when you're brennan {ABCD}

when you're teacher asks you to write the alphabet 

for your year end book of progress,

and you're brennan.

and it's just too boring to write them plain.

so you have to jazz them up.

he told me they were aliens.

and he was gonna do a different alien for every letter.

except one was gonna be an astronaut.

just bring it on already

brennan's piano teacher was telling me that another gal in our neighborhood 

had this hilarious analogy about school being out for the summer.

how it's like being pregnant.

at the end.

and how you're just SO done being pregnant.

and even though you KNOW it's gonna be rough

and exhausting

and overwhelming once that baby's out,

but you're just SO DONE being pregnant that you're all,

"just bring it on!!!"

you know,

like the end of school in may.

and wanting school to be done.

and out!

'cause ya just can't handle may and school anymore!

and for summer to be here.

even if that means school is out.

and even though you KNOW it's gonna be rough

and exhausting

and overwhelming once that school is out.

just bring in on already.

'cause summa is calling!

and it's gonna be great:)

'cause you've just reached that point 

where you've made peace with the fact that you're schedule's gonna change,

and you're ready for it.

"hanna BE-nana"

"hanana BE-nana" helped max make peace with soccer.

and now she loves it.

who knew?

there's nothing better than a good friend who's there to hold your hand when you're nervous.

nothing:)

well 5 of them at least

millions of peaches,

peaches for me.

GROWIN' ON MY PEEEEEEAAAAAACH TREEEEE!!!!

well, 5 of them at least.

letters to Emily {France, Mother's Day, & Loving my Boys}

 Dearest Emily,

I love your letters.  Especially the last one!  I am so glad Mama Smailes' special mother-mental powers came in handy.  She has a  sixth sense to mothers, I swear.  And OH what a day.  All I could think of reading that last letter was, "How does Emily have all that energy?"  Then maybe I have days where others think the same.  Us mothers.  Survivors. Thrivers.  

We went to France for Mothers day weekend!  It was fantastic.  We went to the Vosges mountain region, and it was so beautiful.  We stayed at a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere with no internet access.  I loved every second of it.  Fire place going every evening, cowbells on the mountain side, wind rushing through the trees.  It was amazing.  Not having the internet for the weekend made me appreciate how simple life can be sometimes, also how much the internet has helped connect us to our love ones as well.  I love and hate the internet.  But I am using it right now, so I can't complain too much.  The picture of me sitting on our window seal at the cabin we stayed in was a wonderful moment for me.  My boys (including Bryce)  were all sleeping, so I made myself a cup of tea and sat in the window seal looking out at the trees swaying the wind.  It was such a peaceful moment.  My family safe and sound, in their beds.  I reflected on how much I need these beautiful souls in my life.  Someone I know once said, "I don't think needing someone is a necessity in this life."  I feel sad for them, because I need the savior first, and second I need these cute boys I take care of everyday.  I loved having a vacation with my family.  I think vacations help you realize how much you love being with each other.  And how special  your family is an individual family.  Smith is so normal to us that I forget when people stare or look at us funny that they may not be used to a handicap boy, that's okay.  I don't mind.  France was magical and so wonderful.  Bryce and I freaked out when we saw a parking lot!  And a strip mall.  We thought we were in little America.  We even saw doritos.  It was trippy.  I loved crossing the border and hearing a completely different language.  And it's only 3 hours from where we live!  It was so much fun. 

Bryce walked in last night with limp and said, "ummmm, I think your going to be mad."  He got a torn ligament in his ankle from playing basketball.  Lame.  I feel bad for him, and that means put your shoulder to the wheel for me.  He usually does breakfast for everyone, and takes Smith down to his bus.  So I got Smith ready and made breakfast.  I took Smith down to his Bus, and then Bear decided to have a whine at mommy all day long day.  Let's just say I was so happy to get him to bed and get some time to exhale. 

Anyway,  I hope you have a great week, and I loved reading your letters!!!

love love love

Beth

luh-you papi

happy happy 

to my dreamboat pops!

luh-you papi;)

           

i love that man i call sean {mother's day}

{i didn't take a single picture yesterday. how is that even possible???}

...

"nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing 

unless it means effort, pain, difficulty...

i have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. 

i have envied a great many people 

who led difficult lives and led them well." 

-theodore roosevelt

...

my peaks of mother's day:

max waking me up with "happy mother's day! you're the best mommy in the whole world!", followed by a kiss on the cheek and a great big hug. the best part was that sean was still fast asleep. she remembered what day it was all on her own, and it was the first thing she did right when she got out of bed.
best mother's present ever.

sean staying up until after midnight the night before chopping cheese, hicama, oranges, and avocadoes while he blended his homemade cilantro orange citrus salad dressing. which might i add was the best dang salad i've ever had. even my kids had two helpings each. the filet mignons he grilled out back were just icing on the cake. except really, the icing on the cake was his homemade chocolate drizzle over a triple chocolate bundt cake. the only cake i like. {i'm not a cake person, except when it comes to this cake.}

breakfast in bed. my kids always end up eating most of it because they're there all excited to "be-prize me" {surprise me} and haven't eaten anything yet themselves. imagine 3 little birdies in a nest with me and a fork, balancing orange juice and hot chocolate like a teeter totter on my lap. it's hilarious and i love it! sean shews them off after about half of my food is eaten and 2/3rd of my drinks are gone. it works out pretty great.

