Simply Hil

Goat Island in Hawaii I learned a lesson yesterday. It was one of those lessons that you would like to learn from someone else's experience rather than first hand. To begin the story there are a few things that I need to say to set the situation up. Little Guy is in his second session of swim classes for the summer and has been for about a week. When he started out, he was loving it and completely looking forward to going each day. His class was calm and obedient and he was learning a lot. Three days into it a boy needed to switch classes so that he could be with his sister in the other class. In order to keep the classes even, one person from Little Guy's class had to be moved to the other class. Needless to say, Little Guy was moved. His new class was anything but calm and obedient and it was pure chaos each time we went. One day the lifeguard came and got mad at his class. He started to sob, thinking he was in trouble and had to get out of the pool to come sit ...

One reason I love where we live is that this scene takes place right out our front window. Little Guy was fascinated with the combine (harvester? what's the difference?) and asked if he could ride his bike to the front sidewalk and watch it closer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure it is every little boy's dream to be able to see huge trucks and tractors hard at work in real life.  Awesome . What wasn't awesome, of course, were the allergies we all got that resulted in an ear infection for Little Guy.  Bummer . As for the treat, allow me to share a snippet of conversation Little Guy and I had today. We were on our way to the eye doctor when we saw a man walking on the side of the road without a shirt on and Little Guy piped up: LG: Hey, did you see that guy walking on the side of the road? Me: Yes, I did, that's kind of crazy isn't it? LG: What was he doing? Me: I'm not sure. LG: Oh. Well, he was probably looking for his shirt because ...

Jer and I on the night he proposed to me, six years and three months ago. Look at that picture. Babies. We were just babies when we got engaged and were married.  I look back at old pictures such as the one above and can't believe how young we both were.  I was one week shy of turning 19 when Jer proposed to me and he was 24 years old.  We were young and in love back then and now six years later we are a little bit older but still every bit as in love as we were back then, except now even more so. Thank you Jer, for the best 6 years of my life.   And I mean that.   Oh, and for two adorable little boys who were both blessed with your blue, blue eyes.  I love you.  Happy anniversary! p.s. last night we were both laughing at my hair in this picture.  it looks like I had really short, fro hair.  instead it was really long, fro hair pulled up into a bun.  awesome.

This completely melted my heart, and is just in time for our anniversary that is this weekend! Enjoy. Favorite quote: "Not just a spoonful, a ladle full of love every day." p.s. If you haven't watched his entire talk, here it is  (click "watch" on the sidebar). If you're like me, you're gonna cry but you're also gonna love it!

About a week ago I came across this revolutionary way to make ice cream without an ice cream maker.  Wha?? Seriously?  The kicker is that this method of making ice cream is delicious.  It's so creamy and smooth... we were dying over the texture the first time we made it.  I decided to be brave and make up my own recipe.  It is basically a knock off of Coldstone's Cookie Doughn't Ya Want Some (one of my favorites).  But let me tell you folks, it turned out even better than the real thing.  You are going to want to make this ice cream soon.  Like, tonight.  Or better yet right now. Warning: this is not a bathing suit season approved food.  unless of course you are like me and realize food is much more enjoyable than looking good at the pool. First, we are going to start with the "base" of our no-ice-cream-maker-needed ice cream.  You want to start with two bowls.  One of which will contain 2 cups of whipping cream, thoroughl...

Remember my unforgettable experience with Mr. Justin Hackworth for his 30 Stranger's project back in April?  Well, I am here to tell you that the exhibit for this awesome project is going on right now in the Harold B. Lee Library on campus at BYU in Provo.  It will be for the entire month of July.  I would highly recommend going and taking a peek before the end of the month if you are in the area. This Friday, July 15th at 6:00pm is the opening gala for the exhibit .  Justin recently announced something totally awesome that will make this night just that more special.  At 7:30pm Friday night there will be essay readings about motherhood from some pretty amazing women.  Women like Stephanie Nielson , Brooke Benton , Carina Hoskinsson , Molly Jackson and even Justin's wife Amy.  The night will not disappoint! I am trying my hardest to make it work so that I can be there.  The hubs and I have conflicting schedules for the weekend (which...

... feeling the warmth of sunshine on my face ... holding my little boys in my arms ...peanut butter and chocolate ...spending the entire weekend with my little family ...roasting mallows and hot dogs over a fire ...hearing "mama" come out of the mouth of my baby ...watching my 3 year old make my 7 month old laugh ...riding bikes to the park ...receiving mail and packages from long distance friends ...skyping with family who live far away ...waking up to the sound of my baby squealing in his crib ...waking up the my Little Guy barreling out of his bedroom door and into our room. ...weeding in the evening ...talking over the fence to our neighbor friends ...sitting out on our front step watching the cars drive by talking about life ...realizing my 3 year old is his own little person who has his own thoughts and even his own jokes ...productive Saturdays ...curling up on the couch with a good movie ...fresh, clean sheets ...air conditioning ...summertime. ...