Road Trip

We've been out of town for the holiday weekend.
We had a wonderful time full of nature and family, good food, and relaxation.
The boys gave me a great gift today.
They were absolutely awesome in the car. Of course we had a few moments of crying and frustration (what 15 month old likes to be strapped in a carseat for 4 hours) but overall, it was an extremely pleasant drive.
My dreams of fabulous family vacations via road trips to national monuments, theme parks, and visits to far away places are now seeming possible.
It's really hard to see my little babies grow up.
But they showed me today some of the perks that come with that.
I can't wait to see the rest.

These are a few of my favorite things

A hug
A kiss
A dozen I love yous
I sure love all my boys

Notes to

Dear Mom,
You have been staying with us for a few days now. I love it. I love having you to chat with and hang out with. Picking fabric colors is so much fun because it's with you. Thank you for listening to my endless chatter and for always loving me. Thank you for helping me with projects and being willing to teach me anything. Thank you for playing with my boys. It means the world to me. I am going to pretend that you live close by so it won't be as sad when you leave.
I love you.
Love,
Your daughter

Dear friends,
Thank you for coming to visit us today while our car was stuck in the shop. You brought us a yummy lunch and a little bit of sunshine. We loved talking and playing and catching up. It was wonderful and so are you.
Happily,
Your friends

Dear Autorepair Guys,
Thank you for taking especially good care of our car. Thank you for giving us wonderful service and explaining things carefully. For us non-mechanical people it is very comforting to have someone honest to trust. I have never been more impressed with customer service, speedy repairs, and overall quality in my car-maintenance.
Sincerely,
A satisfied customer

Dear Big Black Toy Spider,
Today you were Weston's best friend. You sat at the breakfast table, went on some pretty crazy adventures, took a few bites out of some bad guys, enjoyed a Diego episode, and were a pretty hilarious prop in a 3 year olds imaginitive play. Thanks for lasting through it all...you helped me get a lot of stuff done.
Sincerely,
A busy mom

Dear Darling Sweet Little Niece K,
You celebrated your second birthday today. We had a lot fun partying with you. You have so much spunk and excitement, you constantly make us smile and we just love you to pieces. Weston & Tave are always thrilled to visit you and I love your hugs and laughs.
We love you,
Your loving aunt, uncle, and cousins

Dear Blankie,
I don't know what I would do without you. My kisses paired with your soft silkiness can calm down Tave in under 1 minute. Every. Single. Time. You have become a favorite of mine because you are his. I have a feeling you'll be needed a lot during these next few months as Tave learns about all the new tricks he can (and sometimes shouldn't) do.
Yours,
A loving mom

Dear Professor,
I understand that my husband is getting his masters degree. This means he is gone a lot. And I'm supposed to be okay with that. Which I am (even though I hate it) It will all be worth it in the end. You did something wonderful tonight. You let class out early. Me and my boys were so happy to see Jeff an entire hour early. You really made our day.
A thousand thank you's
From,
A very grateful wife

Dear Hubby,
You are lying in bed waiting for me to lay my head down next to you. I am so excited to do that. Thank you for being the person who I get to spend forever with. Thank you for loving me and helping me want to be a better person. Becuase of you, because of us, I will get there.
Love,
Your wife

(ps so I'm giving credit where credit is due- I got this 'letter' idea from my friend, Noelle. Her blog is private or I would link you there. But I just had to try it out, you should too, it's so fun to change things up!)

All by me-self

I love how Weston says 'myself'.
He says me-self.
Which I just can't bring myself to correct. It's so stinkin cute.

Anyways,
Tonight me and my mom went to the grocery store sans kiddos.
Jeff offered to take them on a jog while we shopped. (Thank you thank you, babe!)
Once at the store we decided to divide and conquer.
I slowly meandered down the isles to browse before hitting the hard-core grocery side of stuff.
It was bliss. I can't remember my last trip to the grocery store all by myself.
And while I definitely missed Tave's huge grin as he says Hi to every single person we pass, and Weston's stories about what Superman and Spiderman eat for breakfast...

I loved every minute.

Somehow...

I have managed to let 3 months slip by without a single post.

I am sorry my dear, loyal readers. (Which really means 'my dear, loyal friends) I know you're out there.

When I checked my sitemeter I had 24 visits this week.

24!

I was shocked and surprised that despite my horrible lack of postings you would still check in on me.

I feel loved.


And so today I am beginning anew my daily thoughts on the beauty that surrounds me.

The past 3 months have been wonderfully busy and full of the crazy things that summer brings.

I have had lots and lots of high moments and some lonely ones. Some dissappointments in myself, in others, and in life. I was silly and didn't recognize that those are the times when I especially needed to focus on what was good, what was beautiful, and what was blessing my life. I let my frustrations keep me from here. I just didn't want to write some of the things that I felt.

But I was wrong.

Not because I was keeping the difficult and bad from this journal, but because I was letting it keep me from the good. From realizing all that I am blessed with, daily.
How often do I have to learn that lesson?

So here I am, Grateful:

For long days and weeks and months that show me I have and am more than I thought possible.
For a husband who never, ever gives up on me and tells me constantly how much he loves me.
For little boys who laugh and smile and run with open arms for a kiss and a hug. Whose excitement for learning and life make me so glad that I am their mom.
For new babies and new life and the complete joy they bring to families.
For Moms and Dads whose visits last long enough to make it feel like we *almost* live close by.
For family who visit and make my day by playing Ticket to Ride. Yeah, it's that awesome!
For friends. Those angel people who come in the form of sisters, moms, neighbors, phone calls, notes on my door, emails, cupcakes, and surprise gifts.

You are the beauty in my past 3 months.
And for that I thank you.

An attempt to procrastinate...

