good things come in threes

1. WE SOLD OUR HOUSE! rather convenient considering we are about to embark on another move. i never lost faith. i knew it would happen.

2. scarlett turned 3!

i was lazy about the cake this year. i would have held the party at costco if i could have. i'll keep that in mind when i am planning scarlett's wedding. plenty of parking. lots of food. everyone loves costco pizza. ample bathrooms and toilet paper and bulk cocktail olives.

family germ sharing(whose idea was it to breathe all over a birthday cake before you serve it to guests???):


opening presents in her fave pajamas. they were also reagan's faves about 2 years ago.

random adorableness during the evening present opening:

and her actual day of birth was spent in fun-gomery, her actual town of birth.

ps- jim n' nick's bbq has incredible lemon icebox pie. WOW. being in public is the only thing that kept me from licking the plate.

i don't think i have ever loved anything this much:

3. i went to the midnight showing of eclipse. because i love functioning on 3 hours of sleep. my parent skillz are heightened when given the challenge of staying up all night. who wouldn't want to be around me? nerves of steel.

it was an extra special event because i was wearing my "nicest" workout pants.

and a few thoughts occured to me whilst watching this movie;

a- is the twilight saga the unspoken language of friendship? is this the first thing i need to mention when i move to south carolina in order to make friends? this had better attendance than a relief society meeting.

b- how can a movie be so terrible yet be so enjoyable? the movie was awful, but the least awful of the three. don't shoot me for saying that. and i CAN'T WAIT for the next one to come out. i was the first person to squeal at the screen. plus, they cut out most of bella's confused-whining-helpless-edward-obsessivness of the book. but i know the teenager on the other side of me did not appreciate me laughing the whole time. but it was hilarious. best comedy of the year! where can i get my commemorative cup?

c- get enough women together in one room and the conversation will inevitably turn to bodily functions; illnesses, trips to cancun(me), giving birth, embarassing moments. perhaps gatrointestinal function(or disfunction) is the true language of friendship?

south cackalacki

once upon a time there was a girl who loved a boy. and that boy was really smart and ambitious and loved a challenge. and so the girl said she would follow him to the moon.

(don't kissing pictures just make you want to toss your cookies?)

even if that meant moving a TON. but with each move the girl was closer and closer to her dream of owning a land rover. so when a corporate headhunter contacted that boy to offer him his non-football and non-gubernatorial related dream job in south carolina, even though they had just moved a few months earlier to alabama to take a great-but-not-dream job, she trusted him and agreed to move again. but the list of dream items did get longer. and the girl threatened to douse all his clothes with gasoline and light them on fire in the street if she had to lift a finger to pack anything at all. so that boy promised that it would be taken care of.

the new adventure in south carolina begins august 1st.
and these guys are coming too.

stripling moms

Alma 56:47,48
47 Now they had never fought, yet they did not fear death; and they thought more upon their fathers than they did upon their lives, yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mother's knew it.


in all our many travels our family has been blessed with wonderful friends. i know we have been watched out for from above so that each place we have lived has been home. i have been able to acquaint myself and my children with women who teach their families about the gospel of Jesus Christ and they teach them to live it in all circumstances. it's a wonderful thing to have friends who love righteousness and reinforce the lessons i teach my children at home. tonight during our relief society meeting i was thinking how grateful i am for people who care about me and my family, especially those stripling moms who make an effort to do more and work harder and to give more to their kids, without actually spending any money. especially since they are saving tons of money by couponing till the cows come home.

and then i took pictures of some of those stripling moms.

discussing our love of couponing and klondike bars

"2 for 1 pampers at walgreens? plus $10 back to use toward my next purchase??? couponing rocks my world and makes each day worth living!"

did i mention it is hot?

reagan has been playing on his first baseball team this summer. it's really hard to enjoy sports when it is a gazillion degrees and a bajillion percent humidity. last night it was 95 at 530. but we try and make do. as long as no one touches me with her sweaty little hands and she stays on her side of the blanket we are fine.

(just scratching that baseball itch)

and sports in the south are intense. i thought reagan would start out on a t-ball team since he just turned 5. but he's on an actual team with cleats and bat bags and batting helmets and the whole nine yards. i was thinking more along the lines of everyone runs around in a jersey and sometimes we sing songs and we all get orange slices. parents included. coach's pitch starts at 5. hitting off the T is for babies still in the womb. or if you whiff on 5 pitches.
but we had a magical night last night. not only did reagan get a base hit from an actual pitch but he received the game ball.


and our sweaty sister:

and the sweaty mom:


did i mention it is hot?

snapshots from a midwestern adventure

kansas city visit travelogue:
busy caloric humorous

things that make kansas city home to me or things i never want to forget:
a memorial day eve visit to my favorite cemetary of all time, mount moriah. creepy and peaceful.

plastic ball game cups from royals games of yesteryear. always available at grandma sandy's house. becks are the biggest supporters of losing teams and we proudly carry home our souvenir cups. and scarlett took every opportunity to get as sweaty and filthy as possible. all while wearing reagan's underwear. it was that kind of week.

cookies in the deep freezer. food filched from other places and then frozen for later consumption. our version of food storage.

mass quantities of ice cream. and more boxes in the deep freezer. plus ice cream pie. and fresh brownies. always.

laughing at ourselves via home videos or photo albums. in this case it was heather's wedding photos. nothing is sacred.

scenic northern arkansas

ryan's in west plains missouri- i've never thought very highly of ryan's buffet and after visiting ryan's for the last time in my life i didn't think it was possible to think more lowly of an eating establishment. how do you mess up lettuce? and i'm pretty sure they didn't own a mop. here or the wendy's. someone alert the county.

a few choice anonymous quotes from the trip:

"who would want a bag of prescription painkillers?" after someone related to me misplaced a briefcase full of drugs

"heather, how's your drinking problem?"