the problem.

the problem with clothes is that they have to be washed after you've worn them.

the problem with laundry is that it has to be folded and put away.

the problem with having a window seat in your bedroom is that it is a great place to stack piles and piles of clean, folded, laundry, never to be hung up or put into drawers.

she loves the bumbo.

a garden party baby shower.

for tiffany & brecklyn rae ♥

can't wait to meet your sweet girl, tiff!!

{wish you could have been there, alicia :(}

good day.

it's been one of those weeks. but instead of complaining about the bad {tired! tired! tired! busy husband! busy ariel! sore back! tired!!!!!}, let's focus on the good things today. the good things this week, to be exact. my list wouldn't be very long if it was just today :)

1. this photo. i found it today when serena was napping {for 0.2 seconds} and it made me laugh :) oh, bear.
2. serena laughed! i mean really laughed! this should really be number one, but i'm not going in order of importance. it was so adorable. i was in tears, it was so cute! is it a bad sign that the first time she really laughed was when she grabbed a big chunk of my bangs and tried to eat them?? i hope not.
3. stuffed peppers, yellow squash pancakes, and fresh green beans. a traditional {to our family} summer meal. thank you, mom!
4. the disney channel and jeopardy.
5. sprinkler rainbows.
6. funny dreams.
7. back massages from the husband.
8. baby asher's announcement in the mail :)
9. a $10.00 off coupon at kohl's.
10. new {used} books from the book garden.
11. watching serena stand like a champ {or as annette says, an olympian!}.
12. knowing i get to see my friends tomorrow!!
13. knowing i get to make and eat this delicious salad tomorrow!
14. reading beauty in my spare moments.
15. getting excited for choir to start up!

sneeze.

{i bet you're wondering how often i whip out the camera and take pictures of serena in the signature spot... her nursery rug???? pretty much every time she looks adorable. which is pretty much every day!}

lesson learned.

do not buy the cheap, $1 per bottle shampoo. ever again.

ode to mo willems.

we love mo willems. his books are hilarious. the illustrations are hilarious. my personal favorite is don't let the pigeon drive the bus. but we love all of these:

i hope serena appreciates mo's sense of humor, because she has quite a collection of his books! see everything by mo here. and his fan mail favorites here {quite entertaining}.

oh, to be a baby.

we went up to the cabin again today. little miss serena sat on my lap for 30+ minutes, watching the trees blowing in the wind. i always wonder what goes on in that little mind. i can't wait until she can start telling me all about it :)

and one more picture for good measure. {it was a little bright outside, as you can see by serena's face!}

sadly i was not a very good photographer today and all of the pictures with serena & daddy turned out super blurry :(

reading a.d.d.

books i have started in the last week:

digging to america.
jacob have i loved.
persuasion.
i capture the castle.
the jane austen book club.

i think i have settled on re-reading beauty by robin mckinley. one of my favorites.

if not, it's back to jacob have i loved. or digging to america. or persuasion. or maybe i'll find a copy of sense & sensibility. or perhaps re-read east. i have a problem.

on another note, i took a big boxful of books to the book garden this week. i know i said i don't like used books, but i love that place. i love how it is packed from floor to ceiling with books. and you can find relatively new books there, too. you just have to look hard :)

today sean and i attended a funeral for a woman in his old ward. she was a 50-something wife, and mother of 9. there is nothing like a funeral to get you thinking about your own life. i hope if i died today that people would have such wonderful things to say about me! one of her children quoted some beautiful words from this article by president monson. i love them, and i hope to make a better effort to live them.

"How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, “What are we doing with today?” If we live only for tomorrow, we’ll eventually have a lot of empty yesterdays. Have we been guilty of declaring, “I’ve been thinking about making some course corrections in my life. I plan to take the first step—tomorrow”? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today.

Let us ask ourselves the questions: “Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?” What a formula for happiness! What a prescription for contentment, for inner peace—to have inspired gratitude in another human being.

Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved."

found.

photobooth pictures of a stranger's kids inside my library book. that might be the only thing i like about library books. finding things. but mostly i like my books to have that new smell. library books smell weird and have all sorts of unidentifiable stains on the pages.

i like picture number two. the boy's face is classic!

silly girl.

serena's hair will not lay flat in the back. so we give her what i call the kate gosselin. combed down in the front, pokey outey in the back. {and of course you can't really see it in this picture.}

this girl is almost too big for most of her 3-6 months clothing. she's just so tall!

