Christmas Cheer

Sold $1150 worth of stuff on ksl/craigslist

Moved to a darling house in Provo

Spent $577 at IKEA

and $98 the next day.

Lived out of boxes for awhile

Slept on an air mattress for 2 weeks

Scrubbed/patched/painted my old home

while trying to set up our new one.

Finished 4 photo shoots

Got my christmas card made

While prince charming worked magic with tools.

It was like Christmas morning to wake up and find bookshelves, a kitchen table, chairs, and more appear where brown boxes had stood before.

Christmas parties - work, work, ward, ward, friends, family, and the Appetizer Extravaganza coming up.

Talking about the beach with that Adrie doll of mine, and counting down the days.

Wishing I had internet at home to post my fun, fun Thanksgiving photos.

Oh well.

Life is pretty great.

Did I mention I'm getting married? I think I've neglected that information here. I am getting married. I didn't know life could be this great. And just getting better.

Surprise!

Are you wondering where we've been?

Well, we're moving.

On Saturday.

To Provo.

(Yes, I recognize that going closer to BYU is sort of like moving backwards in life. Oh well.)

Here's Adrie's first picture ever with my camera, and all of the moving junk behind me.

Hooray for being spontaneous! I think this is the longest I've ever lived in one place since age 18. I will miss it. I am also excited for new adventures.

Another Friday Night

Blogging from my iPhone -
just because I can.
(or maybe 'cuz I'm freezing cold and not about to go fire up my computer.)

Sitting on a loveseat in my bedroom - I feel so grown up to have a couch in my bedroom.
Thinking about how Fritos are the best chips EVER
- but also the fattiest.

Listening to music for 4 hours now -
forgotten treasures like Lifehouse and Counting Crows.
It's just so dang cathartic.


Been a little melancholy today, just one of those thoughtful, introspective days.
(between you and me - I sort of like them.)

It's good to feel alive.

I guess I'll finish this bitty bag of Fritos
(and the Barq's-with-bite! and dark chocolate orange sticks that go with 'em)
and jump into my new Conference Ensign.

I'm looking forward to it.

Imagination

Just Being Me

I'm blogging from a Mac - my first experience, I'm gettin' the hang of it -
from Kendall & Josh's darling home -
where I'm staying as a non-parent tonight, you see we traded lives for 16 hours -
waiting for that cute boy of mine to return from a concert with his sister -
and listening to Stars - loudly.
I had the world's best pizza - Pizza Hut Pepperoni Pan Crust - for last night's dinner, today's lunch, then dinner again. Throw in dinner #2 of Betos nachos from aforementioned boy.
Next I'm gonna eat some breakfast rice that Mally helped me make as last night's midnight snack -
Thinkin' maybe I'll start season ONE of the Office (I know, I'm so behind) -
and finish up "The Holiday" (sweetest movie ever) when that boy returns.


I like being me.

Rather than play catchup...

The first weekend of November, for your viewing pleasure:

1) Our first experience with stitches! While dancing around in our entryway, Adrie slipped and hit the lowest protruding hinge of the front door, leaving a disgusting little dent in her forehead that displayed things not meant to be seen. She quickly calmed down (after a screaming match at home about putting a band aid to hold in all that blood) and was really excited about the playhouse in the waiting room of the doctor. I calmly asked the front desk ladies "Um, we don't have an appointment but my daughter split her head open and I was hoping to be seen." They glanced at Adrie giggling in her "Aurora playhouse" and returned their gaze to my calm, semi-bored demeanor with the silent question of "Are you serious?"

Well, all of that calm flew out the window when we actually tried to touch Adrie's head. The full firecracker nature came out and it took a lot of creativity, and finally muscle, to hold her in place for those two little stitches. When she realized we were going to sew her head she started saying "You're going to SEW me? That's going to HURT!" Once pinned on the table with a cloth covering her eyes, I got her to count to ten with me, saying maybe the doctor would be done after that. So imagine her little quavering voice: "One... two..... threefourfivesixseveneightnineten." I had her count again with me, and then we were done. She sat up and said "That didn't hurt me at all!" She has since repeated this mantra: "I got stitches! I got stitches everybody! It didn't hurt. Don't worry, I'm okay." I told her the story of baby Natalie splitting her head open on the sidewalk (she audibly gasped when I described Natalie's face hitting the concrete) and said again "Well, I just hit a door. It wasn't that bad. I'm okay."

2) Rachel & Chad's engagement pictures! We had SO much fun traipsing around downtown while Adrie played with Aunt Cheri. Here's a sneak peek, it will be a week or more before the finals are ready so don't hold your breath yet.

