some shinnanigans

 The last night Kasie was here we wanted to take her to a restaurant on the beach so she could have some seafood and see the boardwalk and ocean. It was a great idea in theory. Unfortunately it is no longer tourist season in Virginia Beach so most of the restaurants were closed. Also, by the time we got to the beach is was almost dark and was very chilly. The only restaurant open that we saw was this little Greek place, so we thought, "What's the harm? We'll go here. At least it's on the boardwalk". Except that the food wasn't all that great and I spent the rest of the evening being very ill. Ah well. We did get to take some pictures together, though.

like mother, like daughter

not the best picture of me, but Kasie looks cute

weird sauce

drunk Evelyn

happy Evelyn

took Kas to the beach and it was way too cold for that little girl, but she was a trooper.

sweetest girl alive.

The day Kasie left we made one last trip to Virginia Beach so she could see it in daylight. We ate at red lobster, seafood-check, and then went to the boardwalk and beach. Hopefully she had fun. She bought a couple shirts and a hoodie from a souvenir shop, so look out Utah, Virginia is comin' your way.

halloween baby

Some of you may not know this, but Dan's birthday is halloween. Consequently, it has become one his favorite holidays. This year my dear husband turned 30, so I tried to make his birthday and halloween as exciting as possible because he was actually pretty sad about turning 30.

this has nothing to do with halloween, but she is so cute! She loves food now

carving pumpkins

Kasie and I still hadn't started carving ours.

I owned that pumpkin

this is mine and Kasie's pumpkin. He's "special"

Dan's pumpkin. He worked really hard on it. pretty awesome

On his birthday I took him to a Japanese steakhouse. It was really good and really fun. They knew it was his birthday, so they sang to him and gave him this slice of pineapple.

cheesecake. First time I've ever made cheesecake.

Happy Birthday, honey. I love you.

I'm super disappointed that I didn't get a picture of us in our Halloween costumes. Part of Dan's birthday present this year was that we actually bought costumes. He was a knight, I was a maiden, and Evie was a princess. She was so adorable. I'm kicking myself. Hopefully I was able to alleviate some of the pain that turning 30 was giving Dan. I tried to make it as fun as possible so he wouldn't have time to think about how old he was getting. Poor guy. On the up side, he doesn't look a day over 22.

Guess who's in town?

My best friend, Kasie Fry, is in town this week. I am so excited to spend the week with her and to have a friend around. I'm not ashamed to admit that I have been incredibly lonely since we've been here, so I couldn't be more excited. I didn't sleep much last night because I was so anxious about her being here this morning. But, here she is and we are going to tear it up. You should be jealous.

right now

we are up in Evelyn's room playing. She is in her crib having a grand old time with her toys and I am sitting in the rocker typing on the computer. Every once in a while she looks over at me and laughs and I say, "Yep. I'm still here."
My house is a complete mess. Especially my bedroom. It is so messy! Clothes everywhere. We desperately need a dresser folks.
I am thinking about what I can make as a treat for family home evening. I was thinking something to do with pumpkins. I got this recipe from my cousin that looks delicious, so I think I'll try it.
I am showered, dressed, and have make-up on. Personal victory.
there are clothes in the washer that need to be put in the dryer and dirty dishes in the sink
it is beautiful outside and the trees are turning colors


I am so happy.

good morning

sometimes I think I live my life in pink and green

 In case you were wondering, the color scheme for my house in not pink and green. Not at all. But Evie seems to take up so much of the living room space that it kind of looks that way. We start our day with baby einstein in the bumbo while I take a shower and eat breakfast. Then there's some play/ funny faces time followed by a nap. After the nap she eats her rice cereal and loves it; making a huge mess in the process. Sometimes we go for a walk, but more often than not we play on the floor together or I put her in her entertainer. Depending on the day, she'll watch me do the dishes in the kitchen sitting in her bouncer, all the while listening to music and dancing. Sometimes I even cook a little something. This is followed by another nap and another round of rice cereal, followed by an attempt at a vegetable or fruit of some kind. At this point she hates all non-milk, non-cereal items. Sigh. And that is how most of our days go.

But, not lately. Because lately little miss has had a really stuffy nose. Which means she has a really hard time sleeping or nursing. So, most days it's just crying all day long until she wears herself out. I feel really bad for her and I wish there was something I could do, but more than that I just feel frustrated and exhausted. Dan didn't get home until 9 last night, so I didn't get to get out of the house and go anywhere.  I'm just exhausted. Any words of encouragement?

So this is what my life looks like. Pink and green, baby. 

Loves her baby einstein. Is she cute or what?

talk

So, Dan and I have to give talks in church on the 23rd.

Eek! 

I HATE hate talking in front of people

I can write papers and make things sound okay, but actually getting up in front of hundreds of people and reading it?

No thank you. 

Because of my debilitating fear, I am having a hard time getting started.

Any thoughts from my friends out there as to how to make a great talk?

How do you start when preparing a talk?

What kinds of things do you look for?

In case you're interested, the topic is humility and gratitude.

Also, in case you were wondering, Dan is great at giving talks.

Seriously exceptional. 

So I have to get up there and blunder around for a couple of minutes

and then he takes up the rest of the time with something super spiritual and profound

which makes everyone wonder, "what does he see in her?". 

I know I'm just being dramatic, but seriously.

I hate giving talks.