You Heard Me

We were so excited to have some family come visit over the weekend!

These guys live in Virginia now so we haven't seen them in MONTHS and this was their first time meeting Avery.

This is Kyle's nephew.

The big one, Devin.

The little one is our GREAT nephew, Crew.

You heard me.

Great nephew.

Kyle is a great uncle.

Which makes me a great aunt.

And that makes me sound really old.

 I think we finally figured out that Avery and Crew are first cousins once removed.

I think.

They are 6 months apart.

Crew is older.

Obviously.

And that means he gets to take away the toys from the little one :)

In case you were wondering (Mom), Avery isn't wearing pants because she had just had a blowout for the third time that day.

And she's not wearing a sock because she tried to eat it.

She didn't go pantless for long, but I couldn't resist squeezing those baby legs!

She's finally getting some chubby baby rolls on them and I can't even stand it.

Anyway, we love these guys and are crossing our fingers they move back west.

First cousins once removed need to be playmates.

A Santa Debut

Almost as soon as December 25th is over, I am over Christmas.  I love the holiday, I love the season, but when it lasts from November through December, I'm about done with it once it's over.  So before I say goodbye to our Christmas tree and lights, I had to share this picture of awesomeness depicting my darling mother-in-law's debut as Santa!  I totally helped Santa craft that sweet beard too.  Felt and cotton balls, baby!  (In hindsight, glue sticks don't work that great on cotton balls).

Ok, now on to the New Year!

A rebellion of sorts and also an invitation

I feel as though I've been rebelliously neglecting this here blog lately.  I get the feeling I should write something brilliant and immediately think back to myself, "No!  No, I won't do it! I won't!"  But sometimes maybe I have some kind of an attitude problem?  I don't know.

It's maybe as if I have too much to say, actually, that I can't particularly decide what to say.  Liken this unto the times I exit my favorite stores empty handed only because I couldn't pick which thing to come home with me.  Oh the choices!  (But I do sometimes have a problem being indecisive).

Kyle doesn't mind one bit, because he would rather me not buy anything at all for the remainder of our marriage.  Unless that thing to buy happens to be some sort of football tickets or perhaps a DVD of some kind.  Because, you know, those are the things that make his heart go pitter patter.  (After me, of course).

When I married Kyle, I also married into some really fantastic family, including nephews who are nearly my own age.  It's kind of a strange thing to have nephews who are 8  and 11 and also nephews who are 20 something.  But one such 20 something nephew did a very good thing in life and married the very cute Ashley, who is my thrift-store-loving twin at heart.  (Good job, Devin).  And it came to pass that we went to several thrift stores over the weekend and we beheld that they were good.

In other news, we will soon be embarking on our very first trip to Texas and there we will visit my eldest sister and her teenagerly daughter and hopefully partake in some southern BBQ and also perhaps some fried foods.  Kyle doesn't know this yet, but I also have plans to scope out some local thrift stores.  I have always had this dream of finding the perfect vintage cowboy boots for my awkward size nines...  if only.

The best thing about thrift stores, is that each one is different and the merchandise changes daily.  Also, things are cheap.  These combined attributes cater to my short attention span, impatience, and shallow pockets.  But also I do love old things, did you know?

And therefore, in conclusion, I would like to offer you this one time chance to suggest things for us to do whilst in the Dallas area.  I shall preface the invitation by first stating that I have high intentions of attending both the Texas State Fair and Medieval Times.  Thoughts?

June Weekends Re-Cap

Summer for the Post's pretty much means that we are doing some thing or another every single weekend.  True story!

So we went to Manti to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant which is held every year for two weeks in June. I don't know how to properly describe this except it's a play about the Mormons and is staged on the side of a hill on top of which stands the very beautiful Manti temple.

Kyle's parents talking with a cast member before the show

But to really find out what it's about, you should go here. And if you haven't already, go to Manti and see it, it's well-worth the drive out to the middle of nowhere!

Have you ever been to Manti, Utah?  Ever heard of Manti, Utah?

Let me tell you, it is in the middle of nowhere.  I know this because we entered "Manti, Utah" into the GPS and we seriously ended up in the middle of no. where: a dirt road surrounded by nothing but fields.  Well, it turns out the GPS was wrong (But isn't that a bit like finding out there's no Santa Claus?!?).

