i dig this photo

(by Muhammed Lukman)

cool eh?

(the writing's on the wall.)

kids are funny

just some funny and/or cute stuff that the fatties (aka my kids) have said or done over the last little while...

the boys are playing truth or dare (not sure where they even learned this game) and luke dares noah to "go out and find an animal and have that animal eat you". needless to say noah didn't follow through on that one.

while in my room playing lego city on the computer with noah he says, 'i really hope luke doesn't wander in here'. dream on bud.

luke comes into my room and says, "mommy- i like you SO much", then struts over to the box of cookies that's sitting on my nightstand and grabs some out. when and how did the punk learn how to butter me up?

"i know another way to smell a person's breath. lick their tongue."

-noah

yesterday luke stood next to my bed for about 10 minutes, naked from the waste down, asking me questions about frogs... "do frogs have dads?", "do frogs have ribbits in their tummies?", "do frogs get really big?". i love him.

a classic: "mommy, the world is a bird's toilet, right?" -noah

(cont'd)

for a few hours noah wanted "Mr. Tomato Head" for Christmas. (ps. dear costco- i have a bone to pick with you for bringing out the Christmas toys in early october. it's brutal on us parents.)

speaking of costco... no luke- i will not move the bread 'to a comfy spot' in the shopping cart so that you can sit on it.

we all get such a kick out of luke that sometimes we spy on him. noah LOVES doing this and he laughs so hard at his little brother. (in a nice way.) and i can't get over how funny luke's strut is- he think he's so awesome. (with good reason.. i mean, look who his parents are.) ;)

every night at bedtime noah tells me he loves me and gives me a hug. if bret puts them to bed he always wants me to go in there and lie down with them. it pains me to think of how much i will miss this sort of stuff when they get older.

two things i know for sure:

i am blessed with two amazing little guys;

i take a lot of pictures.

jimmy fallon on npr

this is so worth listening to... his thank you notes are hilarious and his impressions are amazing.

the cookie post

so, i can't get on facebook for a week or so (i'm doing the 7-day

brain cleanse) and so i can't share my recent discovery on there.. hence

i'm doing a blog post about it. i found these cookies at walgreens while looking for a different kind of cookie which they didn't have. i love any kind of cookie (except oreos. yuck.) (sidenote: i ESPECIALLY love those danish butter cookies that come in the tin. in fact i love them so much i only allow myself to eat them twice a year due to my tendency to eat the entire tin in one day. and i find it to be so perplexing that a lot of people i know don't like them at all). anyways- back to the cookie at hand, these things are amazing. they are sort of ginger-snappy but sweeter and without quite the kick. even bret loves them- which is rare for us to both passionately love the same type of treat. in fact i think i recall getting them when i was on a plane once and being like 'omg these cookies are so good'. i don't know what other stores they sell them at, but if you like this type of thing, i would recommend looking into it. oh- and they are even more delicious in milk.

deep thought

The face of a child can say it all,

especially the mouth part of the face.

-Jack Handey

up the canyon

(all of these were taken up big cottonwood canyon except

for three that were taken at salt lake roasting co.)

lovely.

(and regarding the photo of my feet... i clearly did not choose the right

footwear for the occasion. but honestly - snow? already?)

something sorta cool

here's the link.

(scroll down when you get there)

this was really unexpected and flattering. needless

to say it made me really happy. :) thanks for looking.

xo.

it's the little things...

"Dear Heavenly Father thank you for this day and that i could

get to school safely and please bless grandma and grandpa and mima

and papa and daddy too and thank you for our food and home and

clothing and that we could have a good day and please bless bishop

Hansen and president Monson and we say these things in the name

of Jesus Christ amen." - noah, 6 years

"Dear Heavenly Father- thank you for this day and that we

had fun and that we could have fun and that i was jumping and

i jumped on noah and he was crying and i jumped on the bed and

i farted and thank you for this day. Amen." - luke, 3 years

***

(initially this post just had noah's prayer from last night but i felt compelled to add this one of luke's that i posted on facebook a few months ago. priceless.)

a rainy day post

some really great quotes from a speech Steve Jobs gave at a Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005...

You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, Karma, whatever, because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference.

***

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

***

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

***

he gave me my macbook...i love that thing.

Rest in peace.

october 3rd

“For me, photography is not a means by which to

create beautiful art, but a unique way of

encountering genuine reality.”

