Birthdays!

Birthdays change as you get older. This particular year  I knew that it would be especially different as Scott would be practically living at work all the week while they changed over the computer systems.

The Saturday before my birthday the wives of all the Bishopric members and clerks were "kidnapped" for a girls night out on the town without our kids or husbands. I got a creepy phone call like the ones from the movies where the computer voice gives you instructions on what to do. Later there was a knock at the door and a guy who looked vaguely familiar was standing there. He handed me an envelope, a piece of fabric and a piece of paper and told me that he had come by to see Scott and found these on my doorstep. Turns out he was there to watch Abby. I couldn't remember his name and was a little apprehensive about leaving my most precious possession  with a stranger. I finally asked his name and then he felt really bad about  not introducing himself. Anyways, it was a guy from the ward that I didn't recognize with casual clothes and a baseball hat on. He stayed with Abby while I tied on the blindfold and stood on the curb waiting for "my ride". While standing there I kept wondering what would happen if a police car drove by, "what would they think?" Anyways, they came and picked me up and after putting together all the puzzle pieces from out envelopes we figured out where we were headed for dinner. We got our next clue at dinner. We had to put together our clue that was written in braille. It told us to go to the Covey Center to see Wait Until Dark (it's about a blind woman, hence the braille). We had a wonderful time. It was so nice to have a break and some girl time!

When I got home I discovered that Scott had come home and decorated with balloons and streamers for my birthday! We celebrated my birthday and had Key Lime Pie, which I love!

Sunday we were able to go the the Dedication broadcast for the Brigham City Temple.It was a wonderful experience, there is something about the peace of the temple that you can feel even watching the dedication over satellite. Sunday night we went to my in-laws to have dinner and celebrate some more!! We always enjoy the time we get to spend with family. I got more balloons which made Abby super happy

On Tuesday my parents came down and took Abby and I to dinner at Texas Road House for my birthday. We had a wonderful time and Abby thoroughly enjoyed learning how to ride the escalators at the mall close by with her grandparents!

Wednesday was my actual birthday and Abby was sweet enough to sleep really well the night before and the night after my birthday. Not only that but she was an angel all day!

So, despite having a husband who has been sleeping, eating and showering at work all week during my birthday week we had a good week and felt very loved! Our house  is filled with balloons and flowers  and Abby and I have been loving it! We are really excited to get our husband and daddy back today(hopefully) and have things return to normal!

Dick's Sporting Goods

Big fail for Dick's Sporting Goods this morning. they definitely didn't earn my business in the future.

 They had their grand opening celebration in Orem this morning. They advertised  that the first 100 people in the store at 8 am would get a gift card in varying denominations from $5 to $500. I didn't want to get up early to get there and get in line so I figured that if I woke up on time  I would head down and see how long the line was. When Abby and I arrived at 7:45 there were only about 35-40 people in line so we jumped in the back of the line. By 8 there were more people and we headed for the door. They checked ID to make sure everyone was over 18 and we got our gift cards. Everyone stood around inside the front door on their cell phones calling in to see how much their gift cards ended up being. Well........everyone got $5 gift cards. Abby pushed the stroller around the store for almost an hour, entering giveaways and comparing the store to other sports stores in the area.

We ended up getting something small for Scott's stocking for Christmas with our gift card. When we were checking out I asked the cashier about the gift cards and she admitted that she had seen one or two $10 cards but the rest had all been $5.

So, Dicks's almost exclusively gave out $5 gift cards, a couple of $10 cards and (supposedly) one $500 gift card. So much for the varying denominations! I understand that it's a marketing tactic to get people in the store but come on, they could have done better than that! I wasted my time, felt slightly deceived and combined with the fact that their store didn't seem any different from other similar stores in the area leads me to the conclusion that I won't be frequenting their store in the future.

BABY GIRL!

We are expecting a new addition to our family when our baby girl arrives February 6th!

Rice Krispies

On Sunday I was making rice krispy treats and Abby wanted to help. She got my extra apron out of the drawer and tried to put it on all by herself. She needed a little help but it looks super cute on her with a few adjustments! I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Licking the empty bowl of melted chocolate chips that we stirred into the rice krispies.

Showing off "her" apron

Helping mom stir a batch of pudding. (And yes, I am pregnant in this picture :)

Getting dressed....

