It Matters

Earned it.

A few weeks back a cute neighbor girls rode up in the coolest Robin Blue cruiser I'd ever seen. I complimented her on her darling new bike and the girls ran off to play. Not more than 5 days later another 6yr old neighbor girls rode up in a Sea Foam green cruiser with a large basket in front... this time instead of Brooklyn running off to happily play she came to me with shoulders slumped over and said, "Mom I want a new bike. It's not fair, my bike is so ugly."  

I explained to her that she needs to be happy for her friends when they get something new, and that we'd discuss it later. Kevin and I had already planned on getting Brooklyn a new bike this summer- and since the cruiser was really cute It got me thinking. I'd been helping to plan a cub scout bike rodeo that was quickly approaching and thought it might be a good teaching opportunity. We headed over to the bike store to price the darling cruiser that "all" the cute neighbor girls had. As I expected it was more expensive than what Kevin and I had planned to spend. I walked out of the shop with a very sad girl, who I think had convinced herself that she was getting a new bike. I nicely explained that the bike she loved, the white one with pink tires, was out of my price range. She didn't beg, just sat somberly in the back seat the whole way home. The next day we priced bikes at both Wal-mart and Target. Much cheaper, but I have to admit not nearly as cute. 

So, we devised a plan. She already had some money saved from allowance, but needed to earn $35 more to pay the difference for the cruiser.  It was two weeks until the bike rodeo and that was the goal. SHE WORKED HE BUTT OFF! I've never seen anything like it from Brooklyn. I have to admit I kind of liked it. She was the most helpful, respectful ad hardest little worker for a full 14 days. 

She loves it. I mean she really loves it! I completely believe that when you earn it, you appreciate it. It's been a great experience for her, I'm grateful. I think it clicked and she now understands the value of money and how powerful it is to work hard and get what you want. 

I love to see her cruise around the neighborhood in her new bike. It's been three weeks and the smile on her face hasn't dimmed a bit!

Happy Thursday,

Darci

Some days.

Some days are better than others. That's exactly how it's suppose to be. 

These kinds of days are wonderful. They cause us to stop if only for a second and think, "Life is good. I'm so blessed. This is what it's all about. How did I get so Lucky?"  

Not all days are like this, but I'm getting better at recoginizing the difference and appreciating all types of days. 

Happy Monday.

Darci

 

Season's First.

Last Saturday we headed up the canyon for our first official hike of the Year. I love to hike. It's almost creepy how much. 

I swear my kids are cuter on a dirt trail, everyone gets along better, conversations flow effortlessly, and I always come home with a more positive perspective on what the craziness of this life and my little family is all about. I'm grateful hiking season has begun and we're in a good position to enjoy it.  We have three strong walkers and one who, cross our fingers, is still content in the backpack. We purchased our Utah Canyons pass and our list of hikes to try is extensive and exciting.  Bring it on....

Searching for the perfect walking stick is always fun.

Still can't get used to my haircut in pictures:)

Almost to the top! 

Good times. We've set our sites on the top of Mt. Timponogous July 19th, so we have lots of training to do. It promises to be a great summer of HIKING!

 

Darci

Doodlebug Inspired.

I love Doodlebug. It's one of the few scrapbook company's still doing exactly what they've always done best......design and manufacture bright, happy, easy to use and applicable scrapbook product! I've been a HUGE fan for over ten years now. 

That's why I was thrilled when I heard my sister, Stacy Julian, was teaming up with Doodlebug to celebrate National Scrapbook Day. It meant I got to tag along and spend the day at Doodlebug headquarters, which is one of the happiest and most colorful buildings in Salt Lake!

 Needless to say it was a really fun day, but it's how I've felt everyday since that excites me most.....I feel inspired. I want to create again. I want to paint furniture happy colors, I want to unpack and organize my craft room and most importantly I want to start documenting our daily lives more consistently again. 

We've now lived in this home for 5 months and the last two weeks I've finally started organizing my craft room. I've missed having a craft. I think I'm still more of a "crafter" than I admit at times.  So here's to reconnecting with something you love. I know I most likely won't go back to scrapbooking 15 pages a month like I did at one time, but I also know there's something tangible about card stock and brads that I've been missing. I'll continue to insta-gram, blog, and print digital books all in an attempt to document our lives...but you can bet I'll be throwing in a few good old fashioned layouts to go along.

I'm grateful to feel inspired.

Darci 

NYC: Day 2&3

New york is beautiful. I loved all the charming parks throughout the city.  Thursday morning we headed out for a jog in Central Park. I was looking forward to this having seen images of the iconic park my whole life. We mapped out our coarse and took off. It was fun. There were so many people out walking dogs, mothers and strollers, fellow runners and photographers. There was so much to see that eventually we lost track of our route and just ended up taking every little trail that inticed us. About an hour and 15 minutes into our run I was getting tired, and ready to head back to the hotel. We turned in the direction we needed to go and about a 1/2mile later found our way out to the street. 