yesterday i walked in the door after going to a baby shower. sean was on the couch with serena and had just fed her a bottle. i said hi to serena and suddenly she got a really mad face. next thing we know she is projectile vomiting the entire contents of her tummy all over herself, sean, and my couch. and then she smiled really big :)

serena KNOWS when i leave the room. even if she can't see me when i leave, she knows. and then she cries. which is sweet, but kind of annoying when i'm trying to do anything around the house.

the other day i was bringing the laundry downstairs, so i sat serena down on our bed, the tv was on and sean had been watching some show about Shaq trying to be a quarterback. when i came upstairs, she was cracking up, smiling & laughing at the tv :)

love this girly.

fernwood.

yesterday we went to fernwood to celebrate my mom's bday. it was a perfect day for a picnic!

serena & the mirror.

she smiles every time she catches a glimpse of herself :)

fri-sun.

i may or may not have watched an affair to remember 3x while sean was in st. george for the weekend. {i did.}

♥

serena may or may not have screamed all day on saturday for no apparent reason... to the point where i was on the verge of ripping my hair out. {she did.}

♥

we may or may not have slept in on sunday and missed church entirely because i was so so worn out from saturday. {we did. but if it makes you feel better, we planned to go to paul & lyn's ward, only to find out that it was their stake conference.}

♥

the abyss may or may not be the most unintentionally funny movie i have seen in quite a while! {it is! seriously... if you haven't seen that in 10+ years, it's time to rent and laugh!}

tonight.

began as a night in. me & serena with cary grant & deborah kerr to keep us company. old movies + crocheting, just like an old lady.

ended up as a night out with the girls {me, serena, kess, jamie, kim... and asher... so not entirely a girls night out}. bajio & 17 again. catching up. cuddling babies. fun fun night. what beautiful friends i have!

i love you, sean!
xxxx

flowers.

i finally put some of my crocheted flowers to use: matching mommy-daughter headbands. serena looks sooo adorable in hers! it's giant on her head and i love it :)

now... what to do with the rest of them???

utah voices.

I have had the privelege of singing under the direction of Dr. Michael Huff with the Salt Lake Symphonic Choir as well as in two regional choirs {for a regional conference and for the Days of '47 Sunrise Concert}. He is a fabulous director and is so much fun.

This fall, Dr. Huff is organizing a new choir, Utah Voices. The choir's focus will be large choral works along with smaller masterworks and anthems. No auditions are required for the choir; however, a small, auditioned choir, focused on high-difficulty literature, sacred, secular, old and modern, will be formed within the larger choir. We are looking for passionate, talented singers to join in the fun! Here is some basic information about the choir:

Although auditions are not required, attendance to rehearsal is extremely important and will be recorded.

We will have annual concerts in December, in the spring, and a July Pioneer/Patriotic concert in the summer, with the possibility of other concerts throughout the season.

We will rehearse Wednesday evenings, beginning September 2nd, in Bountiful {we will have a secured rehearsal location soon}. Rehearsals will be from 7:30 until 9:30 p.m.

All singers will be required to purchase and retain their own music and a black 3-ring binder.

Choir dues will be $50 for the fall (due in September), $50 for the spring (due in January), and $50 for the remainder of the season (due in April), for a total of $150.00.

Singers will be responsible for and provide their own concert attire within the following guidelines:

Women: black, floor-length formal dress or skirt/blouse; sleeve length must be either long sleeves or three-quarter length. Avoid anything that reflects a large amount of light (excessive sequins, beading, reflective material, etc.). Jewelry should be a simple strand of pearls with pearl earrings. Black shoes.

Men: black tuxedo, white shirt, black bow-tie and black cummerbund, black shoes.

Please comment, call, or email me if you are interested or if you have any questions!

{you can also email utahvoiceschoir@gmail.com with questions.}

three months.

serena at three months:

she is smiling and cooing a lot more.

she spits up a lot more often {and my wardrobe is showing it}.

she loves her play mat from fraunt tiffany. {one of those mats with dangly toys overhead}

she is most definitely a mama's girl... for now, at least.

she is beginning to suck her thumb.

her favorite pastime is kicking her legs like crazy. especially in the bathtub.

she haaaaaates getting out of the bath.

she is huuuuge! it kills me to put away clothing that she doesn't fit into anymore!

she sleeps in her crib now and is usually up only once a night.

she hates tummy time.

she loves it when we sing to her. instant smiles!

she likes to look around at everything with a very curious expression on her face :)

she likes moving her tongue all over, licking or sucking on everything, and drooling everywhere.

she is great at cuddling and looking cute.

the results.

there was quite a crowd of people who came to watch. and gina & anthony did not disappoint. my favorite part was when the football team gave a special "go gina!" while they warmed up :)

you guys are awesome! thanks for the great entertainment tonight!