Abby has been a bit of a challenge the last few days and been SUPER clingy, whiny, etc...so when she disappeared into her room and I heard her opening her drawers I let her play in peace, I was just happy to have two seconds all to myself. Who knows, I might even be able to eat something without having to share it! When I went to check on her this is what I discovered! Someone was trying to get dressed all by themselves.

Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Small moments

 Some of you may know that we have started unofficially potty training. Right now it's mostly just getting Abby used to the idea and then next week Abby and I will be housebound for several days while we try to do the real potty training. Somethings seem to be sinking in as Abby came to me yesterday to tell me that "baby" had a poopy diaper, She pulled off baby's diaper and took me into the bathroom and placed baby on the potty! She then pointed at baby and said, "baby treat!". After several unsuccessful attempts to feed baby the skittle that is Abby's reward for sitting on the potty(clothes or unclothed), Abby ate it herself and looked very proud of herself!

 This morning we walked to the library and read books together. Not too long after getting home I discovered this miracle in the living room. If you know Abby you know how active she is and how hard it can be to get her to sleep! This is the second time in her life that she has fallen asleep anywhere besides her bed, the carseat or someone's arms.

Abby is now tall enough and adept enough to open doors by herself! We discovered this a few days ago but she hadn't done much to alarm us until yesterday. Yesterday morning I ran out to drop a few things in the garbage can by the road before the garbage man came by and by the time I got inside again Abby had disappeared. I looked and looked and then I heard this little voice calling, "mommy, mommy?" She had opened the door that separates the stairs to the basement from the first floor and was sitting on the landing at the top calling my name because she thought I had disappeared into the basement. I was grateful she didn't attempt to go down the stairs because our basement stairs reflect the age in which our house was build and can be a bit treacherous. Thankfully we already had the plastic safety handles for the door handles and that was the first door to be "fixed". Hopefully we can keep her from wandering too far!

Her newest word is sorry. Every few sentences you hear, "sahwe, sahwe". She says it when she bumps into you, or the chair or anything else. When her food falls off her fork and onto her booster seat she leans down, looks under the table and says, "sahwe" to the food. Sometimes I think she says it just because it's a new word and must feel good to say as much of the time it isn't in context at all!

Latest happenings

A few weeks ago Abby and I went to the park with some friends and had a blast. I didn't get a picture of the two girls together but here are some fun ones of Abby. She was so much braver and tried more new things with a friend there to show her how!

                                            Trying the bigger slide and loving it!

Abby has discovered her ability to "wear" our shoes and thinks it is the funnest thing ever!

My mother makes the best rolls and cinnamon rolls you will ever eat. She is pretty famous for them and gets asked to bring them to activities or teach people how to make them quite often. I have been trying for the last few years to make them like she does and I just keep thinking that if I practice they will eventually be more than just edible and actually be enjoyable. So, last week I tried again to make cinnamon rolls and Abby wanted to help so I got her a mixing bowl of her very own and dumped  in some flour, cornmeal, popcorn kernals etc and gave her a measuring spoon. She was in seventh heaven mixing away to her hearts content!

Falling back on the past

I grew up listening to a lot of classical music, broadway show tunes and oldies. Even on road trips  my dad would listen to a set of cd's called power classics or something along those lines. They were more upbeat classical music, but classical music nonetheless. Not all of the music was boring, I remember being fascinated by The Grand Canyon Suite and by the composer's ability to tell a story and replicate the sound of hoofbeats in music. We would listen to stories on the record player and Peter and The Wolf was my favorite! (This was before I broke my dad's record player).
Despite there being interesting music mixed in there I always envied my friends whose parents were more contemporary and "with the times" and looked forward to the time when I could listen to whatever I wanted ( I remember being scolded in Junior High when I left my clock radio on when I for school and my mom discovered I had been listening to soft rock).
When I did get old enough to make my own music decisions I almost totally abandoned my upbringing of classical music in favor of more popular styles. In the last few years, and especially in the last few months as I have had more struggles in my life and needed more peaceful moments to rejuvenate my spirit I have fallen back on my childhood and back in love with more classic sounds that can soothe me.
This definitely doesn't mean I have distanced myself from popular music entirely but I am definitely becoming more balanced. I definitely appreciate that more popular artists seem to be adding classical instruments such as the cello and violin to their music.
It is easy to look back on our past and focus on the negatives but there are always good things to be found if we look. My parents tried to instill in us a love for music and poetry. Those things may have gone a little dormant for a while but they are resurfacing and bringing back wonderful memories. I am so grateful that my parents put in the effort to give me a gift that I can fall back on over and over in my life.

