Latest Project.

The mirror. Steal of a deal. With a coat of paint, some sanding, and some more brush strokes it's exactly what I wanted.

Bryan's on-call tonight for his dad's business. I always get lots of questions about it since it's such a, shall we say, unique business. I just try not to think about what he's actually doing and focus more on how grateful we are for the extra income. :) So, I'm home alone and since I already cleaned the entire house I figured it was time to sit down for some good old catharsis.

Mitt Romney announced his presidential candidacy. As I was reading about it, I landed on a page listing the pros and cons of each candidate. On Mitt's cons list it stated something along the lines of other Christian faiths not accepting him because he's Mormon.

This boggles my mind. It makes me mad. mad. mad. Not because I automatically support him because we share the same faith but because some people still choose to cast him in a false light because of his faith. This motivates me to be better--to be more like my Savior.

I hope there is a day that the majority of people will understand that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christian. Our lives and our decisions are always influenced by our belief in the Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that people of any faith will see us for the good we are trying to spread instead of the awful, untrue rumors that so often circulate about our religion. {Why can't we foucs on the fact that our church's humanitarian services provided more than $1.01 billion to assist the needy from 165 countries or that there are over 50,000 missionaries, many 19 year old boys, from our church that give 2 years of their lives to go serve others and bring people to Christ?}

In highschool one of my closest friends brought me a flyer his church had sent out, inviting me to come hear why I was going to Hell. Yup, lovely. He said he was joking, but deep down I always hoped he wasn't one of those people in that congregation that believed those malicious words. Ten years later, I hope that my friends of faiths besides mine are not numbered among the people that wont vote for Mitt Romney simply because he is LDS. I know better than anyone that I am no where near perfect, but I hope that I have been a good enough example and open enough about my faith that my friends will trust in me over the cruel falsehoods that will undoubtedly be said during this election. Now, if you just don't like the guy because of his politics, I will not be hurt.

On to less heavy subjects. Why is it that the Biggest Loser is so addicting? I made it 9 seasons without being sucked in. I couldn't understand how it could be all that exciting to watch people lose weight for an entire season. Well, guess what...it is! One night, probably much like this one, I was bored and started watching. I haven't missed an episode since. And why is it that I bawl through every episode? Like a big, big baby.

Tonight Caden gave me a recap of his day. "I went into the woods. It was scar-rey! And then I saw an alligator. Good night mommy." What I wouldn't give to be little again...

I don't wanna get married!

Complete side note: Could this face be more of an Ashley face?!?! After watching General Conference Caden announced that he wanted to go to the "that temple" {Salt Lake}. So we decided to make a trip to the Sacramento Temple. He was so excited, until we pulled into the parking lot. He started bawling, uncontrollably. When we asked what was wrong he wailed, "I DON'T WANNA GET MARRIED!"

We walked around the temple grounds with the kids. Parker hobbled. Poor daredevil's latest stunt didn't end so well and he's been limping ever since. The doctor assured me that it was nothing; I just feel so bad for him. "Hey look, it's angle ron-i." Afterwards we had a picnic. There were two Caden sized geese that joined us, which the boys thought was awesome. And it was, until we ran out of food and they started hissing at us. Caden was extremely protective of Parker, giving him a nice shove every time he tried to get in front of him.

Quinoa Salad with Toasted Almonds & an Easter Wreath

I've been looking for some more tasty Quinoa recipes for awhile now. The nutrients found in this stuff are mind blowing! I tried this one last night. Thank you Martha Stewart's wholeliving.com; You did not disappoint.

Quinoa Salad with Toasted Almonds:

1/4 cup slivered almonds 1/2 cup (3 ounces) quinoa 4 teaspoons olive oil 1 yellow bell pepper, ribs and seeds discarded, cut into 1/2-inch chunks 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 scallions, thinly sliced 1/8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish (optional) 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick 1 large celery stalk, diced 1 lime, halved

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast almonds until crisp, lightly browned, and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Meanwhile, place quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear; drain well.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. Add yellow pepper, garlic, scallions, and red-pepper flakes; cook until the pepper is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in quinoa, thyme, 1 cup water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 7 minutes. Stir in zucchini, cover, and cook until quinoa is tender but not mushy, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Remove the saucepan from heat.

