Every summer, my family would rent a house on the Colorado River, which is literally the border between California and Arizona. (Here we are, on the river!) We would bring our boat and ski till we dropped dead. So thankyou Dad, for investing in great family vacations. I was spoiled rotten and I realize it now. The beach house in San Diego, the condo at Brianhead, taking us to snow ski resorts since we lived in the desert, the endless waterskiing trips. Whenever I listen to the Beach Boys or Buddy Holly, I am instantly taken back to one of those places. My Dad is the most well-rounded guy I know. Here's a bit about my Dad:1. He's a real cowboy. Not the kind that wears boots and big hats everywhere. He's actually a very nice dresser. You would never guess that he was on the rodeo team at BYU and then continued to calf-rope when I was a baby, to help support our family financially.
2. He has an opinion on everything. I believe that's a good thing. With him, it is either black or white. There is no in-between, wishy washy nonsense. I LOVE this about my Dad. I feel like I can ask him anything, on any subject, and I'll receive a great, to-the-point answer. He is not apathetic about anything.
3. He's the smartest guy I know. He is always reading. His mother was a reader, he's a reader, and I like to consider myself a reader as well. But he's not into novels or fiction. He's into history, biographies, documentaries. He is brilliant and his mind simply cannot get enough information.
4. In case you didn't infer earlier about building our family's boat, he can fix or build anything. He worked as a mechanic when he and my Mom were newlyweds attending BYU.
5. He's the hardest worker I know. I have never seen my Dad sleep in. He was a farmer the majority of his life. So he had to work some crazy hours. Thank you Dad, for those many sleepless nights.
6. I was known in my family for always asking "stupid" questions. But my Dad NEVER told me a question was stupid. Sometimes I would ask him the same question twice, just because it was oddly comforting to hear the answer a few times. My Dad was so great and never let on that he was even slightly annoyed.
7. My Dad taught me to appreciate good food. I can honestly say there is not one food I dislike. Maybe it's because I'm a farmer's daughter- but I love everything! (spinach, broccoli, onions, asparagus, green beans, you name it, I'll eat it.) I owe my good eating habits to my Dad. He took the time to explain what it means to appreciate different types and different flavors. I'm trying to instill the same mentality into my own children, but it isn't going so well.
I love you Dad! Thankyou for all the hard work you did to support six daughters. And thankyou for always kissing us on the cheek the instant you walked in the door- to see if we'd been "nice" or "naughty" that day. I have the best memories and I owe them all to you.
I would LOVE to have a fridge with a handy, built-in ice maker on the door. Heaven forbid I have to open up the freezer, rummage my hand around in the box, and grab some ice cubes, which then (conveniently) stick to my fingers as I transfer them to my cup. ANYWAY- that having been said, I actually love this fridge. It keeps things freeeeezing cold, just how I like it. And, it only cost $100 from the previous owners of our home. Can't beat the price. Vanilla Activia Yogurt is my recent fridge addiction. I'm anti-clutter, yet I make an exception for my kids' drawings and the chore chart. My kids love to see their sticker progress.
My (somewhat) folded clothes are straight ahead, and above. My husband's 30-odd T-shirts are to the right and above. He cannot seem to part with his T-shirts. He only wears about 3 of them. I think it used to be a hobby of his, to collect as many free T-shirts as possible. I'm not kidding. This picture makes me realize we desperately need a shoe rack. But would it do any good when my 22-month old daughter is obsessed with shoes?
You can probably infer from the pizza cutter, that my family had pizza for dinner. We LOVE Papa Murphy's. It's dangerous having one so close to our house. Being the nice mother & wife that I am, I ordered a pizza and even baked it so my husband would have less work while I was out.
My boys' toilet actually stays cleaner than ours . . . hmmmm, go figure.
I'm going to confess something about my feet . . . I'm kind of vain about them. I like my toes and I like that my feet are narrow with a high arch. I'm allowed to like something about my body, right? Well, I feel that these shoes complement those features.
This is the first room I see when I walk in the door. I love it because 1. it does NOT have a television. This room is strictly about family and conversation 2. it's our gathering place where we read books, play games, have family home evening. This is where we spend the most time together as a family. I recently bought the kids Connect Four . . . as you might have noticed.
My sweet angels are sleeping. Adam and I love to tuck them in before we go to bed. Jack is always sprawled out on top of his covers. So, you can tell he was REALLY tired since he's still under them. Owen is ALWAYS completely under his covers, clutching his blankies that he MUST have. Under no circumstances will you find Owen on top of his covers. And then there's Lu-lu, who tends to be somewhere in between. 
My laundry room is screaming for a make-over. We've had our old washer and dryer sitting in there for who knows how long? They do make for great shelf space though. When we finished our basement, we decided to save a buck and leave the laundry room as is. I'm kind of regretting it. Technically, it just needs to be textured. But it was so poorly taped!!! The floor is cement and the walls were HORRIBLY done. The top half of the wall sticks out farther than the bottom half. I think we're going to need to take an ax to this room one of these days.
Since my eyes are different shades of brown, my eyes always look so freaky in pictures.