To our amazement we found that we were on the exact opposit corner from our hotel, a good two miles away. How does one get lost in a park? After we got over the initial shook we did what any dedicated runner would do.....haled a taxi to take us home:) Good Times!

Next we headed to Rockerfeller Center to view the city from atop of the "Rock."

It was a cloudy day but still amazing to see.

We spent a long time talking and hanging out on top of the "Rock." It was cool. Next, to "the Plaza" as they say on the Today Show to soaked in the atmosphere. I love, love, loved all the flags and sculptures. They were scrubbing down the walls of what was an ice rink just weeks before and there were several school groups miling around the center. 

It was especially exciting for me to see the home of the Today show. It's no secret that I love to watch every morning as we hustle to get ready for the day. I was sorely disappointed when we showed up Friday morning at 7am and Matt Lauer was away on location. It was still fun to see the rest of the crew, but we left and eat warm oatmeal down stairs instead of standing in the cold with a sign. 

Rockerfeller center may have been one of my favorite places becuase of the history and information we learned as we walked along the museum leading to the elevator. It was fasinating to read about the great depression and the forsight and faith Rockerfeller had to put thousands back to work on such a masssive project during that devistating time. I found his story, and the history of the whole center to be very inspiring.  

Next stop, LUNCH. We walk 15 blocks to find real New York Pizza at

I hope my friend Lindsey, a true New Yorker, doesn"t inform me that this was infact NOT real New York Pizza because we walked FOREVER to find it. I will say it was delicious...not sure if it tasted so good because I was starving, or because it's great food. Nevertheless it was part of the adventure. 

We spent the remainder of the afternoon doing a lot of this,

a few more subway rides sight seeing in SoHo, a little shopping and finished up in the NIKE store. 

There was cool stuff everywhere. The NFL draft was taking place in TIME SQUARE that day so Nike was unvailing all the new NFL Uniforms, which made us feel like we were in the center of the action- I feeling we're not accustom to:) Never mind all the hype though, I had my eye on these puppies..

We left Nike empty handed but motivated to get in good shape so we can reward our efforts with cool new shoes in the future. You know, you have to earn stuff like that:)

Sadly to say, I have no pictures of the evening. We spent an hour getting all dolled up in preparation to attend a VERY nice, VERY fancy awards recognition dinner for my husband and colleagues. It was a great evening, kinda felt like prom for grown-ups. They even took our picture...weird huh? In all honesty I'm proud of my husband, It was an honor to be there with him. 

The next morning we woke up early to go to the Today Show,

then simply walked around the city. We went to St. Pauls Cathedral, tried to find trinkets for the kiddos and packed up. Here are a few more random images on our way out of town.

We went, we enjoyed, and we are better for it. What a great experience. 

Darci

 

 

The Big Apple: day one

This was our first trip to New York, and it lived up to the hype. I'll admit, I wasn't sure how much I'd love the BIg city.... being that I'm a wide open spaces, mountains and hiking trails kind of girl but it was amazing! I enjoyed every minute of it. 

We took the RED EYE flight which meant checking into the Plaza Hotel at 7am in the morning. We were dead tired but entering the lobby of the Plaza is like walking into a historic palace. Wow. It's the most beautiful hotel we've ever stayed in, By FAR! 

It's sheer opulence from the light fixtures to the chandeliers hanging around every corner. The bathroom was something out of a classic hollywood film with an elegant claw foot tub and tiny white and gold ceramic tiles framing all the walls and floors. It was luxury at it's best as far as we were concerned, and no, we did not foot the $700 dollar a night bill. 

First thing first we grab an hour of zzz's and then haled a taxi in search of the 9/11 memorial. Long story short it was a rude awakening to the craziness of city life. However we finally made it to the memorial with tickets an hour after our appointed time. We worked hard to get those tickets and it was worth it! 

I'm so grateful I got to see and internalize where the tragic events of 9/11 took place. More importantly I was grateful to witness the resilience of all that is transpiring on that sacred ground today. It touched me more than I expected it would. Super cool.

The North pool memorial.

Construction of a new trade center building.

and my favorite, the Survivor tree.

Next we walked, still working up the nerve to jump on the subway, to Wall street. Kevin was in finance heaven. We were both enamoured with the immensity of the financial district and fascinated with the hundreds of "Occupy Wall Street" protesters. 

The famous "Bull." I was reprimanded for not knowing the significance of the bull... I now understand:)

You can't get anywhere near the stock exchange these days. It's crazy to think that you used to be able to walk right in the bowl and watch all the action from the balcony. The world has really changed in the last 10 years. We snapped this picture from two blocks aways. 

After doing a lot of studying,

We braved the....

It landed us at the largest Macy's store, which was an experience in and of it's self.

SO MANY PEOPLE in one department store. I'm not sure how anyone can concentrate long enough to actually buy anything. But there where people walking out with multiple bags. Blows my mind!

