Happy Memorial Day!

We had a full day today.  Justin's family always visits graves on Memorial Day.  I never did this growing up, but I love this tradition.  We visited Justin's mom's grave in Kaysville, his Grandma and Grandpa Allen (his mom's parents) in Hooper, and his Great Grandma and Grandpa Hale (his Grandma King's parents) in Ogden.

The cemeteries are amazing on Memorial Day.  There are flowers and flags everywhere.  It is really beautiful.  We even heard a bagpipe player in the cemetery in Ogden.  It was also fun to hear stories about Justin's family, especially the Hale's, since I didn't know much about them.

We had a tri family cookout for dinner.  The tri family consists of the Kings, the Nielsons, and the Van de Merwes.  The Nielsons used to live next door, and the Van de Mewres live behind Justin's family.  We ate a lot of great food... it was so much fun!  Emme found a new toy that she loved.  Look out... there's a new sheriff in town!

Emme also found a new friend, Jace Nielson.  She really liked him (maybe because he was the closest one to her age).  He was also really good at sharing with her.  It was really cute to watch.  We had a great Memorial Day!

Sunday, Sunday

Emmeline and I came up to Kaysville this morning and went to church with Justin's family.  I always love going to Justin's home ward :)  Today was the big experiment with the quiet book.  I actually sat through all 3 hours of church without having to wander the halls.  I didn't say I heard much, but I was there! 

Ruth and Grandpa King came over tonight for dinner and a sleepover.  Yes Justin, you missed a wild and crazy sleepover with Grandpa.  We had a really great dinner with great entertainment (Emme).  Ruth brought some Argentine desserts.  They were really good.  Emme had her first taste of dulce de leche and loved it.  Ruth even brought some cute sugar cookies decorated like flip flops.

We had a lot of fun after dinner.  We played the piano, read books, and took Grandpa's walker for a spin around the living room.  We also got to talk to Emily and Kyle.  It was really great to talk to them!  Justin, they say HI!

I'm not sure what we are doing tomorrow morning, but I can't wait for the holiday.  I wish you were here with us Justin.  We miss you!!! (P.S. - I thought Emme looked so cute from behind in her dress).

IT'S FINALLY DONE!!!

I am happy to announce that I am FINALLY done with Emme's quiet book.  It was a lot of work, but it is great!  Now I might be able to stay in Relief Society and maybe hear the lesson.  (Wishful thinking!)  I decided to make a new blog for all the things I have made and will make in the future.  I mostly decided this because the quiet book post is going to be really long.  I am still working on the blog, but will post the address when I am ready.

Emme and I took it pretty easy today.  We played and folded laundry.  I was putting away laundry and straightening up Emme's room when I looked over and saw Emme playing with 2 big cans of food storage that we keep under her bed.  She is such a funny girl!  I just love her!

Other than that, we got to video chat with Justin again, which was the highlight of our day.  We also went out to the store.  We are going up to Kaysville tomorrow to stay with Justin's family until Monday night.  I'm excited to go to church and spend the holiday with them.

Beautiful Day

The weather was beautiful this morning so Emme and I went to the park.  There is a great park about 2 blocks away from our house.  I love that it's so close!  We saw some ducks in our neighbor's yard on the way there.  They let us get really close.

Emme loves the swings (what kid doesn't?!)

She also started to explore the playground a little more.  It's so much fun now that she can walk!

Emme also loves flowers.  She always points them out.  I have a dried flower in a frame hanging in our bathroom.  Emme points to it every night when I brush her teeth.

This was our view on our walk home.  I thought it was really beautiful and wanted to share.

This is another one of Emme's favorite things to do lately... pick up her huge ball and walk around the living room with it.  She's such a funny girl!

The early evening was actually kind of busy.  I had to run to the store to get Emme some food.  When I got outside a neighbor asked me to help jump  his car.  They live in the apartment across from us, but I have never met him... I guess I should be a better neighbor!  When I was checking our at the store I broke a jar of baby food when I dropped it on the floor (good going!)  That is the first time anything like that has happened to me.  Oh, well.  The rest of the night was good.  Emme and I read some great books together.

