Snow!

Well, I know you've all been hit with snow too, but up here it's just crazy! So, of course, I had to take Ariannah out and see what she thought of the wet cold; she loved it! She's never ready to come back in :-) Her favorite is when I throw her in a snowy bush, LOL! She has quite the sense of adventure.
This was a couple days ago so the snow wasn't as deep as it is now, but even then she couldn't quite stay up. She got so frustrated falling down all the time, but it was just so cute I had to laugh at her and take a picture. I know, I'm a fabulous aunt :-)

When we finally came back in, her cheeks were so rosy and cute!

It's so much fun watching her grow up and experience new things!

I think I can....

So, I'm halfway through pretty much the busiest week of my life, only to realize that I had completely forgotten about a final I have TOMORROW! Yes, as in less than 24 hours from now I need to be fully prepared for a comprehensive final. SIGH! So, now here I am, prioritizing, childishly bugging teachers about changing due dates, and then screaming on my blog instead of writing, studying, and preparing. I'm a genius, eh?

Please Excuse Me...

Please excuse me, but I'm asking that you don't judge me for writing this instead of doing homework. The truth of the matter is that I have a TON to do today; I have two semester projects and a final this next week, but I really don't feel like even thinking about any of it. So, instead I'm here, writing to you, my ever attentive and loving, *cough, cough* readers. If, after reading this, any of you are compelled to drive up here and motivate me, I would be ever so grateful.

But until that happens, I will continue to find various ways of wasting my time (and feeling the guilt that goes along with avoiding responsibilities)

Ariannah's First Birthday

Well, Ariannah's first birthday was a tremendous success! Alaina worked really hard to make it super special, and Grandpa and Grandma came over for the day. I'm just warning you though, there were just so many cute pics I couldn't really decide what to post, so this is going to be a long one. You might want to go brew a cup of coffee, grab some leftover Thanksgiving treats and park it for awhile :-) It took Ariannah awhile to figure out the whole present opening thing, but once she did, you couldn't stop her; she loved it!

Alaina made (from scratch I might add) these adorable cakes. The littlest puppy was just for Ariannah :-)This is Ariannah patiently waiting for the cake to be brought to her. She has no idea what's happening, but she's excited!

Once Alaina put the frosting on her face, it didn't take her long to dig in and fully enjoy the whole experience.


Yeah, I'd be wondering what in the world I was supposed to do with that contraption too :-)

>

So I know this is sideways, but I'm not patient enough to figure out how to turn it around before posting, hehe...but if you turn your head just right, you'll see how stinkin' cute my niece is :-)

Taking a break from the hard work and reading a story :-)

No first birthday is complete without a Veggie Tales; she seems to be pretty happy about it too :-)

Trying to get a peak in :-)

And now for what I gave her...now before everyone who knows me freaks out, yes, I bought her a doll, but I'm still not giving in to the whole girly girl stuff! I just knew she would love it and couldn't resist making her happy...

Yeah, she couldn't wait for Alaina to get it out of the packaging

But once she got her hands on it, what was the first thing she did?

Yeah, I'd say it was a hit :-)

It was definitely a birthday to remember. Lots of presents and lots of laughs. I just can't believe it's already been a year! Crazy. Anyway, it's a good thing we have a whole year to recover before the next one :-)

Followers

Well, after a long absence, I'm back! Yay! I'm sure you're all squealing and jumping up and down with joy :-)

This is no ordinary blog, this is a blog of celebration because I just saw the most wonderful thing: my blog now has 2 followers! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! sigh...yes, my sarcasm has now waned and my true feelings shall be revealed...2 people? Granted, the two people are absolutely fabulous and apparently my only true friends, so I'm not complaining...ahem, really, I'm not.

Well, my long absence hasn't been because I haven't wanted to blog, rather by the fact that my life is completely devoid of anything interesting. Well, at least things that would interest my two fabulous, loving readers :-) Even now I'm running through my brain files trying desperately to come up with something, anything, that could interest you, but unfortunately the files seem to be blank. So, after a blog like this, I suppose I have no room to complain about my lack of readers, do I? :-)

But, I suppose I could use this opportunity to beg of you to provide me with some excitement in my life...perhaps a visit, a card, some chocolate, spaghetti al pesto (that's just for you, Catherine) hehe You know, anything would do :-)

Enjoying Fall

Here's to fall and the best niece ever!

