BIG sigh.

Whew!  We've got three weddings under our belts.
(And no money, but let's not talk about that, hmm?)

Last Friday we drove to Utah Valley for a wedding at the Timpanogos temple.  We had a family Easter party in Bountiful Saturday, so we planned to make a weekend of it.  Only ... we thought the wedding reception (which was in PRICE) was that same night.  It wasn't.

So we took the pics, visited friends, shopped and ate and spent the night in American Fork.

Saturday we drove to Bountiful for the family party, to Price for the reception, and back home for Sunday.

Total drive time: 11 hours in 2 days.  Poor Liam.

Sunday I accompanied a musical number in Sacrament Meeting for a missionary report - but when the girl brought me the music, the bottom line was cut off on all four pages.  A quarter of the song was missing!  So I just made up the missing stuff, which was fun.  Then I filled in again as Primary chorister while Slice wrestled the boy.  

(I knew this would happen when I wrote that post.  Karma, you know.)

Monday was filled with wedding preparations, and Tuesday was filled with the wedding.  

Guess what else it was filled with?

Angie's baby!

She was a week overdue and attempting a VBAC without any pain medication.  Of course(!), her water broke in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.  But she still went to the sealing and also, she did it, which pretty much makes her my hero. 

Anyway....

The wedding was wonderful, and the flowers were gorgeous (thanks to the incredibly-talented Amy!), and we had perfect light for taking pictures.  Until it started hailing on us.  Literally.

Don't worry, no one got hurt too badly.

We took pictures at the luncheon and reception, and BOY it was a long day.  I will be posting pictures ad nauseum on the photoblog and our new Facebook Fan Page (become a fan!), so as always, you can find more there. 

You guys are awesome.  Now, back to my recovery ....

Angelbaby Strikes Again

For the past ten months I have been living my life in two-hour increments.  (Aside from Sundays, which do not allow such luxury.)  I don't leave the house much -  if I do, Slice stays home - and when we go places all together, it must take less than two hours or we have a fussy baby on our hands.

And all this time I've been wondering, how do moms get anything done outside the house?  Ever?

Then recently, I became aware that not all babies sleep for more than half of their lives.

See ... Liam now sleeps consistently from 9:30 at night to 7 or 8 without waking.  He also takes 2-3 naps during the day, usually around two hours each.  So as a general rule he is awake for two hours, then sleeps for two hours, and we (literally) plan our days around his naps.

Most of the time, this schedule is awesome.   It is simple and predictable, and we are incredibly lucky that one of us can be home with Liam almost all the time.   He hardly ever cries when we put him down anymore; he goes right to sleep and I love it.  But sometimes, it is hard for the very same reasons - life isn't simple or predictable.  We like to visit with family and eat Sunday dinner and go out of town occasionally.  Even overnight!  But if we do, we have to figure out how to deal with him, because he doesn't just sleep anywhere.  Not even in our arms.  He's barely learning to fall asleep in his carseat.

So my question is this:  How do you all do it?  Forgo the naps to get a little more done?  Deal with a fussy baby so you can stay at your parents' a little longer?  Put them down wherever you're at?
Or do your babies just not nap during the day?

(And if they don't, HOW DO YOU STAY SANE?) 

and now we know what to get him for his first birthday...

Thanks Shawna and Casey for the entertainment!

The two things I love most

(just in case you were wondering)

the jobs.

Going on five months of Sugar Momma-ness around here.  That is a post unto itself.

But today I am irritated because apparently, golf professionals are NOT very professional when it comes to business things like "hiring new assistants."  Out of the 20+ resumes we sent out, we got approximately THREE emails of acknowledgement.  Then when Slice called every single place, a healthy majority of them were like, "Oh, that listing is still up? Yeah .... we filled that position last month."
For crying out loud.

I'm thinking that these people post jobs on PGA Links (like they are supposed to) just for show.  Then they hire their best friend's son.

Or maybe that only happens in the Basin?


Point is: we are still in limbo.  An unfortunate position to be in for all planning purposes.
Over and out.

Jane

Slice and I spent a wonderful (if somewhat stressful) weekend on the Wasatch Front with some dear friends and former roommates. Jane married her sweetheart Ivann after a quick turn of events (i.e. moving the date up from SEPTEMBER) - and they pulled it off beautifully!   The sealing was wonderful, and she looked absolutely gorgeous.  I'll be posting lots more pics on the photoblog.

