Playdough and Packing

I made some playdough for Ruth the other day...she was more interested in the cookie cutters than the playdough...sad. She also kept trying to eat it and was totally grossed out because it was so salty. I think she was confused about it not being food because I put her in her high chair to play with it.


Will has become a total thumb sucker, has rolled over twice two weeks ago and not since and has discovered the art of thumb twiddling.

What do we need all this stuff for?! (notice ALL those diapers)

Vacation!

Paula and Asa are coming into town tonight to take us on a week long vaca to Northern Idaho! We're driving around a bunch to see some sites Asa is interested in, spending three days in Sandpoint at a resort and then coming home through Montana. We're so excited, especially since Brad has been working like a maniac for the past several weeks. We all need a break.

Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon

This was a super fun day for all of us...including the dog. We drove through a bunch of corn fields and parked in what felt like the middle of nowhere. We slathered on sunscreen and then hiked for about a mile on a gravel road. Then out of nowhere this huge canyon appeared.



We hiked a bit further and then the trail lead down the side of the canyon. It was a rough hike but completely worth all the views of the river and falls.

When we got down to this lake area we really wished that we had swimsuits. Ruth went trudging into the water anyways and started to float downstream...face down. Brad had to jump in to saver her.

Here are some pics of us relaxing in the back yard in the hammock I bought in Mexico before Brad and I got married. (And I'm down to 187 pounds!)

The Curse of the Popsicle or Be Careful What You Promise

Last week we ran out of "popsicles," aka the generic brand of Otter Pops. So that night when Brad got back from work we ran to the store to get some more. Unfortunately for Ruth, they don't come frozen. She had to wait all day for some popsicles and then once we finally had them she STILL couldn't have one. I promised her that the next day she could have as many as she wanted, because really, who can resist this:

So the next day came, and I was resolute to keep to my word, I don't want to be a bad example and break my promises. So first thing in the morning she wanted a "pa" as she calls them. So she got one. Well, needless to say, I quickly regretted promising "as many as you want." She probably ate 15 popsicles in one day; she definitely took advantage of the situation! Look at her lounging on the doggie bed in popsicle heaven!


Well the morning after "the day of popsicle heaven" Ruth woke up and I went to change her diaper like normal. When I opened it up I found popsicle poo...it was neon green! All things considered, I guess there could be worse consequences to making bad promises!

Piano

(This is my little lounge singer in the making!)

This last weekend Paula and Asa brought us a piano! It is absolutely gorgeous and I'm so happy that we have it in our home. Ruth loves to play, I am happy I get to practice and get better, and it's so fun to listen to Brad play (since he is the only mostly fluent player in the house). Brenda and Val came up for the weekend too, and we celebrated Val's b-day by eating out a bunch, hanging out a bunch, and going to Shoshone Falls where we all got eaten alive by mosquitos. (Unfortunately I forgot to steal pictures from Paula's camera before they left...so no pics of the weekend.)


Here's the funny story of the weekend. Brad was playing "Puff the Magic Dragon" while Ruth sat next to him on the bench. I was singing along and we were just having a fun time. Well, the dog was in the house, and as soon as we started playing and singing she came out and sat right behind Brad. Then right as we were finishing up the song, Boudicca decided to chime in and she howled along with us. It was so funny, just like in the cartoons.


This is Ruth watching a cat video:

This is a great picture because you can really see Ruth's tan line from her sandals

Also, Ruth said her first prayer today! Yay!

Weighing In

I get so nervous every time I decide to step on the scale or try on an old pair of jeans...and this morning I did both! Happily I am down 5 pounds from last time to 190!!! And I am officially into my size 16 jeans, yes! It feels so good to be able to really see a difference and to have proof from my old clothes. Brad and I were looking at my drivers license picture from a year ago (where i weighed 20 more pounds than now) and it is so obvious that I've lost weight.


I credit most of my success to FitWatch because it really has shown me that I was eating WAY too many calories even though I thought I was eating healthily. I also think that exercise has helped too, not only because I'm burning more calories that way, but because I'm building lean muscle which helps to burn fat. I also never weigh myself more than once a week and always at the same time. I read that you weigh the least at 7am, so that's when I weigh in and I always "wear" the same thing so I don't have to worry about clothes contributing to weighing more or less.

I still have 30 pounds to go to reach the weight that I want to be. But I've been thinking that I could keep going and lose even more weight. 160 is the weight I had been at since my sophomore year in high school so it's what I'm used to. But it is technically still one point into the "overweight" category on the bmi scale. So why stop? Especially since I've figured out this whole weight loss thing. I'm feeling pretty motivated to keep going and maybe get down to 140, I can't even imagine how good I'd look then! We'll see what happens. For now my goal is to get to 160, so 30 more pounds here I come!

Hot Dogs and S'Mores

Brad and Ruth chillin' after dinner

Ruth eating an extra marshmallow

Will being super cute

Me, getting super messy because I was trying not to drip on Will

Ruth, Kitchen and Bumpers

She's so cute!

And I love to do her hair!

This is her view of the new kitchen...she loves to play with the camera.

This is the new painting above our table, it has a good amount of yellow to go with everything else...

yellow bucket...

yellow mirror over the sink...

yellow flowers on the island...

yellow frames! This is the ledge that runs along the entry from the living room into the kitchen...

and finally my most recent sewing project...yellow curtains! They turned out so well. The picture stinks because it was so bright outside.

This is the detail at the bottom edge. I used all different sized buttons.

And lastly, I finally finished Will's bumpers for the crib. I used extra kitchen curtain fabric to make the yellow ties.

Now Will just needs to stop waking up 3 times a night and he'll get to use them!

Recently

We finished the kitchen last weekend and it looks fabulous! Ignore the messy kitchen. Notice the new vent hood! Brad pulled out the clunky old microwave vent so we could use that one! Now we just need some more yellow pops of color.

Look down two posts to see previous pictures of the kitchen. There's so much more light now! The final thing to do is get new floors, but that'll wait a while.


Ruth's new best friend is Boudicca. They play really well together and she laughs a ton while she's rough housing with the dog, it's way cute.


My SIL, Megan, posted this cool tool about tracking your mileage on her blog. So I tried it out and realized that my normal walks were about two miles round trip. Recently we've been going to this park that both Ruth and the dog love. Boudicca loves it because I can let her off the leash so she can run in crazy circles and climb on the playset and jump off.