Adoration

Maddy is just too silly! I was trying to capture a picture of the sunburn she got earlier this week on a walk to the library (just couldn't get a good photo) and she kept saying "cheese" but she scrunches her nose, squints her eyes, and jutts her jaw out to the left side. This was one of the better pictures!

Actually, it reminds me of a series of pictures I took of her back when she was just a year old. I thought she was giving me the stink-eye but maybe she was just saying "cheese!".

In other news, we cleaned out Maddy's closet and gave her more space in her room. This cutie little table came from Ikea and Madyd loves it. She will sit and color for hours - ok, more like half hours - at a time.

I should have probably stained the wood before putting it together but I figure some day I'll paint it so I probably would rather have clean wood anyway.

Speaking of coloring, it's like she learned small motor control in a day. One day she was making big scribbles all over and the next day she was coloring in the lines. Check out those eyes and the pink cloud. She rocks!

Ah, my sweet little girl. I sure adore her.

bad posts or no posts?

so, which is worse, no posts at all or a post to tell you that it's 10:12 at night and I'm still at the office? I'm assuming no posts is worse.

(yes, this is a FEEL BAD FOR ME post. feel free to send me comments full of sorrow and sadness for my plight)

:(

We got our first ding in our first new car. It's a small dent by the passenger handle but oh, what a sad thing to see.

My first NEW car

Dad asked why he hadn't seen a post about our new car. I figured it wasn't blog worthy - kind of boring right? Well, then I thought that Mary and Rachel might be interested. I am willing to see any and every dumb little picture and hear every small detail from them because it makes them seem closer. So, here you go. We got a new car!Almost two weeks ago, we heard about a great deal Nissan was having to clear out their 2011 inventory and that Monday night we decided to just go and check it out. We weren't going to buy anything, just see if it was a good deal. After spending three hours and then having them tell us they could get us just what we wanted for only 11% interest, we walked away. The next morning, they called Scott to say "how about 5%". Then a few hours later "ok how about the 0% that we advertised".

We went back on Wednesday and ended up with a totally different car that we had thought. We were looking Monday at the Nissan Murano and ended up with an Xterra.

So we say goodbye to our friend the BMW and start a new life with a less flashy car but much lower maintenance bills.(ps, this is only a likeness of our vehicle, not the actual car)

the 4th

Happy Independence Day!

What a fun weekend we had. On Saturday we took Maddy to the Spaghetti Factory to eat in the train. She was a little bit upset that the train wouldn't "go". But I think she enjoyed her lunch just fine.

After lunch we got out the pool and invited Emma and Sophia over to run through the sprinklers. The girls had a wonderful time together. Emma and Sophia's mom tends Maddy so she plays with them every day. I suppose as they get older we'll have more and more play dates like this.On Sunday evening we took popcorn and fireworks to mom and dad's house. I remember doing fireworks with my grandparents and I figured that mom and dad might not do anything on their own so we'd provide them with a show. I think my favorite part of the night was the popcorn, made on the stove top in a pot the old fashioned way and eaten on the front porch steps. The best way to spend a Sunday evening.

Monday morning we joined the neighborhood for the parade! Lucky for us it starts just down our street, then continues up to the busy road, across the canal and back down the other half of our neighborhood. Lucky for us we have a police lieutenant in our ward and he blocks off traffic on the main road for the 4 or 5 minutes it takes us to traverse from one street to the next.

Maddy and I decorated her car and she road in style like a rodeo princess, crown and all.
After the parade we had a wonderful patriotic program and breakfast. I was asked to gather a trio to sing the National Anthem. Since my sisters weren't available I sang with Marian Herrin from the ward and her daughter Angela (a madrigal and roommate of Katie's). We had a surprisingly good blend and I think our music set the mood for the remainder of the program. We were joined by the Taylorsville city mayor who reminded us of things we could do to support our country and our city. He thanked us for the work that we do each year to keep the weeds down on the main road in order to make our community a nice one. The veterans stood and were recognized and I felt strongly a sense of gratitude and pride for them and our country.
On the walk home Maddy couldn't resist taking a few moments (more like 20 minutes) to throw rocks into the canal. What simple joys.

Did you ever see a happier face?

That evening we joined our friends the Ontiveros's and a few other couples for dinner and fireworks. What a spectacular show. Maddy surely enjoyed the show but only from the safety of my lap.

I love my country. I am proud to be an American. I am grateful for those who have fought for the freedoms I enjoy. I am moved to tears when I think of the sacrifices made - from veterans, to Civil War fighters, to Lehi's family, to the Savior - that allow me to live in the comfort that I do and to worship the Savior in the way that I do. What a marvelous blessing and what a wonderful weekend of celebration.