what a beautiful mess

I was messing around with photos this evening since Sherlock Holmes wasn't very good company and since Trevor is sleeping through it, he's not good company either! Remember when they looked like this? I had a lot of fun with Annabelles pictures... She was always so ready for the camera.... it's a little more awkward now with all the missing teeth~ She still looks as adorable as ever though! I love this picture of them, it's just missing someone very important.... here he is!!!! I never actually believed anyone when they said he was a little funny looking but now.... Just kidding, he was a gorgeous baby! April is now over (well in about 65 mins.) and the weekend is here.... It's about time. We have great plans for the weekend. Hope you do too and that the weather is beautiful and warm~

That's my boy~ and, yes, his pants are on backwards. and I have no idea why....

I'm sitting here in my warm and cozy house, loving it. I have no where to go today. That makes me happy. Im staying home and cleaning and doing laundry, mopping the floors and scrubbing bathrooms. I've had a bit of a negative attitude about my house lately. It always seems messy/cluttery. But Candice put it into perspective for me yesterday... She reminded me that I have four children~ of course! Seriously.... something would be wrong if my house was always spotless~ So I will try to get done what I can and forget the rest until tomorrow... Here is our newly planted garden: We've got spinach, tomatoes, tomatillos, peas, beans, onions, artichokes, carrots, chives, and corn. This is what we did for FHE last night. Oh and Emily ran 3 miles!! Im so proud of her. And her 5k is this weekend.  I cannot wait!

Masterpiece Theater just got over (Small Island~ excellent) and Trevor is laying peacefully on the couch(except for the snoring) and figured it was a good time to do this. Trevor asked the kids yesterday what they wanted to be when they grow up. It's constantly changing but here's what they wanted to be at that minute: Emily wants to be a Rocket Scientist and/or an Inventor. Annabelle wants to be an Actress. Stephen wants to be a Racecar Driver. Joshua wants to be a Racecar. I don't know about that kid. But I guarantee that they are all going to be amazing when they grow up no matter what they do~ (an oldie but a goodie! seriously- August of 07) Did you know Racecar is spelled the same forward and backward?

(Stephen took this picture while we were on our way to gymnastics) It's been a bit of a bad day. My own fault.... I was lacking in patience most of the day and my children felt it. It was a crappy day for Trevor too~ literally. He got to go load up the back of the truck with a whole "crapload" of manure for our garden. Then he came home,got us both a 44 diet soda and helped me out with something important that HAD to be done right.then. THEN I said something totally funny (to me only) and the day was made a little better. and THEN since the kids were in bed, we got to relax and watch  The Office. All thanks to Trevor. Have I said lately how much I love him? I won't right now cause he would get embarrassed. Here's to a better day tomorrow~

 Things I have learned from my morning jog 1. It's never a good idea to eat a big slice of banana bread two minutes before going. 2. Mcdonalds in the early morning smells really bad. well actually, at any time of the day but especially in the morning. 3. Any road can seem uphill that early. 4. I am a turtle and Candice is the hare and in this case, the hare will always win the race. 5. Mobile homes are really creepy, at least the one we run by is. 6. Railroad tracks are not all they're cracked up to be. 7. Im actually quite witty at that early hour. Candice's music is just too loud to hear all the funny comments I make. So she has no idea.  This is the storm we had last night...We thought our house got struck with lightening at one point. The thunder was the loudest I've ever heard. I thought about my dad since he loves storms and then I remembered a comment made on Sunday by Stephen and Trevor. Stephen: "Grandpa can do anything" Trevor: ...

http://boise.craigslist.org/zip/1700481511.html I just saw this on Craigslist.. some people are so crazy. Who wants a toilet in their garden? here is what the ad says: "I took down an old outhouse this weekend. This is authentic. Real history! Plant flowers in it? Use your imagination. Free but VERY heavy. Will take a few good men to lift it. Call, text or email." Absolutely crazy... 

