The back yard- waiting for coneflowers and summer bulbs to come up. (I fetched the trim out of the dumpster and the rocks we got from our rock heap. I love free.)

Here's a few more plant pics. I am already trying to figure out what divisions I will take when we move from Michigan 3 years from now and what I will plant at our next house. Our plants have become an integral part of our summer life.
Before our gardening days:

I Heart Plant Lovers

A sure sign that Brady and I are getting older is that we have taken a liking to plants. I have always been a nature lover but really never paid attention to plants. Since we don't have beautiful Alaskan Moutains in our back yard, we needed something to enjoy outside. Since last August we have put in several flower beds and have had a lot of fun digging in the dirt and taking survey of other flower gardens. We got these flowers from my friends perenial garden, garage sales, end of the season sales, and by the side of the road (don't worry they were all legit.) We've gotten buckets upon buckets of free dirt from our compost and our neighbor over bought mulch so I traded her dog walking(running) for wood chips.
It's been fun taking Liam outside everyday to water the plants with his green water can and has made spring more exciting and enjoyable.

Our favorite plants in our garden:
Iris Blue Hyrdrangeas Hosta Tulips Spirea Black Eyed Susans
Snap dragons (Our only annuals)

Other plants in our garden-
Lavender, peonies, boring Shrubs, day lillies, star gazer lillies, shasta daisies, baby's breath, creeping jenny, lady's mantel, dafodills, periwinkle, rose of sharon, ornamental grass, strawberries, corn, zucchini, yellow peppers, onions, potatoes.

We have unsuccessfully tried to grow plants from seed and every single time they die shortly after they sprout. We ordered some plants from one of those cheap, bulk plant catalogs that send plant roots that look totally dead. We'll see if they work.

If anyone wants divisions let us know and we'll send them your way once things take root.

The Old "industrial park" Look

Memorial Day at the Park

Liam and I spent most of Memorial Day hanging out at Hawk Island Park playing at the splash pad and finding turtles, frogs, and fish at the lake.

Things Liam Likes to Say

"Gween wight!"- He says "gween wight" and then spontaneously jumps, runs, throws dirt until he says "stop wight" or "blue wight"

"That's Elmo's Bum!"- He switched up the words of the song "Elmo's World" with "Elmo's Bum." Dad had nothing to do with this (honest).

"No mommy and daddy, Dats Dangerous!" He thinks he is the danger police now and so when he sees his parents pulling out of the driveway or standing on chairs he informs us that we're being dangerous. He also announces when he's doing dangerous things, like climbing on rocks or jumping off the couch. "Look, I'm dangerous! Watch me!"
Dad pulled out of the driveway tonight to go visit some people and Liam called after him "Don't go in the road! Watch out for cars!"

"Good job, mom."- He insists on telling us, his parents, "good job" after we've finished using the restroom, eating, putting on our shoes, or giving him fruit snacks. It's great when we have guests over, and somebody comes out of the bathroom: "Good job, you go poopy!"

"kitty's daddy"- He refuses to call our neighbor by his name "Jack" but instead says "No mom, that's kitty's daddy" 'cause the guy has a cat.

"No- Weum do it!"- The kid loves to be independent. Sometimes he rejects our help.

"Take one!" When he wants us to share something and he wants to choose it himself, he looks us in the eyes and very deliberately and slowly tells us to "take one." Mom, who often tries to snitch from his snack stash, is often told to just take one.

"pwease- maybe a baby, tiny, wittle one? " -When he wants something we won't let him have he turns on his soft cute voice, tilts his head, and offers an alternate solution. If I tell him he can't watch Finding Nemo again, he says "Uhh... maybe...
Move-It? (aka Madagascar)

Anytime he trips, he looks at us and says in a crooning voice "You ok, Liam? You ok?" until one of us asks if he's ok. Usually the response is a smile, a "Yep", and he's back to the races.

When we're reading and he sees somebody sad or crying in the book he knows there's only ever one reason to make somebody feel that way. He expresses the character's woe by quickly crying "I want my Mommy!!"

He loves to have cause to say "I'm a naked boy! A naked bum! Ha ha!"

Liam jumping on the bed

Liam got a monkey shirt from grandma Dalene and he could jump on the bed singing "Monkeys on the Bed" for hours and never tire. He is particular about us getting the words right when we sing songs with him, hence the correction. What a funny kid.

Happy 4 Year Anniversary!

On top of Liam's birthday, Cinco De Mayo, and Mother's Day, this past week was our 4 Year Anniversary. What a blessing our marriage has been! We are very blessed to have each other and my wonderful husband is a daily reminder that God loves me. It is fun to look back and see what fun times we have had, how we have grown, and anticipate exciting times in the future.

Happy Mothers Day!

I come from a long line of exceptional mothers.
My mother is a amazing, my grandmothers are inspirational. I have a lot to live up to and an immense amount to be thankful for.

All children grow up thinking that their parents are remarkably smart and generally as they enter adulthood the myth is dispelled and people realize parents are just regular people. I'm 25 and the older I get the more knowledgable and wise my mother seems.

