FUN

This is the greatest thing I have seen all day: a hanging light made with fun cocktail umbrellas! I wish I were crafty, but I'll enjoy other people's creations instead!

Life and a Shower

We really haven't been up to anything too interesting lately- you know, just- existing. But in a good way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Aurora existing in the bathtub, where she spends quite a bit of time these days.

Now that Rory is crawling all over and pulling herself up to stand, I'm afraid the glory days of nap time are over. As soon as I lay her in her crib, she automatically sits up, but she doesn't seem to make the connection yet that if she's tired, she needs to lie back down and then she can go to sleep. Instead she just sits there rubbing her eyes and whining.

Tomorrow is a momentous day: Blake finishes his first class since leaving Purina to go back to school! He's finishing up his summer history class final today, and the course ends tomorrow! I'm a proud wifey, that's for sure! In two and a half weeks his English class will be done too, and we'll have a couple weeks off before fall semester starts.

On Sunday, Blake was able to spend a much-enjoyed afternoon with the guys while all of the wifeys celebrated the soon-arriving little girl of our good friend Jenn:

Jenn chose the theme "A Bun in the Oven" for her shower, and it focused on bread!!

Throwing a "classy" baby shower was a fun challange

We had a "make your own Italian creme soda bar"

The Italian soda bar, and milling attendees

Marisa putting last minute touches on the bread display

We had lots of fun breads and muffins

And infused olive oils and flavored butters!

Jenn opening her gifts

Boat-bath present!

Finally, this picture is a month old or so, but it's of my two favorite people in the world:

Today!

This is a Big Day. This is a Big Day because Blake is coming home! Finally, these two weeks of training are over, and somehow I survived!

Survived, yes, but thrived...not so much. Rory and I were doing tolerably well until Wednesday night, after some friends went home after a lovely evening of desserts. I got babycakes to bed and was reading a magazine, just about to go to sleep myself, when I heard someone fiddling with the lock on the sliding door in the master bedroom. Obviously, I was not okay with this, but told myself that it was the wind, or it was a squirrel. However, the noise persisted, a very intentional type noise. Occasionally the fiddling would stop and I'd hear a winding noise, like someone had a drill or something. That's when I called Blake and told him there might be someone trying to get in. He tried to convince me to call the police, but we settled on me calling his parents. Blake's dad was on his way over within seconds, and I got poor startled Rory out of bed, grabbed the shotgun, and stationed us in a strategic place upstairs. I was still hearing the noise, despite whacking the door and informing who/whatever was out there that I was quite aware of their presence. When my father-in-law got there, I got Rory and myself in his car, knowing that even if it was nothing, there was no way I was staying in my house that night. After a thorough investigation, Rich determined that it was unlikely a person had been in the yard, and that the culprit wasn't even an animal. It was a pair of June bugs. In my defense, I had yet to see a June bug this year, so the thought that it could have been them was not even in my head. However, the noises I heard were very consistent with the sounds a June bug trying patiently to enter the house would make- thwacking the glass, buzzing their wings against it, and even making the strange winding noise. And, for those of you who are not familiar with these disgusting creatures, they have a hard, beetlish outer shell that makes quite a bit of noise when it connects with a glass door. Rory and I spent the last two nights of Blake's absence at his parents' home, where we were safe from the June bugs. And I'm very glad I didn't go after them with the shotgun- that would have been a bit of an overreaction.

In other news, my sister-in-law had a birthday! I made her this super easy and mildly exciting ice cream cake. I'd say it was a success; in fact, I was commissioned to make another one for my father-in-law for his birthday next week. This time, I'm using coffee ice cream, caramel topping, and vanilla-caramel-brownie ice cream instead of what's listed in the recipe for a little variety.

Bethany and her swissroll cake!

Swissrolls, chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge, and chocolate ice cream!

 Speaking of cake, Rory went to the dentist for the first time this week! I didn't take her so much for her teeth, which look fine, as for myself- I've found that my daughter's oral hygiene is surprisingly unintuitive for me. Blake's uncle is our dentist, and he kindly demonstrated several ways to brush Rory's teeth, including a headlock and o variation where I pin her arms on the floor with my legs and clench her head in my lap. I think they will be effective, if I can just remember to brush...

How does she already know to be nervous?

I should get one of those lights for above her crib!

Now I'm trying to kill some time before Blake's expected arrival. I'm making ribs for dinner, which always makes me nervous. Ribs, corn on the cob, salad, and rice krispie treats will be the components of the welcome home meal! After eating airport food for two weeks, I'm sure he'll be excited. If the ribs turn out, that is...

Other things I'm doing to welcome him home:
- Making sure the house is clean, particularly the master bed and bath.
- Making sure the baby takes a good nap so she's not grumpy (she seems intent on foiling me on this one).
- Gave Aurora a bath this morning so she'd be a clean baby for Papa. Then fed her dry cheerios for lunch so she wouldn't get dirty. She may be grumpy afterall...
- Made the aforementioned rice krispie treats. However, I had some random cherry baking chips that needed using, so I mixed some in with the marshmallows. Thus the rice krispie treats (Blake's favorite) kind of look like a pound of ground beef. Lovely.
- Have the fan on in the living room and bedroom so they stay cool for him.
- Put on makeup and a shirt that he likes.
- Went grocery shopping and made sure the fridge has his staples: orange juice and cheese.

