tutu

We bought Elsie a tutu at the swap meet in California. We couldn't resist. She just lights up when we put it on her. She does circles and dances around. Last night we turned on music and were dancing trying to get her into it. If only I had gotten a picture of Aaron...that would've been a real treat.

our travels

We've had a busy last couple weeks filled with a trip to Utah and California. We flew down to Utah for a Kenneth and Vertie Earl family reunion up in Heber. It was so fun to hang out with my family that was able to make it. We have such a good time together, just goofing around and hanging out. We ate lots of good food and got to see that side of our family that I wasn't as familiar with. (I'm so ticked...I forgot to bring my camera to the reunion.)

While we were in UT, I got to go shopping with my friend, Jill, and visit with her while Aaron and his dad were golfing. I always have such fun talking with her. It's crazy to think we were roommates 12 years ago! We had a couple extra days in Utah before heading to California, so we were able to visit with Jeff and Nicole and their kids and went down to Tamu's house for a little visit. Elsie was starting to get a cold on Monday, so we just hung out at home. We were supposed to go to 7 Peaks with Jared/Lindsay, kids, and Angie, but we had to cancel that. We did not want to have a super sick child for the rest of the week. It was nice to just relax that day and catch up on some rest.

Gary and Sylvia have the most wonderful backyard. They've put so much time and effort into making it so beautiful and relaxing. Gary just finished a new water feature in the corner, and they took Elsie out for a photo shoot. You can't really see the water feature too well, but Elsie cute enough.

We drove down to CA on Tuesday with Aaron's parents. It was a long day driving, but really a nice trip. We stopped every few hours to eat and stretch. Gary had bought a portable DVD player, so we were able to get some Wiggles movies to keep Elsie happy. She fell asleep for a bout an hour early in the drive and then never feel asleep again. I was getting worn out, but Sylvia stepped in and kept her happy and entertained.

The next three days we spent at the beach. Oh, it was delightful! I really do love being at the beach. It is so peaceful and feels so good to be in the sun but not totally burning up. I was very anxious to see how Elsie was going to react to it all...the sand, the waves, the water, all the people. She loved it! We took her down to the water and let her stand right where the waves come up after they've crashed down. She loved to feel it splash up on her, but she really loved when the water rushed back down. We did it over and over and over again! Thank goodness we could all take turns because it got very tiring bending down and lifting her up.

We took lots of snacks to the beach and Elsie loved sitting on the blanket eating chips and gummy bears. So nutritious, right?! It's okay, I downed a box of Cheez-its over those few days. Maybe I shouldn't be admitting that. I don't do as well skipping meals as the rest of them.

My cousin, Alysha, lives just a few minutes from where we were staying, so she was able to come meet up with us at the beach a couple times. It was so fun to have time to just sit and visit. One day she brought her little niece (who is just a couple months younger than Elsie...and a lot taller) and they had fun playing together. They got especially sandy that day...Piper (Alysha's niece) liked shoveling the sand onto Elsie as well as the bucket. Thank goodness they have showers there.

Elsie loved playing in the sand. I was a little nervous that she would be bugged by it on her hands since she's always wanting me to clean off her hands. It didn't bother her a bit.

I attempted boogie boarding with Aaron again this trip. The first couple attempts out in the waves were pretty traumatic (as usual) but I toughed it out and was able to catch a few waves. I really do like it, I just suck at it. Plus, I'm not the best at following Aaron's directions. The third day at the beach, the waves were bigger and I really got pummelled that day. That was the day he also tried to teach Alysha. She got worked over by a few waves as well. It's much more fun to watch someone else getting traumatized! Aaron, of course, is a pro...and cheesy!!

We were able to go to some nummy restaurants and eat lots of food. One night we went to really nice steakhouse that Gary and Sylvia have loved for years. We'd been there once before and it was delicious. Well, our experience this time was not so great...mostly because Elsie was so grumpy! I mean, it was embarrassing. It was a nice restaurant and we couldn't even keep her at the table. But, we survived it.

One of the other highlights of the trip was getting to see Grandma Wise and the rest of Gary's family. We hadn't been down there for about 5 years, so we were definitely due for a visit. Grandma Wise turned 90 this summer and is doing so well. She still lives in her house in Anaheim and was very excited for our visits. She is so sweet and fun to visit with. I was really glad that Elsie got to meet her. She was even pleasant enough to give Great-Grandma a hug and kiss.

We didn't go to Disneyland while we were down there. I know, shocking! I was really fine with it because I'm not a fan of being too hot and walking around all day. Plus, we wanted to wait to take Elsie when she's a little older. Next year sometime. There were a few moments, though, when I got so sad that we weren't there, like when I could see the fireworks from Grandma Wise's house. I just had to keep reminding myself...next year!

