I'm In Love

With my daughter.

(A.J., self-portrait)

Is it weird that my child is quickly growing into my best friend? I don't know when it happened, but she suddenly stopped being a drag to take everywhere and now I actually LIKE shopping with her. I PREFER her. She is fun and makes me happy and actually has pretty good taste, for a four year old.



After I picked her up from preschool, we spent the day today perusing around antique shops and browsing boutiques.


We even stopped for some refreshment at a charming cupcake shop. (A.J. had strawberry; mine was chocolate with mint buttercream icing and crushed Andes mints on top - SO GOOD!)


It was a fantastic day. I love that little girl. I am grateful to live such a blessed life and that she's part of it. Check out my great finds:

2 frames for A.J.'s room (yes it's STILL in the works)


Some fun new jewelry



And my new favorite thing EVER...


I have been on the never-ending-lookout for something new to hang my necklaces on. They were getting too jumbled on my current piece, plus to take one off, sometime you would have to take 5-6 off from in front of it. NOT ANY MORE - YAHOO!

Before:


After:

Each necklace can hang on its own little leaf. Plus it has a bird. Ya, I'm still on the bird thing.

Laughter - The Best Medicine

We have had a pretty rough weekend around here. But somehow, AJ can get us laughing no matter what. Tonight, Craig took her on a quick motorcycle ride. The conversation went something like this:

DAD: Make sure you hold on tight.
AJ: Don't worry Dad, I'll just hold on to your fat.
DAD: (Akward silence - thinking "did she really just say that?")
AJ: So Dad, why are you so fat?
DAD: Well, I guess because I eat too much.
AJ: But you were fat before dinner.
DAD: (More akward silence - only the sound of self-esteem being crushed by a four year old.)

FANTASTIC!!!

This is one of my most favoritest books EVER! I'm so excited. the movie reminds of the Neverending Story Movie, which I also love. Can't wait for this - I hope AJ likes it.

Fourth of July

AJ kicked off the morning by helping grandma with her daily dog-doody round-up.


Then we went with Uncle Paul and Grandpa to the West Jordan Parade.

AJ and Grandpa Nielsen

Only in Utah can you see a full-scale float featuring Captain Moroni.


Although she did score some candy,


her favorite prize was this dashing fan.


A popsicle purchase by Uncle Paul came in close second, although it also cost him his chair.


AJ said her favorite part was "waving at the princesses".


Then we went back to the house and I got to spend some quality time with our new nephew Jaron, SO CUTE!


After dinner we did fireworks and sparklers in the back yard.





Later, we walked down to the park to see the big city fireworks. Craig was freezing! After all, it had dipped into the low 70s! HA HA. I think we have officially turned into warm-blooded Texans.

Hakuna Frittata

As I mentioned before, we participate in a local organic produce co-op, which I love. But occasionally we get things that I don't quite know what to do with. Recently, we received these little beauties:

Meet the sunburst squash


I only had four of them, so I did a little recipe research and decided to try this one. I am not normally a frittata fan, and I pretty much hate squash, including zucchini, but I thought this was really good. So next time you're at the market and spot these little babies, pick em up and give it a try. No worries!

Too Much Driving!

I am not much of a road-trip kind of gal anyway, but this was our second time DRIVING to Utah this year. Safe to say we're not going to do it again any time soon. All things aside, AJ is a great traveler, thanks to a DVD player and her trusty Hello Kitty dolls.

And we are not those crazy, straight-thru kind of people either (thank goodness), but we are incredible classy, this go-round staying at the lovely America's Best Value Inn.



Ah, I can hear Lee Greenwood now.

Tell me THAT doesn't make you proud to be an American!

Before we left:

AJ finished up swimming lessons:

She and Kielee were fast friends, since they had matching suits on the first day.

The end result:


Went to the Church Summer Primary Activity:

Geoffery, A.J. and Morgan

Went to the movies with a friend from preschool:

Natalie and A.J.

And had her first dentist appointment (can we say loser-mom? Ya - she's FOUR!) She was nervous at first, but stuck through it like a little trooper. Plus, ANYTHING is worth a dip in the treasure chest, right? Feeling good after claiming her prizes (and mom was feeling good since there were no cavities). Phew!

With all that under our belt, we packed up and headed to Utah for the rest of the Summer.

Home Sweet Home

We are back from our Summer vacation. Rather than tackle the daunting task of doing a giant post of everything we did, I'm doing random short ones that highlight my favs. We had a great time, but it's so nice to be back home. For starters, I love my house. I forgot just how much I love it until I was away for 6 weeks. I guess what they say is true - absence makes the heart grow fonder. (Works for husbandly affections as well!) And to top it off, Craig made some great home improvements while we were away. (He was only able to spend the first couple weeks with us and had to come back home to work.) He painted the main bath while we were gone,

before

after


did plenty of yard work including revamping the flower beds, planting new shrubs and adding outdoor lighting,



cleaned out the garage,


and shined up his new motorcycle. (That wasn't necessarily on MY list, but lots of work for him nonetheless.)


These lovely flowers have been an especially cheery addition. I SO love having fresh flowers in the house.



It really is nice to be home.

I'm Away...

Obviously, I'm a slacker. I'm away for the summer: Six weeks of relaxing and enjoying some cooler weather and the company of our families. I had good intentions - honest! - about blogging our lovely adventures each week (and they have been lovely) but now I am over two weeks in and nothing has been posted. My excuse? (And I think it's a goodie) I forgot the USB plug to connect my camera to the computer. And who wants to hear about the fun we're having if you can't SEE it, right? Rest assured, I will post a SUPER LONG AND BORING post when I get back to recap the fabulous summer we are having. I hope all you friends out there in blog land are having a great summer too, and that someone is still actually reading this.