Brace face

Grant and Grace joined the braces club this week....so exciting and also a bit of a bummer because let's be honest, braces are the worst. Well I guess crooked teeth are really THE worst...but braces are a total pain.

The woman at the orthodontist office who talked Grace through the process explained it best. She said, "You'll come in so excited to get braces, it's no big deal getting them put on, and then around 4 in the afternoon you'll feel like you made the biggest mistake of your life."

Here's Grace's before

She felt a close up was warranted

and after!

The amount of poses and faces like this I have in my photo library is shocking (and I love and am keeping every single one of them).

Grant was next! We totally forgot the before dangit!

But this pretty much sums up how Grant has been feeling since he got them on. He basically hasn't talked for 3 days because it's uncomfortable (and painful) and he hates how it feels. Hang in there twinners! Only 2 years to go!

 

I don't want to forget...

 I don't want to forget that every morning at 7:15 on the dot, the kitchen Alexa starts playing "When I was your man" by Bruno Mars. No one knows why this happens (at least no one admits to knowing HOW this happened) but for sure NO ONE knows how to make it stop. We've turned off every Alexa alarm, tried everything we can think of...but try as we might, the sweet sweet crooning of Mr. Mars fills the kitchen every morning at 7:15 without fail. Weekends, holidays, doesn't matter. It's been going on for over a year. Bruno's baby is dancing with another man, which is sad...but I wish I knew how to make it stop!

Family Photos

It's Christmas card making season. The time of year where I scroll through my photo library desperately hoping there is just one picture I can use where everyone is smiling, eyes open, and looking in the general direction of the camera.

For the record, that has happened zero times in my life.

Which is why I usually have family pictures taken in the summer...or the fall for this very purpose.

Usually...meaning not this year.

I originally thought this picture from our trip to Mexico above could work. No one else in my family agreed.

So right before school started we went up the canyon for our back to school breakfast at Silver Fork Lodge and told everyone to dress cute so we could take our family picture. "No photographer needed! We'll just wing-it," I said.

And we were SOOO close to nailing it...

I mean look at the faces of these people I LOVE the most!

I think this was a pre-photo pep talk? Who knows?

I LOVE these pictures but the lighting is not quite right and the colors are also...not quite right dang-it because everything else looks so great!

This Sunday is the day. We are going to my nephew's baptism and fingers crossed we get lucky and find some good lighting in the backyard and get a photo everyone likes (hello Marian and Lucy I'm talking to you! Last year they HATED the photo I sent out...the one where they both looked gorgeous... 

I don't understand it but I will try to get a photo we all like. 

Wish us luck! 

...and remind me to just book a photographer every year so I don't run into this again.

 

Sundance

Chad and I took our sort-of annual trip to Sundance and it was so nice to get away for a couple of days. We stayed in the cutest little cottage right next to a stream. Heavenly. There was a hot tub, a fireplace (that only smoked a little) and the yummiest food at Foundry Grill and Black Sheep in Provo.

We took both dogs on the hike to Stewart Falls and when were weren't laughing at how out of place fluffy Darla looked in the mountains, we had such a good time talking, planning, dreaming, and taking in the beautiful views and mountain air.

There was a zip line next to the cottage and I was super cool and rode it once.

See! I did it! 

Chad did it like a dozen times... "I feel like you are just here for the zip line" #IYKYK

Watching Chad ride the zipline was the most traumatic thing that had ever happened to the dogs but they recovered quickly.

It was a magical weekend. The kids had fun at home with no parents and Chad and I were able to totally relax and unwind (minus the part where I had to wake up at 7am to register for the activities for girls camp (coming up in June) in the most Black Friday shopping-like experience of my life....and minus the part where BYU lost to Texas Tech.) Other than that it was pure bliss.

 

After every single bite

After the high school mountain bike banquet, we went out for Sushi with Chad's sister and husband and their daughter Ava who also races. Ok actually we TRIED to go out for sushi but we got there just as they were closing up dang-it! We tried again the next night and it was so fun and so delicious that I knew I had to bring sushi loving Grant there for our next lunch date.

Our family LOVES sushi but we had only been to places that were pretty far away so I was thrilled to find a good sushi place just 5 minutes from our house.

Grant was even more thrilled and said "this is the best food I've eaten" after every. single. bite.

I have a feeling this will be his go to request for lunch dates for the foreseeable future.

I'm not unhappy about it.

 

Lunch Club

Marian and her friends started a "lunch club" at school. Mom's take a turn every month or so, hosting the group. All the kids congregate at someone's home to hangout and have lunch together. The high school is right in our neighborhood so it's super close.

I made Jalapeño Beef sandwiches (recipe from my childhood neighbor Grace Clayton) and they were a hit! 

Lucy and her friends showed up too and it was so fun to be a fly on the wall and observe these kids interacting. I was so impressed. They were all talking to each other. No one was on their phone, and they all cleaned up after themselves, loaded the dishwasher and thanked me!

I snapped this picture after half of them had left. There were nearly 30 kids here and I LOVED it! So grateful that my children are surrounded by such awesome kids!