one two THREE!

I started my blog three years ago today! I'm so happy I did.

Here's my favorite post from my first week as a blogger. The big kids were just babies!

image from Flickr

two.

i just realized that my precious little flowerchain blog turned 2 last week.
some ~blog administrator~ i am, i totally forgot.

this is from my first post, and i still feel the same way . . .

i hope this little blog can help you get through your days just as encouragement from my sisters in the world helps me get through mine. i've called it flowerchain because making flower necklaces, crowns, and all manner of other accessories with weed flowers on the playground in my youth holds such fond memories for me. my little audrey and I have had several chances to make these same little treasures and I cherish those little moments as treasures themselves. flower chains remind me of all things lovely and simple, and those are the best kinds of things.

happy birthday bloggy blog!

incredibly pretty 'flowerchain' image found here
why yes, i am tempted to change my header image. is it legal is the question.

Sidebar Highlights and Blogging Break

I'm taking a short break from the blogging for a while. I have completely ceased to feel productive, and the computer habit isn't helping. In the meantime, enjoy the following posts from my friends and family. I've included my connection to all these fabulous people, too. Just because.

Jenny's kids are very observant. (Married to my sis-in-law's brother, we've never actually met.)

Kelley, livin' the life. (Kelley and I [and about 14 other girls] shared a room in London, 1998.)

Ginger & Elliott's boys are mini-Republicans. And super smart. (Ginger is married to Elliott, my oldest brother.)

And don't forget Emma. She's got some ideas, too. (This would be Elliott's blog.)

Natalie now misses the romance of the South. (Natalie is my friend who recently moved west.)

Oliver's always playing defense. (Steph's my awesome younger sister.)

Why is it so fun to listen to kids talk to each other? Listen to what Charlotte overheard. (Charlotte is my husband, Neal's, sister.) See what my kids have been talking about, below.

You must see the pictures my parents took of the Norwegian fjords. And Julianne is prepping for Oxford. Yes, the one in England. (Um, these are my parents, and Julianne is the youngest in our family. She's going to do graduate work at Oxford this fall.)

Just take a few minutes and read Ginny's whole blog. Because I can't pick a favorite post. (Ginny is part of the S* family, to which we have many connections. We used to enjoy going dancing in Provo, and she used to lend me her bike.)

Mrs. Dub is always good for a laugh, or a cry. (Ginny's youngest sister, and blogger extraordinaire. Their middle sister, Amy, and I met at EFY when we were 15, then roomed together at BYU. Then Mrs. Dub became close friends with my sister. It's complicated.)

Kelly was awfully brave to attend an authentic Turkish bath. Luckily, I think they're easier on the women. I've heard bad stories about the men's version (i.e., they completely beat you up.) (Kelly is married to Jeff, my brother's close friend from high school. Jeff used to hang out with me and my friends in college.)

Annie always has lovely pictures on her blog, but this one of her father-in-law is just perfect. (Annie is my friend from our days living in H-town. She now lives in California.)

Seriously, Judy takes awesome photos. (Judy is Ginger's sister.)

It's a long story, but Mindy is an intensely productive woman. (I don't know Mindy well, but we were in the same ward for a while in H-town.)

Audra just broke down and pretended to be handicapped. (Audra and I first met when we were newlyweds in the same ward in Provo. A year after we moved to Texas, they moved into our ward. Now she lives in Georgia.)

Angie has such a way of putting things. I loved this post. (Angie and I were close buds while on study abroad in London.)

I'm going to embarrass Ryan even more than Rachel did. (Rachel and I became good friends during our freshman year, when she and Lisa lived across the hall. We all lived together until Neal moved in when I married him.)

Erika found this awesome commercial regarding taco salad. (Erika moved into our neighborhood last year. Our children's ages match up perfectly!)

Annette features a lovely Isak Dinesen quote here. (Annette is Rachel's sister.)

Angela can't bring herself to trust anyone anymore. Not even the bathroom scale. (Angela and I don't know each other, except that we have a random connection to Tyler, Texas, and our kids have red hair. But I love her blog.)

Enjoy! There's more here, in case you missed the last round.

We came home.

Hard as it was, we returned home this week from our fabulous vacation. It was such a fun trip, a vacation within a vacation, first California, then Hawaii, then California again, and hours after Neal picked us up at the airport, we loaded up the car and drove to Louisiana to spend a very short but fun day at his family reunion. Needless to say, for as much fun as we had, we are a bit travelled out for a while, and are looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with our friends and our normal life here in suburban Texas.

