what a beautiful mess

You will if you try THIS  recipe and leave out the green pepper. And make sure you double it. And add 3/4 cup of Panko bread crumbs And add two eggs instead of one. And put the burger on a homemade bun with ketchup and cheddar cheese. If Trevor likes it (which he did/does) then you are guaranteed to like it. I promise. (unless you're Chelsey...lol! just kidding...although it has no tomatoes!)

We took a long drive to our new favorite place in Idaho: Palisades It was so dang beautiful. We now have lots of plans for hiking, backpacking,  camping, where our future cabin will be built (ha!)...  It was a little cold though so we didn't get out very much. And rainy.  Which surprisingly, I don't mind.  We found some snails but the kids didn't like touching them very much.  They aren't use to them.  When I was growing up in San Diego, we always had snails; big, gross, slimy ones.  They don't bother me one bit.  After you've stepped on a million of them, they're no longer a big deal...  Here's a picture of all of us with our world famous square ice cream cones.  They weren't exactly what we were expecting but they were delicious...  Stephen got Play Dough which sounds really, really gross but he loved it.  It was a no make-up day for me but doesn't Trevor look handsome?? On our way back from checking out hiking and camping...

I got home from my meeting to have a delicious sandwich made by Trevor just for me; Grilled cheese with 3 different cheeses and tomato slices with pickles on the side... it was so, so good. We sat around, listening to music and just went with the total chaos around us. It was surprising nice to not have to do anything to calm the kids down. Trevor made cookies cause our oven is working again. It'll probably only work for the next month or so but we'll take what we can get. Dinner consisted of leftover soup, rolls and strawberries. It was easy and fast and not too filling. The best kind of meal. Anna and I danced. She's the only one who will dance with me (at least the only one who will dance with me and allow me to tell people without being embarrassed) She's a really fun girl. And now we are going to watch a movie and eat brownies that are in the freezer right now. I had to freeze them because with the caramel in them, they didn't set up the right way. Bu...

And we had 50 something degree weather and had to wear sweatshirts to the park... Hey look! They're not fighting!  (just kidding...they actually get along really well...) I've come to realize that Annabelle may be a bit of a daredevil  or just plain crazy.  This is Joshy walking away from me angry. I'm not sure why he was mad at me I just know that he looks dang cute from behind. And he refused to wear his jacket. I'm starting a little chant in my head: "It will be warm soon. It will be warm soon." I say it over and over so my attitude doesn't get too bad.  ******************** Our house search is on.  Today we just about put an offer on a house only  to find out someone else already did and that it was an accepted offer.  Bummer, huh? It was a great deal with 7 acres really close to town.  Oh well.  Something will come along, right? Right?

that I didn't even take the time to blog. We did lots of fun stuff: got a fish (and then killed it) ate lots of delicious cookies,  played with babies,  braided hair,  played UNO on Sunday (Trevor seems to always win),  and did lots and lots of Kyran holding.  We also went to the park and target and watched movies and ate chips and salsa.  We even danced and sang and had a Tetris competition.  And we both got colored and cut (at least our hair did). They left today....something about missing Quinn... But now we're missing them; it's not fair I say! :( And yesterday was the kids last day of school! YAY for summer!  Although it's been in the 50's and windy here so it's not officially summer yet but you won't hear me complaining cause at least it's not snowing...

Candice, Asa, and Kyran! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ********************** Listen to this; I love it: Forever and Always and this one: Kiss Me Slowly Just a side note...I bought both of these songs on iTunes and I could've gotten them .30 cheaper on Amazon.  iTunes is a rip off.  That is all.

Today we went and had a great time shooting guns and playing in the Idaho desert with the other Haslems (we always have a great time with them)... We got home and I took our trash to the dumpster and walked back to the house.  Trevor informs me that while I was walking to the dumpster, he looked out the window and saw a man following me.  And then realized that man was me.  So tell me, do I look like masculine from behind? Well, do I? Of course it doesn't help that I was wearing a man's shirt and hat but still..... It's a good thing I love that man. Right now he's at the movies with the boys and so I painted my nails. He'll see feminine when he gets home. (wink, wink)

Sometimes our roles get reversed.  Take for instance, the fact that the other night,  Trevor put sheets on the bed which I had (conveniently) forgotten to do.   And here I am in his usual spot;  He was working on the computer and I fell asleep on the couch.  Roles reversed.  Keeps thing exciting, is what I say.....

Haven't done one of these in awhile! He slept all through dinner and then slept for most of the long drive we took afterwards. And then promptly fell asleep when we came home. I think this kid was tired!

