and so it goes...

I thought long and hard (you know, for about 25 seconds) about updating the blog with all sorts of photos from our vacations, disclosing what sofa we ended up deciding upon, share funny stories about the wee ones, etc. etc. etc.---after all, the children are asleep. at the same time. meaning, I could accomplish a TON during this miracle hour.

BUT, in light of the fact that I do have a new sofa, and yes, I took everyone's advice and opted for a SUPER comfortable one, I think I'll do a little test run instead and try a nap on it---WITH NO PILLOW. That's how comfortable it is.

Wish me luck.

Life is rough.

:)

Also, as I was running around to multiple doctor appointments this morning, I fell in love with a man.

Did that catch you off guard or what?!

Yes, I RE-fell in love with my old singing friend, Sufjan Stevens. Don't worry, Aaron knows ALL about him. He even purchased his Illinois CD for me years ago (Aaron might just have a "man-crush" on him too). Man alive, that Sufjan. His voice? Like buttah.

Just kidding. That is weird.

No really, though, his music is just wonderful. His songs are upbeat, melodic, and just make you feel HAPPY overall. This song has been getting a lot of play with the movie trailer BABIES that recently has been popping up all over the internet.



It's a great song. But, truly, there are TONS more of his that are equally great. That's all I'm saying. Okay, like this one:



Wait, I guess I have more to say---I mean, any song that has a lot of CLAPPING involved is a winner in my book. Always.

Ok, the end.
Forever and ever, amen.

decisions!!!

okay, this won't take long, I promise.

I'm desperate for advice.

Which is more important?

STYLE or COMFORT
...especially when choosing a sofa.

If you can't have it all, which weighs out in the end? I think I know, but would like some opinions... asap.

help me, please.

sincerely,
stressed out sissy

alive and well

to those of you who have wondered where I've been the last month and a half, know this:

all is well.
we are alive and thriving....
having much too fun in REAL life to spend time in my CYBER life.

a report will happen sometime this next week when life goes back to "normal" again.

ta ta for now.

End of June 2010... life back in Texas, post 5 week vacation.

Well, as much fun as it was to be in Utah, we were excited to start the next chapter of life.  Aaron, after all, had graduated and was starting his NEW LEGIT job.  We were excited to start our new life.

Here are some random memories we had during that last half of June.

Our friends, Kip and Kajsa, were almost ready to move away to Austin, so we wanted to try a new food place we'd never been to in San Antonio, before they left.  We'd heard something about their HUGE cinnamon rolls and thought it'd be fun to check it out.  Enter LuLu's Bakery & Cafe.  LOVE the text on the building. 

Since we had left for so many weeks on vacation, it was fun to catch up with them and see what they had been up to since graduation.  Kajsa's brother, Kade, was with them too.  He's pretty funny.

Cal was wondering, "when are we gonna eat the cinnamon roll?"  patience, laddy.  patience.

Yes, I'm aware of my wardrobe malfunction, but I had to post the photo b/c this is us in the parking lot---right after they had called our name and told us our table was ready.  As I was pulling Cal out of his car seat to a high chair, I realized he had a poopy diaper.  No big deal.  I'll go change him in the bathroom.  I had underestimated this diaper.  It was a ridiculous blow out.  Oh my.  Nothing could be salvaged.  I had to do a strip down.  And, of course, since we had just returned from our vacation, my diaper bag was not in a normal, organized fashion.  I knew I had forgotten to pack a spare change of clothes for Cal.  Could I bring him back out naked to eat?  What to do?  What to do?

Then, I remembered, I had a Goodwill drop off bag in my trunk.  It had a few shirts that Cal might be able to squeeze into.  So, I headed out.  Aaron decided to help me (bless him).  It was EXTREMELY hot outside, and the thought of wrangling an almost 6 month old in an oven car sounds LESS than appealing.

Cal looks pretty happy, though.  Love these unexpected dilemmas.

Aaron brought Tillie out too, it was a family affair.

Aaron proving he was there too.  Gotta love it.

