"i think this was a bad idea." -emily

emily-"i think this was a bad idea." 

sean-"i was afraid of this."

{talking about splurging and putting lights on our rose tree.}

...

after 3 years we've finally got the charm.

putting up christmas lights on one of the warmest days in november.

65* folks!

SIXTY-FIVE DEGREES!!!

IN NOVEMBER!

this my friends is the secret to putting up your christmas lights when you live in utah.

no more waiting until after thanksgiving in the freezing cold.

no more shaking in our boots while i tell sean that the part over there looks a little droopy over the garage, 

and could he please straighten it out?

at which point he lovingly and without any hint of irritation in his voice 

scoots over to my directed spot,

and straightens said spot out with so much love and care.

ummm, yeah.

not how it goes at your house either?

well, i'm pleased to announce that this year 

was without with very little aggravation! 

and

we even splurged on a few extra areas of emphasis.

all because our buns were not freezing 

in the blustering winds of the after thanksgiving november utah weather:)

{to all of you that are at this very moment torn up inside and beside yourselves

that we are breaking the code of after thanksgiving rituals,

be calm, and be of good cheer.

i vow to you that we will not turn them on until after thanksgiving. 

or until it snows and i feel ever so inclined. phew.}

also the fall november sun was setting behind us.

and it was

the most beautiful 

fall november utah sunset 

i had ever seen 

in 

my 

entire 

life.

and i stood there blinking, 

thinking my eyes were teasing me.

no! eluding me!

in their exhaustion of what was my saturday.

because the sky looked like there was a filter over it.

like someone had perfectly painted 

the most beautifully colored brush strokes

in the sky.

a mural staring down upon us.

like nothing i had ever seen before.

and i would take a picture,

and another,

and another,

and then i would stand there and yell to sean and the kids to come back out

because they just had to see it one more time!

and every picture was not nearly as amazing as what i was seeing in front of my eyes.

and brennan was all, "we saw it mom. it's beautiful! really, it's great!"

but i just couldn't get over it.

even now,

i'm thinking about how it was one of those sunsets i will never forget.

and also,

i'm thinking about how stringing those extra christmas lights around our outside banister and rose tree 

was totally worth all of the hassle.

and about how putting up christmas lights is mostly like running.

like running 4 miles in one direction 

out on a long stretch of idaho black paved highway,

{rexburg 2007, the teton DAM half marathon}

and every step that you're taking in one direction,

you're going to have to turn around and take again to get back home.

and i was all,

"sean, putting up lights is like running."

but not in a serious way,

and not in a joking way,

just in a conversation way.

like the kind of conversation you have 

when you're standing around putting up christmas lights with your husband.

and your kids are playing in the dirt and pulling your flowers out and stuff.

and he was like,

"ummmm sure..."

and so i said,

"cause you have to put them on,

and you know you're going to have to take them down,

like when you're running back."

and at this point i know he's laughing at me inside b/c of how he's smiling at me,

and i'm also laughing too.

because i'm crouching under and in and out of branches,

and i know i'm lookin a little crazy,

weaving the strands back and forth,

under and over,

with twigs falling on me,

crap getting scrappy and stuck all over the dang place,

getting stuck in my hair and on my sweater set!

and THEN the thorns from the rose bush poked me in my bum.

RUUUUUUDE.

and my neighbor drove by and was like,

"yeah we did that one year,

and then never again."

and i was like,

"yeah, we were just saying this was a bad idea."

{wave and smile},

and then i told sean maybe we won't ever do this again either.

and i thought,

man it would be nice to pay someone to do this.

but then 

when we were done,

i was like,

"this was a great idea!!! we should do this every year!"

and sean was like,

"these actually look nice!"

and i could feel the excitement for christmas deep down inside of my spirit!

creeping in and getting warmed up all around us.

and i declared that it was

most

CERTAINLY,

completely,

and totally

worth it!

except then i started thinking about running again,

and about how the running back sometimes isn't as fun as the running out.

