{Abbi-a-Day} Days 113-119

Yikes, I have some really poor quality photos this week, but they all manage to show how our week went! I guess that is what really matters!

This girl can eat! Josh's mom made us a loaf of banana bread, and this girl was in heaven. She practically cried for it constantly until it was gone!

Abbi and Max are becoming the best of friends. You can't really tell from this photo, but she will go to his food dish and pick out a few pieces of dog food. Then she'll take it to him to have him eat out of his hand. She loves her doggy!

Her first pigtails. I could just about die - she's so cute!

Daddy, lifting her up to smell the flowers at the Tulip Festival.

Another photo that needs explanation. We had gone for a walk down to the grocery store. I bought her a cookie to keep her happy on the walk home. She got so tired that she fell asleep with cookie in her hand. I thought it was hilarious, because under normal circumstances, she would have never let a cookie just sit in her hand - it would have been in her mouth. She must have been really tired!

Really bad photos, but she loves playing peek-a-boo!

We were at my parent's house and Abbi loves the window by the front door so she can look outside. We'll need one of those in our next house!

Wordless Wednesday - Max

The Tulip Festival

It was time again for the Tulip Festival!! After going for the first time last year, I knew that I wanted to make this an annual thing, because it is pretty amazing!!


I love all of the different kinds of tulips they have blooming. It makes me want to be better about planting tulips at my house!








It was completely different this year with Abbi than it was last year. I remember last year, she slept through the first part, and then gladly let me carry her or ride in her stroller for the remainder. She was only 3 months old, after all! This year - well, we couldn't keep this girl down!




She wanted to run to all of the flowers and look at her own pace. Which was basically standing still or going backwards! We spent a lot of the time just chasing after her.




I do not know where she picked this up, but when Josh would tell her to smell the flowers, she somehow thought that meant that they tasted good. There were quite a few times she almost ended up with flowers in her mouth. Good thing Josh is quick! (See the tongue sticking out??)


We finally figured out that the only way to get through it was for Josh to fly her like an airplane over the flowers and let her smell them. She thought this was lots of fun!







Although it was more exhausting this year (because of all the chasing) it was still a lot of fun and so beautiful. This is definitely something we need to do as a yearly tradition!

Book #26 - The Last Song

The Last Song
Nicholas Sparks

I have to admit that I was a little hesitant to read this book, especially after the last Nicholas Sparks' book that I read let me down a little bit. But I saw it at Costco, and I did what I rarely do - I bought it. I had a library book I was reading at the time, and then another one or two that I had requested that became available that I read first. Then I had the last book that I read that I had to review. Then I found myself with no library books, so I decided to pick this one up. I'm really glad I gave this one a chance!!

It was typical Nicholas Sparks, in that there is lots of crying, a love story, and some sort of tragedy. But it had a good ending - which is why I think I didn't like Dear John - because I hated the ending. The thing that is interesting about this book, though, is that Nicholas Sparks also wrote the screenplay for the movie. In fact, he wrote the screenplay before he even wrote the book. And he knew that Miley Cyrus was going to be Ronnie before he wrote it, too. Interesting. But one thing that I don't understand about that is that Miley Cyrus doesn't fit the description of Ronnie in the book. And from what I can tell from the movie trailer, she still doesn't fit the description of Ronnie.

This one is a page turner, though. And there is one point in the book where you just have to keep going - unless you want to cry for more than one sitting! I bawled like a baby, which is typical. And I ended up staying up until 1am this morning to finish it because I couldn't put it down. I knew that if I tried, I would just lay there and think about it!

If you are a Nicholas Sparks fan, you'll love this one!

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!

Bug in a Box

What happens when you have a big box and a toddler? Lots of fun! Abbi got to experience her first "big box", and even though we've had it for quite some time now, she still plays in it daily.


These pictures are all from about a month ago, but she still loves to play with her box. And now it's covered with even more "graffiti". Both from her and Josh. I can't decide who likes to draw on it more!!

{Abbi-a-Day} Days 106-112

Abbi thinks that it is so fun to either sit on her bum or get on her knees and slide on the tile. She laughs at herself and it's the cutest thing!

Drawing with daddy

Kisses from cousin Finn

The first day that I almost forgot to take a picture. Abbi had crawled up into my lap and was out in 2 minutes. I sat there and remembered that I hadn't taken a picture, so I had Josh get the camera out and snap a couple. I'm glad I remembered!

Silly Girl

She looks so grown up to me in the picture!

