. . . growth . . .

. . . a lot can happen in twenty-five years . . .
. . . see that tiny twig
in the corner of the yard,
back behind the swing set? . . .. . . it has turned into this monstrosity . . .
. . . which kind of makes me
wish for the good old days . . .
. . . you know . . .
. . . when there were
hardly any leaves to rake . . .
. . . and bill could jump
on the trampoline . . .

. . . home sweet home . . .

. . . on the eleventh of november,
we will celebrate
the 25th anniversary
of moving into our humble abode . . .. . . this post is the first in
a little trip down memory lane . . .

. . . my wish for you . . .

. . . let me just say that
things did not go well at all
re: my last wish . . .
. . . now, though, i guess
it's time to move on . . .
. . . so, today my wish is that
you all have a neighbor like mine . . .
. . . one who makes
insanely amazing carmel apples . . .
. . . and always gives you one
when you take your grandkids
trick or treating at her house . . .
. . . who actually makes.her.own.carmel . . .
{what a great idea ~ no time wasted unwrapping
those pesky little kraft cubes}
. . . and then she rolls it in pecans,
and good quality chocolate . . .
. . . and THEN artfully
drizzles white chocolate over that . . .
. . . honestly, just when
you think things
can't possibly get any better,
she'll agree to take
your son's christmas package
with her in the car
on her vacation to mexico,
and she'll mail it from there ~
hopefully avoiding a little of
the "customs" delay . . .
. . . that, my friends, is my wish for you . . .

. . . it's your right . . .

. . . and your duty . . . . . . today's the day . . .
. . . get out and vote . . .
{i'm stephanie and i approve this message}

. . . winterization . . .

. . . refers to
the process of
preparing something
for an upcoming winter . . .
. . . and i've been busy
doing just that . . .
. . . now's the time to
put in "pretty" grass . . .
. . . done . . .
. . . complete with
fresh mow lines ~
first of the season . . .
. . . red geraniums . . .
. . . done . . .
. . . white geraniums . . .
. . . done . . .
{political opinions expressed here photographically
do not necessarily represent
those of the blog administrator}
. . . who am i kidding?
yes, they do . . .
. . . trim topiaries . . .
. . . done . . .
. . . ivy . . .
. . . done . . .
. . . flip flop tan lines . . .
. . . fading slightly ~ even with
90+ degree weather. . .
. . . check . . .
. . . route 44 diet coke ~ extra ice . . .
. . . got it . . .
. . . year round . . .

. . . seven/seventeen . . .

{***true friends will read all the way to the end, please***}
. . . to celebrate the seven month mark of
elder romney's
missionary service in mexico city,
i was lucky enough to get together
with some new friends
in utah last weekend . . .
. . . i met the entire hunter family
{except, of course,
the one that's
out of the country} . . .
. . . sam & julie were so nice
to drop everything
saturday afternoon/evening,
and it was great fun
to visit with them
while sharing stories
about our missionary sons . . .
. . . then julie treated me to
dinner at brick oven ~
a well-loved provo landmark . . .
. . . the next morning,
i attended the "farewell"
{even though i know we don't call it that any more}
of our cute nephew
who is just about to embark
on an exciting missionary adventure
in the west indies . . .
{i need someone to remind me to take pictures, because i totally forgot}
. . . the third leg of my utah trifecta
was hearing elder verbica
report on his missionary experiences
in mexico . . .
. . . and i got to meet his whole family, too . . .
. . . it was wonderful to listen as
he recalled events which occurred
in the four different areas where he served
and as he spoke about the converts
in whose lives he was able
to help make a difference . . .
. . . he was obviously
a very effective instrument
in the lord's hands
and i'm so grateful
for the great start
he was able to provide
in mexico for drew . . .
. . . i was also invited
to the verbica home afterward
{thank you don & maile . . .
aka pedro's parents}
where we were all treated to
mexican cuisine authentic
to the very region in mexico
where elder verbica served . . .
. . . he's been diligently
scouting out mexican restaurants
in the salt lake area
since returning home . . .
{tip: come to arizona for all your real mexican food needs}
. . . ***okay now . . .
. . . here's me groveling/begging for
your questions for elder romney . . .
. . . pretty please won't you
leave yours in the comments? . . .
. . . or just email me*** . . .
. . . thanks . . .

. . . meet the hansens . . .

. . . mmmbop . . .
. . . the latest in family-based rock stars . . .
. . . tate - lead guitar;
halleigh - vocals;
addison - keyboards;
{and,introducing their newest member}
tagg - binky . . .
. . . the hansens were
happy to share the stage
with a tiny jasmine . . .
. . . this little asu cheerleader . . .
. . . shirley temple & officer noah . . .
. . . the bride of frankenstein . . .
. . . a glamorous little witch . . .
. . . another beautiful witch . . .
. . . and yet another non-scary witch . . .
{see: she even has friends}
. . . our future scout troop . . .
. . . and current beehives . . .
. . . the cast of toy story 2 . . .
{mrs. potato head, hamm, stinky pete,
slinky dog, & tour guide barbie}
. . . creepy coach johnson & snickers . . .
. . . not sure what these two are, except funny . . .
. . . pedro . . .
. . . and perhaps the very scariest of all . . .
geoff heads
. . . including the famous blue shorts . . .
{he'll be home in three weeks - insert frightening scream here}
. . . these two were great candy passer-outers . . .
. . . addi rocks . . .
. . . halleigh rolls . . .
. . . sweet skeleton tattoo . . .
. . . tate jams . . .
. . . note fingerless gloves, black nail polish . . .
. . . and barbed wire tat . . .
. . . but, the purple sippy cup . . .
. . . pink blow pop and worm ride-on toy
weren't helping his hard core image at all . . .
. . . tagg was busy doing his
justin timberlake impersonation . . .
. . . which was absolutely exhausting . . .
. . . see . . .
. . . although it's not my favorite holiday,
at least i resist the urge to
turn off the porch light
and pretend i'm not home . . .
{please excuse blurry pictures . . . they're better if you click on them . . .
i'm taking applications for a real photographer}

. . . happy last day of october . . .

. . . yes, i realize i've posted
this eighteen year old picture before . . . . . . but it probably represents the most effort
i've ever put into halloween . . .
. . . sorry kids . . .
{fyi: back row l-r = amelia, amber, amanda
front row = drew}

. . . oh, manders . . .

. . . don't act so surprised . . . . . . your birthday is always on the 28th of october . . .
. . . happy #25 . . .
. . . and in the words of your brother,
"have that baby already!" . . .

. . . mhs . . .

. . . forever the best . . .
. . . another custom order . . . . . . people are so darn ask-y these days . . .
. . . and i aim to please . . .