Back inside.  Kade is showing the HUGE cinnamon roll.  When they brought it out, we were like, "What?  This is it?"

Yes, it IS as big as his head.  Too funny. 

So, I'm sure you're dying to know:  Was it delicious?  Heeeeh--ck no.  It was gross.  Proving that QUALITY is almost always more important than QUANTITY.  Sheesh.  OH well.  The rest of the meal was pretty good, though.  Made for a great story though, right?  :)  jk.

::: We sold our Futon.  It was time.  Fanny Futon had served us well for 5 years, but I complained EVERY time I sat in it.  That's right, I'm a whiner.  I kept saying, "One day, we'll have a real couch.  One day Tillie won't bonk her head on the hard sides."  Well, lucky for us, my mom hated sitting on it too when she came to visit.  :)  She and my dad decided to buy us a couch in honor of Aaron graduating!  WHOOO HOOO!  It was a present for the both of us, b/c let's face it, it WAS a team effort getting this kid through school.  :) 

So, blessed Fanny Futon had to find another family to live with.  (funny story: we gave her to our friends, the Horners.  Then they decided they weren't fans and it didn't fit in their room like they wanted, so THEY sold it.  :) hA!  but, nice friends that they are, they gave us the profit.)

Here she is in all her glory.  I put a thousand pillows on her to help give her SOME comfort factor.

As I was taking pictures of the futon, Aaron and Cal decided to take a lay down.  What cuties.

::: We rented a truck to get the new couch home (my mom had come down to help figure out what couch to get, then she flew back up to Utah after ordering it).  We had decided upon renting a Home Depot truck.  It was the best deal in town, and we only needed it for an hour or so.  Since we had the transportation, we decided it was time to move Tillie to a BIG GIRL BED and Cal into the crib.  Aaron was hesitant, b/c Tillie was a great crib sleeper.  But, when you have a HUGE baby in a pack'n'play, and you notice that the support was bending b/c of his weight---you say to yourself, "This can't be safe."  It was time.

So, we were able to get a mattress and bed frame for her big girl bed.  I'm happy to report, Tillie never fell out.  She was close, though.  We'd come in and find her in the WEIRDEST positions and think it was a miracle she never fell out.  But, it seems that the big girl bed was a good decision, overall.  The hardest part was the MOBILITY issue.  She kept climbing out and leaving her room making excuses as to why she wasn't able to go to sleep.  "I have an itch. I need some lotion," or "I have an hurt on my finger. I need a band-aid," or "I need a little more drink in my water bottle"---I could go on and on.  It was crazy.  Finally, after a month or so of coaxing and compromising, she calmed down.

Whew!  Anyway, here is the big girl on her new big girl bed.  Little did we know the adventures that would accompany this new addition.  :)  (and yes, Lyssa, I had put photos in the top two spots of your darling 3 frame delight you gave me, but alas, the third one is still not filled.  call me a slacker.  i deserve it.)

::: We have a friend named TJ.  He lives here in Texas, just a few streets away from us.  We are friends with their family and sometimes they invite us to have REAL TRUE smoked BBQ'd brisket.  SMOKING is a crazy intense process that involves TJ waking up at some absurd hour, like 3a.m. to get it started.  But, I'll say this, it's really really good.  Here we are at their house partaking of their goodness.  I have only TWO random pictures of the event, but here they are.  I have a feeling Aaron took these.  :)
The meat looks like it's burned, but it's not.  Just moist (love that word) and delicious.  Anyway, thanks TJ.  You're the man.

::: Now that we've talked about the meat, let's talk about the little porker (gross segue, i know).  Yes, that'd be Matilda Mae.  That girl is a nut.  At this point in life, she's 2 years and about 2 months old.  I decided that we needed to take some pictures of the kids, so as I told her to come out outside, she grabbed her sunglasses on the way out.  The rest is history.  Edit?  Who edits?

so serious.  keeping those HUGE glasses on, is a feat for a little head.

