First Day of School

2nd Grade and second year of Preschool

Everyone involved was excited.

Summer 2011

Swim Lessons

Tennis Lessons

Dance

Yellowstone

Bike ride after bike ride

Cedar City

Goldilocks

Grey's River

Pineview

Saints to Sinners

Pool

Parades

Little Red

Youth Conference ... with bed bugs

Dirty Girl

BBQ's

I wanted a full summer and got one.  It was an amazing couple of months but I must admit that I'm glad it's over -- we all need a rest!   

Be Bold

A couple of years ago I was sitting at a church function next to a woman from my neighborhood, attempting to design my own earrings.  A simple task, you might think.  This woman isn't just any woman, she is one of the women.  She's a little older, wiser, knowledgeable beyond anything I can imagine, always quick with a funny comment .... just one of those ladies that you can't help but think to yourself, "really?  I mean, really?"  


So there we were, designing earrings, and for the life of me I could not make a decision. Normally I'm not so indecisive, but this was serious -- Red?  Turquoise?  Silver?  "Woman" quietly sat next to me ... annoyed, I'm sure .... and watched me grapple with this life-altering decision.  Finally, she simply looked at me and said, "Be bold, Lacey.  Be bold." I'm sure she wasn't serious.  I'm sure she thought I was a ding-dong.  I'm sure she wanted to finish her jewelry as quick as possible. I'm very sure that if I had been sitting next to someone half as annoying, I wouldn't have been as nice.

I'm loud.  I'm opinionated. I'd consider myself slightly spunky....maybe weird...  inappropriate....But bold?  Never.  Over the last couple of years I've made an attempt to incorporate and recognize boldness in my life.  Through red couches, purple shoes, new experiences, insane ideas and a purpose to be fearless (easier said than done, my friends), I've been slowly watching my inner boldness shine through.

Yesterday might have been one of my boldest days yet.  Not bold enough to put the full picture out there, but bold all the same.  I give you a sneak peak.......

I may not be confident about my new look and I may not sure about my decision, but I'm impressed with my ability to make the decision....my ability to be bold and fearless.

And if you don't like it?  Sucks for you.

And?

It's been a long couple of weeks.  Between sickness, and a crummy St. George trip, and a dishwasher fiasco, and doctor visits, and new medication, and emotional conversations, and a ridiculously messy house, and..... *sigh.*  When it rains it pours, right?  

Some things I've been thinking about - 

1.  Retro timers.  Are you kidding me?  I love these!  I'm pretty sure I need one.

2.  Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats.  Yes,  I will be making some.  This weekend, in fact.  I'll let you know how it goes.

3.  These are absolutely dreamy.  Love these colors and want them on my counter pronto!

4.  J's first soccer season.  This kid is absolutely hilarious and yes, he likes to show off his shin-guards.

5.  I recently cut my hair -- a few inches off, layered and razored the heck out of it and brought back my bangs.  I really wanted....needed! something different.  Crazy thing - it doesn't look a whole lot different.  When you have short hair and you need a change your only option is to go shorter, right?  Well, I'm gonna.  

I'm talking myself into it.  Help me do it.

This short???  Do I dare??

Battle Cry

Everyone could use a pep talk when they leave for the day. Actually pep talks kind of freak me out.  Ask G.  So let me start over. Everyone could use a positive thought when they leave for the day.  I'd like to introduce you to our family motto:

Print by Super Swoon

Loved it when I saw it.  Knew it was perfect for my family.  It's now hanging on our wall (desperately needing a new frame), right by the door, so when I run to the store in my glasses, pajamas and uggs, I can think about how awesome I am.

Does your family have a theme?

Because He's Awesome

After 20 minutes of Jack's radio blaring, I decided to go see what he was up to.  I have never been so proud.

Where's the beef?

FYI - the address of this blog has changed to lgmarbles.blogspot.com.  If you give a hoot, you'll need to add it to your google reader since the other one has been nixed.  The end.

*DISCLAIMER*  We eat meat. If you have a problem with us eating meat, well, watch THIS instead of continuing on. 

We recently made two very large purchases. 

1.  Freezer.   I have been so excited about this.  It's big and clean and pretty... and BIG. We've needed an extra freezer for a long time and every time I thought about it I could picture it full of my homemade jam, frozen vegetables from my garden, extra freezer meals, maybe a couple turkeys, some chicken .....  

2.  Cow.  Yes, we bought a cow.  Not a whole cow ... we saved some for someone else.  Nice of us, I know.  G has been so excited about this. Me, not so excited.  

Where's the beef?    Evidently in our BIG, clean, pretty freezer.

The One and Only E

Our family has entered a new phase.  Something new.  Something intense. Something uniquely crazy.

Dance Competition.

We experienced E's first competition yesterday and I've already learned, or at least realized, a few things for the next one:

*Groups of screaming girls will always overwhelm me.  And hurt my ears.

*Dress light and comfortable.  Between costume changes, make-up applications, pinning, sewing, fixing, anxiety, lugging baggage, snacks, stress, cheering, screaming girls (see above)....etc., I will be a sweaty mess!

*A bag that requires a check-list to pack is guaranteed to stress me out.

*Keeping track of all the knick-knacks of multiple costumes is guaranteed to stress me out.

*I will never be ashamed of being the mama who screams and hollers for her girl on stage. E pretends to be embarassed.  I wouldn't really care if she was.  

*Some form of caffeine is a must!  Exhausting, I tell ya!  

*I get weepy when E dances.  It's nerdy.  It's embarassing.  It's just ....what it is, I guess.

*I REALLY need to figure out how to get a good picture of Ella on stage.  My photo skills are SEVERELY lacking!

E and her darling dance buddies practice for hours. They were amazing!  E works so hard and it's so fun to have her hard work pay off and to watch her love something so much.  

Bottom line is this:  It is insanely amazing to watch your kids do something they are honestly good at.
This is new for me and I am loving it so far.