today.

is this amazing lady's birthday.

my mom is my best friend in the whole entire world.
when i was up at school i had a really hard time begin away from her,
and i'm not looking forward to leaving and not having her around again.
my mother is everything that i hope to be when i grow up,
and i am so glad that i have her as an example.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMA!

randomness:

-both of my favorite work pants and my favorite work shoes all fell apart in the same day. those suckers have been with me for almost two years now. rest in peace, guys.

-when i found the first hole in one of my above-mentioned pants i thought it would be fine for a little while because it was on top of the pocket. after further inspection i realized that this hole was not on top of my pocket, i was just looking at my horribly pale leg. darn you, lack of pigment.

-i went to my old high school's basketball game the other day so that my mom didn't have to go alone. i forgot how much fun it was to cheer for your team and be slightly merciless to the other team. it made me miss high school just a little bit.

-my mom found ground turkey meatballs at the store this week. i will not go into details about how many of these delicious little devils i have consumed.

-i was at costco the other day, raiding every sample station i found, when i came upon a sample of vitamins! i went straight for the calcium vitamin (gotta build those bones, people) when the old lady behind the counter practically swatted my hand away and asked how old i was. i told her i was eighteen and she came back with "oh... people just look so young these days!" you had to be twelve to try the sample. TWELVE.

-after all of the ridiculous amounts of hype about pitch perfect, i finally watched it. the hype was for good reason, people. it was amazing. i haven't laughed that much at a movie in a long time.

-three cheers to february for being ridiculously short! 15 months left, heyoo!

strike two.

well, belgium. we meet again.

the day after i ranted about not getting a letter from belgium,
i finally got my letter.

lots of joy, yes?

well, then i opened my letter and found this inside. 

anne, what are you holding?
oh, let me zoom in further.

your eyes do not deceive you, folks.
that is indeed a disembodied spider-man figurine.
it was supposed to be a little action figure guy that stands on that little black stand.
BUT, it turned out to be:
an arm, a torso and a head, a leg and a stand.

dear belgium:
how did you get into my letter?
why would you break spider-man??
WHERE ARE HIS OTHER PARTS???
my obese mail-bringing walrus also turned out to be a thief.
strike two, belgium.


recent awesomeness:
-not getting a callback for the job i interviewed for, but that turning out to be a blessing in disguise because their manager was a little scary, and they would have forced me to work at least one sunday a month.

-jamming in the car with my dad to john mayor.

-having crazy blizzard conditions and getting let out from church an hour early.

-a little boy said the prayer today in class and the only word i could make out was "regret". the tough life of a three year-old.

walruses and airplanes.

picture an obese walrus.
now picture said walrus trying to travel up a giant hill.
now add that the hill is covered in tar.
i am pretty sure that the above mentioned walrus is carrying my letters to and from belgium, on account of that is how slow letters are getting to me.
i'm pretty ticked at that walrus.
(and belgium, for hiring such an unqualified walrus to carry my letters.)
everyone thinks that belgium is so great because they make waffles,
and although i will always make a case for waffles (they are delicious),
i'd still like to kick belgium in the kneecaps right about now.

464 days.
anne, why is dallin holding a five? i don't understand?
yeah, me either. join the club. maybe he is at an auction to buy a faster walrus? cross your fingers.


you know what is faster than walruses?
AIRPLANES.
and i will be waiting for one to get into the denver airport on may 3.

people. that is in 72 days.
i'm mildy freaking out.
72 DAYS.

random happenings:

-a little boy said to me yesterday, "my mom's birthday is the same as mine. i don't know what day her birthday is though."

-it is snowing rather hard outside right now. i was dreading scraping my car when i got off work but when i went outside i saw one of my co-workers scraping my car for me, even though he had to meet his girlfriend for dinner soon. there are still good people left in the world. thanks, c-swizzle!

-at church on sunday we were talking about our bodies and the things we are grateful for about our bodies. one of the leaders said to the kids "we sure are grateful for our bodies, huh?". one of the little boys in my class yelled back, "yeah! and for our butts!"

-out of the blue i got a call from a company that i had submitted an application to back in january. they asked if i could come in and interview to work a couple mornings a week. (i have an interview friday!) the best part? i would be working for dsw (designer shoe wear house). making extra money and getting a discount on shoes? yes please.

-a little girl at work yesterday asked me to come over to table to help her with something. when i got there i asked what she needed help with but instead of telling me what she needed she just started telling me a story. it went like this: "so on wonder pets yesterday the duck said to the guinea pig 'can we ride the roller coaster?' and the guinea pig said back 'heck yeah!' (at which point this little girl started laughing uncontrollably.) it was the funniest thing ever!!!!!!" this little girl didn't stop laughing for another good five minutes.