Just a conversation

Slice: "Babe, you're pregnant."

Me: "Huh?! What are you talking about?"

"Uh - fruit snacks?"*

"I bought them for the baby. He needs some snacks."

"He can't even eat them."

"Yes he can. I'll bite them in pieces for him."

"Whatever.  You'll eat them all."

"Whatever."

*This pretty much tells all about my last pregnancy.  Ha!  I lived off those things.

Word.

You guys, it is crazy up in here.

I would tell you all about it - but between the job search (/rejections/perpetual small-town golf course gossip), the sick baby, the elopement(!), the remodeling, the pictures and musical numbers and family drama, I just don't think it would fit.

I mean, I have one brother sneaking in and out of my house at night, another sending all his money to an imaginary girlfriend in New York (now trying to get a passport so he can fly to the Philippines for an imaginary job), and another getting married two weeks from today.

I have three weddings to photograph in the next two weeks, still waiting on some equipment that Slice mis-addressed, because apparently he doesn't know our address yet....
still feeling inadequate, with or without it.

You can't make this stuff up.

Clueless

Yesterday morning Slice and I walked into church just after 9:30, a bit late and (as always) a bit frazzled.  (Also hungry.)  My Primary lesson was prepared and waiting in the church bag; Liam's snacks and toys were in the diaper bag.   We missed our ward the Sunday before General Conference due to some musical numbers I participated in.

Surprise!

Stake Conference!

We were early!

And we thought it was Fast Sunday.  Fortunately, Liam had taken a morning nap and was relatively well-rested.  He lasted most of the meeting.  (Unlike Slice, who fell asleep the moment I walked out with the baby.)

Unfortunately, we missed the other sessions of Stake Conference, being ignorant of the occasion.
Ah well.

The Health.

The little goblin had a check-up this week, plus shots (boo.) which have made him grouchier and less sleepy than usual.

According to the stats, this kid is in the 50th percentile (or lower) on pretty much everything.

Huh?

He's like, the jolly green giant!  He weighs 21 lbs!   Everyone we know says "Wow, he's big!" whenever they see him!  How is he barely average?

We are baffled, to say the least.
But whatever.

Also, how do you keep your kids entertained at the Dr's Office?  We had two appointments this week - both during his naptimes - and decent wait times for both.  This is what we did.

One more thing

This just made my day.  Completely.

Announcements

3.  I lost a follower in the last week or so.  I'm kind of flattered.

2.  My parents own a condo in south Provo that is now vacated and (hence) available for rent.  If you know anyone that is looking for a nice place, send 'em our way!  

It has three bedrooms, two full baths - about 1800 square feet on one level.  

(I have lots more pics for anyone who is interested.)

And, most importantly . . . .

1. I am pleased to introduce our new family website, months (almost a year?) in the making.  We decided a while back to put something together that could serve as a springboard for our abundant, varied ideas.  We're still working out kinks, but - we are really excited about it!
Come check it out and please, leave a comment!

to Grandmother's house we go

Grandpa and Grandma's house is always more fun than our house.  Just ask Liam.
But especially when there are new baby chicks.....

AND a new baby swing!

A pretty good day, all around.

for Heather

A few weeks and a few (hundred) bucks later, we are ready to tile!

Our resident concrete expert helped us fill the hole.

 Slice built a ledge for the shower.

 Then he filled in the shower pan and leveled out the rest of the floor.

We picked out some tile and bought all the spacers, grout, etc.

Now for the fun part!

sweetbitter

Sweet: this GORGEOUSLY warm weather (for the past three days) that has allowed Slice and I to do yardwork in our own yard for the first time .... ever.

 Bitter: knowing that we are doing this yardwork not so we can enjoy it, but so we can sell the house that we've been in for less than six months.

Sweet: finding a gourmet chocolate bar in our cupboard left by the previous owners.

Bitter: finding the six-year-old expiration date.

Sweet: living within walking distance of TWO redboxes.

Bitter: wafting McDonald's smells, day and night.

Sweet: watching my baby grow up.

Bitter: watching my baby grow up . . .