service

My wonderful sister and her amazing husband will be leaving this Wednesday to serve as Mission President and wife in the Santiago, Chile East mission. While I am overjoyed and so excited for them, all my selfish bones have issued forth and I find myself reduced to a puddle of tears whenever I try to picture three years of our lives without seeing them. Their son, the absolute idol of my four boys, will be going with them. We love them so much and don't know how we will survive without them, but we so admire their determination to serve the Lord and find ourselves asking if we would be willing to give up everything for three years to do the same. Our thoughts and prayers are with them this week and for the next three years. We hope to be like them when we grow up! From the Church News: Larry Roberts Laycock, 48, Alpine 3rd Ward, Alpine Utah West Stake; former bishop and counselor, high councilor, stake and ward Young Men president, counselor in a ward Young Men presidency, and missionary in the Argentina Bahia Blanca Mission. Shareholder and Intellectual Property Litigator, Workman Nydegger. Born in American Fork, Utah; parents Andrew G. and Nadine Roberts Laycock Attaway. Married Lisa Dawn Gleave, four children.

Sister Laycock is a former stake Young Women president and secretary, ward Young Women president, ward Primary president, counselor, and chorister, and gospel doctrine teacher. Born in Cedar City, Utah, to Winston Taylor and Karen Mae Morrey Gleave.

SIX!!!

Kyler turned SIX yesterday. We've actually made it six years with this impassioned little imp of a boy! He is our greatest joy as well as our deepest agony. He's either way UP or way DOWN...there is just no in-between with him. But with a face like his, how could we do anything but love him?

Even Dad got in on the slip and slide action...but where is birthday boy, you ask? While the party was going on outside, Kyler was busy with his new presents inside. (Did you know you have to have a Phd to transform a Transformer? I think I missed that part of parenting school. I really stink at transforming Transformers!!) But after a whole lot of coaxing, begging, (and, okay, threatening,) he joined the party outside once again.

We ate cupcakes.

Lots of cupcakes...

Mmmmmm.

We broke a basketball-shaped pinata, we had water gun battles and a water balloon toss, and, overall, just had a great time. Kyler decided he was happy that he was six and would "never be five again!" Yay six!

The end.

wordless wednesday: "point blank"

smoky mountain memories

Larissa taught me how to make an iMovie!!! So gather' round, kids. It's time to watch home movies. Showing tonight: Our trip to Skylark, at which I had BIG plans of taking millions of photos, but then my efforts were thwarted by the rain and by the iMovie training session. I didn't even have enough pictures to fill up one song. *sigh* (Oh well, these Smoky Mountain Memories will still last forever :) Thanks, Riss, for teaching me!! Here is my amateur attempt at an iMovie: (Warning, there are a lot of gun photos in the movie, but let me assure you, we were only shooting at soda cans. In other words: no animals were harmed in the making of this movie!)

yankees baby

My friend Charity called me today and in an act of great flattery, asked me to take her adorable baby boy's pictures. These are a few of my favorites...I hope his daddy, (the baseball coach,) likes them! (I think I like Mr. Grumpy face, #7, the very best :)

Such a happy little guy! And he had the cutest smiles for his mama.

Once he saw the mitt and baseball, he didn't want to have anything to do with the camera! (Like Father, like Son!)

Mr. Grumpy Face

Are we done yet??

What a sweet little thing!

contest entry

Be sure to visit www.iheartfaces.com to check out all of the beautiful face entries this week!

My dad, the real-life Clint Eastwood. We spent the weekend at the cabin and Dad told me a story of his childhood I'd never heard before. As a young boy, one of his jobs was to stand in the back of his father's truck as it transported sheep on a long drive from one town to the next. He was to watch the three levels of sheep to make sure none of them tipped over. If one tipped, he had to quickly upright it before it was smothered and died. He said that those were some of the longest trips of his life, but that no sheep ever died while on his watch. His eyes started bothering him and he had to spend four weeks at the hospital in the city while they tried to diagnose the problem. They finally discovered that the irritation was being caused by an infection from the sheep's wool in his eyes and they had to treat him with the new miracle drug, "penicillin." As Dad told me the story, I found myself thinking, "How did I not know this fascinating thing about him, and what other stories are there that I don't know?" My father is a man of few words. I've always admired that about him because when he does talk, people listen. I just wish he'd talk a bit more about his life. His stories are like pages from a lost book.

some bloggerly love

My friend Karen gave me my very first blog award. Thanks Karen! I have framed it and I will treasure it always! I will pass along the love soon.

3 year old talk

What is it with the youngest child? He'll never have proper grammar and he'll never grow out of his baby talk because as his mother, I think the funny things he says are so adorable, I don't have the heart to correct him. He is completely unfamiliar with the pronouns "she," and "her." I guess it's because he lives in such a male-dominated world. When he talks about his best friend, Miss S, he always refers to her as "him." (But he calls her dad "Sister Hardy," go figure.) And I don't even correct him. If child number 1 would have said these things I would have corrected him immediately. Now I just think it's cute. Is this how it is with all last children? I've been listening to his funny talk lately and was reminded yesterday of another of his funny ways of putting things. I said, "Who forgot to turn off these headphones?" and he said, "I accident I did it." He says that all. the. time. "Who didn't make their bed?" "I accident I did it." "Who popped this water balloon in the house?" "I accident I did it.""Who made Kyler cry?" "I accident I did it!"

wordless wednesday

I'm going to play along with other bloggers who like to post pictures on Wednesdays that speak for themselves...no words necessary, blah, blah, blah...I have just officially broken the rules. Anyway, here is my Wordless Wednesday pic.