-i had the day off of work on monday, along with my mom. i got to spend the whole day shopping and talking with her. i seriously have the best mommy in the whole world, and i sure am grateful for her.

lately.

i know that everyone out there is saying
"anne. i need to know what is going on in your life. please tell me."
you gotta give the people what they want right?
so here for your enjoyment are some random moments in my life as of late.
(just a side note, i recently got called to be the lead sunbeam teacher, so i spend sunday through friday with children. hence the tons of children moments.)

-at work today a little girl told me "my dog is named princess. princess the wonder beagle."

-we were about to read a book at work yesterday that was called "diary of a worm" (which i highly recommend!) when the teacher asked if someone could explain what a diary is. a little girl eagerly shot her arm up, and then told even in explicit detail what diarrhea was. i seriously cannot remember the last time i laughed that hard.

-the other day i yelled "goodbye mr. andrew!" to a little boy. He yelled back "bye spider-girl!"
life. made. 

(can you tell i love my job?)

-i just got a whole bunch of cute new clothes, but on account of i never go anywhere except work i look exceptionally classy every saturday when i go to lunch with my parents.

-my friend jayna and i were entertaining our sunbeams with flowers that opened and closed with the touch of a button. while playing with my flower a little girl said "this flower is the color of pee! yellow!" kids are very observant these days.

-i have become weirdly obsessed with breakfast casserole.

-and this song. don't judge me. it is so darn catchy.

-i wear footie pajamas more than the average 2-month old.

-i always ask the people in the baby room at work if they want a break. it makes me look like a super nice person, but really it is just so i can cuddle with a baby for 10 minutes. oops.

-today at work i had a parent ask me where i got my winter jacket. i had to shamefully say that i got it from the children's section... this is my life.

-a new guy started at work this week. he guessed i was 21 and 5'4. i don't know whether he is blind or just nice, but i will take it.

-i really didn't want to do my homework for my child development class... until i saw that the chapter was on babies. i then studied it thoroughly.

-at work a couple days ago a little boy pushed a little girl down. i told him "you need to say you're sorry to her for pushing her down!" he looked her straight in the eyes and said "YOU'RE sorry."

i'd say i am one lucky fool to have the life i have right now.

lyle.

this is lyle.
over lots of stressful searching,
i finally found my perfect first car
and the best part?
he is all mine!
oh the adventures that await...
there is debate about whether i have gone driving just for the heck of it.
i love him already.

bacon.

bringin' it home, that is!
i started working at my old job this week,
and i have loved it.
i forgot how much i love the people i work with,
and those amazing little kids.

sometimes i feel like i have no idea what i am doing with my life.
(like right now).
but the second i pick up that first baby
or help a kid with a math problem
i remember that i am just supposed to be a mommy.
some women are meant to be astronauts or the president...
not me.
i am realizing that i am meant to:
-be constantly spit up on.
-change a million diapers a day.
-sing silly songs while dancing like a loon.
-rock little babies to sleep.
-ultimately, be a mommy.

some of my favorite things this week:
-"miss anne... come here." (i come there.) "i just wanted to tell you that you are beautiful."
-a 5 year old pointing out that you have the same jacket as her because you got yours in a child size.
-"miss anne i really like your earrings, they are just gorgeous! even if you didn't have them on, i would still know that you have gorgeous earrings at home."
-celebrating the first birthday of a little girl that you held a few weeks after she was born.
-people yelling your name down the hallway and running to hug you when they see that you are back.
-helping an 11 month old take some of his first steps.
-being thanked for knowing how to stack bowls correctly. (obviously one of my many skills.)
-watching a brother and sister hug each other through the fence during recess.

i just love being back in these kids' lives.

ps- if you haven't seen this video yet... educate yourself.
i've probably watched it 49727893 times.

mawwiage.

is what bwings us togetha today.

 my brotha.
studly fella, eh?

 if i'm gonna have sisters, i am sure am glad that i got these ones.
i love these girls to pieces.

 the happy couple.

 the family.

how things actually are... i love that big brother of mine.

i am so grateful that i have been blessed with the knowledge that families are forever.
i am so grateful that we can be sealed for eternity in the beautiful temples that we have been given, and that there are so many of them that we have such easy access to.
i am so grateful that i have the most amazing family that i get to be with forever.

i guess lately i've just been pretty grateful.