ESPECIALLY 

if you're a really naive runner,

and you're not experienced enough to know about the coming back,

so you just sit into your run, and you think you can feel this high forever.

and then i told sean,

"maybe we could just cut them all out of the tree and rebuy them next year.

because i don't want to spend a half an hour taking these down in the freezing cold winter."

and sean was all, 

"no, i'll just rip 'em all out really fast."

and i was like,

"ok maybe it's not like running. but it kind of is."

and then we went inside and talked about how really really nice they looked.

and i felt so excited for the snow to come,

and the christmas music to be playing in my house,

and the tree to be going up,

and how totally, 

certainly, 

and completely 

worth it 

it was to string those 600 lights up

on the outside front banister and rose tree.

also,

that we're going to need to buy more lights for the christmas tree.

b/c after we put them up,

we realized that's where the extra lights came from.

oh christmas tree! oh christmas tree!

the end.

NO FILTER YO.

this is sort of about taco soup {sort of}

i think the thing that i love most 

about living in a place 

where the seasons change 

is that i'm constantly changing.

changing what i wear.

what i make for dinner.

what music i listen to.

you know,

how the dark comes sooner in the winter,

and stays away longer in the summer.

getting used to those sort of things.

and it's like you're getting together with an old friend.

one you haven't talked to in awhile.

when you're getting into changing.

like making taco soup.

after a long summer without it.

and while you've been gone,

and they've been

you've changed a bit.

so when you come back,

you've got lots to tell.

lots to talk about.

and there's a type of visiting 

with your old self and new self that you do.

and it's great.

it's just great.

the taco soup too.

taco soup

1lb hamburger, browned

1 can {15 oz} kindey beans, with liquid

1 can corn, shoepeg {any kind would work}, with liquid

2 cans {16oz} tomatoes, crushed

1/3 cup salsa

2 tsp chili powder

dash of garlic salt

dash of onion salt

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, 

avocados, and fritos chips or cornbread.

mariah carey lives {VEGAS}

{paige, me, aj, & jackie}

...

16 things i learned 

in vegas:

1. go go dancers are the same thing as strippers,

no matter what Caesar's palace and jackie say.

2. staying up until 3am every night IS actually possible at the age of almost 31,

just as long as you don't have to wake up with three children at 7am.

3. sleeping until 10am IS actually possible, even when you're not a teenager.

especially after you've stayed up until 3am.

i know, it surprised me too.

4. looking at old pictures from high just might make a lady pee her pants.

what, it wasn't me.

5. also, you might be horrified at some of the things you did in high school.

ehem.

6. good friends 15 years ago=out of the ball park amazing friends STILL 15 years later:)

7. paige sample hutcherson is by far the best story teller on the face of the planet.

especially in a hot tub.

no bubbles, too loud.

8. beaver, utah has the nicest gas station bathrooms of all time.

also, you can buy fried liver and gizzards.

we did not.

and you can take a picture with a beaver.

and buy your friends bumper stickers they might like.

9. imitation is the best form of flattery.

we love you shania.

also, paige is a sexy horse.

10. there is a $1,000 ice cream sundae at serendipity 3 on the strip.

i can think of 5 billion other things i'd rather spend $1,000 on.

11. it's still just as fun to take pictures in front of stupid stuff as it was in high school.

we looked through about a million pictures 

of us doing the same thing as we did in this picture below back when we were in high school.

neigh horsie.

you're still the one.

12. red rock canyon is just about the most beautiful place i never knew existed,

AND it showed everyone what a big wimp i am.

also, that i'm a worrier.

and jackie has no fear of death.

aj doesn't either.

i was a nervous wreck for parts of it.

and where was my ladder anyway???

13. paige is a slammin' yoga teacher.

and the one where you lay down flat out on your back 

in the middle of red rock canyon

was my favorite.

14. also, i breathe in deep,

and sometimes i breathe out shallow.

dang it.

i vow to focus on more even breathes yogi paige.

scout's honor.

whatev's!

15. never reheat your pizza in a microwave ever again.

EVER!

broil high.

5 minutes.

do this after you've cooked it the first time too.

LIFE CHANGING!!!

16. and last, 

but certainly NOT LEAST...

after almost 10 years, 

and what i thought would be lost forever!!!

i am pleased to announce that...

wait for it...

.

.

.

.

wait for it...

.

.

.

.

wait foooooorrrrrr iiiiiitttttttt.......

.

.

.

my california accent is baaaaaaaaaack!

what once was lost.

has now been found.

GLORY BE!!!

it's like coming home again:)

{i give it a week. sigh.}

{thank you ladies. it was just like riding a bike.}

VEGAS OR BUST.

{in the mini van.}

{b/c less money in the tank means more money in the wallet.}

 p.s. 

mariah carey lives. 

her name is also paige.

BEHOLD...

{the end.}