My mother seems to be an expert on everything from classical literature(she has read more books than anyone that I know)to maximizing home equity. She can sew virtually anything and creates her own patterns. She can create a gourmet meal from scratch no matter how empty the cupboards. She can silence a hopelessly upset baby. She can give valuable advice on what flooring to buy from Home Depot. I frequently go to her for insight because she knows alot about many things.

Most importantly my mother has taught me how to love. I think one of my very favorite memories of my mom will always be when she came to help after the birth of Liam. All week she aided in teaching me how to hold, bathe, feed, burp and care for my new child. I remember crying as she left to the airport. A feeling of panic came over me as I thought "When you go, how am I going to know what to do?!" I realized after she was gone that she had already taught me the most important lessons of motherhood as she loved me unconditionally. With this she has armed me with an arsenal of patience, perserverence, sincere prayer and a knowledge of my Savior, optimism, a sense of humor in difficult times, and the desire to shower my kid with constant hugs, kisses, and affection.

After having a child of my own I am only now beginning to comprehend her love amd how much work my mom put into me. My mom spent hundreds of hours driving to(and paying for) piano lessons, violin lessons, soccer games, cross country races, and a seemingly unending schedule of after school and social events. My mom juggled 5 kids yet found the time to express love and concern for each as an individual. She put up with tons (several years worth in my case :))of rotten behavior and still loves us kids anyways. That's skill. I owe so much to my wonderful mother.

My husband is a wonderful man, and definately a product of an amazing mother. Everything his mom Leisa touches turns to gold- her kids, her home, her art and music. . . .She is extremely efficient with her time and seems to be helping everyone all at once. She is very in tune with her kids' needs. She is a wonderful grandma to Liam. When we visit she packs Liam around pretty much everywhere she goes- her craft room, the grocery store, running errands, and gives him baths, teaches him songs, and gives him all the attention he could want. Liam is always talking about Nana or asking "Where's Nana? I wanna go to Nana's house"


My grandmothers are also steller mothers. They both have an incredible ability to take care of people. While I never lived in the same town as either of them they both have been instrumental in my personal development and have always been there for me when I needed them.

Grandma Hazel has 20+ grandkids and several great grandkids and still makes the time to write and send birthday, christmas and valentines cards to all of them. This past year she has been undergoing chemotherapy but still somehow found the energy to send me hand picked asian pears in the mail. She raised her 4 kids virtually by herself, often working several jobs to provide for her family. There has been many a time in my life when I have felt discouraged or lonely and grandma has changed my attitude with an inspired phone call. My grandma has been to every baptism and marriage of all her grandkids and still finds time to volunteer at the temple, or help with friends, family, and neighbors. She has the coolest stories and is a family history encyclopedia.

Grandma Marilyn is always good for a smile and a pick me up. She is a great friend. She has single handedly decorated my house for every holiday with her care packages. She flew all the way down to Utah from Fairbanks, Alaska just to see me graduate from BYU. She reminds me of my potential, and encourages me to go for my dreams. She tells me the sky is the limit and reminds me to have fun. In high school being a teenager I silently wished I was more pretty and talented. Grandma helped me feel comfortable with who I am and taught me to embrace and enjoy being myself. She has always loved me no matter how foolish or immature I have been. This summer I ran a marathon while I was visiting her in Alaska. With her on the sidelines I was sure that there wasn't a runner there with more support(not to mention the post race cinnamon rolls.)Everyone needs the type of cheerful, uplifting fan like Grandma Marilyn has been for me.

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy 2nd Birthday Liam!

Happy Birthday to Liam! What a smart, funny, loving kid. We are so thankful to be his parents. There is nothing like the motivating love parents have for their children. Liam makes every day more meaningful, and life more beautiful. Thanks for 2 crazy years.
I don't know if I've ever seen Liam more excited for anything than he was here, singing Happy Birthday. It was worth a million bucks. This picture encapsulates the hysteria of the 2 year old birthday. He got a basketball hoop and has wanted to take it everywhere with us- to the store, the gym. . . For his birthday he wanted to play outside. He saw Brady getting ready to go on a ride and he got his little 'bike' and put on his helmet and started heading for the driveway. It was pretty cute.
Brady, the family artist, made the Nemo cake


He was sad dad left on his bike ride without him

Liam singing

Liam just got this drum which he carries around the house singing a combo of all his favorite songs- Abcs, Baa baa Black Sheep (sung: "ba ba black sheep, have you any sheep? have you any sheep? have you any sheeeeeeeeep"), The Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle, Twinkle. . .

His birthday is this week and so he sings "Happy Birthday" to himself throughout the day.

When Liam saw this video he said "isn't Weum funny"

And 10 points for the hair-do.

Parks and Recreation

I work on the DeWitt City Parks and Rec board and this week I have been involved with gathering public input via a community wide forum held Thursday and an online survey. I have been passing out "Take our survey, here's our web address" cards and hitting up friends, neighbors, class members . . . I even asked Brady to solicit his friends at a guys only barbecue (and apparently it's not cool to hit up the guys for community surveys- oh please)

The highly anticipated public input forum cost the city $1,500 to put on (we paid a consulting firm to host) and on a terribly rainy day in the first hour and a half we had exactly 4 people attend (and one of those people was my boss I'd invited from the YMCA.) Whatever. The parks and rec work will go forth rain or shine.