'like a fairytale'

My friend and fellow dance teacher at the YMCA, Kelly (also a gorgeous dancer in her own right) mentioned to me that she peeks at our blog once in a while and says it's 'like a fairytale'! She is so sweet to say so and I bet that is what I project in my posts; wonderful events, happy and darling children, fortunate karma, you know, bliss! I realize, now, that I am very selective of what I post in persuit of creating a 'fairytale blog', inviting the facade that our lives our perfect, that we are perfect and that nothing unfortunate or frustrating ever happens to us...well...as anyone knows, that would be just too good to be true. I don't want to pretend that my life is flawless, and in pretending set an impossible standard which may help to perpetuate the 'Superwoman' syndrome so prevalant in this particular LDS subculture that I belong to. So here... here are some not so 'fairytale-esque' things that have happened in our lives in the past year:

-our house was broken into, cash and electronics stolen, window smashed

-I have witnessed three incidents of outright abuse of a child (two at Target, one at the zoo - the guy at the zoo who shoved his five-year-old daughter to the ground got an earload from me! Aaron had to pull me away and then we called the zoo security)

-we just bought a home that we want to flip, but look at the market these days!

-our Jeep is on the fritz, even with Aaron being quite the mechanic, he's never got extra time to spend

-my grand plan of helping Aaron's little brother Jeff is not going well, he'll be moving out in November without having stepped foot on a college campus...

-although my girls are close to perfect, they are normal children and there are struggles and changes constantly occurring. Myka is in the 'Haily has more than me' stage, wanting everything to be exactly fair at all times. And, our Haily is usually a bright and shining three-year-old who is an unending source of happiness for me and Aaron, but...when she gets mad, she gets really, really, really mad and the tantrum that ensues is quite loud and sometimes unbearable.

-and lastly, (I hope no one's serotonin levels have dropped too drastically from reading this) our marriage isn't perfect- and not to speak too openly or betray any sort of confidence- we have misunderstandings, miscommunications and days where things just don't jive between us. Aaron does win some sort of prize though because he is constantly kind, even when I know I have made him upset, he is able to maintain composure and be kind to me, even when I honestly don't deserve it. (So I guess Aaron is perfect, but not me!)

Holy Moly! Is that enough to balance it all out and keep things on an even keel? Kelly, I am so sorry to have throttled your idea of my blog! You are sweet to visit and I promise there will be more plenty lovely posts in store, but from now on maybe I'll throw in a 'bad hair day' here or there!

dan

I am quite behind in seeing a long list of movies, but Barry and Sara let us borrow this Sunday night and it is very sweet, touching and romantic. Of course after you see it you will inevitably have the, 'If I die first...' conversation with your significant other. Aaron knows that if he remarries I will terrorize he and his new, young bride for the remainder of their earthly days... I'm teasing, but I do have a list of women I approve of him dating - ok I'll stop.

c.b. lambert

This is my mother's father, Grandpa Carlyle or Grandpa C.B. as we say. It is his birthday. He was tall, handsome, smart and funny. My grandpa was a great fisherman, football player and father to his six children who he and my Garandma Carol raised in Provo, Utah, just a mile away from 'the BYU'. Along with himself, all six of his children graduated from BYU and hold advanced degrees thanks to his support of their education. He is no longer living, but we of course celebrate his life today. I am grateful that I am C.B.'s granddaughter and that I am a part of the Lambert Family!

off meikel's mac

I got to raid Meikel's huge, new Mac of all her pictures, and these are some faves that I burned to take home. This first one is Myka @ 2 years old.



Haily @ 5 months



Me & Haily



Lisa, Meikel & Luke @ Annie's wedding



Me, Meikel & Annie

pink girl guitar

This b-day present arrived in Tacoma and waited for Myka to get home from Utah. She has three uncles and a grandpa who will love to teach her a song or two on this pretty, pink, girl guitar.

pink & white gingham

Virgin sewer, virgin sewer! Look! Look! I sewed something! My dear Aunt Melodee walked me through the entire thing- she was very patient and a good teacher. It was cool to go from just a bolt of fabric to a cute summer dress for Haily. (I'm just a little proud of myself.)

park city getaway

Where to go? What to do? Alone together in Utah's popular Park City with no girlies to take care of! It only took us a bit to realize we could do whatever and stay out till whenever-ahhh lovely. (Thank you to the Aunties and G'ma @ 1420 Maple!)




Yum and yum for dinner.




His calves.



Her calves.



Nighttime.



Morning @ the Park City Skate Park after a delicious breakfast at The Eating Establishment- quite the well named restaurant.



(Love those "g's" hangin' out)



Aaron's new Birdhouse, 'Black 6' board.



