. . . sturphy's law . . .

. . . typically stated as . . .

. . . "any and all white shirts

that can be in need of ironing

on the morning your husband

wants to go to the temple" . . .

. . . "will be in need of ironing

on the morning your husband

wants to go to the temple" . . .

{disclaimer: i have no idea who this "murphy" guy is/was ~

or why he has a law that sounds just like my law!}

. . . snowbirds are genius . . .

. . . i mean really . . .

. . . if i had the means . . .

{and if my husband, kids and grandkids could come with me ~

is that too much to ask?}

. . . i'd only want to live in arizona

from november through april . . .

. . . wouldn't you? . . .

. . . october? . . .

. . . not so much . . .

. . . especially this year . . .

. . . it was still ridiculously hot . . .

. . . but in the last month . . .

. . . our lawn has gone

from looking like this . . .

{aka dry piles of verticut grass}

. . . to this beautiful lushness . . .

. . . complete {as of yesterday}

with the first mow lines

of the season. . .

. . . and three carloads of geraniums . . .

. . . are making themselves comfortable

in their new home. . .

. . . they're getting past

that awkward stage . . .

. . . where they look great

for about two days

after you plant them . . .

. . . then all the carefully forced blooms

that were cultivated

in a california nursery somewhere

get crispy, shrivel up and die . . .

{that's always a little discouraging}

. . . but not to worry . . .

. . . . a little water,

a little sunshine,

a little root stimulator,

and a couple of weeks later . . .

. . . that was just what the doctor ordered . . .

. . . and now they're filling out

with a new round of blossoms

on the way . . .

. . . warm days and cool nights . . .

. . . great for plants and snowbirds . . .

. . . and ME! . . .

. . . i love technology . . .

. . . words with friends . . .

. . . random texts from provo . . .

. . . old friends on facebook . . .

. . . and occasional photo emails . . .

. . . like this one from amanda . . .

. . . elliott just climbed

right into the pack 'n play

with baby cameron . . .

. . . where they both enjoyed

an early morning game

of angry birds . . .

{tonight i'm very grateful

for a busy, busy son-in-law

who made time

to fix our wi-fi situation ~

thanks brent!}

. . . because i only love technology

when it actually works! . . .

. . . my lucky day . . .

. . . i can't believe

i won this fat quarter bundle

of daisy cottage fabric . . .

. . . the designer,

lori holt,

has the most amazing blog . . .

. . . this is her second line of fabric . . .

. . . and the quilts she's thought up

and made from it? . . .

. . . oh. my. stars. . . .

. . . adorable . . .

. . . i can't help myself . . .

. . . i leave comments

on her posts frequently . . .

. . . that's how i entered

to win this fun bundle . . .

. . . and i didn't even realize it . . .

. . . but i'm so excited

that daisy cottage

gets to find a home

on harmony avenue! . . .

. . . thanks, lori . . .

{i've told her before i feel certain

that if we didn't live in two different states,

we'd be friends, for sure.}

. . . halloween {briefly} . . .

. . . it's a necessary evil . . .

. . . every year . . .

. . . hi ~ i'm stephanie . . .

. . . and i'm the halloween grinch . . .

{let's dress up like weirdos and beg for candy from strangers ~

wrong on so many levels!}

. . . these little cuties

make it worth it, though . . .

{l-r elliott/almost 3; halleigh/8; tagg/3; colby/2 months;

addison/9; tate/5; cameron/6-ish months}

. . . pretty addi with authentic firestar hair . . .

{minus the really big bangs.

she wore sponge curlers to school

and didn't get kicked out of class.

yes, dr. audrey guydon ~

i'm still bitter about amanda

being sent home in seventh grade!}

. . . beautiful halleigh

rocking the superstar unitard . . .

. . . they make 15-year-old

stars costumes look fabulous . . .

. . . tough guy tater tot

as a studly baseball player . . .

. . . he is dangerous with a bat . . .

