I love...

*A clean house.

*Going on walks with Lilly and Anton.

*Cooking a yummy dinner for my family.

*Fresh sheets and towels.

*Going to the pool with Lilly. Tomorrow is lunch and swimming with the cousins at Willow Creek. Can't wait!

*Date Nights with Anton. We have been trying to be better about getting a sitter and having a night for just the two of us. We had a date this Saturday, and it was marvelous!

*that Lilly will just go and lay out on the grass. She loves to be outside.

*Food blogs.

*Having time alone with Anton at night, after Lilly has gone down.

*That fall is right around the corner.

*Garden Fresh tomatoes with fresh Parmesan, basil and balsamic vinegar. Oh wow. Yum.

*Our fire pit we just bought. Can't wait for it to cool off so we can use it more.

*The way Lilly walks.

*Our new LAWN! Yeah!! (pictures to come soon)

*Fridays! Lilly goes to her Gymboree class on Fridays, and she loves it!

....told you she loves it!

Fancy Girl!

Do you like my cute Pig Tails?! Mommy keeps telling me I look super cute in them. And what about my fancy sun glasses? I love to go swimming at Nana's pool!

Like mother, Like daughter

Lilly and I have been a little under the weather the last few days. Last night, she slept terrible, as did I. So, this morning when I was taking a shower, I could hear her just crying and crying. I got out and ran to see what was the matter. She was standing at her crib, holding onto the slats, crying because she wanted to get in and snuggle with her blankey. So, I did just that...I put her in, she snuggled right up to her blankey and took a little rest. I guess she was a little sleepy from the lack of sleep from the night before. I love that she loves to sleep as much as I do. Bless her little heart.

Wish

So, our friends had a baby shower for cute Hollie last night. She received some darling stuff for that little Hadlee. And Brooke had the most darling idea of doing applique on plain white onesies with the most adorable fabric. Such a cute idea, I loved it! So, let me tell you something about this shower...every other gift was "Oh I made it"...usually followed by a, " and it was really easy". What?! Ugh, I am so envious of people who can create darling things. I am lacking in the whole sewing/crafting/creating/being awesome category. With that said, I am going to give my best efforts to become one of those clever people, so at the next baby shower I can say "Oh, I made that and it was super easy"! I don't even know what my first project should be. All, I know is I want to do something. So, if there are any of you out there willing to give me some pointers or have some cute ideas...please feel free to pass them on, because heaven knows I need them!

Oh, and my man came home with these last night. See, I told you he is a gem.

Civil War

One of my very favorite songs of all time is the Ashokan Farewell, which was used in the incredible documentary of the Civil War by Ken Burns. I listen to the soundtrack quite often, and every single time I hear this song I cry. Every time.

On the soundtrack there is letter written from Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah a week before the first Battle of Bull Run. It is the most beautifully written love letter I have ever heard. They love he had for our country and the undying love for his wife is so touching.

There are no pictures with the video...just the song and the letter. I hope you enjoy it...

Bragging Rights

Can I please brag for just a minute? My husband. I don't know where to start. I feel like this is the busiest we have ever been. Between traveling, house work, yard work, family, Antons job, making sure we have time for our little family....we feel swamped. We keep saying, "well after such and such, things will slow down". It hasn't happened thus far, but I sure hope it does. So, where am I getting at with all this? With Antons schedule being all over the map, he still manages to go over to our elderly neighbors and ask them if there is anything he can do to help them. He doesn't have the time...but he makes the time. I am SO grateful to have a husband who knows the true meaning of service. He is always trying to do something for someone. Whether it is shoveling walks, driving in a snow storm to go make sure a certain someones driveway is clear, cutting down trees, taking our older neighbors to go get TV's or trees, telling me when I bake cookies or something to take half of them over to someone, asking my parents what he can do for them, going over to new neighbors moving in who he barely knows and asking if they need help with anything. He amazes me. He barely has time for himself...waking up at 6:30 to head into work and coming home at 6:00 at night. But that's just it...the man is always thinking of what he can do for someone else, rather than himself. And he never complains. Last night we were over helping some neighbors and we come inside and I say "Anton thank you so much for always being willing to help. I really appreciate it". His response, "Oh, I am happy to. I love the feeling of knowing I just helped someone out". What a guy. That's one of the many reasons I love him. He is such a wonderful example to me. And between the craziness going on in our lives...he still manages make me and Lilly his number one priority. Love you Anton!

Happy Birthday

Happy 60th Birthday to my darling Mom! She is funny, beautiful, smart, witty, down to earth and a darling Nana to Lilly....among many other things. I am so lucky that my mom is one of my very dearest and closest friends. She has always been such an amazing example to me, and I am so proud to call her my Mom. On Wednesday we had a little surprise party for her at Trio...followed by a slide show and cake at her house afterward. Then today, on her real birthday, she and the girls in the family went to go see a matinee movie. So fun! We went and saw this.... ...absolutely LOVED it. Julie & Julia is absolutely delightful!! Anyone that knows me, knows I love to cook...so it was a perfect movie for me. So charming and delightful! I can't wait to see it again. (and that is unusual for me). What a fun thing to do to celebrate my moms special day!

Mom, I hope you had a wonderful birthday. I love you so much!!

Cute Ones

Just a couple of cute pictures of Little Miss Lilly...

Lilly has a pair of striped pj's that are Antons very favorite. He always calls her "Thing One" from Dr. Seuss when she wears them! This is what happens when we put Lilly to bed with her hair wet! She really does look like a Dr. Seuss character with her hair like that!

I bought her this cute little chair last week. She loves it! I think she looks so darling in it.

San Antonio

Anton and I just got back from San Antonio. What a charming place! We went for the Leaders Conference for Mass Mutual (Antons job), and left Lilly home with Grandma Brog. Some of the highlights...

*Having it be just the two of us.

*Sleeping in every day.

*Lazy river. So fun!

*Delicious food.

*The River Walk.

*Hanging with friends from the agency.

*Haagen Dazs...mmmm.

*The Alamo

*Going to the movies
*The agency dinners...all three of them were incredible.

*Watching the Dallas Cowboys practice.

Thank heavens for Antons mom who came all the way up from St. George to watch Lilly for us. It was so fun for us to have some time together. As much fun as we had, we were happy to come home and see our "little buggy"!