May is Full of Celebration!

This month we celebrated by my and Todd's birthday. I am sad to see this great month go! Only eleven more months and we can celebrate again.

Todd's birthday is May 2nd, and this year we started his birthday May 1st with a dance party with friends. We danced to great hits like, "Bye bye bye" by N'SYNC, "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany, and "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul. We also played a few dance games that Todd made up called "Hot Moves" and "Dance Revolution, Revolution" (and no, it's not the same as Dance, Dance Revolution). "Hot Moves" is like Hot Potato but you pass dance moves instead of a potato, and when the music stops, whoever is dancing is out! "Dance Revolution, Revolution" goes like this: a number is assigned to a dance move that we make up, about 6 moves. The group starts dancing and a caller yells out numbers, "6! . . . 2! . . . 3! . . . 5!" while the group dances the moves assigned to their number. If a dancer messes up or gets off beat they're out. The winners got treats, and we sure saw some wicked awesome dancing!! Since we've been married we rarely have dance parties but this one sure satisified my dancing needs!
On his actual birthdy he started it off with a breakfast sandwich from Gandolfo's. And then it was off to Provo's Farmer's Market. He spent the afternoon selling, and I spent it with Henry. Then we ran some errands and ate at 5 Guy's Burgers. Awesome burgers, but no shakes. And, give a "No thanks" to their grilled cheese (yuck!). We went home with a couple pints of Ben and Jerry's (Chubby Hubby and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough--you can guess which was Todd's and which was mine) and hunkered down to a few episodes of "The Office". By the way, we are now addicted to that show, and congrats to Pam and Jim!! Anyway . . .

Through the next week I heard Todd say things like, "Babe, I can do this, it's my birthday week." All week. And oh, it just fueled me up for my big day. And that's okay because we get to spend it together so we both got to benefit!

So, May 29th I woke up to Todd bathing Henry, and then they were off to the grocery store. While they were gone I organized Henry's clothes (storing away clothes that don't fit, etc.) and cleaned up the house. It felt so good to clean uninterrupted!! I know that sounds weird to do on your birthday, but if you're a mom, you understand. It was nice. Then when the boys came home we enjoyed Jamba Juices and toast with strawberry jam. Todd made a cake (yellow cake mix with chocolate frosting and sprinkles). The night before my birthday I practically had to beg him to make me a cake from a box. He loves making things from scratch but I just love the smell and taste and everything about a yello cake from a mix. It epitomizes my birthdays as a kid and it was all I wanted. So, because he loves me he caved. And it was a great cake.

Then we went swimming at a friends house.And watched Pixar's "Up". It was really good! My favorite thing about the movie is that the main character looks just like my grandpa Cameron. You see the character when he's a boy and then you watch him age, and through each stage of his life he looks just like my grandpa. I just adored him. Anyway, we then went to Gloria's Little Italy at their new location on University Ave. and Center St. and enjoyed a nice Italiano meal. We came home to eat our cake and crash. (I'm 23!)

By the end of the day we were pooped, but it was an awesome day! We also get to extend our birthdays as we celebrate with both our parents by eating yummy dinners and spending time together. We're soaking it all up before we head off to Illinois, we'll sure miss you guys!

The Streamlined Advantage

(No, this is NOT my house! I found this picture at: http://thoseweirdhomeschoolers.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-was-tagged-by.html.)

I am inspired. A couple weeks ago I learned how to "streamline" my apartment. Streamlining is, defined by Alice Osborne: the 8-step program of sifting through your stuff to find what matters most to YOU. She was the guest speaker at an enrichment meeting for the sisters in our stake. She first asked us:

Do you lose things?
Do you buy duplicates because you don't have the time to keep looking for the thing you've lost?
When friends drop in unexpectedly do you get embarrassed about how the house looks and apologize for it?
Do you wish you had more living space? More storage space?
Do you wish you had more help with the housework?

If you said yes, listen up. Alice taught us that we are "stuff rich" and "space poor" and therefore, our homes are usually packed full of things that we might not really need, want, like, use, or have room for. And that brings me to the point of why we keep all of this STUFF.

Alice found the three most common reasons we keep stuff that we don't really need, want, like, use or have room for. They are: 1) Sentiment. For some reasons we are just emotionally attached to the object. 2) Money. People often say, "I paid good money for that and I just can't get rid of it." 3) Future use. We often think, Someday I'm going to use that. Yes, someday we will probably use it, but we are not using it today, and someone else who really needs or wants it today could benefit from having it. So, later, if we really need it then we can buy it or borrow it, or get it free from someone who is streamlining their stuff.

Here are the basics of streamlining. When you streamline you get rid of the "clutter" (things you don't like, use, need, want or have room for). This includes clothes, toys, papers household items, books, etc. And you also utilize the "keepers" (anything you DO like, use, need, want or have room for). After you streamline you can then organize all your keepers, meaning, have a place for it all, and put it all in its place. So, as you go through your house, touch EVERYTHING and ask yourself these questions, "Do I like this? Do I use it? Do I want it? Do I need it? And do I have room for it?" Choose what's most important for you to keep today and give away what you don't want to keep--give it to someone who could use it today.