Calvin needed some pictures too.  So, I brought his little containment-play-situation out for better light.  Oh, that sweet boy...

i don't know what this face is, but it's funny.

the famous expressive eyebrows. 

inside with mom for a little more face time.  he looks less than thrilled in this one.

there's a happy baby.  he's almost 6 months in these shots.

Tillie learned her squat move from her mom's exercising videos.  Nice.   Here she is playing with an empty juice container.

one last happy shot of the Tillie-meister.  Wow, I sure do love those kiddos.

::: Here we are at a goodbye party for our great friends, the Evershed family.  We're big fans of this family.  We were sad to see them leave. Another one bites the dust.  But, we had a fun night.  Thanks, Horners, for hosting.  (Sad that the other family in the photo, the Walch's are moving too now! What's with that??)  :)

testing. testing. 123.

much better.

That's a wrap.  Thanks for playing.  End of June 2010.  done. done. and done.

project rewind: beginning of JUNE 2010--vacation part 4: utah AGAIN

The hits keep coming.  I guess that's what happens when you spend 5 weeks packing in the FUN!  :)  Can you believe we were there for that long?!  I know.  Crazy.
Let's start it out with some pool shots...

Babies like swimming in this pool---especially since it's like BATH WATER.  oh my.  Where was this pool when I was growing up?  And, why can't I swim in it everyday of my adult life?  Sigh.  I guess we need to come live in Utah again.

Cutie Cal around 5 months.

Kirstin (Aaron's sis) and darling Krieg.

Liz-bert and Tillie Willie.

Auntie Melody and Max going off the slide.  I love it!

 ::: We went boating with Snyders at Deer Creek.  I've never been a fan of this little lake growing up, b/c it is WAAAAY too cold.  I love how beautiful the area is (I mean, LOVE LOVE), but hate taking a dip in the water.  So, I didn't even BRING my swimsuit on this little outing.  I know.  That's how much I hate COLD WATER.  But, that Tillie.  She is adventurous.  Here she is taking a little dip with her toes.  So cute in Lizzy's old life jacket.

 

love those boys.

::: We were able to get up to the Zoo with some of our favorite friends.  Gotta love Natalie and Jandee.  Their husbands were working (like the rest of the human race), but Aaron came along.  He was definitely outnumbered, but still had a good time with us chatting gal-pals. Jandee is a pro in the photography department.  So nice that she let me swipe some of these pictures!  :)

 

 

I was IN LOVE with this new baby elephant.  HOW CUTE is he/she?  :)  One day, I hope to have an elephant of my very own.

The giraffes were A-mazing.  Who is that tall?  Seriously?!  I'm going to Africa to live, I guess.

Beautiful Jandee and Ike.

 

I spy, with my little eye: cute Natalie and Amelia.

"matchy-matchy.  green squared" (name that movie).  planned?  not really.  what a happy duo! 

 ::: More swimming.  What can I say?  It's fun!

Cal hanging out, pool side.  Here he is modeling my FAVORITE shirt ever.  I loved it on him and was pretty sad when it didn't squeeze over that big buddah belly anymore.  Oh well, it got some good wear for a while. 

 

 

We found this old swim suit of Lizzy's in the garage.  We thought, hey, maybe it will fit Tillie.  You should have seen how saggy and stretched out it was on her!!  hA!  We tied up the back to try and make it work, but it just got worse and worse as her swim session went on.  hAA!  But, a cool concept! 

love this picture with Tillie and my mom.  Don't know what Tillie's lips are doing, but I love this of my mom!

::: Last photo to finish the UTAH summer trip.  My dad barbequed some ribs (which I'd never had before).  They were really sticky.  Here Tillie is discovering that when she put her hands on her cheeks, they'd stick!  So funny.  She was quite the entertainer at the table.  That girl...

Anyway, there you have it!  FOUR installments of our 5 week vacation to Utah and California!  A big thank you to our friends and family who entertained us the entire time!  We love you all!
(insert me, Miss America style, blowing kisses and waving to you all).