3) A surprise Friday night getaway to the woods. I love spontaneity. We enjoyed a fire, porch swing hot chocolate, a morning hike to the pump house, and filling the bird feeders. As well as lunch at the infamous Dairy Keen on the way home, with a random bump in to Cherri's family. What a perfect day.

4) Apple Extravaganza. I don't know how I've lived in Utah ten years now (yes! TEN!) and not realized how many apples are floating around during this season. Thanks to Jessie and Brad for family apples and supplies, the dehydrator is running noisily in my kitchen currently. Adrie thinks this is the most fun project ever, clapping her hands as I finish each apple and saying "Good job mom! You are so strong. It's beautiful."

5) Okay, for a bonus round, here's a Halloween picture. Because let's be honest, I'll probably never post any more about it. We got to hit up one ward party Friday night, and another on Saturday night. At our trunk or treat Adrie was begging to be shut up in the trunk. Similar to last year's picture of how she enjoyed her spoils, here's another hilarious one. That kid of mine; never a dull moment.

Overheard

Stepping onto the new scale in my bathroom, Adrie says "I'm not THAT many!"

[pondering] "Mom, am I that many?"

[steps off the scale, pushes a few buttons, steps back on]

then, "That's better."

I've really cracked down on Adrie saying mean things and back-talking me lately. When she gets mad and knows I will follow through on time out or soap, she pulls out the best non-punishable insult she can think of:

"Then I don't love Jesus."

What can I say to that!?

Fall Family Pictures

Because I spend all of my time behind the camera, it is SUCH a JOY to be the *star* in my very own family photos! Raquel did a brilliant job and I have spent hours pouring over her work, choosing favorites, and adding a few of my own touches. Raquel inspired me to begin with and she still inspires me as friend and photographer today. Thank you a million times over my dear!

*Any of you google reader readers ought to mosey on over to the actual blog site to see my new header and new headshots of Adrie & me...*

13210

A New Favorite

It's well after midnight and I just spent a few hours gathering/editing photos for printing; I will be at Costco first thing tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's my newest fave:

again, Raquel is amazing.

Soooo happy

Raquel takes amazing pictures.

Remember how I've been her fan for years?

What lucky girls we are. Check out her work at Remember When by Raquel.

Morning Conversations

[getting in the car to take off for babysitter/work]

Alaina: "Alright! Shall we listen to Halo?"

Adrie: "No. I don't want that song."

Alaina: [makes exaggerated sad face]

Adrie: [sweetly] "We could listen to 'Dream' though, if you want to. After Dream, we can listen to Halo."

after a litany of girl music in the car

Adrie: "Can we listen to the "Good Morning" song?"

Alaina: "I don't know that one. What song are you talking about?"

Adrie: "It's a boy one."

Alaina: [thinking hard. We play this 'can-you-read-Adrie's-mind' game quite frequently.]

Alaina: "Oh! This one?" [turns on "Still Fighting It"]

Thank you, Ben Folds, for providing a "boy" song my daughter likes.

Here's the playlist of songs she knows and requests (and even says "Louder, Mom.")

Two blogs in one week? I know, I know.

"What might this bizarre picture represent?" you may be asking yourself. Well, an unnamed 3 year-old decided to drop Princess Aurora down a heating vent tonight. Thank you to prince charming for wrigging up a wire hanger to rescue Aurora, her dress, and her head. Yes, somehow she ended up in three separate pieces. That's one creative little girl.

And below we are checking out dorm living. Adrie kicked off her shoes and climbed into the bed she could actually reach before I even knew what had happened. Pictured: pretending to be a dead princess.

Thanks for the fun dinner Mally, we love you lots!

Time for a List

Things I'm obsessed with lately:

"Halo" by Beyonce - especially the music video

"Wait" by Alexi Murdoch

Squeezing Adrie's little waist as she grows taller & thinner

Things I'm loving lately:

Fall weather. Not when it's cold, but those gorgeous semi-crisp days where the sun is still shining. I wish I were trail running right now.

Morning elliptical runs, or treadmill runs - I like to mix it up.

Having only 7 girls on my caseload at work when I'm used to 11.

Conference weekend. It was ideal. Like, the sort of weekend you could live over and over forever.

Adrie's new skinny brown corduroy pants.

How Adrie started sleeping with a blanket entirely covering her face and head so she "won't be scared." I can't tell which way is up under those lumpy blankets.

Things that bother me lately:

A few of my girls having started saying "Loozshy" instead of usually.

A few others (and their parents) say "Fus-trated"

Strange muscle soreness on my right side/top of my hip after a good run.

Adrie saying "Because I love you" as an answer to ev-e-ry-thing. (And when I say "That's not an answer, she says "Yes, it is a good answer!")

I spend most days walking around with an idiotic smile on my face because life is so great on all fronts. Today I skipped - yes, skipped - around campus. Happy to be me.

She's Three!

