Birthdays, Alligators, and Weddings

Thursday was my 25th birthday! I can't believe I am such an oldy moldy. I can now rent a car. So exciting. Thursday night my parents flew into town because my cousin got married Saturday in the Houston Temple.

Thursday we went out to dinner and then came home to eat cake and ice cream. I got some sweet presents. My phone broke a while ago and I got a new one but then that one broke. So I asked my parents to bring me just a cheap free one from Virginia (I'm on their family plan) and they brought me a totally tricked out phone that does all sorts of things that I don't even understand. I think it will take me quite a while to figure it all out. But so far, I've learned how to play all the rockin' tunes my dad put on it like John Denver and Huey Lewis. It's amazing.

My big present from Dan was a plane ticket to Utah to go to one of my best friend's wedding this Saturday. I am really excited.

Friday my parents and I went down to Brazos Bend State Park to look for alligators. We saw 8 total. Most of them were hanging out pretty far from where we were, but there was one that was REALLY close. He was eyeing Sammy for a tasty lunch, but Sam flexed his bulging biceps and the alligator jumped into the lake. After we walked around the lake, we went to a nature center and Sam got to pet a baby alligator.

Saturday were the wedding festivities. Heather looked so pretty! Sorry to Jon 'cause he's making a funny face, but this is one of the only pictures I got! I loved seeing my aunts and uncles. They are such fun, loving people. They crack me up. Unfortunately this is the only picture of them that I got.

Sam was a cranky pants hanging out outside the temple so I took his shirt off and let him play in the fountain. He loved it until I made him stop.

It was a good weekend. I loved having my parents visit and Sammy loved being spoiled and held by all his relatives.

Life of Pi

Has anyone read this? I just finished it a few days ago and I'm kind of confused. Which story is true? I think it's the second one, but after I told Dan about the story, he thinks it's the first. Maybe it is the first, but no one would believe him and that's the point? Am I so dense? Probably.

Thoughts?

This Easter was great! Friday night Sam and I picked Dan up from work and we headed up to check out the progress on our house. It's really coming along.

After that, we went to visit with Dan's old roommate Adam and his wife, Kacie, since they were in town. It's so fun to see them and their little boy.

Next we started the 3-hour drive from Houston to Austin to stay with Adam and Yinelli (Dan's brother and his wife). Their family always keeps us entertained. They have such sweet kids and their kids absolutely adore Dan. It's really cute. They even had Dan waving around a princess wand and casting spells on them turning them into different animals.

The wildflowers in TX are supposed to be gorgeous so on Saturday we went to the LBJ Wildflower Center in Austin. Waste. Of. Money. I mean, the flowers were pretty but it was basically like going to a nursery. The weather was, however, perfect for picture taking.

On Easter we went to church and then hid eggs for the kids and watched them go nuts. It was Sam's first Easter, but he didn't get a basket. Maybe next year...

On the drive back from Austin, we came across the most amazing fields of bluebonnets. Tons of people were out taking pictures so we decided to take some, too. Too bad the lighting was awful. Just 30 minutes later and I think it would have been perfect, but we were in a hurry to get home.

In other news, I took Sam to the neurologist today and the dr. said that Sam can stop wearing his helmet!!! YAY! I'm supposed to wean him off of it. So right now he's taking a nap without it on for the first time in like 3 months, I think. Pretty exciting. I won't miss having to wash his hair every night and clean out the nasty smelling helmet with rubbing alcohol.

And lastly, Sam wanted to wish his cousin Carter a happy 1st birthday!

Two days ago Dan and I both felt it - Sam's first tooth! It's barely broken through the surface, so a picture wouldn't show it, but it's definitely here to stay. I was starting to think he didn't have any teeth and we'd have to feed him mashed up peas and chocolate shakes for the rest of his life.

Yesterday we headed to the local Bass Pro Shop to meet the Easter bunny. We had to wake Sam up to get him there so that we could make it home before the afternoon session of General Conference. He wasn't too excited about meeting a giant stuffed rabbit. The store took some pictures that they'll post online in the next few days. Dan snapped a few, too. They have major red-eye, but whatever. Sam was pretty apprehensive and started doing a weird wincing cry, but isn't childhood all about being subjected to weird traditions by your parents? Yes.

After that, we walked around the store a little bit. Sam liked petting the stuffed raccoon but was terrified of the grizzly.