. . . no ~ really ~ he is dangerous with a bat . . .

. . . stand clear! . . .

. . . tagg as a one-winged buzz lightyear . . .

. . . to infinity and beyond! . . .

. . . elliott loving life as woody . . .

. . . with candy! . . .

. . . together they're a hoot . . .

. . . cameron finally woke up . . .

. . . thrilled to be wearing his buzz onesie . . .

. . . and baby colby {aka toby/ferris}

was the most darling skeleton . . .

. . . but the BCOTN award . . .

{best costume of the night award}

. . . hands down . . .

. . . goes to our brand new

one-day-old bishop . . .

. . . uncle sam sherwood . . .

{we've heard rumors of a movement to celebrate halloween

always on the fourth saturday of october.

please vote for that if/when it comes up on a ballot.

wouldn't it be nice to not have it on a school night? thanks!}

. . . are bell peppers on sale? . . .

. . . that's bill's question

nearly every week

when i ask

if he has any requests

from the grocery store . . .

. . . here's why . . .

. . . he loves them stuffed . . .

. . . the fact that

he never actually eats

the pepper itself? . . .

. . . details . . .

. . . the important thing here

is flavor . . .

. . . flavor in the form of

ground beef browned with onion,

and the diced pepper tops,

rice cooked in chicken broth,

diced tomatoes,

corn {cooked, cut off the cob, and frozen last summer},

worcestershire sauce,

salt, pepper

and a little sharp cheddar on top . . .

. . . sorry ~ specific amounts not available . . .

. . . plus ~ you never know

exactly how big the peppers are

or how much filling they'll hold . . .

. . . i always end up with extra . . .

. . . just keep it in a casserole dish

and reheat . . .

. . . last time drew was in town,

he single handedly

ate about five pounds

{his estimation}

of it in one weekend . . .

. . . we'll miss him . . .

. . . our awesome bishop . . .

. . . phil chiles . . .

. . . passed away unexpectedly

this morning . . .

{photo taken at young women in excellence 28 september 2011}

. . . he was our dear friend and neighbor . . .

. . . compassionate . . .

. . . loving . . .

. . . selfless . . .

. . . one of a kind . . .

. . . we pray for his sweet family . . .

. . . and we will miss him . . .

. . . she belongs . . .

. . . to the

church of jesus christ

of latter-day saints . . .

. . . what a happy day

for the hansen family . . .

. . . daughter number two . . .

. . . halleigh anne . . .

. . . was baptized . . .

. . . and even though

she loved wearing

her beautiful white dress . . .

. . . she just couldn't help

but sneak in

little touches

of her very favorite color . . .

. . . from head . . .

{doesn't she have just about the cutest freckles ever?}

. . . to toe . . .

. . . that's how i knew

she'd love the quilt

i made specially for her . . .

{please notice tagg giving us the "eye"}

. . . turquoise ~ because she loves it . . .

. . . with just a teensy pinch

of cheetah thrown in . . .

. . . because she's a wild child . . .

. . . a good teacher . . .

. . . can teach just about anywhere . . .

. . . even at camp geronimo . . .

. . . competing with high adventure activities . . .

. . . like a zip line, or rappelling, or the rifle range . . .

. . . and the kids really listened . . .

{i was in charge of treats ~ now that i can handle!}

. . . colby's big day . . .

. . . today was a great day

for colby tyler johnson . . .

{age ~ nearly 7 weeks}

. . . his daddy gave him a name

& a blessing at church . . .

{the sun was a little too bright!}

. . . {almost} our whole family was there . . .

. . . we missed drew & jessalyn . . .

{please hurry & graduate!}

. . . afterward, all the grownups

ate delicious breakfast treats

like bagels, muffins

& homemade cinnamon rolls . . .

. . . while the grandchildren

{in honor of steve jobs}

entertained themselves

with iPhone games . . .

. . . budding geniuses . . .