Reason 5:

WE'VE HAD VISITORS! (the best reason yet!)
The Bogrens came down for an evening and it was so great to see them. We miss our family so much out here so it was nice to see their cute family... even if only for a couple hours. We had dinner, hung out, and watched the season finale (or part of it... sorry Natalie) of So You Think You Can Dance. It was super great to catch up with them.Here is Avery and Annie (they're only 6 months apart) in a little photo shoot. Natalie and I took probably 20 pictures each and these were the best ones I got. It's hard keeping two little girls' attention with 4 rowdy boys around them and two annoying moms calling their names. I'm excited to see these two grow up together.
Here's all the kids together. Avery loved having the older boys around. She thought they were hilarious. It was fun to see them and be able to play with them, even for a little bit. The Bogrens are at the top of the family list now because of their visit... making any one jealous? COME OUT AND VISIT!
We also had our besties, Jeris and Suzanna, come for a couple of days two days after the Bogrens. We had a really fun time just spending lazy time together. The whole time they were here you would think that I would have taken a picture, but I didn't. Sad. Avery loved having them because she got quadruple the attention. I loved having them for the very same reason. It was fun to have people at our house during the day! We were all so sad when they left and it reminded us how much we miss Utah. It was so great to be so close to family and friends, but we still are really liking it here and can't wait till more of you come and visit. We promise we'll be fun!

Reason 4:

THE BEACH!
Whenever we go swimming I never bring my camera so here is cute little swim suit Avery.Avery LOVES the sand. She rolls in it, digs her toes in it, scoops it up, eats it (nasty!), and just plays like crazy in it.
Here is Avery and Michael waiting for a wave to come. Avery's favorite game is to run from the waves as they come up. She giggles and giggles, and I love it.
She also loves it when the waves hit her legs... not as much when they hit her face.
Here is Avery and Michael chasing the birds... another favorite at the beach. We really love living so close to it because whenever we are bored we have somewhere free and fun to go! Come visit!

Reason 3:

We do fun things. Well at least sometimes :) We have gone to an Angels game. Avery LOVES to clap with everyone and yell "go, go, go". We went to the Barnum and Bailey circus. It was pretty fascinating watching all their tricks. Avery especially loved the animals.
The elephants were pretty impressive. They were my favorites next to the dogs. I was so enthralled with the dogs that I forgot to take pictures.
Here we are enjoying the circus. It took Avery a little bit to get used to it all but in the end she loved it!
And here we are at another Angels game. Our friends here had some hook-ups and we watched both games in a suite. It was pretty awesome! Avery loved being able to run around instead of being squished on Mom or Dad's lap in the middle of a row. GO ANGELS!

Reason 2:

I take naps. When given the choice between blogging and napping I choose napping. I definitely don't look as cute as this little girl but I bet I feel as good. Isn't she just so sweet. I always just want to climb into her crib next to her and snuggle up close, but we all know this peacefulness wouldn't last if I did that.
My rule: when Avery is asleep either indulge in some tv watching, sewing, cleaning (not such an indulgence), or SLEEP. Sleep usually is the winner.

Why Haven't I Blogged?

We moved. We are in a new place and are finally settled in (okay we've been settled for a while), but here are some of the things we have done. I'll give one reason per post.

Reason 1:
I'm a gardener. Yep I have the greenest thumb around. And this is my cute little gardening partner. She makes sure that the plants are strong and able to withstand ANYTHING.
Here is our first little tomato. First vegetable actually. These pictures were taken a week or so ago (I had good intentions) and now we have six of these little guys. And the little guy below is not as little anymore.