I'll miss this one day

In an effort to remind myself of the joys, rather than the woes of being the mom, I'm starting a new post thread about the things I think I'll miss one day when the kids are grown. (I got this idea from the neatest blog and from the blog linked to the above button. Play along if you'd like! I'd love to read about what you'll miss.)

Someday I'll miss listening to the endless daily conversations between children that are so insignificant to my adult mind but so terribly important to their little minds, like this one between little Miss S and Kolby: "Can I please hold your rock for five minutes? I promise I'll give it back. If you just let me hold your rock for five minutes, I'll be your best friend and I'll invite you to my birthday." {Sidenote: they are literally standing among thousands of rocks. We have no shortage of rocks in our neighborhood, but for some reason, only this one will do.}

book review

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars One of the quotes of praise on the back cover of this book reads, "After I read Still Alice, I wanted to stand up and tell a train full of strangers, 'You have to get this book.'" I feel the same way. The book was beautiful and terrifying. Since I started reading it, every time I misplace something or forget someone's name, I am just sure I have early onset Alzheimer's. (I really think I do.) I can't say enough good about this book. It was wonderful. (Though I do have to note a couple of totally unnecessary uses of that one very offensive word. WHY is that word even in the English language? And why do authors feel the need to use it? I think it's a cop out word that authors feel the need to use to portray strong emotion when they can't think of any other way to portray it. -Just my two cents) But this was an amazing read. I laughed and cried on almost every page and I couldn't put it down. I read it in two sittings. For those in my book club, I think you are going to love this book. I can't wait to discuss it. My Grandmother had Alzheimer's and it was a scary thing for me to watch. I wish I'd read this book while she was still here. I would have understood her so much better. Like the main character in the book, she was so intelligent and refined her whole life and Alzheimer's seems like such an undignified, cruel way to end a remarkable life. I also couldn't help but think about President Ronald Reagan. I would love to read more about him. I have even more admiration, love and respect for Nancy Reagan, for my Grandfather, and for all caregivers of Alzheimer victims. Surely they must earn themselves an everlasting spot in Heaven. View all my reviews.

strawberry delight recipe

1 warm summer day. 3 hot kids. 1 case of strawberries. Mix together thoroughly and enjoy.

fix it friday2!

Check out all the other great entries this week at:

And this is my attempt. What a beautiful little boy!

book club

I'm lucky to be a member of the most wonderful group of literary, interesting, fun and intelligent women of all time...my BOOK CLUB! Each year we gather at a restaurant to present books we've read during the year and would like to read as a group. We then vote and make our selections for the year. This year, these were the selections that sound like wonderful reads but that were not chosen for our book club. (After all, we only have 12 months in a year!) I will be reading many of these on my own. They sound fascinating.

And, (drum roll, please...) THESE are our selections for the year:

Can't wait to start on the list.

high on a summer buzz!

The boys are feeling "light-headed" from their summer-time buzzes. (Haircut buzzes, that is.) It all started at lunchtime yesterday (the last day of school.) I brought the boys in for lunch and told them it was time to buzz off their hot, shaggy hair. Our cute neighbor, J came over to play but Kyler said (Kyler hates haircuts, so imagine the saddest, mope-iest voice as you read this part,) "I can't play, I'm getting a buzz." Fifteen minutes later, our buzzes were done and the doorbell rang. It was J. He was back, sporting his new buzz. Pull out the Slip and Slides and stock up on Otter Pops, folks. Summer is officially here. (Help!)

lights, camera, ACTIONS!

I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night a few nights ago so I got on my trusty blog list and started reading about actions for photoshop. I downloaded and tried some and now I'm an official addict. Check out these pictures with actions applied! I got my actions here.

fix it friday!

(I accidentally linked this post from last week to I heart faces. If you wanted to see the post for Friday, June 5, please go here. I'm SO sorry - I'm obviously a newbie.) Thanks to Jami, I found a fun new way to spend my Friday afternoons. The blog geniuses at this website sponsor a weekly challenge called "Fix it Fridays" where they give an original photo and challenge you to "fix" or edit it. What fun! This is my attempt. On the left is the darling picture, as it was taken, on the right is my edit. Go try it out for yourself! And because I jump at any chance to scrapbook darling little girls, (all my pictures are of rough and tumble boys,) here is a digital page, created in Photoshop Elements.

sisters

For when three sisters love each other with such sincere affection, the one does not experience sorrow, pain, or affliction of any kind, but the other's heart wishes to relieve, and vibrates in tenderness... like a well-organized musical instrument. -Elizabeth Shaw

How lucky I am to have sisters! Just thinking about them makes my heart fill up so much it spills right out of my eyes.

best show on tv

...is about to begin, so I'm just reminding you to set your Tivo for Thursday night, 7pm on FOX. Seriously. You don't want to miss it. It will blow your socks off. I can't wait!! (By the way, did you know that Lacey Schwimmer and Chelsie Hightower from Dancing with the Stars both got their start on SYTYCD!?)