May Family Update

My sister-in-law made this famous LEMON CAKE one summer and I couldn't believe how amazing it was. The recipe is in Favorites.

 Piper had her second trip to Primary Children's Hospital. She was sick, sick, sick for days with diarrhea. She became lethargic and so we took her to the ER for IV fluids. She didn't even flinch when they stuck her. She is so brave. It made a world of difference. I can't believe how amazing the nurses and doctors are at that hospital. We are feeling so grateful to have such close access to such wonderful healthcare. Pretty grateful for great health insurance as well. These kids aren't cheap, but SO worth it.

 Pure bliss. Momma Erin and Ronan

 It's official. Quinn is walking. I am going to say his first steps were May 24. He is so proud.

Lemon cake was a hit!

Motherhood

Last year my brother and Erin hosted Mother's Day in their backyard. Their yard is so wonderful. Tons of trees, and perfect for croquet. I think we might have it at their house every year. I better let them know.
Last year Erin and I were about to give birth, so not much croquet happened. This year however was all about croquet and mimosas.

I would make a million babies with this man!

My babies

My Piper girl

Only true men wear outfits like this. And no it's not feminine, it's European. Seth and I have this conversation over and over.

I felt lost for so long. I never knew where I belonged. Should I be a city girl or a country girl. Where will I truly be happy. The problem was I had too many options. I'm not complaining. I wasn't one of those girls who grew up saying she wanted to be a mommy. It was always a maybe.

Clarity came when my little girl was born. Ok well not immediately after, but after the postpartum settled down.

Have you felt that true calmness in your heart? Have you felt that peace in your soul when you truly know you are where you should be. I know my place in this world. I no longer wonder what if. I am satisfied thru and thru.

They gave me this incredible gift. They solved all my what ifs. They gave my life meaning that I never knew existed.

I hold them and feel so incredibly lucky for every day I get to spend with them.

Thank you Piper and Quinn.

We are so lucky to live in Utah

On any given day we can leave our house and be on the mountain within 30 minutes. How lucky is that. This morning the kids and I went for a walk along the shoreline trail. It was incredible. The air was cool, and the light and colors were amazing. The only thing missing was Seth. He stayed behind to finish school work. He will be done in 3 months. Woo freaking hoo!!!

My little hiking bud

This is Piper's new hiking technique. She would get tired and wander off the trail and sit in the brush. My little lady just gets tired. Her solution was to ride on uncle PPs shoulders. God I love this little girl.

I've got a lot to learn about my nephew, but one thing I know is that he is crazy about his mother.

Piper and her uncle PP.

Piper taking one of her brakes.

 

More garage

Saturday morning when I left for work there was no garage. When I came home we had a new garage. So happy. They did an amazing job. Clean and on time and well built. Couldn't ask for more. Our yard feels so much more secluded. It is a much nicer place for the kids now. The Hunger games are gone. No hornets or old rusty nails. This project has been worth every penny.

Total thumbs up!! 
Oh and I am thinking I might want to do a sit up this year.

I loved just the cement pad. I am a big fan of cement. It is a really nice material.

Being built

Nana bought our garage a Forsythia bush. Now we can have beautiful yellow branches of our own.

Garage project

The site of our soon to be deck. Once we locate some money, this part can happen

All cleared and ready for cement

Team P and S flattened the old lady in less than an hour

Carharts, muscles and a beard. Love my Seth

Piper girl on her egg hunt.

The lovely people we bought our home from 10 years ago had some seriously funky ideas. As Seth and I would say, I wonder what their thought process was with this one. They built the garage so it was literally touching the south side of the home. So that means the kids room, bathroom and our room had a hideous garage right out the window. If you opened the windows you could touch the roof. We have wanted to tear it down for years and build a new one in the obviously natural place the garage should have gone.

Building a two car garage is not cheap though. I am a firm believer that you just need to jump sometimes and go for it. So that is exactly what we did. Life without risk is so dull.

I got some bids from companies and had to play a little hard ball with them. Construction guys aren't my favorite people, (except for my brother-in-law Jason. love him tons). I told our guy we'll pay this, take it or leave it, and guess what, he took it.

So uncle PP and Seth tore the garage down Friday April 13. The kids and I were eating breakfast and heard a big boom. We looked out the window and it was as flat as a pancake. Tearing it down reminded me of the hunger games. It was covered in hornets nests, and old rusty nails. I have never parked my car in a garage. I can't wait to pull my car out next winter and have it completely dry.

