Who needs a breadmaker when...

I've got me!!

Seriously, I don't know what it is, but I have been LOVING making bread lately! Any kind, french (see above), banana, whole grain (with this amazing flour you can only get in Canada!), flat bread, cheese bread (woah, yummy.), anything! Don't think I'm weird, but I think yeast is SO COOL! Seriously, you take a few tablespoons of it, put it in some water and sugar, five minutes later its bubbling out of the cup, so you put it with some flour, oil, and salt and VOILE! In just a little while you have this amazing piece of deliciousness in front of you. I also think I've been baking so much cuz I've been so bored. Some people are lucky enough to have a sewing machine (which I would LOVE!) but I just have flour and some yeast. I'm probably going to gain about 3985 pounds, so I really need to start taking stuff to neighbors to make some friends. I'm going to try out an amazing looking vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!! Man, oh, man, this is gonna be a delicious week!

Affection

So apparently Rachael has been in need of some serious affection lately. She will be scribbling away on her little note pad and will come plop in my lap and continue scribbling. She will be playing with her doll house while I'm making dinner and come squeeze my legs. Currently she is watching Bolt but keeps coming back to sit with me (while still watching, of course). If any of you have ever spent any time with this kid, you KNOW she is not starved for attention. Obviously, she is my only child, and cute to boot! But really, sometimes, I just need a break. Not a break from her cuteness when she just wants me to sit and hold her while she drinks her milk, but a break. Example: Last night she would NOT stay in her bed and would freak out every time we would try to put her back down. I finally tried to give her a time out and then put her back to bed. No go. She came back to her door, stood in the doorway with a look of complete and utter sadness on her face, saying, "Moooom, moooom!" while reaching out her hand to me. Can you say no to that after 2 hours of fighting? All she wanted was some snuggles. If you could say no, you're stronger than I am. So, she came and snuggled with us. Cute, but really, I just want her to go to bed like she used to. Bedtime is now the hardest time of day for us when it used to be bliss. Oh, and I forgot to mention she came waltzing into our room at around 6 a.m. for some more snuggles. Hence why I'm blogging at 7:30. Rachael sleeping on daddy's shoulder last weekend at Strawberry Point. It is a rare occasion when she will fall asleep on us.

What She's Up To

(She loves going quadding!)

Well its been a while since I've done a post on Rachael's happenings, not even for her birthday! I'm a terrible mom, I know. But, since her b-day wasn't that long ago, I'll go for it now.

• She will NOT stay in her playpen unless dad puts her down (so annoying...), but then she'll usually stay down all night! Sweet!
• When she climbs out of bed in the mornings, she comes into our room and says, "Mom?" Pause. "Wee-ish-ee?" (Where is she?) Pretty cute.
• She is currently sitting in her baby doll stroller saying "Nie!" which means either "Nice" or "Cute"
• She colored on the couch yesterday with pen and got her first real punishment. Time Out. *dun dun duuuunnn*
• She knows the sounds to a ton of her letters: A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, S, T, U, X, and Z. Pretty advanced for a barely two year old!
• She randomly comes and snuggles with me, slaps my cheeks between her hands, and brings my face to her's to give me a big smooch! My favorite :)
  
• She will NOT sit still to get her toenails clipped or painted (stink bug...)
• She will also not sit still to let me teach her new things (i.e. colors and other important things)
• If she wants to tell you something ("Woah" being the most common phrase), she will NOT stop saying it until you acknowledge it.
  
• She has started screaming to get attention
  
• She will not keep her hair bows/ponies in.
• If she gets an owie, she must have it kissed.
• I'm pretty sure her version of "Popcorn Popping" is the most adorable in the history of the universe.
• She is constantly opening the DVD cabinet for a show, which most of the time I refuse her.
• I think she is on her way to not taking naps anymore. (lameo)
• Her favorite book is "Princess Tiana and the Royal Ball" and would literally read it all day long if I was up to it.
• She calls all blankets "boo" and hides under it (she got it from "peek-a-boo"). She's not afraid of dark, enclosed spaces. She seeks them out.
  
• She really is not talking a whole lot, but she understands everything so we're just gonna let her go her own pace.
• She still loves her sippy cup, but in trying to wean her from it the only cups she'll use are my big glass ones. Go figure...
• She is a two year old. She brings me so much joy, but also makes me want to rip my hair out at times. I love this little babycakes!
  

Memory Lane

My sister, Lindsey, found this for me a while back in my parents house and I just re-discovered it as I was doing some more unpacking. These are some lists of the kind of guy I would like to date/marry I made in a Y/W class in Sept. 1999, so I was almost 13. Just a little Beehive. (They start us early, eh?) I'll write the whole list down, spelling errors and all, so you can have a good chuckle, I know we did!

I love my artistic skills. The bulging biceps, the flowers, even him saying "Hey Baby." Nate to a "T"!!

Qualities
Standards, personality, religion, mature, respectful, understanding, future/return missionary, sense of humor, trustworthy, serves others, nice, tall, fun, spiritual, cute, look on the inside, no jerk, like your parents, athletic, high goals, lives commandments, physically fit, popular, intregrity, testimony, religion, nice clothes, owns a car, friendly, kind, intelligent, good job, fun

I can honestly say that Nate meets ALL of these requirements. Honestly. (Although the "nice clothes" one greatly improved upon marriage)

Mesquite!

