Swinging

Yesterday I took little miss Adelaide to the swings to see how she liked it... and lucky for me she loved it!

She is a true Walton. That is one of my favorite things to do with my sister Jess... we would often head out to Oak Meadow Park after church, late at night, or just on a sunny afternoon to swing for literally hours while chatting, singing and attempting to hold hands (it is harder than it sounds...try it). In San Diego when I was really pregnant, we really wanted to go swinging together but were unsure if this activity would be safe for the unborn baby. So of course we googled it. Something like "Is it safe to go swinging while pregnant?" We got some interesting results regarding a different type of swinging entirely. We finally found one that related to the question we meant to ask and it appeared safe... very exciting. We love the swings! :)

It appears as though my niece Gracie likes the swings as well! When she came to visit in August she swung in style.

Delightful

Produce delivered right to my door!

1 Avacado, 1 Broccoli, 1 Butternut Squash, 1 Bunch of Carrots, 2 lbs Potatoes, 1 Red Leaf Lettuce, 4 Braeburn Apples, 4 Danjou Pears, 2 Mangos, 5 Bananas, 5 Tangerines, 2 Red Bell Peppers, 1 lb Roma Tomatos. Yum!

I came across this great service online called Door to Door Organics. I got my first box of fresh fruits and vegetables yesterday and I'm very excited... It is especially hard during the winter to make it out to the grocery store enough to always have enough fresh fruits and vegetables in the house.

I didn't always appreciate the difference between eating organic vs. not organic but after having recently read The Unhealthy Truth, watching Food Inc., and reading some interesting articles I have become much more picky. Anyways, today I will attempt to make homemade ravioli for the first time with my new butternut squash... wish me luck!

Adelaide and her Grandma

Grandma and Adelaide had such a fun little visit together... Grandma made Adelaide smile and giggle a lot, and when she did get fussy Grandma just gave her a little cranberry juice to calm her down (Adelaide liked that very much... her first and only taste of anything besides milk). I just love these pictures, they are precious to me.

A Very Special Lady

Today my beautiful grandmother reunited with the love of her life in heaven. We all miss her and my grandpa very much. There is no one like my Grandma and I have so many wonderful memories with her and here are just a few...

Trips to the cabin in Tahoe, snow ice cream, sour gummi worms and red licorice, the good-bye rock, honking on the way down the hill, the original waffle nights, amazing garden, constant annoyance with the dear trying to destroy her garden, delicious oatmeal cookies, Sunday dinners, holiday dinners, browsing through the yearly photo albums, cutting down the Christmas tree in the Santa Cruz mountains the day after Thanksgiving, corn casserole, many games of rummikub, always calling from the top of Half Dome to let her know we made it safely, Alaskan Cruise, extra chocolate cake each night, funky but beautiful jewelry, warm-bloodedness,"It will be so great when you teach your children Humpty-Dumpty," graham cracker sandwiches, but most of all always feeling very loved.

About a week ago Rick, Adelaide and I had an opportunity to visit Grandma in Utah and it was so fun to hang out with her. When we arrived she was in the salon getting her hair permed... very cute:) Then we went and had lunch and sat with her friends. I could tell she enjoyed showing off Adelaide. On our way out from lunch, Grandma's friend B explained to Rick that she is legally blind and that Grandma was always taking care of her and was such a good friend. That's Grandma... always helping other people and bringing happiness to their day. After lunch we went back to her room and chatted for a while... we reminisced about the fun time we had together on the cruise a couple years back, she talked about the gold dipped rose that Shannon gave to her, showed us all the family pictures she had up, and enjoyed giggling and playing with Adelaide.

We miss you Grandma and love you so much!

Rick Grandma and Emily at Grandma's birthday dinner.

Me and Grandma after my wedding.

All of us last Christmas in our PJ's and ribbons.

Playing Rummikub and Nerts. Grandma was NOT a fan of Nerts, and wished the whole gang would just play Rummikub instead.

At Kev and Rachel's wedding Rick was Grandma's chauffeur.

Me, Grandma, Jess and Court in Carlsbad.

During most of the cruise to Alaska, I wheeled Grandma around. This day she insisted on pushing me.

Boots!

I've never really been a boots girl... but today I bought my first pair and I'm very excited about them. It's about time too because I really don't have any winter shoes that work well for me- I don't like super warm shoes like Ugg boots (my feet get claustrophobic- it's a Walton thing, many of us can't even sleep without liberating our feet from under the sheets) and I love little flats but sometimes my feet freeze in them. These boots are the perfect match for me:)

1st Year Videos

This is the video Rick made me for our first year anniversary. It is nice having our anniversary right after new years... it's the perfect time to reflect:)

This one is even longer than the second year one so it is divided into two parts.

2nd Year Video

Adelaide Gets Extreme

This is what I call daddy-daughter bonding time.

2 Years

Happy Anniversary to us! Rick and I have been married for two years and it has been so great:) I feel so lucky and so in love. Rick made an anniversary video of our second year of marriage, he did it last year too and I just love them. If I ever get technically advanced enough I will post them on here. Love you more each day Rick ( even if you are sporting a 'stache)!

Less TV this year

So a couple weeks ago I thought of a new years resolution for myself- No TV in 2010. I told Rick about it and he thought it sounded like a good idea too. Originally the plan was no TV at all, but we have changed it to a more realistic version- no TV Monday through Friday. I don't think we are going to watch TV shows on weekends still... just movies to relax and snuggle to. Oh and by the way our new year doesn't begin until next Monday because Rick has this week off school- therefore we can do whatever we want this week:)

Why would we make such a resolution? I'm beginning to wonder why myself because there are indeed a lot of shows I will miss...

My favorites include:

LOST- Rick and I have been big fans from the start- although Rick has sadly lost interest, not me though!

Project Runway- I love love love Tim Gunn! Who doesn't though?!

Glee- my guilty pleasure. I wish I owned Emma's wardrobe.

The Office- no explanation necessary.

Community- I didn't think this looked that funny but I was pleasantly surprised.

Boston Legal- Alan Shore and Denny Crane are my heroes! ( I realize this show had its final season a couple years ago... but honestly I could watch reruns until the day I die-- LOVE this show.)

The View- this is extremely embarrassing... it is a show I love to hate- I can't stand Whoopi and I disagree with over 80% of the things said- I really wish I could sit at that table and give America my take! But I highly doubt the corporate sponsors would like that... And let's face it- no one else would be interested either... I guess I just like to hear myself talk, as my family knows all too well:)

Rick doesn't really watch a lot of TV, mostly movies... so he will only miss this:

Instead of watching all of these wonderful shows I will do things that I find more worthwhile.... cooking, designing jewelry, keeping in touch with family and friends, scrapbooking, sight-seeing, working out, or reading. This year I plan to read A LOT and if you have any book suggestions please share!

Good bye TV shows until 2011- maybe then we can catch up over DVD?