oz

safe and sound at the emerald city, despite all the lions and tigers and bears (and a very wicked witch)! oh my!

happy halloween!

i'll get you, my pretty...

and your little dog, too.

notice the pigeon toes? runs in the family...

primary program

about a month ago nash received his assignment for the ward primary program:

"when i serve my family, i serve god. i can serve my family by _________."

he learned his line in just a few minutes and i'd periodically test him until the time came for him to actually perform. he would change the ending around, sometimes saying things as simple as "being nice," and sometimes he'd go into a lot of detail and list all the chores he could ever do. i was so sure he was going to get up there and wow everyone (not even the eight-year-olds had their lines memorized). first, we filmed a little trial run in the hallway:



then it was time for the actual program. we were't allowed to film, which is really sad because this kid put on quite a show. i was rolling. and just a tiny bit embarrassed. (and why was i the only mom in the room that was laughing/crying?) nash looked like maybe he had a few screws loose up there. rather than sing, he rose up and down on his toes with his arms rising straight out in front of him. over. and over. and over. to the beat. he did sing the last few lines of "follow the prophet." problem was that he sang it louder than all the other children combined and straight into the ear of the kid next to him. "HE KNOWS THE WAAAAAAAY!!!!!"

finally, it was time for him to recite his line from the pulpit. the kid just couldn't hack it. he was so distracted by all the faces looking at him that all he managed to mutter out was something like "serve god...family...do dishes," and then he ran away.

i'm just proud of him for getting up there and doing it at all. i'm still terrified of speaking and have been avoiding the bishop like the plague so i don't get asked to speak!

way to go, mashy bay!

can i get a woot, woot?!

did you know...

• stevie bevie passed the nevada bar! we can now officially call him stevie bevie, esquire. 
• the kids think that dad is a "liar." because it's hard to pronounce "lawyer" when you're 2.33 and 3.83 years old.
• i think dad is a superhero. can i brag for a minute? i know it's annoying sometimes, but really, he doesn't get enough credit for all the things he accomplishes. top 10%, order of the coif, highest honors, editor in chief of the environmental law journal, jackie chiles president (okay that one didn't take a lot of effort. how does the beeves always manage to become the president of the most ridiculous clubs on campus? remember how he was the BYU BBQC president? what? you don't know what that is? it's the barbecue club, silly. the one that served up burgers once a quarter for $1 (and grilled cheese on a bun for girlfriends for free ;). and that's all they did! which is probably why the club no longer exists...but still. he was the PRESIDENT!!!), a gazillion cali awards (for top grade in a class), and finally, the most-hours-of-tv-watched-by-a-law-student award. 

okay, i made that last one up. 

let's here it for stevie bevie!!!

*the above photos were taken just moments after stevie bevie, esquire was sworn in by the judge he is currently clerking for. haven was, obviously, thrilled to be in attendance.

the great pumpkin patch

last year around this time we pretty much knew we'd be living in vegas in a year. so when alison posted about their pumpkin patch trip (here), i was just a little depressed. okay, really depressed. but we got lucky and we happen to live a stone's throw from a pretty cute little (overpriced) pumpkin patch. so...we took a little family trip tonight.





despite the fact that she has been a not-so-happy girl the past few days, haven put on a pretty good show for the camera:


nash filled the wheelbarrow with pumpkins we had absolutely no intention of purchasing. total cost of the pumpkins in this wheelbarrow: $35 (what?!?!)


then the cousins came and the party began. (this may be the cutest cousin picture ever).


there were lots of fun rides as long as you had parents who were kind enough to buy some "took-its" for you. these kids were pretty darn lucky. swings first.

having fun...


looking good...


oh, no! haven is usually our thrill-seeking child, but for some reason tonight she looked like this:


and she obviously felt like this:


after the swings came the bouncy house castle followed by the teacup knockoff...


i thought i'd take haven on the teacups, but after we buckled her in she started to freak out. steve took a picture and cut her out of it because she was crying. so haven and i got out before the ride even started, which is a really good thing because four hours later and my head is still spinning just from watching the ride!

i guess that makes me a bad mom for documenting the cutest tantrum she's ever had (below). all she wanted was "tickets to the castle, mom"! (she ends every sentence/question/request with "mom" right now and it's so cute + maybe a little annoying.)




aaaand, it actually felt like fall tonight!!! cool and breezy. dark, beautiful skies. couldn't have asked for a better evening.

i want to go to there

naomi (my sister-in-law) just posted this picture. this is where i grew up. good ol' franklin, pennsylvania. it's fall there (like, real fall). and it's applefest weekend. this is always a hard time for me to be away from "home." but this year it's just a little harder since i'm in the desert and there is absolutely nothing to hint toward it being fall here. except the pumpkin patch down the road and the thunder that woke me up from my nap today. it got me a little excited, but it's not enough.

i am homesick.

drat.

edited to add: come on, people. i already said i like it here (in las vegas), right? a girl can wish she was home (where she grew up, where the majority of her memories took place, where her family lives) one weekend a year, can't she? i didn't say i want to move there or live there or that i am unhappy here. geeze. and now i'll crawl back in my non-blogging hole ;)

brynnlee

this is my mom's cousin's newest addition (i have no idea what that makes her in relation to myself. second cousin once removed?). isn't she perfect? those lips! those eyes! her little chin and that ear. seriously, i could devour her. and, to make it all better, she was the best. baby. ever. she opened her eyes a few times, but never a cry.