Yikes. Sounds overwhelming, right? A little, but tackling the big project of streamlining my apartment sounds a lot less overwhelming than accumulating and incorporating a ton of stuff that I don't really like, use, need, want or have room for. As I am preparing to move I plan to slowly streamline my apartment. I am looking forward to unpacking boxes that are filled with everything I need, want, like, use, and have room for. Thanks, Alice.

(http://www6.homedepot.com/ideasathome/productinnovation/issue16.html)

They said "Yes"!

We were able to see Todd's cousin get married last weekend! The new happy couple, Nick and Lizzy, is gorgeous and fun and I'm pretty sure they'll live happily ever after. We didn't get pictures of them, but we got some of Henry! Surprisingly he didn't get upset when we took about a hundred shots. He loved the flowers and the rocks especially, and of course walking around (with help). He already prefers walking to being carried! Oh, Henry.

A Few Firsts

I'm so glad summer is here. It has been an exciting time for us--especially Henry. He is now experiencing all the fun things that summer brings for the first time (last summer he was about 7 pounds and closed his eyes almost all day). Henry LOVES going outside. He now walks me to the door and waits there, showing me that he wants to go out and play. And when we finally come in for a rest he kicks his legs and cries.

This is his first time swimming and eating an Otter Pop (with his friend, William).This is his first time swinging in a hammock (with his friend, Abbi).
This is his first time visiting the duck pond. We saw 7 turtles, 1 baby turtle and too many ducks to count. They weren't biting much so we just watched them. Afterward I got my first Snowie of the season, down by the Crest at 8 N and 7 E--yum! It was its opening day and I was the first customer so the guy gave it to me for free and said, "Tell your friends!". I recommend going. :)And Henry's first time seeing a nest with new baby birds. We found this nest on temple square in SLC when we were up for Todd's cousin's wedding. It was amazing to watch this momma bird feed her babies. So cute!

Provo's Farmers Market

This is something else we've been up to. This year Todd and I joined a few of our neighbors in selling at Provo's Farmers Market. We are making and selling products for kids, i.e. masks and capes, gingham ruffled hats, sun hats, and road maps (fabric ones for kids to drive their little cars on). One friend is selling granola and onesies with handmade appliques, another is selling hairbows, and another handmade books.

Anyway, our apartment has become a little sweat shop the past few weeks. We set up our machines, turn on music or our favorite NPR shows: Car Talk, A Prairie Home Companion, Talk of the Nation (Todd particularly likes Science Friday) or This American Life. Henry's usually asleep but sometimes he will sit and play--it's amazing. He really likes the sound of the sewing machines I guess.

The weird thing is that for all the time we put into buying fabric and stuff, marking, cutting, ironing, sewing, unpicking, sewing some more snipping, etc. we only have a few products to show for it! It takes up so much time. When I first started out it seemed like it'd be pretty easy but soon I was asking myself, "Who am I kidding? I'm not good at this. Who would want to buy it?" But when I finished a I feel so proud, despite its imperfections. It can be very frustrating and daunting, but it's also so enjoyable and satisfying. I think it's that way with anything worthwhile. I have loved working hard with Todd and learning from our mistakes. It's great quality time that we spend together.

Last Saturday was the first Saturday at the farmers market. It rained. It was chilly. And we didn't sell anything. Sad. But it was still fun! We enjoyed spending time with our friends. This week, however, we sold a few items! It was definitely encouraging, although we're really not doing it to make money, we're doing it for fun, but it's always nice to know people want to buy your stuff. Stuff that isn't perfect but stuff that took a lot of time to make and is pretty awesome . . .

We're looking forward to a much brighter Saturday next week. Wish us luck! If you're in the area come check it out--a lot of people have really neat things, there's always a live band, and yummy granola samples! It's at the park on 5th W and 1st S in Provo, UT from 11am-2pm every Saturday (until June and then it's from 9am-2pm every Saturday).

News

A lot has happened in our lives and I'll blog about them one by one. Starting with the biggest news: we are moving to Illinois this summer! We will leave our humble abode--sniff sniff--and move to the humid mid-west.

What brings us to Illinois? Graduate school! Todd will be starting his PhD in Chemical and Bio-molecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We are excited, and for many reasons.

First, Todd loves school and for the next 4-6 years he will be doing research in a field that he's interested in, with great people, and when he's finished he'll be done with school forever (unless he does a post-doc)! Second, fireflies. Third, the Orpheum science museum for kids (they have a lego club!). And fourth, we'll experience a new state, climate, radio stations, friends, and real life, i.e. living away from our parents. Now we have definitely loved living close to our parents--they are such a great blessing to us and we love them--but I think we'll grow a lot being away. It'll be good. And as my wise friend, Rachel, said, they're only a plane ride away.

So, we'll embark on this journey after a summer filled with fun. We look forward to cleaning out our mom's pantry, celebrating Henry's first birthday (among many family birthdays), a family reunion in Escalante, UT, and fireworks and family on the 4th.

Here are a few pictures of the U of I campus. Todd took these back in March when he visited the campus. I think it looks very charming.