This is the first home I have owned. It's certainly not like many of the amazing homes that dwell in Salt Lake, but we think it's pretty great. She's ours, and we want to make her beautiful. Over time we have drained our savings many times to do these projects. The thing I like about it is just that. We aren't mortgaging these projects. When they are done, they are done. We own them free and clear. That feels pretty good, even if we do have to eat top ramen for several months.

Anywho, we should have our garage done any day now. Our little nest will be that much better.

One of the great things about children is they drive the desire to make every aspect of our lives better. We are afterall their role models. The drive to be better and make the world a better place filters down. Piper and Quinn wouldn't know the difference right now between living in a dumpster or a home, but one day they will. 

The good stuff

This post is dedicated to updating our family status and recording the day to day joy that sometimes gets forgotten. This is the good stuff of life. The stuff I never want to forget.

At Quinn's 6 mo. app. Seth called me and told me he was no longer working for Cactus and Tropicals. Thank GOD. This was a blessing in disguise. I was a little panicked, but it's kind of nice now. He is 4 months away from graduating, and we are enjoying every minute of his unemployment. Pretty soon he will be working full time, and if we don't enjoy this time, I know we will regret it.

Fortunately I have the capability of supporting our family. I would rather my paycheck go towards the fun stuff, but we do what we have to do to survive.

On a completely different note, we have a very exciting project coming up.

We live on a corner lot in Sugarhouse. We have a smaller home on a pretty big lot. The people who originally lived in our home, built a one car garage that is literally leaning on the south side of our house. It is old and rotting and is so horrible. At the far south end of our lot is a perfect spot for a two car garage. We had a driveway poured years ago in hopes of completing this project. So we pulled the trigger last week. We should have a gorgeous two car garage built and installed by April 19. The second it is up, Seth and some very generous friends and family are going to rip down the old beauty. This is going to dramatically change our backyard. Under the old junker is a nice cement pad. Seth is going to build a deck over it this summer. I am going to hand him nails and cold beers while he works. I can't wait. I am totally going to have a fun summer party to celebrate. So this project, the kids, and thoroughly enjoying every day are my current obsessions, along with flowering branches.

I LOVE flowering branches. Not sure of the names, but the big yellow ones that are everywhere right now are so amazing. I made the mistake of telling my mom how much I loved them. So of course we planned a poaching mission. The other night after I put the kids down, I put on my dark sweat shirt, grabbed Seth's clippers, and listened for the snails honk. (the snail is the name of my mom's car) She pulled up and we were off. To be fair we only clipped from bushes that were growing out over fences. I promise. So we found some and got out and were clipping away. I jumped back in the snail after a minute because I started getting nervous. My 60 something, 5 foot nothing mom was out there shaking the shit out of the tree to get a good clip calling me a chicken. She is so freaking awesome. She is bold and more fun than anyone, and I never want to forget that night. Oh and if we got caught our story was that we worked for the city and their bush was in violation of blocking the sidewalk. Whatever ladies!!

One of Piper's favorite things right now is just being with my mom. She and my mom are two peas in a pod. Two of their favorite activities are going to the "doll store" aka Pottery Barn Kids, and "the ice cream store" aka Emigration Market. Emo as the locals call it was where I more or less grew up. It is a little local market in my mom's neighborhood. So yesterday Piper and my mom let me join them for their gelato date. The three of us walked down to the market and ate ice cream. As we were sitting there I realized it was 3 generations all together. When we were walking back I told Pipes that we were walking my school route as a child. This was so amazing to me. It was a fantastic day!

We finally got a bike trailer. One of the best parts about it is that we got $1.89 back. Between our 20% off one item at REI's sale, gift cards from grandparents, and our dividend, we got almost $2.00 back. So this summer I am going to be trailing behind a very handsome man with two amazing children in my 1960s purple stardust bike. It's going to be a fantastic summer.

Oh and one more thing. When Piper was a baby, Patrick and Erin were watching her, and when I got home she had a tramp stamp. Well guess what guys, payback is a bitch. Hope Ronan enjoys his princess tattoo.

Love

My big boy is officially crawling. He is so proud.

Everything I always dreamed of is right here. This man and two precious children. Do you ever feel scared about the power loving someone so much can have over you. If they were ever taken away from me how could I survive. Wow that is super deep for a silly sleeping photo. But seriously I know of people my age who have lost a child or a spouse. I see them and wonder how they are still breathing. I enjoy every moment we have together. I treasure it.