last night jackson and i played "who am i"

it was his turn.

j: "i am yellow all over, polka dots that are black. like big polka dots.

um, i have claws. i have eyes. i have a mouth. 

i fly sometimes.

i kill things.

i grawl like this... rawr!

who am i?"

m: "a bee"

j: "no mom... bees don't have mouths! another guess."

m: "a tiger shark"

j: "no mom! tiger sharks don't grawl.

okay i'll give you a hint. 

they have teeth and babies named cheetos"

{i'm laughing}

{then i can't stop laughing}

well duh!

when i guessed cheetah, he said,

"finally! i thought you would never guess. i'm tricky."

extra day!

this weekend jackson was with his dad but i was surprised to find out, 

i got to get him back a day early!  

he ran up to me and yelled "mommeeee!" 

dirty kicks

so into this app on my phone... photobooth...

so ya may get a little over it.

i am getting ready for the mud run in san diego in june.  cannot wait.

my run this morning looked like this.

loyal to the royal within you

{catching up}

i love the young women. there is something so sweet about being around girls who are figuring out who they are and who they want to become makes you want to magnify whatever you can as a leader. although i am not around as much as i would like to be, i get to see these beautiful girls the most in the stake.  my calling is made up... i am the creative director for the stake young women's personal progress/assistant to my ward's presidency which basically breaks down to: i float to different wards teaching them how to do hair and makeup or yoga and pilates or healthy ways to eat.  in my own ward i help with personal progress so i was able to help with this particular young women's in excellence activity.

the theme was really clever: loyal to the royal within you.

the theme was found from a general conference talk becky jones found which fit perfectly. we wanted the girls to feel like they were of royal birth and heir.

i had some of my hair peeps come to the church to do their hair and makeup.

in arizona, i had my other young women's do a dance recital during young women's in excellence one year, so i suggested we had one of our ballerinas do it and the pres thought it would be fun.  so it turned out great!  loved seeing the girls look all dressed up like royalty.

i love serving these young women.  it's the best.
xx

jackers update

sad! i haven't done one of these for too long.

here it goes:
::things i'm loving about jackson lately::

1. he tells my friends when their house or car is dirty. probably not something to love but it's something unique, so i love it regardless.

2. he tells me when i look like a boy with my haircut. he cares.
3. the other day my dad took jack to get an ice cream cone at el pollo loco down the street while i was with a client. jack ran up to my dad and said, "all my friends are here!" they were a bunch of hispanic kids he has never met. he walked up to each, asking their age.
4. how every time it rains, he is always willing to run out to the rain with me to jump in puddles.

5. my sister sent this to me: "okay, so I totally teach your nephew Jackson in primary!! It was SO FUNNY because today was my first day and he raised his hand and said "um excuse me, could you please wear that same outfit every sunday so I can remember what you look like" SO CUTE!! Then... I would ask him a question and he would say, um, um, um, I don't know, I just want to color or I don't know I just want to sing to you. LOVE HIM"
6. how he asked me in front of a guy we hung out with (as friends) ...

"mom, you should marry _____. he would be a fun daddy." 

- you've gotta love this stage in his life where he is trying to figure out relationships.
7. on sunday, i was preparing his bath. there was a HUGE daddy-long leg just chillin'. i showed him the spider and he said..."so is this is mean spider or a nice spider?" i told him it was a nice spider.  his response shortly after was, "oh, so then it's a mommy-long leg."  he walked over to the spider, put his hands on his knees and said, "mommy-long-leg, you need to find your daddy and be with your family, not my bath tub.  okay? just go.  come on. goodbye spider!"

8. how much he loves disneyland. he runs to every ride with me. he thinks this place has magic which makes me think it does too.

9. my mom was dropping him off to preschool for me the other day and he said, "mimi, how come all the mommies and grandmas have to go home and clean houses while we get to go to school to learn and play? that isn't fair."

10. i love him so much.  it's amazing how much it grows every day.

.soitsrainyweather.

having a cuddle buddy on rainy days are my favorite.
.favorite.

pandas aren't from japan? whaaat?

so sweet

it has been longer than my usual to do a post. so sorry!

i have been busier than my normal. i will get some in here this week.

i feel very fortunate to have the family i do. they are so loving and generous and giving.

my sister elise is extremely thoughtful. she sent us a package of incredible surprises... such as this beaut. she made smashed penny necklaces with a "B" for Bree and a "J" for me for Jackson so nice. she sent so many things for all of us... like out of the blue.

love you elise.

hopefully we get to see you soon!

xx

frrrresno

you know you are staying in a cold hotel room when your water bottle is ice cold in the morning...

saturday morning: started to drive to san jose.

bored.

so i did a mask.

monday afternoon: started to drive back home with jack.

stopped at our favorite place to get fruit.

lots of strawberries.

then...

our car broke down.

all lights went on the dash. lots of sounds...

long story short, we are at a dodgey hotel in fresno where there are stains on the sheets & the walls, hair on the bathroom floor, a very springy bed for jackson to jump on and a heater that is broken!

we had an interesting night.

$450 later my 2009 car will get fixed.

all you've gotta do when bad things happen is smile and get through it.

we will be home sometime tonight.