4. Stir in celery, almonds, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil, season with salt, and fluff with a fork. Cool to room temperature before packing into two containers and refrigerating. When ready to eat, squeeze lime over salad, if desired. Serve with additional lime wedge and thyme, if desired.

And our simple Easter project for the boy's doors. Yes, I like wreaths.

I always find myself getting emotional as I pack away my boys clothes that they've out grown. It's a time when I cannot deny that they are changing, getting bigger, growing up. Time is moving forward and I can't stop it no matter how much I'd like to. This is the one story in my life that I choose to enjoy each page instead of skipping straight to the end to see what happens. Today I'm just filled with gratitude for my babies, for their perfect smiles and contagious little giggles, for their big blue eyes that reflect their curiosity, for their ever positive dispositions, and for their ability to love and forgive instantly. We were having a big family game night, and somehow my niece got the impression that I was pregnant. I laughed, and told her not yet. In all her 7 year old wisdom she nonchalantly replied, "Why would you have another one when you can't even control the ones you've got." Hilarious, right?!? But I've thought about that. A lot, actually. Not because of my niece, but because of the world around me. Many responses have run through my head. Oh, control...that's such a relative term. Some mom's believe that control means their children are in a straight line, saluting her the second they are called for; others lean more towards it meaning children are still breathing at the end of the day. I've thought about explaining how Caden is a handful and how I'll probably always be grasping straws to "control" him. I've thought about how I feel the need to have my kids close together because I fear that someday that blessing could just be taken away from me. I've thought about what a difference it makes in a family having male children, compared to female. My boys believe they are a part of circus act flying from the couch tops to the lovesac, and yes, that makes them a bit hard to control. I've thought about how parenting children of any age is never just going to be easy. And yes, I have thought about the very real possibility that I am just plain crazy for thinking about having another kid. After all these thoughts the bottom line is that I would and want to have another baby because my kids bring me more joy than anything else in this life. My world is my family. My calling is motherhood. When I feel another little spirit knocking to come down I'm not going to tell them to hold on til I get their siblings "under control" because that very well could mean they'd be waiting until Caden's on a mission. ANYWAY, Megan was here visiting. We had a blast. She got a camera for her birthday, and it was so nice to have a night at the park documented without me having to do a thing.

Caden kept all of us laughing. He loves to spin, so Wes put him on here for the first time and he wobbled around like a drunken sailor. He even ran into a wall; his response: that's pretty funny. We had like 20 different videos, but this was the only one short enough for blogger. I love it because its so true to his personality. If you fall off just get back on and try again. He's persistent.

March Madness

We've been drinking away our sorrows with some good ol' homemade Dr. Pepper from our Soda Stream. It was sad to see BYU's winningest season end, especially because it will be the last time we get to watch Jimmer throw up his amazing 3's for the Y's team. I think what I was most impressed by was that when it was all said and done the thing Jimmer said he wanted to be remember for was being a good person. Now that's the kind of athlete I want to be my boys role model. This season was also a chance for BYU to set simple examples with all the controversy over suspending a player. To hear sports announces sing praises to BYU for staying true to their standards was sweet, and equally as sweet was seeing how the team rallied behind Davies to support him in making things right. We really are a gospel of values AND of forgiveness.In other news: Gramma Glenda came to visit. The boys were in heaven; I was in heaven. It was great to have my mom see where we are at, even if it was raining nearly the entire time. Luckily that was still a step up from the cold snow. :)

Mom got the boys a Tickle Me Elmo. Caden was under the impression that he had to really be tickling Elmo for him to laugh.A few months ago Caden's mean mom threw away his yellow blankey. I was tired of the tantrums that came when he wanted it, and figured it was time to grow up. The other night he came wondering out to the family room with this. Bry looks at me, "why does he have a fitted sheet?" He found it in the closet and decided it would be his new blue blankey. It doubles as a head dress and cocoon.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

We made green cookies with just enough green sprinkles for Caden to be somewhat satisfied. Then we went with our cute play group and hunted for a pot of gold. Caden was thrilled when the pot contained mini reeses. Parker got a slinky. Believe me, there were a lot happier than the picture shows. {And yes, I'm totally straining to hold them both.}