going with this?
Teenager: I...think so. You want me to do more around the house during the day if I am going to stay out late with my friends?
Me: See those brains? You get those from me.
Teenager: Okay. And Mom? That KISS reference? Was. Totally. Awesome.

that's just good comedy...

Sometimes our dinner table rivals any open mic night at Comedy Works. We have this deal where we pull questions from the "family conversation jar" on Sunday nights during dinner. In the jar are little strips with questions on them that we all take turns answering. It's a lot of fun, and occasionally? Pee your pants funny.


Tonight's question:


"If you could go back to any time period, what time period would it be?"


6 year old: "Hmmmm...I am going to have to say...10:30."




I love my life.