Her, Yeah, I'm adorable smile


For those of you who knew my sister when she was a baby...kind of freaky, huh?!
Awwwww!

They're having way too much fun!

It's nice to know that even 11 month old babies can appreciate the changing season and it just goes to show...you're never to young to climb a tree! :-)

Addendum

After talking about how much I missed my girls, I would like to mention one of things I love most about them, which is their humor...a perfect example....

This afternoon we were walking back from the park. The 4 year old was pretty tired, so she decided to try and balance on the back of the umbrella stroller the baby was in (and yes, to all the mothers who read this, I know that's not safe and it can bend the stroller, but I'm just the babysitter, hehe, so I let her) So we're rolling along and she's giggling at her own ingenuity when we hit gravel. Of course she has to go, "Uhhhhhhhh" so that her voice wiggles with the bumps, which only serves to increase the giggles. Well, we get to the end of the gravel and she says, "This is so much fun! I haven't had this much fun in YEARS!" I couldn't help it...I burst out laughing to which she began singing, "Keep keep bleeding, I keep keep bleeding, oohhhhh, my love (repeat 20x)!"

Oh, and to Jaimie and Jonathan...notice it was bleeding, not eating, sleeping, keeping... :-)

Don't you just love toddlers?!

Guess Who's Back...Back Again...

After a two week absence, I'm ecstatic to report that the kids I babysit are back! YAY!!! Not to be rude, but when they left, I really thought I would just enjoy my vacation...but not even close. Well, I'll admit the first two or three days were kind of nice, but it didn't take long for me to decide that it was time for them to come home.

They got back Friday night, and I was with them all day Saturday. The 4 year old was incredibly chatty and cuddly, so we had a lot of fun while the almost 2 year old old took an unheard of 3 and 1/2 hour nap! We decorated the house for Halloween together, and she kept up a running commentary of all the fabulous aspects of where they took their vacation. We must have sat at the dining room table for 2 and 1/2 hours cutting and coloring ghosts, pumpkins, bats, etc. It was just so nice to sit with her and talk and see how much she had grown in just 2 weeks! And that's just the 4 year old...my goodness, the baby!! She came back with an entire vocabulary!! She says Jeanea now!!!! I was sooooooo excited! She still calls me mommy when she needs/wants something, but at least we're on the right road :-)

I wish I could post pictures so you could see how completely adorable they are, but I really don't think it would be wise for me to do so :-( But, if at anytime you are with me, feel free to ask to take a peek :-) They're pretty much the best kids ever!

You Know You're a Duck When...

Wow, so this post is considerably overdue, however, midterms and other things just haven't allowed for an earlier post. So, what we're all going to do is think back in our minds to that terrible day...yes, that one; the one where the Ducks were destroyed by USC...I know, I know. I'm sorry to bring back such terrible memories, however, I just want you all to get a picture of what I went through that terrible day...This is what the game looked like from my eyes...with the bunny ears positioned "just so", and the foil ball attached to one of the ends. (if you put foil on both, it went fuzzier) However, I did find that if I held my hand just right, yes mid-air, you could see the players! Not, the ball mind you, but at least I could watch the players and get a general idea of where the ball might be.

So yes, this is how I sat through 4 quarters...well, that's a slight exaggeration since I sort of gave up in the 4th quarter and just listened instead :-(

It would have all been worth it had we won...

I Go For the Bronze!

This one is going to be quick, but I felt like a few specific individuals needed to hear a little something that I was told last week. Of course, those specific individuals don't appear to read my blog, however, I will post it in faith :-)

So the other day I was sitting in one of my classes, when my friend, Abby, paid me the most beautiful compliment...she said that my hair was the color of bronzed auburn. Bronzed auburn!!! How gorgeous sounding is that?!!

So to all you pumpkin haters, errr, I guess it would be lovers...anyway, my hair is gorgeous bronzed auburn!