For the last several months Adrie has been telling people "My birthday's on Sunday" or "My birthday's in a few weeks" - and it finally arrived! We had a little shin dig and pictures are coming thanks to Mallory's camera (my little Elph is in the shop.)

She became obsessed with letters this past week or two. "There's an 'A!' An 'A' for Adrie, and for Alaina!" and "There's a 'C!' a 'C' for Cherri!" She still only knows a handful on her own, but regularly asks "What letter does that start with?" At her birthday party she pretended to read aloud a few of the cards, following the words along with her finger and finishing with a "The END." By sight she 100% recognizes A, B, C, M, S, and O.

The way her mind works is hilarious. Just tonight, holding up my small gold ring, she said "When my head gets littler, and my get shrinks littler, can I wear this like a pretty necklace?"

At bedtime she sweetly asks "Will you lay in bed with me?" which is a funny sight because I still keep her in a crib. Tonight we sang: 1) Savages from Pocahontas, 2) Umbrella (Mandy Moore version) and she begged for 3) Single Ladies (Beyonce). I refused on that one, singing "I love to see the temple" instead. Gotta get a little good mothering in there where I can.

In this picture we were sitting in the "tower" at the top of the slide, so the "bad guys" wouldn't get us. We sat there for awhile listening to the light rain drumming on the roof. Moments like this I revel in being a mom. And I love her to bursting.

Provo Nightlife

1) Feed the ducks south of BYU campus

2) Loiter at the local 7-11

Life is good, ya know?

Remember how I took pictures of that one wedding, that one time?

Well, here I am!

And here's the first installment. [click here]

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More to come. Stay tuned.

Welcome, September

I guess I won't bemoan the loss of the summer (though I'd really like to.) I'm feeling an inner sort of panic about the impending snow and feel to pull out my fall wardrobe just to be prepared. But alas, let's acknowledge the things that fall has brought thus far:

Wildflowers! I've never really been an 'expensive flowers' kind of girl, so to receive sweet, simple flowers from a boy has become an unexpected delight around here.

Then comes tinfoil dinner party #2 hosted at my house, followed by a girl's camping trip (okay, fine, it was only 'all girls' until the boys got off work). We waded/swam and ate and explored and quite enjoyed setting up camp all by our female selves.

Once the boys arrived they got to work splitting logs. Can you think of anything more manly than that? Andria and I gave it a shot... after narrowly missing my leg, I turned the job back over to the men. Adrie and Annabelle helped stack wood.

Our glow stick party was pretty awesome. I highly recommend this activity.

At Matt-the-drama-teacher's insistence, we performed skits. The little girls are still talking about the "baby in a bucket" that floated down the river, which pretty much sums up the male skit. The adults are still laughing about the scene we must've created to have those boys running down the banks of the stream yelling "There's a baby in there!" The weather stayed cool and we hung out til lunchtime the next day, thanks to Brad's hearty campfire breakfast.

After camping I had a 12-hour vomiting bug (I'm still thinking it was the half pound of bacon I ate 'round the campfire, but who can say.) Luckily it abated just in time for a jaunt to Logan for a baby blessing, and of course the greatest Labor Day parade and small-town carnival I have ever attended. Adrie loved being doted on by Liza & Annie, who put her in a princess nightgown at 6:00 pm in an effort to manipulate me into spending the night. "Can we have a pajama party, mom? Please?"

Other September happenings: I took my last accutane pill. Hallelujah. Mallory officialy moved here to start BYU and be my bestie forever. We've been waiting for this day for at least 3 years. And... life is good! Not much more to say.

Singing

Adrie's started making up songs - it's rather hilarious. Last night it went like this:

A: "Sing the church song, mom."

M: "Hmm. How does that one go? Sing it for me."
A: "Churchy, churchy, church

You're so pretty.

Covered in glitter

and you are pink."

I then sang it back to her, messing up the last line because she promptly corrected me - "It's PINK!"

Her other favorite is to bestow a complimentary song on me when she's pleased with something I've done. It goes like this:

A: "Mom. I'm going to say you are a good girl."

[singing] "Momma's not a bad girl, Momma's a good girl, Momma's a good girl foh-EV-er..."

(just watch out, when she wants to piss me off she sings about me being a 'bad girl,' watching for my reaction...)

A typical morning around here

Alaina (walking into her room): "Good morning beautiful! I missed you! Time to wake up. Are you ready to say a prayer?"

Adrie: "Nah, I just want to talk to you for a minute first."

Alaina: "Okay. How was your night?"

Adrie: "Good. The sun came up. What are we gonna do today?"

Alaina: "We're gonna go to Tanner's house while I go to work, and then go to the park for a dinner picnic and kick the soccer ball..."

Adrie: "Okay! Let's pray."