Then on to TImes Square & 42nd Street.

I swear this is what Kevin spent most of his time doing, I was so grateful to be with him....I would have never made it back to the hotel once without his navigation skills. So the typical tourist. 

Home to rest a minute before...

 Of all the amazing shows we could choose from Newsies was it. This show is near and dear to my heart and I consider it an actual dream come true to see it on Broadway. What a way to end the day, Perfection.

If you're still reading this post you must be related to me. Sorry to long.

Happy Wednesday,

Darci

 

Time out for Women.

As you know I went to Spokane Washington for a weekend with my mom and sisters. It was so fun to be in their company! Apparently we were too busy having fun to take pictures, I was hugely disappointed when I got home and realized how few pictures I have to remember the weekend from.

 After we all arrived Stacy whisked us straight to one of our favorite little stores, The Trellis. As we shopped a women approached me with a balloon and card. I had overlooked that it was my birthday weekend and OF COURSE my sister had a few surprises up her sleeve. We then headed to Peir One, where another Balloon and card awaited me....and on to a great restraunt where yet another card and HUGE balloon greeted us. After dinner we all sat and chatted while we had pedicures. Needless to say it was Awesome, and as fun as all the activities where- it was simply being together that made it amazing. 

Next we headed to the happiest home on earth to hang out with the Julian family. The Julian's home has always been a source of inspiration to me. There's a tangible feeling of love, happiness and acceptance in Stacy's home. It's bright, colorful, and full of memories and evidences of Gospel living everywhere. I LOVE to be there! 

Just a few glimpses....keeping in mind I take awful pictures!

The next morning we went on a long rainy walk, gathered in Stacy's living room to share a few "solutions" with each other and then discussed the results of a REALLY cool personality test.

I learned that I'm a "Guardian, Portrait of a provider," but cooler than that I learned about what makes my mom and sisters tick and why they're the amazing people I know them to be. It's creepy how dead on the descriptions of our strengthens and personalities were. It's cool to think about how each of us brings unique insights and talents to our extended family, we're all important!

We spent Friday evening and Saturday enjoying Time out for women, an inpiring conference centered around helping us women reach our individual and eternal potential, It was super cool. 

Grateful for this quick weekend and these ladies...love them!

Lots more coming about NEW YORK:)

Darci

 

Tippy toes.

I miss this darling little girl. She's home helping daddy this weekend while I'm in Spokane spending the weekend with my mom and sisters....

We try to get together at least once a year to reconnect and soak in each others company. I love and admire these women so much, spending time with them really keeps me on MY toes as they always make me want to be better and elevate my game as a person & Mother. We're here in Spokane to attend the Time out for Women conference the next two days...I can hardly wait. 

I'm grateful to Kevin for taking the day off work to watch the tiny toes at home so that I can be here...

Have a great weekend,

Darci

Where has the time gone?

Honestly. Life seems to be moving along so quickly, I can't keep up. The weeks, even months seem to be flying by without me. I'm not sure what my problem is. The demands of my little family have kept me running the last little while and I simply haven't had a good handle on it. 

Nevertheless, there's much I'm anxious to blog about so I'm going to attempt to play catch up for the next few days. 

Fist thing First........This VERY special boy had a birthday way back in March. 

Ty turned 9yrs. old!!! As you can see by the cake (or lack thereof) our celebration was fairly low key this year. I told him he could choose anything he wanted for dessert and mini eclairs won! I happily appeased his request and we had a wonderful family party. 

A week or so after his birthday we had his friends over for Lazer Tag and roasted marshmellows in the yard. It was fun to see him interact with a few of the boys in our new neighborhood as well as old friends. 

Ty still loves to work outside, especially building bridges over the river.

Is really good at math and working hard to memorize all his multiplication tables.

Is becoming more and more tech savy with the computer and his i-touch.

Will only wear NIKE t-shirts,

and is darling with his little sister Tatum. (She's the screen saver on his before mentioned i-touch)

He has just recently started tutoring at the, Utah Center of Dyslexia and has a great attitude about school and working hard to be successfull. He teaches me a lot about doing the right things for the right reasons and not getting discouraged. 

I'm So grateful to have such a tall handsome kid around, how'd I get so lucky?

Really, where has the time gone...before I know it he will be 18!

Oh happy evening,

Darci

One Direction.

What is it with me and teeny bopper music? I'm not sure. It speaks volumes about my maturity level:) However what's not to love about a group of boys from Britian who dress cute and have crazy hair?

These kids are cute.  I saw them on the Today Show last week and was smitten. I've been running to a few of their songs for the last week, and there's only ONE DIRECTION to turn the volume...Up!

Brooklyn and I rock out everyday in the car on the way to school, It's so much fun I had to share!

Not sure how to link to i-tunes, but give'em a look up. Our favorite song is "What makes you Beautiful," well ours and every other 12 year old girls on the planet....nothing wrong with that-right?

Happy Thursday,

Darci