I'm supposed to be packing.
Ug. I love going on trips but I sure hate packing.
But I have my lists, I have my bags, and I think everything is now in one room. That always helps.
So here I go.
Off to pack.
To pinch and shove and make it all fit.
And then hope I didn't forget some of the most important items. (Like I tend to do when I'm frantically packing the night before!)
Well...procrastination over. I want to go to bed soon.

Texas here we come!!!

Week 2 of the quilt along...

I don't know why looking at my stack of fabric strips makes me so happy...
but it does.
I just love that pretty soon it is going to be sewn.
And cut some more.
And then sewn again~
to make something beautiful
and cozy
and lasting.

An heirloom.

How exciting!!

100

Ooooh, this is my 100th post!! Wow. Thiscalls for some kind of celebrating.
Which means 100 things about me. Lucky you. ;)
Okay. I think I can do this. Here goes:

1. My name is Nicole.
2. My middle name is Marie.
3. I am married to my very best friend who I love so much. His name is Jeff.
4. We were married in the San Diego Temple.
5. We have two sweet, beautiful little boys.
6. My first girl's middle name will be Marie.
7. I have a twin sister.
8. I have 1 fabulous younger sister and 2 amazing younger brothers
9. I have 3 sisters in law, & 4 brothers in law. I love them all.
10. My 3 nieces and 3 nephews are some of my very favorite people. They are all so stinkin cute.
11. I love the color pink. and green. and turquoise right now.
12. My favorite holiday is Christmas.
13. I am 28 years old.
14. I took clogging classes when I was younger.
15. I graduated from Ricks College.
16. My first major at Ricks was Performing Arts.
17. I quickly switched that major to Interpersonal Communications.
18. But I have grown up always wanting to act and have been in a few plays.
19. I love to sing and often sing at the top of my lungs. Good thing my boys love music.
20. I love being married and being a mom.
21. I also love my life.
22. I have taken 2 voice lessons in my life but it is my goal to take a lot more of them eventually.
23. I took piano lessons for 1 year and wish wish wish I had taken them longer. So sometime in my life I will also take piano.
24. I want to learn the violin.
25. I was on the dance team in high school.
26. I am LDS
27. I have brown hair and brown eyes..and I like that.
28. I love to make things.
29. I am currently making my first quilt.
30. My favorite sport to play is volleyball. That doesn't mean I am good.
31. My favorite sport to watch is basketball...
32. However, I am learning to love football
33. since I am married to a Cowboys fan!
34. My favorite candy is skittles. And reeses pieces. and anything chocolate. but no nuts.
35. My favorite food is lasagna. However, I am really craving tacos right now.
36. I don't really love cooking.
37. But I do love feeding my family.
38. I love cereal. I think it could be eaten at any meal.
39. I also love ice cream. Hmmm... sweet tooth here.
40. But salad is my other favorite food.
41. I love eating salad with ranch dressing and sunflower seeds.
42. I make a fabulous banana bread. Well..we all like it.
43. I grew up in CA.
44. I love the beach more than just about any other place.
45. I have only been to 2 other countries: Mexico and Ecuador.
46. I have been to Mexico on family vacations and
47. on a cruise for my honeymoon.
48. I have worked in orphanages in Ecuador. I loved it and miss those beautiful, sweet babies.
49. I have worked with children with Autism. And I love them.
50. I love road trips. Errr.. I loved them as a child and as an adult. As a mom to toddlers they are a little crazy.
51. One of my favorite family vacations is camping.
52. I have been water skiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding.
53. I love wakeboarding the most.
54. My first car was a toyota corolla. Great little car.
55. I absolutely LOVE reading.
56. Fantasy and YA novels are my favorite.
57. Someday I will write a novel.
58. Someday I will also be organized....
59. Because if I'm honest with myself, I know I'm not (organized that is)
60. I want to take a photography class.
61. I would love to own a Canon Rebel. Somday!
62. I also want to take a photoshop class.
63. I have my own etsy shop.
64. I love my parents.
65. I love my in-laws too!
66. I just have the best family ever. Really, I do.
67. I wear chapstick.
68. I seldom wear lipstick.
69. I put on makeup every single day. Well, minus the days my husband asks me not to...for some reason he likes when I don't wear it?!
70. I like to jog.
71. I am afraid of losing my sight.
72. I took Sign Language classes in college. It is such a beautiful language.
73. I like the snow for about 2 days. Then I hate the snow.
74. I have snowboarded. I really liked it, but haven't gone much.
75. I graduated from BYU with a degree in Marriage, Family, Human Development.
76. I love learning.
77. I greatly dislike speaking in front of people.
78. I much prefer small groups
79. I LOVE to play games.
80. My current favorite game is Ticket to Ride.
81. I am terrified of heights.
82. I will try most anything once. And only once. (except really really really gross things)
83. My favorite restaurant is Cafe Rio. Oh and Fuddruckers.
84. I am also absolutely terrified of sharks. Even more than heights.
85. My favorite place to be is home.
86. I love a clean house.
87. Sometimes my clean laundry never gets folded and we wear everything out of the basket. But only sometimes.
88. I read to my boys every single day.
89. I want to live in a warm state.
90. but I am happy with my life. :)
91. I love giving gifts.
92. I daydream a lot. About places to go, things to see, people to visit. and then I wake up and know that I am in heaven right here.
93. I love sleeping in.
94. But I also love being up early and feeling productive.
95. Sea World is my favorite theme park.
96. Lost is my favorite TV show. And American Idol.
97. I have lived in 3 different states so far.
98. I want to visit every single state someday!!
99. I will accomplish everything on my dream list
100. With my sweet family right by my side!

That's it: 100 things about me that I am SURE you wanted to know!!

Happy 100!