Manti does in fact exist, and is actually a really precious little town.  And is also in the middle of nowhere.  There are literally thousands of people who come to see the pageant every night and as we left the little town around 11:30 PM, I felt like I was living in the movie Field of Dreams as we followed an endless line of tail lights back to the freeway.

After seeing all the darling cottages around town I decided I wouldn't mind a home in Manti.  A vacation home anyway.

Dreamy.

To add to our small-town adventures, we attended opening night of the Leeeehi Rounduuuuup Rodeoooooo!!!!  Sounds exciting, doesn't it though?  But it was.

This was the first time I've ever been to an event where we not only sang the National Anthem (I mean everyone sang.  It was great), but we also recited the Pledge of Allegience!  I love that I still remember it even though I learned it waaaay back in kindergarten.  It really was so patriotic and I think we should do it more often!  Does anyone recite the Pledge of Allegience in schools anymore?  They should.  I love America.

This man needs a dog of his own.  Someone please help him.

And then on to the Boise area where we enjoyed some mediocre yard sales and welcomed Jordan home from his mission in Brazil!  Jordan is my nephew-in-law and I have no pictures of him.  I hadn't met Jordan yet because Kyle and I were married while he was still in Brazil, but I highly recommend him to any nice single ladies looking for a Portuguese speaking 21-one-year-old.  He's a catch!

So tonight we are painting our bedroom gray.  I mean, charcoal gray.  I will tell you about it later.  Whether you like it or not.

The End.

A Father's Day Tribute

I know, I know, Father's Day was yesterday and everyone in blogland has already posted about their awesome dads.

But you see here?  This is my dad.  The hunky one in the thick glasses.  If you do not know him, you are really missing out because he's like a celebrity.  Seriously.  Celebrity-status as in my friends would come over to hang out with me and they would stay to talk to my dad.  Seriously.

 My dad is famous for his silly jokes that are so lame and obvious that you can't help but laugh.

For his killer omlette-making skills.

And his baked chicken with the crispy salty skin that we would all fight over.

And his deep, boming voice that everyone says should be in radio.

For his ability to play Give Said the Little Stream on the piano.  By memory.  At a moment's notice.

And also for mini performances of Little Red Riding Hood on his old Mexican guitar.

For that one time he tried to go on a date with my mom while wearing brown slacks and a yellow shirt.

Or that other time that he broke his nose on a knee-board.

 My dad is famous for his stories.

Like the one about how he hit himself in the forehead with a hammer and knocked himself out

(a personal favorite).

Or how he burned down an outhouse.

And a barn.

And a sack full of family photos.

And drove his uncle's car into a fire hydrant because he was checkin' out a girl in a miniskirt.

(come on people, it was the 60's).

This is my dad. 

The "lucky" father of four crazy girls. 

The one who let us braid his hair and paint his toenails and play dress-up in his clothes. 

The one who is supremely excited about whatever it is that you are excited about. 

The one who helps you dream up your dreamiest dreams. 

The one who always believes in you, no matter what. 

I love this dad.

A Tribute

See that right there?  That mischevieous toddler on the right?  That, my friends, is my mom. 

My mom who taught me to play the piano when I was merely single-digit-aged. 

My mom who let me play Cinderella in her boxes of fabric. 

My mom who not only taught me to sew at a very young age, but who also was my saving grace my senior year of college, helping me to sew up my final line of clothing in order to graduate.  In reality, my Bachelor's Degree partly belongs to that mother of mine. 

My mom who never complained too much when I stole handfuls of cookie dough she was trying to bake. 

My mom who on the way to taking me to school one day, detoured to the Oregon coast and spent the day with me.

My mom who when I suffered a broken heart cried with me on the bathroom floor.

My mom who made me "Jello juice" to drink when I was sick.

My mom who literally saved my life on more than one occasion.

My mom who sewed for me the dress for my first dance.

My mom who listens to my non-stop chatter, is always a listening ear, and somehow manages to tell me just what I need to hear.  Every time.

I really love that mother of mine.

My mom has always had a great sense of style.  Did you see those little zebra print baby shoes she's wearing?? 

That's her on the left, the one in the stunning red dress.

Seriously, my mom was such a babe!

And she still is.  Even my mom's mom is a babe!  (See her there on the right?)  Let me tell you, I come from a great line of babelicious women.

Happy Mother's Day!

