while he's gone...

Aaron is away. So far away. Just kidding, not TOO far away, but he is in Dallas. I am in San Antonio. Luckily, the baby hasn't come yet, otherwise, he'd be dead meat!

He is there for a dental research conference. I just got a picture text message from him... he's all dressed up and looking great! Maybe we'll get some pictures from the event. The plan, back in the day, was that I would go with him to Dallas (this week is his spring break), but alas, the plan got changed a little bit, as the baby could be here any day. So... alas, I am here. He is there. Awesome spring break, eh? Remember how last year we flew to San Fran and road tripped to Portland? Good times. This spring break... well, it is a little different. :) Different is good.

No, it really has been good thus far. Aaron's dad came into town on Friday to do some male bonding with Aaron... and what is more manly-er than putting in a backyard and planting flowers in the front? I know of nothing more masculine.

So, here are some pictures from the back breaking weekend. (Note: I didn't break my back at all... I was relaxin' inside, the men, on the other hand, were working hard.) Enjoy the pictures.

this is aaron in the backyard, just after he and his dad "roto-tilled" the muddy-clay mess in our backyard. they had to stop every few feet to unclog the tiller. It was a mess! So glad I was inside, enjoying life.

we had the fine people at "Fertile Gardens" deliver 9 yards of "the good stuff".
This is the pile that Aaron is chipping away at. Notice the awesome truck we rented in the background.
One day we will have a truck of our own. One day...


so, I don't know if you knew this, but dirt can cost a lot of money. Can you tell which is our old soil? This is the mix, where the old meets the new. I still can't get over the fact that DIRT (of all things!) can cost so much. Love that.


the back yard... freshly seeded and new trees and shrubs--after the rain. (we planned that one nicely!)
there are a few little rivers from the rain, but it should grow nicely. get excited!


aaron thought it would be "rad" if he was telling his dad what to do. nice.


they still had enough energy to put in a little flower patch in front! nice!

all cleaned up. i thought the pizza in aaron's hand was not cool for the picture and suggested he get rid of it.

so he did. gag.

the close up. is it just me, or does it look like aaron is eating his mustache on the right side?

NEW & totally unrelated EVENT

oh, and this next one is a picture of Aaron when he went on his Man-venture with Mike and Brian.
I love it! Thanks, Mike for posting the pictures on your blog!


So, there were two pictures of me and Aaron's dad on the front porch, but I am not wanting to post it.
Sorry (but not really). Apparently I am retaining water--- so I look extra awesome right now. :)
No thanks. Better luck next time!

because I can...

well team, I was trying to organize my pictures a bit and came across these lovlies from my parent's computer. These were taken in Hawaii two years ago when we went for Christmas with my family. It are fun. We are fun. Here's to awesome weather and good times. (is anyone else REALLY glad that Spring is here??)
I am SOO ready to be done with amazingly huge maternity clothes. I can't wait to wear t-shirts and skirts and shorts again. Sigh. Soon enough.
So, enjoy these SUPER close up shots of me and two of my sisters. Whoever took the photos had patience.
We love posing. And dancing in front of mirrors/dark windows (like a mirror at night)... is that weird? No. It is cool. Awesome cool.

man, let's all go to hawaii forever, ok? good.
sigh. maybe one day...
oh, and everyone says my family ALL looks exactly the same? really? i don't think so, do you?

my funny family

ok, enough of me on the blog... let's focus outward.
Aaron is on a "Man Adventure" with Mike Babcock fishing in the wilderness right now. Apparently Mike was going to bring his camera so they could (and I quote) "man up the blogging world." I love it. I know you are looking forward to the pictures as much as I am.

Oh, another thing I love about this Man Adventure was when Mike called to tell Aaron what time they would be picking him up, Aaron said, "I've got my tackle box ready to go." After he hung up, I asked, "Uhhh, you have a tackle box?" and with that he proceeded to show me his single-serving-plastic-yogurt-container filled with little fishing flies and toilet paper (you know, so they won't bounce around). That was his tackle box. Love that. I wish them all the best!


