Licorice Test

For Rick's birthday back in April I got him as many different types of red licorice I could find, in hopes that he would discover a new favorite to replace or at least counteract his obsession with Red Vines.

He finally got around to doing a taste test.

And he took it very seriously... closing his eyes and savoring each flavor. It made me laugh.

I don't really think my plan worked but he did find some new "second favorites."

But nothing beats the flavor of high fructose corn syrup and Red 40!

Happy Birthday Rick!

Earlier this week we celebrated Rick's 29th birthday. I can't believe I'm married to such an old man who will be 30 in one year! Rick has been so busy finishing up his final semester of grad school (today is his last final!), searching for a job, and getting things finished up at his current job so he didn't really want a big celebration for his birthday this year. I arranged for our friend Ruthie to watch Adelaide so we could go out to dinner or a movie but instead we just drove around aimlessly for a long time; Rick's brain was too fried to even make a dinner decision except for rejecting all my ideas. We finally ended up picking up chicken wings from one place and bread rolls (and a salad for me) from another and coming home to eat it in the comfort of our own home while watching the movie Fair Game (which we both highly recommend!). We also pigged out on Ben & Jerry's and a delicious Chantilly Cake. All in all it was a great night, mostly because we just got to relax together, which hasn't been too frequent of an occurrence lately:) Love you Rick, Happy Birthday!

Rick in all his birthday glory.

My cute husband.

Obviously I picked out a good cake, Rick couldn't control himself.

Iced Donuts

It has been snowing hard all weekend. I really hate driving in the snow and even being a passenger in the car when it is snowing; it makes me nervous. Last year was my first time living in snow and I would scream with terror whenever Rick would skid around and do his dangerous little tricks. I guess I've gotten used to it because now I have a blast on our snowy adventures and can't stop laughing. Recently we did some donuts in a local parking lot and Rick mastered the 360:

Adelaide Gets Extreme: Part 3

Adelaide's extremeness increases every day. Here is some video of her latest father-daughter trick. It makes the days of simply balancing on Rick's hands seem like no big deal.

Movember is Here

What is Movember you ask? Well, I gathered from their website that it is the marriage of 'The Mo' (slang for mustache) and the month of November. This event challenges men to grow a mustache for the entire month and simultaneously raise awareness and funds for cancers that affect men. Rick's face is participating by growing yet another mustache and you can check out his Movember profile here.

I guess I have mixed feelings about all this- I am proud he is helping to raise funds for a worthy cause, yet I find myself counting down the days until December when I will hopefully be able to touch my husbands freshly shaved face again. You know what, it's not even that I need it to be clean shaved- I love the scrubby unshaved look as well, the early stages of a beard.... I'm just not a huge fan of the 'stache, it kind of makes me feel like I share a bed with an ice cream truck driver.

Check it out for yourself:

Happy Movember!

Surfing in Colorado

One of the things Rick misses most about California is surfing. It was so nice for him to have surf sessions as a relaxing workout... He would come home from the beach tired but feeling great... I think "enlightened" was the word he would often use to describe his mood. Contrast that with the "I hate running" I hear from him most days after a quick jog. Since there are no waves here in Boulder we have the next best thing... A coat rack made from his first surf board. Rick's brother Nick is the creator of this masterpiece. Isn't it quirky and fun? You almost don't want to hang anything on it because it is so amazing.

Best Way to Wake Up

The other day I had one of those mornings where I really wanted to sleep in. Rick is such a sweetheart and watched Adelaide while I took a little snooze. Eventually I woke up to some beautiful guitar tunes and giggles in the next room.

Never gets old.

Future guitarist?

My new favorite way to wake up.

Red Vine Lovers

Rick loves Red Vines to an unhealthy degree. In my weird imagination I picture a doctor being very surprised and perturbed by the results of Rick's blood test... "The findings are quite unusual, it seems like your blood is made up primarily of Red 40. How can this be? We will have to do some further testing" Obviously my daydream shows my complete ignorance of all things medical, but anyways...

We buy bulk on a quite regular basis and I know for a fact that he can eat an entire container in less than a week because I don't participate. I'm not a fan of the flavor or texture and especially the ingredients list. I wouldn't allow Adelaide to try them for the longest time, but I suppose I have loosened up a bit lately and now Rick is permitted to share.

And of course, Adelaide loves them.

(As evidenced by smears of red on her face and longing expression for more.)

Like father like daughter I suppose:)

Party Prep

Rick and I sat down to the computer to start planning Adelaide's birthday party.

10 minutes later:

Rick: "I'm going to go watch a movie. You're boring me... Not in a bad way, but..."

I guess I'll be planning this party solo. Gotta love men.

Happy Birthday Rick!

