this is us, life is good.

yes, i know this is many photos, but literally hundreds ended up on the cutting floor. and it very well may be three more months before i blog again, so you may as well take what you get. that includes you nick--mr. blogosphere regulator. besides, these kids are CUTE (full disclosure: they are mine.)

todd and katie, two of our favorite people in the world, were just here. the sad fact is they took off tuesday morning, but only after katie and i got to run together. she's the world's best running partner, even if our husbands do think we have a bad, all-too-liberal influence on each other. todd is like a brother--lovable even as he harasses me. and there aren't really words to describe katie, aside from irreplaceable. she has a skillfull way of avoiding all praise, which means if i do say more, she'll have my head. todd, creative man that he is, took these pictures, and many more, for which we are in his debt. of course we are already way, way WAY in the debt-hole to todd and katie. put it on our tab.

one thing you've got to love about this zion of ours is that almost every night of a salt lake summer you'll find free outdoor music. monday night was no exception, which is why many of these photos are taken at liberty park--mondays in the park. the rest are from red butte gardens, where we melted the 100 degree day away until we found the water fountains in the 'children's garden.' then we escaped for a cold drink. with company like this it doesn't really matter how hot it is.

here you have it! the picture of happiness. joshua's face is pure, simple, boyish happiness. i may add that this happiness is derived from throwing little berries from yonder tree at us. no, he's not a trouble-maker. it was his dad's idea, and one he's had before, not surprisingly. of course this only goes along with my theory that all good dad's are only good dad's inasmuch as they are little boys themselves.

now here is the face that brings me sheer joy. you can't see that and not just want to grab him up and kiss those cheeks. he is adorable. even if i am his mom.

i love the picture of tall 6'03" josh towering over his little 10th-percentile-height 18 month old. the contrast is just too cute.

and there you have jacob playing in the water, unable to figure out how he keeps getting splashed when he tries to grab the stream. it was a love-hate experiment in cause and effect.

okay so maybe we're not QUITE as cute as our boys...but i happily take back seat to their cuteness.

that's us, and i'd say it's a good life.