It was a wonderful weekend (do you ever get tired of hearing that?). The girls picked these flowers for me.... so sweet. This week Joshua is getting potty trained. I think it's exhausting him. He fell asleep on the couch at about 6:00.. only 3 changes of undies today. not too bad... It got to a beautiful 82 degrees today. Sprinklers were turned on and the kids had a lot, a lot of fun! and of course, the weather is going to be rainy for the next two days.  Go figure~

Such a fantastic day.... Beautiful weather called for some time spent at the park, but not until after we went to Costco and ate all the samples~ ghetto? maybe. yummy? definitely~ (i really don't think Joshy knew he was groping me) While enjoying the sun at the park, we also enjoyed splitting a burrito from Chronic Tacos. Have you tried it yet? You should cause it's delicious... Thanks Candice for the great day... be ready for our 5 miler tomorrow. I'm already dreading it looking forward to it! Trevor and I went on a much needed date tonight. Barnes and Noble, Cost Plus and dinner at Olive Garden with some friends~ absolutely wonderful evening! and here I sit on the computer, listening to Taylor while updating my blog, waiting for my beloved to get out of the shower. He is going to kill me for calling him beloved to people he knows~ ha ha ha.... Have a fantastic Saturday- you can bet we will!

Joshua LOVES doing puzzles. He did these ones this afternoon. (And that is not a real 9mm... no worries, trevor has a Safe for all the real ones)  I helped only when he would say "you can help me, mama". Then my heart would melt and I would put a piece in place.  I LOVE that boy! Thanks for all the nice comments on my "art"~ you all are too sweet!

Okay, so don't make fun of me... I gave this an honest try.... Im still not quite sure how it turned out. It was my first time actually drawing something "real". The theme was moods and my title is: "Thoughtful":) Seriously, this was hard for me to even post because of my fear~ but Trevor just told me to do it and not worry about it  so that's what I'm doing....  If you want to join in,  just click on the link above! To be honest, Im really enjoying doing this each week and I just know you would too!

Dear, sweet, annabelle~ Im not sure where she gets her sense of style...(probably from her dad who used to cut the sleeves off his shirts in high school). This is her before school today, ankle socks with ballet flats, leopard print leggings (hidden), white skirt.. and some self-done hair. One of the many million-billion reasons why I love her.

American Idol night and Joshua falls asleep as usual... highlights of the day: *got all the laundry folded and put away~ as a family *Tim Urban did a fantastic job on A.I. (now Im just trying to get my 6 votes to go through..) *got an ice cream cone today~ its pretty much the only thing I will eat from McDonalds anymore. *my whole house is vacuumed (my dishes are still sitting in the sink though) *I got to visit with Candice *trevor came home ten minutes early not so great: *Joshua wore his Superman cape, aka pillowcase, to the pharmacy and everyone kept commenting on it. Now I know why trevor makes the kids take things like that off before we leave the house. thats all i got on the not so great. It's been a really good day.

Saturday we had Emilys birthday party and it went great! The festivities included playing telephone, having a talent show, decorating cupcakes, making fans, a pinata and listening to all the girls favorite, Taylor Swift. (Emily got Taylors first cd as a gift from a friend, Im not sure whos more excited, her or me...) She also got her birthday spankins from all of us Sunday morning... she may be getting a little too old for this tradition~ I was so pleased when Emily opened up the gifts from her sister and brothers and was just as excited to get books from the bookshelf as she was for her other gifts. Simplicity.... And she was thankful! (that would be the middle picture, a book from annabelle) Then that evening we had some yummy, although not beautiful, cake.  It was lopsided and a little crumbly. But she loved stuffing her face in it! I have to add these pictures (below) just because I loved them. Doesn't Candice look just a little TOO sexy to be going to the temple?? lol......

This is Emily Delight. She was born nine years ago today. She is kind. She is smart. She tries so hard to be good. She has a beautiful smile with the reddest lips I've ever seen.  She loves her cousin Asa and could hold him for hours. She likes to color and draw. She loves to take pictures.   She loves to tell jokes and make us laugh. She makes us very happy.    We love you Emily! Happy Birthday!

I dont do coupons or bargain shopping but I LOVE a good thrift store. I had a great time thrift shopping with Candice today. We went to the Goodwill by my house~lucky that i have one  so close~ and got some  great finds. Its usually hit and miss there. Today, I saw picture frames for 7.99!!! I was shocked. The prices are all over the place~ really high, or cheap.You never know..... Anyway, I got that pillow for 1.99, originally  from Pier One. I have, of course, washed it and threw away the old pillow form and replaced it with one from a pillow I was tired of. It would be really disgusting to lay our heads on someones elses old drool marks, you know? I got a Banana Republic skirt for 3.99, a Talbots dress (seriously, I think it's new) for 5.99 and those lovely curtains? 1.99!! Trevor couldn't believe they only cost that~ ha ha... he hates them but was kind enough to hang my curtain rod up for me tonight.. .. Im sure most people would hate them but I don't. And I get to ...