If I can get a handle on the GOBS of housework I have looming over me at the moment, and if I can get this silly baby to take a good nap today, I'll try and post some pictures.

I feel like I should take a little roll call to see if anyone is still reading my little blog here. I hope you are! It's interesting, while absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder in the case of husbands (we were away from Neal for about 2 weeks), it doesn't seem to be the case with blogs and/or computers. I was so completely out of blog-mode while I was away. I didn't really check blogs or email, not because I couldn't (my parents do own computers), I just found that I didn't really care too much about it. In fact, it's taken me a couple of days to even log on since I've been home. It was nice for a change, and now that I am home, I realize that my blog and all those other blogs I like to read are mostly just an escape mechanism from housework, sad as it is (well, and I like to see what my friends are up to). While I had no housework, I didn't crave blogs, and now that I have work to do, the computer looks tempting. Maybe the best way to get myself off the computer is to get a maid. I'll have to talk to Neal about that. :)

Ok, back to the laundry. Look for pictures soon!

Bloggie Meme

I found this meme and this funny picture on Tori's blog, after Natalie mentioned it to me. It's a fun one!

1. How old is your blog?
Eighteen months old. It's starting to lose its baby fat and says new words every day. It could go to Nursery! :)

2. How would you categorize your blog?
Um, I would say it's a family-centered blog, with the occasional news tidbit or opinion article.

3. Are the photos you post Photoshopped or otherwise altered?
I don't have Photoshop. Yet. All the good photos are taken by Natalie, though.
Why is she moving again?

4. Do you lie in your blog?
No. Why would I do that? That would be weird.

5. Are you passive-aggressive in your blog?
Not on purpose, but it's pretty obvious when I want people to go to a certain site :) or tell me how cute my kids are. Does that count?

6. Do you ever threaten to quit writing so people will tell you not to stop?
No, but I have questioned the purpose of blogs many times. I'm over it, though. I'm not going anywhere. My blogfriend, Lindsey, stopped blogging indefinitely last week, and it was really sad. I couldn't do that to you all.

7. Have you deleted any of your own posts? Why?
Not after they've been published. I've deleted many drafts. Because they were stupid or written while I was in a weird or ranting mood, mostly.

8. Do you delete mean comments?
I kind of thrive on mean comments, actually. I've had my share from Anonymous (the mean one, you know him/her?). I publish them, then I write scathing responses. It's fun, because I'm very nonconfrontational in real life. It's kind of an outlet, kind of like telling somebody off in a dream. It just feels better afterwards.

9. If your readers knew you in person, would they like you more or like you less?
I would hope they like me more. If they even like the "blog me" in the first place.

10. How many blogs do you follow?
All the ones in my family & friends sidebar. I honestly know every single one of those people (ok, I've never actually met Jenny), and I can't believe how many people in my life have blogs! It's so great. Thankfully, not everyone updates every day, or I'd waste a lot of time.

11. Which blogger do you want to meet in real life?
The girl who writes Oh Happy Day. I just can't imagine someone who has time for all the lovely things she does.

12. Does your family read your blog?
Yes. That's why I do it!

13. Do you have a hit counter? How often do you check it?
I just installed a new one, because my old one was broken, but I didn't notice it was broken for months. I've only checked the new one like twice. I don't think I fully understand the website, so I can't get any really fun details.

14. Is blogging narcissistic?
Totally. That's why I've had issues with it.

15. Do you feel guilty when you don't post for a long time?
No, but I miss getting comments. They're the only emails I get. (waaah)

Bonus: Do you try to look hot when you go to the grocery store just in case someone recognizes you from your blog?
I always look hot when I go to the grocery store.

Now you do it!

I have a button!

LINDSEY!! You rock. And I don't even really know you, but we share an affinity for Cooking Light, I secretly want your husband's librarian job, and I love that your precious little boy is named Fritz. So you're way cool in my book, or on my blog, I mean.

But even more cool is Lindsey, (backwards talk I) because she made me my own, very perfect and much-desired little flowerchain BUTTON!

Look how cute! My new friend, Lindsey, even put it in her sidebar. I'm off to put it on my other blog! Hooray!