Random news:  Gary Coleman died in the hospital across the street from us today.  For those of you who don't know who he is... he was a child star in the show "Diff'rent Strokes."  His "catch phrase" was, "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?"

So... Close...

I am so close to finishing Emme's quiet book.  That is all I have been doing.  I didn't even shower until after 3 today.  I FINALLY have all the pages sewn and the interfacing ironed on the back of all the pages.  Now I have to sew the pages together, put the grommets in, and make the cover.  I am really excited about it... the book is almost more for me than for Emme ;) Just kidding!  Here are 2 preview pictures.

I have been sewing a little while she is awake and she is so good for me!  She just plays and entertains herself.  She decided to empty almost her whole toy basket today.  With my sewing stuff and Emme's toys, our living room looked like a war zone.

Well, that's our day in a nutshell.  I am really excited... we will be going up to Kaysville on Sunday and Monday to spend the holiday with Justin's family.  Every day is the same without Justin here.  I'm glad we have something to look forward to between our trips.

Tired Baby

This is going to be short, because it is 1 am.  Since working on Emme's quiet book consumes most of my day, there really isn't much to report.  I only have 2 more pages to finish, but then I have to sew the pages together and make the cover and everything.  I can't wait until it is finished.

I think Emme is getting a cold :(  I am almost positive it started at my dad's house.  She would cough pretty hard in her sleep, but no runny nose or anything.  She started getting a runny nose today.  If she does get sick I hope she gets over it in time for our trip to Wisconsin.  Since she seems a little under the weather she has been extra tired.  She fell asleep in her high chair before I had a chance to wipe her face.

There was one really exciting thing for me today.  I bought a new swimsuit!!!  I was thinking back and the last one I bought was when we were here in Provo the first year we were married.  It was time.  It is super cute.  I found the website on a blog I read.  They sell them online and in 2 boutiques in Lindon and Pleasant Grove.  If this doesn't motivate me to get in shape I don't know what will.  By the way, that is not me in the picture... I wish!  I got it from the website.

Day 16

The weather was much nicer today, but we didn't go outside until about 8 pm.  I am trying to finish Emme's quiet book and I really needed some new movies to watch while I sew.  I still can't get that video uploaded, but pictures are better than nothing.  Emme's new favorite thing is to walk from the living room to her alphabet magnets on the refrigerator.  She gets so excited!

Emme's shirt says "I <3 Ghana."  Justin's sister Melissa made it and gave it to Emme for her birthday.  It's adorable!  She has a really fun holiday blog where she wrote how to do freezer paper stenciling.

Speaking of shirts, I bought a couple with my birthday money yesterday.  I am so excited to have new clothes.  I got it at TJ Max, so it was a good deal.  Justin saw it when we chatted today and said he liked it... bonus!

These are just a couple more cute pictures from the day.  I love how she sits and reads books!

Emme loves bath time.  She is a good helper now and hands me her toys when we are done.

Snow in May?

Yes, we woke up this morning to SNOW on the ground!  All I can say is... BOO!  It wasn't too cold and it melted by the afternoon, so I guess I can't complain too much.  I only wish I could have stayed inside all day, but I had to run to the store.  Oh well!  The funny thing is that the next 4 days are supposed to be in the 70's and 80's.

Other than going to the store and playing we did get to talk to Justin for a while.  I'm glad we can do video chat so he can see Emme :)  Emme has been walking a lot more in the last week.  I was taping her dancing and I caught her walking across the livingroom.  I tried to upload the video, but it wasn't working for some reason.  I will post it if I can get it to work.

Hair

Today was my first Sunday completely alone. I think we did better than usual. I didn't have to leave Relief Society until about quarter to 12 (our church starts at 9).

The highlight of our day was doing a video chat with Justin. He took us on a tour of his office and living quarters. It was nice to finally see where he is all day. It was so great to see him in action instead of on the blog. Emme loved seeing daddy too. She even gave the computer screen a kiss when we were about to end the chat.

