Polky Dots

The other day Lexi and I were walking out of the house into the garage to get in the car and head into town.  As we were going down the stairs she turned right around, looked up at me while she was pointing to her cheeks and said, "Look!  I have polky dots!"  She was so matter-of-fact, and I realized she was talking about her freckles.  So cute!  Before we got in the car I had to get a picture of her pointing to her freckles so I can always remember her "polky dots." 

A Must Post

I got a box full of tomatoes from Mom Israelsen, and sitting right up on top was the funniest tomato I have ever seen.  I finally gave in to the urge to dress it up a bit.

Here is Allie with her new tomato friend.

Yes!  For reals!  It's a tomato!

Love it.

B-Day

The first Saturday in October Jacob surprised me with a little getaway.  As we drove away and I was wondering what in the world we were doing, Jacob handed me a blue envelope where he had written me a sweet little note and told me that it was B-Day:  Brittney Day!  It was a day all about me and we were going to do whatever I wanted to do.

Holy smokes!  A day all for me?!!

Um.  Hmm.  Let's see...  

Me?  

What do I want to do?

It took a minute for the shock to wear off.  The haze had to lift a bit.  No laundry?  No groceries?  No cooking?  No refereeing?  No time-outs?  No way!  I have no idea what I want to do! 

Jacob was adamant that I lead the way and he was my faithful companion for the day.  

Well, okay then.  Off we go!

Our first stop was Brigham City for breakfast at a quaint little cafe in town.  After a full belly, we continued on down the interstate where I was starting to get into gear and decided I wanted to stop in at Tai Pan Trading.  Nothing like a little home decor shopping!  Jacob was so cute.  He was all for it.  He paraded around the aisles of Tai Pan like a champ. 

After this we decided to head over the mountain to Park City for the afternoon.  We spent some time at the outlet stores, grabbed some lunch, then decided to go for a drive toward Heber and listen to the afternoon session of Conference.  This was SO fun.  We just drove and drove on back roads through beautiful October scenery.  I decided this is the way to do Conference!  I feel like I got more out of this weekend of Conference than I have for a long time.  As we were coming out of our canyon drive into Heber there was the most beautiful and unique rainbow I have ever seen.  The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.  It was like a quick thick brushstroke with each color being really wide and vibrant.  A sign for my awesome day!

After the afternoon session had ended and we had made our way to Heber/Midway, Jacob had yet another surprise up his sleeve and we pulled up to the Blue Boar Inn.  So when Jacob and I were first married, a work friend of my Dad's gave us a one night stay at the Blue Boar Inn as a gift.  We ended up going around our 6 month anniversary in October.  It is a beautiful European themed little bed and breakfast amidst the beautiful backdrop of Midway.  Jacob and I absolutely LOVED our stay there and have always wanted to go back.  Well, here we were!  It was SO NICE.  Beyond perfect.  We just huddled in for the night and kicked back to watch the Priesthood session together.  Now THAT was the way to do Priesthood session!  It was so very good, too.  After Priesthood, we ventured out one last time for a bite of dinner and a stop for a hot chocolate to take back to the room.  The ending of an absolute perfect day!  I didn't want it to end!

The Inn comes with an amazing breakfast.  Sunday they do a really nice brunch which has about 5 courses!  I was stuffed after about 3.  So delicious!  After breakfast we got our bags all packed and headed out for another scenic drive and listen to the Sunday morning session of Conference.  Once again, this was so wonderful.  We had some amazing views.

     

We took our time listening to Conference and worked our way back home.  It was beyond perfect.  The talks were amazing and it was so fun to enjoy each other and the beautiful canyon drive.  We even managed to get into some pretty bumpy spots and just giggled with each other as we bounced all over the truck.  Thank you Jacob for such a great weekend!  It was a perfect (and much needed) B-Day!!  And a humongous thank you to Mom Israelsen for taking the kids and making this possible.  All of the Israelsen clan, in fact, helped out.  I realize it is no easy feat, so it is extremely appreciated!!

So, next weekend....B-Day again?

(smiley face)

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

I'd like to meet whoever coined that phrase.