Sidebar Highlights

I don't feel much like blogging. Neal's out of town again, and just had to extend his stay, we're eating cereal and chicken nuggets for dinner,* and I'm not fixing my hair until Sunday. This is not all because Neal is out of town, of course, although that would be awfully nice of me to say, I just have a case of the blahs. So here are a few recent noteworthy posts from some of my favorite blogs:

My brother, Elliott, found us some bumper stickers.

My other brother, Matt, looks cool surfing.

My grandparents are both gorgeous, and they met Mitt Romney.

Darling little Sophie P. got a haircut.

Natalie wrote the most clever little Easter Saturday post.

Mabel looks like she had a bad night.

Mimi can create a really incredible floral arrangement, because she's cool like that.

Emmaline & Savannah are smart girls.

Jeff & Kelly's little Gavin has a serious tan.

Mrs. Dub's blog gets a little crazy sometimes, like on Tuesdays.

Motherhood looks really good on Annette, even the third time around.

Audra has three boys, so she knows all about dirt.

Mindy has some rules about sandals. You need to sign this.

Judy takes some seriously beautiful photographs.

Angie's little boy is learning Jamaican. Is Jamaican a language?

Lindsey took some really pretty pictures at a really pretty wedding.

And, last of all, you need to make this for dessert this week. It's super yummy and easy.

Hooray for blogs!

*although I did fulfill my goal of making real meals this week, including this and some gnocchi involving this. All delish & worth a try at your house. Otherwise I wouldn't post them.

You Will Blog-Surf

Today is a big long stay-at-home-and-get-better-while-it-rains-outside day. Parker is doing a lot better, coughing a bit to get rid of the yucky stuff, and chillin' in his PJs. Since I can't think of anything creative to say, I thought I would share some links to some of my favorite recent posts from OTHER peoples' blogs! Plus, it's kind of fun for me to track my relation (or lack thereof) to these people! Have fun, if you haven't seen these yet:

My little Audrey likes to play the piano.

Parker loves superheroes like Superman.

My elder bro, Elliott posted this, which I find extremely hilarious, especially if you're a Mormon.

My sister, Stephanie, is a really good mom.

You have got to see my brother, Lincoln, bust a move.

My other sis, Julianne, takes incredible photographs of her world travels. See them here and here.

Ginger, my sister-in-law, is pregnant and weepy.

My friend, Natalie, will make you a better person.

Oh dear, my friend Mrs. Dub is funny.

Sometimes, my old roommate Rachel, gets really bored.

My parents took on an epic cruise across the North Atlantic from Denmark to NYC.

Neal's sister, Charlotte, is writing a book for girls about a young girl who converts to Mormonism in the early years of the Church. Oh, and her super hip yet classy house is going to be on HGTV.

My brother's sister-in-law, Jenny's little boy is so glad he doesn't have to give birth.

Ginger's sister, Judy, takes really beautiful pictures and so I'm really sad we don't live by her in California anymore.

My friend Audra makes really pretty scrapbook pages!

My other friend, Tara, has a dramatic little girl on her hands.

My old roomie, Kristen, who is pregnant, almost threw up in church.

I don't know this girl, but I like her blog and she is related to Mrs. Dub. And her 4-year-old drank beer. This post is funny, too.

My Blog is 100!

I just noticed that this is my 100th blog entry! Isn't that exciting? My little blog is growing up so quickly. :) I should do something really special for it for it's birthday, but I'm just going to post pictures of our weekend instead. I'm just not that creative. Plus, sometimes my blog (blogger) makes me mad, maybe it shouldn't have a party.

We went to this place called Bounce U, because I promised Parker we would go for his birthday. It's a big, air-conditioned indoor place with all sorts of bouncy equipment. Pa and Parker had fun on the slide.

Audrey and Parker needed a rest after about 12 times up and down the slide.

We got some water balloons at the grocery store today. The kids were very patient while Neal filled them up.

And then they had fun throwing them! Audrey's soccer jersey: a little on the big side.

A blog.

Okay, I feel like I am in very foreign territory creating this blog, but, alas, we must all join the century sooner or later, and I think this is a great first step!

Thank you to Stephanie and Ginger, my domestic and technological inspirations. I strive to be like both of you in so many ways!

I hope this little blog can help you get through your days just as encouragement from my sisters in the world helps me get through mine. I've called it flowerchain because making flower necklaces, crowns, and all manner of other accessories with weed flowers on the playground in my youth holds such fond memories for me. My little Audrey and I have had several chances to make these same little treasures and I cherish those little moments as treasures themselves. Flower chains remind me of all things lovely and simple, and those are the best kinds of things.