Abby's First Camping Trip

Abby's first camping trip! We went with some good friends who have a daughter about Abby's age. They ran around in the dark chasing each other. Abby had a running flashlight around her neck and Claire had a cute little animal flashlight and it was fun to see their lights bobbing around in the twilight. Abby loved getting dirty with a friend who loved dirt just as much!

Both girls had cute monkey pajamas that didn't stay clean for long! The rain jacket came in handy as it began to sprinkle not long after we arrived. It ended up pouring rain  most of the night. Despite this and the fact that Abby didn't sleep much which meant we didn't either, we still had a fantastic time and are looking forward to another camping trip!

Abby loves the outdoors and loves her friend Claire. It was so fun to hear them say each others names as they ran around following each other. 

What a cute pair!

Great grandparents

Two weekends in a row we went with my parents to visit my grandparents at their farm in Idaho. Abby had a blast! Playing on the farm equipment and "driving" the tractors made for a happy toddler!

My cousin has a little boy the same age as Abby and they had the best time playing together! After getting seriously dirty, a bath was the only solution for Abby and Jaydyn. 

Painting birdhouses with her cousins. Ignore my lack of makeup and general sweatiness and look at my adorable and happy daughter!

Playing with Jaydyn.

Look at that little pink rabbit getting ready for the swimming pool.

The second weekend we went was the same weekend as my great aunt's funeral. I've been to a handful of funerals in my life but never a day like this. 

The viewing at the family home started at 9:30 am and the funeral started at 11:00. After the funeral (about an hour and a half), they went to the cemetery, then everyone came back to the church for a luncheon and then everyone went to one of the relatives house for ice cream and to sit and chat. 

When one has a toddler you have to be able to fit in a nap somewhere in there. We stayed home from the cemetery and she actually fell asleep in my arms sitting in the rocking chair in the mothers lounge, which, if you know Abby, you know is a huge miracle!

Abby looking at the funeral flowers with my mother.

Abby and her cousin loving jumping on little trampolines at the ice cream get together. 

I took off Abby's dress because I knew the ice cream would be messy and this family member has a huge pond with slides and zip lines, etc... and I knew she would want to get wet. 

It took her all weekend to warm up to my dad  but once he let her "drive" she was a happy camper!

water baby

A few weeks ago I was giving Abby a bath and couldn't resist playing with her hair. I knew it was long but I didn't know it was THAT long!

Last week Abby was getting antsy while waiting for Scott to come home from work so we decided to play outside while we waited. After walking up and down our street a few times we laid down on the grass in our front yard to take a break. Abby can't sit still for long so she disappeared up onto our porch where we have a few planters.

This is what Scott came home to find happening on his porch!

I guess a little supervision when she's close to dirt would be a good idea! She had a lot of fun with it though!

Who needs diapers? Not Abby...

It has begun. After putting Abby down for her nap she was jabbering and trying to get my attention. Usually she's good about laying down and going to sleep so after a while I went in to check on her and what do I find? A TOTALLY naked Abby standing her crib looking very satisfied with herself.
When did she learn to take off her diaper? I was torn between laughing and crying while I stripped the sheet off her mattress. Thankfully we had a waterproof sheet under her fabric one...I have heard stories from other mothers and  I know it could have been much worse than just wet. Oh, the joys of motherhood!

On another note, she has become such a good little "mother" to her babies. She loves to wrap them up in blankets and towels and carry them around giving them kisses, trying to feed them her food and give them bottles. What a sweetie, it melts my heart every time. And then when she's done with the baby she throws it on the floor and moves on to something else. Yeah, we might have to work on that part of it soon.

Teva Mountain Games

In the middle of the week last week we found out that we were going to be headed to Vail CO for the weekend! Scott's company, Goal Zero has a couple of booths at the Teva Mountain Games and so we headed out there to help man the booths. Well, Scott helped man one of the booths and Abby and I walked around sporting our Goal Zero shirts to help represent the company.

