On the Lam

Quinn is on the lam for shoplifting a bunny. We had our first shoplifting experience today...starting early on a life of crime. Well, actually, mommy just forgot that she let Quinn hold the bunny while we shopped. We are on our way right now to pay for it.

(Quinn's mug shots with said bunny)



Today we opened up the newspaper to find Thurm on page three of the Wendover Times.

We went to McDonald's for lunch today (first time we've eaten there in the entire 2 years we've lived here) and Thurm said "Oh no, now I'm going to be recognized everywhere I go as the crossword puzzle man. Just leave me alone! I'm just a person, just like all of you!"

We have a rat in our house that keeps chewing holes in cardboard, eats papers, gnaws the spines off of books....

AND HERE HE IS!!!!
Quinn, the rat king.


Handsome Thurm looking tired.

Natural light.

That's what I like to see, a hot man in the kitchen : )

My Passport

Thurm's family is going on a Mexican cruise in the fall for their family reunion. For this, I need a new passport because my old one has my maiden name and it expires in a year anyway. I have to mail in my old when applying for a new. I am so bummed because my passport is my proof that I have done cool stuff in my life. It documents a decade of traveling! Nine countries! So here are my photos as documentation that I once had some awesome adventures.

blessing 7

Good people in the world. I have been worrying lately about the sick world we live in and how I am going to protect my children from it. Yesterday I read two VERY different publications. I picked up City Weekly, a very liberal SLC newspaper that takes every opportunity to Mormon-bash. But it has great reviews of movies, music, and books. And then I was reading the Ensign, an LDS church magazine. I guess it was the contrast of these that got my mind working. I started stewing and fretting (I tell myself this is a waste of time because things will happen regardless and I won't be able to change them). But I couldn't get my mind off all the horrible people in the world. How the world makes bad things look good and good things look bad. How there are a million inviting temptations to lead people away from being good and having integrity. Why do some people have such a hard time resisting and others can turn their noses up? Its not just what you've been taught as a child because you see amazing parents with really screwed up kids all the time. And its not just what you are exposed to. People that are exposed over and over again can resist over and over again.

Then last night, as I was returning a redbox movie, I drove past a little church with a big cross on the front and looked into the brightly lit room and saw a small group of people standing in a circle praying. And a small ray of hope entered my heart that there are still good people in the world. I came home and told my husband my worries about how no matter how much we love our kids and how much we teach them, there are no guarantees. And his answer was that we need to start with a strong marriage and then just do what we know is right. What a good man : ) So while Quinn is still under my protective wing, I am going to try not to worry and work on building a strong marriage.

Bucket List

On facebook yesterday I filled out a generic bucket list of things to do before I die. But it was lame and had things like "watch the sunrise with someone" or "dance naked in the rain." 

So here is my list of things to do before I die:

1. Be a kind, supportive, loving wife and mother. 

2. Have 2 or 3 more children and raise them to be happy and confident. 

3. Be a scriptorian. 

4. Be closely involved in a humanitarian organization. 

5. Run a 1/2 marathon with Thurm. 

6. Live in a foreign country again. 

7. Read at least 100 more books of classic literature. 

8. Travel to Greece, Israel, Guatemala,  and Scotland (and a thousand other places, but I'm trying to keep it realistic).

9. Be a great photographer and get published. 

blessing 6

Material Stuff. I have everything I want. We don't spend tons of money and don't have the latest of anything, but we have everything that we want. (I think it helps that I never go shopping, then I'm not realizing what I COULD have). Yesterday Quinn was playing in the canned food cupboard and I was thinking how blessed we are that our cupboard was packed full of food. That might not be the case a few years into the economic depression that is coming our way.  It made me wonder what is going to happen to all the dollar stores full of junk that no one really needs. Are they going to ship it all back to Taiwan? 

But I feel blessed to have cars that run, an apartment that is big enough to fit all our stuff, a closet full of clothes, a computer and camera, a scentsy candle, a BOB stroller, books, etc. Thank goodness for all our junk : ) 

I made these little onsies for Quinn the other day. The top one is supposed to be the seahorse from "The Life Aquatic" but I'm not that great of an artist. I like the owl the best.  (Amy I stole the idea from Jackie, if she finds out, tell her that copying is the highest form of flattery).  

Newest Trick!

Quinn's new favorite thing to do this week is stand. He laughs every time, I think because its thrilling and a little scary.