So here is my "art" on umbrellas: I was outside with the boys yesterday drawing with chalk and I thought it would be a perfect time to do my art~ All spring break this year, it rained and was really crummy weather..... and we had no umbrella  but really wished we did. i especially want the one we saw at Target,  a bubble umbrella.. so super cute. Today I did a little spring cleaning. I washed the slipcovers on the  couch and found the usual: top ramen noodles, a gummy worm,   money, and some game pieces.  Well, not actually money, just a penny and im not even  sure that it's considered currency anymore. What I really want to know though,  is who ate top ramen on the couch? Seriously what kind of mother would I be  if I let my kids eat soup on the couch???   I'm rambling a bit and this last paragraph had absolutley nothing to do with umbrellas.  Oh well, enjoy my art...

Annabelle recieved a much anticipated gift from the sun today... freckles. We miss them in the winter .

I was inspired by my good friend Stephanies blog post yesterday... "Do you know how much stuff I mostly do".. Everything she said resonated with me~ and I just love her. Here is my "what I mostly do"~ I had the kitchen completely clean today.  I cleaned out the fridge (like, took out food and shelves and disenfected), counters were scrubbed down, floors were swept and polished (okay~ just mopped), dishwasher was running~ and in all the time it took me to do that, this is what my front room looked like. And it still looked like that 2 hours later.  And as of right now, there are still piles of laundry to be folded, a mop bucket to be emptied,  and dishes yet again, need to be done. BUT  I had a great night. I relaxed with my 5 most favorite people,  trevor made some delicious peanut butter cookies (using only Adams pb, of course) and Joshua fell asleep on the couch like he does every Tuesday night. It was pure HEAVEN!

(ballons the kids got tonight with their dinner.... totally a random picture...) Sometimes, I wish I could remember things forever. Like the way Stephen looked this morning when he was sleeping~ he was so peaceful (ha!) and looked just like his daddy. Or great evenings like we had tonight and the great weekend we just recently had.... Funny thing, today the doctor put me on birth control... Totally thought we had bypassed that what with the "surgery" and all~ i don't think trevor thinks it's very funny!

Stephen's wondering what color to dye  his only white egg left.  I think it became brown.~ "Mom, you're taking another picture??" Joshy got all hyped up on candy during General Conference and started climbing the furniture. (and me~thats my nose in the right bottom corner~i think it got kicked soon after this pic was taken) Emily's a little mother hen and could spend all day holding Asa. Poor Candice is bombarded with the question "Can I hold him" everytime she comes over. Easter was fabulous in the Haslem household. What better day could there be to celebrate Easter than on Conference Sunday. We were uplifted and taught so well. And the children were so well behaved. I think it had something to do with their Conference books that Trevor made for them and the treat words definitley helped. We listened and spent time as a  family painting nails, doing hair, coloring Jesus pictures and playing Conference Squares (bingo). Hope your day was filled with j...

Happy Easter! It's a busy, inspiring, thought provoking Sunday for us. Hope you are having the same~ Easter pictures later.  

cause you don't have to be~ (click on the button) Im going to do this challenge and I want you all to join me~ that is, if you want to, of course. Im not an artist but I wish I was so maybe this will help... next Thursday I will post my "art" about an umbrella. (if you go to the main page of her blog, thursdays post will tell you what the challenge is for the week!) www.simplyfeather.blogspot.com/  (main blog)

We are halfway through our spring break and we are having a great time! Monday was the library, Tuesday we went to the Birds of Prey. There was a lady/bird person (seriously, I don't know it she thought she was a bird or a human~weird) She was quiet rude to the people visiting the museum. But still we had a good time. Wednesday was Dentist appointments. All went good, no cavaties in anyone younger than 30~ ahem, I guess that leaves me. Only a small one the dentist said.  I have only ever had one cavatiy in a baby tooth (that i still have in my mouth) but that should be falling out eventually. (so not looking forward to that day.) Today is "hanging out" day. We are going to watch movies, read books, do puzzles and have a fabulous time! Besides, it snowed for the 2nd or 3rd day in a row, so we are kinda stuck inside~ We can't wait for this weekend, General Conference. Trevor makes the kids Conference packets and we eat candy all weekend. ...