The City With a Future

Wednesday afternoon we trudged our little Toyota through piles of Utah snow so we could celebrate New Year's with family in Middleton, Idaho.  You know, the "city with a future."  Lucky for us,  it snowed all day Thursday so we could go sledding!  Middleton was a little short on hills so we hooked a sled up to the back of a 4-wheeler and took turns driving each other in circles around a nearby park.  It was the very most fun you could ever imagine!

Before all the snow melted, Kyle insisted on building a snowman.  I had perfectly good intentions of helping him, but decided it was really important to have an indoor photographer to document the birth of our man-of-snow.

It really is a good thing I was inside taking pictures, because I was able to capture this especially delicious picture of my Kyle.  What a hunk!!

This is the last known photo of man-of-snow.  Rain and above-freezing temperatures have been ruled the cause of death.

We kinda have this thing where whenever we're in Boise we go to the mall, play with the puppies, and eat pretzels.  Who can resist a man with a dog?  I mean really.

And on Saturday we bowled.  I'm sorry to say, but I'm not a very good bowler, really.  In fact, our 4 year-old niece almost beat me.  But did you know that all the Posts are exceptional athletes?  I have only been a Post for 3 months now, so I didn't get any of that natural-born athletic superiority.  I blame my weak arms.

Also included in the week's festivities was New Year's Eve card games and alcohol-free midnight toast, the New Year's Day Japanese food fest at the Okamura's (complete with irresistible desserts), and the chocolate pie that was mysteriously consumed by a thief in the night (definitely not me).

Oh the Places You'll Go

Kyle's parents came to visit for the weekend and as proper Utah residents, we gave them the grand tour of Salt Lake City's finest (and some places that are almost in the city).  The official Post tour included the following:

 
 

The 26th floor of the Church Office Building, of course.

Iggy's for dinner - Kyle's #2 favorite restaurant, despite the mediocre reviews everyone else seems to give it. 

The lights on Temple Square!  Also the location of my eighteen-month mission and source of countless sentimental memories, including Kyle and Kourtney's recent marriage!

A tour of Kyle's hospital.

Utah's very own IKEA complete with 1500 calories worth of cinnamon roll goodness to share between 4 people. They were ever-so tasty, but the calorie count kinda ruined it, huh?

Lunch at Cafe Zupas - only the best place for soup and salad.  And sandwiches too, if you're into that kind of thing.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with Natalie Cole, who looked nothing like this as her hair is very much shorter these days.  Our family pictures from the concert are on Kyle's camera.  They are not here on the blog today because he wouldn't fetch me his memory card last night when I was uploading pictures from the couch.  And he expected me to get up and walk 10 feet to get it??  I even gave him the pouty face.  Sheesh.

Care to have a Utah tour of your own?  We will be happy to show you around, but be warned that we cannot promise a famous-singer sighting and you will be forced to eat our favorite foods.   It's only fair.

Poke-a-tell-oh

At the height of my week-long sickfest, I ventured to Pocatello to be properly cared for by my wonderful parents.  And to obtain a carload of hand-me-down Christmas decor, of course.  Being home sick with parents is the best possible way to be sick.  They have an over-the-counter medication for every ailment!  A humidifier!  An endless supply of tissues!  Herbal teas!  And plenty of sympathy to boot!  What more could a sicky want? 

In case you haven't heard, Pocatello is brutally cold and windy and one who is sick would never want to go anywhere in Pocatello in December.  I did, however, venture out of doors for three occassions: dinner with aunts and uncles, Christmas shopping for Kyle, and the fabric store. 

My mom is perhaps the most wonderfully crafty person I know.  She is so precise and patient that all her projects come out looking flawless.  I, on the other hand, have little such precision and patience and refuse to measure and/or use patterns whenever possible.  When I was just a baby my mom made each in our family a Christmas stocking.  I have always loved my stocking and decided that Kyle needs one to match...  and thus was born the weekend's project.

I'll spare you the mundane details, but suffice it to say I could not have finished this without my mom.  I would have given up crossstitching long before I completed the Y.  I would have left the top part sewn inside out.  And I certainly never would have hand-sewn that ribbon on. 

When not engulfed in fabric scraps and stitches, I endulged in hours of pistachios and Wii games with my parents.  Is there anything that can make you feel better than that?  Perhaps Peanut Butter M&M's. 

But that is all.