The rest of our day was low key. I thought I would experiment with Emme's hair again since it is longer now. I think her pigtails turned out pretty cute! There is a picture of the front and the back, and 2 pictures of her crazy hair after I took the rubber bands out. (And if you are curious... I was watching The Buttercream Gang in the second picture)

Emme is starting to copy a lot of what I do. I was trying to make her laugh by blowing on the bottom of her foot, and next thing I know she is softly blowing on her own foot! Cute girl :)

I keep forgetting to write about this, but Emme is finally weaned!!! It actually wasn't hard to wean her at all. She was only feeding 1 or 2 times a day, so I just stopped cold turkey. I didn't have any problems switching her to cow's milk in her cup. I enjoyed feeding her, but it was time and I am glad to have my body back to normal again :)

Home Sweet Provo

We are back in Provo! Our flight left Albuquerque at 4:00pm today. We had a nice morning and afternoon with my dad and Jacque, then it was off to the airport. We had a little time before I had to go through security and while we were waiting we saw a bunch of people with flags welcoming a couple troops home. It was really neat to see.

This flight was a lot easier than the last one. Emme slept for the first half of the flight, and was really good for the last half. The flight was really empty and we had a whole row to ourselves, which was a big help.

Steve and Marilyn were so nice to pick us up from the airport and bring us to their house where our car was parked. It was great to see them and it was a huge help :) When I got there I noticed that our car was extra shiny. They told me that Scott cleaned our car! It is spotless inside and out!! I don't think our car has been that clean since we bought it. He did an amazing job... Thanks Scott!!!

So, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. I got the groceries out of the car and set 2 gallons of milk on the trunk while I got Emme out of the car. One of them slid off and splattered all over the parking lot. So much for that gallon! Luckily, I forgot I put some in the freezer when I left, so I didn't have to run back out to the store.

One last thing... Emme loves to open the door of our entertainment center and pull out all of the Disney movies. There are 3 rows, but she has only pulled out the first two in the past. Tonight she went for row 3 and this is what it looked like. She is such a funny girl.

We had a really nice visit with my dad and Jacque, but it is always nice to come home.

Santa Fe

My dad, Emme and I went up to Santa Fe today. We took the 10:30 train. It was really nice to relax and enjoy the scenery. Emme was so good on the train and even took a nap toward the end of the trip. Justin... we sat across from a couple on the train from Loredo, Texas. They said they were on a South American cruise when the earthquake hit in Chile. Their cruise went from Argentina, around the bottom of Chile and up the coast to Santiago. I would love to do that someday! Santa Fe is known for their artists. We spent most of the afternoon walking around and looking at shops. Emme waved at everyone as we walked around... it was so adorable! It seemed as if everyone we passed stopped and said something about how cute she was today. There is also a really nice square that reminds me of Chile and a couple really neat churches. Santa Fe is celebrating their 400th anniversary, so there is some really neat architecture around the downtown area.

We always eat at a place called The Blue Corn Cafe when we go to Santa Fe. I had awesome blue corn tacos. After lunch we got some ice cream and sat in the plaza. It was the perfect day for it! Emme had so much fun that she fell asleep. She was out cold!

We took the train home and then went out for dinner since it is our last night here in Albuquerque. Emme found a friend at the table next to us... it was a little boy who is 13 months old. She was so excited that she was screaming and screetching. We had a really great day. The only thing that would make it perfect is if Justin were here :)

Day 11

Today was a very lazy day. We went out for lunch at another pub my dad and Jacque like to got to called Kelly's. It used to be an old service station. It was a beautiful day so we ate outside on their patio. We ate salad and sandwiches. Emme ate her shoe. One of her favorite pass times is opening the velcro on her shoes. There were two guys at a table next to us who we found out were from Toronto. They were making a 3 weeks motorcycle trip through the states. Sounds crazy, but fun!

We had brats for dinner tonight which were great and strawberries for dessert. Emme LOVED the strawberries. She even chomped down on my finger pretty hard when I fed a piece to her. You can tell she likes them from this picture.There is a guy in my dad's ward who makes sterling silver jewelry. Jacque went over to his shop and got Emme the cutest little bracelet. It even has the smallest turquoise stone on the top of it. So adorable! I couldn't get a really good picture because she was tired and squirmy. One last thing... here is the picture I promised a few days ago. This is Emme with her stuffed turtle that my dad bought her from the aquarium. I think it's so cute!

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. We are taking the train up to Santa Fe where we will spend the afternoon. Be prepared for pictures!