eating chocolates during sunday school from a little green box that said "happy mother's day" on it.

watching pretty little liars in my room for two hours in my bed all by myself after church:)
yep, i did. i have no shame.
and i'm always scared of the dark after.
actually i'm even scared when the sun is out. i'm such a whimp with murder mysteries.
oh the thrill!!!

getting homemade mother's day gifts from my children at church.

sean doing my job all day long.

having the most glorious dinner prepared by the loving hands of sean.

sean telling me he's ready for me to have my job back, that i'm the most amazing woman in the entire world, and how do i do what i do AND have friends over to play at the same time too? 

it pretty much made me feel awesome:)

my pits of mother's day:

a cold fast shower. we spent too much time gabbing with our own mothers and grandmothers on the phone and ran out of time, so i had to shower at the same time as the kids, and our water heater is pretty much pathetic. i knew i was doomed from the start. it was fine.

brennan yelling he hated me during sacrament meeting because i wouldn't let him go play in the bench across the aisle with cade. then crawling under the pew in front of us and kicking the bottom with angry eyes, then crawling under our pew and worming his way out into the aisle to see cade anyway, 

and then crawling back under the pew in front of us and kicking it even harder until sean finally had to carry him out like a toddler. it was so special.

max told me she wasn't going to be my kid anymore because i wouldn't let her go over to sit with cassie during sacrament meeting. basically the swensen family bench is like disneyland, and apparently we are great america. ok, maybe we're just the quarter rides at the mall. it was just one of "those church days."

chase running down the hall at church chasing max, only to have someone open the door and smack him in the face full steam ahead, at which point he flew a foot in the other direction. it was so so sad.

...

if life were easy, it wouldn't be hard.

-sheri dew

best job in the whole entire world:)

i love this life.

i love these kids.

and i love that man i call sean.

amen.

he can grill a steak like nobody's business!

happy mother's day to all of my mothers!

mostly, she just likes the outfit.

max's first soccer game was basically this:)

crying on the sidelines scared to death to step foot on the field.

and then holding daddy's hand to go in for a few minutes here and there,

sobbing the entire time while she made a valiant effort to chase the ball around the field.

sobbing.

it was actually really funny.

sad for her.

funny for us.

mostly,

she just wanted to wear the pink socks and soccer shoes i think.

just like her mama;)

i always loved dressing up for the part,

but when it came time to do it,

i'd really rather just look cute in the outfit!

ain't no shame max,

ain't no shame!

better luck on saturday?

we shall see.

it's the hard knock life for me.

dear Home Depot of Sandy,

My 2 yr old ate this package of pumpkin seeds today 

while i pushed my cart through the outside garden aisles

of your store.

my favorite place to go this time of year!

he didn't even spit the paper out.

he swallowed it like a delicious chick fil-a nugget,

as i perused the lilac bushes and hanging flower baskets.

and then he ate a few seeds,

and a bag full of popcorn that the free estimate people were giving out.

pure heaven!

just as he was about to dump the rest of the pumpkin seed packet contents all over the floor in front of the bird feeders,

i put this half eaten package of seeds into my purse right on top, to salvage whatever was left of my future jack o'lanterns,

FULLY INTENDING to have the package scanned at checkout.

and then tonight while sitting at red lobster with the best looking man in the joint,

it came to me:

i never paid for the package of pumpkins still residing in my purse beside me.

a criminal over $1.59.

dang it!!!

that's what i shouted out 

over a dr. pepper and a basket of red lobster rolls tonight.

and i just wanted to let you know,

i'll be in tomorrow to square things up.

and also, i might buy some marigolds.

my apologies,

hard knock crimal

...

P.S.

my iphone camera is broken.

or maybe i just need an update?

so i can only take backwards pictures through my instagram app,

and so everything is showing up backwards.

i can hardly wait for the birdies to come:)

don't worry about what the others are doing. {the time we took 9 six year olds to the LEGO movie.}

one time, my friends helped me take 9 six year olds to the LEGO movie.

and we survived:)

in fact, it was awesome.

EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME!

because we were part of a team.

are you singing yet?

me too.

the 3rd grade teacher in me came out.

i lined those boys up like baby chicks behind me,

and we walked through that theater like champs with everyone carrying their mugs of sodas.

i spent the rest of the movie refilling bags of popcorn and running people to the potty.

it was awesome!

everything was awesome!

everything is cool when you're part of a team:)

bounce in your seat while you sing.

thank you team.

one grown up per row.

and a runner.

that was me.

and then we put lego candles in a donut for brennan to blow out,

and everyone else chowed down on their pick of chocolate or glazed.

WITH

sprinkles:)

...

things i learned 

while watching 

THE LEGO MOVIE

1. don't worry about what the others are doing. 

you must embrace what is special about you.

2. look at what you did when you believed you were special. 

you just need to believe.

3. you are THE SPECIAL.

4. you become what you pay attention to.

5. it's yours to design.

6. live the fullest expression of yourself.

7. also, forget the instruction manual. 

except don't throw it away. 'cause sometimes ya need it.

...

remember that stuff brennan.

remember that stuff;)

happy 6th.

love,

mom