You see, I do.  I DO cry over spilled milk.  I want to release my inner 3 year-old and lay down on the floor and kick my legs, flail my arms, and SCREAM at the frequency with which we deal with spilled milk in my kitchen.

Perhaps it's because we seemingly manage to get more milk on the floor than we do in our digestive tracts.

So after the umpteenth time I have to clean up spilled milk...in a day....I have to use every ounce of restraint from every cell in my body to keep from crying.  Or screaming.  Or lashing out in unintelligible gibberish.

So in order to keep from losing my cool, I figured I might as well just take a picture.  And count to 4,237,966 to keep my cool whilst I wipe up the white sugary liquid off my kitchen floor.  The following are from 2 separate events, mind you.

(Sigh).  Okay, fine.  I relent.  Maybe it's not that bad.

-I am grateful for milk to drink.
-I'm grateful I don't have to milk a cow twice a day.
-For that matter, I'm grateful I don't worry about where my next meal will come from.
-I'm grateful for 4 healthy little ones who fill my kitchen with their giggles.
-I'm grateful for 1 big one who works hard to ensure we have all the milk we want.  Even if we spill a cup gallon or two.
-I'm grateful for a kitchen floor.
-I'm grateful for mobility to get down on my hands and knees to wipe up a mess or two.  Or forty two.
-I'm so grateful for paper towels!

I really could go on.

Ya, maybe it's not that bad.

But there is room for improvement in the milk preservation department around these here parts.

And I still might cry inside when milk gets spilled.  Just a little. 

Tidbits

A few other random happenings of late:

Give Lexi an apron and a vacuum, and that girl is all business.  Too bad she still makes more of a mess than she cleans....

Ty started up fall soccer.  That kid loves him some soccer!  Thankfully this year he is tolerating his time to sit out a lot better than last season.  Such a cute age to watch those little dudes run around the field.  Ty is especially fond of his newly discovered talent of snapping.  Yep, he has mastered the two handed double snap.  Now as he plays soccer he runs up and down the field snapping his fingers the whole time!  So funny!

The kids' school had a running fundraiser for their school.  Each student was to find sponsors to donate either a flat fee or a certain amount of money per lap run.  Well, too bad I HATE soliciting.  Hate it.  Did I mention I am really not a fan of going out asking for money?  Yep, I am.  Especially when I have 3, count it, THREE children doing the same thing.  Needless to say we didn't contribute a whole lot.  Huge thanks to Aunt Connie for being in the right place at the right time to take pity and cough up some cash.  I was going to call the Grandparents but kept putting it off and then it was too late.  Oh well!  I know, I need to adjust my attitude!  I did contribute, however, and will continue to add some dollars throughout the year. 

Unfortunately my shopping trip took a bit longer than anticipated and I just barely missed Ty run.  Sorry Ty man!  I'm sure you did awesome!  At least I got to give him a post-run hug.

The family headed over to farmer Dan's across the highway to pick me out some tomatoes to bottle.  It was kinda fun.  Look at that cute bunch!

Thanks to Ma and Pa Otte we had those maters bottled the next day!  So glad to be closer to family to help out in this arena!  Of course I have to give a MAJOR thank you to my dear mother-in-law who, between corn, beans, and chicken spent plenty of hours canning in my behalf.  Of all those hours I only contributed a measly hour or two.  I need to even out the score!

We made an impromptu trip down to the State Fair.  While Jacob was checking out the sale, we made the rounds around the fairgrounds and the kids each picked out two rides.

We then proceeded to pay the most ridiculous amount of money for the most ridiculous cheeseburger and corn dog known to man.  Guess we'll know what NOT to do next time.

This little piggy went to the state fair:

Ty had a project at school to interview a community helper.  We decided that Grandpa Israelsen fit the description perfectly, so Ty and Jacob headed over to interview Grandpa.  Grandpa did a great job, Ty was just a bit on the distracted side during the interview.  But, we at least made a fun little poster and ended up with a really great picture.  Thanks Grandpa!

