hmm??

Two summers ago Aaron and I went on a little weekend trip with some of friends from UT. While we were there, a bunch of the gals were talking about this book that was so amazing and romantic and were obsessing about it. I had never even heard of the book, so, of course, when I got home I ran to the bookstore and bought Twilight. I read it. It was fine. I was entertained enough to keep reading. That was that. Then I kept hearing more and more about it and all the books that followed. I heard of grown, adult women having getting a little too "excited" while reading these books or wearing their wedding dresses to the book release party. Wow, that just about put me over the edge. Seriously?! But, the obsession never stopped with all these women everywhere...except for me. (Believe me, I know how to obsess...Justing Timberlake, anyone?!)So, now I'm wondering why I seem to be the only person I know who didn't run out to see the movie this past weekend. What's wrong with me? Something must be off because I'm the minority here!! Maybe I'm just not romantic enough. Or maybe it just got too hyped up for me before I read it, so my expectations were too great. I like fantasy-type books, so that's not it. Maybe I'm just boring. Hmm?? Now, put on The Notebook, and I could watch that all day!!

thank goodness

Thank goodness for wonderful neighbors that have Directv and upgraded their package so Aaron could watch the BYU/UT game at their house today.

Go BYU!

I had to post our annual BYU pictures. Aaron gets to excited to put on his BYU gear for game days, and he loves it when Elsie joins in. Maybe someday I'll actually get a shirt as well. Aaron flies his flag for everyone to see as the drive by. Go cougs!

Elsie wanted to show off her new outfit. She's just not a little baby anymore. She's closer to 2 than 1 1/2. Wow! It's gone fast.

These pictures don't quite do it justice, but Elsie had some fun with my make-up this morning. She was sitting on the counter next to me as I was getting ready, so I let her play with some of the make-up and pretend like she was putting it on. Before I knew it, the whole side of her face was white and shimmery. When I showed her how she looked in the mirror, she laughed. It was funny!

The only other thing going on is that Aaron and I both got callings in our ward. He is going to be serving the primary, which he is very pumped about. He's going to teach the 8 (turning 9) year olds. I was called to the first counselor in the Young Women's. I am excited and a little nervous. There aren't many young women in our ward, so hopefully I will be able to serve well.

biggest fit ever

Elsie threw one of her all-time biggest fits at the grocery store today. Everyone was staring at me. The last trip to the grocery store was very similar as well. I don't what the deal is. Well, actually, I do have some idea. Whenever Aaron and I are out shopping together, he will always hold her if she wants to be held...not to say that I haven't done it as well. She's just so little and light, that it's easy to hold her. However when it's just Elsie and I and a cart, that's not possible. She was so mad that I was making her ride in the cart (I even tried to put her in the big part of the cart which she likes better than the seat), so she screamed (LOUDLY) and cried for most of the time I shopped. I kept trying to ignore her and just get the shopping done, but she was ruining my concentration. She finally started pointing to some of the food I had in the cart and I realized she must be hungry. Keep in mind, we had just had lunch before going to the store. The other problem is my child won't eat. So, I found a thing of fruit snacks in my purse and she settled down. She even managed to give me a cheesy smile (which was really cute because she was still trying to settle down and catch her breath) and a kiss. All was well and we finished our shopping. Maybe she just hates grocery shopping as much as I do!! (I got it from my mom.)

We went to the library again today with our friends. We tried out a different library today, and it was so great. There were way more people there and the activities and songs were so much fun. I'm glad we have that to look forward to now.

I went with my neighbor to a card-making thing last night. I hadn't done that kind of stuff for such a long time. I was so nice to zone out and make things. I really do enjoy it. I just hate having all the stuff around my house (I'm in a major decluttering phase) and it's so hard to find the time to do it when Elsie is not around. It was so great to go over to someone else's house who has everything you could possible imagine and was super organized. She had some really cute ideas and had everything all laid out for us. I think I'm going to do go once a month and do it. Best of both worlds, I think.

Well, good shows are on tonight. I've got a new pack of Skinny Cow's in the freezer. And it's almost the weekend.

nothing like a good cry

Saturday was just one of those days. I don't know what was up with me, but I was in a major funk. Actually, the first part of the day was great. We ran some errands in Boise, went out to lunch, bought a new ottoman and kitchen table, and spent time together as a family. But, for some reason, that night I was just really anxious and on the verge of tears. This is not totally unusual for me (or for any girl, for that matter). Well, later that night I just completely broke down. It's always the usual things that I cry about, but when it hits...IT HITS! I'm so thankful that I have such a wonderful husband who listens to me, reminds me to breathe, and wants to help me however he can. I can say whatever I want to, and he doesn't think I'm crazy. I always feel better after I cry and feel like everything is going to be okay. I was able to get some of the things done that have been stressing me out, and I got to go to the gym today and have a good workout. I'm feeling so much better! You'd think by now I'd be used to these periodic meltdowns (for a while there this summer, they were occurring a little too often) and just go with it. I guess it's just a part of life.

