Taking a break from crazy is cooler than I remembered...

I have the cutest little nephews. Yeah, I'm sort of biased, but your nephews don't give me a hug when they see me, so do you see where this is coming from? Okay, then. :)

It makes me so sad sometimes that I don't live closer to this little family, but thanks to blogs and facebook and the occasional picture text from my sister, I still get to hear the funny things. This morning, Jen's facebook status said this:

Brandon is running around saying "I am Buzz Lightyear-I come in peace." "I come in peace Mom." " AND BEYOND!!!" Oh why did we get him that toy?!

Hahah...oh, man, I love that little guy! Last weekend, I slept on their couch because our cousin Brady was getting married early the next morning in the Logan Temple. (No, I did not want to get up at 5:00 a.m. to drive up to Logan. I like my bed in the mornings for as long as possible. Last week was crazy for some reason...everything seemed to happen all at once, work felt insane, personal life was making my brain explode, and...well, let's just say I was really looking forward to the weekend and the break from reality it would bring.) So there I was, sleeping soundly on the couch when suddenly, at about 3:30 a.m. I hear a little voice and feel a little hand on my face...

"Mom? Mom. Mommy, I need a drink."

Even though I had been sound asleep miliseconds before, I instantly woke up, and oh...yep, there goes DeeAura's heart strings. I didn't have the heart to tell him I wasn't his mommy, and I could tell he was pretty sleepy, so that's why he'd called me mommy. So I got up, walked him over to the sink, filled up his little mini camelbak (it's seriously cute how he carries that thing around with him) and handed it back to him. Then I went back to the couch...thinking in my still half-asleep brain that he'd go back to his bed. But no, he just followed me back to the couch, climbed on, and snuggled right up.

For the record, little Brandon and I are pals. Make no mistake...but our communication usually consists of playing "monster" or "dinosaur"...just lots and lots of chasing, growling, screaming, and ATTACK! :) It's only when he's really really tired that he'll generally sit willingly on my lap and cuddle up. He slept there for about another 30 minutes or so, and then I took him back to his bed because he kept tossing and turning. Poor kid was absolutely sleep walking. :)

Even though it was the middle of the night...I didn't care. In fact, it almost made me cry just a few quick tears of gratitude. I think Heavenly Father knew I needed a hug from that little boy after such a week of insanity. I'm so grateful for my sister and her cute little family. More often than not, they're my reminder that life is still good.

And there's just a picture I stole from Sarah of last weekend. Our friends Erik, Derrick, and Cary did the Spudman Triathalon up in Burley, Idaho. Uh...yeah...only the three boys actually did the race...the rest of us were just there to cheer them on. :) Talk about a fan club. Do they even know?! haha. But really - I think I love these races! It just feels so good to do, and to watch others do, things that really push you outside your comfort zone.

Speaking of...The Dirty Dash is coming up. September 25, 2010. The day of the end of my mortal life. * GULP *
Feel free to come throw water balloons at me. I hear that's the thing to do if you're smart enough to not sign up in the first place. :)

And last but not least, guess where I'm going in a matter of hours??

CALIFORNIA. :)
I love it when the end of EFY comes and I get to go places.
Peace. Out!