An Afternoon Delight

While in Arkansas for Easter, I got the experience of a lifetime! I got the chance to become a welder for 2 hours. Stephen’s uncle Scott is starting a construction company and recently obtained a rack to carry lumber in the back of his truck. The only problem, it was too big for the truck. Fixing things seems to be no problem for Stephen’s dad and Uncle Scott. If something doesn’t work right, you fix it. I sure wish Stephen and I knew how to fix and build things!!!

After we arrived, I went outside to talk to Scott. He had already cut off the excess metal and was getting ready to weld the rack back together. I expressed my interested and before I knew it I was getting dressed in coveralls so I wouldn’t burn holes in my clothes, gloves, and a helmet.

I was excited but terrified I was going to mess his project up! ‘What if I welded it wrong’, ‘What if it looked bad,’ ‘Were they really going to let me do this?’ All these thoughts were going through my mind. Stephen and Scott assured me that if I messed it up they’d be able to fix it.

After doing my first section, Scott told me how great it looked. He made me feel like I was a pro at welding. His compliments made me think I should start my own company!! They laughingly told Stephen he needed to buy a truck so I could haul my welding equipment to jobs. After the first section I though I would be done, however, I was far from done! I got to weld the whole things back together. Scott told me what I good job I was doing and how great it looked. He even told me how it had taken him many years to learn what I had just done and make it look as good. I think he was just being nice.

Before welding the last section together, I also learned how to use sander. I can't say I enjoyed sanding as much as I did welding.  I struggled to hold the sander and push the button at the same time. Needless to say, I needed lots of help.

I had so much fun out in the shop with Scott, Wally, and Stephen. I wouldn’t mind doing another welding project. Guess we might need to move a little closer, or visit more often.

** EDIT **
The lumber rack is finally finished. Scott sent me a picture of it. It looks quite nice. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the thing doesn't fall apart!

Explorer Piper

I love watching how Piper interacts with things around her. The minute we walked into the house in Arkansas she was loving touching all the new objects around her.  One of her favorite toys, surprisingly, was the fireplace screen. She would scratch it with her nails then laugh and laugh, and do it again. This entertained herself for quite so time.



Throughout the Sitton’s house, there are stairs everywhere! There are stairs into the living room, stairs in the entryway, stairs to the office, and stairs going downstairs! We were a tad nervous to take Piper there because we knew we would have to keep a constant eye on her. She had a few falls but nothing too bad. By the time we were ready to leave, the little miss was ready to try out the full staircase.

As we were getting ready to leave for Arkansas, I washed and started packing Piper’s small booster chair/high chair. In the process of packing it, I got distracted and ended up forgetting the tray, which essentially ends up holding her in the chair. Without it she turns every directions and it makes it really hard to feed her. The only alternative was to use one Wally and Leilani had on hand. This nifty highchair was a lifesaver! She could still move around in it but at least we were able to sit her somewhere to eat.

When we first arrived at the house, Leilani pulled out a bunch of different toys for Piper to play with, among them was this mini rocking horse. It was so cute! Unfortunately Piper didn’t want a whole lot to do with it and didn’t act real excited to ride it. That is until she found out when you press the ear it makes a neighing nose. By the time we were getting ready to head home, they had a like relationship.

The other item Leilani pulled out was the mini rocking chair. It was the perfect size for Piper and had a little pillow to cushion her little bum. Granted, she couldn’t get into it by herself but she looked pretty darn cute rocking in it.

Throughout this trip I came to the realization she doesn't have to have 'toys' and books to keep her entertained. She loves finding things around her to play with and loves touching new things, even if it means putting dirty things in her mouth, like the gas key to the fireplace. This little miss keeps me on my feet!

Bathing in Unusual Places

During our trip to Arkansas, Piper took some baths in very different places. Ever since she was born, she’s taken a bath in our huge garden tub. When we were first looking at apartments in Texas I loved the idea of a garden tub, although I have no idea why it appealed to me since neither Stephen and I take a bath. After Piper was born I came to the decision that I hate that garden tub. It is so deep and huge! It makes getting her in the bath and washing her super hard. I feel like I’m climbing half way in the tub with her just get her washed.

In Wally and Leilani’s bathroom they have this huge sink that they used to wash their dogs in. When Piper was there last Thanksgiving she was 5 months old and was the perfect size for their sink. This little miss is just about too big for the sink now.