On a happier note, like I mentioned above, we finally finished all of our major shopping for the house. We were able to find this really cool ottoman that has a ton of storage in it for Elsie's toys. The only bad part is they aren't going to get it in until December, so I have to wait to get it. We also bought a new kitchen table with a butterfly leaf in it for our not so big dining area. It's going to be perfect for that area. Now I can actually host my family for Thanksgiving, and we don't have to eat on a little card table. I'm excited!

I was reading my cousin, Samantha's, blog about listening to good music. It inspired me to get on iTunes last night and download some new (and some not so new) songs. There's nothing like good music to make you happy and get you going. I made myself a new playlist for working out. Elsie and I had a major dance party today!

pictures of my new stuff

Well, I finally got off my behind and took some a few pictures of some of our fun, new purchases. I have a lot left to do and will have to wait until more money comes flowing. But for now we are loving it.

Aaron got his big TV finally!! (Please ignore the freak show on the TV...It's the Doodlebops show and Elsie was loving it. She got ticked when I tried to turn it off. We were dancing around the room with little towels. Anyway, he's a little frightening!) I totally need to decorate and accessorize the whole room. But, honestly, right now the simplified decor is kind of nice. I don't like clutter.

Here's our sectional. We've been really happy with it so far. It is a really pretty green (not sage...more sagey/seafoom) color, but I'm having a horrible time finding anything that matches it. I'm not even being OCD about it...it's just kind of a weird color.

And, the van!! I love it. I really like the white color a lot more than I thought I would. It looks very sharp. Elsie and I drove around the block (behind our house where there aren't many houses...I was trying to be somewhat safe) right after we took this picture. I let her sit on my lap and steer the wheel. She thought that was the greatest thing. I remember doing that as a kid and thinking I was so cool. She was giggling the whole time.

We also got a new washer/dryer and a new mattress set for our bed. No pictures, sorry. :) It was fun making the purchases, but now the bills are coming in...darn it!

just checking in

We're all finally getting over our colds this week, so it's still kind of been uneventful. We did finally get our van on Monday night and it is so wonderful to have. I do feel a little funny driving around in it because it is just Elsie and I. Oh well, I'm happy! We had to return an ottoman to Target the other night, and it was so nice to stick it in the back of the van and not have to borrow our neighbor's truck.

I took Elsie to the library to do for a little storytime for little ones. She loved it so much! They had music and books and bubbles. She was in heaven! It was great to get out and do something different. I went with my friend Pam and her two little girls. I'm glad that Elsie has some friends to play with. Yesterday I went over to my friend Mandy's house for lunch and to visit. Elsie got to play with her daughter (who is a couple years older than Elsie) for a while. I'm really enjoying having some distractions and other entertainment for her during the day.

Aaron's liking his job pretty well and is working on advertising to get his own clients. He gets to come home for lunch a lot, so Elsie likes that. The office, in general, is very laidback...or at least Aaron treats it like it is. We are very happy to be back in Nampa. It feels so nice to be back in our home and in our neighborhood.

lazy halloween

Elsie has had a cold this week and passed it along to Aaron and I. We thought she was getting better, so we took her for a little while to our ward halloween party. She wouldn't put her costume on (thank goodness I didn't spend anything on it this year...long story short for Camery and Lindsay...I found my costume once we unpacked EVERYTHING, so I decided Elsie would just be what she was last year). I only got this one picture of her wearing the headpiece.

Aaron's parents came up on Thursday to visit for the weekend and Elsie really seemed to be getting over the cold. Then on Friday she had a bad fever all day and was really needy and snuggly. We ran a couple errands and she got a cute baby set from her Grandma and Grandpa. Aaron and Gary carved some pumpkins while I watched and took pictures.

For some reason Aaron felt the need to not smile for the camera and look a little psycho.Here he's doing to Haka face...that one's for you, Ang. Don't worry, he doesn't think he looks cool. (We are not fans of the Haka!) Aaron's finished product. He had to do some improvising on the design because he went a little crazy carving (he even cut himself pretty badly). Elsie loved it once it was lit up.

We decided not to take her out trick or treating since she was still so sick. We handed out candy to kids that came by, and as Elsie started feeling better from the medicine she helped us answer the door. She would get so excited when the doorbell rang or someone knocked. Then she loved to close the door when they left.

Here we are lounging on the couch. She was so snuggly and just wanted her mommy and daddy. I'm glad she got a little more energy as the night went on. She was pretty pathetic at this point.

Helping Daddy open the door and hand out candy.
Aaron took Elsie out for a little walk around and knocked on our door when they got back so Elsie could at least get some candy. She was pretty excited to pick it out of the bowl.

Finally the medicine really started to kick in and Elsie's spirits were up. She ate some pizza and played with her new baby and stroller. She was loving it. She is so sweet with the baby and just knew everything to do. It melted my heart.

It actually turned out to be a nice night. Hopefully next year she'll be ready to go trick-or-treating!