My Amazing Small Group

So, most of you probably don't know this, but my school encourages its students to become a part of a small group. They are usually interest/hobby based, so they can be kind of cool. But anyway, I have the best small group. It's just 3 girls, Lindsay, Kaitlyn, and I and we explore various coffee shops around town. Of course, while drinking coffee and eating pastries, we have meaningful conversations about school, God, and boys :-) (not necessarily in that order)


So this last small group meeting was on Wednesday and I finally remembered to bring my camera! Very exciting...so now you can all "meet" my fabulous small group.

Kaitlyn is in the middle, and Lindsay is the one on the right.
Here they are...looking all cute :-)

And here is the coffee at the new place we tried...they do latte art! Unfortunately, I didn't bother to look at the picture after I took it (I was too anxious to drink it) so I didn't notice it was out of focus until I uploaded it on my computer :-( But you can kind of get the idea of how pretty it was...and, it was even good coffee too!
So yes, here is my super brief introduction to my small group. I thought you would want to meet them and rejoice with me for having such a great small group :-)

Bodacious B-day Part Two - A Family Affair

So my family birthday was super exciting and delicious. It took a few days to get us all in the same spot at the same time, but it was definitely worth the wait :-)

This is before the party started...my Mom made tacos, one of my favorites. Notice the two bowls of salsa. One mild, and one super spicy for me :-) Man, I'm spoiled! It didn't take me long to inhale the deliciousness, and nag along everyone else so I could open my presents :-) The first thing I opened was a card from my parents...this was my reaction...

I don't know how well you guys can see it, but there is a picture of a super ugly dog and it says...When looking for a husband looks aren't everything! And the inside says, but they may help you overlook other faults like bad breath! Birthday wisdom from Mom and Dad Happy Birthday! LOL...isn't it just the greatest! hehe I bet you can't guess which parent made it on the computer...hehe, yes, my Dad. So, the next present I opened was a nice chunk of change (woohoo) and the next present garnered this reaction....
As the toddler I nanny for would say, "Wow!" hehe Anyway, as pictured below, my parents gave me a round trip flight to anywhere in the US I want to go!!! And the money they gave me is to be spending money for the trip!!! Isn't that the best present EVER!!! AHHHH! I'm so excited. So now I just have to decide where I want to go and when. I'm open to suggestions, so to any of my readers who have been somewhere spectacular, or have always dreamed of going somewhere and feel like living vicariously through me, feel free to leave a destination comment :-) This is the amazingly wonderful blackberry pie my mother made. It was so perfect and beautiful looking, I had to take a picture. And then, after taking a bite, I realized that not only was it the prettiest pie ever, it was the yummiest too! Apparently her and Dad got up at the crack of dawn to go pick the blackberries to make it...I have the best parents!

Ariannah really enjoyed the party too :-) She especially liked the boxes and wrappings; apparently they taste good, hehe :-)
So yes, this ends the spectacular saga of my 23rd birthday. Hard to believe it, but I'm 23 stinkin' years old. Anyway...don't forget to give me destination suggestions!

My Bodacious Birthday

Well, as most of you know, this last weekend was my birthday. I was able to go home for the weekend, which was pretty much amazing. I skipped my one Friday class and drove down and was welcomed with...(drum roll, please) an empty house!!! woohoo! ahem, not. But it's ok because everyone showed up not long after. That night I hung out with Jaimie; we held another traditional meeting at the park. We hadn't been there long when Owen joined us, and Joey was quick on his heels. Jaimie and I love the park, but apparently Joey doesn't get quite as excited. I'm not sure which side Owen took

Although, judging by the picture, I think he might have sided with Joey. There isn't a picture of Joey because we couldn't even get him to try a swing...

Saturday started with a big surprise...I got to go to the game! I was so excited I almost peed my pants...almost (not really). I went with Dale, Candi, and Shelbea and we had a ton of fun. Of course, it would have been all-together perfect had we won, but hey, you can't have a perfect birthday every year. I didn't want to have to be responsible for my camera during the game, so I didn't get any pics.