 

Close to the sink, there’s a wall heater that’s fun to sit in front of to dry off. Stephen and Piper enjoyed sitting there for several minutes after her bath. It felt so good to feel the heat. It’s probably a good thing we don’t have one of these heaters in the bathroom otherwise I might spend my whole day in front of it.

While giving Piper a bath, I happened to look out the window. I love springtime and all the flowers that beginning blooming on the trees and on bushes. In Arkansas spring is beautiful since there are trees everywhere. 

While we were there, Leilani had a vase of lilac’s sitting on her counter. I loved smelling them because they reminded me of my Grandma Scott. Growing up, grandma had lots of lilacs in her backyard and I loved smelling them each spring as the fragrant blossoms began blooming.

Recently Piper has been waking up earlier and earlier, which I don’t love. I like being able to slowly wake up in the mornings on my own instead of hearing a crying baby in the next room. I know those days of sleeping in are long gone though. One of the mornings Piper woke up early enough for us to be able to enjoy the sun coming up over the lake. Secretly, I think she wanted to see the view more than me. Although I am grateful I got the chance to see the beautiful sunrise, so thank you Piper for waking me up early!!

Because Piper wakes up so early, she takes an early morning nap around 9:30. I usually try and get her fed and in the tub before she goes down for her nap. This morning, everyone was slow to get up so we couldn’t wash piper in the big dog sink. I washed out the downstairs bathtub out and began to fill it only to realize there was no drain stopper so the only alternative was the kitchen sink.

Yep, this girl took some baths in some strange places but thank goodness she’s easy going most of the time.

An Arkansas Easter

Several weeks before Easter, Stephen’s parents called to invite us to their house for Easter. We were so excited! Unfortunately even though we only live 6 hours away, we don’t get the chance to see each other often. We sure wish they lived a tad bit closer so we could see them more frequently.

A few days before we left, we had some things to pick up from the store. Up to this point, whenever we’ve gone to the store I’ve taken Piper into the store in her car seat and she will sit in it the whole time. This girl is finally getting big enough that I hate carrying her in her car seat, so we decided to she was old enough for no car seat in the store. She seemed to enjoy being able to see everyone and everything.

But wouldn’t you know that she got sick just a few days before we were supposed go to Arkansas. After talking to my mom, she recommended I take Piper to the doctor just to make sure everything was ok. We got to the doctor and found out that she was getting an earache. While we were there, I also talked to him about the area around Piper’s mouth and her nose. The beginning of April, the area around Piper’s mouth started breaking out. I thought she was getting baby acne, but after that it turned really dry. Following that, it had an orange-ish tint. The doctor thought I was crazy!! He looked at me funny when I said her skin around her lips and nose had an orange tint.

This is the only photo I have to show what it looked like. The night this picture was taken, Stephen was helping the young women in our ward with a photo shoot. In between shots, the young women snagged a tiara, and Stephen snapped a picture of Princess Piper.

The doctor thought she might be allergic to something she ate, but his guess was as good as mine. We left the doctors office with a prescription for the earache. I have a love hate relationship with that medicine. It gives Piper the worst diaper rash and makes her have the runs. As a result, we did extra loads of laundry while in Arkansas and changed many blowouts.

I absolutely love Arkansas! Stephen’s parents, Wally and Leilani, live in a beautiful log home on Beaver Lake and its absolutely gorgeous. I love the openness and all the trees in Arkansas. It’s always a nice change from the city. It is so peaceful and calm there. Best of all they have no neighbors living on top of them. Can you tell I’m ready to be done with apartment living?

Friday morning we left for Arkansas. I was worried how Piper would do in the car for 6 hours. The last time we made the trip was when she was 5 months old. Overall, she did fairly well. She only slept for about 20-30 minutes both ways but was fairly content just hanging out in her car seat watching Signing Time and playing with toys. By the time we got there, we were all glad to get out of the car.
On Saturday, the Easter bunny came to visit us. The bad Easter bunny forgot the bag of goodies from Texas so we had to improvise from Leilani’s kitchen.

That afternoon we went on a boat ride. We didn’t think we were going to be able to go since we didn’t have a life jacket for Piper but Lelani was able find something that worked. I can’t say Piper loved the life jacket though. She was happy when standing, but the second she tried to sit down she was swallowed up inside the life jacket.

The little miss was ornery on the boat ride since she was missing her nap. We drove and drove and drove and got to see lots of the lake. Thank goodness there were lots of people to help keep Piper entertained and somewhat happy.

