Hot Fudge & Nail Polish

I don't have cute feet.

Since I was little I have complained about my toe length.
Or should I say LACK of toe length.
And my 2nd toe is way taller than my big toe...what's with that?
And my feet are wide.
So, all in all my feet are BLOCKS.
What's more, I have blisters and my little toenail is deformed from sports.
To this day my little brother teases me about my "slug" toes.

But when I was a teenager, my wise momma said...
"Who gave you those feet?
Do you think you could sprint as well with different feet?
Do you think you could flip (gymnastics) as well with different feet?
Do you think you could run down a tennis ball as well with different feet?"
And as wise moms often do, she said...
"You should be thankful you even HAVE feet!"

This week started out stinky.
And it just got worse.
And yesterday I had a headache because of stress.
At one point, I happened to look down at my feet.
My tired, torn up, gnarly feet.
I felt like crying.

COLOR!
CLIPPING!
BUFFING!
What strange words, but they SHOUTED in my head.

Get ready for this confession, cause it may just knock your socks off!
(no pun intended)
I have NEVER in my life had a pedicure.
Why spend money on not pretty feet?

COLOR!
CLIPPING!
BUFFING!
Those words echoed in my mind over and over again.

SOOOOO....guess what I did today?


BRIGHT ORANGE WITH PREEEETY FLOWERS!!

Yep, those are my feet.
I am proud to have feet.
Blocky, blistery, bright, cheery orange-toed feet!

I can't stop smiling.
I feel better.
Oh, and on the way home I treated myself to one of these...

Hot fudge is good.
And it tastes even better when you have orange toes.
Oh I kid you not.
It really truly does.

chore?

There is a "chore" that I actually steal from my kids.
Their dad expects them to do it, and most of the time they do.
But if I have time...I will tell them to please let me finish it up.
They are excused.
I kick them off.
Because it's MY turn.

I'm talking about a lawn mower.

We live on an acre, and a lot of that is grass.
It is beautiful and park-like, and we love playing
wiffle-ball, frisbee, croquet, football and horseshoes among other things on that grass.

The kids might groan and complain about the time it takes to mow it,
but not me.

Tonight I excused my oldest, and hopped on the mower.
I had a stressful day, and I wanted downtime.
The mower is a PERFECT way to unwind!
With my ipod on, I can turn it up and croon out loud to the likes of
Sum 41, Alison Krauss, and the Jonas Brothers
(yes, we have quite a mix thanks to the picks of ALL members of the family).
I rock out in my seat and no one can tell me to be quiet because the mower is louder than me.

I mow around the tree garden and my nostrils fill with the scent of marigolds.
For some reason, I LOVE the smell of marigolds...earthy.

I'm on that mower for over an hour, and when I am not inhaling and singing to my heart's content, I might be planning the next days activities in my head.
Or I will notice the rose gardens need deadheading.
It makes me smile to watch the quail family run from their hideout
under our cedar tree as I mow past them.
I've been known to use this time to have conversations with my Heavenly Father, offering up prayers of thanks or perhaps in supplication.

I love it when the sky turns pink, and the dogs chase me a bit.
Often I will scoop one of them up and let them ride with me a while.
Sometimes it's my youngest daughter who wants to ride,
and she will sit by my feet with one arm wrapped around each of my legs.
We mow in silence, and contentment.

A mindless chore.
A chore that forces me to SIT.
A chore that allows me to think and imagine and plan and pray.

And how could anyone groan about that?

homegrown.

TODAY WE PICKED...

MMMMMMM.

"thecousins"

Isn't Wyoming beautiful?
Those mountains...

And here are "thecousins".
They're beautiful too. Don't ya think?


The boys hiked Heart Mountain...what a view!
And what a climb.

The girls fed peanuts to the chipmunks.
They were DELIGHTED!



Watch out, she's going to eat your scrumptious apple turnover!!


Fun days. Loved walking around together.


Dizzy kids at the park.

Trev kayaking at Yellowtail.
He's cute.



But he can't just paddle around.
That would be too boring.

A free facial!
That red clay beach does wonders for your complexion.



This is sassy kayaking.
Right Kris?



Good thing we had some peanuts left.
These chipmunks at a Montana rest stop befriended us in a heartbeat.




Goodbye for now Wyoming.
...Until next trip!