Here is the back view of the garden. See the little baby strawberry plant between the stones. Hang in there little strawberry... you can do it.
Oh and here is our little flower patch. We started these babies from seeds and look at them now. I am excited for them to look like actual flowers...
Here is the side view of the garden. From the top going clockwise we have: pumpkin- this now takes over all the garden practically. Any ideas? Is it okay to just cut him down a little? I am afraid he won't let all the other plants grow; tomato 1- he is bigger and better already, like I said a whole 6 tomatoes, WOOHOO; tomato 2 didn't make it for very long, it was supposed to be a cherry tomato but died a week after being transplanted (Mike transplanted it :) ); yellow crooked neck squash- he's little but coming along, see the flower?; zucchini- yum; cucumber- this guy is just growing away too but hasn't had as much flower action as the rest on the plants; okra- heck yes I can't wait for this stuff to come! it actually seems to be doing pretty well and has really pretty flowers; basil is below it; canteloupe- between the pumpkin, cucumber, and canteloupe the garden floor is seriously covered, its also had a lot of flower action, keep those green thumbs crossed; lemon basil- this is now a full on bush, any ideas/recipes?; there is a parsley and a sage plant hidden behind the lemon basil; and last but not least yellow bell peppers- it looks pretty much the same as what it does in this picture. I am not really expecting much from it. Oh and not pictured is our very small, barely making it strawberry plant. It is between the two step stones behind the okra. I don't really expect much from it either, but it could surprise me, right?

So I know I haven't posted in a while but aren't you a little impressed? Oh and a big thank you to Michael for clearing off my computer so I could download pictures once again. It was quite a feat with our external hard drive but Michael put up a better fight. Thanks babe.

Little Miss

Lately Avery and I have been playing mommy and baby. It is a great way for me to get a break because all I do is lay down and whine every once in a while, while AVery, my mommy, takes care of me by patting my back, giving me a pacifier, putting a blankie over me, getting me toys, and giving me kisses (my favorite). So today we were playing and this is how it went:
Avery: Mommy, whaa (fake cry) (this means that she wants to play)
Me: (Lay down immediately... hallelujah) Whaaa
Avery: Gives me her blankie and kisses me
Me: Whaa... elephant (repeated a couple times)
Avery with a sweet looks gives me the elephant and kisses me
Me: (wait for her to walk away) Whaa, whaa, whaa puppy
Avery grabs the puppy to give it to me with a look of "what the mess" on her face
Me: Whaaa, paci! Paci! I want paci!
Avery: No no no
Me: Paci! WHAA!
Avery: No no no (shaking her head and then she gave me a kiss)

Can you tell what we have been working on? It has not been fun but I am trying to only let her have her paci in her bed. Dear heavens, most of the time I just want to give in and give it to her because if she isn't crying for it, she is putting something else in her mouth- dirty fingers, friends' toys, shoes, and the list goes on. Words of wisdom anyone?

Scenario 2
I ordered some maternity jean shorts from Old Navy because I have officially and totally grown out of all pants non maternity (whaa!) and have no jean shorts. Too hot for no jean shorts. So anyways I got a free $10 so I got Avery a pair of jeans which she needs because she is too tall for all her old ones. Anyways we finally got them in the mail today! YAY! And they are cute, fit, and are long enough! I am actually wearing them right now! Best news ever. Or at least for the day. Anyways here is what happened.
Me: Avery our new clothes got here! Lets look at them!
I open the box and her jeans are on top.
Me: Avery look at these cute new jeans. Are you excited?
Avery: Yes (with a cute cute smile with big chib cheeks on the side)
Me: Wow look at mom's new shorts! (I pull out one pair and try them on) Yes! They fit!
Avery: Yes!
I pull out the other shorts
Avery: Daddy's!
Me: No these ones are mommy's too.
Avery: Daddy's!

Isn't she thoughtful? Avery loves her Daddy. We go through the house and name all of Daddy's things daily. We talk about how he is at "wook" and he'll be "back, back" later. We don't forget about daddy at all during the day. She brings him up constantly and makes sure that I remember daddy too. Gotta love that girl.

Sorry for the no pictures. My computer doesn't have enough room to upload all the pics on my camera (if Mike is reading this he is rolling his eyes right now...) Maybe if Michael helps me clear off my computer I will get some pictures on here in the next few days...

Where is a good place to find fabric?

Okay we are trying to find curtains for our living room but everything we have looked at looks too formal and just too plain. I am trying to find either curtains or fabric to make curtains but I am having NO luck. Our couch is and olivey grey green and we have a lot of brown in the room but I want a punch of color and drapes with a fun design: floral, paisley, stripes, just not boring. Any suggestions?