The Russell Family

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

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!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

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.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

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!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

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!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

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.