These may seem like insignificant and silly things, but I know they make a difference when he's been away. I like for him to get home and know that things were taken care of here while he was gone, and that we care about him enough to make things a little special in honor of his return.

What do you do to welcome back a long-away loved one?

Tomato, Tomato

We have little green tomatoes!!! Be still, my heart! It seems our fledgling garden may produce something after all! When I water our tomato plants, it makes the most heavenly smell- so fresh and summery! Hooray!

In other news, Rory has her first official word (other than dada and mama): thank you! Well, it's more like, dank-doo, and she won't always say it on command, but if you hand her something she wants and say, "say thank you!" She obediently utters, "dank-doo!"

For dinner last night I determined we needed pancakes, probably because it was such a lovely gray, monsoony day. I make my pancakes from scratch using a super easy recipe. This time though, I had a very ripe mango that needed using up. So, I added the mashed fruit to the batter, along with a tiny bit of coconut extract and some cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and sprinkled the exposed side of the cakes with toasted coconut as they were cooking. They turned out really well! I love the versatility of pancakes, and I love breakfast for dinner!

Sweet Home!

Rory and I ended our ten days in Washington last night! After a much anticipated reunion with Blake at PHX (where he was conveniently ending a week of training), we hightailed it back to Flagstaff. After a plane ride that can only be called a horrendous nightmare (thanks, Rory), driving through the pleasant southwest scenery at sunset with my love was bliss. It's good to be home! We had a wonderful time with family and friends in Seattle though. I'll tell you all about it through pictures...

We had a super nice pilot who invited Aurora to see the cockpit!

Meeting her new (long suffering) cousin Evelyn!

You can sort of tell they're related

My sister and her brand spankin' new baby girl!

Growing up, every Friday evening was Thomas Family Reading Night (I thought that was normal). Rory fits right in!

Dragon baby with all her teeth!

Her principle act of defiance: putting her dirty hand on her head when instructed not to. This is an ongoing battle...

The weather was supposed to be gorgeous everyday. It wasn't. But this particular day was!

Baby cousins are great for ear-pulling!

Better ask her daddy if it's okay first though (after she was hit in the face with the dog's tale, woken up from a nap, and got her finger clamped in a chip clip while under his watch, Uncle Matt could hardly protest the ear-pulling).

They wish they could spend more time together. Blake and Matt, that is. Rory's not too sure about Jetson...

My darlings

Getting dressed with Grandma!

We went to the park with Sam and Hannah, our Flagstaff friends who are home in WA for the summer!

Lounge.

Vintage WA: Ivars with Lake Washington in the foreground and Mt. Rainier behind

A (hideous) picture of the three original Thomas kids- Joe was passing through on his way home to AK, so we had a family breakfast, though it was a bit morose since we were all spouse-less.

Pretty Evvie!

Aurora and Grandma Ducky!

Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, which is very kid-friendly. As soon as we got there, they brought Rory and Hannah butterflies made out of bread and banana slices!

We had such a great lunch with Alicia, Sam, and Hannah!

Rory enjoyed all the toys my mom got out for her, especially the obnoxious noisy ones.

She had such a great time with her grandparents, and I know she's already looking forward to backpacking in a few years.

homemade waffles with whipped cream and berries! My mom's strawberry plants are insane- we got tons of fresh berries everyday!

Enjoying a non rainy afternoon on our favorite walking trail with Grandma.

"I'll take that camera, Mom."

Goof

When I miss Blake, my baby's blue eyes make me smile, since they're just like her papa's.

Me and my very first niecey!

Wow- that was a lot! I think that sums it up pretty well; we enjoyed quiet damp days at home, visits with good friends (Blake's best man and his girlfriend, former coworkers from That Summer, Flagstaff friends in WA, and my lifelong mentor) accompanying my parents to their new church, A gorgeous hike on Mt. Rainier for Blake and my dad, my dad's first babysitting venture (nerve wrecking for both of us) while I went to Bible study with my mom, fresh salmon, mom's meatloaf (don't knock it till you've tried it), and awful traffic that made me miss Flagstaff. I'm sure I'll write more on our trip this week, including the Plane Ride of Doom- stayed tune!

3 Years

Three years ago today was the best day of my life! That's right, today marks three years of marriage to the most amazing man in the world. We're "celebrating" long distance, unfortunately (brings back memories of our courtship and engagement), as Blake's several states away for training for his new job. Even in that, God's been gracious; he was supposed to fly out last night but the planes were full- he had to be at the airport for training at 8am today and he made it onto a 5am flight that got him in just in time! And, I was able to see him on our anniversary, even if it was at 3am. I could write loads about how wonderful these three years have been, and about how I love Blake more and more everyday (cliche, but true!), and how I'm amazed over and over by the kind of man that Blake is, and how perfect he is for me, and how good God is, and how each moment spent with Blake is worth years with anyone else, and how we produce such cute babies, and how he loves me despite my unlovable moments, and, well, you get the point.

I'll just say this: Happy Anniversary, my darling. You have made me the happiest woman in the world. I love you more than I could ever say, and am so proud of you and grateful for you. I know you'll read this because you always check my blog, which is just one more reason why I adore you! Come home soon!