I love my kids but sometimes I get in the heat of the moment and say things I regret and/or don't mean. Take these for instance: "If you don't finish your milk, you'll never drink milk again!" "If you don't {do this or that} you'll never see your grandma again!" "I'm the mom and I can be mean if I want to be mean!" I have to say that the top two I got in trouble for. The first one, I got in trouble by Trevor (although he laughed while getting mad at me) and the second one by my mom. She didn't like me threatening my kids with her... I think I can understand what she means... I would also like to add that the top two were said when my kids were little and I had little experience to go by. I hope by now I have gotten a little wiser/smarter and I watch my tongue more when I say things. And I said that last one a week ago to Annabelle. She was giving major attitude and got some Tabasco sauce on her tongue (for another...

I went and visited a good friend of mine today and as we were sitting there a bear comes charging in the house!!  Not really. It was just a really big dog.  And it freaked Joshua out. He eventually warmed up to Jack and  was actually brave enough to pet him.  And Jack sat in my lap.  He was so friendly and sweet; he almost made me want another dog.  Almost.  It was so great visiting with Stephanie.  She's one of those friends that's a friend for life.  So good and kind and wonderful.... Thanks Stephanie for the great visit!!!! And then I got to visit with Jenee this evening! The fates were definitely aligned in my favor today....

Try to guess who's: Birthday spankins` by mom  Like father like son.  My cake went kapooey so we had cinnamon and sugar burritos with ice cream as the middle.  It was actually pretty good.  Birthday guests: Flattering picture of Scott, right?  And a really cute one of Jenee:  Did you guess who's birthday it was? Stephens!!!! Here he is 6 years ago: and with me 6 years ago:  And here is our boy now.  What an amazing kid he is.  I love him. Like a lot.  Happy Birthday Steve-o!

There are lots of things I should be doing with this 45 minutes of alone time I have right now. Like: *cleaning up my house *dishes *pedicure *reading *figuring out what the heck that weird smell is that's coming from my yellow couch. Instead I'm blogging. Cause I haven't in a really long time. Almost 3 days...I have numerous excuses but they don't look good written down. Let's just pretend I've been busy, shall we? Although there have been a few things going on here. Like for instance, Emily started guitar lessons. Plus we got back from a weekend trip (you knew that). But I never shared the way the boys like to sleep while in the car: It's kind of similar to how they sleep here at home: (although they don't generally sleep "sideways") and like this: and just one more of them sleeping sideways: They like to cuddle. And sometimes, they go to bed in the clothes they were wearing during the day. Not often though, I promise.  So really,...

A note from Anna: Dear Mom, I'm sorry about how I was acting erlier today. For 7 6 days I will do an extra chore.  The reason I said 6 days is because on Sundays you  kids are not allowed supposed to do work on Sunday.  I also said kids are not supposed to work cause adults have to make dinner.  Love, Annabelle ********************* We had such a good weekend.... We got to see Katelyn and Kassidy be baptized and visit with some of Trevor's family. It was definitely a weekend to remember. And yesterday I had attitude from my sweet girls; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Which is what brought about the above note. Anna had to miss out on dessert~ homemade Mounds bars. They were so so good.  I just barely allowed myself to have another one since my breakfast was an orange, banana, and hard boiled egg.  And I think I just may deserve one more....

Joshua is great at it.....

It was so much fun that these girls got just plain tuckered out....  Besides some little boys getting hit in the head with the ball,  we had a great time.  The only problem?  We need more people to play with.  How 'bout it other Idaho Falls Haslems?  Care to join us in a game?  I promise we won't hit any of you in the head with the ball.  We'll at least try our hardest not to...

I couldn't help but take pictures of Stephen this afternoon while he told me about the book he was reading. I think he is the most handsome 6 year old in the world..... And he is going to be so embarrassed when he reads this.. just like his Dad would be....

One month closer to SUMMER! And with it being Monday, I need to get my rear behind me and get this house cleaned up. Is anyone else's house a wreck Monday mornings? Mine takes me almost all day to get everything back in order. When Trevor's home, I let things go. Why would I do laundry when theres so many better things to do with him? Two Sundays ago after Sacrament meeting, we were saying goodbye to each other as I was going to Primary and Trevor was going to start cleaning up the chapel.  As we were leaving he had the look on his face like he always does when we part; the look of a kiss (I love that look). So I leaned in and gave him a kiss. Right away we pull apart and give each other these looks like "did we just kiss in the chapel?!!?"  It was weird. And usually kissing is not weird for us. Like not weird at all if you know what I mean.... Yesterday we were sitting in Stake Conference and there was a family sitting in front of us. And I swear, this couple ...