While driving around the lake, Piper loved crawling on the floor. We were grateful there was lots of room for her to move around. In fact, at one point she was so relaxed she just laid on the floor for several minutes.

While eating our picnic lunch of fried chicken, potato salad, and peanut butter brownies, we pulled off her life jacket and she was out immediately. She had a pretty good nap just sleeping in my lap.

On Monday before we left, we had to take a few minutes to play our favorite game, rummikub. Every time we visit Wally and Leilani, we have to at least play one game. Luckily, Piper slept while we played one hand. It seems like Stephen always wins. Somehow I think he cheats because no matter how hard we try he wins!

We sure enjoyed our time with family in Arkansas. Whenever I go on vacation, I think I have lots of time before I have to head home. Then before I know it, it’s the last day and we’re heading back home. I wish I could just freeze time when we’re with family. We sure love our family. Thanks for letting us come visit Wally and Leilani!!

Crazy Texan Weather

Ever since I was a little girl, I imagined I would live close to my family. During my childhood, my grandparents lived next door to us. The bus stop was a bit of a walk from our house. We would always have to stop at grandpa and grandma’s house to get some nourishment to finish the walk home. On the other side of our house, were my cousins. We had such grand adventures together!

When I heard we were moving to Texas I dreaded the move and dragged my feet. I didn’t want to live where I would have no family! I always thought my children would grow up surrounded by cousins to play with and grandparents to spoil them. Making the move to Texas was hard for me. Over the past 1 ½ years, I’ve gotten used to being on our own and it’s become a little easier.

When we moved here I swore that I could never love anything about Texas. Well, since then I’ve found the one things I love about Texas, its winter.

Growing up in Utah there was always lots of snow in the winter. Boy did I love it! My siblings and I had fun playing in the snow, making snowmen, riding snowmobiles around the house and fields, and ice skating on Utah Lake. When I turned 16 and got my driver’s license, I realized I hated snow. I hated driving to school in the snow. It scared me to death! School was never canceled, no matter how much it snowed. To make matters even worse, the car I drove was an old Toyota Celica. The windows always leaked whenever it rained or snowed. How could anyone love the snow and winter!

In Texas there is very little snow and very mild temperatures during the winter. The weather is so lovely I almost forget its winter throughout the rest of the world. Occasionally, there’s a big ice storm and schools and business’ have to close because the roads get so bad. There is a downfall though! The completely random days where it’s freezing cold, I’m talking like 30 degrees! Try going from 70 degrees to 30! Some days I think it would be nice to have the constant cold and have it gradually warm up verses going from warm days to randomly cold days and weeks.

This little girl completely melts my heart. I cannot imagine life without her. My life would be so lonely and have no purpose. I am truly grateful to be her mother.

On a random side note, I finally finished my Christmas in May decoration. I know, it's usually called Christmas in July so I guess that just means ahead of schedule. I’m already starting on new decorations for Christmas!

Truthfully, it’s been an on-going project since before Christmas. I know lame, right? At least I finally finished it though. I’m the type of person that loves to look at crafts on Pinterest. I often think ‘I could make that,’ but once I start the project I lose interest. Without Stephen’s help I never would have finished or even started this project. Chances are I would have still been doing it at Christmas time, so thanks Steve!!!

Passing Through Texas

Last month we had some special visitors come to town. They were only here for a few short hours, but it was so good to see them. In fact, we wish they could have stayed longer!

My Dad, Mom, Jared, and Kaylee were headed home from their Caribbean cruise. While on their cruise they called to tell us they would have a layover at the DFW airport, which is only 15 minutes from us. They asked if we would like to see them. Of course we did!!!

The morning they were flying into DFW airport, my mom called to tell me it probably wouldn't work out and we wouldn't get to see each other. They knew their layover was going to be short and between the plane change and getting to their next gate they wouldn't have a lot of time. Throughout the week I tried not to get my hopes up because I knew I would be so disappointed if we didn't get to see them. As luck would have it, their plane came in early and we were able to visit with them for a hour and hear about all the fun they had on their cruise.

Thankfully Piper hasn't hit the stage where she's afraid of people yet. She was more than willing to have someone different read her books and play with her. I love seeing how she interacts with new people. She is never afraid or shy. I just hope it stays that way.

  

While they were in Cozumel, Mexico they bought Piper a new dress. Mom thought it was going to be way to big. I'd say it fits just about right.

We had so much fun just sitting in the airport visiting with family. It was sad to see them get back on the plane to head home but I sure am grateful for the hour we got to spend with them. Please come again!!!