I was looking around on my family's website that my dad set up looking for a specific picture and happened upon this little lovely (or just watch below).

I couldn't help but laugh my head off. I'd seen it before, but it was a treat to see it again. My cousin Hailee is in Italy serving a mission for our church. It was her birthday and everyone was putting together little clips for a dvd they were going to send her. This was from our family. (P.S. Hailee writes the BEST emails from her mission.... I laugh SO hard from each one!) Above is a picture of Hailee, Emily (my older sister) & Becca (my younger sister).



Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out to the Snyder fam. Lots of love to you crazy bunch. (p.s. I don't know where Jesse was in this video, but I know he LOVES to sing that song. so sad he AND i both missed it).

what i've been up to... and big belly

Ok, I really haven't been doing non-stop baby showers and fun crazy parties... it has actually been pretty low key around here.  The only big change has been my belly, really.  I made these little magnets for the cute girls I work with at the Mip.  This is mostly just for my sisters and mom to see, because they were having a hard time imagining what it was I was talking about.  I am super into wool felt lately.  My Christmas tree has TONS of felt ornaments and I am starting to make little flower clips for the babe.  She is going to be SO cute in them, I just know it!  I got the idea from this site.  Too many cute things on that site!

And you want proof that we weren't lying about having a kiddo? Ok, here was me on Feb. 4th... so that was like, what 30 weeks?

yeah, I decided to pose in front of our sliding glass door so you could

 really get the full outline going.  love that.

and here we are at 35 weeks (this was taken last week).  

oh, and you totally wanted a close up, right?  i thought so.

ok, that is it for now.  I just made chocolate chip-walnut-toffee cookies AND carmel walnut brownies.  Yeah, I really better go.  :)  no, they are for a little gal get-together, not just because I was hungry, thank you very much.

we've been showered!

Wow, team. Let's not discuss the fact that I haven't posted for ALMOST an ENTIRE month. My apologies to all our zealous fans who have repeatedly been disappointed with each click into our domain. But, my friends, I feel it was worth the wait. Boy, howdy, have I got some pictures to show you! Before you view these things... just know that people are WAY too nice to Aaron and me. We have been showed so much love in these last few weeks... it makes us shake our heads. And, not to mention, super grateful.

So, without further ado, here are some pictures from the wonderful showers that have been held in our little bebe's behalf!

As I was posting each picture, I decided that it might be easier on EVERYONE involved if I were to do three different posts. So, this one is the UTAH shower power. This is me sending my love to that great state of friends and family!

my shower throw-ers... sarah & whit (i'm the fat girl in the middle).

roomies from the college days (kimmy is in NYC, but with us in our hearts)
it was a TOTAL surprise that they showed, and I loved it.

me and my sistahs & madre (not super flattering of me, but that's okay, i'm accepting that most pictures aren't super "flattering" right now in my life).

my other cute sistah's (minus melody) and other madre (get a load of those cute kiddos!)
now do we see why Aaron has his red hair?? :)

the wheadon gals! Look how cute this little group shot is?! And congrats to Kelsey! she is getting married in a minute! oooh! and whit is prego too (with a baby girl too, no less!) good times abound!

DISCLAIMER: Team, there were many other wonderful women and one man (aaron's dad) who came and dropped by, but alas, i was not fortunate enough to remember to get pictures of all. Sad day. AND! you should have seen how BEAUTiFUL the house was decorated... and the food?! Oh, just thinking about it makes me so happy!! Man, I can't believe I don't have more pictures! Alas, These are the ones we got, so please forgive!

shower power part 2

let's talk about this cake... Sandi, Kajsa's mom made it and brought it up from Austin?!
Can you believe the skill here? She was so great and had so many fun ideas!! Oh, and I felt like I was committing a HUGE sin cutting into this amazing cake. It was so sad! but then, it was so DELICIOUS too!