Just down the freeway from Bass Pro is this random presidential monument of sorts. There are these giant busts of George Bush Sr., Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and JFK. Sam enjoyed rubbing shoulders with (or sitting on the shoulder of) good ol' TJ. Sam lamented his move from Virginia and TJ sympathized.

Other than that we've been enjoying Conference weekend. The weather here has been GORGEOUS (upper 70s) and we're lovin' it because we know it's only going to get hotter, and HOTTER. Sam has also learned how to clap. It's really cute. I'll post a video soon.

Also, mostly for my parents, here's a picture of our house. They poured the foundation on Monday and this is what they've done of the frame as of Friday.

Sammy the Stinker

On Friday I put Sam down for his nap in his usual t-shirt and diaper. He took an awesome nap and about 2 hours later started making some noise. I went to get him out and I found him in his pack n play wearing just a t-shirt! He had taken his diaper completely off and peed all over his crib. He is so funny. I just had to laugh. But now I always make sure he has pants on before I put him down. And I'm glad that it was only pee!

TWILIGHT

Have the masses gone insane? I hope I don't lose any friends over this, but seriously.

Worst. Movie. Ever.

Here were our faces while we watched.

On a scale from 0-10, Dan gave it a 0. I gave it a 1.

Dan and I haven't been doing too much lately. Well, not much worth writing about anyway, but too bad. I'll write anyway.

Last weekend Dan was in charge of a fundraiser for the boy scouts at church. They held a spaghetti dinner where the boys served everyone. After dinner, there was a dessert auction. It was a huge success and they earned twice as much as they did the year before! Dan was pooped from that experience so we just went home and redboxed Australia. I would give it a 6.5. I think Dan said he would give it a 7.5. There was a love scene. We hit the fastforward. The night before we redboxed Kungfu Panda. I loved it. I'd give it a 7.5. I think Dan gave it a 7? It was a really fun movie.

This past weekend we went to the Houston Rodeo, which is a HUGE deal here. It goes on for 3 weeks in March and each night they have various event in a giant arena and then after the rodeo events, someone big in the country world performs. We went on one of the last nights and it was so much fun. I'd never been to a rodeo before and I think we'll have to go back more often next year! One of my favorite events was the mutton bustin' where kids between the ages of 4 and 6 hold on for dear life to the back of a sheep who obviously wants them off. Only one girl held on the whole time. We also saw bronco bucking, bare-back broncos, bull riding, barrel racing, etc. It was awesome. Afterwards, Brooks & Dunn performed but by then, Sam was pretty pooped so we stayed for one song and then left.

Dan and I had fun, but I'm not sure about Sam (see hand)!

Cupcake update: THEY ATE ALL OF THEM!

A few things:

First, we've got an almost-crawler on our hands! He LOVES it when I call Dan at work and put it on speakerphone. He wants the phone so badly. So today I had the phone on the floor in his room and I was talking to Dan and Sam started army crawling towards it! So I grabbed the camera and made him do it again. Pretty exciting! Sorry in advance for the poor video quality, I had to make it worse so that the file size wasn't so big.

Also, for Relief Society Enrichment tonight, I was supposed to make cupcakes. I don't know what it is, but me and cupcakes do not get along! They're too moist, they don't rise, etc. etc. One time in Charlottesville I made cupcakes for a Relief Society activity and NO ONE ATE ANY. I came with 12, I left with 12. Ouch. So this time, I wanted them to be cute. Well, I tried! Can you even tell what the pink things are?Here's a hint: The theme is "It's 'purse'onal" Even though they look more like Easter baskets or Barbie accessories... I made 18. My goal is to leave with fewer than 8. Too ambitious? Probably.

And lastly, ever since we bought a bunch of bananas last week, we've got a mad infestation on fruit flies. SO nasty. I looked online at how to catch them so I set up a glass with apple cider vinegar in the bottom with a funnel going down into it. I then put tape around where the paper touches the glass. The first night we had more than 20 in there! I've been emptying it a few times a day and the number has been going down ever since, thankfully. Right now there are 3 in there (this is an older picture). I thought I'd share my capturing technique with the rest of you since summer is right around the corner!

Dear Dad,

I hope you're having a good day at work! I just wanted to let you know that you won't have to give me a bath when you get home. I already got one. Here's why.

Can't wait to see you!

Love,

Sam