We have yet another neighborhood cat who has decided it wants to be adopted by us.  I think Lexi would take the cat over us any day!  She LOVES this silly thing.  I can't believe how well this cat tolerates being toted around by a 3 year-old.  The other day I couldn't find Lexi.  After a bit of detective work I found her hiding in her bedroom closet with the smuggled-in feline.  Nope, NO CATS IN THE HOUSE!  Love them from a distance, please!  I admit, I'm a softy and can't help but buy cat food.  Jacob just shakes his head and calls them welfare cats- they need to find the mice.  Fine then, I'll only give them a little bit of cat food so they will still catch a mouse or two.  Compromise?  Yep!

 

Mutton Bustin'

Ty was super disappointed when we weren't quick enough to sign him up for the mutton bustin' at the fair.  When we found out that he could do it for the Mt. Sterling Stampede over Labor Day, we made sure we got in line to sign him up!

He was so darn excited.  He even practiced on a goat or two in preparation.  It was so fun to have family come out to support the big event!

Grandpa getting his focus all situated:

I decided to record instead of take pictures when Ty was riding.  Even though his ride was less than 2 seconds, he was super tough!  The sheep tripped coming out of the chute and Ty was too far forward so he rolled right off.  In his own words, "I almost cried, but I didn't." 

He and Grandpa had some good times scoping out the rest of the riders:

Way to go my little cowboy!

A Special Day

We knew that shortly after Allie turned 8 we would also be able to celebrate her choice to be baptized!  The first Saturday in September was the day of the Stake baptisms.  Allie was a bit nervous, but I think she knew she was making a great choice and was doing something very special.


Oh my heart!!  This picture is just.....oh how I love it!

It was such a treat to have so many family members who were able to make it.  For me, there is the most unique and incredible spirit that comes when I walk into a chapel full of family members who are there specifically to add their love and support at major milestones in our family.  It is really past description to describe this spirit.  It's even more tender and vibrant than any other meeting for me.  Hence, I was very emotional throughout the whole baptism.  The whole meeting was so sweet and so touching.  The whole time I kept coming back to the thought that even though my heart knows that baptism is such an amazing and beautiful ordinance, I feel that I barely even have a small glimpse as to the magnitude and the great eternal consequences of it.

My only regret was not being able to fully enjoy all the of the people who came to love and support!

I was so excited to be able to finally host a big family function at our home and have everyone over to our place for a luncheon after the baptism.  The night before was pretty sketchy with the weather so we decided to set everything up at the church.  Of course since we did that the weather ended up being very nice.  Oh well.  C'est la vie!

I was so concerned about getting lunch going for everyone that I failed miserably at taking pictures and just enjoying the afternoon more.  Needless to say I've given myself a little chastisement and taken a mental note for future baptisms.  The focus should be more on the ordinance and family, and not a sandwich.  Perhaps one of the most frustrating things about parenting is realizing that there is no other way but to learn as we go!  I can only hope my children are extremely forgiving....

Thanks to Aunt Connie we salvaged a few pics:

For the lunch, Allie really wanted to have little treats scattered on the tables.  Lexi scoped it out and made a beeline for the tables and was one happy little chic.  I won't even count all the wrappers!  All throughout the baptism something looked really off about Lexi, then I finally realized I had completely forgotten to curl her bangs!

 

  Allie's baptism was just a prep, however, because the following day we had another beautiful event as we all got together again for little Oakley's baby blessing.  She is the sweetest little baby!  It was so wonderful.  Aaaaaaaand, no pictures from me.  Again.  But, BUT, we took great advantage of having all the family in town and had family pictures done.  They really turned out great.  Even if we all ended up with a few mosquito bites!

I don't want to brag....oh whatever, yes I do.  This is the cutest bunch of grandkids ever to exist on the face of the earth!  Even if little Kai isn't feeling the love.

 
I just love this one of Jacob and his siblings:

An Israelsen family get-together isn't complete without someone sharing a video or two.  It usually ends with all the boys erupting into really contagious laughter.  At the same time I was taking this picture there was another group sitting on the couch huddled around a phone laughing at another video. 

 
Thanks family for a perfectly perfect weekend!