Idaho? No, Udaho!

Way back around Thanksgiving time, we ventured out to Idaho to spend time with family.  I found a couple of pictures from the trip and wanted to reminisce for a moment!


Black Friday shopping was a success! It was not crowded and Anthro had some amazing deals! We had fun getting up early and spending girly time together.  The boys I think checked out Wal-Mart and did not have such a lovely experience.

We had a really fun cousin video scavenger hunt. I can't remember who won and I'm not sure what was more fun- going out to get challenges done, or watching the videos when we got home. We could not stop laughing at Jessica's & Becca's videography... I think some of us got motion sickness but still enjoyed what was often accidental art. I think we'll definitely have to do another one next time we get together :)

I Won!

Rick and I have a Scrabble playing history that goes way back.  I remember playing it in awe with him and our friends on beach camping trips.... I could not believe how long we had to wait between each turn so the player could think of every possible play and debate between which word would get the most points and simultaneously make it harder for the next person to get anything good.  If I could have had it my way we would have just played the game quickly, had some laughs and moved onto something else like s'mores.  That was wishful thinking so I figured 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!'  I have become a scrabble nerd like the rest of them, taking my time to ponder my plays, and going for points instead of just clever or long words.  And it has payed off! Before Jessica left we played a few games and I finally won one! I had to take a picture of this momentous achievement.

Rick could hardly stand it :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

It is my birthday! I am now officially 26 and I would have to say that my 25th year was one of my most difficult but also most beautiful.  I definitely learned a lot this year and want to take a moment to reflect.

I remember hearing a story once in church I think about a boy sitting on the ground while his grandmother was cross-stitching in a rocking chair.  The child could not understand what the grandmother was doing, there were so many knots and nothing seemed to go together right from what he could see.  When she was finished she showed her grandson the beautiful finished product.  She knew what she was making all along, but from the perspective below it was hard for the boy to understand. 

And so it is with us and God.  I think about this story all the time actually, especially this last year, because sometimes I just don't understand what purpose many things in my life have, but I'm pretty sure that God does and that he will make a beautiful masterpiece out of my life if I let him.  This past year Rick and I made a lot of prayerful decisions that seemed a little crazy and our life path has seemed anything but smooth, but I feel like every once in a while we get a little glimpse of a higher perspective and I am grateful for my life exactly as it is, and for every thing we have gone through to get us to this place.  

I am so happy to back in California.  I wake up happy every morning, I have a gorgeous view from my window, I have a pretty dang cute husband, two happy & healthy kids who are so full of life, I have an amazing family (thank you google hangouts for helping us stay in touch!), we have a steady income, I have good friends, I am able to find time to get a little exercise here and there and to connect with God through reading scriptures and lots of prayer.  Life is good.  Thank you for being a special part of my life.  I know not many people read my blog so if you are one of those people and have made it this far into this long boring post, I'm pretty sure you mean something special to me and have helped make my life beautiful.

Notable Happenings from my 25th Year

Rick accepted a job offer in Arizona

I met Becky, my amazing midwife and forever friend

I gave birth to Maverick

I generally survived raising Adelaide through her terrible two's

Rick found another job in the bay area after the start-up in Arizona downsized

We were able to move back to California near my family

I said good-bye to my sister and best friend for 18 months

I have put my sewing machine to use

My faith has changed but become stronger

I learned a lot about cooking and have become a pretty good vegetarian cook for my family, although I still get a little nervous cooking for friends

Six Months

Mav is six months! On the one hand I can't believe he is already half a year old, but on the other hand he seems much older than that to me.  He is such a happy and sweet boy, always giggling and beaming with smiles.  He loves to produce high pitched screams lately with his sister (which drives me bonkers! but is funny too) and pretty much only cries when Adelaide takes away his toys or when he is really hungry.   He is quite mobile now and loves to walk around if you hold his hands.  He pulls himself up to sitting position in his little bassinet so I think he may graduate to a real crib soon. We've started feeding him bananas, barley and applesauce and will move on to more adventurous foods soon.  I thought he would really love eating but so far he seems pretty ambivalent about the whole thing.  He favors bananas and doesn't seem to be a fan or barley.  Happy half birthday Maverick!

I really failed at getting pictures up of Maverick's first few months... so here is a little blast to the past of his early months:

 

So much love: Grandpa, Gigi, Aunt Meg, Aunt Mary, Great Grandpa, Grandpa & Mim.

What a handsome (although slightly fuzzy) six month old he is today :)

Sewing Project: barstools & pillow

I have completed my second sewing project and I'm not going to lie I am pretty proud of myself.  We have a spot in our new place for two stools so my parents gifted me two of their stools (formerly dark wood with forest green) and we made them our own.  Rick painted them blue to match our shelves and I picked out this fabric to reupholster them with.   I watched a couple tutorials online and went for it.  It was a little tough because these well loved stools are no longer very circular but it was manageable, and I'm happy with the way they turned out.  Sorry for the horrible quality pictures, I need to find my camera and stop using my phone.

One of the stools.

A pillow I made with extra fabric.

Happy Easter!

We are all moved into our new place and are lovin' it! I shouldn't say all moved in because we still have some unloading to do but we are getting very close. We moved in the first weekend in April and hosted Easter here the next weekend with my parents, Eric, my uncle Kevin & aunt Kathy, and Justin. Adelaide had her own little Easter egg hunt (thanks to Eric the Easter bunny) and thought it was pretty great. There were about 50 eggs filled with candies or stickers or cuties and she wanted to see what was in each egg as she found them. That wasn't working for us so we taught her a better way, but it was pretty cute while it lasted.

Mav is too young for egg hunting, so he just chilled on the grass.

I wish I would have taken a group picture with everyone but here is one of our little family.

We ♥ Beaches

We have ventured over to the beach a few times since moving back. Oh how I missed the beach when we lived out of state. We've gone for long walks, played in the sand, watched surfers catch waves, checked out tide pools, spotted naked sunbathers and did a little (fully clothed) sunbathing of our own. Life doesn't get much better than this!