Okay, get ready for this goodness. Melissa Jessop, Kajsa Nielson and her mom Sandi went ALL out for this shower for Tejas friends & wardies (oh, and I had no idea that Cheri and Valerie were in on the goodness too... they showed up with food and delights galore!!). It was so great... who knew that people had nothing better to do on a Thursday night?! Golly, we had quite the turn out and I can't believe it all!

All's I can say is this: one lucky baby (oh, she just kicked her foot up in agree-ance).

the pregnant ladies of the group!
in order from left to right: Kajsa (her house is where the shin-dig was held...mind you, she is SUPER sick with pregnancy pains, yet you would never know it!), Kristen Brininstool (my super cute coworker who happens to live down the street - I couldn't believe she had never met all of her cute neighbors that go to church with me, so we had to change that!), sweet Jen Wildey (her husband, Rex, is a dental student with Aaron, and we totally love them), Melissa Jessop (she is another of the beauties who lives a stone's throw away, and we are super great friends!) Me (who, because of the color of shirt I am wearing and the lighting factor, can't tell that I am SUPER pregnant-ha!), and cute Danielle Cuellar (she was due yesterday! no baby yet...but they are going to induce her on Monday!) ----whew! did you get all that?!

cute favors... again from kajsa & her mom

more cute favors... did you know that Kajsa separated ALL these M& M's out?? if that isn't love, I don't know what is!

even MORE favors! yeah, crazy fun, right?

we remembered at the end that I had my camera and hadn't really taken ANY pictures of live bodies (where was my head?!) Here is Jami Black, me (with some strange shiny line down my belly, love that), Jill Rupp and Lyssa Zimmerman (the last two I went to high-school with and we are all here for our dental husbands... small world!)

onesie decorating table. Yeah, I know, mind reels that there could be more. There were patches and little crystals where people could decorate onesies for the bebe. They turned out SOO cute! I need to take some pictures of those for your viewing pleasure too!

food. delicious food. presented so beautifully!

Yeah, team, can you believe it?? It was so much fun! I am sad I didn't get EVEN more pictures of all the wonderful people who showed up! It was crazy fun and, again, I am so in shock that people are so incredibly generous to help us get ready for this little whipper snapper. I'm shaking my head as I type in disbelief. Truly, thank you to all my gal pals for such goodness!

Moon Mippy Goodness!

Ok, look at this adorable diaper cake! Linda and her cute daughter Jessica (and Marilyn too!) created this grand delight! Are you dying like I am? What a fun gift AND centerpiece!

So, many of you know that I have been working at a delightful stationery store from the moment we moved to Tejas. When we were looking for houses a few months before the move, Aaron and I went around with my resume' and we looked for a job for me. Little did I know that I would happen into a SUPER cute store, tell the girl that I was looking for a job as a graphic designer, and have her eyes light up and say, "Hey, I am the graphic designer and I am moving! We are definitely looking for someone!" ---that was nice. I gave her my cell phone number and we left.

Got a call, I think the next day, to set up an interview. By this time, we had found our house and were feeling good. I went to the interview and met sweet Bekah (manager) and Missy (the Mippster herself) and it was really nice & went well.

Since Aaron and I had found the house and didn't have much to do, we decided to cross the street and watch a movie. Well, during the movie, I got a call from Missy to say I'd been hired! !!! I went out to the hall to answer the call, and the door guard almost didn't let me back in!

It was a great day and a great trip. Not only had we found a house that we were thrilled about, but we had also found a job that I was ecstatic about!

It has been a great thing in my life to rub shoulders with such wonderful women each day! That is my favorite part of Moon Mippy, the sweet girls I have been able to work with. It is a bitter sweet thing I am experiencing right now. I will definitely miss these EVERYday relationships with these remarkable women. I mean, don't get me wrong, I can't think of anything better than being able to stay at home with this baby, but I will definitely miss these women. Luckily, we aren't moving for a long time, and they know that I will be visiting with a cute bundle in tow... lots.