― Daido Moriyama

fall so far

noah in a field

the first soccer practice/game...

bret's first time coaching anything. he was really nervous,

which i thought was cute considering he never gets nervous.

he loves soccer... i hope he sticks with it.

noah's #7 and his two best friends who are on his team are

#6 and #8. i think it's cute.

grandpa came. so did mima & papa.

the only shot i was able to get of luke playing.

out to lunch at Stella - four generations!!

oh wait... two sisters their daughters. my bad. ;)

me on my bike

Sports Night at the hansons

much to my dismay - i think luke might be more cut out for

football than soccer.

i have to sabotage it somehow...

violet and her dad.

good times in the backyard.

it's nice to see all this stuff actually getting used.

soccer... the action was going on at the other end of the

field but i really love their awesome stances.

luke playing the bongo drum at his first day of preschool.

he was wary at first but warmed up to the place in about two minutes.

some of noah's recent artwork. (posted for grandma rose)

these are all different vehicles driving on the freeway.

Noah's Dove

(a song... no, noah did not get a dove.)

this is one of my all-time favorite songs/albums. natalie merchant's voice is amazing.

my weekend

Yesterday was a good day. i had the opportunity to participate in the 7th annual NAMI (national alliance on mental illness) walk with my good friend gigi, her husband dave, daughter gwynne, and gwynne's dog chloe. it is a 5K walk that raises money and awareness for those with mental disabilities. so many people are affected, either directly or indirectly, by mental illness and i am grateful for organizations like this that shed light on these diseases and those who suffer from them. it was a great thing to be surrounded by people who are empathetic, supportive, loving, and who are passionate about a really great cause.

Then last night i watched the general relief society broadcast. all the speakers gave great talks but man... dieter uchtdorf is amazing. he talked about forget-me-nots (those tiny blue flowers) and used their five petals as metaphors for five things we should not forget to do. two points that stuck out to me... 1- (in his words) "Be patient with yourself. God knows you’re not perfect, and God also knows that person you’re comparing yourself is not perfect, so stop punishing yourself. Don’t forget your tiny successes — God doesn’t." and 2- Don't forget to be happy NOW. don't put it off until the 'something' that you are waiting for to happen happens. there is a lot of happiness to be found in the random little things & everyday moments that make up our lives. while it is important and essential that we have faith in good things to come and work towards those things, we have to try to see & experience all the beauty that is around us now, EVERY DAY. both of these are things that i struggle with A LOT. some days are more discouraging and overwhelming than others, but i am almost always comforted and reassured in knowing that i will be ok... that i can do better- that it can BE better- if i continue to have faith in God and to acknowledge His presence in my life and the blessings that he bestows upon me and my family every day.

(here's his talk. he says it way better than me.)

and one other worth-mentioning thing that i did this weekend was ate at the dodo for the first time. our friend eric is their accountant so we got a lot of really great food... for FREE. because i LOVE food- i feel it is important to include what i got there. first- the appetizer- hummus with feta cheese & greek olives and delicious pita bread; then the main dish- a blackened chicken salad with tons of good stuff in it and a really good orange vinaigrette dressing; and, the best part of the night- a chocolate almond mousse pie with a nutty graham crackery crust and heaps of whipped cream. wow that thing was good. fortunately for me, or maybe not, bret was sick and so i got to eat like 80 percent of it. (we were good and shared something.) oh and i also got a diet coke with lemon... something that i rarely do but i was really splurging on this outing.

despite the fact that today was a rough day for me- i'm getting sick and am feeling a bit down- it was a really good weekend. i'm grateful that i was able to be immersed in so much love and so much good.

(there were a few good things about today... one being the fact that luke kicked it all day in his soccer uniform and church loafers.)

an excerpt

from a book i am reading right now...

"... When I noticed someone teetering near the edge, I would pray for them to walk around the abyss. Now I pray for something different. I pray that each one of us stays awake as we fall. I pray that we choose to go into the abyss willingly and that our fall is cushioned by faith--faith that at the bottom we will be caught and taught and turned toward the light. I pray that we don't waste precious energy feeling ashamed of our mistakes, or embarrassed by our flaws. After years of teaching, I know only a few things for sure. One is this: We are chunks of dense matter that need to be cracked open. Our errors and failings are chinks in the heart's armor through which our true colors can shine."

-Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

F U N. (and a few other things)

first day of first grade...

noah excited; luke not.

the Favorite Toy for a few days

"For a good time, i'll first get my hair wet...

...then i'll comb it. this sure is a blast."

(he loves to hang out in the bathroom with me while i'm in the shower.

i love the things he comes up with to do.)

Happy.

primary program picture Take #1

(fail)

Labor Day boating on Utah Lake

addicted to fun.

gloves + gun + hat + backpack = don't mess with me

our backyard friend

homemade sword night...

the first blow

Revenge is sweet.

Saturday morning project

Life is Grand.