I don’t like it when my children inform me they have found a sleeping critter on our property…I really don’t. “Mom, there is a cute little mouse sleeping in the garage!” ”Mom, I jumped over that bird sleeping in the backyard!” I don’t like when my children inform me of these “slumbering” critters because then I have to tell them why I am scooping up said critter with a shovel and throwing him into the dumpster…..
Have I ever mentioned how much I love Erik’s sister Kirsten and her husband Dallas? They are the coolest! And what is even cooler about them is that they actually think we’re cool! Well, they attacked us Sunday night. As we sat on our comfy couch watching the Winter Olympics, they stealthy crept up to our front door and plastered the entire thing with dozens of paper hearts complete with funny, kooky phrases. I love them!
I think Rulon would make a great subject for a flip book:
Lincoln thought this one was extremely humorous. He also mused over the notion that if Mom was, indeed, “hot” that he might be able to fetch a good price for me so that he could buy himself a new guitar.(Should I be concerned, flattered or just insulted?)
Erik and I snuck away for a quick overnight trip to San Francisco this weekend to celebrate his 32nd birthday. His birthday also marks the 10th anniversary of our engagement. We always joke that good things happen the day after your birthday as we started officially dating the day after my birthday and got engaged the day after his. It’s been a great ten years and I love my Erik.
Here’s us 10 years ago…..
As you can see, being married to me has caused Erik to lose his hair….
I really loved conference this past weekend. How is it that every talk feels custom tailored for you? I’ve been blog stalking some friends and I don’t seem to be alone in that sentiment. It seemed like the overall theme of conference focused on dealing with trials and serving others. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and have recently been the undeserving recipient of a lot of kind acts of service. Isn’t it funny that when someone does something nice for you that you scramble to think of what you can possibly do to repay them as if you are in the negative or something? I am sure that’s not quite the whole idea behind service, as if it was some big game with points involved. Nevertheless, I have felt very blessed, as I’ve said before, for amazing friends and family I just hope that I can somehow pass it on. I documented some of last weeks highlights:
My cute friends Emily Johnson and Shawna Hill threw me a fun informal “baby brunch” with a few friends. The food and company were wonderful!
I love Kristina Christensen! I needed a hair cut so bad (I was getting tired of the amazon women look I’d been sporting) and she gave me a “baby gift hair cut.” I have such nice and talented friends!
The only time the UPS truck pulls up to the house is when a package is being delivered from Grandma (Erik’s mom). She sends a package for every holiday (minor or major). The kids went nuts and rushed the door when they saw the poor unsuspecting UPS guy approach. He dropped the package, rang the bell and sprinted back to his truck all while the kids were trying to claw their way through the cardboard and screaming as if they’d just won the lottery. Thanks Grandma!
Last week I opened the door to a sweet fresh-faced, blonde girl who I’d never seen before in my life. She asked if I was Heather Adams and when I responded in the affirmative she handed over this manila envelope and with a smile scampered back to the waiting car in the drive way. I was confused and wondering if I’d just been supeanoed (although I highly doubted they served court papers with your names printed in large sharpie block letters). When I opened the envelope I was brought to tears. Inside was an extremely kind and generous gift with a note affixed stating their love for us. I can’t tell you how humbled Erik and I felt. I don’t know who it was that was responsible for this, but if any of you do please tell them how thankful we are and how loved we felt. I don’t know how I can begin to pay all of this kindness forward but I will certainly try.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary I may be: 2a: a ruler who exercises absolute power oppressively or brutally b: one resembling an oppressive ruler in the harsh use of authority or power.
So I may not be brutal, but man I am passing out the time outs like no ones business. Crying unnecessarily (in my opinion)? Time out! Pushing, shoving, general rudeness/craziness? You’re outta here! Most recently I’ve decided to put the kabash on using mom as a waitress/maid. I’ve told the kids unless there is a tip on the table when they decide to pick up and leave, their plates better be taken to the kitchen. Plates on the table? No tip? Time out, baby! Sadly, my eldest has been the biggest offender and has spent much time in the dark abyss of the laundry room (our designated time out corner).
So what do you think? Tyrant or just a grouchy, overweight pregnant lady? Maybe there’s really no difference…
With much sadness, Erik and I announce the official closing of the Hotel Adams for the summer season. With the departure of Matt, Katelyn and Lisa our house has been rather quiet and a bit lonely (aside from the normal chaos we normally experience with 3 kids). Matt and Katelyn have been living in Sacramento all summer while Matt sold pest control and Katelyn slaved away in their customer service department. We had so much fun seeing them about every other weekend for Sunday dinners or some fun long weekends. As for my little sister, Lisa, she took up residence all summer in our spare bedroom while working at Nordstrom in downtown Walnut Creek. We spent the summer doing a lot of eating, talking, watching lots of movies, going on adventures with the kids, etc. I didn’t want the fun to end, but alas all good things….blah, blah, blah….
To celebrate Lisa’s birthday the day before they headed back to BYU we took them into San Francisco to hit some of our favorite sites, including the houses in the opening credits of ”Full House.” I believe this was Katelyn & Lisa’s favorite attraction, the only thing missing was Uncle Jesse.
As part of our “summer survival” plan our family has been trying to do one big outing a week. This week we chose to go on the tour of the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. We had lots of fun and stuffed our own jelly bellys full of candy! Thanks to Aunt Lisa for helping to keep Ellis safe as she tried to escape us many, many, many times…..
Many eager Jelly Belly lovers (it was a 45 minute wait..yuck)
The Lizard, Part Deux
The Lizard Strikes Back
The Return of the Lizard
Whatever you want to call it, this is a sequel.
Like most sequels, we can’t guarantee it will be as good as the first installment, but for all of those who saw Heather & Lisa vs. the Lizard and wondered what happened after that cliffhanger of a storyline, this video is for you.
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
I had such a fun time last week seeing my good friend Jill Hoopes and her adorable kids, Jake, Ali and Emmie. Jill was my first friend when we moved to the bay area over 6 years ago. We spent several years in the Walnut Creek 2nd ward together and her oldest Jake and Lincoln were best little buddies. They moved from Walnut Creek to beautiful Seattle a couple of years ago and we miss them dearly! Even though we haven’t seen them for awhile, when we met up again this week it was as if not a day had passed. Even the little boys fell right into their old routine of legos and star wars. I guess that is the test of a good friendship! We love you Jill, Jake and family!
Jake and Lincoln
Jill and Heather
We don’t live out in the country or anything, but our little suburban development sits just a few hundred yards from a large open space where all kinds of bugs and creatures can be found. Every once in a while they come down from the hill and pay us a visit. On a few special occasions, they even try to make themselves at home. The other day as Heather and Lisa were cleaning the family room in preparation to paint the walls, they came across a little friend that must have snuck in the back door while they were cleaning. I think he just wanted to get out of the sun. And thus ensued the battle of Heather & Lisa vs. the Lizard.
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