With that introduction, here are the gals I get to work with. They threw me a shower at Missy's house last week and it was so much fun. All of our get-togethers are so fun. (again, why did I not take more pictures???)

Mandy, Marilyn and Kristen

Missy had mini Boboli pizzas for each of us to design! I was SHOCKED that she knew of my favorite pizza (that I dream about, literally) and had it all planned for the party! And she, of course, knew my favorite toppings! She is so sneaky and great like that! Oh, and check out the darling table. Remember how I love giraffes?? I know. Too lucky.

Here's the group photo! Imagine me in between LouAnn and Mandy. From left to right: LouAnn, Mandy, Marilyn, Linda, Kayla (newest Mippian), Missy, Bekah, Catherine and Kristen. Good times. Good times.

Thank you gal pals. It was a truly wonderful night.

whew!

ok. prepare yourself. there are LOTS of pictures on this post. you'll thank me later.

What a week, boys and girls! If you didn't know, my mom was here all last week and sadly I had to take her to the airport this morning to go back home to Utah. Don't worry, I cried my eyes out. Her trips here are never long enough! We accomplished sooo much! She really knows how to crack the whip, and I am good at taking orders (not!), so sometimes I had to say, "Denise, calm down. Let's take a break and EAT FOOD!" I had to keep asking her all week, "Aren't you hungry yet?" and "How do you have sooo much energy?" Her response was always, "Melissa, I'm not 7.5 months pregnant." Go figure.

I can't believe we got as much as we did done. It was nutso and so much fun. We were able to make some good decisions about baby purchases and totally re-hauled two rooms in our house. So, you wanna see some pictures? Of course you do! (OH! I wanted to add that we are painting a darling big bookshelf that will be where the stroller is currently. And that little nightstand circa 199? built by Aaron will be painted white too).

Ok, I'll show. I was kind enough (i know, I'm good like that) to do some 360 degree shots of the bebe's room.

So, No, we aren't finished with this room. And no, we aren't going to have that picture of Aaron & I there... I don't even know where that came from. Picture cute little booties and other delights hung from the little pegs. It will be SOOO cute. Also, mind you, even though the next shot has lots of great Beatrix Potter prints, it will NOT be a bunny room. We are going to add other good things, so don't be SO mad that there are lots many bunnies. Okay? Fine. Good.

close up of the adorable stroller. i love that it matches her room. yeah, smart like that.

mind you, this crib quilt is HAND QUILTED by my mom. Isn't it incredible??

ok. breathe. I know, that was a whole lot of baby room goodness. But, now I have some more glorious-ness to show. Remember when I showed my OLD "craft room/office situation"? Well, we've added MORE storage (you know, we had to make room for the babe) and a makeshift desk for Aaron. (I guess it isn't totally fair for me to have 2 rooms to myself). Prepare to be blown away. I love it in this room! I took some more 360 degree shots... you know, to get the FULL effect.

this is a salute/tribute to the Jazz, and Aaron for that matter. I needed to make the room a little MANLY for his sake. What do we think?

oh, I forgot to move that number thing to the right of the desk. Get excited for Sharing Time my little friends. :) My mom and I worked on that little ditty too. But, it is covering my card-stock paper holder. Sorry.


Here is a little shot of TEAM STINKIN' AMAZING. (I just decided that was our team name). We took this late Sunday night...and I am looking "oh, so cute" -- oh wait, darn. Sorry, mom, to bring down the shot a few notches. But, we had to get a shot of the Team for posterity's sake.

I know, you are all jealous of my mom's Mad Skills. It was a fantastic week and I love her soooo much. Thanks, Mom. You truly are the bomb.com Love to you!