Nate and I had a free two night stay in Mesquite, NV, about an hour north of Vegas and only about a half an hour from STG. My family was kind enough to watch Rachael for a few days while we got away. If any of you have ever been to Mesquite, you know it ain't much to sing about, unless you gamble. We spent our time playing in the pool and we went bowling for a buck a game! SWEET!! We even went to Popeye's Chicken our first night and I can't even tell you how delicious it was. I haven't been there since North Carolina last April. All in all the trip was pretty fun, no one was complaining cuz it was free!

We had a lot of fun with our waterproof camera and tried out the rapid fire shot setting. I'll be trying out for the Olympic diving team for the 2012 games, watch for me!
Lets not talk about my pathetic bowling score. Worst I've ever done. Needless to say I won't be trying out for THAT team. Nate did amazing and kept trying to give me pointers. (I'm not lying when I say I'm bad at ALL sports) The buffet was pretty delish and it was fun to stuff our bellies full!

Cedar City!!

Well.. WE MADE IT!!! About $800 later (including the moving truck rental and gas for that and the Malibu), we have arrived to our blessed little home. I. Love. It. I love the new carpet the apartment has, I love the massive amount of closet space, I love the air conditioning, I love that Rachael gets some normalcy in her life for a year plus, I love that I get to bring my piano in, I (re)love my couches and Kitchenaide, and I LOVE that we haven't even been here a week and we've already seen my family twice! (Including a trip up Cedar Mountain today, how convenient that my family's new favorite camping/picnic spot is only 30 minutes from our house!) I don't love that our living room doesn't have a main light. Anyone getting rid of a big lamp? Pictures later, once all of our stuff is in place. Have I mentioned that I LOVE it here?!?! Cuz I do.

On my mind...

Here are just a few things that I have been swirling around my mind as of late.

• Fresh picked raspberries are on my Top 5 list of most delicious things EVER
• Just the two little words "Gilbert Blythe" give me goosebumps (the good kind)
• The Lord truly is looking out my my little family
• My husband is pretty darn attractive and my little girl is stinking adorable!
• I need a new cell phone
• I'm super extra glad I went to Beauty School
• Rachael will be in dance next year (at three) and that is that
• Its funny how Rachael ate a red pepper yesterday :)
• I'M SO READY TO MOVE TO CEDAR AND GET ALL OF MY STUFF BACK!!

the end.

(P.S. The move is happening TOMORROW! Wish us luck!)

Two Year Pictures

My sister-in-law, Sarah, took these pictures near her home in Twin Falls, ID. I had been to this place, Shoshone Falls, earlier this summer and thought it was beautiful so we made the trip to get the pictures taken and to celebrate Rachael and Josh's birthdays together. I think these pictures turned out wonderfully!! Rachael is such a big girl now with the cutest personality!

Tea for TWO!!!

Well, it came and it went with a LOT of stress on my part. Rachael currently loves tea sets (she started off the day with a tea party in the tub) so I thought it would be fun to throw her a "Tea for Two" (like the year, get it??) party. All and all I feel it was a success. Here are the evening's events.

The Cake. (a.k.a. A huge piece of stress!) Long story short, don't make a cake with whipped cream and cream cheese frosting on a hot July day. It melts. Turned out cute though, but the cuteness only lasted until the pictures were over.

These cookies were delish!! A LOT of work, but really yummy!

The set-up. Girly things, such as tulle and feather boas made it extra cute. The balloons were Rachael's favorite part.

Poor kid fell asleep literally with pizza in her mouth. This was at 7 p.m. and lasted until about 7:45, just enough to give her the energy she needed to part-ay all night!

A trip outside to see the dogs play.

And the famous candle blowage. She loves fire, but wasn't too sure about all of the attention. It was almost like she loved it, but didn't want to show it...

Presents! She got quite the spread!

Her main present from mom and dad this year was a tin tea set. Yep. She loves it!

After the presents, we had a ton of left over 4th of July fireworks Nate sent off. This is Rachael under the blanket.

Honestly, I think the cake had a tougher day than anyone... Poor thing...

Next year?? I don't k now yet. but I probably won't be doing a cake like this again. Maybe a nice sheet cake :) We'll see.

To the princess...

Happy Birthday, Rachael!! Oh my goodness I cannot believe you are TWO ALREADY!! All day long today I've been thinking about what I was doing two years ago and it feels like it just happened yesterday. We've had our disagreements this year, but all and all I think we've had a great one. Sometimes your dad and I just sit and watch your little personality shine through, whether its you dancing to The Princess and the Frog soundtrack or hiding under a laundry basket or doodling on a post-it note with a pen (your current favorite writing utensil). You have brought so much joy into our lives, and that is an understatement. We are trying every day to be better parents, to be more patient or more understanding. As I was singing to you before putting you down tonight, I had a flashback to when you were only a couple of weeks old. I had just fed you before putting you to bed so you were just laying there, completely content while I sang you some lullabies. I remember singing "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" and being overwhelmed with the responsibility I had as a parent to teach you to do the right thing, to teach you that your Heavenly Father loves you, and to help you to become the best person you could be. (I also remember your dad listening in on the baby monitor...) I hope your dad and I have done well teaching you so far in your life. We'll always be here for you as you grow and have questions to ask. We love you so much, baby face! Happy Birthday!