The kids PLAYING together, not fighting together. :)

Today's Playgroup . . .

This is one happy guy. 

"Seriously mom, I want to go to Liam's house again."

Sunday Picnic at Lake Natoma

Good idea mom!

Can I come swimming with you?

Yay! We're outside finally!

I don't want to leave.

Man, I love these kids!

 Playing on the Ipad with daddy. What fun!

Stole mommy's phone again! I am sneaky. 

I get excited when my mom comes back in the room!

I'm just relaxing. Mom says I'm beautiful.

We have a Prophet for our day. Come listen!

Learning a new skill . . .

Ethan sat on the big boy potty today, looked down in surprise when he started to tinkle and said, "It turned on! It's like a sprinkler."

If you like to laugh

Okay, if you like to laugh, you've got to check out Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. HIII-larious. It is Jerry Seinfeld and various comedians going out to coffee and chatting. You can imagine how funny it would be to listen in on a conversation of two funny people.

My favorites so far are Brian Regan, Ricky Gervais and Alec Baldwin. Check it out!!

http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/

You're welcome.. ;)

3 Years Later . . .

I am finally posting again. The last time I was pregnant with my first child. And now, my almost 3 year old is feeding my almost 1 year old. So cute!!

Pilates

Tomorrow I begin Pilates. I figure if I write that fact down and share it, I sort of have to follow through. I can't back out because people will be wondering. "Still looking flabby Laura, I thought you were doing Pilates . . ." :) I can't have that.

So, tomorrow the muffin top begins it's melt.

Finally, some Prego Pix for the fans. . .

Okay, here I am . . . Don't think of me as fat, but motherly. :)

Jason and I went to the Sacramento temple today for the first time. It was beautiful! And guess what? I got one of those smiles I wanted. You know, the moment of recognition by a stranger that I am pregnant, that suddenly merits a sweet, secret little smile. Yeah!

A New Nest

Okay! We officially sold and closed on our Utah home this past week! We are thrilled and feel very blessed. It sounds like a very sweet family is moving in, so it is nice to know that two families have been blessed in the process.

And you know how life goes, from one thing to the next, we had a home offer accepted (which feels miraculous in this CA market). So, we are now in escrow on a house in Folsom CA. We are currently in the investigation period, so we shall see what happens. You never know, right?! But, we are excited at the prospect of having a place to bring the baby home to once he is born.

Speaking of baby, our boy kicks all the time. He's big enough now to give me some pretty strong, startling kicks to my ribs. I think he wants more room. Soon enough he'll have it. 2 months until I'm due - October 21! Some people still don't seem to be able to tell that I am pregnant though. Ha! It is kind of funny and kind of annoying. I want attention and pity, you know doors being opened for me at the bank and those little smiles strangers give when they see evidence of your physical state. But when people just think you're fat, they don't care! :)

Anyway, I wonder sometimes if "the boy," as I shall call him, will come early or late. Either way works. I of course was ready to be done being pregnant at about 8 weeks, so you know, I guess I can keep waiting a little. Not that I want to curse myself to wait. Things are starting to get very uncomfortable in this body of mine, whether people can tell I'm pregnant or not! However, if my life continues the way it has been going, he'll be here early. Likely, the day after we move in to our new home or something. One thing to the next ladies and gentleman, one thing to the next.

Last Day

Today was my last day of work. Wow. It is mind boggling. My co-workers made it a wonderful 5 years and a wonderful last day. I was just glad I could get to know so many of them and learn so many things. I hope I can be a great mom. I have a feeling the Lord will help me out. ;)

Well, I finally saw this movie "Remains of the Day." Excellent! I highly recommend it to anyone. It wasn't what I expected, but a lovely narrative about living any empty life and not recognizing or taking hold of any real chances that come your way for happiness or improvement. The acting is suberb and the whole film really beautiful. Now, I would really like to see other films by these producers and directors like "Howard's End" "A Room with a View."

Strangely, I'm pretty sure I've seen both films, but it was years and years ago and I remember very little. I'll let you know what I think!

However, before I see those movies, I discovered last night that Jason has never seen "Finding Nemo" so that is my first project. We saw "Bolt" on Friday night (which brought up the topic of Nemo) and it was absolutely adorable - especially for dog lovers!

This is worth your time . . .

For all you movie lovers out there - go see Ghost Town! I had my doubts about it because the topic seemed a little silly and already done. However, Ricky Gervais (pictured above) was worth the risk to me.

Ricky Gervais is a hilarious actor/improvisor that starred in the original British series of The Office.

The movie Ghost Town also proved to be well worth it! Very fun and funny, with a touching message. My two thumbs up!

This is a picture of a church on Maui. I loved the colors and the classic simplicity of it.

Here is my chosen quote of the day, "If you are not getting as much from life as you want to, then examine the state of your enthusiasm." -- Norman Vincent Peale

I think that is excellent! Enthusisam seems to make all the difference in the joy of any task.

My husband is very sad and frustrated about the current state of the economy and the value of our home. So, just to remind myself he can smile, I found a picture where he looks happy.

What do you know? When he's with a pit bull, he actually looks happy.

I feel layered in sadness tonight - wondering when he'll be happy again.

C.J. - Woman's Best Friend

Somtimes my dog is my happiness. Meet our little Boston Terrier, C.J.. Jason brought him home one day, hoping I would love him too. And I really didn't at first.

But, as time has worn on, he has burrowed his own little place inside of me.

He always wants to see you, always wants to play and carries around a happiness that people often fail to capture in their own hearts.

He lays at my feet when I read, snuggles next to me when I nap and licks me profusely when I come home. How could I not love him? Even emulate his positive energy and giving nature. I know he's a dog, but come on - God did a great job on this one!

William Shakespeare says it well . . .

"He is the half part of a blessed man left to be
finished by such as she; And she is a fair divided excellence
whose fullness of perfection lies in him."
- William Shakespeare

Well, I dare say that is poetry. And probably very true. Doesn't your spouse often push you beyond your limits, in more exasperating ways than you imagined? I bet one day we'll see that it was in ways that made us grow and carved us out a deeper heart.

What is Marriage?

Sometimes people wonder why marriage exists or wax philosophical on it's existence as a cultural tradition, which seems outdated. Or they wonder why they would want it when it seems so painful and doomed to fail. They see the hurt all around them, feel it all around them.

Well, I say, have a night like I had tonight. I came home to my husband - simple, but absolutely glorious! There he was, for me. We hugged, we talked, we laughed. I wanted to do something special for him just because. And I realized, perhaps remembered, that to be married is to be a friend.