The mysteriously appearing spoon

There is a spoon sitting in our silverware drawer.  It is not a part of our silverware set.  It is not an item that either Kevin or I brought to the marriage.  Neither of us picked it up anywhere, and we don't know where it came from.  It just appeared in the drawer one day.  So if you recognize this spoon, and know where it belongs, let me know.  I'd like to return it to its proper home.  I'm sure somebody, somewhere, is missing it.

Peek-a-boo...

I see you!

Baby Shower

I hosted a baby shower for a friend the other day.  She is having a little boy, and it was a fun time.  I decided to have a pumpkin theme, given the season.  I was pretty proud of my ideas.  We had a hot chocolate bar, with pumpkin-shaped Peeps as the marshmallows, and pumpkin patch-themed cupcakes.  And I found this amazing recipe for pumpkin fluff.  It's basically Cool-whip, canned pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice (mix together and chill), served with Nilla Wafers.  DELICIOUS!  I love parties; attending and hosting.  It's always fun to get people together and spend time socializing.  

In the Army

My youngest brother, Ben, has joined the Army.  He has been talking about it and planning for it for a while now.  Last week he had the last physical, signed his contract, and was sworn in.  He reports for duty on January 28, 2013 (three days before his birthday), to Fort Benning, Georgia.  I'm proud of him; proud of him for desiring to serve his country and for working towards the goal and making it.  He didn't give up and did what he needed to do in order to obtain his desired ends.  But I worry about him, too.  I worry about him getting sent to a dangerous place and getting killed.  I worry about him getting taken advantage of because he has a kind heart and believes the best of people.  But he's in the military.  And I'm going support him 100%.  Go, Benny!

Ben (6 months)

Ben (2012)

Happiness is...

Sometimes you just need a fancy hat with a pretty flower to make your day complete.  If only everyone could get away with such bold statement pieces.

Crafty

Pintrest is magical. It makes me think I can do all sorts of nifty, crafty things. So I attempted a baking project found on the magical website this weekend. And it didn't turn out too badly. It's supposed to be a pumpkin. And it tasted pretty good, too.

35 years

My parents are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary tomorrow (Oct. 15), and so they came down to Livermore to celebrate.  Really, they came to see Lily and Kevin and I were conveniently here, as well.  So we hung out, visited Kevin's workplace for family day, and had a splendidly delicious and fancy dinner to celebrate.  I am blessed to have the most amazing parents.

Here's to the next 35 years!

Pebble Beach

Kevin's cousin got married this past weekend in Pebble Beach.  On the eighteenth hole.  With the reception following in the club house.  For those who don't know, Pebble Beach hosts this small event each year.  It was a perfect day, the view was stunning, and the food was delicious.  Seriously.  The whole thing was amazing.  It was a small-ish wedding and just perfect.  If I didn't have the temple, I think this would be the way to do a wedding.

Waterford crystal tournament trophies.  Gorgeous.

This is the view the wedding was overlooking.

Aren't we cute?

Geese on the golf course.  They cracked me up.

One of the houses overlooking the golf course and bay.  It was amazing. Kevin and I decided we could live there.

So pretty.

The Lily Chronicles

Lily is two months old today and, ironically, had her two-month check-up as well.  So here are a few things about Miss Lily to celebrate her eight-week mark.

Her current stats:
*11 lbs, 10 oz
*23 inches long
*Her hair is growing in; a lovely little blond fuzz
*Blue eyes
*She holds her head up
*She is sleeping through the night (down at 9:30 pm, wakes up around 7 am--it's the most amazing thing of my life)
*She doesn't like to lay down; she prefers to sit up and observe the world
*She fusses when we don't pay attention to her
*She coos, smiles, and likes to hold our fingers while she's eating

Lily is growing bigger and developing more and more of a personality.  She's experienced a great many things over the course of her short life.  Mostly day trips and fun outings, but she's gone lots of places and has slept through most of her trips.  But lets be real, the outings are more for me than for her.  The last two months have gone by incredibly quickly, and it seems like she's been part of our family a lot longer than two months.

Tilden Park

I decided to go on a little adventure the other day, and explore a place I've never been before.  Accompanied by my intrepid traveling companions (Lily, Vanessa, and Ren), we went to Tilden Park in Berkeley.  There are many trails to hike, a botanical garden to explore, and a little farm to visit.  It's a fun place, and I'm looking forward to going back.

Ren is ready to go!

Lilies for my Lily.

Lily slept through the entire trip.

Pretty paths and bridges.

I'm pretty sure this is the biggest hog I've ever seen in my life.

This cow had an incredibly deep moo (voice?). And he was photo bombed by the rooster 

Getaway (aka A Night of Debauchery)

This past weekend, Vanessa and I decided we needed a little break.  So, she left Ren (her son) with Robb (her husband), I left Lily with my in-laws (Kevin was at an Elders Quorum overnighter), and we turned my house into a hotel.  We went shopping for shoes, went to Target and wandered around for a couple hours, brought a bunch of food home to eat for dinner (which happened around 10 pm), watched some TV and stayed up way too late talking.  Then we got up the next morning for some brunch, got pedicures, did some more shopping, and picked up Lily around 3 pm, ending our child-free day.  It was kind of magical.  We're planning on doing it again.

 Lily all packed up for her first overnighter.

 The magically ugly shoes found by Vanessa.

 They sparkled like a disco ball.  I actually kind of want them.

The difference between "classy" and "trashy" is apparently the size of the glitter.

Our feast and a little Project Runway.       Pedicures!