That afternoon I got to hang out with Kristen and Danica. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd seen them until Kristen freaked out when she saw my nose ring :-) It was a lot of fun being with them. I can't believe how grown up Danica is! We watched Spongebob together and bonded by throwing blankets. It was nice to be able to semi-catch up with Kristen. I wish we could have had more time together, but it was a very busy weekend.

That night ended up holding another surprise...did you know that the Bryant's are Owen's grandparents? Yeah, apparently everyone knew but me. That night I went out for pizza with Owen and his family. I had no idea Peggy was his grandma! It was fun to see her. Way back in the day, when I was just a wee lass, Peggy taught me how to sew. I would ride my bike over to her house, and we would work in her sewing room for hours. I still remember watching the OJ Simpson trial while we were working....hmmm, funny what we remember.

Sunday morning began early when Jaimie collapsed onto my bed. We talked for awhile and it was very sweet. Then, she stood at the foot of the bed and sang me the birthday song in her most beautiful, squeaky vibrato. She even ended it with a high leg kick! It was pretty spectacular :-) Eventually Dale, Candi, and Shelbea made their way to my room to pass on birthday greetings as well. I even got my coffee in a special birthday mug! Church was super exciting because I got to see all kinds of people I hadn't seen in forever. The only bummer was that Shirley was in Texas, so I missed her. For lunch, I chose to go for mexican and this time they remembered my food, woohoo!

That afternoon Mom and Dad were able to come over for a joint birthday party for Jonathan and I. It was so nice to have them there. Candi made these amazing brownies, which we ate with ice cream and washed down with coffee. Then it was time for presents!! I can't help it, I still get so excited for presents :-) About a month ago, I came to the realization that I love presents because I just adore surprises. It doesn't matter how big or little the surprise is, my heart always starts pumping, my palms get sweaty, and I can't stop smiling. Anyway, Jonathan started since his birthday is first, and I just have to pause here to mention the card Jaimie and I gave him. It was pretty much the best card, everAs you can see, it was also the biggest card ever :-) I think he loved it, hehe. But enough about Jonny's presents...let's get to me :-) I was totally spoiled and got all kinds of chocolate yummies, a Starbucks gift card, Dutch Bros. bucks, a cute mug, and the best story, ever written by my dearest Pig. Oh, and we can't forget the football game. Anyway, the story...allow yourself to take a ganderSo yes, the story of Mike and Ike...

Once upon a time...there was a beautiful girl. This girl was so beautiful...because that's the way she was made :-) This girls name was...actually her name was Ike. One day Ike was walking along 5th Avenue when suddenly someone shouted, "Look!" Actually they said, "Look out!" Then Ike turned around and saw a giant rock coming right towards her! -GASP- It was at that very moment a Big Hunk (named Mike) tackled her to save her life. Then he said..."If you weren't such an Airhead and moved out of the way instead of staring at the giant rock rolling right towards you, this wouldn't have happened." Then he kissed her. So Mike and Ike got married and for their honeymoon went to a Symphony and then swam the Milky Way.

Yeah, the best story that's ever been written for me.

The day ended with Bocci ball and a LONG drive to the land of mean people and horrible drivers. It's always so depressing to leave, but this time seemed like the worst of all.

Anyway, I still have another party coming (woohoo for more surprises!)...I have some sort of shindig with my family sometime tomorrow so stay tuned for more birthday happenings :-)

The Beginning

Well, I can't put off my natural tendency to conform any longer. Everyone I know has a blog so I created an account in order to comment, but I've been avoiding the actual blogging portion, thinking the phase will pass, and like I need one more thing to do. However, in one of my classes this semester, we're required to keep up a blog and I've discovered that I actually kind of like it. So I've given in to the crowd; I'm becoming one of YOU :-)

So what should my first blog be about? I must confess, I don't really have anything in particular to write about. The bottom line is: I don't want to do homework right now, so I'm finding anything and everything to distract myself from the rapidly approaching due dates. If I ignore them, they disappear, right?! hehe

Well, I think this will be all for now. I hope you don't take this first entry as a sign of what's to come and therefore ignore all further postings...I'll try and get more interesting :-)