We were supposed to leave around noon on Friday but Scott got stuck at work doing paperwork, which kept us from leaving to go do the trip for the same job. Ironic, huh? I was a little nervous about the six and a half hour trip in the car with an eighteen month old. The ride there was not the smoothest experience but it could have been much worse. Anyone who has heard her scream can understand just how much worse it could have been.
We managed to arrive just before one in the morning and discovered we were staying at the Marriott(the company paid for the hotel).  Nothing like pulling up to a full service hotel and having a valet and bellboy hovering around the car that Abby has trashed, waiting the unload our car. I had planned on staying someplace like Holiday Inn or Motel Eight. So, I brought a cooler of food and a box of snacks and a box of paper products, etc... that's a little awkward to try and load onto a hotel cart! You would think a full service hotel would have continental breakfast and free wi-fi. But, no. Breakfast is served in a restaurant and costs about $20 and wi-fi is $10.48 A DAY! You would think you would get more perks at a nicer place right? Just shows what I know...
Even with all that, we had a great time over the weekend. Vail has a free bus system that picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off at the Games which was great, no parking worried. It was great to see what  products are new in the outdoors world. We caught a glimpse of a few of the competitions going on which expanded my view of outdoor activities. Who knew you could take a stand up paddleboard down the river?

 Hanging out behind the goal zero booth in adventure town. And yes, that is one of Scott's co-workers in the background...

Company pizza party Saturday night

Vail was definitely child friendly in some ways. They had this great splash/wading fountain for kids. Abby is definitely a water child, she was in heaven splashing and trying to keep up with the older kids running around. Trying to coax her out of the water didn't work and as we carried her away her screams echoed across the area, you would have thought we were kidnapping her.

Awesome  full size lego car.

The ride home went MUCH better than the ride there!

We finally found a truck stop on the way home. Abby has her own wacky little personality!

Gentle Reminders

There are times in life when you are given gentle reminders that you could do a little better. We have the sweetest little girl. She loves folding her arms to start a prayer. Several times in the last week she hasn't eaten when she's in her high chair with food in front of her, she's got her arms folded, waiting for us to pray before she eats! Before she goes to bed she has started kneeling on the floor, waiting for us to say a family prayer. What a great reminder that our little ones haven't been away from heaven for very long and they watch everything we do and learn from us.

                                    Wearing daddy's hat and watching Curious George.

Abby has learned which words are associated with saying goodbye and so when you say one she will start blowing kisses or waving. If you are really lucky she will come over to give you a kiss on the cheek, which is really just when she puckers up her lips and gets really close to your cheek and she waits for something to happen. Sometimes she will make a "smacking" noise as though she's actually kissing you but rarely makes contact with your face. LOVE IT!!1 What can I say, she melts my heart!

Treasures

Most of my trips to D.I. are pretty uneventful but today was something special.

 I love this little cabinet and it was only $3! Not sure yet what I'm going to do with it but once I've cleaned it up a bit I will have a better idea. Everything works great, the two drawers on the bottom just need new knobs. I was thinking storage for spools of thread but then I remembered that I don't have very many of those. Hopefully I will have more in the future as I do more projects and my sewing skills improve. I am definitely open to suggestions!

The fabric measuring guide in the background was an answer to prayer as I have been trying to work on curtains for Abby's room and was in desperate need of help with measuring and cutting.

Garden update!!!

The corn"field" is next to out driveway and is just shooting up out of the ground like crazy! I plant two new sets every week so they will mature progressively during the summer. We are experimenting with three different kinds of corn this year to see which works best for us and which taste we prefer. (and yes, I will weed it when the stalks are a little higher)

The raspberries are still in pots as we haven't had time to dig out the grass in the back, put together the support T-stand trellis's and plant the raspberries yet. Despite all of that we have some raspberries coming on. This is a fall harvest gold berry. We have four of these and four traditional red berries.

We are planning to put the raspberries along this back fence with enough room to walk between our neighbors grape vines and the raspberry trellis.

My dad put together these raised square foot garden beds for us. We have four but are only using two right now.

This one has cantaloupe and watermelon planted in it right now along with carrots planted along one side.The flowers on the corners are marigolds to keep the bugs out.

This box has tomatoes, orange and purple sweet peppers, carrots, cilantro, caraway seed and basil. Sweet sugar snap peas are planted around the outside and we will train them down the sides instead  of up a trellis.

The strawberries have been a big challenge, to say the least. The original ones have almost all died and so I got some new ones which have done much better! Not many strawberries at this point so we may just let the rest of the runners stay around to make plants for next year.

We planted three fruit trees in the backyard. The closest is an O'Henry Peach, then a self-pollinating Stella cherry and the last one is a Redhaven Peach.