Well, we got tan, had a great time relaxing and visiting, ate lots of good food, and didn't want to come home. Sounds like a good vacation to me!

Elsie's words

She's not saying much yet, but over the last couple weeks she's blossomed. She says a definite "Mom" which she says to both Aaron and I. Funny! She also says "Uh-Oh" when anything is wrong, like she's dropped something and needs us to do something for her. It is really cute because she makes a very distinct face when she says each syllable. I can't wait for more!

she's on the move

She keeps getting better and faster each day. I love to watch her move!

summer happenings

This summer has gone so fast. I can't believe it! We have been busy with travelling, swimming in the pool, doing the estate sale, and moving our stuff into the house.

Elsie was doing really well in the pool this summer and really seemed to be liking it. We'd put her in a little floatie ring and push her around the pool. When she got sick of that, we would put her in a big floatie that would kind of fill up with water and let her play around in that. She had a bit more freedom to move that way. Well, it all went downhill when we decided to see what she would do if we got her face underwater. It was both of our faults...ever since then, she has really disliked being in the pool. She loves to walk around the pool and watch other people in it, but she just gets super grumpy when we take her in. I'm hoping she'll forget about it by next summer. Until then, we'll have to keep her busy doing something else.These were the days when she was still happy in the pool. Now those days are gone. So sad!

As I posted earlier (and then posted a video), Elsie is a walking machine. She has been so happy and adventurous now that she is walking. Just over the last few days, she's getting a lot more daring and climbing up onto things. Now, keep in mind these are not real tall objects...have you seen her short, little legs?! When she walks, she looks like a little munchkin. I can hardly stand how cute it is!
No, Elsie did not go to Mardi Gras! A few weeks ago I bought these bead necklaces at the drug store because I noticed she loved the beads at Grandma Wise's house. Well, these were the best purchase I've ever made. She can play with them for hours! We play all sorts of games with them. She loves to take them on and off and carry them around the house. The other day we played this game where I would sing "pretty beads, pretty beads..." (keep in mind, I can't sing and it was some made up tune) and would drop the beads on the floor as she laughed and laughed. Then she would bring each one to me (she concentrated so hard to bend down and pick them up) and we'd start all over. Good times! The highlight of our last month was a little trip over to Bellevue/Seattle that the three of us just took this past weekend. The weather was perfect (in the 70's), we ate tons of good food (don't get much variety here in ML), shopped (all we bought were sunglasses...but that was exciting for us), and did a little touristy stop at the Pike Place Market and the Seattle waterfront (Aaron had never been down there before). Elsie's favorite part was when we let her out of the stroller to explore. She loved being outside, like usual, and was fascinated the birds. We kept trying to feed them to get them to come closer to her, but she wasn't really wanting them to get too close. She would just step away.
Poses like this make me realize that she's really growing up. She just looks like a little girl to me...not my baby!
We spent most of the afternoon in Seattle, so Elsie missed her nap. She fell asleep within seconds of getting in the car for the drive home. What a great face to look at!

Well, the estate sale went really well. It was a ton of work, but we managed to get it done and sold most of the things we were wanting to. The worst part of the weekend was that we had to then move our stuff out of the basement of David's office building and into the house. Aaron and Jared worked their butts off getting it all done. I felt so bad for them! Well, mostly Jared...I tried to get Aaron to get more help, but that didn't happen. We still have all sorts of boxes around the house that need to get organized and put away. I went really strong for the first few days, but my enthusiasm has dwindled. We got the dishes out, and that's all that was extremely important.

It's hard to think that we'll be doing this all again in just a couple of months, but we are going to have to. We made a decision to move back to Nampa since our house hasn't sold. It was a tough decision to have to come to, but we had to make up our minds and just do something about it. We've been waiting and waiting for months, and nothing is happening. When we drove through our neighborhood on a trip back from UT, we realized that the market is even worse then we thought and they are still building in our subdivision. None of the existing homes are selling at all. We feel good about our decision. Things have definetely changed over the last couple months and our view of where we need to be and want to be doing have changed! We don't see Nampa as being our final stopping point in life. Aaron really wants to go back to UT, and I finally feel like I'm finally in a place where I can support that and go for it. We'll see how it all plays out and what the timing of it all is...as for now, we'll be heading back to Nampa sometime in October.

I have been having a lot of trouble the last while getting my mind and self to a happy place. I feel like I've worked through some things that have been causing me a lot of stress and anxiety, but I miss feeling happy. I know I'm the only one that can make that happen, it's just hard. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has ever felt this way. I just wanted to explain where I've been.