This girl LOVES crackers. We keep them in the top cabinet, and whenever she wants some, she will go to the cabinet and point and cry. It makes me laugh sometimes, and gets annoying other times! But if she doesn't get her way, she will cry. I never knew 15 month-olds threw tantrums - I thought I had until she was 2. Boy, was I wrong!!

Book #25 - Neverland

Neverland
Douglas Clegg

I used to love horror movies. They never really scared me - maybe it was the childhood of telling scary stories while sleeping out in the backyard that numbed me to them. But I always thought they were entertaining, and I was always challenged to find one that would scare me. But as I've gotten older, they lost their appeal to me. I can't tell you the last time I watched a horror movie. Which is why I shouldn't have read this book.

I have to be up front, first, though. This is not a book I would have normally read. I was offered a copy of it for review, and I jumped at it since it was a free book. I guess I should have researched it first to see what it was about, because I know that once I read the synopsis, I probably would have passed. But I got it, and I read it. I didn't necessarily hate it, but it definitely wasn't my favorite book. It's dark and creepy, and at first I thought it would be a bad idea to read it before bed, but I never really got scared. Many of the reviews I read said that it reminded them of a Steven King book, but since I've never read Steven King, I can't tell you if that's true. I guess if you are into horror books, you may like this book - and if you are, I have a copy you can have!

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!

You Capture - Sweet

1 - Snickerdoodles * 2 - Hot Chocolate Souffles * 3 - Lemon Loaf Cakes * 4 - Saucepan Oatmeal Cookies * 5 - Lemon Meringue Pie * 6 - Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting * 7 - Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies * 8 - Citrus Bars * 9 - Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies * 10 - German Chocolate Cake * 11 - Custard Cream and Ricotta Tart * 12 - Streusel Spice Cake

I haven't participated in You Capture in a few weeks, but when I saw this week's theme, I knew I had to participate!! Since I also am a food blogger, I have lots of sweet photos. Here is just a sampling of what I've made sweet this year! (Links to each of the recipes are above!)

Wordless Wednesday - Welcome Spring!

(Even though it's raining cats and dogs out there today...)

Book #24 - Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge
Elizabeth Strout

This is one of those books that I've seen on lots of people's "read" or "to read" lists. In fact, about a month ago, I was in getting my hair cut, and the girl in the chair next to me was reading this book. (It started up a whole conversation on books, which made me add even more to my "to read" list!) She said that it was a little depressing, so I was prepared for it. But it really is a depressing!! The way the book is written is quite interesting. The book is all based around Olive Kitteridge, but most of the chapters are written from different people's views and lives. They don't all have something to do with each other, other than where they all live, but they are all tied back into Olive Kitteridge in one way or another. I found myself getting a little confused - just like I did in The Joy Luck Club. There were a lot of people to keep track of. The writing was good, though, but I just didn't find myself getting totally engrossed in the book because there were so many stories going on. There is a lot of sadness and death, though, so if you are looking for an uplifting book, this one isn't the one!

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!

Balloons

DOB: January 29, 2010
DOD: April 18, 2010

Anyone know how long the longest helium balloon has lasted?? I don't know the answer, but we might have a world record on our hands, here!! I bought these balloons for Abbi's cake smash pictures, and the last one just barely stopped floating. Kind of funny, considering the sign at the party store said that they would last 10-12 hours!

Weekend in New Mexico - Part 2

(I don't know why I had to make this into 2 posts - the trip was really only 2 days of driving and one day at a funeral. But I take a lot of pictures - I guess that's why!!)

On Sunday, we stopped back by Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit for a few more minutes and to get some pictures. This trip was the first time they met Abbi, so I wanted to make sure we got some pictures.




After a bit of visiting, and hearing some stories that I don't remember ever hearing, we hit the road. But not without a stop at Blake's Lotaburger for some burgers with green chile. I hadn't been there since at least high school, so it has been a long time! Josh loved his burger, and especially the onion rings. Abbi slept through it all.


Is there a drive you've made a million times, but never really stopped anywhere along the way? I can't tell you how many times I've been along the road from Utah County to Farmington and just passed by all the sights along the way. The last time we went to Farmington, (almost 3 years ago), we stopped at The Hole in the Rock, and this time, we decided to stop at the Welcome to Utah sign. It came at the perfect time because Abbi was getting restless and she really enjoyed a few minutes out of the car. I know it's not really a "tourist attraction" or anything, but it was kind of a fun place to stop! We played for a few minutes, walked past the sign so we actually walked from Colorado to Utah, took lots of pictures, then hopped back into the car for the rest of our journey.












The rest of the way was uneventful. We made it back home safely to a dog that was happy to see us. Although it was a sad occasion to be going down for, I'm grateful that I got to see so much family.