It's Springtime!... sort of

The weather has sort of been getting warmer, and by that I mean, the sun will come out for a few days, then,m for the next week, it will be overcast and snowy/rainy and cold. Spring is just being a tease. Oh, well. We live in Utah, and it's like this nearly every year. You'd think we'd be used to it by now, right?

Anyway, since Abi is getting older, she gets bored more quickly and even more so when she has to stay cooped up inside, so on the nice days, she likes to take the opportunity to enjoy the nice weather. A couple of weeks ago, she and her Daddy spent the day together at the park and had a great time. Daddy took pictures and wanted to share them. Enjoy.


First they spent the day playing with Oakley in the front yard (Oakley gets bored inside all day too).

Well, Abi mostly walked up and down the sidewalk...




...while Oakley ran and jumped around the front lawn.



After they had enough of that, it was off to the park.


Abi and Daddy drove out to Copperton Park (because anyone who lives on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley knows that it's the coolest park around).

Abi loves to swing. Even now, if she sees someone swinging on TV or something, she says, "Wheee!"






Then, she went down the slide...


...and sat on the rocking-bird (or at least I think it's a bird).


Then they took a stroll around the playground to see what else the park has to offer, like a giant cement pipe



and giant truck tires from Kennecott.



Then it was back to the swings.


After they'd had enough fun at the park, Abi and Daddy went to visit great-grandma and great-grandpa Armitsteads' house in South Jordan. It's almost as good as being at the petting zoo since the neighbors on all sides have animals.



Abi's cousins Savannah and Karina also live there, so she spent some time visiting with them. Savannah liked Abis' hat so much (thanks to aunt Dorthy for making it) that she wanted to try it on.


By the end of this long day, Abi was pooped (Daddy too), so they said good-bye and came home so Abi could have a nap. Both Abi and Daddy had a lot of fun. I was working that day, so I missed out, but I'm glad she got to spend a day of fun with just her dad and I'm looking forward to the coming months when the weather is nice so we can do it some more as a family.

Wedding Bells

So, I haven't done that great for the month of March and, again, I want to blame it on being busy, but I know it probably isn't true. So, I thought I'd better put some kind of post up for March before the month is over. What better to blog about than someone's wedding?

A couple of weeks ago on March 18th my little brother Charles got married. He married a girl that grew up in the same stake we did (he's following suit, the rest of us have married people in the stake as well) named Amber. It was really nice and everything turned out really beautiful and, of course, we took plenty of pictures.

Here's the happy couple

See how happy they look?

No? Well, here's a happier one.

That's more like it.

Of course, Abi had the time of her life the whole day. So many open areas to run around.

At the temple...

Don't fall down the drain!

...and at the reception (also because there were cookies a-plenty).






Besides, she got to spend all day with her cousins, aunt, uncles and grandparents.

Charles and Amber's wedding was on the same day as my grandparents' (on my mom's side). In fact, that day was my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary.

The reception was really pretty.











I have been involved with a handful of weddings, and I have learned a few things:

1. There is a lot of standing/sitting around waiting












2. Emotions run high

3. The food is great




4. Sometimes, things aren't always picture perfect



5. Lots of people are always willing to offer lots of advice






6. Capture the tender moments, they're the ones worth remembering



Adorable, right?

Congratulations Charles and Amber! We hope that your ever after is the happiest!

Another Month

February's over, so bring it on March! I'm so happy Spring is nearly here. With Abi getting older, she gets bored inside quickly and it will be nice when she can go outside to play.

I'm still working on my resolutions for the new year and I'm glad to say that I'm still on track for some of them.

I've finished my book for the month of February. This month I read The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, courtesy (again) of my sis-in-law's book collection (thanks Lisa).

If you want to know what I thought of it, read my review on our family cooking and book club blog here.

I also finished another knitted project.


I knitted Abi another sweater (you can't have too many, can you?) and this time, I think it fits much better.



This sweater is a variation of the maroon and brown variegated one I did last month. It was a little bit harder, mostly because of the collar (I probably started over 5 times). It sure turned out cute, though. I'm currently working on a dress for myself (sewn, not knitted) for my brother's wedding in a couple of weeks.

As for our little plants, they've sprouted and are doing pretty well. I hope they just continue to do so.

Finally, Abi's cousin Savannah stayed with us last week because her little sister was sick and her mommy was house-sitting. She and Abi had lots of fun together, as always.

Gardening in the Basement

We were on one of our many family shopping trips to Target (you gotta love that store) and while perusing through the "dollar bin" items, I spotted some tiny pots with herb seeds and soil. They're usually there, but since spring is right around the corner, I thought it might be fun to try growing something. So, we bought one of each to try and they are currently sitting on our kitchen windowsill.

There's basil, parsely, cilantro, and chives. The chives didn't come in a terra cotta pot.

We live in Kevin's parents' basement apartment, so natural light is a little hard to come by. Luckily, the fence around our yard is white vinyl and reflects sunlight down the window-well pretty good. Hopefully it's enough. When they start to grow, we'll transplant them in these pots we also found in the dollar bins.