Earlier this week we celebrated Rick's 28th birthday! It was a little sad because he had to be at school from 7 am to 10 pm but we had a little party when he got home.

Rick playing his guitar cake.

(Thank you Jana for this awesome idea!)

28 candles... you are getting old!

Rick contemplating the great task of blowing out all the candles.

He's going for it!

Success!

The only thing he asked for: a "U" bike lock.

He really loved this personalized gift bag with a crayon drawn picture of our little family.

All in all I think he had a pretty good birthday:)

We love you Rick!

Scattergories

Last night we played Scattergories with our friends Ruthie and Brad from down the hall while our sick children played together.

The game was actually quite thrilling... Brad thought of very unique answers and was ahead the entire game, I was doing pretty good too until Rick and Ruthie joined political forces against me and started voting down all my creative answers. Ruthie was very fast and could fill up her whole sheet before the timer went off and play with the little ones in between. Rick was hands down the funniest player though... The first round was for "R" and while his top word started with an 'R' the rest of his list started with 'B's?!? We were nice and deemed it a 'practice round.'

Perhaps my favorite part of the whole game was when we had to think of a college major that started with 'B'... Ruthie thought of biology, Brad thought of biopsychology, and I thought of biochemistry. Poor Rick couldn't think of a college major that started with 'B' even though he is currently getting his Masters in Business. haha, we love you Rick!

In the end Brad won, Ruthie and Rick tied for second, and I lost. I call a rematch.

Next Years Halloween Costume?

Lately Rick has been sporting a 'stache, but as a Valentine's Day gift he shaved it off for me. Before doing so though I really wanted to get a picture of him looking like Tom Selleck (who is pretty much his hero and star of his favorite TV show Magnum P.I.) Maybe he can grow out his mustache again next year for Halloween?

side note: Rick was going to shave off his mustache a couple weeks ago, but thanks to my brother Kevin, who thought it would be a great idea to send Rick a Detroit Tigers hat, Rick just had to keep the 'stache a little longer. Thanks a lot Kev!

Hello Goodbye

My sister-in-law Megan has been making her own almond milk lately and I was inspired to try it myself. So I bought a bunch of almonds and soaked them for a day and turned them into a beautiful batch of almond milk using a recipe I found online. Once I finished my liquid masterpiece I was really excited and used it in a couple recipes and simply drank it plain. When Rick got home from his long day at school I exclaimed that he just had to try it... it was so good. He wasn't nearly as excited as I was, but he gave it a shot anyways. Within minutes he was coughing and explaining to me that his throat was closing up... his face was also turning quite red. I guess Rick is allergic to almonds.

Farewell almond milk... we had a good run.

Adelaide Gets Extreme

This is what I call daddy-daughter bonding time.

All we need is just a little patience

I came home to Rick standing up in the living room holding a smiling and happy Adelaide.

Rick "Shhh... Emily watch this!"

Rick sits down on the couch and Adelaide begins to whimper and scream.

Me "What am I supposed to be watching?"

Rick "Every time I sit down she screams and when I stand up she is happy again"

Me "Yes I know... she does that a lot"

Rick "Well it is driving me crazy"

Me "I thought you pride yourself on being patient"

Rick "Patience is one thing... but I don't like being taken advantage of!"

There you have it... our little girl already knows how to manipulate us into getting what she wants, and Daddy does not like it!

Loves her Daddy

Rick is very busy with school and gone a lot studying, but when he is home he loves to spend time with his baby girl. He makes her smile and they are just so sweet together.

Only a couple days old.

Playing dominoes.

Chipotle. Yum.

On the way to the Botanic Gardens in Denver.

The only complaint I have is that when Rick is around he always takes off Adelaide's headbands... he thinks they hurt her but they don't:).

Little Ricky

So we've figured it out- Adelaide resembles Rick when he was a baby.

Rick's First Day of School

So yesterday, August 13, was Rick's first day of school/orientation at the Leeds School of Business. He was excited and had a great day. He really liked a class he had to take called "The Art of Small Talk," and met a lot of really interesting people. Jessica and I went to the Spouse/Partner Orientation in the afternoon and then met up with Rick for the welcome BBQ in the evening. We sat with some of the international students and met some of the professors and ate way too many lemon bars for dessert. I think I made some people nervous because they knew it was my due date, but there was no excitement there- I did bring some towels in my purse in case my water broke though.

"I'm so excited to go to school today!"

Still got my balance.

Picture of me on my "expected due date"

I have had some contractions, but nothing major so while Rick is at school today Jess and I are heading down the road to the Celestial Seasonings Factory. It is about a 1.5 mile walk and part of the tour includes a peppermint room- I hear that strong scents like that can help induce labor? We'll see...