A Frolic in Fredericksburg Or a Tale of My Sister’s Wedding

Well, I’m gonna start off by saying that I wish I had better pictures of this. Unfortunately, due to Colin’s lack of time off he wasn't able to come with me this time and so I spent a lot more time with a squiggly baby and less time snappin’ selfies.  Colin is planning on coming to VA for later this year and also going on the Ricks family annual Epic Fishing Trip for Manly Men this summer. It’ll be his first time to go in about six years. More on that, you know, after it happens.

Raised bed garden for $40

I built some raised garden beds this Saturday. 

• 5/8 x 6 x 6 ft Cedar fence boards:  $22
• 5/8 x 4 x 6 ft cedar fence boards:  $10
• 2 x 2 cedar deck rails:  $8

2014 General Conference

One of the perks of living so near Salt Lake City is that I occasionally get to attend our General Conference meetings live. Ok, so I think I’ve done this twice in the time I’ve lived here, but it’s always a cool experience.  This time I was invited to attend the General Women’s meeting by my friend Emily Carruth Fuller. She and I were on an artist’s tour of the Ensign magazine the day before with the Inspirational Art Association. By the way, that tour was awesome too. Did you know that they start prepping most issues of the Ensign six months in advance? Think about what that means in terms of finding artists, writers, and seasonal photography. Think about what it means when they have so scrap something right before publishing. It was inspiring to see all the preparation that goes into getting that publication ready to print.

Phoebe at 8 Months

8 months

The Quest for Mobility

I love that stage babies hit right when they are just getting mobile. Phoebe doesn't do a full out crawl yet, but she does  have a few moves. The favorites are the downward facing dog, the inch worm, and a one armed army crawl we like to call "the wounded soldier." Check it out!

Phoebe at 7 Months (with fuzzy cell phone pics)

Kitchen table, finally finished!

We’ve been without a kitchen table for quite some time now.  When we moved into our previous apartment, we underestimated the size of our sofa, and therefore didn’t have room for our dining table.  We’d been wanting to replace it for a while, and this was a good opportunity.  So we sold it, but then never bought a new one. When we moved into our new home, I decided I would build us a new table.  I started in November, but with the holidays, and a cranky baby, it took longer than anticipated.  So here are some photos of the process:

New Years Plancakes

On New Years day each year Colin and I sit down to make plans for the year to come. This year I got the idea I thought we might make it it a little more fun with an idea from my sister Kelly and turn out plans into plancakes. First of all, I love the pun-i-ness of plancakes, and secondly, I love the idea of kicking off the new year (especially if you have fitness goals) with a sugary delightful treat. It also pairs quite nicely with the first day of pajamuary (I think you can guess what that one is). Did I actually make pancakes this year? No. Definitely not. I. Am. A. Failure…

Phoebe at 6 months

We took this one earlier but forgot to post it.

Thinks she has been doing recently:

In The Bleak Mid-Winter

You can count on two things in winter: first,that they days will get shorter and shorter and second, my whining will get longer and longer.  If you ever wanted a fellow heat miser to commiserate with, ask a poet, apparently they’ve felt this way for a long time. They have called winter a Dirge (Burns), an Old Man (Frost) or my personal favorite, an imperial affliction sent us of the air (Dickenson).  This time of year, when the weather lays over us like a wet wool blanket, is always  a bit too still, a bit too dim, a bit too grey for my liking.  At New Years I love to reminisce and plan with what is always too much enthusiasm for the year to come, but somewhere mid-month things get sluggish and a melancholy funk sets in. Usually about time I will never get back, and the long road of work that is still ahead.