Saturday, April 20, 2013

It's My Birthday

This year Trevor has been traveling a lot for work and I have been missing him. So when our friends the Markus' invited us to go to Hawaii with them we jumped on it. 
Trev and I have never vacationed together. We pretty much keep our trips strictly to Utah and Idaho.  I actually really do love Utah and Idaho but a change of scenery is very much welcomed.

We have a great excuse too,  I am turning 27 and Trevor will be 29! (It will also be our 4th anniversary) So yeah, it's kind of a big year full of major landmark celebrations.

We leave tomorrow! I am so excited I can't stand it, I have never been to Hawaii.

This is the first time Bridget will be without both of us and surprisingly I am taking it really well. Sure I'll miss her, but I am really looking forward to a whole weeks worth of nights sleep with no baby in the next room. when I can wake up whenever I want to. My current attitude may be a direct result of taking care of my sisters 6 kids this week and waking up everyday at 6am. Just a hunch.

So I leave you with this: aloha, ma halo, pineapple, Oahu, Tegucigalpa, ... and other Hawaiian words. 
See you in a week! 
 Picture of Trevor on his mission in Fiji. 
Hawaii is the same just with indoor plumbing, right? 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Merry ValenPat Easter.

So I have kind of missed posting about a few holidays.
Holidays are so much fun with kids, yes I agree, but at the same time as the mom of a kid I feel so much pressure on holidays.
I way did not realize how much time thought and energy my mom put into every holiday. She never went over the top but she always made them special and nice.

Valentine's Day
I love these "Little Miss..."  books! I have made it a tradition to get one for Bridget every gift holiday. I am sure I love them more than she does right now, but I have forced them on her enough that I am confident they will be her favorite books.

St. Patrick's Day
(We actually didn't do anything for St. Patrick's Day but I took this picture that day so it kind of counts.)
Easter

As a mom I am finding I just want to raise grateful children. 
I want them to be happy with simple holidays. 
I want us to remember the reason why we celebrate holidays anyway. 
And mostly, I want us to fill our house with memories instead of things on holidays. 
The whole thing is a balancing act and I am learning with each subsequent festivity.






Thursday, April 11, 2013

One of my favorites

You may have notices the Shabby Apple button I have on the side of my blog.
I love Shabby Apple! Their dresses are absolutely beautiful and the quality is awesome. Even their swimming suits are super cute.

They have a new line out called Fete des Fleurs, Party of Flowers, doesn't that just get you so stinking excited for Spring?


Dresses from Shabby Apple

Go check them out, see if they have that dress you have been searching for. I bet they do!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Time out with My Girls


So I may have just sat here for a solid minute trying to decide if that title could be taken inappropriately.
Conclusion: most likely. 
But I'm going to keep it, only because anything can be taken inappropriately now-a-days. Get your mind out of the gutter people, I refuse to conform.

I'm a pretty lucky lady, throughout my life I have always had amazing girl friends. 
College was no exception, my kindred spirits I tell you.
It has been years since we have been roommates; we have all grown up (sort of when we aren't together), married (despite your resistance I know you are working on it, Brianna), and doing our part to multiply and replenish the earth (12 babies so far between us).

Every year we get together, it makes me so happy!


This year we actually went back to Rexburg, Idaho. It had been five years for me, longer for some of the others.
Holy smokes has it changed! (All y'all that attend BYU-Idaho now or in the future, spoiled I tell you. You don't even have to plan your route to class, hightailing it through as many buildings as possible to thaw out your nose hairs. They have built you sky bridges, you don't even know what cold is anymore.)


We had so much fun, this year Meagan turns 30, so we planned a little scavenger hunt for her down memory lane. We visited a lot of the places with the most precious memories.
(I would like to point out here, please notice Meagan's squinty eyes in every picture. Those crystal blue eyes and sun don't mesh. Glad some things never change)

The Smith Building the location of a lot of her classes.
Meags, do you remember when we took that French choir class for extra credit and practiced in that room right there at the top? I can't sing.... or speak French so we just watched people out the window slip on the ice? Prime location for people watching.

The dorms. Ironically Meagan was the only one of us who ever lived in the dorms.
Lizzy is 26 weeks pregnant (you would never be able to tell) thus her belly has a mustache.

Meagan, to put it kindly, is a bit accident prone. She may or may not have been a frequent visitor to the health center.

 The David O. McKay Library. Can you believe that we went to school before every student had a laptop? So we had to go to the library... regularly, not just the third floor. In fact if I remember correctly Meagan was the only one who actually had a computer in our apartment. And for the first few years we didn't have cell phones, we had a land line.
(Am I doing a good job describing how old we are? Or am I just making others feel really old?)

The Hart.
Gone are the days of a free gym membership. Speaking of, their new gym is amazing.

Birchwood Apartments. Where our group fused together.

 The Ravishing Club and Spy Tech will live forever in our hearts. Thanks Porter Park for providing the setting.
  It was at Baronnessa that these ladies were first roommates, so happy that happened.

This was the apartment where we were all finally roommates.
The Ridge 104.

Oh yes, and the church where we were played an intense game of dodgeball.
At exactly the same time I dove for a ball hurling it to my opponents, Meagan ran forward tripping over my large obstacle-esque body. Down she went, catching herself with her chin. Blood everywhere her first words were, "dangit, my dad is going to kill me, I have already been to the ER too many times this semester."

I propose that we all move to Spanish Fork.
Please?

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Bridget's Room

I keep getting asked to post pictures of our new house. I decided I would take it one room at a time. Since Bridget's room is my favorite right now, I will start with hers.


 She loves the big open space in the middle. Her favorite is to run around in circles while I sing "If you're happy and you know it"
You can see her toy area. Trevor put up a shelf just high enough for her larger toys to fit under but then she has boxes of toys on top. It's easily accessible to her, easy to clean up, and the room still feels neat and organized.

 Of course there is a box of books right next to the chair. Bridget loves books.
I thoroughly believe a nice comfy chair is a necessity in any kids room especially a nursery. Doesn't matter what you get as long as it's comfy, the arm rests are padded and the back is high enough that you can lean your head back.
 I got my degree in Art History so I love all things art. I got this (Calder-esque) mobile and printed out some of my favorite works. It is always gently swaying and turning, I love it!
The picture on the wall is The Lady of Shalot by John William Waterhouse. 
Waterhouse is my all time favorite artist.


Our house was built in 1955 and these are the original hardwood floors.
Rug from Costco. Sooo comfy.

I am adding this picture I took of her room before we moved into it so you can see the actual size of the window. 
I love large statement things on walls; pictures, mirrors, windows, etc. The bigger the better. 
You can see that the window is actually not that big. 

But with the placement of the curtains it completely changes the window and the room. 
Sorry this picture is a little dark. But you get the idea.

And in case you were curious, here is the view of our backyard from Bridget's window. We have a half acre, we have a lot of plans for this yard! Starting with some nice thick grape vines along the back fence :)