Small Towns

Small towns are good for the soul

Things I Love

 I love anything lemon!  Lemonade, lemon cookies, lemon cake.  I must have some sort of citrus deficiency. 

I love weekends.

I love when we all sleep in til 9:30.

I love going hiking.

I love watching Brad teach Clark to be brave and adventurous.

....a little too adventurous.  I was just waiting for Clark to fall and break something.

I love the red mesas.

I love that anytime we go anywhere outdoors, the boys come home with pockets full of rocks.

I love the song 'Team' by Lorde more than I should admit.

I love when Brad buys me a club sandwich from Inside Scoop for lunch

I love when Brad takes me for rides to take pictures with my glorious camera

I love taking family pictures.  Not because taking family pictures is enjoyable or anything, but because I LOVE seeing old family pictures from both mine and Brad's families. Or grandparents and great-grandparents family pictures.  Even people I don't really know.  I just love seeing the way that families grow and change.  So I love the thought of looking at these photos 50 years from now, or even Clark and Kalvin looking at them when they are old.

I love Sunday

I love the face that Brad makes when he thinks that you are kinda funny, but kinda stupid.

I love that even though its February, this valley has decided that it is Spring

I love how the valley smells as the winter wears off -- the alfalfa field smell!

I love that we are already back in shorts and t-shirts.

I love what good buddies these two are.

I love watching these boys play.

Especially when its with their Dad.

I love that Clark and Kalvin both have blankets that they cant live with out.  Clark's is one that Brad won in a school contest as a kid and was falling apart, so Brad's Mom sewed a new back on it and Clark loves it to pieces.  Kalvin's is a pink kitty blanket that my Grandma Merkley made and gave to us when Kalvin was born, because she got us confused with a cousin who had a baby girl close to the same time and thought Kal was a girl.  Doesn't bother Kalvin.  He cant be without his kitty blanket.

I love listening to the boys play 'I Spy'.

I love these two in basket ball shorts.

I love Sunday dinners.

I love when family comes to visit.

I love this chubby baby girl.

I love that I can bug Emily with any and all photography questions.

I love animal faces on the bums of baby jammies.

I love seeing my babies holding babies.

And I love that anything small reminds them of Brielle.  A bug - Brielle.  A baby animal - Brielle.  A small apple slice - Brielle.  A small toy or book - Brielle.  Its hilarious.

I love watching Clark help Grandpa with his boots.

I love when the kids are crazy and rambunctious.

I love when the boys wear beanies that are too big for their heads.

I love when Brad has jury duty, texts me and asks me if I think that a 'jury box selfie' would be inappropriate and then gets dismissed and gets home at like 2:00 in the afternoon on a Tuesday, so he takes me and the kids for a ride in the Viking.

I love exploring new trails.

I love getting new shoes that are so comfortable they feel like I'm walking on clouds.

I love Clarky's hat-hair.

I love my incredibly comfortable blink 182 sweat shirt.

I love that when Kalvin is upset, he use to always say 'I never get what I want', but now has shortened it to 'I never'.  So now every time he is upset and crying, he just shouts 'I never' and sounds super fancy and old-school british. 

I love Red Rock and all of the memories of family picnics that come back to me when I'm there.

I love getting Clark to show off his muscles.

I love the feel of the freezing cold sand.

I love these two boys.

I love everything that happens when this boy gets ahold of my camera.

I love all the pictures he takes.

And how serious he is about it.

I love this pretty  little valley we live in.

I love this man and how much he makes me laugh everyday.

I love going to visit G&G Merkley and getting to see Uncle David and going to eat at a 50's diner where Grandma insists that I have half of her chef salad to go with my waffle. 

I love that for some reason, Merkleys, including my Dad, love thousand island salad dressing.

I love that my Grandma calls suckers, 'all-day-lollis' and that she always has some in her pocket for the kids.... just like when I was a kid.

I love baby kisses and hugs.