Blessings

The garage sale was a great success. Cori and all his guys worked really hard these last few weeks getting things organized. Yesterday was the big lucrative event and now Cori can check the boy scout fundraiser off his to-do list.

Grant gets sad when I leave It is maybe not the best thing to be grateful for. But it sure makes this mommy feel good to be missed.

By this time next week, we will have a very full house. We are so excited. A lot of Cori's family is coming out. We'll spend a few days around here, then head south for a few days in Nauvoo. Their visit marks the beginning the many summer travels we have scheduled. I've got a lot to do this week, but the lists have been made and I couldn't be happier.

close encounters of the animal kind

Earlier this week, my friend and I drove our kids up to a zoo in Madison, WI. The zoo is free, so we felt it was well worth the drive. The kids got up close with so many animals. It was Grant's first experience with such proximity. I think we had seen three or four animals before he made the connection that these were the real versions of the animals he has been admiring in his books for so long. It was like a little light lit up in his head. Suddenly he was pointing and jabbering about everything.

His hand stayed fixed in this position most of the day after his 'aha' moment.

I've got multiple shots of this tiger stare-down. The tiger kept pacing back and forth across that window. He would yawn and show all his teeth and he kept licking his chops. It must have been lunch time. Gracie interpreted the look to mean that the tiger really wanted to play tag with her. I told her it meant something like that. 

I just love how Gracie gets this completely crazy look in her eyes when she gets really excited about something. This shot reminded me of this one taken on new year's eve. And the lone bow in her hair- she found it in the car and insisted on wearing it.

The zoo has a huge playground with a jungle gym- a very jungly one at that- and a carousel. This is where we ended our day. Gracie made about 500 runs down the twisty green slide, and Grant even found a little slide that he could climb up to and go down all by himself. 

accessories

Things are getting pretty fancy around here. Both kids have recently started insisting on donning certain items.

Grant's ever-present accessory these days is his new hat. We bought it when shopping at the Children's Place outlet store a couple of weeks ago. I was searching for a pair of shoes and when I turned around Grant was wearing the hat and a ginormous grin. It has scarcely left his head since. He eats and plays with it on. He sleeps with it on when I'm not in the mood to fight with him about it. He almost always puts in on backwards. 

Grace has become fanatic for beads and bows. She is sure to put on a necklace and a bracelet after she gets dressed. And in the last couple of weeks, she has begun 'doing' her hair. This involves sticking every clip she can find into the coiffure. Gracie's poor hair doesn't need any help looking crazy- I hardly know what to do with it myself. So on days where we are staying close to home, I let her go for the gusto.

The current favorite necklace and bracelet.

little joeys

the anniversary getaway

Cori swept me away to historic Galena for a couple of days last week. We stayed overnight in a mansion that was built in the 1880's and which has been converted into a bed and breakfast. The room we had has a two story bathroom with a huge whirlpool up in the tower loft. It was such a relaxing celebration. We golfed on both days. We wandered through the boutique shops downtown. We ate lobster and steak at a fancy restaurant. We watched TV in fluffy white bath robes. Cori took me jewelry shopping in the Sundance catalogue via our lap top. We listened to Etta James and soaked in the whirlpool. For two days in a row, I did my hair on a day that wasn't a Sunday. (Sunday is the only day I manage to do anything with my hair it seems.) We slept in. We explored a ski resort and took a little hike to a look out over the Mississippi. We had hours of uninterrupted conversation. Then we hurried home to the kids whom we had missed quite a lot. Well done, Lovie. It was a perfect getaway.

The Claron Mansion. The whirlpool is at the top of that tower.

Downtown Galena

The Mississippi river from the Chestnut Mountain Resort

Blessings

The card that was served with breakfast this morning. The other side has Cori's hands and a delightfully more personal message.

My mom who doesn't give her self as much credit as she should. More and more I find myself wondering what it was really like for her when she was a young mom. I also find I'm more frequently asking myself, "How would mom look at this so she could laugh about it." She is a great mistress of perspective, my mom. I'm so grateful to have been sent to my parents.

How lovely to be a mother- especially on Mother's Day. My crew, with Cori as their chief, has really made me feel like a queen. I am blessed to be a part of this team. I am so happy being at home with Gracie and Grant everyday. 

Incredible women to whom I am tied who are constant examples. Before I married, I had a rich well of grandmas, aunts, sisters and friends to lean on. When I married Cori, I gained many more mothers, sisters, aunts and friends to learn from and emulate. I am grateful for you all! It is true that having a mother-heart does not require having a child. I feel I have learned so much about being kind, selfless, patient and loving from all these women, whatever their chapter in life. 

An unforgettable anniversary I'll post more about it shortly. Poor Cori has to pull double duty at the beginning of May. Especially on years like this one where our anniversary and Mother's day fall on the same weekend. But he made great plans for our getaway. It was so nice to have him all to myself for a couple of days.

On a less sentimental note, this week I am also very grateful for my new running shoes. I spent the last week breaking them in. My toes, arches and shins are so much happier. I also shaved some time of my 5K. Maybe I will venture a race this summer. I'm so not a runner. The idea is very intimidating to me. But somehow, new running shoes are helping me feel a bit more confident about the possibility.

5 Years

In some (good) ways it feels like it should be more like 10 years since we got married. Since this wonderful day, we've earned two degrees, Cori has held five different professional positions, we've lived in five states, we have owned two houses and three cars, we've been pregnant five times and have had two fantastic kiddos, we have traveled to four different countries, we have made so many friends along the way, we've had high times and low times and we have loved all of it. 

This day, five years ago today, was an amazing start to what has been an amazing journey so far. We spent a beautiful morning at the temple with our family and friends. We took the usual one billion pictures. Some of us (Cori) got sunburned. We dined that afternoon on a feast orchestrated by Cori's mom. We relaxed. We flew kites. We hung out with all our people. Then we got all gussied up again and headed out for the reception. We stood in line and gave hundreds of hugs, kisses, and introductions.We felt like the whole world came to celebrate with us. Cori's brother, Damien, gave a toast. My sister Sara also gave a toast in the form of a Hawaiian blessing which she danced (and I cried). We cut cake and were very nice about feeding it to each other. Then we danced, and talked, and danced, and talked, and danced. My Dad played a slide show. We didn't make a big exit. The crowd was pretty small when we finally left. We loved being with everyone and didn't want to miss any of the party! It was an incredible day made perfect by the people who were there to share it with us. We were so grateful to celebrate it again a couple of weeks later in Utah at the beautiful garden reception Cori's parents gave us. 

Being married to Cori still feels too good to be true. I'm stunned by the connection we share that has grown with time and with our commitment to the Lord. 

Happy anniversary, Cori. I LOVE YOU!