And yes, he's not seventeen anymore... but it was fun to watch him and the other skaters until noon and then we headed home... so fun to get away!

haily jane likes:

Haily Jane likes @ 3 yrs old:

-ice cream
-to dance and jump very fast
-to sing into the microphone

myka likes:

Myka likes @ 5 yrs old:

-to eat fruit, she's a little fruit bat
-to swim, swim, swim in the summer
-to play that she is a mermaid-pegasus-fairy w/ her little sister

pizzeria seven twelve

My cousin Meikel has quite the sophisticated taste in food, she appreciates fine dining and so when we're together it's fun to eat out at all her recommended places.

Bangkok Grill: was delicious w/ their pineapple curry rice and tofu in sauce.

Bajios: was lovely, I tried their sweet rice w/ chicken in a salad.

Cafe Rio: everyone knows why this place is good!

Zoom: had this awesome saffron risotto w/ grilled veggies.

Tree Room: perfection in fine cuisine every time.

Pizzeria Seven Twelve: if you live in Utah, you must go and try the short rib w/ polenta appetizer, the homemade sausage pizza and their chocolate dessert- I almost fainted it was that good!

byu dance workshop

While visiting Utah, I went down to the 'dance end' of the Richardson Building at BYU to observe some classes to help in my development as a teacher. It is always a bit strange to visit because I used to basically live in that building- eating, sleeping, studying and most of all dancing. I was able to watch one day of a modern workshop taught by Karl Fink, a professional from Minnesota. He taught a sweepingly energetic across-the-floor combination with side leaps, a cartwheel and knee slides. Many of the dancers in his workshop were actually professors and I think Dancer's Company members and so the level of dance quality was quite high and especially lovely to watch. I got to chat with my old Dancensemble director, Pat Debenham, he was a great teacher and director. And I got some solid ideas to help formulate my modern class at the YMCA starting in September!

heath ledger's 'joker'

(Yikes! Like clown make-up applied in a windstorm!)

I was able to see a few movies while on vacation: Hellboy II, Mama Mia and Batman- The Dark Night. They were all fun to sit through. But, I must admit, I was anticipating watching Heath Ledger as the maniacal, anarchic villain in Christopher Nolan's newest Batman. And Ledger DELIVERED. It was mesmerizing to watch his ferocious, sarcastic and unrelenting character fester and ooze all over the screen. Ledger steals absolutely every scene he is in.

It wasn't until about a month ago when I saw him in Brokeback Mountain that I realized how well he absorbs and disappears into his characters. Heath Ledger's performance in what I would call a love story and not a 'gay cowboy movie', was exactingly superb. What a tragedy to have lost this young, handsome talent so relatively early in his career- and also that he left behind a sweet, little daughter!

He is a must see in Batman! The movie is a gritty, dark, psychological crime thriller-so proceed with caution, especially with younger teens. But it is also fast-paced, witty, funny and well worth your money. (Christian Bale is plenty lovely as the awesome, brooding, caped crusader along with one of my all time favorite actors, Gary Oldman, as the hard-working and honest Commissioner Gordon).

the party

Myka's Auntie Meikel helped make her b-day party sooooo fun! (For better pics of the party check out M's blog, REECE, she's got the fancy cam).


Aaron strung the cafe lights (note: cafe lights @ Pottery Barn=$20 a box, same cute lights @ Target=$9.99 a box, hmmm.)


Homemade strawberry cupcakes w/ pink buttercream frosting- yum.


These dipped cones held Myka's favorite flavor of ice cream, strawberry.

Pretty over-the-table center piece.



I helped blow up the pink balloons. What? What?! I'm just holding pink balloons! Geez!

Ariel mermaid costume!

Family.

It was a lovely evening party with our relatives up in Grandma Carol's beautiful backyard. Here is Myka with her beloved great- grandmother, my mom's mother, Carol Lambert.

our beauty

Myka K. turned five today. Our beautiful child- we love her so much! We made sure to recount the story of her birth and to help her feel like the princess she truly is on this special day.

saltwater sandals

Hot pink, patent leather Saltwater Sandals for little girl feet! There couldn't be better summertime footwear. No blisters, simple buckle, classic and cute!





(Here are my Saltwater girlies at Provo's Hot Air Balloon event on the 4th. It was supposed to be this fun and exciting experience, but Haily was terrified and Myka didn't like the noise. Oh well!)

on vacation

On vacation...
loving it...
girls loving it...
couldn't be closer to perfect,
except for this blasted morning sickness!

(hee hee! yay!)

small clip

Here is a small clip from our dance film, entitled 'Incongruent Atrabilious'.

Dancers: Caitlin Shea and Kelly Zeiler

Film by: MG & MH Arts